2 Years ago…..

Twilight sighed as she sat next to Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria. Her multicolored mane flowed in a nonexistent wind as her wings ruffled. Her tiara seemed to float in her mane, like a ship lost at sea, with Celestia’s horn like an island in the distance. Her coat was a regal white, with golden slippers covering her hooves. Her cutie mark was an image of the sun, and-

“Wait, what's a cutie mark?” Zero asked, interrupting.

“Hmm?” Twilight blinked. “Did I not explain it to you? A cutie mark is a symbol of a pony’s special talent. Celestia was able to raise and lower the sun, so her cutie mark was the sun.”

“...flat what.” Zero stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Your princess...could raise and lower the freaking sun?!” Zero asked slowly. “Am I hearing this right?”

“Um, yes.” Twilight nodded, a troubled look on her muzzle. “Does where've you are from not have someone who raises and lowers the sun?”

“No, we don't, because the earth orbits around the sun, and rotates on an axis.” Zero explained carefully. “How can someone move a celestial body bigger than the planet they stand on?!”

“Magic.” Twilight replied. “In theory, there is no gravity in outer space. Therefore, there is nothing to keep the sun from being moved. Nothing to keep it in place.”

“Wha….” Zero had an exasperated look on his face, before he exclaimed, “I fucking hate magic!”

Twilight flinched at the profanity. “Um...can I continue with the story?”

Zero sat back down, sighing. “Yes, you may continue.”

“Alright. So anyways, me and Celestia were holding the Day Court….”

Twilight sighed as another noblepony trotted up, as calm and sophisticated as all the others.

“Greetings, Princesses. I am here to request a mansion built near one of the edges of Canterlot City. The view from a window would be fantastic for sure, and-” the Noble began, before Twilight interrupted him.

“Excuse me, sir, but I know of which edge you are speaking of. However, are you aware that there is an orphanage currently occupying that area? Do you expect us to simply destroy a home for the homeless? To remove the one thing those innocent fillies and colts have left?” Twilight glared at the noble, who shuffled back nervously.

“U-um, no, your Highness. I was not aware that there was an orphanage there.” The Noblepony said nervously.

“Oh really?” Twilight said, pressing further. “And yet you knew that the view would be amazing, meaning that you had to have visited that area in the past.” The Noble tripped and landed on his rump as Twilight stepped forward. “However, I have a proposition. You can build your mansion. Not in Canterlot, but somewhere with a nice view. Perhaps Vanhoover? I hear that there are some beautiful views of the ocean there.”

The Noblepony gulped, before getting to his feet. “I-I shall consider your generous offer, Princess Twilight. If you will excuse me.” The Noblepony turned and left, the Earth Pony’s hooves scrambling to get to the exit.

Twilight gave a humph before returning to her seat. Celestia leaned down to her.

“You didn't have to be that harsh with the poor pony.” Celestia whispered.

“I did, Pri-” Twilight caught herself. “Celestia. He was obviously aware of those poor orphans, and yet he still wished to destroy their only home they have left, and for what? A shiny new mansion? I'm certain he has twelve elsewhere.”

“You know, back when Canterlot was being constructed, I asked the workerponies how they planned to keep it from becoming overcrowded. They replied with, ‘Don't worry about it, your Highness. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Celestia said, before glancing to one of the guards stationed nearby.

“Please bring in the next one.” Celestia said, and the guard saluted, before trotting out.

“So Celestia-” Twilight began, but was interrupted when the castle began to shake violently, taking the two by surprise as they grabbed their thrones with their hooves. When the shaking subsided, Twilight glanced cautiously around. None of the other guards were harmed, just a little shaken. “Celestia, what was that? I had heard that there had been earthquakes recently, but not that bad!”

However, Twilight’s question went unanswered as Celestia had gone to one of the massive windows near the pristine marble wall. Twilight trotted up to her, confused, before following her gaze to the sky. She gasped.


High in the sky, black storm clouds swirled violently in a circle, a red glow emitting from within. The sky seemed to almost warp around the clouds, reality seeming to bend as small, black objects flew out of the massive storm.

“Celestia...what are those things?” Twilight asked, squinting to get a good look.

“Twilight, listen to me.” Celestia said suddenly, not turning to face Twilight as her gaze was fixed solely on the vortex. “I want you to get to Ponyville as fast as possible and-”

Zero burst into heavy laughter, and Twilight paused. “Um, is there something funny?”

“P-Ponyville?!” Zero gasped in between chuckles. “That is so bad a name for a town I don't even know a worse one!”

“Excuse me?!” Twilight sat up. “Ponyville is a perfectly fine name for a small little town!”

“N-No, it really isn't!” Zero laughed. “I suppose you find it a perfectly good name because….” Zero trailed off as realization dawned on him. He groaned into his hands. “Oh God, please don't tell me all towns are named something similar.”

“I'm not going to continue this argument!” Twilight growled, sitting back down with a huff. “Will you let me continue with the story? Preferably without interruption?”

“Fine.” Zero sighed, letting her continue.

Celestia did not take her eyes off of the vortex as she looked on in horror. “Twilight.” She said softly. “I want you to get to Ponyville as fast as possible, and get as many ponies away as possible. I'll have the guards begin evacuating Canterlot. Get to the Crystal Empire if possible. That's the safest place possible.”

“Celestia?” Twilight asked again, worry growing on her muzzle.

“Go!” Celestia roared, turning to face Twilight at last. “My sister and I shall try to hold them off for as long as possible, just get everypony away!”

“Hold off who?” Twilight asked as she began backing away. Celestia again turned to stare at the vortex.

“The demons.” Was all Celestia said, before her horn glowed, and Twilight’s vision filled with white.

“And what happened after that?” Zero asked.

“I got my friends and half of Ponyville’s population out before the demons arrived. Some were too stubborn to leave their homes. Like Applejack and the Apple Family….” Twilight sighed. “Nopony has seen Celestia or Luna, her sister, ever since that day. Some of the survivors left for the Crystal Kingdom, but we have no idea if they got there or not.”

“And your friends?” Zero asked.

Twilight sighed. “Rainbow Dash vanished one day looking for survivors, Applejack stayed in Ponyville, Rarity went with the others to the Crystal Kingdom, Fluttershy….I don't know what happened to her. And Pinkie Pie disappeared during Ragnarok Day, and I haven't seen her since.”

“Yeesh, sounds almost like you're the only one left.” Zero said, and Twilight winced. Zero noticed tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Oh...sorry, touchy topic. To be honest, I'm somewhat in the same boat as you.”

“What?” Twilight asked, looking up at him as tears flowed down her muzzle. “What do you mean?”

“Well...right before I arrived here, all of my friends and pals died to this one bastard by the name of Ahriman.” Zero said, before blinking. “All my friends...are dead….” He sat down, and Twilight cautiously put a wing around him.

“Umm… I'm sorry for your loss.” Twilight said, attempting to comfort him.

Zero ground his teeth together, but both of them raised their heads when the sound of an explosion reached their ears from nearby. The two looked at each other, before rushing out of the tent.


When they reached the center of the town, they found a massive, bipedal and humanoid demon busy demolishing the town. It's skin was dark red, and rippling with muscles. The only thing it wore was a pair of ancient style shorts, while long black hair flowed from the back of the giant’s head, waving in the wind as it smashed a house to pieces. It’s face was that of rage, with two glowing red eyes staring angrily at the town. A guttural roar grew from it’s mouth, an ear-splitting cry of rage and a lust for destruction. The Demon stood nearly ten feet tall.



Zero stepped forward, his sword appearing in his hand once again as he walked towards the demon.

“Zero, you can't fight that thing!” Twilight yelled, earning the demon’s attention. It turned towards the advancing ex-mercenary, gripping a large plank of wood in it’s right hand.

“So, big guy, I guess today is not your lucky day. Y’see, I'm really frickin’ pissed off right now, and you just happened to destroy the town I’m protecting. Now I need to let off some steam, so you better make peace with whatever gods you believe in.” Zero growled, his anger rising as he charged forward, holding his sword by his side to cut the demon’s leg off.


Before Zero could blink, the creature was gone, and his vision was obscured by a massive wall of wood rushing to give him a full-body smack. Zero could do nothing as the demon’s wooden plank smashed into him, sending him flying back towards Twilight. The Princess activated her magic, slowing his speed, but not enough to stop him from barreling into her and throwing both of them into a mostly intact building.

“Dear fucking Lord….what train hit me?” Zero groaned, sitting up from whatever broke his landing. He glanced down, and saw Twilight, unmoving on the ground below him. “Twilight!” He immediately put his head to her chest, and heard her heart beating away. “Oh good...she’s just unconscious. He sighed in relief, before standing up. He winced in pain as his right leg sent waves of agony up his spine, and he glanced down to find his foot pointed at an odd angle.

“Dear fucking God that hurts!” He yelled, falling to his knees.

“....newbie is….?” A voice echoed in his mind. Zero glanced around.

“Hello?” He asked, only getting a roar from the demon as a reply. Suddenly his vision of the world darkened, and was replaced by darkness.

“Okay, what the fuck is this?” He asked, looking around. He turned behind him to find a man who looked just like him, his arms and legs chained to an unseen ceiling. A single light fell down on him.

“I had said,” The chained person said, glancing up in frustration. “This newbie is the one who gets control?”

“Um, who are you?” Zero asked.

“Not important right now. What is important, however, is stopping that demon before it kills us all.” The mysterious man said. “Listen, you incompetent fool. I can give you the power you need to beat that thing. All you need to do is-”

“Oh I already know not to trust this.” Zero interrupted. “Weird guy offers me the power to beat my foe, but then it turns out that that power ends up really bad or some shit. No thanks.”

“Are you kidding me with this?” The Man groaned. “Look, if you die, I die. And so does Twilight.” Zero stopped at that. “Yeah, you want to save the only friend you have left, right? Just place your hand on my forehead, and you can save her and whoever else is still alive.”

Zero hesitantly stepped forward after a few moments, before cautiously pressing his hand against the mysterious man’s head. Power then courses through Zero’s arm, and his last conscious thought was “oh shit.”

Zero roared as his skin grew darker, and he leaned forward before reappearing back in place, his skin a pale white, his jaw extending as his skin morphed around his mouth, forming pointed teeth in the back. His own teeth grew points as his eyes turned black with red pupils, and an odd scarf formed around his neck, the two ends coming to a rest at his back. Black lines formed around his eyes, and the air around him grew hazy, an afterimage of his body as he let loose an ear-piercing roar of primal fury.


His broken foot quickly mending itself, Zero leapt out of the building, ramming himself into the side of the Demon, knocking it off balance. It fell to the ground, and Zero jumped up on top of it, quickly slashing his sword across it’s extremely tough skin. The blade broke through, and blood began to spill from the wounds he made. The demon quickly reacted, smashing Zero away with his plank.

Zero crashes into a building, before flying right back out again, a high pitched screech coming from his extended mouth. His blade met the demon’s board, and Zero was sent flying into the sky. He soon came back down, blade slashing across the demon’s arm.

“Nnnggh….” Twilight groaned, pushing rubble off of her with her wing. She winced as she slowly got up, feeling a couple of broken bones. Nothing a healing spell couldn't fix. She looked around in a daze, before her eyes locked on to Zero. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Zero’s transformation for herself.

“...Ze...ro….?” She asked slowly as Zero fought the demon on equal footing, dodging it’s attacks, before reappearing and cutting up the demon’s arm.


As she slowly trotted closer, Zero leapt up the demon’s remaining arm, cutting into it’s skin as he neared it’s head. Zero slashed up, slicing halfway through the monster’s head and killing it. The corpse of the demon fell to it’s knees, before stopping. Zero jumped down, letting loose a screech that no normal creature should ever make. Twilight stepped forward.


“Um...Zero…?” Twilight asked slowly, and the Zero turned. Up close, Twilight couldn't tell if he was more human or more demon. Red eyes surrounded in a sea of black stared at her in madness, and his somewhat long hair flowed in nonexistent wind. The creature that had replaced Zero stepped towards Twilight.


Then a large plank of wood smashed into the side of his head, breaking his neck. Twilight gasped as the demon Zero had killed rose from it’s knees once again, it’s wounds healing as it rose. The demon roared proudly, before leaping away. Twilight watched it go, before turning towards the collapsed body of Zero. She hesitantly stepped closer, before falling to the ground.

“Zero…” Twilight muttered, in shock as her newfound friend lay dead before her. “Zero...no…. I can't….” tears formed once again in her eyes, running freely down her cheeks. “I can't...I can't lose another friend!” She cried, hugging his body. As she wailed, the logical part of her mind suddenly brought up an idea, and she stopped, looking up before her horn lit up. Magic-infused chalk floated over to her, and she began scribbling in the dirt around the body, forming a magic circle when she had finished.

Tossing the chalk away, she poured her magic into the spell, the circle lighting up a light purple. Five minutes later, the glow faded, and Twilight dropped to the ground, tired. Gasping, she glanced over at Zero’s body. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, his body began to change, slowly reverting back to normal as he began coughing violently. She smiled sleepily as he sat up, Twilight herself attempting to get back on her hooves.

“Wha….” Zero asked, eyes wide as he looked around. “What...happened? I remember….feeling energy course through me….then a massive plank of wood hit my head...I heard something snap….” His eyes landed on Twilight. “Did you….” he trailed off, before sighing. “How?”

“Magic….” Twilight moaned, not bothering to lift her head. “I tried that summoning spell on you again.”

Zero raised his left hand, and saw a purple six-pointed star glowing faintly on his hand. He chuckled, before laying back down.

“Thanks...Twilight.” He said, and they lay there for a while, simply enjoying the fact that they were alive. Eventually, the two finally got back up, gazing at the town.

“So, what happened with the demon?” Zero asked.

“Well, after it killed you, it jumped away from the town and back to wherever t came from.” Twilight said as she noticed some of the surviving townsponies running up to them. “Oh good, looks like just about everyone made it out okay.” She sighed in relief as they got closer. When they were a few feet away, she called out to them. “Hey, how many surviv-” she stopped mid sentence as two of the stallions shoved Zero to the ground, restraining him. “W-what are you doing?!” Twilight asked as some of the other mares started pulling her away, hatred boiling in their eyes as they stared at Zero.

“Hey, what's the big idea?!” Zero growled under the weight of one of the stallion earth ponies.

“Be quiet, demon! You thought you could slip into our ranks and kill us all when we weren't looking?!” The stallion growled, his green mane flowing down over his eyes. “We saw your true form, demon! We won't let you hurt our families any more!”

“STOOOP!” Twilight yelled, teleporting in front of the stallion and throwing him off with a levitation spell. “Just what do you think you ponies are doing?!”

The stallion got back up quickly, preparing to charge Zero again, until Twilight put herself inbetween them.

“That bastard’s a demon, Princess! He plans to kill us all!” One of the growing crowd yelled.

“I just saved your god damn village from a demon, you bastards!” Zero growled, getting back up. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have let that big old thing do it!”

“Cease your lies, demon!” A mare yelled in the back.

“ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled, earning everypony’s attention. “Zero saved you all from being destroyed twice. He has fought for you all, and I demand you release him at once!”

“But Princess-” One of the ponies started, but Twilight glared at her.

“No buts! If you want, you can charge him and we will finish this in a trial!” Twilight growled, taking Zero in her magic and teleporting the both of them away.

Author's Notes:

And that's another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed! I tried to get this out before I had to begin work on a project that will likely hold me up for the rest of the month, so I wanted to get at least this out.

I'll see you in the next chapter!