> Era of Harmony > by Gambling_Sam > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Meet the brothers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You know, many people complain about how hard their lives are and how they wish it could be easier. I’ll admit, I used to be one of them. That is, until a certain brother of mine ended up sending us to a completely different world full of magic and dragons and all sorts of crazy stuff that would make your head spin! But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll start from the beginning. I had just arrived home to my apartment from working at McDonalds. Yes, I know McDonalds isn’t exactly a dream job or anything, but it payed the bills. Walking up to my apartment door, I unlocked it and stepped inside. Just to be greeted by a hug from my brother Nicholas. “Heya Raiden” Nicholas said while looking up at me “how was work today?” I smiled and ruffled his curly hair. “It was alright, little man.” I stepped back and got a good look at what he was wearing. He had on a blue T-shirt with a skeleton head print on it. With blue jean shorts and sandels to match, I only had one question. “Did you skip school today?” I asked with a tone of authority all the while kneeling to get on eye level with. Even though he is 12 years old to my 22, he is only a foot or two shorter than me. “Ronin said I could.” He replied with an innocent grin on his face as he turned and pointed forwards the back room of the apartment. “He’s back there shining that sword of his.” He said with a bored expression on his face. He turned back to me and walked by me to sit down on the couch and watch the television. “Of course he did.” I muttered as I walked towards Ronins bedroom, already thinking of a way to chew out my twin brother. I knocked on the door. “Come in!” I heard a voice call from inside the room. I stepped in and got a good look of the room. It had weight lifting gear in its left corner, a bed in its right, and a sheath and a rack in the middle. Ronin looked up at me. He was wearing a white tank top with blue jeans on. Both barely fit him, so it hugged his muscular frame. " Hello Raiden.” He said while placing his sword in the sheath. “Need something?” I let out a sigh. “Yes, why did you let Nicholas stay home from school today? You know how his teachers are with kids who are absent all the time.” He gave me a slightly shocked look. “You already know why I let him stay home” he stated. “For the last time, Ronin, St. Patrick’s day is NOT a stay at home holiday!” I groaned as I face palmed. He simply shrugged and went back to polishing his sword. “Whatever, I going to go cook dinner, so be ready to eat in a hour or two.” I turned and walked out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ronin Perspective~~~~~~~~~~~~ I watched silently as Raiden walk out the door.He’s extra stressed today, must’ve been a rough day at work. I thought to myself. To be honest, I couldn’t remember the last time me or Raiden had had any time to relax. Providing for little Nicholas was a full time endeavor. And man, was it tiring! It hadn’t always been this way, though. There had been a time when both of us were able to breathe easy and the welfare of Nicholas was safe in Mom and Dad’s hands. That was a year ago, before the drinking and fighting. You see, shortly after Raiden and I had moved out of the house, Dad had lost his job as a fireman. This stopped the flow of money from coming through. This angered our Mom who, in turn, resulted to drinking to hide the sorrows away. This went on for a couple of months until one day, Dad found a whole slew of empty bottles under the bed. This lead to a shouting match that people a block or two days over claimed to be able to hear. It got so bad that they actually went to blows about it, with Mom throwing a bottle at Dad. It missed him and ended up hitting Nicholas instead. I think you can see what happened next from there. Raiden and I found out and took them to court. We were able to scratch by with a 7-5 ruling in our favor, and got custody of Nicholas. Mom and Dad ended up with jail time for child endangerment and disturbing the peace. Raiden and I pooled our reserve cash together to find a good place to live and a way to fund Nicholas’s education. And Voilà! Here we are back in the present. Poor Nicholas, though. He was one of the most innocent kids I have ever seen. Not naive to how the world works or anything like that. Just always willing to go the extra mile for complete strangers. He had been hit the hardest by the whole situation. After getting custody of him, he was so traumatized by what happened, he didn’t speak for a month. After that, It took an extra two months to get him to go to school again. I sighed and put my sword back in its sheath. Oh well, everything happens for a reason.I thought to myself once more as I walked towards the kitchen table ~~~~~~~~~~Nicholas’s perspective ~~~~~~~~~ An hour later “Dinner’s ready!” I heard Raiden call out. I jumped up and hurried for the table, just to be stopped by said chef with an outstretched arm. “Now hold on a second” He said. “Did you clean yourself up before coming to sit at my table?” Knowing full well what would happen if I tried to lie, I turned around and slowly (and slightly Grumpily) walked towards the bathroom to wash my hands. As I finished, I ended up running into Ronin at the door. “Let me guess, he told you to wash up too?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He groaned loudly. “Tell me about it! Man is acting like Howie mandell over a couple of bowls of chili.” Snickering at that, I walked past him towards the dinner table and sat down. Raiden brought a decently sized bowl of chili over. “Hope ya brought your appetite, because I cooked a bunch of that stuff today.” He said with the silliest grin on his face. For some reason, cooking always seemed to make my brother happy. Even if he had a rough day, making a pot of chili or grilling hamburgers was a surefire way to set his mood straight. I dug in quickly. It also helped he was really good at cooking too. He never used too much or too little seasoning. And he always seemed to know exactly how much of an ingredient to put into a dish. Weirdly enough, he sucks at math though, so I have no idea how he pulls it off. Ronin finally came to the table and dug into his bowl too. " Cookings-Mmmph-great as always, bro” he said in between bites. He then looked over to me. "Keep your chin up, bud. Your dipping granddad’s necklace into the bowl.” I gasped and quickly pulled it out. Ya see, that necklace was all I had of our granddad after he passed on. I could still remember what he had told me a couple of years ago when he gave it to me. ”That necklace is a very rare thing, Laddie. Don’t ever lose it, or else the luck it brings cannae help ya when ya need it.” Grandpa Brim said with a smile, even though he was on his deathbed. He held out a necklace, a oddly shaped crystal attached to what looked like gold. “What do you mean luck?” I asked while holding the necklace out. He laughed softly, then hacked a bit. “I ain’t allowed to say. All I can tell ya is that it will help ya when you a need it most.” I smiled at the memory, and continued to eat while my brothers argued again over whether or not St. Patrick’s day was a holiday. "Im telling ya, its a holiday worth celebrating!” Ronin said strongly, all the while slamming his fist on the table in frustration. “And I’m telling you, its nothing more than a recognition day, like Halloween and valentines day. You don’t see people getting breaks from school for those days, do ya?” “Pffft, they totally should.” Ronin said while crossing his arms. He then nodded towards me. “Its not like he likes school anyway. Tell Raiden what ya told me today.” Crap. I definitely did NOT want this to come to light at the dinner table of all places. Dang it, Ronin. Why’d you have to bring this up now? I thought, quite nervous about how this was about to turn out. “What was said today, Nick?” Raiden said questioningly, Although I could feel the lecture coming on. “Well.....” I started. " You see, the kids and teachers there don’t understand me at all. Every time I try to play or even talk to the kids, I get isolated for being different and not having quote on quote real parents.” I did a finger quote sign at this. " And the teachers aren’t much help either. They just let it slide! Its so not fair!!” I said the last part a bit loudly, starting to get emotional quick and finding my left hand tightly clenched around the necklace that, oddly, felt warm for some reason. “Now now.” Raiden said softly. " I know your upset, but that isn’t a reason to raise your-” I never let him finish. “NOOO!” I yelled. " You don’t know! Neither of you know what its like to go to school and be made fun off for both of your parents being in jail. At least when it happened, both of y’all were grown up. But I was stuck with the mean kids and condescending teachers! Its not fair at all, why doesn’t anyone like me?” I couldn’t hold the smiling charade anymore, and I started to sob. “Whoa, kiddo.” Ronin said as he pulled me into a hug. " Its alright, kid. No matter what those naysayers say or do, we WILL be here for ya.” He said with a smile. Raiden walked over and joined in “Yeah, Ronin is right, Nikky.” Raiden said, using my kid nickname he always calls me when something’s wrong. " We aren’t going anywhere. And besides, your one of the greatest kids I’ve ever met.” “I know-*Sniffle* I know.” I get out between sobs. “I just wish there was a place we could go where we could belong and be happy.” I half-said half-cried. Just as I said that, My left hand started burning. “OWWW!!” I yelped as I pulled off the necklace and threw it to the ground. " It burned me!” “What do ya mean it burned-” but again, Raiden would be interrupted by a soft hum coming from the necklace as it rose up and flashed a white light that consumed everything in sight. -------Canterlot Castle------- It was night in equestria, princess Luna had just finished raising the moon and princess Celestia was currently retiring to her bedchambers. It had been an extra long day, with the noble ponies wanting answers to the rumors of changeling sightings happening across the country. They had been, for most of the meeting, hotheaded and extraordinarily pushy that the princess should put this issue first before others. However, cooler minds prevailed, and the noble ponies bloodlust was temporarily sated. It would not belong until they tried again to push this issue though. The princess walked into her bedchamber, sighing at the though. Why they seemed so fixated on these rumors is beyond me. She sighed as she took off her regalia and walked out onto her balcony, the view of her wondrous kingdom doing little to call her nerves. She turned around to retire for the night when she suddenly was hit with a massive aura surge of magic. She had always been able to sense powerful magic being used, but this was a new kind of magic altogether, and that thought alone scared her a bit. Last time she had felt a surge that strong, it had been with nightmare moon. But Luna was safe and had recovered a while back with the help of the elements of harmony. If not her, though. Then who? She though as she looked on a crystal clear night sky. > Chapter 2: A shy welcome for Nicholas > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ******* Nicholas POV ******* "Raiden!" I yelled as the light died down around me, only to find myself on a platform surrounded by...space? What is this place? I thought to myself. getting a better look around, I saw stairs descending into a small temple. As I walked down them, I started getting my bearings. Although it was dark in most of the area, there was torches following the platform and the staircase. I looked around the empty space I was in just in case I could make out something in the distance, but there was nothing but pitch black and the occasional star. I stopped in front of the doors to the temple. They were those odd doors with the fancy symbols carved into them you only see in movies and stuff. On these, however, there was what looked like some cloaked man holding the moon in one hand and the sun in another with some kind of purple star on his chest. I reached for the door and pushed it open. Inside was just as full as the outside, nothing except the same man with his backed turned and looking in a little pool of water. wait.... what? "Umm, excuse me Sir." I asked while taking a step towards him."Have you seen my brothers around here? one will look like an irish version of the Rock with hair, and the other will look like Gordon Ramsey on steroids." The figure turned towards me and I gasped when I saw his hands. Unlike in the door picture, he had rotting skin and bone could be seen poking out of the wrists. His lower face, the only part I could see due to the cloak, turned up into a sick grin. A bender of magic returns to this forsaken place. He said. Only it sounded like it was coming from inside my head. Let us see if his light shines bright! With that, he outstreched his arm towards me. A warbly sound was made as a dark blob shot out of his hand at me. "Noo!" I yelled as I raised my hand and closed my eyes, bracing for the inevitable pain. It never hit me. I opened my eyes and saw that a red barrier surrounded me and had absorbed the blob. A bead of sweat poured down my face as I dropped my hand. The barrier disappeared and I collapsed, worn out all of a sudden. The figure only smiled and put his hands togethor. You have much potential, spellweaver. He turned around and looked back at the pool of water.Regretfully, it is not my job to teach you. For now, you must wake up. Wake up? I thought as I started to get drowsy. the last thing I saw before I fell asleep was that odd man point towards the star on his chest. Seek the weilder of magic, and she will guide you. ******** "GAH!" I awoke with a start, only to hear a loud crash from somewhere to my left. I looked over to see a blanket trembling on the floor. "S-Sorry if I scared you" I said to the pile. I only got a soft squeak in return. I looked around and noticed where i was. It was what looked like a cottage of sorts, with all sorts of little tables and what looked like a... cage in the corner? I looked in front of me and saw cookies and water on a mini table. Whoever this person is must've made these for me. I thought as I took a cookie and ate it. Man, those are good! I turned back towards the shaking blanket pile."Uh, who are you?" I asked. The blanket slowly came off and when it did, my jaw hit the floor. Of all things I was expecting to see, a little yellow horse was standing in front of me. Or would it be a pony, considering it was smaller than a horse. I then noticed it had wings. WINGS!!! ponies dont have wings! I pulled up my own blanket in fright. This was NOT normal, and I'm not afraid to admit I was seconds off from passing out in fright. The winged horse/pony thing must've seen I was scared or something, because she suddenly got way less timid and walked straight up to me. "Oh you poor thing." She said. "You must be so scared." Not trusting myself to speak, I simply nodded. Although I was still terrified, her motherly tone was helping my nerves calm down a bit. "Your not from around here, are you?" she continued as she gave me the water. I took it quickly and drank it dry. Sitting the cup to the side, I answered her. "I dont know..." I whispered. And I truly didn't have a clue about where I was. "Is this Destin?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at that. Oh no. She doesn't know what Destin is? I thought. that means this can't be the U.S "I don't know if I have ever heard of a place called.... Destin." She said the last part slowly, almost as if it was a word she had never heard before. "Right now, your in ponyville." It was my turn to be confused. What the heck is ponyville? "Where on Earth is that?" I asked, afraid of the answer. She raised an eyebrow, but spoke even quieter. "Earth?... Umm...I've never heard of Earth before." My hands were starting to shake. "W-whats the name of the planet we are on?" I asked, now super close to having a panic attack. She noticed this and draped a wing around me. "The planet? I think its name is Equiis." That's when i broke. I'm on a completely different planet than my home. I thought as i started to sob. What if I never see my brothers again? Next thing I knew, I had both of the horse things wings draped around me in a close hug. It felt suprisingly nice and we just sat there like that while she slowly rocked me back and forth. After a little while, she pulled her wings back and looked at me. She had this calming smile on her face. She then realized what she had just done, and jumped backwards quickly and hid from me in her mane. "Umm...do you have a name?" I asked carefully, as to not scare the person....pony thing that had obviously been taking care of me while I was asleep. "Its fluttershy." I barely heard her whisper. Thank goodness its so quiet in this cottage or else I would've completely missed it. I gave her a half-smile. "Well, Im Nicholas. But you can call me Nick." With that, she finally looked at me again. I was never a big animal person at home, but man, she was adorable! She flew over and sat next to me. I turned to face her. "Where did you find me?" I asked. Suprisingly, she giggled at that. "Well, I didn't find you, three little adventurers did." This only confused me further. "Adventurers?" I repeated and she nodded. "Oh yes, three fillies that live here in ponyville. They are very... creative when it comes to their little crusades. They were on one when they found you passed out under a tree near my cottage. They came running to me claiming to have found a scaleless dragon and asked me to make sure you were ok." I laughed at that. Me! a dragon! wait till Ronin hears that one. Now that's a guy that needs to become a dragon. "So you have been looking out for me for how long then?" I asked her. She looked up on thought for a second and then refaced me. "For about 7 hours now." She said and I sighed in relief. 7 hours isn't so bad of a K.O time. Still, for her to drop everything she had been doing just to look after something she had never seen before touched me greatly. I turned and pulled her into a big hug. She let out a big squeak at first but didn't pull away. After I finished hugging her I looked her in the eyes. "Thank you, fluttershy." I told her. "That means a lot to hear that from someone." She simply hid in her mane a bit and blushed slightly, clearly not used to getting compliments. It was at that moment the door burst open and three more ponies ran into the cottage. However, these three were different from fluttershy. The three of them were half of her size. One had wings like hers, another had a horn. and the the last one didn't have either. Instead she had a little bow in her reddish hair. As soon as they saw me, they all took a collective deep breath. I cringed up quickly. Being a kid myself, I figured out what was going to happen next. 2 ways to describe the question onslaught that occured: Loud and relentless. "OMIGOSH YOUR AWAKE?" "WHAT ARE YOU?" "HOW'D YA GET HERE?" "ARE YOU A FILLY OR A COLT?" they kept it coming without giving me a chance to answer any of them until Fluttershy finally butted in and stopped them. "Now girls, lets not crowd him. he woke up not too long ago and he's still recovering." The trio immediately stopped and hung their heads a bit. Oddly enough, I laughed at this. "Hey, no hard feelings. I get it, I'm the newcomer to this place, and I'm geussing your the girls that found me?" They looked up excitedly. "We sure did!" The orange one with wings said. "You were near our clubhouse!" the pale one said. "Whats your name?" the yellow one said. "Well, my name is Nicholas, y'all can call me Nick" I looked at them. "You girls got names?" The orange one spoke first. "Im Scootaloo!" The horned one was next. " Im Sweetie Bell!" Not to be outdone, the yellow one stood on her hindlegs and said proudly. " And A'hm Applebloom Apple!" they said this next part togethor: "and we are...." They took a deep breath. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!" That definitely made me go deaf for a second. But it left me with a question. "Uh, what's a cutie mark." Which got me a gasp from the trio. "Cutie marks represent your special talent." Sweetie Bell said matter-o-factly. "Dont you have one?" Scootaloo asked "No." I said. "Humans usually dont get things like that, we just choose what we are good at." Applebloom spoke up. "Thats soooo weird. But cool at the same time!" I found myself laughing again. I was really starting to enjoy hanging around these girls. Fluttershy spoke up, yet still seemed to be a bit soft about it. "Why dont you girls come back in a hour or two. I need to make sure Nick is fully alright." I raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. The girls moaned a bit at that, but they left with a passive "Goodbye Nick!" From Applebloom. "I can see what you meant by adventurous." I said with a smile. I turned to her. "So, what do you want to know?" ********** 2 hours later ********** Fluttershy had asked me about just about everything with earth when it came to one subject: animals. I was right when I had saw the cage in her cottage. Turns out shes an animal enthusiast, and a BIG one at that. At the end of the conversation, however, I noticed she was staring at my teeth. "Uh, is something wrong with my mouth?" I asked She looked me in the face and answered. "D-D-Do you eat meat?" She slightly whimpered. She must've seen the canines. Crap. I thought to myself. A sentient pony just asked if you eat meat. Oh well, no use lying. "Yeah, us humans eat both fruits, veggies and meats." I said slowly, noticing the look of fear on her face returning. She gulped audibly. "Do humans eat....ponies?" My eyes went wide. "Definitely not! Well, a few might, but its almost unheard of when it comes to most people." She relaxed at that but I continued. "Humans DO need meat to survive though. So what type of meat is available here?" She paled a bit, then answered. "We dont sell meat in ponyville, but I could teach you how to fish.... if that's alright with you, that is." She said, once again hiding in her mane. "Alright, that works. thanks." I said while streching back on the couch. She got up and started walking towards the kitchen. "Good, now Nick, I've got to go feed the animals, will you be alright being in here alone for a bit?" I nodded in response. "Great!" She said with a smile. Then it went to a frown. "Do you remember what you were dreaming about earlier?" A tad confused as to where this came from, I shoke my head. "Nope, I usually don't remember my dreams. Why?" She shook her head. "Oh, nothing too crazy, just while you were asleep, you kept mumbling things. Only thing I could make out was when you said 'Raiden.' Is that the name of someone you care about?" I nodded. "Yeah, he's one of my brothers." realization struck me like a car. "What if he got sent here too!" She smiled at that. "That would be wonderful, then you could be reunited with him." She turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I walked to the window and looked out it towards the sky. Dont worry Bros. I thought with newfound determination.Once I sort out what I'm doing here, I'm going to find you two. > Chapter 3: Raiden gets sunburn. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *As the title suggest, this chapter will be in Raiden's POV. just a heads up* As the flash of light slowly faded, I found myself in some random bathtub. Great, just what today needed, a nice case of unexplained breaking and entering. I though as I pulled myself out of the tub. I wont lie, though. That was a really big bathtub. Looking around, I noticed everything had this really big and proper feel to it, as if someone rich and fancy lived here. "Where the heck am I?" I said to no one in particular. I heard a door open behind me. "You are in my bathroom." An almost regal feminine voice stated behind me. I froze in place and slowly turned around, expecting a very angry woman to be standing there. What was standing there, however, was something that made my eyes go wide in a mix of surprise/slight fear. At first glance, it looked like your everyday horse. But when you start to notice the horn and wings, not to mention the flowing hair with the green/purple-ish/blue mix to it, you start to realize this might not be Kansas anymore. "Um... did you just speak?" I asked while taking a step back. She looked at me with a stare that seemed more curious, than angry. "Yes, I did. Is that not what two ponies conversating do?" She said, but I could swear there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone. I streched my arms a bit and replied. " Yeah, I guess so. wait, did you say ponies?" I stopped smiling at that. She nodded. "Indeed, in this world, we are known as ponies." She turned and walked out of the bathroom. Not to be left behind, I quickly followed to find her resting on a couch In what had to be her bedroom. "In this world?" I questioned. Then it hit me. "Wait, this isn't earth?" She suddenly looked a bit more sad before she responded. "No, this is not your homeworld. You now currently are on Equiss. As for the country, its name is Equestria." I paled. I'm not even on Earth anymore?! I gulped, then realized something. "You know a lot about me, even though I'm an alien to this world." She looked straight at me with a warm smile. "I know a lot about your kind, Human. But nothing about you personally. For now, lets just say your not the first human to live here." This surprised me greatly. Though, once again, she had this look of sadness on her face. But it vanished quickly as she continued. "You seem confused right now, would you like to know how you got to be in that bathroom?" She asked. I nodded as I took as seat next to her. Several thoughts flowed through my head. How does she know what I am? And why does she look sad every time she mentions humans? I pushed these thoughts aside as she started. "Before I start, I would like to introduce myself. My name is princess Celestia." With that, my eyes bugged out and I quickly kneeled in respect to her title. She simply laughed. "Now, now. There's no need for that while we are alone, human." she looked up in thought for a second. "What is your name?" she asked. Way to go, Raiden. Break into a princess's private quarters and don't introduce yourself. REALLY smart move of you. I scolded myself. "My name is Raiden, your majesty." Although she cringed a bit at the 'majesty' part of the sentence, she continued to tell the story. "Well, Raiden. I had just retired from doing my daily duties as a princess when I was hit with a surge of magic. It was nothing painful, but it did cause me to falter for a second. After a minute went by, I went in the bathroom to freshen up before bed, and found you passed out in the tub." She finished blushing slightly at the weirdness of the whole situation. I found myself laughing all the same. "From what you say, it sounds like I had just partied for 3 days straight and passed out as a drunken mess in your bathroom." I got out between laughs. Celestia soon found herself laughing as well. After the laughter died down, I looked Celestia In the eyes. "Princess, did you happen to find either a small boy or a bigger man anywhere?" She shook her head. "No reports of any humans in the castle have been made, so they are somewhere else. I can sense 2 more of you in Equestria, though. So they are somewhere out there." She got up and motioned me to follow her as she walked out the door. " Since you will be here a while, let me give you a tour of the castle." I started walking beside her as we descended a staircase into a hallway. Every once in a while, we'd pass a guard or two. They would bow to the princess, then they would look at me with either surprise, fear, or with a threatening glare. Celestia, picking up on my stiff movements, quickly stated. "Relax, Raiden. they will not hurt you as long as you are not a threat to me or anypony else." I relaxed at this, then asked her a question. "What is there to eat around here?" I asked as my stomach growled. She smiled and turned down a hallway. "Come, we can get breakfast in the dining hall." She said as 2 big doors swung open. Walking in, I was floored. The dining hall was beautiful. It had the same décor as the rest of the castle, but was way more spacious and open with a huge table lined with fancy chairs and silverware. "Amazing!" I exclaimed as I took as seat next to Celestia. Man, if Ronin could see me now, He would be begging to switch places with me right now. If he's safe, that is. I shook the thought out of my mind as food was carted into the room by mini army of chefs. They placed down waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, cups with juice and milk by us, and fancy napkins next to our plates. "Thanks!" I said to the chefs as they left the room. I eyed the food greedily. Celestia noticed this and smirked. "What are you waiting for, go ahead and eat to your hearts content. You are a guest, after all." I gave her a look of extreme happiness as I quickly grabbed a waffle and took a bite. My eagerness faded instantly upon the bite. Being in a castle, I had expected top of the line food, yet the waffle was dry and thick. I quickly drank down some OJ in order to swallow it, then tried the other food as well. The eggs and the hashbrowns both had similar problems. Celestia noticed this and stopped mid-bite to turn to me. "What's wrong?" She asked. I looked at her, questioning whether or not to point out the food. I WAS a guest after all, and that might come off as rude. She didn't look too happy with the food either, though. I thought. I decided to tell her. "Does this food seem a bit dry to you? Not to be offensive or anything, but it just seems rushed is all." Oddly enough, she smiled at this. "Finally, someone else thinks so." She states rather bluntly. "I have asked my younger sister the same thing several times and she claims nothing is wrong with it EVERY time." She said the last part with quite an icy tone, something I found absolutely hilarious. "Oh, man. don't even get me started in younger siblings, My twin brother can and WILL eat anything in front of him." I said with disgust. "I once dared him to eat a slice of pie we found sitting on a dumpster one day." Celestia's eyes widened at that. "He didn't!?" She said, her face showing sign of extreme disgust. I leaned in and smiled. "He did!" I yelled as I broke out laughing. She soon joined in and we found ourselves cracking up for 5 minutes straight! I stopped after a bit and looked at her, wiping a tear out of my eye. " For real, though. This food sucks. I could easily whip up something better anytime or anywhere." She looked at me with curiosity. "Hmm... very well." She said as her horn started to glow. With a flash, I found myself in a kitchen. This one was way bigger though. Like if the one from ratatouille had been made to serve a queen, thats what it looked like. She turned towards me. "I want you to cook me a better breakfast, then. Since you believe you can do better than my staff." She wasn't angry, it seemed like she was trying to test me. A test I shall pass easily! I thought as I cracked my knuckles. I turned towards her, giving her a nod. "Give me an hour, and I'll will have you drooling over your plate." She smiled and started walking out the door. "Once you finish, ask the waiters to guide you back to the dining hall with the food." She said before she walked out. I turned around and looked at the staff. They looked at me with either looks of confusion or confidence. "All right, boys and girls. Lets get to work." I said with a big grin on my face, recipes for southern-style waffles and grits popping into my head. ********* 1 hour later ********* I won't lie, at first I struggled to get the staff to even listen to me. They were professionals, after all. And they didn't seem keen on taking advice from some random"monkey" as one staffer put it. However, after making a waffle and pretty much begging a waitress to try it, with her absolutely devouring it seconds later, we were able to get to work. The only real problem I had with them was that they tried to put hay in the waffles every time the batter was done. I get that they're ponies and all that, but there is NO way I'm eating hay. A man has his limits, after all. We almost didn't make the hour deadline because some idiot bumped the bowl holding the grits off the counter, so that had to be recooked. Thankfully, at about 58 minutes, we carted the food into the dining room. The first thing I noticed was that there were now three ponies in the room. One was Celestia, but to her right sat a dark blue pony that was slightly smaller than her. She had a starry mane with what looked to be a moon on her rear. Now that I think about it, Celestia had some kind of sun on hers. I'll have to ask about that later. I thought. The other pony was pink with purple, pink and yellow lines in her hair. her mark looked like a crystal heary with yellow ribbon around it. I shrugged and outstretched my arms dramatically. "Hello esteemed residents of Equestria. I am your humble host/head chef, and I am proud to introduce you to a REAL breakfast!" Celestia smiled at my antics, while the blue pony faced palmed (Hoofed?) and the pink one looked on in excitement. " So, without further ado. I ask you to enjoy the food and Be. Our. Guest!" I put emphasis on those last words as the staff put the food on the table. Celestia quickly put a waffle on her plate and took a bite. Her eyes went wide as she stopped moving entirely. The blue and pink ponies eyed her cautiously. " Is everything alright, Auntie?" the pink one asked, concern etched on her face. the blue one turned to me and glared. But before she could say anything Celestia spoke up. "Raiden." she began. "these are the best waffles I have ever tasted!" She exclaimed as she dug into them rather... unladylike. The blue pony looked on in shock, while the pink one turned to me. "Whatever you put in these must be amazing if she's eating it that fast." She then smiled. "I'm princess Cadence, and the grumpy one over there is princess Luna. pay her no mind, she's mad that Celestia let you change the waffle recipe." She giggled as Luna rolled her eyes. "There was no reason to, as they were perfect as they were." She said as she took a bite of one. Her own eyes went wide, but she quickly hid it with a blank demeanor. "We suppose these will suffice." Cadence simply giggled at that, while I smirked with the mini-victory. Probably the best I'm going to get out of her, I suppose. I thought as Celestia finished her 14th waffle. "Celestia, since I might be here for a while, I was wondering if I could work here as a chef. At least until I can find my brother." I asked. She cleaned her face with a napkin, then answered me. "I was hoping you would say that, Raiden. And don't worry to much about your brothers. I have my best student on the lookout for anything resembling you where she lives. If she finds something, You'll be the first to know." I sighed in relief as I sat down and took a bowl of grits. "Thank you, princess." I said as I looked at my food. Don't worry, guys. I'm going to find ya'll. Then we can figure out how to get home. I thought as I took a spoonful of food. I looked up at the 3 princesses. Celestia was arguing with Luna about whether or not the grits needed seasoning while Cadence was slowly sneaking waffles off Celestia and Lunas plates. I smiled to myself. For now, though. This isn't so bad. > Chapter 4: Ronin gets holed up > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Thanks goes to thenodpony for giving me the name for the OC changeling that is introduced in this chapter! Also, just to state the obvious, this chapter is in Ronin's POV. Enjoy! When the white light faded away, I found myself in the middle of some forest. Looking around, I couldn't find trace of either Raiden or Nicholas anywhere. I cupped my hands to my mouth and yelled: "Raaaaadien! Niiiiiiiick!" However, all I got back in response was the sounds of birds chirping and bugs buzzing. Where the hell could they be? I thought as I got a better look of my surroundings. There was multitudes of bushes and ferns along with the obvious note of trees. Yet the forest had this... depressed look to it. Like the forest knew it was scary and couldn't do anything about it. My gaze stopped on a black and yellow colored handle poking out of a bush. "No way!" I said as I walked over and pulled my sword out of the bush. I looked at it with glee as I decided to see if it was still sharp. I turned and slashed four times into the bush. It split four ways flawlessly. "Hehehe, looks like all that training with grandpa Brim worked out." I chuckled as a distant memory resurfaced. ********** 10 years ago ********** I fell on my knees drenched in sweat as the training sword I'd been holding fell beside me with an audible THUMP. Panting hard, I looked up at my grandfather as he laughed softly and held out his hand. "Your getting better, my boy!" he exclaimed as he pulled me up and passed me my sword back. "You were able to hold your own against your wee old man for nearly 5 minutes that time! I cannae believe how much ye've grown!" I looked at him in shock. "That was only five minutes!" I said as he nodded. I threw down the sword in frustration and sat down in the grass with my arms crossed. My grandfather smiled and came and sat next to me. "Whats that look for, laddie?" He asked. I turned to him and huffed slightly. "I'm never going to be as good as you, Grandpa Brim." I groaned as I looked at the training sword. "Why do you have me do this stuff anyway? It's cool and all, but I'm just no good at it." He simply laughed and got up and beckoned me to follow him into the house. After walking into the living room he pulled an old chest out of his closet and ooened it up. Inside was a sheath decorated with yellow amd black markings. He turned around and showed me the blade inside of it. "See this, laddie." he said as he pointed to the edge of the blade. It had an engraving on it that said Lang may yer lum reek. That is an oath to a long life. Ye shouldn't let little things like this keep ye down." He put the sword back. "Now, why don't we try again, huh?" I looked up and smiled. "Ok, Grandpa." I ran off as he turned and looked out the window. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketwatch with a sun emblem on it. "Oh, how I wish ye could see how well these kids have grown, my shining sunrise." He said quietly with a tear to his eye. ********** Present day ********** I smiled at the memory. If he wouldn't had motivated me that day, I would have given up on blade wielding years ago. I was torn from my thoughts as I heard a screech from deeper in the woods. What the hell? I thought as I ran towards the source of the screech. I came into a small clearing to see two of the weirdest things I have ever seen. The first was some odd wolf, yet it seemed to be completely made out of wood. the second one was fully black coated. It had hooves, but its legs had holes in them. It also had wings with sharp edges to them. Its eyes were a full shade of yellow, and it had sharp teeth pointing out its mouth. Not to mention the weird horn sticking out of its head. What is going on? I thought just as the wolf lunged towards the black thing. "HEY!!!" I yelled at it. it stopped on a dime and turned to face me. The thing was waaay bigger up close. It decided to rush me immediately. I sidestepped and slashed downwards on his neck area. with a whimper his head came clean off with a horrific SHLICK! sound. I turned torwards the weird animal thing. "Hey, are you.....ok?" I asked slowly as it got up and looked at me, seemingly studying me as if he had never seen a human before. To be fair, I would've done the same if I was in his shoes. "Why did you........ save me?" It asked. from its tone, I could tell it was a he. I also realized it was just a kid due to the squeaky way his voice went as he growled. "Nothing has ever cared enough to save our kind before." I sat down next to it, placing my sword in the dirt next to me. "Your kind?" I asked. "You mean to tell me your species... whatever they are, aren't the main people around here?" He looked up at me and shook his head. "No, for centuries, our kind has been humiliated and forced into hiding by the other sentient species in equestria. Especially ponies." He spat the last part venomously. This was starting to sound very similar to issues back home. "Why?" I asked him. He looked up at me in suprise. "Why do you care so much?" he responded. "Nothing cares about us changelings, ask any species that knows of us. They would have us squashed like the commen housefly." He stamped his hoof in anger. It was honestly heartbreaking to see a kid say things like that. I mean, he may not be the prettiest dude on the block, but no species should be targeted like that. I put a hand on his shoulder. At first he tensed at the motion, then relaxed. "I care because nobody should have to grow up with such a cruel mindset. What does your kind do that's so bad anyway?" He looked away as he responded. "Promise you won't judge me?" He asked, slight fear in his voice. "I promise." I said with confidence. I mean, what's the worst they could do to something? He took a deep breath and began. "Our kind has to get its nutrients from a source that no other species can get sustenance from. We feed off of emotion. Love is the strongest one for us." He looked at me, eyeing my face carefully. I raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you do in order to eat?" he nods. "Does it kill or injure them?" He shakes his head. I had heard enough. I stood up and faced him. "Your telling me your entire species is isolated due to how you act and feed as individuals! Without it even being lethal to those you feed off of?" I growled. He took a step back, but nodded his head. This only angered me more. I quckly grabbed my sword and cut up several bushes standing around me. each one now a perfect X shape. The changeling looked at me with a mixed expression of awe and fear. "Who are you?" he said. I turned to face him and smiled. "My names Ronin. what's yours" I said as I extended my free hand. He looked at it for a second before reaching out and shaking it. "My name is Tak. might i ask what kind of species you are?" They definitely don't have humans here, wherever here is. I thought with a bit of sorrow leaking into my mind. But I pushed it aside as I answered my new buddy. "My kind are called humans. we are a species of great intellect, but great consequence as well." he raised a brow in confusion at that. I sighed, already prepared to answer the question coming. "By great consequence? whatever do you mean by that?" He asked. "My kind are a survivalist species. If some of our kind hogs land or resources, we fight for it. Hell, if they don't hog it, we tend to fight for it anyway. but we aren't all bad. We have used our creative mindsets to save millions of lives through medicene and other cures. We became top of the food chain for a reason after all." I said as his jaw slowly dropped to the floor. "Your kind sounds so powerful... but I feel a lot of anger coming from you on this topic as well." he stated as I turned from him. "Thing is, humans cant seem to agree with each other ever. For a long time, a group of us who thought they were better than us enslaved all those who simply had a different color skin tone or religious background. Lets just say I turned my back on humanity long ago." He nodded sadly in understanding. "Thats why you have so much anger from hearing of our woes." I nodded. He turned quickly and started walking. "Come, Ronin. I must take you to the queen. You might just be the boost we need in order to rally my people." I walked alongside him, suddenly intrigued. "Your queen, huh? What she like?" I noticed he got very giddy about this topic, as the walk in his step seemed way more enthusiastic. "The queen, mother of all changelings, is the one who will lead us to victory against our pony persecutors! She is the strongest and most capable of all of us." He said with a boatload of pride in his voice. "Sounds like one dynamite gal." I said with a smirk. He looked at me with a confused face. "Sorry, line from a movie I saw once." He looked like he wanted to say more on the topic, but shrugged it off with a question. "Wherever your from, you obviously aren't from around here. where is your home at?" he asked me. "Well, Its obvious this isn't earth, so I think I'm from another planet." I said as he completely stopped. "Would you ever want to return?" he asked. "Honestly, no. I didn't really like it to begin with, especially after I lost my grandad. So there isnt much to return to. Any remaining family I have there is dead to me anyway." He looked away at that. "It seems we are both outsiders of our homeworlds." He said with a sigh. "Indeed we are, Tak. Indeed we are." I said as we came upon some kind of cave. Except this one had more exits on it. And it seemed vertical than the usual downward entrance to a cave. That, and there were guards outside it that looked like more changelings. Tak looked at the place with a mix of pride and sorrow. "Welcome to the Haven, Tak. Welcome, to one of our only remaining hives." I looked at him with shock. His people were an endangered species by his own confession. And here he was, allowing some guy he'd met in one day straight to the final home for his people. It honestly brought a tear to my eye as I realized just how broken these guys must be to need to stoop to such levels. "HALT!!!!" one of the guards screeched as he flew towards us, with at least 10 more close behind. "Step away from the prince immediately or die!" he said with a growl. I simply growled back and put my hand on my sword when Tak suddenly jumped between us. "Enough!" He yelled. "This man saved my life from a timberwolf while the guards you assigned to me deserted me on the spot, captain!" He spat in a rage. "He shall be treated as one of us and granted an audience with the queen immediately!" The captain shrank back in fear as I looked at the boy in suprise. Prince, huh? I thought. Explains the attitude and emotion he had when he talked about his people. I stuck my tongue out at the captain as we were escorted in. ********* 12 minutes later ********* It took a bit to get to the center of their....hive? that's what he said this was? Meh, It looks like a big old frat house to me. When we did reach the center, a changeling appeared and cleared his throat. "Her majesty, Queen chrysalis, will now see you two." he said and left the room. I looked and got a good look at the queen. Other than being a few heads taller than Tak and most of the others, her looks alone definitely sticked out. although she had the same black fur coat with holey legs and hooves, her hair came down almost all the way to the ground. her horn was bigger by a mile. And even the smallest parts of her body seemed more... sophisticated. She also sported a little crown on her head, although it seemed to offput the whole queen thing she had going on, making her look cuter than necessary. She walked up to me and Tak slowly, Eyeing me up and down. I honestly felt fear right then and there, this being the first time I had felt like something, or someone rather, would actually eat me if necessary. Hell, even if she wanted to she could have me gutted and no one would ever know. "Well, my son. what do we have here?" She said to Tak, yet here eyes never left me. "Well, mother. This being is from another planet. And he saved my life while some of our own just happened to disappear." Tak said with a frown. She looked extremely pissed at that. "THEY LEFT MY SON AND HEIR TO DIE OUT THERE ALONE!!!" She yelled. If there were windows, they would've broke by how loud it was. She recovered quickly from the outburst, though, and turned back to me. "Another planet, you say?" She grinned at that. "Well, you saved my son, so by our law, that grants 1 favor of your choice." She said quite reluctantly. She obviously wasn't the type that liked to give away stuff, even if it was well deserved. I thought about this for a minute. I could ask for a ton of things. food, weapons, this worlds currency. But then I looked at Tak and realized something. This guy was only a kid, and while we walked down here, I didnt see too many of his people in this place. These guys are in a rough spot, and honestly, I think I know how to help them. I looked the queen in the eye. "You said that Tak was your heir, right." She nodded. "And your people have recently sucked in protecting him as well?" She nodded again, although this time she looked more bored. "Get to the point, hairless ape" she growled. Shrugging off the insult, I continued. "Then allow me to become your heirs bodyguard. In return for a place to stay while I serve him." She looked at Tak. "It is your decision." She told him, though she clearly didn't like the idea. "Mother, I trust him this man. I approve." He said with confidence. She simply rolled her eyes and turned around. "Very well. for the time being, you shall work as Tak's personal bodyguard. Dismissed!" She ordered as Tak led me out of the room into a hallway. "I cannot wait to teach you all about our kind! There is so much for you to learn..." He went on as my mind wandered off. I'll start looking for you guys soon. I've just got to help a friend get out of a jam first. I thought as Tak rattled on. Heh, I could get used to this. > Chapter 5: Tour of ponyville, Pinkie and the Brain, and a whole lot of giggles. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* It had been two days since I had appeared in this world. Until I believed I was ready to go into town, I had decided to bunker down at Fluttershys. She had no problem with this, even though every time I went to help around the house, she would try to stop me from doing so. I would end up doing it anyway. I mean, she was literally taking care of me. It only made since to do my part around here. In fact, that's what i found myself doing that fateful monday when i decided to man up and hit the town. I was cleaning some of the animal bowls that Fluttershy would use to feed her animal friends when I heard multiple knocks at the door. "I'll get it!" I called out to Fluttershy, knowing that crazy knocking could only belong to 3 girls I knew. However, as I opened the door, there was some purple pony at the door. She was currently reading a book which was floating in front of her face. Must be a unicorn. I thought to myself, recalling what fluttershy had taught me about the three types of ponies that lived here. The unicorn spoke up. "Fluttershy, I need your help with something back at the library. Some squirrels have invaded and wont leave at...." She trailed off as she lowered the book and looked at me. "Umm.... are you ok?" I asked as a look of shock mixed with a huge grin slowly came on her face. "YOUR A HUMAN!!!" The pony yelled, causing me to fall back with suprise. I quickly got up and slammed the door in her face. "What kind of wacko was that?" I said as Fluttershy came downstairs quickly. "Who was at the door?" she said quietly. but before I could answer a pop sounded off in the room and the pony from outside was now next to Fluttershy. "I cant believe I found you already! Its only been two days since I got the princess's letter to be on the lookout for a human, but I didn't expect to find you so fast!" The pony said with great enthusiasm. Wait? the princess of this world knows I'm here? I thought, the idea of royalty having a lookout for me scared me a bit. Thankfully, Fluttershy intervened. "Please calm down, Twilight. Your scaring Nicholas." After hearing that, Twilight looked at my shocked expression and lowered her head with her ears bent down. Taking a deep breath, I went over to her and kneeled in front of her. "Hey, its alright." I said softly. "I can totally understand you being excited to see me. But please dont scare me like that again, Ok?" She looked up at me and smiled "Ok. sorry about that. I just get so excited when I see something new, I just tend to lose myself a bit." She said with a bit of an embarrassed blush on her face. I chuckled at that. "Lets start over, shall we? I'm Nicholas, nice to meet you." I put out my hand She looked at it for a second, confused. Then realization dawned on her face and she put her hoof out, shaking my hand. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said. She then looked at Fluttershy. "So, he's been here this whole time?" Fluttershy nodded as I spoke up. "You might want to sit down, this will take a second to explain." I said as she took a seat on the couch, followed by Fluttershy as I stayed standing to tell my story. ************ A few hours later. ************ "So you have been staying here ever since you arrived in Equestria?" Twilight asked me as I finished. I nodded. "Yup, I've been helping around the house to make up for Fluttershy putting a roof over my head." Fluttershy hid in her mane a bit at that. "Well that's really sweet of you, Nicholas." Twilight said with a smile. "Please, just call me Nick. Nicholas is such a mouthful sometimes." I said as she nodded in response. "I do have a question though. how did you know I was a human?" Her grin got bigger at that. "Two days ago, I got a letter from the princess stating that a bipedal being known as a human had been found in her room. After spending a day with him, she learned that human had two brothers that might have appeared as well. So she told me to be on the lookout out for a smaller one and a really bulky looking one." I looked at her with a mixed face of shock and glee. "So my brothers are here after all!" I said happily. "Since you were told to look for a bulky man, Im geussing Ronin hasn't been found. That means Raiden has been with the princess this whole time?!" I said incredulously. She smiled. "Yup, and now that I've found you, I can send a letter to the princess informing her that one of the humans have been found! She said that she would be able to come down in a weeks time after I sent the letter once I found you." I was starting to get really giddy about all this. "I can't wait to see Raiden again!" I cheered. Twilight cleared her throat to catch my attention. "For the time being though, what are we going to do about you?" She asked. I looked her with a raised eyebrow. "What about me?" I asked. "Well, you are a child. and by our colt laws. You not only have to have a designated guardian, but you'll have to attend school as well." She said as my jaw dropped. The guardian thing was one thing, but school? Here? "You mean I have to go to some random school who knows where?" I asked, getting a bit worried. Fluttershy shook her head. "We have a school here for fillies and colts that I think you would like." She said. "But who's going to look after him?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy turned to her. "I will." She said and we both looked her with suprise. "Really?" I said, unable to believe what she had said. "I couldn't bear to see you get put in some random home somewhere, that is, if you dont..." She didn't get a chance to finish as I hugged her. "Thank you." I said quietly, tears welling up in my eyes. I pulled back and wiped them as I noticed Fluttershy had some in her eyes as well. "Aww, that's so sweet." Twilight said as she looked on. "Now that we have that decided, We will have to visit the mayor and inform her if this to have it finalized on paper." I rolled my eyes at that. "Ugh! paperworks the worst." I groaned as the two mares giggled at that. "I guess we could show you around town first." Twilight said. Fluttershy looked at me. "Would you be ok with doing that?" She said in a motherly tone. I nodded. "Yeah, lets do it!" I said as we walked out the door towards ponyville. ******** As we walked into town, I couldn't help but notice the stares I was getting from a lot of the ponies. They didn't seem scared, though, Just curious of who and what I was. Bet they would've been much more scared if it was Ronin being escorted down this street. I thought, laughing at the idea of him chasing ponies around with his sword. "Whats so funny?" Twilight asked me as we approached what looked like a bakery. "Nothing, just thinking about how my brother would've handled being here." I said, suddenly missing him greatly. Fluttershy noticed this and spoke up. "Dont worry, Nick. The princess will find him. Then you can all be reunited." I looked at her and smiled. "Speaking of funny, I should warn you. The pony your about to meet can be a bit... eccentric." Twilight said. I frowned at that. But before I could say anything, a wall of pink floof blocked my vision. "OMYGOSHOMYGOSHIVENEVERSEENSOMEPONYLIKEYOUINTOWNBEFORE!YOUMUSTBENEW!!!!MYNAMEISPINKIEPIE!ICANTWAITTOTHROWYOUR'WELCOMETOPONYVILLEPARTY'ANDTHEN*HMPH*" She was cut off as Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. I just looked at the pink pony with a look of pure shock. I had never heard anything speak so fast before, and I definitely understood Twilights warning now. "Umm....my names Nick" was all I could manage to say. Twilight, who still had her hoof on pinks mouth, adressed her sternly. "When I remove my hoof, you have got to reel it in a tad, ok? Nicholas is new here, and we don't need you scaring him, alright?" Pink let out a muffled response and nodded her head rapidly. With a roll of her eyes, Twiight removed her hoof. Pink started again, slightly slower this time around. "Lets start over, HI! Im pinkie pie, do you want a cupcake?" She pulled a cupcake from....who knows where and handed it to me. "Thanks?" I said as I looked at the sprinkle-covered cupcake. It couldn't hurt to try a bite, right? I took a decently sized bite..... And immediately felt like I had been struck by lightning! MAN! That was a lot of sugar! I thought as I started jogging in place. Fluttershy looked at me with a hint of fear before turning to twilight. "are....humans supposed to do that after getting sweets?" She asked Twilight. Twilight sat in thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so..." but before she could finish, I cut her off. "Hey wheres the next stopping point on this tour?" I asked quickly, jogging faster in place. "The next place is raritys, its just up the road." Twilight said while pointing down the road. I grinned widely and took off in a sugary hurry in the direction she indicated. "Nick, wait" Fluttershy called out, but I had already gotten out of hearing range, leaving a frustrated Twilight and a laughing pinkie pie in my wake. ****** As I was running through the town, dodging and weaving through ponies, I ended up slamming into sweetiebell. We quickly became a small pile on the ground. "ooooooh, what hit me?" She shook her head and looked at me. "Nick?!" I gave her a smile as I got up and helped her up. "Sorry, Bell. Pinkie Pie fed me a cupcake, and next thing I know, I'm speeding through town faster than lightning!" I said as Sweetiebelle giggled. "Her sweets will do that when you first eat them. I'm glad to see your finally out of that cottage, though. what brings you to my sister's house?" I turned and looked at the tall tower-like structure in front of me. I turned back to Sweetiebelle. "Twilight and Fluttershy were giving me a tour of ponyville. But then I left them in the dust back at pinks place." As I said that, her face lit up. "I have and idea! why don't I show you my sisters house, and then show you around the rest of ponyville?" She asked. "Sounds great to me! Hey, while we are around we could see if we could find the other girls as well." I said while her smile just got bigger. "YEAH! we could make a crusade out of it! I guess we should start here, though." She said as we walked into the house-tower thing. When we walked in, it was easy to tell what her sisters line of work was. From the manequins to the material all over the place, I had just stepped into a divas workshop. "Ah, Sweetiebelle, your back. Did you get Spike for me?" A posh voice sounded out as a white pony came from upstairs. She had purple hair that coiled a bit at the front and had three diamonds for a cutie mark. "Spike was busy doing chores at Twilights, but I brought a friend instead." Sweetiebelle said as she motioned to me. The mare looked at me, or at my clothes anyway, and gasped. "Darling, what is it that your wearing? That shirt and pants are much too dirty for you to be walking around in." She said as she pulled out some measuring tools. "You must let me make you some new clothes immediately!" I looked at my clothes. I HAD been wearing them for 2 days straight. And they were pretty dirty, after all. "Ok, but you do know I cant pay for the new ones, right?" I said nervously, not liking the way she was looking at me. It was like she saw me as some sort of challenge or experiment. "Dearie, there is no cost for a friend of my sister. what did you say your name was?" She asked as she measured my legs. "Nicholas, but most people call me Nick." I said as she measured out my waistline. "Darling, thats such a noble name." She said as she finished with my arms. "I'll have your clothes done in a day or two at most. Where should I have them sent?" I looked at her with suprise. It usually took waaaay longer for tailors to make clothes. "I'm living at Fluttershys since I have nowhere else to go." As I said that, Rarity gasped. "Oh my, how dreadful!" she said dramatically as she fainted onto a couch. "Why do you have nowhere else to go?" I shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Long story short, Im from another world. but Fluttershy said she'd look after me for now. So its fine" I said as she calmed down. Sweetiebelle just laughed at the situation. "I think we should get going before my sister throws another one of her fits." She said as we ran out before Rarity could get her back for the quip. "I DO NOT THROW FITS!!!!" I heard her yell from inside her house-tower thing. This made me and Sweetiebelle fall to the ground with laughter. "What are y'all up ta?" I heard a feminine southern voice ask. I got up and came face to face with an orange pony. She had yellow hair and a cowboy hat on. She also had apples on her flank, which made a question pop into my mind. "We were messing with rarity, miss. But can I ask you a question?" I asked. "Well, ah don't see why not" She said. yup, defenitely southern. "Are you related to Applebloom, by any chance?" I asked just as said pony came up behind me. "Yup, that's mah sister Applejack!" Applebloom stated rather loudly next to me, causing me to jump in suprise. "AH! don't do that!" I yelped, but smiling all the same. Applebloom simply laughed it off as Aj chuckled. "So, you must be Nicholas, huh? Mah sis has been yammerin' about ya for two days straight." Aj said while side-eyeing Applebloom, who currently blushed at the call-out. "Now, why did ya go an' tell em that for?" She said while pouting, Causing me and Sweetiebelle to burst out laughing. Soon enough, Applebloom joined in as well. "Well, y'all seem to be havin' fun, so Ima head back to the stand. Y'all behave now." She said walking off. "We will!" All three of us said. I turned to the girls. "Now, where are we going to find Scoots?" The two girls shared a smirk."We know exactly where she will be at right now." Sweetiebelle said. ******** After taking a bit of a walk, we came across an open field where Scootaloo was sitting while staring at this pegasus that was flying around. The girls were about to call out to her when I stopped them, motioning them to move quietly. Soon, we were right behind her, so I quickly jumped in front of her line of sight. "HOWDY SCOOTS!!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, causing Scootaloo to screech and jump back 6 feet before landing on her back. The girls burst out laughing while Scootaloo sat up. "Gee, very funny guys." Scootaloo said, but she was smiling so I knew no harm was done. I then heard laughing from behind me. "Hehehe, Man that was good!" the pegasus said as she landed next to me. She was a light blue, with a rainbow mane and had a rainbow lightning. bolt coming out of a cloud. She looked me over. "What are you, anyway?" "My names Nicholas, your friendly neighborhood human." I said while putting out my fist, hoping that I had geussed right thinking she was a tomboy. Thankfully, I was. She smiled and fist(hoof?) bumped me back. "I'm rainbow dash, fastest pegasus in equestria!" She turned to Scootaloo. "This is the guy you were saying came from another world?" Scoots nodded. "Man, that makes you like, 20 percent cooler right off the bat!" Rainbow exlaimed. Dang, she's just like Ronin. I thought to myself. I turned to Scootaloo. "Hey, we're going over to the town hall. Wanna come with?" She looked over to Rainbow dash. Rainbow chuckled. "Go ahead squirt, I need to take a break anyway." "Ok, Rainbow dash!" She said as she followed us back into town as Rainbow Dash flew off. ********* "Oh boy." I mumbled as we came up to the town hall. Standing directly in front of it was this old tan mare with Fluttershy and a VERY ticked Twilight. "Well, we're going to go before Twilight gets us too!" Scootaloo said as Twilight started angrily trotting towards us. "Girls wait!" I said, but as i turned around, the girls were gone. "Great." I moaned as Twilight came up to me. "Where have you been? You should've been here exactly four minutes ago, your late!" She scolded me. Your kidding, right? I thought as the other two ponies walked up. "So this is young Nicholas?" The tan pony said. "Nice to meet you, I'm mayor mare, And I will be handling the paperwork for your integration into our town." I smirked at the name, but stayed polite. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. Sorry if I was SLIGHTLY tardy, but I had some friends showing me your lovely town." I said, glaring at Twilight halfway through, receiving a stuck-out tongue in response. "Well, I'm glad you think so, dear. Let us go inside and make this official." Mayor Mare said as we walked inside. ********** 3 grueling hours later ********** "FINALLY!!!" I moaned as we walked out. It had quite possibly been the most boring thing I had ever been through. After explaining where I came from. We had to sit through a whole speil about the responsibility of taking care of a kid. Thank goodness Fluttershy is well known for taking care of living things, or it may have been harder to convince the mayor. "It wasn't that bad, Nick." Twilight said. "Well, I've got to get back to the library and check on spike. So I'll see you two later." She walked off. "Bye twilight." Fluttershy said, then turned to me. "Oh, I'm so excited to be able to take care of you, Nicholas." I simply shrugged. "You've already been doing that and so much more, just now the FBI won't come crashing through the ceiling or anything to get me." I said with a laugh. Fluttershy just looked confused. "Whats a....FBI?" She asked? I waved my hand. "Ehh, earth thing. don't worry about it. Now, we should be getting back to the cottage." I said as she nodded. "Yes, I can't wait to tell my animal friends the news and....huh?" She stopped as I poked her on the forehead and started running. "Race ya there!" I yelled as i took off. She simply smiled and flew after me, determined to catch me or beat me to the cottage. > Chapter 6: Thieves, storytime, and cake addictions. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* It was a Wednesday morning and I was cleaning up the kitchen when a maid walked in. "Princess Celestia would like dessert delivered to her sleeping quarters." The maid said. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Let me geuss, a big o' slice of cake for the lady." I said with a smirk as the maid giggled. "You betcha, Sir. Except this time she wants chocolate instead of vanilla." She said between giggles. "Alright, I'll get right on it." I said turning towards the cabinet to pull out the flour. Ever since I had started working at the castle, the princess had been using me as her own personal chef. It was quite easy to cook for her, since she didn't usually ask for anything too crazy. But there were times, like today, when her sweet tooth got the better of her. Even at 9 in the morning. ******* After making the cake, I put it on one of those wheeled things waiters use and pushed it to her room. An easy enough task, until you get to the stairs. Whoever decided to put the royal bedroom in one of the highest towers in the castle needs to have their brains checked, because carting a food trolley up those steps is absolutely dreadful! I finally emerged at the top and carted it towards the door. The guard's noticed my approach and looked me dead in the eyes. "Evenin' boys." I said with a smile. "Got Celestia's morning dessert right here." patting the cover over the cake, I lifted it up a bit and showed them the chocalate cake. They saw it and immediately went to open the doors when the doors flew open, sending all three of us to the ground. I looked up as a pony dressed in all black flew by, noticing his or her eyes were completey blue. No iris's or anything. Then I saw a necklace in its hoof. "STOP!!" I yelled, giving chase after the thief. The guards recovered as the princess walked out of her room. "Where did the intruder go?" She asked one of them. "The bugger took off towards the courtyard, with your chef in pursuit." The guard said gruffly. Celestia's eyes narrowed as she teleported to the courtyard in order to cut him off. Meanwhile, I was giving chase after the intruder. Even though he was flying, he wasn't moving that fast. It was as if he had almost no energy. It was still flying though, and I was being slowed down by maids, Nobleponies, and the occasional visitor that was wandering aimlessy through the halls. I turned a corner after him just to slam into a unicorn. This one, was different than most of them I had encountered before. Unlike most unicorns, he was well built. He was alabaster like celestia, yet he had this mix of light and dark blue hair. He also had this sheild with a purple star in the middle as his cutie mark. I noticed he had armour on that looked different than most. "Oooh, what the heck?" He said woozily as he got up. I stood up and hurriedly replied. "Thank goodness! you look like someone important among the guard here. There's a thief running around and he just made off with some necklace from Celestia's room. We got to hurry and catch him, who knows what that thing could do?" I said as I continued my pursuit after the thief while The unicorn started barking orders at other guards to close off exits. I ran pass an open door to stop in my tracks as i heard a noise inside. I walked in slowly, pulling a butchers knife off my side. Ever since I had started working here, I had decided to keep it with me at all times, just from simply not trusting everyone here just yet. "I know your in here! So you might as well come out and face me." I said as I opened a closet. Nothing. I turned around towards the bed to see the thief looking at me with his head cocked sideways, almost as if it was recognizing me. I saw its mouth form a smile, fangs popping out of its mouth, and he lunged at me. I swung up my knife in defense only for it to be knocked aside by magic as he plowed into me. We landed in the hallway and started rolling around. I delivered a right hook to get him off me and jumped to my feet. He recovered fast and we started to circl each other. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you are not leaving with that necklace." I said with a growl, bringing my fists up in a fighting stance. The thing laughed and removed its cloak. I gasped at what I saw. It looked like a mutated pony, with the holes in its legs and the sharp wings. Even its horn seemed unnatural. Those same blue filled eyes stared at me in a cold, emotionless way. It was honestly one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. "It seems you aren't like him at all."The thing said. "I can feel the disgust coming off you." I snapped out of it and charged him, focused on not letting him get away. He laughed and charged forward as well, just to be stopped by a golden glow of magic, causing me to stop and beckpedal a bit in suprise. "That won't be necessary, Raiden. I'll take over from here." Celestia said as she walked up, flanked by some guards and that unicorn from earlier. She turned to him. "Shining Armour, take him and put him in the dungeons for now, we will interrogate him later to find out why he stole that necklace." After ripping said necklace from the thief. The guards took the thief away, the whole time it looked me in the eyes and mouthed 3 words. Hail the queen I simply shrugged it off as the guard marched off. So that's that unicorns name, huh? I'll have to buy him a drink in thanks later for the assist. I turned towards Celestia. "What was that thing?" I asked as she sighed. "Walk with me, and I tell you their story." She said as we walked down the corridor. She put the necklace away somewhere in her regalia and turned her head to me, never losing step or pace. "What you just saw was a changeling. They are a vile species that can change their shape and feed off of the love of those around them. Our country has been dealing with them for centuries. But until now, we haven't seen or heard any reports about them in the past 30 years." I thought about my encounter with the thing, and something stuck out about it all. "Celestia." I started. "The changeling said that I wasn't like someone. It was like he recognized me. You don't think that he has seen one of my brothers, have you?" A chill went down my spine. What if they have Nicholas? Celestia thought about this for a moment, then smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about what the changeling said, their kind is known to lie to their adversaries to get the better of them. As for your brothers, I just recieved a letter from my student in ponyville saying that she has found a younger human living there." I let out a relieved sigh. "So Nicholas is being taken care of." I said with of a smile. "Glad to know he's safe, but what of Ronin?" I asked as her smile disappeared instantly. "I have tried to reach out with my magic to see if I could sense him, but every time I feel like I have found him, the connection is severed. Its almost as if he knows I'm searching for him yet he doesn't want to be found." I frowned at that. Ronin always was headstrong. And if he got wrapped up in something, he usually didn't want to involve me or Nick on the off chance we'd get hurt. Hopefully, he stays away from these changeling things. "By the way, whats so special about that necklace?" I asked her. She suddenly stopped walking and looked out a window. I heard her sigh softly. "The necklace..... belonged to my late husband. He died while protecting our city from the same threat you saw back there." She said with ice laced into her voice. I immediately regretted bringing it up. "Im sorry, princess. I had no idea." I said softly. She just shook her head and turned back to me. "Do not be, you could not have known. Come, let us return to my bedchambers. I would at least like to try some of that cake you made." She said with a smile that seemed forced. We turned and headed back the way we came. *********** We arrived in her room, with me carting a new cake in tow. The last one had been knocked over in the fray, and from the looks of it, her room didn't fare much better. There was junk scattered everywhere, singe marks in several places and glass broken around a pedestal with an spot for a necklace to be hung. "Damn, this'll take hours for the maid to clean." I said, eyes wide at the mess. Celestia smirked. "Not necessarily, Raiden. Watch." Her horn glowed again as a light shined across the whole room. When it dimmed, everything was clean again. No marks, no junk, and the pedestal was completely spotless. My jaw hit the floor at this. "That magic stuff is insane." I said with a chuckle as I found myself a comfy spot on a couch to sit. She took a spot by the bed and uncovered the cake tray greedily. "So how are we splitting that cake? 50-50?" I asked just before celestia took a knife and cut a fourth of it off and gave the small part to me. I took a look at the big chunk in her plate. "One fourths it is!" I said with a laugh as I took a sugary bite. I wasnt the biggest fan of cake, but every once in a while wasn't so bad. I looked over to see crumbs where celestia's chunk had been and a very stuffed look on her face. My eyes widened. "Your already done?!" I said in wonder. She had to cover her mouth to keep from spitting out cake from how hard she laughed at my reaction. She swallowed the cake and grinned. "You have much to learn about my eating habits, Young one." She said as I finished off my own slice. I stretched a bit and stood up. "Well, your highness, I better get back to the kitchen before the head chef has my neck." I said as Celestia nodded. I bowed and left the room. ********* I was on my way to the kitchen as I passed by princess luna. I gave a quick bow as she stopped and turned to face me. "Pray tell, what hath occured while we were out, Raiden?" She asked me. I smiled a bit at her speaking habits but answered nonetheless. "Oh, just a break-in/robbery with a side of cake hoarding." I said as she looked at me with an eyebrow raised before narrowing her eyes. She walked up to me, face nearly inches from mine. "We shall be watching thy actions, Raiden. We do not trust you, and we will not have you hurt our sister in any way at all. Understood?" I nodded as she backed off. I took a step away and smiled. "You know, luna. I think I know whats bothering you." She raised an eyebrow at this. "What, praytell, would that be?" She asked. My smile grew wider as I slowly inched towards the door. "Your just jealous that your sister gets free cake whenever she pleases!" I said as I dived through the door, narrowly avoiding the spell blast that hit where I was once standing. As I bolted towards the kitchen, I could hear her yell out in a rage. "COME BACK HERE AND FACE US, YOU HAIRLESS APE!!!" I simply closed the kitchen door behind me, crying my eyes out with laughter at her reaction. The cooks and maids in the kitchen simply looked at me in fear. One of the chefs I had grown to have as a friend spoke up. "Raiden, are you out of your mind, teasing the princess of the night like that?!" he asked/berated me. I laughed and patted him on the back. "Relax, Gold spoon. She'll calm down after a while. I just got to avoid her until then. Gold spoon looked at me and shook his head. "Your dancing with the devil, friend. But for now, we have to focus on the newest order that just came in." He walked over and picked up a list with his hoof. " Lets see, Princess Cadence has ordered... oh no." He trailed off as his face dawned a look of horror/weariness. "What is it?" I asked as I looked at the order and nearly passed out from shock. "She wants FIVE 3 three layer cakes!?! What is she doing, hosting a party or something." Gold spoon shrugged as i huffed a bit. "Apparently, she was just proposed to in marriage, so its a celebration cake. But five of them? Oy vey!" He sighed frustrated as he picked up the ingredients. "Lets get this over with, before the princess has our hide." I nodded. "Yeah, but once were done, Im going on break for a weeeek!" I moaned as Gold spoon snickered a bit, almost dropping the cake batter in the process. > Chapter 7: Greetings, training, and a bloodthirsty changeling spider. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* It's been about four days since I arrived at the "safe haven" as Tak liked to call it. After the meeting with the queen, I was given a tour of the hive, ending at Tak's room. I wont lie, the kid's got a good spread, considering his dilemma. He has this cocoon thing in the middle of his room, along with several strewn items around. Hell, the kid has toys in the far corner of the room, although it looks like they haven't been touched in years. As we walked in, Tak walked up to the cocoon and looked at me. "Would you like me to have a servant make you a cocoon to sleep in as well?" He asked me. I gave him a quick shake of my head. "No No, thats fine. I think I'd rather sleep in a bed or something." I said quickly. I was NOT sleeping like a caterpiller. He shrugged. "You and mother are sooooo weird! She doesn't sleep in a cocoon either! Well, while we get you a bed, why don't you go to the barracks below? If you want to become my personal bodyguard, you might want to meet the lieutenants first. They know EVERYTHING about protecting the queen and her heirs to the throne!" He empathized that last part with pride. "Aight then, see you later, kiddo." I said as I walked out. As soon as the door closed behind me, I realized something. I don't know where the hell the barracks are. Thankfully, a guard was walking by. "Hey, could you lead me to the barracks?" I asked him. He looked me up and down before hissing softly, but he motioned me to follow him. ********** After a couple of minutes, we arrived at a room full of soldiers, or at least I think they were. They had weapons and armour that looked attached to them, but they honestly didn't strike me as organized fighters. The place was like a mess hall, long tables spread out in rows, with one circular table in the middle. The guard led me to the center table. "I brought the one who the queen said needed to be trained." The guard said to three slightly bigger changelings at the table. Unlike the other soldiers here, these guys actually seemed intimidating. I sat down at the table as they each took a good look at me. "Well, if it ain't the newbie! looks like another lamb to be slaughtered if you ask me!" A big guy to my left sneered. He had orange eyes and orange hair to match. He wore armour that looked like a mix of dark red and black. Although the red could have nothing to do with the armour design. He leaned in and studied me carefully. "What the hell was the queen thinking, putting a half-pint like you in charge of the heirs defense unit?" I gave him a smirk of my own. "Alright then, who was in charge of the last patrol?" I asked him. He grinned boastfully. "Those soldiers were from my unit, and they were the best of the best!" He roared, and a table behind me followed suit. I rolled my eyes. "Heh, no wonder they deserted him if they were trained by a jackass like you." I said as I stood up, he did the same and we were inches from each others face. "If you like," I began, gripping my sword by its handle. "I can show you exactly why I was chosen." He stared me down with a solid glare for a good minute as the whole room went silent. He then caught me off guard me laughing. He pat me on the back hard, nearly sending me into the table. the table behind me cheered, apparently close with the big guy. "HAHAHA, Where the heck did Tak find you, and where can we get more of ya, Cuz thats the first time any newcomer has had the balls to stand up to me!" He extended his hoof. "Names Tremor! lieutenant of the Rock-solid battalion!" He roared the last three words as the table behind me cheered again, this time even louder. "If you two idiots are done comparing sizes, maybe we can get things done around here?" A female changeling to my right spoke up. Her eyes were silver, but her hair was an icy blue. Unlike the others, her wings looked stronger and had icicle tips. She looked me dead in the eyes. "My name is Tundra, Lieutenant of the Cold North battalion." She pointed to a table behind her, and the mostly female group all eyed me down in return. "I am in charge of all aerial warfare, and making sure that idiot stays in line." She nodded towards Tremor, who grinned lewdly. "Hehehe, you know you like keeping your eyes on me, doll" He said right as a icy blast hit him, freezing him solid. I looked at Tundra in shock. She shrugged. "He'll be fine, its not the first time I've left him in the cold." She smirked as I visibly shuddered.Note: dont piss off Tundra. The third changeling cleared his throat, causing me to finally look his way. He had green eyes, but had the basic hair color most changelings have. What made him stick out was that he had no legs. Instead, he floated at the table with a small cloud instead. "Greetings, newcomer. My name is Monsoon. I lead the Low tide battalion, which is in charge of all conflict with magic weilders." He nods towards the table closest to us, and the changelings there either wave at me or don't notice me since they seemed far too invested in making clouds of rain assault the guys at the Rock-Solid table. Monsoon looks back to me. "As you can tell, we are named after the element we've been blessed with. Tremor can weild magma and rocks, Tundra handles ice and wind, and I handle Water. There's also Volt, but he's not easy to... get through to." he said with a sigh. Then things got weird as the room suddenly got quiet, with everyone not moving. I felt this odd feeling out of nowhere, it was like the static electricity in the room picked up by 100 volts. My hair was sticking up, and I looked around for the source. Monsoon sighed again and pointed up. I looked up and fell out of my chair in shock as "Volt" dropped from the ceiling. Ok, I've seen a lot of weird crap since coming here. But this took the cake. He had fully black eyes and his teeth looked like they were covered in... blood. but that wasn't even the thing that got me. Although he was a changeling, the thing had a spider body, with each leg crackling with electrical charge going through them. His fangs also were grown out like a spiders, and those too were drenched red. Monsoon gulped a bit before continuing. "Newcomer, meet Volt. He is in charge of griffon and dragon combat. He is the co-lieutenant of the Rock-solid battalion and handles the... executions we have to have every once in a while." Volt looked at me with a sick grin. "Hellllloooooo Neeeeewcooooommmer" He drew out his words, savoring each one like a dessert at a fine dining restaurant. "Hehehehehehehe, Sooooorry iiif I'm a tad messsssssy, I juuuuust finished plllllaaaaaying wiiiith thoooose 'deserters' yooooou mentioned earlier." He cackled loudly and hopped over me, scurrying out of the room. I got up and looked at Monsoon in fright. "What the heck just happened!?" I whispered. He simply shrugged as Tremor finally thawed and turned to me. "Alright, Newbie! lets get you to the training room!" He said as Monsoon's horn lit up teleported us to a large dirt room with weapons strewn about. He stepped out and turned to me. "I hope you weren't kidding about showing me what you got, boy. But before we start, why don't you introduce me and the others to the soon-to-be pile of bones on the floor." He grinned maliciously. I rolled my eyes. "Names Ronin. Was a mercenary for 5 years after I lost someone important to me, now I'm protecting the queens kid." He snorted at this. "Hell, we're all her children! Tak's special, is all." He said as he eyed my sword. "Hehe, cut anyone up with that stick?" I narrowed my eyes and averted my gaze from his for a second. "A few too many" I got out. Monsoon spoke up. "Hey, don't ever feel regret for doing your job. We can feel those things, as you know. You had to do what you needed to survive, nothing you you can do to change that. For now, focus on your current opponent." I looked back at Tremor, who was nearly shaking with excitement. "HAHAHA! Lets gooooo!" He roared as he rushed me at a blinding speed, slamming into me and sending me flying across the room. I landed on the ground hard and looked up as Tremor was rushing again. Ain't doing that twice. I thought as I sprang up and sidestepped the rushing behemoth. He turned quickly around to face me just to be met with a kick to the face from the left. He spun in the air a bit before landing with a loud OOOF. I smiled at that, but the grin left my face as he got back up fast. "Hehe, nice one newbie. But lets see how you handle that sword." His horn lit up and a longsword appeared in the air. He grabbed it with bis hoof and rushed me, Swinging the blade hard to his right. I drew my sword and parried the blow as I got knocked back an inch or two from the intensity of the blow. He smiled and started swinging away like a madman. I deflected hit after hit but was slowly being pressed against a wall. *In the viewing stands by the fight* "KICK HIS ASS, TREMOR!" Tundra screeched as Monsoon floated over to her. "Well, your attitude changed fast." He stated as Tundra simply glared at him. "Tremor knows not to call me out in public. When its just us though...." She grinned deeply at that while Monsoon simply coughed uncomfortably at the sentence just said. "Yoooooou twooooo have always beeeen soooo cloose, huuuh?" Volt said as he landed behind them from above. Causing Tundra to jump a mile high and Monsoon to let out an thunder like sound in fright. "DONT DO THAT, YOU MULTI LEGGED ASSHOLE!!" Tundra yelled as Volt just giggled like a madman. Monsoon had decided to just tune out the two ad he watched the fight progress. *Fighting ground* I was finally pushed against the wall by the last sword strike. Tremor laughed loudly. "Time to break that silly stick of yours!" he roared as he swung is blade from above. In a desperate effort. I swung my blade up to meet it at top speed. When the blades met, a loud clang burat from the room as Tremors sword shattered. Tremor, in the chaos of it all, was sent flying into a wall. Tundra quickly flew over to him as Monsoon floated over, with Volt scurrying close behind. "How did you do that? Nothing has broken his sword before!" Monsoon asked while inspecting my blade. He showed it to Volt who gasped and took several steps back with a loud hiss. "Keeeeeep thaaat awaaay from meeeee!" He screeched. "Thaaaaat isssss maaade from Adamantine!" Monsoon looked shocked. "Where did you get this sword?" He asked. I gave him a confused look. "My grandad gave it to me before he passed. Why?" He pondered this, then spoke up. "Adamantine is a rare ore here in equestria and its surrounding countries. It hasn't been found in a mine in centuries! its also the only metal that can kill Volt here, so do be careful with it." Monsoon said as Volt scurried away from the room. Tremor walked over and gave me another back-breaking pat. "HAHAHA, your tough as nails!" he stated as I looked at him, confused by his reaction. "I didn't beat you though." I said as Tundra walked up to me, visibly angry. "Honey, it takes an army to beat Tremor in hand to hand combat. Be lucky he switched to swordfighting to give you a chance." With that, she took flight and left the room. Tremor rolled his eyes. "Don't let her get to you. She's upset you put me in a wall. But she'll get over it when I see her later tonight." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows as I rolled my eyes and playfully punched his shoulder. "Dude, your downright disgusting" I said with a laugh as a changeling flew into the room. "The queen needs to see Ronin, Immediately!" It screeched and it sent a spell at me. Among contact with me, it teleported me to the throne room. I looked up and saw Chrysalis. I kneeled as she spoke up. "I have decided to test you in order to see if your worthy of assisting us in our plans." She said all the while glaring daggers at me. "A changeling spy we sent to obtain a magical artifact has been captured by royal authority. I need you to break into Canterlot castle and retrieve the spy before they obtain highly confidential information from him." I stood up and smiled. "Easy enough, though how much force is allowed to be used if discovered." I asked as her face contorted into a wicked grin. "Why, the only force Necessary, LETHAL." She growled. "You will be assigned to this task with Monsoon. Under NO circumstances are you to fail me, or else!" She yelled loudly as she stood up from her throne. I gave a quick salute and a "YES MA'AM" as I walked out the room towards the barracks. So, I finally get to meet these pony scum. I thought, relishing in the idea of meting out some well-deserved bloodshed if need be. > Chapter 8: First day of school and a new friend. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* It was thursday morning, about 5 days after I had arrived. And today was going to be bad. How would I know? It only takes one word: School. After being told I was going to go to the school here in ponyville, I had started to panic and had tried to come up with several excuses as to why I couldn't go. Sadly, you can't trick a pony into thinking your sick when she takes care of animals for a living. As sunlight shined through the window, I pulled the covers over my head. Fluttershy had given me her guest bedroom to use, and although it was nice, the window was directly in front of the bed. So that meant I was getting a rude awakening each day. I rolled over just as the door opened. I heard the soft sound of hooves walking towards my bed. Then I was poked in the back softly. "Nicholas... Its time to get up." Fluttershy softly said to me. I groaned in response and didn't move an inch. "You don't want to be late for your first day, do you?" She said slightly louder. I rolled to face her and nodded my head, then rolled back over. She let out a sigh. "You leave me no choice, then. Angel, could you wake up Nicholas for me?" Angel? I thought as I heard a couple of soft thumps come up the stairs and into the room. I felt pressure on the edge of the bed as whatever angel was slowly came closer. I rolled over to look at the source to be met with a flyswatter to the face. "OWWW!" I yelled, gripping my now-red face. The bunny smirked at me and hopped off the bed. "Come here, you!" I growled, grabbing the flyswatter. The bunny's eyes widened as it fled the room. I sighed and dropped the swatter. "What the heck was that, Fluttershy's guard bunny or something?" I said as I looked over and saw a package by the end of the bed with a note attached. I opened the note amd read it. Dear Nicholas, This package contains all the clothes I have made for you so far. There should be enough clothes in there to last you two weeks. And don't worry about paying me back, I wouldn't dream of charging a friend of my sisters cor their clothes. Enjoy, Darling! Rarity I opened the package and gasped at the clothes inside. There were shirts, jeans, shorts, and even underwear in there, each with their own design. I smiled as I changed into a new set of clothes. My old shirt was replaced with a new t-shirt with a Diamond on its center. The jeans I put on were way more comfortable than the original ones I had. I slipped on my shoes and walked downstairs and into the kitchen. Fluttershy was just finishing up breakfest as I came down. She looked up at me. "Oh, thank goodness your awake. I was worried you wouldn't wake up in time." She said to me. "Sorry about that, not much of a morning person." I said as I sat down at the table. She flew over and placed a pancake or two on my plate. I took a bite and nearly cried with joy at the food. It was absolutely amazing!! I finished quickly as Fluttershy left and came back with a backpack. "I went out and got you this while you were asleep. I thought you would like to wear it, if you don't mind that is." She finished with a slight squeak. I smiled at her. "Of course I would! Thanks Fluttershy!" I said as I hugged her, recieveing one back at the same time. Then a loud set of knocking at the door. I went over and opened it to be met with the girls. "What's up?" I said as the smiled at me. "We decided we would walk with you to school today." Sweetie belle started. "Since yer new 'ere and all" Applebloom seconded. "So lets go already!!" Scootaloo finished. I laughed a bit and turned to Fluttershy. "See you later, Fluttershy." I said as I walked out the door. She waved to me. "Goodbye Nick, enjoy your first day at school." She called as the door closed. She turned around and noticed that, for the first time, the silence in her cottage was not too enjoyable anymore. She sighed and went to clean the kitchen. *********** "Ah can't wait to show ya to the class!" Applebloom said as we approached the school. I was honestly tempted to turn tail and go back to Fluttershys, but something told me that she wouldn't be too happy about that, so I was going to have to tough it out. "Are you ok, Nick?" Sweetie belle asked me. Before I could answer, a mare walked up to us. Sha was this maroon-ish color with a light and slighter darker shades of pink in her mane. She had 3 flowers as her cutie mark. "So you must be Nicholas. Its a pleasure to meet you." She said with that smile teachers wear. "My name is Cherilee, and I will be your teacher while you go here." She turned to the girls. "Hello, girls. I take it your friends with Nicholas?" "Yup, we meet him the day he arrived in ponyville!" Scootaloo said. "Well thats wonderful. I'm glad to see you have made some friends in such a short time. Now, let's get to class. Im sure you will love it here, Nicholas." The teacher said and walked into the school, with us in tow behind her. When we walked in, the whole class got quiet, all eyes on me as I stood in front of them. Cherilee cleared her throat. "Now class, today we have a new student joining us. Nicholas, why don't you introduce yourself?" She said as the crusaders took seats with the rest of the class. I gulped and took a deep breath. "H-hello everyone. As you heard, my name is Nicholas, but please, just call me Nick." I said as a kid up front raised his hoof eagerly. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes?" I asked as looked at me. "What are you?" He asked. great, 10 seconds in and we have already started with questions. A smile came to my face though, realizing the potential fun that could be had here. "Well, I'm called a human. and get this, I'm from another planet!" As i said this, all the kids (minus the crusaders) eyes went wide with shock. A filly with glasses near the back spoke up. She had a grey coat and silvery grey hair with a spoon with a heart in the edge of it as a cutie mark. "What's your planet like?" She asked me. As I answered, I couldn't helo but notice the glare i was receiving from one girl. she was pink and had purple/white hair. I noticed she not only had a taira for a mark, but a matching one on her head as well. "Its similar to this one, but way more dangerous. The people that live there are far more likely to hurt others than you ponies, and due to that, most kids can't walk to school anymore. Defenitely not with the freedom I could here." I said as several more questions came in at once. Thankfully, Cherilee stepped in. "Now class, lets not get carried away." She turned to me. "Your seat is next to sweetie belle." She pointed to a sit down the third row. I went to sit in it as she continued. "Now, take out some paper for notes, because we are about to go into the wonderful life of Isaac Neighton!" She cheerfully exclaimed as the class groaned in unison. I panicked slightly at that until I looked in my bookbag. It was full of paper and even had a pencil at the bottem. Thank you, Fluttershy! I thought as I took out the materials and prepared to take notes. ******** The lesson was about as fun as I had expected. So when we were dismissed to recess, I'm proud to say I was one of the first kids out the door. After waiting up for the girls, we decided to figure out what to do. "Oooh, we should get the whole class to play freeze-tag!" Scootaloo said as Applebloom rolled her eyes. "Freeze-tags boring! besides, no one catches ya because ya use yer scooter to cheat!" She said as Scootaloo narrowed her eyes a bit. "It's not cheating! its called winning." She said as they started to argue. But just before they could start, they were interrupted. "Looks like the blank flanks can't get along!" The pink pony from earlier said as her and the spoon pony walked up. "Leave us alone, Diamond tiara!" Sweetie belle said. Diamond tiara just laughed. So this is who the girls warned me about? I thought with a raised eyebrow. She honestly didn't seem like much of a problem. Spoiled? Defenitely, but not really a threat per say. She noticed me looking at her funny and turned to me. "And what are you staring at? your more of a freak than they are!" She said this as the spoon girl laughed. Seems like they are buds. I was about to retort when I noticed something odd. At the other end of the area, their was what looked like a colt sitting with his back against the wall of the school with his head down. I pushed past the two jerks and walked towards him. "HEY!!! Are you even listening to me!? DON'T IGNORE ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU!" Diamond yelled after me while the crusaders were laughing at my antics. I ignored it all as I reached the kid. He had this silvery hair and deep green eyes, almost as if they glowed. He had black fur and a horn. I noticed that he had no cutie mark. I cleared my throat. "Are you alright?" I asked him as he looked at me, confused. "I-I-I'm fine, just no one wanted to talk to me before you came. I arrived yesterday, and thanks to that Diamond girl, the other colts and fillies think I have some disease because my eyes glow slightly." He looked down at that. I snorted. "Well, I think its awesome. I'm Nick, what's your name?" I asked, extending my hand. He looked at it and took it without hesitation, suprising me. He was the first pony to know what that meant right off the bat. "My name is Cacoono" he said as he shook my hand. I sat next to him ad the trio came up to us. "Hey, Nick. who's the new guy?" Scootaloo asked. I looked at her, slightly confused. "His names Cacoono, bit didn't you all see him when y'all came here yesterday?" They shook their heads. "We didn't come yesterday, because we spent the day cleaning up a mess we had made while crusading." Sweetiebelle said as the other two looked away sheepishly. "What do you mean by.... crusading?" Cacoono asked. Their faces lit up. "We are on a mission to get our cutie marks!" Scootaloo said. Cacoono looked at her with suprise. "So, you all aren't going to wait for it to happen, your taking matters into your own hooves and shaping your own paths. that's so cool!" He said excitedly. Applebloom smiled. "Well, thats ah fancy way of puttin' it." She said as she took a better look at Cacoono. "I've never seen you around ponyville before, are you new to town as well? Cacoono nodded. "Me and my parents moved here from canterlot. It's such a nice change from that loud city." He said with a sigh. I smiled at him. "I get the feeling, man. Before coming here, I lived in a place called Destin. It wasnt the biggest place, but it was still busy. I prefer this type of place anytime." We continued to chat until Cherilee called us back inside to finish the school day. After that we walked home togethor, branching off as each of us went to our respective homes. Soon it was just me and Sweetiebelle. "Ya know, school isn't so bad here." I said and Sweetiebelle grinned at me. "Thats great to hear, Nick! I was worried at first when you told us about your other school. but then you just went through today without breaking a sweat! You even made a new friend as well." She finished as we approached Raritys house (I swear, shes just a unicorn rapunzel, with the way that house looks) I turned to her. "Well, being able to spend the day with you and the others is what made it so bearable. Scoots is funny, Applebloom is creative, and honestly, your the easiest to talk to about stuff." I leaned in a tad. "Just don't tell the others that." She giggled at that, then turned towards the door. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Nick!" She called out eagerly, waving as I turned to leave. "See ya, Belle." I said as I took off in a sprint towards Fluttershy's cottage, eager to tell her about my day. ********** Sweetiebelle walked into the boutique and closed the door just as her sister walked up to her from behind. "Well, looks like somepony enjoys their new friend." Rarity said with a knowing smirk. Sweetiebelle looked at her like she was crazy as she walked past her sister and went towards the stairs "WHAT!! I don't like Nick like that! He's just really nice. And sweet. And smart. and...." she continued as she walked upstairs as Rarity squealed. "Oh, such young love. How sweet." She sighed as she went back to working on the new dress order she had gotten. ******** It had long gotten dark outside, and Fluttershy was turning off the rest of the lights in her cottage. After Nicholas had returned, he had happily told her about the school day he had, and how his worries were unfounded in school not being fun here. It made her all warm inside to see him like that. After they had ate dinner, he had went upstairs to go to bed, but not before asking Fluttershy if she could bring him a glass of water. So she made one for him and was going up the stairs to give it to him. When she opened his door, she saw him asleep on his bed, covered up and everything. She placed the water by the bed and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, Nicholas." She whispered as she turned to leave, but stopped as he moved a bit in his sleep. "mmmm....goodnight....mom" He said as he snored. Fluttershy smiled big at that, a tear or two of happiness going down her face as she went to her own room to sleep. > Chapter 9: Reunited at last? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* I was in the room they had given me after the meeting with chrysalis yesterday. It was a decent spread, it had a simple bed in the corner, with what looked like a place to hang my sword next to it. What struck me as odd was that there was an armour stand in the middle of the room. I didn't have any armour myself, so that had to mean.... But my thoughts were interrupted as Monsoon came into the room with some ring floating next to him. "For the mission tonight, your going to need this, since you don't have any powers." He said as he levitated the ring to me. I grabbed it and looked at it carefully. It was solid white, but had the queens crown as a symbol on the front of it. "What's this going to do?" I asked as Monsoon was floating around the room. He stopped at the armour stand and turned to me. "Put that ring on, and you will see." He said, grinning strongly at me. I rolled my eyes and slipped it on my right pointer finger. Nothing. I was about to tell him off when I noticed the ring glowing. Then, out of nowhere, green flames erupted on my body. I wanted to yell, but the flames didn't hurt, even though they were dancing on my skin. I started to notice a layer of black slowly encasing me. It went around my whole body, even up to my head. But when it got to my eyes, a visor appeared instead. When the transformation stopped, I looked into a mirror that was resting against a wall. The ring had created a suit of armour around me. It was mostly black, but had white flames surrounding the chestplate. The knees and elbow parts had small spikes sticking out. And the helmet looked more like one a knight would wear, except the visor was made of a glass like substance that surrounded only my eyes. The visor itself was designed to look like changeling eyes, these ones being pure white. The only thing not covered was my mouth. I turned to Monsoon with a grin. "How did you manage this?" I asked as he took in his creation. "Well, in the fight with Tremor yesterday, you spilt some blood due to the rush attack he did. So, I took a sample and had this exo-suit made from a mix of your dna and our changeling venom." He stated as I looked at him, slack-jawed. So he had made some kind of power suit that only worked for me? Sweet! "Damn, that's cool." I said as I flexed in the mirror. He rilled his eyes and laughed, but then he got serious. "There is one thing I should mention. That ring demands loyalty from the wearer and is linked to my mind. If at any reason you decide to not engage the enemy during any circumstance, you will immediately be crushed by the armour. Consider this a test from the queen to see if you are TRULY loyal to us." He said as I gulped, but nodded. His demeanor went back to normal straight after. "Well, we should get ready to go, it should be dark out now. The perfect time for a break-out." Monsoon said, smiling wickedly. I couldn't help but feel worried about the whole thing, but pushed down the feeling nonetheless. *********** Raiden POV *********** Well, today sucks. I was supposed to be on break for a week so I could go see Nicholas, but apparently the changeling from the day before had told the guard it would only talk to me. So instead of taking the night train to ponyville (dumb name, by the way) I was walking towards the dungeon with Shining Armour. As we arrived at the door holding the prisoner, Shining turned to me. "Let me do most of the talking. We have got to find out why he was stealing that necklace, and if there will be more attacks in the future." He said as I nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to the damned thing. We walked into the cell and Shining closed the door. There was a table in the middle of the room and the changeling was sitting at a stool next to it. Armour and I took a seat at the table, with the notice of how the changeling's eyes never left mine. Shining cleared his throat. "Now, I brought Raiden. So talk!" He said as he glared at the changeling. The thing wasn't fazed though, and smiled before opening its mouth "How long do you think you can hold me here?" It said as it leaned back and stretched, back popping while doing so. Shining didnt let up. "We will keep you here until you answer my questions, so, why did you steal the necklace?" He huffed in anger. I honestly felt bad for the guy. Neither of us wanted to be doing this now. I had a brother to see (and another to find) and Shining had a wedding to plan. Yet here we are, playing good cop bad cop with a bug thing. The changeling laughed loudly. "Hehehe, I shall only say one thing, and it will directed to the human here." Shinings eyes went wide as the thing smirked. "Oh yes, I know what he is, I'm connected to the hive after all, and from the chatter going on lets just say your not the only one who has a human working for royalty." He grinned as my jaw dropped. CRASH!!!! I jumped as a large lightning strike hit outside the castle. Shining looked up in confusion. "hmm, thats odd." he said. "There's no storm forcasted for today." I turned bacl to the changeling. "What do you know of my brother?" I asked him as he simply smiled and looked me in the eyes. "Hehehehe, it doesn't matter. You'll see each other soon enough." He cackled as a guard rushed into the room. "Captain, you need to see this. There's this changeling in the courtyard demanding to see the human." He said as he looked at me. Shinings stood up. "What are we waiting for, lets go!" We ran towards the courtyard after locking the door. As we ran, though, the changelings words echoed through my mind you'll see each other soon enough. What did he mean by that? We stopped as we approached the courtyard. There was a changeling out there, but it was different. It was standing on its hind legs, and it had hands instead of hooves. Instead of just plain black, its skin-like exterior had white flames around the chest and leg parts. The thing had white eyes and weirdly enough, no horn or wings. Shining, along with several guards, approached it, unfazed by the pouring rain. "What are you?" He asked. "And why do you want the human?" The thing took a step forward, undeterred by the guards around him. It spoke in a dark voice. "Step out of the way, pony scum. I'm not here to draw blood. I'm here...." it reached for its head and slowly pulled it off! "For my brother." It was a helmet, and when it took it off, Ronin was underneath. Wait? RONIN!? "Brother!" I yelled as I pushed through the guards and Shining to pull him into a hug. He returned it and we stayed there for a bit. I looked at him in the face, noticing his smile. "Where the hell have you been?" The smile was gone in an instant. "I was with a species these ponies have shunned. They are called changelings, brother, and they need our help." I gave him an incredulous look. "What? changelings are the bad guys here! One broke in and stole a necklace from the princess, for goodness sake." I said as he groaned and face-palmed. "That changeling did that as an act of rebellion against a princess who's nothing but a lying, conniving Shit-eater." The guards surrounding us gasped and drew weapons and charged their horns. "How dare he talk about the princess like that?" One yelled. "He deserves to die, siding with the changelings like that!" Another called out. This was getting out of hand, really really fast. CRASH!!! The storm was picking up. Didn't Shining say that no storm was supposed to happen today? My brother shook his head. "Raiden, do you really side with these ponies?" he asked. I nodded and replied. "These ponies have been nothing but kind and helpful since I've arrived. Yes, some of them don't trust me, but thats to be expected of when some alien drops on your doorstep. The only thing I've seen a changeling do is break their laws." I finished as some guards cheered. He closed his eyes for a second. Am I getting through to him? I thought. after a bit, he opened them and replied. "So, there's no way to change your mind?" he asked. I shook my head. he sighed. "Then forgive me, Brother." He said as he kicked me in the stomach, HARD. Now, we had sparred togethor before, but this was new. Either he had harnessed some new power while gone, or that suit was helping him, but that kick was waaay stronger than before. It sent me flying into a wall. "Seize him!!!!" Shining yelled as his troops rushed Ronin. Ronin laughed and drew his sword. he rushed forward just as a pegasus dive-bombed him. Using the wet ground as lubricant, he slid underneath the pony and sliced its left wing off. the guard screamed and crashed into a wall. Several earth pony guards surrounded Ronin and drew swords and spears. He laughed and placed his helmet back on. "Lets even this out." He growled in that dark voice again and threw his sword straight up into the air, causing it to fly out of sight. One guard swung at him with his sword, just to have Ronin duck under and deliver a nasty spinkick to the side of his face, causing the guard to slam into two others. One with a spear jabbed forward, but Ronin caught the spear by the pole part and snapped in two, using the pole part he got from it to deflect another sword and knock another pony out. Shining ran up to me. "You need to go, I'll handle your brother." He turned as I got up. "Please, just, don't kill him unless you absolutely have to." I said weakly as a scream let out from behind us. We turned to see Ronin holding the last guard standing by her horn. "Please, no!" He begged, tears running down her face. Ronin tilted his head back and laughed. He looked him dead in the eye. "Ya know, for a species blessed with magic and flying, y'all are a bunch of weak crybabies." He said as he snapped his horn off. He shrieked in pain before landing on the ground. Ronin turned towards us and did a slit throat motion towards Shining. Shining glared at him. "Raiden, I think we're way past non-lethal force." He growled as he walked towards Ronin, horn shining. Quick as a gun. the horn shot a blast at Ronin. I closed my eyes, waiting for the scream of pain from him. It never came... The shot had deflected off him and hit a wall nearby. Ronin smiled and walked towards the captain. "Is that all the fated prince-to-be can do?" He laughed as Shining rushed forward, causing him to rush as well. CLANG! Ronin sword met with one Shining summoned and caused them to get knocked back several feet. They recovered quickly and rushed Again. CLANG! CRASH! Mixed with the intense storm surrounding them, the fight almost looked like a movie. With each matching each others advances with parries and counters. Both had been scraped slightly by each others swords, after a while, both landed on the ground in a exhausted heap. "Huff...Puff.....Not bad." Ronin said as the storm suddenly stopped. Like, it literally disappeared! No clouds were even in the sky. A flash of golden light to my left, and the princess was here. "Celestia!" I said when she saw me. Her gaze became worried as she healed my ribs. "What happened to you? she asked. I nodded towards the two in the center of the courtyard. "My brother." I said shallowly as her gaze became narrow. she turned and walked out to the 2 guys just as Ronin was getting up. "Ahhh, so your the princess who's been charming my brother." He said venomously. She didn't seem fazed and responded. "And your the brother we couldn't find." She said as she took in the damage. there were about 12 guards lying either dead or knocked out around her. She looked up in a rage. "Why did you kill them!" She yelled out. Ronin, suprising all of us, laughed. he kept going for a bit, while Celestia slowly got more angry. He finally stopped and looked her dead in the eyes. "Because its what you deserve." He growled as a green flame started to surround him "Heh, looks like my ride's here. We shall meet again, princess." He said as he was engulfed. After it disappeared, there was nothing left where he was standing. The princess turned and walked towards me as Shining recovered from his exhaustion. She stopped amd looked me in the eye. "Raiden, as much as I hate to say this, when your brother is caught, he will have to pay for the crimes he committed here." She said as put my head into my hands. "Ronin, what the hell have you done?" I said as a guard came running outside. "Your majesty! The changeling prisoner has escaped!" He got out between breaths as Shining cursed under his breath. "Damn!" he growled. "All of this was a diversion, just so the changeling could escape!" He said as Celestia shook her head. "He would've needed help, I figured that storm wasn't natural. the question is, who made it?" She said as we slowly made our way into the castle. ******* Ronin POV ******* After the flames died down, I found myself in the throne room. Monsoon, Volt, Chrysalis, and some other changeling was there as well. Monsoon floated towards me. "Well done, my friend. I saw the whole thing as I was rescuing our spy here." he nodded towards the changeling, who kneeled at my feet. "I owe you my life, Thanatos." He said as I raised a brow in confusion. Volt cut in. "Iiiiiiiit meeeeeaaans reeeeapeeer iiiin ouuuurr laaanguaaage." He gleefully growled. "A weeeell deserved title toooooo!" Chrysalis walked up, flashing a fangy grin. "Now that you have proven your self, it is time." Monsoon and the others left immediately. I gave her a confused look. "Time for what?" I asked. She looked me in the eyes. "You have proven to be loyal to us, going as far as to draw blood for our cause. So I am giving you the choice to become a halfing. You will still retain your human form, but you will have our powers amd skills. But it is your decision." She stated as I thought about it. If I accepted this, I would never be the same. Going to earth would be out of the picture, and I would be fully embracing this life. If I don't, I could easily still help them, but what if I come across that princess again. I could tell she was strong, and even a power suit wont help me against her. Besides, Raiden made his choice to help the ponies, so why shouldn't I have the same freedom. Mot to mention how cool it would be to have some powers. I looked at her and kneeled. "I accept this honor, your majesty." She looked at me and stepped closer. "You have a choice now, either become one of us the normal way through painful transformation, or change through....personal exhange of venom." She said that last part with a odd tone. "I'd rather it not hurt, so what's the other way?" I said as she looked slightly embarrassed. "You would have to choose a changeling female and have them bite you on the neck, then if you wish to finish it, you must use the venom coursing through you and bite her on her neck in return. It will bond you to that changeling and give you some of her powers." She finished as I stood still. "So, to become a halfling, I have to pretty much get kinky with a changeling." I deadpanned as Chrysalis blushed slightly at the choice of words. "Yes, but don't say it like that! Now, I shall bring several females from each battalion for you to choose from, and you can easily pick which one to bond with." She didn't notice I had slowly walked up to her, as she had turned mid-talk. "I think I know who I wish to bond with." I said as I stopped behind her. She turned and found herself face to face with me. For a moment, she looked confused, then realization dawned on her face. "You can't be serious!?" She yelled. "You can't bond with a queen! that's never even been heard o-MMMPH!" She was cut off as I grabbed her horn and pulled her into a kiss. It wasnt a crazy one or anything like that, but it sent the message. For a second, she tried to pull away. But then she suprised me by pushing me onto the ground. After a second we broke apart, panting for breath. She glared at me. "How dare you kiss me like that!" She growled deeply before kissing me again. "I am a queen and you will not treat me like thaaaat!" She yelped the last bit as I picked her up and slammed her into her throne with another kiss, this one way more passionate. I pulled back and looked into her mesmerizing green eyes. "I will do whatever the hell I want." I growled as she slowly started to smile. "And right now, I want you to bite my fucking neck!" I roared the last part as she greedily sank her fangs into my neck. I let out a groan as I nipped hers with my own teeth. I soon felt myself get pulled into the air by magic as I was surrounded by a green glow. "Come, we must finish your punishment in private!" She growled as she led me into her chambers and slammed the door shut. ********* Nicholas POV ********* I had woken up to the sound of talking downstairs, so I walked downstairs to find Twilight and Fluttershy sitting with a really big pony with wings and a horn. she was white as snow with flowing hair. I then noticed who was sitting next to her. "RAIDEN!!" I yelled as I ran up and bear hugged my brother. He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair. "Heya, nikky." He said, calling me that same old nickname again. It felt so good to see him. I looked up at him. "Now we can go find Ronin!" I said happily. I then noticed the mood in the room plummet. Raiden looked at me with an upset expression. "Little bro, we have a LOT to talk about." > Chapter 10: Call of the spellweaver > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* When I had went down those stairs to the sight of not only the princess of the kingdom, but my brother Raiden as well, I thought today was going to be amazing! Not even close... "WHAT!!! Ronin would never do that!" I yelled in shock as Raiden had told me what had happened last night. Raiden looked at me with a sigh as the princess was quietly conversing with twilight. Fluttershy had her wing around me in a soft embrace, calming my nerves. "I mean, yeah, he can be stubborn sometimes." I continued, remembering all the times Ronin had argued with a stranger or teacher about menial things. "But he's not evil!" At this, princess Celestia looked towards me with a sad smile. "It warms my heart to hear such faith in someone, but I believe I may know what would cause him to act this way." Everyone turned towards her. "What would cause somepony to be so violent, princess?" Twilight asked her. Celestia suddenly dawned a more serious face. "He is either under the queens control, or he has completely sided with them." She said as Twilight eyes widened. She had been sent a letter last night about the incident and had immediately came to Fluttershy's to meet up with the princess. And after learning that the other human had been able to match her brother in combat, even though he was captain of the royal gaurd, she was worried. "But who would side with them, from what you told me, they seem to be a crude species that steals love and destroys countries." Raiden cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "It wasn't mind control. Nor was it an imposter. That man Shining battled was defenitely my brother." Raiden got up and walked to a window and sighed. "Looks like some things never change." He said softly. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "He has done this before?" She asked. Raiden turned towards her and gave her a slow nod. "Back when we were teenagers, our parents.... weren't the best of people, Dad especially. He really didn't like Ronin, said he had failed him when he started learning the art of swordfighting. You see, dad was one of those people you'd call a hippie, And he hated weapons. So when he learned his own son was learning how to do weild one, he went ballistic. He sent him to a friend of his that was meant to 'hippilize' him, as he called it." Raiden sighed and looked away from us. "But when we didn't hear from his friend, dad went to check on things, only to find his friend dead and his son gone." He finished. Celestia's eyes were wide. Twilight honestly looked like she was terrified, and Fluttershy was pretty much using me as a shield to hide. Twilight spoke up. "w-what happened?" She asked timidly. Ronin faced her and smiled, though it seemed hollow. "We found him by grandpa Brims grave." When he said this, Celestia's face showed several emotions At once. First was suprise, then sadness. I raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything. I turned to Raiden instead. "Your telling me he killed dad's friend?" I asked, not wanting to believe it. He clenched his fist slightly. "There is some other things that went down as well, but yes. He did." Raiden said as time simply stopped for me. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I turned to Fluttershy. "I'm going for a walk." I said as I walked out the house. "Nick, wait." Raiden said, but I was gone. ******** Raiden POV ******** I sighed as the door was closed. I probably shouldn't had told that story, but it had to be said. I turned to the yellow pegasus. "I wish to thank you for taking care of my brother. It means a lot to me." As I said this, her body became more of a ball as she hid in her mane. How cute, she's a shy one. I thought as I smiled and turned to Celestia. "Princess, what are going to do about my brother?" She looked at me and sighed. "For now, nothing. Even with the attack yesterday, my niece wishes for the wedding plans to continue." She said as me and twilight went bug-eyed. "Wedding plans?" Twilight asked "Even with the attack!" I said, suprised at the boldness. She nodded her head and smiled at Twilight. "My niece is too stubborn not to have the wedding, even though I have tried to warn her. Although the captain did have a plan to stop any assault from happening." She said as Twilight looked suprised. "My brother is helping out with the wedding?" She said as I laughed. "Well, yeah. He's the groom, after all!" I got out before noticing the look on Twilights face. She had this look pure shock. "You didn't know that, did you?" I said before she exploded. "MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED!?" She yelled. Celestia smiled at her. "Indeed, my little pony. He is marrying my niece, Mi Amor Cadenza, or as you know her, Cadence." Celestia said. "Wait, she knowd Cadence?" I asked as Twilight turned to me, suddenly giddy. "She was my babysitter when I was younger! She was the nicest babysitter I ever had. And now I'll get to call her sister!" Twilight started jumping around us yelling 'YES!' over and over. Celestia and I shared a smirk at her actions before getting back to the topic at hand. "Celestia, What was that stuff my brother was wearing?" I asked. her eyebrows furrowed as she asnwered. "That would be an old enhancement changeling mages used in the past, it gave beings that were not changelings some of their powers. Usually, it was reserved for those who would become..." She trailed off with a look of fear as I raised an eyebrow. "Become what?" I asked, worry starting to take place. "I fear your brother has been chosen my the queen to become one of them." She said as my blood went cold. Would Ronin become a changeling? Thinking about the power behind his attacks yesterday, the answer was obvious. "Why would Ronin wish to become a changeling?" Twilight asked as she recovered from her burst of joy. Celestia simply turned from her. "Not a changeling, a halfing. And with the raw power and skill Ronin has, he may become one of the powerful threats to the kingdom. Especially if Chrysalis has him as a part if her unit." She said the last part with ice in her tone. Something told me that those two have a history. "Celestia, is there way to counter that power?" I asked. She turned to me and nodded, albeit hesitantly. "For where there is darkness, there is light. In this case, we need to follow example." She said as twilight raised an eyebrow. "You mean, like create our own enchanted armour?" Twilight asked, but Celestia shook her head. "Its not so simple, we would first need to obtain a blood sample of an ancient species that has strong power behind their blood. Then we would have to have the magical device for the suit forged. Of course, we would also need somepony to wear it, but the strain of the armour is high, and we would need a strong-willed being to wear it." She finished as I nodded at her. "I'll wear it." I said as they looked at me in suprise. "What? If we are going to make a suit of armour capable of battling my brother, then it should be me who wears it. After all, He's my brother." Celestia nodded at this, but Twilight frowned. "How are we going to obtain the resources to do this? What species could we use?" She questioned as we all sat there in silence. A quiet cough pierced the silence as Fluttershy, who had been quietly listening, spoke up. "What about dragon blood, if you don't mind me asking." She timidly said. Celestia's eyes widened with a smile forming her face. "That would be perfect, Fluttershy!" She exlaimed as the little pegasus shrank a bit due to the attention. "But where would we get a dragon from?" I asked as Twilight smirked. "I know just where and who to go to." She said proudly. ************* Nicholas POV ************* Well, today sucks. I thought as I sat beneath an apple tree. I had walked a decent bit and decided to park it under one of the many apple trees around here so I could think. Today was such a rush of emotion! I had learned that both of my brothers were alive and kicking, which was good. but that one of them had defected to some evil queens side, which was bad. And from how they were talking about Ronin, it made me wonder just what would happen to him if he got caught. They could throw him in jail for the rest of his life! or worse.... I shook my head. No, Ronin was too tough to be caught. and even if he was, Raiden wouldn't let them kill him, right? I yawned softly. This apple tree was sooo comfy. I soon drifted off to sleep, no knowledge of the dark aura that had surrounded the tree I was sleeping under. ************ ??? ************ WAKE UP!! A loud, yet oddly familiar voice, called to me. I awoke in some temple thing. Why do I feel like I have been here before? I thought as I turned towards the origin of the voice. It was a man in a cloak, and that mark on his chest... You do not remember me because I wiped your memory. Let me fix that... he said as a purple light surrounded me. The memories flowed back quickly. I stared at him. "Why did you wipe my memories?" I asked. He simply laughed as he removed his hood. He was absolutely disgusting! Although his head was a sharp bald, his face was rotted on the left side of his face, with the eye missing entirely. The right was almost too normal. Sharp blue eyes, and a smile that looked normal on a tiger hunting prey. How do I look? not bad for a guy who was slain by your grandfather. He cackled as my eyes widened in suprised. "Wait, you knew my grandfather? and what do you mean slain?" I asked him as he picked up two orbs, one blue and one yellow. Sit, spellweaver. And I'll tell you my story. A chair appeared behind me, so I sat in it. The man started pacing the room, the two orbs now floating around him. Your grandfather and I were best friends back on your planet. But due to a necklace he found one fateful day, we were brought to this one. We quickly were found by the two princesses of this land. After a while, we became close with them. Callobrim became close with Celestia, being her personal knight. And I appealed to princess luna as her right-hand sage. He looked away at that. Ah, those were the good days. Alas, it was not meant to be. For princess luna soon started harboring resentment towards her sister. Meanwhile, I had noticed that Callobrim started getting better treatment by the others in the castle. One fateful night, we broke into an argument. It got so bad that we ended up fighting. Unbeknownst to us, the sisters were fighting nearby. After a long battle, we both were exhausted. So old Brim thought it would be good to check on Celestia. When he turned his back, I fired one last shot of magic at him. My eyes widened. "What happened?" I asked, slowly getting worried for some reason. The man sighed and had a angry look on his face. Your grandfather somehow knew the spell was coming! he ducked under it and threw his sword straight at me. And with a sickening thud, it hit me square in the chest. He turned and left. Leaving me for dead. He looked at me and smiled. But now your here, so maybe things can go as planned after all. I gulped and started backing up, not liking what he said at all. "You tried to kill my grandfather, so why would I even think about helping you?" I said with anger rising in my voice. He laughed again and frowned. I see that even though your not him, you still cling to the same basic ideals and beliefs that caused nightmare moon to kill him. Its funny really, he could've let Celestia die that day to the spell I had set on the elements of harmony, but he HAD to ruin it by touching them first. I looked at him in a rage. "What did you do?" I growled. he waved his hand as if to blow off the question. I had cursed the elements so if someone touched them, they would be weakened. However, Callobrim knew of this, and grabbed them first, causing the spell to weaken him instead. And once that happened, Moon cut him to bits with a single spell. Of course, his spirit was returned to Earth after this, But I was forced to stay here in this forsaken place! I raised an eyebrow. "What is this place, anyway?" I asked, but he was done with questions. ENOUGH!!! You have stalled long enough, and since you will not listen to reason, then you must PERISH! With that, he shot several beams at me. Remembering what I did last time, I concentrated and put up a red shield. The beams were deflected, but I was pushed almost into a wall in the process. He growled again and shot a much bigger beam at me. Knowing I couldn't block this one, I jumped out of the way and turned towards him. THERE IS NO ESCAPE, SPELLWEAVER!!! just as he said that, I started to feel fuzzy again. His eyes went wide. NOOOO!!!! Someone is waking you up! Not now!!!! but it was too late, I had already fell into a deep sleep. ******** "WAKE UP!!!!!" was the first thing I heard as I sat up quickly, drenched in sweat. I looked over and saw Applebloom staring at me. "Dang, Nick. I thought ya nevah wake up." she said but let off a small yelp as I gave her a brisk hug. I released her and look her in the eyes. "Thank you so much, Bloom! If you wouldn't have done that, I would've been dead meat." She gave me a confused look as there was some pink on her cheeks from the hug. I laughed a bit and smiled at her. "I geuss I should fill you in, huh?" ********* After a bit of explaining to her, Appleblooms eyes were wide. "So, some evil feller is attacking ya in yer dreams?!" She exlaimed as I nodded. "Well, that's just terrible! How are ya gonna sleep now?" I thought about this and snapped my fingers on realization. "Lets go to twilight, I'll bet she's got something!" Applebloom nodded as we took off towards the library. Yet in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be worried about whats to come. > Chapter 11: Family matters pt.1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* I woke up with a nasty headache. And I'm not saying the drunken kind, more like the kind that you get after going through an insane blood transfusion/Lucky night with the queen of a shapeshifting bug species. Weirdest thing of it all, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Now dont get me wrong, it wasn't the easiest conclusion to come to. I mean, she's a whole 'nother species and all that. But honestly, I had never met a woman on earth who flipped my switch like that. Her attitude, the way she carries herself, and the way she hides the fact that, in the end, she cares for her people. So end the end I was able to push past the species barrier (Not giving a damn about what others might think of me) and took the plunge. And now, I find myself in a queen sized bed wondering what happens now. I yawnes and looked around the room. It was actually pretty normal, considering who was sleeping in it. There was a closet to the side of the room, probably filled with who knows what. cabinets and drawers lined the other wall. And in the middle, the bed. I yawned and went to move, just to remember who was on top of me. I look at the sleeping queen with a smile. Is this what love feels like? this warm, sappy feeling I have as I stare at her? I went to nudge her awake with my right hand when I got a good look at it. The hand was completely shelled up by some sort of exoskeleton. Deciding that I needed to see what else was new, I carefully rolled Chrysalis off me and went towards a drawer that had a full body mirror on it, and my jaw dropped at the result. The suit I had wore before was now a part of my skin, covering the soft interior with a hard exterior. It only seemed to be one certain parts of my body, though. My right shoudler and the arm and hand connected were all black and holed, with the fingertips slightly jagged. The hand could be moved, as well as the arm, so not a problem. My left eye was glowing green, and I noticed that I now had fangs. Looking down, I had black greaves on my legs, once again with holes. I was torn away from the mirror when i heard a yawn from behind me. "Taking in your new looks, are we?" Chrysalis said as she walked over with a sly smile on her face. I leaned in and kissed her passionately. "Just getting used to the fact I just slept with a queen." I said as she chuckled lightly. "Indeed, last night was unlike anything I have ever felt before, and I am a particularly picky queen when it comes to my mates." She said as I massaged her head with my free hand, the other holding her close. She let out a soft purr as I scratched around the horn. "So, what happens now?" I ask her as she looks to me with a bored expression. "You begin the path of being my consort, of course. What? did you happen to lose your mind last night?" She said as I laughed. "Nah, just didn't know whether or not you'd actually want me to court you." I said as she laughed as I let go of her. "Any realistic questions, love?" She said as I turned to the mirror and responded. "A couple, like what am I capable now, drawbacks of this new power I have, and why you went along with it last night, to name a few." I said as Chrysalis huffed slightly. "Your lucky your special, Ronin. Or you would be punished for questioning my actions." She said with a smirk. "You will now have enhanced senses, as well as being able to sense emotions like us, but you wont be able to feed on it. The drawback is simple, you are a part of the hive mind, so you might hear a voice or two in your head when we are near each other. As for why I allowed you to do what you did, the answer is easy. " She leaned close to my ear. "You spend your life scaring ponies and dominating, then some new guy waltz up and not only is unaffected by said dominating tactics. but also pulls some of his own in showing affection. It's QUITE the turn on, you know." She breathed as I shuddered a tad. Before she could move, I turned quickly and gave her a passionate kiss. Catching her off guard, She didn't return it for a second before tackling me to the ground. "Exactly my point." She said as a changeling walked in. She looked up at him and snarled. "What is it? Can't you see I am busy right now?" The changeling jumped in fear at her tone before answering. "Sorry, my queen. But we just got the report from Tak and the two lieutenants you sent with him. thwy have started their plans to learn of were the elements of harmony are located." As the changeling finished, Chrysalis's smile grew wider. "Excellent, now leave and gather our finest units. I will be leaving dor canterlot shortly." The changeling left as I looked at her, confused. "Leaving so soon?" I teased as she smiled at me. "As much as I would love to stay and show you how a queen treats her consorts, I must prepare for the invasion, and to do that, I need to be in canterlot." She finished as I frowned. "I still don't like it, even if your going to be pretending to be his wife to be. No one should sleep with you except me." I said with a growl, starting to feel protective of my newfound lover. This was either part of the change I went through, or I'm a protective boyfriend. (hivemate?) She giggled, yes, giggled at that. "Your already feeling dominative over me? Choosing you was defenitely a good choice on my part. But I swear if you ruin this invasion with your lovesick attitude, I will send you to tartarus myself." She threatened as I smirked at her. "Ok, just as long as you know if I find out you left me for some captain of the royal guard, there won't be a single thing that will stop me from finding you and ripping you to shreds." I finished as we looked into each others eyes and kissed again. She pulled back and responded to me. "Maybe my subjects could wait an hour or two before we leave. I have pressing matters here I must attend to... Immediately." She said as she locked her door. ********* Raiden POV. ********* I was standing outside Twilights tree-house thing as Celestia was getting into the chariot that had arrived for her. "Celestia, are you sure you don't need me there to help you make the armour?" I asked her as she shook her head. "Relax, Raiden. When Luna and I create the armour, we will come back and have the blood magically transfused into it, then it will be complete. For now, I am putting you on leave from your duties as my personal chef so you can catch up with your younger brother." She finished as the chariot took off. Twilight came outside and looked to me. "Do you know where you are going to stay?" She asked me. I simply shook my head. "Well, you can stay here. I have a spare bedroom upstairs if you want it." I turned to her and smiled. "Thanks, Twilight. I'll take you up on that offer." I said as Nick came running up with an earth pony in tow. "GUYS GUYS! GEUSS WHAT!!" He yelled in happiness. I smirked at him and responded. "What, bro?" I asked as he put his left hand out, a red barrier enveloping him. Twilights jaw dropped at the sight as my eyes widened. "Whoa!" I said as Twilight recovered from the shock. "Whoa? WHOA? this is more than a 'Whoa' moment! If Nicholas can use magic, than so could you, Raiden!" She thought for a minute before her eyes widened in fear. "and.....so could Ronin." She said with a slight gulp. I took a worried breath. It was bad enough the guy was already becoming this worlds samson. but adding magic to that.... It would not be pretty. The idea of me using magic however, seemed way easier on the mind. I turned to Nick. "When did this start?" I asked him. He looked to Applebloom, who shared a worried glance with him, then he turned back to me. "Can we go inside and talk, Raiden. It's not something I want to say in the open. Woth that, Twilight led us inside the treehouse. ********** Ronin POV ********** After Chrysalis and I said our "goodbye" in the bedroom. She had left for Canterlot with a small unit of 70 changelings. Meanwhile, I had been teleported to what was known as the everfree forest. As I walked through the forest, I remembered what Chrysalis had told me. Your job is to check up on Tak, Tremor, and Tundra. They have already set up a base of operations in ponyville. This town is where the elements of harmony live at. After rendezvousing with them, you must find and capture the elements. If they refuse to give you the information we need, kill them. After all, there are six of them. Plenty to interrogate, plenty to give us answers. I smiled at that as I came to a clearing some cut bushes off to the side. This had been where I had woken up in this world. To think that so much has happened in the two weeks since I had arrived. I shook my head. I need to focus on the task at hand. I thought as I heard something in the brush nearby. I snuck over quietly and peered behind a tree. It was three young fillies, a colt, and.... Nicholas!?! ********* Nicholas POV. ********* After Applebloom and I told Twilight about my magic, she told me she would teach me how to use it properly. We left shortly after that and met up with Scoots, Belle, and Cacoono. The girls had decided to try zip lining as their cutie marks (to put it in their own words: Cutie Mark Zipeliners!!) I thought it was adorable and funny, while Cacoono looked at them (mostly Scoots) in admiration. He had told us he wasn't ablr to play with othwr kids due to his parents traveling, and he seemed very excited to due so. So here we are, in the middle of a forest we shouldn't even be in, all because Scoots was told she couldn't do it by Diamond Tiara. "I don't know why you let her get to you, Scoots." I said as we finally found a tree worthy of our time. Scoots looked at me with a disgusted face. "I just hate it when she runs her mouth like that. You don't see her trying to zipline with us!" Scoots said as she started climbing the tree. "Yeah, but aren't we as guilty if she does make us do stuff like this?" Belle said as Cacoono started looking around in suprise. "What's up with him?" Bloom asked me. I shrugged and walked up to him and put a hand in his shoulder. "Whats the matter, Bro?" I asked him, but he looked at me in fear, his glowing eyes seeming more... glowy than usual. "We need to go, now!!" He said as Bloom looked at him in shock. "Go? we jus' got here, and ya wanna leave?" She went to say more, but a shadow soon loomed over us. We turned around and Sweetiebelle screamed. The shadow was being cast by this large guy in black armour with white flamea on it. It had this blade with it that seemed familiar. "Who are you?!" I demanded as I took a step foward, pushing the girls behind me and Cacoono (who looked like he was torn between running and staying. couldn't blame him, this thing looked scary!) The thing slowly raised his hands and removed his helmet, revealing his face to us. I took a good look and gasped. It was my brother, Ronin. But he was...different. He had a glowing green eye on his left, instead of the ocean blue they are supposed to be. And some of his armour looked like it was a part of his body instead of being pure metal. He knelt down and looked me in the eye. "Little bro...is that really you?" He asked me. That's when I couldn't hold back anymore. I ran forward and hugged him really hard. He picked me up and spun me around, laughing all the while. "RONIN!" I yelled happily as he put me down. "I was so worried, with Raiden telling me you had became a bad guy and being a queens slave or something. But here you are! With your awesome skill, we can defeat those bug things together!" As I finished, I noticed he was eyeing Cacoono strangely, while Cacoono shriviled in his gaze. "Oh, these are my friends. The earth pony is Applebloom" She nodded slightly at Ronin. "The unicorn is Sweetiebelle." She looked at him and smiled. "And the pegasus is Scootaloo." She proudly lifted her head. "Oh! and this unicorn is Cacoono!" Said unicorn was now completely behind me. "Don't worry, he's shy." Ronin looked at all of us for a bit before turning back to me. "Little bro, I need you to answer me something, ok?" I nodded, eager to help. "Do you know who the elements of harmony are?" At this, the crusaders smiled. "Oh, ya mean our sistahs?" Applebloom asked. He nodded. "They live in ponyville. Mah sister is at the barn, Sweetiebelle's is at the boutique of hers." She nodded to Scootaloo. "Rainbow isn't her sistah, but she's her idol." Scootaloo cut in. "Yeah, Rainbow dash is the best!!! but why do you want to know where they are?" Ronin simply smiled, yet the smile seemed weirdly aggresive. "Easy, I have a business proposition for them, and I don't think they would like for this opportunity to pass by." He said as he started walking towards town. Even though I was happy to see him, I couldn't help but shudder at the way he said that. As we followed him, I prayed that we hadn't just made a huge mistake. > Chapter 12: Family matters pt.2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* As we were about to walk into town, Ronin stopped. He turned to us and smiled. "Better clean myself up, huh." He said as green flames surrounded him suddenly, causing the girls to yell out in suprise. "He caught fire!" Scoots yelled as the fire dimmed and I gasped. He looked liked he did before we left earth, except that his normal black/brown hair was now stark white and his left eye was still green. He wore a black jumpsuit and still beared the sword. He looked at us and smiled. "Now that I look presentable, you kids better run along now. I have adult matters to talk with your siblings and friends with. And it wouldn't do to have y'all making it awkward for either party." He said the last part with a bit of ice in his tone. As much as I didn't want to have Ronin out of sight, I had to tell Raiden about him being here. I turned towards the girls, back to Ronin. "Lets go, guys." I said as the girls and Cacoono looked at me in suprise. I winked at them before turning back around. "See you later, Bro." He gave a quick hug before walking towards the cakes residence. I turned to crew quickly. "Girls, come with me. I need y'all to help me warn twilight and the others about Ronin. Cacoono, I saw how you looked at him, if you want to, you can go back home. I don't want you getting hurt. " He nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah. See you guys later." He said as he vanished with a poof. Funny, I dont recall him being able teleport before. No matter, we had bigger things to worry about. We quickly ran towards the library, hopefully to get help quick before someone (or somepony more likely) got hurt. *********** Ronin POV *********** As I walked through town, I noticed that the ponies were looking at me strangely. I guess since they had seen my brothers, fear wouldn't really be on their minds. Instead, I got curious looks instead. I ignored them as I approached my destination. I walked into the sweet shop and looked around. It was empty save a completely pink earth pony playing with a baby unicorn and pegasus. I walked up and she turned around faster than lightning. She looked at me and gasped. "HI, IM PINKIE PIE! ARE YOU ANOTHER HUMAN!?" She happily yelled as I flinched from the sudden outburst. The foals seemed unfazed by this, however, and simply giggled. What the hell is she on? I thought as I recovered. I cleared my throat and replied. "Ok, Please don't yell at me like that again, aight." She nodded and quickly replied. "Sorry, I just get soooooo excited when I see somepony new in town, or someone in your case since your a human. *Le Gasp* Do you know Nick? I bet you know Nick! You must be his brother! but Raiden came by earlier and he didn't look anything like you. but he did say to watch out for a guy with a......sword." She had started talking fast, but stopped with a whisper as she realized who I was. So it seems my brother and that princess have these home-town heroes on the lookout for me. Good. Real good. That makes getting to business so much easier. I took a step towards her as she backed up, putting the foals behind her. "Why don't you put those foals to bed and we can continue this conversation without the presence of children." I said as her went wide. She turned and picked up the foals and, trembling the whole way, took them upstairs to their rooms. I followed her up and waited for her out the door. She came out and looked at me with fear. I leaned in a tad, an idea coming to mind. "Relax, Pinkie Pie. I don't want to hurt you. You see, you have been terribly misinformed about what I have done. I don't want to hurt ponies." I said with an innocent smile as one slowly came to hers. "You don't?" She said slowly as I laughed. "Of course not, you see, I simply wanted to throw a huge party for the princess and the queen. But the Captain and my brother stopped me because they were jealous." She gasped loudly. "They stopped a party!" She exclaimed. I sadly nodded. "Those meanies!!!" She nearly yelled. I smiled at her. "That is why I came to the party pony herself, the ELEMENT of laughter. If anyone can help me, its you." Her grin grew impossibly wide. "I'd LOVE to help you create this party!!! When is it?" She asked as I smiled at her. "In a couple of days or so. Bu I must ask of you something, where are elements of harmony located? We want to use them as props for party games." I said as she started hopping around. "PARTY GAMES!!!! that's easy, they are in the largest tower at canterlot castle." My eyes went wide. Of course they would be there, that makes this so much easier. I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her bouncing. "Thank you, party queen. I shall come by later with better plans for the party. You've been a GREAT help." I said as I teleported away with green flames, not noticing the slight blush on her face from the compliment. ********* Nicholas POV ********* As we ran through town towards the library, we came to a stop at a weird sight in front of us. Cacoono was standing in the middle of the street talking to a mare with icy blue hair and silver eyes. It wasn't until Sweetiebelle spoke up that I realized something wasn't right. "Um...Nick?" She asked. I looked to her and raised an eyebrow. "Why are there holes in her legs?" Sure enough, the mare had several holes in her legs, yet no blood was coming out. That means..... "Crap, she's one of those monsters Raiden told me about. She's going to hurt Cacoono!" I said as I rushed forward. "Nicholas, wait!!!" Applebloom called but I had already started running towards them. As I got closer, I could tell that the thing was cornering Cacoono. With a yell, I focused into my hand and did a throwing motion, praying it worked. thankfully, it did. A ball of red light shot forward and sent the thing flying with a screech into a wall. Cacoono looked towards me as relief washed over his face. "Nick!! Oh, thank goodness. That lady was trying to kill me!" He said quickly, but he wouldn't look at me all the way. "Ok, What are you hiding?" I asked as the girls caught up. He looked at me with suprise. "I-I....fine. Geuss I should be honest, huh?" He said as a yellow flash surrounded him. In his place was a black thing with complete yellow eyes. He shared the same hole problem as the blue lady. The girls let out a gasp at the reveal, while I simply stared him down. "How long have you known?" Cacoono asked. I smirked and put my hands on my hips like Raiden does when he thinks he's smarter than everyone. "Since Ronin appeared. Raiden said he was with the changelings, so when you started freaking out internally whenever he would stare at you, I realized you must've been worried he knew something. Then you teleported with ease even though your just a colt. From what Twilight says, that takes practice. And from a species born for war, that's PLENTY of practice." I finished as he looked down in shame. "Why go tah all the trouble, though?" Applebloom said. "Why lie tah us an' everything." He looked up with a sad face. "My mother sent me here with two others to find and kill the elements of harmony, but I honestly couldn't kill anything if I tried. I've always been better at healing magic anyway. But the other two wouldn't give up, so I've been lying to them to keep your families safe. I couldn't betray you guys after being so nice to me. I'm sorry." Cacoono finished as tears went down his face. I suddenly felt bad for the guy. He wasn't a fighter, but was born into a war he didn't want to take part in. Scootaloo walked up to him. "Listen dude, you may have lied to us. but in the end you did what was right. I don't know about the others, but that makes you alright in my book." She said as Cacoono hugged her suddenly. She let out a soft squeak but didn't pull away. When he finally let go she stepped back, blushing hard. I stepped forward, extending my hand. "Lets start over then. Hello, My name is Nicholas. What's yours?" He looked at my hand, pondering for a second, then he shook it. "My name is Tak." he said with a smile. But then, that lady appeared in front of us. "OK, BOY!!!! I DONT CARE IF YOUR RELATED TO RONIN OR WHAT! BUT YOUR HEAD IS GOING ON A SPIKE!!!" She yelled as she rushed us. I put up my hands in defense. CLANG!!!!! I looked past my hands to see Ronin blocking her with his sword. He pushed hard and sent her back a couple of yards. He turned to us. "You alright, bro?" he said as I hugged him. "You saved us!!!" I said as I looked up at him. "Of course, can't have an icy bitch hurting my bro and his friends. Especially not my girlfriends kid." He said as he patted Tak on the shoulder. "Thanks, Ronin... wait, What do you mean GIRLFRIEND?" But then The lady roared. "MY NAME IS TUNDRA STORMWEATHER!!! I WAS TOP OF THE CHARTS AT THE WONDERBOLTS ACADEMY BEFORE I BECAME A CHANGELING! I HAVE BUTCHERED COUNTLESS PONIES, GRIFFONS, AND MINOTAURS!!! AND I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Ronin turned towards her after smiling at me. "Why dont you sit back and watch the show, Y'all. I've got a snowmare to melt." He said as he drew his blade. the two slowly circled each other before Tundra shot up into the air and started glowing. Out of nowhere, a blizzard hit the town, freezing over several buildings( and ponies) immediately. I put a shield over us to block the cold. "Let us see if you can handle the cold heart of a lady." Tundra sneered at Ronin as she dive bombed him. He dodged left and swung at her wings, but she tilted right to catch an updraft from the hailstorm to avoid the blow. After circling around, she started swinging her hooves in a circular motion, causing shards of ice to be shot at Ronin. He smiled and started cutting down the ice shards. A couple grazed his knees and arms though, causing him to groan in pain. "Aww... Am I hurting the little boy with the toy sword?" She mocked as she dive bombed again, this time covered in glacier-thick ice as a sheild. Ronin ran at her and grabbed her wings as she connected with him. Grunting loudly, he threw her into a flower stand that had been left behind by fleeing ponies. She got up quick and her horn sparked brightly out into the storm. Three snow soldiers resembling ponies came to life from the hail that was falling. Bearing swords of their own, they attacked. The first one swinging hard in a downward motion at Ronin, who simply sidestepped it and sliced the thing in half. the second and third one teamed up strike in succesion, causing Ronin to backpedal quite a bit. "We have to help him!" Tak yelled over the storm. I nodded and thought for a second, then Sweetiebelle spoke up. "Nick, see if you can enchant his sword. I remember reading about that when I was at Twilights library once." She said as my eyes widened. "Your a genius, Belle!" I yelled as I focused my magic on his sword, not noticing the intense blush she had on her face. I dropped a hole in the shield long enough to send a red orb at the sword. It connected and caused it to turn red. Ronin looked at the blade in shock, then sliced the snowponies. They melted instantly! He looked to me and gave me a thumbs up, just before getting slammed by Tundra, causing him to slide back across the icy ground. He recovered and glared at tundra. She frowned at him. "WE FINISH THIS NOW!!!" She roared louder than ever as she rushed forward with an icy sword of her own. Ronin did the same, letting off his own battle cry. *SHING!* Both had swung past each other and were several feet past where one of their swords connected. For a second, No one moved. Then Ronin started swaying as Tundra turned around. "I have won the day, Ape!" She said....as she fell over. Ronin recovered and walked over to her and plunged the still red-hot sword into her chest. After an unearthly screech, she melted to nothing. The hailstorm died instantly, with all frozen buildings and ponies thawing out without side effects or anything. I lowered the sheild and ran up to Ronin. "Ronin that was awesome!" I said as the girls and Tak caught up. "I knew you were strong, but to vanquish that icy demon..." Tak said with wonder laced into his words. "Your as tough as Rainbow Dash!!" Scootaloo said as Applebloom looked at her with shock. "Scootaloo, I ain't evah see Rainbow Dash beat a snowpony before, so in mah book, he's way tougher than her." She said as I saw light glowing from the puddle that was Tundra. A blue light shined from it as it floated towards the sky. "Thank you for freeing me from that prison." It said softly hold up "Did that light just speak to us?" Sweetiebelle said. Ronin shushed her and stepped forward. "What happened to you?" He said. The light seemed to dim in response, as if it was sad. "I had met a being like you and that child, but it was full of malice. He cursed me and my three closest friends to become darker versions of ourselves." It said as it floated higher. "Forget me, you must....save.....the others..." It faded away. Ronin sheathed his sword and turned to us. "If the lieutenants are revolting and going after Tak and Chrysalis, we may be in big trouble." He said as we all shared a worried glance. I turned towards the direction of Canterlot. What's going to happen to us? to this world? these were thoughts that couldn't help but plague my mind as we made our way towards the tree house, hoping Twilight was there. > Chapter 13: Family matters pt.3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV" We walked into the library to find almost no one there except Raiden, who immediately looked up from the book he was reading to greet me. "Hey, Nick. Where did you go earlier? Twilight and the others left for the wedding already and..." He trailed off as he looked to Ronin and Tak. He shot up quickly and stomped straight up to Ronin, inches from his face. "What the hell are you doing here?" He growled. Ronin simply smirked at him. "We have a lot to talk about, bro." Ronin said as he motioned for all of us to sit down. ********** Raiden POV ********** When your fugitive brother comes waltzing into the library your currently staying at, positive emotions tend to disappear quickly. Especially when said brother is a cocky pain in the ass at times. This time, however, he had good reason to be talking to me. "Let me get this straight." I started, barely believing what they had told me. "Your telling me that the wedding is rigged by your boss, who is also your bed buddy. But the rigged part is being doubly rigged by these lieutenants who want to off both royal families?" I finished as Ronin put his head into his hands in a tired expression. He had spent an hour or two explaining what was going on, not only had some icy changeling try to kill one of us, but had tried to kill the other kids as well. Whatever bro issues we were currently having were going to have to go on hold, because this means both our people were in danger. "But ya said our sistahs went to the weddin' already. How are we gonna get there in time?" Applebloom said, but I smiled. "You see, you three girls are supposed to be the flower fillies there. So Twilight cast a spell in that door y'all came through. If we walk through it after saying 'canterlot' we will appear at the castle. From there we can do what we do best." I said that last part while looking at Ronin, who suddenly started grinning like a demon. "And what would that be?" Tak said as he eyed us. Nicholas simply face-palmed. "These two idiots are LEGENDARY at crashing parties and get togethers with their pranks." He sighed as The girls giggled at that. Tak rolled his eyes and Ronin snorted as he stood up. His eyes caught on a vial in my hand. "What the hell is that?" He asked me as I pocketed the vial. "It was supposed to give us an edge against you, but now we might need it against whatever is coming." I said as we walked towards the door. The girls walked straight up to it. with a smile on their face, they took a deep breath. "CUTIE MARK WORLD SAVERS!!!!" They yelled as Ronin rolled his eyes, Nicholas laughed, and I simply stared on with a smile. After saying the word necessary to activate the spell on the door, we walked through. ********* Canterlot castle ********* Chrysalis sat in front a mirror, staring at the mess of a mane that irritating mare had created. And she calls herself a designer of fashion! She sneered to herself as she magically fixed her hair to what it was like before. Of course, she had to angle it like that idiotic Cadenza's hair to keep suspicion from arising. Staring at the pink pony in the mirror facing her, she snarled. "Can't believe I have to look like this! Ugh, what a queen does for conquest!" She said to herself as the door behind her opened. A butler came in quickly and shut the door behind him. After a flash of grey light, A changeling with no legs floated where the butler once was. "Ah, Monsoon. how do things fare with the plans?" Chrysalis asked. Monsoon smiled and responded. "No one suspects a thing, except for that purple pony, but didn't you already handle that, my queen?" he said quickly. Chrysalis turned to him and laughed. "Of course, that pestilent unicorn is out of the picture now. Nopony could escape those crystal caves below. Now, have you heard from our ponyville unit?" At this, Monsoon frowned. "No, your majesty, they seem to have gone silent in the hive mind. I do feel a new presence though. Would that be our resident human?" he said as Chrysalis smiled. "Ah yes, Ronin has became a part of the mind. You know, he took me as his hivemate." Monsoon's eyes bugged put of his head in suprise. "He did!? Why did he choose you? N-Not that theres anything wrong with that." He stammered out quickly. Chrysalis frowned and answered. "I honestly don't really know why he cares about me so much. That night, I fed on a love from him I had never felt directed at me before. I guess he couldn't resist his queen." She said the last part with pride. she then turned back to the mirror. "Why do you ask though, his connection has just started, so you shouldn't be able to feel it long distance." Monsoon gulped a tad. "Well, that may be because the presence is here in the castle." He said as Chrysalis stopped in her tracks, brush in the middle of her hair. "What is he doing here?" She asked him. Monsoon just shook his head. "No idea, my queen. But I can sense a great deal of worry from him. Something tells me something may go wrong today, and he knows it." Monsoon said as Chrysalis mulled it over. "Well then, go assist him in any means necessary. If he is here, then something went wrong with the ponyville unit." She ordered. Monsoon saluted and flew off. Chrysalis sighed and turned towards the window. What could cause someone like Ronin to be afraid? She thought to herself as she looked to the pink barrier surrounded the castle. She didn't notice that Monsoon had put a necklace on as he floated out with a malicious grin on his face. *********** Nicholas POV *********** After we walked through the door, we found ourselves in the middle of a fancy hallway. The girls and Tak looked around in awe while both Raiden and Ronin simply started planning. "Now, we need to find Celestia and alert her of the issue." Raiden said, but Ronin shook his head. "We are NOT interfering with the wedding, we are here to stop the lieutenants. Dont get sidetracked." He said while getting closer to Raiden. They looked ready to fight before the doors leading outside swung open. We turned to the ponies who came running in. "Twilight! Cadence! what happened to y'all?" Raiden said as they stopped by us. "Raiden, I'm glad your alright. An imposter pretending to be cadence is trying to marry my brother! we need to go to the throne room and..." She trailed off as she saw Ronin. Her eyes went wide and she took a step back. "W-whats he doing here?" She asked as Cadence stepped forward to Ronin, staring him down the whole time. "Are you the one who fought my shining last week?" She asked as Ronin smiled and shrugged. "That unicorn that could ACTUALLY defend himself? Yeah, that was me." He said with bravado. She frowned at that, but Nicholas stepped in. "Guys, this is no time for fighting, we have to make it to the throne room." Nick paused and looked at Twilight. "Twilight, could this mare activate the vial in Raidens pocket?" Twilights eyes lit up as she turned to Cadence. "That's right! We're probably going to need that upgrade for Raiden. Cadence, could you use your migic on that vial?" She said as she points to a vial that Raiden pulls out of his pocket. Cadence nods, though she looks confused. "Ok, but what does that do?" She says as she sends a small beam of pinkish light at the vial. After getting enveloped by it, the vial turns orange. Twilight turns to Raiden "Now all you have to do is drink up!" She says as Raiden gulps. "Oh well, down the hatch." Raiden mumbles as he drinks the thing. Ronin leans in towards me. "What was in that?" He asked with a confused stare. I smile and turn to him. "Dragoon blood." I say as a look of disgust appears on his face. Before he can say more, a bright white light surrounds Raiden. "Whoa.." Ronin says, voicing everyone's emotion right now. After the light dimmed, Raiden had on this cool armour! It looked like orange dragon scales with what looked like yellow lightning following the lines in the armour. Although he had no helmet, he had a neck guard that had an extension that covered the mouth as well, With a small hole on front of the mouth that looked like a mini flamethrower. Raiden looked at himself and laughed. "This is incredible! I feel so powerful!" Cadence and Twilight looked on in shock. "It worked! but I never thought it'd work that well." Twilight said as a loud BOOM could be heard from outside. Ronin ran to a window and looked outside. "Hey, Cadence. you remember that shield your lover boy set up?" He said as he turned to her. she nods slightly. "Well, a changeling named Tremor just shattered it in one punch, and he's coming straight here." He says with an edge in his voice. Cadence walks up to him. "Who is Tremor? and why do you sound unhappy that he's coming?" She asked as Tak spoke up. "Tremor is a behemoth of a changeling that stands taller than Celestia. He can take on anyone with ease! if he's coming, we are screw-..." He gets cut off as Tremor crashes through a window and lands in front of us. He turns and stares straight at Ronin as his face contorts with rage. "YOOOOOOUUU!" He roars. "You are the one who killed my hivemate, and now I'm going to kill you in return." He growled as I stepped foward. "What are the lieutenants planning? and why here of all places?" I ask him as he laughs. "Such a young one, yet the first to approach me! You would make a fine comrade if you weren't a ponyhugger. But since you have balls to step to me, I will tell you about the plan. You won't be alive to make a difference, anyway!" He tilts his head back, laughing the whole time. He turns to the window. "We have started our revolt on this castle with the sheilds fall. With the queen taken care of and the princess and her elements captured already, we have already won!" He says as Twilight and Ronin both get angry frowns. "What you do with Chrysalis?" Ronin yells. Tremor turns to him and laughs. "That would be Monsoon's department. He trapped her in the mind of that captain. As long as he stays under the spells effects, she shall NEVER be free." Noticing Twilights glare, he continues. "The princess has been put in the highest tower, and the other bearers are cacooned in the throne room." He finishes with a yawn. Raiden steps foward. "Alright, to save the kingdom, we are going to have to split up. Twilight, Cadence, Nick and the others, I need you to go and free the elements. Without them, this'll be a MUCH harder fight." Twilight nods as they run towards the throne room. "Ronin, go save the princess." he frowns at that. "Do I LOOK like a plumber?" He complains, but he turns and teleports away, leaving just Raiden and Tremor. "You are a honorable soldier, fighting me alone. Dumb, but honorable." Tremor remarks. He takes a stel forward and starts to glow. A magma-like armour appears around him. "I can sense the magic coming from that armour, from you. Lets see you use it!" He roars as he rushes Raiden. ************** Raiden POV ************** I puts up his hands to block the attack as two yellow axes formed in my hands. Tremor hit them and bounced off them with a shock. He looks at them carefully before summoning his own weapon with magic. It looks like a sword, but has a curved edge to it. "Time you died, boy." He growls as he rushes again, swinging his blade towards me from the right. I swing one axe to block and swing foward with the other. He simply summons another sword and starts hacking away. Loud crashes and clangs ring out as our blades connect. He jumps back and fires a large fireball at me from his mouth. I jump to the left to dodge, but he meets me there and delivers a stomach blow with his fist. I drop the axes in pain before getting hit into a wall by a second punch. He starts laughing before slowly inhaling. Crap, he's going to breathe fire!" I thought, but soon realized I could barely get up. Then, I had an idea. I started to inhale deeply too. Tremor looked confused but kept going. We both reached maximum oxygen capacity quickly and released it all. A red flame came from Tremor, and a white flame from me. The two fires collided sharply as they crackled against each other before sputtering out in a mutual defeat. Tremor roared and rushed me again, this time I was ready. I felt a jolt go through my hands as I swung them towards Tremor. A massive bolt of lightning struck him, sending him against the wall, causing his eyelids to droop. I took the chance and grabbed the axes and charged towards him, swinging the axes down hard. His eyes shot open as he blocked the blow. Yet I pushed harder, adding lighting into the axes. Although he was much bigger than me, he was faltering under the shock. I smiled at him as a look of fear appeared on his face. "You-You bonded with dragon blood?!" He sputters out as I laugh. "Hell yeah! Now be a good villain and die!" I roared and cut through the sword and sliced right at his neck. *SCHLICK!* His head landed off to the side with a sickening thump. My axes disappeared as I turned towards the head as a orange light appeared, floating upwards. "Thank you, honorable knight. My name was Tremoring Blade before all of this. I had been fatally injured in combat with changelings before a hooded man gave me a second chance to live. I didn't know, however, that I had sold my soul to tartarus to do so. The man had tricked my friends already, and needed my power. But now you have freed me from his chains. You have my thanks, boy!" it started to fade slowly. "Now go and help those girls, they will need it." It faded away as the body that was left behind turned to harmless embers. I smiled and made my way towards the throne room, hoping that everyone was doing ok as we slowly began our fight for Canterlot. No, fight for the World. > Chapter 14: Family matters pt.4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* After teleporting away, I found myself in the middle of the room at the top of the tower. As my eyed adjusted to the room's dim lighting, I couldn't help but be shocked at the sight. I had found the princess, but in quite possibly the worst situation I had ever seen. She was cacooned in the center of the wall on the side, but had these spider webs surrounding the cacoon. Each web string had some kind of odd dew on it that looked like it was made from the same stuff as the cacoon. "What the hell?" I said as I carefully maneuvered my way to the Celestia (That's what her name was, right?) As I made it to her, I noticed her face was contorted in some kind of rage/fearful expression. Swiftly, I made an upwards cut through the cacoon, careful not to hurt the captive, and immediately got flattened by the falling princess. She regained consciousness quickly and looked straight down at me. "You're Raidens...But why did you save me?" She asked as she looked straight into my eyes. I couldn't help but notice we were literally inches from each others faces, yet I couldn't tear myself from her purple eyes. I smirked and responded. "Well, sunbutt. While you were napping, the lieutenants of chrysalis's army have been causing a revolt against both sides. It's honestly confusing me to no end." She gave me a confused look. "Confusing? what do you mean by that? She asked as the room creaked a little, as if someone was crawling on the ceiling "Its just, Chrysalis and Tak told me that Equines have been attacking changelings for centuries without proper reason, but with all the ponies I've seen, none of you have fit that description. Yet at the same time, changelings ARE suffering." I slowly sat up as she plopped down next to me in some sort of ponyloaf. "I want to help them so bad, but it feels like I'm not hearing the whole story." I say, noticing a sad gaze from Celestia. "I never took you to be one with patriotism, Ronin. I had purely thought you to be a merciless killer in our lands." As she said that, I glared at her. "I don't kill without reason!" I spat. "Those guards that day drew their blades among their captains orders to subdue and kill me. Is it really fair to judge me for your own militaries lack of ability to protect themselves from threats?" She closed her eyes in thought before answering. "I can see where your coming from, but our country is a land of peace. We do not stand for violence or war at all." She sighed as she turned to me again. "However, I see that ignoring those things will only make us weaker. But let me ask you, how would you go about training those who don't have the art of war?" She finished as I thought carefully. An idea sparked in my mind. "I would set up a military training base in each populated area, a place where one can train those soldiers in special ways such as covert ops or explosive warfare." I said as she nodded to show she was listening. "Since your kind have three types of ponies, you would need at least nine camps, three for each species type. You would also be wise to have other species among those ranks, like having dragons train with pegasi, minotaurs train with earth ponies, and changelings with unicorns. If these species could learn from one another, your country and your world would benefit better from it." I finished as her eyes were wide from the information as she digested it all. "I have never thought of that before. but how would we even start something like that?" She asked me as I stood up. "Its easy, just make a petition and have a officer in each camp that can specialize in each area." I said as she stood up as well, looking towards me with a smile. "For now, though, lets go kick some ass." She chuckled at this before we heard a maniacal laugh from above us. We looked up and barely had time to jump (or in Celestia's case, teleport) out of the way of the falling Arachnid. "Weeeeeeelll weeeeeelll, if it isn't our little puppet! Fiiiiiinally starting to realizzzzzze you've beeeeen had?" Volt choked out false sadness. My eyes narrowed with rage. "What do you mean, Volt?! How have I been tricked?" I asked as Celestia appeared next to me in golden armour and a helmet with her symbol on it. Volt laughed again. "HEHEHE, Itssss sooo sad. The knight wiiiith a buuuuurning passion to prooootect those he cares about, beeeing told a soooob story byyy a little boy." He scurried straight up to me, suddenly talking way more normal and in a way deeper tone as his eyes started glowing red. "You've been lied to, boy! Changelings may have fought ponies, but ponies didn't bring their fall, they did that to themselves!!" He cackled as I started to shake with rage. Celestia took a step forward and summoned a mace with her magic. "Your kind are truly monsters, lying to a lost being like that!" She said in a deep tone as Volt cackled again, though this time he seemed more angry. "MY KIND?! I am not a changeling, princess scum. I am a Antiarachnid! We were powerful beings that went to war with the griffons of the west, yet I found refuge pretending to be a changeling stuck in this form." He said as my eyes widened. "Wait, that means your not one of the lieutenants?" I asked as he smiled. "Oh, I'm a big boy alright! but unlike the other three, I didn't need that fools mind control to do bad things, I feed on Equines for FUN!!!!!!" He roared as I drew my blade. "So, your telling me that not only have I been lied to by the two changelings I trusted the most, but I also have been targeting the wrong species as well!!!" I yelled at him. Oddly enough, he stopped cackling and looked at me with regret. "You know, out of all the lieutenants, I was the one that pittied you the most. You were new in this world, and didn't need to be a part of this. but that's how fate works, I suppose." He started crackling with lightning. "Now, let me cure you of your pain and heartache with the sweet embrace of DEATH!" he roared as an electric wave rippled towards us. Celestia teleported next to me and put up a shield around us, nullifying the shockwave. Volt frowned as his legs extended at us, one piercing the sheild and slamming me into a wall, a second one latched onto me and sent lightning through my body. "AGGGGHH!!!" I yelled as my head titled back in agony. I heard a swift chop as Celestia had cut off the arm. With a screech, Volt fell backwards and crashed through the wall, falling out the tower. Celestia looked to me, worry in her eyes. "Ronin, can you stand?" She asked me as I slowly made my way to my feet. The armour I wore slowly fading. I looked at it in shock. "Why is my armour disappearing?" I asked as she looked at it, but before she could reply, a loud laugh came from outside. We ran to the hole in the wall to see volt flying around the tower with wings on his back. Celestia turned to me. "Get on." She said, motioning her backside. I hesitantly got on as we took off after the maniac. He saw us coming and started shooting bolts at us. I patted her back as I stood up. feeling her magic support me. "Keep flying, I'll deflect the bolts!" I yelled over the sounds of thunder as Bolts started coming my way. I spun by blade around in an almost windmill motion as the shots were sent into the ground or nearby towers. Celestia finally caught up as Volt turned around and sent an extended leg at me. Celestia horn glowed as she chunked me onto the leg. But instead of falling, my feet stuck to the leg. "Go!" She ordered. I gave a 2 finger salute and ran down the leg at Volt, who shot some black gunk at me, I ducked underneath it, hearing it splat nearby, and went for his other legs. "W-wait PLEASE NOT THAT SWORD!!" he screamed, but I ignored it as I made it to his body and started cutting limbs, each one producing a loud yell from Volt. I quickly spun around and plunged my sword into his back and drug it down his backside, eliciting a loud scream of pain from him. He looked to me in a mix of rage/glee. "You may kill me, but I'm taking that princess with me!" He roared as one last leg shot out and shot through celestia wings, shredding them. She let out a scream before plummeting faster than Volt. "Shit! Celestia!!" I yelled as I jumped off Volt and dove towards her. As I neared her I noticed her horn was black. That gunk from before! I said as the ground ground was quickly approaching. I noticed Celestia looking at me with fear. That's when I felt this odd feeling in my gut. It was that feeling you get when you feel like you must do something. I took a deep breath and focused my body, not noticing the black aura surrounding my back. Celestia did though, and let off a gasp. FWOOM! Black wings with icy blue edges protruded from my back. I felt a rush of energy leave me as they slowed our descent to a safe speed as we landed in the courtyard. We landed in a two person/pony pile on the ground. For a minute, neither of us moved, until I started laughing. Soon Celestia joined in and we just were cracking up until Volts dead corpse landed not even ten feet from us. We looked at the corpse, reminded of what we needed to do. Celestia got off me as I stood up, testing my wings. They were cool looking, and seemed to work. I turned to her motioned to Volts body. "What hell was that!" I yelled. She looked him in disgust before answering. "He was an Antiarachnid, a species similar to changelings in form change, but only to amplify their spider bodies to kill prey. I would have never thought one was still alive after all these years." She said as she saw I had no armour on anymore, just the black jeans and shoes I had wore when I had arrived. "Let me fix you up a bit." She said as her horned glowed. A golden light surrounded me as I felt a tickling sensation. I looked down and gasped. I now had a silver chestplate on with dark blue on its edges, the visor I used to wear now replaced with a Spartan like helmet that was the same style as the plate. My jeans were now adorned with light blue shards that almost looked like ice. I noticed the chestplate had Celestia's mark on it. I gave her a smirk. "You already branding me as your personal soldier?" I asked with a wink as her face became red. she recovered quickly and walked by, bumping me with her flank. "Careful now, Ronin. Never give the enemy any ideas." She said with a purr as she walked towards the castle. Unable to tell if she was joking or not, I simply shrugged and followed her in. ********** Raiden POV ********** After handling Tremor, I had been running through the castle towards the throne room when I heard a loud crash outside the castle. I turned on a dime and went to the source of the sound to see Celestia and Ronin walking into the castle, except Ronin was wearing armour with Celestia's mark on it. then I sae the wings and my jaw dropped. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you?" I asked as he smiled at me. "Welp, saved the princess. Then we killed a super spider. Now I'm her husband!" He said, earning a whack to the back of his head by Celestia's hoof. "I said nothing of the sort, Ronin!" She growled, yet I saw a slight blush on her face. I saw her wings were torn and gulped a bit. "Are you going to be ok?" I asked her, motioning the wings. She looked at them and smiled before her horn glowed. The wings slowly came back together as if they were being sowned. "I'll live. but we need to get to the throne room, its time for all of this to come to and end." Celestia said as we nodded and ran towards the throne room, ready to take on anything that stood before us. > Chapter 15: Family matters pt.5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* We ran into the throne room to find it completely trashed. There was wedding decorations everywhere and a bunch of cacoons lining the walls. At the center of the room was a changeling that seemed to be balancing on a cloud. To the things left, there is a big cloud just sitting there. Twilight ran up to him immediately. "What have you done with my brother and friends?" She demands. The guy chuckles and motions the cloud to his left to disappear. As it vanishes, Everyone lets put a gasp. All of twilights friends, a unicorn dressed fancy (probably Twilights brother) and a tall changeling appear. That must be Chrysalis. I thought to myself. I noticed that all of their eyes were completely black, as if their souls were completely missing. Cadence stepped towards him, shaking with rage. "Who are you, and what have you done to them?" The thing smiles at her, rubbing the necklace around his neck. "Well, My changeling name is Monsoon. But when this necklace finally finishes feeding on the souls of your friends, I shall become what I once was LOOONG ago!" He tilts his head back and cackles madly as Twilights face pales. "T-their souls?" She asks as he nods. "Oh yes. you see, to bring back a vessel from Tartarus, one must give up nine souls. Eight must be magic filled, and one must have raw dark power. I have the magic vessels here, I'm just waiting for the dark one to arrive." He finishes as I step forward, motioning for the crusaders and Tak to sneak around to the cacoons and start freeing ponies. "Who's the dark one?" I ask him. He stares at me for a moment before sighing. "You haven't put it together, have you? There are only two possible candidates for that title. One that has fallen to darkness and one blessed with its power." As he finishes, Twilight starts to ponder what he said, before freezing up in realization. "That would mean you'd either need nightmare moon or..." She doesn't finish as a loud crash happens outside the castle. Monsoon turns to the window and sighs. "It seems Volt had the unlucky pull of fighting Ronin, or he wouldn't have died so fast." A smile forms on his face. "But now all the pieces are falling into place." He says as it all hits me. Ronin's the ninth vessel! I think as Cadence charges her horn, clearly had enough of Monsoon. "Enough! How dare you attack on MY wedding day!" She yells as she sends a beam at Monsoon. The beam, however, gets sucked into the necklace he's wearing. He simply laughs. "Is that all you can do?" He says as the doors behind us open and Raiden, Ronin, and Celestia barge in, the middle one with new wings. Ronin looks at Monsoon and takes several steps towards him. "Ronin NOOO!!!" I yell, but its too late. A black energy comes out of the necklace and hits Ronin, circling his body. He falls to his knees and lets out a yell of pain as his eyes start to go black. Several yells from the other's that are soulless can be heard as Twilight and Cadence runs up to them. Every black eyed person except Ronin collapses. Monsoon laughs. "Now, the process can be complete!" His body becomes mist as it flies into the darkness surrounding Ronin. Ronin lets out a louder yell as we all get pushed back a bit ny the raw power in the room. "Hurry, we must stop the ritual before he comes back!" Celestia yells over all the noise. Without question, Raiden runs up to the black ball surrounding Ronin and starts to hack at it with his axes. Yet it doesn't even leave a scratch. He takes a step back and frowns. "What do we do now?" He says, turning to Celestia. "That's MY brother in there!" They proceed to argue about what to do, but are interrupted by a loud laugh as the black ball disappears, leaving behind....the guy from my dreams. He looks up at us and laughs. "Hello Equestria!!! Dadiolus is back!!!!!" He spins around happily, before turning to face Celestia. "You may have to others back." He sneers with a snap of his fingers as the others get their normal eyes back, each one slowly recovering from the ordeal. Raiden looks at Dadiolus with rage. "What the hell did you do to my brother?" He growls as Dadiolus laughs before answering. "Oh, Ronin's soul is lost forever. I didnt even try to salvage it!" He says as he lets out a cackle. "I'd be worried about you lot a taaad more than him. At least he won't be in everlasting pain forever!" He yells as he sends a bolt of black lightning at us. I quickly throw up a sheild to block it, but as soon as it hits, I'm put to one knee. Celestia takes a step forward as she looks at me. "Little one, go help your friends save those innocent ponies, let Raiden and I stop this fiend." She commands. I nod and run over to the crusaders and Tak, who are struggling to get some ponies free from the goop. *********** Raiden POV *********** I find myself facing down the man who has been the source of all crap in the first place. Celestai stands beside me, ready to fight for her home. Dadiolus looks at us with a bored smile. "Let us see if you are strong enough to defy destiny!" He growls as I rush him, axes in hand. He ducks underneath a leftward swing by me and teleports behind Celestia, hitting her with a beam of magic that putsbher in a wall. She recovers and lets loose a beam if her own, except when he goes to teleport out of way this time, my axe is there waiting for him. I cut straight through his shoulder and sever his left arm from his body. He yells out and jumps away, patching up the hole in his body with a spell, then pulls a scythe out with his remaining hand. He charges forward and clashes with me halfway, the recoil sending us both back several feet. As he rushes forward again, he is hit by a green beam from the side, sending him to the ground. I look over and see Chrysalis standing there, though she is being supported by Tak. "Why are you helping?" I ask as she walks over to me. Celestia teleports over and gives her a raised eyebrow as she answers. "Two reasons. One, this fiend has taken the body of my recent consort and I would like it back as soon as possible. Second, I need to ask him something." She growls as she steps towards Dadiolus. "Where the hell are my children at?! I cannot sense any of them at all!" She yells at him. Dadiolus smiles at her. "Oh, to charge up this amulet I had to sever your link to the hive mind, which in turn caused all of your children to go into shock." Chrysalis's eyes widen as he starts to laugh. "I think you have realized what has happened, yes?" She is now shaking with rage. "You killed ALL of them!!!!" she yells out. Tak gasps and Celestia dawns a look of hatred on her face as Dadiolus laughs. "Yes, it was truly the best option, after all. See now no one has to worry abou-GAAH!!" Dadiolus is cut off as Chrysalis rears back and impales him with her horn. Deciding to finish the job, I run forward. "Chrysalis, duck!" I yell, throwing my axe. She teleports out of the way as the axe cuts his head straight off. The body is immediately covered in darkness as the body faded to dust. A loud peircing yell is heard as a black light shines out od the darkness. You may have defeated me, but your brother Ronin shall never be the same again! It yells before being hit by a beam from Celestia. the shadows dissapate and Ronin is left in their wake, though something is wrong. "Brother?" I call out as he gets up. Chrysalis takes a step towards him. "Ronin, are you.." She doesnt get to finish her sentence as he draws his blade and points it at her. his eyes are still black, and a frown is on his face. "What do you care if I'm alright, Queenie?" Ronin growls, his voice gravely and garbled. "You lied to me about the war, and you lied to me about the ponies. Hell! what we had was probably a lie as well." He says that last part as a tear goes fown his left eye. "What happened to him?" I ask Celestia, barely believing my eyes. She turns to me with a sorrow filled expression. "That monster of a man took all the love out of your brother to use his body, and now only pain and anger remain in him." She says as Nicholas walked over. He stopped at what she said and ran straight to me. "Raiden, Ronin will be ok, right?" He asked, but before I could answer, Chrysalis been knocked backwards by a kick from Ronin. She looked at him with a mix if anger and sorrow. "Yes! I admit that I had originally planned to use you, Ronin. But as the days went by, I found myself enjoying your company. I had seen the way Tak got around you, so lifelike and full of energy, that I slowly realized that I loved you. SO DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO TELL ME THAT I DON'T LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOT!!" She screeched out the last part, tears starting to stream from her eyes. Ronin's face went dark with emotionless rage. "Enough!!! its time I ended the pain this pain for good! NO ONE WILL HURT ME AGAIN!!!" he roared as he charged Chrysalis, ready to eviscerate her upon reach. She charged her horn and charged forward. "Chrysalis, Wait!" Nicholas yelled as a flash of green light blinded everyone for a second. When it dimmed, Ronin was being hugged by chrysalis, who had teleported herself into his arms, forcing him to drop the blade. "I don't care what you do to me after, but your going to listen to me!" She yelled at him, still hugging him. He stopped moving, letteing her say her piece. "Today, I have lost almost everything. Most of my people are dead, and no doubt the hive was destroyed by Monsoon after we left, since all of the unborn changelings are gone as well. But I WILL NOT LOSE YOU AS WELL!!!!" The next part came out as a low whisper. "Please Ronin, come back to me..." She lost all composure and started cyring right there. Ronin sat there, unmoving. "Damn it!" I growl, tears in my eyes. I feel a wing on my back. I turn to see Celestia smiling. "Look closely, Raiden." She said, nodding towards the two. I look and see Ronins arms slowly go around Chrysalis in a hug. She stops crying immediately and looks at his face. His eyes slowly start to go back to normal as he smiles at Chrysalis. "Heh, guess you got tired of that Maleficent routine, huh?" He smirks as Chrysalis, who although doesn't know who maleficent is, does know he's pulling her leg, Immediately teleports put of his grasp and reappears a couple of feet away from him. "Ronin, you asshole!" She yells as she tackles him with, kissing him passionately. Tak lets out a cheer as he runs up and tackles his mother. Ronin gets up and walks right up to us. I pull him into a big hug. "Welcome back brother!" I tell him, close to tears myself. He hugs me back hard and turns to Celestia. To my, and her suprise, he kneels. "Your majesty, I have wronged not only you but everyone else in this country as well. I will take any punishment necessary." Celestia looks at him with a smirk. "Well, since your begging to be punished, then I have one job for you." She says as Ronin looks up. "You must work off your debt to us helping our military grow. We were heavily unprepared for this attack, and with your help, I think we can keep this from happening again." Ronin looks up happily. "Celestia...thank you." He says as he pulls her into a hug. Although suprised, she doesn't pull away. A throat being cleared behind them causes them to seperate. I turn to see Cadence and Shining standing there, the latter eyeing Ronin. Cadence smiles weakly at Celestia. "Aunty, I think it would be best if we postponed the wedding for a week, just so we could get everything fixed and set up." She says as Celestia nods in agreement. Shining walks up to Ronin and stares at him. The two gaze at each other for what seems like hours, neither blinking. Then Ronin puts put his hand. "Your that unicorn that almost kicked my butt a couple of weeks ago, right? nice to finally meet ya." Shining looks at the hand, before smiling and taking it. "Likewise, but I overheard Celestia talking to you about our military. does that mean you'll be assisting our offensive line?" He says as Celestia butts in. "More like he will be a part of it altogethor, For he will be given authority over it." All of us go wide-eyed at this, especially Ronin. "What!!!! Where the hell will I be living at?" He asks, but Celestia puts a hoof up. "We shall speak of this later, for now. let us celebrate the victory." She said as a pinkie pie, who like her friends had fully recovered from the soul spell, overheard her and started corraling people out towards the courtyard. I rolled my eyes and followed, sure that the pony was planning some sort of party to celebrate. > Chapter 16: Party of a lifetime! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I yawned as I woke up, finding myself on some sort of couch, and started taking in my surroundings. The courtyard was littered with sleeping ponies and party decorations. I looked at where I had been sleeping and raised an eyebrow as I found I couldn't get up because Sweetiebelle was attached to one leg and Applebloom was attached to my left arm. I chuckled as I noticed Cadence walking through the yard, looking for someone. I waved her down and she came over. Since I couldn't bow, I simply did that two finger salute Ronin always does. "Hello princess, what happened out here?" I asked as she starting giggling. Her horn lit up as she teleported me out of the hoofs of the girls and next to her. "Well, Turns out Pinkie Pie pulled all the stops for this party, but I can't seem to find Aunty anywhere." She says as she picks up a bottle of cider. "I hope she didn't get too tipsy last night." She sighs as she looks to me. "I wasn't at the party for long, but I do know that Pinkie was the last one up last night." She said while pointing at a dunk tank, which Pinkie was fast asleep in. "Ok, thanks!" I said as I ran towards the dunk tank, passing by a passed out Tak who was using a konked out Scootaloo as a pillow. I made it to the tank and tapped the glass. "AHH!!!! The cupcakes are revolting!!!" She yelled out before falling into the water. I couldn't help but laugh as she pulled herself out of the tank. "Hey, Pinkie. What happened last night?" I asked as she put a hoof to her chin in thought. After a second, she grinned really big and grabbed my shoulders. "OH!!!! I remember! We threw a victory party for saving Equestria, then Applejack brought out the cider, and you and the girls went to play and we partied till the sun came up." She finished as I smiled kinda forcefully. "Could you repeat that, but slower." I ask her. She looks at me and smiles. "Of course, silly. Now where to begin..." ************** Party flashback/Raiden POV ************** When everyone came outside, Pinkie Pie had just finished setting up what she called the "Victory party" It was big, if anything else, with a huge dance floor in the middle, a really big food and drink table off to the side, and several party games surrounding the area. I smiled and made my way towards the punch bowl. After pouring a glass, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face Ronin. "Hey, brother. How are you feeling after all this?" I ask I start to watch Pinkie try to form a conga line with Nicholas and the crusaders leading. Of course, Nicholas is all for it, and Applebloom and Sweetiebelle are quick to agree, though I notice that they gave each other a slight glare before joining the conga line. "Well, I feel ok. Still kinda hurts around the chest area, but I'll live." Ronin says before turning to me. "Dude...I want to apologize for the whole attacking you before. I was kinda wearing a suit of armour that would've killed me if I didn't, but that's still no excuse for the mess that happened." He says as I frown at him. "Is that still an issue?" I ask, wary of his answer. He looks away for a second before replying. "Nah, it was connected to Monsoon's mind. And the dude is dead, so it should be fine." He said with a laugh as the the conga line goes by with more ponies in it. I make eye contact with Twilight and her eyes widen. "I didn't take you to be a partier, Twilight!" I say with a smirk as she congas by with a grimace. She turns her head back and responds. "IM NOT!! Pinkie glued my hoofs to her back so I have to stay in the line!!!" She yells back as I burst out laughing. I turn to Ronin. "I better go help her, see you later, man." I say as I join the conga line, making sure to wedge in behind Twilight. ********* Ronin POV ********* I laugh as Raiden attempts to free Twilight from the conga line that had even more ponies in it. I felt a poke at my ribs, so I turned and was met with a kiss from my girl. She turns and starts walking into the castle, so I walk up next to her. "Howdy, Chrysi." I say as she raises an eyebrow. "Chrysi? Have you lost brain cells from the incident earlier?" She remarks as I laugh. "Nah, just a nickname I came up with. Now, whats up?" I ask as her face becomes a slight frown. "Celestia wants to talk to us about 'the future' and what we plan to do after today." She says as I sigh loudly. "Lets not keep her waiting, right?" I say as we walk into the throne room. We walk in and Celestia is currently talking with some chef at a table. "Yes, Goldspoon, you may take leave and go see your family in ponyville." She says as the chef smiles and bows deeply, only to run straight out of the room in joy. She turns to us as we sit at the table. "You called, Sunbutt?" I say as Chrysalis rolls her eyes and Celestia chuckles. "Yes, I want to ask you what you plan to after tonight." She says as I ponder that same question. "Well, It depends on where your going to have my training regimen stationed at. If Im going to train soldiers, I'll need a barracks." I say as She smiles at me. "We have a small training base of operations being built in Ponyville as we speak, so that will be where your stationed." She motions for the a maid to bring us drinks, and said waiter does so. I take a look at the bottle. "Pinot Noir? y'all have wine in this world?" I ask as Celestia and Chrysalis get theirs poured first, then as mine is getting poured, Celestia responds. "Of course, sometimes said drink is necessary to pull through long hours of paperwork." She says as she slams the glass with her head tilted back slightly. I look at her in shock as Chrysalis laughs loudly, doing the same herself Celestia notices this and stares down Chrysalis, before magicing up another full glass and downing it just as fast. Chrysalis repeats, but with two glasses. Not to be left out, I get two more glasses and downed all three. "Lets make this a competition, then!" I yell as we start scrambling for wine and glasses. The waiters off to the side start to slowly sneak out of the room, not wanting to be here when the wine takes its toll. ********* Raiden POV ********* After escaping the conga line of death, Twilight and I decided to relax by an apple bobbing game. We were currently watching Nicholas and Applebloom compete to see who can get the most in a short time. "Alright, y'all. first one tah get tah five apples wins!" Applejack says as she pours about ten apples into the large container. She raises her hoof as Nick and applebloom get ready. "Your going down, sweet farmers child!" Nicholas says as I roll my eyes at the line from a certain country song. Applebloom grins widely at Nicholas. "Wanna bet, Nick? If ah win, ya gotta carry me on your back for the rest of the night!" She said as Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo got big grins on their faces. Of course, Nicholas doesn't think that a kid raised on a APPLE farm would be hard to beat in a bobbing for apples game, so he responds. "Alright, but if I win, you have to wear a dress for a week when we get back to ponyville!" He says as Applebloom pales a bit, but agrees all the same. Applejack clears her throat. "Alrighty then, on yer marks, git set, GO!" She drops her hoof and the two kids faces hit the water, splashing water everywhere. Twilight jumps back from the water and frowns. "Nick knows he going to lose, right?" She asks as I smile and turn to walk off, she follows next to me. "I think he does, but he's the type that plays games for the fun, not the glory." I say with a laugh as Applebloom finishes with her five before Nick can get even three. "Besides, I think he's got a crush on one or more of those girls, so he's going to do all he can to enjoy being around them." Twilight look to me with a raised eyebrow. "What about you? any mares caught your eye yet?" She asks me as I shake my head. "I haven't thought about that yet, to be honest. That does bring up a question that's been in my mind." I say as we walk past Rarity, who is currently trying to converse with some of the fancier ponies here, only to have Rainbow Dash dive bomb her at random to mess any chance of that happening up. "Whats the question?" She asks me as we look to the dancefloor to see Pinkie Pie pulling random ponies into the mix. I turn to Twilight, who looks kind off nervous for some reason. "Why are there so many mares, but so little stallions?" I ask her as she sighs in...relief? "Oooh, that's your question! Well, the mare to stallion average her really big, about 6 six to one to be exact. So usually this leads to herds and other sorts of relationships." She finishes as my jaw drops. "Wait, herds are a thing here?" I ask as she smiles sheepishly. "Wow thats... actually not that suprising." I say as Pinkie comes over. "Hey Raiden, you and Twilight should come and dance!" She says as I smile at the idea, but Twilight takes a step back. "Im not a good dancer, so I'll sit this one ouaaaaah!" She yelps as I pick her up and take her to the center of the dance floor. I plop her in front of me and smile as she frowns, her cheeks puffed a bit. "Sorry, Twi. But I need a dance partner, and I don't have the energy for Pinkie." I say as she rolls her eyes. "Fine, ONE dance. but that's it!" She states as I laugh. The music stops as a familiar voice comes over a mic. "Ladies and- oh wait, forgot your ponies- Mares and GentleStallions! This next song is for all those lovebirds out there, so pick yer partner and get to slow dancing!" Nicholas, you Ass. I think as I turn towards the dj booth, which has been commandeered by the crusaders and my brother (who still had Applebloom on his back) as he put a slow song on. I turn to Twilight, who looks like she is about to pass out and extend my hand. "May I have this dance?" I say as she gulps. "I've never slowdanced before with somepony." She says as I grab her forehooves and guide them up to my chest, causing her to stand on her back hooves. "Then follow my lead." I say as I slowly step in tune to the music. After a few missteps (and a couple of hooves to my feet, thank goodness Rarity made me shoes) she started getting the hang of it. Getting comfortable enough to rest her head on my chest as we swayed back and forth. As we dance, my mind reaches back to what she told me earlier. What was I going to do? There weren't any human girls here, so how would relationships work with the ponies? Ronin is with that Queen, but she's a bug thing, so that's not the same. But as I look at Twilight, who is now humming to the music, I can't help but smile. Maybe things can work out. I think, believing in my heart that nothing could ruin this moment. Then something plows into us, sending Twilight and me to the ground. ********* Nicholas POV ********* "I told ya they would be cute together." Applebloom says matter-o-factly. I just roll my eyes as Sweetiebelle turns to Applebloom. "Applebloom, can I get a turn on Nick, please!" She gives her the puppy dog eyes. Applebloom smiles and rolls her eyes. "Alright then, ah was getting tired of being carried around anyway." She gets off as Sweetiebelle Squeals before glomping me from behind. After adjusting my stance a bit, we leave the DJ booth and attempt to find Scootaloo. "Where do ya think she went?" Applebloom says as Sweetiebelle uses her extended height to look over the crowd. She points to the Corn hole set. "There she is, she's hanging out with Tak!" She says as I grab her legs. Sweetiebelle looks down at me with a confused look. "What are you doing?" She asks as I ready myself to sprint across the courtyard at top speed. Applebloom sees me doing this and gets out of the way quickly. "Im about to bull rush you across the courtyard, so hang on." I say as bend low. "Oh, ok." She says, satisfied. Then her eyes widen. "wait a secoooNIIIIIIICK!" She yells as I sprint towards them, making sure to knock Raiden and Twilight off balance, which causes Twilight to fall on top of Raiden in a VERY interesting position. I laugh as we approach Tak and Scoots, but slow down so they don't see us coming up. I set down Sweetiebelle and motion for her to sneak up on them. After ducking behind a table, we listen in on them while they play corn hole. "Dang it, why is this so hard!" Scootaloo says as she tried to throw the beanbag into the hole, just to miss it by several inches. Tak chuckles a tad before answering. "Well, you've got to guide it into the hole. You just can't throw it willy nilly, let me help you." He grabs a beanbag, hands it to Scoots, and starts positioning her body so that she can throw the beanbag easily. He puts his hoof underneath hers. "Now, rear your front leg back." He says while guiding her leg back. "And... Release!" He yells as she swings it forward, causing the bag to go straight into the hole. "Yes!!! I did it! That was so awesome!" Scoots yells as she pulls Tak into a big hug, before releasing him with a massive blush on her face. "Please don't tell the others I did that." She says as Tak smiles. "Your secret is safe with me, Sctootaloo." He says with a wink. That's when my inner troll decides to be fed once again. I sneak up behind the two and clear my throat. "What secret?" I say loudly as Scootaloo yells loudly and falls into Tak, sending then both to the ground. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom, who had finally caught up with us, starting busting a gut laughing. The two in the pile joined in, and we found ourselves enjoying the rest of the night together. *********** Ronin POV *********** "Yeah! fifty-five shots, baby!" I yell as I watched Celestia and Chrysalis continue to down glasses of wine, yet they were waaay slower than when they started. I had only had three myself, but I had pretended to drink with them to see how much they would down. And man, I was not disappointed! Chrysalis downed her fifty-sixth glass and turned to Celestia. "Give-hic-up yet?" She slurs as she wobbles a tad. Celestia lets out a loud snort as she downs hers as well. "Never, Chrysalis. I will not-hic- be out drank by a little splotch of black goo!" She mumbles before slamming her head into the table, breaking her side of the table in half. That was it for me. As soon as I saw that, I fell out of my chair with how much I was laughing. I looked up as Chrysalis walked over to Celestia. "Get-hic-up, you pasty pony!" She half yelled half mumbled, lightly poking Celestia in the face. "Ronin is laughing at you and me!" Celestia sat up immediately. "Who dares insult me!" Snickering, Chrysalis points to me, which causes Celestia to glare at me. But in a flash, that glare turns into a half-lidded stare. "Chrysalis, have we-hic- talked about the alliance with changelings, yet?" Chrysalis shakes her head, but gives me bedroom eyes all the same. "Because I think I know a way to punish our dear friend and salvage peace at the same time." Celestia said in a sultry voice as the two royals approached me. Realizing I done fucked up, I slowly started scooting away until I hit a wall. Realizing I was stuck, I just gave up and rolled with it. I stood up and grabbed them both by the horns (after nearly impaling myself on Celestias) and pulled them to the hallway. "Which way to your bedroom, Sunbutt?" I asked. Chrysalis giggled like a madman chanting 'breed! breed! breed!' under her breath as Celestia answered me by teleporting us to her bed. I turned to the girls and smiled. "Works for me." *********** Raiden POV *********** After being knocked to the ground, I found Twilight on top of me in a very compromising position. Twilight looked at me for a second, before realizing what we looked like, and jumped up very quickly. "Oh my gosh, Raiden I'm so sorry! I have no idea how we got like that an-" I put a finger in her muzzle and laughed. "Relax, Twi. my brother is the one who knocked us over, so it's no big deal." I said as Rainbow came flying over. "Hey, Twilight and Raiden! come on, pinkie pie wants to play a game with everyone." She points to the castle as she flies inside. I turn to Twilight and shrug as we walked inside to see Rainbow dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy waiting on us. "Man, you two are slow!" Rianbow quips but gets a hoof to the head by Applejack. "Will ya stop that? Pinkie said to meet her in the throne room, so we better git there before she gets...pinkie about it" Applejack says as she walks towards the throne room with us right behind her. "Now what could Pinkie possibly be thinking about doing in the throne room?" Rarity asked as we walk in with a gasp. The throne room is an absolute mess! There are overturned chairs and mountains of shot glasses littered around the place. And the table in the center of the room is split in half at the end. "Oh my! what happened here?" Rarity says as she steps around the mess. I walk over to a sword sticking out of one of the chairs. "Whatever happened, Ronin was a part of it." I say as Pinkie drops from the ceiling with an empty bottle, causing Fluttershy to squeak out before shrinking into a ball. Pinkie looks at us with excitement. "Who's ready to play spin the bottle?" > Chapter 17: After party > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV/party flashback* "So, any special rules?" I asked with a smirk. Twilight and her friends had set up a mini circle in front of a demolished table in the castle, and after Applejack had pulled out some cider, we had decided to get into the party spirit one way or another. "Well, the only difference in how we is play is if the bottle doesn't land on you, then you take a shot of cider." Twilight said, although she seemed reluctant to play herself. Rainbow turns to me and smiles, her eyes lit up. "Raiden, you should go get your brother Ronin!" Rainbow said excitedly. Applejack looked at her with a raised brow. "Why? ya wanna kiss the guy?" Applejack asks as Rainbow dash's face goes red, yet brushes it off with a wave of her hoof. Rarity clears her throat. "Can we get started already? It's starting to get late, and we don't need another gala incident on our hooves." Rarity says as she leans in and spins the bottle. It spins around for a while before landing on Pinkie Pie, who immediately tackles Rarity and kisses her, then gets up and casually walks back to her seat in the circle. I smile and turn to Fluttershy. "Is she like that everytime she plays this?" Fluttershy shoulders down a bit before answering. "Pinkie always gets like that for spin the bottle." She says timidly as Applejack take her turn. ********** an hour or two of fun later. ********** After continuing to play spin the bottle and everyone taking about 7 shots each, we ended up playing truth or dare next. Now, truth or dare is defenitely my kind of game, so I was really happy when Pinkie said I could go first. I turned to Rarity and smiled. "Truth or dare?" She thought on it for a second before answering. "I'll pick truth, darling." She said as Rainbow groaned, earning a glare from Applejack. "You got your eye on anypony?" I asked her, causing her to go red in the face. "Well, there is one pony I've seen around ponyville, but he lives here in the castle. Oh! if only he wasn't so far away!" Rarity sighs as she fall backwards...onto a couch from who knows where. "Quit with the goofin off, Rarity" Applejack says as she bucks the couch out the window, knocking Rarity off it onto the floor. "hehe, whoops" Applejack says as she gets a glare from the seamstress. Pinkie turns to Twilight, even though she looks well past her. "Truth or dare?" She asks. Twilight, who wasn't into the games until she had a drink or seven, was now wide awake and ready to play. "Dare." she says as Pinkie laughs. "Well, since you looked so dissapointed when Fluttershy got to kiss Raiden, I dare you to kiss Raiden for 10 seconds or more!" Pinkie says as my eyes widen. Rainbow laughs and Fluttershy hides in her mane as Twilight, drunk as ever, looks towards me and smiles lustfully. "Ya know, if you don't want to you dont have to-mmmph!" I get cut off as Twilight bowls me over with a passionate kiss. Usually, I don't jump into things like this, but the cider was starting to kick in, and I couldn't care less right now. So I kissed her back with equal passion. After a bit, we break apart to see the girls staring at us with suprise on most of their faces (Pinkie just looked the same giggly way she always does.) "Well, ah geuss its mah turn, huh?" AJ says as we continue to play throughout the night. ************** Nicholas POV ************** Me, The crusaders, and Tak were inches from passing out from exhaustion. We had spent the last 3 hours playing pranks, goofing off, and dancing. After an argument between Applebloom and Sweetiebelle, we had decided it would be best if no one else rode on my back (especially when I 'accidently' dropped Belle into the apple bobbing tank.) "Where the heck are we *yawn* going to crash at?" Tak said as we pretty much stumbled around the courtyard. Scootaloo, who had the most energy out of all of us usually, face planted into the concrete before waking up and rubbing her face. "I have no clue, But we better find a spot before-APPLEBLOOM LOOK OUT!!" I yelled as I pulled her back from a couch that came flying out of a castle window. It landed upright and faced us. "Where the hay did that come from?" Applebloom says as we approach it. "Dunno, but it kinda looks like one of my sisters fainting couches." She says as I jump onto it. "Meh, who cares about that, its a place to sleep!" I say as I spread out and get comfortable. Tak smiles and turns towards the food table. "Hey, Scootaloo, I'm going to go get one last bite of those fritters Appleblooms sister brought, wanna come with?" Scootaloo nods her head and they walk off. As I stretch out, I feel Sweetiebelle get on the couch and lay across my legs like a dog, and Applebloom spreads out on my chest. I would've complained about the body heat, but I was too tired, so I simply conked out. ************ Present time/same POV ************ I looked at Pinkie in confusion. "Wait, if you played Truth or dare inside, then how'd you get out here?" She smiled at me. "That's easy, silly. I was out here as well!" She said as I got a headache from thinking about it. "Ya know, your a real mystery, Pinkie Pie." I sayed as she giggled. "Okie dokie loki" She says, hopping away to probably cause some more brain damage elsewhere. I shake my head as I hear wings behind me, I turn to see a dark blue pony with night sky hair. "Little human, has thou seen my sister anywhere?" I shrug and point to the castle. She nods and walks towards the castle, mumbling several thing under her breath as she steps over conked out ponies. *********** Raiden POV *********** I wake up to a hoof to the stomach. Not a hard one, but hard enough to hurt a bit. I groan and open my eyes to see luna staring me down. "Um, morning Luna." I say as she narrow her eyes at me. "What does thou think thou are doing on the throne?" She says as I realize Im not only on the throne, but upside down as well. I laugh sheepishly and righten myself. "oops, geuss Truth or dare got a tad crazy last night, with all the drinking that happened last night." I say just as a headache catches on. great timing, brain. I think as Luna snickers. "We can see that. now where is our sister? She must be informed of the changeling threat and-" I cut her off by raising my hand. "She knows." I say as her face contorts in confusion. "How could she possibly have learned of it already?" Luna asks. I sigh and stretch as I stand up, noticing a lavender pony attached to my legs. "We were attacked while you were gone, but its all good now, Celestia is planning peace with the Queen." I say as I grab Twilight and sit her on the throne. She mumbles something among the lines of 'mr.smartypants' before she conks out again. Luna giggles a bit at that before walking towards a staircase. "Well, we still need to find her, for day court will be starting shortly." She said as I follwed her, eager to see where she had ended up after the party. After a bit of stair-climbing and hearing Luna complain about her sisters 'disappearance'. We made it to the entrance to Celestias private quarters. I extend my hand and bow slightly. "Ladies, first." I say as Luna rolls her eyes and knocks on the door. "Sister, it is time to get up!" She says with a bit of force in her voice. A groan of irritation followed by a loud THUMP of a body hitting the ground (with a swear or two being shouted as a result.) The door opened. "Finally, We were wondering if thou would ever awake-" Luna stops short as she realizes its Ronin at the door, not Celestia. Ronin groans, rubbing his eyes, and glares at Luna. "What the hell are you doing, knocking on doors and yelling at seven in the morning! People are trying to get over their hangovers here!" He half shouts-half groans at Luna, who is trying to peer into the room. "Where is our sister, Human?" She demands. Another groan comes from inside the room before Celestia, who looked like hell gave birth, came to the door. "Sister, must you be so loud? I heard enough loud voices last night, and I'm not in the mood for it." Celestia says, glaring at luna. Ronin looks at her with a smirk before turning back into the room quickly. After a second, he turns to face is again as Luna speaks up. "Sister, if we didn't know better, It seems that you and the human here stayed in the same bed last night." She says while glaring at Ronin, who smiled at her. "Oh, it wasn't just us." He said as Lunas eyes widened and I raised an eyebrow. "Who else was.... no way." I say as I hear giggling from behind Ronin, then Chrysalis head pops out from between Ronins legs. Ronin looks at her for a second, then turns to Celestia. "Uh, why is she still intoxicated?" He says as Celestia sighs. "Changelings can't digest Achohol like ponies can, so it takes longer for it to wear off." She finishes as Chrysalis is now laying on the floor, looking up at Ronin. Ronins eyes widen before he groans. "You mean I have to deal with this." he points to Chrysalis, who starts nibbling at the oustretched finger. "For the rest of the day." Celestia nods. Ronin sighs and steps over Chrysalis, who teleports herself to a standing position and points at celestia, slowly bringing her hood to her face. Ronin turns to me. "So, you get lucky last night?" my eyes widen as I shake my head. He laughs and turns to Luna. "And where the heck were you yesterday?" Luna thinks about it before answering. "I was looking into the threat on equestria, but I did not realize it had already arrived, or I would've never left." She says while trying to not laugh at Chrysalis, who is currently poking Celestia in the face. Celestia glares at her every time she does, but it only makes Chrysalis burst into a fit of giggles. Ronin rolls his eyes before grabbing her by the horn and pulling her away. "Alright you, no more achohol for a while." He tells her in a mock parenting voice. She looks up at him and glares slightly. "But it helps me peeeeeeee!" She drags out as she is pulled around a corner by a grumbling Ronin. As soon as they leave the area we burst out laughing. "Oh, man!" I say between laughs. "That used to be one of the biggest threats to Equestria?" Luna snorts even louder at this as Celestia, who is still with a hangover headache, Stifles her giggled to keep a straight face. Luna turns to Celestia. "Tia, what were those two doing in your room?" Luna asks as a blush comes to Celestias face. "We were negotiating a peace treaty between the two species." She says as she teleports away. Luna turns to me, eyebrows raised and I simply laugh as I walk back to the throne room. ************ Nicholas POV. ************ Leaving the girls asleep outside, I walked into the throne room just as Ronin was dragging Chrysalis out by her horn. I turned to Ronin as he walked past me. "What are you doing?" I ask as he looks at me and sighs. "Brother, when you get older, keep Tak from the liquor, they can't hold anything." He says as Chrysalis looks up at him. "Ronin, geuss what your jobs going to be since the hive is gone." She asks as Ronin looks down at her with a look of confusion. "What would that be?" He says as she gets this big smile on her face. "Your going to help me replace each and every changeling we lost, and it has to be done by tomorrow!" She says as she breaks into a fit of giggles while a look of horror spreads over Ronins face. I laugh and walk inside, eager to get back to ponyville and continue our lives there. As I walk in, I see the crusaders and Tak at the teleport door. "Hurry Nick! the doors magic is going to wear off soon, everyone else already went through!" Tak says as he and Scootaloo go through. Applebloom winks at me as she walks through, and Sweetiebelle rolls her eyes before pulling me through the door with her. *********** Ponyville/ same POV *********** I go through the portal to find Twilight and Raiden, as well as my friends, in the library. "Where is everyone else at?" I ask as Twilight begins to undo the spell she put on the door. Sweetiebelle turns to me. "Well, everyone else went home except us, although I have no clue where Tak is sleeping at." She says as a crackle of green magic appears above us before Chrysalis and Ronin land on the ground in a heap. "Don't ever do magic while drunk again, please!" He says as he gets up, while Chrysalis starts giggling as she stands up herself. Suddenly she stops giggling as she stops in place and raises a hoof to her head. "Oooh, where am I?" She asks as Ronin smirks before stretching a bit. "Your in Ponyville, and it looks like the achohol just wore off." Ronin says as Twilight finishes with the door, allowing Ronin to walk out. Chrysalis, who now sports a huge headache, follows him outside. Tak stands up and turns to leave. "Well, I better go with them to see what the new hive will look like. But I'll see you guys tomorrow at school right?" We nod and wave him goodbye as he leaves. Then my eyes widen as I realize something. "Girls, we have a problem!" I say as they look at me with confused faces. "We have a test tomorrow, and since we were saving the day this weekend, we didn't study!" They groan at this as Raiden and Twilight share a laugh at our misfortune. > Chapter 18: Adjusting to society > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin Pov* After leaving the purple pony's library, Chrysi and I started walking through town, getting a decent amount of terrified stares from the ponies on the streets. We laughed as several ran at the sight of us. "And here I was thinking this town would be boring." Chrysalis said as a certain pink pony came galloping up to us. "Hey Ronin! Hiya Chrysalis! How do you like ponyville so far? Are you planning on staying? Ooo, do you two live in that new building down the road?" Pinkie rapid fired questions at us, causing Chrysalis to groan in agitation while I caught the last sentence she said. "What new building?" I asked as she gasped and grabbed my hand and pulled me through the streets. Chrysalis, who was agitated a second ago, now was following close behind snickering at my predicament. We came to a stop in front of a two story house that looked brand stinking new. It was grey on the outside with those basic windows on the walls. We even had a basic mailbox next to the road. I looked at the house and grimaced. "Dang, Sunbutt could've at least hired a decorator that wasn't drunk as balls." I said as Chrysalis caught up and stared at the house. She turned to me and smirked. "You dont like how it looks, do you?" She asked me. "Nope." I replied simply. She started walking to the door. "Then we are going to have to transform this garbage heap into a hive fit for a queen!" She proclaimed while spreading her forehooves out towards the sky. I rolled my eyes and walked up next to her, wrapped my arms around her neck and placed a kiss on her cheek. "And how's my kingdom-conquering girlfriend gonna do that?" I asked as she turned her head to me and kissed me before teleporting away, then reappearing through one of the windows. "Your queen shall need sustenance for the task, so get up here and get to it!" She demanded. I rolled my eyes as Pinkie started getting excited for some reason. "Ooo ooo, can I help you feed Chrysalis?" She asked as I did a double take. I turned to her with eyes wide and a slack jaw. "Maybe next time, party queen." I said before running into the house and locking the door. Pinkie stood outside and shrugged before seeing Raiden walk by with a mini suitcase in tow. "HIYA RAIDEN!!!" She yelled at him with excitement in every fiber of her body. ********** Raiden POV ********** Shortly after Ronin left, I had decided that I needed clothes. The dragon Armour was good and all, but I really just wanted to chill out in some basic clothes rather than metal. So, after getting directions from Twilight, I found myself at the boutique. I walked in to a room full of mannequins (ponnequins?) and saw Rarity walk out of the kitchen. "Hey, Rarity. Are you busy right now?" I asked as she turned to me and smiled. "Not at all, darling. What do you need?" She asked me while I took a seat on a stool. "Well, Since I no longer have to worry about the whole 'war in equestria' thing, I realized that I have a short supply of clothes on me right now, and I was wondering if you could help with that." I said as her expression slowly got more giddy. "Why Raiden, of course I can." She turned and pulled out what looked like a mini suitcase. "Your brother Nicholas already had me make clothes for you." I raised an eyebrow. "How did... oooh, he told you the sizes, huh?" I said as she nodded. I took the suitcase and smiled. "Well, this helps a lot. Thanks Rarity!" I said as I walked out the door. "Your welcome dearie!" I heard her call out as the door closed. Man, I have got to pay her back somehow. I thought as I dragged the suitcase along. I heard a door slam shut quickly and turned to the source to see Pinkie Pie staring me down. "HIYA RAIDEN!" She yelled, way too hyper of a greeting. She galloped over and pulled a cupcake out of her hair. "wanna cupcake?" I looked at her in shock, but took the cupcake. After making sure there was no hair on it, I took a big bite. And proceeded to fan my mouth at the heat that scorched my mouth. "Pinkie-cough-what was in that?!" I asked as she grinned. "Oh, it was a new recipe I came up with! I call them Jalapeno cakes! do you like them?" She looked at me with a shine in her eyes. I recovered from the heat and forced a smile. "Yeah, next time...chill out with the spicy foods, aight?" I told her as she nodded before gasping. "Oh my gosh, that reminds me! I have to set up a 'welcome to ponyville party for you and Ronin! Twilight wouldn't let me do one for Nicholas, but you two are adults, so it should be fine!" She bolted off before I could interject. I sighed and shook my head before continuing my walk back to Twilights. "That mare is insane." *********** Nicholas POV *********** After everyone had left, the crusaders each had to go back to their respective homes, I still had a question burning in my mind. I turned to Twilight as she came from downstairs with a lizard behind her. "Hey Twilight, can I ask you-whoa who are you?" I said to the little guy as he walked up to me. He was about a two to three feet below my height. "Im Spike, Twilights number one assistant!" He proclaimed with pride in his voice. Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked past him. "Spike is a dragon, I hatched him a while ago when I was just a filly for a test of mine." Twilight said while smiling at the memory. I stuck out my hand and grinned as he shook it, then it hit me. "You must be the guy we got the blood from to make Raidens armour, huh." I said while Spike nodded. "Well, I'm Nicholas, and I must personally thank you for doing that. Your blood saved all of our bacons at the castle." Spike started to turn red at the sudden attention. "Aww, its no problem Nick. I'd do anything for Twilight and her friends. Besides, you seem pretty cool." He said as he walked into the kitchen. I turned to Twilight and smiled. "A dragon, huh? that's awesome." I said as she giggled at my reaction to Spike. "Hey Twilight, do you have any books on history before Nightmare Moon?" She raised an eyebrow. "I should, but why?" Twilight said as I walked towards the closest bookshelf. "Well, after the incident with Dadiolus, I wanted to find out what my grandfather was doing here, and what would possess Dadiolus to turn evil in the first place." I said as Twilight thought for a moment. "I'll look for something like that today while I'm organizing the bookshelves. Meanwhile, why don't you go to Fluttershy's? she's been worried sick about you." Twilight said as my eyes widened in shock. "Ok! Thanks!" I say as I run out of the library and make a beeline for the cottage. ************ After making it to the cottage, and catching my breath, I walk inside and notice there is no lights on. A pat on my leg causes me to look down and see Angel bunny looking up at me with a sad expression. "Where is Fluttershy?" I ask and he points upstairs. Must be upstairs in her room. I thought as I walk up the stairs. I make it to her door as I start ti hear a faint sound. I put my ears to the door as I finally make out what it sounds like: crying. I open the door and walk in. Fluttershy turns to me as I walk in and I see her tear stricken face. It almost breaks my heart right then and there and I can already feel tears in my eyes. I take a deep breath before speaking. "Fluttershy, whats wrong?" I ask shakily. She sniffles a bit before getting up and walking towards me. There's almost no warning as she pulls me into a powerful hug and cries again. "Oh, Nick! I thought that *sniff* since your brothers were found, you would leave me here by myself. And I didn't want you to leave. I know their your brothers and they love you and all but-" She takes a moment to grab a tissue from a box nearbt and blow her nose."-Ever since you came here, I've felt so...happy and warm inside. It's like even though I was surrounded by animal friends of mine, I never realized I had been so..." "Alone" I finish as my dams break as I embrace her hug and cry tears of my own. "Fluttershy, I know that ever since I've been here, you've always taken care of me and made sure I had everything I need. Yes, Ronin and Raiden are my brothers, and I love those goofballs to death. But here, in this cottage, I feel the most at peace. When I'm here with you, I feel safe and loved like any child should. I havent felt like this in years!" I proclaimed as Fluttershy looked me in the eyes, both of us still shedding tears. "What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't dream of living anywhere else, and if your ok with it, I wanted to know if I could call you...Mom?" I said with a smile as shock came over Fluttershy's face. A smile slowly came over her face and, if she wasn't already crying, that definitely would've done it for her. She pulled me into a intimate winged embrace. "I would love you to do that...Son." She said as new tears went down her face. This time,though, they were tears of joy. ************ Raiden POV ************ I walked back into Twilights house and took the suitcase upstairs to my geust room to get a better look at it. I opened it and gasped slightly. There were shirts, underwear, and jeans inside. There was even a set of socks with each pair of underwear! I smiled and started putting on a set if clothes. I turned to a mirror and smiled. I had a green shirt on that had a picture of a four leaf clover on it. My jeans were slim-fit and hugged my waist perfectly. the socks were white and super clean. I grinned and flexed a bit in the mirror, perhaps not as big as Ronin, but pretty good myself. I walked downstairs as Twilight was organizing her books. She looked at me and smiled. "Looks like somepony went to Raritys today." She said as she levitated one last book on the shelf. "Phew, finished." I walked overand ruffled her mane a bit. "Looks good, Twilight. Although I notice you left a book out." I said while pointing to one book that was sitting on the floor. She smiled before levitating it to me. I grabbed it as she responded. "Nicholas asked me to find a history book so he can learn more about your grandfather and Dadiolus." She said as I frowned and put the book on a stool nearby before walking back out the door. "Wait, where are you going?" She asked but I didn't reply as I walked out. ********* Ronin POV ********* I closed the door as I walked out of the house, tired and hungry as hell. I looked back up at the window Chrysalis had been in hours ago. That lady is going to be the death of me. I thought to myself as I saw Raiden walk by, his face frowning as he muttered to himself. I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, whats wrong?" I asked as he turned to me, anger in his eyes evident. "Did someone piss you off? Where are they? I'll give em something to fear!" I said while cracking my knuckles. This got a smile out of him while he shook his head. "No one did it, man. But... can I ask you something?" He said while motioning for me to follow him. I did and we walked the town under the moonlit sky. "How do you feel about...all of this?" He said while swinging his arms in an outward motion. I smiled at him. "You mean being teleported to some weird world and being dropped into a war neither of us understood?" He nodded. "It's a lot, to be honest." I admit as he stops to stare at me, shock evident in his eyes. "Wait, what? But you've been rocking and rolling since you got here. Hell, your dating a queen for goodness sake! how are you not one hundred percent with all this?" He asked as I looked towards the sky. "Well, the whole time I was in the old hive, I was worried you and Nick had been killed or eaten by something. Then I find you just to learn you had joined the 'enemy' of my allies. Then we find out some old coon from grandfathers double life here has had it in for us. Hell, the old joker tried to POSSESS me! its been insane!" I said as I kicked a mailbox, sending it across town to who knows where. "The only thing keeping me going is the fact that, as crazy as this mess is, I've never felt more at home than when I arrived here. And you saw the way Nicholas is around those kids. He loves it here, and whens the last time you saw that kid truly smile?" I said as he looked at him with smile of his own. "Your right, thanks man. I needed that." Raiden said as I turned around. "Well, we better be getting back. Don't want to lose any sleep." he said as he grinned at me. "I don't know about you buddy, but from Chrysalis's mood earlier, I probably won't be sleeping either way." I said as he punched me in the shoulder. "Dude that's gross." he laughed as I ran forward. "Don't knock it till ya try it, Raiden!" I yelled as I ran off. Raiden smiled and walked back towards Twilights. maybe he's right. I could get used to living here. > Chapter 19: Human tasting, jokes, and disastrous consequences. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* Ya know, when your girlfriend used to be an evil overlord for a living, life was easy enough. She would torture her enemies and command troops to destroy kingdoms. As of yesterday, she has decided to be an interior decorater for our house. Except in order for her to use her magic, she needs love instead of food. And geuss who's that power source? it's ya boi, Ronin. Not that I can complain much. If giving her a ten minute snuggle fest is what it takes to start making the house look more like a house than a prision, then snuggles away! But a guy has his limits, and after three hours of non-stop cuddling, I was done for the day. I walked out of our new house to let Chrysalis do her thing and was hit with sudden realization. What the heck am I gonna do today? Until we got word from Celestia about the barracks being set up, I was kinda stagnant on what to do. I honestly had nothing planned, and I knew for a fact I was going to need money (or bits, as they call it) before long. As I was walking along, I was blinded by a pink fluff. "Hiya Ronin! What are you up to today?" Pinkie asked me while balancing on my head. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her and sat her down in front of me. "I'm in need of a job, party queen. Any ideas?" I asked as her eyes went wide with joy. "*Gasp* You should work at the bakery! I could teach you how to cook sweets! It would be so much fun! we could do so many things together and-mmmph!" I put a hand over her mouth, just for her to lick it. I pulled back my hand in disgust. "Why the hell did you just lick me?" I said while Pinkie giggled. "That's easy, I wanted to know what you tasted like! If Chrysalis likes to kiss you all the time, then I figured you must taste great!" She said with a grin as we started walking through town. We started to pass by Raritys when we saw her standing outside, and not looking to happy about it. Pink zipped up to her. "Whats wrong, Rarity?" She asker her. Rarity looked at us and made a face that looked like a childs when they don't get what they want. "Darling its terrible! I was leaving my store to check my mailbox as per usual, but when I arrived, It was gone!" She pointed to a stick jutting out of the ground that looked like it had been broken off... or kicked. It took all my self control to not burst out laughing at the realization that I had done that yesterday while having a talk with Raiden. Rarity saw my reaction and huffed. "Well, I see that someone finds my problem amusing." She said as I cleared my throat. "Sorry, its just that you don't see this type of stuff often back where I used to live." I said as several ponies started running by. I stopped one of them, a neon blue unicorn. "Whats going on?" I asked her. She turned to me, looked suprised for a second, but answered nonetheless. "Something damaged the schoolhouse roof, and some group of kids went to fix it, only now one of them might be hurt!" She said before running off. I heard a gasp from behind me and saw Rarity freaking out. "Sweetiebelle goes to that school! What if she's the one who got hurt!" She said before running off in the direction the rest of those ponies went. I sat there for a second before something hit me. I turned to Pinkie "Party Queen, does Nick go to that school?" I asked and she nodded, before her eyes went wide as she finally realized that someone might be hurt. "Omigosh, we need to save them!" Pinkie yelled as she picked me up and zipped after Rarity, ignoring my yells to let me down. *********** Nicholas POV/ about 20 minutes earlier. *********** What was supposed to be a basic school morning had been completely thrown out the window when I arrived at school to see the whole class and Cherilee standing outside. I walked up to the crusaders amd Tak. "Whats everyone staring at?" I asked Applebloom. She pointed up at the roof, where a mailbox was sticking out of it with broken up tiles surrounding it. "How the heck did a mailbox get up there?" Scootaloo said as the whole class erupted into scattered discussion for a minute before Cherilee took over the situation. "Now class, due to the damage done by the mailbox, the roof is unstable and the classroom is a safety hazard for us to work in. So we will be having class outside today." Cherliee said as a pony raised his hand. "Yes, Snails?" She said. "Whats a hazard?" He asked. Cherliee, eager to make a teaching moment out of the question, started lecturing the class on safety. While I got a poke in the ribs by Tak. "Hey, why don't we get the mailbox out of the roof? That way we can avoid this lecture." Tak whispered as he motioned for the girls and I to follow him. We snuck around the group of kids surrounding Cherilee and made it behind the school. Tak turned to us and grinned. "Alright, here's the plan. I will teleport Sweetiebelle and Nick up to the roof so you two can dislodge the box. Thwn when you do, throw it down here so me, Scoots, and Applebloom can catch it." He said as I nodded, Scootaloo and Applebloom looked pumped, and Sweetiebelle looked very nervous. "Why do I have to go up there?" She asked as I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder as she looked to me. "Applebloom and Scoots are the strongest of the three of you girls, and I might need your magic up there to help remove the mailbox." I said as she gulped, but nodded and turned to Tak. "Alright then, lets do it!" She said, a bit more into it now. Tak's horn started to shine yellow as Sweetiebelle and I were overtaken by its light. In a flash, we found ourselves on the roof by the mailbox. Sweetiebelle was shaking slightly, but I nodded to her and started slowly moving towards the mailbox, careful not to fall. Just before I could reach it, a voice yelled out from below. "EVERYPONY LOOK, NICHOLAS IS ON THE ROOF!!!" The snarky voice of Diamond Tiara rang out as the entire class turned towards the roof and gasped (some screamed). Cherliee got a look of anger and took a step forward. "Nicholas! get down this instant! that whole roof is unstable and could collapse at any moment!" She yelled up to me. I froze for a second before shaking my head. "Its alright, Ma'am. I'll only be a second." I said as I took one last step towards the mailbox before the whole roof shook. Sweetiebelle screamed in suprise and unwittingly let off a beam of magic towards me. I ducked under it but it shot past me and hit the side of the roof we had appeared on. This caused the whole building to start to shake as the roof collapsed inwards. "NIIIICK!!!!" Sweetiebelle yelled as she started to fall. I jumped forward and grabbed her just as the roof gave way beneath us. ************ Ronin POV/Present ************ "EVERYPONY LOOK! NICHOLAS IS ON THE ROOF!" Was the first thing I heard as Pinkie finally arrived at the schoolhouse. She put me down as I saw a mare take a step forward. "Nicholas! get down this instant! that whole roof is unstable and could collapse at any moment!" She yelled up to him. I could see him now and started walking towards him. He replied, but I couldn't make it out as I stepped through scared foals. I made it to the mare. "Why the hell is my brother on your roof?" I growled as she turned to me in suprise. "I have no idea, but somepony has to stop him before-" We heard a scream and watched as a beam blew the side of the roof to bits. Thats when the whole roof decided to fall into the building. "NIIIIICK!" Was all I heard as I shot forward. Feeling that same rush I had felt when I dove after Celestia, I pushed forward, not realizing I had left the ground entirely. Using the newfound power, I slammed through the wall and caught both Nicholas and that unicorn girl he hangs out with. "Nicholas, teleport NOW!!!" I yelled as the whole room room went red. Just as we teleported, I felt something heavy crash into my back and everything went dark. *********** Nicholas POV *********** After the red light vanished, we were back on the ground outside. I sighed in relief as Sweetiebelle gave me a bone-crushing hug. "Nick! you saved me!!!" She squealed into my ears as I hugged her back, slightly shaken by what just occured. Then I remembered... "Ronin!" I said as I turned to see my brother passed out on the ground, blood seeping from wings on his back. Cherilee came over and nearly fainted at the sight before running towards the crowd that had appeared yelling for someone to get help. ********** Raiden POV/ 5 minutes ago ********** After waking up, I had spent the morning cooking breakfast. I knew Spike usually did that, but since I was a guest living here for the time being, I had decided to start doing things around the treehouse to pay for the hospitality I'd been shown. I had just finished with the scrambled eggs when I heard a tired yawn from behind me. I turned to see Twilight appear at the table. I could tell she was half-asleep due to the fact she mumbling something about a friendship letter under breath with droopy eyes. I smiled and dropped a plate of eggs in front of her. "Morning Twilight!" I said cheerfully. She mumbled a greeting before face-planting into some red-hot eggs. She sat upright immediately and yelped out before teleporting away. I laughed silently and put out another plate as Spike came from upstairs yawning as well. He took one look at the food before his eyes opened wide and he rushed over to devour the food. I watched him in shock as he pretty much ate the whole plate of eggs in nothing short of two bites. He looked up at me and lifted his plate. "Wow, Raiden! these are amazing! can I get more?" He asked as I laughed and took his plate. "Glad you enjoyed it, bud. Say, what kept Twilight up last night?" I asked him as he groaned. "Twilight was getting overly worked up about her friendship reports to the princess... again." He said as we both laughed at that just as Twilight came back downstairs, looking way more refreshed and slightly angry. "Har de har. Very funny, you two." She said as she sat at the table and started eating. Unable to resist another gag, I responded. "I'm glad you cleaned yourself up, Twilight. For a minute there, I could've swore you had egg on your face." I said. Twilight nodded. "Im sorry about that, I guess I did stay up a-" She realized a tad too late what I said as Spike, who had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing, busted a gut on the spot as Twilight groaned. "Sorry, Sparkles. I couldn't resist." I said as I took a seat and dug into my own plate of eggs. For a while, it was nothing but peaceful egg eating until Pinkie Pie came flying through kitchen window, knocking over several pans. "Pinkie! what are you-" she stopped as she saw Pinkie Pie standing there with an extremely sad look on her face. "Whats wrong?" She asked as Pinkie turned to me, on the verge of tears. "Raiden, something really bad happened to Ronin at the schoolhouse." She said as I dropped everything and sat there, frozen in shock. "What do you mean really bad?" Spike said, almost afraid of the answer he might get. Pinkie sniffled a tad before answering. "He got hurt trying to save Nick and Sweetiebelle from the roof of the Schoolhouse as it collapsed, he was transfered to Ponyville hospital for intensive treatment." She said as tears started to fall from her eyes. Twilight gasped as I recovered from my shock. I turned to Twilight. "We need to go, now!" I said as we got up and ran out the house and towards the library. Ronin, please be ok. I thought as we rushed to the hospital, tears burning at my face. Please, hang in there. I'm coming as fast as I can. > Chapter 20: A trip to the hospital > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* We had made it to the hospital quickly and my mind was already creating worst-case scenerios. Chill out! I told myself. Ronin is one of the toughest guys you know, and that was before he got powers. He'll be fine. As we walked in an yellow earth pony with a mane of a mix of light and dark blue came up to us. "You must be the older brother Nurse Redhearts patient, right?" She asked me. I raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Yeah, I'm Raiden. How is he?" I asked her as she motioned us to follow her down a hallway. We soon came to a room with the door open. She turned to me. "You'll have to ask his nurse for the details, but I think he is unconscious right now." She said as I sighed. "Thank you, miss..." I trailed off, not knowing her name. "Oh, I'm Nurse Snowheart. Now, go check on your Brother." With that she walked off as we walked into the room. When we got sight of Ronin, several things happened. I was quick to take notice that the wings he had were bandaged extremely, but you could see a huge amount of blood on the bandages. For some reason, there was a bandage wrap over his eyes as well. I gripped the side of the bed as I took in the sight of Ronin passed out and injured. A flash of light shone through the room as I heard Pinkie starting to cry again and turned to her. "Hey, why are you crying? Ronin's not gonna die or anything, he's too tough for that" I told her, but she shook her head as she sniffled. "But, I took him to the school in the first place, if I wouldn't have done that, he would be ok." She said as she cried again. I sighed before hearing voices from outside the room. "The patient is NOT to be disturbed!" I heard a strict female voice say. Probably Nurse Redheart. I thought. "But its our fault he's hurt in the first place, we have to make sure he's all right." Odd, that sounded like Scootaloo. "Besides, that's my brother! I'm not about to have some pony I don't know keep me from seeing family!" Defenitely Nicholas. "Please, Nurse Redheart? just let us see him fer a second. We feel just awful bout what happened!" Applebloom said as they turned into the room. It was the Crusaders and my brother alright, with oddly no sign of Tak. There was a white earth mare with them. She had a pink mane and tail and a cutie mark that had a cross with hearts in its corners. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "And you are?" She asked me. "My name is Raiden, Ronin's other brother. Seems you met my brother Nicholas and his riot squad." I turned to them and frowned. "What did you girls mean by 'its our fault he was hurt'?" I asked as all four of them flinched at my tone. Nicholas took a step forward and explained what happened. By the time it was done, Pinkie was sitting there shocked, Both the nurse and I looked extremely ticked off, and Twilight was... "Where did Twilight go?" I asked Pinkie. She looked around the room before answering. "Huh. She's gone. I have no idea." She said, but I almost missed it because her deflated mane was blocking her face. I sighed again and turned to Nicholas. "So, let me get this straight. You thought it would be a good idea to go on a damaged ROOF and pull out the source of the damage? Without help?!" I pretty much yelled. The crusaders flinched and sunk to the ground, the gravity of what happened finally sinking into their brains. Nicholas stood there with a poker face as I continued. "And now look at what has happened! Ronin sitting in a bed with who knows what kind of injuries and who knows how long that will take to heal!" I finished as I rubbes my eyes, getting a headache from the stress. When I opened them, Nicholas rushed forward and pulled me into a big hug, bawling his eyes out. After a minute or two passed by, we heard the nurse clear her throat. "As much as I would hate to break this up, I must inform you of his injuries and what treatment he is getting." she said and I nodded, allowing her to proceed. She stepped over to Ronin and pointed at his wings. "The patient has suffered extreme damage to the area on his back that connects his wings to his shoulder blades. He was mostly injured in the area that connects to his central nervous system, therefore, not only will he be able to feel anything for a couple of days, he will also be sensitive to light and other things as well, hence the blindfold for when he wakes up." She finished as I spoke up. "But he was wearing an exo-suit. Shouldn't that had protected him?" I asked as she shook her head. "We noticed the exoskeleton when we were examining him. However, the skeleton formed around his body everywhere except the wings, so that means he got the wings after the exoskeleton was formed. Which causes the wings, and that area on his back, to be unprotected." She said as Nicholas hugged me tighter. A cough came from the bed. "Well, that explains why I feel like crap." Ronin roughly croaked out. Nicholas immediately went to hug him before being stopped by the nurse. "He is in no position to be getting hugs right now." She said as Ronin started laughing before coughing hard. "Hey, Raiden or Nick? y'all there?" He asked. "Yeah, we are both here with the crusaders and Nurse Redheart." I said as he smiled that cocky grin he always wears. "Well, whoever that nurse is, tell her to ease up. I can't deal with that level of strictness this early in the morning." He said as Redheart sighed. "Sir, I'd advise not talking so much, your likely to cause pain by doing so." She said but Ronins grin got wider. "Don't worry about me, nurse! I'm tough as nails." He said with a smirk and Redheart face hoofed. He turned his head slightly. "Hey, Raiden. Send Nick over here." I pushed Nicholas over to Ronin, who raised a hand into the air towards us. Nicholas took Ronins hand and squeezed it. Ronin smile disappeared. "Hey, don't go beating yourself up over what happened. You couldn't have known how bad it was and you had good intentions in mind." He said but Sweetiebelle butted in. "But you got hurt!" She said and the crusaders agreed, tears going down their faces. Ronin got a frown on his face. "Now, that's enough of that. I'm not dead, right? Then its no big deal. Now, your families must be worried sick about y'all after the accident, so do me a favor and go home and rest." He said and the girls nodded sadly. Ronin turned to Nicholas. "Now, your not getting off the hook so easily. But for now, escort those three home." He smiled and Nicholas nodded as he and the crusaders left the room as Twilight entered. "Oy, who just walked in?" Ronin said as Twilight stopped cold. I turned to him in shock. "How did you know someone walked into the room?" I asked as Ronin snorted. "I sensed new emotions coming into the room. Whoever it is does not like the sight of blood or gore, considering the levels of disgust I am getting from them." I turned to Twilight who had a sheepish look on her face. "That's why I left earlier. I don't really do blood that well." She said as I rolled my eyes before turning to Redheart, who was currently looking at Ronin with a look of curiousity. "You said he would be treated, how?" I asked her as she turned to me and dawned a serious face. "We will be giving him a healing elixer every three hours until the bone structure in his wings can heal fully. This process might take a few days to complete, so he will be here for a while." As she finished that, Ronin groaned. "I've got to stay here for several days! Nurse, you better be a fun pony to talk to." He said as I laughed at the remark while Redheart rolled her eyes again, this time smiling. Before anything else could be said, Nurse Snowheart came galloping into the room. She turned and looked straight at Redheart. "Redheart, we need you three rooms down, there is a mare producing triplets and the docter got knocked out when the mother accidently bucked him!" She left quickly as Redheart sighed and turned to me. "Well, duty calls. I would advise you and Twilight to allow Ronin to rest. I will contact Twilight or you if something happens." I nodded and said thanks as she ran out of the room. I turned to Ronin. "Rest easy, bug boy." I said, getting a snort in response as we left the room. As we walked outside, I was knocked over by a black blur. I got up slowly with help from Twilight. "What the heck was that?" I asked. Twilight looked towards the doors with slight unease. "That was Chrysalis, and boy did she look mad." Twilight said as I dusted myself off. "That reminds me, how was Ronin able to sense my emotions? I thought that was something only changelings could do." She asked as I smiled. "Well, you must be one oblivious mare, because Ronin and Chrysalis have been dating for a while now. And they are painfully obvious about it." I said with a shudder. "And during that process, she decided to make him a halfing." As I said that, her eyes went wide. "He's a halfing!?" She exclaimed loudly, earning some stares. "That raises so many questions! Like why his DNA is compatible with Changeling DNA, or why Chrysalis would choose him...why did He decide to date Chrysalis anyway?" She finished with a question. I shrugged and started walking back to the treehouse. "I have no clue, Sparkles, I have no clue." I looked around for a second and turned back to Twilight. "Wait a sec, wheres Pinkie Pie?" ************ Ronin POV ************ Ok, having a building fall on you sucks. I mean, I'm in some random hospital in this silly little town with no vision, a back that feels like a jackhammer playing hopscotch, and a nurse with a dont mess with my patient attitude. The only thing that would make this worse would be an overeaction from- "WHERE IS RONIN!?!" A loud voice commands from the hallway. Here we go... I silently mutter as I sense Chrysalis walk into the room, with Nurse Red behind her, just as angry as she is. "I don't care if your the queen of whatever you are, you will not disturb the patient while he is resting!" Nurse Red said as Chrysalis snorts in anger. "No half-flank doctor is going to keep me from my mate. Especially if he has been injured." I hear her step up to the bed. "Ronin, who did this to you? Just give me name and I'll go find them right now!" "Chrysi...." I groaned "I'm serious! Once I find who did this to you, I shall dice them to bits and send them to tartarus as I feed on their fear!" "Chrysi!!" I groaned louder, but to no avail. "I mean it! No one hurts my mate and lives to tell the tale!" "CHRYSALIS!!!!" I yell loudly, then get hit with an immediate coughing fit. I sense immediatr anger from Nurse Red and a mix of sadness and hurt from Chrysalis. "No one did this to me but my own self. I saved my brother and his obvious fillyfriend from a falling roof, and the dang thing collapsed on me!" I pause to recieve another coughing fit. "Tak was there, by the way, and he didn't come by earlier, so who knows what's going on in his head!" I say as finish through the hacking fit. I immediately feel hoofs wrap around me, to Nurse Reds ignored complaints. Chrysalis leans in and whispers in my ear. "I'm sorry, Ronin. I've never had someone in my life that cares so much about me and others before. And when Tak told me you were hurt, I rushed over without another thought. I don't know what's gotten into me. I've never felt such a need to protect something before, not even my own hive holds this much influence on me." She finished as I felt a lone tear drop onto my cheek. Doing the best I could with a blindfold, I grasped her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. Nothing serious, just a simple kiss to show affection. After pulling apart, I smiled. "That means you care, Chrysi. And if you've never felt that before, then Im proud to be your first." I said with a smirk. I heard her groan and get up. "Your sitting there injured and you still crack jokes like an idiot. Your lucky I love you, Ronin." She said as I heard her teleport. I heard Nurse Red sigh in relief. "Finally, I can give you this, open up." She said as I complied, feeling the elixer go down my throat. It was sticky, like cough syrup, but tasted like berries. "Thanks Nurse!" I say as I hear her leave the room. For a moment it's peaceful silence with no noise... Until I hear a closet door swing open and a plop sound of a pony falling out of said closet. I hear slow clop sounds reach my bed. Even though I can't see anything, I can defenitely smell the intruder, and the pony smells like: cupcakes... of course its her. "Hey Ronin" I hear Pinkie whisper. "I know your probably asleep and all that, but I just wanted to apologize to you about the incident." Not wanting to give anything away, I slow my breathing and pretend I'm sleeping. "I just felt so bad about it, and I couldn't stand to see you get hurt." I hear a slight sniffle before she continues. "You see, your the first guy to ever treat me like a normal pony. I mean, my friends treat me normally, but even they sometimes keep their distance. But you never even bat an eye at any of my antics. You even call me party queen, and no one has ever said that to me before." I feel her get closer to my face. "I know your sleeping, but I just wanted to tell you I think your an amazing guy." I feel her kiss me on the lips slightly, just enough to taste the sweetness of her lips, then I hear her leave the room. I sat there, her taste still on my lips, confused and sleepy and weirdly happy all at the same time. I groan slightly and stretch a bit. I am so confused. > Chapter 21: A romantic rivalry and a renewed purpose > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* Well, this sucks. Was the first thought to come to me as I stared at the inside of the very dirty barn. Yesterday, when my brother told me to "escort" the girls home, he knew that there families would ask questions. That lead to punishments being given out like free candy. So I quickly found myself with the task of cleaning up the barn with Applebloom. "Now, you two have got a lot ta clean, so git to it!" Applejack stated as she put some buckets with sponges in them by us before walking off to do her own chores for the day. I sighed and turned to Applebloom. "Welp, this sucks." I stated and she groaned before walking in and scrubbing the left side of the barn wall. I grabbed a sponge and started cleaning the right wall. "Ah know, but it coulda been worse, Nick. Be lucky that we ain't got the same punishment Sweetiebelle does. She has tah help Rarity all day instead of playin." She said and I snickered at that. "Oh man, that's bad. I'd take barn scrubbing with you over being a mannequin for Rarity anyday." I said as Applebloom giggled in response. For a while, there was nothing but the silence of hard work and the occasional splash of a sponge being resoaked. After a bit, though, Applebloom spoke up. "Hey Nick." She called out. I stopped scrubbing and turned to face her. "Yeah, what's up?" I asked her while placing my sponge in the bucket near me. "Did ya really mean what you said earlier?" She asked me. Confused, I raised an eyebrow. "Mean what?" I asked, unsure as to where this was going. "When you said you'd rather stay here and help me than go to Raritys?" She asked me, though she didn't look me in the eyes. "Well, of course I did. I don't really enjoy going to Raritys that much. Heck, the only reason I do is go there is because Sweetiebelle is there. But I honestly love coming out here to this farm. Its got some sort of feel to it that makes you feel welcome. That, and its home to one of the coolest girls I know." I said while turning back to the wall, not seeing her face turn scarlet from a blush. She turned back to her own wall, suddenly in a way better mood and ready to clean it all the way down to the last speck. A couple of hours later, we had finally finished cleaning the barn. Applejack decided we were off the hook "fer now" as she put it. We decided to check up on everyone else. Walking through town, we came across Sweetiebelle trying poorly to fix the mailbox from before. "What in tarnation are ya doin?" Applebloom said as we approached. Sweetiebelle groaned as she turned to face us. "The mailbox from yesterday was my sister's, and she wants me to put it back up." She said as I shook my head. "How did your sisters mailbox even get into the roof of the schoolhouse?" I asked as they shrugged. Applebloom then looked like she got an idea. "Hey Nick, I'll help Sweetiebelle with the mailbox, why don't you go and see if Tak is alright. We haven't seen him since the roof collapse." She asked me and I nodded and took off towards Ronins place. *********** No Pov *********** "Bye Nick!" Sweetiebelle said kinda loudly as Nicholas ran off. Applebloom turned to Sweetiebelle with a frown. "Ya like him, don't ya?" She asks as Sweetiebelle's eyes go wide and her jaw drops. "w-what? No I don't! We're just friends is all." She said as Applebloom stared at her, unconvinced. Sweetiebelle stood there for a while before caving. "Fine! I admit it! I think he's cute, ok! He's one of the nicest colts I've ever met! I don't care if he's not a pony, I like him for who he his." Sweetiebelle erupted as Applebloom was quick to calm him down. "Ok, Ok! I git it! Besides, ah couldn't judge ya for liking him, cuz then ah'd be a hypocrite." Applebloom said as Sweetiebelle gasped. "You like him too!" Sweetiebelle said excitedly, then frowned as she put two and two together. "How are we going to settle this?" They thought on that before Applebloom groaned. "There's only one way tah settle this." She said as Sweetiebelle grinned. "Fight to the death for his affection?" She asked and Applebloom looked at her like she was nuts. "Are ya crazy? No!" She thought about that for a second. "We might have tah compete normally though for his love." Applebloom stated as Sweetiebelle nodded, reaching out her hoof. "Then it's decided. You and I shall compete to see who can make Nicholas fall in love with them! The winner shall get his love for eternity!" Sweetiebelle said as Applebloom shook her hoof before leaning in with a sly smile. "Hope ya know that ah will be usin' every trick in the apple family book to win him over." She said as she walked off, leaving a irritated Sweetiebelle. "Please, Appebloom. My sister is a walking book about romance. I've got this in the bag!" She said as she turned to continue working on the mailbox. ********** Nicholas POV ********** I stood in front of the now black building with some shards sticking out of it. That queen really is building a hive here. I thought as I knocked on the door. The door opened with a tired Chrysalis appearing from it. She looked down at me and frowned. "Oh, its midget Ronin. what do you want?" She said as she yawned. I smiled and responded. "Well, I wanted to see Tak since we haven't seen him since the roof day." I said as she sighed, suddenly looking a bit sad. "He is upstairs on the left, but I doubt he will talk to you. He blames himself for the accident yesterday, and I wasn't exactly the best example of consoling his fears in that regard." She said as she turned and walked into the building. I followed her in and went upstairs to find a hallway with ten doors. I went to the first one on the left and knocked. A muffled "Go away!" came from the door. I sighed and turned the knob, finding it unlocked. I walked in to see Taks back to me balled up in a cacoon in the middle of the room. That explains the fake name 'Cacoono' I thought as I stepped towards him. "Hey Tak. I came over to see how you are doing since we haven't seen ya since yesterday and all." I stopped moving as Tak turned to face me, a sad expression on his face. "Nick...Yesterday, I put you and Sweetiebelle in danger by teleporting you guys onto that roof. And now Ronin, the guy who saved me a month back and has been there for me and mother all this time, is hospitalized due to my mistake!" He said as tears went down his face. "I hurt the man who is pretty much a father figure for me and almost hurt two of the beings that consider me a friend at the same time. I don't deserve to be among ponies." He finished and turned away from me, sobbing quietly. I walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. "Listen, man. Sure you told us to go on the roof, but it's not like you forced us onto the roof or anything. We all made the choice to try and remove the mailbox, so we are all equally to blame. No one hates you for what happened, the girls miss having ya around and with the craziness that comes with this town, Ima need my brother from another mother by my side." I turned him to face me. "Ronin doesn't hate you. Heck, from what I heard, he was more upset at himself more than anything. But can I ask you something?" I finished as he nodded and wiped his eyes. "Why did you want to remove the mailbox in the first place? It was a hazard, I get that. But why not wait until professionals arrived?" I asked as he took a deep breath and asnwered. "I...I wanted to prove to the other ponies that changelings can be good. I've seen how some ponies react to Mom and Ronin. They think it's hilarious, but I personally am saddened every time somepony runs from us. I want what is best for my people, but its hard to do that when no one trusts you." He said as he hugged me. "That's why I take our friendship so seriously. You and the girls wanted to stay friends with me even after I showed you my true form." He finished as he let go of me and jumped off the cacoon, suddenly full of energy. "I get it. You want to show the world that your not the monster that legends depict you as. And as long as the crusaders and I are here, we will fight that fight with you." I said as I put my fist out. He looked at it, smiled, and hoof-bumped it happily. He turned towards the door and smiled at me. "Lets go seize the day, friend." He said and we walked out the room, the conversation (and the emotions following) not forgotten, purely cast aside for now. ********** Ronin POV ********** "Nurse, that stuff taste like you whizzed in it and deep fried it, I'm not drinking that again." I said as Nurse Redheart groaned angrily before arguing. "Ronin, if you don't drink the elixer, I will show you what deep fried urine tastes like." She stated as she put the elixer up to my mouth. With no other option, I drank the disgusting liquid. After what happened yesterday with Chrysalis, Nurse Redheart decided to change my prescription to a "healthier" potion of sorts. And like all healthy based foods, it was absolutely disgusting. After finishing the drink, I made a face and turned my head in the direction her voice was coming from. "Your a real turd, ya know that?" I said as I heard her snort in laughter and smiled. "So, how long until my blindfold comes off?" I ask as I hear her walk up to the bed. "Well, its been over 24 hours, so lets see." She said as she removed the cloth from my eyes. I immediately hiss and scrunch my eyes closed at the exposure to light. But after a minute or two of exposure, I slowly start to see again. I look around the room. Sure enough, there is a closet in the corner, definitely where Pinkie hid yesterday. The bed is a full size at most. considering my feet are dangling off it. My eyes then fall on the pony in the room. She was a white coated earth mare with pink hair and a cross with hearts around it on her flank. her eyes were a dazzling sapphire blue that shined in the dimly lit room. She also is wearing a hat with the same mark on her flank printed on the hat. "Well, helloooo nurse!" I say with a smirk. "I guess you must be the lady who has been taking care of me?" I ask as she smiles, blushing slightly. "Yes, I was assigned to you after you were brought here by Snowheart. And I must say you are the second most frustrating patient I have had yet." She says as I frown. "Who the heck is more stubborn than me?" I ask as she groans and strikes a mock superman pose. "Rainbow-bucking-dash, thats who." She gets down from her hindlegged superman pose and laughs a bit before frowning. "She was in here for a broken wing a couple of months back, and she not only was stubborn while she was here, but she broke INTO the hospital to get a book she claimed to have never read or ever will read." She finished as I started cracking up with laughter. "Oh, man thats rough. Makes my snarky comments seem like its Fluttershy in here instead of me." I say as Redheart laughs, before grabbing a clipboard. "Now, I'm supposed to do a checklist with you to make sure your eyesight us alright. So please bear with me, Ronin." She said as I sighed. "Always hated paperwork. Lets get this over with." I said as she started asking questions about my range of sight and giving me those exams you get if you wear glasses. After a bit, she was finished and put the clipboard away. "See, that wasn't so bad, huh?" She said as I rolled my eyes. A question popped into my head though. "Hey Nurse, mind if I bounce some things off ya that have been on my mind?" I asked. She nodded and took a seat in a chair near the closet. "So, you know I'm dating Chrysalis right?" I said as she nodded with a groan. "With what happened yesterday, I'm suprised you two aren't a married couple." She said as my eyes widened. "Definitely not doing that soon. No need to rush into that can of worms. But what if someone is dating somebody, but there's another girl he may like at the same time. How would that person or pony handle that situation?" I ask as she smiles at me. "Well, that's easy enough. Just start herding with them." She said like it was commen knowledge. I raised an eyebrow. "What is herding?" I ask as her jaw drops. "You don't know what herding is?" I shake my head. "Well, when a stallion likes more than one mare, they can start a herd by dating more than one female. But said stallion can only have up to five girls in one herd." She said while it was my turn to be shocked. "Ok, then. That's defenitely new. But it sounds like it happens a lot around here." I said as she nodded. "The male to female ratio here is pretty lopsided, about five to one in the females favor. So we kind of need herding to survive." She said as I shook my head in amazement. "That's actaully kind of cool. Where we come from, our ratio is even. So we dont condone things like that there." Looking back, this place does have an unhealthy amount of females in it. I yawned slightly, and Redheart stood up. "That must be the elixer kicking in. I will check in on you tonight to make sure your not recieving backlash from the eyesight being returned." She said as she left. I smiled and leaned back into the bed. I have a whole lot of thinking to do. I thought as my mind returned to what occured yesterday with Pinkie. I wonder how Chrysalis would feel about a herd. > Chapter 22: A prophecy and a very determined Pinkie Pie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Canterlot Castle, No Pov* The moon had just been raised and most of the castles daytime guards, maids, and other workponies were asleep and replaced by nightime counterparts. But one princess was still awake on her bed, and she was currently reading through a book that originally been hidden in her room. As Celestia looked through the old diary of her lover of long ago, she couldn't help but think about the similarities between him and the brothers that had arrived. Ronin defenitely had his swordplay and his confidence, if not also his stubborness. Raiden could cook just as good, if not better than him, while sharing his kind heart. And little Nicholas seems to have the loyalty and honor that motivated him. Celestia sighed as she turned another page and gasped. She had never looked in the back of the book before, the pain of who it belonged to was too great. but when she turned the page, there was a single paragraph in her lovers handwriting. To my shining sun, I was dreaming last night when I saw something unimaginable! Your sister had became something terrifying. And to make things worse, my dear friend Dadiolus was standing beside her, fueling whatever darkness had a grip on her. However, I saw a way for the light to overcome the dark. A time will come when six champions of humble beginnings will rise. These six heroes must ally themselves with the three heralds of balance. One will represent happiness and peace, One will represent death and sorrow, and one shall represent hope and the future. These three heralds will not be of this world, for they were not ponies, but humans like me. I can only hope that they arrive before Luna becomes shrouded in darkness again, not after. By the time you read this, I will have either succeded in altering fate, or died at the hands of Dadiolus. If I fail, it will be up to you to align the six champions with the prophesied heralds. Stay strong, my love. For the time will come when we are reunited. Your dear captain, Sir Callobrim Blazeheart. Celestia closed the diary, face tear stricken and breaths shallow. He knew that he might die that day?!" She thought as she thought about what it said. "Three heralds...that couldn't mean those brothers, could it?" She mumbled as she thought of something. Out of the three, Raiden seemed the most intelligent, maybe he could help in figuring out this diary entry. Celestia thought as the door to her room slammed open. She turned to her intruder with a glare. "Who dares come into my room unnanoun-Luna?" Celestia said as Luna looked at her with slight worry. "What is wrong, sister?" she asked her, noticing the look of fear on her sister face. "Dear sister, we were watching over the dreams as per usual. But as we came across one particular dream that belonged to that human male you were with a couple of days ago, we found we could not enter it." Luna said as Celestia frowned. "Why wouldn't you be able to enter it?" She asked as Lunas face suddenly went a bit pale. "When we tried to enter it, we were surrounded by a green light and hundreds of voices assaulted our mind! It was like they were eating away at my thoughts!" Luna cried as she walked up and hugged her sister. Celestia hugged back, mind full of worry and curiosity. "It seems we must pay a visit to our human friends. There is much we must discuss with them." ************* Raiden POV ************* After spending a day figuring our where I was to work, I had finally found the perfect place. Although it meant being instructed by Pinkie Pie, I was glad to be in a kitchen again. "Alright, Raiden! we have an order for four breakfast muffins!" Pinkie called out in her usual high octane energy. How that girl has all that energy at ten in the morning confuses me greatly. Oh well, its better than nothing. I poured the batter into the muffin shaped holders and put them into the oven. After about thirty seconds, a timer went off and they were ready to be pulled out. How food cooks here so fast is an even greater mystery, but one I'd rather not look into for the risk of a headache. "Order up!" I yelled to the front as Mrs. Cake took the muffins and brought them to their respective customer. This continued for a few hours until Pinkie came to the back. "Your shift is done, Raiden! the Cakes want you to have this!" She cheerfully said as she threw a bag at me. I opened it and saw those bits that they use as currency in them. The bag was labeled with a thirty. "Dang, thirty bits a day? thats awesome!" I said as Pinkie grinned. "You were working extra hard today, and you helped us get through the morning rush. So you earned a decent pay. Now that our shifts are over, what are you going to do?" Pinkie asked as as I thought for a bit before answering. "I think I might ask Twilight to explain the currency here to me. I'd rather not pay too much for something on accident." I said as Pinkie grinned even wider. "oooo, good idea! I'm going to the hospital, I have a special food package to deliver to a patient up there!" She said as she pulled a literal food package from her...hair? "Who's it for?" I asked as Pinkie suddenly blushed slightly before answering. "Its for someone special, but no spoilers! after all, the author hates spoilers!" Pinkie said as she jumped through a window, with a scream of suprise coming from outside, probably some wandering pony not expecting Pinkie to jump out a window. Ok? I thought as I shoke off the weirdness that Pinkie Pie seems to attract to any situation. I walked out the bakery and went straight to Twilights home. As I walked in, I saw a blue pegasus with rainbow hair chilling on the floor reading something. She looked up at me and smiled. "So, your one of those humans, right? Names Rainbow Dash, fastest pony in Equestria. Whats your name?" She said as I smiled. So this is the mare Nicholas said was a showoff. Aight, I can play this game. I thought as I smiled back. "Well hello Rainbow Dash. My name is Raiden, but I couldn't possibly believe you are the fastest pony here. Sorry, but you just don't look the part." As soon as I said that, I got Rainbow Dash in my face. "Excuse me! I am the fastest pony in ponyville, and I can prove it!" She smirked as she eyed me up and down. "Wanna race, smart mouth?" She asked as I smirked back. "Maybe later, Skittles. I need to talk to Twilight about the currency here, do you know where she is?" As I finished my sentence, Twilight came downstairs from whatever she had been doing and noticed us. "Raiden, Rainbow dash! What are you two doing?" She said, noticing the proximity we were from each other. We immediately backed up and I turned to Twilight. "I was just talking to Rainbow, but I need your help with something, if your not to busy." I said and Twilight grinned. "I'm not busy right now, so whats up?" Twilight said as Rainbow returned to reading her book. I took a seat and pulled out the bit filled bag from earlier and handed them to her. "I just received a paycheck, and I have no clue how the economy works here." I said as Twilight pulled out a copper and silver bit from the bag. "Im glad you asked about this, Raiden. Last thing we need is for you to be haggled or overpay in the marketplace." She lifted up the copper bit. "This color bit represents a number value of one." She said as I smiled. "Earth has something like that, except ours is a dollar bill." I said as she got a bit giddy at new information about earth. She lifted up the silver one next. "This one has a numerical value of ten." She said and I nodded at this worlds version of ten bucks. She put it down and her horn glowed, causing a golden bit to appear in front of us. "This bit has a face value of one hundred." She said as my jaw dropped. "Wait, that little boy is worth a hundred in Your currency!" I said as she nodded. "That's so cool and crazy at the same time." I put the silver and copper bit in my bag and Twilight made the gold one disappear. I stood up and stretched. "I think I might go take a nap, working with Pinkie is exhausting!" I said. Twilight giggled at that and nodded. "She can be a handful at times." She said as I walked upstairs and into my guest room, plopping onto the bed with a tired yawn. I didn't even change my clothes before passing out. *********** Ronin POV *********** Once again, I was being fed the elixer. This time, it would be the last one I would get, since I was able to feel my body again. Once I finished drinking it, I passed it off to Nurse Redheart. She put it aside and looked at me. "Do you want to try and walk now?" She asked and I nodded as I slowly got off the bed. With support from Redheart, I stood there for a second to catch my balance, then took a step forward. It was a wobbly one at first, but as I continued to walk around, the steps got more confident and I found myself perfectly able to walk again with no assistance. I smiled and turned to a mirror while removing my hospital robe, just to have the smile wiped off my face. The exoskeleton I had was damaged...bad. There were cracks all along it and I could tell the epicenter of it all was the back area which was unprotected. Heck, as I turned, I noticed there wasnt even any skeleton back there anymore, the roof had done away with my whole backpiece. Redheart stepped up to me. "Ronin, the exoskeleton you wore has been severly damaged. But if it wouldn't had been there, you would've been sent to a morgue rather than a hospital." She said as I sighed. Chrysalis was going to be mad. "At least I'm alive." I said and Redheart agreed. I turned to the door and staryed stretching my arms and legs, both stiff after being stuck in a bed for days. "So, Im able to leave anytime, right?" I said and Redheart nodded, albeit a tad sadly. I picked up on the slight sorrow and smiled. "Hey, why don't I treat ya to lunch tomorrow, so I can get to know my new friend better." I said as she visibly (and internally) brightened at the idea. "I would love that, Ronin. I have a day off tomorrow, so it will work out perfectly. But where to?" She said as I smirked. "I think I know exactly where to go." I said as I started walking out the door. "meet me at sugercube corner tomorrow at eleven, ok?" I Said as she waved to me. "I will, see you there!" She called back as I left the room and hospital. After walking around a bit, I finally made it back to my house, or at least what was my house. When I had told Chrysalis to change the house, she might've went overboard. she not only changed it, but now it looked similar to how the old hive looked. Except that it still had the outward frame of a house, just with hive design instead of bricks. That, and a few spikes jutting from the roof and sides. I barely put my hand on the doorknob when, in a flash of green light, I found myself on a bed with Chrysalis on top of me. "Chrysi? What are ya doing?" I asled as she hungrily looked down on me. "My mate has been locked in a hospital for three days straight with...a damaged exoskeleton." She said slightly mad as she licked her lips and fangs. "No matter, your dear queen has been starving! Now, do your queen a favor and feed her, will you?" She literally purred as she magically locked all doors and shut all windows. She went to kiss me but was interrupted by a loud voice outside. "Chrysalis, I know Ronin is in there, now let me see him!" A loud voice yelled through. I got up and opened a window to see Pinkie standing outside with a megaphone in one hoof while holding a package in another. She looked up towards me and smiled...wide. "There you are!" She said as she lowered the megaphone. "Whether your busy or not, I have been looking for you all day, Ronin! And you will get this package!" She yelled up as she dove through a window downstairs. Oh, boy. I thought as turned to the door, ready for whatever Pink was ready to do. > Chapter 23: Confessions and confetti > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin Pov* As I turned to the door awaiting Pinkies entrance, Chrysalis turned to me. "What just happened out there?" She asked as I sighed, hearing several doors being opened and shut quickly. "Pinkie dove through a window and is hunting me down right now." I said as Pinkie finally found our door and slammed it open, looking very tired and very determined. "Finally!! this house has too many doors! But now that I found you I can give you your package!" She said while holding up a box and walking towards me, only to be cut off by Chrysalis midway. "What do you think you are doing?" Chrysalis spat with venom laced in her words. Pinkie smiled at her, although it seemed a bit forced. "Silly, I just said that. I'm giving Ronin this gift I made for him." She said, but Chrysalis wasn't done. "If that is all, then why can I feel love seeping from you every time you look at Ronin?" She said as Pinkies eyes widened, caught red-handed. Chrysalis took a deep breath and growled, leaning close into Pinkies face "Listen well, you little earth pony. You may be friends with Ronin, but you shall never be his mare. That role has been filled by me, and me only! Now buzz off before crush you under my hoofs!" She said, but Pinkie was not about to give in. She got straight up in Chrysalis's face and frowned. "Listen here, you big meanie. A guy like Ronin doesn't need a jerk like you clinging to him just to feed off him. So why don't you leave him alone before I throw you a party you wont walk away from!" Pinkie growled as the two butted heads. Fed up with the arguing, I took a deep breath before speaking. "ENOUGH!!!!" I yelled, causing both of them to jump back from me in suprise. I turned to Pinkie first. "First of all, don't you dare insinuate that Chrysalis is using me! We have already had that problem figured out, and I can assure you that we do love each other!" Chrysalis smirked at Pinkie, but the look became one of fear when I turned to her, not even realizing my eyes were glowing green again. "And you!!! How dare you threaten Pinkie like that? She is a close friend of mine and yes, I am attracted to her too. That doesn't mean that you immediately threaten every girl that comes near me!" I said as Chrysalis shrunk down a tad, looking extremely vunerable. I took another breath and calmed down, my eyes slowly returning to their normal blue. "Listen, this ain't going to be easy for me to say, but it has to be said. I love you Chrysalis, but I also am extremely attracted to Pinkie Pie. There is a solution to this, but you must hear me out." I said as Chrysalis stood back up and Pinkie smiled again. I cleared my throat and sighed. "Do either of you know what a herd is?" I said as Chrysalis groaned and Pinkie looked confused. "What's a herd?" came the obvious question from Pinkie Pie. Chrysalis turned to her frowned. "It means that he wishes to date both of us." She said and Pinkies eyes lit up. "Really!" She said as I nodded before saying more. "But its a tad more complicated then that. Heck, I'm not a hundred percent in the know about this, but I am willing to give it a try. The question is, are you two willing to try this?" I said as they turned back to each other, a bit of heat in both of their stares yet also consent at the same time. "If this pink fluff truly means that much to you, then I am willing to allow her to herd with us. But, if we are going to herd, it will be done the changeling way." Chrysalis said as Pinkie arched an eyebrow. "There's more than one way to herd?" She asked, just as in the dark as I was. "Whats the changeling way?" I asked Chrysalis as she smiled at us, bearing her fangs. "If Pinkie truly does love you, then she will have to have the same process you went through done to her." She said as my eyes widened before I frowned, immediately against the idea, meanwhile Pinkie looked confused. "Hold up, We are not forcing her to become a halfing just so she can date me. Thats wrong as hell." Chrysalis rolled her eyes but consented to my reasoning. I rubbed my eyes in frustration before continuing. "Although I do believe that if this becomes serious between us, Pinkie will need to learn more about the changeling way." I said as I turned to Pinkie and knelt to her level. "Im going to be honest with ya, Party queen. Out of any male you could've picked to crush on, ya picked the one with the most complications. If ya do agree to do this, you must know that you will become a part of this hive if you choose to date me. And once you choose to embrace the hive life, you become a part of the hive. With that in mind, do you wish to continue trying to date me?" I stated as she sat there for a good moment with a look of seriousness on her face I had never seen on her before. After a while, she smiled and looked at me. "Ronin, I may be knoen as being goofy or childish at times compared to my friends. But this is one decision that I am fully taking seriously. So yes, I do want to herd with you and Chrysalis, knowing that it means my life may be different from here on." She thought on that for a bit before her eyes went wide. "Wait, I can still work at the bakery, right?" She asked as I laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, Pink. You will still be able to work at the bakery. The only thing changing now is the fact you can sleep here instead of above your job." I said as we felt a third set of hooves hug us from behind. "I wont lie, I still hold some worries about this herding prospect, but I can feel the love emanating from you two, and I am willing to give this a try." Chrysalis said as we sat there in the warm embrace for a minute, before Pinkie jumped up and gasped. "Omigosh, This calls for a party! I need to get to work on it immediately! I can call it 'Happy herding party' and mmph-" Pinkie was cut off my Chrysalis melding her mouth shut with magic while glaring at her, but a smile on her face at the goofiness of Pinkies antics. "We are not throwing a party for this occasion, especially with that title. However, going out for lunch doesn't seem like a bad idea, wouldn't you agree Ronin?" She asked as I nodded and Pinkie muffled a agreement. After removing the spell from Pinkie, we got up before Chrysalis saw my back in its full messed up glory. "That exoskeleton truly is messed up, huh? the lunch out will have to wait, we need to fix this." She said as Pinkie titled her head to the side in confusion. "How do we do that?" She asked as Chrysalis turned to me and grinned hungrily. "It seems like your first lesson in the way of the hive comes early today, Pinkie Pie." She said as she locked the door again and magically threw me on the bed. "Lesson one: How to extract the most love from your mate!" ************* Nicholas POV ************* I was standing on a pedestal posing for Raritys newest line of clothes. Why? because I made the idiotic decision to go and attempt to bail Sweetiebelle out of her punishment. She got off it, of course. But I took her place as Raritys live mannequin. "Darling, you look absolutely stunning in that suit!" Rarity said as Sweetiebelle giggled at my expense. She was sitting on a chair nearby soaking in the situation. "How many more of these suits do I have to try on?" I asked Rarity as she smiled at me. "Only about twelve more, dearie." She said as I took off the tux and groaned inwardly. The door opened and Rarity turned to the customer. "Oh, Raiden! you've come at a good time! young Nicholas was just helping me with my measurements for tuxedos, but I need a older stallion to dress in these next couple of suits." She said as Raiden sighed and smiled. "I was just coming by to check on Nicholas, but sure, I'll help." He said as I jumped off the pedestal and changed into my normal shirt and jeans quickly. I turned to Sweetiebelle and smiled. "Come with me if you want to live" I said in a deep voice while grabbing her hoof, causing her to giggle as I pulled her out of the shop. "Why did you say that sentence with a deep voice?" She asked me as I started looking around fir our friends. "Its a line from a movie I watched a while ago. Why? you didn't like it?" I said while not facing her during my search. She smiled dreamily. "Oh, I liked it. It just suprised me at how deep your voice can go." She cleared her throat as I turned to face her. "Look, its Scootaloo and Tak!" She pointed behind me. Sure enough, they were there alright, but they were looking at Ronins house. We walked over and greeted them. "Hey guys, what's up?" I asked as Tak and Scootaloo turned to face us, Tak looked confused and Scootaloo looked bored. "Tak said he felt something weird coming from his house with his changeling powers, but nothing is happening!" Scootaloo said as she huffed a bit. Tak looked more focused on the house. "Well, I could've swore I felt more than one love exchange happening up there, but I could be wrong." He said just before the sound of a cannon going off came from inside the house, followed by the weirdest thing. All the windows on the second floor where the bedroom is located broke apart by a massive wave of confetti flowing out them. There was so much, we had to back up almost to the carousel just to get out of the way. For a moment, the huge pile of confetti didn't move, then Pinkie Pies head popped out. "WOW!!! My cannons have never fired this much confetti before! You were right Chrysalis, that felt sooooooo good!" She said as Chrysalis popped her head from the confetti wave, but on the other side of the pile, looking at Pinkie with a mix of fear and respect. "I dont know where or how you managed to obtain such arcane power, but I loved every second of it! How about you, Ronin?" She looked around and noticed Ronin wasn't anywhere to be seen. "He was right here a second ago, where is he?" Ronin finally popped up between the two. "Right here!" He said with a yawn. "Next time we do that, remember to reinforce the windows!" He said before passing out face first into the pile of confetti. Raiden and Rarity came outside and joined us and the crowd. "What the heck did he do this time?" Raiden asked as Rarity looked on in shock. I laughed and shrugged. "I have no idea, brother. But man, this is amazing." I said as a purple flash appeared near us and Twilight was standing by Rarity. "I saw a crowd form over here, what happened?" She said as she turned to the pile and stopped cold. "Why are Chrysalis, Pinkie Pie, and Ronin in a confetti pile the size of the road?" Raiden leaned over and answered her. "I have no clue, but I hope the story behind this is a good one, beacuse this is absolutely hilarious." Raiden said while laughing. Chrysalis got up and charged a spell. In a flash, the confetti was gone. Ronin woke up immediately as he face planted with the ground. "Oooh" he groaned as he stood up. "Man, we really need to do that in a safer environment next time." He said as Raiden walked up to him. "Dude, what did you do? I haven't seen something as funny as that since you kicked that mailbox across town four days ago." He said as Rarity gasped before her eyes narrowed. "Your the one that damaged my mailbox!" She half-yelled half-screeched as Ronins eyes went wide and he scrambled away with Rarity in pursuit. "Chill Chill Chill! It was an accident I swear! OW!!!" He said as a small beam of magic hit him on is butt. "Lady, you need chill out!" He said while running. "GET BACK HERE YOU FILTHY VANDELIZER!" Rarity yelled as she chased him across town. Chrysalis and Pinkie were leaning against each other for support because they were laughing so hard. The girls and Tak were almost crying with laughter as I chuckled and Twilight face-hoofed. Raiden rolled his eyes and walked off, hiding his goofy smile he had from the events of today. > Chapter 24: Party hats and a old home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* After Ronin ran off to avoid the wrath of a very angry unicorn, I turned to Sweetiebelle and smiled. "Hey, I need to go back to Fluttershy and help her with the bunny holes, so I'll catch up with you later." I told her and she smiled big at me as I jogged off and responded. "Ok, Nick! See you later!" She called out. After I was out of sight, Scootaloo snuck up behind Scootaloo and poked her in the back. "Well, looks like somepony has a crush." She said as Sweetiebelle jumped in the on shock. Tak came over and laughed at the sight. "Well, you wouldn't be the only one. Applebloom likes him too. Heck, last time we saw her, she was pestering her sister about courting ideas at their foodstand." He said as Sweetiebelle groaned. "We decided to compete to see who could win him over, but my sister is too busy chasing Ronin to help me out!" Sweetiebelle said as she huffed and walked off, eager to find a way to win over Nicholas. Scootaloo and Tak shared a knowing smile before laughing. "Think we should tell Nick about this?" He asked Scootaloo as she shook her head. "Nope, let them have their fun. It's going to be fun to watch what they pull to try and win Nick over." She said and they started following Sweetiebelle, making sure to stay out of her sight. *********** Raiden POV *********** I have the most idiotic brother. Not only does the guy cause a confetti tsunami in his own home (I dont even want to know how Pinkie relates to that) but the guy also manages to cause one of this worlds 'heroes' mad at him. To be fair, me spilling those beans about the mailbox wasn't fair to him, but oh well. I was pulled from these thoughts as I was tackled to the ground by a skydiving pegasus. I groaned loudly and looked at my attacker. It was a grey mare with a yellow mane and tail with bubbles as her cutie mark. I found myself looking at two moderate gamboge colored eyes, though one was looking in a completely different direction than the other. "I'm so sorry! I kinda lost control there while delivering this letter to..." She picks up a letter with her wing and looks at it, still on me. "A stallion or mare named Raiden. Do you know who that is, because I can't find their home address anywhere." She said as she finally got off me and I stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm Raiden. And if you get more mail for me, swing by Twilights. Thats where I'm living for the time being." I said and she gave me the letter. It was closed with a royal seal, so it had to be from Celestia. "What would your name be?" I ask as she points to herself, one eye focused on me, the other on the clouds. "Me? Im Ditzy, but most people call me Derpy because I'm a bit clumsy." She said as she smiled at me. Honestly, I was finding her absolutely adorable. "Well, I think I'll call you Ditzy. It fits a cute pegasus like you." I waved goodbye as I walked past her. "Nice meeting you, Ditzy." I said as she turned and waved back, though I didn't see the blush on her face. ************* Ronin POV ************* I was currently bunkered between the sugercube bakery and some other building next to it. I had lost Rarity for the time being but had a lunch date with the girls to get to. One problem, we had never decided on a place. Hopefully, Pinkie brings Chrysalis to sugercube corner. I thought as I realized the two might get into an argument or two without me being there. I sighed and walked into the store and took a seat at a booth. Mrs.Cake came up to me almost immediately. "Oh, you must be Ronin! Pinkie Pie just won't stop talking about you, you know. Now, what would you like?" She asked me as I thought about what I wanted. "Just a simple cinnamon cupcake, please." I said as she nodded and walked into the kitchen. I stretched out and relaxed as I saw a lizard walk into the bakery. We made eye contact and he ran up to me with a smile on his face. "Finally! I found you! I have a letter from Celestia for you, and Twilight said to look around town until I saw a scary looking human, so you must be Ronin." He said as he handed me a letter with a royal seal on it. I opened it and raised an eyebrow at the contents. Inside were several gold and silver looking bits and a note that said something about Celestia coming to town later today. I turned to the lizard and smiled. "Thanks..." I trailed off as he realized he hadn't introduced himself. "Oh! my name is Spike, Twilights number one dragon assistant!" He said with pride as Mrs.Cake came back with the cupcake. Figuring the bits were the money for this world, I gave her a silver one and her eyes widened. She gave me a quick thank you and left as Spikes jaw dropped. "Dude, you just payed ten bits for a two bit cupcake!" He said as I froze mid bite of said cupcake. I turned to him and pulled out a silver and gold bitpiece. "Ok, then. What do these count for here?" I asked as he smiled, ready to help. "Silver bits are worth ten bits, and gold are worth one hundred. you don't have any copper ones, but those are worth one bit." He said as I grinned. "Thanks Spike, you aint so bad for a little dragon." I said. He smiled and wandered off as the door to the place swung open with Pinkie Pie came through with Chrysalis in tow wearing a...party hat? She sighted me and dragged Chrysalis over to sit in the booth, Pinkie on my right and Chrysalis on my left. I turned to Chrysalis and smirked. "Have fun?" I asked her as she narrowed her eyes and growled. But, before she could retort, Pinkie answered for her. "I gave Chrysalis a tour of ponyville while looking for you! Since you fled from Rarity, we looked all over town for where you would want to eat at, then Chrysalis said you would probably be here, so we came here as soon as we could!" She said as I rolled my eyes, smiling. "What about the hat?" I asked Pinkie, pointing to the hat balanced on her horn. "That's her behaviour hat! Chrysalis can't remove it with her magic and I won't remove it until she learns to behave!" She answered as I started laughing. Chrysalis was not amused. "I haven't threatened anything for an hour, get this hat off of me!" She said as Pinkie smiled and lifted it off her head. As soon as it was off, Chrysalis hit it with a magic beam, burning it to ashes. "Hah! The behavior hat is no more!" She gladly proclaimed... *pop* ...just as another party hat, this one even bigger and sillier, landed on her horn. Chrysalis yelled and tried to magic it off, but the hat seemed magic proof and made confetti shoot out of it every time Chrysalis used a spell. Chrysalis shortly gave up afterwards and face planted on the table. I was in tears at this point. After a bit of laughing, I turned to Chrysalis and booped her nose. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth almost instantly before she sat up and stared at me. "What do you want?" She asked, still slightly aggravated about the hat on her head. I smiled and kissed her on the cheek before answering. "So, how long till my armour gets fixed?" I asked her as she looked me over before frowning in deep thought. "Well, before it only took an hour due to it being just us. But with Pinkie Pie added to the mix, who knows how long it will take or what the exoskeleton will look like. Your greaves and helmet might even change as well." She said as Pinkie attached herself to my back with a hug. "Besides, I kinda like you without the armour on your chest! Your soooo muscular it feels like I'm hugging a bear!" She said as she nuzzled my neck. I turned and gave her a quick peck on the lips before a thought came to mind. "Hey, Chrysi? What happened to the old hive?" I asked her as she suddenly looked far more down than before. She took a deep breath before asnwering. "I'm not sure, but I can't feel any of my kin from that place. Its like that Dadiolus freak said, he killed them all." She said as I pulled her into a deep hug. After a moment, she pulled away and I looked her in the watery eyes. "We should still go check out the place. Who knows what that maniac left behind." I said as Pinkie pulled the hat off Chrysalis's head. "Well, lets go! If there are any of your friends there, then we can help them!" She said as Chrysalis looked at her in shock. "You would help my people, even after we attacked canterlot a week ago?" She asked as Pinkie Pie smiled big at her. "Sure, you guys were meanies in the past, but no one deserves to be left all alone or die. Besides, the sooner we find them, the sooner I can throw a welcome to ponyville party for them!" She said as Chrysalis rolled her eyes, bit smiled nonetheless. "Very well, let us go immediately." Chrysalis said as green light enveloped the three of us. ********** After the light died down, we found ourselves staring at the remains of the hive. It was torn apart and left in ashes, with singe marks in random spots that looked like they came from lightning bolts. There were changeling bodies strewn all about the place with several wounds and gashes. Pinkie gasped as tears went to her eyes at the sight. Chrysalis remained still as a statue as her face was one of pure disbelief. I walked forward and leaned down on one of the changeling bodies. It had bite marks on its neck that oddly resembled something I had seen before, but couldn't place it. "What happened here?" Pinkie whispered in a sob as I walked into the ruins with Chrysalis barely behind me, still not saying a word. We made it to the center of the hive as we saw even more bodies, these ones far more mutilated...and covered in webs. Hold up....webs? That set off alarms on my head the second I realized the webs were made recently. I turned to Chrysalis and Pinkie. "We need to go, NOW!" I yelled as a shadow loomed over us and maniacal laughter filled the room. *********** Raiden POV *********** I made back to the library to see a white chariot in the front lawn area. I walked inside to see Celestia and Twilight sitting together drinking tea. Celestia turned to me and smiled. "Ah, Raiden. It's great to see you again. We have much to discuss, but we must wait for your brothers. Do you know where they are?" She asked as I sat down next to Twilight, who was in a ponyloaf across from Celestia. "Well, Nicholas should be with Fluttershy, and who knows where Ronin is after Rarity chased him across town." I said as Twilight giggled, remembering the incident. Celestia raised an eyebrow as I smirked at the memory. "Yeah, after we came back from canterlot. Ronin and I were having a heart to heart, and he decided to kick a mailbox across town. Said mailbox was Raritys, and we found that out after a rather...odd event that led to that." I said, remembering the wave of confetti Pinkie had somehow summoned after doing who knows what in Ronins place. Celestia chuckled and smiled at me. "That defenitely sounds like your brother. Reckless, headstrong. and sooo strong as well." I barely heard the last part, but Twilight definitely did. "Princess, do you like Ronin?" She asked as a small blush adorned the princess's face. I laughed and stretched. "Wouldnt suprise me, he did save Celestia." I said as Celestia cleared her throat. "Be as that may, it is nothing more than a simple crush. I doubt Chrysalis would even think about herding with anypony anyway." She said with a touch of sadness in her tone, Yet I couldn't help but chuckle. "Princess, I believe he has already formed a herd, considering that Pinkie was not only at Ronins place, but the fact that I saw her in town giving Chrysalis a private tour of ponyville." I said as Twilight gasped. "Pinkie Pie is dating Ronin!" She yelled as Celestia and I flinched at her sudden outburst before Celestia smiled again. "It would appear so, my student." She said as Princess Luna came barging into the room looking extremely worried. "What is the matter, sister?" She asked her. Luna turned to Celestia and frowned. "I just recieved word that the Antiarachnid corpse from the courtyard was a fake! the real menace is still alive and was last seen near the town!" She said as we all got to our feet and hooves quickly. She turned to me and her frown deepened. "Your brother, Pinkie Pie, and Chrysalis are trying to stop him. But he is on a warpath for the town. If he gets here..." She finished as I turned to Celestia. "We need to prepare for a fight, Now!" I said as she nodded and teleported away. Twilight turned to me quickly, worry laced on her face. "We have to warn the townsponies!" She said as I nodded before running outside, praying that we had enough time before the lieutenant was on our doorstep. > Chapter 25: Where's the bug spray when ya need it? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin Pov* I took a step back as Volt emerged from the shadows laughing that same wicked laugh he always does. Pinkie looked on in a mix of shock and fear and Chrysalis just looked mad as hell. "Volt? But I killed you in the courtyard!" I exclaimed as he leered at me menacingly, his teeth glowed with green blood. "Hehehehe, that wassssss but a puppet created by Dadiolus to distract the princess. I was tasssssked with the destruction of this hive and ALL of its inhabitants!" He screeched as Chrysalis took a step forward. "You mean that all of my children, all of my kin and our only home were destroyed by you?!" She yelled as she fired off a spell at Volt. The Antiarachnid laughed and jumped over the spell and landed nearby Pinkie and looked her in the eyes. "Well well well well, who is this?" He asked as he sniffed her fur, causing her to jump back in shock and face him with a frown. "I smell your presence on her, Ronin. Is she one of your mates?" He asked as he suddenly went serious. "No matter, I'm not here to play with you, Thanatos. No, I am here to hunt down the spellweaver and end his existence." He said as he jumped through the ruins and fled the scene, leaving me to wonder who he meant. "Umm...that guy was kinda scary, but who's the spellweaver?" Pinkie said as I thought for a second. Spellweaver? isn't that what Nicholas said Dadiolus called him? Crap, that means... "We need to go, he's after my brother!" I yelled as we gave chase after him, not noticing a blue alicorn flying off towards ponyville after viewing the events. ********** Nicholas POV ********** Turns out, making a rabbit burrow is really difficult to do from scratch. The first couple of ones I helped make looked like glorified holes in the ground. After a few hours of help from Fluttershy, I was finally starting to get the hang of it. "There you go, little ones." Fluttershy said in a motherly tone to a group of rabbits settling into one of the newest burrows she had created. She turned to me and smiled. "That should be the last one, Nicholas. We should head back before it gets dark." She said as she looked to the setting sun. I nodded as we started walking back to the cottage. As we were walking, I turned to Fluttershy. "You know, something has been bothering me." I said as she turned her head to me with a confused look. "Your super nice, have a great job as an animal caretaker, and are pretty cute as well. How do you not have a boyfriend or husband?" I asked her as she blushed slightly. "I-I could never see myself getting the courage to ask somepony out." She said with a touch of sadness in her tone. I frowned at the before asnwering. "Well, that's not right. Your an incredible pony and you totally deserve one." I said as Fluttershy stopped cold. I stopped and raised an eyebrow at the look of fear on her face. "Umm....did I say something wrong?" I asked as she shook her head and raised her hoof to my mouth. "Shhh, listen." She quietly told me. I obeyed and stood there, listening to the silence of the trail. "There's nothing around here but us." I whispered as she started to tremble slightly before looking at me in the eyes. "Nicholas, this trail is always full of the sounds of my bird friends. But now its absolutely quiet." She whispered back as a branch broke in the brush to the right. We both turned to the sound and saw the bushes start to shake as whatever was in them got closer. Fluttershy pulled me behind her while she took a step forward, still shaking, and called out. "W-Whose out there?" She said shakily as the shaking neared the bush closest to the trail and Pinkie Pies head popped out. Fluttershy and I relaxed quickly. "Oh, its just you, Pinkie. We thought you were something scary." Fluttershy said as she started walking towards her. "Scary? Don't be silly! I was looking for Nicholas anyway! There's this big spider thingy after him and we need to get him to safety now!" She said as she motioned behind her with her head. "Follow me, Ronin has a safe spot up ahead with Chrysalis." Fluttershy started to enter the brush with her before I pulled her back. Something about all of this seemed...off. I looked to Fluttershy, who was staring at me with confusion, and shook my head before turning to Pinkie. "Ronin sent you to find me instead of Chrysalis or himself?" I asked her as she nodded quickly with that big smile she always had, yet unlike most times where that smile dang near drove me mad with irritation, this time it kinda scared me for some reason. "Yep!" She said, but impatiance laced her words. "Now come on, we dont want to leave him waiting, do we?" She asked me as an idea popped into my head. I took a step forward and smiled. "A question first, then we'll go." I said as she rolled her eyes but nodded. "What's the first thing you wanted to do when you realized I was new in town?" I asked as Fluttershy and Pinkie both raised eyebrows at the question before the latter snorted a bit with laughter. "That's easy, silly! I wanted to show you around town to see everypony." She said as I smirked. Checkmate "So, you wouldn't throw any...parties for me?" I asked as Pinkie shook her head. "Of course not! that would scare any newcomer off! what silly eilly throws a party for somepony they never have met before?" She said as Fluttershy immediately jumped back in a miz of suprise and fear as she realized the now obvious situation. "Your not Pinkie Pie!" She said as I took another step forward. "Nope, she's a fake. And you almost had us fooled, but you obviously have no clue who your impersonating." I said as the fake Pinkie Pie started laughing wickedly, tilting her head backwards. Things took a rather twisted turn from there. The Pinkies head started turning in a three-sixty degree angle around her head several times before stopping facing me suddenly. Her eyes then rolled to the back of her head as the sockets turned black and her whole body started convulsing violently before completely ripping apart, leaving what looked like a big leg in her place. Said leg contracted into a bush as a huge, and I mean HUGE, spider appeared from the bush laughing in the same laugh the pinkie was using. "Soooo, spellweaver. How did you like my little party trick?" He asked me as Fluttershy and I took a step back in suprise/fear. "H-How do you know that title?" I asked shakily as the spider leaned down towards us and grinned wickedly. "Well, ain't that just the question, huh." He said as he looked to Fluttershy. "Hehehe, how about weeee make a deal? Let me eat her and I shall let you go and tell you anything you wish. I haven't had pony in a looooong time!" He said as Fluttershy literally balled up behind me. I clenched my fist, suddenly was less scared, and took a step forward. "Leave her alone, you freak of nature!" I yelled at him, preparing for a fight. He blinked for a second before smirking. "Ohohohoho, tough little maggot are you? Well, we shall see if you deserve the title of herald soon enough!" He roared as he shot a leg out at me. I put up a barrier just fast enough to block the blow, yet it sent me and the bubble back several feet. The spider recoiled slightly. "There's that infamous magic Dadiolus went on and on about! Stop hiding behind that bubble and show me some real firepower!" He beckoned as I dropped the bubble and focused into my hand before releasing it towards the big thing... With absolutely no results. The spider looked blankly at me before cracking up again. "Your telling me the little shrimp that Dadiolus is afraid of can't even use offensive spells? What are the odds!" He growled as he swung another leg at me far faster than before. SHLING! I blinked as Ronin cut the leg off and kicked it away. He turned to me and smiled as the spider roared in pain. Chrysalis and the real Pinkie Pie came up behind him, the former panting from the apparant run they had. "When this is done, I am personally holding that stupid sun-flanked monarch responsible for not making sure that thing was dead!" Chrysalis growled as Pinkie gasped and ran over to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, are you alright? Did that meanie Volt try and hurt you?" She asked her friend as Fluttershy stood up from her position of fear on the ground and shook her head. "I'm ok, Pinkie, but that Spider wants to hurt Nicholas." Fluttershy said as a look of anger appeared on her face. I looked at the two in suprise before turning to Ronin. "Bro, That thing...what is he?" I asked as Volt started to recover. Ronin took a breath and responded. "His name is Volt, and he's a big ugly as hell spider that can't stay squashed." He said before Volt started giggling as his leg came back fully healed. "What the... you couldn't do that before!" Ronin yelled. "Weeeell, that puppet of mine was rather weak anyway. So I doubt it could posssssibly use the full extent of my power." He said before his back glowed yellow and sent bolts of lightning at us. Ronin dodged left out of the way of one and deflected another back at Volt, just for it to get absorbed by the back end of Volts abdomen. Pinkie and Fluttershy dived out of the way of the bolts sent towards them, and Chrysalis simply put up a barrier around her, absorbing said bolt herself. The sound of thunder crashed through the path as clouds surrounded the area. Chrysalis put her barrier done and teleported near Ronin. "This thing is controlling the weather, we need to take it out. NOW!" She yelled/screeched as Ronin nodded and turned towards the two girls to our left. "Pinkie, Fluttershy. Take Nicholas and go to town. We can handle this freak of nature ourselves." He said as the girls and I ran towards town, hoping those two knew what they were doing. ************ Raiden POV ************ Celestia and Luna had set up a battalion of soldiers on the borders of ponyville. Since we had no idea where Volt would appear, so we weren't taking any chances. Me, the girls(minus Fluttershy and Pinkie), and the two princesses were standing at the main road to ponyville. "Where could Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie be?" Twilight asked as Luna summoned a mace with her magic while Celestia created a spear. Rainbow dash flew up and looked over the town. "I don't know, but they are missing out on a potentially awesome butt kicking!" She said as her eyes landed on said ponies. "Their coming up the trail!" She called down to us. Sure enough, Pinkie and Fluttershy, along with Nicholas had just came running out of the brush nearby the trail and were full sprinting(fluttershy flying) to town. Almost a couple of seconds later, a giant spider came out of the same area and was pursuing them. "Coooome back, you delightful appetizers!" It yelled after them. Celestia took a look of pure anger on her face. "Leave those three alone, Volt!" She yelled as she sent a beam of light at him. The spider recoiled as the three made it into town. "Raiden!" Nicholas yelled as I embraced him in a big hug. The girls were hugging themselves as Pinkie rattled off about what had happened. I let go of my brother and walked up to Celestia. "Alright, Time we squashed this bug once and for all!" I roared as Celestia, Luna, and I charged Volt, with him doing the same all the while the air crackled with electricity. > Chapter 26: Spiders, Warlocks, and destruction, oh my! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* As the girls fled towards town with Nicholas, I turned my gaze to Volt. "Aight, Volt. I'm going to give you one chance to surrender. If you do, I will make sure to make your death as painless as I can." He laughed in response as Chrysalis summoned a scythe with her magic. "Weeeeeell, there's the fighting spirit I enjoy seeing soooooo much!" He said as he licked his fangs with a pointed tongue. "I will enjoy snuffing your flame, Human." He growled as he charged us. Just before we could start the fight, a voice called from behind Volt. "Stop..." the oddly familiar voice said as we all turned to see a cloaked figure. But this figure was no pony, he stood like a human. "Masssssster! Why do you show yourself so early to the enemy!" Volt said as the robed man laughed and pointed to the setting sun. It had just set over the horizon, bringing the dark of night over the trail. "As long as the sun isn't up, I can show myself." He said as he removed the hood of the cloak he wore. I took a step back as I noticed his face was nothing more of an empty skull with some kind of shadows coming out of it. "Does my appearence shock you, Ronin?" Chrysalis took a threatening step forward. "Leave us be, demon!" She growled as I shook my head. "He's no demon, that's the guy that possesed me back in canterlot! How the hell did you survive?" I yelled at him while Dadiolus turned his head to the side. "Ah, wouldn't you like to know that." He turned to Volt. "You have your orders, go and kill the boy." Volt nodded and scurried off as I turned to Chrysalis. "I need you to go and help my brother. I can handle this guy." I told her as she shook her head. "Are you insane?! You think I will just leave you here to face that...thing?" She stated as I sighed and gave her a quick kiss. "Please, Chrysi. They will need you in ponyville." I pleaded as she sighed and turned away. "Your are lucky I love you, you big idiot." She said as she teleported away. I turned to Dadiolus and frowned. "Alright, spill it. How are you still alive?" I asked him. The shadows inside ths skull sparked a bit as he answered me. "When I took possesion of your body and soul, I had to leech onto the hate and darkness in your body. And boy, did you have plenty of that! But when I was pulled from your soul without consent, I took that malice with me. That malice is what keeps me alive right now, these shadows you see surrounding me." He motioned to the dark blue shadows around his whole body. "So, your telling me that you took darkness out of my heart and used it to create some shadow puppet?" I said as he laughed. "Hahaha, very good. Glad to see the current herald of death isn't as much an idiot as the one that blasted unicorn once knew." He said as I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What unicorn?" I asked him, but he waved me off as he turned away. "It matters not, that blasted magician died ages ago, with many of his spellbooks left uncompleted. Besides, don't you have a brother to save?" He said while my eyes widened. Nicholas... I went to run off but stopped short and asked him. "Why are you letting me go?" I asled him as he sighed. "That is a question that I cannot answer you right now. Just know that everyone has their share of regrets." With that, the shadows overtook Dadiolus as he said one last thing. "One thing, Ronin. Your are a being of shadow, if you don't find a replacement for that malice I took from you, lets just say you'll be weaker than the timberwolf behind you." As he vanished I turned around to see a wooden wolf glaring at me. So That's what those are called. I thought as I saw a large scar going down its body that looked like a blade cut. Wait, that scar...Is this the wolf from before? I thought as the wolf howled at me, apparently recognizing me as well. It charged forward, bearing sharp fangs of bark. I put my my blade and blocked the bite, proceeding to kick it in its stomach to knock it back. The area I kicked ahattered into nothing but splinters, but after a second the splinters returned to the wolf and realigned his stomach. Welp, that explains how its alive. I thought as I dodged another lunge from the wolf. How am I going to kill this thing? It's made of wood, so maybe fire of some kind. I looked around until an idea dawned on me. I deflected a claw swipe and jumped backwards a couple of feet. Nicholas had been able to enchant my blade, could I do the same? We did each have some kind of power. I looked at my blade and focused. Nothing happened. Must be a thing only he can do. I thought as the wolf took me by suprise and jumped on me, pinnong me to the ground. I grabbed its muzzle and was barely able to stop it from biting down on my neck. "Damn, why wont you just die!" I yelled at it as our eyes met. Immediately it stopped as I heard a voice in my head, weak and hollow. Consume its dark power, then it shall die. And how do I do that? I thought as the wolf proceeded to try and bite my neck again. Rip out its wooden heart, your soul will do the rest. Well, that's kinda dark. I thought as I plunged my hand into the chest of the wolf and found a sap like object that was beating. I gripped it, causing the wolf to howl and try to get off me, and ripped it out. The wolf let off a excruciatingly loud whine before falling over, dead. I squeezed the heart, causing it to break and have some green aura go into my body. A flash of light surrounded my body for a second, and when it dimmed, I gasped in shock. My armour had finally fixed itself. It was black like before, but it had pink flames instead. I took in the new look before realizing I had places to be. "Crap, I gotta help the others!" I yelled out as I ran towards town, any thoughts of the wolf and the voice left behind. ************ Raiden POV ************ Before today, I always found spiders to be interesting creatures that were fun to watch and look at. They had never really irratated me in the past. Now they can all go to hell. We had started fighting Volt about five minutes ago, and for all the spells and attacks we landed, we were not even scratching the spider. I turned to Luna, who was panting from exhaustion, and said with a tired voice. "Why aren't we hurting him?" She jumped out of the way of a bolt before answering. "It seems the fiend can only be killed by Adamantine, and we cannot make that metal appear with any spell." She said as Celestia let off a large beam of light, sending Volt into a building. Celestia flew down to us and turned to me. "Wherever your brother is, only that blade of his can kill Volt." She said as Chrysalis teleported in front of us. She turned to us with a frown on her face. "Ronin is dealing with Dadiolus outside of town, so we have to keep this thing busy until then." She said as Volt got up from the building and rushed us. Chrysalis threw her scythe at him and it cut his forelimbs off with a sickening sound. I turned to her in suprise. "That scythe...what's it made from?" I asked her as she smirked at me. "It belonged to my late mother long ago, and it was forged from Adamantine...why?" She said as Luna and Celestias jaws dropped. "You should be able to pierce his hide then!" Celestia said as Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and shrugged before turning to Volt, who seemed to take a step back as his appendage grew back. Luna, however, huffed slightly. "Even if we have the metal to kill him, he will just regenerate all damage done to his body." She pointed out as an idea popped in my head. I turned to Chrysalis and smiled. "If we could get his underside vunerable, would you be able to strike his heart?" I asked as Luna sent her mace at Volts head, forcing him to back off further. Chrysalis snorted. "Easily, but only if you are able to pull your weight first." She said as I pulled my axes and charged at Volt. ************ Nicholas POV ************ As soon as Volt attacked, the elements got to work ensuring the townsfolk were safe from the battle raging on nearby. We had mostly everypony evacuated to sugercube corner for the time being. "Thats everpony!" Applejack said as she finished the headcount. I turned to Tak and motioned him to follow me. We went under a table and I faced him. "Listen, I've got to go and help my brothers. Could you distract the elements so they don't catch me sneaking out?" I said as his eyes went wide with worry. "Are you insane?!" He hissed. "I'm not letting you go out there alone! I'm coming with you!" He said as I sighed, but smiled nonetheless. "Thanks Tak, your one in a million." I told him as he smiled big. "We're coming too, ya know." Scootaloo said as we turned around to see the crusaders had snuck under the table with us without our knowledge. I immediately shook my head. "Absolutely not! There is no way y'all are coming with us! what if you girls get hurt?" I asked them as Applebloom stamped her hoof. "We can take care of ourselves, and we sure ain't gonna let you go without us, and that's that!" She said while Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo echoed with a resounding "yeah!". Tak and I looked to each other for a second before smiling while shaking our heads. "Very well, my friends. Let us go assist in the downfall of that multi-legged traitor!" Tak said as we snuck out the bakery and went straight to where the action was happening. As we approached the fight, a loud crash sounded off in the area before Raiden landed next to me with a audible oof. "Raiden!" I yelled as he got up slowly, brandishing his axes and his mouth visor steaming. He turned to me with shock on his face. "Nicholas?! Why are you here? Why are they here?!" He asked as he pointed to the crusaders and Tak. He shook his head. "It's too dangerous, we need you kids away from here now!" He said as I frowned. "Not this time, Raiden. Last time I was told to leave this to the grownups, we nearly lost Ronin. This time I will help, and nothing you can say will stop me!" I said while my friends stood beside me with equal determination on their faces. Raiden looks at all of us for a minute before he sighs and laughs a bit. "Well, with that kind of logic, how could I say no?" He turns to Volt, who was currently being distracted by the royal sisters while Chrysalis attempted to get in a blow to his underside, but having no luck. "We need a way to get him to flip over, got any ideas?" He asked us as we sat on that before Sweetiebelle spoke up. "Ooo! Ooo! what if we could suspend him in midair with a levitation spell? He wouldn't be able to block any attacks then." She said as Raiden smiled before frowning. "The guy can wield lightning as well without moving, so how would we handle that?" He said as a voice spoke up from behind us. "Ain't that obvious? we need a lightning rod. And I know just the Alicorn to be one." Ronin said. We turned and saw him pointing at Celestia, who was currently dodging a barrage of limbs from Volt. He motioned for us to get closer. After we huddled in, he continued. "Here's the plan, y'all." ************ Raiden POV ************ After getting the plan from Ronin, I ran towards Celestia as Luna took over attacking Volt. She noticed my approach and flew down to stand next to me. "Princess, we have a plan to stop Volt. But we need your assistance to distract him." I said as she nodded. First, We need to have Celestia in position near Volt. "Very well, I will do what I can." She said as she turned and brandished her spear to assault Volt again. As she charged, I saw Chrysalis sneaking around the battle with Pinkie Pie in tow. Alright, time to set up that anti-grav spell. I thought as I ran towards where Luna was resting. Next, have Luna use the levitation spell. "Luna, we need a levitation spell on Volt, now!" I yelled at her as she noticed me coming. She narrowed her eyes at me but saw the determined look in my eyes, so she did just that, sending a spell towards the spider. Said spider had just put Celestia into the ground and had his fangs dangerously close to her neck. "HAHAHAHA! At last I shall have my revenge on those who slew my Antiarachnid brethren!" He proclaimed as the spell hit him, causing him to float upwards. "What the- You think this can hold me?!" He said as his abdomen started charging up. BOOM Chrysalis was sent flying upwards by Pinkie Pies cannon. After Luna sets up the Levitation spell, I will have Pinkie Pie assist Chrysalis to get the altitude necessary to deflect a bolt from Volts body. As the lightning bolt shot upwards, Chrysalis deflected the bolt towards Celestia, who saw it coming and bounced it off a bubble sheild she made towards the levitating Volt. As the bolt hit its creator, it tore away a decent amount of flesh from him, causing Volt to scream in pain. After Celestia deflects the blast, It should weaken Volt enough to leave him open to attack, thats where I come in. "RONIN NOW!!!" I yelled as Ronin, weilding a flaming blade enchanted by Nicholas, ran forward and jumped upwards. The two young magic weilders will need to create an updraft that I can use to reach the floating Volt. I turned to where Tak and Sweetiebelle were. "You two, make the updraft!" I told them as they complied, making a wind updraft Ronin could use to fly towards Volt. Once I reach him, Lights out for the spider. Ronin spread his wings and let the updraft carry him up to Volt, who was weakened and helpless in his current state. "p-p-please....spare me..." Volt choked out. Ronin simply shook his head. "Nope, waaaay too late for that man." He said as he reared his blade back and swung hard. SHLING! With that, Volts head landed on the ground below as Ronin floated down from above. The kids ran out from there places and hugged each other in celebration as the princesses checked with each other to ensure no lasting damage was done. I walked up to Ronin and smiled. "Well, that worked out." I said as he laughed. "Maybe, but there is still one last thing to do." He said as I raised an eyebrow. He pulled a broom from who knows where and smiled. "Clean up!" He said with a smirk as I groaned and grabbed the broom. this was gonna take a while... > Chapter 27: Bonfire bonding. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* The whole town pitched in with the cleanup. The pegasus, lead by Rainbow Dash, would work with the earth ponies to cart all of the debris(and Volts body)to the edge of town, where a bonfire was being held to celebrate the victory over the big spider. Of course, Pinkie Pie decided to go ahead and call the whole thing a party, saying it was a perfect time for everypony to celebrate. Yeah, you do you, you crazy pony. I found myself sitting on a log that had been placed near the fire with Tak and the girls, with Scootaloo resting her head on Taks stomach as he was sprawled back and Sweetiebelle and Applebloom sitting by me. As per usual at a party, Pinkie had supplied everyone with drinks and food. Raiden was at the food table Pinkie had set up arguing with Luna about whether or not the Big dipper existed, while Ronin was currently arm(hoof?) wrestling with a big red pony with several guards were watching while placing bets. I nudged Applebloom. "Who's that Ronin is arm wrestling with?" I asked her as she got a big grin on her face. "That's mah big brother, Big Mac! Ronin must be crazy trying tah hoof-wrestle him, Mac's the toughest pony ah know." She said while I suppressed a snort. "He may be big, but so is Ronin." I said as a angry groan came from somewhere to my left. I turned my head to see a very angry Chrysalis completely covered in confetti with Pinkie dancing around her like someone would dance around a sacrifice. Twilight, who had been talking with Celestia beforehand, looked on with a bewildered face as she took in the spectacle. "What is that pink pony doing to my mother?" Tak said as Scootaloo bursted out laughing and the other girls giggled. I rolled my eyes and sighed, yet smiling all the same. "Tak, that's a question I don't think anyone wants an answer to." I said as Sweetiebelle finished her drink and tossed her cup into the fire. She turned her body around to where her back was leaning against me and looked up into my eyes. "Hey Nick?" She said quietly as I looked down at her, noticing she looked nervous. "Can I ask you something?" I raised an eyebrow but nodded. Sweetiebelle gulped and opened her mouth to speak... ...Just as a several loud cheers erupted from the other side of the bonfire. I looked to where the arm wrestling match had been to see Ronin standing in top of the table with his head tilted back yelling in victory over a Big Mac who held his foreleg in his hoof with a slight pained expression. Ronin hopped down and extended a fist to the big farm pony, who bumped it after a moments hesitation, while several guards exchanged bits. Celestia walked over from her conversation with Twilight and whispered something into Ronins ear, then sauntered off towards town. Ronin, who was smiling big, went straight over to Chrysalis and Pinkie and whispered to them before following Celestia. Pinkie looked confused to the whole situation while Chrysalis frowned and followed with Pinkie close behind. "Wonder where they're going?" Scootaloo said as the party resumed. "No idea." Sweetiebelle said, though something seemed off with the tone she had. I shrugged and stretched my arms out, with both Applebloom and Sweetiebelle snuggling up to me as we basked in the fires warmth. ************ Ronin POV ************ Chrysalis, Pinkie and I followed Celestia to the same area where Volt had died. Once there, Celestia turned to us and nodded. "I brought you three out here because there is something that comes to my attention, and since you two are in a relationship with Ronin, you two may listen as well." She said as I raised an eyebrow, while Pinkie and Chrysalis looked confused. I spoke up. "What's going on?" I asked her as she was about to answer before she looked me over, raising an eyebrow. "Where did you get new armour? From what Luna had told me, you were armourless when you were at the old hive." She stated as Chrysalis turned to me. "The nosy princess makes a good point, Ronin. Your armour shouldn't have healed so fast." She says while Pinkie smiles big. "Ooh ooh!" She says while waving her hoof around like a kid wanting to be called on. "Did it happen while you were alone with that Dadiolus creep?" I looked at her in suprise, while Celestia gasped. "Uh, how'd you know that when he arrived after you left?" I asked as Chrysalis snorts. "I told her, she wouldn't stop bugging me about the details." She said as Pinkie hopped over to Chrysalis and gave her a hug, which caused an eye roll from said bug queen. Celestia turned to me, worry in her eyes. "Is it true? Dadiolus lives?" She asked as I nodded. "Yeah, but we didn't fight. Instead, he talked to me about how he absorbed my darkness and how he had regrets about something and sicked a wolf on me instead." I said as Pinkie gasped and let go of Chrysalis. "He had a wolf attack you? that big, fat meanie!" She said with an adorable pout. I sat next to her and scratched her head, making her become like puddy in my hands. "Yeah, then some voice spoke to me and taught me how to absorb dark magic since I'm apparently made of the stuff." I said as Chrysalis suddenly got way more interested in the story. "Wait, a voice spoke to you?" Celestia asked as Chrysalis looked deep in thought. "Yeah, but it sounded distant and...oddly feminine. But it told me in order to fix myself I had to absorb dark energy to fix what Dadiolus took." I said as Chrysalis gasped and turned to me. "You need to fall asleep, now!" She said as she charged a spell. My eyes went wide. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on Chrysi!" I yelled as I was hit with a spell and everything went dark. ************* I awoke to find myself on what felt like ground in a cave with luminescent lights and shadows surrounding several different holes in the walls. I blinked as I looked around but saw nothing anywhere else. What the hell did she do to me? I thought as several green flashes appeared, leaving Chrysalis, Pinkie Pie, and Celestia in their place. "Whoa! where are we?" Pinkie said as she hopped around us. Chrysalis groaned at the silliness as Celestia looked around. "I must agree with Pinkie, where have you sent us?" She said as Chrysalis smiled. "We are in what is known as Eureka, the hallowed grounds of Queens of old. So show some restraint!" She growled as Pinkie stopped midair and landed next to Celestia. "We are here by using Ronins mind as a anchor to this realm." she stated while I stretched. "And why are we in this place?" I asked as she turned towards an approaching figure. "Simple, Ronin. We are here to see the voice in your head." She answered as the figure walked out of the shadows and approached. She looked like Chrysalis, but had blue hair and stood a head over Chrysalis. "Ronin, Pinkie, sunbutt. Meet the late queen Melfesia, my mother." ************ Raiden POV ************ "Luna is absolutely insane!" I state as I rubbed my eyes. I had been arguing with Luna for almost two hours about the Big dipper. Apparently, the damn thing doesn't exist in Equestria, and when I told Luna about it she laughed and said that was the dumbest name for a constellation she had ever heard. Of course, she didn't like the fact I pointed out that the city she lived in wasn't exactly a gold star name itself. "I have no idea why you get into an argument with Luna at a party of all places." Twilight said with a hint of dissaproval before wandering off. I rolled my eyes and sat down by the fire. "Wait a sec, Raiden is that you?" A familiar voice called out. I turned to see Gold spoon sit down next to me in a ponyloaf. I smiled and extended a fist, which he returned with a bump of his hoof. "Hey! long time no see! what brings you here?" I asked him as he smiled. "I'm visiting my family while on vacation. My wife and daughter live here, after all." He said as I raised an eyebrow. "Heh, I didn't know you were married." I said as he let out a laugh. "Yes indeed, old friend." He points to a grey mare with silver hair conversing with a young filly with similar features. "That is my wife, Silver Set. she runs a company that makes silver utensils for nobleponies. And that beautiful filly there is my daughter Silverspoon." He said as I smiled. "Looks like a nice and healthy family you've got there." I said as he nodded. "I am a very lucky stallion to have such. Many ponies who work in the castle lose their wifes and children to divorces due to being away from household for so long, and many others to more...available stallion. I only hope that my absence hasn't caused any bad behavior to appear in my daughter." He said with a tone of sadness. I frowned and pulled him into a one armed hug. "Hey, look at her. She looks happy right?" He nodded. "Listen to me. your a good pony, Gold. And your wife doesn't look the type to up and leave you like that. She runs a whole company after all, so she should be used to long work hours." We shared a laugh at that. He turned to me and smiled. "Thanks Raiden. I needed that." He said as we chilled out by the fire for a bit before he stood up. "Well, I must retire to my house. Feel free to visit us anytime, my friend." He said as I waved him off. For a minute I relaxed alone before a blue alicorn sat down next to me. "Well, look who's back. Here to ruin my good mood I have further?" I said as I turned to Luna just to see a look of sadness on her face. All anger left me immediately. "Look, I'm sorry about the attitude I had, but what's wrong?" I asked her as she looked me in the eyes. "Not here in public." She said as she teleported us with a blue flash of light. When it died, I found myself in a bedroom that had to belong to Luna, considering the bed had sheets with her mark on them. I turned to her and saw tears going down her face. I sighed deeply. "Come here, you." I walked towards her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her forelegs around me and cried openly. "What's got you so upset anyway?" I asked her as she sniffled and responded, though not leaving the hug. "It's just that we have been gone so long, and are not used to the way ponies act around each other. At the bonfire, nopony besides Twilight and her friends would speak to me without being afraid." I felt her shake as a sob was let out. "Then you, one of the first beings to show interest in the stars in so long, are pushed away by my inconsiderate actions. We are indeed a terrible pony" She says as the hug tightens around me. I follow suit and speak softly. "Luna, we may not see eye to eye on many things, but believe me when I say you are not a terrible pony." Its the honest truth too. I may get agitated by her on occasion, but I defenitely don't hate her. I break the hug and turn her head to face me, though her eyes avert from mine. "Luna look at me." I say as she shakes her head. I sigh and boop her on the nose, causing her eyes to avert back to the front of her face. "Luna, you are an amazing pony. You are the creator of the most beautiful sky of all." Her eyes widen as I said that. "And so what if you happen to been gone for a thousand years, are you really telling me that Luna, Mistress of night and warrior goddess, is gonna throw in the towel just because some ponies won't talk to you?" I said to her as the tears stopped coming and she looked at me with those starry eyes of hers. Neither of us moved for a second or two, before Luna suddenly jumped me. I landed on my back as my eyes widened in suprise. "Luna? what are yo-" I was cut off as she pressed her lips to mine. Brain shutdown in 3...2....1... Princess Luna of Equestria, the mare who had been mocking me since day one and had repeatedly treated me with distrust, was kissing me on the lips. Was this even right? She's a bloody animal for goodness sake! No.....that's not fair to them. They are sentient beings after all, not mindless horses. They think, feel, talk, and act like humans. They are so much more complicated than mere animals. As she broke away from the kiss and looked me in the eyes, I only had one conclusion to come to. This....this is real. This....is right. Luna looked at me for a second before fear went to her eyes. "Raiden I am so sorry! nopony hath ever talked about us like that before and mmph!" It was my turn to cut her off with a kiss as I pulled her back into an embrace. As we kissed, the one thing Ronin said a while back came to mind. Don't knock it till you try it! something he had said to me after we had talked in ponyville a while back. For once, I was glad to have taken his advice. > Chapter 28: Meeting the mom and other romantic ventures > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* Celestia gasped, my jaw dropped, and even Pinkie Pie was motionless at the shock of seeing this new face. I recovered from my shock and gulped slightly, this lady looked waaaay more threatening than Chrysalis. "Chrysi, you mean to tell me your mother has been in my head for....how long now?" I asked as Melfesia cleared her throat. "I have been a part of your mind since your transformation into a halfing." She said with her voice echoing off the cavern walls. "I was there when you fought those traitors in our ranks, and I was there when that demonspawn Dadiolus attempted to possess you." She turned to Celestia. "I had thought you and your lover had bested that sad excuse for a sage centuries ago?" She asked Celestia, who shook her head. "We had thought so too, Melfesia. But alas, he is like many evils in this world in the sense of being hard to get rid of." She said as Pinkie darted forward and stood directly in front of Melfesia with a huge grin on her face. "HI, I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you Chrysalis's mother? Because you look just like her! I mean, you have different hair and all, but you still look soooo alike!" She rattled off as Chrysalis groaned and zipped her mouth shut with a spell and turned to her mother. "My apologies, mother. That pony has almost no ability to restrain herself in the presence of royalty." She said with a suprising amount of fear as Melfesia smirked at Pinkie as she tried to rip her mouth open with her hooves. "A queen does not apologize, Dear." Melfesia said with a stern tone, causing Chrysalis to back up a bit. She turned to me. "Young one. While I find my daughters choice in future kings quite...perplexing, you have shown to have loyalty and honor to our kind." She walks straight up to me. "Which is why I have decided to tell you this: you and your brothers have only just begun to unlock your hidden power, but the road to such strength is filled with pain you have never faced before." She said as I raised an eyebrow. "Hidden power? what do you mean by that? And what about this place?! If this truly is the hallowed ground of the changelings, then why is it in my mind?" I asked back to back as Melfesia took a serious expression. "This place is not in your mind, rather the opposite. Thanks to my daughter, you are connected to the hive mind. That is what allows your soul to cross to this plane. As for your power, that is something I can not answer, for you must awaken that yourself." She turned to Celestia "Princess, although we were never friends in the past. I must let you know that peace between our people is a must if you wish to keep Dadiolus from completing his plans." She said as Celestia nodded. Melfesias horn started to glow as the area started to fade away. "Remember this, Ronin. To protect what you hold dear, you must be willing to sacrifice everything." She called out as everything went dark. ************ Nicholas POV ************ The fire had started to weaken after an hour or two, so ponies were starting to leave. The only ones who were left were most of the elements(Pinkie had went off somewhere with Ronin), Spike, and me and my friends. Tak yawned as he stretched out before standing up from his place at the fire. "Well, it's been an eventful evening, guys. But I think it'd be best if I turned in for the night." He said as Scootaloo went to protest but yawned all the same. She turned to him and blushed slighty. "Tak, since its dark, would you mind walking me home." She said before her eyes widened. "Not that I'm scared or anything, but-" She was cut off as Tsk laughed lightly. "Oh, I know your not scared, Scoots. But I'd be delighted to escort you to your home." He said as they walked off, but not before Scootaloo turned and winked at the other two crusaders resting at the log with me. Wonder why she did that...meh. I thought as I stood up and faced the two. "Im going to go and get another cup of punch, you two need anything?" I asked as they shook their heads rather quickly. I shrugged and walked towards the table housing the concessions, careful to step over a couple of ponies who were passed out on the ground. When I made it to the table, I got a one of those mini sandwiches (one with tomatoes and lettuce, NOT hay) and a cup of punch. But as I turned back, I saw Silverspoon pass by with a very angry look on her face and a shocked/saddened Diamond Tiara turn and face the fire in a little slump on the ground. Did...those two just get into an argument or something? I thought as I walked over and sat next to Tiara. As I sat, I could hear slight crying coming from her. So they did fight. I thought as I ate one of the sandwiches. After eating, I placed the plate amd cup down and put my hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at me with shock on her face. She sniffled a bit before talking. "W-What do you want?" She said a bit snappy. In amy other situation, I would've walked off or said something. But here, I kinda understood the attitude. "I saw Silver walk off in a huff and you looked kinda down, so I came over to see how you were doing." I said as she raised an eyebrow. "So the crusaders didn't send you?" She asked me as I laughed. "Heavens, no. I was getting food for myself when I saw the affair. By the way, if it isn't too much to ask, what happened?" I asked as she turned away from me. "Why do you care? I've been nothing but a jerk to you since your arrival, and what's to stop you from using what I tell you against me?" She asked me as I raised an eyebrow. "While its true you haven't been the nicest to me, no one deserves to be left alone after an altercation like that. Besides, who learns the darkest secrets of their fellow townsfolks just to spread the info to the public anyway?" I asked as she muttered something under the lines "gabby gums" but turned to me, looking me in the eyes. "...Your not lying, are you? You really want to help me." She said as I nodded. She sighed and took her tiara off and shook her head. "Well, Silverspoons dad is back in town, but he will have to leave to go back to Canterlot soon for his job there. So i may have said a remark about her dad not being there all the time." She said as my body froze and I looked into the fire. She saw my expression and her eyes widened. "You...You have the same issue, don't you?" "I...I had what you would call 'Not nice' parents." I lifted the left side of my curly hair and she gasped as she looked at the scar going down my neck. "My own mom threw a bottle of wine at me. so yeah, family matters drive it home for me." I said as tears started to well in my eyes, but I wiped them away quickly. Tiara looked on in shock. "I had no idea, and here I was being a jerk to the only friend I have. And now you came over to help me just to be made just as upset!" She said as she sunk into a deeper shame ponyloaf. I looked at her for a second before sighing, not knowing why I was about to do what I was gonna do. I poked her cheek. "Tiara look at me." She slowly turned to me as I lifted her chin near my face. "I won't sugarcoat this. You messed up. But this is something that can be fixed. Tomorrow at school, I will help you get Silverspoon back as a friend, ok?" I told her as her eyes widened and a small smile appeared on her face. "R-Really?" She said with a slight sniffle. I don't think I've ever seen this girl smile so honestly before. To be honest, it looked cute on her. I nodded to her. "Absolutely, after all, we're friends, right?" I asked as she stopped looking at me and turned away. I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" "After all I've done, you want to be friends?" She asked me as I laughed softly. "Well, yeah. When your not being a butt, your actually fun to talk to. And besides, your kinda cute when your happy." I said as I realized what I said and face-palmed. Son of a... She turned to me in shock. "You think...i'm cute?" She said, her eyes slightly hopeful. I sighed and nodded, turning to the fire in embarrassment.I didn't see it, but her eyes then recieved their usual mischievous glint to them. "Oh, Nick. I think it's wonderful that you wish to help me with Silverspoon. Can you face me so I can thank you to your face?" She asked as I sighed and turned to her... ...just to be pulled into a kiss! For a second, I was in shock, my mind trying to put together what was occuring. But then, after a second, I realized I kinda enjoyed this. So I returned the kiss and pulled her into a slight embrace. After a second, we split apart, looks of shock/bliss apparant. "What just happened?" I asked as Diamond smiled sweetly at me before standing up and turning away. She turned her head to me and gave a coy smile. "Oh, Nick. We simply are exploring something new together. I'll see you tomorrow though, so goodbye!" She called as she walked away with a hop in her step, leaving me very confused and strangely looking forward to tomorrow. ************ No POV ************ As soon as Nicholas left, Applebloom turned to Sweetiebelle and frowned. "What were ya gonna ask him?" She said as Sweetiebelle smiled innocently. "Oh, I was gonna ask him to be my coltfriend." She said dreamily as Appleblooms eyes narrowed. "Well, that's a right shame, cuz ah was gonna ask him the same thing." She said as Sweetiebelle gasped before galring at her. "Don't you dare! He belongs with me and you know it!" She said as they butted heads while staring each other down. "What makes ya think he'd want tah be with you? What if hes inta country ponies, huh?" Applebloom said as Sweetiebelle backed off and scoffed. "Oh, come on Applebloom. I know he'd rather be with a city pony like me anyway." Sweetiebelle said as Applebloom scoffed. "Then why don't we ask Nicholas when he gets back then!" She said as Sweetiebelle nodded in agreement as Diamond Tiara walked by, looking very happy. As she walked by, she smiled the the crusaders. "Hey, you two. Have a nice night!" She said cheerfully as she walked past. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle looked at her in shock. "What put her in sucha good mood?" Applebloom asked as Sweetiebelle shook her head, not sure how to answer. *********** Raiden POV *********** I was laying on the bed of the princess of night with only one thought on my mind. What the hell did I just do? I had spent the past hour literally making out with luna, who had confessed feelings for me out of nowhere, and now found myself cuddling with her. Is this against the law for me to do since I'm no prince? Hell if I know. Right now, I was stroking the starry mane as she purred, I kid you not, purred at my touch. I looked her in those beautiful eyes of her and smiled. "So, what happens now?" I asked as she though for a second before smiling at me. "For now, we must hide our affections. We do not wish for our sister to learn of this just yet, nor your older brother, Ronin." She said as my eyes widened. If Ronin found out I was with Luna like this... I would never hear the end of it, especially after I messed with him about Celestia and Chrysalis. I nodded. "Defenitely. that will allow us to determine what this-" I spread my arms out around us."-is all about." She nodded and snuggled closer. "For now though, Raiden. We decree that you must partake in a nap with your princess." She said in a mock Celestia voice, which made me snort in laughter. I pulled her close and kissed her, causing her to blush deeply. "Very well, my princess." I told her as I slowly succumbed to the embrace of slumber. > Chapter 29: Settling into the calm > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* I woke up to find myself pinned to the ground. After sitting there for a second, I looked around to see why. Pinkie was curled up on top of me, and I also had Chrysalis on my left laying by me and Celestia on my right. It was still dark out, so the bonfire has to be going on still. I placed my hand on Pinkies head and started rubbing it. "Hey." I say quietly as she stirs. "We gotta get back to the bonfire. I think we are missing the party." Her eyes shoot open wide as she jumps up and lands in front of me. "Omigosh, I completely forgot about the bonfire! what if ponies are bored? what if everpony already left? what if-" She gets cut off as her mouth gets zipped again, this time in real life. I turn over to see Chrysalis awake and looking at Pinkie with a frustrated look. She turns to me just as she notices the position we are in. A quick flash of light and she's standing by Pinkie...with a camera? I frown and point with my free arm at the camera. "What's that for?" I ask her as she smiles wickedly and nods towards Celestia. I turn to her just to get caught in a snuggle hug from the princess. She puts her head to my face and nuzzles it in her sleep. "Don't go, sir cuddlebear." She mumbles. "We need to fight against the rotten cake thiefs..." She trails off as she smiles and squeezes me tighter. A flash goes off to let me know that this will probably be used as blackmail later. I sigh as I shake my arms free and hover my hand over her cutie mark. After raising my hand up a bit, I bring it down on the little sun quickly and firmly The reaction was immediate and absolutely hilarious. Celestia's eyes shot wide as she teleported to stand up. But she didn't know she was snuggling me, so I ended up throwing her off balance and caused her and I to face plant straight into the dirt. As I helped her up, I could hear Chrysalis laughing her ass off and Pinkie was nowhere to be found (guess she went to check on the bonfire.) Celestia turned to Chrysalis and frowned. "Very funny, Chrysalis. Now, would you stop laughing and explain what we were doing in Ronins head?" She asked as Chrysalis calmed down and nodded slightly. "After hearing about voices in his head, I had a theory that it might've been the hive mind connecting at last. I was not expecting Melfesia herself to connect to you, Ronin." She said as she turned to me. "She gave us a clear warning about Dadiolus, and a hint at Ronin's power. I do believe that for now, the best course of action should be to look into the past. Perhaps whatever happened between the humans of old could help us now." She said as Celestia nodded and turned to me. "I will return to Canterlot, you and Chrysalis should stay here while I check the archives for any information I might have missed. I may have known the humans eons ago, but I never learned why Dadiolus and Callobrim fought in the first place." She said as I blinked and looked at Celestia sharply. "Callobrim?" I asked her. "Thats the name of your lover of long ago?" She nodded and tilted her head in a questioning way. "Indeed. Why?" She said as I shook my head. "Nothing but a theory, go and see if you can scrounge up some details and we'll see if it sticks." She nodded and teleported away. I turned to see Chrysalis staring at me with hesitation on her face. "Are you-" But before I could answer, she responded quickly. "I shall be leaving for a week!" She said suddenly as I simply blinked in response. "What?" I said, entirely thrown off by the statement. "I have obtained enough love to go and make more changeling drones." I went to speak but she raised a hoof. "No, they are not your kids. Although, they are from your love, they will share no blood or bond with you beyond there will to serve the hive." She finished as sat there for a second before responding. "Soooo, what makes Tak different from the drones?" I asked her as she sighed. "Tak was a direct spawn from my last king. Said pony was similar to you in how he did not care for what we looked like. However, he was terrible at combat, so when we fought against a den of manticores we stumbled upon by accident he...didn't survive." She said as she sighed and turned away as I wrapped my arms around her neck. "Hey hey hey, it's ok." I said as she leaned into my touch. "Go and bring back our people. But, will you be ok giving birth to so much?" I asked as she turned to me, confused before lauging and turning out of my grasp. "Oh, you thought I would lay the egg of each one? I use a spell that makes cocoons from the love I have harvested." She says as I smile and roll my eyes. "Aight, then. Your the boss, babe." I say as she lean in an kisses me deeply before pulling back and turning away, a spell charged in her horn. "And don't you forget it!" She exclaims as she teleports away with green flames. I shake my head with a laugh before walking back towards the bonfire. I bet Raiden and Nicholas have been bored this whole time I was gone. I thought as I approached the big bonfire. ************** Nicholas POV ************** I was staring into the fire, mesmerized by what just occured. Am I dating Diamond Tiara now? I thought as I sighed and rubbed my eyes. It was starting to get late, and I was officially done with tonight. I got up and went to find Fluttershy to find Applebloom and Sweetiebelle staring at me rather...intently as I walked by. I stopped and walked over to them. "Hello." I said as they looked to each other before Sweetiebelle elbowed Applebloom. Said filly looked to me and took a deep breath. But before she could say what was on her mind, A blue light behind me followed by a hand clamped on my shoulder occured. I turned to see Raiden standing over me. "It's getting late, brother. Go find Fluttershy and head home while we adults clean up." He said as I nodded in response. I turned to the girls and smiled. "See y'all at school tomorrow!" I said as I ran off to find Fluttershy. ************* Raiden POV ************* After Nicholas left, I noticed the two girls looked rather down. "What's up with you two?" I asked as Sweetiebelle looked up at me. "We were going to see which of us he would rather go out with." She said as I sighed and face-palmed. Young love...great. This is bound to be complicated. "Aight, so both of you like him." They both nodded. "So you were going to see if he liked either of you the same way." They nodded again. I shook my head and backed off. "I'm not even going to interfere in this can of worms." "Aww, but that's the fun part!" Ronin said as he walked up besides me before turning to them. "I figured at least one of y'all liked him. So when you see him tomorrow, just ask him out." He said as they nodded vigorously before yawning. "Well, look who's went and tired themselves out." Applejack stated as her and Rarity came up and put the sleeping girls on their backs. Rarity turned and smiled at me, before glaring at Ronin and turning her head up, huffing slightly. Applejack looked at the act with a raised brow before continuing. "Well, we ought tah take these varmints home to bed, and ah saw Fluttershy and Nicholas leave as well. So you two might as well skedaddle as well." She said as Ronin nodded and walked off to who knows where. I looked to Rarity and grinned. "So, still upset with Ronin?" I asked as her cheeks puffed a tad before she answered. "Darling that no good ruffian kicked my mailbox across town. Of course I'm still upset!" She whined before she walked off in a huff. I looked to a questioning Applejack. "Long story, but lets just say she chased him around town for a while after that bit of truth was revealed." Applejack chuckled softly before walking off with the now snoring Applebloom in tow. I smiled and started making my way back to the library. ************** Ronin POV ************** As I had walked off in search of the Pinkie, I couldn't help but notice how my brother had this weird aura coming off him. The others couldn't see it, so it had to be one thing. Love. If thats the case, who the hell managed to pull him out of that shell of his? It could've been Twilight, I've seen her oggle at Raiden several times. But she doesn't seem to be the type to know how to even start a relationship, so thats a hard pass. As I was thinking, I felt a pony attach themself to my head. "There you are!" I exclaimed as Pinkie looked down on me upside down. She winked at me before jumping off my head and landing in front of me. "Yup, I came back to help clean up the party!" She looks around before returning her gaze to me. "Where is the princess and Chrysalis?" I smiled and motioned for her to follow me as we walked back into town, which she did as she hopped alongside me. "Well, Celestia went back to Canterlot, and Chrysalis is going on a...business trip. So it'll just be the two of us for a while." I said as her grin grew bigger. "Really! Oooo, maybe you can come and help at sugercube corner! Raiden works there, but we could use the help!" She says as I shake my head. "Nah, I can't cook to save my life. I do need to look into getting a job though." I said as Pinkie looked in deep thought for a moment before answering. "What about Applejacks? She and her family run a farm, and I'm sure that you could help there since your so strong." She said as I stopped walking. That...was a decent idea actually. I turned to Pinkie and smiled. "Sounds like a plan, thanks Pinkie." I said as she beamed at me. "Anything for you, Rony pony!" She said as she suddenly stopped with a look of realization on her face. "Oh No! I forgot to feed gummy today!" Gummy? I thought to myself. But Pinkie ran off before I could say anything. I shaked my head and sighed. Pink, you crazy mare. *********** Nicholas POV *********** I was sitting on the couch at Fluttershy's as she told me stories about her and her friends adventures. And if this wasn't a magical kingdom with all sorts of crazy ponies in it, I'd honestly call bull on half of their acts of heroism. "So you and went straight up to this manticore thing, which was angry and looked like it would tear you in two, and pulled a splinter out of its foot?" I said as she nodded as I found a blanket amd pulled it up close on me and her."That's absolutely awesome." I said as I yawned and snuggled close to Fluttershy. She was very warm and very soft, probably due to her being a pegasus. "Night, Fluttermom." I said, barely awake as I felt her wrap a wing around me and pull me closer as I conked out. ************* Ronin POV ************* I sat in the bed at my house aware of a simple fact. I can't sleep. I've never had sleeping trouble before and I wasn't sure why I was now. The only difference was that Chrysalis was out recreating her drones... ooooooh, that's the answer...I've gotten used to sleeping with Chrysalis in bed, so now it feels empty. Great. I heard my door open as Tak walked in slowly. I turned to him and smiled. "Hey bud, how'd the bonfire go for you?" I asked as I patted the empty bedside by me. He walked over and got into bed and immediately snuggled up to me, earning a soft chuckle in response. "It was great! I got to hang out my friends and Scootaloo!" He said with a voice full of positive energy. I smirked and started rubbing his back. "Hmm...you said Scootaloos name exclusively...do you not see her as a friend?" I questioned as he immediately looked up at me in anger. "Of course I do! She is the most amazing pony I have ever met! She witty, kind, funny. And her beauty is umatched and..." He trailed off as he realized what he had said, a red hue appearing on his face. I laughed openly and pulled him into a hug. "I knew you liked her, but dang you've got it bad. Is that why you two weren't at the bonfire when I came back?" He nodded slowly as he yawned deeply. I smiled and pulled the blanket over us. "Well, this is no cacoon, but I'm sure you don't mind chillin here for the night, huh?" I said as he mumbled something and snuggled up to me again. I smiled and stretched out, sleep overtaking me at last. > Chapter 30: Heartache under the stars > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* I awoke to the sound of a loud beeping coming from my left. Ever since I had gotten a job at the bakery, I had started using an alarm clock that Twilight had given to me. Apparently, it was supposed to be used for spike, but the little guy seemed to sleep through it every time, so it went to me. I hit the off switch on it and got up quickly. Out of my brothers and I, I have always been the morning person. So it took only about thirty minutes for me to be downstairs in a fresh pair of jeans and a blank white shirt cooking a hashbrown breakfast for my housemates. The sound of hooves coming downstairs alerted me to Twilights presence. I finished the hashbrowns and put some on a plate for her as she walked into the room and started making coffee. I smiled and sat the plate at the table and went to make myself one as well. "Morning, Raiden." She said after taking a swig of coffee. I piled my hashbrowns onto my plate and took my seat next to her at the table. "Morning, Sparkles. How'd you enjoy the bonfire yesterday?" I asked as I started eating quickly since I had about twenty minutes until I had to be at work. Twilight smiled big as she responded. "I enjoyed it greatly. It was nice seeing the town come together after such a frightful event." She said as she dawned a look of confusion. "However, I noticed you disappeared halfway through the party. I was going to ask you about your world some more but couldn't find you." She stated as I choked on my hashbrowns. Crap...not even a day in and I'm already fielding these questions. I cleared my throat and turned to her. "I was in Canterlot trying to prove to Luna that the big dipper existed." I said as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Big dipper?" She asked as I smiled and stood up, picking up my plate, and dumped it into the sink. I turned back to Twilight "Yeah, it's a constellation back on earth. Sadly, it doesn't exist here." That is, until I can convince Luna to make it appear. I thought as Twilight took the information in like a sponge. I then looked at the clock which read a solid eight-fourty. "Well, I have to get to work. But I'll talk more about my world with you when I get back, aight." I said as she nodded. I walked out the house and started a light jog to Sugercube corner. *************** Nicholas POV *************** I had awakened about an hour ago when Fluttershy had nudged me awake. She had made a pancake breakfast for me and it was absolutely delicious! (Seriously, how has she not had a boyfriend or husband by now?) It was at the breakfast table that I accidently let it slip that I had been kissed at the bonfire, much to Fluttershys delight. "oh, that's wonderful Nicholas. I'm so glad the girls got the courage to show you how they feel about you." She said as I paused mid-bite of my pancake and gave her a very confused look. "What are you talking about?" I asked her as she tilted her head, apparently just as confused now. "Didn't Applebloom or Sweetiebelle kiss you at the bonfire?" She asked as I looked at her for a couple of seconds before bursting out laughing. "Hahaha, your joking right? Those two don't like me like that, we're all just friends! Nah, it was Diamond Tiara who kissed me." I said as her whole body froze up in suprise. "T-tiara?!" She squeaked as I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know she has this bully reputation and all, but I saw someone very different at the bonfire. And honestly, Tiara's pretty cute." I said as I finished my plate and grabbed my bookbag. I walked over and gave Fluttershy a hug. "Well, I got to go, so I'll see you later!" I said as I ran out the door, not hearing the whispered "oh no" from Fluttershy. ************** Ronin POV ************** I was on my way over to Sweet Apple Acres when Nicholas came jogging by. "Sorrycanttalkhavetogettoschool!" he said quickly as he ran by. I turned and faced the fleeing Nicholas before shrugging and continuing my walk. After a bit of walking I made it the farm. Now, I don't know much about farms, but this place is HUGE! I couldn't see an end to the place from where I was standing. As walked through the front gate, I was spotted by an already working Applejack who walked over to me. "Well, howdy Ronin. What can ah do ya for?" She asked me. I smiled and stretched a bit. "I was wondering if I could help out here at the farm. I don't have a job and I thought I could try something here." I said as she smiled at me. "Well, ya came by at the right time." She said as she turned and started walking towards a bunch of apple trees. I followed her until she stopped in front of one. She turned to face me and stepped to the side. "Alright, Ronin. Go ahead and buck this here apple tree." She said as I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what do ya mean buck?" I asked as her eyes widened in realization before she smiled and shook her head. "Ah forgot yer from another world. Ah want ya tah kick the tree." She stated as I blinked. "Your the boss, cowgirl." I said as I walked up to the tree. Now how was I gonna do this? Focus your power into your legs, child. I heard Melfesia state in my mind. I took a deep breath and felt my power transfer to my legs. Afterwards, I spun around and swung a roundhouse kick at the tree. A loud thunk sounded off in the farm, followed by a swarm of apples falling from the trees into baskets Applejack left out underneath it. Thanks, Mel.I thought as I smiled and turned to Applejack, who wore a look of suprise. "That's a mighty strong kick ya got there, partner." She said as I shrugged. "Well, it takes a lot of practice." I said as she turned to the rest of the trees. "Well, lets git the rest of the trees done, then we can talk about employement." She said as we continued the work. *********** Nicholas POV *********** I made it to school earlier than anyone else(minus Ms.Cherilee, who was writing something on the board.) I walked into the classroom and immediately started thinking about how I was going to help Tiara with her problem with Silverspoon. Cherilee finally noticed I was there and smiled. "Ah, Nicholas. Your here early! What's the occasion?" She said, walking over to my seat. I looked up at her and sighed. "I told a friend of mine I would help them salvage a friendship they had, but how would I go about doing that?" I asked as she thought for a second before responding. "Well, have the two talked to each other yet about how they feel?" She asked as I shook my head, realization dawning on my face. "Ahh, I see what you mean. Thanks Ms.Cherilee." I said as she beamed, proud to have helped a student. After a couple of minutes, everyone else arrived. Sweetiebelle sat next to me and leaned over in her seat. "Why did you get here so early?" She asked as Diamond walked in and immediately walked up to me. "He is helping me in a matter that is not of your business!" She said while glaring at Sweetiebelle. I sighed and leaned back. "Tiara, remember how said matter became an issue, so please don't be a pain to my friends while I'm around." I asked her as she relented and nodded, looking slightly saddened by the mention of her current problem. "Your right Nick. Being snappy isn't going to help anypony. Even if some deserve it." She said with a side glare to Sweetiebelle, who looked very perplexed at what was going on. I cleared my throat and continued talking to Diamond Tiara. "Now, when we get let out to recess, that will be when we approach Silverspoon with said problem, alright?" She nodded and took her seat next to Silverspoon, who was currently ignoring her completely. I turned to Sweetiebelle with a slightly forced grin. "Sorry about that, she's going through some things and I am helping her out." I told her as she raised an eyebrow. "When did you two even become friends anyway?" She asked as memories of last night flashed through my mind, especially the kiss I had shared with Tiara. Slightly red-faced, I answered. "We bonded at the bonfire, and now I'm helping her out." I said as Tak and Scootaloo arrived just before the school bell rang. Tak took his seat next to me after winking at a now blushing Scootaloo. I took notice of his giddy appearance and leaned in close to him. "Somebody has a girlfriend now?" I asked him quietly as he jumped a mile high before turning to face me. "Don't do that!" He quietly screeched at me as I suppressed a snort. "Well, tell me what happened after you left then." I whispered as he sighed, resigning to his fate, yet he had this horribly sad expression on his face. "Very well, it went like this..." He began as Cherilee began a lecture of basic math *********** Tak POV/ the night before *********** What the heck was I thinking? I had opened my mouth almost without thinking back there! What would mother think when she found out I had decided to escort somepony to their house without any guards or anything. As I walked along the path with Scootaloo going on about how cool the element of loyalty was, I simply decided to roll with it. Oh well. I thought as Scootaloo being mimicking her idol making poses. I'm already this far, I might as well stick with it. Suddenly, she stopped as we approached a lone house by a small farm. The little house, more like a hut on closer inspection, was old looking and seemed in a state of disrepair. I looked to my close friend in shock. "Scootaloo...this is where you live?" I asked incredulously as she nodded, but never looked towards me. Instead she walked ahead while motioning for me to follow. "Tak....You can keep secrets, right?" She asked me as we approached the little house. I nodded slowly but a chill went doen my back at the tone of her voice. It was a mix between sorrow and fear, and I had only heard it once before when Mother was pleading with Ronin in Canterlot. "There is something I have been hiding from the others, and your the only one I can trust with this, Ok?" She said quietly. I tilted my head in confusion. "Whatever do you mean, Scootaloo?" I asked her as she sighed and reached out for the doorknob. "Applebloom and Sweetiebelle come from families that are healthy and secure, so I could never expect them to understand. But you know what its like to have a family that struggles to survive." She opened the door and walked in, and I followed after her. Only to stop dead in my tracks at the sight in the hut. In front of me was possibly the worst living conditions I had ever seen. There was moisture and rot eating away at several of the planks on the walls and floor. There was three small hammock like beds in the corner. One was empty, one had a picture in it, and another had an older mare laying in it. A light brightened the room as I saw Scootaloo had light a candle. She motioned for me to follow her to the sleeping mare. She walked up and nudged the lump of fur. "Momma, I'm back from the bonfire, and I brought the colt I had been talking about." She said as the earth pony stirred and faced us. She had a coat the same color as Scootaloo, but her hair was red. She bore a single cloud on her flank. The mare looked to Scootaloo and smiled, though her eyes looked as if they had seen the wars my ancestors fought in. "My little sunshine, I'm glad to see you in such a fit state." She turned to me and nodded. "So you must be Tak. My daughter has spoke many stories of you. She's quite fond of you, you know." She said as Scootaloo groaned. "Momma, don't embarrass me!" She said with a light blush as the mare laughed before suddenly invoking a coughing fit. I jumped a bit in suprise as Scootaloo rushed to her mother. "Momma, you shouldn't do things like that. Especially with you being sick." She said as a sad smile graced the moms tired features. "Listen, my dear. There was a reason I wanted to meet your friend here after how much you talked about him." She turned to me and the smile faded. "I am on my deathbed, child. So listen carefully to me please." She said as I nodded slowly, fixed in place by sorrow. "Anything, ma'am." I quietly said as Scootaloo hugged her mom, burying her face into her mane. The mother put a foreleg around her daughter before continuing. "Please, take care of my little sunshine for me. There aren't many she opens up to, and after hearing about you from her stories, I know you are the one who can watch over her for me." She said as I could feel a tear going down my left cheek while the sounds of muffled sobbing could now be heard from Scootaloo. The mare pulled her daughter to face her and wiped away some of the tears from her face. "My sweet daughter, promise me you will stay strong and look out for this young stallion." She said this as Scootaloo nodded slowly before hugging her mother fiercely. "Momma, please don't go! I don't want you to leave me!" She said as the mare simply smiled and leaned back into the hammock, lightly pushing Scootaloo back from her. She coughed violently for a second or two before laying all the way back. "My dear, fate is cruel. But we will see each other again one day. And when we do...I will be....waiting...." She trailed off as her eyes closed gently. Scootaloo stood there for a second before breaking down in tears, hugging her mother and whispering the words "momma" over and over again. I stood there for a minute or two before turning Scootaloo towards me and pulling her into a strong hug, allowing her to cry into my shoulder. I have no idea how long we sat there in the hug, but after what seemed like hours Scootaloo walked outside the house. I followed her and found her staring across the feild of crops. "My mom and I grew a small potato farm here." She said quietly. "I never knew my father, but all mom said he was an amazing wonderbolt who died in a hurricane accident before I was born." She turned to me with a sad smile. "She wanted to meet you immediately after I told her about who you were and your own past. I guess she was holding out until she knew her daughter would be ok." She said, tears going down her face as I hugged her again. All my life, I had known ponies to have better lives than changelings in all aspects, that we were as different as possible. But ever since I had met Ronin, I was learning just how wrong that belief really was. One of my closest friends was now currently crying into my shoulder again as she comes to terms with her mothers death. Ever since coming to ponyville, I have seen that everything isn't all butterflies and rainbows in pony society. Ponies die like we do, suffer like we do, cry like we do. And as I held Scootaloo close, I felt this fire in me to defend her until my last breath. I had never felt this way before, and I could only place it as one thing. Love. I pulled Scootaloo to face me as I smiled softly at her. "Scootaloo, no matter what happens, I will always be here for you. You don't need to hide your emotions from me, nor do you have to confide in me if you feel uncomfortable doing so. I'll be here either way." I said as I stared into those lovely purple eyes of hers. Without hesitation, she leaned in and kissed me. It wasn't long or anything crazy, but strong enough to show her appreciation. I stood there slightly dazed as she giggled slightly. "Thanks, Tak." She said as she turned to the moon, which seemed to shine extra bright tonight, as if it too had something special to itself. I simply nodded and sat next to Scootaloo as we watched the stars together. ***************** Nicholas POV/ present. ***************** I sat there slack jawed and suprised by what I was told. It was so much to take in and so sad at the same time. "Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked him as he smiled softly. "Your my closest friend, Nick. And you know pain like Scootaloo does. I asked her if I could tell you, and she agreed. Though the others can't know yet." He said and I nodded. "Alright, but you better turn around before Ms.Cherilee realizes that we weren't paying attention." As he turned around, I shook the sad thoughts from my mind. I had to focus on figuring out the Diamond Tiara situation I currently had. Scootaloo will probably be hurt for a while, but she has Tak. And having your friends when you need them is the best way to heal said hurt. ...I think I know how to help Diamond Tiara get Silverspoon back as a friend. > Chapter 31: School daze and a working craze. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ************ Raiden POV ************ The bakery was currently swamped with its usual lunch rush hour. The cakes were running all over the place attempting to give out orders to each customer while I was sweating bullets attempting to keep up with the demands. Even Pinkie was started to look tired, something I didn't even know was a possibility until today. I threw the latest batch of cupcake dough into the oven and leaned against a wall. "How many more customers do we have?" I groaned as Pinkie looked out into the shop for a second before responding. "Only twenty left!" She cheerfully said as she finished several trays worth of cookies and ran out to deliver them to their respective buyers. I shook my head and looked to the clock. 12:15 So that means I have three more hours of this? Canterlot was never this bad! I sighed as I felt my eyes droop from exhaustion. I blink as I suddenly find myself in a blank room with pictures of me with my brothers on the walls. I hear a door open from behind me and turn to see Luna standing there. "Luna? What are you doing here?" I asked her as she walked in with the grace of a princess. She raised a brow at my question before giggling slighly. "Raiden, does thou not know you are dreaming?" She asked me as I shake my head. "Well, now you do." She adds before I chuckle softly before embracing her in a hug. "Luna, you have no idea how stressfuI have been here in ponyville. I'm starting to regret trying to work here." She pulled back and looked into my eyes with deep concern. "Why? We- I thought you enjoyed cooking?" She asked as she sits on a couch that appeared from nowhere. I stare in shock for a second before remembering the obvious. Duh, dreamworld! I smile and sit next to her, letting her recline on my lap as I answer her. "Well, I do love to cook. But I think I am more cut out for being a private chef than your run of the mill baker." I said with a sigh as I rubbed my hands through her starry mane. She looked up at me and smirked. "Then why not come back to Canterlot and serve your princess?" She said with a wink as my face flushed slightly before I looked away from her gaze. "I can't just leave for Canterlot. My brothers are here and I couldn't risk being seperated from them again." I said as Luna frowned for a second, before her eyes flashed with brilliance. "What if thou could travel between the two places easily?" She asked as I raised a brow. "That would help, but I would have to be able to return at a moments notice." I said as she sat up and got off the couch, suddenly way more energetic. "There is an old spell my sister and I know how to cast. It can allow reflective objects such as mirrors to be gateways. Whether it be to a place in this world or another." At my questioning glance she quickly added. "Sadly, only worlds and locations that have similar properties of this world can be connected to, such as similar beings or places." I nod in understanding. "So, like an alternate world of this place, or just another city in this world." She nodded. "Why haven't you made this spell public?" I asked as she frowned quickly. "Due to a rather...unexpected incident years ago, we were forced to make the spell private among royals only." She said as she turned, though I could've swore I heard the words "blasted shimmer" escape her lips. I ignored the last part and smiled. "Well, there's a big mirror in my guest bedroom, so you could be able to enchant that to connect to the one in yours. That way I can come to you directly as either of us please." I said as she turned back to me and nodded vigorously. "That will work perfectly, Raiden!" She exclaimed and pulled me into a long kiss. After we parted, she realized what she did and blushed heavily before her horn lit up. "Now, I shall go and enchant your mirror, you go and finish those cupcakes." She said as a blue light flashed brightly. "RAIDEN!!!" I heard Pinkie yell cheerfully in my face. I awoke with a start as I heard the alarm for the cupcakes go off. I quickly pulled them out and placed them on the sides before turning to a smiling Pinkie. "No sleeping on the job, silly." She said as she hopped out of the kitchen, leaving me to finish the cupcakes. ************ Nicholas POV ************ After shooting blind during a test Cherilee gave out (she had went over the notes while Tak was giving me the lowdown on Scootaloo.) We had been mercifully given recess. "Did anypony do good on that history test?" Scootaloo asked as Applebloom made a face and Tak and I shrugged. Sweetiebelle, meanwhile, looked confident. "I think I did great!" She said proudly. I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm an alien from another world who has been here only a month, and Tak here has been underground almost his whole life. So history is defenitely a poor subject for us." I said as Tak nodded in agreement while looking past us before pointing suddenly. "Friends, look over there." He said as we turned and saw a very angry Silverspoon brush by Diamond tiara to sit alone at a tree. "The anger coming from that silvery pony is strong and bitter." He said as Applebloom grinned. "Serves that bully right!" She said as the other crusaders chimed in with a resounding "yeah!" while I frowned, suddenly finding myself agitated. I turned to the crew and forced a smile. "Well, bully or no, I promised to help them sort their mess out." looks of suprise appeared on all of their faces as Scootaloos eyes narrowed. "But you can't help her!" She stated loudly as Applebloom chimed in. "Yeah, she's the enemy!" Applebloom said while Sweetiebelle, who already knew about what I planned to do, remained silent. Tak, however, wasn't so quiet. "Enemy or no, It's good that Nicholas plans on showing kindness to Diamond Tiara and her friend. Who knows? Perhaps our friend will convince those two to be better ponies." He said as Scootaloo scoffed. "Please, those two won't change! And besides, that type of stuff only happens in storybooks anyway." She said as Tak raised an eyebrow. "So I and my mother are the stuff of child tales then?" He said with a smirk as Scootaloo realized what he meant and kept quiet with a sheepish grin on her face. I, having heard enough, turned to Applebloom. "You may think those two are beyond redemption, but if my brother could befriend a war-crazy queen. No offense, man." I said as Tak shrugged. "Then I should be able to help those two make amends with each other." I said as I turned a decent 180 and walked towards Diamond Tiara. ************ Tak POV ************ As my companion walked off to pursue his noble mission, I turned to the girls to find myself nearly overwhelmed by the anger swelling off two of the girls. Applebloom frowned deeply. "Ah don't know how Diamond Tiara managed to get Nick to talk to her, but she has tah be using him fer something!" She stated as Sweetiebelle nodded in agreement. Scootaloo turned to me. "Tak, could you read Tiaras emotions for any sort of bad stuff with your changeling powers?" She asked as I chuckled and nodded. "Very well." I said as I focused on Tiara, finding no malice or miscontent in her. Only sadness and...oh boy. I shifted my focus to Nicholad to check his emotions as well. There was determination (though that always seemed to be there) along with concern, worry and...Alas, it is present in him as well. Here I was, asked to check for any evil purpose in a fellow schoolmates intentions. Yet instead of darkness and anger, I find out that Tiara and Nicholas are...attracted to each other? What in the name of my elders happened when I left last night? I turned to the trio of girls and smiled. "There is no foul intentions in Tiaras mind or emotions. In fact, it is my belief that she regards Nicholas in a special way." I said before clamping a hoof over my mouth, but it was too late. Scootaloo face-hooved and Applebloom looked confused, but Sweetiebelle was angry. And not 'hey you bumped into me' angry, more like 'Hands off my stallion' angry. She turned to Applebloom and grabbed her shoulders. "Applebloom, she likes Nick!" After that was said, Applebloom quickly gained the same emotional vibe as Sweetiebelle. But just as they went to follow Nicholas, Scootaloo stepped in their way. "Listen you two. Tiara may be a pain in our flanks, but what do you think Nick will do if you two go and interrupt him like that? He's attempting to fix a friendship, something that your sisters and Rainbow Dash would do." The two's emotions calmed down at that, and I sighed in relief as I turned to where Nicholas was leading a worried Tiara to her angry companion. I am never leaving those three alone at a bonfire again. ************ Nicholas POV ************ I approached Diamond Tiara, who was facing away from me and towards her friend, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I'm in no mood to deal with-" She cut herself off as she turned and realized it was me. "Nicholas, its just you." She said as she returned her gaze to Silverspoon. "I-I don't think I can do this." I smiled and pulled her into a hug, leaning my head next to her ear. "Relax, love. I'll be with you the whole way." I said as I blew into her ear playfully. She shuddered in delight for a second before nodding. "Ok, but don't do that ear thing again!" she said as I chuckled and grabbed her by the hoof, leading her to Silverspoon. I stole a glance over to my friends to see Scootaloo arguing with Applebloom and Sweetiebelle and Tak looking towards me with an tired look on his face. Sorry man, hang in there for me. I thought to myself. We reached Silverspoon and Diamond stopped abruptly. I walked over to Silverspoon and sat next to her. She looked at me in confusion. "What do you want?" She asked as I smiled at her. "What I want is irrelevant." I said as I motioned for Tiara to sit next to me. She did so, but terribly slowly. "What matters is figuring out your two's deal." I said as Silverspoon frowned quickly. "She knows what she said." Silverspoon growled, yes growled, at Diamond, who frowned back before turning to me. "Ugh! I knew she would be like this!" She went to stand up before I placed a hand on her head and gently, but firmly, pushed her back into a sitting position. "Ok, I was going to do this the Raiden way. But now we are doing this the Ronin way." I turned to silver and frowned. "Tiara may know what she said, but I don't. So enlighten me." I said as Silverspoon rolled her eyes, but answered regardless. "Last night, my father came back from his job in Canterlot as a chef. He isn't around much and Tiara knows that. When she saw me with him, she had came over to me and asked me who he was. So I told her she was my dad. And do you know what she says next?" Silverspoon says as Tiara shrinks back a bit from the glare she recieves, while I raise an eyebrow. "What?" I say as Silverspoon takes a deep breath to calm herself down a bit. "She goes 'That's your father? No wonder he doesn't stick around much." She quotes as I blink in suprise as I turn to Diamond Tiara. "You said that? why?" I ask as I notice tears in her eyes before she speaks suddenly. "I was jealous, OK!" She yells out as Silverspoon and I are taken aback. "I saw how he hugged her and spoke lovingly to her and it reminded me of how little my own father does the same to me." She said as the tears came freely now. "He may buy me whatever I want or let me do whatever, but he never treats me like I'm his family!" She cried as she latched onto me and cried into my chest. I sighed and rubbed her head. "So that's why you were so mean to me last night? you were jealous of me?!" Silverspoon said with suprise laced in her voice. Tiara turned to her and smiled weakly. "Y-yeah.*sniffle* Silverspoon I'm so sorry about what I said last night. I didn't even think before I opened my dumb mouth. I-" She was cut off as Silverspoon hugged her. "It's ok, Tiara. But you should never be jealous of me. Your as equally important as I am." She said as I nodded in agreement as I placed Diamond on my lap and blew into her left ear again, causing her to turn up to face me and mutter "stop that you." playfully before giggling and nuzzling my neck. *AHEM* A loud cough came from behind us as we turned to see Applebloom and Sweetiebelle standing there with Scootaloo standing really close to Tak, the former two looking quite peeved. Crap ************* Ronin POV ************* I collected the last basket of apples and brought them up to the barn. I had been working almost all day and I honestly was loving every second of it. This is defenitely becoming my day job. I thought as I took a seat next to a equally worked Applejack. "Well, that was the most I've enjoyed working in a long time!" I proudly stated as Applejack turned to me and grinned. "Ya think so?" She said as I nodded. "Good, cuz ah was gonna ask if ya wanted tah work here weekly." She said as I smiled big. "Really? That's mighty kind of ya Apples." I said as she laughed at the nickname before standing up as a bell sounded out from the house nearby. "Welp, that'll be granny calling fer lunch break. Wanna come and grab a bite?" She offered as I smiled and stood up myself. "I'd be delighted." I said as we walked into the house. I was lead to a table that had an assortment of food on it, from grits to pie (probably apple, considering the family). As I walked in, I was meet with the sight of an older green pony and the big pony I had arm wrestled last night. Wasn't his name Big Mac or something? "Who's this?" the old mare asked as Applejack chuckled lightly and patted me on the back...hard. "This here is Ronin, one of those humans ah told ya about. He was a big help with the harvest today." She said as the mare smiled. "Well that changes everything. Folks around here call me Granny Smith. And this quiet stallion here is Big Mac." Called it. Said pony stood up and approached me, staring me down eye to eye inches from my face with a serious expression. This was easily one of the biggest ponies I had seen, and even though I beat him yesterday in the arm wrestling match, I knew this guy could do some damage if need be. We stood there for a hot minute saying nothing as Applejack looked like she was sweating at the tension in the room while granny Smith just looked on. After what seemed like an eternity, Big Mac offered me his hoof. I nodded and shook it, giving the big guy a smile on his face. "Thanks fer the help, Ronin." He said as I smiled as we took our places at the table. As I took a bite of what was defenitely apple pie, my thoughts wondered to Chrysalis. I hope she's doing ok. I couldn't help but think as I sat there enjoying my lunch for the day. > Chapter 32: Insert joke about Cat fights > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* So this is what Ronin would call a cat fight scenario Was the first thought to go through my head as I noticed Applebloom and Sweetiebelle staring daggers at Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, the latter two doing the same. Scootaloo seemed indifferent to the whole scene, more occupied with leaning against Tak. Said changeling was looking very uncomfortable with the situation unfolding in front of him. "What do you want?" Tiara asked with venom drenched with every word. Appleblooms eyes narrowed and she stepped forward. "We want ya tah leave Nick alone!" She said as Sweetiebelle stepped forward as well. "Yeah, he's our friend and your not taking him from us!" She said as Tak sighed and I raised an eyebrow at the way the girls were acting. Diamond Tiara, however, was not amused. She got out of my lap and went face to face with Applebloom. "I don't know what is going on in that little brain of yours, but I will tell you this. Back off!" She said as Applebloom growled and they butted heads. Having enough of the situation, I stood up and got in between them, holding them both back by placing a hand on their foreheads. "Enough!" I stated loudly, stopping both of their struggling. I turned to Diamond first. "There is absolutely no need to start any fights today! We just got done patching up one issue, we don't need a fight added to the list!" Diamond looked away, but I could tell she was contemplating my words. I heard Applebloom snort at what I said to Diamond, but that stopped immediately as I turned on her. "And what is your problem?! I told y'all I was helping Tiara, but you decide to come over and get in her face?" I state as Applebloom points to her. "Ya don't understand, Nick. She's ah bully and-" She never finished as my patience finally wore out. "YOU DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?" I yelled as everyone and everything in the playground stopped cold to turn to us. "I know she's a bully, ok. Heck, I WAS bullied by her when I first got here. But peo- ponies can change, Applebloom. They just need to be shown that others care." I went over and stood behind Diamond Tiara, wrapping her in a big hug. "Now, if it wasn't obvious before, I am currently dating Diamond. And if you can't support that due to a petty grudge you have, then don't bother coming anywhere near me anymore." I said as Appleblooms eyes widened and she took a step back, tears coming to her eyes. "What is going on here?" Cherilee said as she approached us. Completely done with the day, I released Tiara from the hug and faced her. "Nothing, I was just leaving." I said as I turned and ran, leaving the grounds entirely. ************ Tak POV ************ ...that was unexpected. I had never seen Nicholas so angry before. And as he ran off, I had a deep instinct to follow after him for some reason. Is this feeling part of having friends and worrying about them? Or is it purely pity that guides my emotions? I was pulled from my contemplative state as Cherilee ordered the class inside. After we took our seats, she pulled Diamond, Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, Scootaloo, and myself outside for questioning. "Now, I want to know why Nicholas was yelling at Applebloom." She stated as Tiara went to answer, but I cut her off. "Allow me, Teacher. There was a altercation where we approached Nicholas and Diamond Tiara along with her friend Silverspoon. These two-" I pointed to Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. "Immediately started arguing with Diamond on the subject of Nicholas. After a few choice words were said, a fight nearly broke out. Thankfully, Nicholas intervened and seperated Bloom and Diamond." I took a breath and continued. "However, due to more things being said and tempers being raised, Nicholas snapped at Applebloom and stormed off as you arrived." I sighed and lowered my head. "I should've stopped this from happening." I muttered. Ms. Cherilee smiled at me and lfted my head by the chin. "It's alright, Tak. You couldn't had known how bad it would get." She turned to the Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle. "You two go inside with Tak, I will talk to these two in private about the situation that has occured." I walked inside with Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle, honestly peeved at how Applebloom had enraged Nicholas. As we sat down, Scootaloo turned to me, worry clear on her features. "Where do you think Nick went?" She asked as I sighed and looked out a window. "I have no idea, Scootaloo. But I do hope he is ok." ************* No POV ************* Cherilee turned from the door as Tak and the other two crusaders went inside. Today had proven to be rather eventful in the worse way possible, but if she was to be able to salvage anything from this, she was going to have to get through to the fillies in front of her first. "Applebloom, Diamond Tiara. I hope you know that due to your actions today, you both are in big trouble. Now, Tak informed me of what happened, but only you two can explain the why." She said as Diamond looked at Applebloom with a slight glare before speaking. "I think I know exactly what her deal is." She said as she smirked. "Your jealous of the fact Nick likes me, aren't you?" She stated while Appleblooms face started turning red. "Is this true?" Cherilee asked, already starting to piece together the puzzle. Applebloom hesitated before nodding slowly. "Yes ma'am. It is. When ah saw how he was holding Diamond Tiara, it caused this weird bubbly feeling tah rise in mah chest. Next thing ah know, I'm gittin in the face of Diamond Tiara." She shrunk a bit as a tear or two left her eyes. "And know I've ruined mah friendship with him over somethin' dumb like this!" Cherilee shook her head. "Now, I don't think thats true, Applebloom. I just think Nicholas needs some time alone right now. However, this sort of thing can not be allowed to continue. So unless you can find a way to move past this, I'm afraid I might have to recommend Nicholas be taught from a more...home-based environment." She said as both of the fillies eyes widened. "You can't do that!" Diamond Tiara said loudly. "Just because we got into a argument doesn't mean its Nicks fault!" But Cherilee shook her head. "Sadly Tiara, it seems that he might be a negative influence on his fellow students. So if you can't make amends, he will not be allowed back in my classroom." She said with a no-nonsense tone. Applebloom gulped and turned to Diamond Tiara with an outstreched hoof. "Ah know we ain't friends and all, but maybe we could be nicer to each other. For Nick?" She said hesitantly as Diamond Tiara glared at her for a monute before shaking the hoof, albeit reluctantly. "If that's what it takes for Nick to stay here, then I guess I have no choice." She said as Cherilee smiled warmly. "See girls, was that so hard. After all, with the talent show coming up again, the last thing we need is any more distractions." She said as the girls turned to her in suprise. "We hosting another talent show? Why?" Diamond asked as Applebloom nodded, equally confused. Cherilee smiled at the two, oddly giddy. "The town loved the first one so much, I decided to host another one for our students. Especially since we have several new ones with us this year." She said as she turned to the door. "Now come on girls. Lets head back inside." They did as told as they walked back into the classroom. ************* Raiden POV ************* I walked out of the bakery with bits in hand and absolutely no incentive to work for the rest of my life. But as I leaned against a wall to rest for a sec, I turned my head and saw Nicholas run past me. That boy is supposed to be in school. I thought as I gave chase, following him as he ran towards Sweet Apple Acres. *********** Ronin POV *********** I had just finished lunch with Applejack and her family and was getting ready to leave when I saw Nicholas running this way with Raiden shortly behind. What the hell is going on. I thought as Nicholas cleared the fence and kept running. While Raiden, who had spotted me, motioned for me to stop Nicholas. I nodded and cut through the apple trees, cutting him off and tackling him to the ground. "Get off me!" He yelled as he struggled, but to no avail as I pinned him down. "What the heck are you doing here, kid?" I said as Raiden caught up with us in a huff. Guy really needs to work on his cardio. "Its nothing, so leave me alone!" He yelled again, but there were tears in his eyes. I sighed and picked him up and wrapped him in a hug. When he gets like this, being gentle is the only way to get through to him. "Well, it doesnt look like nothing." I said with a soft chuckle as he hugged me back. "So spill, kid. What happened?" I released him and he sat on the ground with me and Raiden sat in front of him in a triangle shape. Nicholas sniffled a bit before starting. "It started at school during recess." He started as I growled slightly. Of course something happened there! I swear, if he's being bullied again... Nicholas continued as if he didn't hear me. "I was helping my girlfriend with her friend problem and-" Raiden interrupted as my jaw dropped. "Wait...did you say girlfriend?" He asked as Nicholas went red a bit in his cheeks. I smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Farm girl junior or the seamstress from hell's sister?" I said as Raiden rolled his eyes while Nicholas giggled. "Neither, actually." He said as both Raiden and I were know totally lost. "That actually is part of the problem, though. I may be currently dating a girl who may or may not have been a bully to the crusaders." Ok, was not expecting that. I could feel the grass touching my jaw from how low it was hanging while Raiden was completely at a loss for words. "Let me get this straight. You, the boy who has been bullied for years, is DATING one now?!" Raiden said after recovering. Nicholas quickly dawned a face of pure determination. "Yes, I am. And nobody is going to judge me on this. I can help her be better, guys. And if I manage to stay dating one of the cutest girls around here all the while, then that's a win-win scenario for me." He said with a cocky grin as I started laughing. "That-a-boy, Nicholas!" I roared with delight. "Believe me, I am in no place to judge who you date. Hell, I'm dating a queen and a sugar-pumped party juggernaut at the same time!" I said before clamping my hand to my mouth. oopsy, Raiden and Nick didn't know that yet. Raiden turned to me in suprise. "Wait, you've already started forming a herd?" He asked as I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah...but how do you know what that is?" I asked as he shrugged slightly. "Twilight told me at the Canterlot party about it. But honestly, that really shouldn't suprise me none." He said with a laugh as Nicholas sat there with a blank face. "But...why Pinkie though? She's so....weird." He said as I rolled my eyes. "I thought we weren't judging our girl preferences." I said as a hand from Raiden clapped my back. "Hey, we arent judging. We're just complaining in secret." He said as I snorted with laughter with Nicholas and Raiden joining in shortly after. After we finished laughing, I stood up and looked to the setting sun. "Welp, it's getting late. Ima head back to my house. Raiden, could you take Nicholas to Fluttershys?" He nodded and turned to Nicholas. "Now, tomorrow we are going to that school explaining why you ran off, aight?" He said and Nicholas nodded. "But first, we explain to Fluttershy why you didn't come home at the regular time. She is bound to be worried sick." He said as Nicholas's eyes widened in fear. "Oh, man. she is gonna be upset!" He said as I laughed started my jog home. *********** Nicholas POV *********** We arrived to the cottage and Raiden knocked on the door. The door peeked open slowly before swinging wide open and me being pulled into a deep hug of a very worried pegasus. "Oh my goodness where have you been!" Fluttershy asked/cried as she pulled away and looked at me with a look that could kill. "You had me worried sick, Nicholas!" I sighed and smiled weakly. "I kinda lost my cool earlier and stormed off the school grounds. Raiden and Ronin helped me out though, so I'm ok now." I said as her expression softened instantly. "Im just glad your ok, Nicholas." She said softly as she hugged me again. I smiled and embraced her back. "It's ok, Fluttermom. I'm perfectly fine." I said to her softly, noticing the raised eyebrow of Raiden at the nickname I have for Fluttershy. I released Fluttershy from her hug and turned to Raiden. "Thanks, bro...for everything." He smiled and did a mock salute. "Anytime, brother. Behave now for Flutters, ok!" I nodded and he turned and walked off, probably about to pass out the second he hits a bed. I turned to notice a slight blush on Fluttershys face, the reason quite obvious. I walked past her smiling, but not before whispering "Raidens kinda hot, huh?" in her ear. Then proceeding to laugh my butt off as her wings shoot out, leaving her in a blushing frenzy. ********** Ronin POV ********** I walked into my house and stretched slightly, eager to sleep after the long day. As I walked past Taks room, I noticed his door was open. Odd. I thought as I looked in and once again was suprised as I saw Tak and Scootaloo cuddling together in his cacoon. What the hell is going on! > Chapter 33: Healing the heartache pt.1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* The following morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn. After doing my daily workout consisting of a hundred pushups and sit ups (guys gotta stay fit), I went straight to Taks room and peeped in. Oddly enough, Scootaloo wasn't there anymore. In her place was a small letter. I quietly walked over and opened it. Tak Meet me at my house on the hill, there is something there I need you to see. Love, Scootaloo. I raised an eyebrow. Love? Since when did that happen? I mean, they've been inseperable since they have met, but I have never sensed a trace of love on Scootaloo regarding Tak. Fondness and perhaps affection, yeah. But not love. The same defenitely couldn't be said for Tak. The poor boy has it really bad for her. With a quiet mumble, Tak slowly woke up "Scootaloo..." He mumbled, still half asleep. "Sorry to dissapoint kiddo, but I ain't your crush." I said with a laugh. Tak immediately shot straight up and fell out of his cacoon. He turned to me with a look of shock. "When did you get here?" He asked me as I waved the note in his face. "Not important, what is important is your girl wants to meet you at her house and something about it seems...off to me." I said, but I could tell he stopped paying attention at the mention of Scootaloo. "Well, let us depart! I wouldn't want to keep her waiting!" He said as he jumped up and walked straight out the door. As I followed after him I felt a chill run through me, as if the room suddenly got several degrees colder. Why does going over to this kids house seem to be putting me on edge? ************** Raiden POV ************** I woke up to a loud pop resounding through my bedroom. I sat up and looked around, but the only thing weird thing I could find out of place was my mirror, which was currently glowing. I got up and approached the mirror, sticking out my hand. "What the heck.." I said aloud before a hoof came out of the mirror and pulled me through by my own hand. After what seemed like a second of blue light flashing, I found myself in the middle of Lunas bedroom. Said mare was smiling at my shocked expression. "How was your trip?" She asked me with a tone of childish mocking. I rolled my eyes and smiled at her antics. "Unexpected, but I was expecting not to expect something, so that doesn't count." I said as I embraced her in a hug, which was greatly returned. "We are glad to see you as witty as ever, Raiden." She said as she pulled away from me and looked at me. Damn, those sparkling eyes of hers would send me to war. I cupped her cheek and smiled warmly. "And I am glad to see your as cute as ever." She blushed tremendously as she took a step or two back in suprise. I laughed at the sight. "So, princess. What shall we do today?" I asked as she calmed down and a sly smile went over her features. "Today, we shall be messing with my sister. It has been eons since she has been pranked." She said as a rather bad idea popped into my head. "I think I know just the thing." ************* Nicholas POV ************* I woke up in my bed to find that bunny snuggled up to me. I'll admit, I wanted to cook the guy for a week or two after he slapped me with the flyswatter (odd that Fluttershy has one considering her beliefs with animals). But recently, I've been finding him curled up by me in the bed. I sighed and poked him. "C'mon, Roger. I gotta get up for school." He awoke anf turned to me. I nicknamed him roger after a rabbit I had seen in a movie involving cartoons and people working together, and he seemed to not mind. The little heaven hopped out of the room as I got changed into more daytime affairs. Wearing a yellow shirt that had a sun on it (real subtle who your advertising, Rarity) and blue jeans that had her mark indented on the back pockets, I walked downstairs to find Fluttershy feeding several birds. "Now make sure to eat as much as you can. We wouldn't want you to go hungry, now would we?" The birds happily chirped as she turned and faced me. "Oh, good morning Nicholas." She said as she flew over and gave me a quick hug. "What are you doing up so early?" She asked as I raised an eyebrow. "Uhh...going to school in about thirty minutes?" I said as her eyes widened and she blushed slightly. "O-Oh, I geuss I forgot to mention that your not going today. " She said quietly as she hid behind her mane. I blinked in suprise as that sank in. "Ok....why?" I asked as she peeked out of her mane. "I-I wanted to help cheer you up since you seemed upset yesterday." She said meekly. I smiled warmly and knelt to face her. "Alright, then. Far be it for me to complain about missing school. So what do you have planned for today?" I asked as a cheerful smile appeared on her face. [about an hour and a bunch of animals later] Before today, I have never participated in a legitimate tea party. Especially not one with a bunch of animals. But hey, new world, new experiences. And sitting on a pink blanket on a quiet little hill was apparently one of them. "More sugar, Mr.Raccoon?" Fluttershy asked a raccoon who was participating with a bear named harry and a snake named jasper. As of why the snake was at the tea party, I have no idea(no hands for the cups) But who was I to judge? After the raccoon got his cup refilled, I stretched back on the blanket and yawned slightly. Compared to yesterday, this was a stress free day so far. It almost made me forget about the whole yelling at my friend thing that happened... almost, anyway. "Nicholas?" I heard Fluttershy ask me as I sat up and faced her. "What's up?" I responded as I noticed she had a slightly conflicted look before she took a deep breath and answered. "What did happen at school yesterday, if you don't mind me asking?" She said as I frowned and looked into my tea. Could I tell her? She's been nothing but kind to me since my arrival, but should I tell her about what happened? What if she doesn't like what I did and decides to- No, she's nothing like mom was. I can tell her about it. I took a breath of my own before starting. "Yesterday, I helped Diamond make amends with her friend Silverspoon. Applebloom and the others walked up and saw me cuddling with Diamond. A few words were said between the girls, and next thing I know I was yelling at Applebloom for snapping at Tiara." I looked away from her, suddenly ashamed about the events. "Oh, Nicholas." She said as she nodded to her animal friends, who departed immediately as if they knew we needed space. She flew over and wrapped her left wing around me as I continued. "Its just, I really like Diamond, but Applebloom and Sweetiebelle weren't even giving her a chance. And now that I lost my temper and yelled a them, I doubt they're gonna want to hang out with me anymore." I choked a bit on my breath as tears started going down my face. Fluttershy pulled me into a big hug then. I held on tightly, crying almost silently into her mane. "The girls wouldn't do that to you, Nicholas. They are your friends, and friends stick together." She said as I leaned back and looked her in the face. "R-Really?" I asked her as she smiled and grabbed a napkin and gave it to me so I could blow my nose. "Absolutely. As long as you talk it out with them the next time you see them." She said as I finished cleaning my face. "Better?" "Much better, Thanks Fluttermom." I said as we sat there together enjoying the quiet calm of the surrounding nature. That is, until the hillside about a mile off exploded in a big and loud flash. ************* Raiden POV/10 minutes ago ************* Luna had managed to sneak me into day court behind Celestias throne as she was fulfilling requests for the ponies coming to see her. Any and all guards were told to ignore the scheming human behind the throne, and were now watching me from the corner of their eyes in amusement. "I am glad you decided to join day court with me, sister." Celestia said regarding Luna, who was standing next to her by the throne. "Although I can't help but ask why you decided to accompany me today of all days." Luna gave a cheesy smile and responded. "I am curious to seeing how thou run your court to see how my own court could be improved upon." She said while I pulled the suprise for Celestia out of a side bag I was carrying. Smooth story, Luna. "I am glad you are taking your court seriously again, Luna. I was beginning to worry that you would never-" She was cut off as Twilight came into the room with a audible pop. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle. How nice of you to join us." She said as she stood up, promtping Luna to turn to me briefly and wink before turning back to Twilight. "Princess, I recieved your letter to meet you and came as soon as I could. Is there something wrong?" She asked as I heard Celestia chuckle, but was to busy trying to plant the suprise to notice her movements. "Nothing is wrong, my dear student. I summoned you here because I wanted to personally inform you that in about a week from today, you will have test." I heard a sharp gasp from across the room that had to be twilights. "A t-t-test?!" She said as I heard Luna snicker at her reaction. I carefully planted the suprise and snuck back behind the throne. "Indeed, my little pony." I heard Celestia walk back towards her throne and held back a laugh as she sat down. PHFFFFFFFFT! went the whoopie cushion her royal flank sat on. I snuck a peek from my hiding spot to see a very-red faced Celestia, a Twilight that looked frozen in place, and a Luna that looked ready to die laughing. For a moment, nobody moved. The silence was broken as Twilight literally passed out on the spot. That was the breaking point for me and Luna. The latter was now on the ground laughing herself to tears as I emerged from my spot cracking up myself. Celestia, however, was not amused. "Was that really necessary, you two? And what is Raiden doing in Canterlot anyway." She grumbled as she sent a stern look to some guards, who snapped to attention immediately. "Relax, Celestia. I came up with the idea after Luna wanted to prank you. As for why I'm here, I will be taking up my original job as a royal chef thanks to Luna setting up a portal for me to warp through from ponyville." I said as Luna recovered and stood up with a big grin. Celestia sighed. "At least my sister is enjoying herself." She said before suddenly smirking. "But I wonder if your newfound desire to work here again has anything to do with Luna here." She said as Luna went beet red on the spot. But before she could answer, a guard came into the room as Twilight recovered and stood up. "Princess, there has been a big explosion sighted on the hillsides near ponyville!" He said as Celestia immediately brcame serious. She turned to Twilight and frowned. "Twilight, I need you to return to ponyville and investiage the problem." She said as Twilight nodded and teleported away. Celestia turned to me. "Raiden, return to ponyville as well and make sure your family is safe." I nodded and ran towards Lunas room to enter the portal. Luna turned to Celestai and frowned deeply. "Sister, does thou think this has something to do with the return of the empire?" she asked as Celestia sighed and looked out a large window. "I am not sure, sister. But if it does, then the test Twilight will be taking has become all the more necessary." > Chapter 34: Healing the heartache pt 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* As Tak led me to his girls house, the feeling of dread that I had felt before only strengthened with each step. "You sure you know where her house is, kiddo?" I asked him as he turned to me but stayed on course as we passed by the Apple farm. "Indeed, Ronin. I do. Now quit hanging back, we have to get there quickly!" He said as he started into a gallop towards a hillside that seemed waaaay less alive than the neighboring field. I followed behind with a quick jog until I came to a stop next to him in front of a hut. Now, considering I live in a house with spikes jutting out of it, I shouldn't be one to judge when it comes to home design. But the atmosphere around here reeked of...death. And the dying grass and plants around the place weren't helping that fact. A door opened and Scootaloo walked out of the hut. "Tak, you came...and you brought Ronin too." She seemed less than enthused by my presence. Tak, oblivious to the negative vibe, answered happily. "Of course I came, and Ronin was just escorting me here." He said as Scootaloo smiled, yet it didn't reach her eyes. "Well, c'mon then. The thing you need to see is inside." With that, she turned and walked inside the hut, Tak close behind and myself a taf more cautious. As I walked in, Tak had this look of shock on his face. And as my eyes adjusted to the dark room, I couldnt blame him. The whole place was way bigger on the inside than the outside, and it had changeling, pony, and what looked like some sort of giant eagle species chained to walls and the roof. In the center of the room was a scepter that had a glowing orb on its head. Scootaloo turned to us and smiled as she took steps backwards. "So, Tak. Like what I've done with the place?" She said, but the voice didn't belong to her, it was the voice of...oh no. "What..." Tak could barely manage to speak as I took a step forward and drew my blade. "Drop the act, Dadiolus." I said with clenched teeth as 'scootaloo' got enveloped by black smoke and was replaced by the skeletal body and mind of the same guy who had sicked the spider on Nick. He turned to Tak and frowned. "My boy, your a prince, don't let your jaw hang like that." He sneered as Tak recovered from his shock and growled at him. "Where is Scootaloo?!" He screeched as Dadiolus smiled and pointed to the wall on the far side of the room, revealing a cacoon with said filly inside. Tak ran to try and free her as I glared at the skeleton. "So, what's with the bodies, and why did you pretend to be that girl?" I asked him as he kept eye contact with me while we circled each other. "Each of these bodies were victims of the similar experience changelings can do, I simply drained the love from all of their bodies. However, unlike a changeling, I drained enough to have more...fatal consequences." He chuckled softly. "As for the girl, I've been pretending to be her since the attack with Volt. I needed a pure source of love energy, and little Tak was the perfect candidate." He finished as Tak turned to him with rage in his eyes, along with traces of sadness. "That means that the night of the bonfire, the kiss, and everything in between was a lie?!" He stated, barely able to believe it. Dadiolus sighed and turned away. "It was a necessary evil to kidnap the girl and take her place. And it wasn't all lies, she did lose her mother. But that happened years ago alongside her father. She has scarcely been able to live here alone for over 6 years." He turned to me and I felt a rush of regret from him. "I have had to kill many beings to gain the magical power you didn't let me get back in canterlot, but it will all be worth it soon enough." He said as I growled, having heard far enough. "Don't you dare pit this on me. No one said you had to kill these innocent bystanders! And to act like you care about what you've done makes this all the more sick!" I yelled as he roared loudly. "You think I want to kill these innocents ponies and griffons? All of this is for the good of Equestria. And since you couldn't allow me to use dark magic to charge my scepter, I resorted to love magic instead." He said as he turned to the scepter, which was now glowing brightly. "Finally, I will have the strength I need." He said as he reached out to the scepter. That Staff is overloading with love, Get to the prince, NOW! I heard Melfesia state in my mind as I rushed over and swung my arms around Tak, feeling my wings extend around us just as Dadiolus touched the staff. BOOM! I felt the surrounding earth give way as we were sent flying across the field. I sat up slowly and looked at Tak and the passed out Scootaloo. As I got up, I looked at my wings and saw they were made of metal now. "What the hell?" I stated as I looked them over. After you bonded with the pink one, your bodies enhancements were modified slightly. Your wings are now a defensive mechanism made of the same metal in the cannon the pink one uses. Melfesia said as the wings disappeared. Wait a sec, how was I able to fly before if these were metal? You didn't fly, you were carried by an updraft. You can glide with these wings, but you will never fly again. Think of it as a defensive mechanism for your more...brutish hobbies. Ok then, that's actually kinda cool. I looked to Tak and smiled. "You alright, kid?" I asked as he got up and put scootaloo on his back magically. "Yes, but Dadiolus must be stopped. I will take Scootaloo into town, but you must stop him from using that power against all of Equestria." He said as he started a slow gallop away. I heard a laugh from the crater as Dadiolus rose from it, scepter in hand. The guy was no longer a skeleton. Instead, he had skin that was purely silver yet no hair on his head. He looked down at me and grinned wickedly. "I am suprised you survived the explosion. I was banking on that killing you and your pesky prince for me." I scoffed and got into a battle stance with my blade. "Your not the only one with tricks up your sleeve." He stopped smiling and raised his scepter up high. "Indeed you do. Regardless, I have the power to kill even those alicorn sisters now, so killing you should pose no problem." He said with a loud laugh. I smiled darkly in return. "Then lets go, old timer!" I said as my armour encased my whole body, leaving only my mouth visible to the onlooker. Dadiolus smirked at me and lowered his staff towards me. "No more am I the weak sorcerer I was before! I am made anew by the sacrifice of innocent blood! I AM DEATH INCARNATE!!!" He roared as a a bullet hell of small beams erupted at me. I swung my blade quickly, my visor analyzing which ones to deflect and which ones to dodge. As the rain of beams stopped, Dadiolus appeared in front of me and landed a magic infused kick that sent me through a tree or two. As I got up from the blow, I coughed up a bit of blood into my hand. Damn, that hurt like hell! I thought as I dodged a blast of lightning from his scepter. If you keep this up, your death will be guaranteed! Melfesia yelled in my mind. Well, what do you want me to do? I can't get close enough to get a good hit in and there is no way I'm tanking another hit like that. I thought as another bullet hell started, causing me to dive behind another tree. Up till now, you have been fighting with only half of the dark power inside you. If you wish to live, you must let it run freely through your heart and soul. She stated matter of factly. I closed my eyes as I thought it through. If I do this, I might lose the last piece of humanity in me, if I don't do this, then Dadiolus destroys Equestria. I jumped to another tree as the last one burned up in a fiery explosion. I sighed and sheathed my sword. Do it I said as I felt the armour start to meld with my skin. I let out a strangled cry as the helmet fused itself to my head. I could feel the venom coursing into the untouched parts of my body, my brain, and my heart. The tree I was hiding behind was thrown far off by magic as Dadiolus looked down on me. "Well look at that, you've completely lost your mind. Not a suprise, all things considered." With that, he infused his hand with lightning and rushed to deliver the final blow... Just to have his hand caught by my own. "WHAT?!" He yelled as the armour cracked up and broke off, leaving hardened black skin in its place. I laughed and removed my helmet with my free hand, revealing pure white hair with glowing blue eyes. I grinned widely, showing off the new fangs I had gotten. Right now, only the hunger to kill was on my mind. And this guy would make a pretty great way of satisfying that hunger. I kicked him back several yards and felt felt newfound power surging through my body. "Your time is up, Dadiolus!" I rushed forward and swung a left hook, which was blocked by his right arm. "Don't you see boy! This isn't about us or those foolish princesses! You should be on my side!" He screamed as he starting trading blows with me. The flow of punches gets interrupted as he roundhouse kicked me to the side of my head, sending me backwards onto the ground. I shake away the dizziness from the blow before it threatens to consume me as he pins me down with his legs as he sits on my chest, punching my face with each word he says next. "I am trying to save this damned world from a threat Celestia created eons ago!" I catch his fist on the last word and pull him in, connecting with a punch to his throat that causes him to sprawl out onto the ground. I get up slowly, still shaken by the kick earlier. "Why the hell should I believe the guy who tried to have my brother killed!" I yelled at him as he recovered and pulled the orb off his scepter and threw the stick aside, holding the orb in his right palm. "That boys power will be the death of this world! Do you think it mere coincidence you just happened to show up in Equestria just before my plans were enacted? No, you fool! You were summoned!" He said as his face becomes etched with...fear? "And if I don't defeat you now and kill that child, then this world will perish!" The mage has gone mad, kill him now. Melfesia said and I drew my blade, ready to finally end this once and for all. Dadiolus sighed and sent a destructive wave beam at me the size of a building. Charge through it! Destroy Him! I ran forward and swung my blade at the beam, connecting as the wall of dark light started pushing me back. Don't you even consider failure! A king never gives in to the whims of the weak! I started make headway against the beam, slowly pushing forward as I felt bits of my hardened skin start to peel away due to the sheer power emanating from the beam. Push, young one! He is almost in your grasp! At last, I made it to the orb. I yelled loudly and slammed the blade on the black ball, causing it to shatter into nothing. Dadiolus staggered backwards from the blow, give me enough room to deliver my blade straight inro his heart with a ungodly *SCHLINK*. I pushed it as far as it would go, forcing me to be face to face with the man who had caused so much pain over the past month and a half. The guy who had murdered hundreds of changelings and ponies. Despite the blow, he smiled weakly and coughed up some blood before reaching out his hand and placing it on my shoulder. "He...he...heh." He chuckled softly. I frowned and pushed the sword deeper. "What's so funny, mage?" I asked in a low voice as his eyes lit up in pure hysteria. "This world.....your friends.....all shall freeze under the heartless embrace of the....windego queen." He spat out as his whole body slowly turned to dust, my sword clattered to the ground covered in red blood. I...did it. I destroyed him. That you have, child. That you have. Melfesia said with warmth as the whole world started to go black. But as I blacked out, I swear I saw something that shouldn't had been there since we were in the middle of spring. A small snowflake slowly drifted by as everything went dark. > Chapter 35: Reconciliation and the attack of the hand suckers. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* As I popped out of the mirror and started running towards the explosion sight, I almost ended up slamming into Nicholas who, along with Fluttershy, were just coming back into town. "What the heck is going on, Nick?" I yelled as ponies were either rushing to get into their houses or panicking wildly. Great survival instincts, folks. "Don't ask me! We're trying to get away from the explosion." He said as Twilight ran up to us. "Fluttershy, do you know what happened?" She asked the mare that was currently shaking like a leaf in the wind. Fluttershy squeaked but answered slowly as Nicholas wrapped an arm around her. "N-N-No, Twilight." I sighed and turned to Twilight. "I'm going to check it out." I said as she nodded. "Alright, but I'm coming with you. Whatever could blow up an entire hillside has to be powerful, and there's no way I'm letting you fight that alone." She said as I smiled at the conviction behind her words. "Thanks Sparkle. Lets go save the world." I said as we ran towards the fields. about a minute later a big tree came flying towards us from our destination. "Twilight watch out!" I yelled as I dive-tackled Twilight out of the way of the tree, both of us rolling a bit before we stopped, finding myself on top of her. "Are you alright?" I asked, slightly worried. She blinked and looked to the tree for a second before turning back to me. "I'm alright...thanks" She said as her face became very red. I blinked before realizing I was inches from her face. I got up quickly and cleared my throat "C'mon, we have no time to waste." I said, my own face slightly red as we continued our run to the location of the explosion. ************ Nicholas POV ************ After Raiden and Twilight left, I spent the following minutes calming down Fluttershy, who currently didn't want to move from the middle of the road. "Fluttermom, C'mon! We have to go!" I said as I tried to pull her by the hoof, but to no avail as she squeaked and shook her head slightly. "Nicholas!" I heard a voice yell to me. I turned and saw Tak run into town with Scootaloo on his back. Scootaloo seemed different though, as if her very soul had been drained. "What the hay happened to her?" I asked before doing a double-take. Hay? this town and its inhabitants are getting to me. "Dadiolus took her prisoner and replaced her a bit ago. And now she might not make it unless we get her to a hospital." He said with extreme concern and fear in his voice. "That shall not be necessary." We heard a authoritative voice from behind us say. We turned and were met with a hooded pony. The hood looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it. "Who are you?" I asked as the hooded pony turned to tak and lifted a hoof. Scootaloo was enveloped in a magenta light and placed on the ground. "What are you doing?!" Tak growled, but for some reason, I raised a hand to halt him. "Wait...Let him do what he needs to." I said, although why I thought I could trust this guy is beyond me. He just seemed familiar to me, like he was... family? that can't be right. the dude is a pony, for goodness sake. I saw a soft frown appear on his muzzle. "This wee lass has been through a lot, hasn't she?" The light around her strengthened for a second before fading slowly. He turned his gaze back to us just as Fluttershy looked out of her mane. "What was that?" I asked him as he smiled and tilted his head. "Nothing to crazy, just a wee soul cleansin' spell I cooked up in me early days." With that he turned and started to walk off. "W-Who are you?" Fluttershy asked, still shaken up a bit from the events earlier. The figure paused and sighed. "Just a stranger tryin' tah fix his mistakes." He said as he continued walking away. I went to follow him but stopped as Scootaloo woke up with a small cough. "Scootaloo!" Tak said as he knelt by her and lifted her head a bit. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "Tak...could you not tell Rainbow Dash about this?" She said as Tak tilted his head. "About what?" He said as Scootaloo pulled him in and kissed him...quite passionately. My jaw dropped and Fluttershy blushed deeply. "Oh my..." She whispered as I cracked up laughing as Scootaloo broke the kiss, leaving Tak to literally pass out on the middle of the street. ************* Raiden POV ************* As we approached the sight, a beam of light shot straight up, causing Twilight and myself to stop in our tracks. "Whoa..." Twilight said quietly as I quietly agreed with a nod before continuing the jog until we got over the hill... ...in time to see Ronin pull his blade out of Dadiolus and sheath it as said villian faded away. I was about to call out to Ronin when I saw him fall over. "Ronin!" I yelled as I made a beeline for him and quickly checked his pulse. Phew! still has a heartbeat. "Raiden, I heard you yell is everything.....ok?" Twilight asked as she approached us. "Is he...?" "No, he'll live long enough for me to kill him for going after Dadiolus alone." I said as I heard what sounded like flames behind us. We turned and were face to face with a peeved Chrysalis. "What the buck has been going on up here? Can a queen NOT get some quiet to create her drones in peace?!" She yelled at no one in particular before seeing Ronin. "And what did he do this time?!" "Dadiolus reappered and Ronin put him six feet under, although he is apparently passed out right now due to exhaustion." I said as Chrysalis walked over to Ronin and sat on his chest, leaning her head down to his. She turned to Twilight. "The fiend that killed my people is dead?" Twilight nodded as Chrysalis smiled and turned back to the man she was sitting on, who was slowly stirring. "ooooh...what the- CHRYSALIS?!" He yelled out in surpise as said queen smirked. "What are you doing back so early?" "The drone process is having some...complications. That and I cannot work my magic with all the noise up here. Speaking of that..." Chrysalis suddenly slapped Ronin across the face. "What the hell was that for?" Ronin growled as Chrysalis growled back and answered. "That was for fighting Dadiolus alone AND for not letting me kill him." She said before pulling Ronin into a deep kiss. Twilight visibly turned green and backed away a bit as I rolled my eyes. Chrysalis pulled away and licked her lips as she smiled at Ronin. "That was for avenging our people and sending that fool to tartarus." She said as she got off Ronin and let him stand up. After stretching out a bit, Ronin turned to me and smiled. "Well, Dadiolus is dead and Nicholas is sa-Oof!" I cut him off with a sharp kick to the stomach, not too unlike the one he gave me a month ago. "What do you think your-" Chrysalis started, but I raised a hand and stopped her. "This is between brothers, stay out of it." I said as Twilight gave me a worried glance. I nodded to her, hoping to ease her concern before turning back to Ronin, who had stood back up. "What the heck is your problem?!" He yelled at me. But I was having none of it. "SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH AND LISTEN TO ME!" I snapped and Twilight jumped back in suprise, Chrysalis's jaw dropped, and Ronin took a step back. "EVER SINCE WE WERE DROPPED IN THIS WOLRD, YOU'VE BEEN DOING YOUR OWN THING, NOT CARING ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU OR HOW OTHERS WOULD FEEL IF YOU DIED! HECK, YOU NEARLY STARTED A WAR!" Ronin's eyes narrowed, and he fired back. "I was doing what was necessary to save those changelings from opression that YOUR BUDDIES PUT THEM IN!" I wasn't done though. "THAT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU HAVE ALMOST DIED MORE TIMES THAN I CAN COUNT! WE ALMOST LOST YOU BACK IN CANTERLOT, AND I'M NOT LETTING THAT HAPPEN AGAIN!" I dropped to my knees, my composure breaking slowly. "I can't lose you or Nicholas...you two are all I have left." And with that, I was reduced to a crying state. I felt Ronin kneel next to me and pull me into a tight hug. "Brother...I'm sorry." He started, and I could feel the tears going off his face onto my neck. "I thought I was playing hero, but I was really just pushing you and Nick away. I'm so sorry." He said as we sat there for a minute as Twilight and Chrysalis looked on. After a minute, we separated and got up. Ronin turned to Chrysalis and smirked. "So the queen can cry after all. " He said as Chrysalis blinked quickly and turned away. "This stays between the four of us." She said with a low growl and walked off as Twilight giggled and I laughed as I turned to Twilight. "So, shall we return to town. I'm sure they would love to know what happened." She nodded and the three of us walked back to town, enjoying the scenery and the feeling of peace that came with it. *********** Nicholas POV *********** After waiting for Tak to recover from his rarity moment, I took the two to sugercube corner so we could celebrate Scootaloos rescue. After getting a cupcake, and having to watch Scootaloo explain to Tak that sprinkes are not rainbow bird droppings, we sat down and relaxed. "So, what was that explosion earlier?" I asked Tak. "Oh, Dadiolus came back and is currently fighting Ronin." He said as both Scootaloo and I froze up and regarded Tak with shock on our faces. "What?" He said as my eye twiched slightly. "What do you mean what? He's fighting Dadiolus alone?!" I nearly yelled but kept my composure and calmed down slightly. "Indeed. It is not my place to question him. After all, he is the future king of my species. Not to mention he is kinda like a father to me." Tak confessed as he shyly looked down, a sad smile clear on his face. Scootaloo pulled him into a one legged hug. "Hey, cheer up Tak. There's nothing wrong with seeing Ronin as your dad." She said as Tak looked up at her, his mood visibly more cheerful. That did bring another question to mind though. "Scootaloo, when you were replaced, Tak said Dadiolus told him about your parents dying...is that true?" I asked as it was her turn to look sorrowful. She took a deep breath and answered. "Yeah, it is. About six years ago I lost both of them to a freak hurricane that had gotten out of control in Trottingham. After that, I was placed in an orphanage. But I ran away and stowed on a train here. Once I found that old farm there was a nice old unicorn that let me stay there. All he asked for me in return was to not tell anypony he was there and..." She trailed off as she connected the dots, as did we. "It seems Dadiolus has been using you for a while. Draining small amounts of love from you when he could to power that staff he had in that old house." Tak said, but Scootaloo shook her head. "But I never saw a staff there! And if he drained the love out of me, wouldn't I had felt it or been weaker somehow?" She asked as my eyes widened. I pointed at her wings. "Scootaloo, can you fly?" I asked as she was taken back by the sudden question. "Huh? what's that gotta do with anything?" She stated as Tak himself seemed to be deep in thought. I continued. "I have seen several pegasi your age and smaller fly with ease. Heck, there is an infant pegasus flying around over there right now." I said, nodding to the flying baby pony that was evading a diaper change from Ms. Cake. "So, I'll ask again. Can you fly?" She looked down and sighed. "No, I can't ok! But what does that have to do with that Dadiolus guy?" She stated as Tak looked at her quickly. "If he has been draining love off you slowly for several years, then the aftereffects could involve major damage to your body, especially if you happened to have a developing body like a child such as you and I would have." Tak said as Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that creep is the reason I have so much trouble flying?!" She pretty much yelled, anger scrunching uo her face as Tak suddenly shot straight into a upright position a soldier would take when he salutes. "Umm....Tak buddy. What are you doing?" I asked as looked to me and smiled. "Ronin has been successful and has eraticated Dadiolus. Hereby avenging my fallen people and saving this world." He said almost autonomously before recovering and shaking his head. "Whoa...haven't had a message be broadcasted through the hive mind in years." "Message?" Scootaloo and I ask at the same time. "Whenever something big happens in the hive, the queen sends out a mental message that goes to every changeling in the hive mind." Tak frowns a bit. "But if mother did that, then that means she has started the drone making process." I raised an eyebrow, but Scootaloo smiled. "So Chrysalis is making more of you? That's awesome! Now your not going to be the only changeling anymore!" She exclaimed as she hugged Tak tight, who returned it happily. I couldn't help but smile at the situation until I heard a voice behind me. "Nick?" Grimacing, I turned around in the booth and saw Applebloom and Sweetiebelle standing there, the former looking slightly depressed and the latter looking like she would sweat bullets right now. This should be fun... ************** Ronin POV ************** When we got back, all the townsponies were surrounding a stage that had the mayor standing on it. The poor mare was attempting to keep peace, something that was a lost cause, because the townsfolk were not listening at all. Instead, they were clammoring and freaking out over nothing. "Do they do this EVERY time there is a disaster?" Raiden asked as Twilight sighed and face-hoofed. I smirked and jumped up into the stage, suprising the mayor. "Mind if I take over?" I said with a wink. The mayor took a couple steps back and I turned to the crowd after walking behind the pedestal. Twilight and Raiden walked over and joined the crowd, albeit the latter was giving me the 'Dont screw around' look. I cleared my throat. "Folks. I know you have some questions regarding a certain boom earlier. but before we get to that, what do you ponies actually know about what happened?" I asked the crowd as some raised their hoofs. I pointed to a mare with a mint blue coat. "Yes?" "Can I taste your hands?" The mare asked as several ponies around her groaned or gave her weird looks. I blinked as I tried to process the question. "E-Excuse me?" I said as she walked up on stage and looked up at me. The mare was a unicorn and had a lyre on her flank. Her horn glowed and my left hand was encompassed in an orange glow. She moved it towards her face and inspected it with giddy eyes I had only seen on Pinkie before. "Wow...such rough, calloused hands!" She exclaimed before- PLOP!!! I could only stand there with my mouth gaping as I watched the unicorn magically shove my hand in her mouth and start suckling on it. The whole hand. THE HAND!!! Her eyes went dim as she moaned in content. I was now starting to freak out and was seconds from drawing my blade on this crazy lady before Pinkie tackled the mare off the stage. They landed on the ground in front of the stage with Pinkie pinning the unicorn down. "Those hands belong to me, Lyra! if they are going in any ponies mouth, it will be mine!" My eyes widened in horror when she said that. I turned to the crowd quickly. "The explosion earlier was caused by a bad guy but I defeated him so everyone is safe goodbye!!!" I yelled the last part as Lyra teleported up on stage and went after me again, causing me to jump off the stage and break out into a frenzied run. As I ran by Raiden, I couldn't help but see his laughing face at my expense. Sometimes, I really do hate this town. ************** Nicholas POV ************** For a bit, no one moved. I kept a neutral stare with Applebloom and Sweetiebelle while Tak and Scootaloo looked on. Then, I spoke up. "Afternoon, Applebloom." I said politely, yet with no emotion. She winced slightly but gave me a weak smile. "Howdy Nick. Can ah talk tah ya fer a second?" She asked, motioning to another booth. I internally sighed and followed her to the booth, where I sat across from her. "So, what is it?" I asked. She sighed, that smile gone now, and answered. "Ah talked with Diamond Tiara after you left and ah just wanted to say that Ah'm sorry!" She cried the last part as tears started to come to her face. "Ah was letting mah thoughts about Diamond get the best of me, and look good that did!" She wiped her eyes and looked me in the face, her orange eyes gleaming with sorrow. "Ya may not forgive me fer snappin at ya and all, but that's alright." Her tone betrayed her words, but she got up from the booth anyway and gave me a nod. "Thank ya fer listening tah me, I'll leave ya alone like ya wanted me tah do." She turned and started walking off. As she began to walk off, I felt this pang in my chest. It was like someone was taking a jackhammer and drilling into my very soul. Applebloom may have snapped at me before, but she didn't deserve to be forgotten or ignored forever. And as I watched her walk away, I realized something. I couldn't imagine life here without her. Whether she be just a friend or something more. "Applebloom, wait!" I called out and lept from my seat. She turned around just in time to be met by a strong hug from me. "What are ya doin' Nick?!" She asked me, her voice cracking as she supressed a sob. "Ah thought ya hated me." I pulled away from her in shock. "I could never hate you, Applebloom." I said as I did something drastic and risky. I leaned in and kissed her. Nothing too crazy, but my heart was definitely in it. I heard several awws from around the room (and one eww from Scootaloo. Can it, bug girl.) I pulled away and watched as Appleblooms face started to become a deep red as she processed the event that just took place. "Nick..." She said with a swooning tone before fainting. I looked at her for a second before sighing. "This better not be a natural occurance here." I said with a smile as Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle laughed and Tak face-hoofed. > Chapter 36: Kindred Wubs > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* After Twilight managed to calm down the crowd and inform the town that everything would be ok, Pinkie thought it would be a good idea to throw a party to officially mark myself, Ronin, and Nicholas as citizens of ponyville (Nicholas already was, but we didn't want him to be left out.) Due to the fact the insane party pony decided to invite the whole town, the party had to be moved to the fields of sweet apple acres. "Alright, Raiden! That's perfect!" Said Pink pony exclaimed as I finished setting up the food table. "This party is going to be splenderific! Now, If only I could find Ronin..." She said as she hopped off, in no doubt to hunt said brother of mine. Speaking of which, I made sure she wasn't looking and kicked an empty cider barrel nearby. "Bro, she's gone." Ronin popped out of the barrel with a pipe-like sound from who knows where and landed on his feet. He turned to me and smiled. "Thanks, man. After the whole hand-sucking ordeal earlier, I am definitely taking a break from anyone interested in my hands." To that I laughed, which earned me a glare from him. "Dude, that mess was not funny." He said as he walked off before I could taunt him some more. I rolled my eyes and turned to see Nicholas show up with the crusaders and Tak. Although, by the looks they had, they looked like they were up to something. I walked over and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, spill it. What are you goofballs planning?" I said as Nicholas frowned. "What makes you think we're planning anything? The girls had a new idea on how to get their cutie marks, so we are helping them do so." He said as the girls took a deep breath and announced said idea. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PARTY PONIES!!!" The trio said in perfect synch. They must practice that or something to do that, I swear. After the ringing left my ears, I face-palmed. "So you three are planning on getting your marks by...partying?" I asked as they nodded with big smiles. I shook my head and waved them off. "Alright then, don't break anything!" Yeah...I had better things to do than watch some girls attempt to party their butt tattoos on. *************** Ronin POV *************** After leaving my laughing brother to his own devices, I looked around and saw applejack talking with Rainbow Dash and some yellow pegasus in a blue outfit with fiery orange/yellow hair. I walked over and Applejack waved to me. "Howdy, Ronin. Glad to see ya here." She said as Rainbow was suddenly in my face with a glare. "Your that guy who was with Chrysalis?" She said, disgust clear in her tone. I growled and cracked my neck all the while puffing out my chest. "Is, not was, sport." I said, making sure to put as much venom in my words. "Although, I would treat the guy who saved this town with a tad more respect." She didn't like that at all, but before she could retort the other pegasus walked up and pulled Rainbow away from me and met me with her own gaze. This one wasn't disgust though, instead it was one of military toughness and restrained amusement. "Your responsible for taking down the threat that caused that explosion?" She said in a definite military tone. I smiled and nodded, lightly tapping my sheath. "I sure am, impaled him on this very blade. I think some of his blood is still on it, wanna see?" I said as Applejack and Rainbows faces went green a bit, yet the pegasus didn't even flinch. Instead, she laughed for a small bit before smiling at me. "I may not know what the buck you are, but I respect a stallion that ain't afraid of a little blood. Names Spitfire, Captain of the wonderbolts." She said as she extended a hoof. I flashed a toothy grin and shook her hoof, suprised to feel a strong grip in return. "Names Ronin, and to be honest I'm not sure what to call myself these days." I said before connecting some dots and turning to Rainbow dash. "Wait a sec, she's in charge of that little circus you want to join?" That must've been the wrong thing to say, because Spitfire was in my face in an instant. "Excuse me? The wonderbolts are not a circus act! we are an aeriel division of the equestrian military under the princess's command." I snorted and went face to face with her. "Really, because I've fought some of equestrias 'finest' and I never saw a single pony wearing pajamas like those before." Man, I have never seen a pony get as mad as her. Her face contorted in pure rage as Applejack and Rainbow Dash backed up from the scene. "Listen here, Ronin. No one talks about my unit like that and doesn't get what coming to them. So, if you really think we are a bunch of fillies, then lets test your own mettle right here, right now!" She said as I laughed whole-heartedly. "Alright! I haven't had a good old spar in a long time! fightings more fun when your life ain't on the line anyway." I said as a crowd was forming a circle around us. I spotted Big Mac and threw him my sword, which he caught perfectly with one hoof (ok, big guys got reflexes. I'm sparring with him next!). I turned back to spitfire, who was taking off her suit and stretched out her wings. Won't lie, she looked good for a pony. Too bad we were about to spill blood all over that fine coat of hers. "What are you two doing?" Twilight exclaimed as she teleported in between us. "This is supposed to be a party, not a warzone!" She said as Chrysalis appeared in the crowd and glared at me. "What are you doing this time? " She demanded as I shrugged and pointed to Spitfire, who was looking pretty impatient with all the interruptions going on. "I'm about to commit a war crime on wannabe soldier here." I said as Spitfires eyes narrowed at that. Meanwhile, Chrysalis looked suddenly very giddy at the turn of events. "Oooo! I haven't seen a good fight in a good while." She said as she clapped her hooves together repeatedly like a child. Twilight looked at her, suddenly mortified. "You can't be condoning this?! They're going to ruin the party!" She pulled out a clipboard. "Besides, mosh pit of death is not on the itinerary and-" She was cut of as Tak teleported over and snatched the paper off her clipboard and ate it before grinning at Twilight. "What itinerary?" He said before turning to face some DJ booth set up nearby. "Your up, Nicholas!" Wait a sec...Nicholas found himself a DJ booth? This is going to be good! ************ Raiden POV ************ As Twilight teleported into the middle of the circle I sighed and looked on, knowing full well that those two were not gonna stop until one of them were hospitalized. Twilight pulled out some sort of paper and ended up losing it as that little changeling Nick hangs out with went up and...ate it? What the hell is wrong with that kid? He turned to some small DJ set up that was near the dance floor and grinned big. "Your up, Nicholas!" He called out as I looked to the table and, sure enough, he was standing there with a big grin on his face. Oh man. Making beats had always been a past time of Nicholas's back on earth. Whenever he had a bad day or he simply was in the mood, he would use his synthesizer and phone to record his own music. He mainly did dubstep and some techno here and there, but he was extremely GOOD at it. And here we were in a world with little electrical appliances and he had managed to find himself a DJ booth. This was going to be an interesting night. He tapped one the records and placed his fingers to it. Immediately, his hands started glowing a crimson red that enveloped the whole set. His eyes went wide as a hint of smugness pierced his face. He brought a mic to his mouth and spoke into it. "Laaaadies and gentleme-Colts!" He called out, his voice impossibly auto-tunned and robotic like. "Tonight we have a big fight planned for y'all! My name is DJ 12k, and I will be your announcer/musical provider for tonight since your regularly scheduled DJ is sick." He said as the red glow surrounded him as well, his eyes teeming with light. Twilight teleported over to me, looking very suprised. "How is he doing that? none of that equipment has any magic powering it." She said as I shrugged. "Beats me. But his whole body is glowing along with the set, so maybe its his magic linking to it or something?" I stated as Twilight pulled out another piece of paper, glared at Tak to make sure he wasn't gonna eat it, and started writing. "That is absolutely fascinating! Could his magic be strengthened by doing things he is passionate about, or has he always been able to do so, and only now tapping into said potential?" She started questioning out loud as I walked over to the crusaders. I reached Applebloom and spun her around to face me and pointed to Nick. "Aight, when did that happen and how?" I asked her as she smiled big and answered. "It was earlier today when we were fixin' tah head over here." Applebloom began as Nicholas started calling out the names of the two fighters. ************** Nicholas POV/a couple hours ago ************** We had waited for Applebloom to wake up before leaving sugercube corner. Kust as we had left, a pink blur flew by as I found a invite to a party at Sweet Apple Acres. "What's that?" Scootaloo asked as I flashed it to them with a smile. "Looks like we are invited to a party going down at Appleblooms place." I stated as the crew cheered at the news. Sweetiebelle then smiled big and turned to the other girls. "Ooo! we should use this opportunity to try and get our cutie marks!" She exclaimed as Applebloom and Scootaloo pondered on that. "But what would we do at the party?" Applebloom said as Tak answered. "Why not simply enjoy the party to its fullest? You might be party ponies." He stated as Scootaloo frowned. "Pinkie Pie already does that." she pointed out. "Not exactly. She PLANS parties. You three would be the partygoers!" I said as the three smiled big and exclaimed loudly. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PARTY PONIES!! YEAH!!!!" Tak laughed fondly as I found myself attracted to a heavenly sound coming from a house nearby. I walked in it immediately and found myself staring at a beautiful sight. It was possibly the most high tech dj set I had ever seen. And it was here in a world with literally no other electrical appliances either. There was a pure white unicorn with shades and a blue mane on using it with her magic, and man was she good! "Whoa..." I pretty much squeaked out as I heard a cough behind me. I turned and was met with an gray earth pony with a black mane holding a cello giving me a raised eyebrow. I quickly snapped out of the music coma I was in and waved. "Hello there. Sorry for walking into this house and everything, but that mare is a really good DJ." I said as I pointed to the unicorn who was head bobbing to her own music, completely ignorant to the conversation or my presence. The mare in front of me sighed and gave me a smile. "Do not apologize for being drawn here by music. Although said music is not my own cup of tea, I can see the passion behind your eyes." She glanced up and down briefly before getting up. "My name is Octavia, and my rather...energetic mate here is Vinyl Scratch." She tilted her head slightly before her eyes went wide. "Your that kid who hijacked Vinyls setup back at the canterlot party!" She went close to my ear and whispered. "She can be a tad narky when her stuff is messed with, but you somehow didn't break anything, so she let it slide!" She pulled back and walked over to Vinyl and bopped her on the head. "Oi! you have a fellow wubster here." She said as Vinyl placed her headphones on her neck and looked at me before her jaw dropped slightly. She walked over and looked into my eyes, inches from my face. "Um...hi?" I asked hesitantly as she turned and opened a closet and started going through some things. "Don't pay it any mind. Vinyl is mute, so she can't speak to you. Instead, she prefers to speak through her music, something that I can support completely." She pauses and glares at Vinyl. "Even if she can be a tad cheeky at times." She says with a smirk. Vinyl turns and chunks a rubber duck that had the same shades she did at Octavia, bopping her straight on the nose. "See what I mean. Completely cheeky." She says as she goes back to her cello. Vinyl finally emerges from the closet with...a black briefcase? At my confused glance, Vinyl presses a small button on the briefcase, causing it to open up into a smaller version of her DJ set. "Whoa!!!" I exclaim like a kid in a candy shop. she motions for me to try it out, so I walk over to it and place my left hand on the disc. In an instant, a red glow surrounds my hands. I place my right hand on the plastic edge of it, causing the area to morph into a image that looks like my hand. I align my hand with it and the whole setup is engulfed in a red glow. Octavias jaw drops for a second before she regains her composure. "How are you doing that? You don't have a horn." She says as I start to feel this warm feeling in my chest. "I have my own special kind of magic." I said, though I blink in suprise as my voice is auto-tunned to a degree that makes my voice echo slightly with a techno tone. "Lets see if I can work this right." And with that, I start spinning the disc under my left hand. The two mini speakers on the left and right of the table start to pound out a basic beat to the rythem of the disc spins. "Not bad, but lets turn it up a bit!" I say as the music gets louder automatically. Geuss this thing is linked to me on a magical level after all. The area where my right hand is turns into a mini synthesizer. I start playing it in tune with the bass boost from the miniature subwoofers. That feeling that was in my chest was now all over my body as I played on for a minute or two....or ten. I kinda lost myself to the music to be honest. Once I finished, I looked up to not only see the two mares smiling at me, but my friends too. Although they looked more shocked more than anything. "Nicholas...I didnt know you could change Your form as well!" Tak proclaimed as I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I said with the same autotune voice. Sweetiebelle grabbed a body mirror and turned it towards me. Whoa.... My normally brown curly hair was a crimson red and was now circling my head at a angle, forming a tilted halo around my head, the tip of the halo barely grazing my eyebrows. My eyes were yellow and had traces of red around the pupil. My normal shirt and blue jean shorts were now a full one piece outfit that was mostly black, but had symmetrical red lines following my arms and legs. What was the most interesting was my chest, which had a glowing 12K on it. "Wow, Nick. Ya look so...." Applebloom trailed off, trying to find a word to describe my new form. "So hoot" Sweetiebelle whispered with a swoony smile that nobody except Octavia heard. I smiled, my teeth impossibly shiny, and pressed the button on the set. The thing folded in on its self and became a briefcase again, except now it was red. A red flash enveloped me, and I was back to normal when it faded. "Huh." I said. "Geuss thats my Stage look." I turned and walked over to Vinyl, who was looking at me with a blank expression. "Thanks, Vinyl. I haven't been able to cut loose for a looong time." I said as she shook her head and went back over to her setup and went back to jamming out. Octavia smiled and turned to us. "That's her way of saying your welcome. Now, don't you kids have somewhere to be?" She said as Scootaloos eyes went wide. "Oh shoot, the party!" With that we ran out the house, but not before I grabbed the briefcase. *************** Raiden POV *************** "So if he plays music, he turns into a synthetic DJ?" I asked Applebloom as she finished the story. She nodded happily. "Yup. He sure does. Ooo, the fight gunna start!" She said as she went over to watch the brawl between Ronin and the wonderbolt captain. Great...this should be good > Chapter 37: Mosh pits, revelations, and too much hair food! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* I walked over and joined the crowd as Nicholas began doing his thing. "Alright, ponies! Tonight we have a one on one fight for you to enjoy!" Nicholas called out as I noticed Rainbow dash and Applejack were taking bets on the fight. "In one corner, we have the fiery symbol of the wonderbolts. The strong, the bold, the fearless...SPITFIIIIIIIRE!" The crowd roared with cheers as Spitfire smiled smugly and stretched out her wings in a flexing way. I heard a pop as Twilight teleported next to me looking very frustrated. "Why are you not attempting to stop this?" She asked me as I shrugged. "Meh, my brother probably said something snarky and got Spitfire riled up. It's better for everyone if they settle their frustrations now rather than later." I said as Twilight groaned and puffed her cheeks out. "Ugh! why do hotheads have to be so irratating!" She muttered as I noticed that Tak was whispering into Nicholas's ear, causing him to smile before speaking into a mic set he was wearing. "And in the other corner, We have the mercenary of another world. The ruthless, the violent, the Alpha male himself...ROOOOOOONIIIIIN!!!!" The cheers for him came mostly from the female spectrum of the crowd, which I noticed that Chrysalis was none too pleased with. Ronin took a step forward and flexed his arms in a pose that showed off his whole body, causing his own wings to pop out and...why the heck are his wings made of metal? Spitfire noticed this and laughed. "Nice wings, but can you even fly with those heavy things?" She said as Ronin smirked. "No, I can't but they serve a better purpose anyway." He said as a bell was rang and Spitfire shot up into the sky, did a very quick loop de loop, and spun downward into a flying haymaker aimed at Ronin's face. *BONG Hoof met metal wings as Ronin had set his wings directly in front of him like window shutters, completely blocking the attack head on. Spitfire bounced off and hovered nearby. "What the-" She said, but was cut off as Ronin started laughing. The wings retracted and I saw him raise an eyebrow at Spitfire. "Nice kick there, Spitfire. But these wings of mine are made as shields, not for show." Spitfire immediately shot forward and threw a barrage of punches into his chest, each one pushing him back an inch. She finished it off with a buck straight to the chest that sent him nearly into the crowd, yet he stayed on his feet the whole time. The crowd roared with delight at the whole sight. Spitfires eyes widened. "What the buck are you made of?" She yelled as Ronin stretched out his chest and spat out a bit of blood. He took a step forward and reached out his hand and clenched it tight as his veins went green. "Pure power, Fire. Now its my turn." In a blink of an eye, he was behind her staring down on Spitfire, who turned and looked up in suprise. "What? How did you-" She was cut off as Ronin grabbed her neck and choke-slammed her into the ground, leaving a pegasus mold where she landed. He let go of her neck and stood up, and made eye contact with Chrysalis, who raised a hoof midway on the air before motioning it to the ground with a dismissive snort. That couldn't have been an order to finish her...right. I looked on in horrer as he picked Spitfire up by her midsection and made eye contact with her. "By order of Chrysalis, you are to be executed for losing this fight." He stated emotionlessy as my jaw dropped and the crowd gasped. Spitfire made no move to escape and seemed to keep eye contact with him the whole time (kinda hard to tell with her shades on). Ronin then laughed and placed her down. "Be lucky I don't tend to listen to authority well. You fought good, Spitfire." He extended his hand, which Spitfire shook in return. The crows cheered at the positive ending as Chrysalis rolled her eyes but clapped anyway. I took a sigh of relief as ponies dispersed and went to the dance area where Nicholas was currently jamming out at, looking just like Applebloom said he did when he jammed out the first time. *Ronin POV* As the crowd slowly left the scene and went back to partying, I turned to Spitfire and did a mock salute. "You did well, Fire. Not many can cause this much damage to me and live to talk about it." I said, pointing to the marks all on my chest. She laughed a bit and rubbed her neck. "Well, until now I have never been slammed like that before." She said as I extended my hand to her. As she took it and began to shake it, I nodded. "Well, you have defenitely earned my respect today. Although I still think you run a circus." I said as Spitfire lowered her shades a bit and gave me a slight look, though she was smiling. "And I see that your not just talk, bug boy. Heh, if you believe so much that I run a circus, then you should come to the academy sometime. " She looked past me and sighed. "If you'll excuse me, I have to stop a fellow wonderbolt from embarrassing himself." As she nodded and flew padt me I swear I could hear hear barking something at a pony named Soarin about staying away from the apple pie. Whatever that meant. In an instant, my vision is covered in pink as I am knocked to the ground by a speeding Pinkie Pie. "Omigosh, Ronin you were soo awesome out there! You were all like BAM AND WHAMMO and it was sooooo much fun watching you." She said before looking ay my slightly bleeding chest with wide eyes. She gasped and put on a pouty face. "You got hurt again! You have to be more careful then that." She stated as I laughed. "Relax, Pink. It's but a scratch." I said as she went rigid and started staring off with a suprisingly pained expression on her face before she frowned and looked down at me. "Well, your going to get that looked at!" She hopped off of me and pulled me up. "Looked at by who? We are at a party and I feel fine anyway." I said as Pinkie scanned the crowd and apparently found her target because she smiled and started pulling me quickly through the field with no regards for the other partiers. "WHOA!" I said as I almost got impaled by a dancing unicorn we ran by. "Pinkie, who are you even trying to get me to-oh." I stated as she stopped pulling me and ended up standing me up next to Celestia, who was currently talking with Luna. Wait...what were they doing here anyway? Smiling at an idea in my mind, I turned to Pinkie Pie. "You have a slice of cake?" I asked as she pulled one out of her hair. I looked at it and saw there was not hair on it, so I let it slide. "Aight, go show Chrysalis how to dance while I mess with Celestia." I said as pinkie smiled and ran off. I took the slice and inched it slowly into Celestia's peripheral vision. "Luna, I have known you for eons. I know when you are keeping things from me. So please just tell me why you had the head chef fired yesterday when he made you that beautiful dinner." Celestia said, not yet seeing the cake. "We have our reasons sister. But do not worry, the position will be filled shortly." luna said, though I saw her left eye twitch as she noticed the cake. Celestia sighed. "Very well Sister. If that is what you...you wish." She paused breifly as she notices the cake and I had to stifle a laugh as her head slowly moved towards the cake. Luna raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly. "Dear sister, is thou trying to consume food while talking to me? Am I that boring to you?" She said as Celestia momentarily recoved and shook her head quickly. "O-Of course not, Luna. I was....just...THATS IT!" She spun around and saw me holding the cake and her eye twitched. "Ronin...could you please give me that slice of cake that you have been holding for so long?" She pretty much begs as I raide an eyebrow, playing coy. "Hmm...this slice?" I say, pointing to the slice with my other hand. She nods vigorously and licks her lips. Luna sighs and rolls her eyes. "I am going to go and converse with the townsfolk." She says as she turns and walks off. I simply nod to her before turning back to Celestia, who had gotten way closer to the slice during the interruption. She went to bite into it missed as I pulled it away at last second. "Ronin, give me the cake." She said with a suprisingly fierce tone of authority. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "You want me to let you have it?" I asked as she nodded with an expectant smile. I slowly reached it towards her as she got more twitchy with each passing second. SPLAT! Several gasps were let out around us as ponies realized that someone had shoved cake into their rulers face. Celestia sat there unmoving for a bit before her horn glowed and engulfed us in a flash of light. *********** Nicholas POV *********** I had been playing music for about three hours so far, and I needed a break. After setting the music to play through a mental shuffle of rave music (I had accidently discovered that since its connected to my mind, I can play music from earth with my connection to it.) I went over and nabbed myself a cup of cider. As I was relaxing, I noticed Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon come up to me. Diamond had this slightly annoyed face while Silverspoon looked dreamily towards me. I was the first to speak. "How's the oarty going for you girls toniiiight!" I said, allowing the autotune to do its magic. Diamond rolled her eyes and motioned to Silverspoon. "Your the DJ right?" I nodded slightly. "my friend here wanted to meet you personally while we looked for a soecial friend of mine." Silverspoon took a small step forward, a blush clear on her face. "H-H-Hello 12K. M-My name is Silverspoon and I-I'm such a big fan of your look-I mean music!" She stated shakily with a weak smile. So the two don't recognize me? the inner troll is being fed today! "I smiled warmly and knelt to go face to face with her. "Well, it's great to know I have a fan already, especially one so easy on the eyes." Silverspoon quite literally fainted with a sigh. Diamond gave me an odd glance but didn't seem to recognize me or my voice. I looked up and saw that the shuffle I had set up was almost done. I stood up and winked. "Well, I must get back to my music. I hope to see you two around." With that I walked back to my table just as I noticed Raiden and Twilight were currently dancing (or whatever Twilight was doing on the dance floor) together to the fast-paced song. Hehehe, time for a comeback of the couples song from Canterlot! ************* Raiden POV ************* After stopping Twilight from blowing up Ronin with magic for assualting her mentor with cake, I had decided to hit the dance floor. With Ronin taken who knows where by Celestia and Nicholas currently not at the DJ booth, I didn't have to worry about an awkward situation happening again involving a slow dance. That, and I got to see Twilight attempt to dance. Seriously, that mare needs lessons considering how while attempting to dance, she knocked into half the ponies on the dance floor. I smiled as she frowned at my reaction. "It's not funny, Raiden!" She huffed as the music suddenly stopped. I turned and saw Nicholas smiling and holding a disc. "Hellllooo everybody! We have had a wonderful time tonight, right?" The crowd cheered in response. "Well, we've got a little something to finish off the music for tonight." And with that, Nicholas (I am not calling him 12K) placed the disc and placed his hand over it. You have got to be kidding me... A slow song started playing, and it was one of those with no words to it as well. Several ponies left immediately, while others partnered up and Swayed to the music. I groaned quietly and went to leave the floor when I saw Twilight looking at me nervously. "Raiden...Do you want to dance?" She asked me as I blinked in suprise. Seeing nothing wrong with it, I led her to the middle of the floor and helped her get to that same position we had shared back in Canterlot. And then it started, we stepped to the beat of the music and swayed with the breeze. The whole time, I found myself under the gaze of Twilights purple eyes, causing my face to turn red. Twilight sighed and smiled up at me. "Raiden...Can I ask you something?" She whispered to me as I tilted my head slightly. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Raiden...I have wanted to tell you this for a while now that I..." She trailed off slighty, unable to finish for whatever reason. "You like me, don't you?" I asked her as she turned her head away slightly. I sighed and lifted her head back to face me. "Twilight, your a wonderful mare. And any guy would be glad to have you. But I am currently dating someone, and I have no idea if she would even want to start a herd or whatever it is y'all do here." Did I even want to herd? Do I even like Twilight like that? Twilight looked at me in confusion. "Wait...who is it?" She asked as I sighed placed her down and turned away. "Tis a secret, my dear." And with that, I walked away, but not before seeing a very frustrated Ronin appear from a green teleport and storm off towards town. What the heck happened to him? ************** Ronin POV ************** After the light died, I found myself pressed against a wall in her bedroom in a make out session with the princess. Rolling with it, I picked her up (harder than it looked) and slammed her onto the bed, where we parted and she looked up at me. "I saw your fight with Captain Spitfire. You always seem to resort to violence." She said as I started rubbing my hands through her now stiff hard wings, eliciting a sigh of content from her. Taking a look around, I found she had teleported us into a barn. "Well, I don't see any complaining from you, Sunbutt." I said as I leaned in and nicked her neck with my teeth. She let out a breath of pure desire and sighed. "Oh, Brim." She uttered quietly before her whole body froze up as she realized her mistake. Excuse me? I pulled away and stood up, facing her with a raised eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" She looked at me with a face of regret. "Ronin, I'm sorry. The name slipped out and-" "Did you just call me Brim?" I exclaimed, interrupting her. "Isn't that the name of your lover from a thousand years ago?" She nodded slowly and looked away from me. For some reason though, this frustrated me more. "So what has all this been, huh? Am I just some way for you to relieve your pent up emotions over the last eon? Am I just a stand in for your dead boyfriend?" I turned away, completely done with this conversation. "Well not anymore, go find someone else to be your boytoy, because I sure as hell ain't doing it anymore." "Ronin, please! It's not like that at all!" Celestia cried. But I didn't care. I teleported away, leaving Celestia alone with her tears. After teleporting back, I walked past the dance floor and saw Raiden walking away from a slightly upset looking Twilight. We made eye contact for a second and I saw that I wasn't the only one with trouble in paradise. I nodded to him and decided to go to one place I wouldn't be bothered. After a small walk, I opened the door to my house and walked in, heading straight to the bedroom. I laid back on the bed and sighed. I cant believe that damned princess... I thought quietly as I felt someone lay next to me. "Hi Ronin." The voice was definitely Pinkie, but it sounded way more somber. I tilted my head left and saw her staring up ay the ceiling with a sad smile. "Are you ok?" I sighed again and looked back up at the ceiling. "Meh, not really. But how'd you know I'd be here?" I asked as I felt someone get in bed on my right side as well. "We found out because Pinkie saw you teleport back from wherever you went with that blasted princess and storm off towards town." I heard Chrysalis retort but felt her lean her head on my chest. I groaned a bit, my chest still sore from the fight earlier. "We didn't want you to feel sad about whatever happened, so we came to check on you." Pinkie said, and it was here I noticed her hair was straight down, with no fluff in it at all. "What did happen when you left?" Chrysalis asked, her voice oddly soothing for a has been tyrant. I growled a bit and looked up at the ceiling. "Celestia teleported me to her room for a private make out session and-" Chrysalis immediately reacted. "That idiotic whorse is still trying to bed with you? I thought we settled that last month?" She said with a suprising amount of venom in her voice that suprised me. "Wait? when do you care about who I sleep with? You have no problem with Pinkie Pie." I point out as said mare is currently eating a cupcake that probably came from her hair. "You are the future king of my people, you don't just herd with random ponies. And the piemaker is a...unique circumstance." She said as Pinkie gave her a cupcake that had frosting that looked like her crown on it, which she ate almost immediately. "Well, that's not the bad part. The bad part is where she pretty much moaned her dead ex's name mid-makeout session." I said as both Pinkie Pie and Chrysalis looked at me in shock. "Buck that's bad." Came the smallest sentence I ever heard Pinkie Pie say. Chrysalis, however, had plenty to say as she growled loudly. "That goody two shoes, cake hoarding, man-stealing, thirsty as tartarus mare!" She said, getting louder with each word before Pinkie covered her mouth. "Hey! Celestia may had been a jerk to our Rony-pony" Rony-pony....seriously, Pinkie? "But that doesn't mean we do the same in return, remember what we talked about at the party Chrysalis?" Pinkie said in a suprisingly stern voice. Even more suprising, Chrysalis pouted. "Pinkie, me yelling at a florist because she made me spill that delicious cider those apples make is one thing, but princess stick-in-her-flank deserves it." I couldn't help but laugh at the situation in front of me as I wrapped an arm around both of them. "Well, with you two with me, who needs sunbutt anyway?" I said with a content sigh as I stretched out on the bed. "Umm...what are y'all doing?" I asked as they both shared a hungry grin and nodded to each other. Usually, these two argue twenty-four seven. But recently, they have tended to not be so difficult with each other, meaning that they could potentially cause some real mayham together. Pinkie smiled big yet seductively at the same time, her hair slowly poofing back up. "Don't worry, silly! The three of us are just going to have a 'cheer up Ronin party' right here." She said while Chrysalis locked all the windows and doors with a single spell before turning to me and flashing me her fangs. "Indeed, so allow us to finish off what Celestia failed to grasp." She said as she growled hungrily as I realized I wouldn't be sleeping tonight. ************** Raiden POV ************** I found myself sitting underneath an apple tree nearby the barn while at the same time away from the party. What the heck do I do now? Twilight likes me, but I'm not even sure if I like her back. Or if I'm even capable of doing so. I thought as I heard someone sit next to me. "Listen, Twilight. Im not sure I can-" I stopped as I turned and realized it was Luna who was sitting there with a now confused expression. "What does thou mean? has something happened between you and Twilight?" She asked me as I sighed and leaned against the tree. "Yeah, she kinda confessed she likes me earlier. But I'm not sure I like her back, or if I am even capable of learning to like her like that." "Yet at the same time, thou doesn't wish to upset her either." She said as I turned to her and smiled. "Exactly. What should I do?" I asked as Luna closed her eyes and looked to the stars. "Look up into the sky." She stated as I did so. "See all those stars up there?" She asked as I nodded. "Yeah, and you did a wonderful job making them. They are beautiful." I said, causing a blush on Lunas face. "Thank you, Raiden. But that's not my point. Imagine one of those stars being you, and another being Twilight. Do you see how many stars are around you and her?" She asked me. "Definitely." I said as Luna opened her eyes and turned to me, a warm smile on her face. "Then remember this. Like all those stars in the sky, if Twilight isn't meant for you, there are many more options for her to chose from. Don't let yourself be pulled into a relationship that will end up hurting you and her both in the end." She said as I leaned against her and hugged her neck. "Thanks, Luna. I think I know what to do now." She placed her head on mine as we sat there enjoying the piece and quiet. ************* Nicholas POV ************* After the townsfolk had slowly left the party, I briefcased my music set and with a flash was back to normal. As I walked around in search of my brothers, I got hug tackled by Diamond Tiara. "Where have you been?" She demanded as she nuzzled my neck. I laughed and fondled her left ear, which caused a small giggle to come from her. "I told you to quit that!" She said mid giggle. I smiled at her. "But your giggles are absolutely heavenly to hear, so why would I ever stop." I said as a sharp grin came on her face. "Nicholas, are you ticklish?" She asked me innocently. "In spots like my neck and armpits, why do you-Hahah-Quit that!" I yelled as she started tickling me with her hooves (how does that even work anyway? "Ah! your hooves are cold!" She kept it up for about a minute or so, our laughter echoing in the farms open fields. "Ha! Victory is mine!" Diamond proclaimed as she stopped to let me breath by placing her forehead on mine. *AHEM* We jumped at the loud cough sound as we turned to see a brown stallion with black hair and money bags for a cutie mark giving us one of those nobleman looks of confusion/slight anger. "Daddy!" Diamond squealed, sounding suprised. "What are you doing here?" Wait a sec....DAD?! Welp, I'm dead. > Chapter 38: Changeling hearts and the bad kind of brain freeze > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I was currently under the gaze of the apparant father of Diamond Tiara, and to be honest he wasn't looking too happy. "Excuse me, but who are you? I don't recall ever seeing you in ponyville before yet you seem to be close with my daughter." He said with a tone that dripped with wealthy arrogance. Before I could answer, Diamond jumped off me and smiled at her father. "Daddy, this is Nick! I told you about him. He's the one who doesn't let the others at school be mean to me." She said as she walked over to me and nuzzled my face. "He's a really nice colt, daddy." The stallion sighed before smiling at us. "My apologies. I didn't know you were the young colt my daughter spoke of so much. Though I'm not sure colt is the right word for you, is it?" He asked as I stood up. "If colt means boy, then yes. But my kind are called humans, and it's a pleasure to meet you, sir." I stuck out my hand, which he shook with a small smile on his face. "You have manners, which is a good start. But it is getting late, why don't you come over to our home tomorrow afternoon so we could get to know the boy who charmed my dearest daughters heart better." He said as I nodded. "That would be great, thanks sir." With that, I gave Diamond Tiara a goodbye hug, (Definitely wasn't kissing her with her dad watching) grabbed my briefcase and made my way back home to rest before tomorrow. ***************** Ronin POV/next morning ***************** I awoke with the extreme urge to use the bathroom. However, I was currently underneath both Chrysalid and Pinkie on the bed. Great...how am I gonna do this? I thought to myself. You could just teleport out of the bed. Melfesia said with a sigh. Oh. After teleporting out and slamming my back on the ground (teleporting while being horizontal...not a good idea) I walked into the bathroom quickly to relieve myself. As I was doing so, I heard a faint buzzing above me. At first, I thought it was simply my imagination. but when it didn't go away, I looked up after flushing the toilet... And was met with a changeling looking down at me with a tilted head and a smile. "Good morning, my king." It said as my eyes widened. ************* Raiden POV ************* With a yawn, I woke up to find myself pinned by something. Barely being awake, I tried to push it off me, which led to whatever it was clinging to my waist and muttering something. At that moment, my mind kicked into full gear as I realized it was Luna who was sleeping on top of me. I sighed and looked down at her sleeping face. Dang, she looks so peaceful right now. I thought as I thought back to all the other times I had seen her. every time, she had this look about her that basically screamed "I have been through many things." But now, none of that was present, just a sleeping princess at peace. "CHRYSALIS!!!!" Ok, that sounded like Ronin. And he sounded mad! Luna awoke with a jolt and looked to me with a confused expression. "How long have we rested here? And who was the source of all that yelling?" She asked rapid fire. I snorted and rubbed her head. "We ended up sleeping here, and I think a certain queen just ticked off my brother." I said as Luna giggled before standing up, looking off in the distance with worry on her face "An act most would not wish to do, I'm sure. But I must head back to Canterlot, I sense that my sister is not well. I wonder if something happened between her and your brother." She said as I recalled how mad Ronin was yesterday. I sighed and shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. I hope not, they seemed to enjoy each others presence at the party." I said as Luna smiled before flaring her wings. "Indeed. It's not often when a being can woo our sister." With that, Luna took flight and flew off after making a circle around me. As she flew off, I noticed a blue feather in my left hand. Did she place that there? how? I thought as I pocketed the feather and walked back to town. ************ Ronin POV ************ After waking Chrysalis and Pinkie up, the latter waaay more cheerful about said wake up call, I brought them into the living room and pointed at the changeling sitting in the middle of the room. "Explain." I said sternly as Chrysalis gave me a look. "Thats a changeling. I thought you knew what we looked like?" She said, sarcasm deep in her voice as Pinkie walked up to the changeling and got in its face. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name? Did Chrysalis make you? Did she give you an name?" Pinke asked as the changeling immediately went and hid behind my legs and hissed at Pinkie. "Stay away from me, demon pony!" It growled as I raised an eyebrow at Chrysalis. "You had said they came with complications. What would those be again?" I asked as Pinkie started chasing the changeling around. "Usually, drones are part of the hive mind. However, every drone I have made from your love have had their own minds and ability to act without orders." She said as the changeling flew up and landed on the roof and stuck its tongue out at Pinkie Pie. "So, these drones have the ability to think for themselves...what's wrong with that?" I asked as Pinkie pulled suction cups from underneath a couch in the living room and attached them to her hooves. "Drones are made purely to follow the queens orders. They have no mind so there is no chance of rebellion or questioning of said orders." Chrysalis remarked as Pinkie started walking up the wall, causing the changelings eyes to widen in fear before it flew down and hid behind me again. "Maybe that's why it was so easy for Dadiolus to infiltrate y'all before. Without proper orders, they would not know that dadiolus was an enemy to you since you had no idea he existed until after he attacked in Canterlot." I said as I looked down at the changeling and picked him up, the little guy almost immediately balled up and cooed. "They also do not do that." Chrysalis said as I smiled and booped the little guy on the nose before looking at her. "Well, you made them from my love, right? Maybe that's why they don't become drones." I stated as Chrysalis frowned from thought. "Hmm...that would only occur if the love I drained was strong enough to induce an evolution to their design. But that much love is almost impossible to obtain! I have only tasted it from that fool from the wedding last month and he was madly in love with his wife to produce that much..." Chrysalis trailed off as a blush came to her face while Pinkie giggled from above. "Aww, I didn't know you could blush, Chrysalis." She said as she dropped down and looked around. "You were gone for three days, though. So shouldn't there be more changelings?" Pinkie asked as I blinked and looked to Chrysalis, who sighed. "They are underneath the house in the caves I made." With that, she used her magic on a wall nearby. For a second the shimmered before it became a cave opening. Chrysalis turned back to us and smiled. "This house is now magically connected to the cave system underneath it. Follow me." She walked into the cave with Pinkie and I close behind. Chrysalis led us into a bigger room that seemed to branch off into smaller caverns. There were three other changelings sitting in a circle conversing until they spotted us. The immediately flew in front of me and bowed deeply. The one in my arms dropped down and lined up with the other three, doing the same. "Rise and sound off to your future king!" Chrysalis ordered. The changelings stood up rigid and alert. "My liege, drone 34564 at your service." A changeling with yellow eyes barked proudly with a feminine voice. "Drone 34565 is ready to roll!" A orange eyed changeling proclaimed with bravado. A white eyed changeling spoke quietly next, reminding me of fluttershy. "Drone 34566...At the ready." The changeling from before grinned big and stared at me with red eyes. "Drone 34567 checking in loud and clear!" "Pinkie Pie, reporting for duty!" Pinkie said with a mock salute after managing to stand next to the red eyed changeling without anyone knowing , causing all four of them to jump back in shock. I motioned for them to look at me while Chrysalis pulled a giggling Pinkie away from the group with a sigh. "Alright, those numbers y'all are using as names...they ain't gonna cut it." I said as I recieved four confused looks. "What shall our names be then, Sire? Drones usually don't have actual designations." The yellow one said as the other three nodded in unison. I thought about it for a second before smiling. I pointed to the yellow one. "Your new names are as follows. You are Larxene." I turned my finger to the white eyed changeling, who flinched a bit at my finger being pointed at him. "You are now Zexion." He smiled a bit at that. My gaze and finger went to the orange eyed changeling. "I shall name you Roxas." He cheesed at the name, clearly proud of being named by his king. I turned to the red one, a big smile on my face. "You were the first to meet me, so i saved you for last. Your new name is now Axel." I said proudly. The four newly branded changelings turned to each other and started conversing as Chrysalid walked up to me. "Drones getting names is not how the hive works!" She hissed in my ear as I turned to her and smirked. "That may be so, but those four obviously don't fit the criteria for drones." I stated as Chrysalis thought about that before frowning. "Then what shall we do with them?" She asked as Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Why don't they work as your royal guard, Chrissy? You are a queen, after all." She said as Chrysalis frowned at the nickname while I smiled big and turned to the group, who immediately faced me. "All right, you four. As of right now, you four are the first in our royal guard." I said as the four all shared looks of shock and awe. "Your job is to protect this cave and the house above it when no one is here. And you are to also protect your queen when I say so, even if she refuses. Understood." They nodded, but I wasn't having that. "I couldn't hear your heads nod, so whenever I give an order, you shall respond as follows." I took a deep breath and let out a loud "HOOAH!" before smiling at the four and nodding. All four of them took a breath and responded loudly: HOOAH! "There we go!" I yelled with joy while Pinkie clapped and Chrysalis smiled at my antics. I turned to the two and nodded. "This right here is how we rebuild the changeling hive. Not with drones or soldiers that have no mind of their own or follow loosely given orders, but with a strong people who unite under their queen for the better of changeling kind." I said as Pinkie suddenly pulled out a clock and gasped. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for the train!" She said as she hugged me and Chrysalis before zooming out of the cavern. Train..to where? I thought as I realized I should be at the farm right now. "Crap, I have to go too." I said, turning to Chrysalis who rolled her eyes. "Fine then, leave me with the newfound guard you just made." She said with mock disdain as I laughed and kissed her before jogging out of the cavern. Chrysalis turned to the four new guards, who were now arguing with each other about who had a better name and cleared her throat. "Stop with the needless bickering, you have much to learn if you are to serve me accordingly." She said as she turned and led them out of the cavern. "Seriously, they act like a bunch of nobodies or something." she mutters under her breath. ************** Nicholas POV ************** I had awoken pretty late due to their being no school today. Apparently, had some kind of parasprite issue, something they said had happened before. Whatever they were, they damaged the school bad enough to where we were given a free day. Which is why I found myself in an argument with Tak about food while walking through town. "How could you not at least try some food?" I asked him as he frowned and shook his head. "I recieve all of my sustenance from the excess love of others, why do I need actual food?" He said as I face-palmed. "Because its absolutely delicious." I said. "What does love even taste like anyway?" "Well, it varies with the love. Parental Love I get from Ronin is kinda tart, meanwhile love I get from Scootaloo is sweet." He said as we approached the carousel boutique. "Why do you need to come by here again? I don't recall you ever wearing anything?" I said as Tak smiled wistfully as we walked inside the shop. "With the talent show coming up in a couple of days, I am in need of an outfit made to look sharp." He told me as we sat on a couch waiting for Rarity to show herself. "Talent show? When did that become a thing?" I asked him while looking around the shop. The place was suprisingly empty yet there were fashion supplies strewn about, as if Rarity had to leave quickly or something. "We were informed of it the day you stormed off the school grounds. Considering your newfound talent for music, you should participate." He said as I smiled at the idea. My first legitimate gig... "Sounds like a good idea, but what would you be doing?" I asked him as a blush appeared on his face and he looked away shyly. "I will be asking Scootaloo to participate in the Dervelka." I blinked and probably looked very confused. "Uhh, the what?" I asked. He turned back to me and smiled. "The Dervelka is a dance a changeling prince performs when he has chosen his mate." He sighs heartily. "To do so is the dream of any prince of my people." He suddenly gets a look of nervousness on his face. "Do you think she will perform it with me?" I smile and pat him on the back. "I don't know much about your traditions, but I'm sure Scootaloo would love to do that with you." I said, earning a smile from my friend. "Nicholas? Tak? what are you doing here?" Sweetiebelle called out ad she came downstairs. We turned to her and I responded. "We were looking for Rarity, have you seen her?" I asked Sweetiebelle, but she frowned and shook her head. "My sister had to leave with her friends to go somewhere up north. Apparently Twilight has some sort of test or something and they are going along to help her." She said as Tak frowned. "Hmm...this complicates things." He said as I felt a weird feeling in my head. cold.....so cold.... "AGH!!!" I yelled out as images of snowy mountains engulfed my eyesight, my head throbbing in pain. I felt myself fall to the ground. cold....so cold....help.....me... "Nicholas!" a faint voice that may have belonged to Sweetiebelle called out as the images got clearer. I felt something grab a hold of me and shake me softly. I'm....so....cold....please...help. In an instant, the pain, the images, the voice all disappeared. I blinked as my vision returned to normal, coming face to face with Tak and Sweetiebelle. "Nicholas, are you ok?" Sweetiebelle asked as she hugged me. "I am now...that was odd." I said as Tak frowned after his horn glowed for a second. "That is strange...I'm detecting a strong magical surge located around your brain, but there's nothing nearby that could do that to you." He said as Sweetiebelle released me and frowned. "What happened to you?" She asked as I stood up. "I'm not sure...I saw these flashes of a snowy mountain, and I had this headache." I looked to them. "Did either of you hear a voice?" They both shook their heads. I sighed and turned towards the door. "Well, for now, lets keep this to ourselves. If this turns out to be nothing, then we dont need to cause a panic." I said as I walked out the store. What was that place? And that voice...it sounded so hurt. What could all that had meant? *************** Raiden POV *************** I stood outside the library, hesitant on walking in. After what happened with Twilight yesterday, how do I even begin to talk to her? I sighed and took a deep breath. C'mon, Raiden. Stop being a wimp about this. Just talk to her. It'll be fine. I went and opened the door. To find the place completely empty. "Twilight? Spike?" I called out as an owl flew down and placed a letter on the floor in front of me. I bent down and faced him. "Is this for me?" I asked him as he 'hooed' and flew off. I picked up the letter and read it. Dear Raiden, The girls and I are leaving for the crystal empire as part of a test Celestia has given me. I have to assist brother and Cadence in restoring the Empire back to its former glory. We should be back by tomorrow at the latest. p.s: I understand why you didn't fully answer me yesterday, but we can talk about that when I get back. Your...friend, Twilight Sparkle. A test? Empire? Well, as long as there is no death stars involved, there should be no reason to worry. I sat down on the couch and relaxed. I mean, its just a test from Celestia. It's not like it could be potentially dangerous or endanger her and her friends... Right? > Chapter 39: Captain Mac and meeting the rich family > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* About ten minutes of jogging later, I found myself at sweet apple acres. I jumped the fence and immediately went straight to Big Mac, who was working Applejacks trees for some reason. "Heya, Mac. Why are you doing Applejacks set of trees? Ain't she around here somewhere?" I said as he bucked the last set of apples of the current tree he was facing before he turned to me. "AJ's went on a trip with her friends up north. Somethin' bout a empire." He said as he nodded to the rest of the orchard. "Somepony's got tah do it." I smiled. "Well then, let me give ya a hand. It's the least I can do." An idea popped in my head as I turned from Mac and faced the orchard. Oi, Mel. your connected to the hive mind, right? Of course...but why? Melfesia said as a smug grin crossed my face. Could you call my newest soldiers? I think I have their first training exercise right here. I thought as I turned back to Mac, who was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "On that note, I've got some assistance coming from the town. We'll get this orchard done in no time!" I said with a laugh as I went and started setting up baskets. ************ Nicholas POV ************ I was in my room at the cottage, reading a note left by Fluttershy I had found on my briefcase. Nicholas, I am going with to the crystal empire to support Twilight with a test she has been given by princess Celestia. I should be back by tomorrow at the latest. I precooked a vegatable stew for you and placed it in the fridge. Don't worry about my animal friends, they have already been given the food they need to have until I return. Fluttershy. ps: I attached a strap to your briefcase so you could carry it on your back rather than hold it everywhere you go. Ok, then. Home alone vibes, anyone? I placed the letter on the table and grabbed my briefcase and strapped it onto my back as I went out the door. I had to make it to Diamonds place at the north side of town. That's where all the richer ponies live, anyway. So I figured that's where her home is. As I was walking through town, I heard a slight commotion as ponies were jumping out of the way of several black blurs flying by. "Come, brethren! the king calls!" I heard one call out as they flew by. Strange...they almost looked like changelings. But wasn't Tak the only other one than Chrysalis? Shrugging it off, I continued my way through town as I approached the wealthy district of ponyville before stopping suddenly, and idea popping into my head. I quickly went down a back alley and opened up my briefcase into its DJ set. After playing a few notes and enveloping the alleyway in a bright light, I walked out of it in full 12K mode with my synthesizer on my back. Hey, if I'm gonna walk the rich streets, might as well do so in style. As I walked past several houses, I heard an excited gasp from my left. I turned and saw Silverspoon run up to me with a equally silver mare behind her. "12K?!" She squealed in typical fangirl fashion. "I can't believe your here walking around my block!" She turns to the mare behind her. "Momma, this is the DJ I was telling you about." Said mare walked up to me, she had similar mane and coat colors, but her eyes were brown. That, and her cutie mark was a sikver knife. "So your the famous 12K the town has been gossiping about." She said ash she extended a hoof and I shook it. "I am Silver set, this young lady's mother." I released the hoof and raised an eyebrow. "Gossip?" I asked as Silver set smirked. "Indeed. There has been several tales of you going around. Such as how you look like the humans that arrived a month ago, yet your so different all the same. Or how you may be a creation of discord that never got handled." She said with a laugh. "Discord? Who is that?" I asked, noticing Silverspoon was now standing directly next to me, looking up at me with literal hearts in her eyes. "You don't know? Discord was a being of chaos that wreaked havoc here several months ago. Though I doubt you are a creation of his, your too respectful to be a spawn of chaos." She said as she looked down at Silverspoon and sighed. "Come on, young lady. Stop pestering the gentlecolt and let him be on his way. We have to get back home before your father attemps to cook another royal sized meal." She said as she grabbed her daughter and pulled her down the street, waving bye to me. "Bye 12K!" Silverspoon called out dreamily. To mess with her, I did a quick spin and struck a pose before blowing her a kiss. Silverspoons eyes widened before she swooned and went limp, making it way harder for Silver set to take her home. Oops. I turned and continued walking until I made it to Diamonds house. And when I say house, that's being extremely bland. The place was a big old mansion! It looked to have three floors and had to be as big as the white house! I took a step onto the lawn and was met with a pale white unicorn butler with a small black mane giving me a look that screamed 'you better have permission to be here'. "Excuse me, sir. This is private property." He said as I smiled. "I thought so, but I was invited by Diamond Tiaras father to come." I said as the butlers eyes widened before he bowed slightly. "Of course, you must be master Nicholas. I was not expecting you to arrive looking like this sir." He said as I leaned down and whispered into his ear. "Yeah, about that. Please don't tell anyone about this. 12K is my stage identity, and I don't need the two names crossing paths." He smiled at that and immediately. "Of course, Sir. And you may call me Alfred Ponyworth." He said as I supressed a gasp. No. stinking. Way! Does that mean Diamonds dad is...nah, he's too old looking to be a vigilante. Alfred led me to the door and opened it, beckoning me to go inside. I took a deep breath and stepped in the mansion. Time to meet the family. ************ Raiden POV ************ I got bored of the quiet library quickly, and immediately portaled my way to Canterlot. After going the through, the mirror, I was met with an angry Luna pacing in her room. "Luna? what's going-mmmph!" I was cut off as she pulled me into a deep kiss with her magic. After a minute, she pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "I give you my thanks for that. It was a needed distraction from the issue at hand." She said as I frowned. "What issue?" I said as she went and sat on the bed, beckoning me to sit with her. After doing so, she leaned her head onto my shoulder and sighed. "Does thou older sibling make rash decisions frequently?" She asked me, causing me to snort loudly with a laugh. Oh, she has no idea. "I think he makes a living out of doing so...why?" I asked as I heard Luna snort, but hers was out of irritation. "About a week ago the crystal empire, a kingdom lost centuries ago, reappered suddenly. Due to this kingdom holding many connections with Equestria, we wanted to ensure that it was brought back to its former glory. So Celestia tasked Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armour to do so." I turned to her. "I thought they were holding off on the wedding?" I asked as Luna shook her head. "They held a private one for family only." Luna stated as I smiled. "Good for them, but is that what your upset about?" I asked her. She shook her head again and smiled at me. "Not at all. Mi Amor Cadenza and Captain Shining Armour are two perfectly capable ponies. It's Twilight and her friends I am concerned about." She said as my eyes widened. "That's right! Twilight and her friends are currently there doing a test." I said as Luna scowled. "A test that will endanger them all." She said grimly as I blinked in suprise. Say what now? "What do you mean 'endanger them all?'" I said as Luna laid back on the bed and faced the ceiling. "When the kingdom came back, a great evil came with it. An ancient king that was the cause of the kingdoms disappearance in the first place. If they fail to stop him from taking back the throne..." Luna let the unsaid threat to their lives go as I laid next to her, a frown on my face as I thought about the issue. "So let me get this straight, Celestia sent her prized pupil to some ancient kingdom to help it return to its former glory, KNOWING that there was some big bad dude capable of destroying them? And she didn't think to do this herself or at least prepare them some way?" I said, anger laced in my voice as Luna sighed and turned to me and nuzzled my face while her wings pulled me in close to her, her ears folding up and down for a second. "I share your emotions, my love." She said sweetly. my love? That's new. "We went to my sister this morning to voice said concerns to find her locked in her room and extremely upset." She said as I sighed. "Her and Ronin must've had an argument." I said as Luna looked into my eyes again. This time though, there was glint there I hadn't seen before. It looked...hungry. "Sadly, I believe that is the case." She said as she kissed me briefly before whispering into my ear. "Do you know which season we are in?" I furrowed my brows as I thought hard before answering. "Uh...spring. Why?" I said as Luna suddenly rolled over and straddled me. I looked up at her in shock as she spread out her wings while removing her regalia wiht her magic before looking down at me with a sultry smile. Where the heck did this come from? "In spring, many mares go into heat." She said as she leaned in close and winked at me while removing my shirt with her magic. "And I am one of those mares. So we demand that you relieve us of this pent up stress." Welp, that explains it. But what the heck is a heat? All I could do was slowly nod my head as a sweet scent hit my nose, smelling faintly of spring blossoms. I leaned in and kissed her, ready to ensure my girl (mare?) friend was relinquished of this burden nature placed apon her in whatever way I could. *********** Ronin POV *********** I kicked down another set of apples and took the baskets to the barn where Granny smith and Applebloom were seperating them. Mac was returning with some baskets of his own as we both heard the sound of buzzing coming from nearby. "What in tarnation?" I heard Big Mac say as I smiled at the the approaching changelings. "Don't worry, Mac. They're friendly." I said as the changelings landed in front of me in a horizontal line. I made a twirling motion with my finger and yelled. "SOUND OFF!" "Larxene at your command, Sire!" Larxene said loud and proud. "Zexion...present." Zexion said with half the enthusiasm and less than half the loudness. "Roxas, ready for action Sir!" Roxas barked with that same pride in his voice. Axel smiled and responded last. "Axel checking in, boss." I smiled and turned to Big Mac, who looked very perplexed about the situation. "Mac, my man. Meet our support for the day." I said as Mac nodded and took several steps towards the four and took a stance that looked like the pony version of standing at attention. For a second, I thought he was going to just tell them what to do, but what happened next blew me out of the water. He cleared his throat and and took a deep breath before speaking. "ATTENTION!" He barked loudly, the four changeling (and myself, to be honest for a second) To snap to a attentive state. But he wasn't done yet. "LISTEN UP! THIS ORCHARD AIN'T GONNA PICK ITSELF, YA HEAR? SO BY THE TIME THAT SUN SETS, I WANT EACH OF THEM APPLE TREES PICKED CLEAN! AM I CLEAR?!" Mac let out in one fell swoop as the four changelings nodded their heads rapidly. I stepped forward and pointed to several baskets full of apples. "Alright, start taking those baskets to the barn immediately while Mac and I put more apples into them for ya." They nodded and started doing so as I turned to Mac and put a hand on his shoulder. "Buddy...." I started calmy. "Where the hell did that come from?" I asked him as he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, mah mother is the captain of the lunar guard. So ah might have learned a thing or two from her." He looked to the ground in a shy manner. "Ah apologize if ah crossed any lines, partner." I laughed and patted his back, causing him to look up at me. "Are you kidding? that was absolutely awesome! That's why your my go to bro, man." I said as his eyes widened in shock. "You...think of me as yer bro?" He asked me, clearly suprised. I sighed and smiled. "Of course, I don't let just anyone hold my sword, after all." I said as I realized something. "Um...where did my blade go? You never did give it back." I said as Mac laughed. "Heh, ya forgot it here. So ah kept it in mah room out of sight of Applebloom and her friends. Last thing ah need is fer her to git any ideas." He said as I laughed. "True, man. I'll get it after we finish our job here." I say as we walk towards the trees. "Eeyup." Mac says happily as we resume bucking trees. ************* Nicholas POV ************* After I walked in and ducked into a bathroom to change back to normal, I was escorted to the main living room of the mansion. If you have ever seen the incredibles movie scene where Mr.Incredible goes to the island and sits at the table with lava in the background, that's the vibe I was getting as I sat on a couch positioned by a massive fireplace across from another couch where Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara, and a mare (probably her mother) sat at. The mare was a faded pink color with a purple mane and had a diamond ring as a cutie mark. "This is the colt you have been talking about?" The mare said with obvious disgust in her voice. Diamond shrunk a bit but nodded her head as Filthy Rich sighed. "Rich dear, please be respectful to our guest. He was invited by our daughter after all." Filthy said as Ms.Rich scoffed. "And why should I? He looks like nothing more than an simple ape that needs to be caged." She said as I frowned at that, ready to speak my mind. Diamond beat me to it though. "Momma! that's my coltfriend your talking about!" She exclaimed before putting a hoof to her muzzle. Ms.Rich gasped and Filthy face-hoofed. "Your telling me that my daughter is dating a filthy commoner?!" Ms.Rich pretty muched screeched, her face contorting into one of fury. "What does this filthy animal have that a colt of higher standing doesn't have?" She stated as Diamond Tiara went to answer, but it was my turn to cut her off. "Ms.Rich." I said with no emotion. This caught her attention, her head swiveling to face me as I placed my briefcase on the table sitting in between us. "I believe you have heard of the rising DJ known as 12K?" I said as Ms.Rich snorted. "Of course I have. The DJ that looks similar to your kind yet can actually be useful to society?" She said as she scoffed. "I doubt a lowlife like yourself interacts with the likes of him." To this, I smirked as I pressed the button on the side of the briefcase, causing it to open up into the DJ set I use. Diamonds eyes bugged out and Filthy Richs jaw dropped while Ms.rich remained unmoved, though her eyes registered shock. "Don't you know who I am, Ms.rich?" I stated as I played a note or two, causing red light to engulf me. "What are you doing?" She yelled as the room flashed red for a second. When it died down, gasps were all that was heard as I became my musical form. I looked to the shocked family as I placed my hands on the disc and synthesizer. "My name is Nicholas kingston Blazeheart! Or as my fans now call me, 12K. I plan to spread my music through all of Equestria, bringing smiles to every kid and adult that hears my wubs!" I looked the shocked Ms.Rich in the eyes as I smirked. "How many ponies have you made smile, Ms.Rich?" I stated as I started to play, fully ready to earn my spot as Diamonds suitor. > Chapter 40: Echoes of an old era (Ronin's lesson) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* "Get your lazy flank out of that tree or else!" I yelled up at a snoozing Zexion who had taken refuge in a appleless tree in order to take a nap. Larxene flew up to me and saluted. "Sire, permission to rudely awake my foolish colleague?" She asked me as I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Permission granted. Just get him down, we're almost finished and we need all hooves on deck." I said as I walked back to the barn with the last basket of my section in hand. Roxas and Axel had already finished their sections and were conversing with Big Mac about his family as I walked into the barn and placed the apples down next to the others. "Well, lookie that! Ah knew we had nuthin tah worry about while Applejack is on that fancy trip of hers." I heard Granny Smith say as she walked up to stand next to me. I looked down at her and smiled. "Yeah, we got just about all of them today." I said before frowning. "Even with the slacking off here and there." Smith just laughed. "Sonny, how old are those young varmints?" I thought about that for a second. "About four days old at the most." I said as I realized I might've been pushing them a bit too hard. "Geussing by the look on yer face yer realizing you've done went overboard a tad, huh?" She said while I nodded. "Don't let it git to ya, sonny. My Applejack does the same thing." She pokes me in the stomach. "You jus' need tah find somepony that'll reel yerself in when you stray too far off the path." I sighed and looked out towards the setting sun. "I geuss your right, Granny." "You bet I am!" She said as she pulled out my blade from a hay bale. "Ah believe this belongs to ya, sonny." My eyes went wide. "How'd you know that was there? I thought Mac hid it?" I said as Granny Smith waved me off. "Aint nuthin that grandson of mine does that ah don't know about. Besides, ah could hear it." She said as I frowned. "You could hear by sword?" I said, honestly not believing what she had said. She started walking past me but stopped and sighed before turning her head to me, a sad look in her eyes. "Not the blade, sonny. The sins you carry with it." She said as she walked out of the barn, leaving me confused and a tad scared as I stared at the katana. We need to talk, boy. I heard Melfesia state loudly in my mind. Ok? what's up? Not like this, sit down and relax. We need to speak in your mind. She says as I follow her instructions and close my eyes, feeling a wave of tiredness crash over me. As i opened my eyes, I found myself back in Eureka with Melfesia looking at me. "Well, what did ya want to talk about?" I asked as she came over and sat in front of me. "It is time you learned of the history of changeling kind and what brought about some of the events of this era." She said as I nodded for her to continue. She sighed and started her tale. "It was centuries ago, well before tragedy of nightmare moon. A unicorn by the name of Woodwind had found a city of pure crystal. This unicorn, a stallion who studied the different types of magic, soon learned that the kingdom was ran on love. After conversing with the locals and even the current queen of the time, he found that there was a crystal heart that channeled this special magic through the city. After learning all he could about the heart, he came to the conclusion that if a pony could be charged with love, their magical output would be stronger than any other beings, even alicorns." I interrupted her. "So this woodwind guy wished to become more powerful using the love of randpm ponies?" I asked her as she nodded. "Indeed. However, he was about to tamper with a force he didn't understand, and face the consequences for it." She said as she continued her story. "One night, while the town square was empty and nopony was around, the stallion walked up to the heart and attempted to drain its magical energy using a dark spell forgotten unto time. It is said that stallion plunged his horn into the crystal heart in an effort to drain the love from it. However, the heart retaliated, and overloaded his body. The overload caused his while body to alight with green flames from the inside out." I blinked at the morbid detail. "Damn..." Melfesia laughs shortly. "That would be an easy way to sum that up. But it gets worse for the stallion." She picked back up on the storytelling tone she had. "The unicorn was found outside laying by the crystal heart, charred to a crisp and parts of his body had holed burned into it. The royal healers tried to heal the wounds, with no avail. They found that the body would stay black, and the holes in his body would remain. They did notice, however, that the unicorn had wings." "Wait a sec. So he did manage to pull through with the experiment?" I said as Melfesia looked away, her voice slightly shaken. "He gained the strength of an alicorn, but was shunned by all of creation in the process. After he awoke, the crystal empire banished him from the city while they attempted to fix their heart. The shunned being fled to the badlands, where he lived out the rest of his days in isolation from his pony brethren." She turned back to me, a hint of sadness in her face. "That unicorn became the first changeling to exist. strong as an alicorn but forced to live off of the one thing he was fascinated most by: love." She said as I looked off into the caves darkness. "Dang, that's messed up. But I'm guessing that sooner or later, he ended up having children and creating the species as a whole." I stated as she nodded. "You'd be correct. Woodwind would later be called thanatos by ponies around him because of his murderous behavoir towards anypony who stepped into the badlands." I heard her sigh. "He would marry a pegasus and produce a daughter named Melfesia." She said as I turned to her in shock. "Wait, what?! How old are you?" I said, receiving a glare from her. "One does not ask a lady ow old they are. But if you must know, I was about two thousand three hundred years old when I died by...Celestial forces after dealing with that mage you killed before." She said as my eyebrows furrowed. "You mean Dadiolus? how'd that happen?" I said as Melfesia suddenly blushed slightly. "Well, for all my age and wisdom, I still craved what every queen craves: A child. So when I had learned of a male that had mastered the dark arts under the training of Luna, I snuck into the castle and discussed my options with him." I snorted at the word 'discussed'. "Yeah, I'm sure plenty was said." Melfesia rolled her eyes. "Imagine my suprise when I had learned that the male wasn't even a pony, but an alien from some far off planet. After sneaking into the castle, I found him and actually held conversation with him. The man was in a rage about something the sisters had done to a friend of his in the north, and was looking for a way to take revenge." "A friend? I asked. "Yes. A female version your kind." Melfesia said as I frowned. "Did the sisters not tell you about the third human?" "Not at all." I growled, slightly mad this was kept from us. I wonder what else hasn't been said. "Well, it turns out the sisters had banished the third human into the cold mountains of the north for treason. Although Dadiolus believed it was because Luna didn't want any competition with him." She said as I face palmed. "So the lady gets banished because she liked Dadiolus or something, causing said guy to turn evil due to his close friend being banished. What did he do?" I asked. "Dadiolus made an agreement with myself. He would ensure I would have a child with him, if I tell him the easist way to make a heart drift to darkness. It was an easy thing to do, so I agreed. After we...exchanged information, I left the castle and Dadiolus went on to enact his ultimate revenge: creating nightmare moon." At this I scoffed. "Your telling me that mage guy not only gave you your child, but also caused this kingdoms princesses to fight just because of a friend being banished?" Melfesia sighed. "It was obvious that he loved that human far more than he loved Luna...or myself. He used multiple manipuation tactics and paid several ponies to mouth off about Luna in order to darken her heart. The icing on the cake was that Celestia didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late. The damned mare always was slow on the pick up, and this time it would cost her dearly." I spoke up. "Wait a second though...If he gave you your child, does that mean Chrysalis is his daughter?" I asked as she turned away. "Indeed. I raised her for five years until Celestia finally found my hive. The princess, in a rage from banishing her sister, burned the hive and all of our people down to ash. Every child, every elderly, even I wasn't saved from her wrath. I would learn while fighting her that Dadiolus had said how he manaegd to turn Luna into Nightmare moon. So she had been hunting us ever since. The only reason my daughter survived was due to the fact she was playing in a forest nearby. By the time she came back...the hive was burned to the ground, and her entire bloodline were slain." I looked away and sighed. "No wonder she hates Celestia. The princess killed you and all her siblings in the hive." "Yes, but she did more than that to her. From then on, Chrysalis would go to hate Equines from the bottom of her blackened heart, making peace almost impossible to attain." She said. I stood up and stretched. "That is absolutely horrible. But what does that have to do with me?" I asked her as she stood up and faced me. "As future king of the changelings, it is your duty to preserve our kind by doing whatever is necessary. If that means keeping peace with ponies, then keep the peace. If that means war..." "Then fight the war." i finished for her. "Exactly." She said as she looked at my chest. "You know, if that injury is here in this realm, then it must be pretty bad in real life." She said, pointing to the cracked parts of my armour. "Your going to have to let the exoskeleton heal." I sighed. "That means no armour until it heals, huh?" I said while Melfesia laughed. "You could always go to that fashionetta in town." She said as I groaned. "Ugh, If I must." I said as the area went dark. I blinked and I was back in the barn. I thought about all that had been said to me. Celestia hasn't been very forthcoming with details about her knowledge of the past. Then again, Melfesia could've made up some of that before. I groaned and walked towards town, noticing the four changelings I had working on the farm now sleeping under a tree together. I felt my chestplate disappear, leaving my upper body bare and slightly cold from the breeze. I had better get some clothes and soon before night comes. ************ twenty minutes later ************ I walked up to the building to find the place closed. Thats right, her and her friends are in the north right now saving that kingdom from Melfesia's story. I turned around and was faced with a rather unpleasent sight. "Evening, Ronin." Celestia said as I frowned and rubbed my eyes. Was it evening already? My how time flies when you are learning about the Equestrian iceberg and how deep it goes. "What do you need, your highness." I said, her flinching at the royal greeting. "I wish to talk about what happened before. I do not wish to lose you to a misunderstanding." She said as I scoffed. "What was there to misunderstand? You obviously haven't moved on from your ex from before." I said as Celestia looked to me with sad eyes. "Then help me move on, Ronin." She said as she walked slowly up towards me with her hips swaying, our faces inches from each other as she stopped in front me. "Teach me to crave you, and you alone." She breathed as our lips met in a slow, passionate kiss. As the kiss grew stronger, she pushed me onto the ground, rolling us into the brush nearby as I found myself underneath her. I broke from the kiss and looked up at the now smug princess. "So, we are doing this in public?" I said as she cast a spell around the bushes concealing us from the eyes of other ponies. "Now no one shall hear us." She leaned in close, her magic taking her regalia off her. "I can feel your desire, Ronin. We both want...need each other." She said as I pulled her back into a strong kiss. I was not about to have her big mouth ruin the mood, no matter how good her words sounding coming out of it. Hmm...I wonder what a herd with a princess, a queen, and a party pony would end up looking like? Although, as I laid there in her embrace, I swear I saw her appearance change slightly. Almost as if she looked more...sinister than before. > Chapter 41: Echoes of an old era (Raidens awakening) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* I awoke with the feeling of something heavy on my chest. I opened my eyes and noticed Luna was on top of me, though I could barely see her due to the room being dark. Must be almost night time then, if there is no light coming through the windows. Feeling the urge to use the bathroom, I rolled Luna off me, suprisingly an easy task, and walked towards the bathroom. I heard what sounded like claws hitting the ground with each step I took but thought nothing of it as I walked into the bathroom and took a glance at the mirror... And froze at the sight I saw. I rushed to the wall mounted mirror in shock as I noticed a white lizard looking thing staring back at me through the mirror with those same sapphire eyes I had. Wait a second... I thought as I looked at myself, my tired state finally disappearing, allowing me to see myself clearly. Somehow, I had transformed into what looked like a dragon! I had pure white scales that had blue tips on them. I had claws that looked to be almost hand length in size and looked razor sharp. Instead of my normal hair color I had before, I now at a spiky light blue hair that had white tips at the end of it that went down my head and neck. Odd part was, I was about the same height I was before. You'd think that if someone would become a dragon, they'd be bigger than before. "Raiden? Are thou in the bath-" I heard Luna start to say, but stop as she spotted the white dragon now in her bathroom. Her horn lit up immediately as she dawned a face of anger. "Where is our mate, lizard!" She spat as I took a step back. "What have thou done with him?" "Luna! It's me, Raiden!" I said loudly, all the while ducking underneath a blast of magic from Luna. "Raiden is no dragon, cur!" She roared as she sent another blast at me, this one knocked me into the shower wall and causing me to slump down into a sitting position. I coughed a bit before recovering and looking up at her. "Luna it's me, I swear!" She growled, but didn't shoot me again. "If thou are truly my lover, then tell me something he would know." I thought for a second until I smirked. "Your choices on the breakfast menu are dry and need to be removed as soon as possible." She stomped her hoof. "Our pancakes are not dry! Our sister simply has to taste buds!" Her eyes widened as I smiled at her reaction before grunting in pain as she tackled me in a big hug. "Raiden! We are so sorry! We didn't know that thou could change your form." She pulled away and looked me over, blushing slightly. "We have no complaints, though." I sighed and smiled. "I have no idea how I became like this. I just woke up looking like this." I stood up as Luna got up and frowned in thought for a second before her eyes widened. "Raiden, have thou consumed any dragons blood in the past?" She asked me as I frowned. "About a month ago as a backup plan if we needed to fight Ronin, why?" I asked as she walked out of the room, causing me to follow her as she pulled a book from a bookcase next to her bed and opened it to a page that had an image that looked like... "Hey, that's the thing Celestia made for me." I said, pointing a claw at the bottle image. Luna groaned and closed the book. "That's what we were afraid of." She said as I raised an eyebrow. "Uh...afraid of what, exactly?" I asked as Luna frowned and looked away. "When an Alicorn chooses a mate and bonds with them, they send their magic through the very soul of that being, amplifying the magic currently present. If thou was a unicorn, your spellpower would be strengthened. If thou was a pegasus, you could control the winds like they were paper." "What about earth ponies? they don't have any magic." I said, but Luna shook her head. "Not true, Raiden. Earth ponies have the ability to feel matter and the earth beneath them. It is how farmers can tell when their crops are ready, or how doctors that are earth ponies know what is wrong with their patients." She stated as I nodded at the new information. "Well, what about me? I didn't even have any magic until I drank that potion." I said as Luna frowned at that. "Once again, that cannot be true. In order for that potion to work, thou must have a magical core." She said as I walked onto the balcony. "But humans don't have magic. If I have a magic core..." I started, unsure how I could have such a thing. "Then thou hath a relative that originates from this world, or has been in contact woth this world at some point." Luna said as she walked up and stood next to me. "Well, my parents didn't have any magic at all. I never met my grandmother, and grandpa Brim was-" "Grandpa Brim?" Luna exclaimed, cutting me off. I looked to her, confused. "Um...yeah." I said, noticing her disposition was very frantic as she grabbed an older book with her magic and brought it over. She opened it and pointed to a man in golden armour. "Does thou recognize him?" She said as I looked at the man and nearly fell off the balcony with shock. He looked like a younger version of my grandfather. And he was standing beside Celestia and Luna with a hispanic-looking bald guy and woman that was holding the bald guys arm. "Hold up...So your saying that my grandfather was the same guy as this callobrim dude?" I stated as Luna nodded, albeit sadly. "Indeed. Callobrim, after defeating Dadiolus, came to help Celestia in stopping us while we were nightmare moon." I heard her breath hitch slightly. "During the event, before Celestia could banish us, we hit Callobrim with a spell that would've killed him." She turned back to me, a face of regret on her. "Instead, it seems that we banished him to your world, never to return." I pulled her into a deep embrace, being careful not to claw her by accident as she nuzzled my chest with quiet sobs coming from her. "Hey hey hey, it's ok. Think about this, if you would've never done that, my brothers and I would've never arrived in the first place." She looked up at that and smiled weakly before kissing me briefly. "Thank you, my love." She said as she took a step back and sighed. "The potion my sister made for you has a nasty side effect on ponies. It tends to give them dragon-like personalities for an indefinite time. But with you, it seems to have forced a form change in response to your magic core." I looked at my claws before looking up at her. "Can this be reversed? Or am I stuck as a dragon?" I asked as Luna looked away towards the city. "We do not know, but my sister might. Let us go find her." She said as I followed her out the room. ************ Minutes later ************ "Halt, Dragon!" A guard yelled at me as we were walking in the hallway towards Celestias room. We had to take a moment for Luna to raise the moon, but were quickly stopped by a pair of guards who apparently thought I was a bad guy. "What is the meaning of this?" Luna exclaimed. "Princess, do you not see the dangerous dragon beside you? He is a threat to your safety!" One guard said as another pointed a spear at me. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the spear by the point and shattered it with my claws. "Boys, if i was going to hurt my mate, why would I do it here where there would be witnesses." I let what I said sink in and suppressed a snort at their suprised looks. "H-Her mate?" One said, looking a bit pale. The other immediately fainted as he realized how bad the situation was. "Would y'all sorry excuses fer guards leave the princess and her suitor alone before ah tan both yer hides for treason!" I heard a southern voice call out with authority as the guard that was still conscious picked up his comrade with his magic and pulled him down the hall. Luna and I turned to see a mare dawned in full black and blue armour walking towards us. Her mane was a blinding blond and looked to be in a ponytail as it sticked out the helmet she wore a little. As she stopped in front of us to salute a now smiling Luna, I noticed this mare was big, and not in a fat way, more like a I-can-kill-you-with-a-flick-of-my-hoof sort of way. "Princess, I apologize for my subordinates poor behavior to your guest." She stated as Luna nodded. "No apology needed, Captain Bellflower." Luna said, allowing the mare to relax her salute. "Ah disagree, princess. If this dragon would've been a diplomat of the dragon kingdom, we might've had a war on the horizon." She said as she turned to me. "If you don't mind me asking, who is he?" Luna laughed slightly as she wrapped a wing around me. "This is Raiden. Due to a magical mishap, he is now in the shape of a dragon. But dragon or human, he is my lover regardless." She said as she nuzzled my cheel while I ran a clawed hand through her hair. Bellflower sighed. "Believe me, princess. ah know. Ya alerted the whole castle to yer newfound consort by the racket y'all were making." She said as Luna blished and I blinked in suprise. Surely we wasn't that loud... Bellflower turned back to me. "Yer living in ponyville, right?" She asked me, which I nodded. "How is sweet apple acres holding up?" I raised an eyebrow, but answered. "Uh, its doing well I guess...but why would you want to know that?" I asked as Luna leaned next to me and whispered. "Captain Bellflower is the mother of Applejack and her siblings." She said as I looked to the captain with shock. That explains Big Mac, then. I thought as I extended a hand to her. "My names Raiden." She smiled at that and grabbed my hand... before shaking it VERY enthusiastically. As she let go, I had to blow my hand to keep the pain away. "Names Bellflower Apple. But you may call me captain." She said as I nodded. "Captain, would you happen to know if our sister is in her room?" Luna asked as Bellflower frowned. "That's what ah wished to speak tah ya about, princess. Princess Celestia left the castle quickly after spending several hours in her room. Any guard or noblepony that attempted to speak with her ended up being snapped at or threatened with an execution." She said as my eyes widened and Luna frowned deeply. "Tis not like our sister to treat her ponies in such a way." She turned to me. "Could Ronin had hurt her so badly?" I shook my head. "Ronin is many things, a heartless punk is not one of them. He might've turned her down or something, but he wouldn't shatter her heart or anything." I turned to Bellflower. "Did she say where she was going?" Bellflower shook her head. "The only thing she did was inform a guard that she not be back until later tomorrow. She said she was going on a manhunt or something." She said as my eyes widened. Ronin! I turned to Luna. "We need to get to ponyville, now!" Luna shook her head. "But what about your...predicament?" She said, motioning towards my body. "No time! Celestia is currently hunting my brother, and I'm not letting it happen. Now c'mon!" I grabbed her hoof and pulled her down a hallway that led to her room. If we can make it to the mirror and pop over to ponyville, we may beat Celestia there. I thought as we turned a corner, nearly bowling over a guard and a maid that were making out. We rushed into the room and I dove through the mirror, landing in Twilights house on the other side. Luna walked through the mirror and looked to me. "Where would my sister be?" She asked me as I frowned. "No idea, but we have to find Ronin before she does." I said, fearing the worst if we didnt find Ronin in time. > Chapter 42: Echoes of an old era (Nicholas faces the music) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* After finishing with the music and my form change receded, I looked up to from the board to get tackled by Diamond Tiara. As soon as we hit the ground, she assualted me with deadly nuzzles to the cheek. "Nicholas! That was amazing!" She exclaimed happily before she pulled away suddenly and pouted, her cheeks puffed. "Why didn't you tell me you were 12K?" I laughed and massaged her ear, causing her to sigh and push her head into my hand. "I wanted it to be a suprise. That, and I didn't want everyone to know yet." "Like Silverspoon?" She asked with a smirk as I snorted. "Exactly." I said and we laughed together. Man, it felt good to hear her laugh. We stopped as we heard cough from behind us. Mrs.Rich was staring at us with a blank expression while Filthy was smiling at our antics. "Mr.12K, please come over here." She stated and I did so, standing in front of her as she stood up. "I must say I am quite suprised that you and Nicholas are the same. I am not suprised, however, that my daughter was able to win over such a rising star as yourself. I will let you date her..." She stated as Diamond jumped up and hugged her mother. "Thank you, mommy!" She said, but Mrs. Rich coughed. "I am not done speaking, Diamond Tiara." She said sternly, causing Tiara to Back off and stand next to me. Mrs.Rich turned back to me. "You may date her, under two conditions." She stated as I nodded. "What are they, ma'am." I said, my voice clear and absolute. Mrs.Rich narrowed her eyes slightly. "Number one: If you are to ever start a herd, all other herd mates MUST have either noble blood or have a wealthy family. My daughter will not fraternize with mudbloods." She said as my eyes widened in shock and Diamond gasped and looked to me as I looked down at her. If I agreed to this...any chance I had of extended my relationship with Applebloom would be thrown out the window. And what if I started to like another girl that wasn't rich or a noblepony? But as I looked into Diamonds shimmering blue eyes, the fear of her losing one of the few people that actually cared about her and what she thought or said evident in them, I knew what I must do. I turned to Mrs.Rich and nodded. "I accept this condition." I said as Mrs.Rich nodded and continued. "Number two: As long as you are 12K, you will be sponsored by the Rich house alone. Let no other house take part in your rise to fame." She said as I nodded in agreement as Ponyworth brought over a piece of paper and put it on the table in front of me. It was a contract stating the Rich household would be the sole sponsers to 12K and would be the command center for the distribution of any merchandise or music covers I make. This family would quite literally own the name 12K for as long as the paper existed. As I looked it over, I noticed a small error on it that, if pointed out, would nullify the contract. It said that I was equestria born. Did I point this out for them to correct? heck no! Every man needs an easy out of an obligation, Ronin taught me that. After I signed the paper, Mrs.Rich rolled it up and gave it to the butler, who walked off to put it somewhere. She turned to Filthy. "As a witness to these conditions, do you accept them as fair?" "The condition seems to be a bit overboard, but Nicholas agreed to it. So I accept the decision." He said as Diamond turned me towards her and pulled me into a big hug. "Why did you accept that first condition? I know you care about Applebloom as much as you do me." She whispered as I hugged her a bit tighter. "See, that's the tricky part. I like her a lot, but I honestly couldn't see myself without you." I whispered back, noticing a tear or two going down my back from Diamond as she pulled away and smiled at me, tears on her cheeks. "Nopony-sniffle-has ever said something like that to me before." She said mid tears as Filthy smiled warmly at us while Mrs.Rich remained stoic. "Alright Diamond that's enough of that. You are a lady, after all." She turned to me and smiled. "It was pleasure doing business with you, 12K. I look forward to working closely with you in the future, you may leave now." She nodded towards the door as I bowed a bit in gratitude befor giving Diamond one last hug before I walked out the mansion, ignoring the snid looks from any of the rich ponies I passed. As I started walking back to the other side of town, I ended up running into Sweetiebelle, who was standing near the carousel boutique with a slightly grossed out expression. "Hey, Sweetiebelle!" I called out as I walked up to her. She smiled at me before pointing to a set of bushes nearby that looked singed. "Nicholas, I saw your brother and princess Celestia go into those bushes. After a minute, I followed to see what they were doing." Her face scrunched up in disgust. "They were kissing each other...a lot!" I laughed. "Belle, you literally had that coming following them through some bushes." I said as an idea popped in my head. "Are they still there?" She nodded as I grabbed a hose off the boutique and sprayed the ground, making mud. I grabbed the mud and chunked a bunch into the area Sweetiebelle had pointed to. *SPLAT!* For a second, there was no reaction. I was about to tell Sweetiebelle off for lying to me when- "WHAT THE HELL?! WHO DID THAT!" I heard Ronin yell as I saw him appear from the bushes completely covered in mud, his eyes locking on me and Sweetiebelle. "NICHOLAS!!!!" He roared. Uh-oh Just as he went to charge, an golden glow surrounded him. Celestia walked out of the bushes with a raised eyebrow at us. "Surely your little brother didn't mean to do that?" She said as I walked up and smiled at her. "Oh no, your majesty. I definitely meant to do that." I said while sticking my tongue out at Ronin, who growled in response. Celestia turned to Ronin. "Well, it seems I was wrong. Ronin, I forgot to mention to you earlier, but there is a meeting of the crowns in a couple days where every species rulers are coming to discuss topics. I would be delighted to see you there among the other rulers." Ronin rolled his eyes. "A meeting of crowns? Sounds like a frou-frou event. But, if it'll help the changelings I will go." Before Celestia could answer he added "ONLY if Chrysalis comes too." Celestia sighed, but relented. "Of course she can come." She said with a smile, though I thought I saw an eye twitch. "We shall see you at the castle soon." With that, Celestia teleported with a flash, dropping Ronin to the ground. He got up and turned to me. "Alright brother, tht little joke wasn't funny. So you know exactly what-GET BEHIND ME NOW!" Ronin yelled suddenly, jumping in front of us and drawing his blade. "Moonbutt, what the hell are you doing bringing a dragon into town?" We turned and saw Luna and a white dragon feet away from us. The dragon was about Raidens height and seemed to look just as shocked as Luna at the hostility from Ronin. "Sheath thy sword, Ronin. This dragon is thou brother." Luna said with an agitated tone. Guess she didn't like the nickname. "WHAT?!" Ronin and I said at the same time. Ronin sheathed his sword and walked up to the dragon. "Bro, is this true? Have you gone scalie on me?" The dragon snorted. "Yes its me, you goof. And no, I'm not into lizards now." He proved this by smacking Luna on her moons, causing her to yelp before glaring at Raiden with a blush on her face. I blinked before cheesing. "No. way. You've been blue-mooned!" I said, laughter erupting from my gut as I fell over. Sweetiebelle looked at me, not getying the reference. Ronin wasn't doing much better, he literally fell to his knees laughing while holding his sides. Raiden now had a full blush going while Luna was confused. "Raiden? What does thy term 'blue mooning' mean?" She asked innocently as Ronin and I slowly started to calm down. "Its from a song from our world that has been used in several different ways to reference butts." He growled out as Sweetiebelle looked to me. "What other kinds of songs did your world have?" She asked me as I scratched the back of my head. "Well, there's country, jazz, blues, rock, hip hop, and several other genres. But I have always been a fan of techno." I said as Sweetiebelle smiled. "We have those where as well! Although I've never heard of blues before." She said as I shrugged. "Doesn't suprise me. This whole world is weirdly positive, so blues doesn't really fit here to well." I said as Raiden turned to Ronin, his wings spreading a bit as he talked. "Ronin, are you alright? We had heard Celestia was hunting you down, so we came as soon as we could." He said as Ronin shrugged. "Yeah, she found me alright." He turned to Luna. "Did you know your sister could make her tail and mane go on fire? I think she was trying this new look to try and attempt to seduce me with. Even her eye color was different and everything!" He chuckled. "And it worked! She had this whole dominating persona going for her and everything!" Luna frowned. "We have never heard of our sister's mane and hair becoming flames before. And when it came to courting, she hath always preferred to be the one who was dominated, not the other way around." She sighed and shook her head, smiling slightly. "At least thou are not fighting anymore." Ronin shrugged again. "It's kinda hard to explain it. It just felt like she was a different pony today, though she went back to her normal look when I was hit by a mud bomb." He glared at me before turning to Raiden. "Ima be honest, I'm kinda digging that look on ya bro. Makes ya look waaay tougher than before." With that, he walked off to to do who knows what. I turned to Raiden. "Uh...is that permanent?" I said, motioning to this whole body. "As of right now, possibly." He said. "Until we can research the phenomenon more closely, I'm going to be a dragon for a hot minute." He said as I smiled. "Well, now all three of us can change forms! Your a dragon, I'm a cyber DJ, and Ronin has his whole changeling thing going on." I stated as Luna tilted her head. "Cyber...DJ?" She asked as I nodded before my eyes went wide. "Ooo! I have go talk to someone, See y'all later!" I said as I ran off, leaving a confused Luna with Raiden anf Sweetiebelle. Raiden turned to Luna. "Now that Ronin is safe, tell me more about this suicide mission your sister sent our friends on." He said, causing a sheepish smile to appear on Lunas face as Sweetiebelles eyes went wide. "SUICIDE MISSION?!" *********** I walked up to Vinyls house and knocked on the door. I was greeted by Vinyl, who let me in, though I noticed that she seemed very sluggish. "Um...Vinyl? Are you ok?" I asked as she sighed and shook her head, pointing to a calander. I looked to the circled date. April 1st, it had a circled sentence that said "Show Nicholas the truth" underneath it. "The truth? what truth?" I asked. "Something she could only tell somepony who could follow her in her hoofsteps." I heard Octavia say as she walked into the house and drew the curtains. I noticed she looked quite upset, as if someone had died. Or would die soon... I turned to Vinyl. "Wait...you mean me? Bu you just met me a couple days ago." I said as Vinyl smiled weakly. Octavia walked over and stood next to her friend, turning to me. "We heard about your success at the farm party. Once she got the news, she knew you'd be perfect." "But perfect for what though?" I said as Vinyls smile disappeared as she walked up to me and pulled on her mouth... Revealing two parallel fangs that shined in the light. My jaw dropped. "Your...a vampire?" I exclaimed. Octavia sighed. "the proper term is vampony. But yes, she is. This is why you never see her during the day outside." She said while Vinyl pulled off her shades, revealing her eyes to me for the first time. She walked up to me and gave them to me. "Wait...I thought vampires could live for years. Why are you looking for a replacement?" I questioned as Vinyl went and laid on her bed. We walked over and stood beside it. "She has been alive, for about a thousand years." Octavia said as Vinyl grunted, causing an eye roll from Octavia. "Yes, I just called you old! deal with it." She turned to me. "She has been looking for somepony to take her place as a DJ for centuries so she could finally rest in peace." I looked to Vinyl and sighed. "She's about to die, isn't she." I said as Octavia nodded slowly. "Indeed. If you didn't come today, I would've had to hunt you down to give you those shades." She said as I looked at them. "What's so special about these?" I asked her as Vinyl winced suddenly, her body loking less...solid. "Shh." Octavia hushed me. "It has begun." I watched as Vinyls legs started to turn to dust, starting at her hooves. It was strange. I barely knew this mare, but I found myself tearing up at the prospect of her dying. As her body was slowly consumed by the dust, her head turned to me. She smiled and winked at me, mouthing three words: Wub on, Nicholas. Her body completely dusted after that. Octavia laid her head on Vinyls bed, silent tears streaming down her face. "Goodbye, old friend. Thanks for everything." She whispered before she got up and turned to me. "Those shades have been enchanted to help you channel your magic. You should now be able to cast spells by purely waving a finger." She said before turning back to the now empty bed. "Now, I would like a bit of alone time please." I respected her decision and walked out of the house and back into town. As I walked, I looked at the shades and gasped. They were now completely black, with red slits down the middle. I popped them on, feeling a new power course through me and smiled while a tear went down my cheek. Wub on indeed, Vinyl. > Chapter 43: Helloooooo, Nurse! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* I walked into my now fully blackened house that seemed to grow more spikes out of it daily to find Pinkie and Chrysalis sitting at a table in the kitchen. They turned to me at the same time and speed and Pinkie smiled, though for some reason she was glittering like a diamond. "Heya, Ronin! Chrysi and I wanna talk to you!" She says cheerfully, pointing to a chair sitting across from the two. Chrysalis huffed slightly as I passed her and sat down. I looked to Pinkie. "When did you get back? And why do you look like Rarity bejeweled your body" I asked her as she beamed, her body glistening off the light of the lamp above us. "Chrysalis teleported me back to help handle the newest drones she made." She jumped onto the table to show me her whole body. "And I started shining after we saved the crystal empire from a big bad meanie named Sombra who wanted to rule the kingdom again, but Twilight was all like 'We can't let that happen!' so we went to a library to search for clues to-" She gets cut off as Chrysalis seals her mouth shut and magically places her back on the seat she was sitting in. "Pinkie..." Chrysalis groaned. "We talked about this. We need to stay on. the topic we said we would discuss with Ronin. Ok?" She released Pinkie from her seal. "Oki doki lokie!" She said cheerfully before turning to me with a angry face. "Ronin, your a big meanie pants!" I leaned back, suprised by the u-turn in her mood. "What?" Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at me. "Earlier today, I had a mare come by asking if this was where Ronin lived. When I asked her of her name, imagine my suprise when I realize its the nurse from the hospital that took care of you." She says as I wince, realizing where this is going. Chrysalis snorts at my reaction. "And that is only the beginning. Turns out you had promised her a lunch date the next day, only to completely forget about it and leave her in the dust." I face-palm as Pinkie gasps. "For shame!!!" She exclaims, doing a faint that would put Rarity to shame. "How could you forget to do such a thing! You went back on your word, and that's sooooo mean!" She called out from the floor. I groaned. "If you happened to forget, I was quite busy trying to kill both a mega spider AND the same man that killed most of your kind in the first place!" I stated, pointing a finger at Chrysalis, who smirked. "Perhaps so, which is why we aren't too mad. Instead, I came up with a brilliant new plan. Pinkie, inform our mate of the plan." She says as Pinkie leans in really close to my face. "It's easy, Ronin. All you have to do is take her on a dinner date that I promised her would be great!" Her smile went a bit too wide as she continued. "Because I never break a promise." She slowly leaned back to her spot, saying 'never' really slowly. I turned to a smiling Chrysalis, who looked like she had more to say. "Futhermore, since you think it's fun to go gallavanting off and fight mad sorcerers without backup, Pinkie Pie and I feel the need to punish your stupidity." Her grin began to widen as she talked. "After the first date, you must take Pinkie and I out on two seperate dates and ENSURE we have a great time, and until you do so you shall be at our beck and call." She finished as Pinkie pointed a hoof at me. "Yeah! no more going and getting hurt anymore!" She said as I rolled my eyes, but smiled all the same. "Well, I can tell why Pinkie is so adamant about this, but why are you so set on me doing this date?" I asked Chrysalis, who looked away from my sight, though I saw the recollection of sorrow on her face. "It is simply my payment to her for healing you back when that roof fell on you." She said, refusing to look me in the eye. Huh. Chrysi being nice to someone. Guess Pinkie has been a good influence on her. "So, when's the dinner date with Redheart?" I asked them. The looked to each other and smiled at me as Chrysalis passed me a couple of gold bits. (who knows where she got them from.) "Oh, it's happening now." Chrysalis said as the doorbell ringed. My eyes widened in shock as I realised I had nothing to wear. Pinkie leaned in next to me. "Just shapeshift your exosuit to make a normal suit, silly." She whispered as I slapped my forehead. Doi! After the green flames died around my body, leaving a pretty nice silver tux with a blue tie, I pocketed the gold bits and went and open the door... ...to be met with a veeeery well dressed Nurse Redheart smiling shyly at me. Her pink hair, normally in a bun, was curled around her neck. She wore a blue dress that had hugged her bodies curves perfectly. She had what looked like a matching blue hair pin in the top of her hair that had, lo and behold, a image of her cutie mark on it. As my mind slowly began to register what the heck was going on, I got jabbed in the back by one of the girls. I cleared my throat in an attempt to gather my own thoughts, all the while startling her out of her own trance. "Wow...I'm at a loss for words." I barely managed to say, which caused a slight giggle from her. "I can't be that fetching, since we both know how much it takes to keep you quiet." We both laugh at that as she looks me over, a slightly hungry look in her eye. "You don't clean up so bad yourself." I closed the door and we began looking for places to eat at. As we walked, I turned to her. "Red, I'm sorry I forgot about our lunch date-" I began, but she waved me off. "Its ok, Ronin. I've heard about the craziness you've been up to since leaving that day. I'm suprised you haven't needed another stay at the hospital." She laughed as I subconsicously felt my chest, which still hurt a bit if I stretched a bit too much. I stopped and knelt down in front of her, getting eye level to her. I sighed. "No, it's not alright. I may not be the best guy out there. but when I say I'll do things, I tend to do them. You deserve that much at least." She smiled sweetly at me as I noticed a fancy looking restaurant behind her. "What about there?" I said, pointing to the place." She turned the restaurant and frowned. "The dainty hoof? But that only the rich can afford that place and AH!" She yelped out as I started walking towards the restaurant. "What are you doing?" She hissed slightly. I looked to her and winked. "Watch this." I said as she face-hoofed. We walked into the restaurant, where I was blown away by the level of fancy they had. Like seriously, there was chandeliers everywhere, snobby ponies sitting at tables in ridiculous outfits, and there was this VIP section where there was one table with a luminescent rainbow over it with small water geysers surrounding it. "Whoa..." I said as a unicorn walked up to us. "Excuse me Sir, but this place is for the dignified nobleclass only, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to...." I shut him up by pulling out a gold bit and waving it in his face while pointing to VIP table. "First off, I'm a paying customer. Second off, I'm courting a QUEEN, so that alone sets me up here." I pointed to Redheart, who was currently shaking her head with a smile at my antics. "And this lovely mare is my number two, so get us those seats." I said as he nodded, his eyes wide as he motioned for a earth pony waitress to come over. "These two are royal guests, so make sure they are satisfied or your fired!" He growled at her as she nodded and led us to our seats. Once we sat down, the pony smiled at us. "Welcome to the dainty hoof, I am Silver Plate and I'll be your waitress for today. What would like to start off with?" Redheart asnwered first. "I'll have champagne please." She said. The waitress turned to me. "Pinot Noir, please." I said as she nodded, writing down our drinks and leaving us. Redheart and I made eye contact for a second before we started giggling. "That was amazing! You had those stuck up ponies wrapped around your finger!" She said as I covered my mouth to keep from laughing to hard. "I know! Did you see that unicorn at the front." I made a serious face. "I'm going to have to ask you to lea- OH, LOOK MONEY!!." This caused more laughing from us. Thankfully, the geysers were loud enough to muffle it so we didn't get in trouble. Redheart sighed happily, looking around the room. "All my life, I never thought I would step in here. I figured this stuff was only for the priviliged in life." I smiled and grabbed her hoof. "Well, as far as I know, your pretty great without all this frou-frou mess corrupting you." I said as Silver Plate returned with the drinks. "Thank you." I said, releasing Redhearts hoof as the waitress passed me mine. Redheart grabbed hers (no clue how they do that with hooves) and placed it near her. "What would you two like for today?" She asked as we both looked at the menu. There was a LOT of hay based options here, but I soon glanced upon one that catched my fancy. No. Stinking. Way. My eyes went wide as I pointed to a miracle on the menu. "Can I get the Rib-eye steak please, medium well?" I said as Silver plates eyes widened. "Your ordering off the griffon section?" She asked me as I sighed. "I don't care if its the timberwolf section, you have it, right?" I said, getting a tad peeved. "O-Of course. My apologies." She quickly said before turning to Redheart, who hadn't even batted an eye at my order choice. "And what about you, ma'am?" She smiled and winked at me. "The same as my date please, well done if you please." She said, causing both Silver Plate and myself to look at her with shock. After Silver Plate left to give the back of the house the shock of a lifetime, I looked to the nurse and raised an eyebrow. "So, are you gonna explain the whole meat thing?" I said as Redheart giggled. "Well, let me start at the beginning. My mother was an unicorn pony, but my father was a griffon." She said as I nodded. "Most of the time, this creates hybrids, but I was a rare case. The only thing I got was these." She pulls her mouth back and shows me that she has pointed teeth on every front tooth. "So, my teeth are remarkably similar to yours. Just one or two molars more equine." I whistled in suprise. This mare was a nurse, hot, and ordered a well done rib-eye? Damn, I hit the jackpot for an all-American mare. "Well, that's absolutely awesome. Where do your parents live?" I asked her, though her face fell. Realizing my mistake, I quickly went to recover. "Crap, I'm sorry if I struck a nerve." She waved me off. "It's alright. My parents live in griffonia, but due to griffonias economy getting weaker by the day and the current king only caring for war, my mom and dad have been stuck there." She said as I leaned in and grabbed a hoof, squeezing it lightly. "That's terrible, Red. If I could help in any way, I would." I said as she smiled at me, her beautifully blue eyes shining in the light of the restaurant. I found myself slowly leaning in as she leaned as well. "Excuse me." I inwardly cursed and pulled away from Redheary to face the pony who had interrupted us. He was a brown pony with a black mane. "My name is Filthy Rich, and I was notified of a royal presence here at one of my establishments, but I do not recall you being a prince." He stared at Redheart. "Nor do I remember this nurse being a noblepony." Ok, I hate this guy. I stood up and breathed deep, my whole body flexing as I leaned over the now slightly cowering Filthy Rich. "Listen here, Filthy. My name is Ronin Alexander Blazeheart." His eyes widened at the last name for some reason, maybe he met Raiden? "I am courting a Queen Chrysalis and am currently on a dinner date with this angel of a mare to make up for a grevious error on my part. Now, if my Queen finds out that you ruined tonight for us..." I leaned in really close. "...you'll never see the light of day again." I growled, my voice sounding VERY deep and gravelly. I leaned bacl to my standing position and smiled. "So, no problems, right?" For a second, I thought heard a loud "AHH!" but since no one else seemed to hear it, I shrugged it off and turned back to Filthy. Honestly, I have never seen anything agree with me so fast. "My apologies, your majesty." He turned to the staff who had watched the affair. "Next time somepony says their royalty, try and believe them next time. We could've lost our perfect record to something like this." The staff scurried off as our steaks came out. I smiled and tipped my glass to Redheart as I sat down. Redheart, who was smiling from ear to ear from the display earlier. "To an amazing night?" I asked, hoping I didn't ruin this night somehow. She suddenly frowned. "No." she simply stated as I froze. Crap, I done screwed up. Now she's going to not want to talk to me, and the girls will be pissed and- She clinked my glass with hers. "To a perfect night." She said with a slight blush as we sipped our drinks and began to enjoy our food. *************** Chrysalis POV *************** That Idiot! Trying to make a scene with the owner od the restaurant?! Does he want us to kill him when this date is done? Pinkie gasped, looking through the right binoculer eye as I looked through the left. For a fancy restaurant, they had a huge open area where onlookers could see what they couldn't afford to have. Selfish, boasting simpletons. Of course, I'd do the same thing, but that's not the point! "Phew! that was close!" Pinkie said as Ronin sat down and offered a toast to the nurse. Pinkie, on the other hoof, could barely keep still. "Ronin almost got them kicked out!" "I could see that, you pink buffoon. Now quiet!" I hissed as Pinkie stuck her tongue out at me. "Psssh, your no fun!" She said before she got quiet for a bit. For most ponies, that's a miracle. For Pinkie, that means she's planning something. "Pinkie!" I whispered. "What are you-AHHH!" I yelled out as Pinkie slapped my flank with a paddle. "I told you earlier, silly. If your mean without good reason, you get a paddle to your flank." She said, giggling as I grabbed the paddle with my magic and glared at her. "My turn." I stated, as Pinkies eyes went wide. "Uh-Oh." *************** Ronin POV *************** "Oh man, that was soooo good!" I stated as we walked out the dainty hoof. The meal had been amazing! For a bunch of ponies, they knew how to cook a couple of steaks! Redheart sighed and leaned her head against me as we walked the road. "Absolutely! Although, my father can still kick their flanks at cooking." I laughed heartily. "Home cooking is the best, my brother is an expert at that." I said as Redheart pulled me down a walkway to a small house that seemed...alone compared to the rest of the houses on this road. "This is where you live?" I asked her as she sighed a bit. "It was my moms house. She preferred to stay away from other ponies, claimed they didn't understand her." She said as she turned to me and smiled warmly. "Ronin, this night has been absolutely wonderful. I can't remember the last time I had somepony that did something like this with me." I smiled and shrugged. "It was no problem, Red. You were amazing company, and an even better date." I said, finding myself suprisingly shy for once. Deciding to go for broke, I took a deep breath. "RedheartIhadablastandwouldloveitifyoujoinedtheherd!" I spat out as I face-palmed. Real smooth, Idiot. Redheart giggled as she walked up to me, standing on her back hooves to wrap her legs around my neck. "Ronin, I thought you'd never ask." She leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Besides, your other two herdmates just gave the green light." She said as I turned my head and saw Chrysalis and Pinkie waving to us, the latter had a broken paddle on her neck. "What the..." I said as Redheart pulled my head back to her and kissed me. And when I say kiss, I mean with tongue. As we broke apart, she smiled hungrily at me. "Forget those two for tonight. Allow this nurse to treat you to an overnight stay at your private hospital room." She cooed as she turned around, her tail wrapping around the inside of my legs as she walked inside, swaying her hips like a pendelum clock. Hehehe, this patient is checking in! > Chapter 44: Dreams, floats, and regrets > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I awoke with a yawn as I sat up in bed. Mid-stretch, I looked over to see Angel bunny asleep curled up on the pillow next to mine. While Fluttershy has been away, the little guy has been oddly friendly with me. Either he was told to do so by her or he's just lonely while she is gone. I smiled and got off the bed carefully as to not wake the sleeping bunny and went into the bathroom. I found a toothbrush and started brushing my teeth. I went to look in the mirror while doing so and nearly had a heart attack. There was this woman standing next to me. She had this pale white hair and and even paler skin that had a blur tint to them. Her eye sockets were pure snow and she wore this smile thay showed icy teeth. She had ice surrounding her body that almost seemed to make a outline of a dress. To my horror, I found I couldn't will myself to move. I was frozen in place by fear. The lady placed a frosted hand on my shoulder and leaned to my ear. You can run...you can hide...but none shall escape winter's blight. She said as she took a elongated ice nail and sliced my throat open. "AAAAH!" I snapped awake, clutching my throat. I looked around the room but found nothing. No crazy ice lady. Heck, the bunny was still snoozing away on the same spot. Must've been a dream or something. I thought as I looked outside and saw the sunlight peering through the windows. I got up and looked over myself, noticing I changed into a pair of sweats for bed last night. Whatever, I'll just keep these on. I thought as my door opened and Fluttershy rushed in. "Are you ok? I heard you scream and-" She was cut off as I suddenly wrapped her in a big hug. I hadn't even noticed it, but the nightmare had me shaken to the core. "Thank goodness your here, Mom." I said as she hugged me back as I buried my face into her neck and cried. With the mess with the rich family, Vinyl dying, and whatever the heck that was earlier, it was too much. So I broke down as Fluttershy started to sing. Sweet little angel in the sky. Hiding from the dark and those who lie. No matter what scares you so. Hold on tight to the one you know. I will be there whenever you fall. To help with your problems, big or small. I will always be by your side. Even in the dead of night. She finished as I pulled away and wiped my face. "That...was beautiful." I said between a sob or two. She blushed a bit before answering. "Oh, it was nothing really. Just something that came to mind." She tilted her head, a look of concern on her face. "What happened that caused you to be so upset?" She asked as I scratched the back of my head, smiling weakly. "Well, it started yesterday afternoon when..." **************** Raiden POV **************** I was dreaming. How did I know this? Well, when your playing uno with Abraham Lincoln, your pony girlfriend who has never played before, and an electric mouse pokemon, you tend to know when its not reality. I placed a yellow reverse card. "Your up, honest abe." I had three useless number cards and a blue skip with me. Abe had at least twelve cards while Luna and Pikachu had four each. Pikachu growled his name as Abe had a smug face as he placed the divine swap hand card and looked to Luna, with his own huge deck leaned towards her. "Tis cheating to do such a thing!" She complained as the hands were swapped and Abe chuckled. "I have freed you of your hand as I have freed the many slaves of America." He said as Luna looked at her hand before placing a plus four. "Huzzah! your hand has doubled! And the color is blue." She said as Pikachu suddenly dropped another plus four and pointed to his red cheek to indicate the color. Crap...forgot I allowed stacking. Lunas smile grew even bigger while she pointed at me. "Huzzah, now your hand as triplied!" I face-palmed as I grabbed eight cards from the deck. Abe looked at all of us before placing four smae color numbers down. "I believe that means I have won." He said as he stood up and tipped his hat to us. "Have a good day." He said as he pulled out a pokeball and returned pikachu to it. After pulling out an ocarina and playing it, summoning his pet dragon named toothless, he climbed on it and flew off towards the second star on the right. As he vanished from sight, I turned to Luna and smiled. "Shall we wake up?" I asked her, to which she huffed slightly, still peeved she lost, but nodded as the area started to fade. My eyes blinked open as I stretched out on my bed. After finding Ronin and Celestia on good terms again, we decided to rest here in my room after finding a letter on my bed from Celestia stating that she would await her sister tonight after she finished hanging out with her coltfriend (Luna blushed deeply as I had read that part aloud.) "Welp, she knows." I said. "So, shall we do today?" I asked her as she thought about that before smiling at me. "Would thou like to learn to use those wings?" She said as I gulped slightly. *************** Nicholas POV *************** "...And then I woke up." I said as Fluttershy was currently sitting with me on the bed while she had a wing draped over me. "Oh my goodness, that's sounds so awful." She said as I took a deep breath and let it out. "It was. I swear I could feel her slicing my neck, her cold fingers digging into my flesh." I said as Fluttershy eeped before hiding a bit in her mane. I laughed lightly. "I thought I'm supposed to be the one needing comforting." She slowly peeked her eyes out to look at me. "I'm sorry, Nicholas. But that sounded so scary the way you described it. How are you feeling about everything?" She asked me as I sighed. "Honestly, worried." I said, looking away. "Ever since I have got here, It's been one thing after another. From my brothers nearly killing each other, to a crazy old wizard trying to kill me, and now some elsa knockoff appearing in my dreams." I looked to her, my body shaking slightly. "I'm scared, Mom. A kid my age shouldn't have to go through everything I've been through." I laughed a bit. "Funny thing is, I ASKED for this life, and here I am complaining about it." I said as Fluttershy tilted her head. "Asked for this life?" She said, confused. I nodded before my eyes went wide. The Necklace!!! I jumped up and looked around the room, but I couldn't find it anywhere. "What are you looking for?" Fluttershy asked me, slightly worried about my mood shift. "The necklace that brought me here. I asked for it to bring me to a world where I could belong, and it brought me and my brothers here. If I could only find it..." I trailed off, focusing on my search as I looked through pockets of jeans I had worn. I heard Fluttershy walk up to me slowly from behind. "W-Why would you want to find it?" She asked as I turned to her. "If I could find it, maybe it might help me figure out whats going on." I said as I heard a sigh of relief as I turned to her. "Oh, thank heavens. I thought you were going to try and head back to your homeworld." She said as I blinked before shaking my head with a smile. "This is my world now. I'm not gonna cut tail and quit just because of some dream lady." I said as my stomach growled. "Ooo! We should stop by Sweet apple acres! We could get food and see my friend at the same time!" Fluttershy smiled big and clapped her hooves together. "That sounds wonderful, Nicholas." She said as I looked at my clothes again. Maybe I might change my clothes. Wouldn't want to see Applebloom in dirty clothes, after all. ************* Ronin POV ************* "So your herding, huh?" Big Mac inquired as I leaned against a wall. We were waiting for Applejack to get back with the girls and some cousin of Appleblooms visiting from Manehatten. After she got back, I was going to help Big Mac set up a float for the some harvest festival they were having. "Yup, got three now." I said, holding up three fingers. "A queen, a partier, and a nurse." Mac snorted. "Sounds like your pretty busy." I rolled my eyes. "Meh, it ain't so bad." I looked to him. "What about you, stud? Got any girls in your eyes?" I asked as Mac turned redder somehow and looked away. "E-Eenope" He stammered as I noticed where he was looking at. I saw my brother approaching with Fluttershy. I smirked and laughed a bit. "Into the quiet types, huh?" I said as he groaned. "Hush you, she's coming." He whispered as they walked up to us. Nicholas ran up and hugged me hard. "Heya Ronin!" He pretty much yelled as I smiled and squeezed him back. "Howdy, squirt." I said as he let me go anf looked around. "Where's Applebloom?" He asked as I shrugged. "She's picking up a cousin of hers, but what brings y'all here?" I stated as Fluttershy said something but it was waaay to quiet for me to hear. "Uh....what?" I said as even Mac had a confused look on his face. Nicholas, however, immediately spoke up. "She said we are here to get some apples and relax on the hills." He cleared up as I raised an eyebrow before hearing a loud crash in the barn. Big Mac and I stormed into the barn to see a rabbit currently eating an apple. Big Mac immediately growled. "Git that critter!" He barked as he dive for it, the rabbit jumping over him and landing on a bushel nearby. The rabbit turned to him and stuck its tongue out... Before getting grabbed by the ears and being hung upside down by me. I looked it in the eyes while speaking to Big Mac, who waz recovering from his dive. "Hey Mac, you have a pot?" I asked as he nodded. "Eeyup, what for?" He asked as I grinned big at the rabbit, who now looked very afraid. "I just caught me some rabbit stew, that's why." I said, licking my lips as the rabbit starting squeaking loudly as it looked like it was in tears. "LEAVE ANGEL BUNNY ALONE!!!" I heard a loud voice yell. I turned around just to have my face connect with a sharp hoof to the chin. I was sent backwards into a bushel of hay as the rabbit landed on the ground. I sat up just to be pinned to the ground by...Fluttershy? "What the heck do ya think your doi-" I never finished that sentence. "HOW DARE YOU TRY AND HURT ANGEL BUNNY!" She literally roared at me, causing my jaw to drop. where did this come from? Melfesia stated in my mind, sounding slightly in awe. No idea, but right now I was seconds from passing out in fear as she continued. "DON'T YOU EVER THREATEN MY ANIMAL FRIENDS AGAIN, GOT THAT!" She yelled as I nodded quickly. She immediately retreated and walked out the barn as if nothing happened, while Nicholas was dying with laughter on the ground and that bunny was riding on Fluttershys back while sticking its tongue out at me. I looked to Big Mac, who was watching Fluttershy leave, as he sighed. "Ah think Ah'm in love." He stated as I face-plamed, turning to Nicholas as I noticed a pair of shades on him. "Whoa...where did you get those?" I asked, pointing to them. Nicholas got up and put them on, the red slits glowing. "I got these from a friend who is...was the town's DJ." He said with a tone of sadness in his voice. The friend must've left town or something. "Well, their pretty cool looking." I said as I heard a crash from outside. "What is it now?" Big Mac said, snapping out of his trance as we ran outside and found Raiden in an apple tree (thankfully an empty one) looking winded. "What the heck are you doing?" I said as he fell out of the tree and stretched bis wings. "I've been trying to learn how to fly, but Luna keeps just teleporting me in the air and claiming I'll 'catch on' sooner or later." He said as said princess teleported next to him with a flash of blue light. "That was a good attempt, but thou needs to balance your wings better when descending." She said as I rolled my eyes. "What he needs is a professional teacher." I mumbled as Nicholas came outside. "Hey guys, what's going on out here-oh, hey princess." He said casually as Luna smiled at him. "Greetings, young Nicholas. How fares your day so far?" She asked him as he shrugged. "It's been good, just waiting for the girls to come back with their cousin." He said before he clapped his hands together. "Oh! maybe they are at that tree house of theirs!" He said as he ran off. I turned to Big Mac, who was currently looking on the whole situation with a slightly confused look. "Hey Mac, wanna get these trees done? Or are we gonna watch you daydream about Fluttershy some more?" I said as his face went red and he gave me a look as we went to finish the apples trees left for today. Luna turned to Raiden and beamed. "Shall we continue our efforts?" She asked as Raiden headbutted a tree with a groan before disappearing in a blue flash. **************** Nicholas POV **************** I climbed up onto the treehouse to find Tak already there looking bored. As he saw me, his expression changed to a smile. "Greetings, Nicholas. How's your day so far?" He said as I sat on the floor and popped my neck to get a kink out. "It's been...alright." I said, thinking back to my dream. Tak frowned. "I can literally sense your anguish. What's wrong?" He asked me as I sighed. "Just a bad dream, that's all." I said, not really wanting to talk about it. "How long have you been here anyway?" Either not noticing the conversation change, or not caring eithwr way, he answered. "I've been here since the big farmpony directed me here. Where are the girls?" I shrugged. "Picking up a cousin of appleblooms or something." I said as I heard voices coming from outside. "Almost there cousin!" that one had to be Applebloom. "We can't wait to show you the suprise!" Sweetiebelles voice rings out loudly. "Make sure she doesn't fall down the stairway!" Scootaloo says as we hear them coming up. I look to Tak and smile. "Welp, time to see who the fuss is about." I said as Tak nodded. Scootaloo came up first, helping a brown coated girl with red hair with pink streaks going through it. Her eyes were blocked by Appleblooms hooves while Sweetiebelle helped from behind. Scootaloo noticed us first. "Oh, hey guys! We have somepony we want you to meet." She said as she stepped aside and Applebloom uncovered the girls eyes. She looked around, taking in the clubhouse with a slightly disinterested gaze before her eyes fell on Tak and I. "Sup." I said to her as her jaw dropped. "Whoa...what are you?" She said as I smiled. "Names Nicholas, your friendly neighborhood human." I said as she turned to Tak. "Hold up, Are you a changeling?" She asked as Tak blinked in suprise. "Indeed. How do you know about my kind?" He asked as the girl smirked. "I've heard about ya kind back home in manehatten. You guys crashed a royal wedding, right?" She said as Tak sheepishly grinned and scratched his head. "For the record, that was my mother's idea. But yeah, we did do that." He said as Applebloom stepped up next to the filly. "Guys, this is babs, mah cousin!" She said, wrapping a leg around babs. "Nice to meet ya, babs. But you said your from a placed called Manehatten? Is that like a big city?" I asked her as she nodded. "Yup, Manehatten is huge! Odd that ya never heard of it before." She said as Sweetiebelle walked over and sat on a chair. "That's because Nicholas isn't from Equestria!" She said as Babs eyes widened. "Really?!" She said, her eyes wide. "Yeah, yeah. Nicks an alien. now, let me give you the grand tour of the clubhouse." Applebloom said, looking pretty excited/impatient about the whole scene. I chuckled and sat next to Tak as Applebloom and the girls showed Babs around the small clubhouse. I leaned in and whispered to Tak. "So, how's things going with that dance you said you wished to do with Scootaloo." His face went red immediately as he coughed. "I haven't asked her yet, but I plan to do so after today's festival." He said as I raised an eyebrow. "What festival?" I asked as he smiled. "Its a harvest festival the town throws yearly. It's supposed to show off the great harvest the towns farms produce each year with a parade of food-related floats." He said. "Ooooh. Are we doing a float?" I said as Tak shrugged. "The girls might be doing one, but I don't wish to impede on their time with the new arrival." He said as I clapped my hands together. "What if we get one of my brothers to help. Raiden is busy with Luna, but Ronin should have time to help make one." I said as Tak grinned. "That could work! Mother has bound to have made more drones by now, so we will have the workforce necessary to make it." He said as Applebloom turned to us. "We're going tah go show Babs our float, wanna come?" She asked as Tak and I shook our heads. "Nah, you go ahead. We're going to make our own." I said as Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo walked out (not before Scootaloo winked at Tak, causing said changeling to blush.) Applebloom smiled. "Ok, then. See y'all later." She left with babs seed, the later waving goodbye to Tak and I as she walked out. I looked to Tak and stood up. "Let's go make a float." I said as Tak stood up and followed me out the door. ************** Ronin POV ************** Todays shift was only a small amount of apple trees, so we got done pretty quickly. I was just about to leave when Nicholas and Tak ran up to me, the latter looking way less tired than Nicholas. "Bro...*huff*...We need your help!" He said as I narrowed my eyes. "What's wrong?" I said, ready to fight whatever was troubling them. Tak tilted his head. "Nothing is wrong, we just need your help making a float for the harvest festival." He said as I relaxed. "Why didn't ya say so? I just finished my shift here, so we can go ahead and-WATCH OUT!!" I tackled the kids out of the way of a giant pumpkin that went pass us and crashed into a bunch of pieces. "What was that?!" Tak yelled as we stood up. I turned to the path the pumkin had came from and saw the barn... And six young fillies who looked mighty guilty of the events that just took place. "Give me just a second." I growled as I started my way towards them. Nicholad saw where I was heading and started running after me. "Ronin, wait! I'm sure the girls had nothing to do with that pumpkin float!" He said as I ignored him and continued my warpath. Applebloom was the first notice me, considering she backed up and pulled her two friends back a bit. Though I noticed Sweetiebelle looked like she might cry for some reason, while Scootaloo looked like she was glaring at the other three. I turned to the other three girls, none I recognized. I pointed to the grey one. "You, explain what just happened and why my brother nearly just died by runaway pumpkin." The pinkish one looked shocked and immediately went to Nicholas. "That float almost hit you?! Are you ok?!" She pretty much yelled in his face as she went up on two legs and wrapped him in a hug. That must be Diamond Tiara then, considering how close she is to him. I thought as Nicholas rubbed her left ear and kissed her cheek lightly. "It's ok, Ronin pushed me and Tak out of the way in time." Nicholas said as Tak caught up with us and Scootaloo went and hugged him. "Are you ok?" She asked him before realizing what she was doing and jumped back with a blush. Tak nodded and looked to the wreck downhill. "I am, but the float is not." He said as Diamond Tiara went up to a brown filly that was looking a tad worried now. "What were you thinking?! You nearly got my coltfriend killed!" She yelled as she went to hit the girl but was stopped by Nicholas. "Why are you trying to hit Babs? She couldn't have anything to do with this, right?" Nicholas asked as Babs gulped and took a step back. Sweetiebelle took a step forward. "Yes, she did!" She proclaimed, causing everyone to look at her as she shrunk a bit before continuing as she looked to her two friends. "Sorry, girls. But Nicholas and Tak almost got hurt, and if telling the truth about why makes me a snitch, then so be it." She turned to me, taking a deep breath. "Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon came over and started making fun of us and babs when she decided to buck our float, causing it to roll down the hill." She said before exhaling. I turned to the brown filly. "Are you babs?" I said, emotionless. Babs shrunk down in fear but nodded slowly. I turned and motioned for her to follow me out of the barn, to which she did so, Albeit slowly. *************** Nicholas POV *************** As Ronin left with Babs, I turned to my girlfriend, who looked like she didn't want to be there right now. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Diamond, why did you make fun of the girl's float?" I said as Diamond pointed to the rubble downhill. "Did you see how ugly that thing was?" She asked me as Silverspoon winced, knowing that was the wrong thing to say. I narrowed my eyes. "All I saw was a giant object that nearly KILLED me!" I loudly stated, causing Diamonds ears to dold against her head, tears starting to come to her eyes. I sighed again. "Look, I know you five have had bad blood since before I arrived, but please try to tone it down to less dangerous actions please." I said as Diamond sniffled and nodded along with the other three (Scootaloo and Tak had left when Ronin had left to do how knows what.) "I'm sorry, Nick. Can you forgive me?" Diamond asked me. I thought about that for a second before looking to the wreckage below. "I think I know exactly what you can do to earn that forgiveness." I said as I looked to the five girls with a sly grin. ************ Raiden POV ************ I groaned as I stretched out my now ridiculously sore wings. Luna had been absolutely brutal with her efforts to try and get me to fly. Every time I went to rest she would pull me into a massive make-out seesion before summoning a whip and slapping me on the bum with it, barking words "BREAKS OVER, RAIDEN!" In that royal voice of hers before proceeding to chase me with said whip in the air. Of course, with that type of motivation you learn to fly pretty fast. I was right now hiding on top of the library so I could get some extra rest in before Luna found me again. Just as I was getting comfortable I felt wings wrap around me. "Found you, my love." Luna said as she pulled us out of the tree and onto the ground. I got up and faced her, only to see Spike behind Luna looking at me in shock and awe. "Whooooaaaa!" Spike said as he ran up to me. "Who are you?" He said as I smiled and patted his head. "Kid, it's me. Raiden. Your blood did this to me." I said as his jaw dropped (literally) to the ground. "RAIDEN?!" He yelled loudly as he took a step back before smiling at me. "That's so awesome! Your a dragon like me now." "Another dragon?" I heard Twilight say as she walked out of the library and made eye contact with me. For a minute, she didn't move. "Raiden?! Why are you a dragon?!" She asked/yelled at me. I blinked in suprise. "How'd you know it was me?" I asked as Twilight blushed slightly while Spike answered. "Well, duh. She pretty much dreams about you considering how much she talks about you in her sleep." He said while Twilight took a step back while blushing full red. "W-what! I don't dream about Raiden. Besides, he's a dragon now. So I doubt I'd be attracted to his silverly coat...or his ripped body...or even his now deep voice." She said as she started swooning slightly before snapping out of it. "Right! I must know how you became a dragon!" I shrugged. "No idea." Her eyes went wide, as did her smile. "Really!" She seemed to get veeeeery enthusiastic about my predicament. I turned to Luna. "Is she gonna be ok?" I asked her. She looked to me and shrugged. "How should we know? She isn't our student. Though we are concerned with how she's eyeing you." She said as I now found Twilight looking up straight at me. "We should begin testing right away!" She said as she grabbed me by my arm and dragged me into the library. What have I gotten myself into? *************** Ronin POV *************** I sat on top of a hill near the orchards and laid down. I looked to Babs and nodded. "Lay here next to me." She did as I said and laid down with a grunt. For a while, neither of us said anything. We just sat there while the sun started to set, the wind blowing casually through the hillside. "Tell me one thing." I said, breaking the silence. She turned to me as I looked to her. "Why did you kick that float?" She frowned. "I did it because..." She trailed off before covering her face with her hooves. "Oh, what have I done? I trashed my cousin's float just to avoid gettin' bullied when all she did was support me." She said, tears starting to come freely. I sat up and looked out towards the fields. "You've been bullied before, haven't you?" She looked to me in shock. "H-How'd ya know?" I sighed and looked an her. "Because I used to be just like you. I was a nice kid. but I let outside influences, influences thay shouldn't have even mattered, change me into something I didn't want to be." I said as I deactivated my left leg armour and showed her a long scar going down my leg, starting at my upper leg all the way down to my ankle. She looked at it in shock. "What happened to you?" I sighed and looked her in the eyes. "It began 6 years ago..." ******************* Ronin POV/10 years ago/earth ******************* "Dad! why do I have to go to uncle todds? He's a jerk!" I said as Dad pulled into the driveway and turned to me, a finger pointed at me. "I'm taking you here because he is the only guy I know that can rid you of that violent mess your grandfather put in your head." He said as I groaned. "But he's a hippie!!!" I exclaimed. "And besides, he doesn't like Amelia." I said as I pointed to said girl who was in the backseat looking bored as she looked out the window. "Well, her parents agreed that she needed this as well after she smashed a chair over that kid at school." He said while I sighed. "She smashed the chair on the guy because he pulled a knife on me." I said as Dad groaned. "Just get inside, both of you." He said as Amelia and I got out of the car as he drove off. I felt her hug me from behind, so I turned to her and watched as she sign-languaged quickly with a sly smile. I snorted with laughter. "Yeah, my Dad is a Karen, huh." I said as she pulled into a quick kiss. You see, Amelia was deaf, so she sign languaged everything she said when people could understand it. I had always told her her voice was just fine, but people made fun of her for it. As we broke apart, I grabbed her hand and looked towards the garage. There was our so-called therapist, Uncle Todd. He smiled and beckoned us inside. "Come, friends. Let me help you become one with your destiny." He walked inside as Amelia signed "cuckoo" to me. I suppresed a snort as we followed him in. We found ourselves in the living room. There were three slices of cake on a table in the middle of a couch and a chair. "Come, have a bite to eat. You must be famished after listening to my crazy brother talk your ears off." He said as we sat down and I took a bite of the cake. Todd may be loony, but he absolutely knew how to cook. Amelia was a bit more reluctant to take a bite, but did after me. As we ate, Todd looked to us and his smile widened. "I'm trying a new recipe, do you like it?" He said as I nodded. "It's great, Todd. What did you use this time?" I asked as his face went blank as he leaned in. "Just 8 ounces of Xanex." He said as the room seemed to get a bit woozy. No...the cake is a lie! I looked shakily over to amelia, who had already slumped over. I looked back to Todd, who was grabbing what looked like...shackles? "Sorry kid, but yer grandad has filled yer head with too much crap." Was the last thing I heard before I passed out. ********* I woke up to find myself on the couch, like before. But neither Amelia or Todd were anywhere to be found. I stood up and almost fell over, still slightly affected by the sedatives. I looked around for a bit before I heard whistling from the bedroom. I walked in the room and gasped. Amelia was shackled to the bed, tears on her face and some marks on her arms that looked like belt marks. I turned to see Todd staring at me. "Morning kid. How's life?" My eye twitched. "Let her go, NOW!" I yelled. He didn't even flinch, instead he dropped the belt and pulled a revolver from behind him. Amelias eyes widened and she started to cry softly. "I'd be a bit nicer, boy. I haven't taken my meds in months and I have a nasty trigger finger." He said as he pointed it at Amelia. I raised my hands in surrender. "Ok ok! Stop! What do you want?" I said as he smiled. "Simple, just shoot your friend in the foot and I'll let you both go." He said as my jaw dropped. "HELL NO! I am not shooting my friend." I yelled as he pointed the gun to her head, causing her to look to me in fear. "Please...just stop this! why are you even doing this?" I asked as he smiled at me. "Kid, in this world, there's only two that live. Those who kill, and those who hide. I'm a bit of both. I hide from the law, and kill idiots who don't agree with me." I started shaking. "Y-Your crazy!" He laughed. "Not crazy, a psychopath. There is a difference." He sighed. "But, you are out of time." He turned to Amelia, who was now looking to me, mouthing the words "I love you". "Goodbye, you handicapped demon." BANG! "NOOOO!" I yelled as I watched her body drop to the ground. I turned and tackled Todd to the ground, the gun sliding across the floor to a corner. I tackled him off the bed and landed on top of him on the ground. He looked uo at me and smiled that same smile. "Do your worst..." He said, laughing as I started wailing on him, blow after blow only increasing his volume. I looked up and saw a lamp. I grabbed it and reared back. He looked up at me, face bloody and crooked. "Heh, geuss I was wrong. You are a killer." He said as I brought the lamp down. *************** present time *************** I looked to Babs, who was looking at me with a look of sadness/fear. I stood up and turned away from her. "I... ain't sure where I was going with that. But the main thing is this: Don't let others tell you what you are. I was told I would be nothing more than a walking pyscho. But here I am with a new lease on life. And you don't have to be a jerk to save your own skin. Just be true to yourself...while you still have a self to be true to." I finished this as I went to walk away, but was grabbed by a hug to my leg from the kid. "Mr, what ya have been through, that's absolutely terrible. But it's like you said, you have a new chance, right?" She said as I looked on, not even thinking about looking at her for fear of tears. "Y-Yeah." I said. "Then you should tell someone about this. Someone that knows you better than I do." She said as she let go and went to walk off. "Babs." I called out as she stopped and turned to me. "Thanks for listening to me." She waved me off with a smile. "Forget about it." With that, she walked off as the sun set into the night. > Chapter 45: Everything that glitters... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV/the next day* I awoke with a yawn as I attempted to get up, but found myself at the center of a four filly pony pile. Silverspoon and Sweetiebelle were on my sides with my arms wrapped around them while Applebloom and Diamond Tiara were on top of me, laying on my chest. I noticed my left hand was on Appleblooms back while my right was on Diamonds head with two fingers laying on her left ear. I looked over to the new float that seemed to shine in the sunlight. We had spent HOURS making it and it seemed our hard work had laid off. And no, we did NOT make another pumpkin float. Diamond did have a point there, pumpkins are not a good looking product. Instead, I had vouched for us to make a golden apple instead (Applebloom seemed extra giddy about that, for obvious reasons.) As I sighed, feeling content with the new float, I felt Silverspoon stir a bit. "Oh, 12K..." She mumbled as she rolled out from my arm and into a hay bale. She woke up a second after that and looked around until she saw me. "Oh...hey Nicholas." She said with a yawn before motioning to the pile on me. "Need any help?" I shool my head and smiled. "Nah, lets see if my shades work." I said as I used my now free hand to grab my shades from my pocket and slip them on. Now how should I wake these girls up?" I thought as an idea popped into my mind. I reached over and rubbed my hands together quickly, building static between them as Silverspoon, noticing what was about to happen, watched with amusement. With my hands charged, I booped each of the three sleeping girls on their muzzles. ZAP!!! All three of them were sent into three seperate parts of the room. Applebloom landed near the left wall, Sweetiebelle flew into the floats open door, and Diamond went into the rafters. I couldn't help but laugh as the three slowly recovered from the scare. "That's not funny!" Sweetiebelle called from inside the float, though she sounded alright. "Yeah, why did ya have tah go and do that?" Applebloom said as Diamond decided to body slam me from above, causing me to hit the ground with an audible oof. "At least do it to the others instead of me next time." She said as she nuzzled my cheek. I got up, putting Diamond next to me, and turned to the float. "Well, girls. Shall we go and show this town our creation or what?" I said, receiving a bunch of excited "YEAHS!" in return. **************** Raiden POV/ the night before. **************** I was dragged into the room by a overly eager Twilight with Luna and Spike close behind. "Ooo! I'm so excited!" Twilight said as she brought over a checklist and started writing on it. "So first, we need to find out just how much you can do in comparison to other dragons." She said as I flexed my wings. "Well, I can fly pretty well due to Luna training me all day." I said Luna pecked me on the cheek and sighed warmly, leaning her head on my shoulders. "Well, you do have wings, but it's still impressive you managed to get flying down so easily." She stated as she checked a box off and looked to me. "Are you able to breathe fire?" She asked me as I shrugged. "Never tried without my life in danger, though now I feel silly for not doing so." I said as Twilight levitated a rock in the air the size of a basketball. I looked to Spike and pointed to the rock. "Yo, how do I spit fire?" I askes him as he grinned big and walked up next to me. "Well, you first have to take a deep breath." He does so comically as I follow suit, feeling an odd buildup in my lungs as I did so. "You feeling that tension in your gut?" He asked me as I nodded. "Now relwase it towards your target!" He said as I exhaled strongly. From my mouth came a white and yellow flame that completely melted the rock, it's molten remains caught and vaporized in a blue aura by Luna before it could damage the library floor. I looked to Spike and put my fist out. "Thanks, little man. That was amazing!" Spike blushed lightly at the compliment but fist-bumped me all the same. "No problem, dude. Anything to help a fellow dragon." I turned to Luna and Twilight, the latter look like she was vibrating with how much she was shaking. "Splendid performance, love!" Luna exclaimed as she walked up and smooched me right on the lips. She pulled away as Twilight let out a gasp. "Wait...the marefriend you said was a secret...It was Luna!?!" She exclaimed as I sighed and Luna looked to her sheepishly, nodded. "Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. We have found ourselves quite attracted to the man...Dragon that stands beside us." She said as I placed an arm around her and stroked her mane with my claws, carefully as to not hurt her ny accident. Twilight looked between us for a second before she turned away and walked upstairs with her ears pressed to her head and head low. Luna turned to me with a slightly worried look. "Thou should go talk to her." She said as I nodded and walked up the stairs, finding her laying on her bed with her facing the window. She sighed quietly. "I never had a chance, huh." She said weakly as I flinched at the sad tone her voice was in. I sighed and sat down next to her, causing her to look to me. "Twilight...It's not that simple." I said as she frowned. "Of course it is! You love Luna, and not me. And I just have to live with that..." She said as she started to tear up slightly as I looked down at the ground. "To be honest, Twi." I started, taking a deep breath. "I'm not so sure what to feel anymore. I do like you, but I'm not so sure how much I like you or if I want to even start a herd at all." I said as Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes. "Could I try though? Could you give me a chance to change your mind?" She asked me. I thought it over as I heard hoofsteps coming up the stairs. Do I wish to date her? Or even try to do so? I guess I could give her a shot, but what would happen between us if she doesn't end up dating me? Would she be angry with me? I was pulled from my thoughts as Luna walked in. "Hey, love." I said as I stood up. "Twilight wants a chance to prove that she can be a part of what we have." I said as Luna looked to Twilight with an slightly cold stare. "Thou wishes to make a herd from us, yes?" She said as Twilight nodded slowly. "Princess, all I ask for is a chance. I don't wish to take him from you or force you two to herd if you don't want to." She said as Luna and I looked at each other and nodded. I cleared my throat, getting Twilight tp turn to me. "Very well. You have one chance. Luna can set up the parameters of that chance since this decision will affect her as much as I." Luna nodded, agreeing with the decision. "Meanwhile, I am going to go sleep. Today has been a looooong day!" I said as I walked out, allowing Luna to talk to Twilight in peace. *************** Ronin POV/present day *************** "C'mon, Ronin! We need to hurry if we are gonna get good spots!" I was currently being lead through the crowd by Redheart in an attempt to try and get good viewing spots for the parade that was soon to start. However, there were a TON of ponies out today, so the chances of us getting through the crowd was slim. Redheart, realizing this, huffed and turned to me. "Ugh! Now what do we do? If we don't get to the front, we wont be able to see Pinkie Pies float!" Oh yeah, the party queen had her own float. And of all the vegetables, she chose lettuce. LETTUCE! And it was real too, considering that after I had returned from my talk with Babs she had me glue the stiff together with that goop Chrysalis uses for drone making... Wait a sec...that's it! I had never tried connecting to the hive mind on my own before, but it couldn't hurt to try though. Yello? Anyone home? Is this thing on? I called out in my mind. But nobody came. Oh well, time for plan B-AGH! I bent over as I felt a rush of voices enter my head. It sounded like there were a million worker bees buzzing my mind! "Ronin? what's wrong?" Redheart asked me as I looked to her. "Ah! Just...connected to the hive mind...Got to shut it off somehow..." I said with several winces of pain as I shoot out one loud thought. SILENCE!!! The buzzing stopped, and I felt a mixture of regret and fear from the hive. Crap, now they're scared. Listen. I beagn, not sure how to address the hive. I'm not really sure how this works, but I need the foir changelings that helped on the farm to report to my location immediately. I heard four voices acknowledge the request and fade from the murmers in my mind. Now...how do I shut this off? Like that, the voices were gone. I guess its a wordplay thing then with the words on and off. I turned to a very worried Redheart and smiled, giving her a scratch behind the ears. "I'm alright now... I haven't done that without assistance before. On that note, where was Melfesia? She would've definitely said something during that encounter, but I didn't even feel her presence in the mind. I put those thoughts aside as the four changelings dropped down in front of me and Redheart. Larxene saluted. "Ready for action, Ronin Sir!" the other three stood at attention, but seemed slightly distracted by the ponies who were giving them some odd looks. "Alright, Redheart and I need to be at the front of that crowd." I said, pointing to the crowd facing some of the already approaching floats. "Could you four assist us in this please?" Axel and Roxas nodded, while Zexion just yawned. Larxene turned to the three. "You heard them, boys! Let's move these commeners out of the way of the king and Queen number three!" The four of them immediately transformed into what looked like giant dogs. "What the hell?" I said as Redheart sighed and face-hoofed. "They just turned into diamond dogs to scare the populace out of the way." She said before turning to me. "Queen number three?" I chuckled and started to follow the crew as they literally caused a ripple in the crowd that let us through. Whatever those things are, they must be well known if they get THAT kind of reaction. "Your the third member of the herd, so i guess the hive sees you as a third queen." It was at that moment I realized two things: One, The drones viewed Redheart as a queen, so that means PINKIE was viewed as a queen. And for some reason, Pinkie Pie being in charge of a species of shape-shifting bug things scares me. And two, when I was in the hive mind, there were waaaay more voices in my head than four. That means Chrysalis has a lot more drones made now. Oh well, its not like I was going to be invading any countries anytime soon. We made it to the front just as the cursed lettuce float was coming by. Redheart and I waved to Pinkie as she was driving. "Hey party queen!" I yelled out, causing Pinkie to look to me and smile. "Heya Ronin! Isn't this fun! Even Chrysalis is participating!" She said, pointing behind her to... No...stinking....way! Attached to the lettuce float by rope was a tomato float with Chrysalis sitting on top with a mini tomato suit on. The changelings, who had transformed back to their normal forms, were now struggling not to laugh at their queens current predicament. I, on the other hand, had no such self-control. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I exclaimed loudly as I fell over on one knee, my arm on Redhearts back for support. "Hey, Chrysi! What did she promise you for you to do that?" I yelled to her. Chrysalis was not amused. "She helped my son with him and that winged chicken scootaloos float, and stop laughing! It's not funny!" She exclaimed as Redheart bursted out laughing at that, leaving us both a giggling mess on the ground. "What's so funny, partner?" I heard a southern voice call out. I looked up and saw Applejack and Rainbow dash looking at me, the forner had a smile and the latter had a frown. "Chrysalis is in a tomato outfit, and I think thats hilarious." I pointed them to said queen, which resulted in Rainbow busting a gut while AJ just chuckled. "Who made that for her?" Rainbow said between laughs. I shrugged and turned to AJ. "So, there's something I need to tell ya about Babs..." I started, but AJ cut me off. "Ah know already. The little varmint came and told me everything. I'm just glad ya managed tah stop the whole situation before somepony did something they'd regret." I chuckled. "Like what, rig a float to crash or something?" We laughed at that as Redheart recovered from her own fit of laughter, leaning against me affectionately as I rubbed her ears. AJ noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "Ah thought ya were dating Chrysalis?" "I am, but I'm also herding with Pinkie and Redheart right now as well." I said as both Applejack and Rainbow Dash reared back in suprise. "Wait a second, your the guy Pinkie kept talking about while we were pranking ponies last week?" Rainbow asked me as I nodded. "Yeah, what did she say?" I asked as Rainbow shrugged. "She kept going on and on about finding somepony who was didn't care if she acted like herself while around him. She never said she was herding though!" She exclaimed as I narrowed my eyes. "You got a problem with that?" I said, growling the last part a bit. Realizing her mistake, Rainbow shook her head. "No No No! Of course not, I just didn't expect her to be that kind of pony." Rainbow said as AJ sighed. "Sugercube, when are ya ever gonna learn tah not dig yerself into a hole ya can't escape from?" She said before turning to me. "Well, ah for one didn't think ya'd be the herdin type." I shrugged and lowered my hand to massage Redhearts neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure from said mare. "Yeah, I didnt either until I tried." I said I heard techno music coming from behind me. Must be Nicholas We all turned to the float that was currently going by and had our jaws drop at the sight. *********** Nicholas POV *********** We had managed to get our float to the parade just in the nick of time. As we climbed in though, Diamond was lagging behind a bit. Applebloom noticed first. "C'mon Diamond! We haven't got all day!" Diamond Tiara frowned at the float. "I just think the float needs a little more to it before we join the parade." She said as Silverspoon tilted her head as she stood at the doorway. "Like what? I doubt it needs more golden glitter." She said, slightly glaring at Sweetiebelle, who hid a glitter filled bucket behind her with a sheepish smile. I snapped my fingers, an idea forming in my mind. I turned to Applebloom and pointed at the top of the float. "Bloom, you set up a flat surface on top, right?" I asked her as she nodded. "Of course ah did! We needed it to be flat to support the outer walls foundation." She said as I nodded and turned to the other three. "Alright, you four girls can go inside and operate the float." I said as I slipped inside to grab my 12/case (yup, I'm calling it that now.) "I will stay outside and keep the crowd pleased." Diamond and Sweetiebelle got big smiles on their faces while Applebloom face-hoofed at the smug smile on my own. Silverspoon, however, looked confused. "What are you going to do?" She asked as I turned and adjusted my shades to where they sat above my forehead but still on my head. "Simple, I'm going bring down the house." I said as I climbed up the apple float, easier to do thanks to the strap Fluttershy put on the briefcase so I didnt have to carry it, and got on top of the apple. "Alright, I'm in position!" I said as I set up my music set. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, ROLL OUT!" Everyone got inside and the float joined the parade just as I transformed into 12K. However, the tranformation didn't stop at me. A warm red light spread over the entire float. "Whoa...what the?" I said as the glow disappeared, leaving the float with a golden glow. Wait...golden? I leaned down and tapped the float and, sure enough, it's real gold. "Nicholas! The float is made of gold!" Sweetiebelle called up to me. "I know! It's awesome!" I yell back, remembering a similar situation happening while we repaired the float. *************** The day before *************** We had made good progress in fixing the float (Diamond insisted we do something otherr than an pumpkin, so we decided to do an apple). However, after we finished, we looked apon the red float with hesitation. "Ok, I'm going to be completely honest." I said as I looked at the slightly worn down float. "This doesn't look so good." Diamond huffed. "There is no way I am riding in that thing." Silverspoon nodded in agreement while Sweetiebelle rolled her eyes. Applebloom, however, seemed optimistic. "C'mon, y'all. It doesn't look so bad. We just need tah make it stick out some more." Sweetiebelle turned to me. "Nick, I've seen you enhance Ronin's blade before. Do you think your magic might be able to enhance the float?" I frowned and shrugged. "I have no clue how my magic works. Whenever I did that, it was always a spur of the moment thing, and besides, it's not like I can snap my fingers and PRESTO! golden glitter would appear on the thing." To drive the point home, I snapped my fingers at the float, sure nothing would happen. So imagine my suprise when the float flashed red for a second before the thing gained a coat of golden glitter. My, and the girls, jaws dropped. "wooow!" Applebloom said as Silverspoon looked to me. "How did you do that?" She asked as I shrugged. "Literally no idea." I said as Diamond came up and propped herself on her back legs to nuzzle me on the cheek. "Because he's amazing, that's how." She said while I felt my face heat up, but felt a smile grow on my face. Sweetiebelle looked to the float, which Applebloom was now inside and pretty much having a suger rush level of glee, and frowned. "You used magic to make something from nothing, and you've also altered things at will with just a snap of your fingers before." She said, looking like she was trying to remember something. Silverspoon tilted her head and adjusted her glasses. "But didn't Ms.Cherilee tell us that magic can only affect something that is already there?" Sweetiebelles eyes went wide. "Most do, but there's one type of magic that doesn't follow any rules." She suddenly gulped and looked to me. "Nicholas...your magical abilities...I think they come from a chaos mana pool." I raised an eyebrow. "A chaos what now?" I asked as Sweetiebelle giggled lightly. "A mana pool is where unicorns draw their magic from. Although all beings have one, unicorns use it the most." She said, before frowning. "But almost nopony is born with a chaos mana pool." Applebloom, finally leaving the float, walked over. "Maybe you can ask Twilight about it after the parade. She knows everything about the unicorn stuff anyway." Diamond, who had been under the control of my massaging hand on her head, broke free of my hold over her and groaned. "Can we talk about this later? I want to show off our new float!" We sighed collectively and laughed at Diamonds enthusiam before noticing it was dark out. We each laid across from each other on seperate haybales to sleep until the next day. ***************** Nicholas POV/end of flashback ***************** I looked around, noticing the crowds, and began to play. My music started blasting off the sides of the float, gaining cheers from the viewers and even from some of the other floats. "Helloooooo, ponyville!" I vocalized. "My name is 12K, and I am glad to be a part of this towns beautiful festival! So just stand back, let your ears swoon to the sound of my wubs, and enjoy the sights of our fellow floatsponies!" More cheers as I heard a squeal from below. I leaned over and saw Silverspoon looking straight at me. "12K?! YOUR HERE?! HOW?" She managed to yell out over the music and crowds. I winked at her and posed while switching the bass boost on. "Your friend Nicholas managed to book me for today. Said to be on the lookout for my number one fan, which I'm guessing is you?" I said as her face went from gray to tomato red in a second. I laughed warmly and returned to my music as Silverspoon was pulled back into the float by a slightly irratated Diamond (I'll have to give her extra cuddles later) before she could fall out of the float. I looked around before spotting Celestia, a smaller pony who looked like he was in a tux, and about ten guards walking towards a section of the crowd. I looked to that section and saw...Ronin? Wonder what that's about. I thought with a frown. Ronin was hanging out with Pinkie and that Nurse pony from before while cheering alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Ronins eyes meet mine and I saw something in them I haven't seen in years... happiness. Real happiness. Motivated by the sight, I grinned big and turned up the volume to the max and jammed out. You know, even with all the weird dreams and that Dadiolus guy that was coming after me, this world hasn't been so bad. I have a girlfriend (fillyfriend), several actual friends who care about me. A mom who won't hurt me, and a not so bad school (who woulda thought school could actually be a good thing?) I sighed happily. Nothing could make this day go south. That was, until a purple beam knocked our float into the air. ************ Raiden POV ************ After yesterdays...weirdness, Luna thought it would be a good idea for us to go to the parade that the town was hosting. So that's why I found myself with spike on my shoulders so he could see the floats better. "WHOOOA! Look at the one! Pinkie Pies float is made of real lettuce!" He said as Twilight sighed. "C'mon Spike, there's no way thats true. Lettuce isn't strong enough to hold a float together for a long period of time anywa-" She cut herself off as Pinkie went and took a bite out of her float. Twilight sighed and face-hoofed while Luna giggled and nuzzled my cheek. "If thou was in the parade, what would you have made?" She asked me as I answered without hesitation. "An eggplant float." Twilight, Luna, and Spike all looked at me with looks of confusion. "What?! But they are so ugly looking!" Spike said as Luna nodded. "Tis a truly odd vegatable to choose, Ronin." Twilight, however seemed thoughtful about the idea. "Eggplants are a strong food variety. Their foundation strength could make for a good float." She said as I chuckled lightly. "Eh, I just think they taste good and dang! looks like Nick went all out!" I exclaimed as they looked and saw Nicholas jamming on a golden (and I mean REAL gold) apple. "Nicholas?" Spike asked. "That's 12K, Raiden. Nicholas looks nothing like him!" He said as I groaned and turned to Twilight. "Hey, we are kinda in the back of the group, but could you teleport us to the front?" I said as she nodded. "No problem." She said as she charged her horn to cast the spell... Just as some hooded pony went by and bumped into her, causing the magic buildup to become a beam of magic that shot out and... BOOM! Send the Apple float, and all those in it, into the air. The crowd immediately pulls a panic and run scenario to avoid the soon to fall float and any other beams of magic. "NICHOLAS!" I yell, dropping Spike off my head and spreading out my wings. I turned to Luna. "Babe, Nicks friends are probably inside that, teleport in and get them out!" I say quickly as she nods and vanishes while I take to the skys to catch my falling brother. *************** Ronin POV *************** BOOM! My eyes widen as Nicks float gets sent into the air by some purple blast, I was about to go after Nicholas when I saw Raiden catch him midair. Oh thank goodness! I think as I see a blue flash happen twice in the float before Luna appears nearby with Nicks four friends clinging to her. "THE FLOAT!" I hear somepony yell out as I notice the apple float is starting to return down to earth... Where its about to land on a potato float that Tak and Scootaloo are running. "NOOO!" I yell as I teleport right on the float, landing in the center, in looking up at the falling apple. "Man, this is going to hurt." I say as crack my neck and prepare myself to attempt to catch the apple float as it quickly speeds towards me from the sky. Right before impact though, it's caught in a golden light and safely placed on the ground nearby. I sigh in relief as Tak and Scootaloo jump out of the float. "What the heck was that?" Scootaloo exclaimed as everyone came over to the float I jumped off the float and found my two brothers, who were already in a hug, and picked them up in a stronger one. "Man! I'm glad your ok, Nick!" I said as I heard Raiden grunt in pain and Nicholas, who had transformed back to his normal form, hugging us both tightly. I let go of the hug and looked around. "Now, who wants to take the blame for that magic beam, huh?" I said, ready to smash someones face in. I heard what sounded like heels behind me and turned to see Celestia, though she had some white pony with her. "Well, I guess your the one who caught the float then. Thanks, Princess." I said, but she flinched at the praise. "Ronin, I-" She was cut off as the pony she was with, an earth pony with fancy hair/mustache and wearing a tux stepped forward. "So your Ronin?" He said with a veeeery snotty tone as he looked me up and down before shriveling up his face in moderate disgust. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, and who are you?" He glared at me. "My name is prince Lunaris Bueblood, and you are under arrest for the murder of several members of the royal guards!" He said as I found myself surrounded by about ten guards with spears. Redheart ran up to interfere, but I raised a hand to stop them as I faced Celestia, who had a look of regret on her face. "Well princess, I guess the whole soldier thing ain't happening, huh." I spat as I let them lead me to a carriage that had bars on it. I could've ran for it, but one look at the girls and my brothers defused that idea. ************** Raiden POV ************** I watched the whole thing unfold with shock. I had been there when Ronin had fought the guard, and he HAD killed some. But why was he only NOW getting in trouble for it? And so soon before the meeting Celestia told us about? Redheart, the nurse who had looked after Ronin, looked mad. "Why is Ronin being arrested?!" She all but scrramed at Celestia, whos sighed. "During the fight with the changelings, Ronin attacked and killed several ponies." She said as Nicholad turned to her. "But he's saved y'alls butts a bunch since then! I thought he was cleared of all that craziness." He said as Applejack turned on the princess as well. "Yeah! Ronin's been a great help since he got here!" She said as Celestia frowned and stomped her hoof. "Do you think I wish for him to be arrested?" She snapped before sighing. "I tried to clear his name by blaming it on Dadiolus. But my nephew caught wind of the situation and, with the help of the families of those killed, set up an entire case against him." She said as Applejack frowned. "So there's nothing we can do?" She asked as Luna walked up and stood next to Celestia. "To clear his name, nay. But we might be able keep the death penalty off him if we were to participate in the trial." She said as we all were taken back. Death penalty? No..... I turned to the girls before noticing we were missing a pony. "Uh...where's Twilight?" I asked as I realized she was missing. Luna sighed. "She retreated to her home after the events earlier. We think she blames herself for them. I groaned and Face-palmed. "All right. I'll go get her, anyone who wishes to go help witht the trial meet us at the train station tonight." I said as I ran towards the library. We can't lose Ronin now! Not after things just started looking up! > Chapter 46: ...isn't gold. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* As Raiden ran off to go after Twilight, I turned and walked over to Tak and Scootaloo. "Are you two ok?" I asked them as Tak nodded and Scootaloo smiled. "Are you kidding? It'll take more than that ruffle my feathers!" Scootaloo said with a laugh, but stopped when Tak didn't join in. "Tak, what's wrong?" He sighed and looked to the carriage that had just flew off. "If we don't find a way to save Ronin from that death penalty, then my kind is doomed." I frowned. "How so?" He turned to me, a frown deep on his face. "Ronin has had an affect on my mother. Ever since they have met, she has been more open to the pony way and much more friendly to others. If she suffers a loss now, on the brink of her becoming a better changeling..." Scootaloo finished his sentence. "Then she would go back to her old ways...or worse." I gulped a bit. Another situation like the canterlot wedding was the LAST thing we needed. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle, Followed by Diamond and Silverspoon, came up to us. "Nick...Are ya gonna be ok?" Applebloom asked me as I sighed and turned to face the four of them. "Honestly, I don't know. What I do know is that its obvious that I can't trust a princess to save my brother. It's going to come down to those who really care for him, and I plan to be there for him till the end." I said as everyone smiled at my words. "Then we're coming too!" Sweetiebelle said, but I shook my head. "Sorry y'all, but minus Tak, this isn't your fight. I've seen movies and books involving situations like this, and I think this whole thing may be a bigger rabbit hole than what it seems." I said, but Diamond Tiara stomped her hoof. "Even more reason for us to come with you!." She said, the other girls nodded in agreement as I sighed before an idea popped in my head, one I wish I didn't have to do. "Fair enough. You girls might want to pack for the trip though." I said as the four of them split off. I turned to Tak, who was nuzzling a slightly sad looking Scootaloo. "Trust me, it's safer for you this way. I'll be back in a couple days. Then we can practice for the dance." He said as Scootaloo gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning away. "You better come back, Tak." She said quietly before flying off. Tak sighed and turned to me. "There is no way your letting then come with us, are you?" He said as I nodded. "Yup. I saw some other changelings earlier while I was on the float. Could you get them to stop them from getting to the train station later?" I asked him as he nodded. "I believe that can be done easily. Meanwhile, I would recommend waiting for your brother to return. If your worries are true, than we will need everyone to be on their guard." He said as he went off to gather the troops. I went to walk over to Luna and Celestia when I was turned around to face Chrysalis, who looked like she was ready to commit genocide. "Mini Ronin, What happened to your brother?" She demanded as I sighed. "He just got carted off to canterlot to face trail for those guards he killed a while back." I said as Chrysalis groaned. "Of course this happens while I am not around! Why did he go with them?" She yelled out loud as Pinkie hopped up to us. "He probably didn't want to cause a fuss. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" She asked as I looked away. "Execution for murder." I deadpanned as Chrysalis and Pinkie gasped. Now, two things happened that day that still shock me to this day. One: Pinkies mane and tail immediately flattened as her face became one of fear, tears starting to well in her eyes. Two: Chrysalis immediately sat down on the ground and seemed to stop moving while looking at the ground muttering "Ironheart" over and over. Pinkie looked at Chrysalis and pulled her into a hug, though Chrysalis still didn't react. "Chrysi...what's wrong?" She asked her. Chrysalis finally blinked and looked to Pinkie, a weak smile on her face. "Ronin is going to die, isn't he?" She said as a lone tear came down her face. Pinkie blinked before walking up to Chrysalis and- SLAP! Smacking the tar out of her. "Snap out of it, Sister!" She pretty much yelled at her, causing Chrysalis to snap out of her funk to glare at Pinkie... ...before cowering from the glare she was being given. "How DARE you give up on Ronin like that! Would he give up on us if we were accused of something?" Pinkie said in a commanders tone. Chrysalis shook her head, looking VERY much like a child being told off. "N-No...he wouldn't." Pinkie smiled weakly, though her hair stayed the same, and pulled her into a hug. "Then please don't give up on him, Chrysi. I really like having you guys around, and nothing is going to take him from us." I decided to let them have their space and made my way over to the princesses, who were facing away from you and talking to each other. "Sister, we must have a private room on the train with our mate!" You hear Luna exclaim as you got closer. You hear Celestia groan. "Luna...I understand your heat begins a week before other mares, but haven't you already satisfied your urges." Luna, I kid you not, prances in place while speaking. "But sister! We have a thousand years worth of carnal lust to subside, and one night does not satisfy that desire to have Raiden impreg-" She stops immediately and leans in close to Celestia. "Sister, young Nicholas is behind us, amd has probably been there for a while." Celestia spins around with a look of shock on her face. "Nicholas!" She says, her nervous tone betraying her stoic face. "How much did you hear?" I sighed. "Far more than necessary, but whats a heat?" Luna and Celestia both shared red faces at that. "U-Um..." Celestia started. "thou see..." Luna attempted to pick up, but I stopped her. "Ya know what, I don't want to know. I'm just came over to ask when we will be leaving for Canterlot." I said with a roll of my eyes. Luna sighed in relief while Celestia smiled. "We will be leaving this evening around seven, why?" She said as I looked around and saw Tak talking with four changelings. He saw me staring at him and mouthed the words "what time?" I smiled and lifted seven fingers. He nodded and turned back to the changelings around him while I turned to the princesses again. "Oh, my friend wanted to know." I said while looking at Luna. "Oh, and Luna...Raiden is veeery ticklish in his sides." With that, I walked off as Luna giggled mischeviously and Celestia face-hoofed with a sigh. *************** Ronin POV *************** Man, this carriage was cramped. The idiot prince had thought it a good idea to stick four guards And himself with me in damned thing. So now said prince was cramped between two guards while I had two of my own on both my sides. For a while, no one said anything. It was just every guard and the prince glaring at me while I kept eye contact with Blueblood. Then, the boy spoke. "Ronin, when we arrive in Canterlot, you will be given a day before the trial begins. But I feel like I must ask what you think is going to happen. Surely you don't believe you can get away with being not guilty?" He said, a sneer coming almost with every sentence. I chuckled lightly, earning a harsher glare from the prince, while the guards looked slightly unnerved. "Oh no, Blueballs. I know I'm guilty. All this trial is going to determine is what my punishment is." I leaned in as close to him the guards would allow. "Let me say one thing though, I am currently tapped into the hive mind of the changelings. If any of you boy scouts attempt to mistreat me, I'll have millions of my drones descend on your wives and children." The prince paled at that, but kept his look of superiority. "You jest! The changelings were almost wiped out a month ago!" I leaned back and chuckled. He was right, but he didn't need to know I only had at most a hundred or two changelings... I think. Hard to know with all the voices in the hive mind. "I have been in ponyville for a month with the queen of those bugs. What do YOU think I have been doing in my free time?" I said as Blueblood and three of the guards looked sick to their stomachs at the thought, while the one to my right looked jealous of what I had said. "You are absolutely disgusting!" Blueblood exclaimed as I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say, bluey." I said as I sighed. This was going to be a loooong ride. ************** Raiden POV ************** I walked into the quiet library and looked around. The door had been wide open and the place looked slightly messy, like someone had quickly came by in a rush. I sighed and walked up to Twilights room. I found a book igloo in the center of the room with muffled tears coming from inside of it. Welp, found Twilight. I thought as I peered into an opening and saw Twilight staring back at me, tears in her eyes. "G-Go away!" She cried half-heartedly as I sighed. "Not gonna happen, Twi." I said as I grinned mischeviously. "Now, get out of there before I set fire to your books." What followed was an angry gasp followed by a flash of light ending with Twilight on top of me giving me a death glare. "Don't you dare!" She yelled as I laughed. "Chill Twilight! I said that just to get you out of your book igloo." I said as she rolled her eyes before getting off me. I stood up and turned to her. "Now, why are you so upset?" She looked away and sighed. "I nearly caused a big accident in town today, getting your brother and the girls hurt. I didn't want to be anymore trouble, so I came here." She said as I groaned and rubbed her head. "C'mon Twilight. That wasn't even your fault. Some pony bumped into you and caused your spell to go crazy. It's not like you attacked my family or anything." I said as she looked up at me, her eyes beginning to sparkle again. "So your not mad at me?" She asked me as I shook my head. "If I'm mad at anyone right now, it's Celestia." I said, causing Twilight to lean back in shock. "What did princess Celestia do?" She asked me as I sighed. "Just some of her choices involving the safety and lives of others has me concerned, that's all." I said as I began to walk to the door. "Oh, and we need you to come to Canterlot with us." Twilight tilted her head. "Wait, what? why?" She asked me as I turned to the doorway. "Ronin's been arrested, and if we don't help him, then he might die." I said as Twilight gasped. "Then we have no time to lose! Let's go!" She says as we quickly begin to make our way to the train station. ************** Nicholas POV ************** After Raiden arrived with Twilight, I looled over everyone who was coming along. Twilight and Fluttershy were definitely coming, the latter insisted on coming to make sure I didn't get hurt (she had freaked after learning I had nearly died). Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all had their jobs to attend to, but wished us luck before they left to go to said jobs. Twilight was coming to help in researching equine law for any loopholes we could use to lessen any sentence Ronin gets. Redheart, Pinkie, and Chrysalis were definitely coming. Chrysalis, however, was currently inches away from fighting Celestia right here at the train station. "What do you mean its out of your hooves?! Your the bucking princess!" She growled as Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Being a princess does not allow me to bypass the law. Ronin killed my soldiers, and he has to pay for those crimes. There was only so much I could do to ward off any attempting to press charges." She said as Chrysalis scoffed. "When it concerns your people, your willing to bend the law at will and killing is a 'necessary evil'. But when it involves another species, your morals suddenly tighten." With that, Chrysalis turned and walked onto the train. Pinkie walked by and gave a weak smile to Celestia. "Chrysi isn't exactly in the best of moods right now I don't think any of us are." She said slightly depressingly as she walked onto the train. Redheart walked up, looked to Celestia and frowned slightly. "This whole thing happened well before I met Ronin, but it seems an awful lot like you've completely given up on him, and that alone shows why Ronin hasn't asked you to join the herd yet while I have." With that, she followed her freshly new herdmates onto the train, leaving a slightly hurt Celestia standing there. I walked up to her and smiled weakly. "Please don't take what they say to heart, everyone's moods are kinda wack right now." I told her as she gave me a weak smile of her own. "For all of this involving your brother, you seem unfazed." She pointed out as my smile broke and I looked off into the distance. "After a while, you learn to wear a pretty good mask when a bunch of bad things happen to you." I deadpanned. "But on the inside...I'm scared as hell." I whispered as Fluttershy walked up to me and together we walked onto the train. Celestia had booked the whole train for us, so we could have as much privacy as possible. As she had mentioned before, Luna managed to snag a train car alone with my brother (He is gonna be sore in the morning), while Tak, myself, and Fluttershy shared a room. Twilight was either sleeping with Celestia or attempting to get into Raidens room. I honestly didn't know or care enough to find out. I leaned back on the seat and looked out a window. The stakes were high as ever, this time it was Ronin who was in danger. And it's not even a bad guy that can be punched in the face or anything! I groaned and laid out sideways on the seats. If I was gonna figure this out, I needed some sleep. As I laid back, I found myself looking straight up at Fluttershy, who wore a sweet smile on her face. "Heya mom." I said softly, causing her smile to grow wider as she nuzzled my cheek before stretching out herself on the seats. "Hello, Nicholas. I wanted to ask if you know why Tak is sitting like that." She said, pointing to the now upside down Tak who was currently mumbling under his breath. I knew exactly why he was doing so, but telling Fluttershy that we had sicked four soldiers on our friends to keep them from coming seemed...not a good idea. So I lied. "I have no idea." I said before Tak suddenly sat up and turned to me, causing me to sit up as well thinking something was wrong. "Nicholas, three of them failed! Applebloom, Diamond Tiara, and Sweetiebelle are hidden on the train!" He exclaimed as I could feel the stern look from Fluttershy. Thanks, Tak. Now I'm probably going to be grounded the whole train ride. I looked to the slightly irrated Fluttershy and smiled sheepishly. "Soooo I may have known what he was doing, but it was supposed to keep the girls safe." She sighed. "Now Nicholas, no matter the reason, lying is wrong. Especially to me of all ponies." How she managed to scold people while talking quietly amazes me to this day. I groaned. "Sorry, Mom. Won't happen again." She beamed at me and hugged me while I glared at a now laughing Tak. After Fluttershy let go of me, I got up and looked around. "Alright, so they are in the train. But which car?" I asked as Tak shrugged. "I have no idea. All the guards said was something along the lines of how they managed to jump on the back and climb inside the train from the caboose." I pointed to the door behind us. "Then lets go and find them. If they are in the train anyway, then why not go ahead and bring them here?" I said as he nodded. "Lead the way, my friend." Tak said as we began our hunt. *************** Ronin POV *************** After we landed, I was immediately stripped of my sword and escorted to a cell nearby the barracks and was locked in. "You will stay there until the trial begins." Blueblood stated, venom clear in his voice. He turned and walked out, but not before looking to the lone guard who was at the door. "If he escapes, you'll take his place on the noose." He said as the guard gulped. Blueblood walked out and I sighed. An hour or two ago, I was relaxing and enjoying life, and now I was in jail cell with a small bed and a veeery undignified toilet. Greaaaat. "What did you do to get put in here?" I heard a gruff female voice state as I looked to the wall on my right. There wasn't any holes or anything to see my talking bud through, so right now I was speaking blind. I shrugged. "Killed a couple of ponies to save a species, you?" I heard a growl of irratation. "Smart mouthed a princess and found myself thrown in here." I raised an eyebrow. "Which one?" I said as I heard her laugh. "Heh. the one with the speech impediment." I snorted a laugh. That would be Luna. "Ha! You've got balls of steel, girl." It was her turn to snort. "Well, considering you straight up killed a couple of these scaredy cats, you've got a pair yourself." I heard what sounded like wings being flapped, perhaps them being stretched. That meant either a pegasus had decided to smart mouth the princess, or I was talking to another species. Considering these ponies track records, it was probably the second one. "So...does the snarky voice behind the wall have a name, or am I finally going insane?" I asked, honestly bored beyond belief and wishing for some kind of conversation to make time fly. A chortle could be heard from behind the wall. "Man, I wish Equestria had more ponies like you, My names Gilda." I smiled, starting to enjoy being locked up. "Well Gilda, My name is Ronin, and I'm no pony." "Doesn't suprise me too much, considering you sound more like a griffon than pony. What are you then?" I heard her ask as I stretched out my arms, leaning against the wall facing the cell door. "Well, I'm known as a human. But my kind aren't from around here, so there is only three of us." I said as I suddenly heard claws press against the wall, as if Gilda was trying to look through it. "Wait...your a human?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "Uh...yeah. Why does that sound like you've heard of me?" I asked as I heard a well pronounced groan. "Our king has talked nonstop about some new weapon that the princess has been hoarding for a month now. Said it was called a human. It's been getting on our nerves for a while now, considering Celestia is a peaceloving ruler." I frowned. "Well, I'm no tool of the princess. And who's this king guy? I've heard about him before." "His name is Grimbeak. He has been ruling us for years. But it was about three months ago he started saying that 'winter was on its way' and 'times were a changing' and 'The time of Griffonia was at hand'. If you ask me, he's absolutely insane." I thought about that. Three months ago would be about a month and a half before We arrived. Considering this Grimbeaks obsession with us, could he have known we would arrive? Nah... That's crazy, right? I chuckled. "Sounds like a king that doesn't have his priorities straight." I heard a fist hit the wall her voice was coming from. "Understatement of the century! All he cares about is plotting against Equestria these days! He's let our economy fall to ruin and crimes occur hourly in our city! Hell, that's why I was here to steal the..." She trailed off, realizing she had let something slip. I turned to the wall. "Well, I figured smart mouthing wasn't enough to get you in here. Whatcha really do?" I heard another groan, before a sigh. "I tried to steal from the royal vault, got caught, and now waiting for my sentence. But if I didn't do that, my family would've starved!" I sighed. Here we were, another species with another problem. At least this time they did it to themselves. "Your family?" I asked her. "My mother and father. They produced a couple new chicks recently, but with the currency being non-existent, they might end up losing them just as fast." I could hear the sorrow in her voice, and considering her personality, it sounded so out of synch for her. To be honest, I wasn't feeling so good myself. Sure, I was making conversation, but I honestly don't see this situation working out. I WAS guilty of the crime I committed, and I wasn't sure anyone could save me from the death sentence. ... Unless... I looked to the guard, who was now asleep. Great work, bud. "Hey, Gilda." I spoke out, breaking the slience that had engulfed the room. "What." She said, gruff and annoyed. Guess talking about her failure didn't help her mood any. "If someone needed a quick escape to Griffonia...where could they teleport?" I heard her sit on a bed that creaked loudly. "The only area in Griffonia that magic won't be traced from is the lower district, but how would you get there? I doubt you can teleport, and I'm sure some random unicorn won't be able to do so." I laughed. "I am able to teleport, but it may take a lot of love energy to jump to another country. But if I could, I will need an exact place to do so " I heard something snap open. "I have a picture of my parents nest. If you could manage to obtain that much energy, you could use it as a place." The same noise happened again, must be a locket or something. I nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "That'll work, but once I manage to do so, your coming with me." I could FEEL the raised eyebrow she gave me. "And why would you do that?" I smiled to myself before getting up and laying on the bed, it being equally squeaky. "Well, I will need a guide. That, and you sound like someone capable of fighting, and that may end up being necessary." With that, I closed my eyes and slept all the while connecting myself to the hive mind. For this to work, I need the girls help. **************** Chrysalis POV **************** I am Chrysalis and I am pissed. I was currently sitting on a train to Canterlot to try and find a way to keep my future husband from dying by the hands of some snot nosed prince. So what of he killed a few ponies? He was merely following orders from myself to do so. ...Yes, I am aware that won't sound too good if said aloud. I might have to change that if I am to be a witness or something. Looking to the nurse, who had recently joined the herd, I could see she was in deep thought. She hadn't said a word since zinging Celestia back at the station and was currently looking out the window with her eyes closed. I couldn't blame her, imagine finding out your coltfriend was guilty of murder? Though she didn't seem too upset about it. Maybe she was raised similar to how we are, her father IS a griffon after all. I looked to Pinkie Pie, her hair had yet to recover to its normal state. Normally, I wouldn't care about feelings of others, but seeing the pink brat the opposite of happy was actually unnerving. I got up and went over and sat next to her as she turned to me. "Hey Chrysi..." She said weakly. I narrowed my eyes at the sad tone she used. "I'm not really in the mood for any silly stuff right now." That does it. I stood up and walked in front of her, earning a slightly confused look from her. I lifted my hoof and swung it across for a backhoof to the face. SLAP! "Snap out of it!" I yelled, causing Redheart to snap from her thoughts and look to us. Pinkie had recovered and was now looking at me, a tear of two in her eye. "How dare you tell me to not give up on Ronin, just to sit here and do the same by pouting!" She didn't like that at all, considering she jumped up and glared at me. "I haven't given up on him! But excuse me for not liking the fact Ronin is currently locked up somewhere and MAY DIE!" I growled. "Are you implying that I am enjoying this? I may not be the most likable being, but I DO care about him!" Pinkie gritted her teeth, but before she could say more, Redheart stepped in. "ENOUGH!" She yelled, causing both me and Pinkie to jump back in suprise at the sudden interruption. I growled at her. "How dare you talk to me lik-" "HOW CAN YOU TWO EVEN YELL AT EACH OTHER LIKE THIS?" She pretty much screamed at us before taling a breath. "I may have just joined this herd, but it's clear you two care for Ronin as much as you care for each other. I understand Ronin is locked up, but that's why we are going to Canterlot, to get him back." she turned to Pinkie and smiled softly. "So please, don't argue anymore about this. We need to stick togethor if we are gonna save Ronin." Pinkie nodded and turned to me, tears now clear on her face. "Chrysalis...I'm sorry about being such a party pooper and-" For some odd reason, I found myself hugging her. "No, Pinkie. Your just worried about our stallion, we all are." Mid-hug, I pulled Redheart in with magic, which she happily joined the group hug. It was then I felt Ronin's presence in the hive mind. I blinked and focused so I could hear his thoughts. Enter Eureka, I have a plan. I snorted. Of course the brainless goof had some wacky plan cooked up. I looked to the two other herdmates. "Now that we have reconciled, how about we show Redheart the mindspace of the hive?" Pinkie smiled as Redheart blinked and frowned, confused. I lit my horn, activating the sleep spell that would transfer us to the mind and watched as the room was enveloped in a green light. ************** Raiden POV ************** I stumbled out of my train car and sgut the door, leaving a peacefully sleeping Luna inside. The mare had teleported me into the room and locked all the doors fo ensure we weren't interrupted. Luna was absolutely insane! We went six rounds in less than two hours! I thought as I sat down in a seat. Did this have something to do with that 'heat season' she referred to? As I was contemplating that, I heard a door open and saw Twilight walk through with several books, each on was on law or something similar. She wore a slight frown on her face until she saw me. "Raiden! There you are! I was wondering where you went!" She said as she sat down next to me and showed me some of her books. "I've been reading up on pony law and punishments that follow and we might have a chance!" I nodded, glad to hear some good news about this whole mess. "Great to hear. Say, uh, Twi? What's heat season?" Her face went as red as magma as she registered the question "W-Why would you ask me that question?" She asked me as I tilted my head. "Uh...Because your a very smart pony that can explain why Luna has been cuddle-crazy for a while now." I said as she went even more red. "That means Luna is in heat." She said before sitting up and clearing her throat. "You see, mares go into heat around spring and summer. Each mare themselves vary, but most go into it around the same time." I nodded. "Yeah, but what does it do." She looked away sheepishly while she started fidgeting again like before. "It has different side effects with each mare, but all of then suddenly crave the urge to reproduce...or as you call it so bluntedly, sex." I blinked. So the entire countries population of females was about to go through a lovemaking season? Welp, that explains Luna. A thought crossed my mind. "How old does this start?" I asked her as she thought about it before answering. "About sixteen, why?" She asked me as I sighed in relief. "Nicholas is safe then." I said before the door behind me opened and Luna looked around before her eyes landed on me. Her lips curled into a big smile. "We were wondering where thou had gone. Come! We require more attention from you immediately!" With that she pulled me into the room and slammed the door shut. Twilight, who had been looking at the whole event with wide eyes, now shook her head. "Luna is sooooo lucky!" She pouted as the door behind her opened with Nicholas and Tak running through. ************** Nicholas POV ************** We had ran through ten train cars, most of them as empty as the next, save the one that had a working Celestia (something about taxes) and Ronin's girls sleeping next to each other. This one had Twilight in it. She turned around and smiled at us. "Hello Nicholas. What are you two doing?" She asked me as we walked towards the door she had been staring at. "We're looking for our friends. They may have snuck onboard and we need to find them." Tak said as I went to open the door. "Wait, Nick Don't!" Too late came Twilights warning as I opened the door. "YES, RAIDEN!!! SET MY INSIDES ON FIRE!!!!" I shut the door quickly and took about ten steps back. That was the last thing I wanted to hear opening a door. I turned to Twilight, ignoring Taks now slack-jawed state. "Could you teleport us to the last train car please?" I asked as Twilight, red faced as ever, nodded quietly and shined a purple light on us. As the light faded, we found ourselves in the back of the train. "Yes!" I cheered, pumping my fist. I turned to Tak, who was now pointing behind us with a slightly worried glance. I turned around to see Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Diamond Tiara glaring at me with three changelings tied up and blindfolded. "Ooooh boy." I said, realizing the trouble I was in. > Chapter 47: Fire, Ice, and everything nice! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* Diamond walked up and poked me in the chest with a hoof. "Would you care to explain why these three attempted to stop us from boarding the train?" She stated as I took a step back and smiled sheepishly. "Well...you see, I was worried that something might go down at Canterlot, so... I decided to ensure that y'all would be safe by stopping you from coming." Applebloom narrowed her eyes. "But we're friends, Nick! And friends don't leave each other behind!" She said while Diamond muttered "I knew it." Sweetiebelle added in. "Yeah! Besides, your gonna need us if something does happen!" I groaned as Tak stepped forward and eyed the changelings tied up. "Could my troops be released?" He said as Applebloom nodded and the changelings were untied. They took off their blindfolds and, upon seeing Tak, saluted. "Sir! Larxene reporting for duty!" The yellow eyed one barked with extreme patriotism. I noticed that while she had the same eyes as Tak, Tak was bigger and...didn't have wings like the others. (I'll have to ask about that later.) "Names Axel, Sir. Ready to roll!" The red eyed one smugly said. "Roxas at the ready, Sir." The orange eyed one said rather politely. You've got to be kidding... "Who named these guys?" I asked Tak, who turned to me with a tilted head. "Ronin did, why?" He stated as I face-palmed. He could've used any name, but he picks organization 13 members? Really? "Nevermind that, why there is one missing?" Tak said as Diamond shrugged. "Considering that Silverspoon isn't here, she probably was stopped by the missing changeling." She said as she nuzzled my cheek. "Now that we have that out of the way, how do you plan on making this up to us?" I blinked. "What do you mean?" Applebloom face-hoofed and Sweetiebelle giggled at the look of shock that came over Diamonds face. "What do you think?! You sicked four scary changelings on us!" I looked to the three said changelings. Larxene was glaring at the Axel, who was currently nibbling on Roxas's wings while he made faces at Larxene. "Oh yeah...Real scary." That did bring up a point though. "How did you three get on the train?" I asked while Tak tried, rather unsuccessfully, to get the changelings to behave. Applebloom smiled at us. "It started when we left you guys at the station..." **************** Sweetiebelle POV/an hour ago. **************** Nicholas had just told us to go and pack for the trip, so Applebloom and I were about to walk into town when Diamond grabbed us and pulled us into the bushes nearby. "Whatcha do that for?" Applebloom said as we turned to Diamond, who was currently peering through the bushes at Nicholas, who was currently talking with Tak. She turned to us and frowned. "Nicholas doesn't plan on allowing us to come with him." She said plainly, causing us rear back in suprise. "What!? But he told us to pack stuff for the trip!" I stated as Applebloom groaned and turned to me. "Sweetiebelle, other than a party or mah bow, what do we wear?" She asked me as I groaned as well. "Ugh! Why would he pull something like this!" I exclaimed as Diamond sighed. "It's because he cares, and that's the worst part. It's hard to be too mad at him when he's probably doing it just for our safety. You all do remember the spider incident, right?" She asked as we nodded. "What if whatever he's afraid of is worse, and he is simply protecting us from it?" I frowned. "But what if he needs us? We helped him with Volt, and we can help him now." I stomped my hoof and Applebloom smiled. "Yeah! Nicks important tah us, and ah'm not letting him go alone." She said as Diamond smiled. "Good." She said as we all looked over at the two boys. Nicholas had walked off towards Celestia while four different other changelings appeared in front of Tak. He pointed in several directions, two were my and Appleblooms homes. They flew off in those directions as Tak walked onto the train. "Uh, why did Tak send those guys tah our houses?" Applebloom stated as Diamond frowned. "That must've been what Nick was talking to him about. He's making sure thatwe don't get on the train." I looked to her in shock. "How do you know that?" She turned to me and smiled. "It's something I would do, send subordinates to handle a job while I do other things." It was then we heard a rustle from behind us. We turned to see a pair of yellow, orange, and red eyes peering at us. "Um...you girls see those eyes too, right?" I said as they nodded quickly. A small chuckle pierced the evening as the yellow eyes got closer. "Look boys! We found them! Though they're not where the boss said they'd be." A feminine voice said as a changeling stepped forward. Her eyes were yellow like Taks, but she was about Scootaloos height. The red eyed changeling stepped out of the bushes next. "Well, he's not really the boss. That title goes to the king." The orange one was last. "I mean, he IS a prince though. So maybe he's more of a supervisor?" The yellow one shook her head. "Tak is a prince, and that makes him our boss...I think." She said as Applebloom tilted her head. "Umm...who are y'all?" She asked as the three smiled. "I am larxene, proud member of the hive team LAZR." She said while placing a hoof on her chest proudly. "LAZR?" I asked, starting to get even more confused at all of this. The red one sighed. "She made that up yesterday, it's a combination of the first letters in our names because SOMEONE-" He turned to the orange eyed one with a small glare. "-thought we needed a team name." The orange one growled at him. "With more drones being made, we needed a distinction between them and us." He turned away and muttered. "Besides, it sounds cool." Larxene rolled her eyes amd slapped the red one on the back of the head. "I apologize for my subordination lack of manners." She pointed to orange eyes. "His name is Roxas, and this cheesehead is Axel." Roxas smiled and nodded, while Axel flashed a fangy grin at me with a wink that followed, causing me to feel a bit uncomfortable. I shook it off and pointed to the train. "We need to get on that train, Nicholas and Tak need us!" I stated as Larxene laughed. "I doubt the prince needs you, and we were told to keep you from getting on that train." She said as I frowned as Applebloom stepped forward. "And how do ya plan on doing that?" She asked Axel reached into the bush behind them and pulled out rope and blindfolds, causing Applebloom and I to take a step back. Suprisingly, Diamond Tiara stepped forward, a smug grin on her face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Roxas and Axel stifled snorts while Larxene smiled. "And why would I even fear somepony as small as you?" Diamond shrugged. "You don't need to fear me, but manners would be nice. But as for why you shouldn't tie us up, it's quite simple." Now Larxene did snort. "I don't have manners for targets, but I do wish to hear your petty explanation." Diamond pointed to the train. "Tak and Nick are currently attempting to go save his older brother Ronin, who if I remember correctly, is your king. If we go to help them, then we have a much higher chance of saving your king from execution." She stated as Larxenes smug look was replaced with a slight smile. "Well, looks like Tak was right. You do have a business mind. He informed me you might try and word your way onto tge train, but he never said you'd be smart about." She turned to the others. "Alright, boys. We need to get them on the train, stat!" Axel frowned. "Hate to burst your bubble, boss. But putting 'em on the train is gooing against orders. And how do you plan to do so without Tak noticing?" Roxas smiled and pranced in place. "Oh, I know I know I know! We could hitch a ride on the last car. Since the whole train is reserved for them, no one should be there." Larxene turned to us. "Alright then, you've got a ride." **************** Nicholas POV/Back to present **************** "...And that's what happened!" Applebloom said as I sighed. These girls were REALLY persistent. Tak looked to the abandoned rope and back to them. "That didn't explain why they were tied up." He said, but before Applebloom could respond, Roxas raised a hoof. "Oh! After we got on, Larxene sent that hive mind message to make it seem realistic enough and we go them to tie us up." He said as Axel poked him in the face, hard. "OW! What was that for?" Axel frowned. "Your big mouth just ruined that part. We were supposed to make it seem like we were captured." Tak sighed and shook his head as I chuckled. "Alright, since its far too late to change your minds, why don't we go back to the other train cars. Being back here feels like something bad might happen." I shuddered as Sweetiebelle spoke up. "Oh! Like a herd of buffalo stealing the train car." We all stared at her. "What? Rarity said it happened once." ************ Ronin POV ************ My eyes opened and I was in Eureka. I looked around and noticed two things. One, no Melfesia. That was a concern that was starting to grow considering she LIVES here. Two, I had about three hundred pairs of eyes staring at me. Great...flashbacks to middle school recitals here I come. I took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "Alright...how many of you are there?" Big mistake. Each and every one of them answered at the same time. If they wouldn't have each said the same number, I would be never heard it. "Ok, so Im working with half a thousand now." I said as the hive buzzed with confirmation. I felt three more presences enter the hive behind me and turned around... ...To be tackled by Pinkie Pie. "RONIN! I'm so happy to see you! Or is it mind you since we are in the hive mind? Either way, its amazing to see you again! I was worried that meanie prince was gonna execute you early before we could save you an-" I cut her off by pulling her into a passionate kiss. After I let her go, she got off me and wobbled backwards some with stars in her eyes. "Wooow." She awed as Chrysalis and Redheart rolled their eyes at the sight. The latter walked up next and punched me in the chest. "AHH!" I yelled slightly, that spot still hurting from the fight last week. How it was affecting me in the mind, I have no idea. "Why'd you hit me there? I have an injury there and...oops." I said, realizing I just admitted to having witheld an injury from my NURSE girlfriend. She frowned at me. "Excuse me?! You mean your were INJURED when we went on that date?" She asked heatidly as I heard several changelings start to snicker. I smiled weakly and shrugged. "Maaaaaybe?" Before Redheart could personally execute me, Chrysalis pulled her away. "Now, there will be plenty of time to bruise our stallion when we manage to get him out of jail." She turned to me. "What is your plan on doing so?" I sighed. "Ima be honest girls, I don't see myself getting out of that execution, so I may have came up with a way to kill three birds with one stone." Pinkie, who finally recovered from the suprise kiss she got, looked to me and frowned. "How are you gonna be ok if we don't stop the execution?" I smiled in response. "I have a plan. It's dumb, and your gonna hate it. But it should work." Chrysalis nodded, eager for me to continue. "Ronin, most of what you do is dumb. So spill." We all laughed at that (something a tad weird considering the hundreds of laughs echoing the room.) before I continued. "So, I need a way to amass a large enough love energy to teleport to Griffonia." Redheart frowned. "Why in Celestia's ame do you want to go there?" I looked to her. "Simple. Because I need a place to jump where you three wont get hurt. Besides, that king guy you mentioned on our date has had his eye out for me and my brothers since we got here, and I want to know why." Chrysalis groaned. "But that much love energy would take half of canterlot to supply! How do we do that?" Pinkie, suprisingly, came up with something. "Ooh Ooh! What if we have Nicholas help?" We looked go her with veeery confused faces and a mirrored "Huh?" Pinkie beamed. "Nicholas performs, and if Tak can use his changeling powers to take the love from the crowd he draws in and stores it somewhere, BLAMMO! Love energy!" Redheart nodded. "That could work, but he would need to perform huge to get that many ponies to love him. I doubt Nicholas could do that alone." Chrysalis closed her eyes for a second, as if concentrating, before grinning wickedly. "Well, there just so happens to be three other changelings on board the train, alongside his friends. They should be able to figure something out." I smiled, before realizing something. "We need a way to contain that love. Last thing we need is for it all to be consumed or lost by accident." Pinkie turned to me, her smile even bigger. "We can get Twilight to help with that! She always knows what to do with magic" Redheart looked to me. "So, the plan is for you to teleport to Griffonia and go after the king? How are we going to pull that off? you've never been there before." I smiled and tapped my head. "Well, I have a associate on the inside that has a picture of a small town in Griffonia that will allow me to avoid setting off any magic alarms Grimbeak set up." Chrysalis frowned. "For this to work, you need to be teleported during the execution right when the bolts hit you." I looked to her, confused. "Bolts?" I asked as Redheart and Pinkie gulped slightly. "When somepony is executed, they are obliterated by a hundred full power lightning bolts." Redheart explained as I went pale. Ok, so if this isn't timed right, I will either be caught teleporting or be electrocuted...Greaaaat. Pinkie looked to Chrysalis first, then me. "What are you going to do over in Griffonia?" I looked to her and shrugged. "Looking into Grimbeak all the while laying low. If we are gonna pull this off, we need everyone outside of our trust to think I was executed." Her face fell a bit. "That means we won't see you for a while, huh." She said softly. I sighed and walked over to her, kneeling so I was face to face with her. "Pinkie...I know this isn't gonna sound good, but if we don't do this I might die for real. Then you would never be able to see me at all." I stood up and took a step back so I could look at all three of them. Chrysalis, on the outside, looked unaffected by all of this. But one glance into her eyes told me everything. She was worried, and feared my death. Pinkie looked the most out of it. Her hair was all the way down and probably had been for some time. And looking into her eyes was like looking into the eyes of puppy that had been kicked. Redheart looked extremely tired, but she wore a strong face to hide it. I couldn't even imagine what was going through her head with all of this. Next thing I knew, I had pulled all three of them into a strong hug. "Girls...I'm so sorry." I whispered, feeling three set of hooves wrap around me in a circle as I found myself tearing up. "All three of you don't deserve this crap to be thrown at y'all. You deserve better, each and everyone of you." I finished as the three of them pulled away, looked to each other for a second before nodding. What were they- OOF! I barely had time to process the triple hoof to the face I got from them. I slid across the ground a bit before sitting up. "What the hell was-" I was cut off by Chrysalis kissing me. "Ronin, we have faced worse things than this. What makes you think I am going to leave you high and dry now?" She said as she backed off as Pinkie pushed me to the ground and kissed me next, hers slightly longer than Chrysalis's. "C'mon, Ronin. You know I'm not the type to leave somepony I care about unhappy. And I care about you a lot!" She said cheerfully after she broke her kiss, her hair poofing back up to it's normal giddiness. She backed off as well on my opposite side as Redheart laid out on me, her tail swirling around my legs, and kissed me passionately. "Ronin." She said, breaking from the long kiss. "I may not have been your herdmate for long, but I want you to know your the first male that has actually cared about my feelings like you do. Why the buck would I let you go over one instance you goofed up?" She said as the other two laid down on my left and right, each placing their heads on my chest as Redheart placed her own between theirs. I looked to them and smiled big, tears now going down freely. "I...I don't know what to say..." I managed to say as I heard the changelings start to hum in unison to some odd, yet relaxing, tune. I heard Chrysalis sigh in happiness. "The hive is humming the Ode of the stars, a lullaby for our people." She said as we relaxed to the symphony of the mind. ****************** Nicholas POV ****************** I was facing a door that I really didn't want to open. However, with no Twilight, there seemed to be no choice. "Umm...why did we stop?" Sweetiebelle asked me as I turned to my and pointed at the door. "That, my friends, is the reason why Tak and I teleported to the back of the train. Behind this door lies horrors I dare not speak of, ones so scarring that-" Tak snorted. "Scarring? It's just princess Luna and your brother having se-" I clamped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. "Wait...what's the princess doing with your brother?" Diamond asked me, causing me to groan. I really did not want to tell them about the birds and the bees. Hey! I may be twelve, but I was in six grade, and there are some things in six grade you CAN'T unsee. Thankfully, I was saved from the whole situation when the door opened, revealing a veeeery tired looking Raiden who stumbled by us and walked into a small bathroom near the exit. We all looked to each other before the LAZR group smirked. "Ya know, we could just teleport you guys to the front. Me and the boys could easily hang out here until the train stops." Larxene said as we sighed in relief. The three of then charged their magic as a green light filled the room. When it dispersed, we found ourselves in a different train car. This one was empty, though the door behind us had a golden barrier around it. I looked outside as I yawned, it was dark and the day was starting to drag. I went and laid out on a set of seats and faced everyone. "Well, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Might as well get some shut eye." I said as everyone got comfortable. Diamond Tiara got on top of me and laid out on my chest, her face towards me with a smile as she nuzzled my chest. Applebloom went next to my head and curled up, but I could feel her head against mine. I felt weight on my legs and a content sigh ring out. Must be Sweetiebelle. I thought as I noticed Tak lay out on the seats across from us and activate some sort of spell on himself, causing him to pass out immediately (though I swore I heard him mutter "My love..." before doing so.) The combined fillies warmth was really making me drowsy. As my eyes closed, my mind drifted towards the dream I had had and this weird feeling I had felt since getting on this train. Even with all the girls here and the help of the princesses...why do I feel like something bad is gonna happen? ***************** ??? ***************** In the Crystal Empire, there are a decent amount of snowy mountains far north. Every year, some daring adventurer of a pony or griffonor whatever is too foolish enough to attempt to climb them goes and does so. Why was it foolish, you ask? Many believed that the Wendigos, the very ones pushed away by the love of the ponies a millennium ago, resided there. That, and no one ever returned from the mountains to prove or disprove these claims. That being said, rumor had it that recently a pony in a cloak would be seen walking to and from the mountains monthly, as if he lived there. Of course, these rumors had to be ridiculous, right? The Empire had JUST returned! No pony on their right mind would go to that cursed mountain range unless they wished for die...right? Somewhere, deep in this mountain range though, was a garden not too unlike the one in Canterlot that houses a certain chaos lord. Instead this one's greenery was frozen over, and the only animals here were the haunting spirits of the wendigos prey. The sounds of clopping hooves rang out as a cloaked pony walked into the garden. He looked around as the wind picked up, the snow seemingly getting stronger, seemingly laughing at the poor pony who managed to stumble upon the garden. The pony raised a hoof and yelled to the sky. "I am here to speak with the queen!" The wind and snow stopped, and was replaced by chortling laughter and ludicrous growls. The pony slowly stepped forward, each step resounding off the cavern walls that surrounded the garden. Hearing what sounded like a nearby voice, the pony turned quickly, just to be meet with the cave entrance he had went through to get here. The pony sighed and made it to the center of the garden, where a skeleton laid on an icy throne. Before he could reach it, three swirling spirits began circling the pony, their looks resembling that of the wendigo of legend. They looked down on the pony as he nodded to them. "You have dwindled for centuries without guidance or a home. But I have come here to change that. We cannot rely on Sombra or Dadiolus to bring about Equestrias end, so we must bring back the one who can." He stated in a clear voice as he pulled out eight jars, seven containing white liquid and one containing black liquid. He stepped forward and poured each of the white bottles on the skeleton. "With you ancient ones as my witness, I pour the harvested souls of seven pure beings onto the latent queen." He turned and opened the black jar and brought out a knife. He cut his leg slightly and poured the blood into the black jar. "And now, I apply tainted blood to the twisted soul of Dadiolus himself, may his death empower the rightful ruler of the Equestria...no, the WORLD!" He poured the black liquid on the body as the three wendigo pounced the body, letting it absorb their icy power. "yes! YES!!! Arise, and smite all of ponykind! Arise, and bring about eternal winter!" The pony chanted as the corpse began to glow and rise off the ground, snow and ice slowly churning in a circle around it. The pony looked on in pure delight as the light slowly faded, and a icy body landed on its feet. Her hair was silk white and her body was covered in this icy armour that bulged out slightly at the chest. Her eyes were simply icicles jutting out and her teeth were of similar consequence, yet better aligned to be straight rather than crooked. The feminine being stood up and looked around slowly before smiling. It has been eons since I have walked the earth. She said in a chilling tone before she turned to the pony, who had by far wet himself in pure ecstasy at the revival of his idol. Come to me, my follower. Tell me the name of the one who freed me from my eternal slumber in tartarus. She ordered as the pony walked up, shaking entirely the whole time, and bowed to her. "My queen, my name is Goldspoon. I went undercover as a chef in Canterlot so I could learn how to bring you back. After your fiance returned, I was sure he would come and revive you." The ice woman looked around, yet saw no one else. And where is my fateful husband? Goldspoon looked up at her and frowned. "My queen, I hate to inform you that he planned on stopping you from bringing about eternal winter. Thankfully, he was killed by one of the new humans that have appeared." The queen blinked in suprise before she turned away. If Dadiolus did interfere, then he must know something I don't. And there are more humans now? Hmm...this may work in my favor, if that fool Grimbeak is still alive. She turned to Goldspoon and smiled wickedly. I have a task for you! Go to Griffonia and alert the griffon king that I will be ready to destroy Canterlot in five days! Goldspoon saluted and bowed. "Yes, my queen!" With that, he ran off into the tunnel he had walked in from. The ice queen looked at her garden, and the messed up shape it was in, and frowned. Oh, this won't work at all. She said as she made an ice throne using her newly aquired magic. She sat in it and smiled as wendigos started appearing left and right to acknowledge the return of their queen. Much better...That blasted princess of the sun will rue the day she tried to vanquish Christine Valencia Blazeheart, Queen of the wendigo and rightful ruler of this world! ***************** Raiden POV ***************** Ok, I'm drawing the line at ten rounds. I had just gotten out of the bathroom and was now stretching out my body, hearing several kinks and cracks. Dang, does Luna know how to tire one out! I groaned inwardly as I saw Luna stick her head out the door. "Raiiiiiden~" She sung out lustfully. "I'm in need of-" I walked forward and shushed her. "No. Not until tomorrow. I am completely dry, woman!" I hissed quietly as she pouted. "But Raideeeeen! We neeeeed thou!" She said as I frowned. "And I need a break. You can wait until tomorrow to get some." I said as I laid on some of the seats and stretched out, eager to go to sleep. Luna rolled her eyes but laid down on top of me nonetheless. "If we cannot get the lovemaking we desire, then thou shall suffer our cuddleful wrath!" She stated as she nuzzled my neck, making it that much easier for me to fall asleep. I rubbed a claw down her back, eliciting a sigh and a shudder from her and whispered in her ear. "Tomorrow, let's totally do it in your sisters bed." Luna proceeded to snort loudly as she laughed at the idea of desecrating her sisters private quarters like so. "Indeed. She shall learn not to underestimate our endurance or our gall!" She declared with a yawn as we both ended up falling to sleep. ************* Ronin POV ************* My eyes snapped open as I sat up. I looked around and immediately realized I was NOT in the hivemind. Instead, I was definitely in Celestia's room, and on her bed no less! How the heck did I manage to get here? I was JUST in a jail cell...unless I am still asleep. I thought as I heard a sly chuckle from my right. I turned to see Celestia looking at me hungrily, with a fanged smile on her lips. "oooh, if it isn't Ronin. The darkened knight who has managed to find himself in my bedchambers." She purred as I stood up frowned, clenching my fists slightly. "Knock it off, Celestia. I'm not in the mood for your fiery chick mess right now." I stated, noticing she was looking like sha had before, only know she had a tiara with a red ruby in its center on. She laughed, but her eyes had anger in them. "I am many things, human. But Celestia is not one of them." She walked straight up to me and pressed her forehead against mine, her lips centimeters from my own. "Tell me..." She breathed as she stared into my soul. "That day in the bushes, did I act or even sound like Celestia?" She had a point. The sun princess never had been fully bold in romantic actions with me before, just a drunken night after Dadiolus's first defeat. And this mare, whoever she was, acted NOTHING like her in all the best ways. I smiled. "I guess not. Might you tell me who you are then?" I asked as she pushed me onto the bed and kissed me deeply, her hooves pinning my shoulders down and her flaming tail inches from scorching my legs. "Ohohohoho! Finally asking the lady her name?" She said after breaking the kiss. She looked down on me as I gave her a shrug and licked her fangs. "My name is Daybreaker, the TRUE ruler of the sun!" I won't lie, I kinda liked this version better. And it didn't suprise me that she was not Celestia. That did leave a question though... "So, the time she called me brim...was that you?" I asked her as she blinked in suprise before tilting her head back and laughing malevolently. "That was not me, fool! That was indeed that idiotic lesser version of me that did such a thing." She said as I nodded. "Oooooh. Wait...version?" I said before smiling. "Oh! Your Celestia's version of nightmare moon, huh?" She rolled her eyes. "To a degree, yes. But I bore of this chatter." She leaned on close to me. "I must ask you this. How loyal are you to Celestia?" I didn't hesitate. "On a scale of one to ten, about two at best, why?" She smiled wickedly at that. "Well, how would you like to help me replace her?" She asked as I thought about that, barely noticing her stroke my chest with her hoof, somehow knowing not to put pressure on the center of my chest. If I helped this lady out, Celestia might disappear...for good. And I doubt Raiden, Luna, or anyone else would be too happy about that. However, I wasn't really too sure Celestia was to be trusted, considering she never told us about the third human and just so happens to be unable to get me off this trail even though shes the princess. I looked Daybreaker in the eye. "If I help you, you need to peomise that Celestia isn't killed. Instead, we find a way to trap her in your mind so Luna can see her on occasion." I said as she giggled slightly. "I have already imprisioned her in our shared space. I just need a magic component to take her place outside the mindspace." I blinked and raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?" She purred, yes purred, seductively. "Your a hafling, are you not? I can absorb your dark power through any way necessary to overpower her light." I smiled slightly. "And considering my power is love based..." I trailed off, already knowing where this was going. She scoffed. "Believe me, the magic is purely a bonus. You, on the other hand, are a specimen all among yourself! A man from another world who does not fear darkness and those who weild it! Instead, you claim its power and embrace its advantages." Getting kinda turned off, I grabbed her by the head and pulled her into a kiss. After breaking away, I grinned at her frown. "If I wanted a lecture, I'd have popped by the purple unicorns place." I said as she growled, but I saw the smile pierce it. "Heh, your lucky your so intriguing to me, Or I would've scorched you by now." She said as the bed caught fire and she spread her wings out wide, revealing every inch of her magnificence. Suprisingly, the fire didn't hurt to touch, instead it was oddly soothing. Must be a dream thing. I thought as she smiled at my awed expression at her full radience. "Ronin...It is time you were shown what a TRUE weilder of the sun can do!" She exclaimed as, in the back of my head, I could've swore I heard Celestia pleading with me to stop. Meh, it was probably nothing. > Interlude: In Faust we trust > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ???/no POV Space, an empty cold abyss of death and and discovery. Ponykind has always known it as where the princess of night's stars are placed, where her moon shines from. But little to none, even Luna herself, ever contemplate traveling the empty area between these stars. That is...almost empty. In the near center of this abyss of darkness lies a large flat circle of a diamond like substance. In the center of this circle is a globe, and if one peered close enough they could make out all the major landmarks of Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms. From Griffonia all the way to the land of the dragons, every area and every being that currently lived there could be spied upon without anyone ever being aware. Standing vigil over this globe of Equiis was an alicorn, one much older and stronger than the ones living in Canterlot. Bearing a body of pure gold and a mark of a balancing scale on her flank, this alicorn stands watch over the whole planet, ensuring that everything stays balanced...no matter the cost or the lives lost to do so. A flash of light interrupts the golden mares eyes as she looks up to see a human about eight feet tall walking towards her. Tired golden eyes drift to the approaching figure as he stops and raises an eyebrow at her. "I did what you asked, Faust. Now answer my questions." The inquisitive man asked as he stroked his beard. He was burly, with body armor made of red dragon scales (leftovers from the last dragon that attempted to escape tartarus.) that matched his red hair, while he also wore sandels that seemed to be strapped with ponified leather. Faust sighed. "Very well. You have two questions." The man put his hands on his hips and frowned. "First, why did I have to go and cause that accident in that small town? You know those kids are vital to your pathetic balance." Faust scoffed. "Fate called for the situation to arise. The children were in good hooves and due to the involvement of the boy and his brother stopping the three fillies from attempting to mess with the visitor from Manehatten, I had to compensate." The man groaned. "Does every event in that town that seems SLIGHTLY interesting have to have some sort of life-endangering situation in it?" Before Faust could speak he continued. "And I swear on my name if you say balance I will rip that horn off your head and puncture your ass with it!" Faust chuckled slightly. "Now Tarus, there is no need for threats. Especially since you already puncture my flank just fine without the need of any tools. But I find near death situations...appealing to watch." Tarus looked away, hiding his red face, and chuckled. "Fair enough, Fausty. As for my second question. What are we going to do when the boy starts to realize what type of magic he weilds?" At this, Faust turned away and took a deep breath. "When he begins to hone his powers is when the final Era begins." Taurus blinked in suprise and clenched his fists. "Era? We haven't activated an Era in eons! The last one we did created that stupid chaos 'god' Discord!" Faust looked to him with a souless gaze, no mercy would be found in her eyes. "The planet of Equiis has grown lax and have forgotten the ancient ways of life, especially the ponies. We believed having a tyrannical ruler like Discord would toughen them up, but the two Alicorns stepped in and stopped the plan. A new Era is absolutely necessary to rectify this mistake." Tarus groaned. Causing an Era was soooo much work and would send soooo many souls to Tartarus (his namesake land). He turned and opened a portal before looking back. "If so, then I better make room down here. There's gonna be a looot of conpany in a couple of weeks." With that, he was gone, leaving Faust alone in the empty abyss. Faust turned and summoned a wall to appear in front of her. On this wall were many pictures, some of her and Tarus (several of these were quite...exotic). Some were of her late husband chronos and her two daughters before she faked her death. And the last one was... That one was special. It showed a small yellow unicorn filly holding a flower in her hoof, not yet knowing the vile path fate would put her on. Not yet knowing thag she would be forced to watch over all of reality and protect it from destruction. She sighed and made the wall disappear. Everything has its place in the world, made of light or darkness. For every villian that steps up, a hero must be made to face it. And the winner of said bout would decide how the balance would be affected. And far too many times has light won these recent bouts, and now with not only the princesses and the six elements of harmony being children of light, but the three humans (for now) following that path as well was really not helping the balance issue, making the use of an Era all the more necessary. Faust frowned. Tarus had made a decent point though. Using an Era meant extreme unpredictability. Accounting for everything they could do was impossible, even for her. All she knew was that they balanced the scale, whether it created a hero to fight the dark. Or it wiped all traces of light from the planet and let the night last forever. The effects were limitless. She sighed again and looked back to the globe. Oh well, that would have to wait until the boy started learning how to use his not so normal powers. She spawned up a rather large scale next to her and looked at the symbols on it. The scale had two sides, one was pure black and the other was white. There was a odd grey square in between but nopony had been on that in years. "Might as well check in with the those 'heroes' of Equestria." She muttered to herself as she looked carefully. The elements of Loyalty, Honesty, Magic, Kindness and Generosity were all on the white scale alongside...The moon? "Why is the Luna on the light side? Even if she isn't Nightmare Moon she should still be born of dark origin. And where is Laughter?" She looked to the black side and her eyes widened. There was a crown symbol that had to resemble the changeling queen, but that was to be expected. What suprised her was that the sun symbol was on the black scale. "And why is Celestia on the right side? Daybreaker shouldn't come out for a year or two!" Faust growled as she turned to the grey. There, on the grey, was the Element of laughter and some random nurse pony's cross symbol. In the three corners of the grey area were a sword symbol, a headphone symbol, and chef hat with fire on its top. "Why is laughter in the middle? And why is this Nurse on the scale at all?! Shes no hero!" Faust turned away and bucked the scale into oblivion. She glared at the globe as she circled it. "Those humans are changing everything. This is why I am reactivating Era. I MUST restore balance to Equestria and its necessary timeline for it to survive!" She stated quite madly as she resumed her watch over the globe, though now she was more motivated to do so. If only to keep an eye on the threats to the good of the world. > Chapter 48: Contemplations and Changeling puberty. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* I stretched out on the floor with a big yawn as I felt Luna stir slightly beside me. Neither of us were the right size to properly lay across the seats, so the floor had been the next best choice if rest after our...strenuous activities. I looked to the sleeping princess and and found myself in awe. Even in sleep, she managed to keep up her beauty, resting peacefully with her head on my scaled chest as she slept quietly. On the note of scales, I raised a claw and studied it. I had four pointy fingers like Spike, except mine were bigger and seemed sharper as well. It's crazy, to think about two months ago I was a simple fry cook at Mcdonalds to now being a mythical creature in some colorful land with talking animals. I thought as I thought about past conversations about my form. Luna had said we would look into finding a way to revert myself back to my normal form...but did I really want that? I mean, I enjoyed being a human, don't get me wrong. But being a dragon is awesome! I have wings, can breathe fire, and pack a waaay better body (in more ways than one.) I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to being a human. Now, I am defintely glad I don't look like Ronin does. He sonehow managed to get an exoskeleton that fused with his skin! That, with the metal wings, really makes him look like some sort of lab produced warrior. He pulls it off though, considering the man has three mares in his herd. Which brought up another point. Would I want to herd? And if so, how many mares would I want to go up to? Twilight was already being considered, though that was mostly thanks to Luna, and conaidering the foreseeable future, who knows what will happen? I shook my head. There's no point speculating on the unknown. Speaking of unknown, that brings up Nicholas. My twelve year old sibling who had managed to somehow bring us to this world with nothing more than a wish and a necklace. I had seen the instances with his magic and even his own form change, and it looked far different than magic I had seen up to this point. And that Dadiolus guy had wanted Nicholas too. But why? What's so special about him? What makes him different than me or Ronin? I was pulled from my thoughts as I heard a knock at the door. I sighed and booped Luna on the muzzle. "C'mon, Luna. Time to get up." I softly said as she groaned, her eyes not open yet. "Neigh, let us sleep for another century or two." She whined as I chuckled and rolled her off me, resulting in a mild oof coming from her. I got up and opened the door to see Twilight looking at me, a grim look on her face. "We just arrived in Canterlot, and from the letter Celestia recieved from Blueblood, saving Ronin is going to be harder than we thought" She stated as I frowned while Luna joined us at the door. "How so?" I asked, feeling a hoof wrap around me as Luna hugged me supportedly. "Blueblood is using the families of the dead as testimonies, and several of the injured guards as witnesses. It's going to be hard to appeal to the judge with that type of opposition." She said as I groaned loudly. Of course this prick would pull the sorrow card with family. It made sense if he wanted Ronin dead, and it made our mission that much harder too. "Then we must ready ourselves by fighting back the one way possible." Luna stated as Twilight and I turned to her. "And what would that be?" I asked her as she turned away and looked out a window. "If thou wishes to save your brother, your court argument must be that he was only following orders. This would allow blame to be cast to the one who had the orders made, rather than the one who executed them." I winced, realizing what she was implying, while Twilight spoke up. "Then the blame would fall on Chrysalis, and she would be executed instead." She shook her head. "That can't be the only way out of this, right? Just to pass the torch to somepony else?" Luna sighed and faced us. "It's the only legal way to do so. Any other way would cause any of us to commit a crime and be punished accordingly, and as a princess we cannot do so. Especially with public opinion of us already being so bad." I walked over and pulled Luna into a hug. "I won't ask you to do that, nor are we going to break Ronin out of jail. We need to find a way to do this the RIGHT way." I stated as Twilight beamed. "Well said, Raiden. Now, I believe we might have a chance if we-" She was interrupted as a latch loudly clicked open above us and Pinkie dropped through. She looked around and saw us. "Emergency meeting in the second train car from the front, STAT!" She exclaimed before, without so much as a warning, vaulted out a (luckily) open window. For a second, no one moved. "Um...Are thou sure that friend of thous is alright, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked as Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I have no idea, princess. But whatever is going on, it sounded important. So we need to check it out." With that, Luna erupted the room in a blue flash, teleporting us to our destination. When the light faded, we found ourselves in a train car with Chrysalis, Redheart, a very tired Celestia, and...Pinkie? I pointed a finger at her. "How'd you get here before us? We teleported here!" Pinkie smiled wide. "I found a shortcut in the plotline!" I went to argue, but Twilight jabbed me lightly in the leg. "Don't even try to argue with her, Raiden. It's just something she does." Twilight said as I groaned and sat down, Luna following suit on my left as Twilight walked over to Celestia. "Princess, what's the meeting fo-" Twilighr would be once again interrupted as Celestia let out a huge yawn, causing Chrysalis to snicker. "Looks like somepony needs a nap." Chrysalis said mockingly as Celestia threw a tired glare at her. "I need no such thing, its just been a long night." She turned to Twilight and smiled. "But I did not call this meeting, Twilight. That honor goes to Chrysalis." Luna looked to Chrysalis and frowned. "You called the meeting? What for?" Chrysalis went to answer, but was cut off by Pinkie Pie, who had been slowly starting to vibrate in place. "WE ARE GONNA BREAK RONIN OUT OF JAIL!" She exclaimed loudly as Redheart sighed and face-hoofed. I blinked while Luna and Celestias jaws dropped. Twilight frowned while Chrysalis just sat there with a bored expression on her face. "Pinkie! We can't go and break him out of jail! that's illegal!" Twilight stated, but Pinkie shook her head. "Not like that, silly. We were gonna make it LOOK like he was executed, then teleport him somewhere safe until he could return to ponyville." Pinkie said as I went to argue against this, but couldn't. "That...actually could work. But where would he go?" I asked as Redheart stepped forward. "He will be going to Griffonia for the time being." She said, causing Celestia to snap out of her stupor. "Griffonia? Why there of all places?" Chrysalis spoke up. "In Eureka last night, Ronin told us he had been notified about Grimbeak knowing about him and his brothers. He plans to investigate how he came to know this information all the while laying low." Luna frowned. "And how would thou go about teleporting him to Griffonia? It is very far away and that level of teleportation needs a lot of energy." Redheart nodded. "Exactly. And that's where Nicholas and his friends come in. We will need them to collect enough love energy to teleport Ronin just before he is executed by the lightning bolts." I raised an eyebrow. "Bolts?" Luna nodded to me. "The normal executions in Equestria use a barrage of lightning bolts that are dropped on the criminal." I gulped slightly at that, while Celestia spoke up. "Even so, that would take a enormous amount of energy. How would young Nicholas manage to obtain so much?" I smiled at the idea of Nicholas performing in front of hundreds of ponies. "He is currently a DJ, and with his friends help, he might be able to pull it off." Redheart turned to Celestia. "Which brings us back to a main issue: What to store that power in?" The sun princess thought about that for a second before smiling. "I have a necklace that can absorb magic. It should be able to do the job." Twilight gasped. "Princess! You can't be seriously suggesting that we do this, right? This is easily a felony and could get all of us in trouble!" Celestia chuckled lightly, though for a second I swore I saw a glint of orange in her eyes, and answered her student. "Twilight, the fate of one of our friends is at stake. If it was you or my sister, I would do the same." I smiled warmly at those words. "Thanks, Celestia. It means a lot knowing your gonna help us. But that leaves my brother and his friends with the job of figuring out how to perform for a whole city." I said as I wondered where Nicholas was on the train now. ************* Tak POV ************* I awoke to the sound of slight whimpering to my left. I sat up and looked over to see Nicholas holding Diamond Tiara close, his face scrunched up in pain while his mouth moved slowly. I stood and slowly walked over to him, careful not to make much noise as I saw the three fillies sleeping around him. I leaned my head in to hear what he was saying. "Please....help." I heard him whisper, fear etched in his words. "No...Leave me alone!" I frowned. It was apparent that Nicholas was suffering from a nightmare, but how to help? The princess of night usually helped ponies with their nightmares, but since Nicholas wasn't a pony would she be able to help him. Then again, Princess Luna was preoccupied with pleasing Raiden, so that may impede on any dream guidence from her, meaning I had to do something. It was then I felt the urge to touch my horn to Nicholas's forehead. It was odd, like I had this burning desire to give him something..but what? I leaned my horn down to his head and watched a light yellow trail go from my horn to his forehead. Immediately, I felt my own stamina dissolve and dropped to my knees. It had felt like something had drained the love from my inner core itself, but there were no changelings nearby that could... I shot upright as I felt something odd. The yellow light I had given off had turned purple and seemed to resonate around his whole body with a light glow. I noticed his face was now a resounding calm and his pained muttering had ceased. I let out a gasp as the purple light went and surrounded myself, causing me to float in the air slightly. After a flash went through the train car, I landed on the floor and looked around frantically. Suprisingly, no one awoken from their slumber, though something was off. I looked at my legs and nearly had a heart attack! I quickly ran into the nearest bathroom and locked myself in and looked to a mirror. My whole body looked completely different! My black coat of skin was now a gleaming blue, while my eyes kept their yellowy glow to them. My wings (WINGS! YEEES!) seemed to be a maroon color and they, alongside the rest of my body, was no longer covered with holes. Even my horn seemed more natural now. "What has happened to me?" I stated quietly, noticing even my voice no longer had any hiss to it. "The only thing I did was place my horn on Nicks head and..." It suddenly all came together. When I had placed my horn down, I had somehow transfered magic to Nicholas. And since changelings require love to use magic, I must've shared that love energy with him out of worry for his well being. But mother had always said that changelings couldn't do so, only take love from our enemies... ...Or, that's what she preferred to do, anyway. If this is correct, then all changelings can do this. I felt much stronger in this form, more...complete. It felt like I had just found the last piece of my puzzle that had been hidden for centuries. And I had this insane urge to go and spread this odd feeling with everyone I knew, especially... I looked to the mirror with a sad smile. I had told Scootaloo to stay back in case things got dangerous, but now I wished for her to be here more than ever to see this form of mine. It felt...incomplete wothout her here with me, and I guess that's the biggest sign of love I've seen yet. But why would this happen? Why would sharing love have such a huge affect on us changelings? And if mother truly knows about this, why hide this ascension from the others? As I thought this, I recalled the girls who were with Nicholas. Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Diamond had all snuck on the train in order to help Nicholas, the latter definitely wouldn't allow Nick to get hurt. Their love (whether it be romantic or family like) drove them to follow us on the train. and while that was an impressive feat on its own, it didn't answer my questions regarding the true power of love. I looked to myself in the mirror again, worry now taking shape. What if they don't like my new look? What if they don't know its me and think I did something to myself? The girls might not jump to conclusions like that, but I wouldn't put it past Nicholas to misread this type of situation and try to do something we'd both regret. Which was another thing altogether. Could Ronin be the key in helping mother undergo this same epiphany about love? That sharing it is better for both us and our associates? She wouldn't like it at first, but Ronin could easily persuade her to try it... I hope. I heard a knock at the door and froze. "Hey, Tak! You in there? I gotta pee." Nicholas said rather bluntly before a yawn followed. I smiled and went to open the door before remembering my form change. "Nick...promise not to freak out, alright?" I said as I swore I felt the confused emotions swell up in him. "Uh...about what?" He asked as I opened the door, smiling weakly at his shocked expression. "Tadaaaa..." I stated weakly. ************ Nicholas POV ************ Mind.EXE was currently unavailable at the moment, please stand by... I snapped out of my shock when Tak, at least I think it's him anyway, poked me in the ribs. "Snap out of it!" He stated, his voice no longer sounding like... a changelings. More like a everyday persons. "Whoa...Dude, what happened to you? You look...bright." Tak rolled his eyes. "How descriptive. But to answer your question, you happened." He said, causing me to frown. "Me?" I asked, pointing to myself. "What did I do?" He shrugged. "You were having a nightmare, so I accidently transfered some love magic to you, and ended up unlocking some hidden power in myself. Now I have a changed body and weird urges I don't understand." I snorted slightly. "Sounds like you just hit puberty." Taks head tilted slightly, allowing me to notice he was now my height...weird. "What's puberty?" I blinked before face-palming.Of course he doesn't know what puberty is...do the girls? Have they already went through it? (Though I seriously doubt Sweetiebelle has, considering her voice is higher than a kite.) "Never mind, it's a human joke." I stated, pushing the painful idea of myself, who had just started puberty almost a year ago, having to deal with three if not four PONIES going through human-like puberty. "But your saying that, in the midst of helping me with my nightmares, you somehow unlocked some deep-hidden potential among your kind?" Tak thought for a second before nodding. "That sounds about right!" I groaned and looked out a window. It was still dark, but we weren't moving anymore, so we might've reached our destination. Still, it was WAY to early for this. I walked past Tak and closed the bathroom door. "Alright, go and sit down or something. We'll figure this out when I'm done in here." I heard his footsteps echo away before I looked into the mirror. My eyes had slight bags under them, though I'd blame the nightmares for that. I yawned and looked to the toilet, which had its seat up. Tak couldn't have put the seat back down? I thought before frowning. Wait...did ponies and changelings pee standing up? how? I decided to not question that further and went to do my business. *********** Ronin POV *********** I sat down at a small table in an even smaller break room. Prisoners got three meals a day, but breakfast hour was spent in some small barracks so the prisoners could "conversate" with each other. I had been awoken at about three in the morning for breakfast...THREE! Not only that, they had me change into some cartoon-style prision clothes with black/white stripes on them. After being ordered to turn off all my armour, or get punished with no food, I had managed to put on the clothes. I looked down at the tray in front of me. Since I had canines, they immediately put me on the griffon menu, meaning a raw fish had been put on my plate...greaaat. Thankfully, they had given me a cup of water, alongside a fork, therefore allowing me to wash down each bite. As I ate, what I mocked up to be a steroid chicken sat down in front of me. I looked up and noticed two things. Although the thing had back paws and a lion tail, it had golden claws and a eagle like face. Second, it was looking at me like I knew it. "Are you Ronin?" She asked gruffly, causing me to drop the bite of fish in suprise. "Wait...Gilda? That's what you look like?" I stated in suprise as she narrowed her eyes at me. "And what wrong with I look like?" She stated before shaking her head. "Nevermind, I need to know of you were serious about what you said before." I nodded. "I am, I have outside sources helping to prepare the escape, we just need to sit tight." I looked the griffon over quickly. "Ya know, you look like you've got muscle on ya, for an overgrown rooster, What type of workouts do you do?" She smiled and stretched, flexing her body. "Not to brag, but I am one of the fastest flyers to exist in this whole world!" Her attitude reminded me of the ponified gay-pride flag herself. "Well, Gilda. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that title belong to a rainbow-colored pony?" For some reason, that comment angered her FAR more than I thought it would. She leaned in real close and slammed her claws on the table. "Leave that two-faced brat out of this." So she does know Rainbow Dash...I wonder how. Now feeling slighly threatened, I followed suit and butted heads with Gilda. "Watch that beak, griffon. Or I'll use it to cut a new hole in ya." Before more could be said, a pegasus guard had appeared and was holding his spear out towards us. "Enough!" He barked. "Sit down and eat your meals, or else it's solitary confinement for the both of you!" He turned and walked off, but not before I fired a parting blow. "Oi! Whats your name?" I yelled to him. The orange pegasus turned and frowned. "Flash Sentry, why?" He asked me. I turned to Gilda and winked before turning back to the blue-maned guard. "Well, Flash. I just wanted to let you know that I've banged your boss, and if you point that spear at me again, I'll cut the tip off the one you brandish twenty-four seven." I stated simply, reveling in watching the eyes of flash widen to saucers as he turned around and, quite shakily, walked away. I heard Gilda snort as I sat back down. I looked to her to see her covering her beak to keep from bursting out laughing. "What, dude probably has a three inch anyway." I stated simply, causing her to lose her composure and burst out laughing. "Oh man! You really-HAHA-dislike ponies, huh?" She asked me mid-laugh as I shrugged. "Only the ones that tick me off, which is about half of them." I said as I sat down to finish my 'breakfast'. ************** Meanwhile, in Tartarus ************** In the center of this hellish landscape of eternal torment is a castle surrounded by a fiery pit filled with the lost souls of the war against the god of chaos. If one looked closely at the castle, you would see its bricks were made of the hooves or claws of said souls. Inside this castle was only two rooms. A giant hallway featuring the murals of every evil being to grace equestria. And a throne room where the king of Tartarus sat, slept, and ate. Said king was grinning wickedly over the recent subject to arrive in his domain. It had about a decade since this particular subject managed to escape Tartarus thanks to an accidental rift occuring. (He had also lost track of a certain Centaur, but that wouldn't cause too much problems, right?) Tarus stood and pulled out his sword, an elongated horn made from the last pony king of Equestria, and pointed it at the bald man in front of him. "Dadiolus. You have done many a bad deed in your lifetime, even going as far as escaping from Tartarus! How do you plead?" He asked the man, who looked up at him with a resigned smile. "I have done many a neccessary evil to help Equestria, and managed to find someone else to carry my torch. So guilty, your horribleness." Dadiolus spat the last words as a spear found itself buried in his forehead. "Oh, look at that." Tarus mocked. "You've been impaled." The man crumpled over as a blackish light left his chest. Tarus walked over and grabbed the light in his palm...and devoured it whole. His whole body glowed for a second before he looked up to the roof and smiled big, his teeth blackened by what he had consumed. "Hehehe. Another soul for the fire. Though I wonder what he meant by carry my torch?" The bipedalistic king thought aloud as the room erupted with a loud wail of a old soul being burned to cinders. ************** Raiden POV ************** After the meeting had dispersed we had started loading everyone off the train, though Nicholas and his friends was nowhere in sight. "Where could they be?" I muttered as Sweetiebelle and Applebloom walked off first, followed by Nicholas piggybacking a sleeping Diamond in his back. Then...something else came off as well. It was about Nicholas's height and had a shiny blue coat with maroon insect wings. I walked right up to them and nodded to the thing. "Nicholas...what's that?" He smiled and motioned carefully to it, as to not disturb Diamond. "Oh, that's Tak. He's kinda going through some changes." I looked to what was apparently Tak with bewilderment. "What?!" Wait...I didn't say that. I found Chrysalis standing right next to me, her face one with confusion and some anger. "What do you mean changes?!" She demanded loudly, causing the crusaders to flinch and Diamond to stir, muttering something about a wedding dress before snoring lightly. Tak spoke up. "Mother, earlier last night I awoke to find Nicholas having a bad nightmare. I found myself drawn to help him and ended up somehow transfering love to him via my horn." He stated as Chrysalis's jaw dropped. "You...Shared love? How?" She asked, causing Tak to frown. "I was hoping you would know, but the event caused this form to arise, which makes me believe that any of us can achieve this form." Tak said. This whole situation was confusing as all get out, and I could tell Chrysalis was getting angry that something that sounded important she had no clue about and the way Tak talked like it was such a good thing. "Why would anyone wish to change into that eyesore of a form. It would be nigh impossible to sneak around at night looking like that." Chrysalis said with a hint of venom. "Why would we need to sneak around in the first place, mother? We live in peace with the ponies right now and no longer need the foul-intended abilities we possess." He stated rather heatidly as Chrysalis stomped her hoof. "You shut your mouth with that blasphemy! For centuries, we have thrived off of our abilities of stealth and deception and-" Tak cut her off. "And where did that take us? Near extinction by a stronger species? Thousands of our kind starving and weak and barely able to levitate pebbles? You cannot seriously call that thriving!" He stepped past a rather shocked Chrysalis and shook his head. "We can talk more about politics later, mother. Right now, we need to focus on saving Ronin." I decided to speak up then, if anything to keep the other kids from hearing any more mother/son debates. "We have a plan to save him, but you guys will have a huge role in supplying the love energy to do so." Nicholas and the others turned to me while Chrysalis stood there quietly while occasionally glancing to Tak. "Why would we need to harvest love?" Tak asked me as Sweetiebelle tilted her head. "And where would we store it? That type of magic needs an area of containment, right?" We all looked to her in suprise, causing her to blush slightly and shrink a bit. "What? Ms. Cherilee did a lesson on magic and how to store it, and love was one of the kinds she went over." I shook my head and turned to Nicholas. "Well, we need your performing abilities to gain the love of the city, all the while Tak and the other changelings gather it and store it. Once you guys come up with a plan to gather the love, go find Celestia or me. We will give you the necklace that can hold the energy you need to collect." Nicholas nodded and looked to his friends and reached out his hand. "Well, how about it? Ready to make some love?" The kids reached their hooves in and swung them to the sky at once. "YEAH!" They yelled as Chrysalis leaned in to my ear. "Nicholas knows that the statement he said was a double entendre, right?" She whispered as Diamond woke up crom fhe shouting. "Can you guys keep it down? Nicks reeeeally comfy!" She stated, causing the kids to laugh as I rolled my eyes and answered Chrysalis. "I hope not, or else I need to have a loooong chat with Ronin when I next see him." > Chapter 49: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* We had spent the morning going to the castle, where we would get fed breakfast first before we seperated into three groups. My friends, myself, and the LAZR squad (minus the one in ponyville) would begin planning how to perforn for a whole city in the ballroom. Pinkie Pie, Redheart, and Chrysalis would go visit Ronin and make sure he was ok. All the while Raiden, Twilight and Luna would prepare a defense team for the upcoming trial. Celestia would've helped, but apparently due to some incident involving parts of the dragon and yak kingdoms being frozen over, she had to reschedule some big meeting all the kingdoms rulers were supposed to have in order to check in with these kingdoms and investigate the sudden freeze in the middle of spring. That is how I found myself sitting on the floor in a circle with my friends and the LAZR group with seperate food plates nearby. My briefcase had been sat nearby and was neatly laying on the floor. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom sat on my left and Diamond had placed herself between my legs, which I rewarded with ear scratches. The LAZR squad were sitting to my right (Though Roxas and Axel were passed out, snoring on each other, much to Larxene's annoyance.) and Tak was in front of me eyeing my juice that was in my free hand. "Up till now, I have only performed for about a hundred or so ponies. This city has thousands of citizens, snd we need a way to level up my act." I said openly all the while sipping on a cup of orange juice I had gotten during breakfast. I placed it down and smiled as Diamond let out a content sigh. I didnt notice, however, that Tak had snagged my cup via magic. Sweetiebelle raised her hoof. "Oh! What if you were to sing? Your voice does sound different in your other form, and it could sound really good with a song." Tak nodded. "Indeed, but Nicholas would also need a way to move about the city. It would be easier to gain fans if he could find a way to reach them instead of them coming to us." I finally noticed the cup in his magical grip, but could do nothing about it due to Diamond Tiara snuggling up on my chest as I heard her mutter something among the lines of "so comfy" into my shirt. Applebloom tilted her head. "Ya mean a float or something? The girls and ah could make another one." Diamond frowned as she turned her body to face everyone else. "We have another issue to solve as well. Since this is a city, there will no doubt be DJ's who already make a living at night clubs around here. We need a way to make Nicholas stand out from the rest of them." That was a good point, one that had us stumped to silence for a minute before Sweetiebelle turned to the Larxene, who had been attempting to ignore the loud snoring of her comrades. "Larxene, you and the others can change forms, right?" She asked her. Larxene smiled smugly. "We are changelings! Changing our form is second nature! Why?" Sweetiebelle pointed to me. "Do you think you could get Roxas and Axel to change into forms similar to Nicholas when he plays music?" Larxene turned and woke the two guys up before turning back to Sweetiebelle. Larxene now looked confused, but nodded. "I could, but why only them?" Sweetiebelles smile grew wider. "Because I think the only way for Nicholas to gain the fans necessary is to have more than one performer on stage." My eyes widened as I realized what she was going at. "You want to make those two perform with me?" She turned to me and smiled sweetly. "Not just them, but Tak too!" Tak, who had been attempting to drink juice for the first time from my cup, spat it out in suprise. "Me? Why?!" Sweetiebelle rolled her eyes and giggled. "I've heard about you wanting to ask Scootaloo to a dance, so that means you must be good at it, right?" Tak nodded, but frowned all the same. "Yes, but that is usually a private affair. How would my dancing help Nicholas?" Sweetiebelle stood up and pointed outside. "Canterlot is sooo big! Nicholas is going to need help in winning it's citizens over, so that means he can't go solo anymore with his music. He's gonna need a band." She stated as my jaw dropped. "You want tah make a boy band out of one human and three changelings? How?" Applebloom said as Diamond walked up and stood next to Sweetiebelle. "I think I know what your thinking. We would have Tak and the other boys change forms to look similar to 12K, then they would perform together to gain more popularity!" She said as we looked to each other for a second. "That sounds...kinda reasonable, actually." Larxene stated as Tak shrugged. "I've done worse for way worse reasons, so why not?" He consented as Roxas ran up to me and started shaking me while being overly giddy. "Oooooh! what do you look like with 12K? What will we look like? Will we be called 12K as well?" He would've said more, but Axel smacked his head. "Cool it, kid. We don't even know if we can sing." He said, making a decent point. We had no idea if they could even perform right. Tak walked up and nodded to them. "You can alter your voices to be similar to 12K's, just an octave higher for Roxas, and one lower for Axel." He said as the two nodded. Larxene walked up to the girls and smiled. "We need to figure out how we are going to make a float for them. Let's leave the boys to practice while we do the real work." With that, the girls left the room. (Though not before I got a hug from Applebloom and Sweetiebelle and a cheek kiss from Diamond Tiara.) I turned and opened up my briefcase to its music set. After a playing a note and changing form, I turned to the guys and smiled. "All right, lets get your looks updated." I said, the autotune taking effect. Roxas, ever so hyper, was first. "Me first Me first!" He chanted quickly as he looked me over before closing his eyes and being surrounded by an orange light. When it dimmed, we were all able to see the change. He was strikingly similar to me, but he had put a spin on some things. Unlike me, his color scheme was orange on the outfit, eyes, and hair. The hair was different too. Instead of the lowered halo, his hair was had a large spike going up about a foot high, while a smaller chunk with over one of eyes and extended halfway down his cheek. He smiled and spun around. "Look at meeee!" He said, a higher pitch autotune resonated with him, causing him to jump in suprise. "Whoa, my voice is so hiiigh!" He continued to draw out his words to make the most of the echo while Axel stepped up next. "Hmm...you already took red, so I guess I should change my color then." He stated as his horn charged, and a blue light surrounded him. When it cleared, his form was shown. He had a blue color scheme for his outfit and hair, which was a buzz cut on the sides with curly bits dangling over his eyes. He looked at himself and smiled big. "Wel well well, blue ain't so bad!" He said in a deeper autotune. His eyes widened as he looked to Tak. "Dude, you have to do this! The voice thing is awesome!" He stepped away and started conversing with Roxas. Tak shook his head as the other two started comparing hair styles and outfits. He turned to me and smiled. "Well, at least changelings are able to learn how to walk like bipedals when we copy the body. Last thing I'd need is for Scootaloo to find out I face-planted on stage." With that, the yellow light surrounded him as he changed form. When he finished, my jaw dropped. "Whoa..." Was all I could say. His was a yellow scheme, but his hair hung down to his neck and ended with jutted mini spikes at the end. His eyes were yellow with splashes of maroon in them. He looked himself over and shrugged. "Meh...I look alright." His voice was perhaps the deepest of us all. Tak was DEFINITELY going through puberty. Axel and Roxas blinked in suprise, all the while I noticed that we were all the same height now...that made the look-alike thing easier. "Alright? It's more than alright! WE HAVE MANES NOW!" Roxas said while high-fiving Axel. I cleared my throat. "Alright, since we are going to be a group. The name 12K has to be the name of the band. We will use our own names individually when referred to by fans." Axel frowned. "The fan thing I get, but how are we gonna do this 'boy band' thing anyway? Our voices sound nice, but what about our movements skills?" I smiled and clapped my hands together. "Thats what we are going to find out." I turned and pressed the autoplay button on my synthesizer, causing it to play a moderately paced electric song. I turned to Tak. "Your a good dancer, right? Since you three copied this body's physical ability, anything you can do we can do." Tak nodded and took his place in front of us, his head bobbing to the music slightly as he got in position with his back to us. "Alright boys, we need to be synchronized. That means you move like me at the same time as me, Clear?" "SIR YES SIR!" We shouted loudly, almost like we were soldiers in a boot camp. This apparently pleased Tak, because he sounded more motivated when he next spoke. "Alright, three...two...one...SLIDE!" And we began our training. ************** Larxene POV ************** After leaving the males to practice we moved to a hallway that was oddly empty, save for a guard or two at the doorways. The filly known as Diamond Tiara turned to us with a stoic expression. "Alright. We need to find a way to build a good quality float for Nick and the others. Any ideas?" Applebloom answered first. "We could make a float with a flatter design, so it could hold the guys and Nicks equipment. Though we would need to find good material to work with." Diamond Tiara nodded. "Good, Good. My father has a industrial branch up here that gives supplies to the royal guard, so we will be able to get the materials there. But what about design?" The pony named Sweetiebelle waved a hoof around next. "Oh! We could make it a techno theme, since Nicholas was a DJ." She frowned suddenly. "Though I don't know where we could get the paint and art supplies from..." "The castle has a storage room dedicated to the arts and similar crafts nearby, if that's what you are looking for." All four of us turned to see an unicorn filly smiling at us. She wore a yellow tiara that complimented her pink hair (though a couple of strands were yellow as well). She gazed at us with artic blue eyes and a small smile. "And you are?" I asked, my annoyance at the interruption coming out clear. Either the filly did not care, or ignored my tone, for she answered me with quite a bit of joy in her voice. "Oh, I'm Azul Blood." Applebloom made a face. "Blood? Why are ya named that?" Azul walked up to us smiled, putting a hoof to her chest. She was about a inch or two taller than the girls, and met me eye level...an easy target if she proved a threat. "Oh, I got that from my daddy. He is a prince, after all." She said cheerfully as shock went on the girls faces, while anger seeped through my veins. Here was the daughter of same being that had jailed my king! If we were to kidnap her, we could force Blueblood to drop charges and- No. That is not the way. The king wouldn't approve of those methods. I have my orders, and I will carry them out. "Wait...your daddy is prince Blueblood?" Diamond Tiara asked incredulously. Azul sighed and nodded, though she stopped smiling. "Indeed he is, though he has been to busy with some trial he's been trying to get underway to really notice me lately, so things have been boring." Her face picked back up in an instant. "Oh! What are your names?" Sweetiebelle went first. "My names Sweetiebelle." She pointed to Applebloom first, then Diamond Tiara. "Thats my friend Applebloom, and thats Diamond Tiara." I stepped forward and kept eye contact with the enemy. "I am Larxene, head of the LAZR squadron and loyal soldier to the king!" The unicorn seemed unfazed and cheerfully replied. "Are you one of those changelings Daddy talks about? That's soooo cool!" I grunted and took a couple steps back in suprise. Scare tactics weren't working, and I doubt the king would wish for any more casualties right now. Sadly, that meant being nice to a random pony that was not at all important to the crown... revolting. Diamond walked over and smiled. "You had said something about art materials, right?" Azul nodded. "Well, we need paint and other things to help make a float that we can move around the city. We would love your assistance, if its not to much to ask." Up till now, I had never heard Diamond Tiara suck up to somepony before, and it sounded WEIRD! Azul smiled and nodded as she started walking ahead of us. "C'mon! I'll show you the way to the arts room!" We followed, to my relunctance, the young princess as she led us to our destination. As we followed her, Diamond Tiara stayed close to Azul while Sweetiebelle and Applebloom followed closely behind with myself taking the rear. The four of them conversed about several topics such as school life, hobbies and other things. It was then Applebloom gasped. "Ya don't have a cutie mark, don't ya!" She exclaimed after Azul said she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. Azul heistated before pulling her dress back a bit to show her blank flank. I don't understand why the two got so excited, it's just a blank flank, though Azul's horn lit up before she had shown them it though... "Ooh! We could help you get yours! We are trying to get ours as well!" Sweetiebelle stated as Diamond rolled her eyes. "Could we focus please? If we don't make the float then we won't be able to help save Nicks brother!" She said as Azul froze in place before looking to Diamond Tiara weirdly. "Nicholas? Isn't he that smaller human Daddy talks about? Why would you four be helping them out?" Warning bells were going off in my mind, but, before I could do anything, Sweetiebelle opened her big mouth. "We're trying to help Ronin get out of jail!" She said as I face-hoofed. Though the kid probably couldn't do anything herself, she could inform her father of our plans. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Azul shook her head with a sigh. "Oh, girls. Here I thought I had made some new friends. But now that I know you are trying to stop my father I can't possibly let you four go anywhere." She turned to the guards at the end of the hall. "Guards! These four are trying to stage a prision break! Detain them for questioning immediately!" The girls slowly started backing up as the two guards approached. One looked to Azul and frowned. "Are you sure, young princess? They're just kids." He asked as Azul stomped her hoof. "They are trying to free the man who murdered your fellow guards! Do you want that human walking the streets?" She stated, causing the guard to look to us in rage. "You four can't be seriously trying to do that? The human is guilty and deserves death!" The other guard nodded in agreement, but said nothing. I took a step forward and charged my horn while the girls got behind me. "Larxene, you can't fight them both!" Diamond Tiara said as the other two agreed with a nod. I turned to them and saw a sight that caused something weird to happen. They were scared. I could see the one known as Sweetiebelle was seconds from tearing up while Applebloom tried to look tough, but her fear was plain on her face. Diamond Tiara was gritting her teeth, but seemed just as worried. Seeing them like this...made me feel odd. I was angry that they felt scared. I felt like they needed my protection, that I HAD to help them! I smiled to them. "Get to Nicholas and the prince and inform them that Blueblood knows of our plans. I'll hold them ofd for you three to gwt away and warn the boys." The three looked at me in shock as the guards pulled spears out and pointed them towards us. "What?! We're not leaving you!" Sweetiebelle exclaimed, but I shook my head and released the teleport spell on the three of them, sending then back ro the ballroom. I turned back to the guards and Azul, the latter was really ticked off. "AGH! This is why daddy hates changelings!" She pointed at me and growled. "Stop her, with any force necessary!" I smirked grinned wickedly. "Come and get me, boys!" The first guard, a pegasus that gripped his spear with his wings, lunged forward with his spear. I sidestepped and delivered a strong buck to his face, causing him to stagger backwards. As I charged my horn to follow up, I was hit with a butt of the spear to the head that sent me across the floor. I slowly rose in time to see the guard that hit me swing his spear again like a bat. This time, I was ready for it. I hopped over it and released the spell I had charged, sending a small beam that knocked the guard into his comrade. They slammed into a wall and slumped over. Azul looked at then in shock before turning to me in a rage. Her horn lit up, and several cannons appeared behind her. She laughed at my shocked expression. "Oh, C'mon. Did you really think I had no cutie mark? It's called an illusion spell, though I thought a changeling would know about those." She threw off her dress and, sure enough, their was a cannon mark right there on her flank. She smiled and winked. "Daddy taught me how to fire artillery when I was a foal, said it would be useful to know in case somepony tried to kidnap me. So move an inch and I'll blow your body apart!" I bared my fangs, ready to strike the moment she lets her guard down. However, at that moment several more guards stormed into the room. "Halt!" The lead one, some pegasus, called out to me. I looked between the guards and Azul before sighing. My king...forgive me. Were the last thoughts I had before I was knocked out by a strong buck to the face from a guard. ************* Nicholas POV ************* "AAAAAND POSE!" Tak finished the complex movement he had us memorizing with something that looked eerily like a dab. We followed suit in perfect synch just as the music finished its third loop. He turned to us with a huge smile on his face. "I can't believe it! We are actually in total synch with each other!" He exclaimed as Axel rolled his eyes. "Of COURSE we're in synch. We're only going to be the top crew in all of Equestria!" Axel stated as Roxas started shaking with glee. "Yeah! Since we don't really need to be drones, this is an AWESOME alternative! I'M SO PUMPED!" He finished the sentence with a yell as he started running around the room in circles. Tak and I chuckled at his antics while Axel stepped forward and tripped Roxas, sending him to the ground. Roxas got up and shot a glare at Axel. "Hey! What gives?" Axel shrugged. "Your acting like your a foal. We need to keep our heads on straight if we are going to complete the mission." As he said that, I frowned as something came to mind. "Uh, aren't you guys only like a week or two old at most?" I pointed out as Tak nodded. "Indeed they are. Therefore, they are foals." He said as Axel groaned and Roxas fist pumped the air. "YEAH! I'M A FOAL!" He cheered as we all ended up laughing at his bubbly nature. The good vibes didn't last long, because Diamond, Sweetiebelle, and Applebloom teleported into the room right on top of each other. I turned and ran up to them. "Are y'all ok?" I asked them as they stood up, I was about to ask another question before seeing the looks of worry/fear in their eyes. What the heck happened to them in only an hour? "Nick, we met this girl-" Diamond began, but was cut off by Applebloom. "But she's bluebloods daughter!" She stated as Sweetiebelle started shaking slightly, the whole situation obviously getting to her. "Then she attempted have us imprisioned for trying to save your brother. Larxene teleported us back, but..." She trailed off as Axel and the others came over. "Larxene is still with that girl? We need to help her!" He stated, making a move towards the door before Tak stopped him with a hand. "We can't do that. The castle has to be swarming with guards, and going to Raiden and the others for help would only get them caught as well." Roxas frowned and gritted his teeth. "Then what do we do? Larxene is like family to us. We can't leave her to rot in some cell!" I looked to Roxas and smiled. "If they jail her, she'll be with Ronin. And he'll keep her safe." I pointed to the door behind us. "Right now, we need to leave the castle before we get caught." Everyone nodded in agreement as we heard voices from the nearby doors. "Maybe they're in here!" A guards voice could be heard saying to what was probably his brother at arms. "Crap, what do we do?" I asked them as Tak turned to Sweetiebelle. "Do the guards know about us?" He asked her. Sweetiebelle shook her head. "We said names, but didnt tell them you'd look like...that." Her mind finally processed what the others looked like, but before she could fangirl over it, I poked her horn. "Focus, Belle. You need to teleport you and the girls outside the castle and wait for us. We should be able to walk out looking like this." I said as she gulped. "I-ill try..." She said before lighting up her horn over the other two girls. I looked to Diamond and Applebloom. I looked into their eyes and saw that same fear from before. This was why I didn't want them here in the first place, they had almost gotten hurt, and I couldn't stand for that. Wait a sec...with my odd magic I could perhaps... I put my shades in and focused on Sweetiebelles horn. I could almost FEEL her spell she was attempting to charge. I reached out with my hand and pressed my finger into it, all the while conjuring the mental image of the clubhouse in my mind. I watched as that image went into her horn. Sweetiebelles eyes shot open just as I smiled weakly and whispered something to them. "I'm sorry." She went to react, but I activated the spell with some added power from myself, causing it to go off early enough to keep it from being canceled. I watched the three disappear in a flash of light before turning to Tak, who was shaking his head. "You sent them home, didn't you?" I nodded just as Roxas and Axel took some steps back from the door. "Guys!, they're about to come in. Look normal!" It was at that moment exhaustion from the spell decided to knock me to a knee. "Crap!" I groaned as Tak helped me stabilize myself just as two guards walked in. They immediately spotted the bipedal elephants in the room and the lead one pointed to us. "Hey! What are you four doing here?" She asked us as we raced to find an answer. Her partner though, some orange pegasus, looked to me with wide eyes. "Wait a sec, sir...I think that's 12K!" He said in a slightly giddy voice while pointing to me. Now armed with an excuse, I casually walked over and did a slight bow to the guards. "Morning boys. I am indeed 12K, and the princess of night was allowing my companions and I to rest before we did our big performance in Canterlot today." The pegasus looked to my friends before tilting his head. "I know who you are, but who are the other three?" I went to answer, but then Axel walked up and stood next to me on my right with a sly grin on his face. He put a hand on my shoulder and answered the guard. "Names 9A, mid-deep singer and the eye candy of the crew." 9A...real creative, Axel. Roxas came up on my left and smiles big while putting two fingers (pointer and middle finger) up in a greeting. "I'm 3R, your high pitched dreamer with the smiling attitude!" Dang, they were reeeeally getting into this. Tak stepped up next to Axel and rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. "And I am 6T, the baritone of the group and dance master. All together, we are..." I could never explain what happened next, but when Tak trailed off he I somehow knew what he was going to say. So did the others. It was weird, but we made it look good by posing while saying the name of our group. "MO30!" We said it absolute harmony, causing the pegasus to pretty much lose his crap in the best way possible, while his friend seemed less enthused. "Sweet Celestia, you four sound AMAZING!" He said while his partner, a earth pony that was armoured in blue armour, looked me in the eyes. "Ya said Princess Luna let ya four stay here?" She asked me in a tone similar to Appleblooms. Even though I was telling the truth, Luna HAD allowed us to come, it felt like my insides were being examined and pulled out under her gaze. "Y-Yeah, I did. And yes, she did." The pony took a step back and smiled for a brief second before turning to the pegasus. "Private Sentry! Escort our friends to their destination. They are telling the truth after all." The pegasus saluted with a loud "Yes ma'am!" before turning to us as the lady left the room. "Where are you four trying to get to?" He asked us with a big smile on his face. I grinned at him and answered. "Well, we need to find a spot in Canterlot city where we can get a float or something that can move us around the city while we perform. Know anything about that?" For a moment, he thought hard before his eyes lit up. "Oh! There's this craftsmare that showed up about a week ago. She's a retired musician, but she can make anything you ask her for! I'll escort you four there right now!" With that, Sentry turned and walked out the room. I looked to the other three and shrugged. "We need a float, and since the girls aren't an option, we have to branch out." They nodded and we left the room to follow after our escort/guide. Hopefully, we would be able to make a float in time. > Chapter 50: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* "C'mon Ronin! Press it!" Gilda shouted at me as she spotted me on the bench. It was courtyard hours for the prisoners at the castle and we were given a medium sized open area to walk, talk, or work out. We had about two hours before we would be forced back into our cells, and I had a LOT of built up stress to release. That, and having an augmented body helps you pump bigger weights than before, so I wanted to test my limits to see JUST how strong I was. I took a deep breath and put everything into pressing the four-hundred pounds on the bar. With a loud yell, I locked out my arms and racked the bar, ignoring a strong flash of pain I had felt in my chest from doing so. For some reason, it had been especially painful recently...meh, it's probably fine. "YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" I yelled as I shot up and turned to Gilda, who was smiling herself. "Damn, Ronin. I didn't think you had it in you to press that much. I can only do about three-twenty before I have to stop." I shrugged and stretched out my VERY sore arms. "Well, I might have ya beat in power. But you probably have better stamina than me. That, and you can fly so it equals out." I said as I pulled at my sweat soaked shirt. Man, this crap is sticky... I looked around until I saw a guard. I walked up to him and pointed to my shirt. "Hey, am I able to take this off? I just finished my last set, and it's starting to stink." The guard looked at me for a second before shrugging. "I don't see why not, just as long as you dont hit anypony with it." He said as I told him thanks and went back over to Gilda, who was giving me an odd look. "What was that all about?" She asked me as I smiled at her. "The shirt is getting sticky, so I got permission to take it off. But don't be making a big deal out of it, aight?" I said as I took off the shirt while she scoffed. "Please, like your gonna be able to ruffle my..." She trailed off as I threw my shirt aside and stretched my body out. POMF! I blinked as my mind registered what just happened. Gilda's wings shot straight out and stiffened as she took a step back. I pointed to the wings and frowned. "Did...you just get a wing-boner?" I asked as I looked over myself. Sure, I had a six-pack and pecs, but was that enough to get worked over? (Though there was this black mark on the center of my chest...weird.) Gilda composed her shock, but still had a wing-boner as she growled at me. "Don't be getting the wrong idea, bud. Just because your hot doesn't mean I like you or anything!" She said, a slight blush overtaking her face as I laughed. I couldn't help it, she was acting like Twilight does around Raiden! "I would hope so, because he's pretty busy keeping his three herdmates happy to swing with a overgrown rooster." A familiar condescending tone rang out from behind me. No. Freaking. Way. I turned around quickly and saw Chrysalis (smug as always), Redheart (who looked torn between snapping at me for being in jail or making out with me), and Pinkie (thankfully, with her normal mane) standing right there. In person! (Ok, they had a guard or two escorting them from behind, but that doesn't really matter, since they turned and went to conversate nearby with other guards.) I felt a tear or two grace my face as I stepped towards them. "Girls!? B-But how?" Pinkie, who had a smile waaay bigger than what her face should allow, answered. "Duh, silly! Like we wouldn't visit our favorite human while we were in town!" I walked forward, eager to embrace the women of my life, but suddenly stopped as I felt a overwhelming source of pain in my chest. "AGH!" I yelled out as I gripped my chest and collapsed. ************* Chrysalis POV ************* Time slowed to a crawl, at least that's what it seemed like for me, as Ronin suddenly passed out right there. "RONIN!" I yelled as I ran over and flipped him on his back. Redheart immediately placed a hoof on his chest and looked to Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, I need you to distract the guards while Chrysalis and I heal Ronin. If the guards find out he's hurt, they'll want to move him to this castles doctor. And if my hypothesis is correct, we are the only ones that can help him." Redheart ordered as her hooves began to pulse out this white light over Ronin. Huh. Wonder what that's about. Pinkie saluted before pulling a cannon out from who knows where and pointing to the griffon, who had been looking at the scene with a tad too much concern for my liking. "You! Can you climb into my...Wait, Gilda?!" Pinkie exclaimed as Redheart and I looked up briefly at Pinkie. Guess she knows her somehow. "Wait-Nevermind. I need you to climb into my cannon!" Gilda frowned and shook her head. "There is no way I am getting in a cannon operated by you of all ponies! You cost me my friend!" Before now, I had only seen Pinkie irratated or upset, but never angry. But when I saw the look in her eyes, one I had once held whenever I looked upon ponykind, I knew that bird was as good as bucked. Pinkie stomped right up to Gilda and leaned in face to face with the Griffon. "Now listen here, you big meanie. If you end up costing me my coltfriends life just because you wont help out, I swear to Celestia I will tear each feather off of you and stuff your casket with them as you burn." Gilda's eyes bugged out as she gulped and nodded to Pinkie. Like a switch being flipped. Pinkie Pie smiled and backed off, patting her cannon. "Oki doki loki! Just hop right in" She said with an eerily forced smile as Gilda got in the cannon. Pinkie spun it around and pointed it straight at a group of guards who had been watching the scene with growing interest. "FIRE!" She yelled as she fired Gilda into the guards, knocking them across the yard like bowling pins. Redheart flinched slightly as several random prisioners cheered at the sight before beginning to cause an all out brawl against the royal guards. "A bit much, but keep it up!" She turned to me as Pinkie ran over with her cannon to retrieve her very dizzy ammunition. "Chrysalis, remember that spell you used to take us to that mindspace?" I nodded, unsure of what she was getting at. "Could you use it to put us near his soul? I fear the pain he is suffering is deeper that tissue or bones." I charged the spell and pointed it to the blackness over his chest, something that hadn't been there before. Did that grow while he was here? Or has he been able to hide it from me this whole time? The spell activated, and I felt myself get drowsy. Whatever is wrong with Ronin, we were about to see his deepest thoughts and fears while looking for it... And for the first time in forever, I felt a ripple of fear overtake me as I fell asleep. What awaited us in his soul? ***************** Meanwhile, in the crystal empire ***************** If one was to look at the frosty mountaintops nearby the city, they would've noticed some weird blue flashes of light bouncing out off the mountain range. Although these lights looked like lightning, they seemed to go upwards, nor downwards. In the epicenter of these lights stood the recently freed Christina, or as her loyalists called her, the wendigo queen. The queen smiled as she released another blue beam in the direction of the ocean. "Ha! Lets see how those seaponies like being on ice!" She exclaimed before she heard wings flapping from behind her. She turned to her guest and smiled widely. "Ah...Grimbeak! It's a miracle your still alive!" She exclaimed with no tone of caring underneath her voice. The Griffon that had landed was a sight to behold. when on four legs, he easily stood almost a foot taller than Celestia. His feathers were unnaturally black with purple tips and his head feathers where a stark red. However, if you touched him, you'd find that most of the body underneath the feathers is metallic. Grimbeak narrowed his eyes. "Blame that on your husband. It was his bloody experimenting that made this body for me." he stroked his beak thoughtfully. "He always was good at experimenting on decaying bodies." The Queen sighed. "Alas, he must've went mad when I was banished, for he attempted to thwart my conquest by kilking me after I arrived." She leaned in close to Grimbeak and winked. "Thankfully, your little war machine ended up killing him for us." Grimbeak smiled widely as he purred out his words. "Well, Christina. What did you expect? That fool Callobrim thought he could seperate the children from fate, yet somehow managed to become their caretaker all the same! He even set up their destined paths by complete accident!" Christina leaned away as he coughed slightly and beat his chest until his metal heart started back up again. Christina blinked before raising an eyebrow. "And how do you know of these events if they happened before the humans appeared in this world?" Grimbeak waved a claw dismissively. "You have your resources, I have mine." Grimbeak looked around, but they were the only two there. "Speaking of which... where is that faux chef of yours?" The queen smiled as a wendigo came by and dropped a scroll in her hand. She opened it and read the contents before throwing it off to the side. "Said chef just sent me an update on events in Canterlot. One of the humans is in trial for murder, and the other two are currently there as well." Grimbeak frowned and turned away. "I would hazard a guess that my weapon is the one on trial. But what does that chef plan to do?" Christina just winked as she went and sat down on her icy throne. "You shall see soon enough. I needed eyes in Canterlot after my link to the child was broken." Grimbeak smirked. "So, you've lost your hold over the spirit of that boy? Let me guess, Luna broke it?" The Queen shook her head. "No, it was something else. Something more...pure." She stood up and aimed her hand towards the sky and released another beam. "No matter, I called you here for a purpose after all." Grimbeak crossed his arms, causing a slight sound of rusted metal to be made. "Indeed you did, so spit it out!" Christina turned to him and clicked her tongue. "Such attitude from the big boy. Nonetheless, I need you to prepare to invade Equestria once you get the signal." Grimbeak raised an eyebrow as his metallic lungs wheezed out some steam. "And that would be?" The Queen simply laughed. "You shall see, dear friend. You shall see." She waved a hand dismissively. "That is all." Grimbeak growled and took to the skies, feeling the pistons pump his wings up and down, and flew off in the direction of Griffonia. "That blasted witch!" He muttered as he flew. "Once we take over Equestria, she has got to go!" **************** Larxene POV **************** I awoke in a jail cell nearby the open grounds. I sat up and took in my surroundings. It was your basic cell, with a bed and toilet and such. The only thing that stuck out was a letter on the bed. I reached out and opened it. Dear prisioner. I hope the cells are to your liking! After the guards knocked you out, we moved you to the prision ward. As for your friends? I informed my daddy of the girls plan. And now he has guards on the lookout for them. They will be joining you shortly! With deepest satisfaction, Princess Azul I threw the letter across the room. How DARE that foal try and mess up everything! Next time I see her I swear I will- BANG! ...was that a cannon going off? "PIIIIIINKIIIEEEE!" A loud yell pierced the area as a griffon came flying through my wall. After a minute, she slowly got up as one of the Queens consorts hopped in. I gasped before rushing over to her. "Madame Pie, it is an honor." I stated while bowing to her, causing her to stop in her tracks and tilt her head at me for a second before she recognized me with a smile. "OH! Your Larxene! You don't need to bow, silly!" She paused before gasping. "WAIT! Since I'm in a herd with Chrysi, does that make me royalty?!" The griffon, who had recovered and had looked on in confusion now had a dropped jaw. "Pinkie Pie is royalty now? What the buck happened after I left ponyville?" I stood and turned to the griffon. "Pinkie Pie is herding with Queen chrysalis and King consort Ronin. Therefore, she is of the same title as the king until marriage." The griffon smirked. "Wait, Ronin is a polygamist?" I could sense the rising hope in the griffons emotions, and I did not like it. Queen Pie answered the griffon. "Yupperooni, Gilda!" She pointed to a cannon outside my room as the sounds of guardd could be heard nearby. "Now get in the cannon! I can hear the guards!" Gilda groaned. "Pinkie, why don't we just fight the guards?" Pinkie ignored the comment and turned to me. "Oh! You can help! Some of the guards try to get grabby with my cannon, could you keep them away if they get too close?" I saluted. "I will serve you till the end of time, Queen consort!" Queen Pie giggled as Gilda reluctantly got in the cannon. "Alrighty, lets go kick some flank!" She cheerfully stated as she fired Gilda into a cluster of guards that tried to come through the hole in the wall, sending them flying. Queen Pie pushed the cannon out to the courtyard as I shot magic blasts at any guard the Queen missed or any that got close while she reloaded her "ammo". Considering I had been knocked out earlier this morning, things were looking up, though as I walked out I couldn't help but gasp at the chaos going on in the courtyard. ***************** Redheart POV ***************** I was the child of a pony and a griffon. I had been through more teasing and more hardships than any other pony I had met. I have seen more wounds and blood than I care to speak of. For Celestia's sake, I have ATE meat for a long period of my life! But for what I was seeing now as I awoke? It was a whole new level on its own. We were in somewhere eerily similar to Eureka, but this was way creepier. Instead of caves, it looked more like a wine cellar with all these barrels lined up on the walls. There were these old fashioned lights hanging down from the pitch black roof in a straight line about a yard or two spread out. (though none of them were really that bright.) I heard a groan as Chrysalis woke up. I turned to her and motioned to the path in front of us. "Uh...is this plaace supposed to look like this?" I asked. She took in the surroundings before turning back to me. "Each beings soul is different. For some reason, Ronin's is a wine cellar." She looked behind us, where there seemed to be the same pitch dark path, but with no lights to illuminate it. "Now, the way behind us has no light, and I would rather not get lost looking for his core, so we should go that way." She pointed down the lighted path. I nodded before registering the last part of her sentence. "Core? We're going to the center of his soul?" She nodded. "If your theory is correct about his soul being damaged, we have to go to the core to fix it." She blinked for a second, as if remembering something. "That reminds me, how did you use magic earlier to scan Ronin? Your an earth pony." I smiled sheepishly and began waking the narrow path as Chrysalis followed. "Well, earth ponies have access to magic, but its more restricted than unicorns or pegasus. We are able to feel organic matter amd even sense what is wrong with it. This helps farmers sense whether their crops are doing well, or doctors and nurses sense what is wrong with their patients." Chrysalis nodded, intrigued by the subject. "If you did find something wrong with a patient, could you heal the wounds?" I shook my head as we came turned a corner to see even more of a straight path with dim lighting. "Regretfully, no. That's why I had Ronin drinking recovery potions while he was healing from the roof accident before. That type of magic is restricted to horn bearers like you." Chrysalis went silent for a bit before speaking again. "So, if an earth pony was to have a child with a unicorn, could they have a earth pony who could heal with their hooves?" I stopped and turned to her, ready to divulge that thought deeper, when a wave of sorrow suddenly hit us, causing us both to hit the ground on our knees. Dark....so dark. Our eyes widened at the voice. It sounded like Ronin, but his voice seemed...weak. I looked to Chrysalis as we recovered. "We need to get to the core immediately! I think something is wrong with Ronin!" She nodded as we picked up speed and galloped down the hall to, what we hoped, was the source of the voice. *************** Zexion POV *************** Yesterday, I was told to stop a foal named Silverspoon from boarding the train with Nicholas and the little prince. Sure, I could've just told her to not get on the train, but I figured she would've snuck on anyway. And the last thing I wanted was to be yelled at for not doing my job... Ok, I didn't care THAT much. However, the kings life was on the line, and he was quite merciful for a changeling monarch. (and quite laid back as well). Therefore, I simply teleported the kid to her house and informed her of the situation. To my suprise, she was content with staying in ponyville. As long as I kept her company while her friends were away. So while the rest of the LAZR squad (not fond of the name, but didn't care enough to argue) is off being heroes and all that jazz, I'm being the laid back playmate for a honestly simple filly. life's great, huh? Which is how I found myself listening to her fifth fangirl monologue about 12K. "He's sooo dreamy! The way his hair circles around his head in a perfect halo..." She trailed off as she nearly fainted for the thirtieth time. And yes, I've been counting (I'm lazy, not inaccurate). I smirked as I had news for her. "Well, you might have more boys to fan over soon." I stated as she turned her head to me and frowned while tilting her head. "And why's that? 12K is a DJ, not a boy band." I smiled and stretched out on her bed. It was a decent queen size, way to big for a filly, and had fluffed pillows scattered on it. "I just got a ping from the hivemind that 12K is now part of a boy band called MO30." I stated as her eyes widened in shock. "Wait wait wait...12K is now a group act?!" She pretty much screamed as I nodded. Though she quickly recomposed herself. "Wait, how do you know this?" I waved a hoof dismissively. "Well duh, Nicholas hired the other boys to work with him as fellow bandmates." I looked at her, noticing the mental shutdown she was having. "You DID know Nicholas was 12K, right?" Her face slowly crept into a forced smile as she regained her sanity. "Nicholas....12K? That means that Diamond..." Her smile became a frown as she took a deep breath while I covered my ears, ready for the outburst. "DIAMOOOOOOOND! She yelled as she waved her front hoofs to the sky dramatically. **************** Chrysalis POV **************** We quickly ran down the halls until we were met with a wooden door. It wasn't anything special, but had a word engraved in it. Pain I looked to the Nurse and saw her nod once. I took a deep breath as we went through the door. Inside was a darkened space, the only light was coming from a green aura surrounding... "Is that Ronin!?" Redheart exclaimed as we galloped up to a chained figure being held off the ground about six feet in the air. The chains were coming from the void around us and seemed extremely right around Ronin. Though...he looked different. Instead of eyes, it had hollow sockets. It's hair was the brownish black it was when I first met the guy. Blood was seeping from the chains surrounding his chest, and it looked like the wounds were recent too. "What happened to him?" I said aloud as the clopping of hooves was heard behind us. We turned quickly and were met with My mother, who was walking up with a sick grin on he face. "What the...Mother?" I said, shocked that she was even here. She smiled at me before looking at Ronin. "Come to marvel at my handiwork? It is quite exquisite. After all, for a 'dead and powerless' queen to be able to torture a souls core is quite the feat." Redheart glared at her. "What do you mean torture?" Melfesia simply chuckled as her horn glowed. The duplicate of Ronin let out a agonized yell as the chains started to tighten to impossible amounts. I looked to my mother in shock. "Cease that immediately! Your hurting him!" I ordered as Melfesia did stop, but frowned at me. "And who do you think you are, barking at me like I'm a simple drone? I am doing what's best for the hive." She stated as I pointed to Ronin, who had slowly breathing in and out while Redheart looked carefully at the chains, hopefully to find a way to free Ronin. "You call hurting my future husband 'Saving' the hive? What the buck is wrong with you?!" I yelled at her as she stomped her hoof. "I'll tell you whats wrong! I saw what your son turned into, and I am disgusted by it! It is NOT the way for changelings to give their love to others! And I can tell that with Ronin as king this will only happen more often. I originally came to his soul to balance his darkness intake. He had am overabundance of dark energy given to him by Dadiolus after taking a heavy blow to his chest, and I was going to fix that problem." She glared at the duplicate Ronin. "HOWEVER! Once I felt the disgusting change that freak you call son transformed into just to help another human? I decided that under Ronin's rule our kind will become soft, and went about tilting the balance even more in order to rectify that by forcing him to become what a real king of the hive is...a cold-hearted ruler." I was stunned. The fact that my mother had not only decided to insult my husbands ruling capability, but also attempt to damage him from the inside out? That pissed. me. OFF! She even called my son a freak! How dare she do so over a simple form change! How dare she do such a... I stopped as I recalled what I had said to Tak earlier Melfesia saw the realization in my eyes as I realized I had done the same only several hours ago. "See! Even you are repulsed by the idea!" She turned her head to Redheart, who had been attempting to grab one of the chains, and chortled. "Don't worry, Earth pony. Ronin shall be released soon enough." I frowned as Redheart walked up next to me. "And why would you release him after having him chained up for so long?" She said, anger clear in her tone. Melfesia smirked and teleported over to Ronin. We turned to her just as she released the chains, causing him to drop to the ground. "You see, Ronin's soul is now pumped with dark magic, hereby banishing all friendly thoughts from his mind and allowing only darkness to be left. And since I don't see myself being able to convince you two that what I am doing is right, I'm going to have my little experiment kill you instead!" She laughed as the duplicate Ronin slowly stood up. She turned to him and extended her hoofs out wide. "Come, Project Zero! Destroy all those who will harm the hive!" 'Zero' stood up at a terrifying seven feet with the same muscle mass as the original. He looked down upon Meflesia with a souless glance before grabbing her face. "Whtpmh-?!" She tried to say, but was cut off as Zero snapped her head off her body and threw it aside before grabbing what was left and heaving it into the door behind us, effectively blocking the rather small doorway. Zero looked at us and screeched loudly. Redheart clenched her teeth as I readied myself for battle. Zero's eye sockets glowed red as a blast of red light shot from them at us. I put up a shield to block it but was nailed agaisnt the wall as the beam shot straight through it. Redheart had managed to dive out of the way but Zero was fast and was looming over her almost immediately with an enraged look on his face. You killed her...Because she was different! All because she was deaf! An echo said as Zero roared as swung an uppercut at the nurse, sending her across the room until she skidded to a halt. "Redheart!" I called out in shock as she went to stand, but collapsed. I teleported over to her and did a scan of her body with a spell. She was injured, but was only slightly. I turned to face Zero and growled. "Ronin! You have to fight this! Melfesia can't hurt you anymore!" I exclaimed as he out his hands to his head and roared loudly, yet he seemed...hurt? I now face trial and may be executed...for what? A species that I met a month ago? A queen who won't admit she's done wrong? His voice echoed around the room, yet his mouth did not move. My eyes widened at what he had said. Is this how he really feels? Does he blame me for his imprisonment? I shook the thoughts from my head as I dodged a right hook from Zero and bucked him backwards a couple of feet. No! This isn't him. This has to be Melfesia's doing! I heard Redheart groan as she stood up, finally recovering from the blow. She shook her head and turned to me. "Chrysalis, that changeling from before...She mentioned that she overbalanced Ronin's core. Maybe if we could bring light to his core, we could save him." She said before Zero tried to swing at her again, but this time she was ready for it. She sidestepped the downwards fist and slid underneath Zero. As he turned around, Redheart delivered an uppercut of her own. Zero staggered backwards as I teleported Redheart next to me. "How are we going to balance it out? You don't have that type of magic ability and my magic comes from a darkened core." I stated as she shook her head. "Don't you remember what your mother said? If your son was able to share love with something else, a power that comes from a pure core, then you should be able to do so as well." She said as I shook my head. "What?! But I can't!" I exclaimed loudly, starting to panic as Zero recovered from the blow delivered earlier and started walking towards us. "I don't even know how to even begin!" Redheart narrowed her eyes and pointed at Zero. "If you don't figure it out, then we lose Ronin forever. And I really don't want a murder crazed version of him running around." I went to reply, but Zero decided then to grab Redheart by the neck. He jumped backwards before I could hit him with a fireball and grinned wickedly as he started applying pressure to Redhearts throat. "Ronin! STOP!" I cried as Redhearts face started to go red. If everyone in this world thinks I'm a monster, then let me make their words reality! Redheart looked to me and mouthed three words before she passed out: Share your love I looked to the beast, the thing that was currently hurting somepony I had grown to appreciate and care about, and I felt something deep inside me churn. It was an odd feeling, like I had to help the beast in front of me. That I had to make sure it was alright. I blinked in suprise as I realized something. This wasn't a beast...It was Ronin. MY RONIN. And he was in pain, something that NEEDED to be rectified quickly. I stepped forward, noticing my body had an odd glow that had a purple like tint to it coming off of it. Zero, noticing my approach, dropped Redheart and started walking towards me. I let him pick me up by my wings as he brought me to face him. I took a deep breath as he slowly started pulling my wings off, causing me to grit my teeth in order to not scream. "R-Ronin...I'm here...And I'm-GAH!-here to stay." I said as the glow coming off me shot straight into his chest. He dropped me in suprise as he fell to his knees roaring with his head in his hands. I slowly got to my hooves and grabbed his hands, removing them from his face. The glow surrounding us both got stronger as it slowly enveloped us both. I could feel my skin slowly chipping away, but I didn't care. The only thing that mattered now was the man in front of me. I noticed his own skin was burning as well, yet he was...smiling at me. C-C-Chrysi... he said as we connected foreheads. I smiled weakly, tears coming down my face. "Shhh." I hushed him as I stroked his cheek. "Whether we die here or survive, I will be here for you, my love." And with that, we kissed as the light overcame the whole room. *************** Redheart POV *************** I awoke with a gasp. I sat up, feeling my neck for any injuries, but found none. But what I did see as I looked around, was...insane. I had told Pinkie Pie to distract the guards, not start a free-for-all in the court yard! There were prisioners of all kinds duking it out with guardponies everywhere. And, of course, Pinkie was in the dead center of it. Only now she was using random ponies for ammunition while the griffon (Gilda, I think?) and a changeling helped fight off any guards that were getting too close. I shook my head as I looked over to Chrysalis and gasped. Both Chrysalis and Ronins bodies started to float in the air, causing everypony who noticed to freeze and watch the spectacle. A purplish/pink light surrounded them and flashed bright, temporarily blinding everypony. When the light died, everyone in the area froze at the sight in front of us. Ronin, who had worn black exoskeleton before with white hair, now bore a pure white exo-suit with a blue pearl in the center where the black mark had been. His hair was still white, yet it seemed...cleaner than before. Chrysalis...had changed completely. Her body still had its physical shape, but the looks were starkingly different. Instead of black with holes, she now had a stunning white with the same blue pearl on her chest. Her hair and mane was now a sky blue but was the same size as before. Her wings were now a soft green and bore a perfect resemblance to a butterflies. As they landed on their feet/hooves, their eyes opened. Ronin still had his crystal blue eyes, while Chrysalis had emerald green eyes that seemed to shine in the sunlight. Ronin blinked for a second before turning to Chrysalis...and proceeding to back up several steps. "Whoa...Chrysi, is that you?" He said as Chrysalis narrowed her eyes. "Of course it's me, you idiot. You act like I changed suddenly!" Yup...still Chrysalis all right. I rolled my eyes and pointed to her. "Chrysalis, you DID change." She slowly looked herself over before she gasped and turned to Ronin. "Ah! What the buck happened to me?!" She proceeded to panic until Ronin walked up and grabbed her horn, pulling her into a very intimate kiss. Several wolf whistles were called out as they broke off. Ronin cupped her cheek and smiled warmly. "You look stunning, babe. And thanks for, ya know, saving me and all that." Chrysalis scoffed and turned away, though she was blushing hard. "I wasn't about to rule without my king. Besides, I need you to help keep Pinkie in check." He laughed and walked over to me. He knelt down and pulled me into a strong hug. "And thank you too, Red. Without you, Chrysi probably would be dead right now." He pulled away and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before looking around. "Wait, where's Pinkie at?" He asked as said pony waved to him and began to hop over. "Over here, Rony-Wony! Wow! You and Chrysi look amazing! Did you do that while I was distracting the guards, because it's a really goo-OOF!" She was cut off as a guard tackled her and pinned her down hard on the ground. "HA! WE HAVE YOU NOW!" He cheerfully stated before a shadow went over him. He looked up and gulped as Ronin stared him down. "You just signed your death warrant, buddy." > Chapter 51: Cold hearts, Burning Spirits pt.3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Goldspoon POV* I quietly entered the royal kitchen and looked around to see if I was alone. I was. Good. I smiled and put down the saddlebags I had brought back with me from the north. I reached in it and brought out a bandana. It was such an odd thing for the new boss to give me. It was old and had a faded black color, but not an inch of tatter or broken fabric could be found on it. And in its center was a red ruby. "This beauty will allow me to see what you see. All you have to do is locate the three humans. They WILL be in that castle, just find them and then alert me whenever you do." He had said to me after giving me the bandana. You see, I had been on my way back from the crystal empire and was ready to continue scouting things for the Ice Queen when he appeared. I'll admit, when I was approached by a giant yeti wearing clothes that looked oddly like pony fur, I was terrified. But he knew everything about me and the Queens plans, and told me that the Ice Queen never planned on rewarding me for reviving her, only killing me when she was victorious. So we struck a deal. I help the yeti locate the descendants of some Callobrim guy, and he gives me what I want most in life... I shook my head as I put the bandana on. No point thinking about that now, I had a job to do, and I was going to do it. I turned and walked out the door, noticing Princess Luna and a Dragon head upstairs to her room alongside Celestia's student herself. "That dragon is one of them! Follow slowly, then strike. When the time comes, I'll grant you the power to finish the job." the voice from the scarf said, though it felt like it was in my mind. Time to earn my keep. ***************** Ronin POV ***************** I watched the guard who had tackled Pinkie Pie as he got off her and studied me for a second before gasping in suprise. "YOU!" He yelled at me while pointing a hoof at me. I blinked in suprise as I raised an eyebrow. "Uh...do I know you?" I asked as he removed his helmet, showing off a bright green mane that contrasted with his brown fur. The odd thing was this weird stump on his head. It almost looked like the bottom end of a...unicorn horn. Ooooh, so THAT'S where he recognizes me from. He's the guy whose horn I had snapped during my fight at the courtyard. Heh, what are the odds? But he wasn't nearly as amused to see me. "My name is Echoing Soul, and do you know how bad my life has been since you snapped my horn? I had to relearn EVERYTHING I used to do with it! And since the doctor's said it wouldn't grow back at all, I'M FORCED TO DO THINGS LIKE AN EARTH PONY!" Pinkie, who had gotten up during his rant and was standing beside me, and Redheart both frowned at the last sentence, the former deciding to waltz up to the guard and poke a hoof at his chest. "And what's wrong with Earth ponies, ya big meanie?" Pinkie said as Redheart muttered something along the lines of "privileged motherbucker" under her breath. Chrysalis leaned in close to me as the guard, who was now under the rather unnerving glare of Pinkie, attempted to pacify one of his countries greatest hero's wrath. "Ronin...something's wrong with me." She whispered as I turned to her, barely hearing the guard say that earth ponies have many talents...for menial jobs. "What do you mean something's wrong?" I said, worry on my face as Pinkie proceeded to yell at the guard about undermining Earth ponies while Redheart tried to calm her down. weird...wonder why Pinkie Pie is being so moody all of a sudden? Chrysalis shuddered slightly, pulling me from my thoughts. "I have this horrible urge to be...nice to ponies. I must have been affected by the corruption that was in your soul in some way." I chuckled lightly. "I don't think that's the case, but I'll ask Dayb-Celestia about it later." I caught myself quickly before sighing. "About the corruption. Even though my soul was trapped in that shell of myself, I heard some of the things he said to you and Redheart." A solemn look appeared on her face as she sighed. "Ronin...how do you feel about all of this? Being pulled from your home, being forced to fight for my species and being on trial for it?" I blinked in suprise at the odd question. How do I feel about this? I claimed it was for the good of a species before, but now its gotten way more personal. My Brothers have a chance of being on the receiving end of any negative choices I make with the changelings as a whole. And with Redheart and Pinkie, two ponies with extremely good reputations as upstanding citizens, they have even more to lose than just their lives. I thought as I turned to Pinkie and the others. Pinkie had finally calmed down after Redheart pulled her away from the now terrified guard, barely saving him from a large paddle Pinkie pulled out that had tape wrapped around the middle end. I smiled at the sight before turning back to Chrysalis, an answer at hand. "Chrysi. I have many regrets in my life. Some involve people I cared about once, and others involve my own decisions." I cupped her cheek as my smile became slightly wider. "But not for a single second do I regret choosing to fight for OUR species. This IS my home now." I ran my hand through her now radient mane, and it was soooo soft! She turned away from me and looked towards the sky. "But what about now? If the plan doesn't work, you may DIE. All because I ordered you to respond to opposition with violence instead of stealth." I groaned as I face-palmed. "Babe, you can't blame yourself for my idea of killing those guards. I chose to end their lives that day, and now I will face the punishment...whatever that may be." She turned back to me, suprising me as I saw tears in her eyes. "But I don't want to lose you. Especially not now when I am stuck with this...odd body. I need you, Ronin. Far more than I ever thought possible. The hive needs you." I walked up and wrapped her in a big hug, feeling tears coming to mg eyes. "Damn it, Chrysi, I need you too. You were one of the first beings I met while on this colorful world, and we've been through hell and back trying to make a life for ourselves. Don't think for a second I'm gonna let you go." I felt two pairs of hooves wrap around us as Pinkie and Redheart joined the hug, obviously noticing the emotional situation going on and acting on it. "Aww, you guys are so sweet." I heard Pinkie say, her own voice cracking slightly. "Before I met you three, I believed that all I needed in life was my friends and parties. But meeting you all made me realize that, when the parties were done and my friends went back home, that I was alone. You three mean soooo much to me that I couldn't bear to be alone again." I heard Redheart sigh as she attempted to hold back her own tears. "Before I joined this herd, all I was before was a nurse in Ponyville that was shunned by her colleagues for her family ties. I didn't have ANY friends, let alone coltfriends or a husband. But then this turd-" I feel a hoof bop my head as the other two giggle slightly. "-Decided to drop with a broken back and take me for lunch three weeks later. You three showed me that I don't have to be like any other pony just to be happy, I just needed to find...a second family." Ok, now I knew each one of us were crying. And considering we were in a the middle of a holding facility FULL of prisioners and guards, it mustve looked weird that two ponies, whatever Chrysalis is now, and a bipedal being were huddled together in a teary embrace. "AHEM!" We were snapped from the moment by a loud voice. I stepped back and looked to the cause of the interruption. It was a guard, but she was obviously of a better pay grade. She had purple and black armour that seemed to have a fin like spike on its head. To the stark contrast of her dark armour, she had VERY blonde hair that seemed to radiate off her orange body. She looked around, noticing a bunch of injured guards and a bunch of procrastinating prisioners scattered around the courtyard before she turned to us. "Do ah have you four tah blame fer this?" No way. The accent, the look alike to Applejack...She couldn't be Big Mac's mom, right? We looked at the damage done and turned to Pinkie, who was smiling at the new face. "Pinkie..." I stated, causing her to look at me. "Yeah?" She asked me as Chrysalis looked in shock as a cluster of guards who seemed to have somehow been stuck together with a large clump of cupcake batter. "Just HOW many guards did you manage to put out of commision before that guy from earlier tackled you?" I asked as Redheart glared at Gilda and...Larxene?! Why was she in jail? Pinkie thought about this before smiling at me from ear to ear. "Only about two hundred, silly! It's not like I was trying to HURT them in any way." She said as the guard in front of us face-hoofed. "Ok, y'all just come with me." She said as she led us out of the area and into the castle while a platoon of guards rushed into the yard to get the prisioners back into their cells. Hoo boy, was Raiden gonna be mad when he learned about this. ************* Raiden POV ************* Ya know, today has been QUITE the strain on my patience levels. After having to satisfy Luna for the whole train ride, we had moved to the castle where same princess proceeded to make me cook breakfast the way SHE likes it cooked. That meant dry pancakes for everyone....great. Though watching Nicholas and his friends talk about little things such as school and adventuring while eating was heartwarming. After breakfast was ate, We split into three teams. The kids went off who knows where while Ronins herd went to go check up him. Though I recently saw Bellflower lead a bunch of guards in the same direction the girls went while I was cleaning plates, so hopefully they didn't cause a ruckus. Suprisingly, Fluttershy decided to go to the garden rather than hang out with Nicholas. I had asked her about it, and she said she wasn't the best at public shows and would get in the way, which was fair considering it's Fluttershy. Which meant that, while Celestia dealt with some kind of ice problem involving some buffalo, Luna and Twilight were assisting me in attempting finding a defense team for Ronin. Key word: attempting "RAAAAH!" I roared as I stood up and walked to the balcony in Luna's room. We had originally been in the library, but I had accidently brushed against Twilights horn with my elbow, causing her to make a loud squee that got us kicked out. (That, and Luna called the mare in charge a "wrinkly old donkey that could step on a plastic brick" after she shushed us , so that helped.) I felt Luna walk up beside me as Twilight continued to scan through a rather large law book, her major nerd powers coming full tilt as she finished off yet another book and tossed it to the ever-growing pile next to her. "Thou must relax, Raiden. We will not find any answers by losing our tempers." She said, leaning against me as I sighed. "It's just...everything was going so well, and then BAM! Ronin's carted off to jail." I leaned against the railing as I turned towards the room, noticing just how tired the girls looked. Luna was obviously worn out from this morning, and considering she usually sleeps at night, this can't be healthy for her. Twilight looked ok, but she was barely speeding through the books she was reading, and that's definitely not normal. Luna gave me a small smile as she nodded to Twilight. "I understand your worry for your eldest brother, but letting it get to you will only cause more strife, not less." I groaned and stretched out my wings. The darned things had been extremely stiff since Luna had made me wear them out before. I looked to Luna with a resigned smile. "I know. It's just that idiot always finds a way to get himself into trouble, and now its gotten out of hand. The guy might not even LIVE past the end of tomorrow, for goodness sake!" I exclaimed as I turned and walked back into the room while Luna followed. I sprawled out on the bed as I felt her lay against me, causing an extreme sense of relaxation to overcome me as I scratched her ears, receiving a purr from her in response. "AH HA!" Twilight called out suddenly, shocking both of us out of our state of comfort to look at her. "What is it?" I asked as she beamed at us. "I knew something was off about all of this. The reason Celestia had decided not to put Ronin on trial is because he isn't a citizen! You and your brothers were never officially made Equestrian citizens. And since your not citizens, only your home country could indict you for any crimes committed here!" I blinked before frowning. "So why did prince blueballs even cause all of this ruckus? He sent a letter to us about how he had the families ready to testify and everything! Did he just not know about that rule?" Luna pointed to the book. "Unlikely. Twilight, please read the author of that law book out loud." Twilight flipped the book over mid-air and read it out loud. "Law of Equestria, Volume three. Written and recorded by...Lunaris Blueblood?!" Luna nodded. "The prince is in charge of making modernized copies of old manuscripts, tomes, and lawbooks. He has every law memorized since childhood. So there is no way he would not know of the law." I groaned as I stood up and started pacing around the room. "Then why do all of this?" We were silent for a while before Twilight made a slight squeak as she turned to me. "Raiden...what if this is like the wedding?" I stared at her. "You mean the one Chrysalis messed with? how?" Luna nodded, as if she was piecing together what Twilight was saying. "What we think Twilight means to say is what if something else is to blame for all of this?" I frowned as I leaned against a wall. "And what would they get from that? The only thing that has really been done was bringing us all here." I said as my eyes went wide. "Maybe that WAS the plan all along." Twilight said, standing up quickly. "Quick! We need to the others!" A knock went at the door, making us stop in our tracks. "Room service for the princess!" Luna frowned as she got up to open it. "We do not recall ordering any ro-" BOOM! The door was blasted off its hinges as an explosion sent Luna backwards into me. We hit the ground hard as someone walked in from the crater of the wall. "Compliments from the north, princess." A familiar voice rang out. The dust cleared as we got up, and I was face to face with someone I recognized, but was not expecting. "Goldspoon?" ************** Ronin POV ************** We were led to the throne room where Celestia, or Daybreaker in disguise, was currently signing some sort of document while sitting on her throne with two guards at either side of her. The guard lady who had escorted us here stepped forward and saluted the princess. "Captain Bellfower reporting, princess!" Daybreaker/Celestia looked up and nodded for her to continue. "There was a disturbance in the prision yard, and ah brought the causes of it straight here." The princess yawned. "Very well, captain. Leave the accused here so I can decide their fate and return to your rounds, and take the guards nearby with you. This is a PRIVATE consultation, after all." The captain dropped the salute and did a one-eighty turn before marching out of the room, taking the guards with her. The princess looked around for a moment, making sure it was just her and the six of us with her in the room, before gracefully walking towards us after rising from her throne. "Ah, Ronin. So you've been causing quite a stir while in containment, haven't you?" She purred, her normally pink eyes flashing a deadly shade of orange. So daybreaker DID take over. I thought as she came to stop in front of me before turning to Chrysalis. "Might you introduce me to your friends?" She stated, to which Pinkie and Redheart looked confused by while Larxene and Gilda looked slightly afraid. (though the latter was attempting to look bigger by swelling her chest.) Chrysalis chortled. "Are my looks that different to where you don't rember me, Celestia? It is I, Chrysalis." Daybreaker smirked. "Ah, the queen of the changelings." She looked to Larxene and gained a bored expression. "Then your the changeling that was imprisioned earlier." This caused me to look to her with a raised eyebrow. Noticing my look, Larxene stood proud and saluted. "I did my duty to my people and my king, so I bear no regrets!" Good girl, Larxene. Gilda frowned at the show of loyalty. "The only reason why I am here is because I was used as a cannonball by a CERTAIN earth pony." She said as she glared at Pinkie, who stuck her tongue out in response. Redheart raised a hoof. "Your majesty, I find it hard to believe you don't remember myself or Pinkie. Especially since we spoke merely three hours ago." I cursed inwardly. They would have to learn about the "switch" in the mindset of the sun goddess sooner or later. I looked at Daybreaker and nodded. "You can tell them, Day. They're all a part of the plan anyway." I said while Daybreaker let out a happy groan. "You mean I can drop the act? Thank Faust! Pretending to be this false ruler is sooo infuriating!" She said as Chrysalis frowned and looked to the princess. "What act?" She asked as a orange light flashed around Celestia, revealing the sun tyrant I had helped free merely days before. Everyone, except myself, went into different shapes of shock at the sight of Daybreaker. Pinkie gasped (probably excited about meeting somepony else.) Redheart, Gilda, and Larxene jaws dropped, while Chrysalis turned to me with a look of anger. "And who the buck is that?" She asked as I walked up next to Daybreaker and smiled. "Everyone, meet Daybreaker, the new and improved princess of the sun." Pinkie, predictably, was the first to respond by zooming up to Daybreaker and smiling big. "Hi my name's Pinkie Pie! Are you replacing Celestia? Why? Did Celestia do something wrong, or are you like nightmare moon?" She spouted out non-stop as Daybreaker blinked before answering. "Greetings, Element of laughter. Yes, I am replacing her. And both her and her sister did do something wrong, but unlike Nightmare Moon I managed to succeed." I quickly stepped in. "Of course, Celestia isn't dead or anything. These two share the same body, and Celestia's...gonna be in time out for a while." Chrysalis frowned. "And what makes you more trustworthy than Celestia? You just look like a flaming version of her." This caused Daybreaker to chuckle as she eyed Gilda before turning to me. "Just how much do you trust the griffon? The little changeling is one thing, but she is a random outsider you met in prision and I doubt she needs to hear what I am about to say." I nodded and turned to Gilda. "Would you mind waiting outside for a bit?" I asked her as she rolled her eyes, but walked out and closed the doors behind her. Pinkie was the first to speak up. "What are you gonna tell us? Ooo! Is it your backstory?! I LOVE BACKSTORIES!" I chuckled at her antics while Chrysalis and Larxene rolled their eyes. Redheart tilted her head slightly. "And if it IS a backstory, then maybe you could also touch upon what wrongdoing the princesses did?" She asked as I raised an eyebrow at the anti-monarch. "What did you mean by that? I've been told before about some of her...murderous tendencies when Callobrim died, but is there more to that?" Daybreaker looked at all of us and summoned chairs for us to sit in as she sighed. "Your closer than you think, Ronin. So far, you've been told many things about that night a thousand years ago. But the whole story has never been told before, and you can blame that on the princesses." A flash of orange appeared in the area between us and her, making a circle. Daybreaker smirked as her horn glowed, creating what looked liked images in the circle. "Let me tell you exactly what happened between the three humans that appeared long ago and the tragedy that followed, along with why the princesses should not be trusted." She started, but was interrupted as a loud explosion that could be heard from somewhere above. "What the...?" Chrysalis began, but was interrupted when the door behind us slammed open and Gilda, about twenty guards and the captain from before ran in. A flash of light from behind me notified that Daybreaker had dawned her disguise again and made the magic circle disappear. "Princess! There has been a breach on security and I must ask you to stay here!" She turned and looked to the guards. "Protect the princess and her guests until I return!" With that, she ran out of the room as the guards made a circle around us and did a one-eighty turn, now facing any direction but our group. I turned to Daybreaker. "I can't just stay here. My brothers are in this castle somewhere!" Larxene saluted. "Sir! Nicholas and his friends are out in the city with the prince. They will not be harmed by any attacks here!" I sighed in relief. Thank goodness. I know Raiden can handle himself, but Nicks just a kid...with weird powers. I was pulled from my thoughts though as Redheart spoke up. "Well, we still need to do something. Their are bound to be wounded from that explosion, and they will need to be looked after." "If we go to help, WE may need looking after!" Gilda retorted as Redheart glared on response. I face-palmed. This arguing would get us nowhere fast, and we needed action. I turned to Pinkie and leaned down close. "Pinkie." I whispered to her while she leaned in comically close. "I need you to go and figure out what's going on above. Take Larxene and go help Raiden if need be" She nodded before Chrysalis, who had leant in without me noticing, butted in. "You'll need a distraction to keep the guards busy." She said as I looked to the guards, then Celestia/Daybreaker. A really bad idea formed popped in my mind. Chrysalis, who could see the smile on my face, frowned. "Whatever it is your thinking of doing, don't." It was too late. I had already made my way over to Daybreaker, who looked at me with slight interest as I turned to the guard circle around us. "Hey, boys!" I yelled as the guards all turned and faced me. "Wanna see me desecrate your boss?" With that, I raised my hand high and... SMACK! The sound of hand connecting with sunbutt was deafening, and the elicit moan of pleasure from Daybreaker, who was now red faced and gave me a slight glare, was only heard by those nearby. All the guards plus Gilda's jaws dropped. Redheart rolled her eyes while Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. "How DARE you slap her flank in my presence!" She yelled at me, though her eyes showed amusement. She spun around and wiggled her own at me. "At least, without slapping mine first?" Most of the guards were now in a lucid state of shock as I smiled big. They were so engulfed in the insane events transpiring they didn't notice Pinkie Pie and Larxene sneak out the doors. I nodded to them befire bringing my other hand down on Chrysalis's butt, landing it right in the middle of her left cheek. This begat a sultry giggle from the queen as a guard actually passed out from excitement while some of the ones that were unicorns started summoning drinks and passing then around. I looked to Redheart, who was looking on the whole situation with a confused face and probably wondering how her life had come to this, and smiled. "C'mon, Nurse! Come here and get your spanking!" I called out to her while the guards all turned to her. For a second, I swore I saw her eye twitch before- WHAM! I was tacked to the floor and lip locked by a very passionate Redheart. Several guards whooped while some of them that WEREN'T males after all grabbed their own males and made out with them. Daybreaker (while still under the disguise of Celestia, mind you) cleared her throat and proclaimed loudly: "Make love till you drop!" She proclaimed as herself and Chrysalis dive bombed me as the doors to the throne room were closed so no onlookers could see anything. *************** Raiden POV *************** I looked at my fellow chef in shock as he stepped through the hole in the wall. He looked like he always did, except for a weird black bandana attached to his head with a red ruby eyeing me down. And I meant eyeing. It felt like it was watching my every move. I shuddered as Luna rose to her hooves before glaring at Goldspoon. "Sous chef! What in the name of tartarus does thou think thou are doing?" She yelled as he smiled and tapped the ruby. "Just looking for a human, and my sources tell me you used to be one. But since Ronin is in jail, so you must be my old friend!" He laughed lightly before turning to me. "You know, there are some VERY powerful beings coming for you and your brothers." I gritted my teeth as I felt a rising surge of anger in me. I stared down my friend with pure malice as I spoke. "What do you mean by powerful beings? Who's coming after my family?!" I roared as he went to asnwer, but gasped in pain. "AH!" He yelled as he pawed at the bandana before his head went limp and fell low, even though he stood still. A small red glow was coming from the ruby as the body remained motionless. Twilight was the first to react. "W-What just happened?" She asked as Luna shook her head. "We cannot say, but whatever is on his head is cursed. We can feel the power coming from it. Tis almost like something is trying to-" She stopped as Goldspoons head rose up and smiled wickedly. "Well well well. If it isn't princess Luna!" A deep voice that definitely didn't belong to Goldspoon said as he eyed her, then turned to me with red eyes that gleamed in the slightly dimmed room. I have a message for you, boy. Meet me in the gardens an hour past right now. And If you decide not to show?" He laughed wickedly. Then I will have pegasus wings for lunch!" With that, 'Goldspoon' raised his hooves to his head and gripped the sides of it. "See you REAL soon!" He said before- SNAP! Twilight screamed, I gasped, and Luna flinched as whatever had possessed Goldspoon made him snap his neck right in front of us. His whole body jerked before hitting the ground. I found myself unable to divert my gaze from the slowly growing blood pile on the floor. He snapped his own neck... "Princess!" Bellflower rushed in, alongside spme guards that looked different. They wore similar armour to her, yet had fangs. They stopped and gazed upon the dead pony in front of us. The captain looked from Goldspoon to Luna, who bore an emotionless gaze. "Princess...what happened?" She asked as the guards behind her looked green. Luna sighed. "We have an intruder in the castle. The gardens are closed off, let NO ONE in at all. This castle is under lockdown immediately!" She ordered as Bellflower saluted and turned to her guards, who looked ready to puke. "Git it together! Yer Thestrals, fer Fausts sake! Clean up this body!" She said as Twilight, who had put a hoof over her mouth, now lost all control and vomited right there on the spot, snapping me out of my funk. I looked to Luna with a sick feeling in my stomach. "Luna...we need to find Ronin and Nicholas NOW!" I stated, while walking over and rubbing Twilights back as she nodded. Bellflower, who had been helping the...Thestrals with the body, turned to us. "Ronin is downstairs with princess Celestia right now. Him and his posse of mares were causing a ruckus outside, so ah brought them tah her." She stated as I groaned and face-palmed with my free hand. Of course he did. Luna shook her head. "Then we shall go down to the throne room immediately." She said as Twilight started vomiting again after a soldier slipped in the blood pool. Luna looked to Twilight first before turning back to Bellflower. "Perhaps...after Twilight Sparkle is fare enough for travel." > Chapter 52: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* We followed behind our orange guard/guide as he led us through the city, though I couldn't help but notice all the stares we were getting. Fair, we were four colorful bipedal creatures being escorted by a guard, so it had to be an odd sight. "So." I stated as we walked, addresing Sentry. "Who's this musician your taking us to, and how do you know about me?" Sentry smiled at me as we turned a corner. "The musician is an old friend of mine who used to play at special events in the castle. She was the one who told me about you, though she quit the music industry due to a friend of hers passing recently." He sighed, looking genuinely hurt that his friend wasn't doing so well. "She's been so down lately that I can't help but worry about her." Axel snorted. "Sounds like somepony has a crush." Sentry's face went from carrot to ketchup quickly as he almost walked into a lightpost. He stopped and turned to Axel with a frown. "I do not!" He exclaimed, sounding like a child that's whining at his parents. (I should know, I'm a five-time whining champ.) We laughed a bit at his expense before Roxas spoke up. "Not to be weird or anything, but what's a crush?" He asked as all four of us turned and stared at him for a minute. "Wait...so your telling me you have no idea what a crush even is?" Tak asked as Roxas nodded, causing Axel to face-palmed. I rolled my eyes as Sentey tilted his head. "How do you not know what a crush is?" He asked as we continued walking. "3R here is as innocent as a rabbit." I stated as we crossed the street after waiting for a surprisingly pony drawn carriage to go by. "He hasn't had his first crush yet." Tak smiled wistfully. "Just wait until you do, It's amazing!" Sentry smirked. "Sounds like you have a girl waiting for you, huh?" Axel laughed. "Oh yeah! He's got that chicken pony waiting for him back in ponyville!" Tak glared at Axel, obviously taking offense at the jab. "She is not a chicken. Just because she's the size and has the wingspan of one does not mean that she lays eggs." "Bet you'd want to help her lay some eggs, though." Axel quipped back, causing the prince to trip in suprise as his face went red. Roxas looked especially confused, but before he could ask his question Sentry stopped. "We're here." He stated as we stood in front of some sort of warehouse. The place looked well kept, yet still had rust along the outside of it. He walked up to the door and knocked on the door. A slit about eye level to a pony opened. "What's the rule?" A gruff voice asked. Flash smiled and winked. "Rock Rulez, baby." He said as the door opened and he walked in. Tak looked to me, a look of concern on his face. "You sure about this?" He asked me. I sighed and nodded. "We got no choice. I sent the girls home, and the castle is off limits." With that, we entered into the warehouse. ******************** Diamond Tiara POV ******************** When the flash of light disappeared, instead of finding ourselves outside the castle, we found ourselves in the garish clubhouse the crusaders used for their meetings. I felt slightly queasy, but shook it off as I noticed it was only me, Applebloom, and Sweetiebelle here. I frowned as I looked around frantically, but didn't see Nicholas anywhere. "Why are we here?" Applebloom, who had recovered from the teleport, answered. "Ah'm not sure, but something musta went wrong with the spell." We turned to Sweetiebelle, who was now looking at the wooden floor with a strong amount of interest. "Sweetiebelle...what did you do?" I asked, feeling a slow rise of anger in my voice. She looked up at me quickly, shaking her head. "Me?! I didn't do anything! Nicholas helped me activate the spell, and somehow made it send us here!" So HE was the reason we were sent back to Ponyville. Applebloom frowned. "But why'd he go and do that? He knows he needs us!" I sighed and sat in a chair, putting a leg on the table and resting my head on it. "He did it to protect us. I guess the whole Azul incident made him realize Just how dangerous the whole thing was." Applebloom stomped a hoof. "Ah don't care! Nicholas and the others are our friends! Ah ain't about to let that snotty princess get her hooves on Nicholas!" Sweetiebelle sighed. "Well, were stuck here until he gets back. I don't have the magic strength to teleport that far, and if I did who knows where Nicholas is right now." I huffed and walked out the treehouse, almost missing the ramp and falling, and started walking my way back to town. The clattering of hooves alerted me to the other two following me. "And where do ya think yer going?" Applebloom said as she walked beside me on my right. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I am going back into town. Since Nicholas decided that he didn't need our help, I am going to find Silverspoon." Sweetiebelle, who was on my left, tilted her head. "I wonder what she has been doing while we were gone. We know one of those changelings went after her, so maybe she's with it?" "But where would they be at?" Applebloom asked as I grinned. "I think I know." I said as I picked up my pace slightly, eager to see my friend again, while the girls followed. ******************* Nicholas POV ******************* As we walked into the warehouse, I noticed just how full the place was. There were hundreds of items scattered around the place. Some looked like it was fairly new, while others looked like it was from centuries ago. We ended up walking past several ponies who were carting around some of the items into crates. Sentry turned to us and pointed at some beanbags. "Sit in those for now. I'll go get her." He said as he walked off. We sat in the beanbag chairs, which were pretty comfy. "WHOA!" Roxas exclaimed as he pretty much got devoured by his. "This things soooo comfy!" Axel, who had somehow gotten the smallest one, had his legs hanging off his. "Their aight. How about you, prince?" Tak, who had one that was just right, smiled peacefully. "Feels good. Though does anyone know who Sentry was talking about?" I shrugged as I looked around. There was one open beanbag left unsat in and what seemed to be a fancier chair next to it, both were in a used condition. Sentry had talked about this place well, so I figured that he must come here frequently. (frequently enough to know some weird password, anyway.) Hearing hooves clattering behind us, I turned my head to see Sentry walking up with a pony that was in a hood. I stood and met them halfway. "Sentry, who's this?" I asked, kinda not to hot on the idea of showing more ponies who we were just yet. He smiled big. "This is the musician I spoke of, though we had a slight delay due to the sun being out." He said as I frowned. Sun being out? Why would that matter? But before I could say anything else, the hooded figure removed their hood, revealing... "Octavia?!" I exclaimed, causing Tak to stand as well and the other two guys to look to me, slightly confused. "Who?" Axel asked as him and Roxas stood up while Tak walked over. "Octavia was the pony that bunked with that DJ, right?" He asked as I nodded, a frown appearing on my face from the memory of Vinyl resurfacing. Octavia, noticing my expression, put a hoof on my shoulder and sighed. "It's alright to feel that way, Nicholas. She was a great friend of mine, and it's obvious that she had an impact on you." She shook her head. "But you aren't here just to talk memories, so what brings you here?" I smiled to her as Roxas and Axel walked over and stood beside me and Tak. "We need a float in order to perform across the city, do you have anything like that?" Octavia smiled and nodded before turning. "Come, Nicholas and friends. I have something you might like." We followed her to the end of the warehouse, noticing that there were several ponies here with many types of instruments. "Whoa...look how much stuff they have!" Roxas pointed out as a pony walked by with about twenty trumpets on a large dolly. "What is all this, Octavia?" I asked as we stopped in front of a big tarp that was covering...something. Octavia turned to me and grinned, showing off some fangs that seemed to barely poke out. "Wait...your a vampony?" I exclaimed as Tak and Axel turned to Octavia quickly. "Your a what?!" Axel yelled as he took a step back. Tak looked at me, a serious expression on his face while Roxas hid behind Axel. "Your friends with Vamponies?" He said, venom in his voice. I frowned and raised an eyebrow, wondering what the problem was. "Yeah...and?" I asked, feeling a mite ticked. Octavia sighed, though it was more of a tired sigh than angry. "Your friends are changelings, are they not?" She asked as I nodded. "Thanks to their queen, vamponies are public enemy number two to their hive." She said as Axel rolled his eyes, mumbling something about 'waste of oxygen' while Roxas slowly came out from behind him. I blinked in suprise before turning to Tak. "And why's that?" He growled, crossing his arms. "Vamponies have a loooong history of being extremists. It's said that whenever one is seen it is a bad omen." He said as Octavia scoffed. "Bad omen? Bah! Your queen is simply upset that we managed to get one of our own on the Saddle Arabian throne before she could." She spat before turning back to me. "Now, you asked about the tarp or the warehouse?" I sighed, allowing the change in subject, and scratched the back of my head. "Both? Why does it look like your hoarding instruments here, and what's under the tarp?" Octavias expression went dark as she frowned. "As you know, Vamponies can live for centuries. Like Vinyl, my time is almost here." She motioned to all the music instruments. "I am sending all these to the Translymania so they can be put to good use, rather than forgotten here." Sentry, who had remained quiet up until this point, spoke. "Octavia has about eighty more years, though she won't age at all during those years." He blushed slightly. "Physically, that is." Roxas looked between the two before smiling. "Ooooh! So THIS is the mare Sentry is crushing on!" Well, remind me to never tell Roxas any secrets. Sentry went beet red as Octavia smirked at him while Axel snorted loudly before smacking Roxas on the back of the head. "That was supposed to be a secret, doofus." Roxas just gave him a sheepish grin and an quiet "oops". Tak raised an eyebrow. "So, you've known Octavia for a while then, huh?" Since Sentry couldn't answer due to embarrassment, Octavia did. "Indeed he has, though how he managed to keep such information from me is suprising." She leaned close to Sentry from the side. "It seems a punishment is in order for hiding such a thing from me, though we can settle that later in...private." This caused Sentry to fall over, conked out from excitement/fear/embarrassment. Before things could get raunchy, I coughed. "Octavia...what about the tarp?" Octavia grinned sheepishly, a blush present on her face. "Right. Let me show you." She clapped her hooves together twice. Two unicorns came out and pulled the tarp of with their magic, allowing us to see what was beneath. Tak, Roxas, and Axels jaws dropped. I fell to my knees, completely enraptured by the beauty in front of me. Hanging about six feet off the ground was a stinking Airship...AN AIRSHIP! It had slick wooden boards that were a swampy grey color with neon lights illuminating the deck. The sails had music notes on it and were supported by strong masts. The back of the ship held what looked like a room with the steering area above. The whole thing was amazing! Tak spoke up first. "You mean your just gonna give us this airship...why?" Axel turned to Octavia and growled. "Yeah, if your expecting us to pay for this, don't. We dont have any bits." Octavia shook her head. "This beauty isn't for sale, and I'm not just gonna give it to you. Flash and I are going to help you operate it." As if being summoned, Sentry chose to wake up as he shot straight up "Huh?" He said as he looked around. "I'm doing what now?" "GUYS! There's an odd thingy up here!" We heard Roxas call out to us. We turned to find Roxas at the steering wheel of the ship...somehow. "How'd he get up there?" I asked as Axel shrugged. "Dude needs constant supervision, or else he tends to break the laws of reality when no ones watching." Both Tak and I raised eyebrows at that. "And this hasn't been reported...why?" Tak asked Axel as he shrugged while Octavia called for Roxas to lower the plank. "Meh, never came up. Someone was always watching him." He leaned in close to us. "Don't tell him, but while the queen was laying our eggs with that love transfusion stuff, she might have accidentally fired off some chaos magic into his." So Roxas was the changeling equivalent of being dropped as a child...that explained a lot. A loud slapping sound confirmed the plank hitting the ground. Octavia turned to us and motioned for us to follow her in to the ship. As we got on, I couldn't help but feel an odd sense of dread, as if something bad was coming...soon. Hopefully the whole blueblood incident blows over after all of this. I thought as Roxas was being yelled at by Axel for attempting to climb the mast. What I wouldn't give to go back to being just another kid in ponyville who's only worries are history tests. I shook those thoughts from my mind as Tak inspected the ship. No...I need to stay focused. If I lose motivation now, Ronin's doomed. Though, as I walked up the plank, I couldn't help but feel a...coldness inside me. It was like someone had teleported a ice cream into my very soul. Weird... ************ Sweetiebelle POV ************ We followed Diamond Tiara all the way to a decently sized house on the richer side of ponyville. It was one of the smallest on the block, yet still seemed humongous in size. It had grey walls with a white brick roof that seemed to shine in the sunlight. Diamond walked up to the fancy doors and knocked...loudly. For a minute, no one answered before Silverspoon opened the door. "Yes? May I-" She stopped as she realized it was us at the door. She narrowed her eyes at us and sniffed rather rudely. "And what do you three want?" She asked as we were shocked by her attitude. What happened while we were gone? Diamond wasn't having any of it, though. She frowned and glared back. "What's got your spoons in a twist?" "Can we please not do this right now?" Applebloom stated, but was ignored by the two ex-bullies. "Lets see...Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you been hiding that Nicholas is 12K all along!" Silverspoon snapped, causing Diamond to flinch. "Oh...You found out about that, huh?" She said as Silverspoon went to close the door but Applebloom stopped it with a hoof. "Now, listen here. We came all the way across town to check on ya, and we ain't about to just walk away when ya obviously got some things to say. Now can we come in and talk about this please?" She said, suprisingly mature. I smiled at our irratated friend. "C'mon, Silverspoon. Let us in?" I asked her as all three of us pulled the puppy dog eyes on her. She sighed and opened the door all the way. "All right. Come in." She said, putting relieved smiles on our faces as we followed her into her house and to a room near the back of the place. As we walked in, I couldn't help but notice the insane amount of spoons hanging off the wall by her bed. There were gold, silver, bronze, and even one diamond spoon that was in the center of them all. "What is he doing here?" Diamond Tiara asked, pointing to a changeling with white eyes that was stretched out on her bed. Silverspoon crawled onto the bed and laid across the changeling. "Zexion has been my buddy while you and the others went to Canterlot WITHOUT me." She said with ice in her tone that made us flinch. Diamond Tiara sighed before looking at the spoons. "Look, Silv. I'm sorry about leaving you here, but it was a rushed decision. Nicholas tried to leave us behind as well, so we had to sneak onto the train at last minute." She hung her head. "But that's no excuse for leaving you behind...I'm sorry." The glare on Silverspoons face softened as she smiled. "Zexion told me about Nicholas and Taks plan, which is why he's here in the first place." She hopped off Zexion and walked over to Diamond Tiara, giving her a hug. "I forgive you, Diamond. Just try to remember me next time." Diamond pulled from the hug and wiped her eyes before looking to Zexion. "Wait...weren't you supposed to go back to Tak after stopping Silverspoon?" He shrugged, an indifferent look on his face. "Well, I was ordered to keep Silverspoon occupied until they got back, so technically I'm still under those orders." He said as he yawned. "Whether that be a hostage situation or being cuddle buddies with this silver filly is irrelevant." Applebloom tilted her head. "We were gone fer like four hours...how much went on while we were in Canterlot?" She asked as Silverspoon blushed. "W-w-what? Nothing! He just hugged me for a bit when I wasn't feeling so happy, that's all." Diamond snickered as Applebloom and I rolled my eyes. Zexion looked at Silverspoon for a second before shaking his head with a smile on his face. "You kids are silly. Though I'm technically a child too, so I have no room to talk." He yawned again. "Welp, nice to meet y'all, but I'm going to sleep." With that, he leaned back and closed his eyes. "There's no way he's going to sleep THAT fast." I stated as a light snoring could be heard from Zexion, causing me frown. "How does he do that?" Applebloom giggled. "Ah remember Big Mac talking about a changeling that slept through his shift while Ronin was helping with the farm, this must be him." She said as my eyes went wide, remembering somepony important. "Omigosh, we forgot about Scootaloo!" I exclaimed as all four of us went wide eyed. "Where would she even be?" Diamond asked as Zexion stirred slightly. "Check the underground hive, you heathens." He muttered as Silverspoon glsred at him before turning to us. "Hive?" She asked as Applebloom nodded. "Yeah! That's what Ronin and Chrysalis were doing at that scary building that they live in, right? Creating a new hive!" Diamond Tiara shuttered. "Don't tell me we are going in that place. It's sooo creepy!" "It's the best place to look for Scootaloo, so c'mon!" I said as we walked out of the room, some more relunctantly than others. *********** Azul POV *********** I had just returned from informing my father about the attemp to break the human out of jail...and I wasnt sure how to feel about it. When I had told him about the girls and their plans, he just laughed and said he had predicted this to happen. Though he did congratulate my quick thinking and ability to capture a changeling. He had also told me to go to my room and put on my good dress, one that I wore only when we had royals from other kingdoms visiting...but who? The council meeting had been canceled by great auntie Celestia due to some ice problem that was affecting some of the other kingdoms, so nopony should be coming...right? I shook the thoughts from my head as a maid slipped me into my pure yellow dress with white frills. No! Daddy knows what he's doing. It's probably just another trade agreement. To be fair, Daddy recieved a lot of important visitors, whether they be lawmakers or traders. Though he looked extra worried when he had told me to leave. Perhaps it's just an important trade? But before I could think anything else, the door to my room swung open and daddy walked in. "Leave us." He sniffed at the maid, who nodded and silenty left the room, closing the doors. He turned to me smiled, his eyes dancing with glee. "What is it, daddy?" I asked, wondering why he was in such a good mood. "I wanted to let you know that my guest will be arriving shortly, and to be on your best behavior while he is here." He told me sternly. I nodded a single time, before tilting my head. "Who is your guest?" The smile vanished. "That is none of your concern. All I need you to do is to not cause any trouble OR come to my room for any reason. Understood?" He stated with a nasty amount of sterness in his tone. I gulped and nodded again, this time a tad less...graceful. He turned and walked out of the room, allowing me to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Daddy could be scary at times, but he's never hit me before...at least, not like he does the maids when they don't listen. I thought as I walked over and laid out on my bed. To think he believes I could cause trouble...hmph! It's not like he's being visited by royalty or anything. ******************* Diamond Tiara POV ******************* Why did I agree to go with the others? These were the thoughts I was thinking as I looked apon the black building that had those really sharp looking spikes coming out of the sides. I could feel a shiver going through my body as Sweetiebelle knocked on the door. "Helloooo!" She called out. But no one came. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Everypony who lives here is in Canterlot. Why would they answer?" Sweetiebelle glared at me while Silverspoon sighed. "I would rather not break into any private properties today, so I guess we will have to look somewhere else." She said as they sighed and began to walk away, much to my inner delight. Thank goodness we don't have to go on that house! Just another reason I'm dating Nick and not Tak...though where does Nick live at? He never did tell me... "I could get you four in." We all whirled around to see Zexion standing by the now open door, yawning quite loudly. "Ah thought you were sleepin'?" Applebloom asked as he shrugged and walked over, standing close to Silverspoon. "What? A gentlechangeling can't help his lady?" He asked as he ruffled Silverspoons hair, causing her to glare at him. Though I saw a small blush on her face as she did so. "Why are you guys still outside? Lets go!" I heard Sweetiebelle call to us from inside the house. I sighed as everypony else went inside, forcing me to follow. As we walked in, I noticed that the couch and the chairs that were in the living room were in mint condition, a suprise considering that a bug queen and Nicks rowdy brother lived here As we looked at the inside decor, Applebloom looked to Zexion. "So, where's the hive?" She asked as Zexion smiled and walked over to a wall, touching his horn to it. A white light engulfed the wall, and when it cleared a cave was where it once stood. Our jaws dropped as Sweetiebelle grinned big. "Oooo! A illusion spell! I haven't seen one of those in person before!" Silverspoon tilted her head slightly as I groaned, knowing a mini lecture was coming. "Illusion spell?" Sweetiebelle smiled and stood a bit taller. "An illusion spell is used to hide an entrance, object, or living creature in plain sight. It's a class three spell, but can be more difficult depending on what your trying to hide." I frowned. "Three out of what, exactly?" Sweetiebelle turned to me, eager to continue her lesson. "Three out of ten, with one being a basic levitation spell and ten being arcane spells and forbidden techniques." We all looked at her blankly, causing her to blush slightly. "What? I borrowed some books from Twilights library a while ago, and read up on the history of spellcasting." Zexion grinned as he nodded his head. "Leave it to the unicorn to know her spells. But you were only half right about the spell type. This is a fusion spell between an illusion and teleport spells, the latter being a class three as well." Applebloom gasped. "Y'all can combine spells? How?" Zexion shrugged. "Don't know. Queen Chrysalis is the only one who knows how to do this. It's a specialty of hers." He turned to the cave and started walking in. "C'mon then, let's go find your friend." I turned to Silverspoon as the others followed him, a very grossed out look on my face. "Do we HAVE to go in there?" She rolled her eyes and grabbed my left hoof, pulling me into the cave along with the other girls. As we followed Zexion into the cave we ended up walking past several other changelings, most of which saluted Zexion on sight. "Evening, Sir!" One stated as we walked by, getting a eye roll from the white-eyed tour guide. "At ease, Poa." He said as Applebloom looked to him. "Why'd he salute ya like that?" He looked at Applebloom while we walked, carefully avoiding a group of smaller changelings that ran by. "Since my comrades and I were the first ones hatched, we hold leadership roles over the others. Though I'd rather go without all the flashy salutes." He sighed. "Larxene really enjoys it though." Sweetiebelle giggled. "I could tell. When we were with her, she always said things like 'My king' and other fancy jargon." Zexion smirked as we entered an open space the size of the school playground. There were hundreds of Changelings buzzing around, either conversing with each other or transporting what looked lile cacoons through several holes in the walls. "Whoa...." Applebloom said in awe, perfectly showing how we all felt seeing this. "There's so many of your kind down here...how do you all fit?" Silverspoon asked as I looked at all of them carefully, noticing almost all of them had blue eyes and the same holey skin type...though Zexion and the other changelings I had seen before were unique when it came to eye color. But why? What made those four so special? Tak was the Queens son, but the others were drones as well, right? "We have been making tunnels underneath Ponyville for about almost a month. I think one or two tunnels connect all the way to the forest nearby this town." Zexion answered Silverspoon while Sweetiebelle gulped. "The Everfree forest? Why would you need a tunnel to go there?" She asked as Zexion yanwed before frowning at her. "As an escape route. The last thing we needed was for a pony lynch mob to find us and we have nowhere to transport the unhatched or the weak." He said solemnly as I raised a hoof. "Not to butt in or anything, but this all looks pretty well organized considering there hasn't been any leadership here. Who's been running the hive in the absence of lutienents or royalty?" Zexion shrugged. "No idea. But whoever's been doing it has been doing a good job." He said as Applebloom pointed past us. "Guys, look! It's Scootaloo!" She exclaimed. We turned to where she was pointing to see Scootaloo walking into the area from one of the side tunnels conversing with three changelings. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle ran over and tacled her in a hug as Silverspoon, Zexion and I walked over casually. "Applebloom! Sweetiebelle! Your back!" She exclaimed as her friends let her up before she turned to us. "Diamond Tiara? Silverspoon? What are you two doing here?" I scoffed. "We were looking for you after getting a return trip from Nick." Scootaloo groaned. "So I owe Tak ten bits then." She said as Silverspoon raised an eyebrow. "Wait...You bet on whether or not Nicholas would send the girls home?" Scootaloo smiled as the changelings went to butt in, but were stopped by a raised hoof. "Nuh-uh. Wait until I'm finished here." Sweetiebelle blinked. "Whoa...how'd you do that?" She asked as I noticed the buzzing around the room was quieter than before. "Well, when Tak was about to leave on the train to Canterlot, he asked me to watch the hive while he was gone. And since he figured that Nick would send you girls back somehow, he wanted me to be here to help you girls out." I frowned. "That doesn't explain why the changelings listen to you." A drone to Scootaloos left spoke up as several other drones buzzed over carrying a big cacoon. "All drones must listen to the upcoming mate of the prince." Our faces went red as Zexion, who had looked like he had nodded off while standing earlier, spoke up. "Ha! That's why the hive looks kept after!" He looked to Scootaloo. "Tell me, have you been mentally connected to Tak yet?" Scootaloos eyes went wide. "H-how'd you know about that?" She exclaimed, earning a chortle from Zexion. "Well, considering they are listening to an outsider, and the fact that you did all this in about four hours is why." He said as Applebloom smiled. "So yer in charge of all these changelings? That's so cool!" She said as Scootaloo sighed. "More like taxing. It's not easy handling a bunch of oddballs born only yesterday." She said as the same drone poked Scootaoo in the her leg. "Princess...We have been alerted to the completion of the transfering of eggs. You must come with us to the mass teleportation room." He stated as Scootaloo gave us an apologetic grin. "Sorry, girls. I have to look at this for a bit. Feel free to hang around until I come back." She said as the drones led her away, leaving us confused and tired from the long day. "Mass teleportation room?" I asked as Zexion frowned. "It's something Queen Pie asked for before they left. For some reason, she believed we need the ability to teleport the whole hive across the country. Though why is beyond me." He said as Applebloom and Sweetiebelle sat on some odd shaped rocks. "Might as well rest for a bit while we wait. Ah'm tired as hay from all this running around." She said as Silverspoon frowned. "Applebloom...Scootaloo. Those aren't rocks." She stated as I looked closer at the "rocks" and gasped as Zexion snorted. "Nope. those would be Roxas and Axels cacoons they burst from...Quite a nasty event, to be honest." He said, causing Sweetiebelle to jump up in shock. "EWWWWWWW!" She screamed as Applebloom shrugged. "Ah"ve sat in worse." She said as I rolled my eyes and sat on the ground. Anythings better than those...filthy cacoons. Zexion laid on the ground as Silverspoon sat on his back, settling in for what would probably be a looong wait. ********************* Meanwhile, in the north ********************* Pain. Betrayal. Loss. All these words rung true for the Wendigo Queen as she looked into the sky. Even that damned title was something forced upon her by a certain moon princess. Nevertheless, she had a problem to take care of. She had felt the presence of that earth pony that had freed her go out, which meant that he had perished in some way. A pity, but one that meant she was going to need a new eye into Canterlot, but who. The Queen sighed as she rested on her throne, overlooking the frozen garden area. It was saddening to see such an old place overcome by the harshness of winter. Even watching the Wendigo bring in mountain climbers and torture them wasn't any fun anymore. She sighed. She could always try and reconnect with him. It was a long shot, considering she had been disconnected before, but times were desperate, and she was impatient. The Queen closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. Usually, a mind link like this was hard to do if you had a lot of associates or friends to sift through. Thankfully, all of hers had died centuries ago. AHA! She thought as she felt a spark of innocence...and power? I felt it before, but not this strong...Whatever lies dormant in this boy is- She was cut off as the connection reopened her to his mind, flooding hers with new mental images and thoughts. "So the boy sent his lovers home away from the danger, huh. How chivalrous." She said aloud with a sigh. That type of behavior reminded her of her brother...wherever that backstabbing man was. She gasped suddenly as she came across a certain memory. "A mass teleport ran on love energy?! Now THIS I can use!" She stood and whistled, summoning every wendigo in the area. She smiled as over five-hundred winter fiends answered her call. "My poor children...I have called you to tell you to ready yourselves! I have came across the way to leave this cursed mountain once and for all! All we must do as wait for our ride to manifest!" The crowd of Wendigos roared and jeered with their approval at the idea of finally laying waste to the Equine vermin that had bested them eons ago. The queen smiled before whispering under her breath. "I hope you are ready, you moon raising bitch! Because I'm coming straight for you first!" > Chapter 53: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* You'd think that, after all that has happened so far, I would cease to be suprised by anything that this world could throw at me. Well, after the Goldspoon mess was cleaned up and being informed of Celestia and Ronin's current lockdown in the throne room by Captain Bellflower, we made our way down there to come up with a battle plan against...whatever was in the gardens. But, as we opened the doors to the throne room, I learned quickly that one can always be given the sucker punch of life at any given time. Or in this case, my brother and his herds insane antics. "What in fausts name?" Luna exclaimed as we walked into the throne room, which reeked of the smells of sweat, blood, and intercourse. There where solar guards scattered in random spots around the place, some had more than two coupled together while one particularly unlucky stallion was tied to a pillar with a fenale guard snoozing underneath him. Bellflower walked over and picked up one of the females that was still conscious, but barely so, and looked her in the eyes. "Now what in tarnation happened here?" She yelled into the face of the dazed pegasus that had her back hooves cuffed together. The mare sighed wistfully as she pointed to the throne, where a giant orange bubble blocked all sight to what was inside. "Princess...ordered a mandatory lovemaking competition...She took the human and his friends into the bubble...." The mare passed out in Bellflowers hooves, earning a sigh from the captain. "It's as if heat season hit early this year..." She said as I frowned while Twilight stiffened. "What do you mean heat season hit early?" She exclaimed as Luna frowned. "We believe that our sisters passions have been sparked by Ronin, and the resulting pheromones may have an affect on the unsuspecting ponies." She stated as I gulped. "So since Celestia is finally getting some after a thousand years..." I began, afraid of the resulting answer. "...Then every mare that she is near will go into heat earlier than usual." Twilight finished, before looking to the bubble. "But why the bubble?" I shrugged as Bellflower went around waking up guards and Luns walked up to the odd bubble. "Perhaps a privacy thing?" Luna stopped and hopped over a rather large white puddle on the ground before turning back to us. "Doubtful. If she was in the thrawls of heat, she wouldn't care for such things. Besides, her shield bubbles are always see through, anyway." She poked the bubble with her horn, causing it to pop. Four things fell out of the bubble. The first was Ronin, who was wearing some pale white armour with a blue gem in the middle for some reason, who hit the ground with an audible oof and groaned while holding his head in his hands. Next was Redheart, who was out like a light and didn't even flinch when her body hit the floor. The next two were...less recognizable. One was a white pony that had butterfly wings and a horn that seemed to match her blue hair. I couldn't help but stare at her for a extra second because dang she was kinda hot. She landed on top of Ronin and proceeded to stand up after dusting herself off. She made eye contact with me before giving me a wink, causing a light red hue to appear in my face as I looked away, though something about her eyes were familiar... The last one was someone who looked a lot like Celestia, but instead had a flaming mane/tail with orange eyes. She landed on her hooves and smirked before noticing we where there. Twilight was the first to react as Luna looked at the flaming pony with extreme intrigue. "Um...I recognize Nurse Redheart and Ronin, but who are you two?" She asked as Ronin stood up and sighed. "Well, the blue and white beauty that my brother is eyeing like candy is Chrysalis due to reasons I'm too tired to explain right now, and the flaming seductress is Daybreaker." He said as shock appeared on Luna and my faces. "That's Chrysalis?! But how did she become so ho-OWW!" I exclaimed before getting a hoof to my clawed foot, making me hop around in pain while clutching my damaged foot. I looked to a satisfied looking Luna who smirked at the damage she did. "What was that for?!" She frowned and pointed at Chrysalis. "Thou is not permitted to even think any thoughts about the Changeling Queen in that matter." She said as Twilight shook her head. "But how did she even turn into that? I know changelings can change forms and all, but this looks similar to a type of ascension than some form change." She looked at Ronin for a second. "It appears that you were affected by it as well...but how?" He shrugged as Chrysalis scoffed. "Like I would tell a sniveling bookworm like you what happened anyway." For a second, she didnt break from her snide facial expression, then she broke. "OK! It was an exchange of love directed at his soul!" She exclaimed before placing a hoof over her mouth. "Why did I tell you that?!" Ronin laughed as Twilight dawwwd. "So your finally learning to give love to others? That's so sweet! And it seems to give an explanation to your sons transformation as well, though you seem to be undergoing an extreme version of what affected him." She said as Luna walked up and nearly went muzzle to muzzle with "Daybreaker". "And where is our sister? We have a feeling you know of her location." She said as the flaming mare laughed rather loudly. "Your sister is fine...though she is currently residing in the back of my mind right now." Daybreaker said as Luna and Twilight gasped as I turned to Ronin, who looked quite nervous all of a sudden. "And what does that mean?" I asked as he sighed before looking at me with a rather emotionless gaze. "It means Celestia is stuck in Daybreakers mind until further notice." He said as Twilight reeled back in shock. "WHAT!!! What do you mean by further notice? WHAT DID YOU DO TO PRINCESS CELESTIA?!" She yelled at him as Luna growled at Daybreaker. "We believe we know. This 'Daybreaker' is our sister's version of Nightmare Moon. Only in this case someone was foolish enough to help the demon win." She glared at Ronin, who glared back with equal venomosity. "Like Dadiolus helped Nightmare Moon overcome you?" He stated, causing Luna to gasp in suprise. "What!? How do you know about such things?" She exclaimed loudly while Daybreaker groaned and Chrysalis face-hoofed. This was getting out of control fast. "If you idiots are finished bickering, we have worse things to worry about...such as that explosion from earlier." Suprisingly Chrysalis said, effectively stopping the tirade of questions...for now. Ronin looked around the room for a second before turning to me. "And where is Pinkie and Larxene? I sent them to investiage the situation." I shrugged. "The explosion was due to a traitor in the castle, though the threat is still here. But we didn't run into those two at all." Chrysalis frowned as Luna gave Daybreaker one of those "we finish this later" stares. "What do you mean by still here?" Twilight sighed as she looked outside towards the gardens. "It started in Luna's bedroom..." ************** Nicholas POV ************** After getting onto the ship, Octavia and Flash gave us the grand tour. The room that was underneath the wheel of the ship was actually a control room for the magic output the ship gave. It was like a computer, but instead of a screen they had buttons...and there were a bunch of buttons (each one had some sort of label on them). Apparently, the thing ran on magic crystals that were obtained from the crystal caverns beneath the castle. (who knew?) Other than that, everything else was straightforward. The deck was the deck, the mast was the mast, and the lookout that was located on the highest mast was the lookout, though Roxas refused to get down due to how "cool" he said it was up there. While Flash conversed with Axel and Tal about plans for using the ship, I found myself pulled into the control room alone by Octavia. "What's going on?" I asked, but she shushed me. "Shh!" See. "I need to know how much of your powers have you used?" She asked as blinked in suprise. "Um...about three or four times since we last saw each other, though I don't really lnow how to control it." I smiled sheepishly. "Haven't gotten around to getting training from Twilight yet and-" "NOOO!" She yelled, causing me to jump in shock. She took a deep breath before giving me a fierce look. "You can't go to Twilight Sparkle about this, or any magic user at all!" I frowned and put my hands on my hips. "And why shouldn't I? I can barely control this power, and it might end up hurting someone I care about!" She groaned. "You don't get it! There's nothing to control! Your powers...they are a part of you, not some accessory to wear or weapon to master." I frowned, noticing some very Spider-Man vibes coming from this. "Really? Then how do I use them? And how do you know so much about them?" She kept a steady gaze with me for a couple of seconds before she sighed and turned towards the controls before spinning around and bucking the controls, causing the whole thing to shatter. My jaw dropped at the action. "What the heck are you doing?! We needed that!" She my eyes and smirked. "Then fix it." I looked between her and the broken machine. "What?! How?" All she did was shrug and walked to the door. Before leaving, she turned to me. "If you really want to learn about your power, here's lesson one: Your magic has no rules, and doesn't obey the rules of the other types either. Instead, it draws on your life force." With that, she walked out the room, leaving me VERY confused. What kind of rule is that? I thought as I looked at the control device. She said it uses my life force...could that mean that too much of it could kill me? I shudder as I raise a hand at the device. Well, might as well see what happens...how did I do this before? I thought as I recalled when I had used my powers before. Each time, I had a clear idea in my head about what I wanted...maybe that's all it takes? I focused my gaze in the busted device as I saw it envelope in a red light. As the light got brighter, I could myself slowly getting tired. After a minute, the device was fixed and I found myself out of breath. "Whoa..." I gasped, breathing slowly. "That was harder than enchanting a sword or putting up a shield...but why?" I said aloud before shaking my head. I needed to focus on the mission, not this. I walked out of the cabin-sized room and was met with Axel and Tak waiting for me, the latter looked irritated for some reason. "We need to talk." Tak said, causing me to sigh. Here we go... ************* Larxene POV ************* As a drone, it is my job to be loyal to the throne and to the queen that sits on it. And if there is more than one queen? Be loyal to each one in the order of which they became queens, of course. (Although the Queenship wasn't official due to no marriage happening, it was good practice.) This meant that minus Queen Chrysalis, Queen Pie was of the utmost priority, and that meant many things. From taking orders to simply being someling to talk to. However, I never thought I'd be standing next to Queen Pie in a bathroom as she upchucked her guts into a toilet...that's just plain weird. I sighed as I rubbed the back of the second queen. "My Queen, your sure you have no idea as to why your currently puking?" She wiped her mouth and gave me a VERY disgusting yet weak smile (several gooey leftovers from the barf fest were still there). "I have no idea! Recently, I've just been feeling like a hurricane is in my gut!" I tilted my head, confused at the odd simile. "Hurricane?" She growled, her eyed narrowing. "It's the best I could do right now, ok!" She snapped, causing herself to gasp and myself to bow my head. "My apologies, my Queen. I didn't mean to upset you." I said, regretting my earlier question. Queen Pie sighed. "No, I'm sorry. Whatever's wrong with me is making me a big sourpants, and I'm taking it out on you when you've been helping me this whole time." She gave me a grateful smile, one that made me all giddy inside knowing I was able to be of assistance to her in a time of need. "Queen Pie...Not to rush you or anything, but we have been here for a while...and considering the explosion earlier we are bound to end up in a conflict soon and I'd rather us not be found in this...vulnerable position." She nodded and stood up from the toilet, with a little assistance from yours truly, and pulled out a water bottle from her hair. After guzzling it down and swishing it in her mouth a bit, she spit it out in the toilet and flushed it. She turned to me, smiling with thankfully clean teeth. "Well, let's get going then!" I nodded as I followed her out the door, though as soon as we vacated the bathroom she jumped behind a potted plant. "Your highness...what are you doing?" I whispered as she pointed ahead. I looked forward and saw the griffon from before walking into a room while holding what looked like a sword in her claws. "What is Gilda doing? She should be back downstairs with the others..." Pinkie stated as I frowned. "Queen Pie, I recommend two options here. We either investigate ourselves or alert the others of the suspicious activity." I stated, watching her for an answer. After a moment, she sighed. "We can't tell anypony about it until we have proof that she's up to something." She stated as she snuck over to the door and put some device up to it. I snuck over, looking around for guards and suprisingly not seeing any, and looked at the device. "Majesty...what is that?" I asked before getting shushed. "Shhh. I'm listening to the conversation on the other side, silly." She said as she pulled out another device. They were these suction cup things that came with some sort of headset. I put it on and listened close to the door. "What do you mean, there's a problem in the castle?" A snotty voice rang out, causing Pinkie to frown. "That's Blueblood. He's the prince of all meanies." She said, making me stifle a snort. "You didn't hear the explosion earlier? There's something causing problems in the castle, and it isn't us." What sounded like Gilda could be heard reporting to the prince. A third voice, much deeper and gravelly, rang out. "Silence, Griffon spy. I am aware of the situation, but it will not halt our plans with the human." There was a pause. "Good work retrieving his blade, but what of the weilder?" A sigh could be heard from Gilda. "He is currently in the throne room with several guards and royals. We might need to pull the trial early." A groan could be heard from one of the males, probably Blueblood. "We can't move too quickly, or we risk failure or exposure. It took a long time to get you into that jail without questions, Gilda. And I'd rather not have that time wasted." A snort came from the other male. "Indeed...I will not leave this palace without my prize." The pink pony besides me blinked in suprise at the mention of Ronin, her eyes wide. I pressed closer against the door, eager to hear more. "Of course, you said you only need is sword and his soul. I will need the body for the execution to look realistic." Blueblood stated as the other male laughed. "You are right, comrade! And do not think I have forgotten about you. Once we can manufacture the dark power that resides in Ronin's soul into a weapon and overthrow the princesses, you shall be made king of this despicably colorful city." He said, causing Queen Pie to audibly gasp. The room went deathly quiet...Buck. "There's someone outside." We heard Gilda state as talons scratched on the floor, getting closer to us. I turned to the pink Queen, who went to run but suddenly fell forward clutching her stomach. "ooooh." She moaned weakly, looking to me. I looked between the door and her before sighing, realising that for the second time today I would be teleporting someone away from danger. "Warn the others, your higness." I said, for the second time today charging a teleport spell. She looked at me in shock as the door behind us swung open. "You two?!" Gilda yelled as I fired the spell at Pinkie Pie and warped her back to the throne room. I turned to the Griffon and growled, flashing fangs. "How DARE you attempt to sabatoge the future king!" I roared as Gilda went to charge at me, murder in her eyes. I held fast, ready to avoid her strike counterattack "Stop." A voice rang out, halting her advance. We both froze to look at the monstrosity that walked out the door alongside a princey looking pony. He was a griffon like Gilda, but was waaaay worse for wear. There were gears and pistons running all over his body that seemed to focus on supporting him. Any feathers he did have were old looking and looked like they'd molt permanantly anytime soon. The second he had appeared Gilda froze and backed away with her head low. Whoever he was, he was important, and that didn't bode well for my luck. He eyed me with amber eyes that looked centuries old. "So, you were smart enough to look for our spy after she disappeared from the throne room? Then my weapon has already fortified the changeling species as well." He laughed, causing gears to screech due to a lack of oiling. "Ronin truly brings out the primal best in people, huh?" I frowned, taking a battle stance. "Don't act like you know the King! You've never even met him!" The griffon frowned. "Hmm...intelligence training seems to be lacking...a side effect from being sent to another planet, perhaps." He shook his head. "No matter, I cannot allow you to alert him that I'm here, so this is where you must die." He pulled out a purple orb and flashed it, creating a bubble around the hallway. I looked around in shock before attempting to fire off a lightning spell...but nothing happened. The male laughed at my confusion as Gilda and the Prince went back into the room they were in before. "My dear, that bubble is a magic suppresent. No spells will work in here!" I gritted my teeth. Damn. This wasn't good. I couldn't flee now, and without spells... I shook the thoughts from my head as I looked into the eyes of the mechanized chicken in front of me. For Queens and Country I rushed forward as the griffon followed suit. But as he swung at me with talons spread wide I slide underneath him, sending a hoof straight where it hurts. Or at least, it should've hurt. All I felt as I slid past was a metal plating that was cool to the touch. I recovered from the slide and stared at him in shock as he looked down at himself before laughing. "Clever move, changeling. If I had been a average male, then you would've had me there. But I lost most of my body ages ago, so there's nothing left to hit!" With that, a metal chain from his left wing shot out and wrapped around my front legs, sending me to the ground as the chain slowly retracted. He laughed again, a coarse sound that sounded like horns on a chalkboard. "I wasn't planning on getting bloody so soon, but your a liability. And I don't do liabilities." A circular saw came out of his right wing as he brought it close to the chain that was pulling me towards him. I looked at the rotating saw as it buzzed almost evilly and felt a new emotion surface. Fear I struggled against the chains, attempting to free myself as I drew closer to the red stained saw, some of which said stains looked reeeeally recent. The male had ceased talking, and was now simply watching me struggle like a buzzard watching its prey gasp for breath as it died. As I struggled, my horn pressed against the saw, causing me to yell out in pain. "This pain can stop, you know. Just tell me where the other humans are." He said as the chain kept tugging me closer, causing my horn to slowly split in two as the saw kept buzzing deeper and deeper still into it. I screamed again, wondering why there weren't any guards around...probably bought off by the prince, and looked into those amber eyes of death again as I smiled despite the pain. "Go-AGH!-to Tartarus, you overgrown metal rooster!" I declared as the saw was centimeters from my face. He shrugged, causing the pistons in his chest to wheeze in protest. "Your decision. I'll just look for them later myself." He said, thrusting his right wing forwards, causing the saw to overcome my horn. At that moment, I saw something odd. I saw images of my fellow lieutenants flash by my eyes. From when we were hatched and we saw the king and queen for the first time, to the farm work we did together under the kings guidance. I even saw those girls that fawn over that Nicholas kid flash by before I teleported them away from that irritating brat. I Hope Axel and the others find themselves mates that'll treat em like those girls treat that boy. I thought with a chuckle as the bloodstained saw finally pierced my horn and made contact with my skin, causing me to see red in the corners of my eyes. Heh...At least I managed to save the Queen. I thought, tears going down my face as all went dark. **************** Nicholas POV **************** Tak and Axel guided me back into the control room so we could talk in "private" while Roxas, unwittingly, distracted the others with his natural goofiness. Without any sort of chairs in the room, we were forced to stand while conversating. Axel was the first to speak up. "I don't trust these ponies. Why help us when one: that guard doesn't even know us, and two: That Octavia doesn't get anything out of it." I sighed. "Well, I think Flash is like Roxas in that category. He seems like the kind of guy who helps anyone, even if its something super small." Tak chuckled. "Pony is innocent as Tartarus, but what about Octavia?" "Well, I know you guys don't trust her due to her vampiric ways, but for some reason she knows about my powers and how to use them." I replied as they both were taken aback. "What?! How?" Tak asked as I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but until I can figure it out, we need to keep an eye on her. She didn't want me to tell anyone about my powers, and I want to know why." I stated, earning a nod from both of them. "So we're keeping an eye on the vampony. Should be easy enough with them helping us fly this ship." Axel said as Tak went to say something else, but stopped as they both stopped moving. I looked between the two, slightly worried about them. "Uh...guys?" I asked as Axel fell to his knees, eyes glossed over and a tear going down his left cheek. I looked to Tak, now VERY worried. "What the heck is going on?" I said, louder this time. He looked to me, sorrow in his eyes. "Dude...Larxene-" He was cut off as the door slammed open and Roxas walked in. He found Axel and immediately knelt down and pulled him into a hug, softly crying into his shoulder. What the heck happened? I thought as Tak put a hand on my shoulder. "Nick...Larxenes dead." Wait...what?! That was the yellow eyed changeling that saved the girls! I looked to Tak, noticing he looked terrible, and pulled him into a hug that he quickly reciprocated. I felt him shake slightly as I held him, but for some reason I wasn't sad. oh noooo...I was angry. I didn't need the guys to tell me that Larxene had died due to someone else sending her six feet under, and that meant that there was trouble at the castle. I would be darned if I didn't find a way to help out our friends at the castle. I pulled Tak off of me and looked into his tear ridden eyes. "Here's the plan. We will fly across the city, doing our original plan. Then we will U-turn back to the castle. There we will be able to not only transfer the love over to my brother, but we can also find the guy who killed Larxene. Are we clear?" Tak looked to Roxas and Axel, who had recovered slightly and were now standing up, though both looked miserable. He sighed and looked back to me and nodded. "Let's do this!" He said, patting my shoulder and turning for the door before pausing. He turned back to me, looking slightly worried. "Uh...speaking of the plan. We were supposed to get the Necklace from Celestia to harvest the love, but we fled the castle grounds before we could. How are we gonna transfer the love to Ronin?" I blinked. I KNEW we forgot something! Now how are we gonna-AGH! I was pulled from my thoughts by a slight brain freeze, which was weird considering I hadn't ate any sort of ice cream recently. Axel frowned, noticing the pain. "You alright, champ?" I nodded, smiling weakly. "Yeah, I'm good." Something popped into my mind as I looked back to Tak. "Oh, and we shouldn't tell Sentry or Octavia about our plans. We need to figure this out without alerting a guard to a prsion break of sorts." Tak nodded as the door swung open, with said pegasus coming in. "Guys, Octavia just had a new installment added to the ship that I think you'll like a lot! C'mon!" He said as he did a decent one-eighty and walked out. We looked to each other before shrugging and following him out. We followed him to the front of the ship...where a cannon the size of a car was now on the front of the ship. My jaw dropped. "What's that for? We're a Music group! Not a military squadron!" Axel snorted as Roxas finally deattached from him, standing to the side looking like he was pondering something. "Heh, I think its cool. Now we can fight back against anyone who tries to stop us from partying!" He said, pumping a fist. "Or you could use it to help your performance." Octavia stated, causing all of us to turn around and face her. Mare had somehow snuck behind us. "And...how would we do that?" Tak stated as Roxas walkes over to Sentry and whispered something in his ear, causing him to smile and run off the ship. "I was made aware that three of you are changelings earlier, so I decided to give you a way of transfering the love you'll undoubtedly collect into this cannon." I frowned. "And how does it do that?" Like seriously...this sounded oddly like something we needed, and Octavia just HAPPENED to have this on standby? She smiled. "Vamponies weren't always enemies with changelings. This was left over from the days of our alliance with each other. BEFORE Chrysalis took the throne, we made weapons for your kind that ran off of love energy, this included." She said as I smiled, slightly giddy. Forget the history lesson, we could really use this! Tak nodded, a smile on his face. "Thanks for the gift, it's sure to help." At that moment, Flash returned with three briefcases that looked oddly like my own. Each one had the nickname and color scheme of the other guys on them. Roxas ran forward and grabbed the one with the 3R on it and pressed the button on the side. With an orange flash of light, two drumsticks popped out. He picked them up before looking around, confused. "Uh...where are the drums?" He asked as Flash smiled. "Dont need them. Use the drumsticks." He said as Roxas swung the drumsticks down. What looked like an orange circle appeared, and when his drumsticks hit it a drum sound effect was made, causing Roxas to grin like the Cheshire cat. "I HAVE MAGIC DRUMSTICKS!" He exclaimed, causing Axel to roll his eyes as Tak and I chuckled at the enthusiam. Axel grabbed his and followed Roxas's lead. With a blue flash, a guitar found itself in his hands. Axel grinned wide as he strung a cord, making a loud note. Definitely an electric guitar. I thought as Tak grabbed his and pressed the button. A mic popped out, causing Axel to chuckle as Tak looked confused. "Ha! Princey poo got a mic!" He said as Octavia smirked. "Tak, speak into the mix while facing Axel." She said as Tak turned and did as instructed. "Hey!" What followed was everyone losing hearing for a second as Axel was knocked off the ship. With a muffled crash, the 'ling landed on one of the beanbags on the ground. We all looked to Octavia as Tak grinned deviously at the OP weapon given to him. "That right there is known as the Canterlot mic. It allows the average pony to be as loud as princess Luna." Sentry was wide-eyed. "I thought those were illegal!" Octavia turned to him, smiling softly with half-lidded eyes as she wrapped a hoof around Sentry. "They are, but my favorite guard wouldn't rat out his friend...especially when his friend is willing to pay his silence back with a...private orchestra?" Flash looked to Octavia and shook his head like a bobble head. "No! I would never rat you out!" I turned away as Axel got back on the ship, rolling his eyes at Tak and Roxas's laughter, and felt my head. Even though it was only for a second earlier, I still had a slight headache from the brainfreeze from earlier. Wonder why it happened? I thought as Roxas continued to play his magic drums as Axel and Tak argued about who's gear was better. ************** Ronin POV ************** Could I go a month without causing some sort of drama? Apparently not, considering that as Twilight explained what had happened earlier I was being glared at by my brother while Luna glared daggers into a unaffected Daybreaker. I don't entirely blame them, if I learned my brother had been replaced with an alter ego, I'd be miffed as well. Thankfully, we were alone due to the guards being dragged out by the captain, so any sort further confrontation would be private. However, in my defense, Celestia was NOT helping anybody, and Daybreaker at least hasn't committed genocide on a species yet. And, through all of this, Redheart was STILL asleep! Damn, the girls a heavy snoozer. "And that's when Goldspoon snapped his neck." Twilight said, effectively finishing the story as Chrysalis frowned. "So there's a thing in the castle gardens holding a pegasus hostage and your waiting her why?" She asked as Luna sighed, breaking from her glare at Daybreaker. "We cannot move to quickly, or else we may endanger the hostage." She stated as I went to reply, but stopped. There was a sudden ache in my heart...as if something had been ripped out of it and nothing replaced it, and that something was- I looked to Chrysalis and saw a tear or two going down her face. "Chrysi...Do you feel that?" I croaked out. She nodded slowly as everyone else looked at us, extremely confused. "I do, Ronin. One of our own just died." She said as the throne room doors swung open, letting the Lunar captain run in with- "Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed as I shot up and ran over to her while Twilight and Chrysalis teleported over. I grabbed her off of Bellflowers back, who immediately left the room after being relieved of Pinkie, and sat down with her in my lap. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "Pinkie...what happened?" I asked, noting that Larxene was not with her. Pinkie sniffled as she looked from me to Twilight to Chrysalis. "Guys...I'm so sorry. We saw Gilda sneak into a room, and she was talking with Blueblood and another guy about hurting Ronin...but I gave us away and Larxene teleported me down here." She said as I gritted my teeth. Then the pain I felt earlier was her...Damn it! Twilight, connecting the dots, backed away slightly as she grimaced. "Gilda's here? And she was talking with Blueblood?" Chrysalis stood, her face emotionless as she turned to Luna, who had followed us to Bellflower along with Raiden and Daybreaker. "Night princess...When I find Blueblood, he will pay for this." She said as Luna looked at her and sighed. "It seems our nephew is more involved in this than we thought." She stated with a frown. "Indeed, I am. Though I'm afraid you figuring it out now changes little." We turned to the doorway to see Blueblood standing there alongside some older griffon and Gilda. Well, looks like the prince decided to show himself...but why? I thought as I kept eye contact with the male griffon. And who's this guy? > Chapter 54: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.6 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* The snotty prince took a step forward, pointing a hoof at me. "I have come here to personally escort the hairless ape to his trial." He said as Twilight stepped forward, a determined look on her face. "A trial that is against the law, Prince Blueblood!" She levitates a thick book from who knows where. "It says so on page three fourty-five in article seven in your own book: Unless the accused is born in Equestria, he or she cannot be prosecuted by our governing authority!" The prince grabbed the book in a blue aura and levitated it over to him, reading the page. He raised an eyebrow before laughing as he magically tossed the book back Twilight. "Oh this is rich!" He exclaimed in between chuckles. "You think you've outsmarted me in my own area of expertise? I have ample evidence provided by my guests here that the human originates from Griffonia, and can be put on trial in the presence of Griffonian royalty based on page three fifty-two article four of the same book: If the accused is born from a neighbouring land, a governed official from that land may watch over the trial." He cited as Twilight flipped to the page magically and reads it before looking up at us and nodding, albeit regretfully. "It's true. If Ronin does have Griffonian descent, he can be tried for the crimes." Gasps could be heard from me and everyone else as what had to be Grimbeak stepped forward, his body covered in gears and pistons. "But that doesn't make any sense!" Raiden exclaimed as I found myself staring into the eyes of the Griffon king. "Ronin was born on earth just like Nicholas and myself! Hell, we didn't even know about this world until a month ago!" Chrysalis glared daggers at Gilda as she picked up where Raiden stopped. "And even then, he was with my kind the whole time. How could he be of Griffonia descent?" Grimbeak chuckled as I noticed Redheart start to stir, causing Pinkie to look to her and help her stand up. "It does seem outlandish, I'll admit. But Ronin comes from my land, although the how is quite complicated." He pulled out a sack and pulled an big black feather from it. "This is a primary feather, enchanted to grow alongside its owner regardless of being plucked out. If it matches Ronins wings, then he is surely who I say he is, and can be prosucuted as followed in that law book." Daybreaker narrowed her eyes. "And if it isn't, you must explain why there is fresh blood on your right wing." Sure enough, we looked and saw green blood dripping from his wing. Grimbeak shrugged his wings, caring less about the odd stain. "I'll tell you that now. There was a changeling who attempted to eavesdrop on me during a private moment, and our kind does not take well to...spies." His voice dripped enjoyement as he recalled the event as I felt a rising rage deep withen me from his words. Pinkie was the first to speak up, leaving Redheart to lean on Daybreaker, who looked uncomfortable with Redheart on her. "You and Blueblood were planning on doing something bad to Ronin when we overheard you." She got face to face with Grimbeak quick, now VERY agitated as her mane was now hanging low. "What did you do to Larxene?!" "Pinkie, stop!" Twilight exclaimed, pulling her back from the smug king as Chrysalis walked over to them, looking Pinkie in the eyes as she approached. "He killed her, Pinkie Pie...He killed her in cold blood" She said, malice clear in her voice as Pinkie seemed to freeze up. I turned back to Grimbeak, absolutely ready to kill the guy. Raiden, able to sense my anger, stopped me with a clawed hand on my shoulder. "I know your itching to kill that old fart, but the last thing we need to do is have another crime on our hands. Let them test the feather, and if the feather doesnt match I'll help you tear him apart, aight." I sighed and summoned my wings, which brought another thing to light. "Uh, how are you gonna compare that feather to my wings if my wings are made of steel?" I asked as Grimbeak approached, making everyone tense up. "If it is your wing, then it should undergo the same transformation like the others when it is held up to you." He said as the wing left his claws and floated over to me. It rose up to the tip of my left wing and turned slightly before sinking into a small opening I hadn't seen before, turning to metal as soon as it latched in place. Time stopped as I looked at the wing on complete shock. B-But how? I thought, unable to wrap my head around it. Everyone else looked on in stunned silence as Grimbeak returned to his original position beside the prince and Gilda, the latter had refused to even look near me during the whole situation. "It fits?!" Raiden yelled, looking like a mix between mad and suprised as he turned to Grimbeak. "How?!" The king tilted his head, looking at Luna and Daybreaker with a coy smile. "Hmm? You don't know? And here I thought you were just being difficult, but the royal sisters actually haven't told you about your parents, huh?" He laughed as looks of confusion washed over most of our faces while Luna looked...ashamed? Daybreaker snorted, seeming unsuprised by all of this. "Of course they didn't tell the humans the truth about their family!" She stated, ignoring a glare from Luna as we turned to her. "Considering the events that occurred with their parents, it's no suprise Celestia and Luna witheld the information." She stated as Twilight turned to Luna while Blueblood started tapping his hoof, looking a mite impatient. "Princess...what did Cele-Daybreaker mean by that?" She asked the night princess, who refused to meet Twilights gaze. Raiden walked over to her and tilted her head to face his. "Luna...do you know something that we don't?" He asked, worry in his voice as Blueblood snapped. "This is taking forever! We have proof Ronin is from Griffonia, so we will be conducting his trial the way Griffonians do theirs...in private." That did NOT sound good at all, and based on the frown upon the others faces, they thought the same as well. "A private trial? And what makes you think we wouldn't want to take part in this?" Chrysalis stated as Redheart, who had been listening in while waking up, stepped forward. "Ronin has a herd that is willing to stand by him, even in the face of court law." She said as Grimbeak grinned. "A herd, huh? Well then, Griffons have a bi-law for that. You may be permitted to accompany him, but all that do so will share pubishment with him if he found guilty." He said, making me turn to the girls, worry on my face. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa. That's where I draw the line. No one is taking the blame for this but m-" I found my mouth frozen by a green aura as Chrysalis glared at me. "You are an absolute idiot if you think we are not joining you for this trial." She turned her glare to the prince, who looked away with his nose in the air. "Not only because we are a herd, but to ensure rules do indeed be kept and no one is hurt." Redheart nodded as Raiden turned to Luna. "We can't do anything to stop this?" He asked her, causing Luna to sigh. "As much as we hate to say so, this is now a Griffonian trial. To act now would be to spark a fight with the Griffon king, and in lesser extent, his people. Nay, we must allow the trial to commence while we look into the threat in the garden." She said as Twilight gasped. "That's right!" She turned to Blueblood and Grimbeak. "How could you two demand a trial when there's something dangerous in the castle right now?!" Blueblood, for the first time, looked unprofessional as he frowned. "I thought that was these buffoons down here that caused the explosion. If not them, than who?" "I'm not sure, what do you think Gilda?" Grimbeak said, looking to where Gilda was noticing she was gone. wait...what? "Where did that layabout go?!" Grimbeak demanded as Daybreaker turned to Luna with a slight look of curiosity. "Dear sister..." She began, earning a glare from Luna. "We are not thou sister, demon." Luna said, causing Daybreaker to chuckle. "Perhaps not, Luna. But have you thought about how odd all of this is? There just happens to be some sort of problem in the gardens at the same time this king demands a trial from Ronin?" Luna, although frowning, nodded her head. "Tis true, it seems to be very suspiciously timed. But the decision has already been made. While Ronin and his herd go to the trial, we will go to the gardens and save the pegasus that is held captive there." As those two spoke about plans, I looked to the Griffon king and sighed. "So, where's the trial being held?" He smiled and motioned towards the door. "We will hold it here as soon as the external parties leave." Chrysalis walked up next to me and gave me a look as she eyed Grimbeak. "I have need to speak with my herdmate...in private." The Griffon shrugged and walked over to the prince, who was currently ordering the just returning Bellflower to look into the garden issue. After the Griffon was put of range of our voices, Chrysalis glared at me. "What the hell is going through your thick skull, summoning that Daybreaker without telling me or the others first?!" I groaned. "Chrysi, it was the best thing to do. You, of everyone here, knows about what Celestia has done to deserve locked up mentally." Redheart and Pinkie joined us, the latter looked very exhausted. Wonder why Pinkie looks so tired... I couldn't help but think as Redheart spoke. "Ronin, I understand there being a grudge between Chrysalis and Celestia, but was it really necessary to swap her mind out with...that?" She pointed to Daybreaker, who was watching Raiden and his group of two mares prepare to leave. I nodded. "In my opinion, yes. Though I definitely should've told y'all first." I said as Pinkie smiled. "It's alright, Ronin! It's not like you helped an evil queen or anything." She thought about that for a second as Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "...Again, anyway." I smiled, but stopped as the lavender unicorn walked over while Raiden and Luna seemed to be arguing about who would investigate the garden. "Could I talk with Pinkie for a second?" She asked as we all looked to each other before Chrysalis nodded. "Sure...but make it quick. We are not done giving Ronin a hard time, and we would like to finish before the trial starts." She said as Pinkie was pulled to the side by Twilight. Redheart turned back to me as they conversed, a slight frown on her face. "So, how intimate have you been with Daybreaker without us knowing?" She asked, not a hint of hesitation in her voice as I groaned. *************** Raiden POV *************** Today had so far blown everything out of the water. From Goldspoon selling us out to some evil power, to Ronin (and me and Nicholas potentially) being FROM Equestria and it's neighbouring kingdoms! It was a lot to take in, and I for one needed a plan to organize at least some of the current chaos, so Luna and I planned strategy while Twilight went to get Pinkie. "Thou is not approaching the garden alone." Luna exclaimed as I face-plamed. "Luna, he asked for a human. And that means me." "To be fair, you don't look like a human." Twilight said as she and Pinkie approached. We turned to them as Luna smiled. "Ah, Twilight. Now that Laughter is here, We can bring up the next topic: Daybreaker." For some reason, that name gave me shivers everytime it was spoken, though it was a topic that needed to be discussed, and Twilight looked pretty ready to discuss it. "Princess, with all due respect, that...whatever she is isn't Princess Celestia." She turned to me, and I could see the anger in her eyes. "What was Ronin thinking, pulling something like this and?" I groaned, remembering countless times he would be rash in his decision making when we were younger. "He almost never thinks about things for the long run, just short term most of the time. But this easily blows everything else out of the water." Pinkie frowned. "C'mon, guys. Ronin has to have a very good reason for changing Celestia...right?" She turned to Twilight, who shoke her head. "Pinkie...I know your in a herd with him, but what Ronin did wasn't exactly good guy behavior. Add that to the murders he is in trial for and..." She trailed off, causing me to look at her carefully. "And what?" I asked, curious as to what was on her mind. She looked up at me slowly as I noticed a hint of worry in her eyes. "Raiden...is Ronin the type of man to hurt others just for the sake of it?" She asked me as Pinkie gasped and my eyes went wide. "What? No! Sure, he has a warped sense of justice half the time, but he's not a cold blooded murderer." I exclaimed. "The trial states otherwise." I heard Luns mutter, earning a glare from me as Pinkie narrowed her eyes at Twilight. "Twilight! You can't say that about Ronin! He's a good person!" She stated as Twilight frowned and returned the glare back at her. "Pinkie, he killed several ponies a month ago, and now replaced Celestia with a alternate version of Nightmare Moon!" She stated while I looked to Luna. "And that's another thing. I thought Celestia was pretty much this worlds god or something. How'd she get overpowered by Ronin and Daybreaker?" I asked her as her eyes narrowed in thought before they widened. "The guard from earlier said Daybreaker started the...love fest from earlier. Perhaps she tapped into Ronin's love magic." She stated as Twilight gasped. "Wait a second. Does that mean Ronin is powering her with his own love magic?" She exclaimed as I nodded. "Indeed. No wonder Celestia was overpowered. She was double-teamed by both Daybreakers own magic and Ronin's collective love he stores from his herd." I said as Luna gasped. "That would mean she is currently being powered off it now, and the only way to free Celestia would be to..." "Stop the source of love itself, which would be Ronin." I stated, causing Pinkie to back away slightly. "No...There has to be another way! Maybe Daybreaker isn't that bad? Or Celestia deserves to be locked away..." Pinkie Pie said, though it sounded like she was close to tears. Twilight, however, wasn't having it. "Pinkie, if we don't disconnect Ronin from Daybreaker, then Princess Celestia might never come back!" She pointed to Ronin and his herd, who were currently arguing about the trial. "We need you to ask Chrysalis about the love connections changelings can make. If there's a way to disconnect the two without hurting Ronin, she would know." Pinkie looked down and pawed at the ground slightly, her eyes having a dejected look to them. "I don't know, Twilight. This feels wrong to to this behind their backs." Twilight rested a hoof on Pinkie Pies shoulder and smiled softly. "Pinkie, as elements of harmony, it's our job to protect Equestria. If we don't bring back Celestia, who's gonna rule the kingdom during the day?" Luna frowned. "We would not advise letting Daybreaker on the throne." She said, stealing a glance at said pony that was currently looking around the throne room with an observant eye, likely taking everything in. "We cannot trust her, Laughter. And we need our sister back if more of these problems we are facing are to surface." Pinkie sighed, looking up at me, and in doing so let me see the extreme exhaustion that was present in her eyes. "Raiden...If Ronin was to become a bad guy, could you be able to hurt him?" I went to answer with a solid no, but found myself pausing. WOULD I be able to hurt him, or even kill him, if he threatened Luna or Nicholas or any of our friends? And if so, what does that say about our relationship as a family? I sighed. "Pinkie, while I doubt Ronin would go mass murderer on everyone, if it came down to it then yes, I would be able to hurt him. But only to protect those I care about." I said softly. This was enough for her, for her mane seemed to inflate a bit as she smiled. "Thanks Raiden...I'll go and ask Chrysi about the love connect-whatzit and see if we can break it without hurting Ronin." With that, she turned and hopped towards her herd, leaving us to stew on the discussion. "Well, now that that's oit of the way, we need to go to the gardens and meet with our...uninvited guest." I said as Luna prepped a teleport spell, but before she casted it she looked over to Grimbeak first, then over to Daybreaker. "Let us hope nothing goes wrong while we investigate this issue." She said as she warped us out of the room. ***************** Nicholas POV ***************** "Is everypony in position?" Octavia exclaimed from the wheel of the ship. We had finished loading things (like subwoofers and other gear) onto the ship and were about to take off. "All clear up here!" Roxas yelled happily from the mast as I chuckled. boy reeeally likes that spot. "Ready at the bow!" Axel called out, though a hint of melancholy was evident in his voice, and considering what apparently happened with Larxene, I don't blame him. "The poop deck is secure, I repeat, the poop deck is secure!" Tak reported from the...well, poop deck. I looked to Octavia and smiled. "We're ready for liftoff." She got a big smile on her face and stomped her hoof on the flooring, alerting our guard friend below that we were ready for liftoff. Now, underneath the ship were these circles that kinda looked like the wheels of a Mario Kart 8 vehicle in float mode, and I had never thought about what they did until now as we started moving. There was a low humming that sounding like buildup for a dubstep song as we slowly started to float up higher. "6T! Untie the anchor!" Octavia bellowed. Tak did a two-finger salute and undid the knot before pulling the anchor up onto the ship and depositing it on a side wall. Octavia looked off to the side area of the warehouse at a slightly familiar mint unicorn. "Heartstrings, open the roof!" Said Heartstrings pulled a lever near her, causing the roof over the place to contract enough for the airship to fly out of the warehouse with that wub-like sound still going. I turned to Octavia. "How is this thing floating in the air?" She smiled and tapped the floorboards. "We have a recording of Vinyl's beats going right now, and since the ship runs on music, that's how it operates." Well that's cool. I thought as I looked at the city we were flying over. With the sun being right in the middle of the sky, I was able to see all of Canterlots beauty. "Whooaaa." I exclaimed, to Octavias amusement. "Isn't it beautiful, Nicholas." She said as looked back at her with a wide grin on my face. "It's absolutely amazing!" I yelled happily, earning a giggle from the grey mare before me. "I'm glad your enjoying yourself." She said before getting serious. "Now, we're about to be above the center plaza of the whole city. This will be the easiest place to play your music and get everyone's attention." She said as she notioned behind me to my DJ set I had set up before the take-off. "You and you friends better get ready." I nodded with a smile before turning to the front of the ship. "Alright, guys, Get ready!" I called out as I climbed down from the steering perch. Roxas climbed down from mast while Tak and Axel met us halfway. "So, what's the game plan?" Axel asked us as I smiled. "I have a perfect song set up for this, but since it's an earth song, how are you guys gonna play along?" I asked before Octavia butted in from above. "Your Instruments are linked with Nicholas's DJ set. All you have to do is play them and you'll automatically be in tune with the song he's playing." She stated as Tak frowned. "That fixes that, but how do you know that song will work? We have one shot, and I'd rather not lose another potential father." He said as I nodded. "I know, my brothers on the chopping block if we screw this up. But this song started a whole movement when it came out, so I know it will work...it has to." They all smiled and nodded as Roxas spoke up. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He put his hand forward. "For our friends." Tak nodded, his face one of hope, as he put his hand top of the one Roxas put out. "For the hive." Axel, who had been smiling before, now sighed and put his hand on top of. Taks. "For Larxene." I took a deep breath as emotions ran through my mind: fear, excitement, happiness...freedom. I was feeling it all, and it was exhilarating! I put my hand on top of the pile of fingers. "For family." Let's save my brother. **************** No POV **************** Now, you have to be asking at this point...what about Fluttershy? With all the insanity that has been going on, It could be easy to forget her. Said mare was perfectly safe right now, if her having tea with a small amount of small critters was anything to go by. "Oh yes, Mr.Squirrel. You can have another cup." She said softly she poured another cup for her mammal friend, the small critter chattered out a thank you, to the delight of the animal whisperer herself. Fluttershy then turned to a bigger guest that stood out among the others. Now, when a tall human that Fluttershy didn't recognize appeared out of nowhere, it had scared her badly. (She had almost broke her tea set in the rush to hide behind a tree!) However, when the man found her, he smiled and introduced himself. His name was Tarus, and he was waiting for her human friends. He claimed he knew about them and could help them find out more about their past. After hearing such news, Fluttershy invited him to sit with her for a spot of tea. After all, what sort of hostess would she be if she didn't treat such a nice human to some refreshments. Of course, The fact that he wore clothing that looked eerily like pony fur set off the mood slightly. But when asked about it, he laughed heartily and said it was fake (A souvenir from Griffonia, how exotic!). This calmed her down and allowed her to resume being friendly with the rather tall man as she was currently pouring him some tea. "Here you are, Mr.Tarus." She said, pouring a fresh cup of tea into his outstretched cup. He sniffed it before smiling at her. "Ahhh. Just like mom used to make." He sighed before taking a long sip. After finishing, he put the cup down and looked to her. "Ms. Fluttershy, I must say, your tea is to kill for." The way he said such things so easily made her a tad uneasy, but considering she had already heard Ronin say something similar involving Angel bunny and cooking him, it was apparent that violent phrases were a human thing. "Thank you." She said meekly, hiding behind her mane to avoid staring into the oddly souless eyes of her guest. Said guest was now looking around quite expectantly, as if he expected guests very soon. "No problem. Now where could they be? I told them an hour, and yet no humans." Fluttershy tilted her head, unsure of what he meant. "Why are you waiting for Raiden and the others?" He stopped looking around and focused on Fluttershy before standing up, making his ripped physique all the more intimidating...and hot, by Fluttershys personal opinion. Her animal friends didn't share the same opinion, and fled immediately, to her dismay. "I need to have a...conversation with one of them, and it needs to happen soon." He said, a tone of malice in his voice. It was then Fluttershy felt a cold chill run through her causing her to shiver, though she shook it off, blaming the tea. As she stared at the man who now was silent, she couldn't help but feel worried about Nicholas. Was he ok? There had been a loud explosion about an hour ago and she had been hiding here ever since. She shook her head. Don't be silly. He had his friends, and he was safe in the castle with the princesses. As she looked up towards the sunny sky she smiled. Nothing could possibly go wrong today. > Chapter 55: Trial by metal KFC bucket. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* "That doesn't make any sense!" Chrysalis snarled as she paced around the room we were in. After we had settled the whole problem of whether or not I could actually go on trial, the girls and I had been moved to a room nearby the throne room while they got the room ready for the trial. And to pass the time, we were attempting to make sense of all the things that had happened recently, to little to no avail. "Calm down, Chrysi." I said as I lounged on a couch that looked familiar, though I had to pull glass shards from it before sitting on it for some reason. "Ronin's right." Redheart, who was snuggled up on my right, said cautiously as to not frustrate the already tense Queen. "I'll admit learning that Ronin is indeed from Griffonia is startling, but it's nothing to lose our heads about. We need to focus on bigger issues that have come up." Pinkie, who was on my left and was receiving a back massage from my left hand, frowned a bit as she looked up at me. "Him being a Griffon does explains the wings though..." She gave me a lustful gaze as she leaned into me with her back. "...and his skills in bed." This stops Chrysalis in her tracks, forcing her to look at Pinkie in shock. "Are you feeling alright, Pinkie? I'm usually the one who makes sexual comments to Ronin at the worst times, not you." "It's true, she does it relentlessly." I said before looking at Pinkie with mild concern while ignoring the mild glare from Chrysalis. "You've been acting odd recently, though I have to wonder if its because of all this trial crap or something else." Pinkie looked away and sighed, her hair deflating slightly. "I dont know. I've been feeling strange since a couple of days ago." Redheart, our friendly healer of the group, was the first to react, unsurprisingly. "What sort of symptoms do you have?" Pinkie narrowed her eyes at the ceiling in deep thought for a moment before looking to Redheart with an answer. "Um...I've had some weird feelings in my tummy that have made me throw up, amd I've also been flipping betweeen happy and angry easier." Redheart nodded while writing on a notepad she pulled from...somewhere. "So, you have vomiting and mood swings." She said as Pinkie nodded. Redheart chewed on a pencil in thought before her eyes went wide as she looked between Pinkie and I. "What is it?" Chrysalis stated as she walked over and moved Pinkie to my lap with a levitation spell, ignoring Pinkies yelp of suprise, and snuggled up to me as Redheart put down her notepad. "Ronin...how many times have you slept with Pinkie, and how often?" She asked me as I frowned at the left field question. That was NOT gonna be an easy question to answer. I groaned mentally as I heard Chrysalis, and about six hundred changelings in my head, giggle at my misfortune. They better be glad I'm busy, or I'd do...something! I shrugged as I used right hand to rub Pinkies head, as said pony was now pressed up to my chest as she looked at Redheart. "I dont know, but it's at least ten times." I said, causing her jaw to drop. "T-ten?!" She asked before looking between Pinkie and I again. "Now wonder she's showing signs of pregnacy!" She said before covering her mout with a hoof, but it was too late. Time froze as I felt the air around me thicken. Pregnant? Nonononono, that can't be happening! I'm a damn human, and she's a pink pony! How would that even... I groaned as my head started to hurt. Pinkie was confused and looked to be slightly freaking out at the sudden news. "But how could I be pregnant? Ronin isn't a pony. How would that even work?!" Chrysalis sighed as she put a hoof on Pinkies shoulder. "I have an answer to that, Pinkie. When Ronin became a changeling, he must've inherited our ability to reproduce with any species." Pinkie blinked for a second before looking straight at the ground, unmoving as her hair deflated. I picked her up while standing up, placed her where I was sitting, and knelt down in front of her so I could see her face. "Are you ok?" I asked her as she looked at me in slight shock. "Ok? OK?! Do I LOOK like I'm ok?! I just found out I might be pregnant! I can't be pregnant, not yet! We haven't married, you haven't managed to get a job that can support our herd AND a whole species yet." Chrysalis snorted at this, making me glare at her before looking back to Pinkie, who was now looking close to hyperventilating. "Not to mention that you may DIE today!" She was about to continue rambling on when I cut in. "Pinkie." I said seriously, causing her and the other two to looke at me. "You being pregnant may not be something we counted for, or even wanted at this point, but IF it's true than there's not much we can do. If anything, it gives us more motivation to keep me alive through this trial." Redheart nuzzled Pinkies cheek as she smiled softly. "Ronin is correct. We don't even know if you are pregnant, though I do have the materials necessary to test you right here." She pulled a mini bag from somewhere, though this time I didn't keep silent about the weirdness of doing so. "Where the hell are you pulling that stuff from?" I asked as she turned to me with smile. "Oh, just my prision wallet." She said nonchalantly as she started going through the bag as Chrysalis and I looked at each other for a moment, then back to Redheart. Prison wallet...Ok then. Definitely NOT something I'd thought I'd hear in this world. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as Redheart pulled out a pregnancy test and looked to Pinkie. "Alright, now all we do is go to the nearest bathroom and see if your really pregnant." Chrysalis frowned. "Why can't you just test her here? That's how changelings test for fertility." She stated as I shook my head, disgusted by the thought. "Nope! I am not watching you stick a medical stick up her glory hole, so please go find a bathroom." I said as Pinkie giggled and Redheart rolled her eyes as they got up and walked out the room with a quiet click of the door opening and closing. For a moment, it was quiet. Then Chrysalis spoke up. "We need to discuss something...important." She said as I looked to her, slightly confused. "Like what?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "Daybreaker." Shit. "Uh...what about her?" I asked as I fiund myself staring into the unamused eyes of Chrysalis. "What about her? Oh, I don't know, how about the fact that you went behind my back and transformed Celestia into...that thing." She stated as I sighed. "It needed to happen. We both know what Celestia did to the hive a thousand years ago." I replied as her eyes went wide. "How did you...Melfesia, right." She shook her head. "Did mother happen to tell you what Celestia looked like when she burned down that hive?" I went to answer, but stopped. She hadn't, just that it was her. Noticing ny lack of an answer, she continued. "Then I shall enlighten you. She looked exactly like Daybreaker." It was my turn to be suprised. "If Daybreaker killed the hive before, why is she helping me now?" Chrysalis sighed and looked down. "I don't know, Ronin." She said with a slight chuckle before looking away. "It's funny, ever since I became this...cartoony form that line seems to be all I ever can say." She said, her tone sounding extremely negative as her ears splayed against her head. I frowned and pulled her into a hug. "Chrysi...I'm sorry about going behind your back with all of this, but what's the worst Daybreaker can do?" She pulled away slightly and looked me in the eyes, what was sorrow earlier was now slight annoyance. "That mare is many things, and to answer your question...a lot." I groaned as I leaned back on the couch. Chrysalis, noticing this, immediately followed suit amd sprawled out on top of me. Almost as a pure reflex, I reached out and started scratching behind her ears, causing her to coo slightly. "Chrysi...how do you feel about all of this. Not just Daybreaker, but me as well. I apparently come from Griffonia, have a twisted side of myself that nearly killed you and Nurse earlier, and now I changed you into this white butterfly pony thing." Chrysalis smiled softly as she nuzzled my face. "Ronin, I do not regret saving you in that courtyard, and to be honest this body is kinda nice. It even caught the eye of your brother Raiden." She said as I frowned. "Ew. The fact that he gave you the bedroom eyes alone made me wanna barf." Chrysalis laughed. "Indeed. The fool really thought he had a chance with me for a second. I could TASTE his lust for me." She sighed as she ran a hoof down my plated exo-suit. "I could care less the armour you dawn, or your origin story. I love you for who you are." I smiled, deeply moved by her words. I grabbed her by her sides and pulled her closer to me while moving my hands down her spine, eliciting a moan from her. "Oh, Chrysi...You always know how to make a man feel loved." I said as she leaned in and kissed me passionately. After about five minutes, we broke apart as she gave looked around before grinning at me. "That pregnancy test shall take a while. Why don't we find a way to pass the time? I don't know about you, but I am particularly famished and could go for a meal right now." She said as she eyed me hungrily. I grinned wide as I realized I would be getting a show before my trial. "Very well, lets not keep the Queen under now." I said as she started to snake her way down my body. I Really hope there isn't any guards near the doors. **************** Raiden POV **************** We found ourselves at the entrance to the gardens, though neither of us moved an inch. With Ronin and his girls awaiting the trial to start, Twilight and Luna had accompanied me to confront the threat that was here. Daybreaker, on the other hand, ended up staying in the throne room to deal with another frozen land issue, this time it was near the ocean. Luna was the first to speak. "We feel something here, and we do not like it." It was true. She had been shaking slighty since entering the garden. Whatever was here had a strong enough aura to make a celestial body moving princess worried. I turned to Twilight, who was currently watching Luna with worry. "Twi, I think I forgot my axes in the throne room. Could you go get them before we go any farther?" She looked up at me and nodded. "Alright, but don't do anything until I get back." She said as she vanished with a flash of puprle light. I turned to Luna, a solemn look on my face. "Can you put up an barrier around the garden or something that blocks out magic?" She nodded and, with a flash of her horn, created a blue bubble around the entire garden. "You know Twilight will be upset that you tricked her like that." She said as I shrugged before starting to walk deeper into the garden. "It was for her own safety. That, and we have a LOT to discuss that needs to stay between us." I stated as she started to follow beside me. "What does thou mean?" She asked as I stopped and turned to her, ready to discuss some of the things that had occured recently. "Ah! You've arrived! I was worried you wouldn't show!" A loud voice called from in front of us. We turned to the source of the yell to find a sight I thought I'd never see. It was another human! Though this guy seemed more...ethereal somehow. Not just because he towered over me and luna by a head or two, or even the fact the man was wearing HORSE leather for clothing. No, what stood out was the fact that the mans whole right arm and hand was all bones and no flesh. "Who the hell are you?" I asked, almost not wanting an answer. He eyed me carefully, looking like he was sizing me up, before frowning. "Your one of them, alright. Though how you became a damned dragon is beyond me. Perhaps our lovely lady here had something to do with that." He laughed, pointing to Luna with his good hand. "I wonder, how much about her past do you know?" Luna growled. "We are royalty, and will not be talked to like this by a scoundrel like you!" She stated as the man put a hand to his chest. "Scoundrel, moi?" He said in a faux hurt tone. "You wound me, Luna. But that question was referred to our dear friend here. Does HE know about how far you went for 'true love' centuries ago?" Luna flinched as I raised an eyebrow. Centuries ago? Wouldn't that be Dadiolus then? But she said he caused the problems back then. "Luna, what does he mean?" I asked as she sighed, looking at the ground while pawing at it slightly. The man laughed even louder in response to this. "You seriously haven't told him? Do you want a repeat of the Callobrim incident? Because I seriously am getting sick of seeing you and Celestia's love lives enter Tartarus." He said as Luna looked up in shock. "No...thou can't be him!" She said, fear starting to appear in her tone as I looked between them. "Uh..Am I missing something, because who are you?" I asked the man as he turned to me and flashed a decayed smile (the dude had black TEETH...BLACK TEETH!). "Since your marefriend doesn't tell you anything, it falls to me to tell you the rest." He smiled as he grabbed a squirrel from the ground that was skittering by and held it up. "My name is Tarus, watcher of Tartarus and eater of souls. I have been searching for a human that has been exposed to dark magic, seen him anywhere?" He's talking about Ronin...though I can't let him know he's nearby. I shrugged. "That would be my brother, but he might've left the city already. He was just accused of a crime and the guy had been planning an escape." Tarus growled and looked away. "Damn, and I was hoping to use my little friend as a bargaining tool...oh well." He turned to an odd clearing. "Fluttershy, you may come out now." A soft gasp was heard from in between some trees, followed by a giggle. "I am not Fluttershy, I am a tree." What the... So that explains the pegasus that was talked about while Goldspoon was possessed, though it seems that she is doing pretty ok and definitely NOT dead. Tarus sighed before shaking his head. "Element bearer, I know I said you could pretend to be a tree and I'd water you, but we have guests that I know you know." With that, Fluttershys head popped out from inside a tree before she flew over gracefully, landing in front of us. "Oh! Hello, Raiden." She turned to Luna and bowed. "Hello, princess." Luna sighed. "Please don't bow to us, kindess. it is not necessary after you saved us from Nightmare Moon." Tarus narrowed his eyes after she said that as he growled lightly. "Fluttershy, would you mind going to get us some more tea from the royal kitchen? We don't have enough to accommodate everyone that has arrived." He said as Fluttershy beamed at him. "Ok, Mr. Tarus. I'll be right back." With that, she flew off, leaving us alone with the underworld tyrant. Tarus sighed. "That mare is too pure to see the bloodshed that will be commenced soon." He said as I frowned. "Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow at me, looking suprisingly shocked. "What? I'm the lord of the dead. When a lot of poeple, or ponies, are about to die, I get this tingly sensation in my belly." He pats his stomach three times. "A gods gotta eat." What? Did he just say he's a... "God? Thou surely jest." Luna said for me as Tarus frowned before pointing at me. "Enough. I will not have you blasphemise me right here. Tell me the exact location of where your brothers are or die." He growled as I smirked, summoning my axes and readying myself for a fight. He raised an eyebrow at the show before rolling his eyes. "Don't do this, kid. I didn't come here for you." He said as Luna summoned the mace she had used against Volt and smirked. "Tis too bad. We find you guilty of attempted murder in two accounts, the element of kindness and most probably Raidens brother, and this cannot stand." I wasted no time rushing him after Luna finished her sentence, swinging my left-hand axe right at his chest and landing it there with a sickening thud. "Ha! So much for a...god?" I said as the wound started to heal around the axe, forcing it out of his chest. He sighed as he stared into my eyes. "I only came here to kill ONE human, but it seems two will have to do." He said as waved his hand, causing some unseen force to throw me back where I was, landing on my back with an oof, before turning to Luna. "Princess, you must stop trying to get your mates killed. I can only hold so many souls in Tartarus that are your consorts, after all." He didn't give her a time to reply though as he started shaking and convulsing while a black aura surrounded him. I swear you could hear what sounded like people screaming as the black stuff enveloped him and got bigger...and bigger. "What's happening?" I asked as I felt myself starting to regret attacking a guy who said he was a god. Luna frowned and took a battle stance as she turned to me. "Raiden, stay alert. Whatever comes out of that black fog cannot be allowed in the castle. We must defeat it here!" I nodded and turned my attention to the now gigantic black blob in front of us ad the blackness dispersed. "What the hell is that?!" I yelled as I set my sights on the thing that remained after the transformation. ************** Nicholas POV ************** We were now floating right above the city as we prepared to perform. Octavia told us to prepare while she connected our gear to the ships speakers. "So, what's the plan?" Axel asked me as we were huddled on the poop deck (hehe). I turned to Tak and smiled. "You have the mic, so you'll need to sing." Tak frowned. "But what song? I doubt I know any songs that will work." I grinned. "I have a song in mind, but how fast can you learn it?" He smirked. "Give me about five minutes with it, I can remember anything." he stated proudly as Roxas cheered...from the top of the mast. "Alright! Lets get some love!" Axel frowned as he looked up at him. "Why do you keep going up there? GET DOWN!" Tal and I laughed as we climbed up to the steering area where my DJ set, and a working Octavia, was currently at. She turned to us as we approached and grinned, holding out...no way. "Here! I added a jack function for headphones. These were a newer brand Vinyl made for the public listen to her wubs without disturbing others." She said as I happily grabbed the ear buds and ran over to my set. I found a jack on the front and plugged it in before getting behind it and connecting with it. Now for the song. I thought as the ultimate song came to mind. I felt my power flow into the set as I heard the sing start to play in the buds. I waved Tak iver and gave him the buds. "Listen to this and memorize it, I'm gonna check on the guys." I said as I dropped down to the poopdeck as Octavia went into the control room. Looking up, I was able to see that Axel had proceeded to climb the mast to grab a quite defiant Roxas. I chuckled before feeling that cold feeling return, except this time it was stronger. Help me... That voice from before stated, causing me to shiver. Last time I heard that I ended up nearly passing our at the boutique before having that nightmare... Oh no. It couldn't be her, right? Tak said he shielded my mind! I was slowly starting to panic. What if I freeze up during the performance? What if that lady actually appears?! What if- "Nicholas!" I was snapped back to reality by Axel and Roxas, who had both gotten down and were staring at me. "Dude...are you alright?" Roxas asked, his voice drowned in concern. "I'm fine, just a bit worried about the show." I said as Axel shrugged. "No worries. We just play a song and the ponies love us. it's simple." I sighed and walked over to the ledge, looking over the city. If only it was that simple Axel. I thought as I recalled where the girls were. I hope the girls are ok...though Diamond Tiara is easily gonna kill me, so maybe I shouldn't rush too fast to get this done. *********** Ronin POV *********** I must've conked out, because I was awoken by guards knocking on the door to escort Chrysalis and myself to the throne room where the trial would take place. After being moved to the throne room, I noticed the changes that had taken place. Unlike a normal court room, the positioning of seats was different. The defendant (me) was standing at a podium that was ten yards from another podium in front of me. There were two sets of jury seats (one in my left and one in my right), though they were being used for audience seating instead. Chrysalis was led to the seating on the left where Redheart and Pinkie were already sitting. Noticing that Pinkie had this far off gaze, I made eye contact with Redheart. What were the results? I mouthed at her. Thankfully, she seemed to understand what i was asking. She lookes to Pinkie Pie with a big smile before turning back to me and nodding. Congratulations. She mouthed excitedly, causing my eyes to bug out as I almost got a heart attack. Holy...I'm gonna be a dad. Well, a complete father, considering the drones only count about fifty percent. I looked to the right side of the room and noticed two sets of families in the second seating. No doubt those are the witnesses Blueblood mentioned. I thought as I looked forward and noticed Grimbeak taking center stage at the podium in front of me. He spread his talons out wide, a big and slighty creepy smile on his face. "Greetings! We are gathered here today in defense of one young man for his actions a month ago. But before we begin, I must remind everyone that this is a GRIFFONIAN trial, and it will be ran slightly differently than your pony trials." He pauses to take a breather as the pistons on his wings wheezed in complaint to his movements. Looking behind him, I noticed Blueblood and Gilda. The latter was standing guard next to the former, who was relaxing on the throne with a bored expression. Snide asshole. I thought as I noticed that the sunlight in the room looked like it was starting to turn orange, the first sign of sunset approaching. Which reminded me, where the fresh hell is Daybreaker? She had teleported out of the throne room before when we had all left, but unless she was with Raiden then she was AWOL right now. Clearing his throat, and getting the attention of everyone again, Grimbeak continued. "Now, if anycreature that is not in a relationship with the defendant would wish to serve as Ronin's defense, they should take center stage and appear now." He said before adding. "Oh, and I should mention that if you become his defense, you WILL share the fate of him and his herd." Silence rang out through the room for a noment until a purple light flashed into the center of the room, revealing Twilight. Gasps were gasped by the several ponies as she looked around before turning to me. "Ronin, do you know where Raidens axes are? He said he left them somewhere, but I can't find them..." She stated as I blinked in suprise. "Uh...Twilight." I said slowly, worried about whether or not she knew what she just signed up for. "You know Raidens axes are magical, right? He just summons them. If he told you to get them, he was just trying to send you away for some reason." I let that sink in, watching her face go from shock, to denial, to anger. "W-What? But that's...RAIDEN!" She yelled the last bit as Grimbeak grinned. "Well, it looks like the Element of magic herself has taken the role as defense!" He said making Twilight spin around to face him. "Wait, WHAT!" She yelled in suprise as Chrysalis stood. "Objection! I wish for somepony else to assist Ronin." She pointed to Twilight with a glare. "That lavender idiot might make him lose on purpose, just to spite me!" Twilight frowned at Chrysalis. "And why would I do that?! If I did, Pinkie Pie and Nurse Redheart would get hurt as well." She turned to Grimbeak. "Though I can't accept this role, I'm needed back in the gardens." Grimbeak smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Needed enough to be sent on a wild goose chase?" Twilight looked down, a sad look on her face. "Thought so. Now, with the defense appointed. we can now start the trial!" I gulped slightly as Twilight came to stand beside my podium. There was no turning back now. I would either be hit with a death sentence or pardoned for my actions so long ago. It was time to face the music. > Chapter 56: Enter the wendigo queen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* Grimbeak smiled and stood tall at the podium as he looked over the whole room before his eyes fell on me. "Welcome, everyone. It's with great pleasure I announce the start of ths trial. In this trial, we will attempt to find out if Ronin is guilty or innocent of the crime known as murder." He said as he looked to over to Blueblood. "For the offense, I call Prince Lunaris Blueblood!" Said prince stood and walked to the center of the room as he stopped in front of Grimbeak. He nodded to the Griffon before turning to the ponies that were on my right with a veeeery faked sorrowful face (at least to me, anyway. The ponies in the stands looked like they believed it.) "My fellow ponies! I come to you today ro do what the royal sisters failed to." He points a hoof at me as he continued. "I plan to do everything I can to prove this monster guilty of killing your family in cild blood." The ponies he was talking either nodded in agreement, gsve me dirty looks, or in the case of the mares, cried slightly at the reminder if the event itself. Twilight, who was now standing next to me since she accidently became my lawyer, looked up at me with a concerned look on her face. "Ronin, how are we supposed to prove you innocent? I can't think of anything that would get you out of this." She said as I sighed as I caught a massive glare from what had to be a mother in the stands, if only because of the foal sitting next to her. "Twilight...I'm not gonna be found innocent because I am guilty." I stated, but put up a hand to stop her reaction. "Let me finish." She nodded as Blueblood started going over some of thr details of the day I attacked the castle alongside Monsoon. "You see, I'm not doing this for me." I pointed to the girls overbin the other stands. Chrysalis was giving Blueblood one of the coldest glares I have ever seen while Redheart talked quietly with Pinkie, both of them looking beyond scared. "I'm doing it to find a way to keep them safe. If I can find a way to keep them out of the punishment, then it works out." Twilight frowned. "Don't you have an escape plan though?" She asked as Blueblood called for a witness from another part of the castle. Huh...wonder who it is? I nodded. "Yeah, but if I leave without ensuring the girls safety, Blueblood might try to punish thrm the same way using that stupid corporal punishment mentality Grimbeak has." Twilight gulped as she looked at the king with a grimace. "That Griffon...Every time I look at him, it feels like he should be the one standing on trial for murder, nor you." I shrugged as the doors opened and that same hornless unicorn walked in, escorted by two guards who wore silver armour. Wait...silver? I havent seen that type around here, just the sun and moon colored ones. Who the hell are those guys? They turned to Blueblood and saluted before turning and marching out the door as the pony that walked in took center stage. He cleared hia throat before turning to me. "My name is North Star." Seriously? "I was there on the day this...thing appeared in the court yard. He and another one were arguing before he kicked the other, causing our captain to order us to attack." He shuddered slightly. "How were we to know that this monster would be so ruthless, so uncaring about the life of others? I still have nightmares about when I looked into his emotionless eyes as he snapped my horn off and discarded my like garbage." He turned away with an audible sob. The story had its effect, because the ponies in the stands were looking wither saddened or enraged, though suprisingly they kept quiet. Blueblood turned to the guard and nodded. "That is all, North Star. You may leave now." The guard nodded before wlaking out of the room as the prince looked to me. "As my next witness, I call none other than the fiend himself, Ronin!" Gasps could be heard from throughout the room as I stood and walked to the center. I looked to Chrysalis, who was now holding Pinkie in her hooves with a worried look on her face. I smiled weakly at her and mouthed the words "Don't worry" before turning to the stand of ponies. "Afternoon everyone." I said, receiving glares from all of them, causing me to wince slightly. "I'm going to be honest, I'm not here to prove myself innocent." Looks of suprise came on most of their faces, while the rest kept glaring as I continued. "No, I am here to simply ensure those I love aren't punished for my misdeeds." I motioned to the girls. "They had no part in any of this, for it was only me who decided to spill blood. I was under orders to attack, not kill. Yet I killed anyway simply bacause I could." I looked to Blueblood. "Any reason you hate me could easily be justified, and I doubt I could ever prove you otherwise. But please don't hurt innocent bystanders to get me hanging on a nooze or something." I turned back to the crowd of eight in the stands. "Those three beautiful ladies haven't done anything wrong. If your gonna execute me, so be it. But let them live...please." They looked back at me in suprise, peobably not expecting me to beg for them to safe anyone other than myself. Then one spoke up, an older mare. "My grandson was one of the guards you killed that day, you know. He lost his parents to a couple of robbers a while back and I had been raising him since. But as I look into your eyes I just can't see the monster that supposedly killed him. I just see a wounded stallion that lost his way long ago." She sat down and sighed, noticing the looks of shock from her fellow ponies. "Now, I'm not defending him or saying he didn't do it, the stallion admitted to doing so himself after all. I'm only saying that you all should remember our families made an oath when they became guards to serve until death or retirement, and thats what my grandson did. He served his country proud and fought to the very end, and I for one know that this young colt was only doing the same." I, alongside pretty much everyone else, was shocked. This lady knew I had killed her grandkid, yet she was willing to see the moral grey line in-between...but why? A stallion near her spoke up. "Just because our kids signed up as guards doesnt mean they get to die without repercussions to the ones who did them in!" "No one is saying that!" Twilight stated as she walked up next to me. She turned to Grimbeak. "Permission to speak, your honor." Said Griffon shrugged. "Why not? These sort of things don't have much rules anyway, just as long as both sides say their piece." Twilight nodded before facing the ponies in the stands. "My brother served as a captain of the guard before he married and went to the crystal empire. My parents were constantly worried that one day he'd end up going to war or fighting something he couldn't beat." She turned to Chrysalis. "Then one day that threat came, not in the form of a beast or sword swinging murderer, but a tyrant that had tricked a Queen into attacking a wedding. I almost lost my brother and my friends that day, all because they were simply present when it happened." She sighed and looked at the ponies with a tired expression. "Accidentally or not, I am now my clients defense team, and even if I can't prove him innocent, I can say this." She looked up at me and smiled. "After the events of the wedding, Ronin went to Ponyville for a month, where he proceeded to befriend and fall in love with the ponies there. He worked to help provide a home for a species that was on the brink of exinction, all the while defending the town and its ponies from threats that could've easily hurt them...or worse." She let that sit in the room for a moment before turning to blueblood with a frown. "Now, has my client done some bad things, yes. But haven't we all? I can admit to being a tad...overexcited when it comes to my own projects, which has led to putting ponies I care about in danger before. And I am absolutely sure that the Griffon king himself has blood on his feathers that isn't pure." She said as Grimbeak shrugged, not really able to deny the claim. Twilight continued, seemingly getting into it now. "All I ask is that everypony that is present today think about their own lives and the decisions they have made before you are so quick to judge another. Especially if that pony...or person, is able and willing to change for the better." She nodded at me before going back to her position next to the seat I was at earlier and looked to Grimbeak. "That is all, your honor." Grimbeak nodded and looked around. "Before we go any further does anyone have any questions? I'd rather clear up any confusion before we get to the gritty ditty of the trial." Redheart raised a hoof. "I do. I see the witnesses over there and I know me and my friends are here as guests, but wheres the jury?" She asked as the rest of us, minus Blueblood and Gilda, looked to the king with curiosity. That is a good question. Aren't these things supposed to have a jury? Grimbeak smiled as he raised an eyebrow at Redheart. "In most trials, yes. However, Griffonia has always only needed a royal presence for their trials simply because the crown always made the right decision. And since this is a Griffon trial, I will be the one to give the sentence at the end." Oh heeeell no. This shit was gonna be rigged, I can tell. Twilight and the girls gasped. "That's... that's not right! You have a personal mstter in the trial, and being the judge allows you to bend the trial just so you leave satisfied at the cost of everypony else!" Grimbeak shrugged. "Ain't my fault, just the rules magic bearer." He points at Twilight. "Now, do you have any other witnesses or beings that can account for Ronin that are NOT in the stands over there?" He asked Twilight as she thought it over before frownong. "Not at all, your honor." She said, though I swear she spat the last word as another silver guard came in and walked up to Blueblood. The guard whispered something to him before the prince groaned. "Tell my daughter to go check it out. I don't have time to deal with a floating party boat causing a ruckus right now!" He said, made unaware how loud he was being by the attitude he possessed. As the guard left, I couldn't help but wonder about what he said. Floating party boat...that couldn't be Nicholas, right? I thought as the trial continued. ***************** Nicholas POV ***************** It's time. We were in position over the city, Octavia helped me link the guys instruments to mine so we could play in synch. Heck, Octavia figured out a way to amplify our sound hooking us up to the subwoofers on the ship. For a mare that was strictly classical, she knew her tech. I was now on the poop deck with my setup fully ready to wub. Roxas pretty muched lived in the mast now while Axel and Tak where in the front area of the ship. I looked down at my gear and found my hands shaking. Is this because of the stress for performing for the city, or is it because of that weird voice in my head? I felt a hoof on my shoulder, causing me to turn and face Octavia. "You ok, Nicholas?" She asked me. I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, just some pre-show jitters." I said with a weak laugh and Octavia smiled warmly at me. "I wouldn't be suprised. This is your first big show, after all." I gulped slightly, snd she sighed. "Sorry, not helping much, I know." She went to turn away before turning back to me, a smile on her face. "You know, Vinyl used to have this mental mantra she would chant in order to pump herself up before a show. Perhaps thats what you need as well." With that, she climbed back up to the steering wheel as I thought that through. Chant a mantra? Like a catchphrase or something. I shrugged and closed my eyes while breathing out slowly. I am speed...no wait, I'm not a racecar. I groaned before suddenly grinning big. I am wubs. Perhaps a taaad idiotic, but it worked. I looked forward and made eye contact with Tak and nodded, signaling that I was ready. He smiled and waved up at Roxas as Axel readied his guitar. I looked behind me and saw Octavia give me a nod and a wave. I nodded back as I turned to my music set and placed my hands on it, feeling the power surge through the device. Here we go. I thought as I cranked the volume and bass boost to max and began to play the song. Though as I began to amp the sound, I couldnt help but notice that the guys had already managed to start playing their instruments in perfect tune to the music. Must be that connection Octavia set up. I thought as Tak began to pick up on the lyrics, actually managing to sound like the starchild himself. I won't lie, the whole scene was amazing! Roxas was up top swinging his drumsticks in beat as they somehow produced sound while Axel kept up with the guitar riffs perfectly. And as the chorus came around, I couldnt help but join in alongside Tak in singing. As we played, I saw Flash appear from the control room and run up to me. "Nicholas! We got trouble!" He said quickly as I frowned, thankfully it was on the second verse, so I didn't have to sing yet. "What trouble? Are we not getting any emotions from the ponies below?" I asked, worried we had screwed up from the start. Sentry quelled my fears by shaking his head. "Nope! Crowds have already started to dance in the streets below, the problem is that!" He pointed ahead of us and I saw it. It was an airship like ours, except it was a blue-ish color with extremely fancy sails that had some cannon symbol on them. "We've got company of the royal variety!" Octavia yelled from the wheel as I looked forward to see Tak staring at me, the question he wanted to ask being told silently by his gaze. Do we keep playing? I nodded and looked up at Octavia, noticing she looked worried as the ship came closer. "Octavia, take over from here for me. I'll get on the ship and distract the ponies on it." I said as I hopped over my set and went to the starboard side of the ship while Octavia jumped down from the area she was at and gave me a bewildered look. "I can't play that! I'm a classical artist!" She said with a huff as I rolled my eyes. "So your best friend was a techno junkie and you never learned how to at least USE her equipment?" I asked as she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "That's what I thought, it's not that hard anyway." "But what are you gonna do?" She asked me as I looked towards the ship, seeing some sort of filly in a dress standing near the front of the floating boat. I smiled. "I'm gonna go practice using my magic." I looked to Tak, who already seemed to know my plan, and nodded to him as the ship came up right next to us. I jumped onto it and was met with the sight of about three guards and that dressed up girl wairing for me. "So, you must be the friends of those girls that escaped earlier. Tell me, I don't see them on your ship, so where are they?" She stated as I felt myself starting to get angry. She was not only the reason that the girls had to leave early, but the reason Larxene was put in jail. And if she hadn't done that, then Larxene... I shook my head before responding, no point in getting emotional about things we don't know the whole story to. "Well, they kinda disappeared. Though now I must ask you what your doing crashing our performance?" Thankfully, the guys were able to handle the singing while I talked with the frilly filly, because I could tell this was gonna go south quick. She frowned. "I am princess Azul, daughter of Blueblood and chief cannons expert." Her dad put a child in charge of defenses...really? "I can do whatever I want, and I have special permission to stop this party." With the glow of her horn, several cannons appeared behind her and aimed themselves at me. Azul giggled. "Now, you can either give up and give me your ship, or I'm gonna have to start being a bully." She said as I sighed. Lets hope my powers decide to work properly. I smirked at her, hoping to bluff her into reconsidering. "Bring it on, princess. I'm not afraid of some bully. Heck, I'm dating one back home!" She growled as she flashed her horn again. "Fine then! I guess you'll just die!" All the cannons suddenly fired at once, their metal balls heading straight towards me as I put out my hands. Like before with the other projectiles before, these never landed. They were all suspended in mid-air in a horizontal line in front of me. Azul looked at the balls in shock. "W-Wha? How'd you do that? You don't even have a horn!" She exclaimed as I smiled, letting the balls drop to the floor with a pinch of a thud. "There's more to me than meets the eye, princess." I said before diving out of the way of another cannonball that barreled past and destroyed part of tue railway without remorse. I kept moving left in a circle motion until I was able to get behind a mast. "Even with your magic, I doubt your able to stop them from coming from all sides." She said as I could hear her getting closer, her dainty hooves clopping on the wooden planks. I was gonna have to figure something out quick, considering this girl could easily destroy an airship with those cannons of hers. "Why are you even attacking us? It can't be a crime to perform in the sky?" I said as I moved around the mast as she did, making us circle the thing. As long as she couldn't get a clear shot... "Daddy said so, and that means you have to be breaking some kind of law. He IS s lawmaker, after all." She said as she feinted left before moving right, causing me to move directly in front of her. Crap...Time to improvise. What would Ronin do? "Listen, princess. You seem like a beautiful and smart filly. Look down below at the crowds. You'll see they are enjoying the music being played." She walked over to the railing and leaned over as I followed suit. Sure enough, there were a LOT of ponies and even other species either gathered together or dancing to the music. As I watched, I noticed Azul was now looking at me. "What is your name?" I looked at her, suprised she wasn't trying to kill me anymore but not complaining. "12K is my stage name, though you'll have to work to find out my real one." I said with a wink. (Hey, if Ronin was able to flirt his way into a king job, I can flirt my way back to my friends...I hope.) She narrowed her eyes as she leaned in about inches from my face. "Work?" She said, seemingly suprised I'd demand such a thing of her. Though now I was able to smell the slightly fragrent smell of strawberries. Perhaps it was perfume? "The best things are the things you work the most for." I said, quoting something I heard Raiden say to Ronin while attempting to make him finish college...It didn't work. However, Azul seemed to have a different reaction. She smiled and leaned up to my ear. "12K...you have either a lot of courage a lot of idiocy to say such a thing to me. Though I can't help but like you for it." She said with a small blush on her face as she leaned back to face me again. "Here's the deal. You and your friends are free to go if you promise me something." I gulped slightly before nodding, worried about what she would ask. "What?" She smiled and pecked me on the cheek before turning and walking away slowly. "Since your so dead set on courting me, you must come back in a week to hang out with me. You'll find courting much easier when the lady is in your proximity." She said as I stood there, stunned. So THIS is why Raiden always says don't act like Ronin. He actually liked the girls he flirts with. Oh well, I doubt I'd see this girl again anyway. "Very well, I shall see you in a week." I said as I hopped back over to the our ship. Hopefully, the girl would forget about the whole thing. I walked over to a now relieved Octavia who happily returned to the wheel and took my place on the DJ set just as the song finished. I looked up at Tak. "Hey, how much more love magic do we need?" I asked as he gave me a big grin. "We just recieved enough! All we have to do is transfer it to the cannon and BAM! Ronin is saved." He said as Sentry came out of the control room. "12K, the cannon is starting to be filled. We need to turn towards the target if your gonna use it." He said as I nodded and looked up at Octavia. "Ok! Octavia, turn us towards the castle." I said, eliciting a gasp from the guardpony next to me. "The castle?! Why would you do that?" He exclaimed as Axel and Tak walked over. "We're saving a friend, but dont worry. The cannon fires magic, not metal. And the spell we are firing is a teleportation spell, so it won't hurt anyone." Tak said as the ship turned while Flash frowned. "That somepony wouldn't happen to be that Ronin guy? Don't tell me you guys were actually plotting to free somepony from prision!" He said as Axel sighed. "Yes, we're freeing the man. So what? You can't stop us from here, and you already said you'd help." He stated as Sentry backed away slowly into the control room door. "No no no no no. I can't let this continue! I an a royal guard of the princess!" He said as he unfurled his wings and took what I believe is a fighting stance. "No, I won't let this continue. That human is criminal that killed several of my friends and I wont let him-GAH!" Thankfully, Roxas chose that time to drop from the mast...right on top Flash. Roxas got up from the crash landing and smiled big. "That. Was. AMAZING!" He proclaimed, ignoring the pegasus underneath him. "We were so cool!" He said as Axel groaned and Tak shook his head, a smile on his face. I looked up at Octavia, wondering what she thought of all this, only to notice she had a slight smile on her face. "Hey, Octavia." I said, noticing the castle was in front of us by peripheral vision. "How do we fire the cannon?" She came back down from the wheel and pointed at the castle. "Since its loaded already, all you'll need a mental command to fire it." She said as looked down at Flash. "While you do that, I'll get him inside." As she pulled the now unconscious Sentry inside the control room, the guys and I walked over to the cannon. I knelt down, placing my hand on the wood above the cannon and turned to Tak. "Alright, we got one shot at this. See if you can contact your mother and ask where they are." I said as I felt that brainfreeze come back, this time it was waaay worse though. Roxas noticed my wince and frowned. "Are you ok, Nick?" I looked to him and smiled weakly. "Yeah, just a headache." I lied. He didn't need to worry about me, not now. Axel frowned, probably seeing through the fib, and was about to speak when Tak spoke up. "They're in the throne room, so we fire at the center mass of the castle." He said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Take a deep breath, and concentrate on pushing." I chuckled. "I'm firing a cannon, not giving birth." I said, earning a laugh from Tak and Axel and a confused look from Roxas. I did what he said though, and focused my mind on the cannon. Now, to explain what it felt like to aim a magic cannon, I would have to compare it to controls on a call of duty game when handling a sniper rifle. Immediately after connecting with the cannon, I saw things from a scope perspective. And after about a minute or two of aiming and realigning, I was able to get the cannon in set position. "Fire!" I heard Axel yell, and I did just that, causing a loud boom and a big pinkish light ball to be sent flying towards the castle. Hopefully, we were in time. I thought as the guys celebrated our victory, though I swore I could hear a women laughing as the ball barreled towards the castle. *************** Raiden POV *************** What. The. Actual. Hell. The Tarus guy had just finished tranforming, and the result was actually terrifying. He had a bear body that was about ten feet tall. His head was that of a lion but the mouth was full of tentacles. And his eyes...well, bloodshot would be an understatement considering his eyes were just blood sockets. "Tis what we feared." Luna said as she took a step back, causing me to look to her in shock. "What?! You know what this is?" I said, pointing to the monstrosity that was in front of me. Luna nodded, her eyes never leaving the thing. "It was a beast that haunted my nightmares for years as a filly. I had spotted it hunting while flying, and immediately flew home in fright." She shook her head, finally gazing at me. "My parents told me it was a hallucination, but now I see I simply saw him." The thing cackled, making a wet laughing sound that made me shudder. "So, you were that blue-ish pony I saw eons ago. I always wondered who had spotted me that night." The thing shrugged. "No matter, tell me where Ronin is, or die." I shook my head, unwilling to give in just yet. "I dont think so, Tarus." I said as he sighed. "Very well." He said as one of the mouth tentacles shot out at me at lightning speed. "Raiden!" I heard two voices yell out. One was Luna, and one was- "Oof!" I grunted as I was tackled out off the way of the tentacle by Fluttershy. As we landed nearby, I looked up at her as she was right on top of me. "Raiden, are you ok?" She asked me as I nodded. "Yeah, thanks Fluttershy." I said, earning a blush from the yellow mare. I looked past her and saw that the tentacle was buried deep into the ground. The damned thing would've killed me on impact! I thought as I stood up as Fluttershy got off me. Luna rushed over and put a barrier around us just as another tentacle would've hit me. "We thank thee, Kindness, for saving our mate. But why are you here? Didn't Tarus send you into the castle?" She pointed up at the barrier that. surrounded us and answered quietly. "There was a barrier around the garden like this one that wouldn't let me out." I nodded. "Right. We put up a force field to keep big and ugly away from the castle." I said as Tarus suddenly got really close to the barrier, his face inches from it. Fluttershy was the first to say something to him, and man did she look mad all of a sudden. "How dare you try and hurt my friends! And after we shared tea together too!" Tarus chuckled. "Oh please, like I care about you and your stupid tea parties. I'm not Discord, after all." Luna frowned. "What does Discord have to with anything?" She asked as Tarus blinked, causing blood to squirt onto the bubble...gross. "Oooooh. You haven't done that yet, that's right. Ignore that last part then." He said as he put a big clawed hand onto the barrier. "I'd love to chat about your futures more, but I need you out of the way so..." He squeezed the bubble, causing it to break and sending Luna to her knees. "Luna!" I exclaimed, slowly helping her rise. She had a leg on my neck and was leaning against me for support while Tarus laughed. "You'll find that any spell you Equines use can be countered by my touch, and the effects are veeeery painful." I narrowed my eyes at the beast, now completely pissed off. "Now listen here, you piece of-" "BOOM!" A loud boom echoed across the gardens as I saw a pink light ball fly into the throne room. Must be Nicholas! He and his buds pulled it off! I thought happily as I turned back to Tarus. "Too late, man! Ronin is gone! You'll never get him now!" I exclaimed as he hissed in anger. "You little fucking brats! I'll kill you all!" He yelled, raising a big hand into the air and slamming it down, causing me close my eyes and await the impact. POP. Uh...what? I opened my eyes to see he was gone. I looked to Fluttershy and Luna and saw they were just as confused. "Um...where did he go?" Fluttershy asked as Luna raised an eyebrow. "I do not know, but he is gone and that's what matters." She said as I gasped. "Crap, we need to head to the throne room and see if Ronin made it out!" I yelled as I did a one-eighty spin and ran into the castle, Luna and Fluttershy hot on my heels, though I couldn't help but feel like the whole area just got colder for some reason. ************** Chrysalis POV ************** It is official. I hate the government of Equestria. Considering Ronin was already been found guilty by admission, I was suprised that lavender pony was able to keep the trial going for so long. Of course, big brains means big mouth, so I shouldn't be that suprised. Grimbeak stretched his wings, causing several ponies to wince at the metal sounds his wings made in the process, and spoke. "After hearing such testimony from both the accused and the accusors alike, I can't help but come to the conclusion that you are guilty, Ronin." I sighed as I heard Pinkie whimper while Redheart comforted her. That was unavoidable. I thought as he continued. "Of course, due to it being mentioned in the trial, his herdmates didn't take part in any actions he made, so they are free of punishment." The ponies on the other side sighed in relief, but he wasn't done just yet. "However, his defense operator will suffer the same punishment as per Griffon rules." He said, causing gasps to come from the ponies on the other side of the room and an angry growl from Pinkie. I felt Taks presence in my mind as Redheart kept Pinkie from attacking Grimbeak. After answering his question, I returned my attention to the scene in front of me. "But that's not fair! Twilight didn't kill those ponies, I did!" Ronin exclaimed as Twilight seemed frozen in shock of being punished by law. Grimbeak was unfazed though by his yelling, and continued. "It is Griffon tradition that whoever defends an accused must suffer the resulting punishment or reward of the following trial. Twilight appeared as the call for a defense was issued, so she takes the mantle." As much as I'd like the brat to die, this was a veeery shitty way for her to do so. But before I could retort Grimbeaks actions, a loud boom resounded from outside. "What the?" Blueblood said, awaking from a nap he was having as the female Griffon pointed outside. "Incoming!" She yelled, dodging out of the way of a big pink ball that flew through the room...straight into Ronin and Twilight. With a loud pop, the light flashed bright. I smiled as I knew what was happening. Lookd like Tak and the others pulled their little show off after all. I thought with a feeling rising in my heart that was brand new. Was this...pride? For something my son did instead of me? Grimbeak wasn't as happy, though. "What in Tartarus is that?" He exclaimed ad the pony witnesses fled the room while I stood. "Ronin is no longer your problem, Grimbeak. You won't get your claws on him now." I stated with a snarl. It was then a wave of cold temperatures hit me, odd considering it was spring. I looked around as I shivered and noticed everyone else react similarly. "W-Why is it cold all of a sudden?" Redheart asked as I turned to the pink teleport bubble, which should've disappeared by now. Instead, it was starting to glow blue now, and was the epicenter of the cold drop in temperatures. As I watched closely, I couldn't help but back up as something stepped through. No, not something. SomeONE. A human-like thing stepped through the light. It was covered in ice and, due to the appearence of her body, was a female. She bore a staff in her right hand and had ice shards coming out of her eyes. Grimbeak made a squealing sound when he saw her, apparently shocked she was her. "No! How are you here!?" He exclaimed as the lady laughed. "My dear metal friend. You didn't think I'd miss out on a family reunion, did you?" She said as she turned to me. "Ah, you must be the current changeling queen. Tell me, have you seen a little human boy around here?" I frowned, knowing that she spoke of Tak's friend and Ronin's little brother. "I have not. Why?" She sighed, a cold wind escaping her icicle engraved mouth. "Because he's the reason I'm here. Besides killing Luna, of course." She said as she pointed the staff towards the blue light. "Come, my friends! Help me tear this kingdom apart!" She yelled as the room began to get colder as blue monsters started flying out of the light and started floating around the room. "What are those things?!" Blueblood squealed as one tried to dive bomb him, causing him to hide behind the throne. The lady chortled. "They are my wendigo subjects." She said, causing me to look at the blue things in shock. "And I am their queen." This just got bad. > Chapter 57: The calm before the hailstorm. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* We had done it. We were able to gather enough love energy to send to my brother back at canterlot castle with almost no interruptions. Yet...something seemed off. Almost like things were only just starting to get bad, and all of this was just a precursor to something far worse... I needed to get back. I walked over to Tak and the others as Octavia returned from dealing with Flash. All of the guys had somber expressions while Octavia looked quite happy. "So, what's next?" She asked as Tak looked to Axel and Roxas before sighing. "We need to go to Canterlot Castle. There's...something we need to do there." He said as Octavia tilted her head. "Does it have to do with that magic blast you shot?" She asked as Axel raised a hand to stop any further questions. "Classified, but thanks for everything so far." Axel said before his body glowed and he returned to his original form. Roxas and Tak did the same as I glanced over at the castle before gasping. "Uh...guys?" I said as I looked at the events transpiring. There was a huge grey swirl cloud slowly growing over thr castle, and even from this distance I could make out a bunch of blue objects floating around the castle. "Ok, what is happening over there?" Axel asked as Tak closed his eyes for a second before opening quickly and turning to Octavia. "Take us there, NOW!" He yelled as he turned to Axel and Roxas. "Guys, we have a maximum threat level and Mom's in the middle of it. Be prepared for a fight." I frowned, noticing the panicked edge in his voice. "Maximum threat? What the heck did you see?" I've never seen him like this before. He was worried, and that meant something happened after we launched that spell ball. Tak looked towards the castle, a grimace on his face as he answered me. "Something ancient was awakened by our little performance, and if we can't stop it...then say hello to the next ice age." Ice...age? What did he mean by....oh no. I took a step back from him as the while world seemed to get dimmed out. It can't be...her, can it? I thought as my ears started to ring and I felt slightly light-headed. "Nicholas!" But she was a dream! Dreams don't come to life, right? "Nicholas!" And Tak didn't say who it was, yet it would explain all the cold chills and the laughing if it was her. "NICHOLAS!" I was snapped out of my down-spiral as Tak started shaking me a bit. He noticed my eyes fall on him and sighed. "Ok, I don't know why you just blacked out, but it probably involves the situation we're dealing with, huh?" He asked as I nodded. "Then spit it out! If we're going into that storm, we might as well know what we're up against." I sighed, looking down at my feet. "Alright...it started about two weeks ago." **************** Diamond Tiara POV **************** I awoke as I felt something nibble on my ear softly. "Daddy...I'm trying to sleep." I groaned before I remembered where I was. My eyes shot open as I turned my head to see a changeling standing over me with a big smile on his face. "Left ear has lot of love in it." He said as I frowned. "That doesn't mean you go and bite it! Get away from me!" I said, flailing my hoofs around as it jumped back in shock before flying off. I sat up with a frown. How does my ear even begin to have love in it? The only pony I know that messes with it is...ooooooh. I thought as I realized Nicholas messing with that spot all the time may be a sign of affection from him, causing the area to be a love fest for the changelings. No matter the reason though, it's still gross. I looked around and noticed everyone else was still asleep. Silverspoon was cuddled up to Zexion, who seemed bigger now than what he did before we passed out. Sweetiebelle was conked out on a rock with a silly smile spread on her face. Must be having a good dream. I thought with a small laugh as I noticed Applebloom wasn't anywhere to be found. Where is that farm pony at? I thought as I peeked down a couple of tunnels. Nope, nothing but either darkness or blue eyes that followed my every move...creepy. As I looked down another tunnel, I felt a hoof go on my shoulder. "AGH!" I yelled out loud as I turned around to see Applebloom eyeing me weirdly. "Are ya ok? Ya seem...skittish." She asked as I frowned. "Of course I'm skittish! We are who knows how deep under ponyville in a cave inhabited bt Equestrias stalker species!" I said angrily, throwing a glare down a tunnel full of the bug things before continuing. "I slept on the floor while my coltfriend is at a castle and now I'm starting to get hungry!" Applebloom blinked in suprise before shaking her head. "Ah guess all of this is a tad crazy." She sighed happily. "Fer Nick though, it's worth it." The contract my mother made him sign flashed through my mind as she said that, causing a wave of guilt to flwo through me as I turned away. She noticed this and tilted her head. "What's wrong, Diamond Tiara?" She asked as I sat down and looked at her. "Applebloom...do you like Nicholas?" I asked her as she blushed slightly before sheepishly smiling. "Ah do...though don't go telling anypony outside of our friends. Ah don't need mah sister or brother givin' me an earful about young love." She said as I sighed. Might as well tell her. "Applebloom...there's something I have to tell you. Back when Nicholas came to my house, my mother made him prove he was 'worthy' to date me." Applebloom frowned. "Worthy? Yer mom didn't like Nicholas? Why?" I sighed and shrugged. "Probably because hes not a pony...or rich. But Nicholas managed to convince her otherwise...at a cost." Applebloom sat down next to me, a concerned look on her face. "Cost? What are ya talkin' about?" I looked her in the eyes, starting to really feel bad about the whole situation. "She made him sign a contract stating that my family would moniter and streamline his career as a musician." Applebloom tilted her head, her little bow bobbing a bit in rhythm to the movement. "That don't sound to bad." I looked away, unable to keep eye contact as I continued. "That's not all. She also made him agree that if he herded, he couldn't bring anypony in that wasn't of noble or rich blood." Silence. That's what could be heard as Applebloom digested that information. After a moment, I heard her speak up, though her voice sounded much less energetic than before. "Ya mean ah can't...?" She asked, a hitch in her voice as I winced at the words. I could feel the sadness from Applebloom as she realized her crush was unable to date her...because of me. "Applebloom." I said, barely able to keep my own voice from wavering. "I'm so sorry. I would have told you sooner, but the stuff with Nicks brother happened and..." I shook my head. No. No excuses. "No, I could've said something before then as well, but I was afraid to. I'm really sorry." She looked directly into my eyes then, and I hated what I saw in hers. It was like somepony had mixed sadness, shock, and anger into a bowl and put it in a blender. "Tiara...why would he do that? Nick isn't the kind of guy to do that to himself." She asked as I groaned slightly. "He did it for me, claiming that he would be with me no matter what." I said, my face getting red as I remembered how he had held me that day after signing the contract. Applebloom slammed a hoof on the ground. "Well, it's not fair! How am ah supposed tah be with him if yer mother put him in a contract?" She said angrily as I found myself getting riled up by her tone. "Dont blame me for all of this! He's the one that decided to sign it." I retorted as Appleblooms eyes narrowed. "Ah can blame ya for this and ah will. Everything was going fine between us until ya cropped inta his life! How Nick ever stands dating you is beyond me!" She rebutted harshly. I growled as I butted heads with Applebloom. "Now listen here, farmer. For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to be nicer for Nicks sake, but it's clear you've got a problem with me no matter what I do. Get it in your head, Applebloom! Nicholas chose ME, NOT YOU!" I found myself yelling the last part as Applebloom fell back on her haunches, tears in her eyes. I immediately regretted what I had done, and reached out a hoof to her. "Applebloom, I'm sorr-" I went to apologize, but she snapped back. "No! Leave me alone!" She yelled back as she got up and ran through the tunnel we had came through. I went to go after her but stopped as a hoof landed on my shoulder. I turned and saw Scootaloo standing there with a frown on her face. "Scootaloo, I..." I went to say, but she stopped me with a raised hoof. "Don't. You'll only make it worse." She turned to where Applebloom ran off and sighed. "I overheard all of that. She just needs some time to think." I groaned as I sat down, feeling like crap after what just happened. "I didn't mean to snap at her. With all that's going on, I guess we are all a bit on edge right now." Scootaloo laughed slightly in response, causing me to turn and glare at her. "I hardly think this is something to laugh about." I said as she shook her head. "It's just that, not too long ago, me and my friends only passions were simply looking for our marks while you and Silverspoon bullied us. But now, thanks to Nicholas and his brothers arriving, things have changed." I tilted my head, slightly confused by where this was going. "Changed how?" She gave me a wry look. "For one thing, your worried about Applebloom instead of mocking her." I smiled sheepishly at the reminder of how I used to act. "Another thing is that me and my friends haven't done a crusade for our cutie marks in a while, almost as if more important things have arisen...or we found out our marks may not be as important to find as we thought." She said as she shook her head. "But I'm not that good at all this thinking stuff, leave that for Sweetiebelle." I chuckled lightly as I looked over at Silverspoon, who was snuggled with the white eyed changeling that had been assigned to her. "Silverspoon was always the voice of reason whenever I planned...anything, really. At times, she even wanted to stop bullying you girls and hang out with you instead." Scootaloo frowned. "Then why didn't you? I'm sure we would've forgiven you guys if y'all were sincere." I sighed, remembering my cutie mark quinceañera that had been thrown so long ago and the resulting events that followed. "In the end, I was jealous." She leaned back slightly, taken aback by my answer. "Jealous? Of us?" I nodded. "Jealous of your futures. I had already gotten my cutie mark and knew my destiny, but you and you friends hadn't gotten yours yet. And after Twilight explained what that could mean back at my party, I couldn't help but feel jealous of you three." Scootaloo looked at me for a while before shaking her head. "Man, we're all a bunch of goofs, aren't we. We could've been friends a long time ago, but let something as silly as cutie marks get in the way." I smiled and put out a hoof. "Exactly. And I'm sorry about all of the bullying I put you through. Friends?" She looked at my hoof for a while, causing me to worry that she wouldn't take it. Thankfully, she smiled big and shook it. "Friends." She said as I sighed in relief. "Awwwww, Scootaloos being sappy." We turned and saw Sweetiebelle looking at us with a mischevious look on her face. "Hey! I don't see you patching up friendships, vocal dreamer." Scootaloo retorted as I looked at her, confused. "Vocal what now?" I asked as Sweetiebelle blushed and puffed her cheeks. "Don't call me that!" She exclaimed as Scootaloo leaned in next to me. "Sweetiebelle has this thing with sleep-talking. Ever since I found out about it, I've been messing with her by bringing it up." Sweetiebelle huffed and crossed her hoofs. "It was ONE time!" I couldn't help but laugh alongside Scootaloo at the scene. Maybe things between us could go well after all. ************ Raiden POV ************ I rushed into the castle and took a left, hoping that Ronin's loony plan to save himself actually worked. As I turned the corner, I was able to see the throne room doors up ahead. "C'mon! Hurry up!" I called back to Luna and Fluttershy, who were both on my heels as i had been running through the castle. But before I could make it to the door, I heard Fluttershy slip on something and slam on the ground with an audible "oof." I spun around and rushed back to her as Luna was already there besides her. "Are you alright?" Fluttershy, with the help from Luna, stood and smiled at me. "I'm fine. Though I seemed to slip on something on the ground." She said, pointing to an odd puddle on the ground. The puddle was a greenish color and was about the size of a pony. It also seemed to have a trail that led into a room nearby. I heard Luna sniff a couple times before scrunching up her muzzle. "Tis something off on the wind, and we think that puddle is the cause." I looked between the puddle trail and the throne room door and sighed. We'll just check this out real quick, and then go in there and see if everything is ok. "Alright, follow me." I said as I went into the room the trail led into, opening the wooden door that led into what looked like a guest bedroom that was being used. "Odd. No rooms have been reserved for any guests today" Luna commented as I shrugged while looking at the end of the trail. "Maybe its Grimbeaks room or something. Either way, the trail ends at the closet." I said as I approached the Birch wood closet, though I felt oddly uneasy about doing so. I heard Fluttershy eep and turned to her mid closet door open to find her staring at...Ronin's sword? It's been here the whole time? "Kindess, is that Ronin's blade?" Luna asked Fluttershy as she nodded weakly. "I-I think so, princess. Though I don't remember it feeling so scary to stand near." She said as I turned back to the closet and shrugged. "Meh, probably because its a katana. Those swords can be kinda scary to be by." I said as I opened up the closet... ...And jumped back several feet as a body fell out. Fluttershy and Luna noticed it as well, though the had different reactions. Luna gasped and took a step back herself while Fluttershy fainted, landing softly on the bed. I stared at the body in shock. It was black and had holes in it, so it had to be a chnageling...but which one? I leaned in a tad and slowly moved its face to mine, allowing me to see the yellow eyes it had. Considering Tak was with Nicholas right now (and that Tak now had a new look), this had to be that Larxene girl that worked for Ronin. Didn't Chrysalis say Grimbeak did something to her? But this? this was cruel. It looked like someone had taken a buzzsaw to her head and almost split it down the middle. Any horn that was there was gone, and I could see the brain matter through the crack in her head from said saw. It was all too much too fast, and I found myself throwing up chunks to the side as Luna rubbed my back with a hoof. "We do not blame you for your reaction to this...ghastly sight." She said as she grimaced at the body. "It appears we found the changeling Laughter was looking for." She turned her head back to the conked out Fluttershy and sighed. "Perhaps tis better she didn't see how the changeling died, less nightmares that way." I recovered from the upchucking and walked over to the bed, grabbing the sword that was laying there before turning to Luna. "Lets go. We need to find that Grimbesk guy and make him pay. No one helps accuse my brother of murder when he's just as bad." I said as Luna nodded and we made way towards the door. But as we went to open it, the entire thing froze over. Like, the ENTIRE wall the door was connected to and everything. My jaw dropped as Luna's horn glowed, but did nothing. She growled at the lack of spell casting. "Why didn't the teleport spell work?" She walked up and poked the ice with a hoof before taking a step back, her eyes wide. "No... No no no no no no. It cannot be!" I raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused at her reaction. "I mean, it's bad we're stuck and all, but it's not panic bad yet." She turned to me, allowing me to see the pure fear in her eyes. "Thou doesn't understand! This sort of ice hasn't been seen since before we were banished! The only being that could evet make this ice was...her." She said as the color drained from her face. I sighed and crossed my arms while tapping my clawed foot on the ground, making a pink sound with each tap. "Luna...your gonna have to be open with me here. I have no idea who your talking about." She looked at me, her eyes shifting from fear to shame (shame?) before she sighed. Very well, there is only one being that could do this...a human girl from my time." My eyes widened. Human girl?! Does that mean she's talking about the lady from the photograph? Luna noticed my reaction and nodded. "If your thinking of the girl from that photograph, then you are right. She came to this world alongside Callobrim and Dadiolus all those centuries ago." She said, though something didn't add up. Thinking back, I didn't recall Luna OR Celestia ever mentioning a third human when they explained things before. But why? "Luna..." I began, wondering why they would omit such a big detail from us. "Why didn't you mention her before when you spoke of my grandfather and Dadiolus? And why does this girl even have ice powers?" Luna sighed again, clearly uncomfortable with the memories she was recalling. "The reason she is able to do such things is-" "WHERE ARE YOU, LUNA?!" The loud voice echoed throughout the room, and perhaps even the castle itself, as Luna and I jumped in suprise. I looked to her, now completely bewildered. "Was that her? And why does she sound pissed off at you?" I exclaimed as Luna shook her head. "There's no time! We need to find her and stop her before she hurts anypony!" She said as I looked around before eyeing the sword in my hand. Ooooooo. Holding Ronin's stuff is giving me a Ronin level bad idea that just might work! I looked to Luna, unable to resist putting a bit of cockiness into my voice (It works for Ronin, so why not me?) as I voiced my idea. "Hey Luna...could you do an enchantment spell on this sword?" I asked as Luna tilted her head but nodded. "Indeed. But why?" She asked as I got a twisted grin on my face. This is gonna be great. **************** Redheart POV **************** I watched on as Chrysalis conversated with what looked like another human, though that couldn't be right since the only humans here were Ronin and his brothers...right? Either way, conversing was hard when those monster like thing were flying around. they looked eerily like earth ponies, but the size of alicorns that were sky blue and almost see through. That was another thing, why were these things here? Everyone knew about the Hearth's Warming story, but that what it was...a story. Now the creatures from it were flying around the room being obnoxiously loud witht their whinnying. "What do you mean Queen? How do you rule a species like them?" Chrysalis asked the woman as the Queen shrugged. "To be honest, it's not s walk in the park, especially when they want to feast." She turned to Grimbeak with a glare. "Why didnt you tell me you were coming to Canterlot?" Grimbeak froze up, seemingly unable to find the words to answer her. Blueblood, however, had no such problem. "That is not any of your business, welch!" He exclaimed as he pointed a hoof at the ice lady. Said Queen turned to the new talker with a look of amusement. "Oh, isn't this just divine! So much hate from one such soul." She said, empathizing the word hate loud enough to gather attention of the Wendigo. My eyes widened as I realized what would happen. I turned to Pinkie, who had been oddly quiet this whole time, and turned her head towards me. "Pinkie, what's wrong?" I asked as she rubbed her stomach, which was easilt bigger than it was yesterday, and gave me a weak smile. "Pinkie has a massive tummyache." She replied as I nlinked in suprise. This shouldn't be happening this fast! She shouldn't feel that foal for another couple of months! I turned to Chrysalis, who was just about to say something else to the other Queen, and called her over. "What? I am interrogating a rival Queen!" She said snappily as I rolled my eyes. "First off, not a rival since she's not a changeling. Second off, Pinkie isn't feeling too hot." I said, pointing to the groaning Pinkie. Chrysalis eyed her for a second before gasping. "Oh no...We need to leave." She stated as I frowned. "What do you we mean need to leave?" I stated as the Ice Queen continued talking with Blueblood. "I hate everything that involves humans, thank you very much. Especially humans that interrupt my day plans!" Blueblood snarled as his hooves became frozen, but he didn't notice that or the Wendigos swirling over him. The Queen chuckled. "Of course you do. Tell me, which human do you hate the most?" It was clear to everyone except Blueblood that she was trying to make him extend his hate more, and he was falling for it hook, line, and sinker. "Easy! that human that we were putting on trial! He slaughters several ponies in our royal guard and all Auntie does is give him a roll in the hay? Preposterous!" The ice was now to his neck, but he still didn't notice. I turned to Chrysalis, eager to leave before we became next. "We need to leave, do you have any teleport spells?" I asked as she scoffed. "Of course I do. What am I, five?" She said as she flashed her horn and a green light enveloped all three of us. **************** Queen POV **************** A green flash to my right alerted me that the changeling and her two friends were gone. Oh well, they aren't my targets anyway. Then again, neither was princey poo here. But hey, a meals a meal. Said prince was now almost fully frozen, all it would take is one more push... "As for your Auntie, do you hate her?" I said as the stallion hesitated before his eyes narrowed. "Normally, I'd have you thrown to the gallows for that, but recently that question has been more accurate than not." He said before nodding. "Yes, I do ha-" It was done. The dumb male was frozen completely over! I doubt even the water around the titanic froze that quickly! I turned to my metal bird friend...assoicate now due to his lack of sharing travel plans, and smirked. "If you wanna become dessert, stay right there. If not, I suggest you leave." I stated as he squawked before flying out an open window. Turning back to our frozen friend, I whistled to get all eyes on me. "Oh, boys! DINNERS ON!" the Wendigo slowly began to circle down apon the frozen body as a wicked smile grew over my face as I summoned my staff and sent an ice wave down the hallway leading into the throne room because why the hell not? Oh, I can't wait to finally have my revenge on that Lunar princess! **************** Nicholas POV **************** The ship docked in the courtyard as Tak, Axel, Roxas and I got off. Octavia had told us that she would take Flash to the barracks but warned us about something sinister that was here. Though, considering all the blue horse things and ice around the castle, the warning was kinda unnecessary. "What the heck happened here? We were gone for only a couple of hours!" Axel stated as we took in the chaos that was happening. Tak turned to me, a look of concern in his eyes. "Nicholas, as much as this may be a bad idea, we need to split up." He said as my eyes widened in shock. Splitting up, bo matter what movie your in, is ALWAYS a bad idea. "Wait, why?" I asked as Roxas pointed towards some room in the castle. "We need to find our Queens, you need to find your brother." He said as Tak looked at Roxas with mild suprise. It had been the first time he had spoken seriously...ever. Things must really be bad then. Axel placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Listen, kid. We remember what you said about that ice lady. We just have to avoid her until we can gather the troops necessary to wipe her out." Tak nodded. "Indeed, so under no circumstances should you even think about facing her alone. Especially if she's been targeting you." I smiled, hiding my worried thoughts, and nodded, touched by the concern they were showing. "No problem, guys. The last thing I want to do is face her alone anyway." I said with a forced grin. They nodded as Tak turned to Axel and Roxas. "Now, while Nicholas finds his brother Raiden, we need to search for the Queen. Thanks to Roxas and his kinda disturbing sense of direction, we have a location. All we need to do is get there." Axel and Roxas nodded as Tak faced me again. "Good luck, Nick. And be careful. If that Queen is as powerful as you said she is, we may need everything we got just to win this one." He said as I gave him a hug, getting a squeak (squeak? Really, Tak?) out of him. "Thanks, man. And I'll be careful, as long as you do the same." I said as I released him from the hug and turned to the castle. Welp, here we go. I thought to myself as I ran into the castle, hoping that Tak and them would forgive me for immediately breaking my promise. I needed to face my fears, and I wasn't letting anyone face that queen but me. ****************** Chrysalis POV ****************** I am a queen of MANY drones and one child. That means I have already given birth before, and one would think that would've prepared me for what was ailing Pinkie Pie. It did not. "Oooooooh. Why does my tummy huuuuurt!" Pinkie moaned as she laid back on a guest bed we had teleported into after leaving the throne room. "It's alright, Pinkie. Just breathe in and out, nice and easy." Redheart said calmly. She didn't like that at all, and faced Redheart with a glare to show it. "Easy? EASY? I have been in pain for the past three days, and all you can say is EASY?!" She yelled as I frowned. "You need to calm down, Pinkie Pie." I stated as she turned on me. "Oh, I did not just get told to calm down by Equestrias biggest firecracker! That is hilarious!" She stated before moaning in pain again while Redheart did that aura thing on her stomach that she had done with Ronin before. How does she do that? She's an earth pony. "Redheart, what is wrong with her?" I asked as she faced me and frowned. "You don't know? ooooh, wait I only told Ronin that she's pregnant." She said as my eyes widened in shock. "She's what?!" I yelled. This complicated everything! A pony getting impregnated by a changeling was dangerous if the pony didn't become a hafling. Why? Because changelings lay EGGS! And ponies can't do that. I stepped forward and leaned in about inches from Pinkies face. "Do you want to save that child?" "What?" Pinkie said, suprised at the sudden question. "I'll ask again. Do you wish to save that child inside of you?" I restated as she nodded quickly. I turned to Redheart. "She needs to become a halfing to survive this." Her eyes widened as she looked between us. "Can that even be done with the foal in her body?" I nodded, turning to Pinkie. "Yes, but it will be difficult." Redheart frowned. "I just don't get how she's at the childbirth stage already! Ponies don't get there for another eleven months!" I groaned, really NOT wanting to do a biology lesson while there was a rampant Queen somewhere. "Changelings only need a week or two to produce spawn. And since Ronin was a changeling male..." "...The rules apply." Redheart finished as Pinkie looked into my eyes, where I saw a suprisingly deep sense of understanding. If she wanted to save the foal, she would need to change a part of herself...the purity of her soul and become part changeling. "Do it." Pinkie said with pure determination. I sighed and lowered my fangs to her neck. "Are you sure, Pinkie?" Redheart asked her, worried for her, and possibly the foals, health. Pinkie nodded and winked at me. "I am. I trust Chrysalis." She said, causing me to feel an odd feeling in my gut, like some odd mix between happiness and pain. I hate emotions. But I had a job to do, and a friend...no, SISTER to save. Ronin is going to KILL me when he hears about this. I thought as I bit down on her neck. Let us hope this works. > Chapter 58: When lies are revealed... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I was never a big fan of cold weather before, but now I think I might never leave my house again during winter season. Why? Because, in the middle of spring no less, it's freezing cold inside the castle! I turned a corner as I shivered, hoping that I was going the right way since I had only been here a couple of times and did NOT have the place memorized. "Well, at least I haven't ran into any trouble yet." I said to myself as I opened a door that led into another hall... ...and was met with one of those blue horse things as it turned and stared at the sudden intruder with suprise, then interest. Crap. I thought as it flew up to me and stared me down, its empty cold eyes looking deep into my very being for what felt like hours. (Though it was probably a couple of seconds.) The things eyes widened suddenly as it flew back a couple of feet before swirling around me almost playfully, causing me to raise an eyebrow in shock. "Uh...hello?" I said waving a hand. The thing rushed forward and nuzzled my hand with its head before flying off through a door straight ahead. After a second, it's head popped through the door and looked at me as if asking 'Hey, come follow me!' I shrugged, honestly having no better idea, and as I began to follow my new ice friend I couldn't help but wonder about the woman from my dreams. Why did she appear in my dreams? And if she is here, what could she be after? ************** Raiden POV ************** So THIS is what Ronin feels like when he swings this thing. I was chipping away at the ice with an enhanced blade that Luna had enchanted to be on fire before deciding to take a couple steps back from me, claiming I might hurt somepony if I wasn't careful. (She had stared at the blade for a while before doing so, but I chalked that up to staring at a weapon that had bloodstains of several colors on it.) "Raiden, may I ask thou a question?" Luna said as I nodded to her, continuing to chip away at the ice. "Go ahead." I stated as she looked me over. "I don't ever recall thou talking about your family much, and We would like to hear about them." She said as I stopped what I was doing and sighed, hating the memeories that were flooding back. I turned to Luna. "There's not much to talk about. My mom was a drunk and my dad was a close-minded asshole. They got into fights and ended up scarring Nicholas with a bottle that was poorly aimed." Luna gasped. "That's horrible! Thou's parents are truly like that?" I nodded as a sad smile graced my lips. "Yeah. Weirdest thing is, they always seemed distant from us. Almost like we were a chore for them to look after." I said as Luna scowled. "That's truly despicable for ones parents to treat thou as such, especially after giving birth to you three." She said as I winced slightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Luna. "What is wrong, Raiden." I turned back to the ice door, unwilling to look her in the eyes. "Whatever I tell you next doesn't leave this room, alright?" I stated sternly. "Of course." She said as I sighed, really not wanting to say this but at the same time feeling like it had to come out. "Mother didn't give birth to Nicholas...he was dropped off by my grandfather one day." I said, continuing despite the gasp from Luna. "He was just a baby, and grandad said he found him wrapped up in a blue blanket with some sort of crystal heart symbol on it." I didn't see it, but Luna paled significantly at hearing this. "Of course, mom and dad had no choice to take him in, considering that grandad just popped by with him one day and said he was their 'responsibility'...whatever that meant. Though they obviously didn't like the idea, because life got way harder after Nicholas was brought to us." I looked down at the sword I was carrying, reminded of grandfathers actions up until his death. We had never fully bonded, but he seemed especially distant from all three of us when he died, only wanting to see us when he gave Nicholas that necklace... "Raiden, the spell on that sword doesn't last long, thou might wish to hurry." Luna said as I was pulled from my thoughts. I nodded to her before continuing to strike the ice, hoping to break through as quickly as possible. However, even with the coolness of a flaming sword, it was barely chipping the ice. That, and I was getting tired. "Whooo." I gasped, exhausted as I dropped the blade. "Got any ideas, babe?" I turned to see that Luna was now on the bed next to the still resting Fluttershy and had been watching me the whole time from there. She giggled slightly and gave me an amused look. "Thou ARE a dragon, right? Just melt the ice with your fire." She said as I nearly slapped my head off my body with the face-palm I gave myself. Why the hell didn't I think of that? I thought as I turned and breathed deep before breathing out flames on the door. In moments, the thing was melted thoroughly and the door opened. "Huzzah! Now we can...oh dear." Luna said as she and I walked out of the room (Fluttershy would be safer if we left her on the bed.) and looked at the sheer magnitude of all the ice in the hallway. The whole placed was frozen over. Not a single spot, minus where my flames had breached the door, wasn't ice. Even the windows were covered in frost and had those little ice spears hanging off of them. I leaned over to Luna. "I am NOT cleaning this up." She giggled slightly. "We'll just make my sister do it whenever..." She trailed off, her face getting somber at the reminder of Daybreaker. I turned and pulled her into a hug as I felt her do the same. "It's gonna be ok, Luna. We'll find a way to free Celestia, then I'm gonna put my hands on Ronin for causing that issue." I said as Luna let go of me and sighed. "In a way, he had every right to do that." She muttered, though I'm sure I wasn't meant to hear that, So I played coy and didn't respond. Just have to ask about that later. Turns out, I wouldn't have to. A blue spirit horse thing went flying by just as Luna stopped hugging me, causing us both to watch as it flew through the door to the throne room. "Hey! Wait up!" A very familiar voice called out as the doors behind us swung open and Nicholad came through, pausing entirely when he saw us. "Raiden!" He yelled before going to run up to me, but failing to do do as he slipped on the ice. Oddly enough, he managed to slide over to me regardless, though him doing so while sliding on his butt was hilarious. "There you are!" I said happily as I picked him up and gave him a bear hug, which was returned in kind. After dropping him, Nicholas turned to Luna and smiled. "Hi, princess! Did you see a blue horse thing go by?" He asked her as she looked to the throne room door, which was still frozen over, before turning back to Nicholas and nodding. "If you mean the wendigo that flew by, then yes. He went in the throne room." She said as I looked to her suddenly, suprised by what she said. "Wait...Wendigo? That's what that thing was?" I asked as Nicholas frowned. "Aren't Wendigo supposed to be deadly creatures that go after people? The one I've been following has been pretty tame." He said as Luna tilted her head. "Following? You mean it didn't attack you?" She said as I realized it didn't even give us a glance when it had flown by. Nicholas shook his head. "Nope! It's been leading me here." He said as he started walking to the throne room doors, careful not to slip again. "What are you two doing?" I sighed. "We were trying to check up on the progress of the trial before all this ice appeared." I chuckled lightly. "Get this, Luna thinks a human she once knew is doing all of this." Nicholas froze immediately at the mention of the human, causing me to narrow my eyes. "Nicholas...you don't happen to know anything about this, do you?" Almost as if he knew he was caught red-handed, he turned around slowly and gave me a guilty smile. Though by looking into his eyes I could tell whatever this was was affecting him on a deeper level. He sighed, putting his hands into his pockets and shivering slightly. "Ok, I'll tell you everything." ********* Tak POV ********* After splitting up from Nicholas, the guys and I immediately started searching for Larxene. There was no way that, if she was really dead, that I would even think about leaving her body here. She needed a proper buriel and recognition for her heroic actions towards the hive. That, and Axel would probably revolt if we didn't do something along those lines. Even if by helping him seaech for larxene meant opening a million doors. "C'mon, where can she be?" Said changeling groaned as we closed the door to another empty room. He turned to me, allowing me to realize that I was about two heads taller than the average changeling. "Tak, where is she?" I sighed, turning to the next door that for some reason had no frost on it at all compared to the others, and went to open it. "We both know I can't just pinpoint her now that she's disconnected from the hive. Now whether that's because of a fatality or being locked up somewhere is what we need to figure out for certain. Can't rely purely on the hivemind and what it told us." I said as Roxas suddenly went up to the door and leaned in, pressing his head against it sideways. "Guys...listen closely." He whispered as we follwed his lead and listened. "And to think that I was able to trick that human into letting me out by simply pretending to be a victim! And now with all of the royal threats to my power under the same roof, all I have to do now is simply strike when the times right and this whole kingdom will belong to me!" A familiar female voice spoke as Axel frowned. "Who is this joker?" He asked quietly as I narrowed my eyes. "No idea, but she kinda sounds like how Mom used to sound before she met Ronin." I stated as Roxas took some steps back. "Um...guys?" He said, going unnoticed by Axel and myself. "Well, if it is someone like the queen what do we do? Do we fight her?" Axel said as I shook my head. "Guys?!" Roxas said, a tad louder though once again being ignored. "No, we already have a plan of action. Starting anymore fights might make us end up like Larxene, and we are better off alive then dead." I retorted lightly as Roxas walked uo and placed hooves on our heads. "Guys!" He yelled, getting our attention at last. "What?!" Axel and I stated as he turned our heads to face the door. Only, there wasn't a door there anymore. Instead, there was a alicorn with a flaming mane and tail that was currently looking down on us with an amused, yet deadly, expression. You'd think a infiltration species would be smart enough to not talk loudly next to the door of our target we were spying on. The mare tilted her head, though she wore that same expression all the same. "What brings three changelings to my doorstep? Are you looking for your queen?" She asked as Roxas nodded. "We are! How'd you know that?" He exclaimed as Axel jabbed him in the side with a hoof. Dont give away anything, idiot. He told Roxas via hivemind. Said changeking just nodded as Daybreaker chuckled. "Give away what exactly?" She said as we all froze in shock. What? How'd she... She placed a hoof on my shoulder. "I have set up a bond with your king that allows me to hear your mental conversations wirh the hive, so I can hear EVERYTHING you say to each other." This was bad. Real bad. I could tell we were facing down something far worse than my mother ever was, yet I couldn't figure out how to get out of this mess we were in. Thankfully, I didn't have to. Turns out Roxas was somehow two steps ahead of everyone somehow. "Your princess Celestia, right?" He asked innocently as the sun monarch looked down at him and smiled. "No dearie, but I'm something far stronger." She said as Roxas tilted his head, his orange eyes seemingly staring into the soul of the 'princess'. "Then shouldn't you be attempting to melt the ice that's all over the castle instead of harassing a couple of changelings?" He said in a tone of...mocking? I'd never heard him ever even be SLIGHTLY negative towards anyone, let alone a royal. The princess was caught off guard as well, and it showed in her shocked facial expression, though it faded quickly as she recomposed herself. "You make a good point." She said after a minute of not speaking. "But I will coontinue this conversation with YOU specifically, orange eyes." She said as she walked past us and out the way we came. I turned to Roxas, barely able to keep my voice down. "What in Tartarus did you think you were doing? She could've melted us in seconds!" He shrugged, for once not smiling...and it was honestly creepy. "We need to find Larxene, right? I simply kept the distraction off our backs while helping Nick with the ice issue." He said as Axel chuckled. "Look at that! You've got some brains up there after all!" He said, causing Roxas to chuckle and scratch the back of his head. I rolled my eyes as I turned to one of the bigger doors that were always at the end of the hallways. "Lets continue the search. I have a feeling time isn't on our side." ************* Nicholas POV ************* "And that's the whole story." I said, finished with my explanation of how I knew the ice lady and what had happened to me before in town involving my dreams. Raiden and Luna were silent for a moment, easily floored by the new information that had been given. "Nicholas...Why the heck didn't you tell anyone?!" Raiden demanded as I winced. "I told Fluttershy about it, but that was because..." I trailed off as Raiden saw the look of sadness in my eyes and knelt down in front of me. "Nick...I understand. She's like a mom to you, right?" I nodded at his words. "Still, this big of a threat needs to be handled appropriately, and that means all of us knowing about things from here on out. No point in keeping secrets, alright?" For some reason, Luna flinched at his words, and that's when I saw my moment. Sorry bro, but I have to take her on by myself. You and Ronin have done so much...it's about time I gave back. "Princess Luna...why'd you look so hurt when he said don't keep secrets?" I stated kinda loudly, causing Raiden to frown and turn to her as she had a look of shock, probably not expecting me to call her out like that. "That's a good question. Whats wrong?" He asked her as I walked past them slowly. Thankfully, Luna was preoccupied with Raiden now. "N-Nothing! Your words were simply moving, that's all!" She stated quickly as Raiden frowned and his eyes narrowed. I'm a child, and I know that was a lie. I thought as I went to open the door but realized it was frozen shut. Though before I could react, that Wendigo from before popped its head through the door and looked me in the eyes. "Let me in." I whispered as the thing smiled and nodded. "Ok, that may be your single worst lie you've ever told me." Raiden stated as Luna scoffed. "Tis not, We have told you better lies!" She said, causing Raiden to blink in suprise. "Really? Like what?" He said, slightly angry now. The Wendigo had, without my knowledge, appeared in full beside me and held out a hoof. I reached forward and grabbed it just as Raiden noticed me behind Luna. "Nick, what are you...NICHOLAS!" He yelled as I turned to him as I felt my body start to warp. "I have to do this on my own...I'm sorry." I stated as everything vanished. *************** ??? *************** Back in space, at that same area where Faust monitered all life on Equestria, one very ticked Tartarus subject was ranting about being pulled away from Equestria. "Why the hell did you bring me back?! I thought those humans were pests to you?! I could've killed one!" Tarus stated as Faust shook her head. "It is not time for blood to be spilt by your hands...yet." She said as she turned to her balance, noticing that Laughters symbol was now glowing green. "Now Laughter is having a change in DNA? How far will we venture from the beaten path?" Tarus growled. "Let me go down there and 'balance' things out for ya! Screw your set path, those idiots need to be reeled in before..." He trailed off seeing the look of anger in Fausts eyes. "Shut your mouth! The universe has eyes everywhere. The last thing we need is for somepony down there to find out I, and this whole plane of existence, exists. Imagine if somepony got up here!" Tarus sighed. "Very well, but when that boy powers up and gains control over his magic, he WILL come here. You do know that, right?" Faust turned away, refusing to answer that question. Instead, she had memories come back about the boy in question... ...or his grandfather, in fact. The man had been a great warrior, but due to a couple of incidents that she may or may not have instigated with her magic, he lost everything. Now not only were his descendents here, but Faust could feel his aura somewhere in the kingdom now. Why appear again after eons? And why now? This was the question on her mind as she looked into the depths of space. And that boy...what will he do now? > Chapter 59: The end of winter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Chrysalis POV* After the venom transfer to Pinkie Pie Redheart and I watched as the pained expressions she showed lessened until Pinkie was sleeping peacefully, much to the shock of the nurse as she looked up at me. "How is she sleeping?! She was JUST giving birth!" She asked as I chuckled lightly. "Changeling pregnancies differ, especially ones like this. Though she will be ok for now, she will need this rest for when she wakes up." I said as Redheart frowned. "What exactly did you do to her?" She asked as I looked the party pony over with a sigh. "I did what I did with Ronin, but on a lesser extent. While she may have some of our abilities and powers, her outside physical appearence will not change at all while her insides will alter just enough to support the child." I informed as Redheart sighed. "That's probably for the best. Who knows how Ronin would react if he came back and saw Pinkie as a changeling?" She said as I laughed. "I do. He'd be absolutely pissed. But that does bring up another topic I wish to discuss: Daybreaker." I said as Redheart narrowed her eyes at the ground. "I don't know why, but that name just...irritates me for some reason." She said as I smiled lightly. "That's the hive mind telling you that she's a threat, and for good reason too." I said as I looked towards a window. "But I don't think Ronin knows that yet." Redhearts eyes widened. "How would he not know?" I sighed. "Because Ronin acts with his emotions, not his brain. While he wholeheartedly believes Daybreaker understands him and likes him, she is simply using him as a power source to keep her hold over Celestia." Redheart groaned while pinching the tip of her muzzle, clearly starting to get a headache from the situation. "All the while a ice queen ravages the castle and Pinkie goes through childbirth...what have we gotten ourselves into, Chrysalis?" She asks as I shake my head while I walk over to a chair nearby the bed and sit in it. "I do not know, Nurse. But we will find a way to overcome this. No sun blessed tyrant is taking our man from us just to use him as a love battery." I stated strongly, just before chuckling to myself. To think, I would've and have done the same thing only a couple of months ago. How ironic that I now fight the same sort of enemy I used to be. After a moment of silence, Redheart spoke up again. "I think I have a way to keep this from happening again, all the while insuring that the herd doesn't get hurt." She stated, drawing my curiosity. "How so?" I asked as she smirked. "We limit the herd to four female members. This will give Ronin only one more spot in the herd to fill. Then we make sure that he talks to us first and allows us to meet with the mare herself." She said as I blinked in suprise at the lockdown idea. This would make him far more cautious before asking the question, that's for sure. And after this Daybreaker fiasco... "Then it is done. We can tell Ronin through Eureka about the news after we make sure Pinkie Pie doesn't injure herself producing the newest hafling." I stated just as Pinkie began to groan in her sleep while turning left and right. "Looks like its time." I said as I got up and walked over to the bed while Redheart stood at the other side looking quite worried with her ears pressed against her skull and all. It was kinda adorable actually. "Do not fret, Redheart. I will walk you through the process." I consoled her as she took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I'm ready." ***************** Nicholas POV ***************** I couldn't really explain what it felt like to be pulled through the door by the wendigo. It was like if someone was in space, but was tugged by a tow truck towards a destination. No matter how it happebed though, I was in the throne room only yards away from the woman who had been haunting my dreams for well over a month now. Said woman was looking at me with slight curiosity as I had appeared with a Wendigo in hand. "Little one...who is this human?" She asked the small ghost horse thing, which flew up and nuzzled her cheek in response. The lady rolled her eyes before standing up, causing the Wendigo to float back a couple feet before disappearing. "Tell me your name, child." She asked me as I swallowed my fears and stepped forward. "My name is Nicholas Blazeheart." It looked like her breath hitched as I had said that, but I continued. "You are the one who has been haunting my dreams. Why?" For a second, the lady didn't move. She just stared at me with a shocked look on her face. She shook it off though and recovered her composure as she answered my question. "About a month ago, I was awoken from death by one who wished to see this world frozen over. The connection I had with you was, until now, unexplainable and random." She shook her head as a small smile graced her face. "But now, I know that this connection has existed far longer than either of us could've predicted." I frowned as my eyes narrowed, yet still I took another step towards her despite the danger. "What do you mean longer than what was predicted? I haven't even been in this world for that long!" The woman sighed and sat down on the throne behind her. "That is a story centuries old...one that I believe you have every right to know." That made me pause in my actions. "Centuries old...does that mean like a thousand years ago?" The Ice Queen chuckled lightly. "A tad longer than that, but yes" With a snap of her fingers, the ice in between her and I became like a mirror. She pointed her staff towards the ice as a frown appeared on her face. "This is a story of long ago, yet it may still involve you and your brothers." She said as the ice began to glow and images began to present themselves. "This is the tale of the three humans...and how we met our ends." ******************** 1989, an apartment in Pensacola, Florida/ Christine(ice queen) POV ******************** Bored. That's what I was. Do you not know how boring it is to share an apartment with your brother? Especially when your unable to get a job because you have no work ethic? Oh well, at least I cleaned and prepared food. Otherwise he would've kicked me out ages ago. Though until he got home I would chill on the couch watching some of the rather boring channels on TV. The front door unlocking signaled me to said brothers return as he walked in. He was a decent fellow, about five feet six inches with long dirty blonde hair that went down to his shoulders and blue eyes that shined in the light. He would've had a wife by now if it wasn't for- "Sis?! Ya here? Ah've got news ya wouldn't believe! I cannae wait ta tell ya!" That. Damned. Accent. Although we both had scottish blood, my brother thought it would be "cool" to learn how to speak true Gaelic. Twelve months and four ex girflriends later and boom! he somehow mastered the accent style. I swear, if he wasn't master chef on the east coast I'd punt him off a bridge for wasting his life. Suprisingly, the man had went to college and opened up a 4 star restaurant on the coast. Then again, being a top notch grill place in florida was like striking a gold mine, though he never dressed like he did. He always wore blue jeans and a hoodie whenever he went to his businesses. Putting those thoughts aside, I sighed and stood to face him, my short brown hair barely moving as I stood up. "What is it now, Callobrim? And what's that?" I asked, pointing to some some odd necklace he had in his hands. The thing was an upside down triangle with a red diamond in its center. it looked like a horse head was above that with wings on the side of the chains. Staring at the damned thing gave me a cold feeling and I did not like it. I frowned as I didn't get an answer at first. "What the hell is that?" I repeated bluntly. He smiled at me, his eyes shining the way they do whenever he gets excited. "Ah was given this in de market today! A wee old lady with a golden clothes and yellow eyes said it had magical powers and said it was called the Alicorn Amulet." He stated as I facepalmed. Brim always seemed extra vunerable to buyingnstupid stuff from vendors. The man was his own jack and the beanstalk. "Brim...really? You believed that idiot? And what the hell is an Alicorn?" I stated as he shrugged. "Ah don't know, Chrissy. But Ah've got an idea on how ta make it work!" He stated as the doorbell rang and I frowned. "And who would that be?" I retorted as he gave me a sly grin. "Why, just yer wee crush is all!" He said as my eyes became wide, just realizing how underdressed I was. I was only wearing a t-shirt and veeeery short shorts. (Don't judge me, I need my legs to air out.) I looked around frantically and found a pair of sweats to put over my legs as Brim opened the door for our guest. "Ah, David! Nice ta see you've arrived!" My brother called out as said guest walked in, his heavy duty boots almost making the room shake with every step. Though he wore shorts and a green t-shirt to balance out the heavy-duty look David was a suprisingly big guy for someone who was a IT maniac. He was about six-four in height and could bench press almost three hundred pounds when necessary. Combine this with his tan skin (Gotta love a Cuban man) and his short and smooth black hair and youve got a hell of a guy. He turned to me, his green eyes shimmering in the dim light of the apartment. "Ah, my dear Christine. How does thy day go?" Ta-Da! His speaking ability is just as silly as my brothers; a testament to their lifelong friendship, to be honest. While Brim did scottish, David just became a medieval man instead. Yeah, it sucks being in public when they have an argument. I blushed slightly at his deep voice, but answered regardless. "It's going good, or was going good until Brim came back with that stupid amulet." David smiled, seemingly unfazed by my jab at his bro-at-arms. "That amulet may be the key to proving that I've been right all along! I have to disagree with your negative viewpoint." Oh yeah, forgot to mention one thing. David is brutally obsessed with magic. He believe it exists and even goes as far as claiming it pulls from another world into ours. I mean, what kind of weirdo believes that?! Then again, I am crushing on him, so that may not be a good sign for me. I waved them off with my left hand and grabbed a remote to change the channel on the tv, which had been on some storm warning while I was talking with my brother. "Whatever you two do, don't destroy the house." I got a "Indeed!" and a "Yep" as answers as the two goofballs went to Brims room to figure out the stupid amulet or something. Like something like that would ever actually work, right? ******************* An hour or two later ******************* *Click* "FUCK!" I had just finished watching the recent episode of saved by the bell when the power decided to go out. Now, I was about to blame the storm outside when my brother came running out of his room with a look of shock/guilt on his face. I frowned, already not liking where this would be going. "Whats wrong?" He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "I may have caused a power outage...oops." I face-palmed. Of course the idiot did. How did he even do that? But just before I could berate him on the subject, David spoke up from the back. of the apartment. "Guys! Come look at this thing!" He yelled, not using any sort of medieval lingo... Which meant something was wrong. Brim and I rushed through a rather short hallway to the room where they had been messing around to find David staring straight at the amulet from before. Only this time, the amulet was glowing a shade of red and seemed to be floating off the floor in the middle of the room. I turned to Brim, ticked off and slightly put off by the sight in front of me. "What the hell did you two do?" Brim sighed. "David converted power into the amulet after hooking it up to some cables." He started, pointing at a couple of cables that were on the floor underneath it. "Then we used the power grid to charge it up...but we had no idea it would work!" David, who had just recovered from whatever state of shock he was in, started smiling. "Guys! Do you know what this means? This thing might actually have magic in it! Its floating without any support at all!" I groaned, really not wanting to deal with this. "Alright, so the thing floats. Now shut it off before someone gets hurt." I said as I approached the thing to do just that. Brim and David both gasped in shock. "Noo! We need the proof that it works!" David yelled, but I had already reached out and grabbed it. As soon as I touched it, I knew for a fact I had just done something irreversible. Almost immediately, a flash of red light completely engulfed the room as everything faded to white. ******************* Tak POV/present ******************* We opened what had to be door number three-hundred something as Axel moaned in anger. "Where is she? They better not have trashed the body!" He stared angrily as Roxas sighed. "We just need to keep looking. We'll find her, it'll just take time." I sighed internally as we checked the room, but to no avail. If she was alive, we could find her in an instant. But without a life force, I can't use the hive mind to locate her. Remembering the princess from before, I shuddered slightly. I might not even want to use the hive mind until we can get that mare out of it. It just seems...compromised with her having access to it. A hoof on my shoulder snapped me out of my funk as Axel pointed doen a ice covered hallway to a door that wasnt even slightly frozen. "Maybe shes there?" He asked, though as we approached we took notice of two individuals who seemed to be heatidly arguing about something. "He's MY brother! I'm not leaving him in that roon alone with that crazy witch!" Raiden stated as the night princess frowned. "Raiden, we need a plan before we just storm into the heart of this winter storm. We are sure Nicholas is capable of handling himself for now." I was suprised by the news. The one responsible for the ice was on the other side of the door behind them, and Nicholas was dealing with her...ALONE?! Sure, that was the plan and all, but I had expected one of the brothers to run into him during his journey to the threat and accompany him. But no, the only sibling in sight is arguing with his lover. I groaned and walked into the unfrozen room with Axel and Roxas as we immediately noticed three things. One: There was a yellow pegasus that looked very familiar sleeping on a bed in the room. Two: Ronin's blade was on the ground near the door, almost as if it was discarded by someone in a hurry. Three: There was a dead changeling in the corner of the room. Wait a second... "Its her!" Axel yelled before galloping over to her unmoving body. Roxas and I walked over as Axel looked over her wounds. "Her horn was cut off, she's missing a limb...what did this to her?" He said as Roxas looked away from the sight, probably about to hurl if he didn't. Me? I was mad...No, I was straight up pissed. Ronin had been put on the spot for killing a handful of ponies, but when a changeling dies everyone just leaves the body in a room to rot. For once, one of moms crazy lectures about ponies being racist were actually starting to make sense. I shook my head. But not everypony is like that. That's where Mom was wrong. She judged everyone for the actions of one. Roxas, finally getting control of himself, turned to me. "What do we do now?" He asked as I turned back to the arguing couple outside who were entering the throne room. "We help Nicholas, then we get some answers." I stated as I picked up Ronins sword. Someone had to watch over it. **************** Raiden POV **************** I was angry. More angry than I have been in a hot minute. After Nick had went through the door, I had went to go after him but was stopped by Luna. And, for the past ten minutes since, we have been arguing about going to my little bros aid. "What do you mean he will be fine?! He's TWELVE YEARS OLD!" I yelled, about to blow my top. "He's not supposed to be fighting wicked witches or ancient ghost horses!" Luna narrowed her eyes. "Do not forget who you are yelling at, Raiden. We are still a princess, regardless of our connection with you." She sighed. "I understand your worries, but Nicholas has magic ability and enough skill to use it. That big ball of light we saw earlier is of such consequence. He will be fine." I went to argue, but stopped. That blast had came from him? Then again, that WAS their plan from the start, though wasn't Tak and some others supposed ro have assisted him with that? I sighed. "Either way, how do we take lut this woman?" I asked as Luna averted her gaze from my eyes, causing me to frown. "You do know how to kill her, right?" She sighed. "Christine wasn't supposed to come back...not after that day." She muttered as I frowned. "Christine? Would that be the human girl from the picture, or that ice lady?" Luna looked me in the eyes as she dawned a very serious expression. "Both, but the take of how she became what she is now is a tragic one, one I played a heavy part in." She said as I noticed Tak and the other two changelings walk into the room we had just broken out of earlier. Wonder if they are looking for that Larxene changeling? I thought as Luna began to tell me about the humans that arrived so long ago. **************** Christine POV/Equestria **************** As the light faded away, I found myself in some sort of weird hedge maze. What the hell? Did I get moved while I was knocked out or something? Or did that amulet thing actually...nah. I thought, but while looking around, I noticed I didn't see my brother or David anywhere. "Oi! Broooooo! Where are you?!" I yelled out, hearing my voice echo through the maze. "Sis, come here!" I heard somewhere off to my right. I turned and faced the hedge wall that blocked my path and smirked. Yeah no, I'm not being stopped by any sort of natural barricade. I thought as I ran forward and, with suprising ease, started barreling through the walls. When I reached the end of the maze, my eyes immediately fell on my brother as he was looking straight ahead with David, neither of them moving an inch. "What the hell are you two doing?" I asked as Brim finally turned to me, a big grin on his face. "Sis, look! The amulet worked!" He stated as he pointed behind him at... whoa. There was a big, and I mean BIG, castle staring me down. The thing seemed like something out of a disney movie with how colorful it was! I turned to David and narrowed my eyes. "What did you two do that sent us to this place? It's obvious we aren't in Florida anymore!" David, finally snapping from his trance, turned to me and smiled reaaally wide. "Christine, don't you get it? The amulet worked! We are currently in some different world that is apparently in a medieval era." I crossed my arms. "And how do you know that?" He pointed back to the castle as Brim took a step back. "There are armoured horses with spears approaching us right now." Say what now? I looked around us just to notice we were surrounded by these yellow plated hors- sorry, they are WAY to small to be horses- ponies with little spears to match. Honestly, it was just plain adorable. However, there was one of them who DID look like a horse. It was this white horse with a weird flowing mane that had several colors. She had stood behind her little buddies at first but then walked out towards us. "Princess! Be careful!" one of the little guys...spoke? What the fuck?! Said "Princess" ignored the guard and walked straight up to me, keeping eye contact with me the whole time. After stopping inches from me, however, she smiled warmly. "Greetings, strangers. I am Princess Celestia. Would you happen to be responsible for the surge of magic earlier?" She asked as David literally squealed with joy. "So I was right! Magic DOES exist! YEEES!" David said as he pumped his fists in the air, causing the guards around us to jump a bit in shock. I turned to him and nearly slapped him for the outburst. "What the heck is your problem?" I asked him as I turned to Brim, who had been staring at the princess for quite some time. "Bro, you ok?" He shook his head as he motioned at everything around us. "Ok? There are TALKING animals surrounding us in either armour or that small tiara on the adorable princess's head. This is amazing!" Of course the two goofballs were enjoying this. They always were attracted to weird things, and this was at the top of the list for weird. I, however, was seconds from having a mental breakdown. The princess must have noticed this somehow, because a wing ended up draped over me. Thats right, a wing! horse princess had a wing...and a horn on closer inspection. "I sense confusion from the three of you. Come inside, and perhaps then answers can be given." The princess said as she led the three of us into the castle. **************** Nicholas POV **************** "Wait a second." I said, interrupting the story. "Your telling me you and my grandad are not only related, but apparently popped up here by the use of an amulet?" The ice queen frowned, partially because of the interruption, and partially due to the question. "Indeed...why?" I groaned, already seeing a pattern. "Thats how me and my bros got here." What had to be Christine sighed. "Then perhaps David was right then. We were destined to arrive there after all." I walked up to her and sat down in fron of her seat on the throne. "Well, what happened next?" Christine smiled softly. "Well, the princess came to tell us about where we were and the inability to be sent back home, so for a while things were tense...but we slowly started warming up to the ponies around us." I smiled, happy to hear that they were doing so well so long ago. She took notice of my smile and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, you find our happiness amusing? Very well, let us continue the story." She said as she dived back into the tale. ***************** Canterlot Castle, 1001 years ago/Christine POV ***************** The princess brought us into the castle and led us to a really big room that one of those really long tables that rich people have. After sitting down at the end of the table, the princess motioned for us to sit in the chairs on her right, while leaving the one on her left for someone who'd be coming shortly. After sitting down, I turned my gaze to David while Brim talked with the princess about how we got here. "David...what do you make of all of this?" I asked him as a chef came out and brought what looked like salads for everyone. "I'm...not sure. At first, I was happy about being able to prove magic exists, but now with being stuck on another world? It's a hard pill to swallow." He said with a grimace as he let out a long sigh. It wasn't like David, to be afraid or even worried, and it was killing me to see him like that. I reached out and squeezed his hand as he looked at me in shock, probably not expecting the motion. "To be honest, David. This crap scares me too. But being here with you and my brother makes it seem...less crazy." I said as he smiled softly at me, causing my face to heat up. I realized what I had said and pulled my hand back quickly, getting a laugh from my Cuban friend. "Aw, thanks Chrissy. Glad to know you care." He said with a slight smirk as I blushed again before turning to the princess and my brother, noticing that they were now laughing together about something. "Would you look at that. Brims gone and made himself a friend." I said with a feeling of pride swelling inside me. He had always had a hard time doing so, and to see him casually conversing with someone other than David (even if it IS a horse princess), it could make anyone feel good inside. The doors to the room swung opened suddenly though, causing conversation to be cut short as another pony thing walled in. This one was smaller than the princess, but seemed to still have that demand for authority in the way she walked and presented herself. Her blue and black looks seemed to match her starry mane perfectly. Princess Celestia stood. "Ah, dear sister. I see you've arrived." With a wing, she motioned to the three of us. "These are our guests that appeared in the garden after that surge of magic earlier." The princess walked over to the right side of the table as she looked at us. Unlike her sister, her gaze held no warmth or kindness. Instead, she bore a cold glare that seemed to be directed at me directly. What the hell did I do? Brim, of course, saw none of this and immediately stood to greet her. "Greetings, princess. My name is Callobrim Blazeheart." He motioned to me with his right hand while Celestia sat back down. "This young lassie is my sister, Christine. And my big friend here is-" David cut him off by standing up and walking over to the princess, causing everyone to stare at him in shock as he approached her with that same soft smile on his face. When he approached, he knelt down on one knee and took one of her front hooves in hand, placing a kiss right on the front of it the same way a guy kisses a lady's hand. "Greetings, Princess. My name is David, and it tis pleasure to be in your presence, m'lady." Great...the chivalry voice is back. Though it appeared to be having a strong effect on the night horse as she blushed heavily while suddenly smiling wide. "O-Our name is Luna..." She said as David made his way back to his seat, ignoring the smug look of Brim and my slight glare. "What was that all about?" I whispered/hissed at him as he smiled at me. "I was getting on the good side of a powerful figure in this world." He said as Luna sat down in the chair across from David before turning to her sister. "Dear sister, where did these three come from?" She asked, her mood suprisingly better after Davids stunt. Celestia nodded to Brim, who smiled at the younger princess. "We come from another world, and were brought here by this" He said as he pulled out the amulet he had gotten from that lady he mentioned. My eyed widened with shock as Davids jaw dropped. "You still have that thing?" I asked, blown away that he had somehow managed to get a hold of it before we were sent here. He shrugged, though I could've swore his blue eyes shined gold for a second before he spoke. "I managed ta grab it before everything went white." He said as he noticed Celestia and Luna staring it in shock. "What's this thing to ya girls? Yer staring at it like ya seen a ghost!" Celestia was the first to speak, though it was clear she was rattled by the sight of thst thing. "That amulet is a powerful artifact made by a...certain individual that wanted to be able to stand up to alicorns. He was punished for making it by being sent to Tartarus, but the amulet was never found." David sighed. "If what your saying is true, then it might've been sent to our world somehow. It would explain the magic that flowed from it and how we even got here in the first place." He said as Luna nodded. "Indeed. Whatever thou did to activate it must have caused it to come back, bringing you three with it." She stated as I turned to Celestia. "If that was made to fight alicorns, which I'm guessing is what you two are, how'd you manage to combat it?" I asked as she pulled a necklace of her own out. It was a crystal with a gold chain attached. "This was made by a dragon friend of ours. It negates spells and absorbs them into the crystal, allowing for later use." She said as she put it away before turning to Brim ad he yawned. "Now, you three must be exhausted. We will allow you to take refuge in the castle for as long as need be." I couldn't help but be suprised. "Really? But you barely know us." Luna snickered slightly. "Our sister has made it clear you three aren't threats to the kingdom, especially after bringing such a cursed artifact back to us with no vile intentions." David chuckled at that, before his stomach growled. "Indeed...but could we eat before we rest. I haven't ate all day, and I am starved." I couldn't help but notice I was feeling the same way, and the with that note from David we settled in and ate the food prepared for us. ***************** Nicholas POV ***************** Christine let out a small breath as a small smile graced her face. It was obvious she held that memory close considering she looked pretty happy after recalling it. "It sounded like things were going pretty well." I said, eager to learn more about the past. Christine nodded. "Indeed. And for the next eight months that followed would be heavenly. David ended up becoming a student under Luna and my brother became the head chef of the castle." I stretched my arms out as I asled the next question. "And what about you? What did you do?" Christine turned her head to a flower vase that was frozen over near her and sighed. "I helped make that garden that rests outside. It was only a hedge maze and several random flowers at the time, but I actually managed to create a beautiful garden from it." She smiled softly as she turned back to me. "Those times were amazing. We laughed, we cried, and we loved." I blinked in suprise. "Love?" She laughed. "My exact reaction at the time. Brim was the first to do so by proposing to Celestia after month six went by. David and I actually got together only a month into being in that world, and ended up herding with two other guys I had befriended at those council meetings Celestia did with other species." "Whoa, who were they?" I asked, blwon away by the what I told. I knew herds worked with multiple females, but the other way around? Christine's face blushed slightly as she recalled the names. "One was Erdrick, a dragon guard that I met while attempting to prank Luna. And the other was Grimbeak, the-" "King of the Griffons?! No way!" I exclaimed loudly, accidently interrupting her. Unfazed by my interruption, she continued. "Indeed. He always was the most...cowardly of the three mates I had, but he also had a real knack with metal." She shook her head. "Regardless, they agreed to share me in the first mostly male herd to exist at the time. I even ended up pregnant with triplets thanks to a special spell from some bell-obsessed wizard guy." I raised an eyebrow at the last part, but chalked it up to Equestria weirdness. "So, you were set to have kids...but what happened? Something had to had gone wrong." It was then that her face went from storytelling content back to insane rage as she stood up immediately. "What went wrong?! I was simply enjoying my own life when I was attacked by Princess Luna!" My jaw dropped. "Luna? But she's harmless!" "HARMLESS?!?!" She yelled back, turning to a frozen pony that looked familiar and kicking it over. "I was simply resting in a garden I had set up in the north for Grimbeak when she appeared proclaiming that my children would grow up to destroy the kingdom and everyone in it!" I took a step back from her rage as I mind attempted to process what I was told. But why would Luna do that? Apparently, Christine saw my confusion as she picked up a staff off the ground. The staff was almost purely white, but had some blue gem sticking out of the end of it. "She claimed that she had gotten the information from my brother, but why would he tell her something like that? It was obvious that she wanted Dadiolus for herself, and killed me to do so." She exclaimed as I found myself wondering one thing. "What about the children...what did she do to them?" I couldn't help but ask. Christine paused in her furious state and, for a moment, looked extremely human before the snarling ice form resettled as she stared me down. "It was a spell, something about banishment to another world or something. But thats besides the point, all I need now is-" CRASH! I turned around quickly and saw that Raiden and Luna were the cause of the noise, the latter looking far more angry at Christine while mt beother simply looked worried. Crap...now things are gonna get bad. ***************** Raiden POV/ 5 minutes ago ***************** "What do you mean Brim told you bout a vision?" I asked Luna as she finished explaining why she attacked a pregnant lady in a garden. She had been recounted her tale of events that had transpired so long ago, and I had actually learned a bunch from it. David was apparently Dadiolus before some tragedy took place, my grandfather not only caused their trip to Equestria but may also have future vision apparently. And the lady on the other side of the door is my technical great aunt. That's a lot to swallow, honestly. Luna sighed. "During his training, Callobrim learned the ability of clairvoyance, giving him sight into the future. He saw what would happen if the kids were born, so he asked me to handle it." I looked to the door as she finished speaking, torn by what I was hearing. Vision or not, why not simply keep watch over the kids and make sure they dont turn evil. Did you have to resort to violence? Seeing my discomfort, Luna draped a wing around my back as she came and nuzzled my neck. "We understand the confusion, love. But it had to be done, just like now we have to finish this once and for all." She stated as I nodded. "Anything to protect Nicholas. Lets go." Just before I went to open the door, I turned back to Luna. "Anything else you need to get off your chest before we go in? I need you at your best for when we fight that woman." She shook her head and put a smile on her face. "Nay, we are ready." I smiled, always loving it when she spoke in that old fashioned way. "Then lets go!" With that, I reared back and kicked open the doors, causing quite the loud crash. Upon entry, I spotted Nicholas (thankfully unharmed) and ahead of him was... Holy shit. This lady looked crazy! Her body was covered in an icy dress while her eyes had these crystals spurting out of them instead of, well, eyeballs. She also had a staff that had a similar ice chunk poking out of it. The lady looked straight at Luna, who was looking pretty ticked off herself, and growled. "Look who finally comes and to visit." She jeered while chuckling lightly. "Tell me, princess. I'm not pregnant and weak bodied anymore, so how do you plan on killing me this time?" Luna stepped forward as Nicholas looked between the two, a look of worry on his face. "Thou should've stayed six feet under, Christine. You were never meant to survive the bonding spell with the wendigo." She said as Nicholas looked straight at Luna in shock. "Wait...you did that to her? What did she do? I thought you only cast a spell on the children?" He asked her as Christine laughed. "Of course, you didn't tell them that you went above and beyond with your stunt that day, did you? why don't you explain why you froze over a pregnant woman who couldn't defend herself?" The ice queen stated as Luna took a step back, her ears pressed against her head as she looked between me and Nicholas. I stepped toward Luna. "Babe...what did you do?" She averted her gaze to the ground, unable to face me. "We...I..." Christine shrugged. "Fine. I'll tell them. She froze me over not out of fear of me being evil, but jealousy over the fact David rejected her romantic advances and went to me instead." I looked between the two, unable to hide my suprise. Christine looked smug, yet deeply pained by the memory while Luna looked ashamed. "Luna...tell me you didnt?" I asked her as she finally faced me. "At that time, I was already feeling jealous of my sister and our ponies love for her. When we realized that David didn't share the feelings we bore for him, and Brim gave us the information on her children..." Nicholas frowned. "You decided to kill her in cold blood, huh." I turned to him, shocked he would say such a thing. "Nicholas!" But he wasn't having it, and he looked outright pissed. "NO! For the past month this woman has been in my head for who knows what reason sending me crazy dreams and crap and come to find out the only reason she's like this is because some princess got jealous?!" Luna turned to him, slight anger in her own eyes at the outburst. "Do not speak about things you do not understand, child." She demanded, but that only fueled his fire. "Understand?! YOU ORPHANED THREE KIDS ON A HUNCH! Then you went and killed the mother on your own accord! What's not to understand!" He yelled as Luna closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to shut his voice out. "No..." She moaned quietly as I stood there, frozen in place as I watched the interaction. "And to think you and Celestia tried Ronin for murder! YOUR JUST AS MUCH A MONSTER AS YOU MADE HIM OUT TO BE!" Christine looked to Nicholas in shock. "Did you say...Ronin? That would only mean..." Luna turned to her in a rage. "Enough! I will not allow you to cause anymore strife!" Her horn glowed, and after summoning a blade, sent it hurtling right at Christine. With a flick of her staff, she knocked the blade away and smirked. "As I said before, I'm not helpless anymore. If you want me dead, your gonna have to work for it this time." With that, she flew forward and swung her staff at Luna in a horizontal manner. With a flash of blue light, Luna had summoned two smaller blades that seemed to curve slightly to block the blow, completely different from the mace she had weilded before against Volt. Luna smirked and pushed Christine back a couple feet with her blades and turned to Raiden. "Get Nicholas out of here! I'll handle Christine." She yelled to me. I nodded, knowing that for now I needed to trust her and could ask questions later. I turned to Nicholas, who was giving me a suprisingly angry glare. "What's with the look? We need to get you-" "I'm not going anywhere. And neither should you! We need to stop that fight." He said as Christine sent a ice beam from her staff right at Luna, who parried it with one of her blades, sending it right at us. "Crap!" I yelled before i spread my wings quickly and, while grabbing Nicholas, used the momentum to jump out of the way and to jump through the door back outside. As we landed, the doors to the throne room shut quickly and were frozen over in ice, an effect from that ice beam no doubt. I stood up and looked around, sighing in relief when I saw Nicholas unhurt several feet from me, though his glare still stood strong. "Raiden. Let me through. I need to help Christine not die by your crazy girlfriends hands." He said as I frowned, unable to understand what i just heard. "Absolutely not! First off, Luna's not crazy! She'll explain everything once Christine's dead. Second off, Your not walking onto a battlefield at ALL." I said as I crossed my arms and huffed, letting out a little smoke in the process. BOOM! The whole hallway shook as an explosion from the throne room went off. This only seemed to determine Nicholas further though, because after he recovered his footing he pulled out some shades and out them on, tranforming into that performer form he uses. Nah, he ain't thinking... "Raiden...I need to get back into that room. Please get out of my way." He said as his eyes glowed slightly. I sighed, but before I could retort Tak and his two other changeling dudes came out of the room and looked between us. "Uh...did we miss something?" **************** Nicholas POV **************** I turned to Tak and the others and smiled, albeit briefly. "Hey guys! Find Larxene?" Tak nodded, though him and the others gained less than happy expressions at the mention of their comrade. "We did, and lets just say finding her forgotten in some random room was not the best thing for me to see today." He stopped and looked at Raiden, then back to me. "Uh...what are you doing though?" I sighed and pointed at Raiden. "Long story short, his girlfriend murdered a pregnant woman years ago, pregnant woman is the ice queen thats in my head. Now the two are fighting again and Raiden wont let me stop it." Axel snorted. "That was the short version? Damn." Roxas turned to Raiden, a look of confusion on his face. "Raiden...Did you see larxene in that room?" He frowned in thought for a second before his eyes lit up in recognition. "Yeah, while we were placing fluttershy there we found her body just dumped there." Tak blinked before frowning. "...And you didn't think to do anything about it?" Raiden shrugged. "I mean, what was I supposed to do? She's a changeling, and I don't know how to handle that crap. We both know Ronins the bug boy of the two of us." Axel growled as he stomped a hoof. "You could've at least had your magic princess clean her up or something! Not leave her in that blood pool!" he yelled as Roxas turned his face away as he trembled slightly, though no one noticed but me. Tak frowned stepping forward to where he was besides me. "And yet you didnt. I wonder, was it because you were busy with your princess, or because she wasn't a pony?" Raidens eyes went wide before he gritted his sharp teeth, allowing me to see his dragon fangs for the first time. "How dare you! Luna cares about changelings as much as anyone else. We had bigger issues to deal with." He yelled as I sighed. "This is getting nowhere. Raiden, move out of the way, I need to stop that fight." Raiden looked me in the eyes as he stared me down for what felt like minutes as a smaller rumble went through the hallway. "...Your not gonna let up, huh." He said as he summoned his axes, though they looked...blunter somehow. "If you want to get in there, your gonna have to prove you can handle yourself first." I clenched my fist and smiled, eager to prove myself to one of my role models in my life, though I paused when I felt s hoof on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Tak there, smiling at me. "We wilk help too. We have to get to the princess and the queen if we are to get answers." Axel snorted as he cracked his hooves...somehow. "Alright! Never fought a dragon before! could be fun!" Roxas, who had been shaking this whole time, looked to Raiden with an anger I didn't think the guy could muster. "You found a dead changeling, left them there to rot...Your marefriend is apparently just as guilty of murder as our king is, yet she judged him...and now you want to bar our path from the truth!? SCREW YOU AND YOUR PONY FRIENDS!!!" With that, Roxas charged up a big beam and blasted it at Raiden, who barely had time to put uo his axes to deflect it. The beam bounced off his axes and hit the door, not only unfreezing it but also blasting it open as well. I turned to Roxas, only to find him laying on the ground, probably pooped from using that much magic at once. Raiden smirked. "Well, that was mighty powerful for such a little guy. Then again, Chrysalis made y'all from my bros love, so no suprise there." He said as a closed the distance between us quickly and swung an axe down towards me at a blinding speed. CLANG! A guitar blocked the shot, and a look to my right showed Axel had changed forms and had conjured another guitar like the one he used during the performance. "Nice Axe, wanna see me grind mine?" He said as he pushed Raiden back a couple feet before ripping a cord on his guitar, sending a wave of magic at him. Raiden huffed and spread his wings, taking to the air and above the red wave sent at him. "Didn't know you three could copy Nicholas like that. Lets see if-OW!" A yellow blast hit Raiden square in the shoulder as Tak chuckled. "If you talk this much, this fight will be even easier than I thought." Raiden glared at the kid as his eyes began to glow a deep blue. "You want to see power kid? Lets do this!" He started inhaling big as a loud yell rang out from behind him and another ice beam shot past Raiden and over our heads, causing us to duck and a grimace to go on my face. Crap, the fight in the throne room is still going, but Raiden isn't letting up! What to do? I thought as Raiden exhaled the breath he had been storing, causing a bright blue flame to fly towards us. Roxas chose that time to wake uo though, and responded to the big flame by putting up an orange bubble around us, though it started to flicker under the strain of the tired changeling. "Axel! Assist Roxas in the shield. Nick! Get ready to go!" Tak said as his own horn started to glow while Axel reverted back to his normal form to assist Roxas, causing the shield to get a orange/red shine to it. "Go?! Where?" I yelled over the sounds of magic and fire. How much fire can Raiden produce? Tak smiled. "The door behind Raiden is open, If we can get you in there, then you can stop the fighting and save the city. We'll keep Raiden at bay, but you need to stop this at the heart!" It was then that a loud, and veeeery pained, scream let out from behind everyone. Raiden stopped the fire immediately and turned around, a tone of fear in his voice. "Luna? Luna, are you alright?!" He asked quickly as Tak nodded to me as Roxas let down the shield. I ran forward, sliding underneath Raiden due to him still hovering over the ground. "What the...NICHOLAS!" He yelled out, amd I almost could feel him as he broke after me. Though, as I turned back to see if he was going to catch me or not, I found him being restrained by a magic rope around him, with Tak being the weilder. "GO!" Tak yelled as Axel helped him pull while Roxas started to close the doors. nearby. I nodded before rurning straight again and running through the doors, jumping through the space in between just before Roxas closed them with a very audible thud. Well...it's just me now. I thought as I approached the throne and the one who was standing in front of it. Christine looked very out of breath, and was currently holding one of the blades Luna had summoned in her hand while pointing it at the princess. Said princess was on the ground looking uo at the frozen human, a small pool of blood slowly getting bigger beneath her. "I don't recall you being this slow, Luna." She said as she knelt next to the princess of night and stroked her cheek. "Tell me, should I carve out your insides and make them your outsides? Or should I just execute you?" I frowned and stepped forward. "How about neither?" I said as they both turned to look at me, one with shock and the other with fear. "Nicholas?! No no no, thou needs to leave, NOW!" Luna said, attempting to stand but was kicked back down by Christine. "Nuh uh uh, stay down." She said as she got up and looked at me. "Young boy, you've got guts to walk up to the lady who stabbed the princess of night and demand she stand down." She threw the sword away as her staff returned to her right hand. "But I'll have to ask you to run along now. I doubt you seeing me fillet a horse is good for your mental state." I clenched my fists as I spoke, slowly getting angry at her attitude towards...everything, honestly. "How dare you even try to act like you care! You've been terrorizing my 'mental state' for a month now! And what will killing Luna even accomplish anyway? It's not like that will bring back your dead children!" I retorted as Christines eyes widened and I realized that I might have just hit a nerve. "How dare YOU!" She screamed as I noticed the icy mist in the room was slowly getting thicker. "You don't understand just how much I hate this princess, this country, and this world! I never asked to come here, and doing so ruined my life!" Those odd ice horse things (Wendigo, I think...) started appearing nearby the queen, looking quite happy for some reason as their ruler snapped. Christine looked to them and smiled before turning to me. "It's clear I won't be able to force you to hate like I did that stupid prince, so I'll just have to improvise." She turned to her icy subjects. "My friends! Absorb my hatred and my power, all of it! We have a new plan, Kill the boy first!" What happened next...was far more disturbing than watching a pony get cut open. Christine opened her arms as hundreds of those Wendigo flew into her or stayed on the outside gnawing at her. After a second, a wall of frozen mist surrounded the queen, though I could hear her either yelling with maddened glee or screaming in pain. Luna, finally being able to stand, turned to me. "Nicholas...Leave. Let us handle this." I shook my head. "Absolutely not. I have to see this through." I looked at her left side, noticing the bloodied spot was already healing. "You might want to go and check on Raiden after this is done. He's probably gonna need your love after this mess." Luna chuckled. "It may as well be thw other way around, considering...oh my." Luna trailed off as the mist wall disappeared, revealing the fate of Christine. What was once a woman with ice issues was now what looked like a werewolf with ice hanging off his fur. His teeth were razor sharp and looked like icicles, while is claws were actual claws that were easily the size of my head. "So...Much...Hate." The wolf said as Luna backed up slightly. "What the heck?" I yelled as Luna grimaced at the sight of the towering wolf. (It was taller than Celestia!) "She summoned Fenrir, and used her body as the portal for his soul." Luna said before turning to me. "Nicholas, I need to go get your brother. Can you survive long enough until then?" I looked between the two, realizing Raidens fire may just be needed here. "Go, I'll keep her busy!" I said as Luna nodded and teleported away. Hearing a growl, I turned to face the winter wolf as I straightened my shades. "We...recall you having a deep connection with a couple of girls in ponyville. After we kill you, perhaps it would be best to pay a certain rich filly a visit." My eyes widened as what she said rang through loud and clear. If I didn't win here, she would go after the girls! Diamond would... I felt something right then, as if something deep withen was being awakened. I looked down at my hands and noticed they were now glowing the same red shade my magic did when I used it. I looked up at Christine and made eye contact with the souless black eyes of an animal. "You think...I'm going to let you leave and hurt those I care about?! Never! As long as I'm alive, youll never leave this castle!" Christine cackled slightly, the laugh sounding very hoarse with the animal lungs she had. "That's the idea, boy." She said as she shot a huge beam of ice from her jaws right at me. I threw up my hands as soon as it connected, feeling the ice hit my hand and disappear immediately. After she stopped, the only damage done was to the area around me that was covered in ice. "HOW ARE YOU ALIVE!" She yelled as I could feel myself charging up. Lets do this. I ran forward, picking up one of the blades Luna had summoned on the way. Christine swung her claws at me from a diagonal angle, but almost lost her balance as I simply appeared behind her instead. "What the- GAH!?" She said before I stabbed the blade through her right arm. In a rage, she swung around, slamming me in the face with her left arm and sending me across the room into a wall. I shook my head and looked up just as she was rushing towards me. But just before she could land a shot she was caught blindsided by a clawed fist from Raiden. "Bro!" I yelled as I got up. Raiden looked at me for a second and smiled before eyeing the monstrous thing in front of us. "Of course! Leave it to Ronin to pull an escape heist and leave us to handle the gaurd dogs." He said as his body started glowing slightly. "What the he-" He was cut off by large flash of light as it engulfed him, and when it left the result was... Crap. Raiden was human again! Thankfully, he had his blue jeans and shirt from before the transformation on (Don't even ask how that works), but he was HUMAN. We needed dragon Raiden! "What the heck happened to-NICHOLAS, WATCH OUT!" He yelled as he pushed me out of the way of whatever was behind me. I was knocked away a couple yards thabks to the ice sliding me, but I quickly got up and turned to face Raiden... ...Only to cry out in shock as I saw that Christine had impaled him with her claws. Raiden looked at her first, then to me before smiling weakly. I Love you, bro. He mouthed as Christine pulled him off her claws and chunked him through the doors outside. No. No...No No No No No No. He can't be dead. He'll be fine. It's Raiden! He's tough! He cant be...... I found myself turning towards Christine as I felt that power from before glow even brighter. She must've noticed this to, because the confident smirk that was on her face was replaced with one of fear. "That power...you can't be..." She muttered as I let out a loud yell that echoed everywhere. "YOU. WILL. PAY!" I roared as I moved forward at a blinding speed and placed a hand on her right arm, blowing it off immediately with a small blast. AAAAH! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Oh, she didn't like that at all, but I was far from done with her. As she attempted to jump out one of the windows to escape, I reached a hand out and snapped my fingers. She collided with what was now a brick wall. Looking sround she realized all the windows were now brick walls. She turned back to find me now with a hand in her left arm. "Child...Please." She begged, but I just didn't care anymore. With another blast, I took off her left arm, causing her to look like one of those fountains in a park...except with blood. NOOOO! I CAN'T...AH! She screamed as I placed both hands on her chest and looked her in the eyes. "You...you'll destroy everything...Luna was right all along." She said with a cough. Ignoring her words, I focused my power into my hands and released it, causing everything to go white. ******************* In space/Faust POV ******************* I was awoken by a surge of power I hadn't felt since Tarus became a god. I quickly appeared by the globe and scanned it, knowing exactly what I was looking for. His powers are awakened already? What could've caused...Oh. I paused just as I watched the boy blast what had to be Christines body to dust before fainting himself. As I continued watching, theee changelings came into the room and immediately sent to his aid while the ice everywhere slowly started to fade. Seconds with his power, and he kills already... I thought as I looked to the scale I had on the side. The time for the Era to be released is coming faster than I wished...But with this new situation, it may be needed. I turned away and looked towards the stars, noticing an odd feeling in my gut. Is this...fear? Is this what mortals feel? It's been ages, and only now do I feel it? I thought, thinking back to the boy. I can't allow that child to replace me. Either Tarus figures out how to kill him, or I'm going to do it myself. > Chapter 60: Divine intervention > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* "Ugh...What hit me?" I thought as I slowly woke up with a splitting headache and opened my eyes slowly. As I did, I shot up to a sitting position quickly as I realized I was in a jail cell...again. "Why the hell am I back in jail?" I exclaimed as I heard a snort come from my leg. I looked down at my left leg to find Twilight snuggled up on it, her hooves curled around it like she was climbing a pole while her face was buried into my thigh. Great...Raidens nerdy crush is smothering my leg. Guess she must've got caught in the teleport then. I sighed and poked her nose, making her sneeze like a kitten, but still stay asleep. Giving up on that for now, I looked around, hoping to find something used to escape the cell. The cell itself was almost exactly like the one I had been in at the castle, except it had no bed, the toilet was right there in the open, and once you looked outside it there was just a small room with a door that had a symbol of the sun on it. Wait a tick...a sun? Looking around the room ahead of me, I noticed that the room had orange walls with white pillars lining the corners of the room while a red carpet led from the door to the cell. The carpet itself had another sun symbol on it in blazing colors. Where the heck did we end up? The last thing I remember happening was the trial scene with Grimbeak and the girls. I thought as I remembered what I had been told by Redheart during the trial. Pinkie was pregnant..I'm going to be a father. Was I even ready for such a thing? I had been admittedly careless in my more romantic ventures believing that I couldn't give children to anything here, but obviously that isnt true. I looked at my hands as I pondered this further. Was this because of my changeling blood somehow making me compatible? And if so, could Chrysalis be... A moan brought me out of my funk as Twilight started to stir. She yawned and stretched her neck a bit before nuzzling my leg futher as she opened her eyes, her face looking straight up at me. "Howdy." I said with a smirk. "AHHH!" She yelled as she hopped up from her previous position like a cat on water. She stepped back several inches before narrowing her eyes at me as a pink hue was across her face. "What was I doing in your lap?" She demanded as I shrugged. "Don't know. I woke up and you were treating me like an armoured build-a-bear." I said with a laugh as Twilight finally took notice of our surroundings. "Wha-Why are we in jail?! We were just in the throne room before that big light surrounded us and..." She said before her eyes widened. "Oh no. Don't tell me I got teleported with you!" I frowned. "Yeah, ya did. And I aint to fond of it myself, bookworm. Especially since I'm in another cell for who knows why!" She glared at me. "Considering everything you've done at this point, you shouldn't be suprised." Oh hell no, I was NOT being talked down to by some pony from gifted section of Equestria. I stood up and gave her a glare of my own, making her original look die away as fear replaced it with her ears splayed backwards on her head. "Now listen here, you. I'll admit I killed a couple ponies when I shouldn't have, but any other actions I did were justified. I already went to trial for that anyway, and YOU spoke for me!" She frowned and stood straight up, meeting me with a stronger glare than before. "I did what I needed to do to help my best friends coltfriend. And what about princess Celestia? Thanks to you, she's been swapped for a nightmare!" She stated as I huffed "For your information, Celestia was a huge part in the near execution of changelings, which are MY people. And Daybreaker isn't even that bad anyway." I retorted lightly as she opened her mouth to argue. "Well, it looks like the two lovebirds are awake." A familiar sultry voice said as a door opened from behind me. I turned around to see none other than Daybreaker walking through the door that was in front of the cell and towards us with a smirk on her muzzle. "Lovebirds?!" Twilight exclaimed incredulously with a tomato-red face as I realized what she had said about us. "Oh hell no! I ain't romancing anypony who's attracted to my brother! That's just weird!" I yelled with my own face heating up as Daybreaker laughed. "Oh, your always so easy to tease, Ronin! But that's not what I saw earlier when I locked you two in there." She said as her smirk vanished. "Imagine my suprise when I find my favorite human hurtling through the magic fields with my second least favorite pony." Twilight frowned. "Least favorite? Why? And where are we?" Daybreaker waved her off with a wing. "Yup. None of your business. And as for your last question...your dreaming." I frowned, not expecting that answer at all. "Soooo, We're both asleep right now?" The princess shrugged. "Wherever your destination was, that's where your bodies are. Your minds, however, are currently entwined with my own." Twilight gasped. "A mind link! But one of this power and range..." She turned her head up at me. "Where were you being sent to?" I raised an eyebrow. "Griffonia...why?" I said as Twilights eyes bugged out. "That's a whole country away!" She turned back to a very bored looking Daybreaker. "How are you keeping that connection stable?" At this, Daybreakers facial expression darkened. "I'm not. Ronin and his brothers have managed to piss off something very powerful. Something that even I know not to fight back against. That's who's keeping this link together." I clenched my fists as I thought about what she said. Who the hell is strong enough to make Daybreaker think twice? And if they are going after all three of us... I placed a hand on the bars in front of me. "Breaker, you've got to let us out. I need to be in Griffonia to stop Grimbeak, and I can't do that here." Daybreaker looked at me for a second or two before bursting out In laughter. After a minute she stopped and looked me in the eyes. "Ronin, let me make something clear." She said as she used her magic to slam me into the bars, causing my face to be inches from hers. "You don't tell me what to do. The only reason your even alive right now is because I need your bonds to stay in power." I frowned. "Bonds?" She cackled slightly. "Indeed. When you and I...connected a while back you gave me access to your rather darkened soul. And with that, I was able to set myself in your heart, just enough to allow me to drain power from you all the while make your mind wander back to me from time to time." She turned away from me and started to walk off. "After all, I only needed you to harbor feelings for me to give me power." SLAM! I flinched slightly at the door as she slammed it shut before sitting on the floor, staring at my hands for a moment before feeling a hoof on my shoulder. "Ronin..." I heard Twilight say as I sighed. "Save it, bookworm. I know I messed up. I let some fire horse into my soul and now not only are we in danger, but quite possibly my herdmates and the hive as well." I turned to see Twilight frowning. "How are they in danger?" I took a deep breath, recalling what I knew about the hive mind. "All changelings are linked through a mindscape called Eureka. Chrysalis and I have the biggest influence to this area and can allow outsiders access by connecting with them. It's a two-way street though, and now that Daybreaker has access to it..." "She could mentally attack everypony that's connected to it." Twilight finished as her eyes widened. "Wait! That means Pinkie is- "In danger, thanks to me. And after finding out she's pregnant too." I said as Twilight gasped. "She's WHAT!" Twilight all but screamed at me as I flinched from the volume of her voice before standing up and looking out the cell door. "Yup, pregnant." I said as I looked at the lock, which was one of those locks that are inside the cell door that need a key to be stuck in them. But before I could figure out anything, I felt myself get spun around to face a slowly freaking out Twilight. "How can you say that so casually! It's a NEWBORN FOAL, AND YOUR THE-" I snapped. I really tried not to, but this bookworm was really pissing me off. "YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!" I yelled, causing her to fall back on her flank and stare at me like a deer in headlights. "I've never had a kid before, Sparkle. I haven't the foggiest idea how to care for one and, quite frankly, I'm worried I might not even be there to see him or her grow up." Twilight frowned. "Wait, why?" She asked as I face-palmed while giving her a dry stare. "Twi, you can't raise a family if your executed." I stated as Twilight let out an "oh" snd rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Not only that, but this while situation as well. Daybreaker, Dadiolus, and whoever else wants my head on a silver platter!" Twilight sighed before she walked over and looked out the cell, placing her front hooves on the door. "Ronin...I'm sorry." This caught me by suprise. "Uh...why?" She turned to me, a rather sad frown on her face. "When I heard about the things you did a while ago, I honestly couldn't see you as anything but a threat to the kingdom." She sighed. "But, Raiden and Pinkie wanted you free, and I wasn't about to go against my friends." I crossed my arms, but nodded. "Go on." She looked away as she sat down, placing her back against the bars. "Now, however, I know its not that simple. Anything you did was either due to a lack of information and orders being given, or for the sake of those you love. And it's not like I'm not guilty of those sort of things as well." I snorted. "And what has the great and powerful Twilight Sparkle done?" For some reason, she narrowed her eyes at me while looking VERY ticked for a second. "How did you-nevermind that. Lets just say I've almost given up on my friends before due to a certain problem or almost destroyed towns due to overthinking a problem." I shrugged. "Guess we're both a bunch of goofs that either overthink or don't think at all, huh." Twilight laughed a bit at that. "Yeah, I guess so." She said as I noticed her dawn a sadder face all of a sudden. "Hey, whats with the sad look." I asked as she looked up at me. "It's just...do you think Raiden actually likes me?" She asked suddenly, but not suprisingly. I groaned inwardly as I realized I'd have to be the one to tell her this. The entire time I had watched the two interact, I could see (Hell, I could feel) the varying emotions between the two. Twilight always had a puppy dog romantic interest in him, but Raiden didn't seem to have the same spark for her that he had for Luna. Yes, he deeply liked her as a friend, but I never really sensed much more from him in that aspect. "Honestly, I wouldn't count on him turning around." But before she could get mopey or retort, I raised a hand. "Let me explain. Raiden is quite possibly the most 'set in his ways' person I have met. I doubt he'd ever herd or even make that decision." She frowned. "But you did almost immediately! And we both know half the fillies have a crush on Nicholas." She said as I blinked in shock. Half? What type of Casanova has he turned into while being here? "Well, I've always been the most open to try stuff of the three of us. As for Nick? He's got a heart of gold." I said with a laugh as I realized that if Nicholas was an adult, neither me or Raiden would have a chance with the ladies here. "But Raiden? He's a tad more difficult." As I finished speaking, I noticed Twilight now looked downright miserable, and I couldn't blame her. She been teleported alongside someone she doesn't like to another country, mentally trapped in a cell, and now is being told her crush might never like her back. I sighed and knelt on one knee, placing a hand on her shoulder as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Now, just because it will be difficult doesn't mean you give up. You want him, right?" She nodded as I smiled. "Then when we get back, tell him that. SHOW him how much you want to be his!" I stated before an idea came to mind. I stood and turned to the cell door and kicked it, suprised that in return the door blasted off its hinges and fell to the ground in a heap. Twilight jumped up and looked at the door in awe. "How did you do that?" She exclaimed as I shrugged. "We're in a dream, so I figured normal rules don't apply." I said as we walked out of our prision and into the hall. Eyeing the sun-crested door ahead I sighed. "Twilight...stay out here." She looked up at me in shock. "What?! Why?!" "Because behind that door is your mentor, nightmare or not. And if things get violent, I need you to stay in peak condition." I said as I went to open the door, but was stopped by a purple glow surrounding me. "We're in this together, Ronin." She said as she walked up beside me and released me from her hold. "And besides, when we wake up, I'd rather not be in Griffonia alone if something was to happen to you." I laughed lightly and placed my hand on the door and pushed it open. "Well then, lets go and save a princess." ***************** Diamond Tiara POV ***************** After the...argument with Applebloom everyone had decided to leave the caves and return aboveground to get something to eat. Silverspoon and Zexion went back to the uptown district while Sweetiebelle and I would go around town and keep an eye out for Applebloom while Scootaloo stayed behind to help some of the changelings with some sort of "Retrieval strategy"... ...Whatever that meant. "Where do you think Applebloom went?" Sweetiebelle asked me as we had just gotten some apples from Appleblooms sister who had pointed us in the direction she had seen Applebloom run. "Either back to her farm...or that clubhouse of yours. Unless she's simply sitting somewhere and pouting." I speculated as Sweetiebelle frowned. "Now thats not very nice, Diamond Tiara." She said as I sighed and looked at while we moved out of the way of some hooded stallion that walked by. "Look, I hate to be blunt, but what she's angry about is out of my control. Nicholas didn't have to agree to my mothers contract, but he did. The sooner Applebloom realizes that the easier things will be for her." I stated as I stopped and looked up, just now noticing the sunset. "When did it get so late?" Sweetiebelle tilted her head as she did a three-sixty while looking at the stars. "I guess we spent more time in the caves than we thought." I groaned at that, realizing that mom and dad were gonna kill me if I didn't get home soon. But just before I could tell Sweetiebelle about it, I noticed something in the distance. "Sweetiebelle...does that look like a chariot to you?" I asked her as I pointed a hoof at the approaching object in the sky. Sure enough, it flew over head and continued flying by us... ...straight to the hospital. Sweetiebelle gasped. "Omigosh, Diamond that chariot had Princess Lunas mark on it!" I frowned. "And how did you see that? I could barely make anything out on it!" Sweetiebelle smiled sheepishly. "Being Raritys sister forces me to be able to pay closer attention to the small things. Its part of how my sister makes such good clothes." "Huh. That's actually pretty cool." I stated as I turned towards the hospital. "C'mon, lets go and check it out. If it is the princess, then they may have info about Nicholas and the others!" "Right!" Sweetiebelle agreed as we ran off towards the hospital, barely noticing another chariot or two fly overhead towards the same place. ****************** Ronin POV ****************** Walking into the room, I could tell that something bad was gonna happen. Its just one of those gut feelings, ya know? The room itself wasnt too fancy. It had white walls and simple decorations that resembled the castle decor, all the while that same carpet cut a line down the middle straight to a desk at the back of the place. And who else but Daybreaker would be waiting for us in said desk. "Ah, so you decided to finally break out. I thought I'd have to leave a key nearby or something for you to do so." She stated as Twilight stepped forward. "Let Princess Celestia go!" She demanded as I crossed my arms while keeping eye contact with Daybreaker. Unlike a few minutes ago, she seemed less...headstrong. Almost as if she was afraid of something. The solar nightmare sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not gonna happen. You see, I don't feel like letting her go, and besides, I'm much better than her anyway." She stated as she smiled at Twilight. "What kind of mentor lets a young girl face a world threat?" She then turned her head to me. "Oh, and Ronin? You should know that while Celestia's rage at Nightmare moons birth fueled my existence, It was I who slaughtered most of your kind. I told you otherwise just to get you to side with me." I clenched my fists as I was reminded of that fact. Chrysalis had said something similar before the trial, and now it was obvious I had been duped. But there was something else I needed to know before I could go and fight her. "Daybreaker! You said Celestia had sinned greatly, as bad as Luna...what did she do?" I asked as Twilight frowned while Daybreaker chuckled and went to answer. "That's none of your concern, child." The smug look on Daybreakers face disappeared as her face paled and her flames dimmed greatly. Twilight and I turned around to see the origin of the voice, only to be speechless at the sight. The being front of us was certainly a female, though her body shined like it was made of pure gold. Her mane was a blue color similar to Luna's, though it flowed just as well as theirs as well despite there being no wind. Her eyes were a golden shade that seemed eerily familiar, yet I couldn't place where I had seen it before. "F-Faust?! You've come early!" Daybreaker stated as she got up and walked up to the mare, pushing past us to stand in front of the golden female. "As you can see, I have the boy and Celestia's student right here!" Twilight looked up at me, a look of shock on her face. I put a finger to my lips and nodded as Faust spoke back to Daybreaker. "My child, you have done wonderfully." She placed her horn on Daybreakers as a golden glow surrounded the fiery mare. "Now, I shall finally free you from your prision." Daybreaker smiled big and even cackled a bit. "Finally...its been far too long to-AGH!" With a slight golden flash, Daybreakers whole body was turned to dust by our golden visitor. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed as Twilight jumped back in shock before getting close to me. "W-What did you do to her!" She yelled as Faust looked at us, both bored and unaffected by the murder that just took place. "I vaporized her." She stated plainly, as if she was talking about the weather. "She did her job and wanted to be free, so I freed her...of life's burdons." I stared at the ashes in shock as my mind reeled. Daybreaker was a manipulative ass, but this? No one deserved to be vaporized like that! Faust sighed. "Relax, Celestia will wake up her normal self. As will you two when you awake." She then walked straight up to me, inches from my face as she spoke in a whisper. "And Ronin? Let those ashes be a warning. If you or any of your brothers try to interfere with my will, then your fate shall be far worse than death." With that, a golden flash showed that she had left us alone in the room. For a moment, neither of us said anything until Twilight looked up at me. "Ronin." She said as the whole room started to dim. "I think you and your brothers just ticked off a god." She said just before all went dark again. ******************** Diamond Tiara POV ******************** We rushed to the hospital just as the second chariot landed. As we approached, Sweetiebelle pointed ahead. "Tiara, look!" She said as she pointed to a stretcher that had... "NICHOLAS!!" I yelled as we ran up to the strecher, just as Tak and the other two changelings stepped in front of us. "Guys, I know you want to see Nicholas, but some bad stuff happened in Canterlot and he needs to rest." He said as another stretcher went by us, this one had Nicks brother on it. (Wasn't his name Raiden?) Sweetiebelle gasped. "What happened to them?" She asked as Luna galloped into the hospital as well, though she looked bandaged up pretty bad. Axel sighed as he scratched the ground with a hoof. "They fought some ice queen that had it out for the night princess. Raiden got stabbed while Nicholas..." "He apparently passed out, so we found him and brought him to the princess. She then gathered us up and brought us here." Roxas stated as he yawned, looking pretty tired. Something seemed off about that though. "Why didn't Luna take them to a hospital in canterlot? And what happened to the queen?" Tak frowned. "Luna said it would be better to being them here for some reason. As for the Queen, the only thing we found were some blue ashes nearby Nicholas." I tilted my head. "Ashes? from a fight against an ice weilder?" He shrugged as he walked over to the back of the stretcher. "I don't know, but for now lets get Nicholas inside. When he wakes up we can get answers." He and the other changelings then pushed Nicholas inside as Sweetiebelle and I followed close behind. Could this had been why Nicholas teleported us? I thought as we entered the hospital. And if so, how could he have known? We were there for Ronin, not to hunt some sort of queen! I shook my head, clearing the thoughts away. Enough of that. My coltfriend is hurt, and that is my top priority right now. We can learn more about that other stuff later when Nick wakes up. At least, I hope he does. > Chapter 61: Pain and suspicion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Tak's POV* Beep. Beep. Beep. That was all the could be heard in the hospital room they had put Nicholas in. Even with no injuries (Though he did sport an unsettling pale complexion) physically present, the night princess had decided to put him on those life machines just to watch his condition. After landing in ponyville, and meeting up with half of Nicholas's little romance posse, we followed the doctors as they had put him in a room besides the one they put Raiden in. Unlike Nicholas, his brother had been pumped with healing spells since being loaded into a chariot by Luna herself. Whatever sliced his innards had punctured several organs, including his lungs, and he was now hanging onto life by a thread. So, while Luna resided with Raiden and watched over him, I had taken it upon myself to help look after Nicholas. (Of course, the yellow pegasus that claims to be his mom had been doing most of the work after we arrived with Luna, so I mostly just helped her.) And that's how we got to where we were now: A bunch of kids sitting around the bed and a timid pegasus quietly watching over Nicholas with a far off gaze as we conversed about the events so far. "So, where's the rest of your crusader crew?" Axel asked Sweetiebelle as he stretched his legs from the chair he was sitting on. He had transformed into his bipedal form to help push Nicholas to the room and for some reason hadn't changed back. Sweetiebelle sighed. "Applebloom is upset due to learning about...complications surrounding Nicks ability to date more than one mare." Nicholas's current marefriend flinched at that. "As for Scootaloo...she's been with the changelings hive." My eyes widened as I stood. I had forgotten all about Scootaloo! "Is she ok?!" I asked a bit too loudly as everyone jumped a bit in response to my loudness. After the death of Larxene, I found myself suddenly very trigger happy when it came to people I cared about and their health. Before we had left from Canterlot, we had held a three changeling burning ceremony for our fallen comrade at arms. Afterwards, we took the yellow pegasus with us and she had ended up waking up on the way back. Let's just say she was less than enthused to be surrounded by danged pony-like forms. Thankfully, she recognized me and calmed down enough to not have a heart attack. Sweetiebelle smiled sheepishly. "She's doing pretty well, actually. Though she's been a bit busy with some sort of project under the town." So she's working on THAT, huh. Figures she get roped into that pink mares weirdness. I nod and rise to my hooves. "As much as I'd like to stay and wait for Nicholas to wake up, I need to check in on the hive in changeling." I turn to Axel. "Stay here and make sure NOTHING with bad intentions gets to him." I order with extreme sterness in my voice. Axel nods as Roxas follows me out. Hopefully, Nicholas wakes up soon. I have a feeling we're gonna need his power. ******************** Diamond Tiara POV ******************** After Tak left, I looked towards Fluttershy, who had been silently caring watching over Nicholas this whole time. After seeing Nicholas, she had immediately started making sure he was OK. From helping the nurses with anything she could to simply watching over him, she has been keeping it up for at least an hour now and honestly, I'm worried she blames herself for what happened to him at Canterlot It was at this point that Sweetiebelle got up with a yawn. "Where are you going?" I asked her as she gave me a tired smile. "I'm falling asleep, and I don't want to worry my sister by staying here. When Nicholas wakes up, don't forget to find me and the others." She said as she walked out, leaving me alone with the changeling and Fluttershy. Said changeling turns to me and nods his head. "I'm going to go escort the lady out. Watch over our bud, ok?" He said as he walked out of the room without another word. I sighed and walked over to the bed where Fluttershy was literally just watching Nicholas without moving an inch. "Um...Fluttershy?" I said hesitantly as she looked to me, allowing me to see the sadness in her eyes. Yup, she blames herself. "Oh...hello Diamond Tiara." She said meekly as she turned back to Nicholas. "Are you ok?" I asked her, and for a minute I didn't even receive any sort of answer until she finally spoke up. "I was in a garden." She said suddenly, catching me by surprise. "Huh?" I said very professionally. She sighed. "Nicholas was risking his life on an airship and I was frolicking in a garden messing around with the wildlife. And when he went up against a scary ice queen I was ASLEEP!" She had started of quiet, but at that last word she almost hissed it out as she turned to me again. She must have been briefed on the events at Canterlot, and it was obvious she wasn't taking it well. Though the words Ice queen left me clueless. Who the heck did he fight? I thought as she continued. "I wasn't there for Nicholas when he needed me, and now he's hurt. I promised to look after him, and now he's in the hospital." She now had tears going down her face as she buried her head into her hooves and started to cry. I've never heard her speak so much, or so emotionally. I thought as I placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Listen, Fluttershy. You didn't fail Nicholas in any sort of way, and it's not like we knew that he would be fighting some sort of ice queen thingy." I stated as she stopped crying and lifted her head up at me. "Nicholas found a way to teleport me and the girls away from Canterlot and back here, so I understand feeling useless or being left out of his plans. The main thing is he's here UNHURT." Fluttershy smiled softly and gave me a small nuzzle. "Thank you. I can see why he likes you so much now." Aaaaaand now my face is red, to the pleasure of the giggling pegasus. "Don't say things like that!" I exclaimed while putting my face into my hooves. Just because we liked each other doesn't mean I don't get embarrassed by things like that. I heard her giggling stop as she sighed. "And even Raiden is hurt, except his condition is far worse than Nicks." She said in a low voice as I lowered my hooves and looked at her. "Wait...how bad is he?" I asked her as I heard a crash come from the room next door room. "I SAID TO BE CAREFUL!" A loud voice followed as Fluttershy shrank down a bit in fear as I put a hoof on her shoulder. "You stay with Nicholas, I'll go and check that out." I said as Fluttershy nodded before I turned and walked out of the room, slightly peeved at the interruption. Who the heck even makes that kind of racket in a hospital anyway? ***************** Redheart POV, five minutes ago at Canterlot ***************** "Chrysalis?" The newly alabaster queen turned to me as I spoke up with a raised brow. "What is it, Nurse?" I pointed to the pink cocoon-looking thing that had just left the element of laughter (Yeah, she gave birth to an egg straight from her vagina.). "What in Tartarus did I just watch?" Chrysalis smiled gleefully. "You just witnessed the birth of either the next prince or princess of our hive." She frowned suddenly as she evaporated the scary amounts of confetti that was on the floor. "Though the pounds of confetti that came out of Pinkie was NOT part of that process." I looked over at Pinkie, who now rested in a bed passed out due to the exhaustion of...giving birth? What do I even call what occurred here? As if she read my mind, Chrysalis leaned in to my right ear. "It is called the birthing. It's a glorious occasion we usually celebrate for three nights and three days, but this one was a tad...rushed." I looked up at her and frowned. "Rushed?" I asked, not liking the sound of that at all. Chrysalis nodded. "Indeed. Due to the process happening so fast, the resulting child could be any age or any gender upon hatching." My eyes widened in shock. "Chrysalis! What if something is wrong with the foal?!" The queen scoffed. "Nonsense! No changeling spawn have ever came out wrong before!" She retorted, looking sure of herself. I face-hoofed. "Have you ever had a child from anypony like Pinkie pie before?" The smug look of Chrysalis's face disappeared as she looked from the sleeping Pinkie to the pink cocoon repeatedly, her face slowly looking more and more worried before she turned to me quickly. "Where's the nearest hospital?!" She demanded as I sighed. "I don't know much about Canterlot, but we could teleport back to the one in ponyville, that way I know what's there and who can assist us." I said as Chrysalis put her horn to my head as it emitted a soft green glow before she smiled and turned towards Pinkie. "Um...what did you just do?" She chuckled. "I scanned your memories for a room at the hospital that would work. Now sit back and watch." She said as the whole room got enveloped in a green light, much to my shock. "Chrysalis, You cant just teleport willy-nilly, you have to be careful!" I yelled, but by then the spell had activated as I felt my body get warped. Please don't let somepony be in that room! ******************* Diamond Tiara ******************* As I walked up to the closed door to the room next of us, I was able to make out more voices. "Careful?! Pinkie Pie is INSIDE the bed! How is that being careful?" I heard a very angry voice call out, and it sounded just like the one that had yelled out moments ago. "Pinkie is fine, just give me a second..." A green flash came from the other side of the door, followed by a laugh. "See! Pinkie and her egg are fine!" I frowned in confusion. Egg? Why would Pinkie Pie have an egg? I shook my head as I opened the door slowly. Then again, if this is Nicks brothers herd then it's gonna be weird...not to mention the stories about some of the strange things that they do have given me nightmares before. As I opened the door, I noticed two things out of the ordinary. One, there was a pink egg the size of an average pony laying on the ground near the hospital bed. And two, there was a Pinkie sized hole in the hospital bed. Next to the bed was Nurse Redheart and Chrysalis, though they didn't seem to notice me as they continued to argue while Pinkie Pie seemed to be resting on Chrysalis's back. "Great job, Chrysalis. Now I will have to replace the bed!" The nurse snapped at the queen as Chrysalis scoffed. "I was only saving Pinkie Pie from becoming a ponified mattress. I've already got to explain to Ronin why Pinkie is half changeling, and I'd rather not..." It was then that Chrysalis noticed me in the doorway. 'Oh. One of Tak's friends are here." Nurse Redheart turned to me and sighed. "We didn't disturb you, did we?" I narrowed my eyes, remembering why I was there. "Nicholas is in the other room completely passed out from the events at Canterlot, so yeah you are." Not liking my tone, Chrysalis walked up to and gave me a fierce glare. "You'd do well to watch your mouth child. Just because your on good terms with my son doesn't mean I've forgotten the torment you put him through during your bullying days." I flinched at that as she continued. "But you say Nicholas was injured?" I shook my head. "He's not hurt...he just won't wake up for some reason." Chrysalis turned to Redheart as she levitated Pinkie to the ground. "Watch over Pinkie please. It's time I paid some debts to that boy." With that, she walked out of the room as Redheart turned to the sleeping Pinkie with a frown as her ears splayed back with concern. "Hopefully, everyone wakes up soon." She said as I left the room and circled back to into Nicholas's room, where Chrysalis was now having a staredown with Fluttershy. "Let me see him, Bearer of Kindness." She growled as Fluttershy glared at Chrysalus hard. "No. He needs his rest. not anything from you." She said as I walked up beside Chrysalis and made eye contact with Fluttershy for a second before looking away immediately. She was using The Stare! I had only heard about it before, with stories about some sort of chicken monster from Scootaloo and somepony being turned to stone. But I couldn't even attempt to keep eye contact at all, all the while feeling submissive and weak at the same time whenever I'd try to keep eye contact. Chrysalis, however, seemed to be unaffected by it. Hay, she even seemed to enjoy it being use on her, telling by the smile on her face. "That glare may work on more...innocent beings, but I've seen more death and destruction than you ever will, so that little trick won't make me back down." She turns to Nicholas, who still lays sleeping in the bed. "Besides, I'm not here to hurt the boy. Quite the opposite, actually." Fluttershy frowns, though she shrinks back a bit from Chrysalis. "Then what do you plan to do?" Chrysalis chuckled. "To wake him up, of course." She lowers her horn down to Nicholas's forehead before frowning. "Odd...someling else has already tapped into his mental state before, probably how my son got his new looks not too long ago." As her horn touches with his forehead, a soft green light envelops Nicholas for a moment before disappearing, followed by Nicholas groaning softly before his eyes open slowly. "Ugh...what happened?" He said as rushed over and gave him a big hug. "Nick! Your ok!" I exclaimed into his shoulder as I felt tears going down my cheek. I felt a wing go around me as I realized Fluttershy had joined the embrace. "Oh thank goodness your awake." She said as I felt Nicholas return the hug. After a few moments we let go and Fluttershy turned around. "Thank you Chrysa-huh?" I turned around to realize Chrysalis was no longer there. Must've went back to her room with her herdmates. I thought as I turned to Nick and frowned, bopping him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" He exclaimed, looking at full health compared to earlier. I narrowed my eyes at him as I scoffed. "First off, forcing us to return to ponyville while you were in danger." He flinched, but I wasn't done yet. "Second off, you got hurt...Bad!" I pointed to Fluttershy. "And third, you made Fluttershy cry." He sighed, looking down at his hands. "I-I-I know...I'm sorry." He looked up at us, tears in his eyes as he smiled weakly. "Can you forgive me?" A small part of me wanted to turn around and walk off, and about two months ago I definitely would've. But now? I nodded, more tears leaving my eyes as I booped his nose. "No more funny business WITHOUT me, ok!" He smiled and pulled me into another hug with one arm as he fondled my ears with his free hand. As he did so, he turned to Fluttershy. "And don't worry, Mom. I'm not doing anything else like that EVER again. Especially with what happened to..." His eyes widened, as if he was remembering something important. "RAIDEN!" He yelled out, jumping from the bed with me still in his arms. "Where's Raiden? Is he ok?!" Fluttershy shook her head. "He down the hall in the emergency section of the hospital...Luna's with him now." She said as Nicholas fell to his knees as I watched on, completely unable to move or act. How bad was Nicks brother off? And what the hay happened in Canterlot that put them in the hospital in such a way?! **************** Tak POV **************** After arriving at the hive, Roxas and I went separate paths. He was going to look into our numbers while I went to find Scootaloo. As I was walking through the caves though, I found myself back at the same place where Axel and the others were born. Though instead of egg shells, there was a white eyed changeling napping with...Silverspoon? What the heck did Zexion do while we were gone? I thought as I spotted the mare I had been searching for. With her back facing me, Scootaloo was currently talking to several changelings, pointing her hooves in different directions as each changeling went to follow whatever orders she had given. After they left she let out a sigh and turned in my direction. I let out a weak squeak. "H-Heya, Scootaloo." A orange blue later I was pinned to the ground as Scootaloo nuzzled my face. "Your back!" She yelled as she looked me over and whistled. "Wow! You look so cool!" She suddenly frowned as a changeling went by. "Do you know how hard it is to get these goofballs to listen to orders?!" She stated as I chuckled. "You have to cut them some slack, they are children." I said as she rolled her eyes and let me get up. "I know, but it's like getting the cake twins to take a bath!" She said a I titled my head, but before I could ask she raised a hoof. "Don't ask. Long story." I shrugged. "So, I was told your working on the project?" Her eyes lit up at that. "Oh yeah! That thing that the changelings said Pinkie Pie wanted built? We finished it an hour ago. Come look!" She quickly ran off into a side cave as I struggles to keep up. After a few minutes of running through and around the now changeling full caves she stopped me and pointed a hoof towards a large hole in the ground. "There!" She said as I looked down it as my jaw dropped. What the...? Inside the hole was what looked to be a combination of pony magic runes and changeling slime that was used to make cocoons. And in the center was a black void. "Um...how did you make that? And where the hay does it go?" I asked her as she shrugged. "Don't know, the changelings involved where part of the R division, but that's even close to the craziest thing I found." She turned down a hall into a cave that had a sign saying keep out on it. "C'mon, I had this closed off until you came back." Following her down the hall, I noticed that it was barely even dug into, and what was dug looked like it was done quickly and not in the way to make a cavern. Whatever made this was running from something, and was trying to dig their way to safety. I thought as Scootaloo stopped and pointed at...something at the end of the tunnel. Casting a light spell, I illuminated the cave... ...And saw a dead changeling body sitting against the wall, torn and beaten to a pulp. I took several steps back in shock. "What in tartarus?!" Scootaloo shuddered. "I threw up when the changelings showed me that. And from what they said after looking it over, it's an older changeling too." That caused me to stop in my tracks. And older changeling...but the oldest were the LAZR squad. I frowned. "This means either their was a fifth member of LAZR, or we have a imposter in our midst." Scootaloo frowned. "Isn't that supposed to be your guys specialty though? Who could pull a fast one on you guys?" I shuddered as I turned around, eager to leave and seal off this cavern. "I don't know, Scootaloo. But I don't like it at all." ***************** Nicholas POV ***************** After hearing the news about my brother, I ran out of the room as fast as I could, turning down the hall and pushing past the doors that said EMERGENCY above them. I kept moving, pausing to look into each room to see if he was there. Please don't let him be dead! Please no! I thought as I stopped in front of an open door. Inside I could see princess Luna using a spell a figure that was behind a curtain. "Did you find him?" Diamond Tiara asked me, shaking me from my stupor as I realized I had her in my arms this whole time. I let her down to the ground and pointed into the room. "Well, then go in." Taking a deep breath, I walked into the room and approached the bed as Luna slowly turned towards me. "I said to not be...Nicholas!" She said, irritated at first before sounding shocked as she looked me over. "How are thou even awake right now?" I shrugged as Diamond walked up beside me and bowed to Luna, looking quite nervous. "C-Chrysalis healed him, princess." Luna smiled softly. "Little one, there's no need for formalities, especially with one so close to Nicholas." Her smile disappeared as she turned back to the bed. "We suppose thou wishes to see your brother?" I nodded as Luna pushed the curtain back with magic, revealing... Oh lord. It was Raiden, but not as a dragon. He was human again, and he had bandages covering his entire body from neck down. He seemed to be hooked up to some of those doctor machines that tell you your heartbeat rate and stuff. But his face...he was paler than paper, and his mouth was a dark shade of red as his hair looked grayer than before. "D-Did Christine do this to him?" I asked, Luna nodded but flinched at the mention of the ice queen. As she should. I heard a voice in the back of my head state. Remember, it's her fault Raiden is hurt. I felt my fist clench as tears came to my eyes. Regardless of who's fault it was, Raiden was hurt bad...like real bad, Ronin was who knows where and I was sitting her at peak health when it should've be me to be injured. My memories went back to that fight. After Raiden got hurt, I had gotten angry, then I...killed her. I killed a living being...a human no less. Seeing my face contort, Luna sighed. "Thou should not blame yourself for what occurred last night. Nor should you let Christine's death burn at you. She was a hollowed soul at that point, and you had no choice." "THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE!!" I yelled, turning to her and causing Diamond to jump a mile high. "I KILLED A PERSON YESTERDAY! A LIVING, BREATHING PERSON!" I felt the sting of hot tears down my face as I heaved a sob. "I'm just a kid, Luna. A KID! I should be doing homework and eating sweets with my friends, not being in life or death situations!" Luna frowned. "We understand thous anger, but please listen. We nev-" I cut her off. "NO! I'M DONE WITH ALL OF THIS. I AM NEVER LEAVING THIS TOWN AGAIN! SCREW SAVING THE WORLD, SCREW THE BAD GUYS, AND SCREW YOU!!! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BROTHERS BECAUSE OF YOU AND CELESTIA! ONE IS ON HIS DEATHBEAD AND THE OTHER IS A MARKED CRIMINAL!" I turned around as I wiped my eyes. "I never want to see you again, Luna." With that, I ran out the door, not caring at all about what the princess (Or anyone else, really) was thinking or feeling. > Chapter 62: One Nation, Two species pt.1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Tarus POV* In a flash of orange flames, I arrived at the little platform in space Faust calls home. Honestly, the mare COULD go for a few decorations around the place, but noooo! they "clash" with her "workspace". Didn't know spying on millions of living ponies was a job. Then again, I harvest souls for a living, so I can't complain. "Faust, what's the plan?" I stated as she looked up at me from her globe. "Go to the old caves under Griffonia. One of the brothers and an element of harmony are there." I raised a brow. "Really? That must've been that magic disturbance in Canterlot then if they're out so far. Do you want me to bring them in ooooor..." She blinked. "Kill them, and ensure their souls suffer. Ronin needs to die, and magic is tainted by her feelings for both of the older brothers." I grinned wickedly. "Sweet! But...could you let me break a rule or two? I have an idea who I want them to fight, and I need you to pull their souls from the farplane." Faust chuckled lightly. "Very well." She narrowed her eyes. "But if your champions fail...I'm taking matters into my own hands, Cromnius." I narrowed my eyes, flinching at the name. "Fine! Just...don't Call that name. You know it pisses me off to no end." With that, I warped away, somehow not noticing the smile on Faust's face. "Oh you forgotten king. Soon enough, I'll be able to wipe the slate clean." She looks back to the globe. "Then, we can start over from scratch. Perhaps this time I'll make Equestrians have no magic, or even fear their fellow ponies!" She chuckled to herself as she resumed her watch over Equestria. ************* Ronin POV ************* I awoke with a groan as I felt something poke my stomach. "Ronin...wake up!" I heard a familiar voice say as I rubbed my eyes and realized three things. 1-It was dark. Like, really dark. The only light was coming from Twilights horn, who had indeed been teleported with me. 2-We were in a cave, surrounded by some sort of darkened rock. Hell if I know what kind of rocks they were. I was a math major back on earth, not science. 3- Said mare from before was looking at me angrily, narrowed eyes and all. "What?" I said, already grouchy due to her mood. This only caused her eyes to narrow further. "Do you have ANY idea how hard it was to wake you up? I've been trying for two hours and twenty minutes!" Of course bookworm would have the time down like that. Though, given the situation that may be a good thing. I sighed. "Aight, I'm up. Do you know where we are?" She took a step back, allowing me to stand up before she answered as she did a three-sixty look around. "From the looks of it, we're in some sort of cave system." She said before returning her gaze to me. "Why did you have this place in mind?" I frowned. "I didn't want to be warped here. It just happened." Twilight face-hoofed. "Ronin, in order to teleport the teleporter has to have the area in mind before the warp happens, or else the subject could end up anywhere!" I threw up my hands. "Well, it wasn't my magic that teleported us. My guess is that one of my changelings had their thoughts on the system under ponyville and we ended up here." I looked around again before sighing again. "Though this looks NOTHING like the caverns back home, so who knows?" Twilight stared at me in shock for a second, my words slowly registering in her mind before she gasped. "Your telling me you and Chrysalis have been digging underneath town since you arrived last month!" She exclaimed as I nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry about the town caving in. Apparently, Chrysalis knows how much support the caverns need to support the town properly. As long as no huge weight suddenly appears in town, we'll be fine." I said as I chuckled. Its not like a castle or something was gonna appear there anyway. Twilight shook her head. "How did she even...nevermind. We need to focus on leaving this cave." I squinted in the darkness of the cave for a minute before face-palming. Duh! use your powers. Of course, that entailed me knowing how to activate them...and without Melfesia around to tell me how, I was stuck on a trial and error method. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, focusing all my mental attention to them. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked me as I grunted, trying to not lose concentration. "Focusing my mind while attempting to use my changeling powers." I said as I felt my eyes suddenly get misty while Twilight gasped. After rubbing whatever liquid was in them out, I opened my eyes and let out a gasp of my own. I could see everything! Every rock, every bug, every hair on Twilights tail! I had total night-vision, and it rocked! "Whoa...your eyes are glowing." She said before she suddenly got a big grin. 'Is this one of your powers! What did it do?" I smiled, feeling quite proud of the ability. "I have night-vision now, apparently." She squee'd, yes squee'd, at the information. "That's so amazing! I always wondered why changeling eyes glowed like that at random, but I never connected it to their vision!" She looked extremely excited about what I told her, and it was kinda adorable to watch. Wait...adorable? No. Pinkie pretending to be a sandwich was adorable. As was Chrysalis and Redheart when they pretended to be each other for a day (THAT caused some laughs.) But Twilight-the-mare-who's-crushing-on-my-bro- Sparkle? Hell no. I rolled my eyes at her totally not adorable display of childish behavior. "C'mon, Sprinkles. Let's get out of this cave." I stated as I started walking down a path. Twilight frowned before following beside me. "It's Sparkle, not Sprinkles." She said with a huff as the light she was casting grew slightly larger as we walked. "Whatever you say, bookworm." I said as we entered a larger area of the cave. "Whoa...this place is huge!" The room was about the size of the throne room at Canterlot, yet was in waaaay worse condition. There were these cobwebs everywhere, and the only way out was the way we came and some opening above us. Looking up at the opening, I could see stars...which meant that was a way out! "Look! We can exit through there!" Twilight exclaimed as she pointed at a rope ladder that was dangling from the hole from top to bottom. She went to walk over to it but stopped as I raised a hand. "Hold up. Don't you think it's odd such an old looking place has a rope ladder that looks fairly new." I said as Twilight squinted her eyes at the ladder. "How do you know its new?" She asked as I pointed at the metal edges of it. "That metal isn't rusted, and the rope doesn't look decayed." I said as I looked around, but couldn't see anyone. Just more cobwebs and... ...huh? I walked over to a wall on the left side of the ladder and knelt down to get a better look at what I had saw. "What is that?" Twilight asked as she came over, only to freeze up as her eyes went over the object. "Is...that a body?" I nodded, brushing my hand along the giant bird thing as my hands went over a impalement wound. It looked a lot like Gilda, which meant it was a griffon...but why was it here? "Yup. Though there's something wrong with it." I said as I stood up quickly and looked around, feeling the air in the room go cold. "What?" Twilight asked, looking around frantically. "What's wrong?" I looked to the body again before putting up my fists. "The wound on it is fresh. Whatever killed that thing as still here." As soon as I said that, a orange flame erupted over where the ladder had been, revealing what looked to be a humanoid figure, though he was clothed in what looked to be Roman armour while brandishing a sword that looked like...a horn? "Well done, Ronin. I expected that cunning from your brothers, but not you." He smiled. "It seems I underestimated you." I frowned. "How do you know my name, and why are you here?" He chuckled darkly as he pointed at Twilight. "Well, your little magic friend is pretty much a beacon for us gods. So many potential destinies wrapped around her little horn." He then shrugged. "As for your name, Faust has everything about you and your brothers drilled into my mind." Twilight gasped. "Faust?! But you said gods...who are you?" The man smiled wide, showing off razor sharp canines. "Ever heard of Tartarus? I'm its keeper." He opened his arms wide as flames shot out of his hands and into the walls nearby. "Bask in the power of Tarus!" I growled. "I'm getting real sick of your world's 'Gods', Twilight." Tarus raised an eyebrow and spoke up before Twilight could interject. "Ah ah ah. Don't be so rude. Especially when I brought some friends of yours for a rematch." Twilight frowned. "Rematch?" Tarus chuckled. "But of course! A while ago, during your brothers wedding, Ronin and his brothers took down some rather tough foes. I thought it would only be fair to give them an encore, don't you?" He snapped his fingers, making two circles with runes lining them appear in front of us. The runes glowed and the circles turned red and blue as a pegasus and a rather large changeling slowly rised from them. My eyes widened in shock as I took a step back. "Shit. this isn't good." Twilight looked back and forth from me to the two beings in front of us. "Who are they?!" Tarus smiled and pointed to the female. "The winged changeling was named Tundra, and she attempted to put the boy and his fillyfriends on ice in ponyville. Ronin stopped that from happening though." He then pointed to the big guy. "And that's Tremor, the mountain changeling himself. Raiden was the one who killed him off back at the wedding scene." Tundra and Tremor shook a bit before they opened their eyes. Both had a pale white complexion and those zombie eyes from movies. Tundra herself seemed to be completely made of ice now, while Tremor looked like a walking statue. The wannabe hades laughed. "Well, I gotta go tell Faust your dead, so byeeee." He said before disappearing, leaving us with the two zombified changelings. "Twilight." I said, causing her to face me. "What?" She asked shakily, her gaze slowly inching back to the two in front of us. "Take the pegasus. I'll handle the big guy." I said as Tremor rushed us, his right arm turning into a blade as he thrusted forward. I went to block with my sword before remembering something vital. My sword is back in Canterlot. "Oof!" I grunted as The blunt end of the blade connected with my stomach, sending me straight into the wall behind me. "Ronin!" Twilight yelled before putting up a shield around herself to block a beam of ice from hitting her. Tundra had begun to circle her in the air, sending ice beams and icicle spears down on the protected unicorn, making it impossible for her to move. Pulling myself from the wall, I look up to see Tremor throwing a haymaker. I rolled left and swung out a foot at his underside... ..only to howl in pain as my foot connected with whatever rock-hard stone Tremor was made of. "I'm having some trouble here!" I yelled, holding my foot while hopping out of the way of another bladed punch as Twilight was attempting to strike down Tundra, but couldn't get a lock on her due to her sporatic flight patterns. Think it's time for a switch. Jumping out of the way of a running tackle from Tremor, I sprinted straight for Twilight, who was still guarding from the onslaught of the zombie changeling. "Twilight, switch dance partners." I yelled, jumping onto her bubble shield and using it to jump higher into the air. I managed to catch Tundra off guard as I grabbed onto her back legs. "Right!" Twilight said as she lowered her shield and did a one-eighty, sending a beam of magic straight at Tremor. The undead behemoth took the hit straight on, forcing him into the same wall I had just been launched into earlier. "Shiiiit!" I yelled as Tundra had started acting like an aerial alligator, spinning around in an attempt to throw me off. Looking around, I noticed that one of the icicle spears from before were stuck in the floor off to the side, probably deflected off of bookworms shield. If I could just lower her just enough to reach it. I thought as I started swinging back and forth on her legs, causing her to lose balance and slowly come lower to the ground. Just as I was in arms reach of the spear I noticed Twilight teleport out of the way of another charging attack from Tremor. One that was coming straight at Tundra and I. I let go of Tundra and sidestepped Ttemor, who just continued to plow forward straight into his ex partner in crime, sending them both into the wall. I grabbed the icicle off the ground and turned to Twilight, who was standing at the ready for any counter attack from the duo. "Twilight, send this straight into Tremor!" I yelled, throwing her the spear as she caught it with her magic before giving me a shocked look. "What?! I can't kill somepony!" She exclaimed before I groaned. "Twilight, THEY ARE ALREADY DEAD!" I yelled as Tremor started to pull himself from the wall again, allowing us to see the completely flattened remains of Tundra. Tremor turned to us, his soulless gaze made him seem even more terrifying in the caverns low light. He caused both of his arms to become blades as he rushed at me. I went to sidestep again, only to be cut off as one of his arms became a hammer and slammed into my stomach, causing me to double over immediately. "Daaaaamn, that hurts like hell!" I groaned, feeling massive pain even with the white armour on. I looked up and noticed Tremor raising his other hand I to the air as it became the spike end of a mace. Never thought it would be his ugly mug that would kill me. I thought as he brought down the arm with blinding speed. SLHICK! The ice spear Twilight was holding went straight through the head of the zombie and stuck into the barely moving body of Tundra, effectively deanimating them both. Tremors whole body shook violently before becoming dust, while Tundras body melted into a liquid form and evaporated. Twilight looked up at me, breathing deeply from the large amounts of magic used in the fight. "That*pant*sucked" She said weakly as I nodded my head as I felt the foot that I had attempted to use against Tremor only wince in pain as I touched it. "Agh!" I groaned lightly. Perhaps doing a bunch of jumping and running after getting hurt wasn't a good idea. Twilight noticed my pain, and ran over to me. "Are you ok?" I waved her off, standing up and turning towards the hole in the roof of the cave. "I'm fine, but we need to get up there." Twilight narrowed her eyes in thought before turning to me. "Ronin, I could teleport myself up there, and then find something to help you climb up. That old ladder isn't gonna help anymore." She stated, pointing to the burned and beaten ladder that was now fully on the ground. I nodded. "Go for it. But don't take too long." With a flash of light, she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts as I looked at the dust on the ground. So, that guy is able to bring dead people back to fight for him, huh. That could be bad. I thought as I shuddered at the thought of fighting Dadiolus again. That wouldn't happen, right? Before I could think further, a rope came down from the hole in the roof. I gave it a solid tug before looking up. "Aight, I'm coming up!" I said before grabbing the rope and slowly climbing up to the top. As I reached the top I noticed Twilight had this band around her horn, causing me to frown. "Uh, what's with the band, bookworm?" I asked as she pointed behind me, fear laced in her face. I turned around and made eye contact with a white feathered griffon with blue eyes, and a big old bird at that. "Uh...hi?" I said before hearing Twilight yell out my name before a powerful blow hit me on the back of my head, causing everything to go dark. I really need to stop doing that. **************** Twilight POV **************** When I had teleported out of the cave, I didn't know what to expect. Like Ronin had pointed out, there was a newer ladder leading down into the cave, so there HAD to be some sort of mining corporation or at least somepony that owned the mine. I didn't expect, though I probably should have, for the owners to be unfriendly to outsiders. Especially a pony outsider. Before I knew it, I had teleported right in the middle of three griffons, who had probably been attracted to the hole by all the noise made from the fight earlier. In seconds, they put some sort of band on my horn that kept me from casting magic, though they then threw a new rope down into the hole. Sure enough, Ronin came up from the cave, before proceeding to get knocked out by one of the white griffons lackeys, a smaller griffon with a green feather hue. "Ronin!" I called out as he fell to the ground in a heap. The white Griffon snapped his talons, and the other griffon (Blue feathered with more mass than the green one but waaaay less than white) picked Ronin up and slung him over his shoulders. The white one pointed at me. "Pony, you and your...friend are coming with us. I think the boss would LOVE to to have a word with a pony trespasser." I shook my head. "You don't understand! We didn't mean to trespass, we were just..." I stopped short as the green one placed his talons around my throat. "Twasnt an question, unicorn." The white one replied before he started walking towards a lone building that stood outside a bunch of old walls. The place looked rather...Equestrian for a Griffonian building, it even had some flowers in a pot indigenous only to the Everfree forest. But why is it here? I thought as the green griffon guided me into the house along with the blue griffon and the still slump Ronin, who was laid down on a rather mint condition couch. In fact, the whole house looked like something a Canterlot elite would live in. Fancy lighting, exotic rugs, and even framed bits were on the wall. FRAMED BITS!!! The white griffon walked over to a desk that had one of those turning chairs behind it, stroking the head of whoever was sitting there quite affectionately. "Boss, I found a unicorn and some monkey thing with armour in your mines." He said as whoever was in the seat spun around and looked me dead in the eyes. It was a older looking mare, about fourty years or so, with pink hair and yellow eyes. Her coat was a reddish hue with a scarlet horn spreading her mane out across her face where a scar alongside her cheek laid bare. "Hmph! They don't look like thieves...and I think I've seen you in the newspapers." The mare said in an oddly familiar sounding voice as she turned to the hulking griffon. "Stop standing there like a chicken laying an egg, and get me a newspaper!" The griffons tough demeanor crumbled immediately as he rushed around and grabbed a newspaper from the floor. "Here you go, dear." He said quickly, causing my eyes to widen. Dear? I thought as The mare scowled, noticing my reaction. "What's with the look?! Can't a mare and a griffon be together, or is that too out of place for the 'modern' age?" She exclaimed as I shook my head quickly. "Nononono! Not at all, Mrs...uh..." I trailed off as the mare frowned even more. "My name is Redheart, purple. And you and your friend are in big trouble." > Chapter 63: One nation, Two species pt.2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I paused, catching my breath underneath an apple tree, exhausted after running for so long. Looking around, I noticed the sun had just hit the middle of the sky. It didn't take long for my mind to snap back to what happened at the hospital, though. Why?! Why did all this have to happen? I just wanted a place where I could belong, not watch my family die by the hands of some crazy witch! With my back against the tree, I crumpled down to the ground, sobbing heavily as flashes of Raiden in the hospital kept going through my mind. Why? Why did so he have to get hurt?! Why couldn't I stop Christine before then? "N-Nick?" I looked up and froze. Applebloom was standing in front of me, though I noticed she looked like she had been crying for a looong time. "A-Applebloom? Why are you here?" She frowned. "Well, it is mah farm after all." She said with a suprisingly icy tone, causing me to wince as I heard some of the venom in her words. "Are you ok?" I asked, genuinely curious as to what could make her upset. She stomped a hoof, her facial expression showing a rising irritation while her bow bobbed in place. "OK?! Gee, ah wonder if Ah'm ok knowing the colt ah like isn't able to like anypony that ain't a noble!" She exclaimed as my face went pale. How did she find out about that?! The only one that knew in our group was Tak and Diamond Tia- ooooooh. I sighed, realizing the truth was out. "I'm sorry, Applebloom. I meant to tell you guys, but we got busy with the floats and my brothers trial and-" Applebloom stepped forward, tears in her eyes. "No! Yer not making this ah lesser deal than it is! Ah LIKE you, Nicholas! Like LIKE LIKE you! But now Ah have to sit back and watch as mah ex-bully gets yah all to herself. It's NOT FAIR!" I winced at those words. Here I've been loading myself down with self-pity and blaming others for my pain when I've been causing others the same type of pain with my own actions! How did Fluttershy feel when I was in the hospital? What about Ronin? He's LITERALLY who knows where thanks to some teleport spell I don't even know works! And sending the girls home, unable to let them know if I'm ok at any time? What if I had died in Canterlot? Realizing my faults, I stood up and smiled weakly at Applebloom. "Applebloom...I know what I did was wrong, and you have every right to hate me for it. But know I never meant to shut you out of my life. The truth is I..." I stammered at the end, almost afraid to admit it. Applebloom stepped closer again, making her inches from me. "Yes?" I sighed, looking down into her eyes, which seemed to shine even brighter now than they ever did. "I like like you too." I said, before being tackled into the tree by Applebloom in a bone crushing hug. "YEEEEEEEEES!" She exclaimed happily before nuzzling my neck. I laughed softly and wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her close. "Please don't ever leave me out of one of your adventures again. I don't want tah see ya hurt." She whispered softly as I took a deep breath, calming my shot nerves slowly as I stroked her mane carefully as to not mess up her bow. I'll find a way to make this work. Even if it means going up against the rich family themselves. *************** Twilight POV *************** "Redheart?!" I exclaimed, completely thrown off my the name. The unicorn in front of me frowned. "Did I stutter? Or does that name sound familiar to you, Element bearer?" My shocked expression made her laugh. "Oh, don't think I don't know who you are." She lifts up a newspaper that looks like one from Canterlot. "I always make sure to stay informed of my home countries exploits." I blinked owlishly before opening my mouth. "Why are you living here, then?" The three griffons in the room shuffled around a bit in place, as if I had just made the room very uncomfortable to be in. Redheart leaned in close, her eyes glinting with a ravenous energy. "Our people are a bunch of sissies. They can't handle a bit of interspersed mixing, so after meeting my fluffybumpkins here-" She motioned to now blushing white griffon as the other two howled with laughter. "-I moved to a place that didn't seem so much like a child's storybook." I nodded, slightly understanding her reasoning. Though one question remained in my mind. "And...do you have a daughter by any chance?" I asked, causing the mare's eyes to widen. "You've met my daughter?! That means you live in ponyville." She closes her eyes and her horn glows a soft red as a trail of magic rises from me. causing her to frown. "Hmm...you don't have much of her presence on you, so why would you-huh?" The small trail leaves me and becomes a thick mist as it pulls from Ronin, who was still knocked out on the couch albeit fidgeting and muttering to himself. Redheart Sr. opened her eyes and glared at me. "Who is that, and why does my daughters essence reek on him?" She asks as I giggle sheepishly. "W-Well...I, uh..." Thankfully, Ronin decided then to wake up, sitting up in a jolt. "Melfesia, NO!!!" He yelled as everyone looked at him weirdly. He looked around, noticing our stares before chuckling lightly. "Uh...howdy?" The white griffon walked up to Ronin and glared at him. "Does the name Redheart anything to you?" Ronin raised an eyebrow. "That's the name of one of my marefriends...why?" He said before the griffon picked him up by the neck, causing me to jump to my hooves. "Ronin!" I yelled out, but was ignored as the griffon tightened his hold around Ronin. "ONE of your marefriends?!" The griffon roared as Ronin tried to rip the talons off his neck, but couldn't get a grip. I was about to do something when Redheart spoke up. "Grazier, put the boy down. Don't you remember me telling you about ponies and their herds?" She yelled, causing him to drop Ronin immediately. Said human got to his feet instantly, going eye to eye with the massive griffon. "Try that again, Asshole. We'll see who loses the ability to breath in a real fight." Ronin growled as Grazier chuckled. "Anytime, boy. I'd love to see what made my daughter fall for such an ugly monkey." He chortled as the unicorn in front of me stomped her hoof, her face the pure incarnation of rage. "I SAID ENOUGH!" She roared, using a burst of magic to put two chairs beside me, sitting Grazier on my left and Ronin on my right. She turned to Grazier first with a glare that could freeze lava. "Dear, you KNOW better than to threaten guests without my permission, especially if my darling daughter is dating one of them." Grazier cooed in submission, a dejected look on his face as Ronin snorted a laugh. "AND YOU!" The unicorn exclaimed, turning on him, causing Ronin to jump in suprise. "If you EVER threaten my husband again, I will tear you limb from limb and feed you to Glascow and Bob." Ronin nodded quickly, before frowning and looking around. "Who?" She pointed to the blue and green Griffons behind us. "The blue one is Glascow, and the green one is Bob." Glascow narrowed his eyes at us, but Bob smiled and saluted, his tongue sticking out. "Uh...Bob?" Ronin said, clearly confused as to the odd name out from the rest of the group. Grazier huffed. "The boy suffers from a terminal condition." Grazier stated as I gasped. "That's terrible! What's the condition?" The griffon snorted. "Terminal stupidity." Then he laughed...loudly. To make it worse, Ronin started cracking up as well. I face-hoofed, knowing that this wasn't gonna stop until I changed the subject. "Mrs. Redheart, we didn't mean to be in your cave. A teleport spell went wrong and we found ourselves there instead of our destination." The mare snorted. "First off, call me Opal. In our family, Redheart is always the last name." She said as I blinked in suprise. Then what's Nurse Redhearts first name? I thought as she continued. "Second off, I can tell you weren't there on purpose. My husband already told me about what he heard and saw down there." I frowned. "But how? I've been here the whole time he was, and he never mentioned what happened in the cave." That was when Grazier laughed. "Bet you didn't know my wife is a touch telepath." Ronin raised an eyebrow while my eyes widened in shock. "A touch telepath? What the hell is that?" Opal smirked. "I can read thoughts and speak to others mentally by purely being in contact with them. I read Graziers thoughts when he rubbed my mane earlier when you all arrived." She said as I squee'd in delight. "I've read about your type of magic in books, but I've never seen one in real life." I frowned quickly, remembering something from my studies. "Is it true you sacrifice your special talent to gain that power though?" For a long moment, everything went quiet. The griffons had frozen up,, and even Ronin looked uneasy about about sudden mood shift in the room. After the moment passed, Opal sighed and opened a drawer from the cabinet nearby, pulling out a picture. On it was what looked to be a younger her, but she was at a hospital. She was holding a degree in her hand while showing off her cutie mark, which was a blue cross with a halo around it. "I specialized in saving ponies lives from the brink of death. I worked at the hospital for three years, and saved many lives." Ronin leaned forward, suddenly paying close attention. "What caused you to change your lifestyle?" Opal sighed. "It was when I met my husband. I had just saved him from a knife wound he received from a barfight with a pony." I gasped while Ronins eyes widened while he cursed under his breath. Grazier lifted his right wing, revealing a large cut down his side. "The pony had attacked him for not being of 'equine design'." She sighed, waving her hoof. "Afterwards, he ended up taking me on date to say thanks, and we ended up getting hitched about a year later." The smile she had from the last sentence faded as a dark expression breached her face. "However, Trottingham didn't like the prospect of me dating a Griffon, let alone marrying one, so they attempted to force me out of town. In the process of our escape, I got fatally wounded by a sharp rock that was thrown that managed to tear open my neck." Opal turned away, her tough mare personality cracking slightly as I noticed a hoof-sized diagonal line across her neck. Grazier picked it up from there. "It was then we managed to come across a pony of the night. She had claimed to be coming from a cello performance, but she knew of an old trick to save my wife. So, she ended up sharing some of her blood with Opal." Opal faced us again, her eyes looking slightly moist, yet still strong. "In return for being alive, I had to give up on my dream, and recieve a new one instead, and became what is known as a reaper." Grazier got up and walked around the desk before pulling Opal into a hug. "Reaper?" Ronin asked as I felt tears coming to my eyes. "A reaper is a pony or other being that was saved by immortal or near-immortal blood, but doesn't become one themselves. I will live to be about seven hundred before I die." Opal said as Grazier continued the story for her. "After that happened, she then decided to return to my homeland with me, regardless of its wretched state." Grazier said as I shook my head, shocked at what I just heard. "That's terrible, being attacked for being different from everypony. Who leaves a species out of society just because of they don't look or act like a pony?!" I exclaimed as I caught a glare from Ronin. Oh...right. That's what happened to the changelings too, all because they eat love for a living. I smiled sheepishly as Ronin turned to the couple. "Why tell us this? What if we were just lying about Redheart?" He said as Opal smirked, releasing herself from Grazier and putting her hoof out on the desk. "Grab my hoof." She said, causing Ronin to frown. "You aren't gonna fart if I pull it, are you?" He said, causing Grazier to chuckle while Opal and I rolled our eyes. "Of course not, this old bird would though." She said, winking at Grazier. causing him to huff and walk towards the door. "C'mon boys, we're going back to the mines. I'm not staying around to be made fun of." He exclaimed while the other two snickered but followed him out. "~Love you too, honey!~" Opal singed out as the door closed before turning to Ronin with a glare. "Seriously, grab my hoof." Ronin sighed and reached out, wrapping his hand around her left hoof before gasping as his eyes lit up red. "Whoa..." I said as Opal smiled smugly. "Told you. I am now able to...Damn, this boy has a loooot of crowding in here! It's like he's part of a hive mind!" She exclaimed before she pulled away from Ronin quickly, causing him to snap from the trance he was in, his eyes returning to their normal emerald green. "Boy...why the hay do you have a hive mind in your...well, mind?!" Opal exclaimed as Ronin grinned big. "Because I'm their newest king." He said as Opals left eye twitched for a second while she said nothing. "Um...are you ok, Opal." I asked before Opal spun around, her back to us. "My daughter has went and herded with a king! We might be able to get a better house after all!" She exclaimed in a very not quiet whisper as Ronin groaned. "And now we hit crazy town." He stated as I rolled my eyes. "Says the man with a whole civilization in his head." I said as he turned to me while Opal kept muttering things about being Fancy and tax-free. "Your just jealous. Imagine the collective knowledge of not only this generation, but EVERY generation that has existed." He tapped his head while I began to sweat as the possibilities went through my mind. "Instead of reading history books that MAY be inacurate, you can learn through a mental showcase of those who LIVED through those times and-GAH!" Unable to resist, I tackled Ronin off the chair. "YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN YOUR MIND!" I exclaimed as Ronin blinked in suprise before smiling that stupidly smug smile. "Take me out to dinner first before jumping my bones, Bookworm." He said with a wink, not only making me blush heavily, but also making me aware that I was inches from his face while resting on his body. "Ah! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me! You just talked on and on about knowledge and I couldn't help myself!" I said rapid fire while jumping off him as Ronin laughed. "It's fine, Twilight." He said, while getting up. "Besides, your too much fun to tease. I know your Raidens soon-to-be girl anyway." For a moment, my mood dropped heavily. All evidence pointed to Raiden not being interested in me, yet Ronin was sure I could turn it around. Where does he get that optimism from? Did he have that optimism while he worked underneath Chrysalis? Is that what pushed his actions in ponyville? Even after being pulled from his homework, he barely bats an eye and courts one of the deadliest threats to Equestria and makes her civil? "Dawww! You sure you two ain't a thing?" Opal said, snapping me from my thoughts as Ronin shook his head quickly. "Oh hell no! She's got her eyes on my brother, anyway." He said as Opal shrugged. "Whatever you say. Now, I know you two aren't bad guys, but there's still the whole trespassing thing. I can't let you off the hook or word will get around I'm soft." She said as I smiled nervously. "What are you gonna do?" I asked as Opal smiled wide, causing my heart to race in worry. I hope it isn't nothing too bad. **************** Ronin POV, ten minutes later **************** "Hey, Twilight." I called out to Twilight as she turned to me, making her illumination spell shine brighter. "Yeah?" She said as I picked up the griffon body that we had found before. "Next time a lady in charge of griffons gives us an ultimatum, don't encourage her by saying 'what are you gonna do?'" I said as we walked over to the mini fire Glascow had made while putting a bunch of the stray ice nearby it to melt. After Twilight opened her big mouth, Opal decided that for breaking and entering we had to clean out the mess we made down in tha caverns. To say I was less than enthused was an understatement of the century. "How was I supposed to know she'd make us clean a CAVE!" Twilight exclaimed as she magically picked up all the cobwebs around the area and put them in the fire. "And why are there so many cobwebs? This cave is used a lot, right?" She asked Glascow, who had just finished with the ice. Glascow shrugged. "Grazier claims the caverns down here belonged to an ancient species long ago, before those pony princesses wiped them out. Some kinda spider things, or something. I forgot the name he used for them." He said as I frowned. Spider people...he couldn't mean... "Was the name Antiarachnid, by any chance?" Twilight asked, causing the griffon to grin. "There it is!" That was the name used by Grazier! But, eh, how'd you two know about it?" He stated as I dumped the body on the fire, making it ignite immediately before being surrounded by a pinkish aura thanks to Twilight casting a scent-proof magic coat around it. "We fought one in ponyville...and Canterlot. The thing claimed to be the last of its kind before we killed it." I said as Glascow scowled before turning away from us. "At least you killed the monster. Back when Griffinstone was in its prime, the king decided to mine the caverns beneath us, and accidently freed the queen of their people, and next thing we knew we were overrun." Twilight nodded. "That makes sense. "It takes only a single female spider to make hundreds of babies." She shuddered. "But to imagine that process at such a big length..." I cringed, imagining an army of Volts. One was enough. Glascow sighed. "Indeed. We lost many a brethren and treasure that day, the distraction even allowed a Amirapsi to make off with the Idol of Boreas, the symbol of our city. After that incident, our people slowly began to decline, even with the defeat of the Antiarachnids." I sighed as I sat on the ground. "Sounds like yet another people who lost their way. Though I'd have to guess your king hasn't been doing to well to help that department either, huh?" Glascow squared in anger, his feathers ruffling in anger. "That sorry excuse of a king has deserted us years ago. All he cares about is some dumb prophecy about some kind of hooman...or something." Twilight tilted her head. "What prophecy?" Glascow turned to her, smiling. "It's some prophecy stating that a hooman clad of a checkered soul and royal blood would bring our people to a new age of prosperity, giving us total dominion over all of Equestria." He said as he shook his head. "A false hope, that is. What even is a hooman anyway?" I frowned. "Either way, you said Grimbeak is obsessed with this prophecy?" Glascow nodded. "Yeah...why?" He stated, narrowing his eyes as I stood up. "We're here to deal with that issue ourselves, to be honest. I have a score to settle with him." I said while Twilight nodded. "Grimbeak is wanted for several crimes in Equestria, including murder and royal sabatoge. That, and he has it out for Ronin." Glascow turned to me, tilting his head. "Why does he want you so bad?" I sighed. "Two reasons. One, these." I said as I summoned my metal wings, causing Glascow to fall on his ass in shock. "Whazzat?! Those are metal wings! Just like...the kings." He said slowly as I continued. "And Two, because my kind are called humans. I think he either believes I'm that human, or wants to make sure no one takes his throne." "So THATS why you were in out mines! Opal said you two had a good reason, but I didn't expect this." Grazier said before dropping down from the roof. I turned to him, clenching my fist. "So? You got an issue with that?" I stated while Twilight looked between us, her horn charging slightly as she prepped either a battle spell or a teleport spell. Grazier stared me down for a long while before he began to laugh loudly. "If you want to make our king kick the bucket, go ahead! He's been causing a ruckus for far too long." He stopped laughing and his face suddenly became serious. "However, if your gonna do that, you'll need help." Twilight turned to Grazier, smiling. "Does that mean you'll help us?" He chuckled. "Recently, Grimbeak passed a law forbidding ponies in Griffonstone, which is why we are out here instead of in the city. If you can topple him, then not only can Opal return to our old home, but perhaps we can make life better for us all around." I smiled, putting out my hand. "Then it's settled. Let's leave this ranky-dank cave and hatch a plan to dethrone that metal buzzard." Grazier looked at my hand before smiling and gripping it in his talons and shaking it. "Very well. I expected great things from my daughters boyfriend." He stated with a chuckle as Glascow laughed and Twilight sighed while rolling her eyes. "Boys are so weird." She said as I found myself laughing as well. Indeed we are, Twilight. Indeed we are. > Interlude 2: Nicholas v.s the status quo > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Luna POV* "Princess, you must rest! We can't have you pass out from exhaustion!" One of the nurses told me as I casted yet another healing spell on Raiden before falling back into the chair next to the bed. We had been casting the same regenerative spell on him for the past several hours with no rest, nor nourishment. And I refused to do anything of the sort until Raiden was awake and healthy again. After the event with Nicholas and his marefriend galloping after him, we had returned back to healing our beloved from his ghastly wounds Our beloved...Do We even deserve to call him that? His entire stomach is shredded thanks to a threat we created and were unable to stop. A human foal had to do the job for us, a child that shouldn't had even been there to begin with. I looked to the nurse, panting due to the energy loss from using so much magic. "Leave us. I wish to be alone." The nurse, a yellow mare with light and dark striped hair, sighed. "Very well, your majesty." She said hesitantly with a bow before leaving, closing the door behind her and leaving us alone with Raiden. I turned back to my coltfriend as the feelings of guilt and self-blame came back as I recalled what Nicholas had yelled before. "LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BROTHERS BECAUSE OF YOU AND CELESTIA! ONE IS ON HIS DEATHBEAD AND THE OTHER IS A MARKED CRIMINAL!" I winced as the words rang through my skull again. Ronin could be argued that he lead himself to that path, but Raiden? He had done little wrong, all he had done was get a cooking job at Canterlot and Ponyville while being there for us. And now...he was hurt because he was fighting an enemy we should've been able to defeat. Leaning in close, I nuzzled Raidens cheek as fresh tears dropped onto his face. "I'm so sorry." We whispered as we received no answer or reaction to our words. "Twas our fault Christine was like she was, and now you are suffering for it." I said as my mind went back to that fateful day. ******************* Luna POV, 1001 years ago. ******************* We arrived in a flash of blue light as we were met with the cold winds of the north. "Brrr!" We stated, shivering slightly. "How does anypony live in such horrid weather?" Shaking off the discomfort, we walked towards the cave that lead to the paradise of the human female by the name of Christine. She had arrived almost eight months ago alongside two males of her kind, and after intensive questioning to ensure they were not evil, we let them free and allowed them sanctuary in our kingdom. It would all for naught when Callobrim, a human who earned the power to see visions from Celestia, proclaimed his sister would bear three children doomed to bring "eternal change" to all of Equestria. Not liking the sound of this prophecy, Celestia and I decided to act. We would confront Christine. We had no qualms with this, for we never really cared much for the human. She treated my sister with such disrespect, refusing to bow and address her by title in public, and acted like she was everyone's boss. After a while of living in our kingdom, she moved up north, stating to her brother that she couldn't handle living in Equestria anymore. Now that We think about it, Callobrim had his vision shortly after that situation. He really didn't like it when she left...perhaps it caused the vision to appear in the first place? Making my way through the damp cavern, noticing small torches on the walls that kept the place lit while We walked through, We couldn't help but sigh. "And now We must contend with future threats to Equestria, be they infant or elderly." We said to no one as we pondered what we were to do. Could We bring ourselves to kill unborn foals? I shook my head. No, That is cruel, regardless of the vision. We need only banish them. Exiting the cavern, my jaw dropped upon the sight of the supposed living space of the human female. It was a garden, and a very well made one at that. The cold breeze did not blow down here, instead it had a warm feeling around the garden. Looking around, I saw the reason for this as I saw some magma rocks placed in certain spots in the garden. That would keep the cold from taking over. I thought as my eyes fell on flowers of many types and colors. They were everywhere, and if We weren't here for business we would take time and sniff every single one. Walking through the garden, keeping on a straight cobblestone path that was made to go in a line through the meadow of greenery, We walked up to a amber throne that sat in the middle of the garden. And on that throne would be none other than a very cross Christine. "What the fresh hell are you doing here, Moonbutt?" She spat as I noticed her very bulging stomach. Must be at least seven months. I thought as I cleared my throat. "I am here because your brother had a vision pertaining your unborn children." Her eyes narrowed as she stood up slowly. "What do you mean vision? What did that asshole have to say about my kids?" We sighed, not wanting to do this. "He saw that, in a vision, thous children would grow up and bring "Eternal change" to the way Equestria is run." The woman raised an eyebrow. "So, they're gonna become politicians...It could be worse." I averted my gaze as I steeled myself for what would have to happen. "Callobrim said he believes they will do so with a iron hoof. By force, so to speak." We said as Christine looked at us for a while before narrowing her eyes. "...Your here to do something to them, aren't you?" She said as she slowly moved backwards before grabbing a staff that was leaning on the throne. "Your not touching my kids!" I stepped forward, my horn glowing softly as we felt a touch of hesitation in our heart. "We won't hurt them, we're just going to send them away." We said as Christine yelled out in anger. "Why?! Because my brother said so? Or is it because you hate me?" She started to laugh. "Ohohohoho! I know what's happening now! Your pissed that David chose me and not YOU!" I stamped my hoof, feeling a rush of rage. "He goes by Dadiolus now, you fool! How does thou not know what thy husband is named?" "Only business associates call him by his official name, you idiot!" She said as she pointed the staff at me as it glowed blue. "Now, leave! I never want to see your flank again." Narrowing my eyes, feeling the air in the area get colder as snow started to land on my coat. "Never! I will save Equestria from any threat, even if it means my dignity!" Letting out a yell, Christine shot an ice blue beam shot from her staff. Countering with my own, I began to push against hers. "Leave my family alone!" She yelled. "This is why we moved from Equestria! You and your stupid people always judge us for everything, even if you don't know what your talking about!" She pushed harder, making the originally even balance of magical power slowly get closer to me. Who gave her such a weapon that it can rival us so? We thought as we pushed back with all our might, sending the pulse of magic right at her, knocking her into the throne that, suprisingly, didn't budge an inch from the blow. Christine, however, fell into the seat in a slump. I staggered slightly, but held my ground as I pointed my horn at the woman. "As said before, We will not hurt thous children. We just plan to send them away." Christine slowly looked up as I fired the spell that had been charged, but instead of the anger that was present before, We saw something on her face that chilled us to the core. Fear. Pure unfaltering fear of the beam that was coming for her. She tried to block it with the staff, only for it to hit the weird crystal at the end of it and cause an explosion of light. When the light cleared, We looked to the throne only to take a step back as what we had done registered. Where Christine was sitting was now a skeletal husk, the staff she used still in her hand. "No...We did not mean to kill her!" As I looked on in horror, the area around me slowly started to die. All the flowers and greenery were wilting and being replaced with icy replicas. Even the originally warm air was now frigid as the magma rocks froze over. "Luuuuuunnaaaaaaa..." A shrill voice called out, causing us to look up... ...before immediately turning tail and teleporting away as an unseen amount of Wendigos descended on the steaming body and its icy tomb. ********************* Luna POV/present time ********************* I shuddered slightly, grimacing at the memory. In a fit of jealous rage, added on to the jealousy we had for our sister, we had accidently over charged the spell and not only banished the unborn children but decimated Christine as well. After returning to Canterlot Celestia would go to reprimand me for my actions, which of course We responded in anger to, leading to the day we became Nightmare Moon. I looked to Raiden, tilting my head as a thought came to mind. Now that I think of it, little Nicholas shares the hair type and other small details of Christine. And didn't she have several husband's in that herd of hers? My eyes widened in shock as I turned to Raiden. No....The brothers couldn't possibly be her- "Princess!" I turned around to see a solar guard standing at attention. "What is it? We are busy." I stated as the gurad cleared his throat nervously. "You have a summons from your sister. She states she wishes to speak to you about recent events...something about a Nightmare version of her?" He said as my jaw dropped. "She's free of the Nightmare?!" We rose to our feet and went to teleport before turning back to Raiden. "Guard, stay here and watch over him please. Make sure he has a nurse healing him every hour." The guard saluted as I teleported away, but not before one more thought came over me. If they are the kids of Christine...does that mean Callobrims prophecy could still come true? **************** Nicholas POV **************** After a while, I looked up at the sky. The sun had begun to dip lower into the air, meaning that the day was almost done. Had we been out here for that long? I thought as I felt Applebloom groan before reading back and looking into my eyes with her own tired-looking ones. For a second, she didn't do anything. But as a reddish hue began to appear on her cheeks I booped her nose. "Hey, want to head back to my house. Fluttermom is gonna get onto me for disappearing again." I offered as Applebloom nodded slightly. "Yeah, Ah'll come with ya. Don't want to head home just yet." She said as we stood up and began walking in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage with her on my left side. As we walked I suddenly felt Appleblooms tail wrap around my left hand. I looked down at her as we walked and noticed she hadn't even reacted to doing so. Did she do that on purpose? Only one way to find out. I thought as I yanked her tail slightly, causing her to yip in suprise before turning to me with a scarlet face when she saw my hand around her tail. "And why'd ya go an' do that?!" She exclaimed as I laughed. "Because your tail wrapped around my hand, and you didn't even notice." I said as her bkush grew stronger. "It did?" She exclaimed, quickly pulling her tail back as her ears splayed backwards on her head. "It won't happen again, Ah swear." I rolled my eyes at the sudden mood shift and gripped her tail again, much lighter this time while wrapping it around my hand. "I think it's kinda cute, actually. I like it." I said as we continued walking while Applebloom looked at me with a big grin. "Really!" She exclaimed, a hop in her step as I giggled lightly at her mood swings. She sure puts a hundred and ten percent into everything, especially her emotions. As the sky started to emit an orange glow, we found ourselves in eyesight of the cottage... ...Where Fluttershy and Diamond Tiara were waiting. Although both looked worried, the former looked a bit ticked. Crap...not even ten minutes back and I'm in trouble. I thought as we walked up, noticing Diamond eyeing Appleblooms tail with a mixture of curiosity and jealousy. I looked to Fluttershy and stepped forward, letting go of Appleblooms tail. "Sorry about leaving the hospital so suddenly. I just...had to figure out some of my emotions." I said as Fluutershy pulled me into a hug. "I could hear you yelling from your room at the hospital, and Diamond Tiara told me about the rest on our way here. Are you ok?" She asked me as she released me from the the hug as I sighed. "I'm...I've been better, but I'll live." I turned to Diamond. "Besides, there's things I got to do." Diamond Tiara tilted her head. "Like what?" I pointed to Applebloom, who came up and put her head under my hand, earning a couple scratches. "I've decided the contract with your mother isn't right, and I plan to talk to her about it." Noticing her face shift quickly to a look of fear and hurt I continued. "I'm not losing either of you, and I'll make her see that." Diamond frowned. "But Nicholas, Nopony has ever been able to stand up to my mom before!" I turned towards ponyville, which looked so peaceful with the sunset glowing over the roofs of the buildings. "After what happened in Canterlot...I think I can handle it." I said as I began to walk back to town, only to have Diamond Tiara and Applebloom step in front of me. "Nicholas, wait." Diamond started. "We're coming with ya. We gotta make sure you don't get hurt no more, for your and Fluttershy's sake." She said as Fluttershy walked up and nuzzled my cheek with hers. "Please be careful, Nick. And do come back once your done." She said before giving me a sterner look. "And don't cause any big trouble while your out please." I nodded and gave her a small hug before going on my way with the girls. "Don't worry, I'm done being a troublemaker. I just have to go and fix something in town." I called over my shoulder as we walked. However, I failed to notice a tall hooded figure lingering behind the cottage eyeing us before turning and walking in the direction of the hospital. ***************** Axel POV/Earlier in the day ***************** Catching up with Sweetiebelle, I began walking beside her, which she looked up to me in suprise. "Axel? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back with the others?" She asked me as I stretched out my arms (gotta love the human bod.) while we walked past that bakery that one of the Queens worked at. "Eh, he's got mostly everyone there." I gave her a smirk. "Besides, you were pretty quick to leave yourself." She puffed her cheeks slightly. "My big sister is already going to throw a fit since I've been gone all day, I'd rather not make it worse." She said as I scoffed. "What, you live with your sister?" I stated in suprise as she turned away and stopped walking, causing me to stop and face her. "Wait...your serious aren't you?" She nodded. "My parents are...very busy ponies. They both are really famous, especially daddy. So to make sure I get an education and properly cared for, they left me with my sister." I frowned, not really liking the sound of that. Even though changelings are usually able to fend for themselves, Chrysalis always makes sure to learn about each of us personally and ensured we were surviving. Although whether this was out of love or out of tactical advantage of keeping our numbers up I'm not certain. "Well that's dumb." I stated plainly as Sweetiebelle gasped. "Dumb?" She exclaimed shockingly. I nodded. "Yeah, it's dumb. They're YOUR parents, regardless of their business they should be around to take care of you." I told her as we continued walking. "Besides, how could they leave such a cute girl alone without adult supervision?" Sweetiebelle tilted her head as we turned a corner. "My sister is an adult." I scoffed at that. "Really? She whines more than you do, from what Queen Pinkies memories tell us in the hive mind." I said as Sweetiebelle eyes widened. "You can access other ponies memories? How?" She asked as we stopped in front of that eyesore of a boutique. "Well, anyone who is connected to the hive mind gives free reign to the collective. We can't take over anyone's mind like this, but we have access to their memories for data purposes. It's an easy way to educate new changelings." I informed her as I looked to the boutique. "Well, it looks like we are here." Sweetiebelle sighed. "Yeah." She turned to me. "Do you think Nicholas will be ok?" As I went to answer that, I felt a wave of magic surge through the hive mind, causing me to frown. That's odd...that felt like Chrysalis. But why would she....oooooh. I smiled at Sweetiebelle. "Nicholas is perfectly alright. Our queen just woke him up." Sweetiebelle grinned big. "That's amazing! I'll go see him after I talk to my sister. Bye!" She said as she ran up into her home, leaving me by outside alone. I sighed, turning and walking back towards town. "Heh. She's a cute mare. Nicholas is lucky to have her pining for him...though he probably won't notice her because of Applebloom and Diamond Tiar-OOF." I was cut off as a tall hooded figure knocked into me, sending us both to the ground. "Hey! what's the big...idea?" I started to yell, but stopped as I got a look at the face of the figure. He was old and had grey hair, but that's not what stuck out the most. No, the thing that stuck out the most was he looked like whatever species Nicholas and his brothers were...humans, right? He looked like an old human. The old man pulled the hood over his head again and stood quickly, somehow towering over my alternate form at at least six feet. "You never saw me, Axel." The man whispered as he turned and walked away. "Wait, who are you? How do you know my name?" I yelled as I ran after him, but a chariot with money bag symbols on it's door went past me briefly, and when it passed the man was gone. For a while, I just stood there in plain confusion. Then, my brain decided to work. "Tak. Tak! TAK!!!" I yelled as I sped towards the underground hive. **************** Nicholas POV/present **************** "Are you sure about this?" Diamond asked as I looked ahead of me and the girls straight at the mansion. Last time I was here, I convinced the Rich family to let me date their daughter. Now, I had to convince them to change the deal we settled on. And I was NOT in a mood for games. "Very." I stated as Applebloom gulped nervously. "Uh, not that ah don't want to get this over with, but how do ya know they're even here?" She asked as I pointed at a carriage that was nearby. "See that carriage? It's got Filthy Riches symbol on it. He is here at least." I said as I began walking towards the door while the girls stayed close behind. "Is...Nicholas ok? He seems more serious than usual." Diamond whispered to Applebloom. "Ah think what happened in Canterlot must'a done something to him...though ah can't really tell if it's a bad thing yet." Applebloom whispered back. "Ah kinda like it when he's taking charge like this." I rolled my eyes as I reached the door. Those two are terrible whisperers. I knocked on the door three times and stood back is the door opened and a butler popped out, though this one looked different from the other one I met before. Unlike the other butler this one was purplish and much older. Diamond Tiara spoke up first, smiling at the older stallion in front of me. "Randolph! What are you doing here? I thought you were on vacation?" The stallion bowed to Diamond. "M'lady, I returned early because our dear Alfred had to work for his other client Bruce Mane." He said as my jaw dropped. So I WAS right!!! Though it wasn't Filthy who was batman though. I thought as Diamond Tiara nodded. "A shame. Though, Randolph, is mommy or daddy here? We have...business to discuss with them." She asked as Randolph nodded. "They are in the main room. Come this way." He said as he began to escort us to the living room, causing me to have even more flashbacks to that day. Meanwhile, Applebloom was in total shock at everything that was in the mansion. "WHOA!!! Ah didn't even know houses could be this fancy!" She turned to Diamond Tiara and pointed at a diamond encrusted mirror on a random shelf. "You must love living in a place like this with all these shiny things!" Diamond sighed as we continued walking, not nearly as enthused. "It's fine...though you do get tired of it quickly." She said as we made it to the living room. Randolph walked ahead of us and approached Diamonds parents, who were on the same couch as last time too. Mr. Rich was reading a newspaper while he had what was either coffee or tea sitting on one of those fold-out tables. Mrs. Rich was looking over what seemed to be a fashion magazine that had some mare named Sapphire Shores on the front. Randolph approached the two and bowed. "Dear Madam and Sir, your daughter has returned with guests." He then backed away to a wall as the two looked up at us. Applebloom hid behind me slightly while Diamond Tiara looked slightly irritated. Mrs. Rich was the first to say something. "Diamond Tiara, your back!" She said with a neutral face before looking to me and smiling suddenly. "And you brought the star of the hour himself. You've done well, 12K!" I raised an eyebrow as Diamond face-hoofed, confused as to why I was getting praise. "Uh...thanks? But for what?" Filthy Rich cleared his throat. "Now now, don't be modest my boy. We've heard about your performance in Canterlot from our friends that live there, and they were shocked to realize that you were our endorsement." He laughed happily, kinda like Santa Claus would. "Your gonna made us a lot of money, kid." "How is that performance going to get yall money?" I asked as Mrs. Rich chortled. "Dear, everypony that matters in Canterlot wants to meet the amazing 12K and his band." She titled her head. "And that reminds me, they said you played with three other...things like you. Are they going to be a permanent thing or was that just a one time gig?" I groaned, not wanting to bring Tak and the others into this ridiculous mess I was I'm. "It's special occasions only. I'm a DJ first, band second." Mrs. Rich sighed with relief. "Oh good, I was worried we'd have to split the profits more than we already were." She smiled thinly as she continued. "Oh, and darling. To answer your question we have already begun to set up a way to mass produce your music. The ponies at the Canterlot Research lab call it...What was it again, dear?" She asked, turning to Filthy Rich, who sighed. "They called it a recording device, honey." He said before returning to his newspaper. "Yes, that. But once it's made, we will record your music and send it across seas to all of our benefactors. Your music is going to make us the wealthiest family in Equestria, darling." She said as she smiled warmly at me. "If you need anything, feel free to ask, and it will be done. We can't have our star not at his best, can we?" I smiled as I felt this was my chance to fix the contract. I looked to Diamond Tiara, who smiled at me, obviously thinking the same thing. Then I looked back to Mrs. Rich and nodded. "Actually, I have something in mind." I said as she blinked. "Really? Very well. What is it?" She said sharply, her tone warning me not to mess around. I cleared my throat, stealing a glance at the filly who was still behind me. "You remember the part in the contract about the whole dating the noble only, right?" Mrs. Rich nodded. "Yes yes, I do. And I have to say that you have already had a potential filly send us a letter. She claimed to be a young princess of Canterlot as well and that you had already met her personally." Mrs. Rich stated with a chuckle as I felt the red hot glares from both Diamond Tiara and Applebloom. Crap. Forgot about that deal I made with Azul! I winced as I continued. "Yeah, she's...something. But couldn't we perhaps alter that agreement slightly?" Mrs. Rich frowned. "How so?" She asked before turning her head to the side. "And who's this behind you?" All right...she noticed Applebloom, so it's know or never. I took a step to the left, leaving a weakly smiling Applebloom in full sight of Mrs. Rich, who gasped. "This is Applebloom, and she is the second mare I want for my herd...however that works." I said as the mare in front of me gritted her teeth. "Oh 12K, why did you bring this...filth into my home and expect me to allow you to date her?" She said as I frowned while Applebloom and Diamond gasped. Even Mr. Rich himself seemed shocked at her words. "Honey, don't you think that's a bit too much?" He asked her, but she waved him off with a glare. "Not now, Filtherend." She said, causing him to blush and look away. She turned back to me, a deep seated glare on her face. "Now, you should know two things before this conversation continues. One, I had certain Canterlot friend of mine come over to look at the contract you signed about an hour ago, and he pointed out something quite interesting." She magicked over the paper and showed me a familiar line. It was the one that had originally stated that I was Equestrian born. Mrs. Rich then pulled out a secondary paper, which looked identical to the last one minus that line. "Now, he showed me that line and I realized you could squirm out of any dues to us relating to the contract...so I out together a little intervention to keep this from occurring. Applebloom frowned, not liking the look of snideness on Mrs. Rich's face. "What does that mean?" Mrs. Rich laughed. "It means, if Nicholas wants to ever perform as 12K again, then he needs to sign this new contract." She looked back at me. "And as for the altering the romance deal, only with the approval of a Rich family member can you subvert that part of the deal, and no one in our family is going to want to...mesh with the commen folk." I clenched my fists as I realized I was backed into a corner. But before I could say anything, Diamond stepped forward and grabbed the contract, handing it to me. "Just sign it, Nicholas." She said as Applebloom gasped before frowning. "Diamond Tiara! What are ya doing?! If he signs that then he can't-" "QUIET!" Mrs. Rich stated loudly, shutting both of them up, though I noticed Diamond wink at Applebloom. "No filth is going to talk to my blood like that!" She turned to me, summoning a pen with a flash of pink light. "Now sign, boy." I sighed, grabbing the pen and paper and resigning the documents. Even after looking it over, I realized I couldn't find anything that could be twisted this time. It was air-tight, meaning whoever helped Mrs. Rich knew what they were doing. After signing it, Mrs. Rich handed it off to Randolph, who took it away to who knows where. "Now, do you need anything else?" Before I could answer, Diamond spoke up. "Mommy, you said a Rich representative has to approve of the mare, right?" She asked as Applebloom tilted her head and I frowned. Where was she going with this? The mare nodded. "Yes...why?" Diamond grinned and turned to Applebloom and I. "Then, as a member of the Rich family I approve of Applebloom joining." She said, making Applebloom squeal in happiness before sending her a glare. "Don't make me regret this." I grinned widely and swooped up the two girls in a huge hug. "This is awesome!!! Thank you so much Diamond!" I cheered happily. "Yer darn tootin' it is, Nick! Thanks, Diamond Tiara!" Applebloom said as Diamond blushed beet red from the attention. "WAIT A SECOND!!!" Mrs. Rich yelled, causing me to almost fall over in shock. Mr. Rich, however, jumped six feet in the air right onto his cup on the table. "AHHH! It burns!!!" He yelled as he ran off into another room before we heard running water and what sounded like steam from the room followed by a long "aaaaahhhhhh." So it WAS coffee in that cup all along. I thought as Mrs. Rich decided to go off on us. "How dare you endorse this, Diamond Tiara!" She yelled, pointing at the three of us. "Filth like that doesn't deserve to be in the same town as us. let alone the same relationships!" She went to say more, but Diamond and Applebloom hopped from my arms and glared at the mare. "ENOUGH, MOTHER!" Diamond Tiara started, stamping her hoof and startling her mom. "How dare YOU speak to my coltfriend and friend like that! They are CLOSE to me, and I will not have you down talk them or any of my other friends anymore!" Applebloom nodded. "Yeah! Just because Ah ain't wealthy or fancy like ya doesn't mean you can push me around like this! Ah like Nicholas, Diamond Tiara likes Nicholas! So why can't we both just like Nicholas and be with him?!" "B-B-Because-" Mrs. Rich started, but Diamond wasn't having it. "NO! Enough excuses! It's my life, Mom! And I'm choosing to spend it with them!" She pointed to Applebloom, then took a few steps back and looked up at me. I smiled and started scratching her ears. Applebloom smiled and did the same steps back, wrapping her tail around my free hand but keeping her eyes on Mrs.Rich. "And Ah choose to spend it with Nicholas and Diamond. And there ain't nothing you can offer or say that'll change mah mind!" With that the girls turned around, causing me to turn with them and keep up with them as they began to walk away. "Diamond Tiara! come back here this instant!" I heard her mom call from. behind us, but the girls ignored her and pretty much escorted me out of the house. Though as soon we made it to the yard the two of them tackled me to the ground in a huge cuddlefest. "Whoa!" I said as we landed. Thankfully, I landed on my back and had the girls on both sides of me. "Finally! We left that crazy house!" Applebloom said from my left before nuzzling my cheek. "Ahm gonna enjoy being with yall." Diamond let out a huge breath as she snuggled up to my right arm. "I can't believe I just talked back to my mom! It felt so...exhilarating! I feel so FREE!" I chuckled at her enthusiasm and pulled them close. "You two make me so happy, yall know that? And now that the stupid contract isn't an issue, we're free to be ourselves!" At the mention of that, Diamond turned and looked straight at me. "Speaking of that...Mom said the filly you talked to was a Canterlot Princess. That wouldn't happen to be Azul, would it?" I felt all traces of relaxation leave my body as both Diamond Tiara and Applebloom were giving me rather stern looks. "Hehe..." I chuckled lightly. "Well...that's a long story." I said as Applebloom poked me in the chest. "Tell it." She stated as I sighed. "Fine, fine. It started when me and the others had to do that performance in the city..." > Chapter 64: One nation, Two species pt.3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Faust POV* I'm going to re-kill that conceited asshole. As soon as he warped out of my space after getting the go ahead to bring back two of those changeling captains, I had begun to watch his progress from my sphere to see if he would actually succeed. And lo and behold, the idiot screwed it up...again! As soon as he left, the human and Twilight Sparkle proceeded to destroy the zombified threats while his idiotic self decided to warp back to me with a big smile on his face. "Well, how do ya like that, Faustie?! I told you they would be history!" Tarus exclaims as he came through his teleport. I give him a deadpan stare as I point at the globe, which was showing off Ronin and Twilight conversing with a unicorn female and three griffons at some house shortly after defeating the zombie changelings. "You made history alright." I snarl, catching him off guard as I walk up to him and whack him on the head. "History as the galaxies greatest idiot! They're still alive, dumbass!" Groaning slightly from the blow, he walked up to the globe as his eyes widen in shock before he looks up and meets my wrathful gaze. "F-Faust...I don't know how they survived! Those two were an unstoppable team!" He stuttered out as I narrowed my eyes. "Perhaps while alive, but as decaying zombies?" I said as I shut my eyes to dull the rising headache I was getting. Tarus frowned for a while, seemingly to be deep in thought before he suddenly smiled widely. "Hey Faust, why don't you make yourself a champion?" He asked me as I reopened my eyes to glare at him. "And why would I do that? The last one turned on me the second he got his blessing." I stated, recalling the foolish idea of blessing a human with the power of prophecy. Tarus chuckled. "Then choose someone who already has power, and blackmail them. Give them no choice BUT to listen to you." He said as I tilted head. "It sounds like you already know who I should pick then?" I said as he nodded. "Easy. The young boy you've been keeping an eye on." He said as my eyes widened. "You mean Nicholas? Why in my name would I..." Then I realized where he was going with this as a smirk appeared on my face. "Ah, yes. Why try to kill the power in that child if we can make it ours? We would never have to worry about our jobs being in danger." Tarus winked as he turned to the globe. "EXACTLY!!! Now is the best time to do it anyway! Ronin is in Griffonia going after that old fart and Raiden might be heading to Tartarus soon himself. No one could protect him from me if I go now!" He proclaimed proudly as I shook my head. "No." He turned back to me, shocked. "No? What the hell do you mean no?!" I stepped forward, a look of malice on my face. "I mean no. You've failed too many times, Tarus. Head back to Tartarus, I will handle the boy." His eyes widened, realizing that I was serious. "Your actually going to go to the mortal realm? In person?" I nodded. "I'm done watching from the sidelines." I looked at the globe, sensing the presence of a being that should be long dead. "And if certain pieces are being brought back on the board, then I must interfere." I walked past him as I opened a golden portal to walk through. "Go home, Tarus. Let a real Equestrian handle this." I said as I walked through the portal. Tarus grumbled and warped away, as I looked towards the scale that sat nearby, always looming over the globe. Could I make a champion out of Nicholas? He's already shown to be vulnerable to mental torment...but I think I know a better way to convince him to see things my way. I thought as I looked over at the globe again, this time it was showing the boy cuddling with two familiar fillies on a lawn in ponyville. I shook my head and turned back to my portal and walked through. How much would you sacrifice to save those closest to you, child? ****************** Ronin POV ****************** I woke up to the familiar sound of snoring on top of me. After the agreement Grazier and I came to in the caverns, we returned to his and Opal's house on the outskirts of Griffinstone. To say Opal was suprised about what we had in mind was an understatement. She flat out told us it would be suicide to go against Grimbeak... ...Without a plan, anyway. And that's where Twilight decided to jump in. After an hour or two of them butting heads,, Her and Opal worked out that if Twilight and I went into the rather old castle while the couple attempted to rally some of the griffons to revolt against their king, we'd be able to not only locate him, but seize the throne as well. Of course, this wasn't going to happen in one night. Opal said it would take a day to get all the equipment and weapons made for the three griffons, and that we should rest up and prepare ourselves for the assault, so we settled in for the night. Twilight would end up sleeping in the guest bedroom while I slept on the same couch I had been put on while being unconscious. Half-asleep, I rubbed the mane of the loud thing on me. "Pinkie...cut out that snoring. Your gonna piss off Chrysalis again if you wake her up." "But Mom, I don't want to go outside! Let me study!!!" A sleep-induced voice told me back, causing me to open my eyes just to see Twilight on my bare chest. (I had unsummoned the armour to be more comfortable, though I kept the greaves on due to not being on an open couch with no blanket.) I looked on as Twilight scrunched her face up and stirred a bit, before snuggling into my body by wrapping her front legs around my chest as she sighed happily. D'aaawww, she looks so-NO! I yelled in my thoughts as I narrowed my eyes at the unbearably cute mare on me. I am not thinking those thoughts about her. Why not, My liege? I heard a voice speak out, echoing in my mind. Eyes widened in shock, I looked around before remembering it was a conversation in the hive mind. And you are? I asked mentally as I heard a small squeak from Twilight as she settled in. Drone number 123784202, your highness. A male voice stated timidly as I frowned. OK, three things. One, Don't call me king or highness, call me Sir. Second, why the hell do you have a numeral name? And three, why would I even think about seeing Twilight like that? The changeling in my head was silent for a long moment before answering. All drones are given a numeral as a name at birth, Sir. We, the hive that is, have also been watching your exploits through your eyes as we have been working on the nest. We have seen your struggles and your interactions, and it is clear that you care for this mare. I groaned quietly at that as several other voices chippers in agreement to what he said, meaning there were now more changelings listening in. "Well, first off I'm giving you a name." I actually said aloud by accident, almost waking up Twilight as she pulled herself up closer to my face, wrapping her forelegs around my neck now as she nuzzled my chest, muttering about someone being "big and strong". Uh...your name is now Luxord. And what do you mean I care for her? She's my bro's CRUSH!!! I heard some giggling from the changelings as the newly named Luxord sighed. Sir, we know your stubbornness matches Mother Chrysalis, but please think about this... He stated calmly as I frowned. Since when did the changelings call her that? Twilight Sparkle, by First Mothers memories, is a very powerful unicorn capable of many great feats. The hive would easily thrive with her as one of your mates. That, and your brother obviously has a one mare mind. I blinked in suprise at the reasoning behind his words. OK, that does make sense. But I ain't stepping on that minefield. Twilight likes Raiden anyway, and I got bigger things to worry about right now...such as MY UNBORN CHILD! I mentally shouted the last bits, starting to lose my cool. I could feel the flinch from the changelings as I finished my words. Though it wasn't long until Luxord spoke back up. Sir, believe me when I say your child is alright. The egg was brought to the hive moments ago, alongside the return of the three Queens. But you should at least consider the idea that the mare may only have a foals crush on your brother. OOO, HE SHOULD USE FLOWERS! An overly loud female changeling called out. No! He should flex his strapping body! I know that gets my venom running just thinking about it! Another female called out, making me shudder slightly at the idea of my drones sneaking peeks at me. You two are weird! Obviously he should just kiss her. It worked for Queen Chrysalis! A male called out before the whole mindset became an arguing match. I groaned softly, starting to get a headache as more changelings started voicing their opinions rather loudly, ignoring Luxords pleas to settle down. ENOUGH!!! I yell in my mind, effectively quieting the barrage of voices in my head, replacing the loud voices with an overwhelming wave of fear. Ugh, they're scared again. Greeeaaaat. Listen, yall can't just blow up my mind like that. I said sternly, but softer than before as to not cause the changelings to be even more afraid of me. And besides we aren't herding with Twilight. As far as that goes, she's not even into me anyway. I thought as I heard several murmurs ring out as Luxord sighed. Very well, Sir. If that is what you wish to believe, we will let you rest. Come, my people. We must let the king sleep before his mission continues. With that, their presence from my mind disappeared, making it feel actually quite lonely in my head as I kinda missed their presence. Dang...Can't believe I'm missing having multiple voices in my head. I chuckled softly as I looked at Twilight, who was snoring softly as she was pressed against me, I couldn't help but softly stroke her mane as thoughts of my brother went through my mind. Raiden...you better not break this mare's heart. **************** Chrysalis POV **************** "Finally!" I exclaimed as we laid Pinkie Pie down into the main bedrooms bed at the hive-house. "Your sure she is alright, Nurse?" Redheart looked to me as she centered the egg Pinkie had...laid on the floor nearby the bed and nodded. "None of the test I did showed any negative signs, so we had to take her out of that room." She looked to Pinkie, who had begun to mutter to herself with a huge smile in her sleep, before shaking her head with a smile. "I swear, that mare is one of a kind. How can she end up laying an egg and just end up sleeping it off like that?" I shrugged my shoulders and turned to the door. "Each Queen handles it differently. Who knows what you will do when your time comes?" I said with a smug smile as Redhearts face went red and her eyes widened to pinpricks. "Oh, nonononono! I am NOT looking for that right now! We aren't even married to Ronin yet, and Pinkie already has a foal or changeling on the way!" She exclaimed as she tilted her head. "Where are you going, anywho? Don't we need to look after the egg?" I shook my head. "No, the eggs are quite capable of staying alive as long as their mother is near. I have a hive to check on and a son to talk to." I looked back towards the door, hiding the small rush of emotions that went through my face at the mention of Tak. "I...have some things to atone for, especially with how I've treated him recently." Redheart nodded. an understanding smile on her face. "Then go find him. I don't need a kid to know that you and him are close. Go find Tak and make sure to make amends." I smiled at that and walked out of the room and down into the living room, taking notice to the fact that the entrance to the underground hive wasn't sealed. He must be already downstairs. I thought as I began to walk the cavern halls. Several changelings flew by while I walked, with them either bowing to me while staring in awe at my new appearance or flying up and hugging one of my legs before continuing on their way, though I realized that any of the ones that hugged me seemed bigger than the ones that bowed, though they lacked horns or wing. Must be Pinkie Pie's earth pony love Influence on the Drone making progress. I wonder how physically strong those ones are? I thought before reaching the center room of the hive, which had grown to be much larger than when I had introduced Ronin to the first batch of drones. There were now a staggering amount of changelings flocking in and out of the room, either transporting what looked like cocoon making materials or carrying larva to quieter locations. As I looked on, my eyes fell upon the target of my search. My son...and his soon-to-be-mate. I walked over to the two, with them not noticing me due to them talking quietly, though the orange pegasus (Scootasomething) giggled lightly as I got closer. "Tak, don't say things like that. We're supposed to be figuring out the traitor problem, remember?" She said, making me stop in my tracks. "Traitor?" I exclaimed sharply, causing Tak to freeze up and the pegasus to gasp as she turned around slowly. "Tak's mom! What I meant so say was...whoa." She trailed off as she looked me over before poking the still unmoving Tak in the side. "Tak! Your mom looks different!" She said as Tak turned around and looked at me, his jaw dropping at the sight in front of him. "M-M-Mother? How did...When did you?" He stuttered out as I put a hoof to his mouth. "Son." I began, that gross feeling welling up inside me as I recalled how I had been treating him. "For a while now, I may have been being a bit of an ass to you...So I'm sorry or whatever." I said quickly, looking away as my face started heating up. Why do emotions have to affect us so much more than other species?! I thought as I felt Tak embrace me in a strong hug, tears going down his cheek. "Mother...I'm so glad to see you embracing this new way of life!" He exclaimed as all the changelings in the room suddenly stopped to stare with smiling expressions at us while the orange pegasus looked slightly uncomfortable. I sighed, wrapping a foreleg around Tak and motioning to the filly with the other. "Join the hug, you little child." "Her name is Scootaloo, Mom." Tak said, though it came out muffled. Scootaloo smiled and hugged Tak from behind. "I'm only doing this because I like you, not because I'm into this mushy stuff." She said, causing me to laugh. "Your courting the wrong species to not be into intimacy, filly." I stated, causing Tak and Scootaloo to both turn red in the face. "MOOOOOOOOM!" Tak groaned while Scootaloo gagged, causing me to laugh louder. "I'm kidding...but seriously, what traitor?" I said, getting back on topic as the changelings from before went back to their duties. Tak looked to Scootaloo, who nodded at him, before looking me in the eyes. "Mom, while we were gone, Scootaloo managed to find a dead changeling body in the depths of the cave. After examining it, the hive found it was about a month old in age." He reported as I frowned, narrowing my eyes. "How? Every changeling has been accounted for. The only ones who hatched without any supervision were...the original four." I said as my eyes widened. "You think one of the LAZR are a traitor?" He nodded. "Indeed. Though I know it wasn't Larxene. She died for the sake of the hive at Canterlot." Scootaloo sighed. "That only leaves Axel, Roxas, and that Zexion dude who chills with Silverspoon." She said as I thought it over. Roxas is a big toddler, so it isn't him. Axel is brash but brutally honest, not the traits of a traitor...and Zexion is lazy, but isn't negative towards the hive. I looked around, eyeing each changeling carefully as they flew by, any of them possibly being a part of this. Scootaloo noticed my wandering eyes. "Chrysalis...what's wrong?" I looked to her, an uneasy expression on my face. "Any one of these changelings could potentially be a part of this? Who knows if the traitor works alone?" Tak face-hoofed. "Mother, don't you think your being a tad paranoid? We only found one body." I shook my head. "Paranoia has kept our people alive, my son. That's why we-" "TAAAAAAAK!!!" A loud yelling cut me off as what looked like a blue version of Nicholas in his power form ran into the cave looking like he pissed himself. "Axel?! What's wrong?" Tak exclaimed, making me do a double take. "That's Axel? What did you kids do in Canterlot?!" I exclaimed as the humanoid changeling shook his head rapidly. "Now isn't the time for that! I was just coming back from escorting Sweetiebelle from the hospital when I bumped into a cloaked person." He explained as I frowned but Taks eyes widened. "Wait...a cloaked pony?" He said, his eyes brimming with interest as Axel shook his head. "No. A person! It was a human like Nicholas and his brothers, but older! He was heading towards the hospital when he bumped into me." He said as I turned to Tak. "Son, I will send out a message through the hive. All changelings will report here immediately to be questioned about the traitor incident while you and your...fillyfriend go with Axel and hunt down this human." I said sternly as Scootaloo frowned. "What's so dangerous about an old human?" She asked as I turned away from them, having a hunch that if another human was here, it could possibly be a threat considering who the last two humans were. "Let's just say I have a hunch." I turned to them swiftly, pointing towards the exit. "NOW GO!!!" Tak and the others swiftly made way towards the exit while I prepared to send the message through the hive mind. What are the odds of another human appearing right after that ice queens defeat? I thought as I sent out mental alert through the hivemind to any and all drones that weren't part of Taks little friend group. And now we have what could possibly be a traitor in our midst as well? And to think I had believed that we would be able to rest easy after the Canterlot incident. I thought worriedly before I shook my head, my thoughts moving the the two mare's upstairs and the egg with them. No. I need to be strong. I have...a real family now, and I will protect it from any threat. ********** Tak POV ********** The sound of clattering hooves rang out clear on the empty street. Scootaloo, Axel, and I were on our way to the hospital after Chrysalis gave us our orders. Thankfully, it was well past night out, the moon was rising higher into the sky as we continued our rushed sprint across town. "What do you think the human will want at the hospital?" Scootaloo asked as we turned a corner and began on the dirt path that trailed towards the hospital. "Don't know. The only thing there are hurt patients like Nicks brother." Axel said as my heart nearly stopped at the realization of what might come to happen. "Buck, that must be why he's going there!" I exclaimed as I charged my horn and enveloped us in a yellow light that took us straight to the hospital waiting room. As the light dimmed, Axel clutched his head. "Dang, man. Warn us before you do that." Axel said groggily as Scootaloos eyes twirled around in her head as she went haphazardly moved around before I grabbed her. "No time, we need to get to Raiden and warn the princess about the human." I exclaimed as Scootaloo got her bearings and we ran through the halls, looking into each doorway. "And how long are we gonna just look through-found him." Axel said, cutting himself off as he walked into a room with Scootaloo and I close behind. Walking in, I noticed two things. One, Princess Luna wasn't here. In her place was a nurse that was casting a healing spell on Raiden, though it seemed to have little effect. Second, there was a night guard watching over the man. Though he immediately looked to us in suprise. "Hey, you three can't be in-" Axel raised a hand to stop him. "Chill, man. We came to warn you about a human coming to hurt the guy your guarding." The guard blinked in suprise as Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something. "Well well well...It seems there has been some misconceptions about my intentions, aye lads?" An older voice spoke out from behind us, making all three of us turn around quickly to face the source of the voice. As I layed eyes on him, I noticed that although he was a human, he seemed...weaker than the brothers. He wore a familiar robe that covered his head entirely from view, but you could tell by the frailness of his arms that he was old...very old. He seemed to wear a pair of grey tunic bottoms that were tucked into what seemed like boots of some kind. "Who are you? And why are you here?" I demanded, glaring at the human in front of us. To the shock of us all, he laughed. "My boy, ain't it obvious by now?" He pulled the headpiece of the robe back, revealing sharp blue eyes and grayish blonde hair that was cut short to the neck. "I think the boys grandfather deserves to check up on his grandchild, don't ya think?" > Chapter 65: One nation, Two species pt.4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Tak POV* My jaw dropped at the reveal of the identity of the human in front of us. It couldn't be THAT grandfather, right? He was supposed to had died back on Nicks home planet if what Nick had told us was right. "What do you mean your their grandfather? Aren't you supposed to be dead or something!" Axel stated, voicing my thoughts as Scootaloo looked purely blown away at the information before shaking her head. "And wouldn't that make you super old, anyway?" She said as the man chuckled lightly. "Indeed, Lassie. I am older than anyone in this room." He said as he took a step forward. "As to how I am still alive after my...passing on Earth? Well, I'd rather share that story when my family is around." He said as he pointed to Raiden. "Speaking of which, I need to wake the lad up, pronto. He's got a destiny to fulfill." The man went to Raidens bedside, only to be halted in his tracks by the guard who was in the room beforehoof. "You are not permitted to be near the patient without Princess Luna's direct consent." He said in a stern tone, glaring at the man who simply sighed. "Never tell a Scotsman what to do, Lad." He said before looking into the eyes of the guard and smiling as his eyes glowed gold for a second. "Your wife is pregnant, and in three days she will give birth to the twins she has in her stomach right now." He said, startling the guard into taking a step back. "H-How do you know that?! How do you know my wife?" He stated as the old man ignored him and put a hand on Raidens forehead. "Hey! I said not to-" The grandfather raised a hand to silence the guard as he pulled something out of his robe. It was some sort of necklace, though it was more of a chunk of rock with a gold chain attached than jewelery. Though I couldn't help but feel the powerful enchantments emanating from it. How could something so...thrifty be putting off such power? The human gripped the rock tightly as he put his free hand on Raidens pale forehead as the rock and his hand began to glow. "I see. The darkened magic that brought my sister back from the dead has latched onto Raidens body and refuses to let go. If not removed, he will perish by its poison." He released his hand from Raiden and turned to me. "You are one of Nicholas's friends, right?" I nodded, unable to say anything. "Tell me, child. There is one way to save Raiden, but it would sacrifice his human body in favor of his rightful form. Would Nicholas and Ronin want this to proceed now, or should I wait for them to return for them to decide themselves?" Axel crossed his arms, giving the man a stern glare. "Old man, if you can save Nicks bro, then go ahead and do it." He said while Scootaloo shook her head. "But Raiden is out cold! What if he doesn't want to give up his human form?" She pointed out as I frowned, giving the robed man a wary look. "Why me? Your family to him, shouldn't you make this decision?" I asked him, causing him to look away from us as his hands clenched tightly. "I...I don't deserve to make decisions for these boys anymore. Not after all I have put them through to get them here." He said solemnly, his face hardening as a look of shame graced his facial features. "Do it, then." I said, causing Axel, Scootaloo, and even the guard to look to me in shock. "Nicholas and Ronin would want Raiden to be better, no matter the cost." He nodded and turned to Raiden, putting his hand back on Raidens forehead. The light from before shined brighter though, and began to encompass his whole body. "Whoa..." The guard said as we looked on. "Whoa is right, tin-pony." Axel said, though the jab seemed half-butted due to his attention being on the process in front of us. Scootaloo turned to me instead of watching, a question clear on her conscience. "Do you think we can trust this guy? He seems like Nicks grandad, but it sounded like he might have done some bad stuff before." She whispered to me, quiet enough to keep the others from listening in. "I'm not sure, but everyone deserves a chance to be better. And if he helps Raiden, then that's one less thing for us to worry about." I whispered back as the light disappeared, leaving behind Raiden, except now he had the dragon form back and looked way healthier than before. "Heh, looks like the boy got yer genes after all Erdrick." The man said as he turned back to us. "He'll wake up soon, and that means the princess will be here soon after." He started to walk towards the door but stopped as Scootaloo stepped towards him. "Your just going to leave? Your not even going to wait for him to wake up?" She asked as the man shook his head and lifted up the necklace. "Sorry, Lassie. I got a necklace to return to one of my grandchildren." He looked to Raiden and sighed. "Besides, he wouldn't want to see me anyway." With that, the man left the hospital room, leaving three shocked kids and a royal guard in his wake. "Um...does anypony know what just happened?" The guard asked as my mind was now flooded with results from the changeling tests Mother had given...though one operative didn't show up to the tests. Where the heck was Roxas? **************** Twilight POV **************** I yawned as my eyes slowly opened and I snuggled up to whatever pillow I had grabbed in my sleep. Taking in a deep breath, I smiled at the scent I was hit with was overwhelmingly pleasent. Mmmmm. How does this pillow smell so good? It's like a combination of sea salt, pepper, and...something else. I thought, frowning as my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness before my heart stopped cold. I wasn't snuggling a pillow, I was pressed up against RONIN! "Oh no oh no oh no!" I whispered repeatedly as I attempted to sit up only to realize Ronins arms were wrapped around me tightly. "Mmmm. Quit moving, Chrysalis. It's too late at night to be squirming around." Ronin muttered, stirring slightly due to my movement. After a moment or two, Ronin finally stopped mumbling and fell back asleep, allowing me to breath again as I stared at his face. Oh, thank goodness. I was worried he was going to wake up! I thought to myself, smiling as a small grin came across his face. He's kinda cute when he's sleeping like this. My eyes widened in shock and I immediately teleported out of his arms as I backed away from the couch he was sleeping on. CUTE?! He can't be cute! He's hurt other ponies, for Celestia's sake! Though, he has been trying to be better...not to mention he's had my back while we've been stuck here in Griffonia. I shook my head as I started to feel a weird heated feeling start to grow in my body.He's been so nice to me. He could've easily left me for dead or worse, but he didn't. He stuck by me even when those zombies appeared. I found myself staring at his face, noticing each defining feature on it. From the small lips and his almost pointed nose to the mane that rested on his neck. When we first met. his mane was almost non-existant with how short it was. Now it's almost as long as an average stallions! I thought with a quiet giggle as that heated feeling became stronger, causing me to frown as I noticed my tail was lifting slightly. Wait...why am I suddenly so warm? Usually this only happens when- My eyes widened in shock as the answer came to me. "I'm in heat." I whispered in shock. "Well, duh. I could tell by the show your giving me." I spun around and gasped as Opal smirked at me. "Opal! I-I-" I started to stammer out, but she shushed me. "Now now, Twilight. We don't want to wake your friend." She said, calming me down slightly as she put a hoof on my mouth, effectively stopping my breakdown. "Your acting like this is a big deal! Just wake your...stallion up and ask him to relieve you!" My face lit up like a tomato. "WHAT?! He's not my stallion! We're just here on business, that's all!" I whispered harshly, making the unicorn giggle. "Really? Because your eyeing him like he is." She said with a wide grin as I looked away, somehow blushing even deeper. "It couldn't work out anyway, even IF I liked him! He's got three mare's already, including your daughter, and even has a foal on the way." I said, feeling suprisingly down from what I had stated. I couldn't actually be crushing on Ronin...right? Just because he saved me earlier and I like waking up on top of him, cuddling his soft warm body and Sweet Celestia I DO like him!!! My eyes widened in shock as Opal shook her head. "Dear, it's obvious the stallion has a herd from what you both have said. And quite a decently sized one too. Now, he claimed you like some brother of his yesterday, but how deep does that infatuation go?" She asked me as I opened my mouth to answer before finding myself unable to. "I..." I trailed off, wondering if Raiden could ever like me back at all. He seemed to appreciate being around me, but was that only on a friendly level? That day when Luna had spoke to me alone, she had told me she'd convince Raiden to give me a chance, but what if he changed her mind? Heck, they could be together right now and I wouldn't even be on his mind at all! I turned back to Ronin, finding that a smile had slowly appeared on my face. Ronin, however, seemed to be focused on three things right now. Finding Grimbeak, Getting back to his herd, and protecting me. The question is could Ronin find the time and energy to like me, let alone love me when he has three other mares and a whole hive to take care of? Opal tapped my shoulder, making me face her again. "Twilight, you spaced out one me. Are you ok?" She asked with a tilted head as I sighed. "Honestly...I don't know. I'm going back to the guest bedroom to get some rest. Night." I told her, walking towards the door behind her that led to my original sleeping area of just a bed and a cabinet. I had a long night of thinking to do. I thought, Groaning slightly as the burning sensation ached at my lower regions. And this heat is only making this worse! ************** Ronin POV ************** "WAKE UP!!!" I heard a loud voice yell in my ear, causing me to fall off the couch and land on my side quite painfully. Looking up from the floor, I glared at the white feathered griffon who had woken me up. "Why the hell did you do that?" I growled, making Grazier laugh. "Because my darling wife told me to." He retorted before pointing towards the door. "We got a report from Glascow earlier that him and Bob have a small militia gathered at the ready by the castle. All we need to do is meet them there." I got up and nodded before looking back at the couch, noticing Twilight wasn't anywhere to be found. Noticing my gaze, Grazier smiled. "Your unicorn friend went ahead with Opal to the castle. Said something about her needing to keep her heat under control." The griffon shook his head as he walked outside. "Guess it won't be long until I'm getting jumped by Opal too." As he walked outside, I summoned my chestplate to my body as I thought about what Grazier had said. Heat? Didn't Raiden say something about that? I shrugged it off, following Graizer outside, where he was putting on some grey armour around his lower waist while it looked like he had a bow and a full quiver attached to his back. "You need any weapons, boy?" He asked me as he pointed to a barrel nearby that had several types of weapons to choose from. I walked over and looked them over, noticing several males, axes, and spears, but no swords that looked like mine back in Canterlot. Turning back to Grazier, I shook my head. "Yall don't got any Katanas, huh?" He frowned in response. "What the heck is a Katana?" He said, causing me to roll my eyes and look to the open gate between the walls of the city "Nevermind, I'll go with my bare hands. Shall we get going?" I asked. Graizer nodded and walked up to me. "Once you get through the gates, it's a straight walk to where the castle stands. Now, you said your dating my daughter, and I want to make sure your capable of protecting her. So, meet us at the castle in no less than two hours, aight." With that, he flew off over the gates, causing me to face-palm. "For fucks sake, really? The bird ditches me right off the bat?" I groaned, beginning my walk through the gates as I entered the town of Griffonstone. The town itself was, at best, a ruined version of ponyville. Almost all of the buildings were broken down or in ruins, and the few griffons I ran into in person were either old and uncaring or gave me glares from afar. Even the ground I walked on seemed to mirror the broken down shape of the town. Damn, this place is just about on its last legs. I thought as I looked at what looked to be an old statue of some king, though the amount of cracks and debris around the statue showed how little the people of this land cared about it. "What your staring at is our fallen king." An old voice called out to me, making me turn around to see an older griffon with darker feathers and wearing a fez walk up. "Excuse me?" I said, raising an eyebrow. The old Griffon put out his claw. "I'll tell ya the whole tragic tale...for a couple of bits!" He tells me, causing me to frown. Great...a haggler. I thought as I patted myself down, finding a pocket in my greaves where the bits I had earned working at the farm were sitting. I gave him a silver one as he smiled. "Much obliged, kid. Now, how much do you already know about our history?" He asked me as I recalled what Grazier had said about the idol. "I know you lost some idol due to the Antiarachnid invasion and Grimbeaks lack of caring, right?" I told him, causing him to nod. "Yes, that fool should've never became king. But he wasn't the original king though." The old coot laughed. "Oh nooo! Centuries ago, that griffon used to be a simple mechanic. His job was to create weapons and armour for our troops." "So how'd a simple mechanic become king?" I asked him as he sat down in front of the statue. "This statue represents our true king from long ago represents the king who brought us together, King Grover. He managed to convince us that we would be stronger together, and to throw away our greedy nature's for our country's benefit." The old bird coughed slightly. "But then one day, they found the kings body shredded on the throne, and during the ceremony the royal mechanic rose up and took over the throne with those horrid mechanized weapons he uses." The griffon looked away. "There are some living descendents of the rightful king...but they haven't been seen since they were trapped in the castle." This caused me to grit my teeth in anger. So Grimbeak managed to rise up as a tyrant from the start?! And he killed this country's one chance at happiness too! I looked past the statue and at the castle on the other side of town. "That's why I'm heading over there now. I plan on finishing him off for good." The griffon laughed. "You can't be serious!" I stared at him blankly. "You are, aren't you!" The man shook his head slowly before turning away. "If your serious about helping us...remember this: Grimbeak wiped out half of our population with his ultimate weapon, if you hear what sounds like a river flowing and your in the throne room...run." With that, the old man flew off, leaving me alone to chew on that thought. "Grims got a secret weapon? Shit, better warn the others then!" I said to myself, picking up my pace to a jog as I made my way to the castle. *************** 30 minutes later/Ronin POV *************** I came to a stop in front of castle entrance and noticed two things. One, Griffinstone was pretty much just a giant tree, and I was now near the top and could see all the way down to the peaks below. Two, Twilight and the others were already there at the gate waiting for me. Said unicorn ran up to me as soon as we made eye contact, though I noticed her face seemed flushed. "Ronin! You made it! I was so worried that something might happen!" She turns and glares at Grazier, who was currently getting an earful from his wife. "After Grazier told us he left you on your own to 'test' you, we thought you might get lost." I chuckled and scratched Twilights head, getting a small coo out of her as she pressed into my hand. "Relax, Bookworm, I'm alright. Besides, I actually got some good info about our target in town." I said as she looked up at through my hand and tilted her head. "Really? Like what?" I removed my hand, much to Twilights disappointment considering her pput she had when I did so, and looked up at the white castle in front of us. "Well, apparently Grimbeak took the throne from this guy named Grover, then wiped out half the population with some super weapon." I said, causing Twilights eyes to widen as she took a step back. "W-What?! Why would he do that?!" She exclaimed as I shrugged. "Don't know. Perhaps they didn't appreciate the idea of him ruling. Regardless, there's a chance he still has it, so we need to be careful." I said as we walked over to Opal and Grazier, who were talking to some of the griffons that were standing in lines of about thirty strong. "How did you two get here anyway? Aren't ponies forbidden in Griffonstone?" Opal turned to me and winked. "Honey, I control most of this town due to my...popularity among the griffon populace." She said as some of the griffons in the line snickered before Opal did a one-eighty death stare, causing them to shut up. "So no one dared to touch a hair on my or Twilights head." Twilight nodded. "And after we started spreading the word around that we were gonna stop Grimbeak, we started getting griffons who wanted to volunteer." I looked to the griffons in suprise, not expecting anyone to want to help. Grazier laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "You've got a right to be suprised boy. The only reason they are helping is because every griffon here hates Grimbeak. In fact, I doubt anyone actually likes the old fart...except for perhaps a handful of birdbrains." I nodded. "Good, then the castle should be unguarded, then." I said, causing all the griffons to tense up. "Uh...what's wrong?" Glascow, who had been giving out maces to the griffons, turned to me. "Boy, just because no LIVING griffons are loyal to him, doesn't mean the dead ones aren't." Twilight turned green slightly. "What do you mean dead? You don't mean more zombies, right?" She asked, causing Opal to shake her head. "No, they are alive alright...but it's a fate worse than death. You know how Grimbeak has metal body parts right?' Twilight and I nodded. "Well, recently, the idiot has tried to replicate that on any griffons foolish enough to break into the castle. After that, the poor bird is never seen again...or worse yet, changed into a Meckon." Twilight frowned. "Meckon?" Grazier nodded. "It's what we call his metal guards. Don't know how he does it, but he found a way to fuse living things to machinery. And ever since his Equestrian supplier has been shipping him metal, the Meckon numbers have grown more than ever from the pitiful clawful they originally were to about twelve of them." I blinked in suprise. "Equestrian supplier? The only pony Grimbeak works with would be-" I growled. "Blueblood, that Ass!" Twilight narrowed her eyes, almost yelling in frustration. "I wondered what Grimbeak was getting out of helping out Blueblood, he's even worse than what Rarity said he was!" She said, causing me to look at her funny. "What does Rarity have to do with this?" I asked, curious to know why she was brought up. "She tried to 'swoon' him at a ball two years back, let's just say it didn't work out." She said before looking to Opal. "Can the Griffons inside the Meckon be saved?" Grazier looked at the castle and sighed. "We don't know. No one's been able to kill one yet, and the only one who could save them is their puppetmaster himself." He said as I turned and looked at the griffons in front of me. Most of them almost looked bored to be here, as if they were dragged here by force. However, my jaw dropped as I made eye contact with- GILDA?! "YOU!" I yelled as I felt a surge of pure hatred flow through me as my vision went red. The griffon looked me in the eyes before she turned and began to fly off quickly. "Ronin, what's going o-" Twilight said, but stopped for some reason as after a flash of black light occured I ran forward and jumped after Gilda, only to yell out in shock as I went several yards above her. What the hell?! I yelled out as I descended and grabbed Gilda on the way down, bringing her to the ground in a wave of dust. As it cleared, I picked her up by my right tentacle and began to choke her out. "RONIN?! Stop! Your going to kill her!" I heard someone yell, but I was too focused on the griffon in front of me. She sold me out to Grimbeak and is one of the reasons one of my changelings are DEAD! I roared before stopping as Twilight teleported in front of me, right next to the now purple Gilda, though it seemed odd that she was even shorter than before for some reason. "Ronin, I don't know how you transformed into...whatever that is, but you have to stop! PLEASE!" She exclaimed, causing me to see the fear in her eyes, bringing me to my senses. I dropped the griffon to the ground as I felt that same hatred leave my mind. The area around me went back to its normal colors and Twilight returned to normal height. The tentacle arm flashed black before becoming a human limb again as I looked from the Griffon to Twilight. "What...did I just do?" I asked as Twilight approached me slowly, almost as if she was afraid of what just happened. "You saw Gilda...then you became some sort of big black monster with tentacles for limbs. You were yelling and everything and I..." She trailed off as she wrapped her fore legsaround my waist in a big hug. "What was that, Ronin? Why did you become that thing?" Black tentacle monster? Why did I...oh shit that thing is back? "Twilight." I said, kneeling down and returning the hug. "I'm sorry for scaring you. You remember when Chrysalis changed forms, right?" I felt her nod into my chest. "Well, that happened because her and I became connected after her mom tried to force dark magic into my soul." Twilight pulled away and looked up at me in shock. "Long story. But the main thought was that it was all purged when the bond was made. Apparently not, though, since it just came out after I saw Gilda." Twilight frowned as she sniffled slightly. "But why did it come out now though?" I looked to Gilda, who was slowly getting up, and felt a smaller version of that hate reappear. "I think it comes out when I'm exposed to extreme hatred or negative feelings. I really have it out for her, so maybe that did it." I looked back to Twilight. "Thanks for stopping me, Twi." I released Twilight, not noticing the massive blush she had before I stood up and walked over to Gilda as she turned and looked me in the eyes. "You. Why the hell are you here if you used to work for Grimbeak?" I said harshly. Gilda narrowed her eyes at me. "That's none of your-" She stopped quickly as I growled, starting to see red. "Alright alright I'll tell you...just don't turn into that thing again!" The red disappeared as I nodded, letting her answer. "The reason I was helping Grimbeak is because he has my cousin in the castle. He said he'd free him if I helped him in Canterlot." She said as I crossed my arms. "Really? And why not bust him out yourself?" I asked, causing Gilda to look away. "Because he was made into a Meckon, that's why." She said, causing me to flinch in shock. "Oh...so all of this was because you were trying to help family?" I asked her as she returned a harsh glare to me. "Yeah, it was! Like you'd know anything about that!" She spat, causing me to sigh and motion to my body. "That thing you saw? This armour? That trial I was a part of? All because of me making similar decisions you did. Good ideas, horrid judgement. Now I've got to live with my mistakes. Hell, that's why I'm here!" I yelled, causing her to blink in suprise. "Wait, really? Your gonna topple the metalbeak?" She said as Opal and Grazier came over. "That's the plan, dearie." The unicorn said before looking at me. "Now Ronin, I don't know what in Tartarus that was before, but it may come in hoof in a minute when we storm the castle, but are you done picking fights so we can actually do what we came for?" She asked as I nodded, ready to go. Grazier smiled. "Good! We'll need everyone for this!" He turned to the griffons, who had been watching in shock the whole time. "Alright maggots! You just witnessed some of our power we're packing through the monkey boy here! Now, who wants to kill a tyrant!" Loud cheers erupted as Opal led Gilda over to Glascow and Bob to get a weapon while Twilight nuzzled my hand with her head. "Ronin...are you ok?" She asked me as I looked into her purple eyes and smiled, rubbing her mane. "Yeah. Let's finish this once and for all." > Chapter 66: One nation, Two species pt.5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* As the griffons rested and were finishing preparations for what was to come, I had one train of thought going through my head. Life has a weird way of working out. About two months ago back on earth, if someone would've told me I would end up being the king of a bunch of life-sized bug horses and would be dating three different girls, I would've knocked them out in hopes of restoring their sanity. However, all that DID happen. I was dumped in this world after Nicholas wished for a better life with that silly necklace Grandfather gave him and found myself in league with the changelings. Then I, alongside my brothers helped save Equestria several times from several threats like Dadiolus and his followers. Hell, I've even begun to settle down with the girls of my life in hopes of simply living! But, as I stood at the hulking metal doors blocking the entrance of the castle, ready to lead the charge against Grimbeak, I couldn't help but let my mind wander about the king. He had a feather that fit in my wings...even though they are made of metal and the feather wasn't it still fit. He also seemed to be waiting for me to arrive in Canterlot from the start, but how could he had known? Who told him about me? I thought as I heard the sound of clopping hooves approach me. "Ronin?" I heard Twilight call out. I turned around to find her face laced with worry. "I'm fine, Bookworm. Just wondering about some things before we start the assault." I said before noticing that Twilights mane was pulled back into a bun near the back of her head, keeping it from hanging low. Twilight noticed my staring and looked away sheepishly, a blush present on her face. "Do you like it?" She said as she suddenly stiffened, shaking her head rapidly. "O-Opal did it for me, saying it would be harder for any bad guys to grab my hair if it wasn't hanging low. It's for combat reasons only, and definitely not for cosmetic reasons!" She added hastily, her blush encompassing her face as I shook my head with a smile, trying to ignore my own blush at the sight of her while deciding to mess with her a bit. "Hell of a time to decide to be sexy, Twilight." I said as I walked past her and towards the group of ragtag warriors waiting at the ready to attack. "S-SEXY?!?" I heard Twilight screech in shock as I continued walking until I made it to Opal, Grazier, and their two goons. Opal, who had been watching the scene unfold, was holding in a laugh as Grazier sighed. "Boy, I know we're trying to get fired up for this and all, but did you really need to do that to the young mare?" He said as Twilight proceeded to mutter to herself incomprehensibly while she paced back and forth by the gate. "Yeah, I did. She'll get over it though." I said as I noticed Gilda walk up to us, and turned to face her. "What's up?" She looked at me, then at Grazier, then back to me before sighing. "There's someone in the castle I want to find..." She said, trailing off slightly as I recalled what she had said earlier about her family. "Your cousin, right?" I said as she nodded. "You really think the poor thing is ok in there, and not one of those Meckon?" Glascow said, getting a hoof in the ribs by Opal. "Shut up, birdbrain!" She hissed, Gilda glared at the griffon for a second before she returned her gaze to me. "If...if he is changed, then I need to set him free. No living thing deserves life as one of those abominations, especially not him." Gilda stated, making me smile. "Then let's get the show on the road then!" I said, turning to Grazier. "Are the griffons ready?" Grazier did a clawed thumbs up. "We've been ready for years, boy." I nodded and walked over Twilight as Grazier commanded the griffons to prepare themselves, making them grab any strewn about weapons or armour placed down during our preparations. "But sexy?! When has anypony ever called me sexy? Was he serious, or was he being himself and messing with me?" I heard Twilight muttering as I rolled my eyes. Never change, Twi. I thought as I booped her snoot as she paced past me, causing her to do a kitten sneeze before looking up at me with a pout. "What was that for?" She asked as I pointed at the doors. "We're ready to go in, and I want you to blow down the doors with your magic." I said, causing her eyes to widen. "What? Why?!" She asked as I gave her a toothy grin. "Griffons have a knack of being tough guys, right?" I asked, causing her to nod. "So, if they see the new pony blast down those huge doors that lead into the castle, then they might end up respecting your power, and the less arguing we have involving you and a griffon the better." I said as she sighed and walked closer to the doors. "Fine, but don't blame me if somepony gets hurt." She said she she began charging her horn while I stepped away from her and went over to Opal and Grazier, who were now just waiting for us to do something. "What is Twilight doing?" Opal asked. "She's gonna blow the doors down." I said casually as I heard several griffons behind them begin to mutter to themselves or snickered loudly. Noticing this, Grazier chuckled. "Ah, your letting her make the first move, hoping it gets the morale pumping! Clever boy!" He chortled as Twilight sent a large beam at the doors. BOOM! "Holy shit that was loud!" I yelled, suffering from a slight case of hearing loss as the doors went flying inside the castle and many of the griffons around us screeched or yelled in shock. Some even took to the air and flew backwards several yards out just to get away from the blast. After the ringing left my ears, I looked ahead to see Twilight panting heavily as she turned back to us. "How*pant*did I do?" She asked before slumping over onto the ground. "Twilight!" I called out, running straight to her and getting down on my knees while picking her up, causing her to look up at me with a smile as her face went deep red as she made eye contact. "You alright, Bookworm?" She smiled weakly as she pointed at the doors with a hoof. "I...broke the doors, but I'm going to need a bit of time before I can use a spell again, Those doors were made of a powerful metal." She said as Grazier and Opal ran up, the former had his bow drawn with a arrow lodged in it. "Boy, I think your friend's little act of strength invited some unfriendly faces!" He said as what looked like animal shadows began to come out of the castle. That was...until the sunlight shined on them and allowed us to see what they really were, causing me to stand quickly and put Twilight down gently on the ground behind me. "What the hell?" I said aloud as what had to be the Meckon came out of the castle. There were about eleven of them, each one looked like it was supposed to represent some sort of animal or something, but it was hard to tell with all the bloody gears and metal parts attached to them. But what stuck out the most was the fact that I could see several NON-metal parts sticking out of them. Hell, each one seemed to have some sort of griffon head, talons, or in one scorpion-like Meckons case, a literal beating heart in sight. "The Meckon..." Grazier said with a trace of fear as I turned to Opal. "Twilight needs time to recover from blowing the doors down, so we need to hold our own until then." I said as Opal smiled and turned to the griffons behind us. "Alright you blowhards! It's time to give your fallen brethen the peace they deserve! Today, we free them from their puppetmaster and cut Griffonia from his clutches forever!" She yelled, receiving cheers from the little army that was ready for freedom from Grimbeak. I smiled at the sight as Gilda walked up to me holding something behind her back. "Here, your gonna need this." She said as she showed me what looked to be a really long Katana. "Whoa...where did you get this?" I asked her as she smirked. "Like it? I managed to...persuade one of the other griffons to trade it for a battle axe. I saw the one you own in Canterlot, and I figured that this would be a good apology for selling you out to Grimbeak." She said as I looked at the beauty in my hands. It was an Odachi, a very sharp katana that was standing at about six feet! My old blade was a kodachi and was only three feet, so this was a definite improvement! Even the black handle had a cool silver griffon symbol etched into it. Swinging the blade around a bit and getting use to the size, I looked to Gilda and smiled. "Thanks! Now, you ready to throw down with some metal?" I said as the Meckon began to charge at us, some with claws and buzz saws, others with rusted weapons in mechanized talons. Gilda nodded and grabbed a mace out from under her wing. "Only if you think you can keep up." She said as I laughed and ran forward with a war cry, weilding my new blade in my right hand. "FOR GRIFFONSTONE! FOR GRIFFONIA! FOR GRIFFONKIND!!!" Grazier yelled as he, Opal, and the griffons charged straight into the fray alongside me as a scorpion-like Meckon rushed straight at me. CLASH! I was able to swing my blade up just in time to block a metal scorpion tail, though the end was a talon, not the pointy bit that's usually there. As I pushed the tail off me with my blade, I almost lost my balance as swung too hard. Crap, probably need to two hand this bad boy. I thought as I tightened my grip around the blade and ducked underneath a metal claw and was able to swing the blade through the joints that connected the arms to the body, severing the limbs from the scorpion. "Aim for the joints! We can dimsantle them instead of killing them!" I yelled out to Grazier, who nodded and took the sky and pulled a arrow out of his quiver that had some sort of stuff attached to the end of it. He pulled back and fired the arrow straight into the leg of a cougar-like Meckon before the arrow exploded, turning the leg to cinders. "You heard the boy, show them what's for!" Opal yelled as she put a shield around her and Twilight as Glascow and Bob took up defending the two from any attacking enemies. "Watch out, kid!" Grazier called out as I rolled out of the way of a griffon being sent flying by a bear-like Meckon before seeing it get overwhelmed by several griffons at once, each of its limbs being severed until it was left with a head and torso. Thank goodness for the number advantage. I thought as I heard what sounded like an eagles cry before a shadow loomed over me, though when I turned around I was met with an iron club to the face, swatting me back several feet as my sword fell by my side. Landing on my back, I felt the wind get pushed out of me as I looked ahead to see what did that to me before my eyes widened in suprise. It looked very much like a griffon, but most of its body was metal and only what looked like a kids sized blue head with yellow feathers tips on top was flesh. The Meckon stood at about 6 feet in height on its rear legs and seemed to be made of stronger metal than the others and even had an actual weapon instead of the rustic tools the others used. The weird thing was, unlike the other heads, this one seemed to be more...alive. It turned its gaze to me and licked its lips ominiously. "Target acquired: Human, set for elimination." The sound of a young male ringed out in a robotic way, shocking me out of my spunk as I found I could breathe again. I stood up as quickly as I could and grabbed my weapon as he rushed forward before he suddenly vanished from sight. "What the heck? Where did he-OOF!" I was cut off as something slammed into my stomach. Even with the armour, the blow hit hard as I fell to one knee. I swung out with my blade in a three-sixty circle, but didn't connect with anything as the same shadow appeared above me. "Watch out!!!" I heard Gilda yell before she slammed her mace into the Meckon and knocking him backwards into the air. She grabbed my right arm and hoisted me up before looking to the Meckon before her beak dropped in shock. "G-Gallus? But...how?!" She exclaimed in a pained squawk as 'Gallus' stepped forward. "Name is not applicable. I am Unit #G&11U$, Royal executioner for the king." He said in that same robotic tone as Gilda clenched her talons in rage. "No! Your name is Gallus, you idiot!" She roared as she flew forward and swung her mace at the Meckon. He brought up his club and blocked the hit before grabbing Gilda by the head with his free talon and smashing her into the ground. He went to bring his club down but Gilda rolled out of the way and slammed her mace into his left leg. Gallus cawed in pain before taking to the sky as Gilda got up from the ground. Two more Meckon attempted to attack her as she began to fly after Gallus, but Grazier sniped a bear looking one while I intercepted a crab looking one. "Go! That's the cousin you were talking about, right?! Go after him! We'll take care of these lightweights!" I yelled at her as she flew off after the mechanized bird before turning my head back to the crab Meckon in front of me. "Alright, you. let's dance" I said as I pushed it off of me and swung my sword. Hopefully, she manages to free that kid. I thought as I dodged a spinning saw that shot out of the right claw of the crab Griffon. ************ Gilda POV ************ After this, I am going to tear that so called king apart! I took to the air after Gallus after leaving Ronin to handle things on the ground. Not that I couldn't do the same, but I had more pressing matters to deal with than some random birds that were mechanized. OK, perhaps both are important to stop, but Gallus means more to me, alright! I finally caught up to him as he seemed to be waiting for me well above cloud level. Looking down, I noticed that I could barely even see the skirmish down below. Thank goodness for all that training during flight school back in cloudsdale. I thought as I looked over at Gallus, who seemed to be giving me a confused stare. "Query: Why does the griffon persist in combat with Unit#G&11U$?" He asked me as I growled. "Because that's not who you are! Don't you remember me, Gallus?" I pleaded, thankful that no one else was up here to see me acting all emotional like this. "I don't know what that old coot did to you, but I'm going to fix it." I gripped the mace in my hand, ready for anything. "One way or another." Gallus, or G&11U$ as he calls himself, actually snorted as it gave me one of those "Oh really?" stares. "Query Invalid: Flawed reasoning will only result in termination." He chirped as he chucked his club right at me, causing me to laugh. "Really? that's all?" I said as I caught the club as it came close, only to look and see he had vanished. "Horsefeathers! That's the tricked he used on Ronin!" I exclaimed as I looked around rapidly before remembering what happened to Ronin before and looking straight up, but was too late as he brought down a mechanized elbow on my head, sending us both downwards as he wrapped his wings around my waist. "New mission acquired: Destroy winged nuisance." He said as he began to deliver blow after blow to my stomach as we kept falling lower and lower. "Get...the BUCK OFF OF ME!" I screamed as I swung his club into his side, swatting him away and throwing his club downwards, relieving him of his weapon before charging at him with my own. "Target seems to not possess brainpower." He said as he vanished once more just as I swung my mace, hitting nothing but air. "STOP DISAPPEARING COWARD!!!" I yelled as I shot upwards, hoping to get a better vantage point. Looking around, I was able to notice some of the clouds were being spread apart randomly... ...or was it? Got you now, kid. I thought as the holes in the clouds started getting closer before it stopped just below me. I waited a second or two before flapping my wings hard to the right, feeling a brush of air as I felt something fly up right past me. "Target moved?" Gallus said in suprise as he became visible just in time for me to swing my mace right at his wings. "GAAAAH!" He screamed out in a way that almost seemed...non-roboticy before he began to plummet. "Oh no you dont!" I yelled as I shot forward and latched onto him the way he had with me. He swung a left hook in a desperate attempt to knock me off him, but I blocked it at used my mace to chip off his arms as well, leaving him with just a leg, his head and his body. "Query...." He stated slowly, as if he was actually feeling the pain. "Is target...G&11U$'s family?" I gasped in shock, yet noticing we were getting closer to the fight below. "Y-Yeah. I'm your cousin, birdbrain." He chuckled. Yes! He actually laughed! "Then...G&11U$ was told a lie by the king. The king said...G&11U$....was...alone." He said slower than before as the life left his eyes. "Gallus?" I said quietly, shaking him slightly. "WAKE UP, DAMMIT!" My sight started to get blurry, but I didn't care who saw me and pulled him into a hug as we hit the ground at a speed that would blow Rainbow dash away. "Thank you...Gilda." Was all I heard before all went dark. ************* Chrysalis POV ************* Last night, I had every changeling not currently with my son check with me or Redheart both personally and mentally. For the most part, everyling were accounted for...except for the one named Roxas. Considering he was one of Taks friends, and one of original four drones to be hatched, I had doubts he was our traitor. But listening to doubts had caused Monsoon to use me back at the wedding in Canterlot, and I was not keen on making that mistake twice. Which was why Redheart and I were now sitting in the living room above the hive trying to figure out where said changeling was. "And your sure you can't sense him?" Redheart asked as I shook my head as I checked through the hivemind for the millionth time while sprawled out on a fancy couch that was definitely stolen from the castle in Canterlot back when the party was thrown there. "No. For some reason, the Drone has disconnected himself from the hive since his return to Ponyville. Why he did so is unclear, but until we find him or he reconnects that question will remain unanswered." I said as I felt a familiar weight drop onto on my back and nuzzle the back of my neck. "Oh Oh! I know where he is!" Pinkie exclaimed in my ear excitedly, causing me to suffer whiplash from the speed my neck turned to face her. "PINKIE?!" Redheart and I yelled in tandem as the party mare hopped off my back and hopped over to redheart to give her a nuzzle on the cheek. "How are you even up right now?" Redheart exclaimed as Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. "That's easy, silly. I'm Ponyvilles top party planner and baker! I can't even count how many times I've recovered from a sugar crash or from a after-party passing out!" She said as she turned to me, her smile suddenly gone. "But before we find Roxy-woxy we need to help Ronin!" I jumped up from the couch immediately. "Ronins in trouble?!" Redheart frowned. "Wait, how do you know that? And how would we help him anyway?" She asked as Pinkie ran over to the entrance to the caverns below. "C'mon! I'll explain on the way!" She said before rolling herself into a ball and started to spin in place suprisingly fast before shooting off at a breakneck speed, though I swore I heard what sounded like a spring sound effect echo from the cave seconds later. "Redheart...in later events we decide to do anything that sounds like a party, keep Pinkie Pie away from the achohol." I said as we began to gallop after her into the caverns. "As if she needs any to act out." She said with a smile as we passed by the main room where most of the changelings still were herded into as I realized I couldn't see Pinkie Pie. Pausing mid-gallop, I looked around before groaning, knowing we had lost her. "Where did she go?" Redheart questioned as one of the drones walked up, this one being one of the "Party" drones as Redheart called them due to them being replicas of earth ponies and being made from Pinkies love. "Your majesties, Queen Pie went towards the portal room." The drone said in a masculine tone as he pointed to the tunnel on the southeast side of the room. I smiled and petted the drones head, getting a coo of happiness in return. "Thank you, little one." I turned to Redheart and nodded. "Let's go." "Right." She said as we went into the tunnel, though I didn't remember ordering a portal room to be made at all. As we made it to the end of the tunnel, we entered what seemed to be a room with a massive hole in the floor, which Pinkie seemed all to excited to be near. "Oooooh! I'm so excited! I can't believe they actually finished it!" She exclaimed as we walked up to her and looked into the cavern below. "Pinkie...what is this?" Redheart asked as my jaw dropped. "This is a level nine teleport space!" I exclaimed, actually getting excited about this marvel of magic. "The only other type of teleporter I have seen of this magnitude was some mirror in Celestias office, and I saw that while I was drunk!" I said before snapping out of my state of shock and glaring at Pinkie. "How did you make this, let alone know about it." She smiled and poked my head. "I'm connected to your head, silly. I can see just about everything you know in terms of magic, so I got some of our changeling friends to make this in case we would need to send changelings long-distances!" She said as she turned back to the darkened hole. "Like right now!" Redheart blinked in suprise. "Ignoring the fact you apparently pulled off something only high level unicorns can do or create using only drones, what is happening with Ronin that requires changelings?" She asked as Pinkie shrugged. "Beats me! But my Pinkiling senses are telling me that he's in trouble!" She said as I frowned. "Pinkiling?" I deadpanned as Pinkie giggled. "My Pinkie senses mixed with my new changeling hivemind senses! I have double the power now!" She said as she pointed to the hole. "But I need you to turn it on with your magic!" I sighed and ingnited my horn. "Very well. If it will help Ronin, then we have no choice." With that, I fired pure love magic into the hole. causing the corners to erupt in green flames. Pinkie started to hop in place. "Splenderiffic! Now we just need to send the changelings through!" I nodded in confirmation and faced the way we had came in, preparing to mentally call for the drones when Redheart tapped my shoulder, causing me to look down at her. She gave me a sheepish smile. "Could...I call them this time? I've watched you use the hivemind several times and I kind of want to try it out." Hearing that made that weird fluttering sensation reappaer in my heart. "Of course. You ARE a queen to be, after all." I happily said, it felt good to hear her want to try it out for the first time. Redheart smiled big before her eyes widened and she gulped nervously. "Ok, but how do I do it?" I chuckled lightly. "Simply call out to them as a thought. They should come right after they hear it." I instructed as Redheart nodded and faced the entranceway while closing her eyes. For a moment, I sensed nothing new in the hivemind. I was about to say something when I heard it at last. Can...can anypony hear me? I felt a mounting presence mentally as multitudes of changelings responded to her with different greetings. Oh my...this feels so different than talking normally. But in a weirdly good sense. This is so cool! I rolled my eyes, realizing she was getting off topic. Oh! But thats not why I am doing this. Ronin is in trouble, and needs your help! Please come straight to the portal room if you can! She finished as she opened her eyes and turned to me. "How'd I do?" She asked me as I bent down and gave her a quick nuzzle. "Good for a first attempt. We can work on your queenliness later though." I said as Redheart looked to the portal and frowned. "How are they going to be sent to Ronin? Don't they need a powerful magic source to get to where he is?" She asked as I shook my head. "That only applied to Ronin because he had never been there. The changelings will latch onto the mental beacon that is Ronins presence, and will be warped nearby him on contact with the portal." I heard the sound of buzzing slowly getting louder and smiled, turning to Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, after this it is imperative we find Roxas. Tak believes that a traitor is among us and I am not taking chances." I said sternly as Pinkie saluted. "Your the boss, Queenie!" She said as we prepared to filter the oncoming changelings into the portal before she suddenly frowned and turned back to me. "Chryssie...could you do me a favor?" She asked in a way that made me suddenly VERY worried about what she was planning. "...What?" I asked, wondering what she could be asking for now. ************ Ronin POV ************ Remember how I had said I was glad we had the numbers advantage? Well at this point it barely mattered. No sooner had Gilda flew off after that Gallus Meckon did the robots on the ground suddenly started getting the upper hand against our units. Unless we destroyed their body parts, they simply reattached to their original bodies, meanwhile if one of our griffons died they just stayed dead. Yeah, we were screwed. "Damn!" I grunted, cutting off the claw of that same scorpion Meckon for the millionth time today before punting it into the air for Grazier to blow up with one of his bomb arrows. "How many guys do we have left?" Opal, who was standing near me as we protected the still recovering Twilight, did a fast number count as she threw up another shield. "Including us five? About twenty to their six." Shit. It took about three of us to wreck one of these things permanently. And it didn't help that a quarter of our units cut their losses and fled as soon as things got hairy either. "Boss! I don't know how much more we can take!" Glascow stated as he and Bob were barely holding off what looked like a dragon Meckon with griffon talons before it swung its tail around, knocking both of them off their feet before it spun back around and slammed its talons straight through Glascow. "BROTHER!!!" Bob yelled out in a deep voice as I watched in shock as Glascow was picked up and thrown off the edge of the giant tree. "Sweet Celestia...Ronin, what do we do?" Twilight said as that scorpion Meckon spun it's tail around and prepared to strike... ...just as a very fast object landed right on top of it with a loud crash. "What the hell?!" I yelled as the dust cleared from the crash, showing that it had been that Gallus bot and Gilda who had crashed. One was without most of his limbs while the other was out cold. "Gilda!" I yelled, but before I could run over to help her the dragon Meckon swung down his talons at the shield around Twilight, the impact nearly sending Opal to the ground. "Twilight...you better have your stamina back soon...I can't make another shield." She said before passing out just as the went to strike again, though this time Bob blocked it with his axe. "Hey!" I yelled at it, actually getting to look at me. "Leave them alone!" I ran up and swung my blade at the arm connected to the talons, only to be suprised when it bounced off. "Crap! He's just like Gallus!" I looked over at Grazier, who had just wiped out another Meckon alongside two other griffons. "Hey, We need some backup over here!" He looked our way before squawking in shock. "Opal! Hang on boy, I'm coming." He said as he shot another explosive arrow at the dragon Meckon while the two Griffons rushed forward with spears. The dragon recovered from the shots quickly though, and turned to the oncoming assault as its midsection began to grow and glow orange, making me gasp as I realized what it was doing and ran over to Twilight. "Put up a shield now!" I yelled as I slid over next to her just as she put up a small barrier around herself, me and the unconscious Opal. The dragon released its build-up straight down as big flames shot out in all directions. Grazier saw it coming and flew out of the way in time, but the grounded Griffons were holding their spears with their wings, and couldn't react in time to avoid the flames. "AHHHHHHHHH!!! IT BURRNS!!!" I heard one scream out while the other just screeched in an ungodly way as his feathers and the tissue beneath charred to a black crisp. I instinctively put my left hand over Twilights eyes as I felt her press into my side at the sound of their pained yells. If Twilight hadn't put that barrier up we would've been the same way, and that thought alone put a chill in my back. After the flames were finished the dragon seemed to pause in all of its actions as it simply stood there unmoving. Grazier, who had just finished looping around to avoid the flames turned his head towards me. "NOW! We need to strike while it cools down!" He said as Twilight released her bubble shield, allowing me to get up and rush forward alongside Grazier, who drew several bomb arrows at once and was ready to fire. Just as I got close though, it came back to life in an instant and swiped its talons towards me. I was able to block one but was grabbed by the other and was caught in its vice grip. "Release the boy, fiend!" Grazier yelled, but before he could shot the arrows at it the Meckon swung me around and made me face the Griffon. Shit, it knows he has explosive arrows. As long as he has me Grazier can't fire them without hurting me. I realized as the thing began to start squeezing me like a grape. "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" I roared in pain as Grazier cursed under his breath, unable to do anything due to his weapon choice. Bob was standing by Opal and Twilight to block any more incoming attacks, and Twilight was staring at the scene in terror, not having enough magical stamina yet to fight back or free me. BANG! A massive hole the size of a truck appeared in the body of the Meckon, causing it to release me before it tipped over on its side. "Grazier, now!" I yelled hoarsely as the griffon released his arrows while I dove to safety just as they ignited the dragon in a righteous fury of flames. "Yeah!!! Now who the hell put a hole in..." I trailed off as I turned towards the source of the blast. "PINKIE?!" Twilights neck should've snapped from how fast it swiveled in the direction I was facing. "Pinkie?! What is she doing here?" It shouldn't have been possible, but lo and behold it was! Pinkie Pie herself was standing nearby the castle gates nearby a big ass cannon...and at least half the hive was there as well as they came out of some huge black hole. And boy did my people look PISSED! Pinkie was all smiles though as she waved at me. "Hiya Ronin! Sorry about the loud bang, but when I saw that dragon handling my hubby like that I just HAD to use Big Bertha!" She exclaimed with a laugh as she bounced around the cannon. Man, I love that mare. However, all the mechanized bits in between her and us began to shake as it began to put itself back together. "Crap, they're up for another round!" Grazier growled, landing by Opal and Twilight and picking up the former in his arms. "Don't sweat it! Me and the hive will handle these metal meanies while Ronin and Twilight deal with the big meanie!" Pinkie said as a lot of the hive that didn't have horns to fight with began to take various forms and charged the Meckon. I nodded to Pinkie, really glad to have my girls by my side, even though only Pinkie was here Chrysalis and Redheart must have had some hand in sending her and the hive here. "Thanks, Babe!" I yelled as I ran over to Twilight, who finally looked to be at at least eighty percent. "Twilight, you up for this?" I asked her as she nodded. "I'm ready! Let's go and stop Grimbeak!" She said as we began to run across the field, though some of the Meckon had managed to spot us and came straight for us. "Protect the KIIIIIIING!" I heard a yell as a changeling disguised as what looked like some sort of yak headbutted the Meckon closest to us. "Father, this way!" Another changeling, this one a pegasus, said as he pointed in an opening in the fighting. "Thanks!" Twilight called out as we followed the way he pointed out, making it all the way to the doors just as we heard a loud roar behind us. Turning back, I saw the dragon Meckon getting back up, its hole in its chest already healing as a lot of parts swarmed into its gaping hole. "Ronin, Focus!" Twilight said, gaining my attention. "If we can defeat Grimbeak, then the robots should stop, right?" Looking in between her and the fight, torn between stopping Grimbeak and leaving both my marefriend and what was pretty much my children to fend for themselve, I sighed. "Fine." I said as two changelings landed near us. Although both had blue eyes, one had a horn while another had no horns or a wing but was decently more muscular. "Sir, we're coming with you!" The horned one said in a neutral voice. "We've been tasked with protecting you by the queen!" The second one said in a deeper voice as I frowned, but before I could object Twilight smiled. "Great! We need all the help we can get! Let's go!!!" She said as she pushed me along. "Ronin, don't even attempt to try get them to leave. Who knows how tough Grimbeak will be, WE NEED THEM." She whispered as I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I can walk you know!" I stated as she stopped pushing me and I turned to the two guards changelings. "Ok, you two. Your getting names before we go any farther. What are yalls suggestions?" Twilight face-hooves while the Changelings jaws dropped. "Ronin, we don't have time for-" She was cut off by a squeal from the smaller changeling. "THE NAMING CEREMONY!!! It's only happened to so few of our people so far!" He began to prance in place as the big guy sighed, though he seemed to be just as excited behind the mask of neutrality he had. "My king, I've only been alive for a short while, but I know exactly what I want to be named!" He smiled big as he spread his front hooves apart in the air as he said his idea for a name. "Anal." He said, completely serious and completely straight faced, causing three reactions. Twilight Jaw dropped as her whole face went red while she crossed her back legs as her tail started swishing back and forth. The bigger changeling just stood there. He was only born a couple weeks ago and thought in his personal opinion Anal sounded like a completely noble name. I, on the other hand, had to nearly shit myself while holding in the onslaught of laughter and tears from hearing that come from him as I answered his plea. "Uh, where did you here such a...interesting name from?" I asked as the changeling grinned ear from ear. "I heard it from Queen Chrysalis a couple days ago. She said it was her favorite thing you had introduced her to, so I knew it must be a great title!" The changeling proclaimed, making Twilight look at me in shock. "What?! You...with her?" She said as I groaned. "Ok, first off don't knock it until you've tried it, it feels great for both parties." I told Twilight, making her stammer a bunch in a adorable way as I turned to the changelings. "And second off, I think that's a wonderful idea." I said as the bigger changeling spoke up while...Anal hopped in glee. "If your majesty permits it, I wish to be called something simple, such as Shifter." He said as I nodded, though Twilight seemed done with the conversation. "Alright Alright! You have names, now let's go!" She said as she walked ahead, mumbling to herself, though I could've swore I could not only smell something like lavender as she walked past, but I also felt a flux of emotions from her as well. Was that...Nah. That couldn't be. She couldn't be feeling those emotions about me, right? I shook my head as we followed her through through suprisingly small castle. She just was embarrassed about the name, that's all! "Sir...what awaits us deeper into this palace?" Shifter asked as he stepped over some machinery that had some sort of old brown stains on them. In fact, the whole place was littered with small machine parts and rubble, as if someone hadn't cleaned the castle in years! "This place is horrible! This castle is eons old Who! Who would let such a historic sight fall to disrepair like this?" Twilight exclaimed as she looked at some broken windows that seemed like they once had stained glass on them. "Even the hive back in the forest was better than this, and that mess was underground." I said as we found ourselves at another door, though this time it looked much less reinforced than the ones Twilight had to bust down. I turned to the two changelings. "Stay out here and make sure we aren't flanked by those metalheads outside." I ordered as they saluted. While they took positions at the edges of the doorframe, I looked over at Twilight. Her emotions were less hectic than they were earlier, but there was still traces of what was there before alongside nervousness and a hint of fear of what could be behind the door. Realizing I couldn't let her be worried, I stroked the back of her neck, getting a soft squee from her as she looked up at me. "Relax. Whatever Grimbeak has in his arsenal, we can handle it." I told her as she blinked in suprise. "How did you know I was...oh right, changeling." She said with a sigh. "It's just, Those machines we fought outside, They had griffon parts attached to them. If Grimbeak was willing to dismember and torture his own people...what can he do to us if we fail?" I frowned, not liking the idea of a metalized Twilight bot. I took back my hand and placed it on the door. "I don't know...but whatever it is, we'll face it, Together." I said as Twilight smiled and nodded, placing a hoof on the door as well. "Right. Let's do this!" She said as we opened the doors and walked into the deepest part of the castle. The place in was very small, much smaller than the castle in Canterlot. Though perhaps it used to be bigger once apon a time? Entering the room, it was obvious this was the throne room. There was an old blue carpet that went from the entranceway to the other side of the moderately sized room. The end of the room had what looked like a metallic that had several wires attached to its back that went through the walls and hung from the ceilings. To the left and right of the throne were two pillars with claws on the bottoms of them while a big sphere with an orange gem hung above the throne with even more wiring in it. And sitting on the throne with a sadistic smile would be none other than the source of all this in the first place himself. King Grimbeak, industrial birdbrain and murderer of his own people. "Well well. Look what we have here. It seems you managed to get past the guards." He said with a painfully jolly tone. "What do the people call them nowadays...Meckon?" Twilight stamped her hoof. "How can you be in such a good mood right now?! Your people are KILLING each other outside!" Grimbeak stood quickly, spreading gis wings as he glared at Twilight. "They are only doing so because YOU attacked first! I never told you brats to follow me!" He said before coughing violently and sitting back down in his chair as what I guess were his lungs hissed. I gripped the sword in my hand as I stepped forward. "Look at you! Your barely even alive! Why even torture those other Griffons? One was a child for Christ's sake!" The king squawked in anger. "Why else?! For eternal life! If I could make the perfect robotic soldier, I could have the process done on myself, then I could never worry about age anymore!" He exclaimed as he cackled madly. Twilight shook her head. "there are more important things than living forever, such as friendship and love!" She glared at Grimbeak. "Why can't you see that!" She exclaimed angrily as the smile left his face and he looked to one of the windows to our right. Unlike the other ones, this one was a glass mural that wasn't broken. It depicted a griffon standing alongside a dragon and what looked like two humans, each one holding a staff. "I used to know what love was, pony." He said, suprisingly somber considering his earlier mood. "I was a part of something special...then thanks to that foolish prophets actions we were split apart!" He turned to us, this time he looked pissed. "And don't think I haven't seen the signs, boy! The fact that you've returned here is one alone!" I frowned. "What signs are you on about, you old coot?" He smiled. "You've felt an urge to find me ever since you've seen me, right? Well my boy, that's because you and I are blood." He said, causing my eyes to widen as I took a step back. "No...you don't mean?" I stated as Grimbeak chuckled and press something on his throne as a bunch of whirring sounds started up around the room. "Indeed. Your my own son from a thousand years ago. I had ya with that smoking hot human that attacked Canterlot earlier. You were supposed to be griffon with human intelligence and thought processing, but due to Lunas...interference and murder of my wife thanks to that no good uncle of yours, you were presumed dead...until now that is. I managed to track you down thanks to a gift from that old David, though I don't know how he got a feather from you when you were never born." He said as the throne began to lift upwards. "What's going on?" Twilight asked as my mind was reeling in shock from the news. Him...my father? Does that explain my violent nature? It was passed down from a madman?! And what does this mean for Nicholad and Raiden? Who are their parents?! I thought before getting shaken out of my spunk by Twilight, who looked worried. "Ronin, somethings happening!" She exclaimed as Grimbeak went into the sphere above while the wires began to glow red. Then I began to hear the sound I had been told to fear at all costs by that old man in Griffonstone. "If you hear the sound of running water and your in the throne room...run. That's what he had said, right? Well, I wasn't running, that's for sure. Suddenly, the whole room began to shake, causing me and Twikight to stumble slightly as the pillars next to the throne began to move. That is, I THOUGHT they were pillars. The second they started moving, I began to realize what was happening as the sphere grew a big spike out of the middle of its front. Shit...the secret weapon is a fucking MECH! The arms grabbed onto the roof and tore it off, pushing it off the big tree and out of sight as it fell off Griffonia, leaving the whole mech in sight. The thing was a giant Griffon! The pillars were really arms with talons and the sphere was its head! The body was hidden in the wall and it seemed to be made of some sort of metal, but from what I could tell it didn't have any legs and just stayed in the air thanks to what seemed like jet engines on the wings on his back. How did he make all of this?! The dude may be a maniac, but he's a genius at the same time! The griffon bot looked down at us as two black pupils appeared in the spheres face, making eyes. "How do you like the toy, Ronin? It took me years to make this, but it's finally ready!" He proclaimed from some sort of loudspeaker. "I call it the Griffon X-4!" Looking at the big mech, I couldn't help but start to doubt our chances. I mean, Seriously! The damn thing was huge!!! However, I felt a hoof enter my open hand as I looked down at Twilight, who gave me a weak smile. "Ronin...if we can't beat him, I want to say thanks...for being here for me while we've been here." She said as I smiled back, squeezing her hoof. "No problem, Bookworm. Your pretty ok after all. You stood up for me at the trial, and now your here by my side as well, so thank you." I said as I released my hand and wrapped in around the handle of my katana, now holding it with both hands. "Now, let's kick some butt." She nodded, her horn beginning to glow as we faced Grimbeak and his mech. "Right, let's do this!" The right arm swung out at us in a sweeping fashion immediately. Twilight teleported out of the way while I hopped backwards, barely being missed by the talons on the end of it. The other arm reared back and shot forward at where Twilight had teleported, its talons clenched up in a fist. Twilight saw it coming, though, and managed to teleport above the arm, landing on top of it. She began to run up the arm, shooting what looked like a small lazer through it as she ran before she jumped off and flashed her horn. The whole area she had beamed before erupted in a purple explosion, causing Grimbeak to roar out in pain as he swung out his arm again, this time forcing Twilight to put up a shield to block it from hitting us. I pointed up at the sphere. "Twilight, can you teleport me up there?" I asked as she nodded and I found myself on the bot in a flash of lavender light. "Wanna hide in a bunch of metal? Go ahead! It makes this sooo much easier!" I yelled as I plunged my sword into the sphere and jumped off the head, bringing the sword with me as I went and causing a large vertical cut to damage the head and split it apart. Grimbeak, now visible and vulnerable to attack, growled as the talons came off the arms of the bot. "Destroy them!" He yelled as the talons turned to Me and Twilight, allowing us to see the singular eyeballs on the palms of the talons. "Ew! They have eyes?!" Twilight stated in disgust as I found myself getting more pissed off by the minute. "Yeah, and they're most likely real eyes too." I said as one talon clenched up into a fist and shot forward at me, causing me to block it. It was counting on that though, and it quickly released itself and grabbed me in a vice grip before chucking me into a wall. "Ronin!" Twilight yelled as she proceeded to teleport over to me before getting caught by the other talon, though this time instead of being thrown Grimbeak brought her up to face him. "I get why Ronin is here. He has the whole 'I'll defeat my father' Stick going on, but what do you get from being here?" He asked her as I pried myself off the wall, aching in the back but otherwise fine. "I-I came by accident, but what you've been doing is wrong! Hurting others for your own personal gain isn't right, and I can't let that happen anymore!" She yelled as she charged her horn to attack Grimbeak... ...before he twisted the talon holding her upside down and slammed her head first into the ground at almost Mach speed. "TWILIGHT!" I yelled as I felt my heart skip a beat and my vision get clouded. I ran forward to get to her just as the talon that chucked me before went to grab me again. "STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" I roared as I swung my katana, effectively cutting through the talon as I reached Twilight and looked her over. She was out like a light, and there was definitely some blood coming from her horn as- No...oh hell no. Her horn was snapped off, and only a stub remained on her head as the horn bit sat on the ground next to her. Grimbeak had effectively snapped her horn hin half when he slammed her into the ground. I stood up, dropping the katana as I turned to face him as my clouded vision went red as the image of Twilights crumpled body stayed strong in my mind. "She didn't have to get hurt, boy. You could have just left her outside with your friends, and she would be fine right now. But due to your idiocy, she may never recover from that injury." Grimbeak stated as the remaining hand flew at me with its talons stretched out to impale me. With a black flash and a squawk of suorise from Grimbeak, I caught the talon head on as several tentacles wrapped around the metal claws. "You hurt her...you hurt my friend! I WILL KILL YOU!" I roared as I ran forward at a breakneck speed, startling the old bird. "Pulling out new moves, huh kid?" He taunted, though I could taste the fear on him as he unmatched himself from his bot and flew at me as his wings extended several buzz saws out at me. "YOUR NOT THE ONLY MONSTER YA KNOW!" Grinning internally, I formed sharp edges from the tentacles and swung them around to parry the buzz saws while I began to push him back with each blow. "I AM SICK OF ALL THE DEATH AND PAIN I HAVE BEEN SEEING SINCE IVE GOT HERE! LEAVE ME ALONE! LET ME LIVE IN PEACE!!!" I screamed as I snapped the saws off his body and wrapped my tentacles around his wings, turning his body towards the opening in the wall as I dangled him over the vast drop below. "Heh...Hehehehe...HAHAHAHAHA!" Grimbeak chuckled, before laughing at full volume as he placed his talons on my jet black arm and looked up at my face. "Well...done my boy. You've somehow managed to obtain a power far stronger than mine without half the bloodshed." He coughed violently before continuing. "Kid...I never wanted to kill you, your my own blood and whats left of my wife Christine. However, I didn't want you to be a piece in that cursed prophets game." He shuddered slightly as he gave me a weak smile. "Buts it's clear now your strong enough to handle yourself and your friends well...Perhaps you can cut your strings the way I never could." He sighed as I heard several hisses come from his back and what sounded like something unlatching. "But now, it's obvious my time is up, but let me give you some...fatherly advice." He leaned in really close to my face. "Don't. Listen. To. Callobrim." He said before his wings snapped off him and he pushed off me, allowing himself to fall out of the hole and into the depths below. FATHER!!! I yelled despite myself, but found I couldn't bring myself to save him. After all he did to attempt to be immortal, he wanted to die...and it would be wrong to allow him that rest. Besides, the fucker deserved it. Feeling my vision return to normal, I turned around and ran over to Twilight and picked her up in my arms as I laid by her side on my knees. "Twilight...wake up." I said as I softly rocked her. "I beat Grimbeak, so we can go home now." Silence. "Twilight, wake up dammit!" I said louder as my vision was slowly getting blurry again, though this time it wasn't red. "Stop messing around!" Silence. My breath hitched as everything from the past two to three days came crashing down on me, causing me to hug Twilight close to me as tears left my eyes. "No..No No No No! Damn it, you can't be dead Bookworm!" I yelled as I rocked her back and forth, burying my face into her now free falling mane as the tears came faster now. "Please wake up, Twilight. I...I...I love you, damn it!" A weak chuckle sounded out from Twilight, causing me to pull her back and look into her slowly opening eyes that held their own tears. "You...did you mean that?" She asked me as I nodded. "Every single word, you silly ner-mph!" I said, but was cut off as Twilight pushed me over and kissed me deeply, wrapping her hooves around my neck. I went with it, returning the favor by hugging her tightly to me. After a minute or two, she released me from the kiss as her eye twitched slightly. "Ronin, I'm in heat." She said plainly as I blinked in suprise. "Ok." I said as she narrowed her eyes at my lackluster reaction. "What? How do you think I got Pinkie pregnant? Besides, I felt your emotions earlier, changeling remember." She rolled her eyes before giving me a predatory grin. "So you know exactly what you've been putting me through since we got here then...and how to rectify that mistake?" She said, surprisingly stern. "Twilight...but your horn. It's broken." I said, temporarily breaking her mood before she shook her head. "I know, the stub aches like Tartarus, but I'm aching worse right now, and your little confession just put it on overdrive." She said as I sighed, realizing I wasn't getting out of this. "Fine, but you have to explain to Chrysalis why your with me now. The girls have a interview thing going on now to where they have to accept the newest herdmates before allowing me to." I said as Twilight grinned big, though the half-lidded eyes kind of made the grin seem more...sinister. "Well then, I guess we'll be busy when we get back. Now shut up and make me yours, Ronin. I've waited far too long for this!" She said as I grinned big and proceeded to do just that. I don't know about anyone else, but making love on the ruins of a giant robot is just plain hot. > Chapter 67: The Wrath of a God > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Nicholas POV* I woke up with a yawn as my eyes adjusted to the sunlight that was blinding me. Tilting my head to the side I noticed that both Diamond Tiara and Applebloom were laying on either side of me, the former on the left while the latter was snuggled up on my right. I had my arms around both of them as they slept peacefully. I also noticed we had never left the Rich residence and were still in Diamonds front lawn. Did we really end up sleeping here? Thank goodness the place is a mansion with security, or something bad could have happened. I thought as I slowly retracted my arms from them and managed to maneuver out of their snuggly bodies without waking them, allowing me to stand over them as the continued sleeping with little fuss. "Cute, aren't they?" A feminine voice spoke up behind me, causing me to turn and face a pony coming out of a pure golden portal. It was a mare, but she was about Celestias height at least! Not only that, but she looked like she was made of pure gold as well! She even sported a horn and wings like the princesses! "Whoa!" I exclaimed half-loudly as to not wake the girls. "Who are you?" The mare smiled softly at me, her golden eyes shining with health as her equally shimmering mane flowed through the gentle breeze that was blowing. "Dear Nicholas, my name is Faust. I am tasked with running this world and making sure Harmony is kept in balance." She said as my jaw dropped. "Wait...so does that make you some sort of princess like Celestia? And how do you know my name?" I asked her as she laughed softly. "Celestia did have to come from somewhere, child. And yes, I suppose I could be called the princess of balance." She said as I suddenly realized something. "Wait a second, there's no way you've been keeping balance though! There's been a bunch of evil people attacking and causing trouble. How is that helping harmony?" I asked her as she sighed. "Harmony is like a two-sided coin. On one side we have what the element bearers and the princesses represent, that's light." She said as she summoned what looked like a scale in front of us, showing Fluttermom and the others marks on the left side of the scale with the princesses. "Then there are the threats to Equestria, the darkness." She said as several black marbles appeared on the right side, and looking closely at each one I could see what looked like the sillioutes of a unicorn, some sort of centaur, and a small pegasus in them. "You cannot have Harmony without balancing light and dark. For each light, there must be a dark as well to combat it." I looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "What about me and my brothers?" That got a frown from the alicorn. "That's where my job gets...frustratingly more difficult. You and your brothers managed to alter fate, causing some bad guys to reappear when they should've stayed dead or even making some villians become good, such as the changeling queen." She said as I pursed my lips. "Well, it's not exactly our fault though that happened. We were kinda brought here by a magic necklace, and if Ronin helped make a villian good, how does that hurt anyone?" I said, noticing she was starting to seem less and less friendly as the conversation continued. "Chrysalis was meant to be an obstacle for the element bearers and their friends later in the future, and a major factor in the turning point for changeling kind. Your brother managed to not only convert Chrysalis, but cause the reformation of changelings to happen earlier than before, stopping certain beings from bonding together under successfully doing so themselves." She said, causing me to frown as I crossed my arms. "So my brother caused changelings to be good at from what your telling me a MUCH faster pace and your upset because some random people won't be able to bond by doing it themselves? How is that fair to us?" I exclaimed as I heard Diamond and Applebloom start to wake up from our arguing. Faust shook her head. "It isn't about fair, it's making sure that Harmony is kept, and you and your brothers managed to throw everything out of whack! Luna is no longer hurting from her isolation, and is opening up to other ponies far sooner than she should, You've caused Daybreaker to appear years earlier than she should, and those girls your friends with? They haven't crusaded ONCE since your 'family drama' started!" She yelled, sending me backwards about 5 feet with her yell. Applebloom, now fully awake due to the yell, jumped up and looked around before seeing me slowly getting up from my fall. She turned to the golden mare and narrowed her eyes. "What's the big idea?" She exclaimed as Diamond got up and copied the glare at the alicorn. "Who are you anyway? This is private property and...sweet Celestia she's an alicorn!" Diamond exclaimed as she bowed, though Applebloom jabbed her in the side. "She hurt Nicholas, so don't go bowin' to her." Applebloom stated as Diamond Tiaras eyes widened before she rose back up and turned to me. "Nick!" She called out, but before they could do anything they were wrapped in a golden glow and lifted over to Faust, who was now smiling eerily. "Well well, speak and they shall come. Tell me, children. How much do you care about young Nicholas?" She asked them as Applebloom crossed her hooves. "Ah lot, you big meanie! Now let us go!" She yelled as Faust shook her head. "No can do, Applebloom. Nicholas and his brothers need to be taught a lesson in interfering in my job, and if that means foalnapping, then so be it." She said as she turned to me, ignoring the suddenly scared looks in the eyes of the girls. "Let them go!" I yelled, feeling my magic starting to gather. Faust merely shook her head though, and opened that same golden portal again near her. "I wouldn't advise trying anything, child. I can kill these two in an instant with my magic." As if to demonstrate, the glow around the girls turned slightly acidic, causing them to scream out in pain as it began to burn their fur. "NO!" I yelled, causing her to stop momentarily. "OK! I'll do whatever you want, but don't hurt them, please!" I said, holding back tears at seeing the girls in pain. "Nick, don't listen to her!" Dismond yelled, but Faust chuckled. "He has no choice. He cares for you too much and will do anything to protect you two." She turned to the portal. "Come, child. We have much to discuss...and even more to do." She said as she went through the portal with the girls. Looking around, but seeing no one, I sighed before walking through the portal, but not before dropping my shades on the ground where I had been standing before doing so. However, I failed to notice someone watching from the distance with a hood over his head, looking at the scene in terror. "Nicholas...I need to get help before Faust gets her way with him." Sighing to himself, the hooded man ran back towards town in hopes of finding the help needed. ****************** Raiden POV/ 11 years ago on Earth ****************** "Mom, do we have to go to Grandpa's?" I asked my mother as we drove along the streets of Destin. Today was Ronins 11th birthday, and of all the things he wanted to do, he wanted to go and visit Grandpa Brim. Forget Disneyland or eating out somewhere, he wanted to visit family. It didn't help that I didn't really like Grandpa that much. We never really see eye to eye on anything, and he always seemed to treat me differently than my other two brothers. Given that Nicholas was a baby, he was excused. But Ronin seemed to be spoiled rotten by Grandpa Brim. He gave him a cool sword a while ago for his birthday, but what do I get? A cookbook. A darn cookbook. Who the heck cooks for a living anyway?! Just because Grandpa apparently went off the radar for a couple months then reappeared as some master chef with unique foods that made him rich doesn't mean I want to do the same! Mom sighed. "Now son, you know Ronin got to pick where we went for his birthday, so that's that." She said as I got slugged in my shoulder by said brother. "Bros just mad the old fart doesn't like him." Ronin said as he reached in between us and grabbed Nicholas by his baby hands. "Isnt that right little Nikky? Raidens just a big old poop eater!" I glared at him. "At least THIS poop eater can get himself normal friends!" I said, knowing I had pushed the right buttons. "Normal?! Amelia is perfectly normal! Just because she's deaf doesn't mean she's crippled or anything!" He argued back as I shrugged. "You just like her, that's all." I said with a smirk as we pulled into the driveway of a small one floored house. For a guy who once was a top chef, the old man seemed big on the small things. "Alright, you three stay here for the weekend, and I will be back to pick you guys up on monday." Mom said as we got out and grabbed our suitcases before stepping off to the side to watch her and Nicholas drive off. "I kinda wish Nicholas could've stayed." I said aloud as Ronin made a face. "And deal with the diapers? Nah, let the parents handle that mess." He said as we turned and walked up to the door and rang the bell. *Ding!*RAIDEN*dong!* I blinked, looking around. "Did...someone call my name?" I said as Ronin frowned at me. "Dude, don't be weird on my birthday. No one is here except-Grandpa Brim!" He said before excitedly hugging the man who opened the door. "Ah! Lads! Glad to see ya! How are me little scamps doing on this fine day?" He asked as he used his free arm to pull me into the hug. "Gah! We're doing just fine, Sir." I said as he released us and led us into the house. The place was as simple on the outside as on the inside. It had very few rooms and only basic colored couches and chairs. Even the paint on the walls was a depressing white. Brim turned to us after walking into the living room and pointed towards two of the four rooms in the house. "Those two rooms will be yours, kids. Feel free to relax anywhere because dinner won't be done fer a minute!" He said with a laugh as he walked into the kitchen while we put our suitcases in our respective rooms. **************** After attempting to relax on a couch but being unable to fall asleep (Unlike Ronin, who had passed out on contact with the couch) I walked into the small kitchen of a stove and a fridge alongside cabinets and drawers to find Brim cooking what looked like stew. Breathing through my nose deeply, I could smell a combination of tomatoes and other spices. "What are you cooking, Grandpa?" I asked him as he turned to me with a spoon in hand. "I'm cooking a vegetable stew, though I'm using a tomato sauce blend to try to spice it up." He stated as he opened a cabinet and looked carefully at the spices inside before sighing. "Though I can't seem to think of anything that I haven't done before." Walking over to the cabinet, I looked up at it and noticed he had garlic powder and paprika. Reaching up and grabbing it, easier task than for most due to the fact that I was almost five foot five inches at the age of 11, I looked at my grandfather. "Do you have measuring spoons?" I asked him. He nodded and opened a drawer nearby before giving it to me. It's a teaspoon size, perfect! I smiled and put about 2 teaspoons of each spice into the pot before getting the spoon from Grandpa Brim and mixing it all together into what was smelling like a beautiful blend. I turned to Grandfather to find him smiling at me, though his eyes seemed to dance with a nostalgic flame. "Would ye look at that, Laddie! You'd make a great chef yet!" He exclaimed as I looked from him to the pot several times before raising an eyebrow. "Really? You think so?" I asked him as he nodded quickly. "Ah'm sure of it, boyo. You just need some practice and you'll probably surpass even me!" He said with a laugh as I found myself laughing along with him. "Whatever you say, Gramps. Though, I have to ask, where did you get the ideas for all those recipes that made you famous in the first place?" I asked him as he suddenly stiffened slightly before he recovered and gave me a small smile. "Tis a secret, my boy. One day you and your brothers will come to know where my masterpieces came from, but until then you'll have to just be patient." He said as I huffed but went back to stirring the pot, though some of the vegetables were floating together to make a word, and after looking closely I was able to make it out. R a i d e n I stepped away from the pot in shock and turned to my grandfather. "Grandpa Brim! Did you see-" I started, but stopped when I realized he wasn't there anymore. Looking around, I realized that outside the kitchen everything had begun to become a black void. "What...What's happening?!" I yelled out as I saw a blue light flash before my eyes as all around me a voice rang out. "RAIDEN WAKE UP!" ******************* Raiden POV/present time. ******************* I shot up quickly in a cold sweat, finding my eyesight blurry as I adjusted to whatever light was in my face. "What...what happened?" I said as my eyesight slowly became clear as I was tackle-hugged by Luna while realizing I was in a hospital room. "Thou has been asleep for days! I couldn't connect with your dreams and was worried about you, Raiden." She exclaimed as she sobbed lightly into my shoulder. As I hugged her tightly I noticed I was in my dragon form again, though I distinctly remembered being human before I got hurt back in Canterlot. "Why am I a dragon again? Didn't the effects of Twilights potion wear off?" I asked. "Fron what I've been told, you were healed and put back into that form." A familiar voice said as I saw the door open and saw none other than Celestia walk through it! "Celestia! Your you again!" I exclaimed as a smile found its way on my face while Luna pulled away from my shoulder but kept her hold around me. Celestia nodded, though she didn't smile back. "I was freed from Daybreaker after her mind was destroyed in the dreamscape." She sighed. "Several things have happened while you've been out, and I think it's best you were enlightened of them." I nodded, allowing my claws to run through Lunas mane. "Lay it on me, princess." "To start, You were asleep for days after being put into a dreamless nightmare, something that only happens when dark magic overloads one's magic core. From what Chrysalis's son told us a human in a robe came in and healed you, changing you into your dragon form...permanently." My jaw dropped as those words registered. "You mean...I'm stuck as a dragon?" I asked as Luna pulled away and nodded. "Indeed. From what we could tell, the spell used on you purified your soul, and since your human part was the one that got corrupted, it was the piece that had to be removed." She said as I sighed and laid back on the bed while she rested her head on my chest, her ears flicking softly when I began to tussle them. "Well, it could've been worse. But who the heck was the human? I thought Dadiolus and Christine were defeated." For a moment, the neutral expression on Celestias face cracked, revealing a pained expression before she turned back to normal. "That's the other thing I wished to tell you. "It appears that in some shape or form your grandfather is still alive. The human in the robe said his name was Callobrim, and even referenced your brothers perfectly in conversation with Tak and his friends." She said, causing me to take a deep breath in hopes of calming the wave of shock going through me right now. Grandfather was alive?! Then that dream... I looked down at the resting Luna on my chest as I smiled. It must've been her calling my name then, but if he was alive then... "Celestia, if Grandfather is alive where is he? And you said Tak and his friends were here but they are currently gone as well." I said as Celestia nodded. "Tak and his friends went to find Nicholas after we asked them to. If your grandfather is alive, then he would want to know, considering he is Callobrims grand-" She stopped suddenly and turned towards the window before she gasped softly. Noticing this, Luna stood up and walked over to her. "Sister, what is the matter?" She asked as Celestia frowned. "...Twilight has been hurt." She said before shaking her head. "I know her and Ronin are going after the griffon king Grimbeak, but I didn't expect them to actually fight him." She said as I blinked in suprise. "Wait a second. Ronin went after that king dude we met in the throne room? And he took Twilight with him?!" I yelled, not only angry that Ronin had not only went off on his own again but now had ended up getting one of my friends hurt as well. Luna shook her head quickly as she came back over to me and nuzzled my cheek. "Tis not that simple, Raiden. Your brother and Twilight were sent to Griffonia due to that insane plan Nicholas and his friends came up with involving the mass teleport." She turned back to Celestia. "Sister, do you know if they are ok?" Celestia sighed and faced us. "All I can sense is that they are alive, even with the pain Twilight is going through it is not fatal, though it lingers on her spirit." She said as I frowned. "Spirit?" I asked as Luna nodded. "When one is close with another and they share some sort of bond, one can sense the distress of the other. For my sister, that event is trifold in power due to how she bonds with so few, so she can feel a lot of what happens with Twilight if she taps into that bond." She said as Celestia suddenly stiffened as her wings shot straight out. "Umm...Celestia? Are you ok?" I asked her as she shook her head and turned towards the door while looking quite flustered. "I-its nothing, Raiden. I am going to go see if I can find anyone who knows where Callobrim is located." She said as she left the room rather quickly, causing me to look at Luna with a raised eyebrow. "Uh...what was that about?" I asked her, noticing the smirk on her face. "Seems she accidently felt some rather...carnal emotions from her student." Luna stated with a giggle before she frowned. "But who would she partake in that activity with? The only males there are the male griffons and...Ronin." She said as my eyes widened. No way...Ronins banging Twilight? What the hell did I miss while being knocked out? > Chapter 68: The return to Ponyville > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* Walking out of the throne room, I found both of the changelings from before waiting for me standing at attention. "Sir! Are you two alright?!" Shifter asked as he eyed the sleeping unicorn on my back. His face showed concern and, after hearing the hell that happened in the room behind me, I couldn't blame him. I smiled and nodded. "We're fine...just a bit tired is all." I said as I felt Twilight nuzzle the back of my neck in her sleep. After her and my...bonding moment in the throne room Twilight had fell asleep from exhaustion, so I had picked her up and put her on my back. "Your majesty, we felt a surge of love come from the room earlier...was that with her?" Anal asked me as I chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it was. I found our last queen boys!" I said with a quiet cheer as to not wake Twilight. The changelings in front of me smiled wide and clapped their hooves for a couple seconds before Shifter turned to the outward doors. "Congrats Sir, but we should get moving. The other Queens will likely wish to see you as soon as possible." He said as I felt my smile grow even wider. "Looking forward to it." I said as they led me outside the castle and onto the battleground from earlier, where things looked waaay more tame than before. All of the Meckon were either destroyed or had stopped moving. Many of the griffons who had stayed for the fight were either dead or were busy either getting aid from the horned changelings or burying the fallen. As I walked out, a changeling drone spotted me and turned towards the crowd. "He's Back!!!" The changeling yelled as I noticed over two hundred pairs of multicolored eyes facing me. "Oh no." I muttered as I quickly put Twilight down on the ground just before a wave of changelings tackled me to the ground. "My king! Your alright!" "DAD!" "You have so much love coming off of you!" "You smell like lavender!" I started laughing out loud as I began to randomly hug any changeling I could grab with my arms. "Alright! Alright! I love you guys too! Now, where is Pinkie at?" I asked before losing the breath in my lungs thanks to said pony body slamming me pretty damn hard. "Right here!!! Did'ja miss me Ronin!" She pretty much yelled at me in excitement, causing several changelings in earshot to wince. I grabbed her by her head and pulled her into a strong embrace, locking lips with her like I had never before. "Pinkie...I missed you and the others like hell!" I said as I pulled away from her and stood up, though Pinkie latched herself to the front of my chest as her tail wrapped around my left leg. "I know! Thankfully I was asleep for most of the time you were gone due to Chrysalis making me a half-ling so I could produce an egg but Chrysalis and Redheart must be soooo worried and-" I cut her off by putting a hand to her mouth. "Wait wait wait, back up. Chrysalis did WHAT to you?!" I exclaimed, slightly pissed about that, considering I had told her not to change Pinkie. Pinkie Pie shook her head though. "Yes, silly! But she had to or else our kid wouldn't have survived!" She said as I realized that Pinkie had mentioned an egg. "So...there's some sort of egg cocoon thing waiting back in ponyville...and it's ours?" I asked her as she nodded while two familiar faces walked up to us. "Is Grimbeak gone?" Grazier asked as he and Opal made their way through the changelings around us. Turning to him, I nodded. "Yeah, we got rid of him. Did the Meckon stop attacking?" Grazier sighed, a look of sorrow in his eyes. "Good, and the Meckon did stop...but we lost many in the process. If one of your marefriends and her backup hadn't shown up we would've been toast." He said as Opal looked over at Twilight as her eyes widened in shock. "Heavens! What happened to her?" She yelled as she hobble walked over to Twilight and enveloped her in a magical aura to lift her up. She brushed a hoof over the horn stub before pulling back due to a wince of pain from the sleeping Twilight while I felt Pinkie grip me harder, no doubt worrying about her best friend. "Grimbeak snapped her horn during the fight." I said as I walked over and grabbed Twilight, putting her back on my back where she immediately latched onto me as she stirred slightly before snoring peacefully. "Is it permanent?" Opal brought a hoof to her chin as she thought about it for a second before she sighed. "I've never heard of a case that was permanent, but it all depends on how the horn was broken. The longer the piece that was chipped, the longer it will take to fully heal." "So since her whole horn nearly got snapped, it's going to be a bit huh?" I said as she nodded in response. Pinkie seemed to realize I was talking to someone new and leaned backwards so her upside down head could face Opal. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?" She exclaimed happily as Opal blinked in suprise before shaking her head with a smile at the pink pony. "My name is Opal, and you must be the element of laughter." She said as I leaned down towards Pinkies head. "She's Redhearts mom." I whispered, causing the pink mare to immediately hop off me and get right up in Opals face. "YOU ARE?! That's Splenderiffic!!!" She turned to Grazier, who had walked up Opal and laid a claw on her back as he looked at her in confusion. "And you must be the daddy! You've got to meet my family sometime!" She gasped. "Oh! We could have Heartswarming together!" Grazier cleared his throat, making Pinkie stop her rambling. "As much as I'd like to talk family matters, there are some issue we need to discuss." He said as he looked to me. "First off, what are we going to do about Griffonstone, and Griffonia as a whole? We checked the dead Meckon, and found that the royal prince had been made into one of them, so now we have no heir to the throne." I frowned as the realization of this place going without a ruler could be as bad as it was when Grimbeak was in charge. "But who could run this kingdom? We would need someone that is capable of being stern and hardheaded, considering Griffons are very rebellious and rough around the edges in nature. Someone like..." My eyes widened as I turned around and faced my changelings. Wait a hot second...That's it!!! I turned to Pinkie with a huge smile. "I think it's time we had that family visit, only instead of going to yours we're taking Opal and Grazier to ponyville!" I exclaimed as Opals eyes widened and Grazier squawked in shock. "What?! Are you deaf boy? I just said that-" Before he could finish, Pinkie squee'd and pointed at the huge black hole that had appeared when her and the changeling helped us. "OH! We can go through the portal! It will take us straight to Ponyville!" She said as Opal squinted at the portal before she gasped. "Is that...a level nine portal? How in Fausts name did you make that?" She exclaimed, making me look to Pinkie with a wide eyes, though she just shrugged it off. "Easy, silly. I had the changelings use their love and magic to do it. Then Chrysalis powered it up." She said as Opal tilted her head. "Who's Chrysalis?" She asked as Grazier groaned. "That's not the point! We need to focus on this kingdom, not a family vacation!" He exclaimed in anger as I rolled my eyes. "Relax. There's someone in ponyville that can help Griffonia get back on its feet. Besides, you get to see your daughter again, so it's a win win." I said as I began to walk towards the portal as I motioned to the changelings who weren't healing griffons. "C'mon, let's head home!" ************ Raiden POV ************ "Raiden, why did thou bring us to this...eerie building when you should be in bed resting?" Luna said sharply as we stood in front of what once was an average two story house and was now a black colored hive. By some insane miracle, I had managed to convince Luna that I was ok enough to leave the hospital. I couldn't blame her for attempting to keep me there after I was literally impaled, but there was too much going on for me to stay in bed. Once things settled though, THEN I'd be ok with with resting...as long as Luna was okay with playing Nurse while I got better. What? A guy has his fetishes. "Relax, babe, I'm fine." I said as I could've swore I saw a bird shine green before entering an open window of the hive. "Besides...I have this gut feeling I need to be here." I said as I walked up and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door swung open and Chrysalis popped her head out. "What the fuck do you-Oh, it's you two. Come in." She said, at first sounding slightly testy before sounding content with realizing we weren't random ponies. We followed her in as she began to walk towards some sort of hole in the wall. "Where does that hole lead, Chrysalis?" Luna asked as the queen stopped mid-stride and turned back to us, clear exhaustion in her eyes. Ronin is in another country right now and is quite possibly in danger...now wonder she looks like hell and has an attitude, she must be worried sick. I thought as Chrysalis answered her. "It goes to the ponyville caverns." She said as she continued her walk into the cave as we followed, though Luna leaned her head over to me. "I had no idea this town even had caves." Luna whispered as I shrugged. "Probably didn't until the bugs moved in." I said jokingly, getting a swat on the ass by Lunas tail, making me yank it softly in turn and causing her to gasp. "We are in someones...living space, Don't do that." She said with a blush as I chuckled. We followed the queen down the pathways and splitting paths until we got to some sort of room with a huge hole in it. "What the heck is-" I started, but never got to say as Luna galloped over to the hole and looked in excitedly. "We can't believe this! This is a trans-dimesional rift! And a level nine one at that!" She exclaimed with a giddy prance as she turned to us before she realized Chrysalis and I were watching, the former way less amused than I was. She blushed heavily while I shook my head with a smile. "Never change Luna, never change." I said as I turned to Chrysalis. "Are you alright, Chrysalis? I heard about Ronin and-" "He's alright, if your asking." She said suddenly, causing me to blink in suprise. "I can feel his presence as he begins to arrive from the portal." I turned to the giant portal/hole and couldn't help but smile. "Sweet! Thank goodness he's ok...though that doesn't explain your mood." I said as I heard a sigh from behind us. "She's pissed because Ronin decided on a new mare without us...which I can kind of understand if it wasn't for who the mare was." Redheart said as she came from the cavern we just entered from. She walked over to Chrysalis and gave her a quick nuzzle to her neck before turning to me. "We can feel the things he does, and when we felt a massive surge in love Chrysalis knew what had occured." Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Just because we know her doesn't mean she's worthy of the herd." She stated before Redheart flank-checked her. "Oh hush, your just mad she caught onto your plan at the wedding." She gave me a sly smile. "She doesn't want to lose her spot as smartest in the herd." Chrysalis glared at her. "One: I will ALWAYS be the smartest in our herd. And two: due to that remark your getting the left arm when we go to bed with Ronin." This caused Redheart to glare back at Chrysalis. "What?! You KNOW he barely moves that arm when he's lying down! That's not fair!" She said as Luna and I shared a laugh. "Your brother has quite the herd, doesn't he?" She chuckled as I nodded. "Definitely. Man must be hard spent at night pleasing all three of them." I said as we heard a gargling sound come from the hole nearby, causing Redheart to smile big. "Oh! I think they're coming!" ************* Ronin POV ************* Going through the portal was a weird feeling. Unlike normal teleportation, which was nearly instantaneous and barely affected my body, this felt like I was being condensed into a small ball and being rolled down a bowling lane. The only thing I could see for almost a minute was just green light. Thankfully, it didn't last too long as I found myself on solid terra firma in what looked like the hive cavern under Ponyville. More flashes to my left and right showed Pinkie, Grazier, and Opal warping in as well as the hole behind us began to glow extra bright. Reaffirming my grip on Twilight, I ducked low. "GET DOWN!" I yelled out, causing everyone to duck as all the changelings swarmed out of the portal at once and flew through the cavern exit nearby. Standing up and looking around, I realized I wasn't alone as I spotted both my brother and Luna standing off to the side along with my fellow herdmates Redheart and Chrysalis. "We're baaaaaack!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran up to Redheart and Chrysalis and gave them a quick hug before she pulled Redheart over to her parents, who were staring at her in suprise. "And look who we brought!" Redhearts mouth slowly opened wide as a tear or two began to appear in her eyes. "M-Mom? Dad?" Opal smiled weakly, suprising me by the fact she had her own eyes watered up as well as she pulled Redheart into a hug with her magic. "Oh, my dear Ruby!" She exclaimed as Grazier picked them up in a strong hug and spun them around with a laugh while Raiden and Luna walked over to me. "Hey, brother! Long time no-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO TWILIGHTS HORN?!" Raiden exclaimed as Luna gasped before she glared daggers at me. "Explain this, Ronin." She said as I sighed. "Twilight helped me wipe put Grimbeak, but she lost her horn in the process. Opal says she will get it back in due time though." I said as Raiden shook his head while Luna sighed. "Tis a unfortunate event indeed, for a unicorn to lose their ability to use magic for any given time. At least thou will be there for her." She said as she turned slightly. "Put her on my back and let me carry her for now." I nodded and did so, making sure she was hanging over Luna carefully while Pinkie went over and gave Twilights head a soft hug. I turned to Raiden and gave him a big old hug which he returned in kind. "How were things over here?" I whispered as he chuckled. "Almost died, but Nicholas saved the day. You?" He whispered back as I laughed. "Same stakes, similar turnout." I said as I noticed Chrysalis had been standing off to the side this whole time just staring at me with a neutral expression. I released my brother from his hug and walked over to her, stopping inches from her face. "Ronin." She said plainly, though her tail was wagging a bit at my approach. "Chrysalis." I returned fire as my heart began to race at the sight of her. For a moment, no one moved. Everyone had stopped to watch us, wondering who would make a move first. "You almost died over there, didn't you?" She asked, a hint of ice in her tone. "Yeah, but for us what else is new? Besides, I got you a kingdom to rule as a gift so it works out." I responded, noticing her eyes start to glimmer, though I could feel both shock, anger, and love coming from her. She moved her head slightly. "And what of Twilight?" She asked as I sighed. "She...helped a lot over there and we we ended up bonding. I know yall said you girls had to accept the last mare into the herd and you three can still do that but do know I'm going to fight it tooth and nail if you refuse her." I told her as she sighed, showing off a fanged smile. "Believe me, there will be an interrogation." She said before she gave me a sultry gaze that made my knees go weak. "But for now, Mama wants her meal." Like opposite ends of a magnet, we slammed into each other at warp speed. The kiss was passionate and I wrapped my arms around her and spun her around, dipping her low to the ground as I felt our tongues intertwine with each other while Chrysalis's moans echoed in my throat as I found my hands slowly drifting lower down her- *AHEM* Breaking the kiss and looking up, I realized everyone was watching our rather intimate activity. Luna and Opal were both blushing heavily while Raiden and Grazier both looked like they were very uncomfortable suddenly. Redheart and Pinkie were both simply smiling while the former was rolling her eyes. Getting up quickly and catching my breath I turned to Grazier. "This is Chrysalis, my first herdmate and the person I spoke of when you mentioned Griffonia. She's a queen without a kingdom and honestly she's better suited for this job than most." I said as Chrysalis tilted her head. "What do you mean job?" She said as Grazier approached her and looked her in the eyes, making me realize Chrysalis stood above him by a couple inches. "Griffonia has no ruler, and without one I fear for my country and its prosperity. How would you manage to get a kingdom full of selfish idiots to stand together and save the country?" Ha asked her as Chrysalis blinked in suprise before she gave Grazier a wicked grin. "Why, with two sorts of motivation of course. Either payment or punishment, anything else would go over their heads." She said as Grazier chuckled softly and turned to me. "She sounds good for the job, but we'd have the issue of having a non griffon on the throne. Our kind is mighty prideful after all." I rolled my eyes. "Then we make them accept it. Griffonia ain't Equestria and I sure as he'll ain't letting it be run like it. We're doing this the hard way." I said as Chrysalis nuzzled my cheek. "You sound so sexy when your being maniacal you know that?" She said, causing me to cough slightly as I felt my face heat up while Redheart stepped forward. "As much of a suprise...any of this is...can we take this upstairs? I feel like this sort of thing shouldn't be discussed in a cave." She said as everyone agreed and we began to move out of the dark corridor. ***************** Minutes Later/Raiden POV ***************** "Your telling me you want Chrysalis to rule Griffonia since Grimbeak is gone? What about the hive here?" Redheart said from her spot beside Pinkie on one of the couches as we had began discussing the whole events that had happened while I was out and Ronin was in Griffonia in the living room of Ronins house. Hearing what they had gone through was insane, but when they told us Tarus had showed his head again Luna, who was sitting next to me on the couch, had went rigid and needed to be relaxed by yours truly before Ronin could continue. Now, however, they were talking about Chrysalis and her potential new position as Queen of Griffonia...and how that might affect Ronins herd. Ronin sighed. "We have the portal to Griffonia we can use anytime. She can work there and then come back here whenever she wants. It's not like she's gonna be out of reach." Redheart frowned and nodded. "...I know, I'm just worried is all. So much has happened, and we don't need anything else potentially ripping our herd apart." She said as Pinkie gave her a big hug. "Like we'd ever let anything dumb like that happen to us!!!" She cheered as Grazier turned to Ronin from his seat on a couch with Opal, who was laying on his feathered chest. "So, these two females are your other herdmates?" He asked as Ronin nodded in confirmation. "How interesting. I can't say you don't know how to pick them, boy." Opal spoke up before Ronin could say anything to that. "And we're so glad that our dear Ruby could find such a unique herd! Faust forbid she join a herd that makes her a broodmare just because she's an earth pony!" She exclaimed as Chrysalis, who was sitting on Ronin as he sat on a chair, snickered. "Ruby, huh?" She said, causing Redheart to blush and cover her face. "Moooooooom!" She whined as we all laughed for a while at that before Luna spoke up. "We are glad to see such bonds between them as well. Especially since there once was a time where both Ronin and Chrysalis were enemies of the state." She said, causing Opal to turn to the two sharply. "Really?!" Opal said with a smirk as Ronin grimaced while Chrysalis smiled smugly. "I crashed a national wedding, and he helped me do it." She proclaimed as Ronin groaned. "I'm never gonna live that stupid day down, huh." He said as more laughs ensued before the front door swung open and three familiar faces ran in. "Tak? Where have you been?" Chrysalis stated as he, Axel, and little Scootaloo came in with clear worry on their faces. "Later! Something really bad has happened." Axel said as Celestia walked into the room, causing several reactions. "Your majesty!" Opal stated as her and Grazier bowed to her. Ronin and Chrysalis stood immediately, Ronin having a combination of suprise and regret on his face while Chrysalis just seemed annoyed. Pinkie and Redheart bowed as well, though both did it slightly and not as deep as the newcomers. "Sister, what is the matter?" Luna asked Celestia as the sun goddess stepped out of the doorway and let someone else walk in. When the person behind her walked in, I felt my heart skip a beat while I saw Ronin begin to shake slightly. The man looked from me to him for a second before he sighed. "Lads...I wish this could've been under better circumstances, but nows not the time for catching up." Callobrim...our grandfather said as he looked me in the eyes, none of the light from my dream or my memories remaining in them as he stared me down, only a husk of whatever he used to be. "Nicholas and his marefriends have been kidnapped...and I fear it's all my fault." > Chapter 69: The fallen King > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Authors note*: Accidently hit the republish button, sorry! *Raiden POV* Silence. That's all that could be heard as what Callobrim had said slowly sank in. His fault? How the heck could it be his fault? I found myself wondering as Ronin stood to his feet immediately, almost sending Chrysalis flying if she hadn't gotten up in time. "What do you mean Nicholas has been kidnapped?!" He yelled as he stomped over to Callobrim, keeping eye contact with him the whole time. "You can't just reappear after being DEAD for years and say shit like that to us!" Callobrim sighed. "I get why your upset, and this news probably comes as a shock to you all-" He said but I butted in before I could finish. "Of course it does!" I exclaimed, feeling Luna rub up beside me in an effort to calm me down some, earning her scratches on the head as I noted Twilight was starting to stir slightly on her back. "How'd the kids and Celestia even find you anyway?! You took off after healing me!" Ronin turned to me with a frown. "Healed you? From what?!" Chrysalis groaned, clearly not liking how chaotic things were getting. "Raiden almost died in Canterlot to a Ice queen who appeared from the spell that sent you to Griffonia, so he was healed at a hospital." She explained cautiously, probably feeling the growing agitation in the room, and turned to Redheart and Pinkie. "Could you two go and take Redhearts parents somewhere...less hostile for the time being?" Redheart went to butt in, but Pinkie nodded. "On it, Chrysi!" At speeds that to this day blow my mind she managed to push Redheart and her parents out the door...though her father couldn't really be a griffon, right? Do genetics work that way? If so, then Luna and I may be in the same boat as Ronin soon. Speaking of Ronin, he looked about ready to snap at the news of my hospitalization. "You were in the HOSPITAL?!" He yelled as he turned to me, causing me to take a step back but nod nonetheless. "Yeah, Christine did a number on me in Canterlot after you left, and I was left in some sort of sleep for a bit." I said as I recalled the events in the hospital. "Thanks to grandfather, I'm alive...even if I'm now a dragon permanently." Ronin took a deep breath, possibly trying to calm himself down a tad as he faced Callobrim once more. "Alright, so you saved Raiden, I'll give you that. But why don't you explain what happened with Nicholas and how your here?" Callobrim, who looked slightly agitated now, sighed. "Yer finally gonna let me talk, ay? Good. Now, it happened earlier right after I had seen Nicholas and his girls get kidnapped by the mare known as Faust..." ****************** No POV/about 30 minutes earlier ****************** Callobrim ran. He ran as hard and as fast as a centuries old human could run, which was suprisingly fast considering he hadn't ran in years. However, his stamina soon gave out as he rested up against a building that looked to him like a carousel, something he hadn't seen since his time on earth. "Gah...hah...I really should have stayed in shape." Callobrim muttered in between gasps as he looked around. There were several ponies and even a handful of changelings around town, even though the changelings were given a bit more space than the wandering ponies. "It seems the changelings have been settling in nicely. Can't believe my bloodline actually did something good with their lives for once." He said as he heard the sound of hooves approaching from his right. "You say that as if you don't have a chance to do so yourself." A changeling with orange eyes said as he walked up to the old man and looked up at him. "Hello, Callobrim." The old man frowned as he put his hood back over his head. "How do you know my name, little one?" The changeling sighed and looked around as the area seemed to have little to no one around at the moment. "Look at me, human. I've been able to keep this charade up for this long in order to watch over things, but the time of the release of the new Era is coming, and soon." The old man gasped. "How do you know of the Era? Your one of Ronins changeling drones?!" The changeling stomped his hoof. "Enough!!! You have no right to ask questions after causing the pain you have over the years. How many more must suffer because of your selfish needs?" Callobrim turned away, closing his eyes as memories of his sister and old friend dashed across his mind. "...Your right. I have no right to demand anything, at least until I can right my wrongs." Callobrim faced the orange eyed bug. "Could you at least tell me your name since you know mine?" The changeling went to argue, but sighed instead. "In this time, I am known as Roxas thanks to your grandson...or is it nephew?" He shook his head. "But you may call me by my real name: Deimos." "I knew it." Both man and changeling turned and faced the one who spoke up, both recognizing the altered changeling and his two friends immediately. "Tak!? What are you doing here." Deimos spoke up in a higher pitch that had been using as Roxas, but Tak shook his head. "Cut the crap, Roxas...or Deimos. Mother called for the changelings twice and you didn't show up, once for an inspection and the other to help our king. It's obvious that your the one who left that corpse in the depths of the hive, all I want to know is...why?" He said as Axel stepped forward. "Roxas...I thought we were family! You, Me, Larxene and Zexion were the first ones hatched! It was supposed to be us against the world!" He gritted his fangs as he gave Deimos a hardened glare, though his eyes showed hurt in them. "How could you do this to us?" Deimos sighed and looked to Tak. "That changeling you found died at birth and never existed in the first place. Any sort of marks on his body came from when I crafted this vessel from his likeness." Scootaloo, the third of the newcomers and by far the most confused, spoke up. "Vessel? What do you mean by that?" Callobrim gave a wary glance to Deimos, something Tak noticed as Deimos answered the orange pegasus. "I needed a vessel to come into this world. And to do that, I needed a body and personality that would allow me to watch over things while keeping my cover. So, I adopted the body of the changeling you came to call Roxas, and put up a false persona to make him seem innocent and unaware of the bigger picture." Tak growled and stomped his hoof. "Even if you did do nothing to that changeling, why follow us around? You helped us during the Canterlot assault and you helped us while Volt attacked ponyville. Why reveal yourself now?" Deimos let out an irritated moan. "Because the world order is at stake, Damn it! Do you realize how bad things will get if Faust gets her hands on the power this old fool left in Nicholas?!" The three kids gasped, while Callobrim balled up his fists at the reminder. "Nicholas?! Where is he?" Tak exclaimed, his patience beginning to thin. "He's been kidnapped along with his fillyfriends." Callobrim answered as Scootaloos eyes widened. "No! That would mean Applebloom and Diamond Tiara are..." She trailed off, worried for both her new and longtime friends safety. "They were kidnapped?! Where are they then?!" Axel yelled as Deimos raised a hoof. "Enough. Enraged emotion will get you nowhere. There is only one way to fix this and that's saving Nicholas. The way to the lair of that self-proclaimed God is-GHRK!" He started, but was cut off as a long sword that looked like it was a horn ran through his back and through his chest, killing the mysterious changeling instantly. "AH! What the?!" Axel yelled while Scootaloo and Tak screamed while taking several steps back from the body as it seemed to bleed shadows before it faded to dust. The sword floated upwards and flew over to a smirking man as he came out of a portal that closed behind him. Callobrim felt his heart race as the man turned his gaze to him. "Well well, if it ain't the old apprentice! How's eternal life going for ya, Brim!" The man cackled as he faced the kids. "Sorry about the mess, but the fool was about to reveal some things that I can't let slide." Callobrim stepped between him and the kids, a stern expression on his face. "Leave us be, Tarus. Don't you have a master to go get orders from?" Tarus frowned and lifted the red drawls that hung over his legs, revealing some marks that looked recently applied. "I've already went to her...and got my lickings too. But! I've got a chance to redeem myself!" He said as he pointed the sword at Callobrim. "All I need to do is kill those kids, and I'm home free!" He rushed forward at a blinding speed and thrusted his sword forward straight at Callobrim. *Clang!* In a flash of golden light, Celestia had teleported in front of Callobrim and blocked the blow with her spear, much to the anger of Tarus. "Damn! What the hell are you doing here?" He said as Celestia narrowed her eyes and pushed back against the Alabaster princess. "I've been looking for Callobrim ever since he was spotted here, but I will not condone murder of any foals on my watch." Her eyes traveled to the blade Tarus wielded as she gasped. "That blade...It cannot be!" Tarus chuckled. "But it can be! Pure alicorn horn, Sunbutt. Straight from your daddy's skull. I am the keeper of the dead after all." He said as Celestia growled and aimed her horn at him, blasting him with a full powered beam. The blast sent Tarus flying backwards into the open street of ponyville, making any residents out at the time immediately flee into their homes as per the usual monster in ponyville day demands. Celestia turned to Callobrim, a blank look on her face. "Can you fight?" He pulled out the necklace from his robe and put it around his neck, immediately feeling a surge of magic flow back through his veins. "For a while, yes. But most of my power is in the boy, and I only have a small amount left in myself." "It will have to do for now." She said as she turned to the kids. "You three need to stand back. You've already put your lives on the line before, and it's time I defended my people instead of the other way around." The trio of kids did as they were told (No one was arguing with a battle ready Celestia) and stepped back to the side of the road, though after a second of hushed whispering between the three Scootaloo ran off somewhere and Axel went into the boutique while Tak teleported away somewhere else. Celestia and Callobrim turned to Tarus, who was getting up from his fall and looked quite pissed. "That's it! Screw Faust and her petty balance! I'M SKEWERING ALL OF YOU!" He roared as he was absorbed by a black aura and began to morph and grow. Celestia readied her spear as she glanced at Callobrim. "Stay alert. Luna told me about this being when he attacked her and Raiden at Canterlot." She said as the giant bear shaped monster with the lions head appeared from the aura, the tentacles around his mouth wriggling like worms. "It is capable of draining magic from targets with each of his blows, so try not to get hit." Callobrim shuddered. "Of course he'd be capable of taking away my one strength." He said as the newly transformed Tarus looked down at them with blood sockets for eyes. "Telling my secrets, Celestia? I'm touched you care enough to know that much about me." He stated in a gravelly voice as the smell of boiling blood perverted the area. "But this time Faust is too busy to stop me from wreaking havoc, and this whole town shall burn under my wrath!" Tarus swung out a large bear claw at the two, forcing Celestia to take to the air while Callobrim teleported in the air behind the behemoth of a monster Tarus had become. "Let's see...perhaps some ice will cool you down." Callobrim whispered as he flicked his wrist, making a blue circle appear above Tarus before several ice shards rained down on him, either missing or inpaling themselves into his flesh before dissolving. Tarus turned to Callobrim and blasted a red beam at him from his eyeless sockets, though Callobrim merely teleported again to avoid the blast. However, the blast kept going and shot towards a cloud house in the sky, effectively obliterating it on contact. Celestia flung her spear straight at Tarus, landing a blow on the back of his head and causing him to shake slightly from the sudden pain before he faced the sun goddess. "You!" He said as a couple of mouth tentacles shot out and wrapped themselves around Celestia, drawing her in she slowly felt her magic leaving her. "How long will you be able to last until my power drains you dry?" He said as he laughed. "It's amazing what tricks one can pick up from the prisoners you send me in Tartarus." "Drain this, Tarus!" Callobrim yelled as he summoned another circle, this one being red as a giant fire all erupted into the monsters side and engulfing him whole, allowing Celestia to be dropped from his grip and to the ground in a heap. Callobrim teleported straight to her and lifted her neck to she could face him. "You alright, Sunshine?" Celestia coughed a bit before chuckling softly. "I haven't heard that nickname in years...but yes, I'm ok, just tired." With Callobrims help she managed to stand as she laid a wing over him for support. "Now, let's-" She was cut off as a large bear hand grabbed Callobrim from the flames and lifted him into the air. Tarus shook off the fire that was on him and laughed loudly, staring at Celestia the whole time. "You thought FIRE would hurt the keeper of TARTARUS?! How many levels of stupid are you, old man?" He roared as Celestia brought her spear back to her magically, causing Tarus to tighten his grip on Callobrim. "Don't move, sunbutt. Or the man gets squished like a grape." Celestia gritted her teeth, but dropped the spear, making Tarus laugh again. "There we go! Was that so hard, you celestial pain in the ass?" He taunted as he turned his gaze to Callobrim. "I don't know what Faust had in her head when she picked you of all humans as her apprentice, but I'm sure the boy will fare better than you ever did." Callobrims eyes widened as he realized the reason why Faust had taken Nicholas. "No! She can't be planning on using him like that! The Era will kill him!" Celestia frowned as she looked on, unable to attack in fear of Callobrims death. "What is he talking about? Era?" She muttered as Tarus cackled. "So what if the boy perishes? You have no one but yourself to blame. You should've done what you were told and it wouldn't have been your family on the chopping block." He shook his head and turned to Celestia. "But nooooo! The old fart was selfish, and tried to horde the power granted to him by Faust...and managed to throw all his family and friends under the bus as well just to safe face." Celestia looked to Callobrim, shocked by the news. "What is he talking about, Brim?" The old man sighed. "I'm so sorry, Celestia. I never meant for all of this to happen." He started as he started feeling the last bits of his magic being drained away. "Our arrival to Equestria...My sister and friends demise, Luna's banishment...it was all my fault!" Celestia's jaw dropped as Tarus chuckled to himself. "How could all of that be your fault?! You had no control over those events!" She yelled, before she stopped in her tracks. "Wait a minute..." She looked down for a second before returning her gaze to Callobrim, tears in her eyes. "You didnt..." He nodded. "I did. Back on Earth I met two people in a flea market. One of them was Faust, and she gave me a deal I couldn't refuse." He closed his eyes, remembering the events that day. ********* "What is that?" Callobrim asked the two figures as they showed him a black and red necklace with some sort of unicorn symbol with wings on it. "It is called the Alicorn Amulet, and it had the power to give you the strength you need to get whatever it is you desire." The female, who had introduced herself as Faust, said to Callobrim as she smiled softly at him. She had a perfect tan with almost golden hair that flowed to her chest and complimented the yellow short and skirt she wore. The man next to her, a tall man wearing a full green tuxedo that shined off dark skin and blue eyes, nodded as he handed Callobrim the necklace. "Your down on your luck with that restaurant, right?" Callobrims eyes widened. "How do you know that?" The man waved him off, showing six rings on his hand. "I'm a fortune teller, it's my job. The point is, this item can grant you the wealth you need. All you have to do is charge it will electricity." Callobrim looked to the amulet and sighed. He had just gotten the foreclosure notice for his restaurant yesterday, and years of lying to his family about his degree in culinary would catch up to him at last. What would his sister think? What about his close friend? He looked up at the two strangers and nodded. "Yer right. I need this...how much?" He said as he reached into his pockets, but was stopped by the two people. Faust shook her head. "It's free...just remember I'll be in contact with you whenever it works." She and the man turned away and began to walk off. "And so, the wheels of fate turn."The man muttered as they turned a corner and disappeared from sight, leaving the false chef by himself in the aisle holding what was supposedly the key to his future. ************* "After our arrival, I began dreaming about that woman. She told me many things about who she was and that she watched over all of Equiis. She kept the balance of the world, and needed help to do so." The old man sighed, looking Celestia in the eyes as the weight of what he was saying came crashing down on her. "But, after a while my sister became suspicious of my motives, and after getting a favor from David she managed to get into my dreams thanks to your sister." He shook his head. "After that she left Equestria and went north, where Luna would soon follow after I...said some things to her that I knew would cause her to give chase and called them a prophecy." Celestia shook her head, unsurprisingly angry at Callobrim. "I gave you that power as a blessing when you came to our world, and you turned it on my sister?!" Callobrim nodded again. "Indeed. Faust needed all witnesses silenced, and she seemed extra terrified of Christines kids, so she ordered me to have them dealt with...or lose everything." He closed his eyes as more tears leaked out. "I never meant to-Whoa!" A big barrel slammed onto the side of Tarus, making him drop Callobrim to the ground as he glared in the direction of the projectile. "Who dares attack me?!" He roared as he saw an orange earth pony staring him down with a smirk on her face. "Ah do, ya overgrown hairball." Applejack said as Tak walked up beside her and charged his horn, putting metal bracing on Applejacks hooves. "Our friend here told us about you and yer Deity friend." She suddenly dawned a truly pissed glare as she pawed the ground with her hooves and snorted. "If ya know what's good for ya, you'll return mah sister unharmed." Tarus frowned. "Us?" He questioned just as a lightning fast hoof to the face hit him in the face as Rainbow dash flew past and stopped mid-air to face him. "Applejacks right! Just because you call yourself a God doesn't mean you get to mess with us like that!" She turned to Scootaloo, who had just arrived on scene after following Rainbow Dash on foot, and nodded. "The little squirter said you've been the reason for all the bad guys." She pounded her hooves together. "That means your cruising for a bruising, buster, especially after you totalled my house!" "Shut it, welp!" Tarus yelled as he went to blast Rainbow dash with a red beam, but it was intercepted by a blue and beam that overpowered it and blasted Tarus back several inches. "Darling, you MUST not yell so much. It's so childish and only serves to make you sound like a spoiled brat." Rarity said as her, Sweetiebelle and Axel (who had reverted to his changeling form to use his magic better) stepped from the boutique and onto the street. "And besides, you must be crazy if you think we're going to let you destroy our fair town just because your having a tantrum." "Yeah! Let our friends go you meanie!" Sweetiebelle said as Axel chuckled. "Nice one-liner, goofball." He said, getting a flank check from Sweetiebelle as Tarus glared at everyone who was surrounding him. "Three of the elements? Alongside some children, a half-rate sorcerer and a beaten princess?" He laughed as Callobrim, who had been crawling away managed to get over to Celestia, slowly stood and faced him. "Give me a break!" Callobrim couldn't help but smirk. "Four elements, actually." He pointed out as Tarus turned to him and frowned. "Four? What do you mean by four?" He questioned as he felt someone tap the top of his head and looked up... ...to see none other than Fluttershy, the mare who he had entertained back in Canterlot giving him the eleven out of ten Stare. "How. Dare. You. Kidnap. My. CHILD!!!!" She screamed as she reared back and delivered a hoof haymaker that would've made even the strongest Earth pony shudder in fear. The blow sent a screaming Tarus straight to the ground on a one legged kneel as he sputtered out blood from his mouth at a non-stop rate. Celestia turned to Applejack, Tak and Rainbow Dash. "Now! Take out his other legs!" Callobrim faced Rarity, Axel and Sweetiebelle. "You three! Help me keep his arms in check with a stasis spell." He ordered as he made a yellow circle appear around the massive bear arms of the beast and shackled him with magic chains that got encased in a blue aura the three magic casters used to amplify the spell. While Rainbow Dash and Applejack quickly made their way over to the other leg and simultaneously bucked it from both sides Tak picked up a tree from nearby in his magic and sent it into Tarus's back. "GAAAAH!" Tarus roared in agony as his legs gave out and he fell forward...right in front of Celestia and looked up at her as blood seeped from every part of his face. "You...cannot beat....me. I am...a God!" Celestia shook her head and leveled her spear with his head. "You lost that title the second you out someponys life in danger." She said, acid rage dripping from her voice as she drove the spear through his head, causing the whole body to shake and convulse as the same dark aura surrounded it again. As everyone looked on, the body shrank and shrank until it was the height it was the size of about a unicorn. When the darkness disappeared, Tak and Axel gasped. "No...he can't be!" Tak said as Axel shook his head. "Your telling me this guy was..." He trailed off as the body of a changeling was left over as the shadows dissipated, though this changeling had a cutie mark of a blue heart on his flank that was visible for seconds before the whole body turned to dust. "So, he was the unicorn that plunged his horn into the crystal heart all those years ago. Who would've believed he would end up fathering the changeling race?" Celestia said as she turned the elements, who were celebrating the victory with a group hug. "My little ponies, I need you to make sure no one in town is hurt, and ensure no widespread panic ensues from these events." The four girls nodded, but Applejack stepped alongside Fluttershy and lowered her hat while she looked up at the monarch in front of her. "Princess, with all due respect, ah can't just sit by when mah sister is in danger." She stated as Fluttershy nodded. "And I can't leave Nicholas on his own again. He's my son, and I won't let him get hurt." She said, full of determination as Celestia smiled at them warmly. "As always, both of your dedications to family are unmatched. But I need you four here to protect Ponyville, especially if Faust herself is against us." She raised a hoof to stop Applejack from speaking up. "I will personally make sure your sister and son return safely, you have my word as a princess." Applejack and Fluttershy nodded and bowed, though Fluttershy looked up at Celestia as she did so. "Please, Princess...bring Nicholas home." Celestia nodded as Callobrim and the kids walked over. "I will, Fluttershy." The elements proceeded to leave in different directions across town just as Tak spoke up. "Princess! We need to get back to the hive! Ronin just returned, and there we can make a plan." Tak said as Sweetiebelle nodded. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" She said as she noticed both Tak and Axel giving her a look. "...What?" Axel answered first. "There is no way I'm letting you go with us. Last thing we need is MORE kids getting hurt." He said as Sweetiebelle pointed a hoof at him accusingly. "Your a child too!" She said as Callobrim shook his head. "Both Tak and Axel are capable of combat. You've only helped alongside of powerful spellcasters and may be used against us by Faust. You need to stay where the elements can protect you." He told her, causing her sigh hang her head. "Fiiiiine. Just bring Applebloom and Diamond Tiara back, ok?" She said as she suddenly turned and nuzzled Axel before running off into the boutique. "Whaaaa!?" Axel said, completely thrown off as Tak started laughing and Celestia giggled to herself before noticing Scootaloo come over and glomp Tak from behind. "Whoa! You were soooo cool!" She said as it was Taks turn to blush before he gave Scootaloo the same look as Sweetiebelle. "Your not goi-" He went to say, but was stopped as Scootaloo put a hoof on his mouth. "Nope! Your not shaking me that easily." She said as Tak groaned and Callobrim chuckled, though he stopped at the glare Celestia gave him. "We need to hurry." He said as he pointed at the big black house that stood out amongst the colorful buildings nearby. "I'm guessing that's where Ronin lives." Tak nodded. "It is, how'd you know?" He said, causing Callobrim to groan and begin walking towards it. "Boy never did get past his emo phase." He said as they made their way to the house to figure out what to do next. ******************** Raiden POV/present time ******************** "And that is how we got here now. Tarus has been defeated, and we now know who has Nicholas and his friends." Callobrim said as he turned to Ronin, who was eerily emotionless this whole time. "Together, we might be able to-" In the blink of an eye, Ronin had grabbed Grandfather's neck and slammed him into the wall, pinning him there as he reared back his other hand. "Enough Shit, Old man! For who knows how long, I looked up to you! Raiden looked up to you! NICHOLAS LOOKED UP TO YOU!" He tightened his grip on Callobrims neck, making the old man choke. "And now I come to realize everything up until now has been YOUR fault!" "Ronin!" I called out as I stepped forward, but he shot me a death glare. "Shut up, Raiden! This is all his fault, and I'm not letting this...this murderer live any longer!" He turned back to Callobrim as he morphed his right hand into a razor sharp griffon claw. Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Ronin, what Callobrim has done is indeed horrible, but killing him will not solve anything." "Listen to my sister, Ronin! We need him to help us find your brother!" Luna said as I saw Chrysalis approach him. "Ronin...please let him go." She said, making Ronin face her with a look of shock on his face. "You want me to let this man live? After everything he's put everyone in this room through?" He yelled as he turned back to Callobrim. "Sorry, but not this time." He said as he shot his clawed arm straight at Callobrims throat. "Ronin! Stop!" And he did...about three centimeters from his chin. Ronin turned around to see Twilight, who had woken up during all the yelling and had gotten off Luna to walk over to Ronin. "Twilight?" He said as she walked up next to Chrysalis. "Ronin...if he truly did everything he said he did, then we'll make sure he pays for it all...AFTER we save Nicholas. For now, he's the only person who knows anything about Faust and where she will be at, so please put him down." She said as he looked around at everyone before sighing, dropping Callobrim and turning to Chrysalis and Twilight. "I'm...sorry girls." He said just as Chrysalis and Twilight pulled him into a big hug. "It's ok, no one can blame you for acting like that." Chrysalis said as Tak walked over and hugged Ronin from behind as he got an arm draped around him. "I'm just glad your ok...Dad." He whispered, letting me see Ronins look of shock turn to pure unadulterd happiness from hearing that. I turned to Celestia. "How the heck did we not hear that fight go on if it happened here in ponyville?" Axel smirked. "Were you in the underground hive earlier?" I nodded as he laughed. "That's why! How are you supposed to hear anything while deep underground?" ...Fair point. "Um...how are we going to go save Nicholas and the others? This Faust lady wouldn't just keep them somewhere where we could walk up and find them, right?" Scootaloo said, causing Callobrim to stand up and clear his throat. "That's correct. For eons Faust has holed herself up in a plane that stands between reality and dreams known as the Aether." He stated as Luna frowned. "We have heard of this place. It is a realm that supposedly exist outside of the realm of dreaming and of the mind. But we always believed it was a foals tale?" Callobrim shook his head. "Far from it. The Aether is an anchor for the universe, supposedly capable of opening paths to other worlds." He shrugged. "Sadly, Faust only showed me one area of that realm, the hall of balance, which is where she resides." I nodded. "Alright, we have a location, now how do we open a path to this...Aether?" Callobrim turned to Chrysalis and Ronin, the former glaring at him while Ronin stared a hole through him. "We need to pass through a realm that can be open to it." He turned back to me as he smiled. "We need to go to Eureka, and dive to its core." > Chapter 70: Steps towards freedom > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Ronin POV* I turned to face my...Grandfather after he had mentioned Eureka, releasing what I would pretty much call family at this point from my arms as I looked him in the eyes while slowly standing. "What do you mean by enter Eureka?" I asked him as he pointed at me and Chrysalis. "You must know of this place by now, considering you have it hard-wired to your mind alongside the hive?" He asked as I nodded in confirmation, allowing him to continue. "Good, then all we need to do is simply sit in a circle and have our souls. sent to this realm as well." Celestia frowned at this. "Soul magic? You do know that is an illegal practice here, Callobrim." She said as the old timer waved her off. "Princess, the fate of my grandson, two foals, and the world are at stake. I doubt your laws hold up to that." He said as he looked to Chrysalis. "Now, how do you suppose we go to your peoples mental realm?" Chrysalis sighed before answering. "There is a spell changeling royals learn that allows them to enter Eureka, though it was usually used so we could punish changelings by torturing their minds and souls if the act of treason was ever committed." Everyone but Callobrim grimaced at that, the idea of that sort of torture not pleasing in the least. "However, for it to work, any participant must be connected to the anchor of the spell, which in this case would be Ronin." She said as I turned to my lover and raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why?" I asked her as she chuckled. "Because if we are talking about bonds, then no one on this room could travel with you except Tak and myself if I was the anchor, but since mostly everyone present is bonded with you in some shape or form your the better candidate." Tak turned to Scootaloo, who had been watching from the side and gave her a smile. "That means you can't come with us, since you don't have any bonds with Ronin." He said, making her frown. "What?! That's stupid!" She said, but didn't argue the point as Luna spoke up. "I, too, am unable to join you then. Even if we wanted to see this world with my own eyes." She said, muttering the last part as Raiden wrapped an arm around her and looked at Callobrim. "So that leaves me, Ronin, Grandfather, Celestia, Chrysalis and Tak. Scootaloo and Axel will stay behind and make sure our bodies are safe while we travel and-" He stopped as I raised a hand and turned back to Chrysalis. "Your not going." In an instant, Chrysalis was glaring a hole in my body. "Like Tartarus I'm not. Your not leaving me behind while you go to fight a God!" She yelled as she marched up to me, eyeing me down as I sighed. "Yeah yeah, the 'I may die speech'. But there's somewhere that needs you more than me, and that's Griffonia." I told her as she growled and swatted my legs with her tail. "Ronin, I know I may have sounded like I wanted to do that before, but that was the old part of me talking! I can't rule a kingdom, not while rebuilding my own people AND having a herd as well!" She exclaimed as I felt a storm of emotions going off inside her, from worry to anger to fear. I cupped her cheek in my right hand and smiled, hoping to calm her down as I stared into her shining emerald eyes. "Then find a worthy ruler, amd force them to accept him or her. Besides, if things go south, the changelings need you more than-" smack! I slammed into the wall behind me from the blow as I felt my left cheek burn like hell. Chrysalis hitting me before was nothing new, but this hurt way more than it usually did. Ronin!" Twilight exclaimed in shock as she went to go to my side but was blocked by Taks hoof and a shake of his head "Chrysalis?! What the hell?" Raiden yelled, but she ignored them both and stepped towards me. "How...Dare...You!" She spat, glaring daggers at me. "You are no less important than I or any other person or pony in this room!" She stated as she moved forward quickly and hugged me, nestling her head into my neck. "We wouldn't be here without you, Ronin. So please...don't die on me today." I wrapped my arms around her as I felt that same warm and full feeling I always get whenever I'm near her, feeling my hands go through her soft mane as her breath bristled my neck. "Trust me, I plan on coming back and putting a baby in EVERY one of my herdmates once this is over, but for now I'll simply make sure Tak doesn't die either, alright?" I felt her nod as I looked around at everyone. Twilight was blushing hard, probably from the baby comment that doesn't yet apply to her, Raiden was still holding Luna, but was giving me a slightly annoyed stare for some reason. Tak was smiling at us, though I noticed Scootaloo had rested her head on his shoulder as she nuzzled his neck, an easy task considering he was a head taller than her. Celestia looked from me to Callobrim before tilting her head in a way that was totally not adorable. "I understand everyone else's roles with Ronin, but how am I connected to him? The one thing we could've had ended before it began." She said as Callobrim frowned. "Really? I'm suprised. In my visions of this future, Ronin married you and Chrysalis together." He said, causing me to roll my eyes as Celestia and Chrysalis's eyes widened in shock. Then Raiden spoke up, bearing a slightly smug grin that I've grown to hate when he has it, for it always leads to me getting an earful from someone. "Well, he may not have bonded with CELESTIA, but what about her nightmare?" He said as Celestia paled slightly, causing Luna to smirk. "My consort is right, sister. Ronin may not have had a real bond with you, but he sure had several "bonding" moments with Daybreaker, and you shared the same body!" She said, causing Callobrim to look at me in horror. "You...slept with Celestias nightmare? Multiple times?!" He said as I shrugged while Chrysalis pulled herself from me and turned to him. "Once was in public too, with all the guards and our herd to see and participate with." She said, making Celestia go beet red as she imagined what had occured while she was locked away mentally while Callobrim was left speechless. "Nonetheless, it was done in her body, regardless of who was in control, and since Daybreaker was a part of Celestia, She will be able to transverse the mindscape." Celestia cleared her throat and nodded. "V-Very well. We will need to be in close proximity with each other, so a close circle will probably be best." With that said, we began to circle up. I plopped down on the ground first before frowning at Twilight as she attempted to sit down with us. "No." I said, causing her to frown at me. "What? Why?" She exclaimed as I shook my head. "You almost died fighting Grimbeak, and your not even capable of casting magic right now." I suppressed a chuckle as she pouted in an adorkable way. "Besides, you need to help Chrysalis with restoring the griffon kingdom." This made Chrysalis, who stood off to the side, snort. "I don't need any help." I rolled my eyes. "Sure you don't, Sweetie." Turning back to Twilight I gave her a quick hug, bringing my mouth to her ear as I embraced her warm body. "Try to get along with Chrysalis, she has a major say in you joining the herd, and I'd rather her NOT be against the idea later when we talk about it." I whispered, pulling away from her as she nodded. "Fine, but when you get back tell me EVERYTHING!" She demanded as I gave her a wink as she stepped back, receiving a nuzzle of affection from Celestia and exchanging a couple of quiet words with her while Tak took a spot on my left and Raiden on my right. Luna stood off to the side while Celestia sat next to Raiden and Callobrim sat next to him in that order, with Callobrim and Tak closing the circle off. Chrysalis looked to everyone and nodded. "Is everyone ready? This spell can't be stopped mid-way, and I can't cast it more than once every moon, so we have one shot." She stated as I nodded. "All good babe!" I said, ready to go. "Let's go find Nicholas!" Tak said as Axel tilted his head. "And Applebloom and Diamond Tiara, right?" He said, causing Tak to chuckle. "Yeah, them too." Tak said with a sheepish laugh as Luna rolled her eyes. "Silly foals, but I am ready to do my part from here in the physical plane." She said as Celestia nodded. "I am ready as well." Celestia said before shuddering slightly and giggling. "I can't help but admit that I am excited to be doing this. Its not every century one gets to go to another plane of reality." Luna narrowed her eyes at Celestia, frowning at her sisters antics. "Tis a rescue mission, not a vacation sister." Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna as Callobrim chuckled. "If it was, we would be forced to eat what she calls travel snacks." This caused Celestia to glare at him. "I told you to add water to them, Brim." She stated, making for a very amusing scene of her pouting while Callobrim shook his head and turned to Chrysalis. "We're ready to go, Chrysalis. Send us to Eureka." **************** Nicholas POV **************** As I've heard Ronin say before, I'm in some deep shit. Faust had taken us to some sort of circular platform that looked like it was in the center of space. As soon as we arrived she levitated the girls over to the side, keeping them in a golden bubble to prevent their escape while she turned to me. "Young one, do you know why you are here?" She asked me, giving me a blank stare as I frowned at her. "Because you kidnapped my friends and threatened to melt their fur?" I retorted, getting a chuckle from the so called God. "My, still have some fight in you? Good, you'll need it for the Era." She said as she turned to some sort of globe thing in the middle of the room and encased it in a golden glow. clink! The globe opened up like an egg and a book was floated out from inside of it. The book had about the size of a school dictionary and had a symbol on the front that looked like a yin-yang symbol, but with a third part that was red. "Before we undergo the ritual, let me tell you a story." She opened the book and started flipping through its pages. "A long time ago, An almighty being created six living beings, each one being granted a bit of his power. After doing so, he created six copies of a world he was familiar with and made those six beings in charge of their respective worlds." She pointed to herself. "I am one of those beings." I sat there in stunned silence, attempting to piece together what she had said as she continued while looking through the pages thoroughly. "Of course, all we were given to help us was a book, one for each of us. These books would be able to tell us exactly what to do and how the world should be ran." She sighed and turned the book around so I could see what was on the page she flipped to. A lot of it I couldn't understand, for it was written in some sort of weird language but I could make out three words that were in English. "Equiis...Reality...Alternator?" I said slowly as she nodded. "Better known as the Era, It's a spell used to tap into the power the creator himself gave us. Although it can only be used once a millennia, it allows the weilder to shift the laws of reality to their command." She shook her had. "Last time I used this, I made a being of pure chaos that was SUPPOSED to change the world for the better...let's just say he's now a stone statue in Canterlot." I shuddered slightly, the idea of being encased in stone not pleasing to say the least. "So...what does the Era spell have to do with me?" I asked her as she put a hoof on my shoulder. "You've been chosen, boy. Your grandfather was originally going to be the one to activate the spell and plunge Equestria back to its beginnings, but he passed his magic power to you via necklace, a shame since I'm the one who gave him magic power in the first place." I took a step back, shocked by what I was just told. "No...that couldn't have been the reason he gave me the necklace...that was supposed to be a gift before he died!" I exclaimed as Faust laughed. "A gift?! All he did was give you the burdens he didn't feel like carrying. All you needed to do to tap into my power was feel an surge of emotion." She said as I looked down at my hands, no longer unable to look her in the eyes. All of this...was just because Grandpa didnt want to deal with his own past? Does this have to do with Christine and Dadiolus too? I pondered as I clenched my fists and looked back up at Faust. "Even if that's true, why would I help you reset Equestria? What's the point of doing that anyway?!" I yelled, pointing a finger at her as I gave her my best glare. Unfazed, Faust simply turned away from me, looking at what looked like a small cabinet nearby. While she was distracted I peeked over at the girls. Applebloom was currently trying to buck the bubble open, though the bubble wasn't much bigger than them, so she wasn't doing to food on that prospect. Diamond Tiara looked straight at me, worry in her eyes as she tried to speak to me, but it seemed whatever sounds they made were being nullified by the prison they were in. "Equiis is tainted." Faust states, returning my gaze to her. "Over the years, Equestria and its people have slowly been moving from the balanced world that its supposed to be. More citizens are slowly acting more and more selfish as time passes, and the nation's all seem to rely purely on themselves, none of them attempting to reach out to another and help them in their times of need." She turned back to me, her gaze deadly serious. "Nicholas, I was tasked with watching over this world, and if I must reset it's clock to fix its sins, then I shall do so." I frowned, not liking this at all."Faust, you can't expect everyone to get along at all times. People are going to go through their rough patches." I said, remembering when Ronin and the changelings were against Equestria. "Sometimes people think they are doing what's right, even if it hurts others in the process. If I've learned anything while being here its that life won't go perfectly, and to try and make it so only makes you a fool with a god complex." Faust sneered. "Bold words to be said to an actual God." Her horn began to glow as she stepped towards me, making me take a step back in fear. "I've forestalled this event long enough. It's time for a new Era, and your going to be the harbinger of it." I clenched my fists, worried about what she was going to say next. "And if I refuse?" She tilts her horn towards the girls, who were both now watching what was happening between us. "Then I will kill the yellow mare first...as slowly as possible. And the white filly will be handed over to Tarus for him to...experiment with." I sighed as she closed the distance between us, carrying a smug grin the whole time. "Figured that would be your answer." I said, relenting to whatever she had in store for me, as long as the girls were safe. I lowered my head as her horn made contact with it, feeling a wave of magic flow through my body as I felt like I was falling asleep. Ronin...Raiden... I thought as I slowly fell into a deep slumber, my body falling to the floor to the horror of the girls watching nearby. Save us...please. ******************* Chrysalis POV ******************* Looking around at everyone in the circle I began to charge my horn. "Now, a couple of things to remember while in Eureka. First, any injuries you get in another realm will stay with your body here, so NO dying!" I stated heavily, making sure Ronin was looking at me when I said that. "Second, the only objects you will have when you arrive is what you have with you on your person now." I noticed Axel walk over and grab Ronins sword from the other side of the room and hand it over to him, much to Callobrims suprise as he eyed the blade carefully. "Your gonna need this boss if you want to save our friends." He said with a wink as Ronin nodded. "True enough, Axel. Thanks!" Axel stepped back with a proud expression as I smiled at the interaction. "And lastly, be careful. Eureka is more than simply the hive mind. It also carries our deepest thoughts and fears as well, so you may run into some... dangerous things there." I finished as Raiden frowned. "Things? What Things?" He asked, but the spell was complete. "No time! Now go, and find Nicholas and his friends!" I exclaimed as I fired the spell, putting a green aura over all of them as all their eyes began to glow the same color as the spell. Feeling a tad bit woozy from the aftershock of the spell, I glanced over at who was all left to see what they were doing while I recovered. Axel was now currently talking to Scootaloo, informing her about the specifics of the spell. Twilight seemed to be taking her fifth set of notes on the process, even with her having to write with her mouth instead of with magic. Luna, however, approached me with a stern gaze. "Thou is sure Raiden and the others will be safe?" She asked me as I snorted. "We are changelings, princess. Nothing is safe with us." Her gaze became a glare as I rolled my eyes. "As Ronin would say right now, chill out. Would I send my future husband into Eureka if I wasn't sure he'd come back?" This got her to sigh and stop her glaring. "...Your right. I'm simply worried for their safety after all." I shrugged as I noticed the purple unicorn approach us. "Nothing wrong with worrying about your consort. Mine makes me worry day in and day out so I understand the feeling all too well." I looked to Twilight and frowned. "Yes?" Twilight gave a sheepish smile. "Well...I was hoping to get some questions answered about changelings from you, if you want to answer them?" She asked, slightly hesitantly as I sensed Ronin shenanigans with why she was approaching me with this topic. Very well, I can play these games. I turned away and motioned for her to follow. "Come, Twilight. I have to go clean up Ronins mess in Griffonia, so we might as well walk and talk." I said before looking to Luna, a hint of worry grazing my features. "Watch over them, please." Luna nodded. "Of course. Nothing shall hurt neither your or my consort!" She said as she turned and began to watch over the circle of people I had either grown to love...or at the least tolerate. I smiled to myself at the assurance of their safety and began walking down into the hive with Twilight trotting alongside me, bursting at the seems with questions. "So, how long have you been a queen of the hive?" She asked me as I scoffed. "Over six hundred years, and I've been alive for almost that long too." I stated with pride as Twilight nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge. She had left her notes behind due to not being able to use magic from her busted horn. "Really?! Your younger than I thought you were." A quick gaze from me sends her into recoil. "N-Not that I thought you were old or any-" I held up a hoof to stop her as we made it to the main room of the hive and were outside the cavern that lead to the portal room. "Stop. I know what you meant." We began to enter the cavern, though now there was an awkward silence between us. As much as I would like to leave her with some changeling and go to Griffonia there is something I need to get off my chest... I thought as we entered the portal room. "Twilight." I stated, making her look up at me. "Why did you help Ronin? At that point, you knew he had been an enemy of your country at one point and had pony blood on his hands. What made you look past that and assist in his homecoming?" Twilight sighed, and then answered. "At first, I wasn't happy about being there with him. I helped him in the trial, but that was for Pinkie Pie and Redheart, nothing more. But as we ventured in Griffonia, I slowly grew to understand the man behind the blade...and grew to love him too." She blushed as I felt a surge of love from her for a moment as she recalled whatever moment they had in Griffonia. "Ronin showed me that not everything is black and white, and managed to save a kingdom and many lives while doing it." Her gaze became focused as she took a deep breath. "We may not be on the same page, Chrysalis, But I am willing to do anything to earn my spot in the herd. I'm not wasting thia chance I have." She looked away at the portal as she sighed, a small wave of sadness flowing out of her. "I'm not wasting my only chance." She muttered to herself quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear. I frowned, not expecting such powerful emotions this early into her infatuation with Ronin. Almost without thinking, I put a hoof on her shoulder as she looked up at me, slightly suprised at the contact. "You really do care for Ronin...Tell me. what do you like most about him?" I asked her, removing my hoof from her body as we approached the portal. "Honestly, one of his biggest strengths in my eyes is his personality." Twilight said with a smile. "He tries to act like such a tough guy, but he's really just a kind person underneath the armour, and I can't help but like that about him." Seeing her smile I smirk, seeing a chance to mess with her a bit. "Must help that he's got the body of a muscular minotaur without any of their kinds negative traits?" Twilight nods dreamily, probably thinking back now on what Ronin looked like naked. "It does! How big his arms are and how they feel just suffocate you against their succulent..." She trails off slightly before snapping out it and looking up at me with a frown. "Hey! That wasn't funny!" I cackle, surprised with how I'm actually enjoying talking with her. "But it was!" This causes her to pout slightly, making the scene even funnier. "I'm only messing with you, Twilight. But at least now I know your thoughts on our herdmate." Twilight laughs sheepishly before blinking in suprise as she looks up at me quickly. "Did you just say our?!" I rolled my eyes at her reaction and jumped down into the portal hole, feeling the wave of black hit my eyes as I felt the teleportation spell work its magic. As it cleared, I found myself on the near top of what seemed to be a giant tree. Seconds later, another flash goes off and Twilight is next to me, though she's looking at me intently as she appears. "Chrysalis, what did you mean by our?" She asked as I felt a surge of hopeful emotion from her, causing me to smile. "I'll admit, I was very hesitant about you joining the herd. But so far I have felt nothing but honest emotions from you regarding Ronin. Keep it up and you may just get to be with him yet." I told her as I spotted several tents outside the walls of what must be this kingdoms castle and began to walk towards them. One loud squee and a hopping for joy unicorn later and we found ourselves outside a tent where Pinkie had ended up bringing Redheart and her parents. They were looking over what looked like several medical stretchers that laid in the tent, each one had either an injured griffon, changeling, or... ...one really metal looking bird, though it wasn't moving and had a tarp over half of its body. Pinkie was the first to notice our approach, and pronked over to us in her usual fashion. "Hiya Chrysi! How are things with Ronin?" "Ronin and the others are currently trying to save young Nicholas as we speak." I informed her as she grinned. "Neato! The sooner they save him, the sooner I can throw a happily ever after party!" She exclaimed as Redheart walked over to us alongside her father while Opal stayed behind to tend to the patients. "Oh, you brought Twilight? I figured she would be helping the others." She asked as Twilight groaned and pointed to her stub. "Sadly, horn damage kinda makes it hard to do anything meaningful. I would be a liability if I went with them." She said before perking up. "So, I came to help Chrysalis with fixing up Griffonia." Grazier chuckled as he gave me a look. "I still don't feel right about her attempting to rule over us. My people aren't going to like that very much." I rolled my eyes, not liking the attitude but I could understand where hes coming from. "Relax, I'm not trying to rule this...kingdom anyway. I'm simply here to help find someone who can." I stated as Grazier frowned. "Really? Even if Ronin was so gung-ho about you having the job?" He asked, seemingly suprised at me turning down the offer. I shrugged. "I have my people to repopulate, and a family to look after. I have no time to flaunt my stuff in another land." I stated as Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Since that's the case, we need to find a worthy candidate." She turned to Grazier. "Back when you and the others came through the portal before you said Griffons wouldn't listen to anyone other than their kind, and even then Greed usually takes priority over anything else." Grazier nodded as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, griffons aren't the best role models, so what?" He asked as Twilight smiled, her eyes gleaming the way ones do when a plan is being formed. "We need someone who is a griffon and has enough knowledge of their kind to be able to subvert this weakness and use it for the good of Griffonia." She stated, making Grazier frown as he sighed. "Like who? Most Griffons don't care about this country anymore, and you'd be hard pressed to find one who remembers how we used to be." He stated as he put a claw to his chest and another on a box Pinkie slid near him, striking a patriotic pose. "We need a griffon who possesses both patriotism to our country and can look past his greedy nature for the good of his brethren...no, for the good of the world!" We all exchanged glances as he did this, a knowing smile appearing on both Twilights and my faces while Pinkie smiled big and Redheart face-hooved as I cleared my throat, making him look at me. "So...that would be you then?" I stated, making him squawk in shook as his plumage puffed up in suprise. "W-W-What?! Me?! No No No No No, I can't rule a kingdom!" He exclaimed in shock as Redheart turned to Twilight. "How would you guys even set that up anyway? Isn't there a royal bloodline?" She asked Twilight as Twilight went to answer. "That's not going to be an option anymore." Everyone turned to the new voice, only for it to be that same griffon from Canterlot that Ronin had been with during his time in jail. "Gilda! Your OK!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked over the injured Griffon, no doubt from the fight that occured here. She had many bandages wrapped around her stomach area and was using her mace as a crutch while she walked around on her hind legs. "I'm alive, not ok." She said in an emotionally empty tone as she turned and faced me. "I overheard your yapping about my homes future, and I hate to say it but the last of the pure bloodline is laying in that tent dead." The mechanized bird I saw earlier. I thought as I felt a wave of guilt and sorrow from the griffon female, though it was suprisingly well concealed. Grazier turned to her, a neutral expression on his own face. "Tell me, that Meckon you fought...he was the grandson of the late king. wasn't he?" He asked her softly. Gilda nodded as Pinkie hopped over to her, giving the bird a hug. "W-What are you doing?!" Gilda exclaimed as Pinkie squeezed her body softly while looking straight up at the bird. "Helping you feel better, silly. Everyone who fought today needs all the help they can get. " Pinkie stated before she let go of the griffon and gasped. "OH! I need to go give out goodie bags to everyone who helped!" With that, the bountiful source of energy sped off into a tent nearby, nearly bowling over several changelings in the process. Redheart groaned and turned to me. "I'll go make sure she doesn't scare anyone to death while you figure out this royal mess we're in." She said as she began to stomp after Pinkie. "First it was the cake twins, then Rainbow dash and her wing, now this..." Knowing not to piss off Redheart when it came to medical stuff, I let that go and turned to Grazier and the others. "With that prince gone, and Ronin being veeeeery incapable of ruling a kingdom like this one, I only see Grazier as a current successor." I said as I turned to Gilda with a intrigued stare. "Unless you know anyone else who would actually help this country prosper." Gilda snorted. "I definitely dont, but Please, almost everyone here fears the name Redheart, so Grazier is well known...though that's mostly because of Madame Opal though." Twilight and I shared a glance before turning back to Gilda. "Madame?" Gilda nodded, while Grazier seemed more...nervous now. "You mean you didn't know everyone's scared of Opal? The lady almost killed like five griffons when they arrived a while ago." I slowly turned to look at Grazier while Twilights face paled. "What?! Why would she do that?" She exclaimed as Grazier shook his head while pinching the spot between his eyes in frustration. "It's pretty much like the jail syndrome. you get in jail, and while your there you kick the flank of the toughest guy to keep everyone else off your back. But my wife took it to defcon eleven and put her hooves on a group of gangbangers in the streets." He recollected while I found myself laughing. "Ha! I knew I sensed something great with this family!" I exclaimed as I calmed myself down. "But back to business, I think I know how we can get Grazier on the track to being a king." I finished, looking to Twilight with a predatory smile as Grazier and Gilda frowned. "How so?" He stated as Twilights eyes widened and she turned to him with a big smile on his face. "I could teach you about royalty! I've been around Celestia for years, and whatever I don't know Chrysalis can fill me in on!" She did a little dance with her hooves. "Oh! I get to teach somepony something!" Gilda looked between the two of us before shaking her head. "This plan reeks of pony idiocy...and that's what's probably going to make it work too. I'll help out where I can." She said as Grazier kept his freaked out gaze on me as he spoke up. "But how am I supposed to rule? With no bloodline capable of taking the spot, any griffon could try to take the position from me for themselves." He said as I nodded. "Figured that would be an issue, considering changelings are similar with their hives." I said as Twilight nodded. "Besides, I've seen you on the battlefield, and your quite capable of defending yourself." She stated as Grazier sighed in defeat. "Very well, if there is no one else capable for the job, then I shall step up for the sake of my homeland and its people." He said, earning a smile from Gilda and I and a squee of happiness from Twilight. Seems like things may not be so hard after all. ************** Ronin POV ************** When the green light faded, We found ourselves in the familiar dark caverns I had been to several times before. Standing up, I noticed my old sword was still in my hand, meaning what Chrysalis had said about objects coming with us was true. "So, this is the changelings sacred realm?" Callobrim said as everyone collected themselves. Celestia looked around, in awe of her surroundings as her eyes followed the glowing green veins in the walls around us. "Those lights...what are they?" I looked closely at them, noticing the veins seemed to pulse every once in a while. "Must be some sort of energy." I stated as Raiden went to touch them, but had his claws slapped away by Tak. "Don't touch them! This is the magic flow that gives us our power! You mess with that, and we might not ever leave." He stated, causing everyone to look at him in shock. "This is where you draw your magic from?" Celestia said as Tak nodded. "Of course. Love may be our food source, but all changelings are connected through this realm, and the love we collect either becomes food or gets transfered into magic energy here." He shuddered slightly. "This also means we are connected with every changeling in the hive, so try not to say anything you don't want repeated." Callobrim nodded. "Fascinating. Even after all these years I learn something new." He looked around, noticing several dark entrances to the deeper parts of this place. "So, where do we go, young one? You seem to know a lot about this place." Tak smiled. "Of course. It was the second thing mother taught me after I was done being a larvae." He pointed to the eastern cavern and began to walk that way. "This way." As we followed him, Raiden started to walk beside me. "Sup?" I asked him, noticing his serious expression as Callobrim and Celestia walked by, the old coot asking Tak about more info pertaining Eureka while Celestia listened to the two of them talk. "When did you and Twilight become a thing?" He asked, almost making me pause with the suprising amount of varied emotion coming from him. "As I said before, in Griffonia." He sighed as I frowned. "You can't possibly be upset with me about this." We turn a corner as Raiden answers me. "I'm not upset...just slightly agitated." I gave him a raised eyebrow. "Why? Because you couldn't get off your lazy ass and ask her first? Or because you finally decided to give Twilight a chance only to find out it was too late." Raiden huffed, clearly not liking the jab. "Twilight said she was alright waiting for me to make up my mind, and then she accidently goes to Griffonia with you and you end up wooing her." He frowns. "I thought you didn't even like Twilight." I roll my eyes, starting to get annoyed with his thought processing. "Ok, dumbass. In what world does leading a girl on feel like a smart move?" Raiden looked confused. "What? I didn't lead her on!" "Really? I heard about yow two dancing from Pinkie while I was dealing with drunk royalty at the canterlot party, not to mention you lived with her for two months as well." I stated firmly as he shrugged. "And what? I actually liked her. How does that translate to leading her on?" He asked as I face-palmed. "Raiden, your a bigger idiot than I am, and that's saying something. After all this time of you saying you like her and telling her you'd think about it, did you actually EVER attempt to include her, or even take her out somewhere?" Raiden chuckled. "You haven't taken Pinkie or Chrysalis out yet." He said as I waved him off. "But I also spent most of my free time with them as well. And if you haven't noticed, IVE BEEN BUSY CLEANING UP OTHER PEOPLES MESSES!" I yelled the last part, making everyone ahead of us turn to us, though Raiden was starting to get pissed. "Other people's messes?! No one asked you to go play hero, asshole!" Raiden yelled back as Celestia and the others approached us. "Why are you two-" I cut her off, getting in Raidens face as I growled. "Oh, big words coming from the guy who finds himself a dragon. Bet you wouldn't be as bold without those scales, brother." I taunted as he seethed with rage. "That's rich coming from the guy who had to kill innocent ponies to get his powers." He snarled as Callobrim gasped and got between us. "Stop it, you two! This is NOT the time for you to be fighting! We need to save Nicholas!" He exclaimed, but was pushed back by both of us as I gripped my sword. "You know what? Your wrong old timer! For the last two months since we arrived on this planet Raidens been on my ass for everything!" I took a few steps back and pointed my blade at him. "It's about time he remembered who's the oldest of the three of us." Raide scoffed and took the same steps back as well, summoning his axes as he glared at me. "Age doesn't mean wisdom, Ronin. And you complain about me tearing into you?" He points one axe at me and swings the other over his shoulder. "Then stop making stupid decisions." I smile, knowing exactly what to say in response. "So, sweeping Twilight off her feet was a stupid decision then in your eyes? Damn, with that sort of thinking ability its no wonder she decided to go with me instead." That did it. Raiden roared and charges forward, swinging his axes in a circular motion as he did so. Thankfully, I was weilding my older blade, so I was able to one hand the sword while deflecting the several swings he threw out as he pushed me back with each one. Just as my backside was about to hit the wall Raiden spread his wings and flew back several yards as he took a deep breath and released his fire breath. "Shit!" I exclaimed as I summoned my metal wings and put them in front of me, blocking the flames as I felt the temperature around me begin to rise. After a couple seconds the flames died, but as I parted the wings I noticed too late Raiden had closed the distance between us. One swift knee to my right side sent me flying leftwards across the hall. I sit up as he lands on his feet and smiles at me. "Not so tough now when fighting someone on your level, huh?" He states as I get up and put my sword in the ground, feeling my anger start to boil over. "What? Your not gonna use your sword? My scales are tough as nails, bro." He shook his head, clearly trying to get on my nerves further. "Damn, what does Twilight even see in you?" That was the last straw. I was tired of hearing him talk down me and speak about Twilight as some sort of trophy rather than a mare. As he continued talking everything in my vision was beginning to go red while I was slowly getting taller. "What in Tartarus?" Celestia said as she and the others looked on, though while Callobrim looked just as shocked Tak looked excited. "Ooh! I've heard talk of this through the hivemind. Melfesia created this form of his from all the darkness he had inside of him. Mom and Queen Redheart defeated this form, but Ronins been able to tap into it several times since then when he gets...angry." Tak informed the two as Callobrim shook his head. "Raiden! You can't fight that thing! Calm Ronin down now!" He yelled out to Raiden, who turned and faced the three of them. "What, he's just getting bigger, that's all." He said as I finished the transformation behind his back. "Are you sure about that, Raiden?" Celestia deadpanned as Raiden gulped and slowly turned around before letting out a very manly squeal and falling backwards. "W-What the hell is that?!" He said he eyed the being of pure rage in front of him. "Nows not the time for questions, snap him out of it before he snaps you in two!" Callobrim yelled as Raiden got up and took a deep breath. "R-Ronin...I want to-" He barely even started apologizing due to a tentacle fist smashing into his gut and launching him across the room and over by Callobrim. "You really expect me to listen to anything you say? You left Twilight in the dust while you frolicked with Luna. You have NO right to snap at me about making her a part of my herd." I ran forward at breakneck speeds only to be stopped by a shining bubble shield around him. I turned and saw Celestias horn glowing as she took a step forward. "Ronin. I understand hateful things were said, and you want nothing more than to defend Twilight and yourself, but this isn't the time nor the place. We need to save Nicholas and stop Faust, not fight amongst ourselves." I felt my whole head twitch as my eye sockets blinked...somehow. "Why do you think I am here? I was trying to save Nicholas, then this idiot began interrogating me about Twilight!" I roared as Callobrim walked up to me slowly with his hands up. "Relax, boy. We need to focus on the task at hand. We can settle any problems you two have AFTER the mission, ok? We don't need you two hurt before we face Faust." He calmly told me as I sighed, producing a long guttural sound. "Your right...Just as long as he stops with the petty remarks." I stated, getting a sigh from Raiden as he looked up at me while slowly standing up. "Crap...man, I'm sorry." He said as he grimaced. "I just saw you two interacting earlier and...I don't know...felt cheated." He shook his head. "But that's dumb to think like that, considering that I should be lucky I even have Luna." Tak walked over and began circling me. "So this is the form that I've heard whispers of...it definitely fits that old nickname Volt gave you so long ago." I frowned. "You mean that Thanatos crap?" Callobrim looked to Tak. "He was called the being of death by another? Why?" Tak waved him off with a hoof. "It was while Ronin was against Equestria, but that's behind us. What matters is why you haven't reverted back if you've calmed down." That...was a good point. Why hadn't I returned to my normal form yet? Up until now its usually only lasted until I was no longer angry, but for some reason everything was still red. "I might have an idea of why he hasn't changed back." Celestia said as she looked me over and shuddered slightly. "This form was made here in the mindspace, right?" I nodded. "Yeah, in the core of my part of it." Celestia looked around before turning back to me. "And now we are back where it was made. Could it be possible you simply will stay in that form until we awaken back in ponyville?" Callobrim sighed. "If that's the case, then I have mixed feelings about it." Tak nodded. "I agree. While it's true Ronin is stronger in this form..." "He also has less control over his actions and emotions." Raiden finished as I shrugged. "Oh well, considering our enemy we're probably gonna need this form anyway, and considering she has Nicholas, I would have transformed into this later no matter what." "Then we continue for the end of the path then." Celestia said as her, Callobrim and Tak continued walking the tunnel. Raiden went to follow them but stopped and turned to me, his face masked with regret. "Ronin...I truly am sorry, bro. I don't know why I was so upset over that." He said as I walked past him and smiled, showing off some jagged canines to him. "Relax, I would've been worse if the roles would've been reversed." I said, perking him up as he hovered next to me while we walked. "Besides, the old fart is right. We need to stick together to save our little bro." "Yeah...Do you think he's ok?" He asked me, causing me to frown. "Between you and me, I'm worried." I admitted, making Raiden blink in suprise. "You? Worried?" He said as I rolled eyes. "Yeah yeah, I know. But knowing Faust took those kids with him means she'll use them as leverage, meaning Nicholas will do whatever she asks of him." Raiden growled. "Crap, I hadn't thought of that. We better hurry then." "Yeah." I stop him for a second and look him in the eyes, deadly serious all of a sudden. "But we ARE settling this later though. You don't pick a fight with a guy and not finish the fight, aight." Raiden gulped, but nodded as we caught up with the others. For the rest of the walk, things weren't to crazy. About halfway through, We ran into what looked like a ghost changeling. It spooked everyone except Tak and he explained to us that changelings using the hive mind would look like that to us. So yeah, the closer we got to the edge the more changelings we saw. Apparently they had learned of our plans and were there for 'moral support'. Honestly, it was more unsettling and even Tak was finding it to be a bit creepy. But after about twenty minutes of walking through the wave of hive members, we came face to face with a door that had one of those balance things they use to see what heavier engraved on it. Callobrim stepped forward and turned to face everyone, a serious look in his eyes as he cleared his throat. "Alright. Beyond this door stands the empty realm of the Aether. Not much is known about it, other than its a place older than space itself." He said as Celestia took place next to him. "Faust and Nicholas will be on the other side of this door. No matter what happens, we must stand firm. We CANNOT lose this fight." She said as Tak nodded. "Indeed. We have come so far as people, pony, and changeling alike just to falter here. We will save our friends, and make sure Faust learns to never come near us again." Raiden clenched his claws as he took a deep breath. "That woman will pay for taking Nicholas and those girls." He turned to me. "Alright, Ronin. What do you think? You ready to open up a can of whoop-ass on the Aether?" I chuckled and let out a big roar, making Celestia and Tak wince while Raiden joined in and Callobrim laughed loudly. "Lets do this!!" I exclaimed, ready to fight as Callobrim nodded, a smile on his face as he turned to the door. "Good." He stated as he pushed on the door, letting it open slowly as we began to go through. "Come, everyone. Destiny awaits." > Chapter 71: True balance > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* After walking through the doorway, we found ourselves on this big circular platform surrounded by nothing but space. Like actual outer space and everything! "Whoa..." I said, my jaw dropping in awe as I felt my heartbeat quicken in excitement. "This is amazing!" Tak turned to me while everyone spread out a bit, looking around. "It really is, though this place seems so empty...minus that cabinet and the globe over there." Turning my gaze to the two objects on the room, I noticed Celestia was staring at what looked like a couple of picture frames on the cabinet while Ronin and Callobrim were talking by the globe that stood at the middle of the room. As I walked by the two I overheard some of their conversation. "You left the sword back in the tunnel?!" Callobrim stated in a hushed whisper as Ronin huffed. "I was busy fighting my brother to actually notice, if you remember." He stated, making me flinch slightly as I felt a surge of regret overcome me. I cant believe I actually tried to draw my own brother's blood over some girl. I thought as I sighed. The points Ronin made hit the nail on the head too. I pushed Twilight away, and her going to Ronin instead is something I can't be mad about. A flash of light brought me out of my thoughts as I saw Callobrim teleport Ronins sword into his hands, much to the shock of Ronin. "Whoa...Howd you do that?" He exclaimed as Callobrim chuckled softly. "My boy, there's more to me than meets the eye." He said as he twirled the katana in his hands. "Besides, this blade USED to belong to me after all." Leaving them to their conversation, I walked over to Celestia, casually ignoring the fact that Tak was now spinning the globe like it was a toy. As I approached her, I noticed a somber look on her features. "Are you ok?" I asked, making her jump a little as she turned and smiled sheepishly. "Yes...I'm fine." She said unconvincingly as I noticed she had a picture in her left wing. Pointing to it, I frown. "Then what's that?" I asked, making her sigh and show me the picture. It had four ponies standing together in one of those fancy shots where everyone would stand as if they were at a wedding. There was a male alicorn that seemed to be at least seven feet tall with a blue mane with pink trails. Beside him was a smaller alicorn female that shined of almost pure golden color everywhere while one of her hooves rested on the shoulder of one of two fillies in front of them. Looking closer at the two fillies, I realized that one had pure white fur with pink hair with a horn and the other had dark blue fur with a light blue hair color that went with her wings perfectly. "This...was my family before my parents died." Celestia said as her wingtips pointed to the two girls. "Those two foals are my sister and I before we became alicorns." Gasping slightly, I look back up at Celestia. "Wait...you two were normal ponies once?" She nodded, putting the picture back on the cabinet. "No one is born a alicorn, Raiden. Those who become one usually have performed a great feat or have reached a level of enlightenment beyond normal ponies understandings." She informed me as she frowned at the picture. "But my mother died when I was young...so why this picture here?" Before I could ask her anything else, Taks voice could be heard speaking up. "Guys! Look at this!" We all turned to him just in time to see the globe start to rise into the air and open up two ways, revealing none other than... "Nicholas!!!" I yelled in shock as Nicholas, balled up and floating, remained suspended in the air above us. "What in Equestria?" Celestia exclaimed as Callobrim took a couple steps back. "No...we were too late!" He stated as Ronin turned to him. "Too late?! For what?!" Ronin yelled as he turned to back to Nicholas. "Screw this, I'm getting him down from there." He jumped up and reached out for Nicholas with his tentacle arm, just for Nicholas to quickly unfurl himself and put out a hand himself, freezing Ronin in a red aura. "N-Nicholas?" Tak stuttered, looking on in worried fear as Nicholas opened his eyes, revealing golden irises instead of his normal blue. "You shouldn't have come." A feminine voice rang out from his lips as he talked, making everyone except me and Tak gasp. "Faust?! But how?" Callobrim exclaimed, making me look at Nicholas in shock. 'Nicholas' just laughed. "We activated the Era, Callobrim." He dropped Ronin, sending him crashing to the ground as 'Nicholas' landed safely in front of everyone with a slow descent. "Such a chaotic spell, don't you think? Instead of creating a new life like before, it merged my mind and power with the magic you gave Nicholas so long ago." Celestia gritted her teeth and stepped forward. "So you possessed a child just for the sake of power? Why do you have my mother's name?" 'Nicholas' looked to Celestia and sighed. "That's because I am your mother, Sunshine. And I'm FAR older than what both Chronos and you two were led to believe." Celestia growled and stomped forward. "What does that mean?" Callobrim raised a hand, stopping Celestia as he sighed. "It means your family was built on lies, Celestia. Faust here married Chronos for, as you guessed it, the power that comes with being royalty." I looked up at 'Nicholas', who now wore a unapologetic expression. "How could you do that? What about the sisters, did they mean anything to you?" Nicholas...or Faust chuckled menacingly. "You were accidents of a good time, nothing more. Why do you think I had Tarus kill your father?" Celestia froze as those words took their toll. She looked down at the ground as her breath became slower and more coarse. "No...my own mother..." She whispered as Ronin got up and pointed at Faust. "Enough! Let my brother and his friends go!" He demanded as she shrugged and snapped her fingers, making Applebloom and Diamond Tiara appear next to Tak in a flash of golden light. "Go ahead and take the two girls. Nicholas's mind and body belongs to me, so I no longer need them as a bargaining tool." With her other finger she magically opened the door behind us. "I'll let them leave...if one of you leave with them and don't return." Callobrim shook his head. "You expect us to lower our numbers when your at full power?" He asked, but Tak had already walked over two the girls. "Are you two ok?" He asked as Applebloom pointed up at Faust. "Yall need to save Nick!" She said as Diamond Tiara nodded. "Please, she did something horrible to him earlier before you two arrived, and then they fused together somehow!" Diamond exclaimed as Tak sighed. "We figured. But don't worry, I'm going to take you guys home while Ronin and the others save Nicholas." He turned to us. "I'll go. I have the least amount of experience fighting and would be in the way." Realizing it would be better if the kids weren't here, Callobrim nodded. "Very well. Godspeed, young Tak." As Tak guided the girls out the door, though not before Applebloom turned and gave us one last pleading stare, Faust locked the door behind them and smiled at us. "What now? Are you going to try and play the hero and save your brother?" She stated as Callobrim frowned and faced her. "Indeed, you old witch. We're gonna save the lad and bring him home...it's time you payed for yer sins." He said as he gripped the blade he held hard. "Get ready everyone!" Ronin smiled and cracked his neck. "Make sure not to rough up Nicholas too much. We do need him alive after all." Celestia, who had finally snapped out of her funk from before summoned her spear and pointed it at Faust with a signature Royal Canterlot Glare. "You have caused so much pain and suffering, Faust. As princess and ruler of Equestria, I will stop your bloody trail here." I smiled at Celestia and summoned my axes, turning to face Faust with a glare of my own. "You lost the moment you decided to mess with our family, Faust. This ends here and now!" Faust rolled her eyes and summoned a floating scale and a sword to swirl around her as she smirked at us. "Then all of you will join your fallen family in Tartarus!" She exclaimed as the scales weighing parts began spinning quickly, shooting out several beams of golden light at us. "Watch out!" I yelled out as I dove out of the way of one while Callobrim and Celestia deflected the ones that came at them, the former with his blade the the latter with a golden bubble of her own. Ronin, however, just powered through the beam that hit him, jumping over the sword and scale sent his way and straight towards Faust and throwing a left hook. Faust ducked underneath it and snapped her fingers again, making a loudspeaker appear next to Ronin and blast him back with the soundwaves it produced. He ended up sliding backwards all the way next to me, gripping his head hard as he groaned in pain. "Damn, she's using Nicks tricks." He stated as I nodded and ran forward, throwing my axe at the speaker and making it to explode. Said explosion caused Faust to reel back in shock before she could realize I was still approaching, allowing me to get close enough to grab her by Nicholas's neck and slam her on the ground. "Leave him, NOW!" I roared as she laughed. "Or what? You can't kill me, and half of your little group are too busy fighting my toys to help you." She said as I looked over to see Callobrim in a duel with the magic sword and Celestia bring forced to deflect multiple beams from the scale, pinned in one spot and unable to move. Faust took my moment of weakness and placed her hand on my chest, blasting me with a pulse and sending me into Callobrim and across the floor. "You absolute bitch!" Ronin yelled as he charged at her while Callobrim and I got up. "Are you alright?" I asked him as he nodded. "Yes, Lad. Just-Duck!" I did as commanded and ducked as he blocked a swing from the sword with his own. "We need to remove her mind from Nicholas...If I could just get to her I'd be able to do it with a spell." As he continued to block swings from the sword I raised an eyebrow at him. "Wait, you can do that?" He nodded. "Remember, SHE gave me my power. It only makes sense I'd be able to take her out of Nicholas if she is now a type of magical energy in him." He said as I nodded. "Alright, go! I'll handle the blade." I said as I swung my axe at the sword while Callobrim ducked and ran over to Celestia. As I moved the the side to avoid a thrust, he cut the scale in half, relieving her of her blocking duties as he looked her in the eyes. "Celestia, I need to get to Faust." He said, pointing to where Ronin was in a beam war against said person, the former using his eyes to blast a red beam and the latter using another scale to fire off hers. "Could you teleport me above them when I say so?" Celestia nodded, albeit slightly confused. "I could, but what are you planning, Brim?" As I was parrying a jab from the sword and pushing it backwards, Callobrim answered her while pulling out what looked like the same necklace he had given Nicholas. "This was what I used to store the power Faust gave me. If I can get it on her I could direct all of her power into the necklace, trapping her and her magic in it forever." He stated. "Sounds like a plan!" I exclaimed, having to use both axes now to block the sword as it was relentlessly swinging at me. "But could yall hurry it up? I'm starting to get tired here and I doubt Ronin's doing much better." Sure enough, Ronin was losing the beam exchange as Fausts beam was closing in on him. Any minute now he would be hit by the powerful blast, and thats the last thing we needed right now. Celestia nodded at me. "Then we have no time to waste." She turned to Callobrim, her horn lighting up as he began to shine. "Tell me when to activate it." He looked forward, eyeing Faust carefully as she directed the scale beam at Ronin. She wasn't looking at us right now, but we only had one chance to make this work. As he watched, the sword stopped cleaving at me and thrusted quickly, catching me off guard and knocking the axes out of my hand as it prepared to swing one last time at my head. "NOW!" He yelled as he was teleported right behind Faust, necklace in hand. Faust turned around quickly, her golden eyes widening at the sight of Callobrim behind her. "What are you-" She went to ask, but was cut off as the necklace was placed on her with Callobrim holding onto the crystal part. "Time for a new Era, Faust." He said as he activated the spell, engulfing Faust in light as she started to thrash about. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! YOU CANT DO THIS, CALLOBRIM! YOU CANT-SCREEEEEEEEEE-!!!!!!!!" She yelled out as the light died, letting Nicholas's body crumple to the ground as Callobrim took the necklace off him and backed off. "Nicholas!" Ronin yelled as he and I ran towards Nicholas while Ronin being engulfed in a black mist. By the time he made it to him, Ronin had returned to his human form. I knelt down and held him by his head as he slowly stirred with a cough or two. "R-Raiden*Cough*Ronin...is that you guys?" He asked as Ronin began to tear up. "Yeah, bro...Raiden and I came for you." He said as he breathed deeply, trying not to cry as I laughed. "Yeah, you know Ronin would be a mess without you, Nikky." I told him, feeling a tear go down my cheek as we wrapped around each other in a strong hug. The sounds of clopping hooves alerted me to Celestia coming over, and I released myself from the hug and stood up to face her. "Thanks Celestia...We couldn't had done this without you." I told her as she smiled at me while Ronin and Nicholas stood up, the latter with a little bit of help from Ronin. "There is no need for thanks, Raiden. We not only saved your brother and two of my little ponies, but we also saved Equestria from one of its biggest threats to date." She said as she shook her head. "Honestly, I think I prefer royal duties to this." Nicholas beamed. "Well, thank goodness you guys saved me...but how did you defeat Faust and stop the Era?" He asked as I smiled at him and turned to Callobrim. "Well, we had help from...Callobrim." I said, but trailed slightly as I noticed he was putting on the necklace. ****************** Axel POV ****************** "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I roared with laughter as the two changelings in front of me gave me odd looks. "What's so funny, Sir?" Shifter asked as his partner Anal-oh for the kings sake that name!- Tilted his head to the side in confusion. "N-Nothing! I'm just laughing in*Snrk* merriment in the naming ceremony, as you called it." I chuckled out as Scootaloo gave me a glare while Luna had to "Excuse" herself from the room after hearing the changeling tell us his name. Didn't matter much, we still heard her howl like a wolf from wherever she teleported. A flash of blue light signaled that Luna had appeared right next to us just as Scootaloo spoke up. "Now that we have Axels...fit out of the way, why do you have those?" She asked, pointing at the objects Shifter was carrying. One was a big sword that had a silver griffon on the handle, and the other was a purple orb. Luna frowned and grabbed the purple orb from him. "This is an antimagic orb...where did thou find this?" Anal looked up at her and smiled. "We found the orb in the castle in Griffonia, and the sword was left behind by the king, so we were ordered by Queen Pie to bring them here." Luna's left eye twitched. "Queen...Pie? Your telling me that party pony holds a higher title than..." She took a deep breath, calming herself before speaking up again. "Very well, what did 'Queen' Pie say to do with them?" Shifter shrugged. "She gave direct orders to give the orb to Raiden and the sword to Ronin. Said something about it helping them in the big fight" He said as he began to do just that. Earlier the sword that Ronin had held teleported over to Callobrim, so Shifter had an open hand to put the sword in, allowing it to rest in Ronins lap easily. He then turned and placed the orb in Raidens left hand before turning to us. "Earlier, we felt their presence in the hivemind. Is the king and his compatriots going to be alright?" He asked us as Scootaloo placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Ronin and the others will be fine. They've handled far scarier threats before!" She reassured the big yet suprisingly sensitive changeling as Luna nodded, a smile on her face. "Indeed. With the help of my sister and Sir Callobrim they will claim victory within the hour!" She exclaimed as Anal cheered happily, making me roll my eyes as I smiled. Yeah, its not like anything could blindside them. Theyve got Faust outnumbered 5 to...huh? I thought before seeing Tak surge awake as a bright flash shined around him, leaving Applebloom and Diamond Tiara behind him and next to Scootaloo and Shifter. "Whoa...that was weird." Diamond Tiara stated as she got to her hooves slowly, looking kinda dizzy while Applebloom got up with little issue before being glomped by Scootaloo. "Applebloom! Your OK!" Scootaloo cheered as Applebloom hugged her friend back before pulling back and frowning. "Ah am, but Nick isn't. Faust has him under her control and is using him to fight the others!" She exclaimed as Tak got up and turned to me. "Axel, take Diamond Tiara and Applebloom to their homes. I'll watch over things from here." He said as I gave him a salute. "Aye aye boss." I turned to the two girls. "Alright, time to bring you girls home." Diamond Tiara shook her head at me. "No! I'm not going back home until Nicholas is safe." Applebloom nodded. "Neither am Ah!" I groaned as Luna spoke up. "Perhaps it is better if they are here with us...until Faust is defeated for sure, they may be used again as leverage." Tak went to respond, but stopped short and nodded instead. "You make a fair point, princess." He turned to the group who was in a circle just as another flash of light appeared, this time leaving Nicholas's body where Tak had once sat. "Nick!" Applebloom yelled out and her and Diamond Tiara tackle hugged the boy (who stayed in a sitting position somehow the whole time) as I smiled. "Well, mission accomplished then. Everyone should be waking up soon!" I exclaimed happily...but the circle of cooked out beings didn't move or stir. Luna frowned. "Something is wrong. They should've returned by now." Scootaloo turned to Tak, who looked quite worried. "Tak, can you sense something?" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he gasped and fell back on his flank. "Oh...Oh no!" He turned to the old man. "Callobrim wouldn't!" Luna eyes widened, recognizing Taks fear. "What's wrong, foal?" Tak turned to the princess, shuddering slightly as he responded. "I felt Callobrims thoughts from when he was in the hivemind...he never wanted to stop the Era." He turned to me and the girls. "He just wanted to stop Faust from activating it instead of him." ************* Nicholas POV ************* I felt...like a mango smoothie while it's being made. I wasn't in pain or unable to move or anything...just exhausted mentally. It honestly would've been worse if everyone hadn't came to save me and the girls, and that's a revalation that scares me. However, things didn't look like they were going to be calming down as I watched what was supposed to be my dead grandfather putting on the necklace that they had used to trap Fausts power in. "Grandpa?" I asked hoarsely as Celestia walked over to us as Grandpa turned to face us. "What are you doing?" He looked me in the eyes, and I didn't have to be a changeling to see the pain in them. "Nicholas...I have hurt so many with my actions, and left you and your brothers without proper parents due to it." He gripped the necklace hard as he began to shine with a golden glow. "Which is why I have decided I'm going to use all of Fausts power to reset time." Raidens jaw dropped. "You can't be serious, time travel?!" Ronin looked veeeery angry. "Have you lost it, you old coot?!" Callobrim sighed as he began to float. "Boys, I don't expect you to understand. But know that when I am done with the Era Equestrias clock will be sent back a thousand years. Your parents will be alive, the threats of today can be stopped ahead of time." He turned to Celestia and smiled. "And Luna could never be sent to the moon." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. If he sends us back...then all of our friends weve made here...the relationships... Celestia shook her head, her thought process being similar. "I don't think so, Callobrim." She said heatidly. "Going back in time and changing fate would hurt these three more than help them." Ronin nodded and let me stand on my own as he pointed at Grandpa. "Yeah! Last I checked, almost none of my herdmates lived back then. I ain't leaving them behind!" Raiden nodded. "And wasn't Luna in a relationship with that Dadiolus guy back then too? If we go back and he stays alive then I'm losing a marefriend, and you know I'm not ruining this chance I have." Callobrim looked between them before turning his head back to me. "And what do you think, Lad?" It wasn't even a question at this point. Deep down, I knew my answer. "I have a family, here and now. I have friends, brothers, and a mother that is waiting for me in Ponyville. Sorry, but all this isn't for us, is it?" I clenched my fists and glared at him. "It's to erase your guilt for your mistakes." Callobrim looked shocked as he stared me down from above. "Nicholas...I'm sorry that you three are unable to realize what I am giving you, nor what I am attempring to do...I said I'd repent for my sins, and this is how I'm going to do it." He raised the necklace off his head and into the air. "Now! We shall see if the Era will listen!" The bright golden glow on Callobrim started to shine brighter and brighter as it encompassed us whole, though just before it swallowed us I saw three flashes of light. Two of them on both Raiden and Ronin while the other was Celestia giving me something as she looked me in the eyes and spoke. "For all of our sakes...you must stop Callobrim from resetting Equestria!" She told me as all went white. **************** Moments later **************** When the light died down, we found ourselves on what seemed to be a mountain peak surrounded by clouds. The peak itself was decently sized at a circle that was about half a football field wide and long. A small shimmer of sun shined down on my skin as it pierced the clouds that covered it up while the wind blew at a uneven pace. Looking in my hands I noticed there was some sort of amulet in them. It was orange and had the sun and the moon on the sides of it with a ruby in the middle. Looking to my brothers I saw Ronin had a much bigger sword in his hands while Raiden had some sort of orb in his. "Whoa! It's my sword from Griffonia!" Ronin exclaimed as Raiden looked at it in shock. "Why is it so big? And what's this thing?" He said as he shook the orb, causing it to glow a bit before he turned to me. "And what's that you got there Nick?" I put the amulet on and shrugged. "Something Celestia gave me, don't know what it does though." "It grants you some of her and Lunas power if they put it in the amulet...and it seems she wanted to make sure you could hold your own without Fausts magic, boy." A familiar voice called out from somewhere. Ronin did a three-sixty, looking much more on edge. "That voice...I killed you back in the hills near ponyville, how are you here Dadiolus?!" A golden flash in front of us went off, revealing a pale mane in a robe with a staff in its wake. The bald sorcerer laughed as he pointed his staff at Ronin. "I'll admit, you bested me there boy, but I've been given a second chance." He said as another flash went off next to the man, revealing a woman clad in icy blue armour and a staff of her own. "Well well, if it isn't the little dragon who thought he could. Tell me, how'd you like being impaled on my claws?" The lady said as Raiden took a step back, summoning an axe in his free hand. "Christine! How are you here?!" He yelled as Christine rolled her eyes at us. "Do you have ears? Dadiolus just told you we've been given a new lease on life." She pointed her icy nail claws at Raiden and laughed. "All we gotta do is kill you, and we exist again without these horrid side effects." A third flash of light revealed Grandpa, except now he looked decently younger and healthier than before. He turned to me and used his open hand to gesture to his sister and childhood friend while his other hand held his sword tightly. "Nicholas, Raiden, Ronin." He called out to us, his voice booming. "As you can see, I have used Fausts power to bring back the two people in front of you." He shook his head. "I would be hard pressed to defeat you three on my own, but since you demand to try and stop me from fixing my mistakes I have to take drastic measures." Ronin growled and pointed his large sword at Dadiolus. "So what? I killed you once, I'll do it again. THEN I'm coming for you old man!" Raiden chuckled. "Christine, you may have gotten me in Canterlot, but my transformation is permanent now, and last I checked fire beats ice!" He stated as Christine gave him the finger. I looked Grandpa in the eyes as I clenched the amulet I wore tightly, feeling a surge of power flow through me once more. "This isn't how you fix your past, Grandfather. You can't just wish your pain away...you have to be strong enough to handle it head on and grow from it." I shook my head. "But you'll never learn that, will you?" Grandpa sighed, giving me a dejected glare. "I really had high hopes for you boy. I set up everything, from the 'prophecy' I left in my journal for Celestia to the events leading to you fighting these two standing before me. You were supposed to help me bring the family back together." He gave me a sad smile. "Alas, it was never to be. It's better to erase the past and make it new rather than face the pain that comes with mistakes. If we defeat you here, you three will become infants again, and have no recollection of this world, allowing the reset to come true." He started to float slightly as Dadiolus cloaked himself in darkness and Christine changed into her wolf form from Canterlot. Ronin, holding his sword with two hands, lifted it into a battle stance and turned his head to me and Raiden. "This is it, guys. Everything and everyone is counting on us winning this fight. We cant let those we love down!" Raiden nodded and and took a deep breath, possibly storing up fire breath for later...or simply calming his nerves. "We've come a long way from that little apartment in Florida, huh." He stated as he gave me and Raiden a genuine smile. "No matter what happens, know that I love you guys more than anything, and I'm glad to have went on this journey with you two." I smiled and wiped away the tears I didn't know were there. "I'll never regret bringing us here, and even with the pain we've been through we grew from it and became closer as a family." I shifted into music form as I directed my gaze to the three humans in front of us and let out a deep breath. "Let's finish this. Once and for all." As if hearing me, Callobrim shot forward in the blink of an eye with his sword raised high. *Clang!* Ronin had jumped in front of me and blocked the blow with his sword, pushing grandfather back and following up with sever counter attacks. I turned to my right side just in time to put up a barrier around myself as Dadiolus fired off a black beam at me. "What's the matter boy? Can't fight back?" He exclaimed as I glared at him and dropped my barrier as I started levitating off the ground. "Bold words coming from someone who who's facing down a sun-charged hero." I stated as, with a snap of my fingers, summoned several large loudspeakers in front of me aimed right at him, much to his apparent shock. "Shiiii-" BOOM! ****Raiden POV****(POVs may switch a bunch here, so be ready) "Come back, dragon! Let me help you chill out!" Christine yelled as she continually fired ice shards after me. I had taken to the sky to avoid them but now couldn't get close enough to do any damage without putting myself in danger. "I will the second you start playing fair!" I yelled back as I blocked a shard with my axe and noticed she was starting to glow brightly. "Fair? I'll show you fair!" She exclaimed as she began to be surrounded by a cold mist. "Oh hell no!" I yelled as I flew in close to intercept, only to get hit by a stray beam from across the field and get knocked backwards into the air. Looking to the direction of the beam, I noticed Nicholas and Dadiolus in a magic fight, though Nicholas was easily being outpaced by the mage's experience in this area even with his speakers. Looking between him and the form changing Christine, I flew over to Nicholas while he was blocking another beam. "Nicholas, Christine is changing forms, you go take her out while I handle Dadiolus." I told him as he nodded and ran off to deal with her, leaving me with the mage. "Changing enemies only changes who kills you, you know." He said as he prepared to fire off a beam while I glided close to the ground to get close enough to gut punch him. "Looks like your not used to fighting people up close, you know." I mocked at him, whispering in his ear as I sent him into the air with a second blow to the chest from the blunt side of my axe and flew up after him. He looked down at me as I approached, and deflected my axe swing with his staff before slamming a shadow coated elbow into my shoulder and delivering a roundhouse kick to my side. "Looks like you aren't either, Smartass." He said as he went to stab me through the stomach with his staff... ...before having to glide out of the way of Callobrim as Ronin had somehow flung him into the air. "Switch targets!" Callobrim yelled out as Dadiolus gave me a salute and dropped to the ground below to fight Ronin while I raised my axe just in time to block grandafthers sword. "Stand down, Raiden. This is for the greater good." He said as he charged up some sort of spell in his free hand. I growled and looked at the purple orb in my free hand, which seemed to be glowing now. "Your 'greater good' is going to ruin lives, damn it!" I exclaimed as I activated the orb, watching as it sent out a wave that hit everyone at once before it shattered into a million pieces. Callobrim looked at me in shock. "You...you fool! How can you be so blind?!" He stated before he began to plummet to the ground, looking old again and no longer glowing. "Ooooh! So it was an antimagic orb. Cool!" I stated as I flew down after him, now capable of standing a chance against the seasoned warrior. ****Ronin POV**** I brought my sword down on Dadiolus's staff. "We're doing this again, humpty-dumpty?" He pushed me off and fired a beam at me, making me duck under it. "Save it, boy. I We both know you won by luck last time." Just as he was about to fire another beam, a purple wave hit both of us, making Dadiolus gasp in shock as he went to one knee and began to gasp while I felt my powers leave me. "What...my...magic?" He sputtered out as my eyes widened. "Wait...an antimagic field? Why does that feel so-" I was cut off as I was assaulted with visions of a buzzsaw coming at me. "Larxene...that's how Grimbeak killed her in Canterlot." I raised my sword and plunged it through Dadiolus, the contact making a sick slushing sound as he turned to dust soon after. Thank goodness I didnt need magic to do that. "Good riddance, you ass. No one else will die by you and your centuries old friends" I said as I looked over to see Nicholas on the ground and backing away from a giant wolf. "Crap, NICHOLAS!" ****Nicholas POV**** I had floated out of the way of several slices from Christine, all the while summoning subwoofers to blast her back if she got too close. "Damn it! Quit running, Nicholas!" She yelled as she went to stab me with her claws, only for me to teleport behind her. "Nah, this is better." I said as I placed hand on her back and channeled some sun magic into her body, melting her back a bit as she howled in pain and leapt away several feet and faced me. "You...You..." She went to say as purple wave shot off, hitting us both. She shuddered a bit and started moving around woozily while I fell to the ground, suddenly feeling sorta sickly again. I looked at her dizzy state and smiled, snapping my fingers to summon another speaker. Only...it didn't come. Panicking, I tried again several times...only for each time to fail. I even tried floating, but that failed too. I looked at Christine in fear as she was now recovering from her dizzy spell. "Whoa...that antimagic beam sucked. Good thing this form is based on living wendigos and not magic." She said as she noticed my gaze and Gve me a hungry smile. "But you, on the other hand, DO require magic to fight." Crap. I began to crawl backwards away as she walked towards me, licking her claws as she approached me. "Between you and me, I only want to kill you Nicholas. I'll let one of your bros kill me afterwards." She opened her gaping maw and roared. "But first, I feast!" She swung her claws out at me, only for them to be blocked by Ronin as he grabbed them with his bare hands. "So your that Queen that put Raiden in the hospital? Glad to finally meet ya." He exclaimed as Christine growled. "Really? And why is that? Do you wish to be hospitalized too?" She mocked and pushed down on him as Ronin rolled his eyes and looked above her while barely keeping his footing. "It would be kinda hard to hospitalize me without a head, don't ya think?" He strained out as Christine frowned. "What do you mean by-" SLHICK! Unbeknownst to Christine, Raiden had flown above her and swung his axes straight at her neck, cleaving it well off her shoulders. Her body shuddered violently before it slowly turned to dust, allowing g Ronin to recover from almost being parallel to the ground. He turned to me, worry in his eyes as he looked me over. "You ok?" I smiled and gave him a thumbs up as I slowly felt some power coming back to me. "Yeah, but what was that just now? I couldn't use any magic at all!" We turned to Raiden, who was now smiling sheepishly. "I may have activated a antimagic orb by accident." He said slowly as Ronin face-palmed. "You are so lucky I don't need magic to fight, and was able to get to Nicholas in time." He said before he shrugged. "Though, now both Christine and Dadiolus are gone for good. All we have left to deal with is-" "Me." We all turned to to face Callobrim as he stood across from us, glaring at us as he clenched his free hand tightly into a fist. "Rule one of fighting, Raiden. NEVER leave yer target unsupervised when in disadvantage, for they will always find a way to turn the tables." He lifted his hands towards us as they glowed fiercely. "Don't worry though, I will personally teach all of you how to fight when ya grow of age to use weapons and magic again." As he finished that line, a large beam of golden light came straight at us. I went to make a barrier around us, only to find I didn't have enough magic recovered yet from losing it earlier. Ronin and Raiden both noticed this, and shared a sad smileRonin winked at me as he made his metal wings appear. "Little bro, use whatever magic you've got and stop Callobrim, alright? I doubt he'll have much of a fight after this beam." He stated as Raiden nodded. "Stay strong, Nicholas. We'll see you in just a bit." He said as Ronin quickly placed his wings in front of them while Raiden released a large blast of fire, blocking the huge beam temporarily. Realizing what they were doing, I began to panic slightly. "What?! I can't neat him on my own!" I exclaimed as Ronins wings began to crack slightly. "You took out Christine on your own, right? Then you can take this old fart." Ronin struggled out as he sounded more and more winded with each word. Raiden said nothing due to his current position with breathing fire, but I could see the look of faith in his eyes. As the beam slowly pushed through Raidens flames, I felt my magic surge again. I looked between my two brothers and smiled, a single tear going down my face as I put up a small barrier around me. "Thank you! I'll see you and everyone else soon!" I exclaimed with pride as the beam destroyed Ronins wings and pierced through Raidens fire, absorbing everything around me in pure light. ****Moments later**** After a minute, the light died down, leaving only me and Gran-Callobrim. He looked at me in suprise from a kneeling position on the ground as I lowered the barrier around me and walked towards him. "You...but how?" He said as I gave him a fierce glare, remembering everything that he had done to my family over the years. "My brothers took the beam for me while allowing me enough time to put up a barrier around me." I said harshly as I now stood merely three feet from him as that look of suprise was now a blank look into the void. "Nicholas...I never wanted to hurt anyone, I just wanted to-GAH!" He tried to explain, but I sent a kick straight into his throat mid sentence to stop him. "NO! You don't get to explain yourself anymore!" I yelled, feeling a surge of rage in me as I stared down at my 'grandfather'. "All you've ever done in this world is hurt your family, and I am tired of it! I'm tired of all this pain and suffering that YOU have caused!" Callobrim glared up at me, though his eyes showed the pain in his soul. "Why do you think I'm trying to reset time?! That way, all that pain disappears!" I yelled out in frustration while charging magic into my right hand. "Bullcrap! Do you not realize how happy we were until you started causing trouble?! WE WERE HAPPY WITHOUT YOU!" I yelled as I swung the charged fist straight at his throat as he flinched in fear... ...only to find I didn't connect the blow. "What? Why didn't you..." He started as he noticed I had grabbed the necklace with my magic powered hand. "No! Nicholas don't you dare!" I smiled at him. "What? If your truly capable of controlling the Era with the power you have, then why can't I? Besides, If I use it then I can waste it on something small and silly rather than you use it for your warped reasons." I explained as I charged up the necklace using what I remembered from what Faust had done to me before back in the space room. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Callobrim yelled out as all went white. ********************* No POV/ location unknown ********************* The Aether. A land that doesn't exist, yet it does. A land of pure light, and pure darkness. A land in which no time is spent, and also a land where all time travels through to exist. In short, this land is a land of contradictions. Or at least, this is what HE thinks of it anyway. He sat in a silver chair overlooking six large mirror pools. Each one showed him the major events happening in multiple identical worlds. One world in particular had caught his attention for a minute now. It seemed that it had reached its climax between light and dark, and light had just won the day. The man chuckled, stroking his smale white beard as he stood up from his chair, which was in all sense of the word a simple folding chair named time chair. "So, Nicholas and Callobrim have finished their fight?" He mused. "Well, they should be arriving shortly then." Sure enough, in the flash of a brilliant yellow, both child and old man appeared in the room. They landed on the crystal floor and the young boy looked around quickly, taking in the spacey background he had seen before. "Whoa...what is this-huh?" He stated before noticing The man in front of him. He got to his feet and clenched his fists, putting them up like boxing gloves. "W-Who are you?" He asked as The man smiled warmly and waved his hand. "Relax, I am no foe." He stated as the boy relaxed while the old man turned to face the man. You may call me @$#%#^@&@, and I have watched over your actions all this time." Nicholas blinked a minute before frowning. "Another 'God' then?" He asked as Callobrim slowly got to his feet. "Boy...he's not joking." He stated as The man raised an eyebrow at Callobrim. "This is the guy that granted Faust her power and created all of this in the first place." The boy looked shocked, to say the least. "Whoa! Your that guy from Fausts story?" The man chuckled. "Yes, though don't go worshipping me please." He stated before smiling at the boy. I would like to congratulate you, Nicholas. You overcame your hardest obstacle and earned the reward of choosing the fate of your world." The boy blinked in suprise. "The fate of the world? You mean I can..." He trailed off as The man nodded. "Indeed, you earned the Era, not through vile intent or lust for power, but through selflessness and caring for others." The man walked over and knelt down, putting a hand on Nicholas's shoulder, a crazy idea considering the eight feet that was Him. "What do you want for your Equestria?" Nicholas thought for a second before looking up at the man. "I want everyone to return to ponyville that were there before...and I want Dadiolus and Christine to rest in peace at last where no one can force them awake anymore." He said as Callobrim gulped nervously under the gaze of his grandson/nephew. "As for Callobrim-" "Finish me off." Callobrim stated simply. Earning looks of suprise from both boy and man. "What? Why?" Nicholas exclaimed as Callobrim smiled at him. "I've done too much to deserve retribution. At least this way I can repent while not hurting anyone else." He turned to the man. "You...we're the one who gave me the necklace, right? that guy in the green tuxedo." The man nodded. "I wished to see what you would do if you were sent to one of my worlds, and you definitely acted in a way I didn't expect." Callobrim flinched as He continued. Though you did handle an issue for me." He explained, making Callobrim frown. "And what was that?" He asked calmly as the man chuckled. "You helped me deal with my rebellious disciple. She had blocked me off from that world using the same power I had given her. If it wasn't for you and your nephews, all of that world would've been at her mercy." Callobrim smiled as Nicholas looked at the necklace on his chest. "Then I managed to do one right then." He turned to Nicholas. "All right, boy. Time to fix this." Nicholas looked up at his grandfather, suddenly less sure about making him disappear for good. "But...what if I don't want you to go?" Callobrim sighed and hugged Nicholas, who returned the hug quickly. "Boy, you've grown so much. I could never be more proud of the person you've started to grow into." He pulled away and gave the boy a genuine smile as he began to cry slightly. "But you have a real family waiting for you back in that town. Go, and return to them." Nicholas smiled, tears going down his face as he faced the man. "Alright...I'm ready." He said, making the man give him a serious nod. "Very well, just know that there are some things that cannot be fixed." He raised his hands at the mirror containing the world Nicholas and his brothers had been for over two months. "Let us create a new Era, an Era...of Harmony." And, for the last time, light overtook the vision of the boy and his grandfather. ****************** Nicholas POV ****************** I felt myself being shaken slightly as my eyes opened. "What...happened?" I said as I felt my throat get throttled by two overeager fillies. "NICHOLAS!!!" Appleboom exclaimed in my right ear as she pulled back and gave me a tear soaked smile. "YOUR ALRIGHT!!!" Diamond Tiara yelled as she buried her face into my neck. "Don't do that ever again!" I stood up, holding both of them tightly. "Don't worry, that's never going to happen again." Looking around, I noticed a couple of things. Princess Celestia was currently trying to pull her sister off of Raiden, who was now trapped under the crying mess that was Luna. "Thou could've died! We should've went with you!" She exclaimed as Raiden nuzzled her cheek. "Relax, babe. I'm fine now, aren't I? Whatever Nicholas did when me and Ronin kicked the bucket worked, considering we are still here." He said as Luna simply gripped him tighter while Celestia rolled her eyes. "Perhaps it is a good thing I'm single." She muttered as I turned my gaze to Ronin. He was currently holding Tak and Axel in his arms, the latter simply enjoying the hug while the former was crying more than Luna. "I-I was so worried when I felt Callobrims intention on the hive!" He bawled as Ronin rocked him slightly. "Damn, boy. Don't you got faith in me? Like I'd leave you and the girls by yourselves." He retorted, but Ronin had tears in his eyes too as he hugged the two tightly before looking up at Scootaloo, who was standing at the side watching Tak with worry. Ronin nudged the little changeling. "Go to your girl, she's worried about ya right now." Tak wiped his eyes and got off Ronin, walking up to Scootaloo with a smile. "H-Hey." Scootaloo stated, trying to sound cool at the moment but it came off as a tired greeting instead. Tak stood there for a second unmoving before his left eye twitched slightly. "That's it! I'm done waiting!" He exclaimed, making both Ronin and Scootaloo frown in confusion. "What are you-Mmph!" Scootaloo went to ask before being pulled into a deep kiss with Tak as he went to dip her over only for Scootaloo to take charge and do so to him. Applebloom laughed at the scene while Diamond Tiara snickered something about Scootaloo being the breadwinner of the relationship. All the while Ronin looked on before shaking his head. "The boys a freaking beta male?" Ronin groaned. "Figures, considering his moms fetishes." This caused Axel to howl with laughter as I rolled my eyes, noticing Callobrims old sword, which was where his body probably was, turn to dust. Things were finally going to go back to normal. I thought with a big smile as I held my girls tightly. > Chapter 72: Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Raiden POV* Two months after the fall of Faust. I felt myself waking up slowly as the sun shined on my face from the open balcony in Lunas room. The day before had been a long one, considering Luna had tested me on all the royal duties she had been teaching me...by making me sit in her night court and do her job for the whole night with no supervision or assistance. Even with the small amount of people that come to Night court, it still found its way to be stressful. Pushing those thoughts away, I rolled over and wrapped my arms around my fiance, accidently waking her as she turned to face me, her eyes full of love as she nuzzled my cheek. "How are thou this morning, my love?" She said, her tone quite giddy as it had been since I had proposed to her last month. Yeah yeah, three months is a short time to decide to marry someone, but Luna said it was normal for stallions in her time to do so, and that was enough for me. I gave her a gentle smooch on the lips as my claws softly stroked her back and mane. "It would be easier if you hadn't sprung that test on me yesterday." Luna snorted. "We needed to know if thou was capable of handling the stress of being my prince." She kissed my cheek. "And thou didn't disappoint, Raiden." I gave her an unamused stare. "And getting Ronin and Chrysalis to appear several times to mess with me was part of that test?" She pursed her lips while giving me a not so serious glare. "They had important things to discuss, and besides We had to get some ponies to show up somehow." "Ronin literally tried to prove rocks reproduce, Luna." I said as I felt myself mentally face-palm. Ever since Ronin had been taken to see Pinkie Pies family last month he believes that rocks have to reproduce if there is a place where you can farm them, or else the Pie family would be out of business. To make matters worse, Chrysalis has been supporting his insane claims, stating its one of the funniest things she's seen him do in a while. At this, Luna was unable to stifle her laugh as it began to echo throughout the whole room while I found myself joining in. After a while the laughter died down and I released Luna from my hold, to which she stretched out her hooves at me like a baby wanting to be picked up. "Where arts thou going? We demand thou stay and cuddle thy princess!" She stated as I stretched out my back and faced her. "We can't stay here all day, Luna. Today's the big talent show in ponyville, remember!" Her eyes widened in suprise as she nearly jumped out of bed. "Thou art correct!" She exclaimed before running over to a mirror and noticing her kinda poofy morning mane. "For Fausts sake, I look terrible!" I chuckled and walked over to her, grabbing her mane comb off the cabinet nearby and brushing her hair as she leaned into me. "Relax, Luna. It's just some bedhead. Nothing some tender loving care can't fix." I calmly stated as she leaned her neck back and bit my neck. "Who said anything about tender?" She said, giving me a lustful gaze as I booped her snoot. "We can't right now, love. We gotta get going." I reminded her, causing her to pout and give me the 'Royal Canterlot begging Eyes'. After a moment of silent brushing and failing to ignore her stare I relented. "Fine, But we do it AFTER the show, not before." "Huzzah!" Luna cheered just as I finished straightening out her hair. She looked herself over in the mirror and winked at her reflection. "Now that is a princess!" She turned to me, a huge smile on her face. "Shall we go and fetch sister? She would love to come with us, I am sure of that." "She said she was gonna leave early this morning after she raised the sun, stating she had some business in Ponyville before the show." I told her as she frowned. "What could sister need to do there? It's not like anyone is in danger." Luna said as I scratched the back if my head while putting down the comb. "I don't know, but she came to me last night while I was doing some lazy mares job for her-" A swift poke in my ribs from Luna as punishment for the jab at her interrupted me, making me laugh. "-and told me, though she seemed quite nervous about whatever she was thinking about." Luna sighed, looking worried as her ears fell flat. "She's been holing herself up these past few weeks, Raiden. We know she is ok, for she passed a medical test we forced her to take earlier this month with no sickness reported, so we fear it may be something more serious that weighs on her mind." Seeing her worry, I pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, Babe. Whatever it is, I'm sure she will come to you about it when she's ready. That's what siblings do, after all." She pulled back from the hug and looked into my eyes as she gave me a passionate kiss. "Thou truly are good with words, my love." She spoke warmly as she magically put on her royal regalia. "Now we must be off! Our chariot awaits and we shall not let it do so!" I followed her nearly prancing figure out the room with a smile, feeling quite happy with how everything was right now. Finally, we can live a month or two without almost dieing to something dangerous. ******************* Ronin POV ******************* KNOCK KNOCK. My eyes shot open as my mind registered three things: One, there was someone knocking at the door. Two, I was currently unable to get up due to the four mares laying on top of me. And three, Chrysalis had also woken up from the knocking, and boy did she look cranky as hell. "Who the FUCK is knocking this early in the morning! It's like six or something!" Chrysalis screeched from under my right arm, effectively waking up the rest of the herdpile. "Chrysalis, why do you feel the need to yell AT six in the morning?" Redheart growled as she squirmed slightly under my left arm. "Oh, she wasn't yelling silly! THIS IS YELLING!" Pinkie, looking not at all upset with being up right now, happily demonstrates from my chest, making Twilight (who had been resting in between Pinkie and Chrysalis) glare at her. "Pinkie Pie, please don't yell like that. We are inches from each other and we don't need to go deaf anytime soon." She turned to Chrysalis. "And besides, it's nine-thirty in the morning, not six." KNOCK KNOCK. I groaned, my ears ringing and feeling a headache starting to come on. "I don't care what time it is, can someone get the door?" Four sets of eyes turned to me as Chrysalis gave a wicked grin, making me realize what was about to happen. "If only our big and strong stallion would save us from such an ardous task." She said in a husky tone as I blinked in suprise. "Huh?" Redheart chuckled. "That's right, hotshot. Your mare's need time to get ready for today, and what better way to leave us to our own devices than to go answer the door?" Pinkie joined in on the her herdmates bullshit train. "That's right! We gotta get ready for the talent show today, so go answer the door Rony-Wony!" Twilight couldn't resist and put the cheery on top with a merciless snicker as she teleported me off the bed and onto the floor next to it. "You heard the girls, get to it, Honey!" I got up and gave the four of them a glare, though I found myself smiling nonetheless as I began to go downstairs. "Damn mares, teaming up on me four to one." I grumbled as I made my way to the front door. "Now what the heck do you..." I started to state as I opened the door, only to find a rather disheveled Celestia standing at the door. "Princess you look like shit." Celestia, even in her tired looks, couldn't help but laugh at that. "For the past month I have felt like it too, Ronin. May I come in?" Seeing no reason not to, I stepped aside and let her into my castle. Over the past two months since Nicholas defeated the old man, what was my misshapen house/hive was now a completely black castle that stood as tall as the library tree that was down the road. What can I say? changelings make great exterior decorators. Celestia walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, her eyes glancing at the space on the floor we had been sitting at two months prior before she turned to me. "Come and sit with me, Ronin. I have something to discuss with you." She said, suprisingly stern as I walked over, fearing the worst. As I sat in a chair directly across from her, I decided to speak first. "Alright, who's attacking the kingdom now?" I stated as Celestia tilted her head slightly. "Why would you think that?" She asked as I groaned, pointing up at a head mounted on my wall. "Because last time I was in Canterlot I had that guy try to steal my magic, only for him to realize too soon I don't run on the stuff like you do." I pointed out as Celestias eyes widened at the sight of the horned head above my newly made fireplace. "Besides, we arent on the best of pages right now, so I figured that you would only come here for my help." Celestia turned back to me, her shock evident in her eyes. "You do realize you hold the head of one of Equestrias greatest threats in your home, right?" I waved her off, trying to get back on subject. "Yeah yeah, Twilight looked him up in your castle library or something. Said his name was Tirket or the like." I crossed my arms and leaned back into my chair. "So if it's not a fight your worried about, then what's up?" Celestia collected herself and took a deep breath, looking more nervous than I had ever seen her as she looked me in the eyes. "Ronin...I'm pregnant." She said calmly as every thought in my head shut down. Brain is attemping to process that, please hold... "I'm sorry...did you say pregnant?" I slowly managed to get out as she nodded. "Indeed, and you are the father." She said, looking slightly worried as I got to my feet and pointed a finger at her. "That's bull. How the hell am I responsible for that?!" I exclaimed as Celestia stood as well, giving me a warning glare. "You do realize we not only did it at the Canterlot party three months ago, but you also slept with Daybreaker as well. And she just so happened to be using MY body as a host." She explained sternly as I found myself shaking slightly. I knocked up...the ruler of this damned kingdom?! I thought rapidly as I was slowly freaking out. "Daddy?" Immediately, my panic attack stopped as I turned to the origin of the voice. A small earth pony stumble walked her way over to where I was. She had pink fur and an almost silvery mane that came down to the bottom of her neck. I smiled and picked her up, making her giggle as I cradled her like a human baby. "What are you doing up, Luxord?" I asked her as she gave me a two fanged smile. "Purple Mama sent me to check on you!" She exclaimed joyfully as she wiggled her hooves. I smiled at her and sat back down in my chair, watching Celestia as she did the same, her eyes never leaving my child. "Is that...one of your offspring? How?" She asked me as I shrugged, deciding bouncing the little one on my knee as she playfully squealed. "Changelings births only take a month or two tops, and she came a week after the Faust event." I informed her as I sighed. "So...what happens now though?" Celestia tore her gaze from Luxord and looked up at me, her tired eyes giving away how hard she was thinking and little sleep she had gotten recently. "I cannot ask you to leave your herd to look after the child, that would be wrong." Celestia stated as she sighed. "But I would also wish for you to be in the foals life as well, nopony deserves to live without both of their parents love and care." I nodded. "So, sounds like something we would need to talk about more then...with the rest of my herd present as well." I pointed out as Celestia nodded. "Very well." She stood and turned for the door. "But for now, let us enjoy the show the youth of this town wish to give us. We can worry about other matters another time." With a smile from me she took her leave, the door closing with a slight thud as I turned and walked upstairs. "Daddy, what did the big pony want?" Luxord asked me as I leaned in and gave her a nuzzle to her cheek. "She just wanted to give your dad a heart attack, that's all." I said as I looked into what was Taks bedroom, noticing both him and Scootaloo weren't there. Huh. they must be getting ready for the show then. I thought as I went to open the door to the main bedroom only to find it locked. "Just a minute!" Redheart stated from behind the door as I rolled eyes. "Why is it taking you four so long to get ready? We're not going to a dance or some fancy place!" I exclaimed as I felt Luxord snuggle up under my arm and had started to doze off. Softly rubbing the side of her face, I couldn't help but smile. To think, after everything thats happened I'm now holding my own kid in my arms. I thought happily as I felt a single tear go down my cheek. ****************** Nicholas POV/ Later that day ****************** "C'mon, Diamond Tiara! We're gonna be late for the talent show!" Applebloom exclaimed as she knocked on Diamond Tiaras bedroom door several times before getting a reply. "I can't find my prized tiara!! And I am NOT leaving until it's found." Diamond vehemently argued, making me smile slightly at her antics. "Then we're coming in to help." I stated as I reached for the doorknob and opened the door slowly, only to find Diamond Tiaras room an absolute mess. There were fancy clothes piles everywhere, not to mention every drawer on every cabinet that lined the wall across from her bed we're either pulled out or were upside down on the ground. "Whoa! This looks worse than the chicken coop at fluttershys before cleaning!" Applebloom stated in shock as Diamond Tiara poked her head out from under a pile of dresses that was near what had to be a king sized bed. "Oh, Nick! You've got to help me!" She exclaimed as she hopped across the unruly floor and landed in front of me. "I can't find my tiara anywhere." Oddly enough, I was having a hard time focusing on her face, rather I was focusing on what was on top of her head. Applebloom noticed it too, and snickered lightly as she pointed to Diamonds head. "Did ya try looking on yer head yet?" She asked Diamond Tiara, who immediately raised a hoof to her head and, after feeling the tiara there, blushed immensely from embarrasent. "Dang it, now I've went and made a fool of myself." She said as I grabbed her in a hug. "Don't be silly, we all make silly mistakes every now and then." I reassured her as I out her down and tussled her left ear with my fingers, getting a coo from her as I felt something poke my left leg. Turning to Applebloom, who was pouting slightly from lack of attention, I grabbed her and held with my left arm and did the same to Diamond Tiara with my right. "Hey!" Applebloom exclaimed, though her laugh afterwards betrayed any seriousness she was getting at. "Put me down! I have to do my hair!" Diamond stated, though I shook my head at her. "No time, the shows gonna start soon and I'd rather not be late." I said as I began to march out the house and into the common area of town. After everything that had happened with Grandpa and Faust, we had decided to not tell Diamond Tiaras parents about her kidnapping. (Oddly enough, Tiaras mother seemed to look at the three of us in a better light than what she had before...though that might had been due to how Diamond had blown up on her before.) Both girls had gotten small burns from the spells Faust had used on them during their captivity, but we explained that by stating it was because of the monster that had attacked the town. Who knew Tarus attacking would actually give us an decent alibi for that days events? Either way, I was just happy everything was back to normal...well, as normal as this town gets. Letting the girls go, we decided to go to sugercube corner and get a snack for the road, though as we walked in we were met with friendly faces. "Nick! what's up!" Axel exclaimed as he and Sweetiebelle walked up to us. Axel had told everyone he was permanently staying in his Rockstar form, something that suprised Tak to say the least. Even more suprising though was about a month ago when Sweetiebelle and Axel announced they were going out. Let's just say Rarity nearly had a heart attack when she heard the news. Ronin was ok with it though, even though he had made a comment to Rarity about watching out for eggs in Sweetiebelles room. I shuddered slightly at that image. That was one thought I did not need to think about. "How have you guys been lately?" Sweetiebelle asked us as Applebloom smiled brightly. "We've been great! Diamonds parents said they would take us to Canterlot next week to check out an art exhibit!" She told the dating duo as she started to get excited. "Ooo! What if I get my cutie mark there?" Axel frowned. "Don't count on it, Apples. I don't see a farm girl getting an artsy cutie mark anytime soon." He went to chuckle, but a jab to the side from Sweetiebelle stopped it cold. "Excuse him, he's just cranky because Rarity won't let him snuggle with me at night." Sweetiebelle stated before smiling at Applebloom. "I'm sure if it's meant to be, you'll get your mark there!" Applebloom and Sweetiebelle continued chatting while I noticed Diamond Tiara coming back with a bag in her mouth. She dropped it in front of me and gave me smirk. "While you four were chatting, I went and got donuts for everyone!" She said triumphantly as Axel and I grinned and reached inside the bag. "Score! You got the frosted ones!" Axel exclaimed as he and I ate through ours quickly while Diamond Tiara looked on before rolling her eyes. "Colts." She muttered as Axel turned to me. "So, are you going to join in the talent show?" He asked me as I shook my head. "Nah, decided not to this time." I told him before grinning. "Besides, we gotta cheer on our lovesick friend." Axel snorted. "I still can't believe Tak is actually going to do the mating dance with Scootaloo as a public performance." He shrugged. "At least it doesn't have an innuendos in it." I chuckled at that before we looked at each other in shock. "Crap, the show!" We exclaimed as I turned to the girls, who were talking with Diamond Tiara about what it felt like to get her cutie mark. "Girls, we gotta go!" I stated as I quickly turned and ran out the door with everyone else not far behind. A short burst of running later and we thankfully were able to get to the school. Originally, Ms. Cherilee had planned the show for about three months ago, but thankfully Celestia pulled some strings and got it to be set back three months instead, plenty of time for everyone to recover from the harrowing events that had happened and for the kids to practice any acts they were going to do. Managing to find five seats near the front, with Axel and Diamond Tiara on the edges with Sweetiebelle, Applebloom and myself in the middle, we were set for the show. Just as I was getting comfortable, though, I felt someone flick my ears. "Oi, Nicholas. Looks like you managed to get here in time!" Ronin stated with a laugh as I turned and saw him sitting with his herd behind us. Ronin was in the middle with Twilight and Redheart (who were talking about some sort of medical theory) on his left and Chrysalis and Pinkie Pie on his right. I gave him a a smirk. "And how long did it take you to get here?" He squinted his eyes at me while Chrysalis, who was listening in on our conversation, gave me a toothy smile. "Don't let him tease you for getting here late, we arrived merely moments before you." She stated as Pinkie jumped in. "That was mostly Twilights fault though. She couldn't find her note-taking stuff and wouldn't leave the castle without it!" Hearing her name, Twilight turned to us. "I need to take notes on the mating dance Tak is going to perform, Pinkie! This is an undocumented phenomena for Equines and could change how their mating habits are viewed by other species!" Redheart gave Twilight a shit-eating grin. "Or ponies will just think it's weird and barely care at all." This made Twilight huff, and cross her forelegs, causing Ronin and Chrysalis to laugh as I looked past them. "Ronin, look! It's Raiden!" I exclaimed, pointing towards the back of the rows of ponies and changelings and even a few griffons where Raiden, Luna, and Celestia were sitting. Ronin turned to them and gave them a wave, one that both Raiden and Luna returned happily while Celestia gave Ronin a smile and a nod. I went to talk more with Ronin but was pulled back into my seat by Diamond Tiara. "Nick! It's starting!" She told me as I turned my gaze to the mayor as she walked up on stage. "Good afternoon, Mares and Gentlecolts! After all that ponyville has been through these past few years, we have decided to put on a talent show so our young ones can show us all the skills they have to bring a smile to our faces." She pauses as everyone in the audience cheers at this. "Of course, before we begin I would like to introduce none other than the eldest princess of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia!" Celestia stands up from the back and walks on the right side of the audience as everyone cheered even louder for her (minus the griffons, which either said nothing, booed, or wolf-whistled at her like most of the changelings did) Celestia got up on the stage and turned to face us, a winning smile on her face as her eyes shined with joy. "Greetings, everypony!" She stated, her voice echoing throughout the area. "Or, should I say everyone at this point?" Some laughter went out through the crowd as I felt Applebloom wrap her tail around my leg and lean into me. "Today, I get to see something that I have dreamed of seeing for many years: multiple species of Equestria gathering together in harmony for something like this. It makes my heart soar to see how far we've come." More cheers, this time from everyone as I even heard Ronin join in this time. Celestia let it go on for a bit before she cleared her throat and summoned what seemed to be a small box in the air next to her. "Now, before the show begin, I would like the Blazeheart Brothers to come onto the stage." My eyes widened as Applebloom and Diamond Tiara turned to me. "Whoa, wonder what tah princess wants from ya?" Applebloom questioned as Diamond Tiara pushed me slightly. "Don't keep her waiting, Nick!" She said as I squeezed past Axel and Sweetiebelle, the latter was sitting in Axels lap getting her mane combed, and got on stage as Ronin and Raiden made their way up there as well, Ronin standing on my left and Raiden on my right as we faced the crowd with Celestia standing next to Raiden. "Today, I would like to honor these three for their acts of honor and valor to the country and the beings that live in it. Without them we might have faced certain disaster at the hands of the evil-minded beings that plague our world." She opened the box she had next to her and pulled out three medals, each one had a different symbol on it. She went to Raiden first. "Raiden Blazeheart, a man turned dragon of simple ideals, but firm defense of said beliefs. You not only defended the country from destruction, but you also protected my dear sister and was with her all the way through your journey here." She placed the medal around his neck, a symbol of a half moon on it as Raiden couldn't help but smile big. "Thanks, Princess!" He said, flinching slightly as he realized that his voice was as loud as Celestias, piercing even Lunas cheers of praise. Must be a magic thing. Celestia nodded and turned to Ronin, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Ronin Blazeheart, when you first arrived in Equestria you sided with the changelings during the attack on Canterlot. However, this was not out of spite for us, but rather to help a species that was on the brink of extinction. Even so, you payed your dues and earned your forgiveness for the blood you shed by defending this town and its citizens from every threat that came to harm Ponyville, let alone other countries." She placed the medal around his neck, which bore a katana as a symbol, as every changeling roared in approval. However, everything went silent when a griffon and a pony walked up on the stage and turned to Celestia. "Princess, might I say something here?" Grazier asked as Celestia nodded. "Of course, King Grazier. After all, Ronin did help Griffonia as well." With that, Celestia stepped back as Opal pulled a different medal made of what looked like silver from who knows where as Grazier turned to the crowd. "Greetings, ponies and weird bug things." Cheers, laughs, and a glare from Chrysalis followed. "This man here is not just responsible for protecting your home, but he is also the main force that led a revolt against the tyrant king of my homeland as well. Without him, we would still be losing family and friends to that fools mechanical experiments." He turned and faced Ronin, who cracked a grin at him. "How's being king, old timer?" He whispered as Grazier glared at him. "Just because you'll be giving my baby girl some chicks to raise doesn't mean. you get to be sassy, boy!" He whispered back as he put the medal over Ronins neck. "This is from the people of Griffonia as thanks for your efforts...and uh, try to ignore the fact it's not gold because they refused to give over any for its creation." Ronin and the griffons of the crowd laughed while everyone else cheered. Grazier and Opal made their leave as Celestia got everyone's attention. "Now, for the last medal." She said as she turned to me. "Nicholas Blazeheart. As a young colt, what you have done for this country is insurmountable. You not only defeated the ice queen of the north and saved Canterlot from the wrath of the wendigos, but you also stood until the end and saved all of Equestria from your own flesh and blood. The sacrifices and suffering you have made and went through are not in vain, and everypony in this kingdom thanks you for your service to us." She placed the medal over me, this one bearing her own sun on it as the medal clanked against my chest. The cheers were at their loudest as even Ronin and Raiden clapped for me. As I watched everyone, I couldn't help but get misty-eyed from all the praise. This truly is real, then...everything is better now. I couldn't help but think as we took our leave and returned to our seats. As soon as I sat down the girls were hugging me from both sides. "Nicholas, that was amazing! I can't believe you got a medal from Celestia!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed as Applebloom squeezed my right arm. "That's so awesome, Nick! But ah think we forgot something." Applebloom said as I turned to her and frowned. "What?" I asked, only for both her and Diamond Tiara to kiss me on the cheek at the same time, making my face flare up as I could barely stutter out a word. "Thats our way of saying thanks for saving us, Nicholas." Diamond Tiara said as They both leaned into me while I glanced behind me. Sure enough, my brothers were faring about the same. Pinkie was currently being held magically by Twilight, who was hugging Ronin, as to contain her excitement and urge to throw a party mid-show, while Redheart was now talking with her parents and Chrysalis was pretty much whispering into Ronins ear, making him look far redder than what I was earlier. Farther back, I could see that Luna had actually tackled Raiden as soon as he got back to his seat, resulting in not only a broken chair but a royal canterlot make-out session on the ground as onlookers either watched in awe or took pictures. Turning my attention back to the stage, I saw three mayor had returned to the stage and had gotten the crowd to quiet down while Celestia dealt with her sister in the back. "Thank you everyone for your patience as we handled that." She said as she cleared her throat. "Now, for the first performance today we have our very own Tak and Scootaloo performing a special changeling dance for us today!" The crowd cheered as Scootaloo and Tak appeared from behind the stage, though as soon as Tak was in sight everyone around the middle of the seating area nearly lost their hearing from how loud Ronin and his herd were cheering...especially Chrysalis. "THATS MY BOY!!!" Chrysalis cheered louder than I actually thought possible as Tak visibly winced and turned red at the sight of his mom doing so. Man, Ronin has weird taste in women...nice to know Chrysalis is supportive of Tak now though. After a minute, everything quieted down as Scootaloo and Tak faced each other, their faces inches from each other and both of then on their hind legs as the music began to play and they began to dance. To say they were in sync would be an understatement. They moved slowly, but gracefully as they almost never took their eyes off each other. Every once in a while, Scootaloo would be dipped and she would glow slightly, but it was clear that Tak was balancing her with his magic so she didn't fall over. As the two continued their Tango, I couldn't help but be amazed. They continued their graceful waltz together as the crows watched in stunned silence the whole time. At the end of their performance Tak took a step back from Scootaloo and bowed his head low while kneeling to her as the music came to a stop. Several gasps rang out as Scootaloo didn't move for the longest time. I was worried she wasn't going to return the gesture when she copied him exactly, to the relief and elation of everyone watching. The two rose up together and touched foreheads, Tak tilting his head slightly to make sure his horn didn't pierce Scootaloo as they did so. As soon as they did that, cheers erupted from crowd as everyone got on their feet, hooves, or claws and gave them a standing ovation. (Even though I didn't turn around, I could hear Chrysalis actually crying tears of joy as one of Ronins herdmates was talking to her about the spectacle.) Tak and Scootaloo turned to the crowd and took a bow as they shared grins before walking off the edge of the stage and coming over to us while Ms. Cherilee began to call up the next act. They sat next to Axel just as Sweetiebelle and Applebloom nearly tackled Scootaloo out of her seat. "That was Amazing, Scootaloo! Where'dya learn to dance like that?" Applebloom asked her as Sweetiebelle nodded. "Yeah! You were awesome up there!" Sweetiebelle commented as Scootaloo, blushing from all the compliments, smiled at them as they got up off the ground. "After Tak and everyone else came back, we decided to spend most of our time together practicing that dance." She nuzzled Tak, who went been red instantly before returning the gesture with a content sigh. "Apparently he's been wanting to do that dance with me for a while, and it only took me asking his mother to find out why." Axel chuckled at that. "So you WERENT going to tell her what that dance meant?" Tak gave Axel a glare and crossed his hooves. "I was going to tell her...sometime." Everyone laughed at that while I felt Diamond Tiara poke my chest. I turned to her and found her sitting on my left leg and looking up at me. "What's up?" I asked her as she blushed heavily before giving me a small smile. "I love you, Nicholas." She said, making my mind break for about ten seconds before I remembered she was waiting for me to respond and was slowly looking more worried as I didn't. I pulled her close and gave her a soft kiss on her lips, nothing too passionate, but enough to get my feelings across as I pulled back and winked at her. "Love ya too, Diamond Tiara. Love ya too!" I said before feeling weight add onto my right leg as Applebloom sat their and gave me an expectant stare. "And what bout me?" She asked me with big eyed as I suppressed a laugh and gave her the same kiss I gave Dianond before holding them close to me. "I love you too, Applebloom." I whispered as they both sighed contently and turned to face the show, still on my lap, as some foal in a pirate outfit went onstage. ****************** Later that Night ****************** I was sitting outside on a hill next to the cottage watching the stars. Before all of this, I would've never really cared about the night sky, but after almost dying you tend to appreciate the little things in life more. On the note of almost dying, it had taken me a whole month to convince Fluttershy to allow me to go out on my own. I couldn't blame her at all, honestly, and it warmed my heart to have someone who cared enough to be strict like that. Even now though, I am a hundred percent sure she is watching me from her window. As I went to get up two figures plopped down besides me, one on my left and one on my right. "This seat taken?" Ronin asked as Raiden rolled his eyes. "Why would it be taken, Ronin? He's obviously alone out here." Raiden commented as Ronin pointed a finger at him. "You don't know that. His little girlfriends are nimble as hell. They could be anywhere plotting to attack him with killer cuddles." He stated with a far too serious voice, making me burst out laughing, too which they soon followed. After a while of laughing and then just staring at the stars Raiden spoke up. "Nicholas...Thanks." He said suddenly, making me look at him funny. "Huh? For what?" I asked as Ronin put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a smile. "For bringing us here. By accident or not, you made our lives a whole lot better by doing so, little man, and we owe ya big for that." I shook my head, bringing out the necklace Grandpa gave me and gripping it tightly. "Don't worry about it. All I did was accidently send us back to where we belonged, that's all." Raiden looked at the necklace in shock while Ronin stiffened slightly. "You still have that thing?!" Raiden exclaimed as I nodded, feeling the necklace as I wrapped it through my hands. "Yeah. Someone has to watch over it, considering who's inside it and all." I told Raiden as Ronin groaned. "And your sure Faust can't get out of it?" He asked me as I nodded. "Remember that guy in the suit I told you two about when I was alone with Callobrim that day? He visited me in a dream a month ago, telling me to watch over the amulet for him." Raiden shrugged and leaned back, laying on the ground and staring straight up at the night sky. "Well, it's probably better Nick has it then. If we throw it away, someone might find it and restart this whole mess again, while if Nicholas has it he can at Keats use her powers for good." Ronin sighed and followed suite, though he kept his frown, not liking the idea of me holding a 'god' in a necklace. "Just as long as your careful, Nick. We don't need anymore excitement for a while." He said as I nodded and laid back on the ground with them, staring at the night sky as I couldn't help but smile. "I will...and I should be the one thanking you two. Without you guys I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this world at all, even with the girls by my side." Ronin snorted a laugh. "Damn straight, bros before-" Raiden turned to Ronin and glared. "Don't finish that sentence, retard." I just laughed and shook my head, enjoying the company of my brothers as I slowly found myself falling asleep amidst Ronins laughing and Raidens scowling. Everything is going to be just fine, isnt it? THE END.