I groaned as I opened my eyes. Instead of finding myself being lavished with praise for saving everyone, I instead found myself in a dungeon cell. The princesses were gone, and replaced by two guards standing by the bars.

My entire upper body was covered in iron restraints which kept me a few inches from the ground. My arms pinned towards the walls and ceiling by thick iron chains. Even my mouth had been restrained like Hannibal Lecter.

"Let me in,” Twilight’s voice ordered. Of course, I didn’t see her, but there was no denying that voice.

"Princess Twilight, with all due respect..." the guard started to argue.

"He's completely restrained," Twilight insisted, as I saw her peering at me through the bars. "The worst he could do is glare at me.”

Reluctantly, the guards opened up the cell, and let the princess of friendship in. Instead of royal robes, I noticed she was dressed in a casual purple blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans. With a flash of her magic, Twilight summoned a chair and sat before me. It didn’t take long for me to break the silence.

"What happened?" I got out, the mouthpiece muffling my voice, but not making it completely inaudible.

"You don't remember?" Twilight asked with a raised brow of concern.

---

For a moment, Jacob Ashley Williams had stood proud and tall in front of the lavender alicorn. Blood spattered over his chainsaw hand, and smoke wafting from the barrels of his broomstick. Blowing out the smoke, the human spun the shotgun on his finger before placing it in a sheath on his back. Leaning over, he offered Twilight his hand…

And was immediately hit with three different colored beams. Light blue, golden yellow, and dark blue.

“Stop!” Twilight screamed, but by the time the beams shut off, Ash was embedded in the stone, his head slumped in the throes of unconsciousness. Cadence, Celestia and Luna stood side by side, their magic auras covering their hands, and Celestia holding her broken arm gingerly.

"I want him completely restrained," Celestia ordered Shining Armor, cradling her broken arm as she covered it in a golden aura. "I don't want him to even move a finger!”

“Princess!” Shining Armor protested. “Whatever that creature is, it just saved Twilight…”

“I still want it restrained,” Celestia snapped, leaving the room and cradling her arm with a wince. Luna followed after her, her own aura trying to wrap around her sister's arm.

---

“Well,” I muttered with a sigh of frustration. “Celestia certainly has a great sense of appreciation.”

Twilight grimaced. “Well…” she started to say.

“Let me guess,” I said in exasperation. “She thinks I caused the whole thing.”

She shifted her gaze downward. “She does.”

I rolled my eyes. “So, what are you doing here?” I asked. I remembered how loyal she was to Celestia. Which is why she surprised me when she used her magic… and removed the restraint covering my mouth. The restraint fell to the floor with a clang.

“To learn,” she said, settling back in her chair. “If you didn’t cause it, tell me who did. What was that… thing?”

“A demon,” I replied. “A force of great evil.”

“Like you?” she snarked.

“I AM NOT A DEMON!” I boomed.

She jumped, waving her hand at the guards that stormed in.

“I’m sorry!” she said quickly, putting herself between me and the guards. “I’m sorry.”

“Princess?” the guard asked.

“I’m! Sorry!” she insisted, pointing for the guards to get out. She let out a small sigh. “Then what are you?” she asked. “We… never gave you time to explain.”

“Well, I’m not a demon, sweetheart,” I snarked, anger still burning in my gut.

“Yeah, we’ve established that,” she snarked back, pulling up her chair and settling back down. “So, what are you?"

I took a breath, amused by her snark. “A human,” I replied.

Twilight shifted her gaze to my chainsaw. “Do most humans have a large blade for a hand?” she asked.

I glanced at my chainsaw and chuckled. “Not normally,” I admitted.

She tilted her head. I couldn’t deny she looked kinda cute like that. Like a curious puppy. I suppressed another chuckle.

“Before I came to this world, I had both hands,” I explained. “But then I bought a chainsaw and a book from some asshat.”

Twilight shifted and cleared her throat at my language, nearly causing me to chuckle again.

“And the next thing I know,” I continued. “I'm in a new world. With one hand and a chainsaw attached to the other.”

“And this?” With another flash of magic, Twilight summoned the Book of the Dead and held it out to me. I nodded, and she peered at it’s flesh-like surface. “What is it… exactly?”

“The Necronomicon Ex Mortis,” I said. “The Book of the Dead.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she set the book down as carefully as if she was handling dynamite.

"That book is a gateway from their world to this one" I said.

“So… when I read the passages…” Twilight figured, her lavender skin paling. “I… summoned that…”

“I did warn you,” I noted.

Twilight hung her head in shame. “Crystal…” she whispered. “Those… poor guards…”

“Well, if you’re as smart as I know you are,” I noted, grinning at the blush that came across her face. “You’ll seal that book somewhere the demons of Kandar can’t get at it.”

She looked up with a nod. “I will,” she promised. Taking the book, she drew several complicated runes over it. I felt the thrum of magic, before she tossed the book into the air. With a multi-colored flash, it vanished.

“There,” she said. “I put some seals over it, and sent it to one of my personal storage spaces. I’ll be able to put some more runes on it later, and I can ask Celestia for a place for it in the Royal Vault. But for now…” She scooted her chair closer to me. “Tell me about this world you come from. What’s it like?”

Part of me worried about the runes she had placed on the book, but another part of me couldn’t help but smile. She looked so genuinely excited to learn more about my world.

"Well for starters,” I began, “Our sun is completely stationary as the planet circles around it.”

"And your moon?" Twilight asked, a quill and parchment appearing with a flash of magic, stars glittering in her eyes.

"It revolves around the planet due to Earths gravitational pull.”

I don’t know how long we talked. Just… talking about the world I came from. She drank in every detail like a woman dying of thirst; always eager to learn. And, why not deny it, it was nice to have some company in this cell. Especially a girl like her.

But, of course, she had to leave soon enough. And as she sent the chair back to wherever she got it, I remembered the Book.

"Remember,” I insisted, as she moved to leave. “If the demons get ahold of that book… then you can kiss Equestria goodbye.”

"I know,” she assured me with a nod. "I'm going to have Celestia place it within the Royal Vault. It's the only place I can think of that is safe enough.” She moved to head out.

“And one more thing!” I called, getting her attention. "If you don't mind…” I asked with a grin. “Do you think you could come by again tomorrow? It’s nice to have company down here.”

That blush came back, but with it an intrigued grin.

"I... don't see a problem with that,” she replied. And with that, she left the cell, the guards giving her uncomfortable looks as they sealed the bars behind her.

---

For the next week, Twilight held to her promise. Every day, for the next week, she came and we talked. I told her about Earth, she told me about Equestria. About herself.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling in the back of my mind. A feeling that I inherited more than the original Ash Williams’ good looks and skills.

And all too soon, that bad feeling was proven right.

It started when I was awoken by the sound of metal slamming against stone.

"Captain Armor?”

"MOVE!!"

Suddenly, the door was yanked open. Almost off its hinges. Twilight’s brother raced in. For a split second, I wondered if he was going to blast me through the wall. But even though he slammed a magically charged hand into my chest, the restraints snapped and released until I was on the ground, free again.

I whistled, struggling to get up. “You must be pretty desperate to release me now,” I noted.

“T-The demons…” Shining Armor stammered. “They… They…”

“Yeah-yeah, who’d they get?” I asked. “Luna?”

“They…” Shining shook his head.

“Celestia?”

He shook his head.

“Cadence?”

“They…”

I rolled my eyes, and backhanded him.

“Come on, Armor, you’re a soldier! Act like it!”

“Right-right… sorry,” Shining stammered, rubbing his cheek. “They got the Book.”

“What?!” I seized him by the armor, slamming him against the wall before another thought stopped me. “Wait-a-minute… how are you alive if the demons read from the book?”

“It didn’t,” he said. “It just looked into the book, roared in anger…” He blinked, and tears slipped down his cheeks. “And he made off with Twilight.”

I stared at him in horror. Dropping him, I backed up, slowly piecing together why they would take her.

“Okay-okay…” I muttered, running a hand through my hair and pacing. “I think I know why they’d take her… but first.” I turned back to him. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

---

Last week Twilight had Celestia place the book into the royal vault, and I had guards stationed there twenty-four seven. And with good reason.

Lately the princess has been recieving reports of ponies attacking each other, similar to what happened to that guard. She had no way to stop it. She had considered if reading from the book could stop all this, but Twilight had taken all books relating to the Ancient Sumarian text.

Nothing really happened - save for Twilight running off to your cell every day.

---

“You mind skipping the embellishments?” I asked the Captain, who had taken a moment to glare at me with that oh-so-familiar look any father (or in this case, brother) has towards a guy making the moves on their daughter/sister.

Shining rolled his eyes. “I make no promises,” he said, before continuing.

---

This afternoon, I heard screaming at the vault. I rushed to help, but when I got there, the vault was broken into, and one of the guards was dead. I do not mind skipping embellishments when it comes to what was left of him.

Then the other guard stepped out, covered in blood, his eyes milky white… and the book in hand.

“T̄h̴͊ë́ b́o͆o̴k̾ i̷s m̵̏in̨e̛ͥ!̈́” the possessed guard gloated with a laugh.

I tried to stop him, but I might as well have been fighting one of Twilight’s regular foes. He tossed me and my guards aside and opened the book. But the minute he began to read, his eyes grew wide and he bellowed in anger.

I tried to take advantage and hit him with a beam spell. All it did was alleviate him from whatever bad mood the book had put him in. At least, that’s what I thought, judging by his laugh.

"Y̢ou̶ŗ ̵mo͞rt̶a̧l͞ ̷m̧agic͞ d̀òe̴s ͝nơth͞i̸ng̡ ̸to͜ m͟é!” the demon gloated, his fingers turning to claws.

I already said I wouldn’t embellish what he had done to the other guard, but let’s just say I was not interested in letting those claws get near me.

Unfortunately, while my guards and I managed to avoid getting what the first guard got, it also meant letting the demon get away. And as we chased it through the castle… well, several ponies weren’t as lucky as we were.

Eventually, the demon made its way into the throne room, throwing the door off its hinges. By the time we managed to chase it inside, Celestia, Luna and Cadence were down… and the demon’s claws were around Twilight’s neck.

"Twilight!!" I screamed. My magic flared, but the demon held her in front of it like a shield.

"N̛i͐́c̓e ͒t̐r̐y ̶po͡ny̽͢,” the demon mocked. Briefly, it’s expression shifted to pain, as a pair of large bat-like wings sprouted from its back. "B̿u̡ͣt͜ t̛hͪiͥs ̨p̢̄reͬ͟t̕t͘y ͞l̴ͫįt̊͝t̽͝le ̚t̵ͤh́̚i̶ngͪ͡ ̊i͘s̀͘ ̒o͒u̎͢ŗ͆ ̷sàl̉v̍͏aͬt̒į̿ón̵!̓”

Twilight tried to flare her own magic, but was stopped when the demon dug its claws into her arm.

With a flap of its wings, we were knocked off our feet as the demon soared out one of the windows.

“ASH!” I heard my little sister say. “SHINING! SOMEPONY HELP ME!”

Struggling to my feet, I lifted my magic and took careful aim, selecting my spell carefully.

Don't you dare miss, Armor, I thought, before letting the spell fly.

It hit the demon in the back, but it didn’t stop his flight. And in seconds, he was gone. My sister and the book with him.

---

"And you just let it make off with your sister?" I demanded, my voice oozing venom.

Shining glared at me, insulted. “Did you not notice how I used magic?” he demanded. “I hit it with a tracking spell. Wherever that demon goes, I’ll know.”

My anger faded by a margin. “Alright, then,” I said, moving out of the cell. “Let’s go.”

"Wait," Shining said. "You might need this.”

I turned, and a smile lifted my features. Shining Armor had my boomstick and sheath. He tossed it to me with a grin, giving me a chance to check the ammo.

“You ever consider practicing with this?” I asked.

“I did,” Shining replied. "Bit of a kick, but much more powerful than a destruction spell."

“Good,” I said, strapping the shotgun to my back. “You may need to use it.”

Together, Armor and I strode out of the castle. But, of course, we had to run into a certain sun alicorn.

“Shining Armor,” Celestia said sternly, blocking our way out of the castle. “What is the meaning of this?”

"He came to his senses,” I replied, one hand on my boomstick. “ And got the only person who can deal with this evil!”

Celestia’s wings flared, and she nearly grabbed me by the shirt before Shining Armor got in her way.

“Captain Armor…” Celestia growled.

“He’s the best chance we have to find my sister,” Shining said. “With all due respect, Princess… stand aside.”

“But this is all his fault!” she insisted to Shining, turning to me. "Because of you, Evil plagues my world! My ponies are dying and your vile kind have taken Twilight!”

Did I mention I had a pretty short temper? Well, it came up again when I shoved past Shining and seized Celestia by her royal robes.

"I haven't done anything," I snarled at the sun princess. “You told Twilight to read from the book! You told her to finish the incantation. And you stationed guards to watch over the book so the demon could possess them.” I shoved her back. “Twilight was taken because of your mistakes. All I’m trying to do is fix those mistakes."

Words seemed to hit her harder than my head or spit, because her eyes widened, looking like her heat was getting hit by a white-hot knife. She backed up, holding a hand over her heart.

"Now if you don't mind,” I growled, shoving past her, “I’m going to save Twilight before she become another result of your mistake.”

The regretful look faded. Looks like I pushed her a little too far. And, I made the mistake of turning my back on her.

A purple aura suddenly shrouded me, and I wondered for a second if she was going to throw me into the castle again. But instead, the purple aura shrank and condensed around my neck. With a flash of light, I found a metal collar around my neck like a dog.

"What the Hell?!" I screamed, pulling at the collar. “What is this?”

“Enslavement spell,” she replied. “It will prevent you from killing any pony else.”

I tilted my head at her before testing it. I thrust my chainsaw towards her chest. The collar grew heavy, and my chainsaw stopped a full foot from her body.

"Go,” she ordered. “Save Twilight. And I command you not to kill anypony while doing it!”

"Like Hell…” I growled. But the collar increased in weight, sending me to one knee. I growled, fighting it, before realizing I was wasting time. “Fine!” I spat. Instantly, the collar got lighter.

Lifting myself up I sheathed the shotgun and grabbed Shining, storming out of the castle grounds and away from Celestia before her smug look tempted me to try something bad.

"She better pray I don't find a way to remove this collar," I growled, shooting dark looks at the residents of Canterlot. All of them backed away from me in fear, and for good reason. "Cause when I do I'm shoving my chainsaw so far up her ass she'll be wearing the chains as braces.” I revved the chainsaw for emphasis, sending several ponies scurrying away like rats.

“You… do realize she’s under severe stress, right?” Shining asked. When I glowered at him, he wisely put his hands up. “But… I am sorry for her attitude.”

My glower faded.

"You don't need to apologize,” I assured him. “But my sister figure tells me I need to vent to best handle my UNYIELDING RAGE!!" More ponies scurried away, and I’m pretty sure if Shining wasn’t a Captain, he’d have joined them. But yelling calmed me down enough to talk to him in a level voice. "Alright. So, how about you use that tracking spell of yours and tell us where we're heading?”

Nodding, Shining Armor closed his eyes, and his horn lit up. A 3D image of Equestria flashed before us. And a small blinking light appeared, moving fast across the landscape.

"Okay,” Shining Armor said, opening his eyes. “According to the tracking spell…” He watched the blinking light move over some kind of city. “They’re passing above Manehatten. Judging from the speed and trajectory, they seem to be heading to…” He traced towards a small village. “Ponyville?” His eyes narrowed, and he peered at a dark forest near the village. “No… more likely the Everfree Forest.”

"Oh Fuck!" I cursed. Even I knew that place was bad news. "Alright. Use your magic to teleport us there.” I paused. “But if we see a wooden cabin in that forest… Turn the Fuck around!”

“Right, but, um… one small problem.” Shining Armor blushed. “Teleporting only works if we've been there before.”

I deflated. “Great,” I muttered nonchalantly. “So, we ride the train?”

Shining nodded.

“I get to be stared at and harassed?”

“Probably.”

I sighed. “Lovely.”

Next Chapter: Saving Twilight Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 45 Minutes