So, funny story, I've been heading south from Canterlot for like, a day, and I haven't seen so much as a wisp of smoke in the sky, let alone a pony who can give me directions. I guess my life is like a bad anime at this point. I mean, you'd think they'd invest in a few road signs to point people in the right direction, but no, gotta have a map and I was too busy back in Canterlot to get one. The show made this trip look so much easier.

“Damn, I gotta pull over,” I said outloud as I adjusted my damn chain for the umptenth time today. Pulling onto the shoulder, if you can call it that, I stopped the engine and dismounted. As I enjoyed the last rays of the setting sun I strode briskly into the open fields and took a nice deep breath.

“Okay! This thing is driving me crazy!” I shouted, ripping the infernal hunk of metal off and throwing it on the ground. Not my most shining moment, but I really didn't care, the bastard was driving me nuts... well, nuttier than usual any way.

I dropped down onto the ground next to my favorite weapon and began the task of meticulously checking it over. It didn't take long to find the problem, a section of five links twisted into uselessness. Hammerstrike must have hit them when he smashed my shoulder, plus the fact that they hadn't repaired themselves meant only one thing... blessed weaponry, or a blessed war hammer to be precise. That explains the unease I felt when they were staring me down, those bastards had played me like a fool in the hopes that I would fight, the only reason I wasn't currently trying to regenerate after that level of injury in a dungeon cell was my own decision to run and not kill everything in my way. Talk about dumb luck.

With a quick thought the damaged links fell away to the ground as new links formed between the two loose ends. A quick flip later and whole chain was back where it belonged sitting comfortably around my body.

“Now, lets see what kind of sorry state this world has reached in my absence,” I mumbled to myself. That painting had kept my Sin Sense locked in and it left me feeling like a blind man when it came to everypony but the Big Three, but now it was time to flex that old muscle and get my bearings. I entered an almost meditative state as I let the power flow through my nonexistent veins. Within seconds I felt the familiar head rush from the flow of information as I dove down into the deeds of the world's population.

It all came in quick flashes, a rape here, a murder there, and many other acts that made me sick at my ethereal stomach. Suffice to say, Celestia had really let the world go to shit while I was locked away, I'd have to rectify that problem soon or these beings would tear themselves apart. What was worse, a dark cloud hung over sections of Canterlot and other locations spread through out the country side like a curtain, my Sense couldn't penetrate it, which made me hella nervous. I made a mental note to look into that after I tracked down Luna's killer or it might put a wrinkle in my plans to kick Celestia's face in.

Then, I noticed something unusual, I decided to follow it and see where it would take me. All at once I was confronted with a glimpse of others, men and women, all in the same boat as me. A man turned unicorn with a golden, fiery aura. A living mountain of mutated flesh starring down abominations. An armored warrior that I swear was looking back at me. A king with a holy sword and blood on her hands, but not of her own doing. I saw them all, much like you can see the words on the back of a page when viewed in front of a light. There were a few who came in crystal clear however, souls so evil that they were beyond redemption and could barely be considered human anymore.

Satisfied, I began to pull back to myself so I could get back on the road again, when I felt that tug that said evil was nearby and innocent blood had been spilled. I quickly noted the direction, about an hour up the road in the direction I was heading.

Snapping back to reality I stood quickly and started to move back to my bike when I got the strangest thought. I turned back and looked to the length of twisted chain lying on the ground. It was plain, simple junk but yet I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a major piece of some puzzle. That some day... some how... this little piece of metal would be the only thing that mattered. That if someone “out there” were to have it, that all the world could be saved. That... it and myself were some part of a greater design that lead to greatness. Of course, it was just a feeling... but my gut had never been wrong before so why start doubting it now.

Reaching down to take up the length of chain, that feeling got more urgent. I'm not sure what drove me but I took it between my hands and “closed” my “eyes.” Slowly I began pumping it with hellfire till I knew the cracks in the metal glowed with energy.

“To all those who find this token,” I began speaking to the empty air and though I was out in the open my voice sounded as if I was in a dark tunnel, “call upon the Rider in your hour of need and I shall come to your aid. With all the powers of hell you shall have Vengeance and you shall have Justice. Your enemies shall be purged from the Earth and from their ashes, Innocence and peace shall sprout.” Kinda hammy in my opinion but I was never much of a poet any way.

“But be forewarned, if your soul be as black as your enemies you shall receive no quarter and shall meet the same fate as all who would do evil to others,” with those final words of warning I “opened” my “eyes” to see that chain I was holding had disappeared and there was only empty air between my hands. Walking back to my bike I couldn't help but wonder if I had done the right thing, some how I just knew that this little whim would come back to bite me in the ass, the Universe just hates me like that. Now, to go kick someponies ass to relieve a bit of the stress the last few days have put on my shoulders.

----------

It didn't take long to find what my Sin Sense had picked up on, hell, I saw the flames from a mile away. By the time I had arrived it was already too late, something had hit a traveling merchant, hard. I walked up into a terrible scene, off to the side of the road sat an over turned, blazing wagon surrounded by smashed crates and looted chests. There were hoofprints everywhere telling of a struggle and a whole lot of blood, somepony had died here, it hadn't been an easy death.

My first order of business was to get the flames under control. I spread my arms wide before reaching out with my mind and willed the flames to extinguish themselves. They responded to my thoughts and went out in only a few seconds, all flames obey the will of the fires of hell.

“Help”

Looking around for some sign as to the cause of the attack and who may have done it-

“Some... pony... help”

Okay, I definitely heard something that time. I thought I had imagined it last time but now I was sure, there was somepony who needed help out here.

I let my Sin Sense guide me to the faint signature lying a few feet away. An elderly stallion lay under a piece of broken crate, which I threw off into the night, and he was covered in blood. In the faint light I could see it shining as it ran weakly from gashes all over his body. His breathing was coming in short bursts and his eyes stared blindly up at the night sky.

“It's okay, helps here,” I told to him as I squatted next to his side to let him know it would be okay.

“Our daughter... they took... our daughter,” he said weakly, I could tell it taxed him greatly.

“Shh, don't talk, save your strength Old Timer.”

“Don't tell me to shush, boy,” for just a moment the steel of somepony who had lived a hard life came back to his voice before it was gone again, “the bandits... they took our daughter... you have to save her.”

“Don't worry, I'll save her,” I said as I took his hoof in my hand to give him some comfort before the end.

“Thank you... I never expected... a minotaur... this far out... from the cities... much less... anypony... to find... us... and,” and with that he was gone.

“Yes, a minotaur. Don't worry, your daughter will not be joining you on the other side tonight,” I whispered as I placed his hoof across his chest and reached up to close his eyes.

I realized he said “our” and a short search later I found the only other body. I had to assume it was his wife. She lay there in a pool of her own blood, her throat had been slashed, they must have thought she was in charge and took her by surprise.

I gathered up her body and moved it over beside her husbands and closed her eyes as well before I placed their hooves together to let them know that they were not truly alone. I found a slightly burned sheet and covered them with it, the dead deserve comfort and dignity.

I quickly checked the hoofprints to get the direction the bandits had headed off in, back from the road on the side the cart had been parked on. I scanned the horizon for any signs of life and spotted a campfire way off in the distance, using that as a guide I set off towards it and the soon to be former bandits.

----------

It took me a few hours to catch up over the open ground and from the look of the skies it had to be approaching midnight. As a precaution I had pulled the flames that surround my body down to little more than a heart fire inside my jacket, I couldn't have these assholes seeing me coming without running the risk of them using that merchant's daughter as a shield or scaring off some innocent bystander who might have information

A few hundred feet out I dropped down into a belly crawl and slowly made my way to the edge of the fire light and watched. I could see a dozen ponies wearing darkened leather armor siting around the fire swapping jokes and drinking from a wine skin, if the sway of some of them was any indication, with another pony on the ground a short distance behind and to the side of the largest of the group. A quick check of the Sin Sense told me that these were the ponies I was looking for and that were guilty of far more than this one attack. I'm not going to get into specifics but suffice to say, they more than deserved what I was about to do to them.

“Hey boss, tell us again about those murders in Canterlot again,” laughed a small pegasus pony as I inched closer to them. This was a bad situation, if they saw me too early they could kill the girl and that old couple would never rest in peace, and if I waited too long it could get worse for her if it hadn't already.

“Oh, that,” smiled the largest pony, “I must have told it a good fifty times already and yet you still find that shit funny Dark Cloud. Shit, all I did was take out some rich assholes and when the two guards caught me I killed one of them before passing the other a fat sack of gold to let me go.”

“HAHAHA That's the funny part, you ice that Donut Muncher's partner and he still takes the bribe HAHAHA!” I really don't like this bunch, but I had a few ideas about how to do this.

“So boss, what we gonna do with our little friend over there?” asked another earth pony as he nods his head at the mare, Perfect Count, currently tied up on the ground.

“Oh her, well, I got word of these cloaked Diamond Dogs who have been snapping up anypony for sale at top dollar. I think they call themselves the Order of the Blackened Hoof, or some horseapples like that, I plan on giving her to them. What with her being such a strong, young mare, I think we can turn a good profit, probably more than we'll get for all that junk from that wagon.”

“Any idea where they are?”

“Nope, all I know is that they'll soon find us on their own.”

“Good, I don't feel like having to answer any awkward questions if we get spotted carrying her around,” he said as he rose to his hooves and started to move away.

“Where you going?”

“To take a piss, mom, is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, smartass.”

This has to be my lucky day, I can use this clown as the perfect kick off. So I follow him silently on all fours as he makes his way to small bush a good way away from their little camp. When he gets there he props himself up on the little bush and starts to do his business. I wait for him to finish before I reach out and cover his mouth with my hand. Before he can struggle too much I grab my chain and with a thought it becomes the perfect weapon for the job, a wrist blade, and jam it into the artery in his neck. A fountain of blood erupts from the puncture wound as I retract the blade and let his lifeless body fall to the ground, face first into his own puddle of piss. I guess the guys who made Assassin's Creed had it right, this thing is really effective... and kinda fun, I can't believe I hadn't thought of trying it before. Of course, I have never had much time for a stealth kill, nor has it ever been my style.

With another thought the wrist blade is gone and a large ax is in my hands, I quickly use it to separate the head from the corpse at my feet. As I reach down to pick up the head I turn the ax back into every AC players favorite weapon and take my time walking back to the others, gotta let that paranoia set in, it's the perfect marinade for any occasion.

By the time I got back a few of them had noticed their friend had been gone a while, I didn't have to wait long for the rest to notice. Then, I spotted a small stick laying a few inches in front of me, I get the best idea ever to scare the shit out these clowns. Reaching my foot out I stomped down on the little piece of dry wood causing a loud snap. Instantly, all heads swivel in my direction as they try and see into the darkness, but the flames took away their night eyes, it'll be a while before they can see me.

“That you Clod Hopper?” the “boss” asks the darkness. I draw the head in my hand back and give it a good toss.

“No,” I growl out loud enough for them all to hear me just as the severed head lands in their midst. They look down into the unblinking eyes then back up to where I stand. I give them a quick flash of the fires in my eye sockets before moving silently away and around the camp knowing what comes next. Just as I knew they would they instantly panicked and threw spears and fired their crossbows at the spot I had vacated.

“Did we get him?” asked the pegasus who had been laughing earlier, to answer his question I summoned another chain into my left hand and sent it through his chest before using it to pull him into the darkness and my waiting arms on the other side of the camp. With a quick stab I put my wrist blade through his eye socket, he was dead before I took my first step to change position. Yet again, they turned and attacked the darkness, the herd mentality working against them as they moved, as a group, closer to where I had been.

As they finished I sent my chain out to wrap around an earth pony with a sword in his mouth and pulled him to me, he didn't drop it until I snapped his neck. Grabbing it before it hit the ground I quickly threw it at the last pegasus in the group. It hit her in the face and the tip exited out of the back of her head. She hit the ground twitching as I moved on to a new position.

To say their next move wasn't too bright would be the understatement of the year. They apparently thought that if they arranged themselves into a circle two deep directly around their campfire I wouldn't be able to surprise them and be forced to step into the light to get at them... they were almost right. Reaching out with my will I seized hold of the flames of their campfire and cranked the inferno up to eleven. The four standing immediately next to it didn't have time to do more than scream for a few seconds as the flames took hold their fur and burned them to lifeless crisps. With a second flash of thought I forced the flames out, leaving the area in total darkness. Guess it was my good fortune that a cloudy night with a new moon does nothing to stop my night-sight.

“Get some light you idiots!,” their boss wasn't as dumb as he looked, plus I had intentionally left the one unicorn in the group alone just for a chance to do something that would really make them crap their nonexistent pants. I got in close just as a light started shining from the tip of said unicorn's horn. It scanned across the ground for a second before finding my feet, and froze there.

After a tentative couple of seconds the beam of light began to crawl up my legs. The higher the beam rose the slower it started to move as the pony directing it became increasing nervous with each passing inch. The moment it crossed the neck of my jacket I let the restrained fires of my body snap back to full force and I stared them down.

“You,” I hissed as I pointed to the group's leader, “guilty.” I could see the their pupils go to pin pricks in the dim light I was giving off. Not one to waste the moment I stepped forward and slit the unicorn mare's throat with my wrist blade. I then took her body and slammed it horn first into the head of the earth pony standing to her side. I don't need to tell you what happened when I did this, but I will say the results looked like two earth ponies butting heads. This left just me and the leader of the bandit gang.

“Your hooves are stained with the blood of the innocent,” I growled into his face as I lifted him up by his forelegs. To his credit he managed to recover enough to grab his sword in his teeth to at least try to fight back, he screamed and dropped it as soon I snapped his left foreleg.

“I want you to feel the pain you put all those others through, the weight of all your sins, and the destruction you caused for your own gain,” at this he locked eyes with my empty sockets and started to scream even louder as power flared between us. He felt it all. I let the blind and stammering sack of flesh fall to the ground where he curled into a ball and jabbered on incoherently, still trying to blink the burned cinders that were now his eyes.

Wait... I'm missing one. Looking around I spotted the bastard beating feet off into the night, the coward must have run as soon as I killed the light... no matter. I picked up a spear from the ground and gave it a good arcing throw. I turned away from him and started moving toward their prisoner before I heard the short, gurgling scream.

She wasn't where I had last seen her but she wasn't hard to find. During the commotion she had shimmied behind the log the leader had been sitting on and was praying quietly to Celestia that the big, scary monster wouldn't come for her next.

“I guess there's just no winning with these ponies,” I mused to myself as I rolled her over onto her back. She was afraid and I could see fresh tears had fallen down her face, and that they had not been kind to her if the bruises were any indication.

“It's okay, your father sent me to get you,” I said reaching out to cut the ropes with the knife that had once been my wrist blade.

“Wha... my father,” she sputtered out.

“Yes, Old Timer. He sent me to come save you with his dying wish, who am I to deny that to somepony who has lived a life dedicated to good?”

“Are they-”

“I'm sorry to say they both are, there was nothing I could do, when I arrived, to save them,” I told her as the last of the ropes wrapped around her fell away, she moved quicker than I expected her to.

“Wait!” I shouted as she stood over the comatose bandit leader, his sword in her mouth ready to strike.

“Why? Why should I? This bastard killed them both in cold blood and was going to sell me into slavery!” she shouted around the weapon gripped in her teeth.

“Because, I've made him a non-threat to everypony from now on,” I said moving to kneel by her side, “I made him feel all the pain he has ever caused to anypony a hundred fold. He's currently locked inside a hell of his own making and I promise you he will never get out.”

“But what about-”

“No, there are no “buts,” if you take the life of this helpless pony you will be no better than him, and I'll have to treat you just like him and his friends,” I let that fact sink in for a moment before reaching out and gently taking the sword from her slack grip. With a long wail she started crying and I did the only thing I could, I pulled her into a hug and let her cry into chest. The pony on the ground mumbled something I didn't like, so I moved a hand away from Perfect Count and gave him a quick backhand.

We must have stayed like that for an hour before the exhaustion and trauma of recent events caught up to her and she fell asleep in my arms. I decided it was as good a time as any and gathered her up to take her back to the cart so she could sleep away from this part of her nightmare, though I feared the morning wouldn't be any kinder.

----------

The benefit of not needing to sleep was that I could accomplish everything that needed doing, this included finding the bandit's stash and moving it back to the wagon where it could be reloaded . I'd also moved the Harley up and used my emergency supplies to give Perfect a comfortable place to sleep and bandage her horn... yeah, she was a unicorn and they had cut it off almost flush with her skull to keep her from fighting back or escaping with magic. It would eventually grow back but she wouldn't be able to use her magic till it did.

With the first light of dawn Perfect began to stir.

“Hey, hey, take it easy there,” I said to keep her from hurting herself accidentally.

“Who are you?” she asked groggily barely sitting up.

“Call me Rider, everypony else does, and what do I call you?”

“I'm Perfect Count, but you can call me Perfect. Huh, I thought I dreamed you... so that means it all happened and wasn't just a bad dream.”

“Unfortunately not.”

“...”

“Want some breakfast, it's not much but it's what I could find,” I said to break the silence before she started to cry again.

“I'd like that very much, thank you.”

Moving over to her side I handed her a canteen of water and some biscuits that I had found in one of the bandit's saddle bags. She took the offered items and wolfed them down greedily.

“They weren't my parents,” she told me as she finished eating and got to her hooves.

“Excuse me?”

“Old Timer and his wife, Cherry Blossom, they weren't my parents. I was an orphan living on the streets of Manehatten when they found me. Old Timer saw my talent with numbers and took me on as an apprentice. I guess since they never had foals of their own they considered me their daughter, though they never told me they thought that. Of course, I always thought of them as my real family... my only family... and now, I'll never have the chance to tell them that.”

“Family isn't who we are born to, it's who we surround ourselves with that bring light to our lives.”

“Wow,” she said looking up at me with a smirk on her face, “that was really corny. I definitely didn't expect that from you.” At least she bounces back quickly.

“You wound me so, Perfect,” I said acting out her like she had wounded my heart, “So, what do you wanna do now?”

“I think I'll take them back to Ponyville for a proper burial, it's the least I could do for them.”

“Ponyville, nice, I was headed that way myself and as such a noble gentleman I would be remiss to let you travel alone in your condition,” I said walking over to the cart and righting it with little effort, “that is, if you'll have me.”

“If you were headed to Ponyville already, why are you out here? You don't have a compass do you?”

“What do you mean, I just used the sun as a guide to orient myself after I left Canterlot.”

“Really? So you didn't notice the sun came up from the wrong direction yesterday morning?” she asked, giving me a look that said I was probably the dumbest person she had ever met. At that moment, I realized that Celestia had gotten a bit more cunning since she locked me away, but I had to admit it was a pretty good trick to slow me down.

“No, I didn't notice,” I said admitting defeat.

“I guess I have no choice but to take you with me then,” she said with a grin, “So, you got a plan or are we carrying everything on our backs?”

“I got something,” I said as moved my Harley into position between the posts of the burned out cart. I then summoned up a chain and used it to lash the two vehicles together. It took a bit of convincing to get Perfect to believe I had a plan and even less to load everything into the wagon.

“You ready to roll?” I asked as I seated myself on the bench and pulled Perfect up next to me.

“Yeah. So... now what?”

“You might wanna hold on,” I said taking up the chain I had running to the bike's handlebars.

With a pulse of hellfire the cart began to change. The metal bands that supported the frame blackened, the wood became tarnished chrome, and the wheels and bed were covered with flames.

“Stop, stop! You're destroying everything!,” she shouted into my “ear” as she grabbed me by my shoulders. Without a word I turned and with a swipe of my hand the fires parted to reveal the contents of the cart were completely unharmed.

“So, what's our heading?” I asked her turning back to the front as she resettled into her seat, blushing in embarrassment.

“Keep heading in the direction we're facing then, take a left at the crossroads. That will take us straight on into Ponyville.

“Good.” With a snap of the chains we were off with a full head of steam leaving a trio of flaming trails behind us as we headed on down the line. Off in the distance behind us the buzzards and other carrion birds had already begun to circle above the campsite the bandits had used the night before.

----------

Everfree Forest while the Rider took care of a bandit problem

This day really sucked. First, because of that bitch Celestia, she'd woken up with a raging hangover. Then, that worm Ink Well had found her and told her to take a message to the Peach family in Ponyville because it wouldn't look suspicious if she suddenly took off to see her family there. Then, came that long, rough train ride that didn't do a thing to help her hangover. Then, came the boring conversations and lies to her family about her job and the reason for her impromptu visit. To cap it all off, she was now traipsing through the Everfree, at night, looking for a family that she had only heard ghost stories about in her youth and her torch had burned out a good ways back. This was definitely not Tea Service's day.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” asked a stallion's voice.

“Looks like one of them there faincy ladies from Canterlot,” said another male voice from the darkness.

“I likes her dress, it's real purdy,” came a female voice.

“I don't have time for this,” replied Tea Service, unable to keep the fear out of her voice, “I have a message for Pa Peach from Lord Darkhoof.”

“Really now, and what would that be?” came the first voice, it definitely sounded like the oldest of the three.

“Am I speaking to Pa Peach? My orders were to give the message to him specifically.”

“Then speak yur peace lil' lady, I'm lis'nin',” came the first voice again.

“Lord Darkhoof would like you to go into Ponyville, there you are to retrieve three blank flank fillies. One is a yellow earth pony named Applebloom, another is a white unicorn named Sweetie Belle, and the third is an orange pegasus pony named Scootaloo. He wants you to bring them to Weathertop, ALIVE, as soon as possible. Also, you are to proceed with caution as they are sisters with three of the former Elements of Harmony,” she said to the darkness with a little more courage than before.

“Will do. Junior, take a letter. Tell Lord Darkhoof that we will collect 'em in two nights durin the storm the weather team has planned,” came the voice of Pa Peach from a lot closer than it had been before.

“But Paw, we ain't got no more parchment. We used it all up when we et that merchant that didn't agree with us,” replied Junior, the second male voice.

“Son, you should know by now, the universe always provides,” said Pa Peach. As he said that a cold, clammy hoof ran itself down Tea Service's spine and a little filly started giggling in the darkness.

Author's Notes:

Well folks here it is after two weeks. Now I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who liked and favorited, you know who you are and you're the reason I do this. As usual love it, hate it, criticism, hit up down below.

Here is song two from the soundtrack (video by Ace Swift over on youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htktUCKI9Qk