Hi everypony and welcome back.

Guess what, today's this story's anniversary. 4 years ago today, the first chapter of this story was released and look how far we've come since then, best of all, all of you have stuck by me all that time. You guys are truly awesome and I'm glad to have all of you.

Got a lot of reviews from my last chapter, one even said it was the darkest he's read on this story, which I was aiming for, so…yay.

This chapter will feature a much darker side of me, so prepare yourself, you're about to see some really brutal shit. Warning, will contain blood and violence.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 63: Rematch

Four days, four days it's been since that mysterious pony stole another Element and kidnapped poor Applebloom. What kind of sick pony are we dealing with? Who kidnaps an innocent filly like her? I wasn't coping well with it at all.

I was angry all the time, imagining how I was gonna beat this guy senseless when I find him. I trained hard, preparing myself for an upcoming battle that I felt would eventually happen.

At first, Applejack tried to track down the hooded pony herself, but found so many dead-ends that she realised it was hopeless, she could only hope someone would bring Applebloom back safely…which I intended to do.

I will find Applebloom and I will make this pony pay for what he's done, nothing will stand in my way of doing that…nothing!

Sweet Apple Acres

While I was busy back at the Library, Twilight went to Sweet Apple Acres to check up on Applejack. Since she gave up searching, she's been a little slow, she barely did any work anymore.

Twilight and Applejack sat on the hill, overseeing the orchard as the sun shun brightly in the sky. Twilight turned her head to look at Applejack. "So how are you doing, Applejack?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Applejack turned her head to face her. "My sister's been kidnapped, Twilight, how do ya think I'm doing?" she said before she looked away.

Twilight's ears dropped. "Right…stupid question, sorry." She said as she looked down at the grass with an upset look.

Applejack sighed before she looked at Twilight again. "Nah, I'm sorry I snapped like that, it's just…I'm going through a rough time right now and the others aren't doin' so good either." She said.

Twilight looked at her. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

Applejack then turned her head to look over to their house. "Granny Smith hasn't left the house since it happened, she's just been sitting in her rocking-chair staring out the window, it's like she's completely shut down." she said before she looked down at the orchard. "And Big Mac's been working himself day and night, harvesting apples like crazy. I once caught him bucking a tree for a good half-hour." She explained.

"Well…that doesn't seem weird, maybe it just took him a while to get them all down." Twilight said.

Applejack looked at her again with a raised eye-brow. "The tree was empty, Twilight, he bucked it earlier before." She said before she sighed heavily. "The family's not doing so good, we're not complete." She said.

Twilight understood and placed her hoof on her back. "I can tell, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle aren't going so well either. Since we told them, they've been staying in their clubhouse all day, I'm really worried about them and you guys." She said, trying to comfort her.

Applejack turned to her and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks Twilight." she said before a thought came to mind. "So…how's Matt holding up." she asked.

Twilight was silent for a moment before she answered. "Not well, he's been a bit moody since it happened, he's been training all day, preparing for some sort of fight. He keeps saying how he's gonna hunt this guy down and get Applebloom back." she said before she gave Applejack a concerned look. "I hope he gets her back, but I just down want him to do something he'll later regret." She said, sounding concerned about me.

"Sounds like he's in a dark place, I hope he comes back around soon." Applejack said.

"So do I, Applejack…I'm really worried." Twilight said, looking out to the horizon.

Meanwhile: Library

I was outside beside the library, wearing my Element armour facing a stuffed pony dummy. I stood there with my eyes closed, thinking about the pony who kidnapped Applebloom, I thought about how frightened she must've been, how frightened she still must be.

I then thought about what he might be doing to her, if he was to lay one hoof on her…it was then my blood boiled to the point of bursting, my eyes shot open and I created an sharp energy disc in my hoof. I threw it at the dummy and it sliced through between its head, splitting it open.

I then summoned the disc back and it sliced through the dummy's neck, decapitating it. I caught the disk in my hoof before I smashed it against the ground under my hoof. The dummy's head fell off and rolled towards me.

I panted hard as I imagined it as the head of the pony responsible for all of this. Angered, I smacked it away hard.

Unknown to me, Spike and Jeff were watching a few feet behind me. "Whow." Spike said while he and Jeff stared at me with wide eyes.

Hearing this, I spun around to face them. "How long have you two been there?" I asked.

"Around the time you sliced through that dummy's face." Spike said, looking down at the split-open head of the dummy.

I then sighed before I walked up to them. "I'm a little busy, guys, do you think you can give me a moment?" I asked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Sure, Matt…but if you need someone to talk to, you always have us and Twilight." Jeff said, trying to help.

I then turned away. "I don't want to talk to anyone, I just want to find the pony who took Applebloom." I said as I walked over to the headless dummy, I crawled under it and lifted it up on my back. I then proceeded to take it over to a pile of other badly damaged dummies.

Spike looked at Jeff on top of his head before he walked over to me. "We know Matt, but you've been hunting this guy since he broke into Celestia's volt. If you couldn't find him then, how are you gonna find him now?" he asked curiously.

I then threw the dummy on the pile and turned around to face them. "Because now I'm not messing! I'm gonna find this guy, even if it takes me all year! Until Applebloom's back home safely, I'll won't stop hunting him." I said as I stormed past them to get another dummy to mutilate.

Spike and Jeff watched me before Jeff sighed, shaking his head. He then flew off and landed on one of the untouched dummies. "Look Matt, we all feel you, but maybe hunting this guy isn't the right way to do it." he said.

I gave him a firm look. "Then what do you suggest, Jeff? I just give up and leave Applebloom out there with that maniac?" I asked loudly.

Jeff then raised his wings up. "No, that's not what I'm sayin' at all, I'm just saying maybe you should try to find him some other way." he said before he tried to think of something. "Maybe instead of searching for the guy himself, maybe you should try to find someone who'll probably know where he is." He suggested.

I stared at him with unimpressed look. "Really?...That's your idea?...Jeff, I'm having a hard time finding this guy as it is, how am I supposed to find someone who'll know where-…" I then stopped once I realized something. "Wait…you might be on to something there, Jeff…I know exactly who to go to." I said before I started rushing away.

Spike and Jeff watched with concern. "Where are you going?" Spike asked.

I kept running as I looked back at them. "To consult an old friend…If Twilight comes back before me, tell her I've gone out and will be back shortly." I said before I went back to focusing on where I was going.

Spike and Jeff looked at each other. "I smell trouble coming." Spike said with a concerned look.

"Same here, Matt's not been himself since Applebloom went missing. Let's just hope he doesn't do anything extreme to get what he's after." Jeff said before they both watched as I ran off towards the forest.

Later: Moleyair's home

After what Jeff said, I realized I knew someone who could see things we couldn't. Moleyair the Mage, the mole who could see glimpses of the future. He may not know who the Element thief is, but he might be able to see where he'll eventually take Applebloom.

I entered Moleyair's home underground and looked around the main room for him. "Moleyair?" I called as I looked around for him. I looked in his potions room, his bedroom, even in a room which I presumed was the bathroom.

With no luck, I groaned in slight frustration before I walked over another room and pushed the door open, it looked like some sort of library and Moleyair was there, reading an old scroll in front of a table.

"Moleyair! I need your help." I said as I walked up behind him, hoping he'd agree to help.

"I know you do, and I know why you're here…but I'm sorry, I can't help you." Moleyair said, continuing to read his scroll.

I was surprised by his answer. "W-What?" I asked.

"If you've come looking for answers on the whereabouts of this mysterious pony stealing the Elements, then you've come to the wrong person. I don't know where, I never did." Moleyair said as he rolled up the scroll and placed it on open side of the table.

As Moleyair grabbed his staff and walked past me to exit the room, I kept my eyes on him and followed him out. "You must know something…Moleyair, a filly's life is at stake!" I said loudly.

"I know, and I wish I could help, but it's not possible. This pony is connected with very strong dark magic, it blocks my view on almost everything he does." Moleyair said as he turned around to face me.

"But you must've seen something, do you at least know where he's gonna take her?" I asked, desperate for any sort of information.

Moleyair shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Matthew, I'm afraid you're on your own." He said before he placed his claw on my chest. "But be careful, young one, the prophecy of you savagely beating someone to near death has still gone unfulfilled. I fear that if you continue this path of rage an desperation, it might come to pass." He said, warning me.

"To be honest, Moleyair, I don't really care about that. All I care about is finding Applebloom and if I have to do that by myself…fine by me, thanks a bunch." I said roughly before I walked past him to go to the exit.

Moleyair watched as I walked away. "Be warned, Matthew, whatever path you choose from here, I cannot help you this time. I can't appear and save you like I did when you fought with Jersey Devil." He said.

I then stopped in my tracks and thought about what he said. If I was to run into any sort of trouble, Moleyair wouldn't help me, I could actually die…however, I had no intention to dying until I found Applebloom. "Then let's hope all that training pays off." I said, but as I tried to continue towards the exit, another thought came to mind. "Did you know?...Did you know he'd do this?" I asked, not wanting to even look back at him.

Moleyair was silent for a moment before he answered. "I knew something was going to happen, I just didn't know when or where…I'm sorry." He said.

Once I heard that, I stayed silent as I continued to walk out of his home.

Once I was gone, Moleyair clenched his staff with both his claws and sighed heavily, shaking his head.

-A few minutes later-

After leaving Moleyair's home, I was back on the surface in the Ever Free Forest, but I wasn't in the best of moods. I had hoped Moleyair would help, but he was just another dead end like everything else, it was like this pony was a ghost and it was driving me up the bloody wall.

"Dammit." I said under my breath before I become overflowed with anger. "God Dammit!" I yelled before I bucked my hind-legs into a tree next to me.

Doing this caused a loose branch to break and fall onto my head, which really hurt, that's when I finally snapped.

"GRRRRR!" I growled loudly before I picked up the branch that hit me and threw it high across over the trees. I then stormed over to a large rock and tipped it over before I went over to a tree and broke a branch off of it, I then proceeded to whack said branch against the tree I broke it off.

I kept going, letting out all my anger, but I did it so hard that the branch soon broke in half. Seeing this, I threw down the piece in my hoof and started punch the tree. I didn't care that it was hurting my hooves, I was too angry.

But eventually, my anger started to die down and I stopped what I was doing. I then rested my head against the tree as I panted hard, feeling like a total failure. I then turned around before I sat down and rested my back against the same tree. "I'm sorry Applebloom…I've tried everything…" I said before I lowered my head and let a single tear run down my cheek.

I thought about how I failed to stop the pony from stealing another Element, how I wasn't here to prevent it, how I failed Applebloom. But I couldn't give up now, Applebloom was out there and she needed me.

"No!" I said loudly before I wiped the tear away with my hoof and stood up. "I'm not giving up, I will find Applebloom and I'll make the pony who took her regret it." I said strongly before my ears dropped. "But how am I gonna find him?" I asked myself.

I tried to think of something, anything that could help me find him. With all the magical artefacts and creatures in Equestria, there had to be something or someone that could tell me where he was. That's when it hit me, Moleyair just mentioned someone who knows everything that goes on in Equestria. "…Jersey..." I growled.

With that, I had a lead and I knew what I had to do. I'd have to confront Jersey Devil again, but this time, I planned to win and get the answers I wanted from him once before. I then took off into the sky and headed to Jersey's swamp.

Later that day: Jersey's swamp

After flying for what seemed like forever, I finally reached the swamp near the village of Swampville, which was well known to be the home of Jersey Devil. The last time I went up against him, I lost and got beaten up pretty bad…but this time, I wasn't going to let that happen again.

I flew over the dead black trees, looking down at the ground to find Jersey's camp. It didn't take long before I saw smoke rising up from the trees, with that, I had a location and shot off towards it.

Upon arriving, I saw him, Jersey Devil. With his long bony arms swinging back and forth, he roamed his campsite and attended to the fire in the centre of it, it looked like he was cooking a slice of meat.

Jersey picked up a long metal blade and stuck it into the meat, lifting it out of the heat. Once it cooled down, he grabbed it in his hands and licked his teeth. "Sometimes chasin' your food makes it taste better." He said as he walked over to his stone table and sat by it.

Once he did that, Jersey chomped his large teeth into the meat and tore a piece off from the piece in his hands. He chowed savagely and he relished in its taste.

But suddenly, I dropped down from the sky and landed hard onto the table, I gave him a dark glare as he continued to eat. "Jersey…" I said roughly.

"Matthew." Jersey responded before he took another bite out of the meat.

"You don't seem surprised to see me." I said, not taking my eyes off him.

"I knew you were coming." Jersey said with his mouth full of chewed meat before he swallowed. "I could see it, just like how I could see why ya came here." he said as he looked at me with his one eye-ball. "The answer's not, by the way, I'm still not tellin' ya nothing." He said strongly.

I then took a step towards him. "If you could see why I came here, then you know what's happened." I said.

"Yeah, a little filly got kidnapped, boo-hoo." Jersey said, not caring at all and mocking.

I gritted my teeth. "Then you know why you shouldn't push me, Jersey! Now tell me where she it." I demanded. "The pony stealing the Elements took her, I find him, I find her, but I need to know why he is first…and you're gonna tell me." I said, giving him another sharp glare.

"Hmm…let me think." Jersey said as he tapped his chin with his finger. "…Nah, not gonna happen, now flutter back home before I start getting annoyed." He said, waving his hand for me to go.

With that, I was done playing nice. I walked up to him on the table before I used my hoof to smack the meat out of his hands, causing it to hit the dirt. "I'm not going anywhere without answers." I said, ready for any reaction.

Jersey stared down at his ruined food before he looked at me. He didn't have any eye-lids, so I don't know what kind of look he was giving me, but he soon stood up with his hands planted on the table.

Jersey stayed silent for a moment before he suddenly put his hands under the table and tried to tip it over with me on it, this caused me to fall onto my back and the stone table to fall on top of me.

Jersey huffed. "Shouldn't have done that." He said before he turned and walked away.

But as he did, I managed to summon my Elemental armour and used the strength it gave me to lift the large heavy table over my head. As Jersey stopped and turned around, he was shocked to see me flying towards him with the table before I whacked him with it.

The strength I put in to hitting Jersey with such a hard object caused him to fly and crash into the wall of his hood, he feel down onto all fours and cough. As he lifted his head to see what I was doing, he saw the same table being hurled towards him,

Jersey luckily avoided by leaping out of its way. As the stone table smashed against his hut, Jersey looked over to me and saw me standing on my hind-legs with my armour glowing brightly.

I then stuck my arm out to him before I flinched my hoof up twice, motioning him to 'come and get it'.

Seeing this, Jersey spread his large bat-like wings before he shot towards me with one hard flap. As he flew towards me with great speed, I waited until the right moment before I leaped over him and used my Elemental magic to create a green chain attached to my hoof.

I threw it down at Jersey and it wrapped out his neck tightly. Jersey chocked as I pulled back on the chain and threw him over my head, this sent him flying high up into the air.

I flapped my wings hard and shot up to him with both my front hooves stuck out. Upon impact with Jersey, my hooves slammed into his gullet, harming him dearly.

Jersey's wings lapped, keeping him in the air until he was able to recover. Once he was good, he growled at me before he tried to throw a punch. I managed to avoid some of them, but I soon screwed up and got hit in the side, this allowed him to strike me a few more times.

Jersey soon grabbed me by the neck with his claws before he pulled his other hand back and formed a fist, he then threw it forward and punched me in a downward persecutory, making me fall from the sky a little. I managed to regain my flight before I grabbed a piece of the cloud beside me and flew up to Jersey fast.

Once I got close enough, I threw the piece of cloud into his face and blocked his sight. Jersey tried to get it out of his face as quick as possible, but he ran out of time as I created a bat in my hoof and hit him across the head with it, making him stumble to the left.

As the bat disappeared, I quickly created a crowbar in my other hoof and hit Jersey across the other side of his head, making him stumble to the right.

While he was recovering from two furious strikes, I put both hooves over my head and created a large hammer head, I then proceeded to slam it down on top of Jersey's head, making him fall out of the sky and slam into the ground of the swamp.

I then flew back down to the ground just in time to see Jersey get up from out of the mud, he turned to me to reveal a small crack in his skull. Jersey traced his fingers over the crack, feeling it. Jersey then growled loudly. "Right then." He said before he charged towards me on all fours like a cheetah.

I then used my power to create a big green brick wall in front of me, but Jersey jumped over it and landed on top of me hard, pinning me to the ground with his feet. Once he got off, I tried to get up, but Jersey suddenly grabbed me with his large claw.

Jersey kept hold of me as he stormed over to a tree and slammed me into it, he then pull me away before he threw me down into the ground hard.

I was in a daze as Jersey rolled me over onto my back, I saw him clench his figures and show off his sharp claws. While he prepared to impale me with them, I grabbed a rock with my hoof and threw it up into Jersey's face, making him stumble back a little.

While he was recovering, I quickly got up and created a large wrecking ball attacked to my hoof. I threw it over my head before it slammed down into Jersey, I pulled it back before I repeated the act, injuring him more.

As I prepare to do it a third time, I made the wrecking ball grow sharp spikes all over it before I threw it over my head again. But this time, Jersey managed to roll out of the way just before it slammed into the ground. He then quickly grabbed onto the chain the wrecking ball was attacked to and used all his strength to throw me over his head.

Unable to match Jersey's strength, he succeeded, he threw me over his head and I was sent flying into the air. I started flapping my wings to get myself under control, but Jersey suddenly flew into me and grabbed me tightly with his claws.

By the looks of his face, it looked like he was preparing to bite my head off, but I prevented this by throwing the bottom half of my body up and rested one hind-leg on his shoulder while I started kicking him in the face with the other.

I kept slamming my hind-leg hoof into his face hard, the fourth time was especially powerful because it made one of Jersey's teeth snap out of his mouth. I then quickly lowered said hoof under his head before I threw it up hard, kicking upwards right into his jaw.

This made Jersey fall back and freed me, I then used one hard flap to shoot myself right into Jersey's gullet and flew him up higher into the sky.

I came to a sudden stop, but due to the speed I was using, Jersey kept going. I flew fast up above him before I shot down into him, making us plummet down towards the swamp. As we fell, I continuously punched his stomach with my hooves which were glowing green with extra strength.

It wasn't long before we finally crashed into the ground, but I was safe due to using Jersey's body as a shield. However, I was thrown from the crash and skidded along the mud.

After a moment, I slowly got up, my legs shaking weakly. I managed to pull myself together before I looked over to where we crashed, I saw a small crater, but I couldn't see if Jersey was in it. I limped over to it until I could see the bottom, but Jersey wasn't there.

Seeing this made me wonder where he was, I looked around sharply, but I couldn't see him anywhere. To make it worse, we landed in a part of the swamp that was cloaked in fog.

I heard a rustling sound behind me, I turned but I couldn't see anything. I then saw a figure move through the fog from the corner of my eye, I looked but still nothing. I stayed still and silent for a moment, seeing if I could see or hear anything else.

Suddenly, a pair of claws grabbed onto my head from behind me before Jersey threw me up into the air. As I feel back down, Jersey smacked me with his claw and I slammed into the ground. Jersey didn't waste any time in grabbed my head with his claw and picked me up. "You're better that you were last time, kid, but you're goin' down just the same." He said he threw me away towards a tree.

Seeing this, I quickly spread my wings out so I'd slow down. I managed to stop myself from hitting the tree, but I got close enough to place my hind-hooves onto the tree before I jumped back towards Jersey, flapping my wings harder for extra speed.

Jersey didn't have time to react before I slapped into his face, I managed to crawl up his head and get behind it before I created a chain in my hooves. I then wrapped it around his neck and started strangling him, growling in anger, I pulled my hooves towards me to make it tighter.

Jersey, chocking from the chain, tried to throw me off. He shifted his body left and right, threw his head back and forth, and started flapping his wings to take off into the air.

Seeing this, my anger reached to the point where I had enough of the same thing, I had enough of being in the sky and continuing this charade. "Oh hell no!" I said before I dropped down onto one of his wings.

Grabbing it with both my hooves, I straightened his wing before I lifted one of my hind-hooves up over it. It glowed green brightly before I unleashed it's built up strength by slamming it down onto Jersey's wing bone, snapping it and rendering him flightless.

Jersey roared in pain before he fell forward onto all fours, he gasped and panted while he tried to recover from the pain, but I didn't care at this point.

"It's time to talk, Jersey!" I said loudly with anger.

Suddenly, Jersey threw his head back and it smacked into my face, it was stronger than it seemed before it made me fly back into a nearby rock.

Due to the impact, it left me dizzy with a high pitched ringing in my head. I soon recovered and looked forward, but I then saw Jersey charging towards me before he pounced up and pulled his fist back, ready to punch forward.

I quickly moved out of the way just before Jersey threw his fist forward and punched the rock, making it crack. I got back up onto my hooves before I looked to see Jersey coming at me with another fist, I dodged that as well just before he slammed it down into the mud, but doing this caused his fist to get stuck in it.

This gave me an opening, I spun around and bucked him right in his face, making him fall onto his back.

I then got on top of him and started punching his face repeatedly. Punching his solid skull hurt my hooves, but I didn't care, I wanted to break him into spilling his guts. Suddenly, Jersey's large claw shot up and grabbed my body. He pulled me close to his face so he could look at me with his one eyeball. "You seem upset." I joked.

At that moment, Jersey got and threw me down at the ground before he lifted his foot up and tried to stomp on me, but I quickly grabbed his foot and tried to push it away. Jersey pressed down his foot hard, trying to break through my grip.

My hooves began to glow green again before I removed one of my hooves and grabbed his leg, I then pulled on his leg and made him fall over onto his side. But before I could do anything else, he grabbed a rock in his claw and whacked me in the face with it.

I stumbled away as I felt a stinging pain on my mouth, I felt the area that hurt the most before I looked at my hoof, it had blood on it, Jersey had caused my mouth to bleed. Feeling my anger rise again, I created a spiked mace in my hoof before I swung it at Jersey and it smacked him in the jaw, making him fly away before crashing into the ground.

After that, Jersey got back up to reveal his jaw was dangling off one side. He cupped his jaw with his claw before he attached the other side back into place. "Is that all ya got?" he asked with his healed jaw.

I growled before I pointed my hoof at him, creating a large chain-net that shot out towards him. It fell onto him and he struggled to get out of it.

I charged towards him before I leaned into the air and recreated the mace, I prepared to slam it on top of him but was unable to when he reached through the net and grabbed me, making me lose focus and the mace disappeared, along with the net.

Jersey got back up and roared in my face. I knew he was gonna throw me or slam me around somewhere, but I wasn't gonna let it happen again. I created a small blade in my hoof before I stabbed it into his arm.

Doing this made Jersey screeched in pain and dropped me, clenching his wounded arm as blood dripped through his claws. Some of his blood dripped down on my back before I got up and tried to get some distance away from him.

Jersey, putting up with the pain, saw me running before he charged after me.

I looked back and saw this, he was faster than me and was getting closer. I thought of a way to use this to my advantage, as soon as he got close enough, I stopped and curled up in a ball. Doing this all of a sudden, Jersey tripped over my back and fell face first into the ground.

I got back up before I grabbed one of his legs with my front hooves, I then started to rotate my body and swing him around, I went faster and faster before I released Jersey, making him fly away high up in the sky. I didn't waste time in shooting up after in a green and brown blur.

After smacking into Jersey again, I grabbed him by his arm before I started spinning him around again rapidly. After building up enough speed, I released Jersey and he shot back down towards the swamp. I shot down after him, so as soon as he hit the ground, I crash down right on top of him.

Once I recovered from the crash, I grabbed Jersey by one of his antlers before I lifted up his head and started punching him square in the face repeatedly. After a few punches, one of Jersey's eye sockets started cracking.

It was around this time were people would be telling to me to stop, but I didn't hear that little voice inside me, I was so damn angry and desperate for answers and I was gonna get them no matter what.

Jersey soon had enough and shot his arm out at me, his sharp claws scratched the side of my body and I fell back in pain, I pressed my hoof against the wound as blood started coming out of it.

Jersey got back up, stumbling a little due to the beating he just got, and walked over to a tree, he grabbed a large branch on it and snapped it off with one pull. Jersey then got back over to my and raised it over his head, ready to whack me with it.

Seeing this, I quickly rolled out of the way just before he whacked it down against the ground. Jersey turned his attention to me before he tried to do it again, but I kept dodging his attacks.

After Jersey slammed the branch down a sixth time, I placed my front hooves on top of it, pinning it down. I then threw my body over it and kicked Jersey across his face, making him stumble back.

Fuelled with anger, I created a chain lasso before I threw the loop over his head and yanked on the chain. Doing this made Jersey slam down head-first into the ground, I quickly got on top of his head before I grabbed one of his antlers with my hooves.

Jersey got back up and tried to throw me off, he threw his head back and tossed it around like a wild bull. I gripped his antler tightly before I did what I intended to do, I snapped his antler right off his head. Jersey roared in pain before he threw his claw up and grabbed me, he gripped me tightly before he threw me away.

As I crashed back into the mud, Jersey held his claw against the spot where his antler used to be. Jersey looked over to me and stormed over. "I'm gonna make you regret that, you little runt." He said, sounding very pissed.

I then looked down at the antler in my hoof, the tip looked kind of sharp, maybe that would prove useful.

As Jersey threw another punch down to me, I quickly got out of the way and grabbed his arm with my free hoof. I then shot the antler up to him and stabbed him right in the side of his gullet. As Jersey roared in pain, I grabbed the antler with both hooves as they glow green with strength.

Keeping hold of the antler launched in his body, I lifted Jersey up over my head. This made the antler go deeper into his body as blood dripped down onto me, I shook my head as some of it landed on my face.

Jersey wiggled to try and get loose, his roars turned into screeches of agony. After a moment, I threw Jersey down and he landed hard onto the mud. With the antler still stuck in him, Jersey weakly picked himself up and tried to pull it out.

But I didn't give him a chance, I shot towards him through the air and punched him in the face, the strength I put into the punch made him fly back into a tree. Jersey groaned as I landed in front of him and grabbed him by his leg.

I had lost every inch of my conscience, the little voices that were yelling at me to stop went unheard, I was too determined to get answers from Jersey, I was gonna break him one way or the other.

I began dragging him towards a large rock before my hoof started glowing green again, I then pulled Jersey hard over my head and made him land, jaw first, onto the rock, making more of his teeth break off.

But I wasn't done, I looked around before I noticed we were near a cliff. I kept hold of Jersey's leg as I started walking over to it, dragging him along. Jersey had a small bit of consciousness left and tried to stop me, he drug his claws into the dirt and they scrapped along the ground as I kept going.

When I finally reached the cliff, I noticed there was a strong tree growing out from the edge, I looked back down at Jersey before I decided to get what I came for.

I released Jersey before I made a noose with a long rope attached to it, I left one end of the rope with the weak Devil before I flew up to a straight branch on the tree. With the noose still in hand, I flew over and under the branch before went back to Jersey.

The then put the noose around his neck before I grabbed the other end of the rope with my front hooves, I then proceeded to pull hard on the rope. Doing this made the rope straighten up and pulled Jersey up onto his feet. I kept pulling and it made the noose pull Jersey towards the edge.

Jersey looked back, seeing himself getting closer towards the edge. He started struggling, gripping the noose to try and get it off, but the magic powering it was too powerful for his mere claws to break. "Stop!...Stop! I give up!" he yelled, choking against the noose.

I then stopped pulling, but kept a tight grip on the rope. "Then spill it! Who is the pony stealing the Elements?" I asked loudly.

"I don't know, I truly don't! He manages to avoid my sight somehow, he's connected to very dark magic. I only see him when he's got his cloak on." Jersey said, trying to walk away from the edge.

But I pulled on the rope and the noose pulled Jersey back into place. "Alright then, where is he? Where has he taken Applebloom?!" I asked.

"Again, I don't know, I saw him take her somewhere and then he just vanished. Wherever he's taken her, it's somewhere neither I nor Moleyair can see." Jersey answered, looking back at the edge in fright.

Slightly angered by the lack of info, I pulled on the rope a bit and Jersey was nearly pulled off the edge. "You're breaking my balls here, Jersey! Give me something useful, dammit!" I ordered as I gripped the rope tightly.

Jersey felt the noose pull back a little against his neck and he panicked. "Ok! Ok! I do know something…Two days from now, the pony is gonna take Applebloom to the castle of the two sisters in the Ever Free Forest." He said loudly.

I thought about this for a moment. Why would the pony kidnap Applebloom and then take her somewhere so close? It didn't make sense. "Why?" I asked.

"They're gonna have a picnic!" Jersey yelled sarcastically. "How the hay am I supposed to know? He just is!" he finished.

I then sighed hard before I released the rope and Jersey fell forward onto the ground. "It'll do." I growled as the rope and noose disappeared. "You better not be lying to me, otherwise I'll be back." I said darkly before I turned and started walking away with a small limp.

As Jersey slowly got up, he watched me go before he growled silently. He then grabbed the antler in his wound before he yanked it out, holding back a painful cry. Once he felt better, Jersey threw it towards me like a throwing knife.

Knowing this, I quickly shifted my head out the way before the antler flew past my head, I then stuck my hoof out and grabbed it in an energy beam before I spun around and threw it back at Jersey.

Jersey didn't have time to react as the antler stabbed into his shoulder, making him cry out in pain as he fell back to the ground.

Leaving Jersey wounded and groaning, my Element disappeared before I turned and continued to walk away. I then took off into the sky and started making my way back to Ponyville to prepare myself for what was gonna come.

That night: Ponyville library

While I was gone, Twilight must've noticed I was gone and got the other together to try and find me. Now Applejack Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were at the Library.

Twilight stood in front of Spike and Jeff, looking down at them with concern. "Ok, so he didn't tell either of you were he was really going?" she asked.

Spike shook his head. "No, he said nothing, he just said he was going out." He stated.

Jeff then stepped forward. "But he looked like he had an idea about somethin'. We said if he wanted to find the guy stealin' the Elements, he should try and find someone who would know where he went." He explained.

Rarity looked at them in confusion. "But that's impossible, the only way he could do that is if he could find someone who knows everything that goes on beyond Ponyville." she said.

"Well he clearly knows someone who does, otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly run off like he was on to something." Spike said, walking over to her.

Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof, trying to think of anyone who has that kind of knowledge and it didn't take long for her to figure it out. "Wait…Moleyair, he's gone to consult Moleyair." She said before she looked at the others with a panicky look. "We have to get over there right now." she said loudly.

Rainbow Dash flew over to her and hovered in front of her. "What's the rush? It's not like Matt's gonna hurt him, he'd never do that." She said.

"No, but in his current state, he might do something rash to get the answers he's looking for." Twilight said before she turned and started making her way towards the front door.

"I hope he's ok." Fluttershy said in concern as she began to follow her.

But before they could reach it, the front door opened to reveal me on the other side. It was dark out, so they couldn't see the state I was in, they could only see me breathing heavily.

They all stared at me before Twilight took a closer look. "Matt? Is that you?..." she said before she smiled. "It is! Oh Matt, where have you been? I've been so worried…about…" she said before she started to see me more, making her smile slowly vanish. "…Dear Celestia…" she whispered as I stepped into the light.

As I did, I revealed myself to them, I was scratched and bruised with a black eye and splattered with blood. I breathed heavily, trying to catch my breath from the fight and long flight I just had.

Everyone stared at me with wide eyes, Fluttershy soon fainted at the sight of me and Spike rushed to tend to her. I stood there, letting them see me in this horrid state, until Twilight walked over to me. "Matt…a-are you ok?...You look terrible." She said as she placed her hoof on my cheek.

"I'm fine, Twilight…I just had a bit of a spat with the Jersey Devil, that's all." I said, being honest with her.

"The Jersey Devil?" Applejack said as she walked over to us. "We thought you were going to see Moleyair." She said, trying not to look at the blood on my coat.

I turned to look at her. "I did, but he was no help, I had to get answers somewhere else…Jersey was the only option." He said before I took a step closer to her. "He told me where Applebloom was gonna be…the castle of the two sisters, the hooded pony's gonna take her there two days from now…and I promise you, I'll get her back safely." I said.

Rainbow Dash slowly flew over to me. "But…why are you so battered like that? You covered in…you know.." she said, too disgusted to say the word.

I looked up to her. "Let's just say Jersey wasn't so willing to talk at first…" I said before my injured leg gave way and I started to fall. "Oh!...I'm going down." I said in pain before I fell to the floor hard.

Twilight, very concerned, placed her hoof on me to try and tend to me. "Matt!...You're really hurt, you need to rest." She said, sounding worried.

I then pushed myself back up before I looked at her. "I'm alright…I'm alright…I need to have a wash, get myself cleaned up…I'll be back in a moment." I said before I started limping to the bathroom to have a shower.

Everyone watched me until I was gone, they all then went over to Twilight. "Do you want us to stay here for a while?" Rarity asked with concern.

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's ok…any problems Matt and I have, we work it out together." She said before she looked over to the hallway I went down. "I'm just worried about him, he's been a little…distant lately." She said.

Pinkie Pie hopped over and stopped in front of Twilight. "It'll be alright, Twilight, you and Matt or the best couple ever, you'll sort it out eventually, then he'll be back to his old cheerful self." She said, patting her hoof against Twilight's head.

Once she stopped, Twilight smiled at her. "I hope so, Pinkie, I really do." she said.

"We'll leave you both to it then." Rarity said before she walked past Twilight to leave the Library, followed by Pinkie and Rainbow Dash who was dragging the still unconscious Fluttershy out by her tail.

Twilight then looked at Applejack and gave her a curious look. "Are you not going with them?" she asked.

Applejack then shook her head. "No, Twilight, I need to talk to Matt as much as you do." she said strongly.

Not wanting to argue with her, Twilight nodded and they both waited until I was out so they could talk to me.

A few minutes later, I came out of the bathroom completely clean of blood, but still covered in scratchers and bruises. I went back into the front room and saw Twilight and Applejack sitting on the floor in front of me. "Matt, we need to talk." Twilight said firmly.

I sighed heavily, thinking I knew what it was about. "I know, I was kicked off the case and I had no right to go off without telling at least Shining Armor about it, but I had a lead…I didn't have time to write a letter." I said, walking up to them.

"Not about that, Matt, about the state you were in a few minutes ago. Why did come home looking the way you did, you were beaten and covered in blood." Twilight said, giving me a strong look.

After hearing this, I stayed quiet for a moment before I answered. "I told you…I went to go see Jersey Devil, things got a little out of control, but I handled it…now we know where Applebloom's gonna be." I said before I made my way towards the kitchen. "I need a drink of water, my head's killing me." I said.

But before I could enter the kitchen, Twilight used her magic to close the door in front of me. "You can have a drink once you tell us what you did to Jersey." Applejack said firmly.

I then turned around to face them. "What do you mean? He's still alive, if that's what you're asking." I said strongly as I went over to her.

"We didn't say that, Matt, we just want to know what happened." Twilight said, trying to help me calm down.

I looked at her before I exhaled hard. "I wanted answers from him, but he wouldn't talk, so I decided to loosen his tongue a bit. It got out of control, I was beating on him, he was beating on me…but eventually he slipped up and got him in a position where he started talking. That's when he told me where the pony was gonna take Applebloom." I explained.

After hearing this, Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, shocked by this news. "So…you assaulted him?" Twilight asked, looking slightly frightened.

Seeing this, my ears dropped and I tried to be a little calmer. "No…I mean, not really, he attacked me first. It got out of hand and I thought I might as well steer into the skid while I was there." I said before I looked at Applejack. "Applejack, he was holding information on your sister's whereabouts…what would you have done?" I asked.

Applejack looked at the floor before she answered. "I'd travel all over the world to find her…but I wouldn't go pickin' fights I might lose, Matt." she said before she walked up to me and placed her hoof on my shoulder. "I know you mean well, Matt, and I know you're desperate to get her back…but you need to keep calm and have a clear head." she said with a gentle voice.

"She's right." Twilight said as she took a step closer. "True, you won this time, but what if next time you get beaten up again…what if you die? I need you, Matt…we need you." she said as she placed her hoof on her slightly bloated stomach.

I looked at her before I looked at her stomach that carried my child, I didn't want to admit it, but Twi was right. Rushing off into a monster's nest like that was stupid and reckless, I could've died and I'd never see my baby. I looked down at the floor with self-disappointment. "I failed her…I failed Applebloom…the idea to bring the Elements here was partly mine, if I hadn't have done that…maybe Applebloom wouldn't have been…" I said as I started to tear up.

Twilight came over to me and nuzzled her head against my neck, trying to comfort me.

Applejack came up beside me. "I know how you feel Matt, believe me, I'm her big sister and I wasn't able to protect her, and I was even there when it happened. I don't know whether to blame the pony who took her or myself." she said as her ears lowered.

Hearing this made what I said sound meaningless, Applejack's was going through a much worse time than I was. "I'm sorry Applejack." I said before we shared a warm hug, which Twilight soon joined.

When we separated, Applejack looked me in the eyes I gave her a serious look. "I promise you, Applejack…we will find her…and now we know where she'll be." I said.

Applejack was silent for a moment before she gave me a single nod. "Bring her back safe, ok?" she said.

I nodded before I turned to look at Twilight. "Twi…I need to do this, I need to get her back and stop this pony before he does any more damage." I said calmly.

Twilight nodded. "I know…it's just…I worry about you when you do dangerous stuff like this." She said with concern.

I smirked before I cupped her chin with my hoof. "Hey, we do dangerous stuff like this all the time, it's basically another normal day for us." I said, trying to get at least a smile out of her.

Which I did, Twilight gave me a small smile, but when she looked over to my wounds, it disappeared. "I'm just worried you'll get hurt or worse." She said.

I then wrapped my arms around her and held her close. "I'll be alright…it's me, remember?" I said as I stroked her mane with my hoof.

After a moment, we separated before Twilight gave me another concerned look. "But we have to tell Shining Armor about this." She said.

"What? Why?! What's he got to do with this?" I asked with a raised eye-brow.

"He's in charge of the investigation now, remember? You got kicked off. If the pony is gonna be at the Castle of the Two Sisters, he needs to know so he can be there to catch him." Twilight explained.

"We don't need Shining Armor or anyone else, that pony entered our town again and not only took off with yet another Element, but with a little filly. That's when this became personal, I'm not gonna risk time or Applebloom's life just to obey Celestia's order." I said firmly before I sighed heavily and walked over to the window.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other again before they returned their attention to me. "What are you saying, Matt?" Applejack asked curiously.

I then turned around to them so I could answer. "I'm saying we're taking this into our own hooves, we're gonna take this pony down ourselves. He's powerful, but he's not invisible, he can be beaten just like everyone else." I said strongly.

Applejack and Twilight's jaws fell open when they heard this. "Matt, you can't do that. You're already on thin ice with Celestia, don't make things worse for yourself." Twilight said as she walked up to me.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but I need to do this myself. I need to make things right with Celestia and make up for my mistakes, and the only way I do that is if I catch this guy myself and get Applebloom back.

"Matt! This is crazy!" Twilight said before she turned to face Applejack. "Applejack, tell Matt this is crazy!" she said to her.

Applejack thought about it for a moment before she answered. "Actually, I kinda see Matt's point." She said with a small frown.

"Come again?!" Twilight asked loudly with a raised eye-brow.

"Matt's right, this is personal. For lame-sake, Twilight, he kidnapped my little sister! I wanna see this guy brought down good and hard, not by the book." Applejack said before she raised her eye-brow. "Besides, won't this fella expect the guards to come lookin' for him? He'll never see it comin' if it was just Matt." she stated.

Twilight thought about it for a moment before she sighed. "…Fine…" she said before she turned her head to face me. "But, at least take someone to help you. You can't take him on your own." She said.

"Well who would you suggest? We can't tell Shining Armor, and we can't ask Star Beam or any of his team mates, for all we know it still could be one of them." I said, trying to help her rule out curtain ponies.

"Don't worry, I'll think of someone. Someone who we can trust, who can keep a secret…I'm sure there's someone we know who's good with those things." Twilight said, trying hard to think of someone who'd be perfect.

With that, I looked at both of them with a serious look. "Then it's settled, we're taking this case into our own hooves…in two days from now, we're gonna get Applebloom back and catch the pony responsible for all of this…then, finally, it'll end." I said.

Twilight and Applejack were silent for a moment before they nodded in agreement, sealing this decision. It was going against Celestia's word, but we couldn't risk any screw ups.

This was going to end, one way or another.

Meanwhile: Mount Forbiddon

The leader Alicorn sat on his large throne, looking down at the green pool which he used to watch over whatever he wanted, in this case, me. He had overheard out conversation and chuckled darkly. "You just keep making this easier, young boy." He said.

At that moment, he thought about the hooded pony stealing the Elements and how he had made curtain mistakes in the past. "Hmm…my apprentice is strong, but after what I just witnessed with Jersey Devil, you have a strong chance of defeating him." she said before he grinned evilly. "Unless I give him a little nudge." He said.

At that moment, he got up from his throne and the pool sealed itself, hiding it away. The leader made his way out of the throne room before he entered a wooden elevator in the rock wall.

He then looked up at a small pony-like figure in the shadows. "Take me down." he said calmly.

With that, the pony grabbed a lever with it's hooves before pulling it, this made the rope holding the elevator loosen and it lowered the leader down the mountain gently.

As he went lower and lower, the temperature around him got warmer and his ears picked up the sound of pounding metal and gears grinding, followed by whip sounds. The air got hotter and the sounds got lowered as he went lower, until he finally reached the bottom.

The leader stepped off the elevator and went towards a pair of large doors, which each had a large symbol of a red alicorn on it. He used his magic to open the doors and welcomed by the sight of a room full of statues.

There were statues of ponies, dragons, donkeys and even a chimera, each were in a frightened or attacking pose. The leader walked across the room to the next pair of doors, along the way, he took interest in one of the statues.

It was a male pony dressed like a mobster, he was in a frightened pose and the stone looked fresh. "Hmm…that's a new one." The leader said before he continued on his way.

Once he reached the doors, he opened them with his magic and beheld the sight in front of him.

It was a giant forgery, smelters the size of towers, gears the size of houses, and enough ponies to fill an entire village. Each pony was a slave, pulling on ropes to turn the heavy gears, forging armour and weapons to aid a large army, and shovelling coal the feed the thermoses. In the shadows, more pony-like figures continuously whipped them to make sure they kept working.

The leader simply walked across the forgery, getting a few frightened looks from the weak pony slaves along the way. He kept walking until he reached the other side of the room, where Rage sat on his own throne, watching his work in progress. "Brother…I thought I said I'd like you to let me know if you were coming down here, the place is a mess." Rage joked.

"And I thought I told you that this was my mountain, so I can go wherever I please without having to tell anyone if I don't wish to." The leader said as he took a step closer to Rage.

Rage then got up off his throne and walked up to him. "Well, now that you're here, would you mind telling me the meaning of your…sudden…visit." Rage asked, giving him a small glare.

The leader ignored it and turned to face his forgery. "Matthew is planning to attack my apprentice when he takes the filly to Celestia and Luna's old castle." He said.

"How did he know he was taking her there?" Rage asked curiously, slightly shocked by this news.

"He persuaded our old friend, Jersey Devil, to tell him." The leaders answered without looking back at him.

Rage growled after hearing this. "Why do we keep that worthless creature alive anyway?" he asked.

"Because he's useful, he lets us know if there's anything we can't see." The leader said before he looked back at Rage. "At least, for now anyway. Once he's outlived his usefulness, you do whatever you want with him, kill him, add him to that collection of yours, I don't care." he said.

Rage chuckled darkly. "He would look rather smashing as stone. If only I could've added Discord before he got away, he would've been my crown jewel of my collection." He said, picture it in his mind.

"We'll deal with him soon enough, brother." The leader said before he returned his attention to the forgery. "Anyway, back to what I was saying, I fear my apprentice may not be able to deal with Matthew, he's become more one with his Element." He said, sounding troubled.

"So you want me to make him something?" Rage asked with a raised eye-brow.

"Indeed, something that can give his abilities an extra boost and unlock new ones." The leader said before he used his magic to levitate an unfinished amulet towards him. "Make it something…easy to wear…and don't be afraid to add you own person touch." He said before he put it back where it was.

Rage grinned at this opportunity. "My dear brother, what craft of mine doesn't have my personal touch?" he said before he tapped his hoof with his chin. "And I think I know just the thing." he said darkly.

"I hope so, it needs to be ready in two days." the leader said before he looked back at Rage with a sharp glare. "Do no fail me." he said before he started walking away to leave the forgery.

With that, Rage went off to force some slaves to start making this weapon for the leader's apprentice.

So while our plan was in motion, so was theirs, the only question was…which one would prevail?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Before anything else, I want to say something. If any of you have a PS4 and can play online with people, then you can probably play with me on some of my games. My PlayStation user name is Frontdoor6, just like it is on here and my avatar pic is Spyro the Dragon.

The following games are the only ones I can play online. Star Wars Battlefront, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice: Gods among us and Evolve.

Anyway, the latest FIM S6 episode was great, best one yet, Starlight and Trixie are so good together, that episode was the dream!

Pony news

3 more episodes have been announced.

The plot for Applejack's Day Off has been revealed: Twilight and Spike work at Sweet Apple Archers while Rarity takes Applejack to relax at the spa

The next one is called Flutter Brutter: Fluttershy convinces her brother to move out of her parents' house and live with her.

And the latest one is called Spice up your life: Pinkie and Rarity discover a struggling family resonant.

I know, Fluttershy has a brother. Mind-blowing, right?

End of Pony News

Please remember to review or PM

The next chapter will be up as soon as possible.