Within the bustling late-night streets of Port Greenhold, many citizens of different races roam throughout the streets, escaping the cold weather that blows through their skin and fur. Amongst these citizens, a small little Earth Pony filly can be seen running through the town alone, and carrying a bag of goods that, despite the protests from the guards, was purchased legitimately. Far behind her, a group of Minotaurs wearing the armor of the City Guards were chasing her; a group of three. They each had their weapons drawn, and were, without a doubt, planning on killing her with cruel intentions. Little do they know, however, that they are being watched by a pair of red eyes in the sky.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, THIEF!" the Minotaurs roared, as the filly ran through the streets, carrying a large paper bag of food, and looking towards the yelling "guards".

Then, she bumped into a large object that caused her to stumble and fall, scattering the groceries all over the floor. Looking up, her worried expression intensified as she saw a trio of guards blocking her way, while the other three soon caught up, and before she knew it, she was surrounded by Minotaurs that stood slightly over six times her height.

"P-please don't hurt me! I swear, I paid for the food!" The filly begged, only to receive a glare from the Minotaur directly in front of her, while the one behind her lifted her up off the ground by the mane, which caused her to scream in pain, while holding onto the Minotaur's hand, and lifting herself up, in order to nullify the pain.

The Minotaurs all laughed at her, while the one directly in front of her chuckled, and lifted his sword towards her throat. "I'd say we go on ahead and kill her! Spare the boss his troubles!"

With a nod, the one that held the defenseless filly replied, "Yeah... but first, I'd like to hear her beg."

The filly's eyes filled with tears, but hearing them ask her to beg caused her natural "Rebellious Nature" to kick in. Due to the silence, the Minotaur who held her by the mane started moving her hands out of the way, causing the pain of the grip to rise against the filly again. Then her screaming continued, until she screamed, "MOMMY! DADDY! HELP! HE'S HURTING ME!"

At once, a pair of Earth Ponies rushed out of the nearby house on her left, and once the stallion noticed what was going on, his eyes widened, while he shouted, "ROSIE! UNHAND HER, YOU MONSTER!"

Then one of the Minotaurs caught him right as he was trying to rush in and grab his daughter, while another one punched him in the chest, which caused him to tumble back, and wheeze for breath.

"GOLDEN ROCK!" The mare shouted, before rushing up to her husband, and glaring at the Minotaurs with tear-filled eyes. "STOP THIS AT ONCE! PLEASE!" She begged.

The Minotaurs chuckled, before turning towards Rosie. "How about we kill her parents first? Make her cry in her last moments?"

"Why... why are you doing this?!" Golden Rock asked, while weakly looking at the Minotaur that held his daughter, with one eye closed, and his right hand over his chest.

The Minotaurs all chuckled, before replying, "Why? Well, for starters, we can! And also, we can remember hearing her talking about us being 'Black Wings'... that alone says too much!"

That statement caused Golden's eyes to widen. "You.. you're with the BLACK WINGS?!"

Then the Minotaur nodded his head, while another one raised his sword at the defenseless stallion. "Indeed, we are... and now that you know that, I see no reason for you to live!" He raised his sword over his head and, in one fluid motion, sliced across the poor stallion's neck.

As soon as his hand stopped moving from the attempted swing, he soon came to realize that his sword was no longer in his hand, and the stallion was completely unharmed. Looking around, the entire group's expressions changed from happy to worried. Then, from over their heads, the sword landed on the ground, piercing into a crack between the cobblestone road. As soon as it landed, the entire group looked up, and at once, their jaws dropped at the mysterious stallion standing on top of a cloud, with his eyes glowing through the darkness; his blood-red eyes shooting chills down the Minotaurs' spines.

The figure quickly jumped from the cloud and was about to land between the stallion and the guard after using both of his hooves to buck the Minotaur in the face, and using both of his light gray wings to propel himself in the air long enough to lower his hooves onto the ground. The impact of the kick sent the Minotaur flying into the wall of a white brick house, where he bounced off, and rolled onto the ground.

With a shocked expression, the Minotaurs all stared at the Pegasus that wore a black shirt beneath a black collared jacket; a pair of black pants; and a pair of black fingerless gloves. His mane was spiked from the sides and up to the center, curved towards the back of his head, and side-parted around his forehead, in an "M"-like shape. Rested on his back, and over his left shoulder was a black handle that belonged to a black-bladed Ninjato Sword.

He opened his mouth, and growled at the Minotaurs, revealing his pure white teeth that revealed two fangs on the sides.

In a low-pitched young man's voice, he said, "You guys better say your prayers... because you ain't gonna see the next sunrise."

The Minotaurs' worried expressions turned into glares, and at once, four of the six Minotaurs ran towards the Pegasus in unison, swords aimed high, and ready to slice.

Giving a simple shrug, the Pegasus said, "Suit yourself." Then, without a second to spare, he spread his wings out, and flew towards the Minotaurs, and watched as they aimed at him. In the blink of an eye, he was in-between the middle two, who blindly sliced towards him, only to end up decapitating themselves; the one on the left slicing the right one's head off, and the one on the right slicing the left one's head off. Then the Pegasus made a u-turn to the left, and caught the thrust that the far-left Minotaur attempted, before bucking the sword from his right hand, landing on the ground, and impaling it into his neck once he reached down to grab either of the two. After that, the stallion kicked the choking Minotaur off of him, and stood back up, facing the Minotaur that held Rosie.

"Last chance, sir... give up, or die."

The Minotaur spat on the ground, and raised his sword in the air, pointed it towards Rosie, before shouting, "I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME TO TARTARUS!"

The second he was about to stab Rosie in the neck, however, the Pegasus ran towards him in a blurring speed, before bucking the sword out of his hand in a backwards kick-flip, and slicing half of the Minotaur's right arm off, which lowered Rosie to the ground again. Then she quickly rushed towards her parents, who embraced her in a warm, tear-filled hug, while the Minotaur grasped onto his elbow, which was missing the lower half, and roared at the top of his lungs in pain.

In one swift movement, the Pegasus leaped onto the Minotaur's shoulders, grasped the blade of his Ninjato Sword on his left shoulder with his right hand crossing his chest, and sliced the blade across the Minotaur's neck the second he drew it.

The Minotaur choked for a second, before the Pegasus flew off of his shoulders, landed in front of him, kicked his body on to the ground, while his head started to fall directly downwards, and sliced it in half with his sword, before slowly sheathing it into the sheath that rested on his left shoulder again.

After a moment of silence, the Minotaur that was originally knocked onto the wall slowly started to regain consciousness, only to find that he was tied to a pole, while Golden Rock, the stallion that he threatened the daughter of stood there, glaring daggers at him, along with the filly's mother. They both were holding torches, and walking towards him. It was at that moment that the Minotaur realized that he was no longer in his armor, and was covered in oil.

"N-no! NO!" He tried to say, only to realize that his mouth was muffled, and tied shut. Then he started to sweat nervously, as the couple of ponies looked towards the Pegasus that saved them, and their daughter, who was following the Pegasus towards their house again.

Then they turned towards the Minotaur, as their glare intensified. "This is for trying to kill our daughter, you bastard." they said, before lowering the torches towards the Minotaur's hooves, which were tied onto the pole separately, and sat inside a bucket of oil. The Minotaur's screams were muffled, but noticeable by those nearby. Unfortunate for him, though, those were the families of the citizens that were held captive; and they were well aware of the situation already, so they merely laughed and mocked the Minotaur, as he was soon set on fire.

The Pegasus looked at Rosie, and noticed right away that she was staring at his eyes and fangs, before jerking her gaze away from him. This caused the Pegasus to chuckle lightly, before saying, "Don't worry, Rosie. I'm not a Vampony."

Then Rosie looked up at him, and asked, "W-wait... how did you know that I was about to ask that?!"

The Pegasus shrugged his shoulders, before replying, "Well, I kinda figured it out, since you were staring at my eyes and fangs."

"Are they real?"

The Pegasus shook his head, and pulled the fangs out of his mouth. "They're called 'Stimulator Fangs'. What they do is improve the nutritional value of the food that I eat, kinda like the way a Vampony's fangs work for them." Then he bit the Stimulator Fangs back in his mouth, placed his right hand over his right eye, and pulled a red lens out of it. "These are 'Extrasensory Lenses'. As the name implies, they increase my senses, only these have magic enhancements in them. They improve my vision, my reflexes, and my hearing by a landslide. They're safe to leave on, so I usually just keep them on all the time, unless I'm showing them like I am now." Then he placed the lens back into his right eye, while Rosie gave him and understanding "Oh".

With a smile, she looked up at him, and said, "Thank you for saving me back there, Mister! You're my hero!"

The Pegasus looked back down at her, and gave a warm smile. "I'm glad to hear that, Rosie."

"So what's your name, Mister Hero?"

The Pegasus chuckled lightly, before replying, "Well, my name's Zero Gravity."

At once Rosie's eyes widened at that statement, while her jaw hung low. "W-wait... you mean to tell me that you're... THE Zero Gravity?!"

Zero raised an eyebrow, before asking, "You've heard of me?"

Then Rosie cheered, before replying, "Well, yeah! You were the pony that I saw on the television who saved Manehatten from the Wild Hurricane last year!"

Zero chuckled at that statement, before replying, "Actually, that was a group effort. I was just the one who ended up in front of the cameras. We all plaid our part in the end, as I said in the interview."

Rosie giggled, before saying, "But wasn't it you who rallied them up when the Hurricane was about to reach the shoreline? And wasn't it you who took the charge, and led the other Pegasi?"

Zero shrugged his shoulders, before nodding his head. "I suppose you caught me there, then."

Then there was a moment of silence. Rosie looked up at him, and asked, "What happened after that, though?"

Zero hummed for a moment, before replying, "Well... I quit the Weather Team shortly after that."

This caused Rosie's eyes to widen. "W-WHAT?! Why, though?"

"I was getting too much attention at that time... plus, I was looking for adventure, anyways. I wanted to see the world, in all it's beauty. Meet the other creatures, travel unknown lands. You know, something bigger than just a little adventure."

"What do you mean?"

"An adventure can be anywhere, from stepping out the door of your house, or merely waking up, and getting out of bed. What I wanted more than adventure, is the same thing that I'm on, right now... a journey."

Rosie raised an eyebrow at him, before asking, "What's the difference, though?"

"Well, an adventure is the steps towards a certain goal. A Journey, however, is a list of many separate adventures, with more revealing themselves as the journeyman continues to press on."

Rosie's eyes widened at that statement. "Wow! That's really cool!" Then she looked at a poster on a wall, and hummed to herself. "What's that man on the poster?" She asked, pointing at it.

Zero looked towards her finger, and followed it towards the poster on the wall. Slowly, he walked towards it, and raised an eyebrow at it, before taking it from the wall, and examining it even closer. "Wait a minute..." His eyes widened, as he silently said, "It can't be..."

On the poster, a drawing of a young-looking human male stood facing the viewer's direction. The man had long, messy hair with a long, messy beard, and wore a leather shoulder pad over his right shoulder, with a belt that stretched across his chest.

Then he looked below the picture, and saw the word "Wanted Alive" written on it. The bounty was the most jaw-dropping. Fifty-Thousand Bits for him, and the filly that was drawn in the back of the poster. Zero hummed to himself, before turning the poster around. Then he stopped moving altogether, as his eyes shot open again, and his jaw dropped.

"A horn, and wings?!" He said to himself. "Then that must mean... she's an Alicorn!"

He quickly looked back at Rosie, who tilted her head in confusion, before asking, "What does it say?"

Zero looked back at the poster, folded it up, and placed it in one of his jacket pockets. Then he smiled at her, and replied, "It says that they want to capture the next person I should visit."

Rosie nodded her head, and looked towards the house in front of her. "Well, while we're at my home again, would you like something to drink, or eat?"

Zero chuckled at her, before shaking his head. "No need, I've been satisfied for the day." He pointed at his fangs as he said that, which caused Rosie to chuckle.

"Well, Mommy and Daddy are on their way now. I can see them over there!" She pointed behind them, towards the alleyway that they just came from, and sure enough, Rosie's parents were on their way to her.

Before Zero could say another word, he found himself nearly crushed by both parents, as they locked him into a strong hug. "Thank you, sir! We will never forget this!" Golden Rock said in a wavy moan.

Zero, after catching his breath from the unexpected double bear-hug, replied, "It was the least I could do... I have a zero tolerance when it comes to evil." Then he looked both ways, and pulled the poster from his pocket. "By the way... do any of you happen to know where this person went?"

When the couple looked at the poster, they nodded their heads. Then the mother pony answered, "We saw the guards take his group of friends away, towards Fort Shivercrest. They locked him in the dungeons, though." Then she added, "Considering the fact that he's 'Wanted', I wouldn't be surprised if he's on his way there, now!"

Zero nodded his head, and smiled. "Thank you... and sorry, but I must be off, now."

The couple nodded their heads in unison, before replying, "Of course, sir! If you need anything at all, please feel free to stop by! We'll be more than happy to help!"

Zero nodded his head, and replied, "Thanks again... I'll be sure to drop by before I leave towards my next destination."

With that, he took off into the sky, and waved at the three ponies that he saved the lives of. They, in turn, waved at their savior, all the way until he vanished into the night sky, and towards the dark clouds that surrounded Shaded Meadows.

With his right hand over his ear, Zero asked, "Did you catch all that, Thunderwing?"

After a couple seconds of delay, a higher-pitched male's voice replied, "Yeah... but I wouldn't bet my bits on that one, Zero! Besides, don't you remember the rumors that were spread by that Lyra person over in Ponyville?"

Zero chuckled, before replying, "Yeah, yeah. Cut the mare some slack, already, sheesh! Just because she was on the 'Nutcases of Equestria' program doesn't really mean that it's true! And besides, you know me better than that! When did I ever believe what they say on TV?"

After landing on a cloud, he looked around the snowstorm, as he hovered a safe distance from Fort Shivercrest. Then, after a few more seconds of scanning the area, he heard a distant explosion, and followed it.

Once he saw the cause of the racket, the Iceboats that broke through the mountain were already headed towards Fort Shivercrest. This, of course, made Zero hum even more, as his curiosity grew.

After a few more minutes of flying, he found the Iceboats rested a faraway distance from Fort Shivercrest, and saw it holding many passengers.

For a good thirty minutes, the boats were just sitting there, while Zero Gravity waited on his cloud.

"I'm telling you, man. Just leave that place, or you'll catch a cold!" Thunderwing spoke through Zero's earpiece.

Zero groaned, and replied, "Not until I see who's in that ship! Now pipe down, already!"

As soon as he finished saying that, the passengers of the front Iceboat started leaving the room, which caused Zero's eyes to widen. "Hold on! I see something!" Then he looked closer at the passengers. "I see two Gryphons, a flank-load of Diamond Dogs, a... what's a Slithian doing in the snow?! Anyways, there's a Slithian, about three Minotaurs, and a... Sweet Celestia! That third Minotaur's actually a horse!"

Thunderwing chuckled through the earpiece. "Somepony must be jealous, huh?"

"Oh, shut up, Thunderwing! If you were here, I bet he'd make you jealous!"

Thunderwing merely raspberried through the earpiece, and retorted, "As if!"

"Anyways, so there's a couple horses, actually. One is that big bulky dude, and the other is a shorter one... I guess that's it."

As soon as he finished saying that last statement, he noticed the door to the Iceboat open up again, while two more figures stepped out of it; one a pony, and the other an unknown creature.

With his eyes opened widely, Zero stared at the unknown creature, before placing his right hand over his earpiece. "Hey, Thunderwing! ..."