Author's Notes:

Edit: Hey guys, here's a new and improved first chapter to the story. Hopefully I improved it.

The cold night air was stagnant in the town of Ponyville, abandoned and now laying in ruins. A lone figure ran through the rubble of the destroyed town with great speed and agility. Her breath was heavy as she tried to make sure her prize was secure. She had been running for so long, it felt as if her lungs were on fire.

Looking around her environment, memories of when the town was once brimming with life came back to her. The feeling of her heart grow heavy began to slow her pace to a walk, traveling through the streets and her memories. She could still recall the scent of pine and freshly baked sweets flooding the roads from Sugar Cube Corner. How she would always meet her friends there on their free time.

The hooded mare held onto prize close to herself, wanting to keep it safe for it shall be the key to saving the life she had. She could remember the smiling faces that would greet her as she walked through town. Now the ponies she knew were either dead, missing, or both. Tears began to swell up in her eyes as she moved on. She turned her head to a crumbling store in the shape of a carousel, recalling the memories of a friend she held dear. The clothes found inside had long since decayed from and devoured by insects, now there was nothing left but rags. “I think she went this way!” The young mare heard a few voices shout in the distance. There was no doubt that it was the previous owners of what she had stolen.

Now met with an urge to move faster once again, the hooded figure began running to safety. She knew that they would follow her anywhere in the town, she knew that they would want what she had taken as well as take her prisoner. Luckily she knew a place where she would be safe, somewhere she would never be found. The prize she held was far too important, there was no way that she would give up a prize of such great worth to her. It was crucial for fixing the mistake she had caused.

She sacrificed stealth for speed, panting as she ran for her safe house; what was left of the local library. The hooded figure found her way into the charred stump, scrambling to find the trap door she knew was hidden within the wood and soot. Her memory was hazy, due to the fact that she hadn’t been back to it in some time. Hearing the sound of hooves rushing towards her, the figure vanished before a single one of her pursuers could even get a glance at her.

She could hear them topside. Their voices were muffled, but she could hear them none the less. Their anger was apparent, even to her. Eventually she heard them fan out, splitting up to comb the area in search of their thief. Once they were gone, the hooded figure let out a sigh of relief as she slid down the ladder. She set the package down on the ground, falling to her knees to catch her breath. The adrenaline was starting to fade, letting her feel how tired she really was.

But there was no time for feeling tired, she had work to do, very important work. After she let the feeling return to her legs, she got to her hooves and turned on the lights. The magic lamps came to life, flickering softly to reveal the old library basement/laboratory as well as the clutter the that had been left.

With a soft sigh of relief, the mare pulled back her hood and cloak. The thief had revealed herself to be the former princess of Equestria; Twilight Sparkle. She took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of her lab and the ink of her notes. She missed this place, like it was an old friend greeting her after a very long separation. She had so many memories of this place, but there was no time for reminiscing.

Taking the package, she began to tear away its paper coating to reveal two hefty containers of a green substance that would glow subtly. She had never seen so much of the substance at once, practically feeling her purple coat stand on edge. The time had come, she brought the green gunk over to the middle of the room where a drawing had been made on the hard wood floor. An octagram with a diameter of ten meters across, hairs of the eldest timber wolf, the blood of a bat-pony, a star of an Ursa Major, and the tears of a crystal pony. Finally, she brought the final ingredient to her side; synthetic magic. Twilight wasn’t a fan of a crude bastardization of her once favorite art, but with her own magic taken away, she would have to do with this substitute.

Taking it to the center of the octagram, Twilight sat down and reached for her left leg. A small click made her flinch, slowly removing a thin, metallic appendage that acted as her own leg came free. It would act against the spell and thus it had to go. Unfortunately, that meant the rest of her clothes had to go as well.

Stripping down to her bare form, Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and exhaled as she came to the final step. Taking one canister into her hands, she slid a hesitant hand into the foul smelling mucus. She felt her coat mat as the fluids surrounded her fingers and then her hand. But it would all be worth it as the substance began to shrink down, being absorbed into her body. Her breathing was steady, feeling the rush of power returning to her body after so long.

Once the first canister was empty, Twilight flung the empty canister out of the circle and immediately began to do the same to the second. Her horn would glow a faint purple aura, illuminating the area around her. She could feel the familiar tingle, the sensation of magic coursing through her body. It had been so long since she felt like this. She began to revel in the sensation, feeling the power course through her veins.

As much as she wanted to explore this renewed power, she had work to do. Removing anything that wasn’t supposed to be within the circle, Twilight began. Closing her eyes, Twilight began to chant words that had not been heard in Equestria since the time before the celestial sisters. She slowly began to rock back and forward, feeling the power swelling up within her.

The painted circle began to glow with a brilliant light, its empty spaces filled with ancient runic symbols of ancient equestrian nature. The room began to shake, the lights flicker. She could feel danger approaching her, but that was exactly what she wanted. She needed dangerous, she needed a loose cannon, she needed something to help her take back her home.

The final words were whispered and as she stopped, the words didn’t. She could hear the words continue on, echoing through the room as the shadows began to swirl around her. The light itself began to pulse like a heartbeat. Twilight couldn’t feel her legs, refusing to let her move. There was no going back now, the spell had to be finished.

Her breathing grew heavy alongside her magic. Her horn flashing brilliantly in unison with the octagram. Twilight slowly closed her eyes, letting happen what was going to happen. Once she opened her eyes once again, they would glow vibrantly, giving off a powerful energy.

Soon enough the whispers were drown out by a low hum that quickly began to grow in volume. As the hum reached its peak, the circle glowed to a point where it began to bathe the room in blinding light. The ground around them began to shake. The group of pursuers saw the strange happenings outside and rushed to investigate, but it was already too late.

The tree stump that was the old library was soon engulfed in a pillar of light of which all of equestrian could see. The ponies who witnessed this responded in fear, thinking it a warning or a terrible omen. In a way, they were right.

Far in the city of Canterlot, a towering figure sat upon his throne, watching the tower erupt from the old town of Ponyville. He felt nothing for the pillar, pushing it out of his mind as a common curiosity. “Guards.” His voice startled the two guards he had stationed in the dark throne room. “Send a search party. Find out what that light was.”

“Yes my lord.” The two guards scrambled together to get what they needed to investigate what had happened, neither wanting to oppose their emperor.

~~~~~

After five minutes, the pillar had ceased to be. The night sky had died down and what was left of Twilight’s old library, as well as the three pursuers, had been disintegrated. A massive hole in the ceiling, three half-charred bodies, an unconscious princess, and the product of her hard work.

Twilight began to groan to herself, slowly sitting up to sooth her splitting headache. She had never performed a spell like that in her life and she hoped never to do so again. Then she saw it. Across from her was a pile of green sludge, in it was a silhouette of an unknown creature. Shaking with excitement and terror, Twilight moved outside the burned octagram and to gather her clothes. If she was going to meet a new species, she wasn’t going to do so in the nude.

While she gathered her clothes, she made sure to grab something else from her bag as well; a dagger. She wasn’t a fool, if she was going to meet some strange creature from beyond space and time, she may as well have some protection of some sort just in case. With her clothes and prosthetic leg back on, she slowly crept towards the creature, the dagger in her hands ready to strike. “H-Hello?” Twilight slowly drew closer, nearly gagging and the repugnant odor the substance gave off. It may have looked like the synthetic magic, but right now raw sewage would be much more welcoming scent.

Determined to see what she had wrought, Twilight took a deep breath and plunged her arm into the gelatinous mass, trying her hardest not to vomit from being so close to it. Her hand grazed against something solid, another hand if she was correct. Her curiosity had peaked as she imagined the monster she had summoned, but her fantasies would have to wait for the moment.

Traveling along the limb she found, Twilight found a suitable spot to grab and began to pull. Grunting softly as she tried to hold onto the clean air of breath as she yanked the thing out of the blob. She managed to get a hand out, then half of the arm. Yet, she couldn’t hold her breath any longer and gasped, letting go to run to the much cleaner side of the room to refresh herself. Once she got what she needed, Twilight charged the blob once more in hopes of pulling the beast out with one swoop. The former princess dug in deep and found a shoulder, then a second. Taking hold of her monster, she began to drag the beast out of the repulsive substance, desperate to get the thing out before she had to catch another breath of air.

Finally, with a sickening slurp, she had won over the green gunk and pulled out her prize. Far enough away where the smell wouldn’t get to her, Twilight would quickly look over the strange beast that she had pulled through space and time, eager to see what her monster looked like. Though, as she examined it, her eager smile slowly began to faded.

She cleared the disgusting gunk away to get a better look, revealing his light skin and body. It looked a lot like her. She began to scrape the substance off of his head, finding a patch of dark hair. “Well, at least its mammalian.” Twilight said to herself, taking him and pushing him over to his front to get a better look at him.

Her disappointment only grew as she saw its face; flat with a small muzzle on the front. She would sigh softly as she took hold of its arm and examined it. “No muscles, no claws, surprisingly similar to Homo Equinus.” She began to think, pushing the gunk aside to open his mouth. “Hm… no fangs, but small canines show signs it may be carnivorous, hopefully omnivorous… but no fire breathing capability or venom injection abilities.” Twilight sighed as she sat back. “You are a terrible excuse for a monster. Hopefully you’re some sort of warrior.” She would sigh to herself standing up. The spell seemed to go off as it should have, but Twilight felt as if she had overlooked something.

Twilight retreated to her desk where she could review her research and find out where the error was. Luckily, it was among the few things in the lab that had remained intact from the spell’s side effects. She found the journal of the great Starswirl the Bearded, containing what was thought to be a book of his unfinished work but was actually a book of his closely guarded secrets. Twilight had studied the legendary unicorn for years and was able to find out two of his closely kept secrets; the spell to change the fate of a pony that turned her into an alicorn, the other which had brought the creature to her. It took her nearly a year to decipher the codes and riddles, traveling all over Equestria to find what she needed. Now after all that time, Twilight was starting to think that she had wasted that time and failed to perform the spell correctly.

With a soft sigh, she slowly turned around, only to gasp to see that her summon was now gone. Frightened, Twilight took hold of her dagger once more, her hand shaking furiously as she looked around for it. With each step she took, she would slowly grow more afraid that her end would be met tonight.

Twilight yelped as she heard something knocked over in the lab, turning to the direction she heard it immediately. She heard a crunching sound close by, sounding like rock being ground up. Another crunch, telling Twilight what it was; Somepony was eating her food. Though, who it was made Twilight gulp, thinking that the creature was hungry. Hungry to feed on her.

Following the sound of chips, taking a slow step to look behind her now charred chalk board and found the beast sitting on the floor with its back turned to her. It sat like a pony would, and as she watched, ate like one too. Curiosity got the better of Twilight as she stepped closer, slowly drawing closer to it with her anticipation growing. Twilight’s attention was locked on the naked creature, her weapon hand shaking furiously as she feared she would have to use it.

She could see it clearly with it just a few steps away, but in her lack of attention, her hoof stepped in a pile of shattered glass. In a fit of pain, Twilight let out a high pitched yelp, only to cover her mouth, chastising herself mentally for her blunder. The creature stopped its famished eating, its hand still inches from its still open mouth. The thing slowly turned around to face Twilight, immediately seeing the dagger in her hand. Its brilliant blue eyes shrank in fear, the two of them locked in eye contact as everything seemed to come to a complete halt. Neither of them made any sudden movements, both terrified of what would come next. The tension was apparent to one another, as the creature was the one to make the first move.

With a quick motion, the creature threw a small stack of papers into Twilight's face, immediately getting up to run for his life as she was distracted. “Wait!” Twilight called out, limping after him. The naked creature covered his genitals as he tried to find a weapon of his own. “I-I want to talk to you! Please, slow down!”

He did slow down, while he was on the other side of the room hiding behind a table. “Okay, talk from here, weird… purple… horse… thing.”

“What did you call me!?” Twilight said enraged and offended. “I am no whorse! I would never sell my body for the prospect of bits!” The creature remained silent, unsure of what had just occurred in their conversation.

“Uhhh… okay. Just… stay over there while I think.”

“No can do. You tell me what I want to know. Who are you? Where are you from?”

“Sure, my name is Nunyabusiness from the land of Go-Fuck-Yourself, Kentuckyshire.” Twilight began to fume with anger, but she knew that there was no time for that. She took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. She wanted to get to understand what she had summoned to this world and if he would be of use to her.

“Please, I don’t mean you any harm.”

“That is an opinion you are having. I’m in a strange place, with a bipedal purple Pegasus woman, who just so happened to try and sneak up on me with a knife held high. So yeah, if that was your version of a hug, then don’t come near me or else I’ll hug you with my…um… own knife. Cause, I’m armed and dangerous!” Twilight was confused now but she understood how he felt seeing her like that.

“I’m sorry. I just… I can’t be too careful with you.” She looked to her dagger for a moment and then to the hiding creature. The frantic beast would pant softly only to hear metal clinking against the wooden floor come towards him. Looking to his side, he would see the knife that Twilight was holding roll up to him. “Please… I want to talk.” Looking her over, the beast slowly began to rise, yet still huddled close to hide his body from her. “My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, but you can just call me Twilight.” Aaron cringed softly.

“Wow… that’s… one of the weirdest names I’ve ever heard.” He said with a chuckle. “My-… My name is Aaron.”

“Aaron. Heh… I can say that that’s the weirdest name that I’ve ever heard.” The two shared a laugh together, only for the questions to come. “Are you… dangerous?”

“Dangerous how?”

“Do you… breath fire?”

“Nooooo… do you?”

“No, I can’t. How about magic?”

“What you mean like a card trick?”

“No, I mean like levitation, lightning,”

“Are you asking me if I’m a Jedi?”

“A what?”

“Never mind. No, I can’t do any of those things. As awesome as that would be.” Twilight’s disappointment began to pile on.

“Well… what can you do?” Aaron looked himself over and shrugged.

“In the context of what you’ve been asking… nothing. I don’t have any super natural powers, or magic. In all honesty, I believe magic is fake.” That was the straw for Twilight. Staring at Aaron and she could see her world crumble before her. “Twilight… you okay?” She felt weak in the knees, slowly moving to a nearby chair to sit as the realization hit her; her yearlong effort had been a complete and utter waste of her time and resources.

“No… this can’t be happening. This cannot be happening.” Twilight had begun to panic, breathing heavily as she held her head in her hands. “Please… sweet Celestia, tell me this isn’t happening.”

“What’s not happening?” Twilight jumped as the creature now stood before her, covering himself with a towel he had found. “Is… something the matter?”

“You! You’re what’s the matter?” All Aaron could do was look at her in a confused manner as she stood up to face the tall being. He looked to be about six feet tall, standing over her but she was far more intimidating from the way she glared at him. “I spend nary a year, a whole year of nearly getting caught, stabbed, and killed. Looking for the ingredients to save my home; to bring forth the most dangerous being in existence to combat the now ruler of the world.” Aaron wanted to look sympathetic to her, but he only started to smile and withhold his laughter. Eventually, he broke out into a hysterical episode. “You think this is funny?!” Twilight growled through her teeth.

“No… no, I don’t.” He said in between laughter. “I-In all seriousness, I want to be sympathetic to your plight.” He began to smirk once more. “But... most dangerous thing in existence; me? Ma’am, that is by far the funniest shit I have ever heard in my life. I mean, look at me? Do I look like I know how to hurt something?” Twilight did look him over and soon began to tear up. Her mission to save the world had come to a complete halt.

As she cried, Aaron’s smile faded as he went to her side to comfort her. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you. I didn’t mean any offense at all.” That only seemed to make her cry more, much to Aaron’s confusion. He looked down and saw the blood coming from her hoof.

Twilight would ball into her hands, only to look up as she heard the sound of fabric being torn. “W-What are you doing?” Aaron was down on his knees, wrapping her one good hoof with the towel.

“What’s it look like? I’m cleaning your wound.”

“Why?”

“Well… in all honesty, because it’s a nice thing to do. That and I want to make it up to you. You know, after I… laughed” Twilight began to blush as she looked over Aaron once more. From what she knew about him thus far, he was crass a crass smart mouth, but kind when he wanted to be. He had no evidence of any sort of defense nor any way of helping her the way she wanted to.

Looking down in shame, Twilight had another realization; she brought an innocent into her world with no means of defending himself nor understanding of what was going on. Once he tied the towel scrap around her hoof, he stepped back. “There, better?” Twilight nodded slowly. “Good, now… could you tell me where I am, please?” Twilight sighed to herself.

“You’re in Equestria.” She said in a somber tone.

“Equestria. Okay, what country is that nearby? China, Brazil, Italy maybe?” Twilight shook her head.

“It’s the largest continent in the world. Right beside Griffonstone and the Minotaur United Clans.”

“Oh… I’m not on Earth anymore, am I?” Twilight looked up at him with a sorrowful gaze. “Yeah… I was afraid of that. With you being… um… you.” Aaron took a seat in front of her on the ground, looking around for more conversation topics. “So, what are you?”

“I’m a pony. Alicorn specifically.”

“Aren’t ponies supposed to be like quadrupeds?” Twilight shook her head, a faint smile forming on her muzzle, amused with his strange questions.

“Not since ancient times of the stone age. What about you? Are you some sort of… ape?”

“Descendants from apes. Or, more so evolved from such.” He smiled softly as Aaron tried to think of another question. “You have pretty wings.” The two began to blush softly, only for Aaron to correct himself. “I-I mean, do your wings work?”

“Not anymore, but I thank you for the compliment though. You have nice…” She stopped herself as she looked him over. He was still somewhat covered in the gunk and naked. “Uh, anyway. Just going to take a shot in the dark here… by any chance a battle hardened warrior?” She still had some hope for this, but like the other questions, it would lead to more disappointment.

“No. I don’t like to fight. I’m a thinker.” Twilight managed to smile at that one.

“Then… have you come from a civilization that has managed to unlock the secrets of space and time itself?” Twilight wouldn’t admit it, but that question was more for herself than the mission.

“Nooo… have you?” Twilight sighed as she shook her head. “Hey, not to be rude or anything, but do you have any clothes, there’s a bit of a draft in here and I it’s getting a bit chilly.” Twilight looked up and around, realizing that she had nothing for him to wear.

“Sorry, but I don’t have anything for you to wear. I wasn’t really expecting you to be… you.” An idea came to mind. “Though, I know where I can get you some.”

“Awesome. Lead the way.” With that, Twilight and Aaron went to the ladder to climb up to the surface world. Upon opening the door, she would find the charred bodies of her pursuers, making Aaron gasp in horror. “Holy shit! What the hell happened to them?!” Twilight looked to the corpses, their exposed skeletal structure and burned internal organs.

“They must have been caught in the spell that summoned you.” Twilight had shrugged off the death as if it was common place, startling Aaron how she could get over it so quickly.

“Y-You’re seriously saying that you aren’t freaked out by that.”

“Aaron, I’ve seen much worse than three bodies with half of their flesh seared off. Trust me, I’m kind of numb to that sort of thing by now.” Aaron took a final look back to the bodies, only to start exploring the decimated town.

“What about the rest of the town? Was that me as well?”

“No, you aren’t responsible for that. Tirek is.”

“Tirek? The hell is a Tirek?”

“Lord Tirek; he’s the ruler of Equestria now and has been for some time.” Aaron now had a few more questions, but was hesitant due to the venomous tone Twilight had delivered the explanation in. Twilight had brought Aaron to Carousel Boutique, the once living space and desired clothing outlet for all ponies in town, as well as outside. She only hoped that there were some stallion’s clothes that were intact.

“So, who is this Lord Tirek, guy?”

“Aaron, I know you have a lot of questions but there are some things I really don’t want to talk about right now. At least not yet.” Twilight walked to the door, shuffling to find the place was locked up. Rarity was always so protective of her work. Even in the final days of the Ponyville, she kept everything under wraps. Just as she was about to turn around, Aaron surprised her as he threw a rock through the window. “AARON!!!”

“What, no one’s home. Looks like it hasn’t been for some time too.” Twilight looked on in utter shock, rubbing her temples from the sheer frustration she was having today. “Now, can you unlock the door please. I’d walk in, but bare feet.” He held up his bare foot, making Twilight wonder how he traversed terrain in the strange appendages. A question for later as Twilight carefully stepping in through the window.

Twilight went to the window and climbed through, leaving Aaron to stay behind and wait patiently until he heard a click. Grabbing the doorknob, Aaron opened up to see a disgruntled looking Twilight. “Hello, ma’am. Can I interest you in…”? He stopped midway in his attempt at humor to lighten the mood. “Shit, I had a joke lined up here.” Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked in, leading him to the stallion section of the store.

When Aaron walked in, he couldn’t help but whistle. “Wow… this place looks expensive.”

“Not really. Rarity kept the quality high and the prices low. It wasn’t exactly cheap but the prices she had were fair. And if Rarity was here, she would have gone absolutely ballistic if she found out what you did to her window.”

“But she isn’t.” Twilight froze for a moment, looking to find something that hadn’t been eaten. “So, you knew who ran this place?” Twilight froze again, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah… I knew her. She was one of my best friends.”

“Oh cool, is she with you or something?”

“No.” Twilight said bluntly. In a fit of frustration, she threw the destroyed clothes aside. “damn, everything’s been eaten.”

“By what, moths?”

“By the look of it, parasites.”

“That sounds equally cute and terrifying at the same time.”

“Don’t worry. They don’t eat living things. They mostly just swarm and eat whatever they choose in a matter of seconds. Though, some of them eat inanimate objects.”

“Yeesh. Termites and locusts at the same time. Talk about a plague.” Twilight shook her head as she looked down and began to rummage through Rarity’s stocks, only to smirk as an idea crossed her mind. She stood up and presented Aaron with the garment she found. “Twilight… what is that.”

“Underwear.”

“No, that is not underwear.” Aaron was looking at the so called underwear with a dead panned look. It was a black, lacy pair of lingerie. Intact and clean of any bite marks or holes.

“Come on, it’s the only thing I found around here that is wearable.”

“Then I think I’ll stick with being naked, because I can guarantee you, I am not putting those on!”

“Come on, nopony is around to see.” Twilight said in a joking manner.

“That is a misconception, because you are around to see.”

“Well, if you’re not gonna wear them, then I guess we shou-“ Twilight froze mid-sentence, seeing three strange figures walking around in the distance. “Get down.” Twilight whispered, dragging Aaron around the front counter as she listened in.

“Ow, what the hell-“

“Shhh.”

“No, you shhhh.” Twilight covered his mouth with her hand, listening to the three strangers. They were too far away to eavesdrop. Twilight had to thing and think fast, if they were a danger, she would bring an innocent into this and she wouldn’t have that. “Okay, Aaron, there should be a back door around the kitchen. I want you to run, while I distract them.”

“Distract, wait, what the hell is going on?”

“There’s no time. Just go. I’ll meet up with you.”

“But-“

“Go!” Twilight growled, her frustration getting the better of her. Aaron remained silent as he saw the way out. He nodded in compliance, getting up to run for the door like she told him to. Taking a deep breath, Twilight readied herself. “Okay, I can do this.” She leapt over the table, only to gasp as she now found her face being held by a muscular, blue hand.

“Well, well. Look what I caught.” A deep voice said in amusement. Twilight’s eyes looked on at her captor in absolute terror.

~~~~~

Aaron was running fast through the back alleys of the town, moving as fast as his feet would carry him. He had no idea where he was going or what he was supposed to do, all he knew was that he was to get to safety and he would do just that. Until he could hear a high pitched scream in the distance, bringing his running to an abrupt halt.

He could recognize the owner of the scream, belonging to Twilight Sparkle. He began to panic, knowing full well that she was in danger. He could run, he could run far from here and never look back. He saw the outskirts of the town and the towering trees illuminated in the moonlight. He eventually found a parting in tree with a clear path leading to freedom. But as his thoughts turned to his own safety, thoughts of Twilight soon followed and how he would be leaving her behind to face whatever cruel fate she had found herself in.

Recalling of what happened, Aaron remembered how afraid she looked when she saw the strangers in town. Whoever the people were in the distance, they frightened Twilight. Which in turn scared him. A voice in his head began to egg him on to go and save her, to help the pony in danger. The other voice begged Aaron to run and to think of his own safety, his own survival. His mind was split into two parts, both waring for Aaron’s decision.

Somehow, some way, Aaron made his decision; he was going to save Twilight, and all he could hope for that it was the right path to follow.

Traveling back to where he was, he would find the Carousel Boutique empty. Twilight was gone with little sign of where she traveled to. He tried to tell himself that she was okay, but as he looked to the counter where they were hiding, he soon found a small splatter of fresh blood. He began to worry about her more than ever, he didn’t know why but a feeling told him to find the strange pony and to make sure she was okay.

A second scream was heard, this time much closer and easy to follow. Aaron responded and peaked through the door, looking for anything dangerous first. With a soft groan, Aaron began to run through the town and rubble. “Stop yur squirmin’, pony bitch.” He came to a stop as he heard the voice.

Coming to a wall, Aaron would listen in. He could hear Twilight struggling against something, only to grunt as it sounded like something knocked the wind out of here. “There we go. Nice an’ quiet now.” Another voice said.

Twilight would gasp, trying to recover from the heavy impact. Aaron peaked through a hole, he could see her on her hands and knees, panting softly, unaware of Aaron’s presence. “So, what should we do wit ‘er?”

“What do you think? We take her to Lord Tirek, get a promotion.”

“True, but I mean right now? She did spit in your eye.”

“True, that really hurt my feelings.” He could hear a soft chuckle. “So, how about we break this little whorse in, and bring back a much quieter pony princess bitch.” Twilight looked up at her captors in fear, of which were still hidden from Aaron. Thinking quickly, he would look around his surroundings. It was the only thing he could do until he formulated a plan.

The two soldiers took Twilight sparkle and pinned her down to the ground with their muscular limbs. One took her lower half, pinning her legs in a parted position. The other held her by her hands and wings, crushing them beneath his weight. Twilight was trapped and she knew full well what was coming. She would mentally prepare herself for the inevitable, hearing the two soldiers undo their lower half only to hear a window break in the distance. The two had their guard up now, the leader of the two motioned for the other to go and check it out, much to his displeasure. The large guard got up off of Twilight’s legs and began to plow through the crumbled wall. Aaron was hiding around the corner, watching the large mass of muscle and armor walk off to investigate.

Aaron gulped to himself, praying that he would not have to fight such a creature. As he waited, Aaron could hear Twilight sob softly as the large beast propped open her mouth and gagged her with his massive shaft. The bull like monster gasped to himself, nearly breaking Twilight’s jaw with its girth

As the large bull pleasured himself, Twilight would feel more and more of herself waste away, suffocating on the massive meat. “Hahh… yeah, you like that you little pony slut Don’t worry, you’re gonna get hat pretty pony pussy stuffed soon enough.” This would continue on, only for Twilight to look on in shock as she saw something she didn’t think she’d see. “Mmmmf, oh fuck, you feel so good- “Thwack! The monster never got to finish his sentence, among other things. He looked on with a blank stare, slowly falling over to reveal Aaron standing over him with a massive slab of concrete. The concrete fell to the ground; Aaron was shaking as he looked on at what he had done. He had never done something like that before and he looked on at what he had done.

Twilight immediately freed herself from the creature’s phallus, coughing as she tried to breath once more and sooth her sore jaw. She felt violated, disgusted, traumatized. “Are you… o-okay?” he asked shakily, trying to regain his bearings.

Twilight merely panted, trying to recover. “I thought I… told you to run.”

“I did, but I came back to for you.” Twilight looked up but wouldn’t make eye contact as she stood up. She wanted Aaron out of danger and yet she came back for her, even if he had no reason to.

“I-… I’m glad you did.” She lunged forward and brought Aaron in for a comforting hug, in thanks and for comfort after what she had endured. Aaron was stunned by the show of affection, but he would slowly lean into it and hold her close. The moment was soon ruined as they heard the second guard coming back.

“Hey, didn’t find anything, so I hope you got the pony slut warmed up for-“ The second guard returned to find his friend on the ground and their prisoner gone. Twilight and Aaron were far from the location, running together as they sought to escape the remaining guard. The sound of a rampaging monster could be heard in the distance, bulldozing through the buildings as if they were dried wood.

“Oh man, he sounds pissed.” Aaron started to run a little faster, the prospect of survival pushing him farther. Twilight found herself doing the same. She came to a stop and looked at place they could be safe. “Aaron, in here!” The human came to a stop, turning to see Twilight point to what was once Sugar Cube corner.

“Okay, but first.” Aaron took hold of another rock and threw it into town. Besides the sound of a mad-bull, they heard another window shatter, hopefully bringing the bull’s attention elsewhere. With the distraction in play, Aaron joined Twilight in the bakery, closing the door behind them. This gave the two an opportunity to catch their breath. Softly panting and gasping for air.

"What the fuck was that thing?!” Aaron whispered.

“Minotaur. Low intelligence, high aptitude for physical strength. Not exactly something we can fight right now.” He could agree to that, from what he could hear outside, the minotaur warrior was going berserk trying to find the culprit behind the attack and his prize. Yet as he listened in, Aaron could feel a strange sensation in his leg, almost like it was tingling from something.

“Twilight, can you turn the light on please?” Twilight nodded and looked for the switch. With a flick the lamps came to life with a magical flame illuminating the area, only for Aaron to gasp in terror at what he saw infesting the room; spiders. Large spiders lively crawling around the area in a manic fashion as their dark home was now illuminated as they ran up and down a thick glob of webbing manifested in the middle of the room. Twilight saw him slowly turn pale, rushed to a table to escape the swarm of arachnids, huddling upon the safety of the wood on legs. Twilight could only look at him in confusion as she saw the eight legged creatures. He was brave enough to rescue her from a killing machine like a minotaur, but he would crumble at the mere sight of the small, eight legged arachnids

“Don’t worry. They’re just Star Spiders. They’re totally harmless.”

“H-ha-harmless my ass. I am not going through… that! I’d rather take my chances with the minotaur out there.” Twilight shook her head as she slowly moved through the spiders, the webbing seemingly opening for her as she moved through with ease. Aaron would merely watch from a distance, clinging to his table of safety as he saw Twilight vanish from sight.

Taking a deep breath, Aaron slowly found his way to the floor, the Star Spiders avoiding his foot as he came down. His teeth chattering as she slowly moved through the horde of arachnids and his own phobia. His eyes were shut tight, moving along the path he memorized, telling him that what he saw wasn’t there and that it didn’t exist what so ever.

Though, he felt them skitter along his feet on occasion, he tried to calm himself as he moved on. He remembered Twilight’s words, how they were ultimately harmless but he couldn’t help but go into a panicking fit on the inside

The wall of webbing parted for him but he couldn’t tell. He was just trying to move through calmly and quietly. He only stopped when he felt himself stub his toe on the lowest stair in a stair case. “Hey, glad ya made it.” Twilight said in an amused tone. “You okay?”

“N-no, no I am not.” He stuttered. Twilight sighed as she slowly walked down and took hold of his hand, bringing him up the stairs just in time the minotaur to come crashing through a nearby building in blind rage. The scent he had been following came here but it ended abruptly, having been masked by the smell of old sweets and the odor the Star Spiders produced.

The minotaur soldier let out another roar as he continued his rampage through town, not stopping until he found what he was looking for. The sound of crashing buildings got further and further away, giving Aaron and Twilight a chance to rest once again. “Aaron, I’m so sorry I got you into this.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“No, I mean all of this. I wanted a vicious monster and… I got you. You should not be here, you should be home with your family and friends.” That struck a chord with Aaron, his eyes drifting down to the floor.

“I… I don’t have a family or friends. It’s just me.”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t-“ He stopped her by holding up his hand.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.” Looking around, Aaron began to think of the situation they were in. “So, what is the plan of action now?”

“We wait. He can’t find us in here and he won’t be going until he finds something else to occupy his time. Until then, we just wait it out.” Twilight got up and walked to find the master bedroom, devoid of insects and arachnids. There wasn’t any sign of sweets thus there wasn’t much for them to upstairs. As such, Twilight laid onto the bed and sighed. “It’s been a while since I had a bed.” Aaron came into the room, looking around to see the memorabilia that had been left behind. “Did you know the peo-ponies who lived here too?”

“I did. Another of my best friends lived here. Her name was Pinkie Pie and stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Cake and their twin foals.” Aaron nodded as he turned to face Twilight.

“Did… they meet with the same fate as Rarity?” Twilight could only take a deep breath and sigh, sitting up to face Aaron.

“The Cakes left town a long time ago, before any of the town was destroyed, much to their displeasure. They wanted to stay behind and protect Pinkie. They were like a second family to her, treating her like their own daughter. But… there came a time when they had to leave. For the sake of their own family.”

“So, what happened to her?”

“Pinkie was… captured, along with the rest of my friends. Say for one; Rainbow Dash. She and I managed to escape the oncoming attack. Many ponies died here, trying to protect us from Tirek’s forces.”

“What happened to Rainbow, where is she?”

“Captured too.” Twilight said in a somber tone. “I’ve spent the last year trying to find my friends, to save them from my mistake. Now… now they’re all going to die in whatever prison they are held in. All because of my mistake.” Aaron sat beside her, looking about.

“Twilight… what happened? What happened to your world and why did you need me?” Twilight sighed to herself, recalling the events that led up to this moment.

“Do you really want to know?” Aaron nodded to her, giving the alicorn his full attention. “So be it then.” With that said, Twilight sat up and began to recall the day everything changed. “Three years ago, I was locked in battle with the greatest threat that Equestria had ever known. I was determined to save my home from his evil, but… I wasn’t strong enough…”

~~~~~

The skies of Equestria burned red. The ponies would cry out in fear as they ran for their lives. Trying to get to safety as the powerful forces did battle up above. The energy flowing forth could be felt all over the world as the very earth shook with their presence.

The two titans of magic fell to the ground in a massive shockwave cracking the ground beneath them. Everything everywhere could feel this epic battle of gods and they feared the outcome of whoever claimed victory

Far in the outskirts of any civilization, the two titans of magic arose from their craters. The smaller was the newly coroneted Princess Twilight Sparkle, now endowed with the magic of four alicorn mares. Her clothes were torn and stained in blood; some of it her own. The air around her would crackle with potent magic of incredible levels.

Opposing her was the renewed Lord Tirek who emanated raw dark magic. The manic centaur faced Twilight with a raging glare, Twilight doing the same as they both regained their breath to continue the fight. Twilight was the first to rocket herself forward at blinding speeds, her magical imbuing her fists with energy to keep her bones from shattering and so she could strike her opponent harder.

While he didn’t have wings, Tirek was able to charge forward with the power of every Pegasus in equestrian combined. His hooves would stomp on the ground, the two roared at one another as they reared their fists back for one more powerful attack. Their fists met and the result was that of a powerful shockwave that shattered the ground beneath them, creating a torrent of wind as everything was blown back with great force.

Twilight and Tirek fell to their knees, having exhausted nearly all of their magical power but that didn’t mean that they were done. The two were determined to fight on until the other conceded or died by the other’s hand. Twilight’s eyes glowed with a powerful light, her power flowing through her to heal the wounds she had sustained in her battle. Tirek could feel the same as they both slowly got to their hooves. “It seems we are at an impasse. Luckily for me… I have a bargaining chip.” The centaur snapped his fingers and produced six bubbles, each containing one of her friends.

Twilight’s looked at them in shock, fear starting to creep into her mind as she imagined what cruel forms of torture he would inflict on them. “What did you do to them?!” She barked.

“I have merely taken what is rightfully mine. If you want them unharmed, you will give up your alicorn magic to me.” Twilight could feel her heart beat, looking at her friends in such a state. She held great power in her hands, power that could only be rivaled by the combined magic of every pony in Equestria. If he got his hands on such a power, their world would most definitely pay the price. Twilight vowed she would protect this power but she never wanted to bring her friends into this fight. “Well… I’m waiting.”

“Don’t do it!” Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Twilight, don’t do this! Forget about us, save Equestria! You can do it; I know you can. We believe in you!” The others began to cheer Twilight on, chanting her name to boost her morale. Tirek began to grow impatient. Wanting to prove his point further, he turned to the sulking Discord and reached into his prison, ringing his neck as he presented him to Twilight.

“Perhaps an example is in order.” Twilight would look on in sheer horror as she watched the spirit of chaos slowly turning to stone. Once it was done, Tirek dropped the statue to the ground and smashed it beneath his mighty hooves. Twilight could hear Fluttershy scream in horror, wailing as she cried for her dead friend.

Discord was now a pile of shattered pieces, leaving the rest of Twilight’s friends speechless as Fluttershy balled her eyes out for her fallen friend. Death was something they’ve never faced before, at least not in such a cold blooded manner. Twilight could only watch closely, her mind imagining the same happening to the rest of her friends. Tears slowly began to fall from her eyes, mourning the loss of a friend.

“Why do you waste your time mourning the fool? He betrayed you and your kind. In the end he was a weak oaf who wasted his talents on trivial quests. If anything, he is better off dead.” Twilight began to grit her teeth, fuming with raw rage.

“Sh-shut up.” Twilight’s fists began to tremble, crackling with her magic. Tirek smirked, locking his legs into the ground as he prepared himself.

“Make. Me.” Twilight’s eyes lit up once more, radiating pure alicorn magic as she roared out. Stretching out her hands as a powerful wave of raw magic spewed from her and stripped the stone beneath Tirek’s hooves. Twilight’s furious attack was the epitome of her combined magical energies, the torrent of magic that struck Tirek was comparable to that of a class 5 tornado focused in one point. She took a few steps forward, continuing to pour on the powerful magic as she no longer wanted to win, but to see Tirek as a smoldering pile. Twilight’s friends could only cover their eyes from the blinding light, the bubbles they were in acted as protection as they were blown away to safety.

Twilight was now standing at point black, the potent forces of her magic engulfing Tirek as she screamed out in anger at the top of her lungs. Her body felt like it was on fire as every ounce of energy she held in her was poured into the final attack. The two soon vanished from sight as the light soon grew too bright until it shown like the sun itself.

Finally, after two whole minutes, Twilight’s attack faded and came to a stop. Falling to her knees, Twilight would pant softly as she tried to recover from her attack. Her vision was blurry, her body going numb, her body was threatening to shut down entirely if she didn’t stop. She would listen to her ailments and began to rest up, positive that nothing alive could resist such an attack, but she would find that she was wrong.

Twilight froze as she heard the amused chuckle in front of her. She forced herself to look up at the still alive Tirek emerging from the smoke. She couldn’t believe it; she wouldn’t believe it. She poured everything she had into that last ditch attack and it amounted to nothing. “I must admit… That was very impressive.” Tirek reared his arm up and back handed Twilight across the face, sending her flying several feet back to her friends.

Tears began to run down her eyes, she had failed Equestria and she failed her friends. “Please… s-spare my friends.” Twilight could feel the pain of it all. Her magic having been depleted, she could feel every broken bone and bruised artery. The pain was too much for her and she just wanted this to end.

“You beg for mercy? A proper place for a princess like yourself.” Tirek brought his hoof up and began to place it on Twilight’s head, lightly applying pressure. “Concede.” Tirek growled, looming over her to listen to her. Twilight would fight the words as they came up, but it was ultimately a fruitless endeavor.

“I-… I concede.”

“LOUDER!!!” Tirek barked.

“I CONCEDE!!!” Twilight burst into tears, rendered helpless, even with all of her power. Tirek removed his hoof from her and opened his mouth. The combined magic of Twilight and the other princesses began to leave her, flowing out of her mouth and into the body of Tirek to add to his own. The power began to flow through him and with it, he began to grow.

Laughing in maniacal amusement, Tirek snapped his fingers as the rest of Twilight’s friends were set free, seeing no further use for them. They gathered around Twilight, looking down at her in shock and sorrow. Twilight was left broken and defeated, powerless as she now had no way of defeating Tirek. All was lost.

~~~~~

“Since then, my friend Rainbow had been rallying the ponies that still wanted to fight back. She had always shown potential for being a great leader and when it was time for her to step up, she did it with flying colors. Eventually, Tirek would return form my friends and I. As the last princess, Rainbow and my friends defended me to the very end until only she and I escaped Tirek’s clutches. We’ve been in hiding and looking for our friends ever since.” Twilight slowly turned to Aaron, a defeated look present in her eyes.

“Eventually, I was on my own and I started to look for a way to stop Tirek and to fix my mistake. I wanted something to save my friends, my family… my home.” Aaron could feel the weight of her words, the story she had told him showed that his coming here was not just a small goof, but had entirely defeated her quest before it could even start. Guilt began to swell up in Aaron.

“Twilight, I’m sorry that-“

“No, you don’t have to be sorry. The fault is mine; it’s always been mine.” Twilight sighed to herself as she laid down on the bed, curling up into a ball. “You can go if you want. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave. You’d probably be better off if you did.” Aaron looked to the sulking Twilight, thinking to himself. She was probably right, if she was a high priced target, then danger would be around every corner for him if he stayed. Yet, he didn’t want to go. He didn’t know why, but Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I… don’t want to go. For some… crazy reason, I want to help you. I want to help you rescue your friends.”

“Why? You can’t help me, no pony can.”

“Maybe, but I do know that apart we can’t do much. Which is why I suggesting we stick with each other and look out for one another. It’d be much safer if we did.” He laid beside her on the bed. “I may not be the strongest guy, nor the smartest, let alone the most dangerous thing to exist; but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. You summoned me, and I don’t want to be a waste of your time.” Twilight laid there for a moment in silence, only to turn to him with tears falling down her eye.

“You… want to stay? Even if it means you’ll get killed?”

“Yes. You can count on me as an ally.” Twilight smiled as she brought him in for a hug, silently thanking him for sticking by her side in a time when she needed it most.

“Not an ally. As a friend.” Aaron couldn’t help but smile, liking the sound of that.

“Sure. Sounds good.” After they shared their hug, Twilight parted from him and smiled. “So what happens now?”

“Now,” Twilight let go of him, a small sparkle in her eye as she couldn’t help but feel joy for the first time in a long time. “We have work to do.”