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Equestria's First Human

by Ceehoff

Chapter 13: Chapter XIII - Finally...

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Equestria’s First Human - Chapter XIII

Written and Drawn by: Ceehoff

“Make one false move, and this pegasus dies!!” shouted a rage-ridden Hellfire, holding his gnarly blade up to Fluttershy’s head. She shrieked under her cloth gag. Her eyes were flooded with fearful tears.

“Hold on there, buddy,” Connor held his hands up in the air. “Let’s just calm down here… Yes, it is very sad that your mother dropped you on your head when you were a little colt, but if you could just go to the hospi—.”

“Silence, savage!!” he roared.

An orange stream of light shot from his horn, through the wooden panels of the ceiling and out through the roof, emulating an orange beacon.

"Now, drop your weapon, cretin! Now! Drop it!" he snarled, nearing the edge of the blade toward his captive.

The human sneered in spite, dropping his bat down to the ground.

"Kick it over here!"

Connor reluctantly pushed the bat with his foot, sliding it over to him. With a swing of his blade, Hellfire hacked it in two, not letting go of his hostage. He flicked the two bits to the side. He raised his blade back up to the yellow pegasus, notifying the human that he was not finished. He and the five ponies, human, and dragon gave each other grave glares, carefully inspecting each other of them doing any funny business. Hellfire was the first to break the gaze as he glanced around him.

“You fools! Where are you?! You dare to ignore the help signal?! Come in here!!” he snarled as he shifted his head left and right.

“Oh, yeah," Connor chuckled tauntingly. "I forgot to mention that Spike and I managed to drop your puppets with sleeping darts. Every single last one of them. Too easy, in my opinion. You should really reconsider your militia."

“Meddling primate! You may have foiled my plan from earlier, but you will not foil me now! I have waited months for this, and I will not lower myself to be spat upon by the likes of you! I will kill Princess Celestia, and I will rule Equestria! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!! NOPONY WILL!!”

He wheezed and growled in rage, as he tried to regain his breath for his angry tirade. Fluttershy’s left ear was ringing.

Twilight grit her teeth in combat. She could take him out with her magic, but the anti-magic serum was still effective in her body. However, it would not take long for it to wear off. For now, she had to wait. Hopefully, it would wear off before Hellfire kills her pegasus friend.

“Why are you helping these ponies?" the orange stallion growled. "You've seen how they treated you! You could've joined us, make these ponies pay for the sins they have committed against you and your reputation! Your honor! Yet, you play the hero, naïvely believing that these ponies will accept you for sparing them. Is it really worth the all of the trouble to save a town full of prejudicial ponies who still loathe and spit on you?”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take," Connor softly spoke in a bold manner. “If they still treat me that way, it won't matter anymore. At least, I will have accomplished something, in keeping them safe from sick-minded, war mongering, blood drinking, pus-bathed bastards like you. Back where I came from, we have ways to deal with your kind."

"I'm trembling."

"Try me..."

“Enough chat! Now is the time to act! Answer me this, beast: You talk big, but are you going to act big?” he snarled with a crazed smirk.

Connor's cheeks flushed. What a time to act like a bad-ass. He was standing about fifteen feet away from him, and the blade was a hair width away from Fluttershy's head. He mentally bashed himself on the head for acting so over-confident.

"Well??" he asked as he carved a long cut on Fluttershy’s other cheek.

The poor pegasus cried a muffled, painful moan. The human clenched his fist so hard, veins popped up from underneath his flesh. He gritted his teeth tightly, making his heightened breaths hiss.

An eyebrow rose up on Hellfire’s forehead. The way the human reacted…

He smiled devilishly as he ran his tongue up Fluttershy’s neck. Connor flinched forward, ready to punch him.

The stallion began to laugh. “My, oh my… You have special feelings for this one, haven’t you?”

The human swallowed nervously.

“You do!" he nearly laughed. "Well, now I have seen everything."

He began to laugh. The first was a little silent, and then it got louder as he progressed. Later, he was a cackling mess of bloodlust. Connor's mind was cursing itself out. Making it too conspicuous, now he believed that he just gave the orange, demented stallion a sick reason to kill her quicker. He had to stop him.

The stallion's laughing provided the perfect cover for the human to find a way to surprise him. He slid his hand into the pouch slung onto his side. Dammit! He was out of sleeping darts. Plus, he left his gun lying on the other side of the room. His bat was useless because it was hacked in two and lying on the other side of the room.

He noticed the speakers behind him. A limp input cord dangled off the top edge.

Still laughing…

Connor slyly slid out his iPhone from his pocket, making it peek out halfway. Then, he reached waved his hand behind himself, pawing for the input plug. When he got a hold of it, he hid it the cord behind his forearm. He tucked the plug behind his palm. He turned the dial to maximum volume. He noticed Twilight witnessing him. Able to pick up Connor's plan with her intellect, she gave him a nod. He nodded back.

Hellfire finished his manic laugh. He flinched back into action, ready to dig his blade into her yellow body.

“Just in case you do mess up," he smiled coldly. "I will allow you to say your last words to your little posey here. Well? Any at all?"

The human swallowed. How was he so sure that this was going to work? Unless he played his cards right, it would really be the end of her.

"Fluttershy?"

The crying pegasus whimpered, shaking her head furiously to deny that this was the end.

“Fluttershy, look at me! Look at me...”

Her red, soaking, azure eyes reluctantly opened to gaze upon him. Her whimpering ceased.

“Listen to me…" he said, staring into her eyes. "I need to say something to you… I’ve wanted to say this ever since I’ve talked to you out in the fields. Remember?”

“Mm-hmm,” she moaned from behind her cloth.

“I… I just want to say…"

Hellfire smirked. Fluttershy nodded her head rapidly, eager for him to finish. Connor's hand stirred to shift the input plug between his thumb and index finger. Small sparks flickered from Twilight's horn.

Oh, God, I hope this works… he thought.

"Plug your ears!"

He yanked his iPhone out with one hand while yanking the cord out with his other. He clapped them together, plugging them in at once.

A death metal singer's loud screaming thundered out of the speakers behind him as if a lightning bolt had just struck inches near him. Everypony in the room screamed in pain as they plugged their ears as tightly as they could.

Hellfire shouted painfully as he released his grip around Fluttershy's neck to cover his ears. Never in his life had he heard anything so loud and relentless.

"TWILIGHT!" Connor shouted over the noise.

"HRRRNG!! RIGHT!" she grunted as she fought against the pain in her ears.

She pointed her horn at the yellow pegasus and shot a large rope of magic at her. Once it touched her, Fluttershy reappeared in a purple flash directly next to her and the others.

Connor smiled through the pain in his ears, seeing that she was safe and unharmed. He saw the orange stallion staggering in his place, pressing his ears against his skull with his forelegs.

He tried to kill his little pony. He was going to get it.

Feeling a newfound energy, he pushed against the ground and launched himself at Hellfire. The speakers behind him had reduced to static and smoke before they exploded in a shower of sparks. The orange stallion staggered to his hooves to shake the pain out of his ringing, stinging ears. The moment he looked up, he saw a tall figure collide into him.

He found himself flying two feet in the air before he landed on his shoulder. The wooden floor firmly gripped the flesh behind his coat, making him tumble uncontrollably until the back of his head smacked into the wall.

"WHOO! HA, HA!" Connor hooted as he pranced in victory. "You just got your ass whooped by death metal, bee-otch! Not so tough now, huh?? Whatcha gonna do now? Whatcha gonna--?"

A hellish growl erupted from Hellfire's throat as he lifted his sword, gleaming in threat.

"Oh, shit…"

"DAMN YOU!"

The orange unicorn launched himself at the human and swung at him with all of his might. Connor automatically ducked, feeling the blade brush against his back. Seeing his maneuver, Hellfire swiped his sword in the other direction, aiming for his torso. The human threw himself backwards, but felt the tip of the sword whiz directly in front of his nose. His mind was boggling with profanities.

"Hold on, Connor! We're comin'!" Applejack called, summoning the others to follow her to the human's aid.

"Let's knock him into next week!" Rainbow Dash growled.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" the cloaked stallion roared.

And with that, a glowing orb inflated from his horn. He launched it at the six rescuers and it expanded, showing no hope of avoiding it. It engulfed all of them and hovered into the air, out of the way. The ponies pounded against it with their hooves, trying to break out, but the wall was too thick. Not even Applejack could break through with her strength.

"Hey! Let us out! Let us out!!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she rammed into the wall of the orb.

"You'll get your fight!" Hellfire snapped at her. "But for now, it's just me and him. Our fight! He brought this all on himself."

"Oh, come on…" Connor groaned.

The orange stallion launched himself at his target again, lifting his sword up behind his head for a killing hack. The human leapt aside and felt sparks tickle his shins. As soon as he lifted his head from getting up, he saw the blade zoom in toward his head once again. He ducked, feeling the breath of death sift through his hair. Then, a hoof cracked him across the face, pushing him back by five feet, including the stunned staggering. He tripped over on one of the chairs that bound the six ponies and fell on his back. Dazed by the strike and fall, Connor wiped at his bleeding lips until he saw a shadow loom over him. Hellfire was in the air, falling down on him with his gnarly blade spearing down at him.

"WHOA!" he exclaimed in surprise, grabbing the nearest object he could grab.

He shielded himself with a wooden chair.

CHUNNK!

The moment Connor opened his eyes, one of them was nearly skewered by the blade that stopped about one inch from his face.

"Ohhh…" he shuddered.

Behind the chair, Hellfire pushed down before the human was ready to push back. However, his head twitched the right way to avoid a gruesome death. His cheek, however, was not lucky as it was slit by the jagged blade before it stuck into the wooden floor behind his head.

"Agh!" he yelped in pain.

He felt fresh blood ooze out from his two-and-a-half-inch-long wound.

Feeling aggravated and that he should return the favor, he tucked his legs in underneath the orange stallion and planted both feet into his stomach with all of his might. Hellfire flew in the air before he landed on his back. His cheeks puffed out from the clenching and twisting pain in his abdominals.

Connor rolled out from behind the stuck sword and chair.

"I'll take this!" he said, tugging at the sword until it popped out from its place. Flinging the wooden chair off of it, he lunged at the crouched unicorn.

"I beg (cough!) to differ…"

Hellfire's horn glowed and the sword froze in its place in the air, immediately slipping out of Connor's hands as he swung at him. After an awkward stop, the human whipped around to see the floating sword subconsciously taunt him. It whirled its point around toward him and fired like a missile at his chest. He dodged just in time, feeling the sword tear a large slit in his t-shirt. He smirked as he saw the blade close in on Hellfire.

"Ha! That idiot!" he chuckled to himself.

Hellfire clapped his fore hooves together, clasping the blade like it was a slip of paper.

"Aw, damn…"

Hellfire suddenly reappeared in front of him in an orange blur before the human was bucked in the chest by the stallion's black hooves. He flew back onto the wall while his head whipped back and smashed the window over it. He slid down the wall onto his rump as he gasped for air. The stallion's mighty hind legs seemed to have pressed all of the oxygen out of his lungs.

Then, Hellfire roughly landed on top of him like a block of lead that dropped onto him, annexing to the pain. His forelegs pressed against his neck, determined to push it through the wall. Connor's hands trembled, clawing at Hellfire to yank him off, but the lack of oxygen in his lungs made him weak. Hellfire snarled as he hellishly glared into his prey's frightened eyes.

In the floating orb, Fluttershy was horrified. She beat the wall, desperately wanting to jump in and save him. Tears flowed out of her frightened eyes as she helplessly gazed at the manic stallion strangling her special somepony.

"NO!" she screamed. "Stop it! Please!"

However, her screams fell onto deaf ears as Hellfire relished in her fright and pressed harder. Connor could feel his eyes about to roll back into his skull.

He couldn't die.

Not like this...

His hands pawed at his sides, finding something to vend off his opponent with. His vision began to darken.

No! Not now! His hands desperately brushed over the debris around him until he felt his finger glide across something glossy…

Smooth...

Jagged…

Flat...

Angular…

He grabbed the object, and with the remaining energy left in his fading life, he swung it at his strangler.

Through the object, he felt the tremor of tearing flesh and tissue as well as the moistness of the blood that was left in its wake. Hellfire howled in crippling pain and lifted his foreleg off the human's throat.

"GWWUUUHHHHHHH!!" Connor loudly gasped in a huge intake of air. He rolled to his side, coughing uncontrollably as he tried to regain his lost energy. His ears were filled with pressure, making him hear only muffled sounds and bumps. His eyesight was blurred, slightly tingling with speckles of color as he tried to gaze at the damage he had done to his opponent. He could see a red and orange, pony-sized blob tumble and roll over on the ground, staggering like a cork in a swirling glass of water. He saw lines of red trail from the blob as it moved.

He blinked forcefully until his eyesight became clear. Simultaneously, his ears were cleared of pressure, hearing pained moans and yelps from Hellfire. The human looked at his hand, holding a large, knife-shaped shard of glass, which was coated with maroon blood. He felt the pouches on his fingers sting from the cuts that formed on him from the swing he made.

He heard the hiatus of Hellfire's painful sounds. He looked up to see him huddled low over the floor. Behind him, he saw blood droplets patter onto the wooden surface. The stallion's breath became raspy and labored.

"You…" Hellfire growled deeply.

Connor felt his stomach flip after hearing that ominous tone.

"HRURGH!" the orange stallion whirled around, revealing his…

Oh, God!

A large, wide slit ran from the temple of his skull and ended on the tip of his muzzle, crossing over his eye. Blood dripped plentifully from his severed eye. Not even his eyelid could hold back the large amount of blood.

Connor looked down at his shard of glass, then back up at the seething pony.

Maybe hitting him upside the head with a blunt object was a better idea...

"DAMN YOU!!" he roared louder than before.

He flung himself at the human, reeling his blade up to his side. He swung at the human with all of his might, drunk with rage. Connor barely managed to escape as he felt the tip of the blade run down his forearm. He noticed Hellfire stagger before he turned around to strike at him again. Tablespoons of blood flung from his eye. Despite all the energy summoned by the orange stallion's will to kill, he was being weakened by the loss of blood.

Hellfire repeated the same move again and again until he backed the human up to a corner. Red trails spilt in his wake.

"I will prevail! I WILL!!" he snarled as he lifted his blade up into the air. He took his time, though, because he knew that there was no chance for the human to escape.

Connor's eyes darted desperately around himself to find a way to escape. He saw the floating orb hovering over Hellfire. Inside, the ponies gawked in horror. Fluttershy covered her eyes, not bearing to see her special somepony get slain in front of her. Spike's palms pressed against the orb, watching helplessly. The human bowed his head.

So this was the end…

However, he did not see it end this way, being slain by a sword-wielding, demented, rage-mongering nutcase of a pony. He always expected that it might be a fatal car accident, or being shot by a thug, or of old age in a hospital.

NOw, it didn't matter…

He was still going to witness his own falling curtains...

…That was, until he saw Spike's cricket bat by Hellfire's hooves.

"Enjoy where you're going, thing!" the cloaked pony smiled dementedly.

Connor thrust his foot up against the underside of Hellfire's chin, sending his head over his back. He crouched low, grabbing the cricket bat and swung it behind his back. He turned the handle in his palm to turn the bat to the angled end.

"Why, you--!"

Feeling as if his arms were not affected by gravity at all, the human swung.

KROCK!!

He was struck directly on the side of the head, near his jaw. Hellfire flipped in the air to the side. Then, he landed on his side. His face grew silent and calm as blood trailed down the side of his head.

The orb surrounding the ponies dissipated, dropping them. They all landed perfectly on their hooves.

The human panted as he slowly walked up to the unconscious heap of bloodlust.

"Don’t… ever… mess with my friends again," he panted, wiping droplets of sweat and blood off his face. "You lousy piece of shit…"

He felt the eyes of the six ponies staring at him, and then all of a sudden, they crowded around him, giving him a group hug.

"You came back for us!" Rarity squealed in delight. "You did it!"

"That was awesome!!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, firmly punching the human's shoulder.

"Now, that's what ah call a real good buckin'!" Applejack smiled, tousling his hair.

Then, Fluttershy broke from her hug around his waist and dove at his chest, hugging him tightly. Tears of joy leaked from her eyes as she nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck.

The others released their hugs and stepped back, standing four feet in front of him. They hung their heads.

“Connor?” Twilight began. “We’re so sorry for how we behaved around you. It was wrong of us to turn our backs to you and become ashamed of you. We should have realized that friendship is worth more than money. We don’t blame you for saying all of those things to us earlier.”

Connor shook his head. "No… It's my fault, actually. I falsely believed that friends should do all the work in helping me being befriended by others. I was lazy. You love this town a lot, as well as your friends, and your businesses and occupations were important enough to keep you guys together. I was being a conceited, pitiful ass. Plus, I apologize for yelling at you and calling you such things…"

“No, no, no, darling. You had every right! We acted like such ruffians to our new friend,” Rarity said as she pat him on the back.

The human sighed. Why were they saying it was their fault? He was just as guilty as they were. He did not want this moment to turn into a back-and-forth blame game.

"We all made mistakes," he smiled warmly.

He gently pushed Fluttershy off of his chest and knelt down to her eye level.

“Fluttershy,” he began. “I’m sorry for saying those things in front of you. You didn't do anything and I should’ve known that you would not be used to that sort of thing… You know, being frail and sensitive and all… I’m also sorry that I have embarrassed you in front of everybo—dammit, everypony. Can you ever forgive me?”

He was responded with a nuzzle on his chest.

“Of course," she cooed happily. "There's no need to apologize for embarrassing me. You didn’t embarrass me one bit. I’m just so happy that you came back.”

Connor’s heart melted. All he could ever do was hug the pegasus back. He pressed her deeper onto his chest, feeling her softness and warmth. Rarity squealed silently in bliss, overcome by the blooming friendship between the human and the caretaker. Twilight smiled. Applejack crossed her forelegs, beaming proudly. Pinkie Pie smiled, and Rainbow Dash started sniffling.

She shook herself out of her tears. “Great! Now you got me acting all sappy!”

Everypony laughed warmly.

“What’s so funny?” the rainbow-maned pegasus said as she threw her legs up. “If I act all sappy then, I…I’ll be…I…” She started to sniffle again. Without another word, she dove down and hugged the human's back. Muffled sniffles were only heard from the blue pegasus. Everypony saw this as a good opportunity for another group hug. One by one, everypony including Spike, surrounded Connor with hugs and revival of the happier memories they had together before this entire ordeal.

Suddenly a bright, white flash appeared in the middle of the room, nearly blinding them. When it faded, two guards armed with spears sprung out and crouched low to the floor in a combating stance. They shifted left and right, looking for enemies to vend off.

To their surprise, there were none.

Dumbfounded, they raised their spears. They saw bodies of sleeping and unconscious Dragonfire ponies scattered on the floor. Then, they saw the six ponies, Spike, and Connor, looking surprised as well. They saw Hellfire lying on the floor, unconscious. The guards looked at each other and nodded. After one of them flashed a light out from his horn, Princess Celestia entered the room in a white flash.

“Stop right there! You will not get away with this—.”

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed.

The alicorn exclaimed in surprise, seeing her pupil unharmed. “What’s going on in here? Where's the leader?"

Spike jumped from the huddle, looking very excited. “Connor knocked him out!”

She sputtered. "Connor did this?"

“Yeah! It was like, ‘Any final words to say to Fluttershy?’ And Connor said, ‘Fluttershy, plug your ears!’ Then, Connor used the speakers and his death metal to stun him! And, then Connor ran up to him and BOOM! He knocked him over his hooves! Then, he went WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH with his sword, but Connor dodged them all! WHA! Ka-CHA! Connor uses a shard of glass to tear his eye in half! He was all like 'CURSE YOU!' and he kept swinging at him until Connor knocked the living daylights outta him with a cricket bat to his ugly face! It was so awesome!"

Celestia stared at the human, who innocently waved at her.

Click.

Everypony flinched. The two guards sprung back into their combat stances pointing their spears toward the noise. Celestia turned to the noise.

Next, a groan was heard. She saw a cloaked stallion shift on the ground. He placed his hooves firmly on the ground, trying to lift himself. However, the large amount of blood lost and the wooziness that swirled in his brain made his knees buckle in and drop him back onto the ground. He cursed in his breath before he attempted to push himself up off the floor again.

The princess' hooves sounded loudly on top of the wooden floor as she walked toward to the staggering stallion. A glint of anger flickered in her eyes.

"Your gig is over, rebel," she said grimly. "When you tamper with my subjects, there will a huge price to pay. So huge, that it will make you wish that--."

The stallion turned to her, revealing the unscarred side of his face. Celestia suddenly froze in her place. Her eyes widened dramatically.

"Oh, mother, help me…" she shakily gasped.

"What?" Twilight asked. "What's wrong? Princess?"

The white alicorn did not respond to her pupil's concern. Her lips were cracked open as she gaped at the stallion.

"Hellfire?" she squeaked in disbelief. "Is… Is that you?"

"You KNOW him??" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight gasped as soon as she heard that name her teacher mentioned.

The stallion's snarled in rage. He lurched forward to attack, but fell down on his front, still weak from the aftermath of the fight. Yet, still persistent in doing harm onto the princess, he crawled slowly toward her, trying to grab her hooves. He growled when she lifted them away from him.

"Hellfire," she squeaked again, but with more child-like fear. "What…? What are you doing?"

"You…" his voice rumbled as he tried to grab her hoof again. "You… I'll kill you… I'll kill you!"

"I--!" she stuttered sadly. "I don't understand! You… You were dead! You killed yourself!"

He growled spitefully, not feeling like answering.

"This… This has to be--! This has to be the work of somepony else! A brain-washing zombification spell!" she said. "Don't worry, Hellfire! I'll help you! I'm going to break you out of this spell once and for--!"

"YOU WILL DO NOTHING!"

The white princess flinched in shock.

"This is no spell," he sneered in sick humor. "This is me… The real me…"

She covered her mouth with her hoof. Her eyes began to moisten.

"So, all those attacks," she whispered. "Those were your doing? You were the leader of Dragonfire this whole time??" She shook her head, trying to deny it to be true. "Why? Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill me?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!" he roared. "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'VE DONE! It was unforgivable, what you did. And now, you must pay the price!"

"Princess, what is he talking about?" Connor asked the stunned alicorn.

"Of COURSE, she didn't tell you!" he laughed ironically. "She never told ANY of you! She's been playing you all for saps! You have never seen her true self! You think she is kind, caring, compassionate, respectful, and above all, great. Well, you're wrong…"

All eyes turned to the princess.

"Hellfire, why are you saying all of this?" Celestia pleaded.

"Your mind is as little as your respect, Princess," he growled. "You never let me avenge them…"

"Avenge who?" Applejack asked.

"That dragon had to pay for what he had done to my family. My wife. My daughter. They had meant the world to me! All the stars in the sky! Yet, you threaten me with a dishonorable release from the Royal Guard if I set a hoof out there to hunt down that damned behemoth and avenge them! Well, you're wrong. I set up my own suicide, so you would never know that it was me who killed that damned dragon that laid waste to my family."

The alicorn gasped again.

"The dead dragon… That was all your doing? You killed it? But... Nopony has ever smote a dragon. Alone!"

Hellfire continued. "Yet, after I killed the dragon, I still felt no satisfaction. You had dishonored my family just as that behemoth did! So, therefore, you had to pay as well. Yet, I failed…"

Celestia remembered the sight of her eyes opening to a blade that pointed down on her.

"No…" she whispered. "That was--!"

"So, I went into hiding. I kept my identity hidden, hoping that when I kill you, you would experience the crippling despair and defeat when you find out that one of your own beloved subjects has plunged you into the fiery pits of Tartarus. Ever since, my thirst for your blood had tantalized me so, driving me to kill even my own subjects in order to quench it. I hid until I found the perfect opportunity to end you. Your Royal Visit." He pointed a venomous hoof at Connor. "But, he, that cretin, foiled my plan. If it weren't for him, you would've died an hour ago. Alas, it was not meant to be. So, now, because of that meddling creature you call a 'friend', we are now here, reunited. However, that cretin was not the one who started all of this. Isn't that right, princess?"

All eyes were fixed on the alicorn.

"No, Hellfire! You don't understand!" she shook her head. "I knew that our first meeting after your family was killed did not go smoothly, but I was going to return, to apologize for acting so short with you. But, you were gone before I could even apologize!"

"You should've done that sooner, Princess," he sneered. "Because now, you have brought all of this to your subjects. Me! Singlehoofedly, you killed your own reputation as a leader. Equestria is too precious to be ruled by someone as cold-blooded as you. They must have a new leader, and it will be me. I will show them how a leader must act. I will act nothing like you, a short-tempered liar and a deceiver! They will have me, a leader who is always willing to help and support those who had been through a terrible loss. That is how I formed this organization, out of those who had lost their families and loved ones. I spared them from being hurt by your short temper and closed-sightedness. The rest were ponies who got tired of you. You should have done a better job keeping them loyal to you, because now you have led your own reign to its ruin. How ironic…"

Celestia's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Hellfire…" she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I have brought all of this onto you. This is my fault. You have to come back, Hellfire. Think of your friends… Shining Armor… Think of me..."

He voice began to tremble tearfully. "I loved you, Hellfire. I loved you dearly as I loved all of my subjects. It breaks my heart so to see you like this. Please... Please don't break it anymore…"

"Bite your tongue!" the stallion snapped coldly. "You will not fool me anymore! You will not fool all of Equestria anymore! Your reign of deceit ends now. That is why I have formed Dragonfire, to embark the nation on a journey toward revolution, from the filth you have spewed on it. No longer will you sit on the throne and consider yourself a great leader. This is all an act of mercy, compassion, and retribution. They should be thankful that I didn't resolve to destroy Equestria completely. They would be grateful that I would become their leader, and they would give their lives to keep me and my reign alive. As for retribution…"

He paused a second, growing a bloody smirk across his darkened face.

"I witnessed my family perish by dragon's fire. Now, all of Equestria will witness their old leader perish…" His horn glowed. "…BY DRAGONFIRE!"

Outside, the mechanical lock had unlocked.

RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRGGH!! They hydra roared. Sounds of screams and panic sounded from behind the door. The ground trembled.

"We've got to get out of here! NOW!" Twilight shouted.

They all scrambled toward the door.

Suddenly, after a shower of splinters and broken wood and beams, they found themselves scattered, sprawling on the floor of the town hall. A wave of gray sunlight flooded the entire room. Twilight grunted as she strained to stand back up.

"Princess!" she exclaimed in panic as soon as she laid eyes on the alicorn pinned underneath a vast and thick beam. She scrambled over to her silent body.

She shouted her name repeatedly as she tried to shake her awake.

Celestia awakened with a painful grunt. "My wing… It's broken."

On the other side of the beam, Twilight could see the splayed and ruffled feathers of the alicorn's wing. They curled up along the face of it.

"Don't worry, Princess! I'll heal--!"

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR….. A deep, guttural rumble loomed over her head.

Then, the roof and one of the walls was torn and broke apart like an eggshell. Debris, plaster, and wood rained over her. The four heads of the hydra lowered menacingly in, viciously eyeing the purple unicorn and the downed princess. She gasped in fright. The other five, the human, and the dragon shrunk back in panic. Then, the four heads splayed apart like fingers on an open palm, denying escape for everypony. It roared angrily as well as hungrily. Fluttershy threw her arms around Connor, hugging him out of fear. He hugged her back in protection.

"GO ON!!" Hellfire shouted at the top of his lungs. "FEAST!! FEAST ON THEM ALL!! END THEIR MISERABLE LIVES!!"

The four heads flinched as they looked up to Hellfire lying behind the ponies, human, and dragon.

They growled viciously, glaring at him with contempt.

The stallion's eyes widened.

"What's going on?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight gazed at the hydra, and then at Hellfire.

"I guess that we're not the ones the hydra is going after…"

The heads licked their chops.

"No…" Hellfire whispered.

RRRAAAAAAAAWWWWGH!!

"NOOOOOO!!"

The heads lunged at him.

Connor reeled Fluttershy's head towards him with her face buried in his chest. He ducked his head. He saw nothing, but heard the blood-curdling sounds of screams, snapping bones, tearing flesh, and spilling blood ring in the air.

Then, after a small bellow of the four-headed behemoth, it was all over.

The human looked up to see a red, bloody, torn cloak descend onto the ground, landing gently like a tissue.

Everypony crept up to the cloak's remains, staring at it in disbelief as well as relief.

"He's… He's gone!" Rarity gasped.

"Whoa, nelly…" Applejack gawked.

"Hulmph!" Pinkie Pie retched. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Meanwhile, Twilight used her magic to lift the heavy beam off of Celestia. She crawled up to her side, helping her up.

"Agh!" the princess hissed through her teeth.

"Easy! Easy, princess," hushed the pupil. "You just have to not use it for a while."

"I'll be fine, Twilight…" she responded, though not so enthusiastically.

HHRRRRRRrrrr…

Oh, yeah… The hydra.

Having completely forgotten about the four-headed beast, they whirled around to gaze at it in fear. Was it going to attack again?

Nothing. It just stared at the ponies in the room. Its eyes had no nuance of violence and hunger at all.

"Uhh… Good hydra?" Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Even a hydra has the instinct to think what is good and what is bad," the princess stepped up to face it.

"Princess?" Rarity tilted her head in confusion.

"Cruelty changes minds. It hurts ponies and other creatures that are involved with him or her. Because of Hellfire's unstable control of emotion, it caused him to be cruel to this hydra. In all living beings, there is a limit in being able to tolerate those who are constantly cruel to them," she said as she stared into its yellow eyes. "Fortunately for us, that cruelty has led Hellfire to his own undoing."

A distant wail sounded in the air. The hydra's heads flinched up to hear it. Then, it heaved a wail in response.

"Okay? What's it doing now?" the multicolor maned pegasus asked.

"Well, this is a surprise," the alicorn chuckled. "It has younglings."

"Babies??" Applejack drew her head back in surprise. "Ah never thought ah'd say this, but the poor thing, bein' taken away from her little buckaroos! Now, that's jus' cold."

"Indeed it is…"

She gazed at the clouds. The sun shone through its thick, gray veil, making everything it touches a duller color. A steady sigh blew through her nostrils as she gazed at the depressing sight.

"Princess…" Twilight walked up to her gently. "About Hellfire…"

The alicorn sighed. "He was a good stallion. I believed that he was, indeed. However, of course, in every great stallion, there is always a weakness that would get the best of them, relentless of how harmless that weakness may sound. Hellfire's weakness was emotion. Yes, emotion is an important essential in life, but it is a tight rope to walk on. Too much, and you will fall into a tangled, unruly mess of corruption. Never underestimate the power of weaknesses, my faithful student."

She gazed back up at the sky.

"He loved his family dearly. He only meant well for them, but in an unorthodox way. I told him that he must not let his emotions get the best of him, but alas, look at what happened. He lingered in the past for too long. I wanted him to move on, but not to forget his deceased family completely. You will never progress forward if you stay in one spot, metaphorically speaking."

Twilight smiled at her teacher's wisdom. Her head lowered as well.

"Now, that I remember, Hellfire was Shining Armor's best friend. I've only met him a couple of times while I was growing up with my parents. I was surprised that I didn't recognize him sooner. He just looked so… different," she said. "Now that I heard that he faked his own suicide, I could only imagine how my brother felt hearing that… He must've felt so devastated."

She felt a large wing curtain over her back and pull her in directly next to Celestia's side.

"It's all right," she smiled consolingly. "What is in the past is gone. We can only move forward."

She gazed upon her smiling face. She knew all along that this princess was no liar or deceiver like Hellfire said. Feeling her eyes moisten, she wrapped her hooves around the princess' chest, giving her a grateful hug.

Connor heard their entire conversation. His eyes lowered in thought. Deep down inside of himself, he felt that he could relate himself to Hellfire. If he continued to act so selfish and shunning, then he would end up just like Hellfire, a corrupt, heaping pile of pity. Plus, he had nearly lost his composure completely that time he left the six ponies in anger. Sure, one would be angry after an entire village laughed at him or her, but if one could find a way to plow through it and forget it, life would feel a little more blissful. There was plenty of room for one's life to be better. That was what life was all about, right? To create and build? Renewal?

Celestia separated her hug with her personal pupil.

"I've got to go. This hydra must be brought back to her babies."

"Yes, of course, Princess," Twilight nodded.

The white alicorn stepped forward toward the hydra, until she stopped to look back at the human, still deep in thought.

Believing that she had something to say, she floated gently over to him. Connor never noticed her until she calmly cleared her throat.

"Oh!" he exclaimed drearily. "Princess, uhhh… What is it?"

"You know it is rude to leave just when somepony is going to say something to you," she rose an eyebrow.

"Wh--? Oh…" he sighed, remembering the moment he ran off from the laughing village. "Right… I'm sorry. What was it you were going to say?"

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life," she smiled. "If you hadn't come, then Equestria would've been rocked by tragedy. I couldn't be anymore thankful."

"Don't mention it," he replied half-heartedly.

"And another thing," she included. "I would like to thank you for selflessly saving Ponyville from a terrible disaster."

"No, princess, it wasn't just me," Connor shook his head. "Spike helped, too. If it weren't for him, I never would've even thought of coming back."

He felt the young dragon pat him on the back of his leg. He returned the favor by tousling the protruding scales on his head.

"Glad to be of service," Spike nodded.

"Nonetheless," Celestia smiled. "You still have my thanks."

"Yeah. Though, I wish this town would give theirs," Connor rolled his eyes, gesturing to the empty town.

The princess gazed at the town. Indeed, it was empty. She frowned in slight disappointment, hoping that there would at least be somewhat of a crowd watching them. She turned back to the human and smiled warmly.

"They will, Connor," she said. "They will soon enough."

"I hope you're right."

She did not wish to reveal that she had scolded the entire town just after he ran away. It would be too soon. She did not want to spoil anything.

Instead, she responded with a nuzzle on his cheek.

"I wish you good luck."

The moment she turned away, her cheeks were burning pink. She really enjoyed how his cheek felt on hers. In a flash of light, she and the hydra disappeared into thin air.

He heaved his shoulders in grief. Still no acknowledgement from Ponyville. No use staying in Ponyville now; he was still an outcast. He descended the single step of town hall, only to sway and teeter like a tower with no foundation. He nearly fell over. His foot skidded to one side to hold him up at the last minute. Rarity ran up to his side.

"Darling! Are you okay?" she expressed concern, bunching her eyebrows together in worry.

"I'm fine..." he responded breathily. "Just tired. I guess my trip out of Ponyville will have to wait..."

The white unicorn drew back in stunned surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"I said earlier that I was going to leave Ponyville if they still wouldn't accept me. Look around you..."

Rarity expressed emotions of hurt as she scanned the surroundings. Nopony was in sight except for the sleeping bodies of the Dragonfire ponies.

"You won't mind if I sleep at your place for the night before I go, right?" Connor asked.

Rarity looked at him with a subtly hurt expression. He was leaving? How could he? He just saved Ponyville from a threat, and he was just going to leave??

"Of... Of course, darling," she managed to respond through her hurt feelings. "You can stay."

"Thanks."

Twilight stood with the other four, as she watched Rarity and Connor walk to the boutique. Fluttershy reached a helpless hoof toward him. Seeing that he was not turning back, she sat on her haunches and sighed in depression.

"I can't believe he's leaving," Rainbow Dash said.

"He's done a lot jus' fer Ponyville, and he's just gonna leave? Dag nabbit! Why does everypony here hafta be so shallow around him? It's darn tootin' frustratin'!"

"Not the perfect time for a Going-Away Party, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Psssst!" hissed a pony, hiding behind a corner. Curious and slightly annoyed, Twilight galloped up to the secretive pony.

"What is it?" she grunted, losing her patience. "You know, you guys got a lot of nerve to act so rudely around him after he nearly lost his life trying to help you!"

"Yes, I know! I know! It's just…" the pony took a deep breath, cutting to the chase. "What's his name again?"

"Connor. Why?" she quickly answered.

The pony hung his heavy head and sheepishly kicked a stone with his hoof. "Well, the others and I have been talking..."

"Who? Who exactly?"

"Well…" the pony paused. "Ponyville! Everypony! We need your help with something..."

"With what?" Twilight raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Just a little arrangement..."

----------

Connor rose slowly out from his bed. He should be happy that he had gotten a really good sleep, but the thought that he was still an outcast made the morning less than enjoyable. He shifted his limbs and joints. No strains. He felt the elastic, plastic surface of the band-aid across his cheek. He felt something brush against his skin. It felt silky. It was definitely not his t-shirt. Looking down, he saw the big slit-hole in his t-shirt.

"Aw, jeez…" he groaned.

He smeared his face with his hands, wiping the sleep off of them.

Time to leave.

He slipped his jeans onto his legs and his sneakers onto his feet, which were crusty with dried mud and flakes of dried blood. He pushed through the curtains of the podium and arched his back, making loud cracks in his spine. He shivered by how good it felt.

He turned to leave, until he saw Rarity staring at him. Her blue, pampered eyes were fixed on him, hardly looking away at all. She had a little smile cheekily trying to form on her face.

"Penny for your thoughts," Connor spoke, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Would you be a darling, and (ahem) fetch the newspaper for me before you go?" she slowly said, stifling a smile.

The human squinted at her unusual attitude. Was she hiding something?

Ah, what the hell. Why did he care? He was going to leave anyway.

"Sure," he sighed with a shrug. He walked up to the door. After opening it, he bent over to pick up the newspaper. He looked up to view the weather.

Well, it was a nice day. The many various colors on the ponies' coats really brought out the color of the blue sky. Such a shame that he was going through a rather unenthusiastic mood at the moment to enjoy this lovely weather. He turned back into the house, shutting the door behind him.

Wait…

What the hell?!

Connor gingerly pushed the door open to see everypony in Ponyville crowding the entrance to the boutique. Their heads shifted and bobbed around like they were in an ocean of numerous hints and shades of colors. All eyes were fixed on him. Feeling overwhelmed by the sketchy crowd, he took a step backward, inching his way back inside, until Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike walked up behind him, shutting the door behind them.

"Wh--?" he sputtered, surprised to see everypony in one place.

Were they hiding in the boutique the entire time?

He turned back to the crowd, who drew back slightly from his quick look at his friends.

There was hardly any sound at all.

Not a cough...

Not a sneeze or even a gas leakage...

Connor felt as if he was involved in some sort of staring contest. He did not have much time for games. He broke his eyesight from them and turned to the six ponies behind him, mentally asking them on what to do next.

Then, a gray pegasus pushed herself out of the crowd. She had a lemon-yellow mane and tail and had the image of bubbles on her flanks. Not taking her eyes off of him, she slowly and gently walked over to him. As she stood in front of him, she leaned her head forward to get a closer look at the human.

Connor stared into her yellow eyes. There was something off about this one. This pony’s eyes were askew, facing opposite directions at once. His eye traced over each eye, panicking in mind over what eye he should look into. Her expression was calm with hints of filly-like curiosity.

It was a silent staredown between the cross-eyed pegasus and the human. Then, the gray pegasus turned to her saddlebag perched on her back and pulled out a small box wrapped in brown paper and tied with a black string. She gently and slowly placed it by his feet, spitting out the black string that crept between her teeth. She pushed it toward him with her perky muzzle.

The human gazed upon the small box.

He looked up to the cross-eyed pony, who still stood silently. She bowed her head, insisting that he should take the mysterious package. He picked it up.

He gingerly untied to black string and unwrapped the brown paper. A small white box peeked out.

Wait a second...

Was this going to be some cruel prank? The classic spring pie shtick? So cliché, yet he had to find out. He tucked his finger under the flap covering the top of the box. Taking a deep breath, he flicked it open. He flinched his head away, avoid ing whatever was going to smack his face.

Nothing.

It was just a muffin. Connor crept his fingers between the muffin and the walls of the box and scooped it out. The cross-eyed pegasus gestured at him to take a bite. The human's eyes quickly darted around him to find some sort of telltale sign that this was going to be a prank. There was only one way to find out.

He dug his front teeth into the pastry.

It tasted sweet and grainy. Ooh! Banana Nut! However, he did not like the texture. It felt like he was chewing on paper.

Paper?

He saw a small piece of paper wrapped in a scroll sticking out from one of the muffin's air sockets. Connor took it out and unwrapped it. The message inscribed on it looked as if it was scribbled with an ink quill pen. Through the messy writing and the bad spelling, it read:

"wELKuM".

He stood silently in his place with his jaw slacking in stunned surprise.

From behind the note, the gray pony slowly walked closer to him. Her sad, crooked eyes and her small smile gazed into his flickering soul with puppy-like innocence and guilt. Connor looked up away from her eyesight, staring at the vast congregation behind the gray pony. The sight of their staring eyes were mesmerizing and overwhelming, internally pushing him to respond.

He had his response.

An elated sigh escaped his clenching throat. Either it was the pollen in the air or the welling tears in his eyes, he could not grasp control over it.

He grunted in surprise the moment he felt something bump against his belly. He looked down to see the cross-eyed pegasus nuzzle her soft cheek into his abdomen. He could hear the hum of content behind the closed lips of her smile.

He could not control himself anymore.

He dropped to his knees and yanked her closer to him, hugging her tightly.

Both of their ears were filled with the electrifying sound of cheers and beating hooves. They crowded around them, flooding them with warm and friendly approval. The six ponies behind him smiled, proud of the wonder sight of reconciliation they were witnessing directly in front of him.

Finally…

The crowd faded into silence as the little goofball spoke.

“We’re sorry fo’ being so mean to yoo. I just don't know what went wrong," she moped, meekly looking up to the human. "Can yoo ever forgive us?”

Connor smeared the remaining tears off of his quivering face.

"Of course I do," he smiled. "Maybe you guys aren't such bad ponies after all."

The gray pegasus blushed shyly, grateful for his compliment.

"All of those times we didn't get along, all of those times we were separated out of contempt…" the human said. "They don't matter now. Now, that we have finally understood each other, nothing else matters anymore. They're all in the past."

The two opposite beings hugged once more, officially sealing the deal for a brighter future ahead. In the midst of the reconciliation between them, Connor's eyes opened.

"Nothing else matters…" he muttered in thought.

A smile grew on his face as he repeated it under his breath.

"You know," he said, separating himself from the pony's embrace. "That reminds me of something."

"What?" the gray pony eagerly asked.

"Something I feel I should really share with you. Every last one of you!" He turned to the six ponies behind him. "Guys? You think you could fetch me an amp and Spike's electric guitar for me, please?"

----------

A small stage stood in front of the steps of town hall. Ponies crowded in front of the stage, curious on what was going to happen. Twilight and the others stood at the back of the congregation, standing on an elevated platform for their friend to easily spot them.

Everypony cheered as Connor walked onto the stage with Spike's electric guitar slung around his torso and over his shoulder. Three other ponies trotted onto the stage with him, carrying an instrument of their own. A grey pony with a smooth, black mane and tail carried a cello. A mint-colored unicorn mare with a mint-green and white mane and tail carried a brass lyre. A unicorn stallion with a blue coat and short, blonde, wavy hair carried drumsticks. He sat behind a drum set and gave them some test beats. The other two mares tuned their acoustic instruments to their liking. Connor plugged the guitar to the amp. He plucked lightly at the strings, tuning them to the correct tuning. He sat himself on a stool and spoke into a microphone perched on a stand.

“Hey, everybo… Ugh… Everypony!”

He was responded with warm laughter from the crowd.

“Yeah,” he laughed at himself. “I still have to get used to that. Anyhoo, I just want to say how grateful I am for you guys to accept me. You're the best!”

Everypony cheered.

“And in return, I am going to play a song for you. It’s not mine, but it belongs to a rock band back on my world. I love their music, it’s a cool song, it’s meaningful, simple to play, and it's dedicated to our friendship. I've been practicing on this song for a while, because I thought it'd be a good hobby to finally learn how to play the guitar as long as I'm here. We've had made mistakes, bot of us, but as long as we're friends, nothing else matters. What you said before, thought before, did before, what I did before, what I said, yadda-yadda-yadda, nothing matters. It means sh…sh…poop to us now. Time to move forward."

He was met with hoofs beats of applause.

“Enough talking! Let's listen to some music! This song is Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters'.”

The whole time he was playing, the mint-green pony was staring at fingers intermittently, fascinated by how versatile and flexible they were. The dignified black-haired pony gracefully shifted her bow over the thick strings of her cello, making smooth, ethereal, pulsing, harmonious hums.

He started playing...

When he finished, everypony cheered. Some mares were tearing up, and stallions were whooping like party animals. Connor stood up and thrust his hands in the air, soaking in the love that was dripping from their applause. He pointed across the stage to Fluttershy and bumped his left breast before pointing to her again. The little pegasus blushed in joy, happily squealing in her seat.

Twilight heard a sniff beside her.

"Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I saw everything," she responded, wiping a tear from her eye. "That was such a beautiful song. A wonderful job."

"Yes, wonderful, indeed…"

The purple unicorn smiled contently at the sight in front of her: the cheering, the acceptance, the courtesy. The moments of hardship were finally over. Now, he would not feel so alone before he returns to his own home.

Return…

Leave…

Depart...

Twilight hung her head. “He has to go home now? His own home?"

The alicorn sighed, feeling her pupil's depression as well. "Yes, my faithful student. He can't stay with us forever. He's got to be with his own kind. There, he could resume the life he had that we interrupted. Just yesterday, I had finally learned to wield a spell to send him back to his own world. It wasn't easy..."

"But, he’s changed us so much, that it’s just so hard to let him go.”

“I know Twilight,” nodded the alicorn. “However, who said we're going to send him back now?”

The pupil whipped her head around to the princess in surprise.

Celestia continued. “I will give him some more time to settle here. He deserves it. Now, he needs time to enjoy himself. He will be happy here, but the time will come for him to leave."

Twilight sighed sadly. She remembered saying something like that a while back when he first arrived.

"I understand," she concurred sadly.

She felt a large wings blanket itself over her slack shoulders. She looked up to see her teacher's consoling smile. In response, Twilight cuddled into the white fur of her princess.

"By the way, what kind of music does he call this again?" Celestia asked.

"He calls it 'metal'," smiled the unicorn.




To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Oh, God, I couldn't believe that I thought that was such a good idea! I had to make some MAJOR changes in this chapter. Lots of cliches and cheesiness. It HAD to go... I guess that's what happens when you gain experience in writing pony fictions. Plus, for those who haven't read this yet, I wanted to show something in Hellfire, the reason why he became the stallion he was then. Plus, I had to think of a more unique way for him to meet his doom. The original battle... Blowing him back with death metal and then being sandwiched by Connor into the wall, knocking him unconscious?? WHAT THE HELL, ME?! If that's not ridiculous, then I don't know what is! Hellfire used to be an elite soldier of the Royal Guard! You think he'd put up more of a fight.

Which reminds me... "The Tale of Hellfire" is released! That was part of the surprise along with this re-release, as a "Thank you for your support!".

Enjoy!

Man, isn't it amazing to see how much you changed now just by looking at your older works?

Next Chapter: Chapter XIV - Departure Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 31 Minutes
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