The morning started out with me trying to ignore a certain giant bright pest.

The sun

Its beams of light were shining through the window and into my eyesight or would be if I had my eyes opened so I merely turned over and to look to see my lovers only to yelp as gravity decided to introduce me to the floor as I lay there for a few seconds processing that I was now on the floor and letting my eyes adjust to the light I noticed the floor was not the same as the soft carpet in the master bedroom of my castle but rather this one was harder and cold to the touch so pushing myself up I took in the crystal walls and the limited furniture within the room before everything came flooding back causing me to take a deep breath and sigh.

Getting up I rubbed my face before I used my magic to make the bed before I decided to look outside and saw that the sun was still on the horizon and the sky was still bearing it's dawning colours so it was still early. I noticed that there was a light fog that lingered across the ground giving the town of Ponyville a very mystical charm which made me smile.

I then went and grabbed some clothes from my bag before I made my way to the bathroom to get myself ready and once I was clean and dressed I decided to fix myself some breakfast deciding to go with French toast and coffee and as I watched the food cook I suddenly hear the sound of of a yawn behind me and saw it was Spike.

"Morning Spike coffee?" I asked while holding the pot of warm brew up for the drake.

"Thanks." Spike said as he grabbed a mug before I poured some of the dark liquid in the ceramic mug. "That's enough."

Immediately I righted the pot and placed it back on the stove before picking up a spatula and testing to see if the toast was cooked properly before I turned off the flames and moved the toast to a plate and grabbed said plate and my own mug of coffee before taking a seat at the table with Spike who was enjoying his drink.

"Mm that's good stuff just what the doctor ordered," Spike said.

"Glad you like it," I said.

"So why are you up so early?" Spike asked.

"Forgot how small the bed is compared to mine and fell out, how about you?" I asked.

"Standard day really. Wake up and make breakfast for Twilight and Rarity." Spike said, causing me to hum in acknowledgement.

"Y'know you aren't what I expected," Spike said.

"Hm?" I asked.

"Well for a guy who has had nearly his entire race killed you seem...well not as gloomy as I would have thought someone would be." Spike said.

"Well if it were under normal circumstances you would be right but I was still a baby at the time so it's impossible for me to remember such things besides it was only a couple of years ago when I found out about it." I said.

"What do you mean by normal circumstances?" Spike asked.

"...Well I guess you can say my life has been lived in sections. First I start off as a baby and then I go through the stages y'know toddler, child, teenager, adult, then I die and restart back as a baby without any memories of my previous life." I said.

"Wait, how does that work?" Spike asked.

"Well most souls go through the same process back in my world but they end up in a different body or as a different gender when they come back but for me my soul and body was tended to by The Tree of Life. It kept my soul in my body and returned me to my infant state." I said.

"Tree of Life? Is that like the Tree of Harmony?" Spike asked.

"Possibly I never got the chance to find out because the tree was gone when I went back and I don't mean cut down gone it was just gone as if it never existed." I said.

"Whoa...so how did you...uh," Spike started.

"Learn about what happened?" I asked, causing Spike to nod.

"Well a few years ago before my most recent death an...enemy of mine managed to unlock most of my memories and not too long after Faust unlocked the rest about how my people were killed and how I survived," I said.

"Wow you...must have seen a lot," Spike said.

"Yeah and you wouldn't even believe half of it," I said.

Spike and I talked for a while before I decided to leave to go train. I wanted to find somewhere with an open space but still secluded enough that I wouldn’t bother anyone when I remembered the swimming hole not too far outside of Ponyville and felt that would be perfect so grabbing Whispering Wind I set off and soon arrived at the pond before I walked to the edge of the water and set down Whispering Wind. I then sat in a lotus and began to meditate and for an hour all was quiet until I heard the sound of flapping wings approaching soon followed by whoever owned the wings touching down on the ground behind me.

"Hey, Ash. How are you doing buddy?" came the sound of Joe's voice.

I did not move when Joe called out to me but I didn't want to be rude to him as well by not giving a reply after all he did invite me to his world and I'd be a terrible guest if I did that but I didn't want to break my focus by speaking so there was only one thing I could do...show him.

Raising my right arm so it was outstretched before me and opened a portal, soon I felt something moving through the portal soon followed by the sound of mechanical whirling I then felt the thing step through the portal before I lowered my arm and let the portal dissipate before I opened my eyes and saw before me what looked to be a man made from brass and steel wearing ancient Greek armour and stood at about 15ft tall the figure before me also had eyes that seemed to glow like molten metal with it's expression as hard and sturdy as stone the figure before me was a training automaton made by Hephaestus to train individuals in combat and each one was a master of the weapon they carried and this one used a chain whip with what looked like a cannonball at the end.

Once I was done observing I then stood up and reached and grabbed Whispering Wind before I took a breath and took a stance with one hand behind my back and the blade pointed down at the ground in front of me.

"Begin," I said.

With quick movements the towering giant of metal flung the end of the whip at me going for my legs but I simply hopped upwards jumping over the whip and as soon as I landed the automaton flicked its wrist to send the whip back in my direction from the opposite side so I moved my sword into its path and used the blade to redirect the whip but the giant flung its arm again so the tip would come down on me but I simply stepped to the side and let the ball smash into the ground kicking up a large cloud of sand which reflected the strength of the automaton. If I had been mortal and that actually hit me I would be very much dead a few times over.

I then leapt backwards as the metal giant flung its arm again to try and strike me with the whip. It continued on this way with me just simply barely stepping out of the way to duck and parry the deadly chain while the behemoth before me had barely taken a step but it often did use its other limbs to redirect the whip in large deadly arc strikes in an attempt to catch me off guard. I then saw the ball approach me as if it were a snake lunging at me with its fangs bared to bite down on me but I moved my head to the side and felt the wind created by the ball as it sailed past my head before I heard what sounded like the shattering of wood meaning the ball must have struck/destroyed the tree that was nearby. I then saw this as my chance and lunged at the mechanical monster before I leapt into the air intending to impale Whispering Wind into the automaton's eye socket but the bastard just raised its fist to try and swat me down like a fly so I angled myself so I would fall feet first into the giant's hand and when my feet met the hand I crouched my legs before I leapt off the hand but that was a mistake and before I could do anything the automaton swung its whip in another arc which led to the ball smashing me in the side of my torso sending me flying into the sand.

I couldn't help but grunt in pain as I lay in the small crater that I had made from the impact. I then looked and saw the automaton was looking at me before it too crouched its legs and leapt high into the air with the intent to smash me into paste so grabbing Whispering Wind I dived forward out of the way just before the automaton hit the ground before I once more took a stance with my left hand behind my back while my right arm had brought my sword up to the left side of my face with the blade facing the automaton.

The metal giant then spun counterclockwise and used the momentum of the spin to strike me but once again I simply deflected it but the automaton then grabbed a portion of the whip so that he could make faster and more controlled strikes before it made another swing at me from the opposite side much faster then before leaving me to deflect it again however the blows didn't stop the strikes came down like rain forcing me to step away to dodge and parry quickly until the automaton then made a wide arc strike again that would have hit me in the waist with the chain and then wrapped around me to immobilize me but I leapt over the chain in a spin and angled my body so that I was on my side so my legs wouldn't get caught in the chain I then landed on my legs and left hand which was holding up most of my body with my right arm stretched outwards to my right I then noticed a shadow over me so looking up I saw the giant prepared to pound me into the sand with a fist but using my left hand I pushed myself out of the way and landed into a roll before I got up right as the fist came down. I then decided to use a technique that was used by Link called the Back Slash so leaping to the side followed by another leap I then rolled across the ground till I was behind the automaton before leaping into the air with both a yell and a spin landing several slashes along my mechanical opponents back before I landed on the ground and at first all was still till suddenly the giant let out a metallic groan before the damn thing fell apart revealing it's clockwork interior .

Once I was sure my opponent was down I let out a sigh and lowered my sword before I opened a portal and watched as the parts were sucked through I then went to face Joe and saw Applejack, Luna, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and the CMC were here as well and all of them seemed to be dumbstruck.

"That Was...Awesome!" Rainbow screamed out before the three fillies started mimicking the battle.

"Just what in Equestria was that?!" Twilight cried out.

"Training with a dummy." I said as I shouldered Whispering Wind.

"A dummy that thing nearly killed you!" Twilight exclaimed as the group came down to meet me.

"As it was designed to be a real life scenario for a real time situation but relax only those with advanced expertise are allowed to fight against those," I said before I grunted in pain as I placed my left hand against the left side of my torso where my ribs would be.

"Hey you alright?" Joe asked.

"Yeah sure the tin man just broke three of my ribs is all," I said.

"What!" came the collective shout.

"Oh goodness we need to get you to a hospital." Fluttershy said, quickly approaching my side to try and see the wound.

"Hey chill out I'll be fine, these will heal in about three hours," I said.

"Wait so soon?" Applejack asked.

"Sure like your spouse over there I too have quick regeneration flesh and muscle wounds depending on the size and depth of the wound take about a few seconds to fully heal but bones take longer because they aren't made of the same materials as muscle and flesh is," I explained.

"Interesting...by the way I've never seen that style of swordplay. Would you mind if I ask about it?" Luna asked.

"Well it was basically a combination of some of the most basic fighting styles I know the first was the Sword Saint Style which revolves around using you're blade to manipulate the situation of a fight to your favor by blocking, parrying, striking and making your opponent move where you want them to which will allow you to bypass their guard and deliver a deadly blow. There was also the Water Dance Style which relies on dodging and moving so that you're a difficult opponent to hit and pin down so that when your opponent gets tired giving you a way to deliver a killing blow. Finally the move that finished the automaton off was a move called the Back Slash which was designed by a hero a long time ago to get behind heavily armoured opponents and strike at their weak spots and remove the armour that protected them," I said.

"Fascinating, I assume you also know other styles as well." Luna asked.

"Sure one is easily the most aggressive of the others where you move to disable your foe with overwhelming and powerful strikes. We call this the North God Style," I said.

"Why's it called that?" Joe asked.

"Well once upon a time when I first learned this style the lands of the north were cold snowy and harsh and hostile all year round 24/7 if you weren't strong enough you'd die and back then gods were believed to be overwhelming forces so thus North God Style," I explained with a shrug causing me to wince in pain.

"I like that one," Luna said with a smile.

"That certainly is a unique style. Orion could find such techniques useful, think you can teach him?" Joe asked.

" I'll think about it. What kind of sword does he use?"

" Why don't you ask him yourself?" Joe points behind me to where his sons were just coming up to see the end of the show. " Orion, show Ash your sword, he might have some pointers for you."

" Sure thing Pop." Orion unsheathed his sword and displayed it for me.

As I examined his sword, I had to admire its craftsmanship and power. " It's beautiful. Who made it and what's its name?"

" Its name is Nightfall. It was made by Brok, but it was stolen from him by Sombra. I found it in the treasure room at the Crystal Empire and defeated many a foe with it."

"Nightfall?" I asked before I looked back at the sword before I couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Orion asked.

"Hm...oh it’s just...I forged a blade that shares the same name as yours but the differences are the type of blade and the language spoken to say the name." I said as I held Orion's sword in my right hand before I summoned Hingure while still in her sheath to my left hand. "This is my second blade Hingure which is Japanese for Nightfall."

*whistles* I wasn't expecting a katana and you said you forged that yourself?" Joe asked.

"Yes using the traditional method so Hingure here took about...six months of work," I said.

"Wait that long for a single sword?" Jack asked.

"Indeed from ancient times to the modern day the katana was considered to be the most versatile sword in existence. Most blade styles relied on either one strength for combat but the katana excelled in having more for example you see how the blade is curved?" I asked as I handed Nightfall back to Orion before unsheathing Hingure.

"Yeah,'' the boys said.

"Well the curve makes cutting and slashing attacks a little easier but also parrying as well finally if I had an enemy running at me trying to attack while I had my sword sheathed and on my hip I could then just draw Hingure and cut my opponent all in one move observe," I said before I sheathed Hingure and created a straw dummy before me so placing Hingure on the right side of my hip I then grabbed Hingure's sheath and the handle and in one swift move I drew Hingure and slashed the dummy in two.

"Wow," the boys said as I winced in pain from my ribs again.

“Yeah now that I've had a look at the blade there are a few styles I can show you but first I need to ask have you ever used a shield and also you Jack do you use any weapons?" I asked.

" Dad and I use this type of shield." He took out his left arm and gave his fist a squeeze, activating the mechanism to a retractable shield. " It's based on the design of an old Viking shield, so it only has the handle to grip. This gives me various ways to twist it while also using it as a weapon when needed." Impressive.

" As for me, I just have Earthquake here." Jack unstrapped a large Warhammer, that I somehow missed, and displayed it to me.

" Just like Nightfall, I found Earthquake in the Crystal Empire and used it to cave in a few heads, but it also has a couple of tricks. When you hit the ground with the flat end, a small tremor is directed toward the enemy. If you hit the ground with the spike, stalagmites erupt from the ground to impale your target."

" Not bad. What did you take out with your hammer?"

" Not a whole lot. I used it against a Wendigo, smashed Ahuizotls paw tail with it, and smacked a chimera out. Well, that last one was a team effort, Orion took out the snakehead after it blinded me, Scootaloo took care of the lion head with her blades, that's when-"

" Wait, hold up. Scootaloo's blades?" I turned to Scootaloo, trying to imagine this sweet little filly wielding blades. " You have weapons too?"

" Yeah! Wanna see 'em?" Scootaloo unfolded her tiny wings where a chain was attached to them and at the other end, were some very familiar-looking blades.

" Where did you get those?"

" Dad gave them to me, just like he gave me this crown that lets me fly." She demonstrates that by floating above the ground and then zips and makes circles around everyone before landing back between Bloom and Sweetie. " Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah...," I said as I thought back to when I last saw kids carrying weapons.

"You alright Ash?" Joe asked, causing me to shake my head.

"Huh oh I'm fine just...bad memories anyway judging by the weapons you boys wield, I know of just the right fighting style for you but the problem is I wasn't trained in either style myself," I said.

"Then how would you teach us?" Orion asked, sounding disappointed.

"Hey whoa guys I never said it was impossible just hang on a sec," I said as I opened a portal that showed a shelf of books.

"Mine!" Twilight shouted as she made a lunge for the portal but without even looking I just snapped my fingers and locked Twilight in a time-stasis field, halting the book loving mare in mid-air.

"Not for you Sparkle Butt one of the last things I need is you going all Twily-nana's on my library," I said, causing several of the group to either giggle, snicker or just straight out laugh.

While the group was getting control over themselves I waved my hand in front of the portal and watched the shelf change to show another shelf stacked with books. I repeated this process a few times till I found the one I was looking for but as I scanned the shelf I paused.

"Odd," I said.

"What is?" Joe asked, finally getting control of his laughter.

"Just two books aren't here is all. My guess is my brother is borrowing them considering what the books are," I said as I grabbed a pair of books before changing a few more shelves to grab another book before I waved my hand and closed the portal before snapping my fingers freeing Twilight causing her to go sailing forward and faceplant into the ground.

"She only has herself to blame for driving recklessly at a shelf full of books," I said as I looked at Joe.

"That's fair," Joe said before I turned to the two boys.

"Now these books here contain the fighting styles and some lore that is dedicated to two classes of warriors that were well known during the three way war back on my world's version of Earth." I said as I handed each of the boys one of the three books.

"A three way war like when the tribes of ponykind were split apart?" Applejack asked.

"You got it some would call it the Great War of Heathmoor the battle was between the Knights of Ashfeld, The Samurai of The Myre and finally the Vikings of Valkenheim in fact the two books each contain the fighting styles and lore of what we called champions each of the three factions had many types of champions that had their own weapons and armour and history that made them famous or infamous I even decided to write down all that I learned whenever I found something new about any champion," I said.

"So who are the champions of these books?" Jack asked.

"Well for starters these campions were both members of the Viking faction yours Jack were said to be a fearsome group who wielded war hammers like you but there skin was a pale grey and looked like the scales of a snake that was caused by the poisonous gasses that surrounded their home and according to myth this poison came from the maw of the great serpent Jormungandr himself whose head rested below their great fortress and because of that these champions decided to name themselves after him." I said.

"Wait poison gasses, why on earth would anyone choose to live where they could die?" Applejack cried out.

"It's not like they had a choice according to what I heard that fortress was a place for exiles and Viking infants that looks...defective at birth like if they were too small or weak or...misshapen even those that were unwanted they were abandoned at the fort and left in the care of the exiles if they survived they would become warriors if they died well...that's that," I said.

"That's so cruel," Fluttershy wept.

"That's how life was back them I'm afraid but believe me these guys are the definition of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger the ones that grew up to become warriors turned out to be a very fearsome and powerful foe crushing all that stood in their way and they dedicated their lives to the day Ragnarok comes," I said seeming to impress both Jack and Joe.

"Uh...my champion didn't have a story like that did they?" Orion asked.

"Mm-mm the champion of that book was known as The Warlord a steadfast group of warriors who were a firm believer in their ancient traditions using the same style of shield as you have they also had a rather simple but lethal sword design the Warlords were considered the shield of their people and will dedicate their lives to the service of their people and they even have a saying which is one I follow to this day," I said.

"What was it?" Orion asked clearly interested.

"A leader who does not lead the charge is no leader, meaning if you're not willing to step foot onto the battlefield and put your own life at risk then you have no right to command others to do the same," I said.

"Wow," Orion said.

"Wow indeed and let me tell you Warlords don't go down easily especially Gudmundr," I said.

"Gudmunder?" Orion asked.

"The single greatest Warlord I have ever met is well known among all the lands of Heathmoor and our battle was one of the greatest I ever had," I said.

"Wait you fought him, was he strong?" Orion asked excitedly.

"Aw strong isn't even a word I would use to describe him, he was legendary," I said as I snapped my fingers creating a screen that showed my encounter with the great Jarl.

The group was silent throughout the whole thing but my mood became forlorn at the third encounter but when the battle ended I turned off the screen as soon as the Warlord passed leaving me with his final breath.

Once the fight was over I ended the memory, waiting for the reaction. To no one's surprise Dash was the first one to react to a spectacle.

"That was one of the best fights I've ever seen! Almost as good as the last fight Discord and Joe had." Dash cried out which piqued my curiosity.

" You fought Discord too?" I asked as I looked at Joe.

Just then like the old saying about speaking of the devil, Discord puffed into existence.

" More of a scuffle that resolved our roles in society." He then said before he floated over to me. " Sorry, we bumped into each other at the party yesterday, but you left before we could introduce each other."

" Sorry, that was rude of me, though I already somewhat know you from my Equestria."

" Oh yeah, well can your Discord do this?" Discord then proceeds to take off his antelope horn, which had ale in it, and proceeds to chug it. After he's done drinking, he lets out a large burp. " Can he do that?"

" I can honestly say that I've never seen him do that, though I think he's capable of doing that. So exactly what kind of fight did you and Joe have?"

" A spoof off. We had four out of five rounds, Joe won three while I had a show stopping win in the third round. We took on different forms and in the final round, we fought outside the illusion of the gates of troy. I played as Prince Hector, while Joe played as, Ankle." Discord explain and just as I was about to correct him I get beaten to the punch by Joe

" Achilles you dumb-fuck. Anyway, after our fight, I branded Discord with a binding spell to make sure he stayed in line. But, after his help against Tirek, I took away the brand." Joe said.

" Wait, you guys didn't turn him back to stone after he twisted you guys from your elements in the maze?" I asked remembering my encounter with the god of chaos of my world

" No, the girls didn't get twisted because they didn't go through the maze. I figured out his shitty riddle and we found the elements in the hollowed-out book." Joe explained

" Interesting." I said as I brought a hand up to my chin. "Makes you wonder what else was different between our worlds."

"Well think of an event and we'll compare?" Joe said.

"Okay...Nightmare Moon's return I was dragged into Equestria and turned into a wolf explanation later and through a series of events I landed in the Everfree forest after spending a day in there and waking up to find out it was still dark out but at first I decided to just shrug it off and perceived it as me waking up early and decided to go look for breakfast but as I was milling about I heard a roar followed by a scream so being that sought who just can't ignore something like that I made my way through the trees and next thing I know boom I spot this lot tangling with a manticore of all things." I said as I gestured to the present members of the bearers of harmony I then went on to how we all then arrived at the castle and how I encountered Nightmare Moon and when I was finished Joe told me his version and for a fair while we continued on like this with the rest offering their own inputs here and there.

"Wait a second you're saying that in your world Nightmare Moon lives and is bonded to you!" Luna shouted in the R.C.V.

"You don't need to use the Canterlot Voice Luna, we can all hear you just fine thanks and also yes but one day I plan to ask her to marry me," I said.

"And what of my other self, how is she okay with this?" Luna demanded.

"At first she wasn't okay with it and Celestia did try to kill her but thanks to my intervention I was the only one injured I mean seriously Celestia sure knows how to swing a halberd took off half my face and torso with that blow," I said causing everyone's eyes to widen in shock most likely by the fact that in my world Celestia is a trained warrior while in this one she's a mare who enjoys the luxuries of life.

"Uh I think Twilight's broken," Rainbow said while waving a hoof in front of Twilight's shell shocked frozen face.

"Not surprising considering the amount of princess worship that comes from this mare both here and back home," I said.

"Y'know what I'm surprised the most about all this is the fact that despite being married to your world's Luna you defended Nightmare Moon and yet that didn't cause any marriage issues," Joe said.

"Oh if the situation was different then perhaps but considering I looked nothing like what I do now and had no memory of my life before and after my death I mean if I was the same man back then then the chances of me cutting down Moon before anything would have increased exponentially." I said.

" Well, then it's a good thing you didn't. But, enough about that, have you ever met with a show-mare named Trixie?" Joe asked

" Yeah, I did actually. I met her when she tried to cage me while I was still a wolf, and then another when she took over the town and-" I began

" Wait, hold on. Trixie took over the town? Why?" This piqued everyone's interest.

" She took over after she defeated Twilight in a magical duel, though she sorta cheated with the Alicorn Amulet, a trinket that corrupts the mind and has a demon's soul as the gem." I explained.

" Huh, that's very different from the gem she had." I unsheathed Frostbite and pointed to the gem embedded in the handle. " This was the gem that was from the amulet, though it was always meant for this ax."

" So when Twilight and Trixie fought-" I began.

" Actually, I fought her. When she first visited, I kinda upstaged her with my illusions and that made her upset. A couple of years later, she challenged me and I won by making her believe I summoned Jormungandr from the depths of Midgard. She gave me the amulet, I put it in my ax, and it's been able to do a whole lot more than it could before. And now, the boys and I have a pen pal to write to." Joe said.

"Neat now...hm ah here's one but first what's the relationship between Cadence and Shining Armor?" I asked.

"Happily married and ruling over the Crystal Empire," Joe said.

"Alright so how did their wedding go down?" I asked.

"It was infested with parasites," Joe said with a look of anger on his face and it wasn't just him but it was also on Applejack's and Luna's.

"Touchy subject I take it?" I asked.

"Queen Chrysalis took Jack and Orion hostage in an attempt to force us to surrender," Twilight said, shocking me before I decided to sit down on a rock and looked down towards my hands and clenched my fist.

"I'm sorry to hear that and if it's any comfort I know how you three feel...but judging by the fact that both the boys are in excellent health and Canterlot hasn't been overrun by changelings I'd say you won," I said.

"Aw yeah we did Joe kicked that bug's flank up and down Canterlot what about you Ash did you fight her in your world?" Rainbow asked excitedly.

"Sure but uh there is a bit of a difference between what happened here and what you may be thinking," I said.

"How so?" Joe asked.

"Well in my world Chrysalis wasn't a monster in fact she was actually the second eldest daughter of Faust and sister of Celestia and Luna," I said.

"EEEEEHHHHH!" the group screamed.

"So wait the Faust of your world had three daughters?" Joe asked while trying to keep his mind from being overwhelmed.

"Five actually four she gave birth to and one she adopted which is Nightmare Moon but Faust actually had six kids first was Celestia bringer of the dawn, next was Chrysalis Mother of Nature, Dream Catcher Guardian of the Dream Realm and finally Luna shepherd of the night after the first three were born she then adopted Discord as her son and lat-," I said when suddenly a pink hoof was placed over my mouth.

"One second," Pinkie said before she pulled out a glass of water and took a gulp only to spit it out a second later.

"Was that seriously necessary?" I asked.

"Duh of course it was," Pinkie said while I just rolled my eyes.

"Discord was adopted by Faust but didn't you say he twisted your group of the bearers of harmony shouldn't he have been...good?" Twilight asked.

"He did but you see Discord wasn't always like that when he was growing up he was well loved and he loved his family but...when Faust vanished he was left heartbroken and started lashing out twisting everything to his desire...just goes to show that love can lead to a disastrous outcome just like hate," I said.

"No kidding," Joe said.

"So back to Chrysalis, if she was raised by Faust why did she attack Canterlot?" Rainbow asked.

"Ah well therein lies the kicker you see in my world changelings were originally peaceful creatures as was Chrysalis but one day she fell victim to being possessed by a demon who then went on to corrupt the Changelings who went on to suck out the love of any living creature so when Chrysalis attacked it became my first meeting with Faust and it was also the first time she gave me a task to perform purge the demon from Chrysalis and kill it and as you can imagine I succeeded." I said.

" That's interesting. So no maiming the Chrysalis from your world understood." This got a chuckle from most of everyone present. "Though that does beg the question. Does Blueblood exist in your world?" Joe asked, causing my aura to spike before I quickly calmed myself down. " I'll take that as a yes. Mind if I ask what he did?"

" That asshole was one of the biggest pains in my ass for a long time. For years he would insult me, find ways to try and enslave me, banish me, or just plain kill me. Worst of all, he was the leader of a secret order that worked behind the throne and sought to control the world. It took me a while to destroy his organization but eventually, I was able to capture him and prove that he was a traitor before he killed Saint Blade." I said as the memories played.

" Who's Saint Blade?" Shy asked, fearing for the answer.

" He's the infant son of Fancypants and Fleur De Lis." I explained causing Joe to wolf out while he let out a growl. " Believe me, I feel you. After I captured him, he and his second in command were brought to trial. I severed both their horns and made it so when they died, not a single trace of them would be left, and banished them to the farthest corner of Equestria. In truth, I should've just killed him."

" I agree, but why do you regret it?"

" Because he was the one who found and Led the Caribou to Equestria. He took over the Crystal Empire and was even able to take my sword for a time. But, I captured him again, and gave him what he deserved, a golden crown." I said.

" How the hell is that a proper punishment for what he did?"

" Because I poured molten gold onto his head." I said, causing the mares to cringe while Joe chuckled. " After he died, his soul went to hell and I gave him a fitting punishment, being chained to a rock and cut to pieces till only his head remains, then it grows back in an hour before the process begins again." This caused the girls to gawk at the details, though Rarity had to empty her breakfast into the pond.

"Well, Blueblood wasn't the leader of any organization or cult, but he did conspire with the Caribou to kill the royal family and put him on the throne. The worst part of it is, he planned the attack on our wedding day." Joe said before his wives came over and nuzzled his sides while he held them close. " The army they sent was destroyed by my warriors and the Caribou king and his sons were brought in for questioning. After learning that it was Blueblood that aided their invasion attempt, I hunted down the bastard myself."

" On the day of their trial, I passed their judgment and sentenced them to death. I killed the Caribou first then went for Blueblood. I took the crystal horn the Caribou gave him after I cut off his horn the first time, and used it to give him the Blood Eagle." I smiled darkly while letting out a chuckle. " Ironic that he wanted to be an Alicorn. Now he has a pair in the frozen wastes of Helheim." Causing me to smirk while shaking my head. " So, just out of the blue, what do you plan on doing while you're here?"

*sigh* "No idea just yet but I do know one thing I don't intend to just mooch off everyone's hospitality if it's alright I'd like to actually earn bits while I'm here," I said.

This seemed to get the mares' attention before they all huddled together in a circle before I looked at Joe and shrugged.

After the huddle, they separated, and Pinkie, Jackie, and Twilight were the only ones to come forward. Twilight spoke first.

"Well, Ash, after giving it some thought, we've come up with three possible jobs for you to assist with while you're here. The first of which is to help me with my communication project by infusing magic crystals with these prototype phones." Twilight then brought out an old fashioned rotary phone from her bag. " I'm trying to make them wireless so they can act as cell phones till we can work around the fact we don't have fingers." Twilight explained while she emphasized her point by waving her hoof in the air.

" Sounds interesting." I said.

Pinkie bounced in front of Twilight for her suggestion. " The Cakes left to visit a sick relative in Van Hoofer and left me in charge. I could really use a second pair of ho- I mean hands, in the kitchen if you don't mind?"

" Well, I've been known to bake a few treats from time to time." I said.

Finally, Applejack stepped up. " Well, we could use your help around the farm since Tirek blasted a small chunk of the orchard away."

" Certainly something that needs to be done." I agreed

" And if none of those three warrant your fancy, you could help Swagger and me with fixing the damage done around town? Choice is up to you man."

"Hm all are a very important things that need to be addressed I mean first damages to the town I'm going to assume some houses have taken a severe beating and have left many without homes, next Sweet Apple Acres orchid that place is a valuable source of food for the community, Twilight's idea is rather intriguing and could very well revolutionize your world in a very big way, and finally the matter at Sugarcube Corner being backed up on orders and ponies not getting any yummy treats is a crime unto itself," I said while lifting a hand up to my chin.

"Preach it brother!" Pinkie cried out.

"Applejack about the damage at the farm. Are you ready to start planting new trees?" I asked.

"Almost just have to dig the holes for the saplings," Applejack said.

"Fair enough Pinkie will I be needed the entire day?" I asked.

"Mmm depends on how good you are in the kitchen," Pinkie said.

"Alright and Twilight how far are you in these phones of yours?" I asked.

"Still in theory stages," Twilight said.

"Hm, then maybe this will help," I said as I held out my hand and suddenly a portal opened above it and a book fell into my waiting hand before the portal closed before me. "Here we go. A book on technomancy."

Twilight could not have grabbed the book fast enough before she began to hug the damn thing and rub it with her cheek.

"This may not seem necessary to mention but I will be wanting that back so you know," I said.

"Uh huh totally," Twilight said but the way she said it made it seem like she wasn't listening.

"Okay and Joe, how's the building coming?" I asked.

"We've still got a ways to go," Joe said.

"Alright well first things first," I said as I snapped my fingers creating at least three other versions of me.

"Whoa you can clone yourself!" Rainbow yelled.

"In the wise words of Big Macintosh Eeyup," I said, causing the kids and a few others to chuckle.

"Uh this ain't gonna be like the mirror pool incident will it by which I mean-," Applejack started.

"No worries you have my word things won't turn out to be disastrous if anything I'd be more worried with Twilight and a new book full of magic she's never known before," I said jabbing a thumb at the lavender mare who was engrossed with the book.

" Well, that can certainly come in handy. Alright, Ash, that's helping Pinkie, head over to Sugarcube Corner and follow Pinkie's instructions to the letter. Pinkie, don't let him create some sort of dessert that you can't make without him." The Ash that was going with Pinkie gave Joe a two-fingered salute while Pinkie also saluted with her tongue sticking out. " Ash, that's going with Twilight, assist where needed, but more importantly, make sure she doesn't go crazy and skip meals or sleep."

" Hey!" We all laughed at the jab towards Twilight.

" Just kidding, well not really. Anyway, Ash, that's going with Jackie, do whatever she, Luna, Granny, Big Mac, Bright Mac, or Pear Butter say. If Apple Bloom, Scoots, Jack, or Orion give you an instruction, take it with a grain of salt." I looked behind me to my children and sister-in-law who were whistling innocently. " As for the original Ash, follow me. We'll pick up Swagger at Twilight's and head over to Townhall for our assigned construction site."

"Aye aye captain my captain," I said, giving a brief salute.

"Let's get a move on, we're burning daylight," one of the other Ash's said before he snapped his fingers before he vanished with Pinkie.

"What he said," another said before he snapped his fingers and he along with Applejack, Luna and the kids vanished as well.

"You coming along you two?" the last other me said towards Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Oh no thanks I have to get back to the house," Fluttershy said with a polite bow.

"No worries," I said before I looked at Rainbow before she just took off. "Hm what's with her."

" Not sure, maybe she was hoping to get the race she wanted yesterday, or she has work to do? Either way, we got work to do." The Ash going with Twilight shrugged before going with her back to the castle.

---

Sweet Apple Acres Ash Blade's P.O.V.

---

Appearing at Sweet Apple Acres I saw Joe's family and Sweetie Belle were shaking off the effects of the teleportation.

"Oooh that was certainly different," Luna said as she placed a hoof upon her head.

"Yeah I got the chills running down my back," Applejack said as she went and shook herself off.

“I guess my form of teleportation is a little...bizarre compared to the one you guys are used to," I said as I rubbed the back of my head. "So what's first?"

Applejack then took me around asking if I had skills for certain jobs before she set me to work and as the hours went by the feeling of working again on Sweet Apple Acres brought back some good memories even though this place is actually in another reality the the farm wasn't all that different from home and through it all I wasn't alone.

"So you see, that is why a dragon can breathe fire without burning their throats." I said while hammering a post into the ground while the kids watched.

"Wow, who knew dragon saliva was flame resistant." Apple Bloom said.

"Well...I did." I said, causing the kids to laugh.

"How's it going over here?" Applejack asked as she walked over to our little group before she went and looked at the fence. *whistle* "Damn Ash you work as fast as mah husband sure you two ain't related?"

"Quite sure Applejack." I said as I tested how secure the post I hammered in was by giving it a small shake.

"Ash here was telling us a few things from his world like why dragons don't get burnt mouths when they breathe fire, even the story on why Cyclops only have one eye." Orion said.

"Really?" Applejack asked as she looked at me.

"I enjoy filling the young with knowledge." I said.

"Sounds like you an’ Mimir would get along better than apple and cinnamon." Applejack asked.

"Mimir." I said as I racked my brain for the familiar sounding name. "As in the wisest of the Aesir that Mimir?"

"That's him." Applejack said.

"I'll go get him," Scootaloo said before she took off on her wings.

"Can't believe she uses an artifact to get around." I said.

"Does she not in your world?" Applejack asked.

"Well...once upon a time she used her scooter and was propelled forward by flapping her wings really fast like a hummingbird but it wasn't until much later that I discovered her wings had been stunted for a reason her...birth parents were an abusive pair the farther a drunkard her mother an addict Scoots even tried getting rid of those things and the thanks the poor kid got was them stamping on her wings." I said, causing the kids and mare to gasp.

"Please tell me they didn't get away with what they did." Jack pleaded angrily with his face changing to become more wolf-like.

"Well this was before my arrival in Equestria but from what I was told they were sentenced to life in prison." I said.

"That's too good for scum like them." Orion growled.

"You may be right but that's in the past so complaining about it now ain't gonna do nada," I said.

"What do you reckon happened to them now that the caribou rose to power?" Applejack asked.

"No idea but let me tell you this if they ever show their faces to me then I promise them true terror." I said.

"Why not just kill them and be done with it?" Orion asked.

"There are worse fates than death lad." I said.

"I'm back."

Looking at the source of the voice I saw it was Scootaloo and she had what appeared to be a severed head on a rope in her grasp and I couldn't help but remember the Mimir from the fourth God of War when I saw him and right next to Scootaloo was Luna.

"Ash this is Mimir the wisest of the Aesir gods Mimir this is Ash he's a visitor from...." Scootaloo began.

"Let's just say I'm out of dimension," I said.

"Pleasure to meet you brother...Have to say I was not expecting to meet another god today, not to mention one from another plain of reality." Mimir said.

"Gods he even sounds the same, is this world connected to God of War somehow?" I thought before going to speak. "Nor I , especially when said god is a severed head, how'd that happen anyway?"

"Sombra happened bloody git snatched my head up when he entered Asgard." Mimir said.

"That would do it remind me to ask more on that topic at a later date...Uh do you mind if I hold you for a second there's something I'd like to check." I said.

"Not at all, just as long as it doesn't involve digging around my insides." Mimir said.

"Oh never as the Hand of the Reaper one of my core duties is to treat the bodies of the deceased with respect but even with you being alive and yet being just a head and all that rule still applies." I said as I carefully took the head from Scootaloo.

"I'll try and take that as a comfort brother...but if you don't mind me asking while you go about examining me what is this Hand of the Reaper title you mentioned." Mimir asked.

"Wait, I thought you said you knew everything Mimir, how could you not know what that is." Sweetie Belle said.

"I believe I can answer that one you see the extent of Mimir's knowledge is limited to this dimension alone as with any other dimension otherwise only one Mimir would be needed and personally all the knowledge in the universe is a lot to handle for one person even if they are a god." I said while going over Mimir's head.

"Spot on brother couldn't have said it better myself." Mimir said.

"Thank you." I said.'

"I knew they would get along." Applejack said to Luna who nodded with a smile.

"Huh so your life has been preserved with old Vanir magic powerful stuff like that." I said as I looked at the cut along his neck.

"Do you know the old ways?" Mimir asked.

"I've got a book on it somewhere. Now you asked me about my title well to start there are three major powers of the afterlife. Heaven, Hell and Limbo and each power has what you may call a champion Heaven has The Angle's Saint Hell has The Devil's Hand and Limbo there's me The Hand of the Reaper now what do these champion's do exactly well the easiest is The Devil's Hand they are like a bounty hunter for the devil himself they go out into the world and hunt down those that have escaped Hell the Angel's Saint is a much different they try to sway mortals away from the path of sin and evil and there have been many times when these two have clashed throughout history." I explained.

"But what about you?" Applejack asked.

"Well my job is quite similar to that of both the Devil's Hand and the Angle's Saint. I'm quite similar to a bounty hunter but I hunt those who have found a way to escape death through illegal means." I said.

"How so?" Luna asked.

"Uh I can't tell you what the precise method is because that's confidential information but I can say it involves necromancy in fact necromancers are big targets on the list next are corrupted souls and finally the rogue wraiths." I said.

"What are wraiths?" Jack asked.

"A wraith is an agent of death I guess you could compare them to a Valkyrie they collect the souls of the dead and deliver them to the Reaper to be judged if the soul is full of life with little to no wrong then they are sent to paradise but if the soul had committed too many evils in life they are sentenced to Hell be punished in ironic ways that reflect on their misdeeds in life and each wraith is tasked with collecting a soul when and only when an individual's life had expired." I explained.

"So how does a wraith go rogue?" Applejack asked.

"Mass killings you see each wraith is a mortal who made a deal with Death, in exchange for more time of life they must serve until they work off the time they asked for example ten seconds could be one hundred souls that need to be harvested before they can pass on but if a wraith starts killing without limits to try and work off their debt faster then entire populations could be halved or worse exterminated so that's where I come in to deal with the problem." I said.

"Pay what you owe as they always say." Applejack said.

"Sounds like asking for time is a little too expensive if ya ask me." Apple Bloom said.

"Time is a valuable thing, lass." Mimir said.

"Tell me something Ash when it comes to immortals would we be considered targets?" Luna asked while taking a slight defensive stance.

"Only if your immortality was obtained illegally and when I say that let me ask, did a lot of ponies die when you became immortal?" I asked.

"Not that I recall," Luna said.

"Then you ain't got nothing to worry about besides you're from this dimension while I'm from another so relax." I said.

"Hey Ash I've been meaning to ask for a while but I saw you with a couple of shooting irons on your waist when we met I've been meaning to ask if you can give us a demonstration." Applejack said, causing me to look at her in surprise.

"Wow I didn't think you lot knew what those were." I said.

"Ye have our husband to thank for introducing us to Clint Eastwood." Applejack said, causing me to laugh.

"Any favorites like the dollar's trilogy or how about Hang 'em High or Unforgiven?" I asked.

"We only have the trilogy but mine would have to be the Good the Bad and the Ugly." Applejack said.

"Good pick one of the good ones but I am kinda partial to the second of the series personally." I said, causing Applejack to snort in dismissal. "Well anyway you guys got a shooting range round here?"

"No but I can set up some targets." Luna said before her horn lit up and seconds later a set of targets appeared not far away on the other side of the fence. "We use these for practicing magic targeting."

"Good enough for me." I said as I summoned my gun belt and revolvers. "You guys need ear muffs or something before I begin?"

"No need I'll set up a sound dampening bubble." Luna said as midnight blue bubble appeared around the group.

With a nod I then turned to the makeshift range and pulled out Salvation before taking aim and firing at one of the targets once I hit one target I moved onto the next and the next till the gun ran out of bullets so I switched to Damnation and repeated the process and once the bullets were gone I reloaded Damnation and fan fired from the hip into the armour clad training dummy leaving many new holes in the metal plates.

"Whoo god dang it I'm good." I said before holstering the gun.

"Impressive 18 shots and 4 misses." Luna said.

With shots like that I'm almost certain you lived in what was once called the old west once upon a time." Applejack said.

"I actually did. I was a bounty hunter called Red Eye Jack back then." I said.

"Why were you called that?" Jack asked.

"Well I think the Red Eye was on account of the black and red eye patch I had on one eye back then and I was called Jack in those days so people started calling me Red Eye Jack and the name just stuck." I said and when I looked it was obvious the group wanted to hear more. "Oh boy you guys should know this story wasn't my proudest moment of my life not to mention it's gonna get graphic and gory you still want to hear?"

The group nodded or in Mimir's case said yes causing me to sigh.

"Ok well I think I should begin with my childhood. I was found as a baby on the land of a ranch that belonged to a married couple who took me in and raised me while the woman who I called mother gave me love while the man simply put up with me." I began.

"Is there a point to starting so far back?" Scootaloo asked.

"Indeed there is something here that will become important later, now where was I ah right as the years went by I soon became old enough to do work around the ranch like cleaning stables and feeding the horses even repairs." I said.

"Horses as in the ones like us but...taller?" Applejack asked.

"Yep." I said.

"Did you have a favorite?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I did in fact she is probably the main reason why we've gone back so far. You see, the one who I considered to be the greatest of the lot was a horse of the Arabian breed, a female whose mane and tail was white as snow and had a proud way about her." I said as I summoned an image of the horse.

"Wow." Orion and Jack said

"Yep she kinda reminds me of Rarity in a way only she's not shy on using violence in fact this mare was quite infamous around our ranch because she refused to be ridden by anyone and no matter what they couldn't break her wild spirit." I said before I weaved my magic and changed our surroundings to that of the ranch in my memory.

I then pointed over to a group of ranch hands who had gathered around the corral watching someone try and rein in the white horse who was kicking and bucking to get the nuisance clinging to her back off I even pointed me out who was about eleven or twelve years old at the time and was just looking through the fence at the spectacle soon enough the horse was able to throw the rider off her back before moving to the other side of the paddock.

"Lousy ugly brute!" the rider cried out as he got up and shook a fist at the mare.

"Oh boy." some of the group said when the words were uttered and it seemed the mare heard them too because her head snapped towards the man and began to charge.

The rider was quick to turn around and run for the fence but just as he was on top of the fence the mare used her head to butt him over it and into a water trough and then into the dirt causing many to cry out 'Oooo' including some of the viewers while the younger me could only laugh before he pulled out a small knife and began to etch something into the fence.

"Damn it...Hey Ash how many does that make now?" a man asked.

"Hm...I'd say...Thirty at this rate I'm gonna run out of fence before you guys ever get her to ride her willingly." Ash replied before looking at the horse who had remained close to the fence and gave a snort to the unfortunate man who had angered her. "Another one eating dust hey milady." Ash said, causing her to turn to look at me before trotting away.

"Ash you honestly think treating that thing as a lady is gonna make her nice to you?" another man asked.

"Well insulting her doesn't seem to be working." Ash said as he looked at the wounded ranch hand who could only groan in pain.

"Enough of this!"

Suddenly a large obese man with a full beard of dark hair and a mop of hair on his head with some areas turning grey with hazel coloured eyes came out with a rifle.

"This damn beast is too wild!" The man cried before stopping at the fence and aimed the gun at the horse.

I could see the eyes of the younger me grow wide in shock and horror at what was about to happen the others too when suddenly there was a ringing sound coming from the main house causing the man to lower the rifle.

"Alright that's enough for today get this one back into the stables and we'll continue tomorrow and as for you enjoy your last night while it counts beast." the man growled while pointing at the mare before he turned to the younger me. "Get the horses fed boy but spare none for that animal it'd be a waste."

With that the man left and the younger me went to tend to do as the man said.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that was the man you called father at the time right brother?" Mimir asked.

"Close I called him Sir he wasn't much of a father." I said.

"What happened next he didn't shoot her did he?" Sweetie Belle asked.

I could only smile at the filly before I speed up time and showed everyone a new place which was the inside of the stables where a few lanterns were still burning everyone sat still and quiet till the sound of slow yet quiet footsteps could be heard outside followed by the door being opened silently soon followed by the younger me stepping in with a lantern of his own.

Quickly looking around he then hurried over to a stall and peered inside to see the white horse before he opened the door causing the mare to quickly turn to look at Ash before she started to get jittery.

"Hey easy girl, I'm not here to hurt you." Ash said as he stepped into the stable slowly with one hand raised while the other set the lantern aside.

Once the mare had calmed down Ash then opened the stall and tried to coax the horse out and at first she didn't move till finally she stepped outside and continued to follow Ash out of the stables and beyond the fence of the ranch.

"Okay go on girl you're free." Ash said once they were a fair distance away.

It was then the Arabian mare finally looked around and noticed she was no longer inside the ranch she then proceeded to trot and run around in the open space around Ash in a perfect circle before she made her way over to Ash and placed her head against his in an affectionate nuzzle.

"Oh think nothing of it girl...y'know you never did get a name despite being with us for all this time hmm...how about Jana?" Ash asked and the white mare responded by nuzzling him harder. "Ok, ok I'm glad you like it but you need to go now it's almost dawn." Ash said as he pushed Jana's head away and tried to coax her to leave but she always just seemed to come back. "No Jana you can't stay here anymore when dawn arises the first thing Sir will do is shoot you on sight."

Tears began to flow from the boy as he tried to push the mare away and it seemed she finally got the hint before she turned to leave and Ash turned to run back inside once he made it to the door he turned to face where he left Jana just in time to see her rear back on her hind legs and give out a loud and proud whinny causing Ash to quickly wipe away his tears and smile before Jana galloped away and Ash returned to his room and when I looked at the audience I saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had a few tears in her eyes.

"So what happened next?" Luna asked.

"Next morning I received the worst disciplinary beating in my life and considering how old I am now that's saying something but as they say it was worth it after that the years went by and I turned eighteen my 'father' at the time signed me up into the military to fight in the American Civil War managed to get onto the frontlines just in time for the battle of Gettysburg."

"That sounds familiar." Applejack said as she raised a hoof to her chin.

"Well if Joe does know about it, ask him." I said.

"So who did you fight for?" Orion asked and that question caused me to freeze.

"It wasn't that I fought for said side it was more like I was forced too and the heartless bastard signed me up to join The Confederacy aka the south didn't tell my mother or me until the military wagon rolled up and dragged me away kicking and screaming." I said.

"You make it sound like these Confederacy are the bad guys?" Jack said.

"Bad guys are often a matter of opinion, really the victor is often seen as the heroes while the losers are the bad guys but it doesn't mean I was on board with the things they were fighting for." I explained.

"So what was the purpose of this war?" Luna asked.

"I think I'll leave that for Joe because that's another story altogether." I said before I cleared my throat. "Anyway once the wagon got me to a fort for training I was put to work and once that was over I got my first taste of hell in that life of the brutality of war gunshots all around me baronets piercing flesh the screaming cannonballs ripping off limbs and pieces of one's torsos I grit my teeth and pushed through it because I knew that if anyone fled they would be hunted and shot like a rabid dog that is until the 30th of July 1864 during the siege of Petersburg."

Once again our surroundings changed to show dozens of men in grey uniforms sitting down in against the walls I then pointed out myself amongst them I was garbed in the uniform of a sergeant with an overcoat over my shoulders and a wide brimmed hat on my head that was covering my face I was sitting against a wall opposite side of where the Union were and I was gazing down at a photograph of the woman I called mother.

"Coffee sir?"

Looking up from the photograph everyone could see my face which despite being 3 years since the start of the war it looked as though I had gained decades of age. Ash was looking up at a young man who looked like he hadn't even had his first shave yet.

"How old are you son?" Ash asked.

"Eighteen sir." the man said.

"Been here long...you seem new." Ash said.

"Couple of months." the man said.

"Hm." Ash hummed before he reached for a tin cup and held it out for the man to take who then poured him a cup of the dark liquid.

Once the cup was filled Ash took it back before he took a sip from his drink till he heard a commotion not too far down the trench.

"What's gotten into them?" Ash asked.

"Not sure sir." the young man said.

Suddenly without warning the ground beneath Ash and everyone began to rise when suddenly out of the ground came an ear shattering boom and a wall of fire which was then followed by smoke covering everything in the vicinity and when the smoke had cleared everyone could see a massive crater had replaced the area and all around everyone could see scattered corpses, body parts and debris I once again pointed at my past self who was half buried in upturned dirt his overcoat full of new holes his hat still on his head suddenly Ash shifted and began to get up but collapsed into what was left of the trench wall he then reached up to his face and began to feel around before yanking something out which was a burning piece of wood couple of centimeters long Ash then stood up and looked around and we saw that Ash now had a missing eye and a new deep cut going up and down over his left eye socket and cheek fortunately not a lot of blood was leaking from the eye because the piece of wood had cauterized the eye wound but blood still flowed from the cut.

"Sweet mercy!" Applejack cried out once she saw my condition.

Suddenly the sound of footfalls and war cries echoed out from beyond the smoke Ash then climbed up onto a vantage point so he could see what was going on only to see an army of navy blue dressed soldiers charging towards him with bayonets and sabers at the ready the army then descended into the crater only to be met with a massive wall of dirt suddenly several members of the Confederacy who had survived the blast had regrouped and began to fire upon the trapped enemy the screams they uttered were full of hate and they were releasing all their anger on the Union for pulling off such a thing I remembered how I felt back then as well I was both angry and felt pity as the Union were became trapped in the crater and were being gunned down like fish in a barrel.

Suddenly some of the Union come up from behind and had one managed to grab Ash when suddenly the ground became loose causing the two to topple into the crater this caused some of the group to rush forwards but I just changed the perspective and showed them how we both tumbled into the crater the Union soldier was thrown off while Ash disappeared into the cramped soldiers below and before we knew it we lost sight of him but I knew what was going on right now I had soldiers stepping over me and my face was being pressed into the mud and blood while struggling to breath and move the humid air made me feel like I was burning alive and before I knew it I lost conscious.

I then skipped ahead to near the end of the battle and we were hovering over the general area on where my past self was it was Scootaloo that pointed out that one of the corpses was moving until it was rolled over revealing Ash who then crawled out of the bodies after freeing himself Ash looked and saw both sides slowly withdrawing but Ash didn't go back in fact as Ash looked around he saw several Confederate soldiers sneaking off and now Ash was going after them and it didn't take him long to catch up.

"Going somewhere boys?" Ash asked as he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at the men causing them to stop and turn to face him and he also saw the one who poured him coffee before was among them.

"Sir we were ju-." One of the men began.

"Deserting is the word." Ash finished.

"Please sir, ah got a family waiting for me and who knows what those Yanks will pull next if this goes on." a man said.

At first all was silent. Ash's one eyed glare was as cold as steel and as vicious as wildfire until he spoke.

"If you were planning to run that way then the only thing you'll find is more of our boys waiting to shoot the lot of you follow me." Ash said as he holstered the revolver.

"I then led those boys out and away from the battlefield and far away from where the army was staying off the main roads most of the time and making our way around the enemy and former allies.

I then changed the scene to show Ash at the head of the group walking across a plane of desert. The group looked exhausted and tuckered out then suddenly the sound of hoofbeats sounded from behind them the group then turned to see a whole column of Union soldiers coming towards them.

"Jack what do we do?" one of the men asked while Ash pushed his way forward.

"Not much we can do no cover and they most definitely have seen us plus we're outnumbered and outgunned. Drop your weapons and put your hands up and let's hope they are merciful." Ash said, causing the others to do as instructed and Ash did the same too.

The small group of deserters kept their hands above their head till the Union soldiers came close and stopped.

"Whose in charge here?" the one in front of the column asked and I saw he was an African American with a semi-muscular build, and had the rank of captain on his uniform.

"No one we're deserters. If you want the man who had the highest rank when we were still in service then that would be me." Ash said as he stepped forward.

"Got a name?" the captain asked.

"Jack." Ash said.

"Jack what?" the leader asked.

"Ain't got no last name. I was orphaned outside of the door of a couple working a ranch down south in Mississippi, being there for eighteen years till suddenly the master of the ranch signs me into the military." Ash explained.

"That so." the captain said.

"Listen we're done fighting and I know you fellas just ain't gonna let us go so how's this you let them go home and I'll come with you willingly and quietly and give up any information that may prove useful to you." Ash said, causing the captain to think it over for a bit before it looked like he reached a decision.

"Alright you've got a deal." the captain said before he turned to his forces. "Lieutenant Robert get this man a horse we're taking him with us as for the rest of you this is a one time deal my advice for you all is to get yourselves some civilian attire at the next town 2 miles north of here."

A new man then came forth he was also on a horse but his rank was lieutenant he was a white man with a mustache above his lips and it looks like he had short black hair beneath his cap the man also had a pair of grey eyes the man didn't say much but just tossed me the reins to a second horse before he went back into the ranks.

Ash then got on the horse and the captain led us into our destination.

"The officers of the fort I was staying at interrogated me for awhile to make sure everything I knew was true and not made up crap and once I was finished they set me up to become a spy for them they weren't exactly giving me much of a choice so I did what they asked or rather demanded until I blew my cover in an mission that involved my target attempting to burn down a church full of people just to make a point I wasn't on board with that so I pulled out my weapons and started shooting and kept going till the people in the church were safe I took a few shots but held my ground till I couldn't no more." I said as our view changed to show Ash waking up in some kind of bed in a room dressed in only his pants with his chest bare except for some bandages and not too far away was the captain from before.

"Morning Mr. Jack pleasant dreams?" the captain asked.

"Agh fuck...If I'm dead then this must be Hell." Ash said.

"Ah can assure you Mr. Jack you are still among the living." the captain said.

"Dandy...what the hell are you doing here Joshua?" Ash asked.

"I came to congratulate you on a job well done." the now named Joshua said.

"Could've just sent a letter." Ash grunted.

"It was not how we wanted it we got Mr. Argus in the end and with that said the army has assigned me to tell you that your service to us is now completed and we thank you for your cooperation." Joshua said.

"Great." Ash said as he rolled over onto his side.

"Y'know Mr. Jack if you're interested you could en-." Joshua began.

"Joshua I swear to god if you don't leave right now I'm going to shoot you and to hell with the consequences." Ash practically growled out.

"Had to stay there for a bit till I was patched up but I was given a lot of money for my 'service' so I could buy some new attire and weapons so I didn't look like a corpse that just walked off the battlefield." I said as I changed the surroundings to show a small town in a grassy plain with us standing outside a small store and all around us people were going about their way.

Suddenly the door to the store opened and out stepped wearing brown Oakley boots and tucked into the boots were a pair of blue slack pants along with a belt resting on the man's hips was a black and silver regent gun belt with a silver sharp buckle on the front. Next came the shirt Ash was wearing a white paddon shirt and over it was a black leather marshal coat and a black and white patterned bandana and over the coat was a single black marino bandolier. Next were the hands which were covered in black satin wraps. Finally Ash wore a red heart eyepatch over his missing eye and he had let his hair grow out till it reached his shoulders and finally on his head was a black and silver garwood hat in the holster that rested on Ash's right hip was a Smith and Wesson model 3 revolver or rather a Schofield revolver and slung over his shoulder was a Winchester model 1866 rifle also known as yellow boy.

*whistle* "That getup sure looks nice on ya." Applejack said while nudging me in the leg.

"The words are kind." I said.

"So what did you do next?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well I planned to go home now that my fight was over all I needed to do was get a new horse and little did I know of the surprise that awaited me over at the corral." I said.

As Ash made his way over he heard the sounds of men shouting and soon discovered men at the fence so Ash made his way over and when he looked he discovered a familiar sight: a white female Arabian breed horse throwing off rides.

"Hey where did you find that one?" Ash asked a man who was watching the show.

"It's the darndest thing ya see that mare she came here and has been trotting around the town for days all the while many had tried to claim her but each time she throws em off till she was roped and dragged here." the man said.

"C'mon ya daft bastards can't you even control a silly horse." a man with an Irish accent shouted.

"A horse hey pal that is a mare and deserves to be treated like a lady." Ash said, causing a few of the men to face him.

"And what would you know about horses cowboy?" the Irishman spat.

"A lot more than you it would seem if you can't get her to listen to you." Ash said.

"Oh is that so?" the Irishman said.

"What say we make this interesting hm? I'd wager that if I can get her to let me ride her you let us walk out of here if there are no arguments and if not you get five hundred dollars straight up." Ash said as he brought out the money causing all the men to look at the Irishman.

"Alright boyo you're on and tell ya what since you've got guts I'll even throw in my best saddle and bridle." The Irishman said.

"Alright." Ash said before he climbed the fence and into the paddock and began to slowly approach the mare who had noticed him.

The two then began to approach one another Ash had his head tilted down slightly and his hands out before him slightly while the mare kept her head high and proud and stared down at Ash.

"Hey Jana...you remember me?" Ash asked as the two were within arms length Ash then reached out to touch her but the mare pulled back while letting out a small whinny causing Ash to pull his arm back. "Okay...You first then."

The mare then began to circle Ash getting close a few times to smell him till she stopped before him and lowered her head to look into Ash's eyes suddenly the mare neighs happily and rears back on her hind legs causing Ash to back up two steps before the mare begins to nuzzle the right side of Ash's face while knocking his hat off.

"Whoa easy Jana easy I'm happy to see you too alright." Ash says as he reaches up and begins to stroke and pet Jana and after some pats Jana pulls back and after a second she nuzzles Ash's face again only this time it was on the left side and it was more gentle as if she was asking what happened to him. "A story for another time girl...Hey you wouldn't by any chance let me ride you is there?"

Immediately Jana pulls back but then trots forward so she's right beside Ash before she looks over her shoulder at him as if telling him to get on and with a heave Ash climbs on Jana's back and gives her a pat along her neck.

"Thank you Jana now what say we get out of here?" Ash suggested causing Jana to neigh in agreement before she began to walk to the gate only for the Irishman to get off the fence and march up to the two.

"You, you cheated somehow I know it." The Irishman exclaimed while pointing a finger at Ash.

"No sir I didn't cheat now if you don't mind the lady and me have somewhere else to be." Ash said.

"Oh no you don't you're going to get off that horse and fork over the cash!" the Irishman shouted as he went for his gun.

Suddenly Jana rears up while neighing angrily startling the Irishman but giving Ash plenty of time to draw his own gun and shoot the Irishman in the hand knocking his own gun from his grip and causing him to collapse onto his back.

"Now then be a good boy and go grab that saddle and bridle you promised me." Ash said as he pulled the hammer back on his gun.

"Boys cut him down!" the Irishman cried.

Ash looked over at the group of viewers who did nothing but watch.

"The matter with the lot of you!" the Irishman cried.

"He didn't cheat and you made a bet with him." one of the men asked.

"Sides this here man saved all our necks remember even got shot up in the process I'd say he should have that horse and what you promised as a thank you gift." Another man said.

"Anything more you wish to say or are you going to keep wasting my time?" Ash asked and at first the Irishman said and did nothing till Ash fired a shot at his feet rousing the man from his stupor.

After that I set off with both saddle and bridle my only destination was the ranch I grew up on but upon arriving I discovered the place was burned down and my mother was murdered by the very man whom she married after finding that out I swore I would find him and make him face justice for what he did and so I began my life as a bounty hunter.

"Wow." the kids said in collective awe.

"So how many did you get?" Scootaloo asked excitedly.

"Lost count but the ones at the top of my head there were a guy called Dynamite Dicky, Isias Segura, Cecil C. Tucker, Red Ben Clempson, Gene "Beau" Finley...oh he was a pain in the ass and there was also Carmela "La Muñeca" Montez." I said as I started counting on my fingers.

"Money for blood...dangerous business I imagine it wasn't favored by others either." Luna said with a quick shake of her head.

"You'd be right not many friends in that line of work but there are some but it all really depends on the type of person." I said in reply.

"So you ever get him?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Hm?" I asked.

"The husband of your mother?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Ah yes I did, I got him but that's a story I'll share for another time...in fact I have a way to do it too and believe me I think you'll all enjoy it." I said, causing the kids to look at each other and shrug.

Sounds good but maybe save it for a later date how about we get something to eat first." Applejack says.

"Seems good I'm starving." I said before Applejack led us all back to the farmhouse.

Next Chapter: Chapter 52 Market Mysteries Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 4 Minutes