Friendship is Life

by MercHunter

First published 27th of January, 2013

A man is sent to Equestria to make friends. An uphill battle awaits him as he must overcome his strangeness to those around him as well as his own lack of desire to make any friends.

John Tracker is a vigilante who has reached the end of his rope and just wants it to end. Before he can do that though he has a few things he needs to take care of. However a demi-goddess he has the misfortune of knowing isn't going to just let him end it like that so she sends to where else but Equestria where he is told to make friends and find a reason to keep going. This is the story of his trials and tribulations during that time.

Special thanks to Hollyhock for editing, proofreading and the cover art!

The gore tag is there for the presence of blood in later chapters though not excessive amounts.

Chapter 1 - Argument and Arrival

I stared blankly at the being in front of me even though she had, spoken clear English. “I’m sorry Sheeva, but what?” I practically yelled in surprise. Sheeva just smiled and crossed her arms.

“I said that I am going to send you away for a while. A change of scenery will do you some good, don’t you think?” she asked, innocently enough though I wasn’t fooled for a moment. I knew her way too well for that. Silence followed as I stared skeptically at her purple eyes, barely managing to keep from reacting when the third eye on her forehead opened up. Of all the strange things about her, that was the most obviously non-human feature of her appearance (at least to me), though the fact that her skin was a translucent purple and glowed also gave it away.

Other than her third eye and eerie glow she looked somewhat normal. Her body was humanoid in shape, although overall slimmer than a normal person. She only had four fingers on each hand instead of five, and a large head of purple hair flowed down to her shoulders. Sheeva was about 5 feet tall the top of her head reaching up to my chin. She came from a race of demi-gods and goddesses that watched life throughout the many worlds, studying them mostly for amusement and entertainment. Most of them were never seen or heard from since they believed they were not to interfere with those they watched, but wouldn’t you know, I met the one that liked to get personally involved, and now apparently decided she wanted to act like a surrogate super-powered mom or something.

Finding my voice again I managed not to flip out and tell her to mind her own business. “Why do I need a change of scenery? What is the point of this trip?” I asked instead.

Her smile dissipated at that, maybe because she was hoping I was just going to accept what she said and agree to it instead of arguing with her. “It’s to save you, John,” she stated simply, shifting into a stance that said she wasn’t going take no for an answer.

I shook my head, taking a few steps to the side before stopping to look at her again, “Save me huh? Why do you think I need saving?”

She sighed, walked over to me, and tapped my forehead. “Please don’t insult me John. I’ve already established a connection with you and part of that connection means I can see into your mind, so I already know what you’re planning.”

That statement made my blood run ice cold. Even though I should have anticipated it, I never really got used to the fact that she could look into my mind. I crossed my arms and leaned back a little as I gave her a questioning look, “And what makes you think that a change of scenery will be enough to make me change my plans?”

“Simple my dear human, the land I will be sending you to is full of life and those who love it. They value friendship above all else, and if there is one thing that can turn you back from the path you’ve chosen, its friendship,” she said as she turned to the side. Sheeva walked a few steps, and raised her hand. The air rippled in front of her, and where there was only air before, a “hole” slightly larger than me appeared. From the front I could see a different landscape, but when I looked at it from the side it was just barely visible.

She made a gesture for me to come over and I did, because if I didn’t she would sit there and wait for me to do so and then I’d never get out of here. I stood next to her and we gazed through the portal at a large field of green that looked like something out of a brochure that showed off the scenery of a vacation resort. Even as cynical as I was, I had to admit it was rather beautiful to look at; everywhere you looked grass and trees grew, rivers ran and clouds drifted lazily through the sky without so much as a single rain cloud in sight.

I looked at it and couldn’t resist being snarky, “Well it certainly looks like the land is just full of friendship. I swear I can just see it oozing out from the ground. Yes sir, I had better not get sucked under all that friendship or I might drown in it!”

Sheeva sighed and rolled all three of her eyes before continuing, “This is the planet of Equis, a rather peaceful world that lies on a different universe from this one. You’ll be going to a place called Equestria; it is only one of the many nations in this world, but arguably the most crucial to the planet’s well being.” She turned to face me, looking straight into my eyes as she said, “ Most importantly, it is where I think you have the greatest, maybe even only, chance of finding what you need.”

Sighing myself, I stared right back, my arms still crossed over my chest, “Do you really think this place will change my mind? I grant I haven’t lived as long as you, so you may know something I don’t, but in order to be rescued from something that isn’t physically threatening you, I think it is required that you want to be rescued in the first place.”

Her jaw tightened, her eyes narrowed and, her hands moved down to her hips. “Why are you so dead set on refusing help?” she asked using grave tone.

I was not going to be cowed that easily and leaned forward so my face was not far from hers, “Maybe because I’m tired. Maybe I’ve had enough. Maybe I just want it to be over, did you think of that?!” I stepped back and waved my hand spastically at the portal, “You think that the pretty scenery and the happy denizens of whatever world that is can just make me better? I thought if anyone understood how I feel, it’s you! You know my story down to the smallest fucking detail, how is it so hard for you to understand why I might just not want your ‘help’?”

She shook her head violently, her face becoming masked by purple hair, “I never said I don’t understand John, believe me I understand perfectly! What I don’t understand is why you just don’t want to get well!” Before I could answer she held up her palm in front of me, eyes blazing. “I don’t care whether or not you want it, but I will not simply sit idly by and let you take this path. I am going to do whatever I have to do, and then if at the end of it you still feel the same, then and only then, will I step aside and let you have it your way, but not while I still believe there is hope. Now, step through the portal and if you argue with me or try to leave I will hurl you through it by force.”

My hands clenched into fists and my eyes narrowed, “What about your people’s love of free will and the right to choose, Sheeva?”

Sheeva frowned, her hands going to her slim hips, “What do you mean John?”

I began to pace back and forth, hands flying all around the air as I emphasized my points. First up, “You told me yourself that your race believes in the right of all sentient beings to have free will and the right to make their own choices. Hell, I didn’t just hear that from you, I’ve heard it from pretty much every race that knows anything about you. While I know you aren’t always in agreement with your race on policy, I’ve never seen anything to indicate that you don’t believe in free will and choice else you would have simply enslaved my mind with your power.”

Taking a deep breath I continued, “I also know that you despise the old law that states that your people will not interfere with other races and their affairs. You bend it like it’s your job or something. For all I know, you might actually think it is your job. This may be the closest I’ve ever seen you come to actually outright breaking it though. Normally when you want to get around it you just ask me to take care of it for you, but now…now you’re telling me I HAVE to go and do this or you will force me to!”

I finished nailing her with my eyes, “Now maybe you don’t see that as interference or taking away my choices but from certain points of view, such as mine right now, you are doing exactly that. You are telling me no matter what I will do things your way or you will make me.”

She smiled at me showing all her teeth, “You still have your free will and can make whatever choice you want, I haven’t taken that away from you. I’ve merely informed you of the consequences of those choices.”

If I squeezed my hands any harder I was going to draw blood.I felt my teeth grind at her attempt to force me to make a decision I didn’t want, same as others had done before, something I despised.

For a brief moment I considered drawing my weapon and shooting her, but a flashback deterred me, and I probably didn’t have the right ammo to injure a supernatural being like her anyways. “Fine,” I grated out and stepped into the portal, closing my eyes and bracing myself for any unpleasant sensations that I might feel while crossing, but I could have saved myself the trouble. It was just like stepping through the threshold of a door and when I opened my eyes I found myself standing on a grassy hill.

A pleasant breeze blew by adding to the overall feeling of peace that seemed to pervade the place. I felt like I could have relaxed here, but years of turmoil had ingrained within me a feeling of constant paranoia that kept me from doing so. I turned a full 360°, my eyes darting around as I took in the surrounding countryside. I could see no signs that anyone actually lived here, just more hills with trees covering many of them, and what appeared like a forest in the distance.

Sheeva had closed the portal and was standing where it had previously been. She watched me as I looked around. Eventually my eyes fell on her and I shrugged at her indifferently, “So now what?”

She huffed angrily, crossing her arms again and glared at me, “I’m going to show you to your home then I strongly suggest you start to get acquainted with this place and see if you can find someone or somepony to help you. I’m not reopening the portal to bring you back until you do, and in case you get any ideas about trying to force my hand I will be watching you.”

She hovered a foot or two into the air and floated along the ground, not bothering to look to see if I was following, but I did, after a moment or two pondering what she meant by the word somepony before choosing to ignore her strange remark. We walked up and down several hills to a place where the trees were a bit thicker than before, becoming a dense forest. We entered the woods and hidden within the trees found a small wooden cottage that looked quite cozy. I guessed she wanted me to feel at home, as much as it was possible while being strong-armed into it.

She gestured to the door, still smiling sweetly. I opened it and entered the house. Inside I found a small living room, a restroom, and a staircase to the right that led to the bedroom upstairs. The living room had a blue and green striped couch that looked out on a large window next to the door; a small wooden table was located in front and to the left of it. Behind the couch, by the wall was another small table, this one had some computer monitors on it, and before it sat a black, rotating office chair.

Placed throughout the rest of the wall, near the door to the restroom, were several metal containers where I kept my weapons in my old home. Finally by the staircase there was a small kitchen with an oven and a refrigerator, which upon opening, I discovered was fully stocked.

Sheeva stood in the doorway, observing me as I looked around, seemingly waiting for my reaction. Despite my situation I liked it well enough, “Looks pretty nice at least. Thanks for bringing my gear through, but since I’m trying to find something to change my old ways, wouldn’t this stuff be kind of counterproductive?” I asked.

She shook her head lightly, “No John, I don’t think it will. I know you still remember the past and I know how much the thought of hurting innocents gets to you. I know the guilt you feel over it, so I’m sure that you won’t hurt anyone unless they do something to deserve it. Also as wonderful as this world is there are still dangers here, so leaving you without a means to defend yourself would be dangerous. Finally, even if I am wrong in trusting you, well, like I said I will be watching and will step in if need be.”

I believed her and nodded in comprehension, then turned and walked over to the computer station. Turning it on I was surprised to see that I still had access to the data feeds I paid for and some sort of multidimensional version of the internet. I turned to Sheeva and raised an eyebrow questioningly, “I’ve created a link between these computers and the galactic information hub so you can stay current on events, though don’t spend too much time on it, I’d hate to have to deprive you of it to make you focus on your primary objective. I’ve also created a small generator to take care of any power needs you may have.”

Nodding again I walked to the center of the room and turned to face her, “Anything else I need to know about?”

She put a finger to her chin before replying, “I’ve stocked you with enough food that will last for a few weeks if you’re not too greedy with it and I’ve supplied some of the local currency for when you run out, however after that you’re on your own.”

Great, I either had to find a way out of here myself on an alien planet with no idea of where anything was that might help me, or deal with the locals, something that was always awkward for me and I hated doing. Still a thought nagged at me, “Wait, why not just restock me as I run low yourself? It’s not like I have the option to just run away.”

She plastered a shit eating grin on her face, “I don’t want to make this too easy for you; goodness knows you need a kick in the pants sometimes besides, how are you going to make any friends if you have no need to interact with others?,” she said knowing my reluctance to deal with aliens from other worlds.

“Good luck and I mean that most sincerely.” Her voice lowered and for a moment, some weariness showing on her features, “I want you to succeed here John, for your sake if no one else’s. I know you’re angry at me for forcing this on you, but please, do try to understand why.”

“Take care.”

With a flash of light she was gone and I was alone. For a while I stood there, turning this way and that with no real idea of what I was going to do since this was more than a bit outside my circle of experience. Given her description of the place I sincerely doubted I’d find any crime lords in need of some assistance into the afterlife, so to keep busy I walked around the house a little more. I stopped in front of the mirror in the restroom.

Standing at 6’2” tall with bright red hair generally meant I stood out in a crowd, and given that those crowds weren’t human but I was didn’t help my case. My eyes were light brown, but had become different from when I was younger, faded, dull, and lacking life. My eyebrows seemed to have permanently shifted into angry slant as their default; Ever had people come up to you and ask if you were ok because you looked pissed when you weren’t? Well it had become common place for me.

The gloomy appearance was further enhanced by the unhealthy pallor of my skin. Spending most of my waking time at night had bleached it out from lack of sunlight. My flesh had sunken in too, though not from malnutrition but rather years of stress. My clothing consisted of a dark green t-shirt, black jean pants both overlaid by an ankle length leather trench coat. On my left arm, over the coat sleeve was a small black box that wrapped partway around the arm and was strapped into place, what I called my gauntlet.

On my feet was a pair of combat boots that were scuffed and worn from hard usage and time. Around my waist, hidden beneath my coat crossed several straps that connected my gun holsters. My clothes also acted as armor thanks to an alien thread I learned of that appeared like any other piece of clothing but acted like armor when a direct attack was made against it, such as a bullet or explosion however, the thread wasn’t a guarantee when it came to stopping bullets, and only offered partial protection against explosions. All my garments were made from cloth that had been weaved using that thread, and I had it put some in my trench coat as well. .

I decided to go outside and see what was around me, maybe even begin to plan my next move. I made my way out from the cottage and began taking inventory of my surroundings. I tapped my gauntlet and brought up a computer display that I used to scan the surrounding area and create a map for future use.

I was beginning to consider heading back to my new home, but when I started to turn around I caught a flash of movement at the edge of my vision. It seemed that something was flying over me and I to the sky to see what it was. Although it was too high for me to tell what exactly , it looked like some sort of transportation vehicle. Reaching into my trench coat I pulled out a pair of binoculars.

I raised them to my eyes and I was able to make out what looked like a cart of some kind pulled by…flying horses? What the hell? Sheeva said I was in a place called Equestria. Does that stand for ‘a messed up version of the north fucking pole’? Is that their version of Santa? Bizarro Santa…that’s just what I need right? Hey John, what would you like for bizarro Christmas?

I followed the cart thing until it came down behind a collection of large hills that didn’t seem to be far from my current position. As they came down I could just barely make out what looked like a spire from a building jutting above the hill. It was a welcome sight. If nothing else it would serve as the starting point for Sheeva’s “assignment”, however if I was going to go there I needed to make sure I was properly equipped.

Turning on my heel I ran back inside and threw off my coat so I could take quick stock of everything I had on me. I had the binoculars, a Glock .40 caliber autoloader pistol, three magazines, a KA-BAR knife, and my gauntlet. I would have brought more weapons with me but as I reached for my most often used one, an M4 with attachments I heard Sheeva’s voice in my head, “No John, that’s a bit excessive right now.”

“Well tough,” I thought back at her and reached for the weapon again except that as I reached for it it suddenly disappeared.

“Oh come on! Haven’t you screwed me enough for one day?!” She didn’t answer, though I heard her laugh in my mind. I gave her the one fingered salute and went back to preparing for my journey.

I packed a quick meal and some water, threw my coat on, and left. Orienting myself towards the spire, I headed off in that direction. I don’t always have the need to cross long distances but when I do I know how to keep a quick pace that eats up miles but doesn’t tire me out too quickly. A few hours had gone by when I came up the crest of one of the hills and saw before me a small town in the valley below. I took a moment to stop and get some energy back as I surveyed the area, looking for a good place to set up.

I know that Sheeva had assured me that the people here were friendly, but I still knew nothing about them and I didn’t want to just walk out there and introduce myself. In the past when I have needed to learn something about people (usually my targets), I would follow them, learn their habits, watch where they lived and gathered what I could by doing so. Such was my task here as well; all I needed was a good place to set up base.

I spotted a clump of trees and rocks on a small strip of land between two hills. It was situated such that would give me a clear view of the town, but was well covered and high enough to keep me concealed. Quickening my pace to a jog I made my way over until I was hidden by the trees and saw that the view was indeed well suited to my purposes. I set down my pack and made camp, making sure to keep my noise level to a minimum. With that done there was only one thing left to do, “OK, let’s see what there is to see.”

The lime green pegasus known as Windfall sighed as she cantered through Ponyville, her head hung low. A few ponies looked at her as she made her way down the main street, but as most of them were merchants trying to get in a few more sales before the market closed, nopony paid her much mind.

She had arrived at the picturesque village a few days earlier hoping to find a job among the local weather pegasi. Unfortunately the local weather manager, one of the famous elements of harmony had informed her that they currently had no positions available. Their encounter played over in her head as she walked around the marketplace.

“Hi, I’m Windfall, are you Rainbow Dash?”

She turns around, smiling proudly, “Yes I am! How did you know? Have you heard of me?”

“W-well yes. You performed the sonic rainboom at the young flyers competition the one year.”

Dash smiles puffing out her chest, “Aw yeah! I knew it! Yeah, I did and it was pretty awesome right?”

Attempting to not insult the pony but get to the point Windfall tries to get the conversation back on track, “Yes it was. I’ve heard you’re in charge of the weather pegasi here in Ponyville is that right?”

Dash nods, “Better believe it.”

“Oh good. I’m new in town and I’m looking for a job. I’m really good with air currents but I’ll do whatever you need help with.”

Rainbow Dash grows quiet and her smile disappears. One of her front hooves begins to scratch the back of her head, “Yeah, sorry. I’d like to help you out, I would, but I don’t have any openings right now.

Windfall’s stomach sinks but she desperately tries again, “B-but I’m willing to do anything to help out, really I am!”

The light blue pony turns around, her face showing some regret as she glumly says, “I’m sorry, Windfall was it? But I have no openings available. Maybe somepony else can find something for you.” With that she takes off while Windfall just stares up at her with a forlorn expression on her face.

Her mind came back to the present as her stomach was beginning to complain loudly from hunger. Windfall stopped at the local apple vendor where another one of the elements greeted her, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail, wearing a brown stetson.

The apple vendor gave her a big smile as she walked up to the booth, “Howdy there! Ah’m Applejack of Sweet Apple Acres! We sell the best apples in all of Equestria! How many would ya like?”

Windfall gave her a small smile, “Just one apple please.”

Another smile from Applejack as she said, “Alright, that’ll be three bits please.” Windfall took a few bits from her saddlebags, left them on the stall and took her apple from the smiling mare.

She sat down in the middle of the town park and munched on her apple, sighing again. It seemed like such a good idea when she had left Cloudsdale a few days ago. No, strike that, she really felt like she had no choice when she had left. She had almost fled. She used to work for the main weather company in Cloudsdale but she’d had to put up with a lot of mocking from some of the other pegasi that worked there.

She’d tried to get them to stop by talking to them about it but it hadn’t worked and neither had going to her boss. After a while, ignoring them stopped working as her temper wore thin. Finally she had smashed her right hoof into the one guy’s face, right in the muzzle. She realized what she’d done and had been horrified, especially when she saw the guy was bleeding from his nose and crying. Rather than have to face him and the other guys again, she had left the company, grabbed a saddlebag with some mementoes and bits and left, otherwise they would have been sure to make things even worse for her.

At first she had no plan she just wanted to get away from the cloud city, but after stopping for a little bit to catch her breath she got her bearings and tried to think of what to do next. She mentally listed all the nearby towns and began sorting them in her mind. The first place to come to mind was Canterlot, after all it was the center of equestrian culture and commerce, but then given the treatment she had gotten back at Cloudsdale she shuddered at the thought of having to mix with all those high hoofed types. Appleloosa also seemed as a possibility as she had some relatives there and was also far away from Cloudsdale, but it was in the desert and that did not call to her at all as she hated the heat. Then her thoughts turned to Ponyville where the heroic elements of harmony lived. She heard a lot about the town of Ponyville recently and from what she had gathered it was a place that seemed to allow ponies to get a new start, and that was that.

Now she was almost out of bits with nothing to show for it. She had enough for one more night at the local inn but after that she would be without a place to stay. She finished her apple and sat for a while longer; pondering her situation. A commotion drew her attention and she looked up to see ponies moving towards the park. She looked in the direction they were headed to try and discern what was causing the commotion. It was not long before her question was answered when she saw a large golden chariot carrying the majestic form of Princess Celestia.

She immediately bowed low along with all the other ponies as the princess exited the chariot and smiled at yet another of the elements of harmony, a purple unicorn, “Hello Twilight Sparkle, it is so good to see you again.”

Chapter 2 - Accident and RCV

Windfall watched as the princess and the element of magic, Twilight Sparkle, walked away from the park and towards the center of town. She wished she could have a chance to talk to the princess and see what wise advice the sun alicorn would be able to give her. It occurred to her that if she hung around with the rest of them then maybe the opportunity would present itself. Feeling a little more hopeful, she trotted after the departing group of ponies.

About an hour later, the idea suddenly didn’t seem as good as it had a while back. For one, every pony in Ponyville was following the princess around. At this rate, she would never get to speak to the her. After waiting a little while longer, she walked away from the crowd of ponies and made her way back to the park.

If there was anything that could clear Windfall’s head, or at least make her feel more relaxed, it was flying. It was a rare pegasus that disliked flying, although it was rumored the element of kindness herself had some trouble when it came to that. Making sure her saddlebags were secure, and that all her possessions were safe for flight, she spread her wings and took to the sky.

She flew in the skies above Ponyville, just enjoying the freedom of the open air and the exhilaration of moving effortlessly across the sky. For fun, she did a few tricks, catching air waves and avoiding crosswinds effortlessly, an innate ability she learned she had during flight school. She saw Celestia’s chariot take to the sky, and gave a mid-air bow to the departing diarch before resuming her flight.

At first she simply flew over the town itself, waving at some of the other pegasi going about their business, then decided a bit more natural scenery was to her liking, so she made her way east over what had to be Sweet Apple Acres. She kept going east until she was flying over the Whitetail Woods, enjoying the tranquil scenery beneath her. Looking up, Windfall noticed that for whatever reason, both the sun and the moon were out, and together they bathed the world in beautiful colors which only added to the beauty below her.

She was so caught up in the scenery that she didn’t notice anything around her until, “Watch out!”

“Huh,“ she looked up just in time to see a cross-eyed pegasus before the two collided in mid-air. Pain was foremost on her mind as she began to fall. After she shook off the pain she realized the danger and tried to remember a maneuver she could use to correct herself. While she wasn’t as trained as a military or showpony, she had at least some flight training, as did most pegasi.

Tucking her wings and limbs against her body, she tried to correct her spin, and finally succeeded. Feeling elated at her success, she opened her eyes in time to see the trees of Whitetail Woods rushing up to meet her. She let out a loud, terrified shriek, and shut them again; bracing herself for the impact and pain that would be sure to come, and praying to Celestia that it would be over quickly.

I blinked and put down my binoculars, somewhat at a loss. I had a very good view of the town and it's inhabitants, so I had absolutely no problems discerning what was going on.; but what I saw seemed surreal even after all I had seen. What I saw through my binoculars was a town full of PONIES. Not anthropomorphic ponies mind you. Given how many anthros I'd run into in my life, I wouldn't have been taken aback by something like that. These ponies looked and moved like ponies, at least while they were walking. When sitting or doing anything else...well, ok I had no fucking clue how they did any of that but hey, what do I know?

After a minute or two of sitting there, trying to mule things over I picked up my binoculars and returned to the task at hand. From what I could see there was something big going on as most of the ponies were congregating in one place. Reaching up with a finger I turned a rotating dial on the top zooming the binoculars in to get a better view. Like a camera, when I first zoomed in the picture got blurry but these binoculars could autocorrect their focus and in a second I had a clear picture of what was happening.

At the center of the gathering was a pony that I honestly had no idea what to call it though I settled on pegicorn for the time being (though I thought unigus was pretty good too). It stood noticeably above the rest of the ponies there and had both wings, and horns, and what looked like crowns on it’s head. It had white fur and a billowing multi-colored mane and tail. Standing next to it was a unicorn that had purple fur and a non-billowing indigo mane and tail with pink and purple highlights running from front to back.

They were obviously important and the ponies all seemed to be in awe of them and were respectful while trying to get as close as possible. I watched them for a while though all they did as far as I could see was talk to one another, making me wish I was closer so I could listen to what was being said. No guarantee I’d understand it of course but my gauntlet did have a universal translator function and I couldn't imagine Sheeva would be dumb enough to put me here if I couldn't understand them. After talking for some time, the white one climbed back into the chariot thing I had seen earlier and flew away thus breaking up the giant meeting.

All the ponies were heading inside so I figured it was a good time to leave without being seen. As I made my way back to the cottage the sun finished its journey below the horizon and the moon had completely come out. As I neared my cottage my gaze traveled up to the moon marveling at just how much it was like Earth’s I had seen a lot of moons over the years so I had plenty of fodder for comparison. In most cases the moon was either smaller or larger than earth’s or they look almost like planets themselves. A lot of the time too they weren't even the same color as earth’s moon but instead were any and all colors of the spectrum. The sun was going down over the horizon which meant that I was going to be heading back to my cottage soon. I shook my head at the events of the day; everything from getting sent here against my will to seeing the locals. I looked down at the notes I had made on my gauntlet while making a mental note to bring a computer pad in the future.

Looking back up I noticed how the moonlight played through the leaves and reminded me of nights spent at my grandmother’s house with my family. She lived in a wooded area very similar to this and we often spent time listening to the sounds of the woods at night. I shook my head to dispel the memories going through my mind. The last thing I needed was a reminder of those days and instead I should just concentrate on getting back to my cottage.

As I walked along I mentally noted my surroundings, where the treeline got thicker or thinner, if there were rocks that helped the area stand out or not. Coming to the bottom of the hill where my cottage was situated I looked up towards it, the moon making a rather nice frame over to the right of the cottage. As I trudged up the hill a flash caught my eye and I looked up, “What the hell? Did the moon just grow a face?!” I stopped and stared at it for a moment. I was sure the moon had just turned from being a predominantly white sphere to a ghostly, shadowy face with two large white eyes, and what looked like…flowing shadows where its hair would be?

I’m not sure how long I stood there looking at it, but suddenly I heard a loud scream from above me, then the sound of something crashing through the trees.

That kicked me out of my reverie. I grabbed my pistol and aimed it towards the direction of the disturbance. A few moments passed without any new sounds breaking the silence. The forest that covered these hills looked dark and uninviting in the shadows of the night, and although I would have rather simply gone back to my cottage my curiosity got the better of me. Besides whatever made that sound was awful close to my home and I hated the idea of leaving a possible threat behind that could come back to bite me in the ass later.

I slowly walked bent legged into the forest, looking down the sight of my gun as I aimed it from side to side. After a while I came across some bent and broken branches on one of the trees and examined them closely. They didn’t look like they had been broken naturally but rather by a rather forceful impact. It meant I was getting closer to whatever I had heard earlier, or at least I was reasonably certain that was the case.

Trying to get an idea of where what I was looking for hit I began looking at all the nearby trees, mentally marking all the ones with broken and bent branches. After having found a few I looked between them, gauging the heights of the branches that had been broken and using that to determine the direction of the crashed whatever. Moving in that direction I continued to look out for the signs of the crash until the trail of trees with recently missing limbs stopped at a clump of bushes.

I slowly worked my way around the bushes, readying myself for anything that might suddenly attack, but what I found instead was the exact opposite of a threat. The sight that lay before me was that of one of the small ponies that I had seen earlier. It’s coat seemed to be a shade of green though the darkness made it hard to tell for sure, and as I got closer I noticed two small wings attached to its sides. Ok, so it was a pegasus-pony…thing.

It wasn’t moving so I wasn’t sure if it was even alive or not so I began to move closer, slowly of course, keeping my pistol pointed at it, just in case. As I got closer I could see that there were gashes and cuts down its side including the one wing and blood was flowing from them which at least meant that it wasn’t dead, yet anyway. I had no idea on how to treat ponies and even if I did it wasn’t my problem so I went to leave when its rather large eyes popped open. They focused on me and I could see the fear there, though if the fear was for me or for its injuries I couldn’t tell. Its mouth opened and a decidedly feminine voice came out, “Please...I don’t want to die!”

I froze instantly as the voice brought a memory painfully to the fore.

His face looked up at me with pleading in his eyes. This close I could smell charred flesh and burnt fur as he lay at my feet. He needed help but I was the only one around at the moment, everyone else had either fled the scene or were looking after their own problems. My instincts screamed at me to help him, he was an innocent man and had nothing to do with what was going on and yet here he had been caught in the middle anyway.

Even as I thought that another thought had come to mind that began to drown out any feelings or thoughts of compassion; he wasn’t innocent, no one here was. He may not have worked directly for who I was after but he lived here and worked here and paid taxes here. Even if he wasn’t a direct employee he was a part of the system that had wronged me and it was held up by people like him. His scorched lips moved a little and he finally managed to let out a call for help.

I turned on my heel, unable to look him in the eye, “No. Not my problem.”

My mind returned to the present, my breath started becoming ragged, and the hand holding the gun began to shake. I looked down at the pegasus who continued to stare up at me with fear and pleading in her eyes. We stayed like that for another moment before I finally put the gun away and stepped towards her. She shut her eyes whimpering in fear and as I got closer she began to shake and whimper more.

Kneeling down slowly I reached out a hand and gently placed it on the back of her neck. She flinched but eventually opened her eyes and looked up at me. I did my best to look as friendly as possible though I doubt I did a very good job of it. I kept my voice low and tried to reassure the frightened pegasus, “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re going to be ok; I’ll take care of you.” The words automatically came out without me really thinking about them. My mind however was thinking about how I was going to take care of a wounded pegasus I knew nothing about.

She stared at me in shock and her shaking began to calm down. “Can you walk?”
After a failed attempt at getting up she shook her head, “No, it hurts too much.”

Well there was only one thing for it so I said, “Ok, I’m going to pick you up ok? It will likely hurt but I can’t help you here.” She nodded so I gently wrapped my arms around her belly and with a grunt of exertion hauled her into the air. I turned her so her front hooves and head could rest on my shoulder while my arms held her up against my torso, then I began my trek back to my cottage where I would see what I would do.

In some small corner of the galaxy what looked like a silver arrowhead slid silently through the blackness of space. No name adorned the side of the small craft and the darkened interior gave no indication of there being any life on board. Inside the cockpit instruments glowed and beeped. The light the consoles gave off illuminated a pair of white fangs exposed from a curled muzzle. A furred hand reached up and ran over the screen of one panel, moving through a list of news articles quickly looking at each one. Next to a screen was a small photo of a red haired human wearing a black coat. The pilot of the craft emitted a low growl as he glanced at the picture.

Eventually he stopped scrolling through the articles as his sight settled on one that seemed to satisfy whatever he was looking for. On a different console the figure punched in the name of the planet featured in the article and waited for the computer to plot a route there. It would take time but he would find his prey and when he did...well he would enjoy it.

Given her condition and the fact that she was heavier than she looked, it was lucky we were so close to my cottage. I had a bit of trouble getting the door open while trying not to drop the pegasus. She was beginning to lose consciousness which was worrying, but fortunately I got the door open relatively quickly and was able to put her down on the couch on her uninjured side.

With my hands free I rushed over to where my gear was stashed and found a med kit with which I rushed back to the couch. While I didn’t know anything about equines I did know a little first aid, something of a required skill when I needed to treat my own wounds without involving others. I knew enough to at least try to stop the bleeding from the cuts, but if it got more complicated we were going to be in trouble.

Taking a bottle that contained a spray on disinfectant I sprayed all the cuts. I then began getting out pressure pads designed to absorb excess blood while still allowing some to clot on the wounds. I pressed them against her starting to get worried that she wasn’t responding to the pain she must have been feeling. Minutes passed as I held the pads down waiting to see if the bleeding was going to stop or if I needed to change the pads.

I have to admit I was getting tense; my skill sets were largely based around the taking of life not preserving it, and I didn’t want to fail her. A few more minutes went by and the bleeding hadn’t gotten any worse so I began to breathe a little easier. I gently changed all the pads then wrapped gauze around her body and wings to keep them in place.

I leaned in and listened to see if I could hear her breathing while also extending my hand in front of her mouth. Fortunately she was, and that furthered my sense of relief. After a while she showed no signs of slipping away from life so I got up and went go put the med kit and my gear away for the night.

Just as I got to the racks a flash of light behind me made me turn around to see another pony in the room, this one much taller than the one on the couch. Without thinking I grabbed my gun and aimed it at the newcomer who turned to regard my actions.

“Art thou threatening us creature!?”

The sheer volume of the shout and an inexplicable gust of wind that accompanied it threw me onto my backside before I could react.

Blinking from surprise I stayed down for a moment. I’d been knocked down plenty of times during my career as a merc and vigilante but never from someone shouting at me. I slowly got up, keeping my gun ready and aimed in her (the voice was feminine) direction. She hadn’t moved. The pony just kept glaring at me so either she didn’t know how much danger she was in or she was aware and had reason to believe she didn’t need to worry about me.

Given the look in her large teal eyes I’d be willing to put money that it was the latter of the two. It was a look that exuded confidence and experience, and I’d rarely seen someone wearing that look without good reason.

“Well that really depends on you,”

I took in the details of what stood in front of me. To start she was tall, certainly taller than the pegasus I had on my couch, in fact, not counting her horn she stood about chin level to me.

Her mane and tail both looked like the starry night sky and billowed in some non-existent wind. Her coat was a midnight blue that fit her mane perfectly with a patch on her flank that was black and a crescent moon shape in the middle. A tiara made from some dark material rested on her head, a matching necklace bearing the image of a crescent moon lay around her neck, and a quartet of shoes made of the same dark metal covered her hooves.

The pony had a large, sharp horn on her head and I thought she was a unicorn, that is until I noticed she also had wings like a pegasus. Mythology was not my strong suit back on earth so I had no idea what that made her, though I would have called her a pegacorn, or unigus. She raised an eyebrow at me and said in a more normal tone of voice, “I have merely come to check on my subject. Now are you going to continue to threaten me or shall we proceed in a more civil manner?”

Well it certainly doesn’t seem like a good idea to make her angry so I put my pistol away and watched as she walked around the couch. She seemed to get sad as she looked at the pony on the couch and she muttered something I couldn’t hear. As I began to walk over to her I saw her horn begin to glow a shade of blue similar to that of her mane and she tilted it towards the pegasus and swept it back and forth across her body.

When she finished I asked quietly, “What was that all about?”

She looked at me as she moved away from the couch, “I was simply using my magic to check on her, make sure she would be ok.”

“And will she be ok? I don’t know much about ponies at all and really only know a little about medicine in any case so I wasn’t sure if it would be enough.”

Her expression softened and she smiled a little, “She will be alright so you need not worry. Thank you for helping her; it is much appreciated.”

A sense of relief filled me at her words; nice to know I can actually save a life when needed rather than just take them. The large pegacorn stood back then and looked at me silently. Not knowing what else to do really I stared back. We stood like that, rather awkwardly in all honesty for some time before she said, “Doest thou always treat thy guests like this?”

Blushing in both embarrassment and some anger I said, “I don’t entertain guests. My line of work makes doing so a bad idea. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Perhaps an apple before we go if you have one.”

“Before we go? I didn’t realize I was going somewhere with you.”

“Forgive me, I did not mean you and I but rather I was using the royal we, meaning simply myself.”

“I see,” I said when in reality I had no idea what she was talking about. I went to the fridge and pulled out the fruit drawer at the bottom taking an apple from it and holding it out to her. Her horn glowed again and the apple was surrounded by a similar glow before levitating from my hand and making its way over to her mouth. Blinking I added, “So you really do have magic then.”

She eyed me questioningly, “Of course, it is as I said. Do you not know of such things?”

Grabbing a thing of iced tea (regular, my favorite) I poured myself a glass and leaned against the wall as I replied, “I have some knowledge anyway, though where I come from magic doesn’t exist.”

“If it does not exist then how do you know of it at all?”

I gave her a bitter lip-twitch (the closest I can manage to a smile), “I haven’t been home in years and where I have been there are those who do have powers. It’s just too bad that in my case they almost all wanted to kill me.”

Her eyes widened though I think I saw a bit of respect in there, “And you survived? You must be rather resourceful, or lucky.”

“Definitely the latter of the two, though I’ve since learned a lot about combating guys with powers so I’m on more equal footing these days.”

To my surprise a small chuckle spilled from her mouth though she grew a bit uncertain as she asked, “Did you…kill the ones who attacked you?”

Feeling a little like I was walking cracking glass I answered honestly, “Yes.”

“I see,” She finished her apple and dropped the core in a nearby trash can, “I suggest you be careful about who you tell that to. Most ponies aren’t used to such violence even in mention and it may frighten them.”

Sipping my tea I regarded her, “But not you apparently.”

“I am a princess and in times past things were not always so peaceful. Indeed a thousand years ago things were not peaceful at all.”

That surprised me and I had to spit out my tea as I nearly choked on it, “A thousand years? How old are you?!” Ok, not the smartest question I’ve ever asked, especially to a woman (species be damned as I’ve found, that question still is a no no).

Arching an eyebrow she went on, “I am older than that though I will not give out my full age to a stranger.”

“Forgive me that was just…surprising to say the least.”

“So nopony lives as long as me there either then?”

“No, no they do not.”

“That is not surprising,” She sighed a little, “It would be nice to know such beings do exist though.”

“Well there is a race that I’ve met that does live long lives. Two races actually, now that I think about it.”

She looked up, “Oh?”

Nodding I continued, “Yes, the Elediel and the Oragell. Both of them live for thousands of years and both of them have powers as well.”

This fascinated her, or so her eyes seemed to say and she turned towards me, “They sound very interesting and I would love to hear more about them, but my royal duties prevent me from asking more at this time. Perhaps later we can talk again about them.”

I could see no reason not to and having a member of royalty that at least seemed favorably disposed to me seemed like a pretty good idea so I nodded, “That would be fine. I’m not really going anywhere so you can most likely just meet me here.”

She smiled fully, showing her teeth which were a pleasant shade of white as she began heading for the door. I followed until we were standing underneath the stars and she spread her wings and began to lift away from the ground. Hovering a moment she spoke, “I shall see you again then in a few days time. Take care…Oh, forgive me, I never got your name.”

Annoyed at again having a lapse of manners I muttered to myself, “Fuck me anyway.” Looking a little embarrassed I gave her my name, “It’s John, John Tracker your highness.”

Again she chuckled, “No need to be formal with me, Mr. Tracker. I am Princess Luna, but please, call me Luna.”

“Very well, but only if you call me John. Mr. Tracker was my father and I never liked formalities very much anyway.”

“Of course. Until next time then John.” With that she flew higher into the sky until with a burst of light (which looked a lot like lightning) she disappeared. It was a pretty amazing sight, no doubt about it but eventually I turned away and headed back inside to try and grab some sleep. Things weren’t going as I planned but today’s events seemed to promise that tomorrow would be an interesting day.

Author's Notes:

Both I and my editor had some trouble getting a good description for the spaceship so we're just going to get a good drawing of it then link to it. Enjoy.

Chapter 3 - Contact and Conflict

From the Author: Hello everyone. If you saw my little blog the other day this is going to be a trial run since I hate how long its taking to get out a new chapter of this story. This is completely unedited. See how you like it and let me know in the comments. If it goes well we'll continue and if not then I'll go back to getting editing help.

I knew this area, a dark and empty stretch of nothing, save for hard brown dirt. This wasn’t the first time I had been here, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last. My gut was clenching as dread began to fill me, and no matter what I did I could not suppress it.

This isn’t real, you know this isn’t real... I tell myself, but that knowledge does nothing to help me, especially as I hear the groans begin to rise from behind me. Wanting to stop, but unable to, I turn around and see what I had known I would, and what caused the dread in me to grow. Shambling forms of all kinds, each face housing dead eyes frozen in expressions of horror.

These faces I knew all too well, for they were all people I had killed in the years past, and even now I could see the wounds I had inflicted on them; from bullet holes and stab wounds, to fire and shrapnel. They groaned as they shambled towards me, arms outstretched to grab me. Unable to contain my fear any more, I cry out and turn to run but my feet feel like they’re encased in lead, and any sort of safety seems so far away.

Nearly tripping, I look down at my feet knowing what I’d find, and sure enough there are the hands gripping my ankles through the dirt that is now turning to mud . They begin to slide beneath the dirt again, and my feet go down with them. I twist, turn, and struggle but to no avail as the shambling corpses catch up to me and add to the weight dragging me down. The mud rises to my waist, then my chest, and finally I feel it beneath my chin. I reach up to try and grasp any form of safety but there is none to be found. As the mud finally begins to close over my sight I scream in terror.

I scream in terror and bolt upright frantically trying to get away from hands that don’t exist, but only after a few frenzied seconds do I realize that I am awake again. My skin is soaked in sweat and my hands are shaking. The terror sticks with me and my heart is so heavy that I want to cry but I can’t; I’ve spent so much time trying to hold my emotions in check that I can’t let them go when I need to.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had this dream, and it won’t be the last. In fact, I have a nightmare every night—either that one, or another one along those lines. Consequently, I hate sleeping now because I know those dreams are coming, but nothing I’ve tried makes them go away. I want them to go away so I can get some sleep and maybe even a sense of peace during the day, but they won’t leave me alone.

Knowing that to try and sleep would be pointless because it would only invite more dreams like that, I get out of bed and throw some clothes on. Since I’m up, I might as well go see how my guest is doing and check her dressings. Grabbing my holster belt from a nightstand and my gun from under my pillow, I put them on and head downstairs. Fortunately, the pegasus is still sleeping and she’s not bleeding anymore—in fact I don’t even need to change her dressings.

Satisfied that she’s fine—at least for now—I head over to my computers and call up the hub to start looking for information on caring for ponies, and also anything that can help restore lost blood. Unfortunately, pretty much all I found on pony care boiled down to ‘take them to the damn vet often’, which was less than helpful. At least I was able to find some information on restoring blood through food, so I began to gather some food for her to eat.

On a large plate I put some apples, spinach, and broccoli. And in a bowl, I poured some milk then placed them on the table in front of the couch. Since daylight is still a ways off, now is as good a time as any to head over to the nearby town, and continue watching the ponies to learn what I can. Grabbing the rest of the weapons I had previously, my coat and packing another small meal I head out.

This time, I decide to save myself some time and utilize one of the many functions available on my gauntlet. Flexing my wrist, I hit one of four buttons on the front of the gauntlet with a knuckle, causing the nanites encased within to configure it to a batman style hookshot. Raising my arm, I fire the hook into the side of a tree and begin my trip. I have to admit there is a adrenaline thrill to be had whenever I travel this way; hook shooting my way from tree to tree almost like Spiderman only without the swinging bit.

This cut my travel time down considerably—to under an hour in fact—which was good, because I saw the sky beginning to light up, although the sun hadn’t yet made its appearance. Looking through my binoculars, I saw ponies beginning to leave their homes—though not many of them. Most likely business owners or first shift workers going to get their businesses ready for the day. In this I was proven right, as most of the ponies I saw up and about made their way to some stalls and began what was likely a daily routine for them.

As time went on, other ponies began their daily routines until the town in front of me was bustling with activity. A faint pang of nostalgia hit me as I was reminded of a small town back on earth. Below, ponies stopped to chat with one another, their forelimbs and heads obviously being used for gestures—the same way I would use my hands—before continuing on their way. Some stopped to get a bite to eat at various eateries, some sitting outside to talk while they ate.

This brought on memories of my own from when I used to be a part of such a routine myself. I could recall getting up, going to work, seeing the people at work that I considered friends—or at least close enough to enjoy talking to and seeing when I was there. The feeling of going home at the end of a long day to play video games and then dinner with my family. As I remembered these things, I had to shake my head. Stop it, I told myself. You know where this leads. It only ends in pain. Stop thinking about the past, and focus on the present.

Hard as it was right then, I knew I was right; that way led to pain, so only the thing to do was to bury them deep, and forget all about them as best as I could. Setting aside my thoughts, I continued to observe, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, which begged the question of what else I really could learn by just observing. My stomach rumbled as I realize I hadn’t really eaten anything since the day before, so I took a sandwich made of cooked salami, hot and spicy ham, and pepperoni slices and bit into it.

After some thought, I decided to head back to my cottage, as I really didn’t see what else I was going to learn by sitting here; and I really didn’t feel like going down into town just yet. As I got up and began my journey back, I found myself wondering how my next meeting with the pegacorn I had met last night, Luna, would go. She seemed like a decent enough person- er, pony I guess. I had to respect someone who could knock me down by sheer voice volume alone.

I also had to give her props for coming to check up on her subject’s health, though how exactly she knew she was hurt I didn’t know. Belatedly it hit me as I began to hook shot my way back to the cottage, that I probably shouldn’t go too far from the cottage since I have a hurt pony to take care of. The fact that I didn’t even think of that before, is a good reminder if I ever needed one on why I’m not part of a group and tend to stick to myself.

Like the trip over, the trip back was much shorter than the previous day, and I was back before midday, at least I think it was before midday. Walking through the door, the first thing I noticed was the pony was now awake, and looking at me with those huge ass eyes. Looking down, I saw that she had eaten everything on the plate, which gave me a sense of satisfaction. It seemed to have helped at least; she was looking more alert than she had been the previous night.

Now that nothing was going on, at least for the time being, I had a chance to actually get a good look at her. Her coat was a lime green, while her mane, which was cut about shoulder length, was silver with pink streaks, as was her tail. On her flank—thank you internet, for telling me what that was—was some kind of mark comprised of three wavy black lines that looked like how a cartoon would depict wind moving.

Her eyes were a color of purple that was actually somewhat closer to red, and in those eyes I read both fear and curiosity. If things were more normal, I would probably say ‘morning’ or something like that, and try to put her at ease—but like I said, I hadn’t had guests in a long time, so what normally came to mind for me was not what others would think of. Without a word, I picked up the dishes and took them to the little kitchen area, then came back and sat in front of her on the table.

Trying my best to not look like the town psycho, I tried to smile and asked, “How are you feeling today?”

She flinched a little at hearing my voice but seemed to take some comfort at the question as she answered, “Ok, I guess. I don’t hurt as much as yesterday though it still hurts and itches a bit. Thank you though, if you hadn’t found me I could have died out there.”

“Yeah, well I’m glad I found you then. What happened anyway?”

Her face turned to the side and scrunched up as she concentrated. It was easy to see when the answer came to her as her eyes got wider, and she turned to face me. “It was another pegasus. I was flying to clear my head, and I was distracted by the scenery below me when I heard somepony shout ‘look out!’ and when I looked up, I had just enough time to see another pegasus coming right at me. We crashed into one another, and I fell. I tried to correct my fall, but by the time I stopped spinning I was already at the tree line.”

That sounded painful, and to be honest, I was surprised she was alive and said so. With a nod, she opened her mouth to resume her story, then stopped as something seemed to hit her. “Oh Celestia! The other pegasus! She could be hurt! Or dead! Oh Celestia, please don’t let her be dead! We have to find her!”

I blinked and held up my hands as she began to try and get off the couch. “Whoa whoa whoa! You’re in no condition yet to go out there and look, and we don’t even know if she crashed or even where. We could search for days and never find her, easily in this forest. She might not even have crashed, because all I heard was a single crash, and that was you, and you were lucky enough that you crashed near me, or else I probably wouldn’t have found you.”

She looked down, worry easily read in her eyes, though she wasn’t arguing; probably knowing that what I was saying was true. An awkward silence passed, then she looked up at me again. “She may be in trouble, so we can’t just sit here and do nothing. I can’t walk or fly, at least not yet, so you must go and get help for her.”

Frowning I said, “Go to the nearby town? I don’t think that’s a good idea. First of all, I don’t know anyone, and second, based on your initial reaction to me, I doubt I will be well received. And third, I have no information to give them.”

Leaning forward, she pointedly put a hoof on my chest and looked me directly in the eye, a determined look on her face. “It doesn’t matter, because somepony’s life could be in danger, and we must do what we can to help. I’ll tell you what I know, and you can pass it on to the townsponies. Please?” With that, her eyes got larger and very reminiscent of a puppy’s when they beg.

Stupid as it sounds, I found my resistance crumbling and sighed. “Fine. Tell me everything you can, and I’ll see what I can do.” Smiling widely, she began to tell me everything she knew; that the pegasus was a mare who had golden eyes that were crossed when they had hit and that they had been over a place known as Whitetail Woods—good to know where I lived now—when they collided last night. She also informed me that the town was called Ponyville.

Now that I knew everything there was to know, what little that was, I stood up to leave but stopped and turned back to her. “Before I go, in case they need a name or something, I should ask what yours is.”

Her cheeks turned a shade of pink under her fur, I guess in embarrassment for not telling me her name sooner and said, “My name is Windfall. Nice to meet you Mr.?”

Fighting a sense of déjà vu I replied, “John Tracker. You can call me John, no mister, okay?”

She smiled the most I had seen her yet and said, “Thank you, John. Now go and get help!” Putting two fingers to my forehead in salute, I left, and proceeded to make my way back to town, using my gauntlet again to speed up the process. It wasn’t too long before I stood within spitting distance of the town, and to be honest, my stomach was in knots. It wasn’t too different from the feeling I get before going into a fight, though I really hoped I wasn’t going to take it too far and accidently shoot some poor pony because they startled me or something.

You’d better not, John.

Ah, I was wondering when she’d make an appearance... I hope not too, Sheeva. It’s just…I wasn’t planning on this, at least not this soon, and we both know I’m not a social man, by any means. If it wasn’t for Windfall and those damn eyes, I’d say heaven take the poor pegasus and let me remain in the background.

You’re all heart, human.

Says the demi-goddess who sent me here without a choice.

Oh, do we really have to retread this argument?

No, and I don’t feel like it honestly, just saying you aren’t all heart either.

Whatever you say. Now, are you going to go in there or just stand there?

I’m going, I’m going! Sheesh, can’t even have my thoughts to myself anymore! Though to be honest, charging a dozen guys with guns almost seemed like a welcoming prospect to walking into that town, but I had promised—more or less—so I was going to at least keep my word. As I strode up to the edge of the town, where the manicured grass stopped and the first buildings that stood side by side started, I kept my eyes moving for anypony to give the information to.

Fortunately for me, I heard some conversation coming from my right, where two ponies came out of a side alley. They hadn’t noticed me yet so I went over to them and tried to keep my voice calm as I interrupted, “Excuse me?”

They both turned to me, one saying in a feminine voice, “Yes?” Then they got a good look at me, and like Windfall the night before, got this look of fear in their eyes. That did not sit too well with me honestly. Yes, I do want to inspire fear but only in the people I’m hunting down and shooting in the head—not the innocent people around me. To be fair though, I am almost twice their height with their heads coming to just above my waist.

It’s not just your height that’s intimidating John. Remember that I’ve been watching and studying you, and how you interact with others.

Ok so what else is it? I’m not openly carrying weapons nor am I giving them threatening looks or anything. Even as this conversation was going on, the ponies were already running away from me, making me wonder just how friendly these ponies really were.

Body language and your eyes John. Your eyes have the look of a predator about them; always watching everything and everyone and evaluating, even unconsciously their threat level and how you might kill them if the need arises. The body language comes in the way you stand. Your legs are spread farther apart than most people would stand, and are slightly bent at the knees like you’re going to suddenly start running. Then there’s your arms; you hold them away from your body, slightly bent at the elbows as if you’re going to suddenly need to either block an attack or throw one of your own.

Ok so I kinda look like I want to attack everything around me, or at least suspect that I may be attacked by everything around me. They’re quadrupeds though... how do they get put off by that?

Your body language speaks on an instinctual level, to both your species. Like a wolf raises it hackles and shows its teeth to warn off an opponent, your body language is telling them not to mess with you because you will attack them. Most ponies never have to worry about dealing with anypony who wants to hurt them, so seeing someone who is trying to look lethal, is scary to them, to say the least.

Sighing, I start walking again, heading deeper into the town, hoping that somepony will be willing to at least hear what I have to say before they freak out. I never even got the chance to find out as all the ponies ran inside before I ever got the chance to say anything. Before I knew it I was standing in the middle of the deserted street looking a little foolish, and feeling more than a little annoyed.

As if that wasn’t enough, I could see all the ponies through the ground level windows, staring at me with the same fear that Windfall had displayed previously. Throwing up my hands in frustration I shouted, “I’m not going to hurt any of you God dammit! I’m just looking to get some help!”

Turning to go with a sigh, I was stopped by a voice above me. “Hey! I like to help! I want to help!” Looking up I saw a pony sitting on a cloud that had golden eyes…that were crossed. “Irony, I hate you so much.” She—or at least that what I was assuming at this point, because all the ponies I had seen looked the same in shape and had all sounded feminine—had grey fur and a golden mane.

Sighing again I said, “Actually I think I was supposed to be looking for help for you. Did you run into another pegasus last night while flying over the Whitetail forest?”

She got this downcast look on her face, and looked away from me, causing me to feel something unusual, at least for me. It had been so long since I had felt it, that I had to take a moment just to figure out what it was—it was sympathy. As far as I had seen, she was friendlier than any of the other ponies, since she was willing to help a total stranger and wasn’t screaming and running.

On top of that, she just seemed to have ‘loveable screw-up’ written all over her; someone who wants to be helpful and nice, but somehow always manages to get it wrong. This was reinforced when she said, “Yeah, I did. I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to get home and was thinking about enjoying some muffins with my daughter, Dinky. I didn’t notice the other pegasus until it was too late.”

That feeling of sympathy continued to grow as she looked like she was about to burst into tears, and I found myself softening my voice without even thinking. “It’s ok, mistakes happen, right? She was actually more worried about you, believe it or not. As far as she knew, you were badly hurt so she sent me here to try and get help.”

The cross-eyed pegasus smiled and looked up again, “Aw well I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. I’m Derpy by the way, Derpy Hooves. Nice to meetcha.”

“John Tracker, nice meeting you as well. I’ll let her know that you’re ok then.”

“Yeah! Thanks! Wait, what’s her name? I wanna give her a muffin as thanks, and I need to know who to give it to.”

“Her name is Windfall, and I’ll let her know you want to give her something.”

I turned to go but was stopped by a shout, “Wait a minute! You’re not going anywhere yet!” Whipping around, one hand going to hover near my coat in case I had to draw my gun I searched for the sound of the shout, though that answer wasn’t long in coming. A rainbow streak raced up to me and stopped to hover in front of me, resolving itself into a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail.

Her wings were flapping quickly as she hovered in front of me, her large pinkish eyes glaring at me with suspicion. While it was a bit of a novelty to be able to look a pony directly in the eyes without moving my head, I felt myself bristling a bit by her manner towards me. Trying to keep my voice even at least for the time being I said, “Yes? Is there something I can do for you?”

“Yeah there is. Where’s Windfall? How do you know her? Who are you? Where are you from?”

Snorting I replied, “Well that’s a lot to cover, so I’ll give you the short version; she’s at my place, I found her after she collided with Derpy. I’m John, and I’m something of a traveler. Now it’s my turn. Who are you, and why do you care about any of that?”

Her glare deepened and she shoved her face against mine, as if to make the glare somehow more frightening, or to throw me off by invading my personal space. Nice try sister, but I’ve been there; done that, got the t-shirt, the tattoo, and the foam finger; and I’ll let you guess which finger that is. “I’m the one asking the questions here wiseguy!”

A smirk made its way to my face, “Well, I’m wiser than you for sure. I don’t go getting in the face of something that’s twice my size.”

She jerked back, then began to growl, her teeth showing through a suddenly ridiculously large mouth. She reared back like she was going to punch me in the mouth, “Oh you think you’re so funny, do you? Let’s see how funny you are with a few teeth missing!” Oh good; one day into my time here and I’m already about to get into a fight. Yes, this is working out so well so far.

Before she could do anything I would make her instantly regret, Derpy cried, “Wait! Please don’t hurt him!” Both of us looked over to see her hovering near us, fore hooves held out and waving frantically like a human would do to try and get someone to stop whatever it was they were doing.

The cyan pegasus frowned. “Why not? I don’t trust him, and he’s making fun of me.”

“Says the pony that got up in my face and started barking questions at me, and then refused to answer any in return,” I reply as I lean back like I don’t give a damn and cross my arms over my chest.

She shoots me a glare, but before she can do anything else, Derpy moves closer, her crossed eyes giving the other pony a pleading look. “He didn’t do anything though; he was just coming to see if I was alright, so he’s a nice pony.” If she really thought that about me, then her character judgment was as crossed as her eyes.

For a moment, I thought the other pegasus was going to get right back into fight mode, but she sighed and came down to my level again; though outside my personal space this time. “Fine. I’m sorry I got in your face, I guess.”

Standing straight again, I decided to not push for more, though I really wanted to verbally stick it to her. Instead I said, “I forgive you. Now, I’ll ask again, who are you and why do you care about Windfall?”

She straightened up and got a proud look on her face. “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I’m the fastest and the best flyer in all of Equestria. I’m the Element of Loyalty, so I care about everypony I meet. Windfall was here a day or so ago looking for a job as a weather pony, but I had to turn her down; we didn’t have any positions open, and I should know since I run the local weather ponies.”

“Ah, I see,” I said then turned to face Derpy. “What about you? You ran into Windfall but you seem to be ok.”

She smiled, “I’m fine, thanks!”

Fighting the urge to facepalm, I said, “No, but I mean, you ran into her and she crashed into the forest, so I’m assuming the same thing happened to you, but you’re ok.”

Rainbow Dash answered instead of Derpy, “Yeah, that’s not surprising. She seems to have something happen to her all the time, so she’s probably just used to it by now.”

For her part Derpy was looking down at the ground her eyes sad, “I don’t mean to, honest. I just want to help ponies.”

Without even knowing I was going to, my left hand reaches out and gently pats her on the head and I said, “That’s a good attitude to have, Derpy. I’m sure many ponies appreciate it.”

A big smile lit her face, and she looked at me like she was going to hug me, but didn’t, which I was ok with, to be honest. Her eyes were still crossed, and it was starting to creep me out a bit, even compared to looking into Sheeva’s third eye. Even so, I still had a question I wanted answered. “How did you manage not to get hurt, though?”

“Well, like Rainbow Dash said, things like this happen to me a lot, so I’ve gotten a lot of practice at recovering from a fall.”

“Ah, I see.”

Dash prodded me with her hoof to get my attention. “Okay, now it’s my turn again. Where is Windfall? I know you said that she’s at your place, but where the hay is that? You keep asking Derpy how she isn’t hurt, so does that mean Windfall is hurt?”

Well at least she was being more polite this time around, and they were good questions, considering the circumstances. “My cottage is a couple of hours away from Ponyville on foot, in the Whitetail Forest. Unfortunately, she was hurt; not by me, but by the fall. Like I said earlier, I heard her crash and went to investigate, and I found her on the ground. She was cut up pretty bad, and when she saw me, she was afraid I was going to kill her or something. I calmed her down and took her to my place, which was nearby and took care of her wounds.”

They both looked surprised and concerned as I told them what happened, Derpy’s fore hooves flying to her mouth. Rainbow Dash recovered first and asked, “Why not take her to the Ponyville hospital?”

Before I could even think, a sarcastic, “Oh please tell me I look like I’m from around here! Go on, please say it,” came up my throat and was out my mouth. Predictably, Rainbow looked like she was about to hit me in the face so I threw up my hands. “Sorry, sorry, that was uncalled for, I know. I just couldn’t resist. To answer your question, I don’t know the area very well, so I didn’t even know there was a hospital around here—and in her condition, trying to move her that far would have been a bad idea anyway, especially with my place nearby.”

That seemed to mollify her, and I decided it was time I left before anything else could happen, and I said so. She just nodded and backed off a bit, still watching me, but less with suspicion and more like she wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. Derpy on the other hand waved cheerfully at me and said, “Thanks for coming to see if I was ok! Tell Windfall I’m sorry I ran into her and that I’m glad she’s going to be okay.”

“I will. Good day.” With a wave, I turned away and headed out of town, my breathing getting easier with each step I took away from it. One thing troubled me, and that was a few of my actions during the last two days, starting with when I found Windfall. It had been a long time since I ever felt the need to help someone, and even longer since I had tried to give them some comfort or feel sympathy for them.

Yet when she begged me for her life, I couldn’t help but try to comfort her and help her with her wounds. Maybe I could rationalize that, thanks to the memory it brought to mind, but what about when I tried to comfort Derpy? No memory had come to mind when she looked so sad, and yet I couldn’t stand there and do nothing. This was worrying to me, though to most it would probably be normal.

I’m not normal though, I thought to myself. I’m completely messed up compared to normal, to the point where I don’t even give a shit about myself anymore. How can I suddenly care for these ponies I don’t even know? No matter how hard I thought about it, I could come up with no answers so I eventually shook it off and went back to taking the faster route home. As I came in the door, Windfall smiled, looking eager to hear what I had to say.

“Well? Did anypony agree to look for her?” She asked.

I shook my head and sat down in front of her. “Not exactly. Unsurprisingly, the ponies of Ponyville found me rather frightening and fled to the safety of their homes, rather than find out what I had to say. However, I did end up finding the pegasus in question herself. Her name is Derpy, by the way, and she’s doing fine. She says she’s sorry she ran into you and is glad that you’re going to be okay. Apparently, her getting into accidents like that is not an uncommon occurrence, so she’s become something of a pro when it comes to recovering from them.”

Windfall breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank Celestia! I was so worried that somepony was seriously hurt or dead because of me.”

“You’ve mentioned Celestia several times now. Is that a local deity?”

Cocking her head to the side while her eyes looked upwards, and putting a hoof to her chin, she took a bit to answer, “More or less. She is one of the rulers of Equestria, and the one who raises the sun in the morning and lowers it at night. She’s an alicorn, so she lives a very long time and her magic is stronger than anyponys. She’s also supposed to be super nice and caring from what I’ve heard, though I’ve never gotten to speak with her myself.”

That answered one question and created several more, “Ok, hold on a second. She’s one of the rulers of Equestria? How many are there? Also, what is an alicorn, and how does she control your sun?”

Giving me a surprised look she said, “Well she uses her powerful magic to move the sun. You don’t have something similar where you’re from?”

“No, in fact I can personally guarantee that this is the first and only place I’ve heard of that happening. Everywhere else gravity does the job for everyone.”

“Really? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Oh well. To answer the rest of your questions, an alicorn has both wings and a horn, and is usually larger than other ponies around them and stronger too. There are two rulers of Equestria; Princess Celestia is one, and her sister, Princess Luna, is the other and she’s an alicorn too. She controls the night.”

I hate irony, but it’s madly in love with me. “Yeah, I met her last night after you fell asleep from blood loss. She came here to make sure you were ok and knocked me on my ass with her voice.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, “You got to meet Princess Luna? Wow, how awesome was that?”

“Um, well, it was definitely a different experience. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to talk to royalty before, and while it was a bit rough at first it was okay for the most part.”

Tilting her head to the side she asked, “What do you mean?”

Choosing my words carefully, I replied, “She startled me and I instinctively got ready to fight if I had to, and she took that as a challenge and knocked me to the ground with her voice, of all things.”

If it was possible for her mouth to hit the floor, I think it would have. “You tried to challenge the princess?”

“No, I just wasn’t sure what was happening at the time, so I was prepared for anything and she took it as a challenge. She informed me she was here to check on you and make sure you were okay, after which we had no more trouble.”

“She came to check on me? I’ve never gotten to meet any of the princesses. Princess Celestia was in Ponyville the day I crashed, and I had hoped to get to talk to her, but so did everypony else.” As she said this, she looked away from me and at the ground, her eyes growing somewhat watery and sad.

This surprised me since up until now, she had been cheerful and curious, so I asked, “What’s wrong, Windfall?”

She sniffed and I found myself resisting the urge to go over there and give her a hug, which again was worrying me. “I came to Ponyville a few days before my crash trying to find a job with the local weather ponies, but they didn’t have any openings and I was almost out of bits. In fact, the night I crashed was the last night I had anywhere to stay. When the princess showed up, I hoped to talk to her and see if she could give me some advice, but I never got the chance.”

With that, she began to cry, and for some reason it made me want to cry too. Not knowing what else to do, but knowing if I did nothing then I probably would end up crying. I went to the couch and sat beside her. Somewhat awkwardly, I put an arm around her and gently tugged her towards me, giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted. Instead, she surprised me by seeming to launch herself against me, crying her eyes out against my shirt.

At least she’s not soaking my trenchcoat, I thought. Wet leather is a pain in the ass to work with, and it takes forever to dry out. Her forelegs were now hooked around me in a powerful hug and her body was wracked with sobs. I tried to be comforting, though what I could say beyond, “It’s ok, it’s ok,” was beyond me and even that sounded trite and unfounded, since I had no idea how it was going to be ok.

My right hand was gently patting her head while the other comfortingly stroked her back. Both her mane and her coat were super soft, but underneath I could feel powerful muscles which made me wonder what it would be like to have to fight a pony in hand to hand combat. A few moments went by before she calmed down, and was able to let me go and returned to lying on her stomach.

I gave her a few moments to collect herself. When she did, she looked up at me, her eyes still glistening with some tears but she gave me a smile and thanked me for trying to comfort her. Nodding, I said, “You’re welcome.” As I said that another memory came to mind:

It had been days since I had gotten three meals a day as I had to ration what little money I had left. I had no job and nowhere to live, and even if it had been an option, I certainly had nowhere near enough money to charter a ship back to Earth. Ever since parting from my temporary partner, Brenda, I had taken what she had given me and had tried to find a job. This wasn’t Earth though, so I was both an alien and unfamiliar with their culture and how things were done.

Having never gotten the chance to finish college, I didn’t have a lot of marketable skills, but thanks to my former captors I had some experience as a mercenary, even if it was as a conscript merc. So far though, none of the groups I had approached were even willing to give me a trial run to see if I was worth taking on, and now I was nearing the end of my rope. Up ahead was one last stop for the day, after which I wasn’t sure what else to do.

Trying to look confident, I strode up to the door and pushed a small digital button that functioned as a doorbell, and waited for someone to come to the door or to tell me to open it. A low gravelly voice came from within telling me to enter, so I did. In front of me was what looked like a combination lobby and office. A large projector, the holographic version of a television sat in the front of the room, with two big couches facing it in a v-shape.

At the back was a large wooden desk with a large chair behind him and sitting in that chair was a large wolf anthro. He had a red lightning bolt scar running across the right side of his muzzle. Three other wolf anthros were standing around the desk or leaning on it, though there was nothing remarkable that stood out to me at the time, even though they were all watching me. The big wolf behind the desk spoke with the gravelly voice I had heard outside, “Who are you?”

Trying to sound confident but not arrogant I said, “My name is John Tracker. I’m looking for work.”

His eyes narrowed a little in disbelief as one of the others laughed, “You? No offense pal, but you don’t look like you could handle the work we do.”

Not a promising start, but I persisted, “I’m not as weak as I look. I’ve been on at least ten missions before with another group, and as you can see I survived them. Not as support, either, I killed my fair share of targets and I know my way around a weapon.”

The big one spoke again, “What group were you with?”

That question made me cringe, because this was usually where I was told to leave when I told them who I had been with. It was tempting to lie, but I was a terrible liar and I never really liked to lie anyway, so I went with the truth, “I was a part of the Stringent Income crew; though not one of the voluntary members.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I can believe it. I’ve never seen you before, which usually means you’re one of the poor bastards that got taken from your world to ‘serve’ on that ship. You’ve also got that look of someone who’s been beaten down until you’ll do whatever they want to make them stop hurting you. Am I right?”

Surprise blossomed within me, followed by a strange sense of relief. Many of the other merc groups had heard of David Starling and his ship, the Stringent Income, but none had ever had such a good idea of what went on aboard that ship. “Yes sir, that’s exactly what happened. How did you know?”

With a half growl, half chuckle, he answered, “Mr. Starling is well known for his practices, though I have no time for him or the way he operates. Still, I’ve seen enough of his former conscripts to have a pretty good idea of what to look for. The first and easiest is if it’s somebody from a race I’ve never seen. I’ve been all over the galaxy, so there’s very little that I haven’t seen yet, at least from the space faring races. Next, there is a specific look that someone who’s been broken has in their eyes, and you my friend have it.”

“I see,” Well, I was impressed to say the least, and he hadn’t immediately thrown me out, like some others who had figured out who I used to ‘work’ for.

The wolf got up and came around to lean against the front of the desk, his eyes still locked onto mine. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, “Now I’ve never heard of anyone managing to escape from Mr. Starling, so I assume you survived long enough that he let you go. If that’s true, why didn’t you go home?”

I sighed and slumped my shoulders, looking down at the ground, “I tried. My people are cautious, however, expecting the worst while hoping for the best, so when I came back they treated me like the possible vanguard of an invasion. They studied and interrogated me, and if it wasn’t for another former crew member, I would have died there. Now I can’t go back because they won’t just let me live, so I’m stuck out here.”

A sniffing sound caused me to look up, wondering if they were near to tears or something because of my story but it was simply the boss wolf sniffing me. He looked thoughtful as he said, “I don’t smell any fabrication from you so you’re telling the truth, or you’re really good at controlling your odor, but I haven’t seen any sign of that, so I’m going to assume the former option.”

Not sure if I should have been insulted or relieved, I said, “Thank you sir.”

As if he hadn’t already proven how perceptive he was, he asked, “How many other groups have you tried before this one?”

Gulping, I replied, “At least a dozen.”

“Let me guess, they threw you out, figuratively anyway, after they found out you were associated with Mr. Starling, am I right?”

“Yes sir.”

Pity filled his eyes, and after another moment of silence, he said, “Alright kid, we’ll give you a shot. I can’t stand to see someone as down on their luck as you. You better measure up though, or else. Down on your luck or not, you’re outta here, understood?”

Relief swept through me and with a smile I exclaimed, “Thank you so much! I won’t let you down, I promise!”

He chuckled and held out his hand to me, “Welcome to our team then Mr. Tracker. I’m Colonel Jason MoonHowler.”

Looking down at the pony on my couch, I felt some of those old feelings coming back, and with a sigh I told her, “Look, if you want you can stay here, free of charge, until you find something.”

She looked up at me with surprise, “You mean that? I mean that’s okay, and not a problem or anything?”

“Yeah, its fine. I’ve been where you are, so I know what it’s like to need someone to help you, even if only a little.”

Her injuries not seeming to slow her in the least, she threw her forelegs around my neck and hugged me hard, making it harder to breathe. Her soft fur was now pressed against my cheek; though it wasn’t a sexual hug, but merely a friendly and very happy hug. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I didn’t know what I was going to do, so thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

I carefully put my hand on her sides, awkwardly returning the hug. Before I could say anything though, her stomach rumbled audibly, and with it pressed against my body I could feel it rumble too. With a sheepish grin, she pulled back and looked away from me, “Sorry. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.”

“Yeah, come to think of it I only had a sandwich today myself. What do you say we get some dinner?”

“That sounds great.” She got off me and sat back down while I got up and went to the kitchen area.

On the way, it hit me; she had moved really quickly back there, although not far, but still with her injuries she shouldn’t have been able to move like that at all. Turning around I said, “Hey, you were too injured to walk earlier, how were you able to suddenly move like that just now?”

Flexing her leg and wing a little she said, “Well, it does still hurt to move, but it hurts less than it did, and I wasn’t moving very far—only a foot or two really. Besides that, we ponies are fast healers, pegasi more than others, due to our history. In a day or two I’ll probably be able to walk again at least, and hopefully be able to fly soon too. I hate being grounded.”

Turning back to the kitchen I replied, “I suppose if I could fly I would as well. What do you like to eat?”

“Hay, different kinds of flowers, vegetables, fruits, and grains. I’m personally very partial to apples and carrots. How about you? What does your kind eat?”

As I set out some vegetables and some apples, actually the few I had left, I said, “We’re omnivores so we eat, fruits, vegetables and grains though we don’t eat hay or flowers.”

She seemed to be intrigued by this, “Wow. You kinda remind me of griffons; with your dexterous hands and the ability to eat meat, as well as fruits and veggies. I’ll bet they’d love to hear of another sapient race that’s similar to them.”

The mention of griffons stopped me, and I turned my head to face her, “You have griffons here? Anything else I should know about?”

Raising a hoof as if she was going to tick off points on fingers that didn’t exist she tapped it with her other hoof for each point. “Well we have dragons; big, scaly and scary. Although they’re a rare sight, for which most of us are glad. We have the diamond dogs; bipedal dogs that have a love for gems. Nopony knows where they come from or why they love gems, but they often kidnap ponies to make them work in their mines.”

That sounded like a slaver ring to me, which made me wonder if perhaps I was going to get to do some vigilante work while I was here. She wasn’t done yet, however. “We recently made nice with another country called Saddle Arabia, which seems to be dominated by horses, though I don’t know much other than that. Another country known as Zebrica is home to the Zebras, though I don’t know much about them either. I should warn you about the Everfree Forest though.”

“What’s the Everfree Forest?”

“It’s a very old and spooky forest to the south of Ponyville, and west of here. It’s unnatural, which is why everypony is afraid of it. Why they ever decided to build a town next to it I will never know. There the weather takes care of itself and the animals fend for themselves, with no help from anypony. Plants grow wild and untamed, and nature has no direction from anypony whatsoever.”

Blinking at the implications of that statement, I had to interrupt. “I don’t get it. That sounds perfectly normal to me. It’s certainly normal where I come from, and everywhere else I’ve ever been. Are you telling me that you ponies control the weather and nature around here?”

“Why yes. Do you really not have that where you come from?”

“Closest thing we have is on farms and in areas where humans inhabit, though even then we don’t control much of the animal population outside of pets and farm animals.”

Confusion colored her eyes, “Humans?”

“Yeah, that’s what my kind call ourselves. Humans being short for the more scientific Homo Sapiens. Anyway, was there any other reason you needed to warn me about the forest, or was it just that it controls itself?”

“The creatures that live there are dangerous, and should be avoided, which isn’t hard if you stay out of the forest. It’s the most likely place to find dragons and water lizards, which is a good enough reason to stay clear of it. There are also manticores and timberwolves that are really dangerous and like live prey to feast on.”

Wow, for being such a place of supposed harmony and friendship, this planet sure had some dangerous denizens. My pistol now seemed woefully inadequate, though whether or not Sheeva would let me use a rifle was in question. If she wouldn’t, I had another option, but I put it off for another time since I wasn’t going anywhere tonight. Taking her food and some juice to her and setting it down, I said, “I’ll be careful then and try and avoid that place. Do you mind if I eat meat at all or will it make you uncomfortable?”

She shook her head, “No, I’m fine really. In Cloudsdale, where I come from, we have griffons all the time, so I’m used to their eating habits. Other ponies might get weirded out by it but they likely won’t do anything about it, and if they do, you can just point out that it’s a dietary requirement of your species, and they’ll stop bugging you about it. You’re going to have a hard time getting more meat here though,” She pointed out.

Well that was a bit of a problem, because my tendencies when it came to meals was much more carnivorous than herbivore, or even omnivore. “Do you know of a place I can get meat? Like Cloudsdale?”

Chuckling she replied, “You could get it at Cloudsdale, but you’re not a pegasus and only Pegasi can stand on clouds and not fall through them.”

“You can do that, too? Geez. What else do you do?”

“Remember how I said that we ponies control the weather? That’s what weather pegasi do. We schedule it, and then move clouds where and when they’re needed.”

“Wow, sounds like an important job. I know weathermen back home would kill to have the ability to know when and where the weather would hit.” As I talked, I began to get out some bacon, sausage, and eggs. I began to cook them in a pan as I went back to my earlier question, “So, any place other than Cloudsdale that I could get meat?”

“You could probably find someplace in Canterlot that would get meat for you, but that’s at least a few hour’s journey by train if you can’t fly. Maybe you should try a more vegetarian diet and skip the meat if you can.”

I shook my head vehemently, “No way. Not meaning to be rude or anything, but I like meat way too much to do that.”

“Ok then. The only idea I can think of is to find one of the larger retailers in town and see if they can bring in meat from the griffon kingdom for you.”

Nodding, I slid the eggs off the pan and onto a plate, “That’s a good idea, thanks. I’ll need to go into town again anyway if I’m going to get more food for you. Now, if I can somehow keep every pony from running away the moment they see me, then we’ll be good.”

The rest of the night passed without incident or breakdowns. We conversed a little more, but nothing really worth talking about. At least now I knew more about this place then I had before, and I had my first taste of dealing with the ponies more directly. What tomorrow would bring I didn’t know, but I would face it head on, as I always do.

Chapter 4 - Meeting and Minding

Again I woke screaming and covered in sweat soaked sheets. Like always nightmares plagued my nights and I could not get a full night’s sleep. This one featured my wife, Tala’keer and as much as the dreams where the people I’ve killed come for me haunts me the ones where the people I loved are in them get me more. My hand reaches for my chest and what I expect to find there but its not there.

Remembering that I took it off last night I swing my legs off the bed and take a small brown bag from the nightstand. I usually wore it around my neck and it contained some memories of the people I loved who were now gone. Reaching into the bag I dug around until I felt a familiar smoothness and dug it out. What rested in my hand was a small green bauble inlaid in a gold circle and held by a golden chain.

The bauble was Elediel in origin, one of the long lived races I had mentioned to Luna and the race that my wife had belonged to. All I had to do was press my thumb against the bauble and a projection of my wife, along with our daughter, who at the time was a baby, would appear. I would even hear her voice again as she had recorded it for me so no matter where I was I could have a part of her with me. She had meant it for when we were separated by business or necessity however I now had it as a reminder of her as she had been in life.

Instead I simply curled my fingers around it and held it to me, trying to remember her as she looked when she gave it to me. All I could see was her in my arms; eyes wide open and lifeless, her throat slashed and blood all over my…STOP IT! I once again screamed at myself. I knew it would bring nothing but pain to remember her and it had been four years since her death so why couldn't I let go? Why couldn't I focus on the happier moments?

No matter how hard I tried though when I thought of her it inevitably came back to her death and absence from my life. Before those thoughts could continue further and bring me to a place I didn’t want to go a voice floated up from downstairs, “John, are you ok? I heard screaming.” It was Windfall and she sounded very concerned.

“I’m fine Windfall, just a nightmare. Go back to sleep,” I called down as I put the bauble back into the bag and placed it back on the nightstand. Normally I would stay up and start planning for the day ahead but with her here I didn’t want to go down and disturb her so I decided to go back to bed and hope no more nightmares came. Sighing in expectation for the worst I lay down and pulled up the covers. With a sarcastic whisper, “Good night,” I closed my eyes.

She smiled as she looked down upon John’s sleeping form. Ever since they had gotten together she had noticed how much more relaxed he looked from how he had when they had first met. That peaceful look filled her with many emotions; satisfaction, joy, peace, assuredness and serenity. One of her long fingered hands reached down and gently stroked his cheek, a small thrill emanating from their touch.

With a happy smile she walked away from his prone form and headed into a small room she had set aside for her and her alone. It was made of special materials common to her people and allowed her to exercise parts of her that she couldn't anywhere else. These exercises were good for both her mental and physical health and if left unattended could lead to some dire consequences.

This also came as an advantage right now because she could use this room to create her anniversary gift for him; one year was coming up quickly and she wanted it to be special. From within her came an outburst of happy thoughts, causing her to smile warmly and place a hand on her stomach. “You want him to be happy to don’t you little one? You know he’s your papa already,” She murmured.

From within, from her and John’s child came a confirmation. Not in words as she could do with the mind of other adults but from pure emotion. It was raw and uncontrolled but that was to be expected of a child, especially an as of yet unborn child. Even so it made her happy that their child already knew them both and wanted them to be happy together. Sitting down in front of a small table she looked down at the components before her.

On the table was a small green gem and a ring of gold, waiting for her to shape and mold with her mind. The first part of her work here would be to charge the gem with any images, memories and messages she wanted to it to contain. Taking the gem in her hand, seemingly engulfing the gem in her long, slender hand she closed her eyes and opened her mind, reaching out to the gem.

However she didn’t find the gem, instead a flood of images forced its way into her mind and caused her to stiffen and jerk like she had been hit by electricity. All of the images were of John and they were terrifying her. One had him striding through a fiery city street with a gun in one hand and several lifeless corpses standing behind him. Another had John looking gaunt and angry looking standing over a begging form and mercilessly firing several bullets into it.

Where am I in all this, She thought. The scariest image came to her of him, looking just as gaunt but now looking tired and worn out. At his feet lay a prone and unmoving form and with his mouth he formed the words, “Finally. Its over. Thank God.” Then he put his pistol against his temple and fired, body collapsing limply to the floor. She screamed, managed to break herself out of the flood of images.

From within she felt a mental cry, like that of a wailing child. Instinctively she reached out then more tentatively in case any more images came to her and soothed the little one with her mental touch. Eventually her child calmed down and she was able to really think on what had happened and what she saw. Logically she began looking at the facts as she knew them; the first being of course that the images were all of John.

The second fact is that the images weren't from his past. Being bonded in marriage meant she knew his mind and so had seen his memories and thoughts and she knew those things had not happened. If they had not happened then they must be something that can or will happen. It was not unheard of among her people for select bloodlines to be able to look into the future; she herself came from such a line though she had never tried to tap into such talent.

If these were things that were in the future then they could be changed, for better or for worse. The question was how to go about changing these events? Her people were used to such things and would be willing to accept the word of the seer but John; as much as she loved him she knew he wasn't as willing to put stock in something like her vision. It wasn't that he didn’t trust her, far from it he simply didn’t like to rely on visions for anything.

She considered telling him anyway though she doubted it would do any good. However there may be another way to help either prevent it entirely or at least prevent the final image from occurring. It would require leaving him a message that would give him a push in the right direction. Looking down at the gem before her she got an idea and settling her thoughts again went to work.

Another nightmare leading to another screaming awakening. Thankfully this time I could see a few rays of sunlight, which reminded me briefly of my conversation with Windfall the night before. The idea of someone, or somepony powerful enough to actually be able to raise and lower a sun, let alone somepony who could do the same with the moon was a bit boggling. I’d seen some of the things Sheeva could do and had been on the receiving end of various monstrous abilities wielded by others, but nothing quite like that.

“John are you sure you’re ok? That’s the second time today.” She sounded worried and I suppose I couldn't blame her. Now that she was living under my roof she had reason to be concerned if her housemate kept screaming all the time, especially while trying to sleep.

I still didn’t want to have a conversation about it, especially if awkward questions might come up so I said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m awake now so it won’t happen again.”

“No you are not fine John. Nopony screams like that if they’re fine and certainly not twice in the same night,” Her voice was set and had a bit of an edge to it, like she wasn't taking no for an answer. It wasn't long before I heard a soft clopping noise as her hooves moved across the floor and up the stairs. A few moments later she limped slowly upstairs and stared at my shirtless chest and arms, though not because she found them attractive.

“How did you get those,” She asked, pointing a hoof at my chest where a veritable wealth of scars could be seen, standing out because they interrupted the hair wherever they went. I had two slashes that formed a lopsided X on my chest, one that crossed my stomach horizontally and a few smaller ones crossing the others. My arms had one each going up and down them facing frontwards though they all were usually hidden by my attire.

“I’d rather not talk about them Windfall. Same goes for my nightmares.” My legs swung over the side of the bed and I tiredly rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The bed suddenly sank a bit to my left and as I looked over there sat Windfall, eyeing me with a mixture of concern and a bit of exasperation.

Softly she said, “John I respect that you have your secrets. We all do after all. It’s just that…well I've never heard of anypony screaming like that in their sleep.” Fear began to fill her eyes, “It’s almost like you were getting killed or were going insane.” My left hand felt a mixture of soft fur and something hard and bonelike as she put a hoof on it. Smiling encouragingly she continued, “You've been kind to me; taking me into your home, taking care of my wounds and all for free. I want to help you John.” Leaning in she gently nuzzled my cheek, “Please let me.”

We sat like that for a bit though I never said anything. Her eyes kept searching mine as she waited for me to speak, to say anything though I still didn’t want to talk about it. As I was about to get up and head downstairs in spite of her waiting she spoke again, “Did I tell you why I came to Ponyville?”

Grunting a bit in annoyance I said, “Yes, you did. You said you came here to try and get a job but couldn't.”

“That’s true yes, though it’s not the whole story. I had a job until a few days ago, in Cloudsdale, the main city for pegasi and the center of Equestria’s weather creation.”

Naturally the question ‘why’ came to mind so I asked as I looked at her, “Why did you leave then?”

She looked away, removing from all contact with me as she stared at the floor, “I basically fled. I used to work for the main weather control corporation as an air specialist.”

Raising an eyebrow and despite myself getting interested I asked, “What’s an air specialist?”

With a smile of pride she replied, “Air specialists can read the air currents across Equestria and use that knowledge to direct the different weather clouds to be seeded where they will be blown to their final destinations. We use the air currents like most moving ponies use carts.” Her pride intensified and she put a hoof to her chest, raised her head, closed her eyes and declared, “It’s a very rare pony that has the innate skills needed to read the air currents but I can.”

“I see,” I said, not fully getting it but getting enough to have a general idea of what she was talking about. Prompting her with my hand to continue I listened intently as she went on.

“Because my skills are so rare those of us who have those skills are better paid than other ponies and some get jealous of that fact.” Her face scrunched up in anger, “I kept getting mocked and bullied every day while there and nothing I did made any difference. I talked to them, I went to my boss and I even tried changing my travel routine so they wouldn’t find me on my way into work or going home from work.”

The mattress of the bed caved as she stomped her forehooves onto it, “Nothing worked! They just kept making fun of me all the time! It’s like when I was back in school as a filly and everypony made fun of me for not having my cutie mark yet. I got so frustrated that I lost my temper and lashed out.” Her head bowed and her eyes teared up a little as shame took hold of her face, “The stallion I lashed out at ended up crying because I hit him in the nose with my hoof. Even if I didn’t get in trouble at work I knew they would only try to make my life more miserable if I stayed so, like I said I basically fled here.”

All that came to mind for me to say is, “I see,” inadequate as I knew it was. However I knew what it felt like to be tormented by others until you couldn't take it anymore and like my encounter with Derpy I felt sympathy for her plight. A hand rested on her back, offering a bit of comfort as I struggled with what to say next. Dammit, I've not done this for years. I feel so awkward and powerless here. I hate this kind of thing.

Finally I opened my mouth to give her something at least, “You wanted to know how I got my scars?”

Her head swiveled to look at me, eyes showing interest, “Yes please.”

As I went to continue I hesitated in part because I wasn't sure how much I wanted her to know and also I remembered what Luna had said to me about most ponies not being used to violence. After a little bit of careful structuring I was able to say, “Well like you I got tormented a lot, both as a kid and later as an adult.” My back heaved a bit as the unpleasant memories related to this story began to surface, “Well since then I've gotten into a lot of fights, most of them worse than yours. They didn’t all end well for me.”

As far as reactions go hers was rather interesting in that she both looked horrified and tried to move back away from me while also being interested and wanting to get a closer look at my scars. When she spoke her voice held some fear as well as some disbelief, “Wait, so these fights you were in injured you enough to leave these scars? What in Celestia’s name were you doing; fighting to the death?”

That was far truer than she knew but again I didn’t want to go fully into detail so I said, “You can do some really stupid things when you’re angry.” I sighed, “Sometimes I got angry at the wrong kind of people and tried to fight them. Nearly killed me on a couple of occasions.”

Fear was written across her face but also a mixture of horrified fascination and even pity. For a while she was quiet but then she patted my hand with her hoof in a comforting fashion, “Is that why you have nightmares? Reliving all the times those people tried to kill you?”

That was actually pretty close to the truth in some ways so I was able to use it to deflect her from needing to pry deeper, “Yeah.”

She nuzzled me again, “John I’m sorry about making you relive that.” A reassuring smile crossed her muzzle as she leaned back again, “But this is Equestria so you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing here.”

Not knowing how to respond to that I simply nodded. After that she got off the bed and began to canter her way back downstairs when something prompted me to turn to her, “Hey Windfall?”

Stopping she turned to look at me, “Yes John?”

My lips twitched upwards in a very bare smile, but the closest I had really come in a long time to one, “Thanks for caring enough to ask.”

A big smile lit her face, “You’re welcome. How could I do anything less though? I mean you saved my life, gave me a place to stay and have tried to take care of me. The least I can do is be your friend when you need one.” With that she walked away, back down the stairs to the lower floor. For a while more I sat there and pondered why she acted so different to me from the other ponies, few as they were that I had interacted with.

Yes she had show some fear of me when she first saw me but after a little discussion she seemed to be more open. Perhaps it was because I tried to show her some kindness by comforting her when she was crying and offering to let her stay with me. Another question that brings to mind is why I did that. I suppose it had to do with her being in a similar situation to one I was in once but that didn’t seem like enough of a reason to me.

Over the past three years I had lost count of the number of times I could have showed compassion, mercy or kindness and had not. The only kindness I could have been said to have show over the past three years was granting swift death rather than long and drawn out deaths. Yet when it came to Windfall crying I found myself wanting to help her feel better and to be honest, I didn’t know why and it was scaring me.

It was an anomaly; the other ponies hadn't caused that feeling in me though Derpy did get me to feel a pang of pity for her which was out of the ordinary for me. I didn’t have the answers, but I bet someone I knew did, Hey Sheeva, do you have any idea why I’m getting these feelings? There was no answer though I had the feeling that it wasn't because she couldn't answer but rather it was because she didn’t want to answer; coy little pain in my ass.

Those questions would have to wait though as I began to plan my day out; first on my agenda was to try and get some more food supplies since I now had a guest to feed. Part of that was going to be picking up a lot more produce products for Windfall and the other part was to try and find somepony I could make a deal with to get meat. I also wanted to get the layout of the town and learn the different landmarks and shops that were around.

Hopefully in doing so I would find someplace that I might be able to get a job since my cash supply would not last indefinitely. What kind of job I would acquire I had no idea since I highly doubted anypony would need to hire someone with a lethal skill set. Maybe Windfall could give me some ideas but then again, since she was new to town herself she might not be able to help me there.

Breakfast was a silent affair. Windfall seemed like she was afraid to talk about what happened that morning, whether because she thought it would piss me off or because she didn’t want to make me uncomfortable I wasn't sure. We had blueberry pancakes, something I loved but didn’t get to have too often. Windfall seemed to enjoy them too so the food itself was pleasant.

She asked me to pick up some apples from somepony named Applejack which according to her were divine. I simply nodded to indicate I would and proceeded to get ready to go. Windfall watched me curiously as I went about my arming routine. Fortunately she didn’t know what a gun was so when I put my normal pistol in its holster she didn’t bat an eye. Unfortunately she did know what a knife was and gasped when she saw me put it on.

“What are you doing,” her one forehoof jabbed at me sharply. “Are you going to kill somepony?!”

My ever-present frown deepened, “Of course not. I’m never without a weapon even when I’m supposedly safe. It’s just a precautionary measure in case someone or something tries to kill me.” I heard her huff a bit but she said nothing else so I went to throw on my coat when I remembered our discussion yesterday, where she told me about all the various dangerous creatures that live in this world.

A sigh escaped my lips as I realized what I should probably take with me; a present from my wife. It seemed like she wasn’t going to let me forget her today. Reaching down I took a small box that looked like it was made of polished wood from the bottom of one of my weapons lockers. Setting it on the computer desk I pressed my thumb to a small jewel on the front that looked similar to the one I had on the necklace she had given me, except this jewel was red.

The top of the box popped open and inside, sitting on a piece of padding was her gift to me; a heavily customized Desert Eagle, chambered for .50 caliber rounds. It was encased in a golden metal with ghostly white script seeming to float along the barrel and the grip. My wife had purchased it through one of my contacts; one capable of getting stuff from Earth for me. After she received it she took it to her people and had them modify it.

They replaced the original materials with a lighter yet more durable metal that gave off the golden sheen and allowed them to add in the script. Another advantage these new materials had was that they somehow absorbed most of the energy of the gun’s recoil, allowing me to fire it one handed. The script itself looked somewhat similar to cursive letters only more elegant and flowy. What it said I couldn't read for myself since it was in her people’s language but she told me what they meant. The words along the barrel read ‘The man I love, in my heart and soul for eternity.’

To her people having someone in your heart and soul for eternity was the greatest kind of love that was possible for them to give so while it may not sound like too much to her it meant everything. Looking at those words I felt the pain of her loss begin to rise up in me and I had to clench my hands almost to the point of drawing blood to bury it down again. Windfall apparently noticed because she said with concern, “John, are you ok?”

I told her I was fine but my voice cracked a bit at the beginning so it was pretty obvious I was lying. She didn’t say anything so I assumed she was just going to leave it alone and I went back to what I was doing. Her limping hoof steps sounded along the floor coming up to me and I felt something solid yet surprisingly soft wrap around my back and to my side. Looking over I saw that she had put her good wing around me and was looking at me with sympathy and concern.

Her voice was soft as she said, “You’re lying John.” After that she went silent and just sat there beside me, waiting for me to say or do something. Having her there and concerned for me made it hard to beat down the pain I was feeling though I kept trying. As we sat there her gaze went from me to the gun and back again. Questions danced in her eyes but she kept them to herself for the time being and continued to wait.

Finally I said, “This was a present to me from my wife Tala’keer for my first birthday as a married couple.” My fingers began to death grip the desk to help me keep myself calm, “She died less than a year later so this is one of the few things I have to remind me of her.”

Windfall’s eyes watered and she leaned in and nuzzled my cheek in a comforting manner, “I’m so sorry John. I didn’t know and I didn’t mean to make you think of that. You must feel awful right now.”

My voice cracked again, “Yeah.”

Showing that her wing was surprisingly strong she pulled me against her and completed her comforting hug by putting her forehooves around my neck. A few tears managed to squeeze their way out of my eyes but after what seemed like a monumental effort I managed to once again bury the pain away. She leaned back, letting go of me and stared into my eyes as she said, “Why don’t you grieve? You’re in pain, I can tell that very clearly and yet you don’t let it out.”

This is one instance where the full truth was enough without being too much, “If I let it out, if I stop holding it back, I’m afraid of how much it will hurt.” What I didn’t add was how bad it would be if I could no longer hold back any of the other pains I carried. Most likely I would be floored with grief and would not be able to get back up and finish my mission. That mission was my life’s goal right now and only when it was over could I finally let it all end.

She stared at me with the most heartrendingly sympathetic look I've ever seen and said simply, “If you hold it in then the pain will only get worse. Trust me, I know.” With that she began limping back across the room but stopped and turned her head around to say, “I’ll be here if you ever want to talk about it or let it out.” Having said her piece she continued limping across the room.

Shuddering from the effects of holding it all in through force I turned my attention back to the weapon. I normally didn’t name weapons but since it had been a gift from my wife I had named it Tala, my little pet name for her. That was in fact what the flowing script on the handle of the gun was; her name. Shaking myself out of those thoughts I grabbed one of the few loaded magazines I had for it and slid it in until it clicked.

Grabbing a holster large enough for it from among the rest of my gear I holstered the weapon, strung it around my waist, added in a few extra magazines for it and then threw on my coat. A little searching turned up my bag of money which Windfall told me were called bits which also disappeared into my coat. Strapping on my gauntlet and slipping a duffel bag over my shoulder I headed for the door and onto the town of Ponyville.

The silver arrowhead of a spaceship climbed out of the planet’s atmosphere and began making its way into deep space. At the controls the figure snarled for what seemed like the umpteenth time in frustration to himself. His quarry, the human known as John Tracker had been to the planet but had left some time ago. One interesting piece of information he had managed to acquire was that John had only killed one individual on this planet.

Every other world the figure had visited John had usually spent more time and had concentrated on taking out large groups. If this trend continued then it might be possible to piece together where John was heading next and who he was targeting. A rare smile crossed the figure’s lips, revealing sharp canines that glinted in the planet’s sun. With that thought to console him he began searching through more articles about John and his activities.

My frown grew greater as, once again the ponies gasped and decided to hide. Granted this was only the second time I had come into town but considering I had yet to harm anypony or even act in a threatening manner I was more than a little annoyed at their actions. I suppose it could have been worse; the ponies could have had the policy of destroying what they don’t understand as opposed to simply hiding from it.

The Ponyville market was my destination and I had some idea of where it lay within the town thanks to my earlier observations. However seeing the town from a distance and actually being in the town itself are two different things. Like when I first came to Equestria I had my gauntlet in its computer configuration and was mapping the town itself. This trip also answered the question about their language; they really were speaking English.

I was able to come to this conclusion as I saw the signs in the town up close and found them to be written in English which at least meant language would not be a barrier. Finally I came to a large open area of the town where a lot of stalls were set up, old town style. As much as specialization was a big thing back home it seems like Equestria was even more into it. The shops and the stalls all seemed to cater to only one or two things whether it be apples, cherries (Who the hell sells only cherries?!) or even sofas and quills.

Currently they all shared one thing in common and that is that they were all deserted. The thought of simply taking what I needed came to mind and considering their reaction to me it certainly seemed more than justified however I decided not to. After all I had spent a good part of the last ten years hunting down and killing people who did things like that so to suddenly go and do the same thing didn’t sit right.

Looking around for any sign of the vendor ponies got me nowhere and my frustration was building up to potentially dangerous levels when I heard, “Heya John! Glad to see you in Ponyville again!” Turning around and looking up I spotted Derpy smiling with what looked like a mailbag over her back waving one of her forehooves at me. She flew down to face level with me, still smiling and asked, “What brings you to town?”

Oddly glad for at least one pony who wasn't going to hide from me I said, “Came to get some groceries but it seems to be a little, well deserted.”

Derpy looked around with a confused expression on her face, “That’s so weird. Its almost always busy here. I don’t know where everypony went.” Her eyes lit up as an idea came to her, “Unless its lunchtime. Is it lunchtime?”

Blinking in slight stupefaction at her statement I was quiet for a moment. Fortunately she seemed to be oblivious as to why I felt that way and just continued to smile at me. A moment later I was able to answer her, “Uh, no its not. It’s mid morning at the latest so unless things are very different here when it comes to mealtimes lunch isn't for another two hours at least.”

This seemed to cause her to sadden, “Awww! Lunchtime is the perfect time to enjoy a muffin.” Then she brightened up almost immediately, “Actually you can enjoy muffins anytime of the day! In fact I’m going to do that after I finish up my next mail run; have fun!” With a wave of her hoof she took off into the air, leaving me blinking in confusion. After a moment of getting past that little event I went back to trying to figure out how I was going to get my groceries without stealing.

None of the stalls had any prices listed for their wares so I couldn't just put the money down and take the stuff. Some thought went into taking some of the product and putting down some money and hoping it was enough to cover the cost. A few more moments of arguing with myself I was about to take some apples and place some money down when a voice chimed from behind me, “Hi there!”

There was nothing behind me that I could see until I looked down toward the ground and saw a little pony, most likely a child standing there. The voice was, as all the others I had encountered yet, feminine as was the giant pink bow on her head. Her coat was about as yellow as yellow gets and her eyes even were an orange-yellow color. Almost matching her bow was her mane and tail which was a pinkish-red.

Despite being even smaller than any of the other ponies I’d seen yet she seemed to be the least afraid of me and just stood there with a big smile on her face. The silence was beginning to get awkward so I replied, “Hello.”

Somehow her smile got wider, “Ah’m Apple Bloom! Who’re you?”

Apple Bloom? What kind of name is that? While I’m thinking about that, what about the rest of the names here? Derpy? Windfall? Rainbow Dash? Its almost like the Native American names where they use nature names based on some aspect of the person, only here they’re describing...ah hell I have no idea. My face didn’t show any sign of my own internal thoughts as I pointed at myself, “I’m John.”

One of her tiny hooves waved enthusiastically at me, “Hi John!” She tilted her head to side, “Ah ain't ever seen somethin’ like you before. What are ya?”

“I’m a human.”

Tilting her head to the side she replied, “Ah’ve never heard of that before.”

I sighed, “Yeah, I imagine you haven’t.” Then an idea hit me and I gestured to the apples on the stand, “Hey, do you know how much these cost?”

That huge smile returned, “Well of course Ah do. This here stand belongs to my family, the Apple Family. My big sister Applejack is usually running the stand.” Confusion settled across her features and she looked around the empty market, “Ah don’t know where she went but she almost never leaves the stand alone like this.”

My shoulders heaved in a shrug, “Probably hiding, like everypony else.”

Realization seemed to dawn on the little pony, “Oh! Are you the monster everypony keeps talking about?”

I grimaced at the use of the word ‘monster’, “Most likely, yes.”

She giggled, “Aw shucks. You ain't that scary or a monster. It’s like that time with Zecora and once again, Ah’m right.” In her eyes I saw that look that said ‘I was right and everyone was wrong’ and her chest puffed up a bit at the thought.

Before I could ask who or what Zecora was I heard a shout from down the street with a similar accented voice to Apple Bloom’s, “Apple Bloom! Get away from that…thing! It could be dangerous!” Turning to face the voice I saw an orange pony with blonde mane and tail and a stetson upon its head. Her (seriously, are there no guys in this world?) head was lowered and she was bent on her forelegs like she was preparing to charge me.

In her eyes I saw a protective gleam but also some fear. Standing next to her with some fear mixed with curiosity was the purple unicorn I had spotted with the white pegacorn on my first day here. Apple Bloom came to my defense, “He’s not dangerous Applejack,” Way to be wrong on that one kid, “He’s not scary neither! He just wants some apples.” Applejack continued to look at me with suspicion but stood up straight.

The purple unicorn was now more curious and leaned forward a little as if to get a better look at me. However before anyone could say anything another voice chimed in, “Hey AJ, Twilight, I see you met the new guy huh?” Sure enough there was Rainbow Dash having flown in at some point during the conversation and was now hovering near Applejack.

For the first time the purple one spoke revealing that it too was a female, “Wait, does that mean you already met him?”

Rainbow pointed a hoof proudly at herself, like it was some big accomplishment, “You bet I did. I talked to him yesterday.”

Applejack looked over at Rainbow, “So is he dangerous then or what?”

Putting a hoof to her mouth Rainbow looked backwards in though, “Hmmm. I don’t think so. He didn’t try to hurt me or anything; of course if he had I would have put him in his place.” Suddenly I was very tempted to tell her to bring it on, but decided against it, for now anyway. Still, Rainbow’s testimony did seem to make them feel less threatened by me though not entirely trusting either but they did approach me at least.

The purple unicorn even looked like a kid in a candy shop as she stared at me. To be honest it was kind of unnerving; like being in someone’s crosshairs. Her mouth had even opened wide to reveal her white-as-Vanilla-Ice teeth and somehow I swear I could hear a squeaky toy noise when she smiled like that. Feeling uncomfortable I said, “Uh, can I help you?”

Despite the look on her face her voice was rather controlled by comparison though some excitement came through, “Can I ask you some questions? I've never seen your species before and I love learning new things.”

Rainbow snickered, “Twilight, you’re such an egghead.”

Applejack rolled her eyes, “Don’t listen to her Twi. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Oh good, another stupid sounding name. Part of me wanted to clarify that her name was indeed Twilight but another part of me didn’t want to because there might be more to her name then this and it might be even more stupid. Eventually I decided to go ahead and ask anyway, “Your name is Twilight?”

Twilight turned back to me and pointed at herself with her hoof, “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you mister…?”

God dammit, am I always going to forget to introduce myself? “Tracker, John Tracker. Just call me John though.”

To my surprise she held out a hoof for shaking, or at least that’s what I assumed she was doing. By the reflex ingrained in me by human society I reached out and took her hoof and shook it. Nothing happened to indicate that I had done anything wrong in fact I even felt her moving her hoof of her own volition as well. Then she looked at me expectantly and I stared at her uncomprehendingly for a rather awkward moment.

Her face turned to the side a bit so she could look at me sideways and she leaned forward, raised a hoof and waved it in a circle, “So…can I ask you a few question?”

Right, she had asked me that before. My cheeks flushed and I answered, “That’s fine though I came here to get some food and learn my way around town so would you mind walking and asking your questions?”

I swear she practically bounced up and down in happiness, “Oh yes! That would be wonderful! Let me go get some paper and quills and I’ll be right back!” Without waiting for an answer she took off in the direction she and Applejack had come from.

Applejack saw me blinking in surprise and chuckled, “Don’t worry about it John, Twilight’s always like that. Like she said, she loves to learn new things.”

Rainbow spoke up again, “Like I said, she’s an egghead.”

Applejack glanced at her, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Nah, I’m just poking fun. Twilight’s eggheadedness-“

“That ain't a word Rainbow.”

“It is now – her eggheadedness is one of her best traits. I've got awesome and she’s got brains. I mean c’mon! She’s the star student of Princess Celestia herself! That’s awesome!”

That got my attention, “Is she really the star student of the Princess?”

Applejack nodded, “Yep. She’s basically the most powerful unicorn in Equestria.”

Truthfully I said, “That’s pretty impressive. Is the princess here then?”

Rainbow started laughing, “Of course not! Princess Celestia lives in Canterlot.”

Raising one of my eyebrows I deadpanned, “Canterlot?”

Applejack answered, “Yeah. Canterlot is the capital of Equestria.” She pointed one of her hoofs at a large mountain that was easily visible even from here. Built into the side of the mountain was a castle that I had to conclude was Canterlot.

This brought up another question, “If Canterlot is the capital then why isn't Twilight there with the princess?”

“Celestia sent Twilight here to study the magic of friendship.” Applejack smiled as she continued, “She sends her a report on what she learned all the time. Actually we all can send her our reports now.”

Leaning against the apple cart I tilted my head to the side a bit in slight surprise. “Really? The princess lets her subjects send her mail at any time? It seems like she gets inordinately involved with her subjects lives.”

Now it was the ponies turn to tilt their heads, “Whaddya mean by that?”

My hands spread out as I replied, “I've been around a lot of different places Applejack and most rulers are not this involved with their subjects lives. Most in fact are so far removed from the people they are ruling that it tends to lead to problems with their ability to lead.”

Rainbow chimed in, “Aw yeah, Princess Celestia really is awesome!” I think I was beginning to figure out Rainbow’s favorite word.

Applejack just smiled, “Princess Celestia really does care for all of us that’s why we all love and respect her. Everypony here is loyal to the Princess.”

There was no hint of sarcasm or lie within Applejack’s eyes which was unusual when talking about the ruler of a country. If this was as true as it seemed I might have to pay her a visit to see for myself. It would be nice to see at least someone in such a powerful position who does give a rat’s ass for the people they rule over especially if they are willing to get involved on a personal level with them.

However this all brought up another question, “Ok so everypony loves Celestia. What about the other princess, Luna?”

“Did somepony mention our name?” Turning around whom else would I see except for Princess Luna herself. Unlike last time we met she was looking less serious and more relaxed.

Applejack waved, “Howdy Princess Luna. What brings you to Ponyville?”

Luna raised an eyebrow at Applejack, “We believe we asked thee to call us Luna when we were here last, did we not Applejack?”

An embarrassed smile came on Applejack, “Heh that you did. Sorry princes- Luna. What brings you to Ponyville?”

A silver shoe tipped hoof pointed at me, “He does.”

Oddly enough Rainbow Dash decided to stick up for me, flying in front of Luna and holding up her forehooves, “Wait! Is it because he’s been called a monster and everypony’s hiding from him? He hasn't hurt anypony or done anything.”

Luna’s head leaned back and her mouth opened a little in surprise, “Did thou think we came to take him away?”

Rainbow looked confused, “Isn't that why you’re here?”

Luna smiled now, shaking her head, “Thy loyalty, as always is commendable Rainbow Dash. We did not come here to take him away. Instead we are checking up on him to make sure he has done nothing wrong and that he is getting along with our little ponies.”

At that I had to make air quotes, “‘Getting along’ might be a bit optimistic Luna.”

She directed a stern look at me, “And why is that?”

I directed a stern look back at her, “Your ponies are all hiding from me and keep yelling ‘monster’ every time I come into town.”

Apple Bloom, who I had completely forgotten was there stepped forward, “Yeah! It ain't fair either. He hasn't done anything to anypony, just like Zecora when she first came to Ponyville.”

That was the second time I heard the name Zecora mentioned, “Who’s Zecora?”

Apple Bloom turned to smile at me, “She’s a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest. When she first came to Ponyville everypony was scared of her. In fact Ah was the only pony who was willing to go talk to her and find out the truth.”

Applejack affectionately rubbed her forehoof through Apple Bloom’s mane, “That ya did little sis.”

That explained why she had no trouble coming out to talk to me at least, “Well glad to see that at least somepony is willing to take a risk and talk to the supposed monsters.”

Guilt came into the eyes of the other ponies, even Luna’s. She looked at me as she said, “Please accept our apologies on behalf of our subjects. Our ponies are naturally afraid of things they do not know or understand.”

Applejack stepped into the conversation, “And to be honest, ya look like you’re always ready to hurt somepony.”

I told you so.

Shut up, Sheeva.

Applejack, unaware of my mental conversation continued, “Try smiling and maybe lose the big coat. It’ll make you look less intimidating.” I had no intention of getting rid of my coat since it was what was concealing all my weapons but I suppose I could try smiling at least. My lips twitched and I tried to smile though it was unfamiliar enough by now that I had trouble using the right muscles.

What I ultimately ended up with was my lips making a grimace-sneer which made Rainbow Dash fall down laughing and everypony else just staring in embarrassment. A snort of frustration came out and I slapped my hands against my sides, “It’s been awhile since I smiled ok?”

Apple Bloom perked up, “Then you should go see Pinkie Pie! She can make anypony smile!” Ding ding ding ding ding, we have a winner for the dumbest name I've ever heard!

While I know that it would be rude to question someone’s name I couldn't help but say, “Pinkie Pie? That’s really somepony’s name around here? Pinkie Pie?”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed, “And what’s wrong with the name Pinkie Pie?”

I crossed my arms and leaned back a little. “I’m sorry, but…no. I take that back. I’m not sorry. Pinkie Pie is the dumbest name I've ever heard in my life—and considering the names I've heard since getting here, that’s saying something. Seriously, its like if I was named Reddy McRedHair.”

Rainbow was glaring at me, “Let me guess, you think my name is stupid too don’t you?”

“Yes, it is. However to be fair at least it fits well with your coloring so perhaps I can give it a pass.”

Rainbow looked unsure, like she wanted to punch me but wasn't sure if that was the best idea. Applejack shook her head, “And if y’all are being fair with her coloring ya oughta be fair with Pinkie’s name and coloring.”

Oh no, don’t tell me... “Let me guess; Pinkie’s actually pink.”

“Eeyup.”

I face palmed, hard, “Of course…”

It was at this moment that Twilight returned, holding a long sheet of paper, a feather quill, and a jar of ink in her magic aura. She was smiling widely and waved at Luna when she saw her, “Hello Luna! Welcome back to Ponyville. Is there something I can do for you?”

Luna smiled back, “Hello Twilight Sparkle. There is nothing we, I mean I need from you. I am simply here to make sure John is doing well and not harming anypony.”

Twilight said, “Oh ok.” Then she turned to me, that happy curiosity back in her eyes, “Are you ready to answer a few questions?”

I nodded, “Yes, however do you mind if we walk and talk? The reason I came to Ponyville was to buy groceries and learn the layout of the place.”

“Not at all. I’d love to help you out while you answer my questions.”

With sincerity I was able to say, “Thank you Twilight. It is appreciated.” Turning to face Applejack I asked her, “You operate this apple stand yes?”

Pride showed in her posture as she nodded, “You bet Ah do. We've got the best apples in all of Equestria here too.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it. How much for six apples?”

With practiced precision she set six apples in a bag and pushed it toward me, “That’ll be eighteen bits.” I counted out eighteen of the little golden coins from the bag Sheeva had given me and set them on the stand then put the bag in my duffel. She smiled at me and waved, “Thank ya kindly. Welcome to Ponyville and good luck ya hear?” We parted with a goodbye nod I began to head around the market to other stalls.

Apple Bloom stayed behind with her sister at the stall and Rainbow Dash left citing a need to “Catch up on some zees.” Now I was left with Luna and Twilight Sparkle walking with me as I made my way around the market.

Twilight smiled at me and put the quill to the paper, “First question: What are you? I've never seen your species before.”

“I’m a human. The more scientific name is homo sapien but that’s about all I know about our species’ name,” I said as I began checking out some broccoli.

Twilight wrote it down, “Next question: where are you from?”

“Originally a planet called Earth which might be the most misnamed planet in the galaxy.” My head turned side to side, “Any idea where the pony that runs this stall might be?”

Luna pointed a hoof at one of the buildings ringing the market, “I believe they are hiding. If you will excuse me I shall go talk to them.” Her wings flapped once and she took to the air, landing a second later and knocking on the door.

Twilight in the meantime still wanted to keep questioning me. To her credit, even though it was obvious she was super excited to learn about something new she kept her voice and mannerisms professional, like a doctor asking a patient what was wrong with them. “Why is your planet misnamed?”

While my lips didn’t quite make it to a wry smile enough of my face made it that Twilight was able to get the point, “We named it Earth but approximately 75% of its surface is covered in water.”

Twilight giggled as she wrote that down, “Wow that’s pretty misnamed. Actually we did more or less the same thing.”

“Oh?”

“Mhmm. We named our planet Equis, short for equines but many of our world’s inhabitants aren't equines at all.” With a smile she said, “Guess we’re alike in that.”

My head bobbed from side to side as I considered it, “Yeah, I guess we are. Makes you wonder how much more alike we are.”

At that point Luna returned with a pony who was closer to her height than Twilight, “John, this is Green Leaf the proprietor of this stall. Green Leaf, this is John a visitor to Ponyville. He simply wants to buy your product and I promise he will not hurt you.”

Green Leaf looked at me and swallowed nervously. To my surprise a male voice came from his mouth when he finally was able to speak, “How much broccoli can I get for you?”

For a moment all I did was stare because this was the first time I had actually seen or heard a male around here. I began looking back and forth between him and Twilight, trying to figure out how to differentiate between the two genders without having to get awkward. After a comparing them I was able to figure it out, assuming it held true for everypony; the males were taller, larger and blockier overall especially their muzzles.

Silence currently ruled as I did and apparently it was making the vendor even more uncomfortable than he already was as he began to slowly back away. Twilight and Luna were looking at one another in confusion. Twilight finally ventured to ask, “Um, John? Is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that everypony I've met since coming to this world has been female and I was beginning to question whether or not males even existed here. Now that I know they do I’m getting an idea of how to differentiate between them by sight.”

“Oh,” she exclaimed and even proceeded to chuckle a bit. “Ponyville does have a pretty high population of mares yes but we have plenty of males too and other areas of Equestria have more balanced populations.”

I said, “I see.” With that answered I turned back to the vendor, “I’ll take two stalks of celery.”

He tentatively came back to his stall, his mouth open in fear enough for me to see his teeth. Slowly he hoofed two stalks over and said, “That’s eight bits please.” Trying not to frighten him any more than I already was I slowly pulled out the money and set it in front of him then took the celery.

As I went to leave another thought occurred to me that might help him fear me a little less. Turning around and purposely relaxing my face as much as possible and only moving my lips a little at the corners I said, “Thank you. Have a nice day.” To most those were just words that you would say by rote to anybody to be polite. For me they were something that was now unfamiliar and I felt like a child repeating phrases he heard his parents say so that I could sound more grown up.

The next few stalls all went similarly, with Luna or Twilight having to bring the frightened ponies out to meet me and tell them what I wanted. At each one I would thank them the same way before moving on again, hoping that some good was coming of it at least. After that I was finished with the stalls and I asked Twilight, “Do you know where there’s a large food retailer in town? I have some things I need brought in from outside Equestria.”

She nodded cheerfully and began trotting to one end of the market, “I sure do. Follow me.” I did though as we walked she began asking me questions again, “You've bought a bit of fruits and vegetables there. Are your people herbivores like us then?”

Windfall had warned me that many ponies were not used to dealing with people who eat meat and that their perceptions might be colored by their fear of dragons who didn’t care who or what they ate. It might not seem like it but I do not like outright lying. If it considered lying to not tell everything that is asked of you then in that event I've done quite a bit of lying. Finally I just decided to go with the truth, “We’re omnivores actually so yes we can eat vegetables and fruits like you but we also can eat meat. In my case I tend towards more carnivorous appetites myself. This stuff is more for my current housemate, a pegasus named Windfall.”

Her head jerked back in surprise and fear. With a wide eyed gaze she seemed to take a moment to try and formulate a response. Even as she stared at me her expression began to change from gut reaction fear to a more contemplative look as if she was weighing her options. By the time her eyes, which had gone wide at first had returned to their normal state she was able to query, “What rules do you have about eating meat? I don’t know if you know it or not but we have at least two omnivorous species here; the Griffons and the Dragons. The Griffons don’t eat sapient beings but the Dragons do.”

It takes a lot to disgust me considering the things I've seen and done but the thought of eating a sapient being definitely fell into that category. From the look on her face the look on my face said as much, “Miss Sparkle I would never dream of eating a sapient being. It smacks too much of cannibalism and while I’m not a knight in shining armor, so to speak I have not fallen that far.”

The saying about the knight didn’t quite resonate with her if the confusion on her face was anything to go by but before she had a chance to ask any more questions Luna cut in. “Twilight Sparkle, whilst we…I commend you on your desire for more knowledge I have some things I need to say to John in private. Perhaps he can answer more questions later?”

Disappointment crossed her face but she smiled politely, “Of course Luna. Forgive me if I took too much of his time I’m just so excited to get to learn about a new species.”

Luna gave her a friendly smile back, “Of course Twilight Sparkle. As I said it is good to have that enthusiasm for knowledge so you need not apologize.” With a wave Twilight went on her way and Luna turned back to me, her expression now very serious, “Last time we spoke I believe I told you to be careful when mentioning violence around my ponies.”

Frowning at her…well ok, deepening my more or less permanent frown at her I responded, “And when did at any point during my discussion with Twilight did I mention violence?”

“You didn’t, not directly.” Her stern look got somehow sterner, “You did however mention that you yourself are perhaps not a paragon of virtue. Twilight is a very intelligent pony; the fact that she is my sister’s protégé attests to that. She would have analyzed what you said and come to a few theories about you and what you meant by that. Then she would begin to ask questions to allow her to weed out the different theories. Eventually this would lead her to bring up your past and the events that took place there.”

My head shook, “So what? Windfall has brought up my past too but I haven’t told her anything beyond that I had been in a few fights that didn’t go well. I didn’t give her any details or anything or even go into why there was a fight in the first place so she’s fine. If anything telling Twilight I eat meat gave her more of a scare, certainly more than it gave Windfall.”

“Windfall is from Cloudsdale so she’s dealt with Griffons and understands their habits. Twilight Sparkle has never had such experiences prior to coming to Ponyville and therefore is less, shall we say educated about such things.”

Walking ahead I said, “I suppose I understand but the point remains that I don’t like talking about my past and I’m not about to give her all these details about it.”

Luna matched my pace, “Do not underestimate her stubbornness when it comes to her curiosity. If she cannot get the answers out of you then she will simply go looking wherever she can.”

My finger waggled at her, “You forget Luna that I come from another world. Any and all information about me is there and not here and unless you have a spaceship or interplanetary portal I know nothing about then she can’t get any of the information she seeks.”

She huffed, “Perhaps but do not underestimate her desire to learn. While she will not go so far as to force the answers from you, or at least so I believe she will do as much as possible short of that.”

Shrugging I continued on, looking at the different buildings we passed, most of them residences, “I’ll keep that in mind though I don’t see what the big problem is. Violence does happen and while I understand the desire to avoid thinking about it avoiding the fact that it happens and exists is not wise.”

“Believe me, if anypony here can understand the idea of violence existing it would be Twilight Sparkle. While she may not look or act like it she is a hero and has faced down some very powerful beings.”

I frowned, “So why are you so concerned about her finding out about the violent things I've seen and done?”

Her eyes met mine and her glare was forceful enough to cause me a moment’s pause, “The reason I am concerned is because none of those times involved death or even blood. With you, while I cannot tell exactly what happened I can see the aura of blood and death around you.” With a wistful expression she stared back towards the markets, the only place we can see any ponies at the moment, “My ponies are innocent, unused to some of the more horrible things that can happen in life and I would like that to remain.”

A snort escaped my mouth, “I think you are doing your ponies a disservice.”

Turning suddenly and fixing me with a harsh glare she snarled a bit, “What do you mean by that?”

Crossing my arms I faced her head on, “Like I said you are doing them a disservice. You coddle them and protect them from the world like an overprotective parent who thinks that by hiding their children from the world they can make them stay innocent and good forever. The reality is that by trying to protect them you are instead only sheltering them and when the world hits them with the worst it has they aren't ready for it nor can they learn from it.”

A shoe covered hoof jabbed me in the chest, “Perhaps where you come from that is the way of things but this world is different. Our world is one of harmony and friendship both between ponies as well as the world itself. That is not to say that we are perfect and do not have issues from time to time but the idea of death being brought on by another is basically unheard of.”

She broke off for a moment, took a breath and continued in a calmer tone of voice, “You do not understand. If we were to lose that harmony as has happened in our past then our world would come undone and become unrecognizable. It would bring only misery and pain.”

There was sincerity to her words and a hint of pain in her eyes as she said it that gave me pause before replying, “You’re right; I can’t say I understand what you mean. Do you actually believe that her finding out that I've killed or maimed would break the harmony you speak of?”

Her lower lip disappeared beneath her teeth, “Well, I don’t think it would actually. I just want them to stay happy and safe. Perhaps it is foolish of me but I do not want them to know of the horrors that I…that have happened before.”

That got my attention, “You did something didn’t you? Somewhere along the way you did something that you know they would be horrified at and you want to spare them from it.”

She looked away from me, head lowered and eyes pointed at the ground, “We do not wish to talk about it.”

A surge of sympathy rose in me and though I wasn't sure if it was improper I put my hand on her shoulder. The fur was as soft as Windfall’s had been and I found myself wondering if that’s how all ponies fur felt, “Luna, if there is one thing in the universe that I understand, its having done and seen horrible things and wanting to spare others from them. I also understand not wanting to tell others about it but if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

Gratitude entered her gaze which she directed back at me and a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “We…I thank you John. Perhaps at some point I shall take you up on that offer but not now. For now would it be possible to go see Windfall? I wish to check on her condition.”

My hand waved in the direction of my cottage, “Go ahead if you’d like. I still need to find out where the hospital is and I need to go find Twilight so she can show me where that retailer is. Like I told her I like my meat so I want to see if I can’t set up a supply deal with somepony.”

She held up a hoof as if to stop me, “If it is meat you wish for I shall set up a supply for you. Equestria entertains guests of the meat eating variety and we have our means of acquiring it for our guests. Once I have set it up I shall contact you with details on how you can pick it up and how much it will cost.”

Though unexpected I did feel at least a little thankful that I wouldn't have to try and convince somepony to bring meat in for me. A small upturn of the corners of my mouth was the closest I came to smiling, “Thank you Luna that will help a lot.”

A full smile lit up her face, “You are welcome John. Come, I shall show you the hospital and then we can head back to your cottage to see Windfall.” Without even waiting for an acknowledgement she began walking off. With no better ideas of my own I followed. On the way to the hospital I noticed a martial arts dojo on the outskirts of town and made sure to mark it in my gauntlet for later. At the very least it provided me with both a way to let off some steam but also keep some of my skills in shape.

The hospital was also on the outskirts of town and was also marked down in my gauntlet so that when Windfall was able to come into town again we could make sure she healed properly. Luna turned to smile back at me, “Now then let’s go see Windfall shall we?”

I gestured for her to go ahead, “Why don’t you go on ahead since you can fly. It’s going to take me at least a half hour to get there and that’s by using methods other than walking.”

From her throat emitted a chuckle, “Oh we’ll be there in no time at all John.” Before I could ask what she meant by that her horn lit up in a midnight blue the same color as her fur. Next thing I knew I felt like my stomach had been ripped out of my body shoved in a blender and set to maximum speed. Fortunately by the time I fell to my knees we had arrived in front of my cottage which meant that at least I had a stable surface to grab onto mentally so I wouldn't throw up.

As I choked back some really nasty tasting bile Luna looked at me sheepishly, “Sorry. It’s been a long time since I teleported anypony anywhere and I forgot it can be hard on those who don’t use magic.”

The bile now no longer clogging my throat I was able to say, “At least I managed to keep from coating your shoes with puke.”

With a roll of her eyes she deadpanned, “Well thank you so much for that.” After giving me another look over to ensure I was as good as I could be she headed inside. Giving myself a minute to make sure my stomach was going to behave I got up and followed her inside to see Windfall bowing as best she could to Luna.

“Your majesty! What are you doing here,” she managed to get out as a look of disbelief and awe filled her eyes and face.

Luna smiled at her, “I am checking up on the well being of one of my subjects.”

Windfall got to her hooves, “You came all this way just for me? Don’t you have royal duties to attend to?”

Luna sat on her haunches, “Part of my royal duties is to ensure the welfare of my subjects. After you were injured initially I came and made sure you were safe and your wounds tended to. Now I am following up to see how you are recovering.”

While they talked I began putting away the stuff I had gotten but Windfall’s question stuck with me. The idea of a ruler who cared enough about her subjects to show up to check on them individually was rather appealing but something I had personally never seen. Quite the opposite as the number of corrupt politicians who died at my hands numbered at least in the dozens.

On top of that from what I had learned so far Luna was the princess of the night so why was she here when it was still daytime? Putting down the duffel, standing around and turning to Luna I saw that Windfall had almost a fangirl look on her face at the attention she was receiving. Setting my hands on the counter I cleared my throat, “Luna, I’m also curious about you having shown up the other night.”

Luna seemed to sense that I doubted her story and her eyes narrowed a bit though her tone remained calm, “Ask your questions then.”

Leaning forward a bit I asked, “First of all, how did you even know Windfall had been hurt? You were there within the hour and unless somepony saw it happen then contacted you there was no way for you to know she had been hurt.”

Instead of getting angry at my accusation she actually smiled with some relief, “I saw it happen actually. Part of my nightly duties is to keep an eye on all of Equestria. Perhaps you happened to look at my moon?”

Thinking back to that night I remembered having seen the moon because it had seemed to grow a face. “Yes, I did.”

“Was there a reason you were looking at it?” As she said it she seemed to be anticipating something in my answer.

“Yes there is. This may seem strange but I swear I saw the moon grow a face.”

Her smile widened to fill her face, “You did in fact see a face in the moon. It was my face that you saw that night. From the moon I can see all of Equestria down to the tiniest details and I saw Windfall as she crashed into the forest and lay wounded on the ground.”

I blinked as I tried to take that all in. A lot of powerful individuals had crossed my path over the years but I had never met anyone who could do that. Suddenly I was very glad I hadn't had to fight her because even if I had all my gear I’m not honestly sure I would have won, though she would have known she was in a fight. “That’s…rather impressive to be honest. I've never met anypony who could do that. I’m honestly curious as to how that works.”

Eagerness took over her features and she stepped over to me, “When I was a filly I learned that I had a talent for controlling the moon which is when I got my cutie mark.” As she said it she turned her flank to me so that I could see the moon and clouds that adorned them which answered the next question I was going to ask, “As my control grew I discovered that I was connected to the moon on a very deep level which was how I could control it but it also afforded me other abilities as well.”

Curiosity had taken its hold of me, “Such as the ability to use it to see the entirety of Equestria?”

She nodded, “I can look at everything my moon is hovering over at any time of day. As to how that works since I have this connection with the moon I am able to send my conscious mind to it which is when you will see a face appear on its surface.” Uncertainty appeared for a moment, “To be honest, I do not know how my mind being in the moon allows me to see what goes on below only that it does.”

That was a lot to take in, “I…I’m not really sure what to say to that. It’s all so unlike anything I had really ever dealt with before that I have no frame of reference for it.”

Windfall gave me an understanding smile, “John, I live here and I’m having a hard time understanding it all.”

Luna looked rather proud, “It is a lot of responsibility of course but I am happy that I have such a connection and can use it to help my ponies. Actually it’s because of this that I am awake at this time of day.”

Face scrunching in confusion I asked, “Wait, what? How does that relate to you being awake right now?”

Putting a hoof to her chest and closing her eyes she began to lecture me, “You see I can only send my mind to the moon when I am asleep so despite my being princess of the night I spend most of the night asleep so I can watch over Equestria. I’m usually awake during the day and help my sister hold court for any supplicants who have complaints or issues to be dealt with. When court is over I take some of the forms that need to be reviewed and deal with them while sister takes care of the rest. At night I raise the moon, hold a short court in case there were any supplicants that couldn't make it during the day then I go to sleep.”

Thing went silent for a moment as I tried to process all I had just learned. Fortunately Luna was patient and just waited for me to get myself together. After another moment I was able to organize my thoughts sufficiently to manage another question, “Ok, so if you saw Windfall’s crash and that she was hurt why didn't you appear right then and there and help her out?”

Luna blinked a bit as if she hadn't anticipated that question, “Well…” She bit her lower lip as an explanation seemed to evade her before heaving a sigh and looking at me with full seriousness in her face, “Very well John. There is more to my story than simply looking after one of my subjects though that is part of it.” Windfall seemed hurt by this so Luna gave her a reassuring smile, “Do not think I do not care about you because I do and I did want to make sure you were ok both then and now there is just more to it than that.”

Her hurt expression was replaced with one of confusion but she nodded and waited for Luna to continue. I crossed my arms and prodded, “So what is the whole story?”

Luna cleared her throat, “As I said, I can see everything from the moon and that includes you John. You were something new, unknown and while I would like to believe that you had good intentions I had to ensure you were not going to be a threat to my ponies. Clearly you had heard her crash and I watched as you went to investigate what had happened. If anything could tell me your intentions it would be your actions towards her so I stayed put and watched. At first I thought I was going to have to intervene when you found her and she became frightened of you.”

“Why didn't you intervene?”

“You made no threatening moves nor did you threaten her verbally so I continued watching. It wasn’t until after you had taken her inside that I could no longer see you as clearly save for where the moonlight falls into your cottage. Since I could see Windfall where you placed her on the couch I stayed back to see what you would do. After you treated her wounds I decided you weren't a threat, at least enough that I could come down and see how Windfall was doing. I was still wary of course since I had only that instance to go on, hence my using my voice on you when you reacted as if to threaten me.”

Windfall spoke up with a quiver in her voice, “You don’t think he’s a threat anymore do you your highness? He took care of my wounds and he’s giving me a place to stay for free while I look for work.”

Luna’s eyes widened a bit and caught my eyes, “Truly? Is what she says true?”

Nodding I replied, “Its true. Just as I understood your position earlier today I also understand her position as well so this is what I’m able to do for her.”

Gratitude infused her features to the point where I thought she was going to hug me but she refrained though it did seem to get into her voice, “We thank thee John for helping our subject in her time of need!” Red tinged her face after she finished as she realized I was now plastered against the kitchen counter not of my own accord. With a hoof on her mouth she guiltily chuckled, “Heh heh, oops.”

Windfall chuckled without guilt until finally she was laughing on the floor, holding her sides. It wasn't long before Luna took part in it as well, though she showed a little more decorum by staying on her hooves rather than rolling on the floor. I just shook my head and watched them laugh, my mind drifting off to think of my plans for tomorrow.

Chapter 5 - Job and Memory

Windfall and Luna had been talking now for a few hours though I had excused myself from the conversation and headed upstairs to think about my plans for tomorrow. First thing I was going to do was to go to the different shops and other businesses I had passed today to try and get a job. After I was successful or if I was failing and needed to blow off some steam I would go to the martial arts dojo.

I was concentrating on mapping out the route I would take through town when I heard hoof steps heading up the stairs. Looking up I saw Luna and Windfall coming up though both were watching me instead of each other and neither were talking. Turning to face them I said, “Is there something I can do for you two?”

Luna nodded, “Indeed there is. Windfall informs me that you seem to suffer from some particularly nasty nightmares which cause you to wake up screaming constantly.”

Turning I gave Windfall a glare, “She did, did she?”

Interposing herself and giving just as good a glare back Luna replied, “Yes she has. Before you decide to be angry with her bear in mind that she did this because she cares enough about you to want to help you.”

“Perhaps so but I don’t like it when someone talks about my private affairs without my permission. That aside how is telling you supposed to help me with my nightmares?”

With a smile Luna pointed to herself with a hoof, “I am the princess of the night and one of my duties is to watch over the dreams of my subjects, helping them where help is needed.”

Surprise silenced me for a moment as I started to wonder what other abilities she had, “So you can watch a pony’s dreams?”

She nodded, “Not just watch their dreams but also enter them and control them if required. Most of the time my assistance is not needed however every once in a while a pony will have terrible recurring nightmares because of something that they need to deal with. When such an instance occurs I step in, offering advice and even showing them different outcomes that can happen based on their choices.”

I scratched my head a bit as I took that in while pondering what else I knew she did, “So, how do you do that and watch over Equestria?”

Luna continued to smile clearly enjoying being able to talk about what she does with someone, “I do it at the same time. As I watch over Equestria from the moon I am able to see ponies’ dreams hovering around them, appearing almost as if a small moving picture piece.”

Windfall chuckled a bit before stifling it quickly, almost like she was afraid to let Luna know she was laughing at her, “Do you mean a movie your highness? Like those that play on screens at theatres?”

Instead of taking offense Luna gave her a grateful smile, “Yes that is it. They appear like a movie hovering around the pony. Thank you Windfall, I had wondered what those moving pictures were called.”

Windfall blushed, “You’re welcome your majesty.”

While she had offered some explanation I wasn’t fully convinced, “From up that high it would be pretty hard to see what all is going on in those dream movie things. Is there some other way you can tell if the dream is good or bad?”

Nodding she continued, “There is as a matter of fact. Each movie gives off a subtle vibration that I can sense when watching over the land. If I sense the harsh dark vibration of a nightmare I can focus on that specific dream and see it fully. If it is the first night I sense it I will watch but usually do not intervene. If it comes back more than once then I will enter the dream and offer my assistance.”

“Ok so you can watch my dreams but that does not explain how you can help me with my nightmares.”

Luna gave me a ‘give me a minute’ look and continued, “Once I am inside a dream I can manipulate it with my magic and even banish it if I decide to do so.”

I went silent after that statement and thought it over before asking, “To do this you must enter the dream first? You can’t simply get rid of the dream as you watch over Equestria?”

She shook her head, “No. To have power over the dream I must be present in the dream. In all honesty I do not know why it works that way but that is the way my power works and I must work within its limits.”

“Ah, I see.” That pretty much made up my mind; I wasn’t willing to tell Windfall the details of what went on in my dreams so I sure as hell wasn’t letting somepony take a look inside my head. Raising my hands in apology I said, “I’m sorry Luna but no. While it is a very kind offer I have to decline.”

Luna leaned back in surprise, “But don’t you want to be able to sleep normally?”

I shrugged, “I’m used to it by now. Look, I understand you want to help but I have reasons for not wanting anyone to take a look inside my mind right now. If something happens to change my mind I will let you know but for now the answer is no.”

Windfall came up to me and put a hoof on my hand, “John I understand you have your secrets but the way you sounded when you woke up screaming earlier today…it was just awful. We just want to help you.”

My hand gave her hoof a little squeeze to show some appreciation, “I understand Windfall but like I said I don’t want anyone inside my head right now.” Her concern did remind me of something else, “Luna is there anything you can do that will allow Windfall to sleep unimpeded by my waking up?”

“I can stop you from having your nightmares.”

Glaring at her persistence I tried to keep my voice even, “Is there anything else you can do?”

A sigh of resignation escaped her muzzle, “Yes there is. I can cast a spell on this room that will stop the sound of you screaming from reaching her ears. This is not as easy a spell as soundproofing the room completely because I have to have the spell differentiate between noises but I can do it.”

That worked better as far as I was concerned, “Why don’t you do that?”

“I shall do so.” She looked at me sternly, “The only reason I am doing this is because I will not force somepony to allow me into their mind.” With that she closed her eyes while her horn began glowing in that pale blue aura of hers and soon the entire room began to glow with that same aura. Windfall and I looked around the room as she cast her spell though what we expected to see I’m honestly not sure.

After a time the glow went away and Luna looked up at us, “It is done. Now your screams as you awake will not disturb Windfall.” Luna frowned a bit, “If for any other reason you need to scream then that too will be blocked by the spell. Bear that in mind if you feel the need to scream for some reason other than your nightmares.”

I nodded, “I will.” It seemed like something was missing until I realized I should probably at least thank her for her efforts on our behalf. In a rather embarrassing display I stuttered and fell over the words several times before I finally was able to get out, “Thank you.”

She nodded, “You’re welcome.” A smile played across her lips, “While this was a most enjoyable visit I cannot stay any longer. My sister was kind enough not to question my visit and I do not wish to abuse her trust by staying too long. Goodbye Windfall and I wish you a speedy recovery.”

Windfall smiled and blushed a little, “Thank you your highness. I’ll be ok.”

Luna turned to me, “Goodbye John. Please give some thought to my offer of help.” The only answer she got was a shrug so with a sigh she said, “In any event please continue to try and get along with our ponies. I shall be checking in from time to time so we shall see each other again.” Then Luna headed down the stairs, Windfall and I following her until we all were standing outside.

Wings beating Luna lifted into the air and stated, “Until next time.” Then she disappeared in a flash of light and once again Windfall and I were alone.

Once Luna disappeared I turned to Windfall who looked back at me apprehensively. Seeing that made me pause for a moment and take a few silent breathes, “Look Windfall I appreciate the thought behind asking Luna to help me with my nightmares. In all honesty it does sound like a pretty sweet deal.”

Her head cocked to the side in consideration and confusion, “If you appreciate it then why didn’t you accept it?”

“Like I said to Luna I don’t want anyone inside my mind.” I sighed, “Perhaps if things were different then I would accept her offer but right now letting her in like that is just too much for me.”

Windfall’s ears stood somehow straighter and her head snapped to its full height in realization, “Oh! It’s not just a matter of secrets then it’s also a matter of trusting someone to get that close to you.”

Nodding and feeling a bit relieved that she had picked up the meaning I confirmed her realization, “Exactly.”

She cocked her head to the side and asked the question dreaded by parents galaxy wide, “Why?”

Ok really? I just said I don’t trust people to get that close to me and now you’re asking me to trust you to know what happened to me that caused me to not want to trust people? Taking a deep breath before I simply blasted that out at her gave me time to formulate a better response, “I have my reasons but just like I don’t trust anyone enough to let them into my head I don’t trust anyone enough to let them know why either.”

Windfall didn’t respond at least not with words. She just looked at me for a moment, her ears going flat against her head, the corners of her mouth dropping and her eyes betraying a hurt look before she turned around and slowly trotted back into the cottage. Sighing I looked away and at the sky something I did habitually when I wasn’t sure what to do next. Answers never came to me when I did but I did it anyway.

Finally I went back inside to continue planning for the next day.

The sun pleasantly shone on me as I began my trek to Ponyville, waving to Windfall as I left. While she was not yet well enough to come with me she wanted to get outside and start stretching her legs and see how her wing was coming along. She was hoping she could begin flying again soon so that she could start going into town with me. With any luck she would be able to and could visit the hospital for some professional help.

Once out of sight I used my gauntlet to make my way to town quickly though I’m not entirely sure why I felt the need to hide its use from Windfall. It’s not like she was an enemy in fact she had shown signs of wanting to be friends with me. Thinking about her wanting to be my friend brought back at least some of the reason why I was treating her as carefully as I was. Friendship and those claiming it had cost me a lot of pain over the last decade and I was not sure I wanted to deal with any more of it.

Shaking my head to put aside any thought of friendship I finished my journey and made my way into town. Back on Earth I had done a lot of retail work so I began stopping in at the various shops in town to see if they needed help. While the ponies were still very nervous at my presence they were at least talking to me and not running away. When I asked one of them why that was he told me that it had to do with seeing me with the princess and having spoken to some of the vendor ponies that I had dealt with the previous day.

At least that was something that was getting better though the same could not be said when it came to getting a job. While they were all willing to at least talk to me none of them really needed any help at the moment. Thanking them for their time I left and went to the next store on my list only to repeat the same scenario over and over again. By the sixth time this had happened I was getting frustrated to the point of wanting to punch something.

Fortunately there was a way for me to satisfy that particular desire without having to get the authorities involved so I made my way over to the martial arts dojo. Ducking in through the door I was met with a stallion with brown fur and short, black mane and tail wearing a white martial arts uniform. His already giant pony eyes widened at the sight of me and in a deep voice he said, “Oh, you’re that new creature in town I’ve been hearing about right?”

A line I had heard once came to mind as I replied, arms wide out, “That would be me the human, that hard to find item on anypony’s list.”

The stallion chuckled then held out his hoof for shaking, “I’m Tough Hoof the owner of this center.”

I shook his hoof, “I’m John Tracker.”

He nodded, “Is there anything I can do for you Mr. Tracker?”

Nodding to one of the punching bags I asked, “How much to reserve one of those bags for an hour?”

“16 bits.” I handed him the money and went over to bag, taking off my gauntlet and coat and laying them nearby where I could easily get them if needed. This time, since I had planned to come here anyway I had discarded my usual holsters for ones that strapped directly to the coat. When I took the coat off the weapons went with it and stayed concealed allowing me to surprise anyone who thought I was unarmed.

Getting into a kickboxing stance I took a deep breath and began with some light jabs and crosses. As I continued I began to treat the bag like an opponent, aiming for weak points and soft spots. More types of punches and later kicks were added, sweat beginning to pour off of me as I didn’t let up but kept going. Next I began to work on speeding up my kicks and punches and cutting down on how long it took me to switch between them.

My lungs began to burn as I kept up a fast pace but I didn’t slow down or stop because I needed to keep up my endurance or else I’d be useless in an actual fight. Keep up your pace. Loosen up that elbow a bit. C’mon you can hit harder than that! In my mind was a constant running dialogue that I heard in the voice of my first trainer, named Wilhelm. Once I made the mistake of asking him why he didn’t have a last name which earned me several broken bones and a black eye.

Jason Brightmoon, a Furrigen like Wilhelm told me that he’d had his last name taken from him which in their culture was a way of branding him as an outcast. Apparently his own family wanted nothing to do with him because he was ruthless enough to shame them so they stripped him of his name and threw him out. Having met the bastard and been taught by him I definitely believed it.

The thought of Wilhelm began to cause my frustration to grow and soon I was punching harder and harder. My hands began to throb from the pain and the bag began to sway noticeably. Even to my own ears my breath was coming in harder and faster. As I thought of him more and more I felt pain growing from my teeth as they clenched and ground against each other. Before I could throw another punch something solid and strong took hold of my arm.

Whipping my head to the side I spotted Tough Hoof holding my arm back with one of his forelegs. Wide eyed and looking shaken he said, “Mr. Tracker please calm down! If you’re not careful I’m afraid you’ll hurt yourself.” With an effort I started to calm myself, unclenching my fists and closing my lips over my teeth. My breath was coming in a bit ragged from the physical exertions and from the heavy emotions I had just experienced.

Tough Hoof took his hoof off my arm but didn’t walk away, “Are you sure you’re ok Mr. Tracker? I’ve never seen anypony get so angry when using the bag before.”

Having had enough of him calling me ‘Mr. Tracker’ I said, “John. Just call me John ok?”

He nodded, “Ok, John it is. You still haven’t answered my question.”

I took a minute to calm down further during which Tough Hoof simply waited for an answer. Finally I was able to think clearly enough to give him a response without going too much into my problems, “Its just some bad memories combined with having a frustrating day here in Ponyville.”

His head cocked to the side, “What’s going on to cause you such frustration here in Ponyville?”

Facing him I leaned on one arm against the top of the bag, “I’ve been looking for a job but so far I’m having no luck.”

A look of sympathy crossed his face, “Ah, I see. I suppose that most ponies are afraid of you and don’t really want to risk hiring you.” Suddenly his face lit up, “I’ll tell you what…You seem like you have a decent enough idea of martial arts, if you can hold your own well enough against me in a one on one match you can work here, deal?”

I blinked in surprise, “Well that is not what I was expecting. I’m willing to accept but I should warn you, I’m trained to kill.”

He thought for a moment then shrugged, “John I am aware that not all our techniques are meant solely for defense or disabling your opponent. Some are meant to kill and others can easily be used for killing. On top of that if you can’t control your moves well enough to keep from killing or grievously injuring me then I wouldn’t want you on my staff anyway.”

Nodding I brought my right leg back and my hands up, “Fair enough.” As I had gotten into my stance he had lowered himself closer to the floor, protecting his softer underbelly. His golden-brown eyes were watching my face, probably looking for a reaction in my gaze that would announce my attempt to strike. Clearly he knew what he was doing which was going to make this hard enough, add into that his four legged stance and I was going to be fighting an unfamiliar type of battle.

Add to that he was smaller than me and lowered like that he was even smaller, certainly below the range of my punches unless I punched downward. Though I had no proof I suspected he was probably stronger than me, if ponies back on Earth were any help at all in deciphering these ponies. The only real advantage I had in this fight was maneuverability since I could move and attack while to attack he had to sacrifice movement.

For a while we stood there, waiting to see what the other would do. I certainly had no intention of being the one to move in and attack first, leaving myself open to a counter attack. For a moment I had the thought that I should just use a gun instead of getting into a fight I likely couldn’t win. Shaking my head to clear the thought I tried to pound into my brain that this pony was not an enemy to kill.

Seizing the opening Tough Hoof raced forward, planted his forehooves and kicked out at me with his rear hooves. My backwards leap was just enough to keep him from connecting. A side kick was aimed his way in an attempt to take advantage of his temporary lack of mobility however he had his hooves on the floor by then and danced away. His face was wearing a smile of enjoyment as he began to circle me.

Surprisingly he ran forward and leapt to his hind hooves and began using his forehooves like fists, throwing punches at my stomach and ribs. How the hell is he staying upright and keeping his balance for so long, was what was going through my mind as I blocked and turned aside his punches. His strength definitely was showing through as straight on blocking felt like it was going to break my bones and even turning them aside wasn’t pain free.

Figuring that there was no way he could maintain his balance if pressed on two legs I began to fire off punches of my own while moving closer to him. Hooves began to find their way to my body in blows that caused pain to flare up however I bit my lip and kept going. At this point I was gambling the pain I was receiving against my ability to knock him over and render him vulnerable.

Gritting my teeth as yet another blow found its way to my now pain filled ribs I threw my elbow into his snout, causing him to stumble back. My eyes widened in astonishment as his stayed on his hind legs and shook off the attack. You have got to be kidding me! I know these ponies move differently from ponies back home but seriously? How the fuck can he maintain a two legged fighting stance like this?

Not only did he stay upright he got right back into the fight, moving forward and attempting to one-two punch his way past my defenses. Dodging back just enough I let out another side kick that caught him in the chest and finally sent him onto his back. As I moved forward he rolled to his hooves though this time he stayed on all fours. The fight slowed as we went back to watching the other for an opening.

A few moments passed before he relaxed and stood at his normal height with a smile. He said, “That was a very fun match John. I may have been able to take you by surprise a few times but you recovered well and got in a few good shots yourself. So what do you say, willing to come work for me?”

I was silent for a few more moments, expecting a possible trap and continuation of our fight. When he did nothing I finally lowered my arms and stood normally, “What exactly would I be doing around here?”

He looked at me in surprise as if I should know what I would do, “Why, you would help me teach ponies about martial arts of course. We don’t get a lot of students mind you but I prefer a more one on one approach to learning anyway. On top of that I think it would be interesting to see how you can mix in your bipedal techniques with our quadrupedal ones.”

To that I raised an eyebrow, “Do you even need me to mix in bipedal techniques? You seemed to be holding your own on two legs just fine.” Though I have no idea how the hell you did that.

With a chuckle he came over and to my surprise throw a foreleg around my shoulder, “That’s because I studied with different teachers over the years, including a minotaur so I learned many different fighting styles including bipedal ones. Trust me, it’ll be useful for the students to learn. Are you interested in the job?”

I definitely needed the income so I nodded, “Sure. When do I start?”

His mouth opened wide in a smile, “Wonderful! You start tomorrow at 3 in the afternoon. Most of our students work or go to school so we won’t be seeing them until later anyway.”

Nodding at him I felt a bit of satisfaction at having accomplished my goal while also having let off some frustration from earlier. “In that case I shall see you tomorrow Tough Hoof. I’m feeling better now so I will head back home and prepare myself for tomorrow.”

“Alright then, so long John.” He waved at me and me at him then we parted ways. Picking up my coat I began my trek home.

I arrived to see Windfall happily trotting out to greet me, waving a forehoof in greeting. With a smile on her face she said, “Hi John. How did your job search go?”

The corner of my mouth twitched up a bit, “I managed to get a job at the martial arts place in town.”

Her smile got wider when she heard that, “That’s great John!”

Nodding I began to walk past her, not so much in the mood for social pleasantries though I did have to ask, “Do you feel ok? You’ve had more activity today then you’ve had since getting injured.”

Trotting alongside me she nodded again, “I feel great actually. Dear Celestia but it feels good to get outside and stretch my legs again.” Glancing down I took quick looks at her wounds which were somewhat red but were beginning to get pink. None of them had reopened and she hadn’t said anything about pain so as far as I could tell she was ok. Continuing she said, “My wings still don’t stretch fully but I’m working on that. I really hope to be able to fly soon.”

With a grunt of acknowledgement I sat down, leaned back and closed my eyes just wanting to rest for a moment in peace. Thankfully she seemed to take the hint and trotted back outside. The rest of the day passed that way, save for a quick dinner.

His scarred and dark furred face was close to mine, white fangs showing through withdrawn lips. Gag inducing breath washed across my face as he spat out, “You worthless little meat sack, can’t you do anything right?!” Wilhelm’s latest tirade was on my current poor performance during one of our daily running exercises. My muscles were sore and cramping, my breathing was heavy and hurt when I did.

On top of that my stomach felt like it was going to digest itself for nourishment even while still wanting to empty itself at his breath and I was still angry as hell over my entire situation. I was angry at his yelling at me, I was angry at being here because I damn well didn’t want to be here and I was angry at how much everything fucking hurt. Finally my anger burst out of me like a train from a tunnel, “I don’t give a fuck about this exercise or whether or not you’re happy about it you fucking asshole! You kidnapped me and are forcing me to learn to fight and die for you and you have the fucking gall to get angry because I’m not performing like the dog you want me to be?! Fuck you! Fuck you all the way to hell!”

Then I did the stupidest thing I had ever done up until that point; I threw a punch at him. He easily caught my wrist in his hand, twisting it until I cried out in pain which got cut off as he planted his other hand, now a fist into my stomach. My body protested its abuse as he hauled me upright and began to pummel my ribs, switching to my stomach again as I tried to protect myself with my hands.

As the pain began to make it hard for me to try and concentrate enough to even attempt to defend myself he kicked me to the floor. Dull pain came from my arms as he kneeled on them so I couldn’t do anything. The light from the ceiling became blocked by his now overhead face as he growled, “Know your place, pup. Here I am the alpha and you are less than even an omega.”

I heard a crack and tasted blood as his fast crashed into my face. It happened again, then again as he just began to pummel me with his fists with little to no time between blows. Blackness had almost consumed my vision when I felt the pressure ease from my arms and a painful grip on my hair hauled me up from the floor. “Oh no, you do not get to black out on me now meat,” He growled, “You obviously have forgotten who holds the power here so its time for a reminder.”

Though I couldn’t see it as he threw me to the floor on my front I could hear him begin to fiddle with his belt. My body felt like ice as fear gripped me and I tried to get to my feet to run away. His foot was keeping me pinned and all I could do was wiggle around. Desperately I began to cast my glance around to the other human trainees, begging for help. No one stepped forward though, they all knew what was coming too and they were too afraid of it happening to them to stop it.

Tears were flowing down my eyes as I heard his pants hit the ground and felt the heat of him now being uncomfortably close to me. As I drew in a breath to scream, the only outlet I had for the fear I had I heard his voice, “At least you make for a nice plaything.”

I woke not with my usual scream of terror but instead a mixed scream of terror and hatred, “WILHELM!” In my shaking hand was the pistol I kept under my pillow, the grip wet with my sweat. Slowly I put the gun down next to my bed then held my head in my hands. My body was in pain from the memories I was now trying to suppress and from the sense of violation and dread that would not leave me after that dream.

It wasn’t just my hands that were shaking; it was now my whole body. Even though that event had happened almost ten years ago I was able to still recall what it felt like and how horrible it was. A sob almost made its way out but I managed to hold it in with what felt like a superhuman effort. Part of me was wondering where Windfall was before I remembered Luna’s spell.

Thanks to the vulnerable state I was in I was saddened by her not being there and in fact desired to have someone, or somepony to comfort me. As the thought rose I tried to quash it, knowing that I needed to keep my distance as much as possible. These two desires warred with one another until finally another nearly escaped sob decided the conflict in favor of desperately needed comfort.

Carefully I crept downstairs so as not to wake her if she was asleep which she was. She lay motionless on the couch save her side rising and falling as she breathed. Indecision caught me; on one hand I wanted some comfort from someone however I didn’t like the idea of just waking her up in the middle of the night. After a moment I decided to head back upstairs however the step creaked as I turned on it.

Her ear flicked in my direction and her big eyes fluttered open then focused on me. “John,” She asked, “What’s going on? Is everything ok?”

I sighed, disliking the idea of having to let anyone know I was hurting but needed the comfort too much to let that stop me now. Climbing down the rest of the stairs I shook my head, “No, things are not ok. Right now, I…I really need some company if that’s ok with you.”

Different emotions flickered through her eyes; on one hand she seemed to be surprised but very happy that I was asking for her company. On the other hand she was concerned for me, especially since I didn’t like to let others into my problems. She sat up and patted the cushion to her right, her undamaged side. Soon I was sinking into the couch, arms holding my torso to try and ward off the shakes.

The soft feathery sensation of her right wing began to trail up and down my back, like a human would use a hand to comfortingly stroke a friend. “What’s wrong John? I’ve never seen you scared like this,” She said.

It took me a minute to gather my thoughts during which she sat there waiting patiently for me to continue. Finally I said, “I had a nightmare again tonight. This one though…was also a memory.”

“You were reliving a bad memory?”

I nodded, “Yes. I’ve had it before but no matter how many times I relive it…it always sticks with me the most.” My body began to shake again and to my surprise tears began to slowly slip from my eyes. Windfall’s eyes began to water too and a sympathetic sad look was on her face. She shifted her body so that she was leaning against me, or I was leaning against her. To be honest I’m not sure which was true at the time.

Her wing enfolded my shoulders and her soft face comfortingly nuzzled my cheek. We sat like that for a while before she said, “Do you want to tell me about it or will that be too painful? If it is then please don’t talk about it. I’ll be here for you either way.”

Even with the need for comfort I didn’t want to tell her everything but I did feel the need to at least say something. I said, “Well…it’s from almost ten years ago. At the time I was part of a group I didn’t want to be a part of but didn’t have much of a choice about. The guy that was put in charge of me was a very cruel person.”

Windfall lifted a forehoof and began to gently rub my arm with it, the surprising softness of the bottom of the hoof contrasting with the hardness around the edges of it. “Why couldn’t you leave,” She asked.

With a shuddering breath I told her, “These people were very cruel Windfall. The only way I could leave without doing what they wanted would have been by dying.”

She gasped, both her forehooves flying to her face in horror, “That’s horrible! How can they get away with that?”

A bitter grimace crossed my face, “Let’s just say that they were in a position where those who could have stopped them, didn’t care or want to.”

Now her forehooves encircled me in a hug, “Oh John, I’m so very sorry. Dear Celestia how can such people even exist?”

Rather awkwardly I hugged her back, still at least somewhat glad for the contact and the comfort it gave me. While her question had been rhetorical I decided to answer it anyway, “The harsh truth Windfall is that while this place may be a place of friendship and harmony that is not so true elsewhere. Out there are people who only care for themselves and their own desires. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want no matter who it hurts. Others in fact prefer it to hurt other people because they gain some pleasure from it.”

She nuzzled me again, her fur now soaked with tears, “No wonder this has you so scared. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.” After that it got quiet as she had no more words for what had happened and I didn’t want to talk about it. We simply sat there until I was able to calm down and the shakes stopped.

Leaning back I managed an upturn of the corners of my lips, “Thank you Windfall. I really appreciate you helping me like this.”

A smiled appeared on her face, happy yet still sad for me, “Are you ok? If you want you can stay for a bit, I don’t mind really. It’s not like I have anywhere I have to be tomorrow anyway.”

I shook my head, “Thank you but no. While I do appreciate what you’ve done for me tonight for now I’d like to try and go back to sleep.”

Her face betrayed her dubiousness but she nodded and said, “Ok John. Sleep well.”

“You too Windfall,” I said as she let me go and I stood up. Walking upstairs I did feel much calmer than I had going downstairs but there was something else there as well. As I lay down and pondered it I realized that I had begun to see Windfall as more than just somepony I knew. I was beginning to see her more as a friend and was letting her past my defenses a little bit. As my eyes closed I shivered as that thought scared me almost more than the dream had.

After the events of the night I decided to arrive at the dojo early to warm up on a punching bag which also served as something to focus on instead of my memories. As the start of my shift began to draw near another stallion came into the dojo, glancing askew at me before talking to Tough Hoof. I was able to overhear enough to gather that this stallion was Tough Hoof’s student for today.

However about ten minutes before I was to start two more ponies came in; a mother and her daughter. The mare was a dark blue pony with a pink mane and tail and like Applejack had neither horn nor wings. Now that I had some idea of cutie marks I began to look at what each pony had for a cutie mark; in her case a card with a heart on it. Huddling behind her mother’s legs and fearfully looking at me was a little filly with a blue and white coat and a blue and white striped mane and tail.

Unlike the other ponies she had no cutie mark and like her mother she had no horn or wings. Tough Hoof came up to them with a friendly wave, “Hello there, I’m Tough Hoof, the owner of this dojo. What can I do for you?”

The mare gave him a smile, “Hi, I’m Loving Heart and this is my daughter Faint Heart. Say hello dear.” The filly gave out a little squeak and a tiny wave of her hoof. “I’m sorry about that. She’s not a very outgoing pony I’m afraid. I’d like to enroll her in a class here to see if it will boost her confidence and give her enough courage to start engaging with other ponies.”

Tough Hoof smiled back, “Well of course Mrs. Heart we’d be glad to help your little filly.” He turned to look at me and suddenly I felt a sense of dread at what I was pretty sure was going to happen. His hoof waved at me to come over, “Hey John will you come here please?” My sense of dread mounting I headed over, the eyes of Mrs. Heart and her daughter growing even wider and filling with a sense of fear and uncertainty. Tough Hoof held out a hoof like I would hold a hand to introduce someone, “This is our newest teacher, John Tracker. I like to take the one on one approach and I have a student today so he will be teaching your daughter today.”

Yep, I knew he was going to do something like that if for no other reason than because I didn’t want it to happen so it would. Dammit this wasn’t good. Even back when I was more social I never was very good with children; they annoyed me and I didn’t have enough patience for them. I tried though, raising my hand and waving it in greeting, “Hello there.”

Loving Heart managed an uncertain smile and a slight wave back while Faint Heart had frozen in place. Loving Heart turned to Tough Hoof, “Are you sure this is the best idea? I mean,” She glanced at me before lowering her voice, “I keep hearing of a bipedal creature around town that most ponies refer to as a monster.” Well if I needed proof that she meant me before that statement I certainly didn’t now.

Tough Hoof nodded understandingly, “I understand you have some concerns Mrs. Heart but I can assure you I will not allow him to harm your little filly. To help ease your concerns I’ll have their class in the same room as my class so I can keep an eye on them. Will that be ok with you?” When she continued to look unsure he said, “Would you like to watch the class yourself?”

After a moment of though she asked, “How long is it?”

“Our classes tend to run for about an hour.”

A grimace contorted her face, “I have to be back at the shop I operate with my husband in half an hour.”

Tough Hoof put a forehoof to his chin in thought, “How about it we made it a short class, say 20 minutes and you could sit in on it then take her with you when you leave?”

That seemed to satisfy her as she nodded, “Alright, let’s do that then.” With that we all headed back into the largest of the training rooms of the dojo where the pony who had come in earlier were doing some warm up stretches. Tough Hoof nodded Faint Heart, her mother and I off to one side of the room while he went over to his student. My fear and dread was returning at the thought of how I was going to teach this filly martial arts.

I had never taught anyone anything before and the first example that came to mind when I thought of being taught was Wilhelm. Even if it wasn’t a child before me and an innocent being I still would be damned before I would teach her like he taught me. And there is at least part of my answer, I thought to myself, Avoid being like him and I should be ok, I hope. Since the other class was stretching before they started I decided to start there too.

Turning around I saw Faint Heart still huddled close to the ground, shaking a bit and refusing to meet my eyes. Unsure of what else to do I decided to get on my knees, make me seem a little less intimidating or so I hoped. Consciously lowering my voice I asked, “Faint Heart, do you know how to stretch before working out?” The sound of my voice caused her to start a little before she shook her head, not speaking.

Nodding over to the other class with my head I asked, “Did you see what they were doing or what they are doing now?” Another nod was my answer, “Ok well why don’t you copy that. It will help get you ready for the rest of the lesson.” I almost said something about preventing injury but given her current state I was afraid she’d literally go catatonic and faint or something before the lesson could begin.

Thankfully she did begin to do the stretches, stretching one foreleg and the opposite hind leg forward for a second or two, then switching to the other limbs. After a few more, such as pushing herself up as high as she could go one four legs and holding it I decided that was enough. As gently as I could manage I said, “Ok Faint Heart, get into an upright stance,” a thought occurred to me to add a, “Please.”

She stood up on her hind legs, wobbling a little bit but she did it and for the first time her teal eyes met mine as she looked to see if she was standing correctly. Giving her the closest thing I could manage to a smile and nodding encouragingly I slowly stood up, “Ok, now I want you to try and mimic my stance. It’s ok if you can’t just please try.” Shifting so that my body was now facing sideways compared to the way my face was pointed I brought my right leg back along with my right arm which was held upright and in a fist. My left arm was also upright and in a fist in front of my face.

Faint Heart tried but she wasn’t able to keep her balance and she fell onto her front. Coming out of my stance I asked, “Are you ok?” To my relief she nodded and stood up, shaking herself though she looked like she was having trouble not taking it as a failure. Ok this isn’t working. I need to adapt what I know to something that she should be able to do with four legs. How did Tough Hoof fight when he was on two hooves?

Thinking back to the fight we’d had the previous day I tried to recall his stance. Glancing over as I was thinking I saw him doing it again as he ran his class through a routine and it hit me; he was still facing completely forward with both his body and face. Turning back to Faint Heart I said, “Its ok Faint Heart, I think I know what we can do. Go ahead and get back on your hind legs please.”

She did so and I nodded, “Ok now use your forehooves to punch the air in front of you. Do one then the other ok?” I waited until she did so then said, “Ok now do it about ten more times and we’ll see how you’re feeling after that.” There were no signs of fatigue of anything, not that ten repetitions was hard really but she was a young filly so I didn’t want to push her too hard. Since she was doing ok though I had her do another ten reps.

After that I showed her how to do a uppercut and asked her to try to do one. The first one caused her to put too much weight forward and she fell forward again. As gently as possible I admonished, “Don’t lean forward too much when using an uppercut. Just a little forward leaning is what you want ok? Now try again.” When she was able to do so without falling over I had her do ten reps of that.

Just as she finished that Loving Heart spoke up, “Sorry to interrupt Mr. Tracker but I need to be heading back to the store. Come on Faint Heart, we need to go.” Faint Heart nodded and began to trot up, not looking at me or anypony else for that matter. Loving Heart turned to go then hesitated and looked over at me, “Mr. Tracker, I want to say thank you. I wasn’t sure what to think when I was told you would be her teacher, but you’ve been patient with her so far so thank you.”

Nodding my head in polite acknowledgement of her thanks I said, “You’re welcome.” She nodded as well then trotted off to catch up with her daughter. With that done I decided to go over and join Tough Hoof and his student in running their routines. Tough Hoof gave me a ‘good job’ smile but otherwise kept his focus on the class he was running. As for me, I was just glad to not have had any of my own Wilhelm moments though the fear remained that I might in the end.

Chapter 6 - Clash and Cause

I watched Windfall happily prancing about outside the cottage, humming to herself while I watched for any sign of her injuries reopening or anything. Her legs seemed to be moving just fine, the scars slowly turning pink. Even though the scars were still visible she didn’t seem to be feeling any pain from moving her limbs. That lent credence to her claim that ponies here heal very quickly and made me wonder how long it would be until she could fly again.

When I asked her about her flying she looked over at her damaged wing and stretched it out experimentally. The hurt wing wasn’t able to fully extend yet which apparently gave her some idea as she said, “Probably going to be at least another week or so yet.”

My hand went to my chin, “Hmmm, do you think it would help if I pulled it out fully, get it used to being fully extended again?”

She considered it, one of her forehooves going to her chin in imitation of my own thinking gesture. After a moment she said, “No, I think I’ll keep working at it on my own.”

I shrugged, “It’s your choice, I was only offering.”

Windfall smiled at me, “I know and I appreciate it John. Our wings can be delicate and I don’t want to risk possibly tearing anything in the healing wing.” Her face looked away for a moment, “Also when it comes to our wings touching is somewhat…complicated.”

My eyebrow went up questioningly, “Complicated?”

She nodded, “It’s a bit hard to explain because it’s mostly societal instinct but…well do you humans have ways of deciding whether or not touching is appropriate or not?”

That made it pretty clear to me so I nodded, “Yes we do and I think I see what you mean. Not only is it ingrained by society what you can and can’t touch and when but it’s also up to each individual and how they feel about it.”

Relief that I understood came over her face, “Oh good then you know what I mean. For pegasi the wings can sometimes be used romantically which does complicate things. It doesn’t always mean that though. Touching other ponies with our wings when not romantic is still a sign of trust and friendship.”

Dread began to fill me again as she mentioned friendship. “Is that how you see us Windfall, as friends,” I asked softly.

She smiled at me softly, “Of course I do John. You’ve helped me when I was hurt, you listened to me when I poured out my problems and then let me stay here for free. At first you were reluctant to open up to me but the other night, when you came to me for comfort I was happy that you were ready to open up to me, at least a little.” The dread filled me completely and I felt like I was both encased in ice and lead at the same time.

All that she had said was true and when I thought back to how I’d been acting sometimes when around the ponies but especially around her I could only come to one conclusion; somehow despite my own desires to keep everyone out she was getting in. Dammit all I was actually come to care about someone or in this case somepony. I closed my eyes, crossed my arms over my chest and clenched my fists tightly as the realization hit me and the accompanying dread and fear did too.

Windfall noticed; worry crossing her face as she stepped closer to me, “John? What’s wrong John?”

My mouth worked for a minute, making unintelligible noises as I attempted to convey my thoughts, feelings and desires. At last I said, “Windfall, I’m not your friend?”

She jerked back, hurt plain on her face and in her eyes, “What?! What do you mean we aren’t friends?”

As if I needed more proof of how far I was slipping I felt bad as I saw the hurt in her. It was painful enough in fact that I turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at it, “I can’t have friends Windfall, more than that I don’t want any friends. In the end it will only cause more pain something neither of needs.”

I intended to walk away at that point to avoid the discussion and the uncomfortable feelings it brought up. However Windfall galloped in front of me, reared up and planted her forehooves hard onto my shoulders. Her face was set in the fiercest glare I’d yet seen from a pony and that included Luna. Some tears were falling down her face and had left visible trails over the fur on her cheeks.

With both of her wings flaring up despite the one being injured she said, “I don’t know what your problem is John! One moment you’re being incredibly nice to me the next you’re trying to put distance between us! Did you think I wouldn’t notice, especially when you try to answer my questions without actually answering them? News flash John, I’m not an idiot! I’ve noticed these things and more!”

She took a deep breath before continuing, “One minute you’re being incredibly kind to me by letting me stay here for free yet you refuse any help when I offer it. You will listen to me spill my guts about things I’ve done yet you won’t let me know anything significant about you. I thought that perhaps you had begun to see things differently the other night, when you came to me voluntarily after you had that nightmare and yet here you are telling me we can’t be friends because it will cause too much pain?! Even without you telling me I can tell you’re already in pain John yet you’ll turn away a friend who would be willing to help you? Just tell me, tell me what in Celestia’s name is going on that you don’t want a friend so I can at least try to understand this!”

The way she spoke to me made me angry even though she was right and her anger was understandable. I used the anger as I had many times when dealing with criminals and other such scum to make me care nothing for how she felt. Taking her hooves in my hands I shoved them off of me and began to back away saying, “I’m not telling you anything Windfall nor do I have to. This is my decision and my reasons are my own and that is enough. It is my fault for giving you the wrong impression about us and I accept that however you must now let it go.”

Before she could answer I turned away and marched into the forest towards Ponyville. Even though I expected to hear the sound of hoof steps following me the forest was silent save for the chirping of birds and the occasional rustle as some small animal ran through the brush. Some time had passed before I stopped though I don’t know how much had passed and I leaned against a tree.

To my surprise and fear my hands were shaking like I was coming down from an adrenaline high the likes of which I only ever received in combat. This was all so much of a burden that I didn’t want or need right now. It’s my own fault for letting her stay and for trying to be nice. I should have gone with my first instinct and let her die out there. My face fell even more than normal as pain flashed in my chest at just the thought of letting her die.

A groan escaped my lips as the pain hit, not because of how much it hurt but because of how it was more proof that I was coming to care for her. Another thought hit me just then, This is Sheeva’s fault. If she’d left me damn well enough alone I wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with! Why couldn’t she just mind her own fucking business?!

Time passed me by as I stood there until who should come mentally calling but Sheeva herself, John what in the galaxy are you doing?!

Getting my thoughts and feelings in order now what do you want?

Currently I would love nothing more than to slap you senseless! I sent you there for the purpose of making friends and finding a reason to live and when you find out you have done at least part of that you run away like a child who hates being told what to do!

An apt simile Sheeva considering as you said that the reason I’m here is not because I want to be here but because you sent me here. Before you say anything that point will always remain valid and I will bring it up anytime I feel you need the reminder. Besides that though you know why I don’t want friends, in fact I’d daresay I can’t have friends.

Yes John I am quite aware of why you think that way, which is why I sent you to Equestria! Here all of your reasons no longer hold any logic to them because the fears and realities behind them do not apply here. Now you go back to your house and you apologize to Windfall and give her a proper explanation.

I would have honestly preferred to relive the nightmare about Wilhelm again rather than go back and face Windfall at the moment. That combined with my anger at Sheeva and the whole situation gave me a determination not to let her boss me around. No.

Even in my mind I could hear her astonishment, What do you mean no?

No, as in no I am not going to do what you said. In fact I’m going to do the opposite and go to Ponyville and get ready for my job.

You know I can just send you back right now right?

Yes you can but I can walk out again. You forcing me here worked because you knew I couldn’t leave without your help once you got me here but that doesn’t work in this case. Every time you send me back I’ll just keep walking away unless you plan on actually controlling me like a puppet with your power. She fell silent after that as I was pretty sure she would. While Sheeva was willing to bend and break the rules if she felt they were keeping her from doing good for people she did have her limits.

For her the idea of actually taking over someone’s body, leaving them alive and aware but unable to do anything of their own volition was tantamount to rape. It was the one thing she swore she’d never do to anyone no matter what and that gave me all the edge I needed right then and there. On top of that from what I knew of her people and their laws that abuse of power was guaranteed to get them to come and arrest her faster than I could ever fathom.

As I walked towards Ponyville I waited for her to resume our argument but she said nothing. If anything she seemed to have completely withdrawn from me and I was again alone. I sighed in relief and kept walking rather than hook shooting my way so that I could have the time to think of a solution to my dilemma. While I didn’t want to face Windfall again nor did I want to complicate my life by making friends I also couldn’t bring myself to just throw her out either.

I suppose I could have tried moving out of the cottage to someplace in town but those places were built to accommodate ponies, not a human. In addition the cottage had a lot of my gear as well as the equipment to run it and from what I had seen of the town’s tech level they could not run it themselves. Also trying to move that stuff from where it was in the forest all the way into town would have been an absolute bitch to do at least by myself and there was no way I was letting the ponies know where I currently was living.

No matter how I looked at it the bottom line turned out to be I would either have to deal with Windfall somehow or I was going to have to put more effort into avoiding her than it would be worth. A shiver ran through my body even though the day was nice and sunny as that thought hit me. Not only did I not want to face her again I also had no idea how I was going to do so unless I decided to just tell her why I didn’t want to be friends.

Internally I began to curse Sheeva for sending me here where this could happen. After I finished cursing her out I began to curse out the ponies, especially Windfall for being what they were and complicating my life. Next I cursed life in general just for being what it was and for allowing me to be brought to this point. Finally I began to curse out this world just because I was angry and really wanted to curse something out whether or not it deserved it.

Eventually that stopped too and I found myself with too much time to think again. Everything that was going through my mind I didn’t want to think about so I began to just shut my mind down and think of nothing. Thinking of nothing is really hard however unless you have something specific to focus your mind on which I didn’t. For all the parts of combat that suck I have to say that at least it doesn’t give you time to dwell on the negative shit.

By the time I arrived in Ponyville I was now rather moody and the ponies decided to revert to avoiding me like the plague because of it. As far as I was concerned that was fine because I really didn’t want to talk to anypony and complicate things further. Even Applejack decided to keep any interaction with me to a minimum when I bought some apples from her since I hadn’t eaten lunch yet.

While I ate the apples I walked to the outskirts of town and leaned against a nearby tree. Unfortunately the area I was in gave me a pretty good view of the Whitetail Woods which brought back the argument from this morning. My anger simmered within me and it became harder to think clearly. Even my hands were starting to shake as the anger in me grew. Fortunately I was able to finish eating before my hands started shaking too much and I went off to the martial arts dojo. If I was this angry I needed to let some of it out or else somepony might just get hurt.

Windfall continued to prance around the cottage though even being out in open again was not enough to calm the hurt and anger that now coursed through her. She lifted her head up to angrily glare at the town of Ponyville, where her current roommate was. I just don’t understand what his problem is. If he didn’t want friends in the first place than why did he do what he did?

Even though she had voiced these questions to him earlier he hadn’t answered them, not really. All he had said was that he didn’t want any friends and that was it. Tears, hot and salty ran down her cheeks again as she thought about it. Lifting her mostly healed hoof she wiped away the tears and sat down beneath the shade of a nearby tree. Why does this even hurt so much? I’ve only known him for a few days so why do I feel this bad?

It didn’t take long for the answer to come to her, Oh Celestia, I guess its because I didn’t really have any friends before. Like I had told him I was always made fun of for one reason or another. Once I snapped I needed to get away from it and came here to get a fresh start. Again she lifted her gaze up to Ponyville, I remember being so scared when I first saw him, so strange and different and menacing.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly in a small smile, He didn’t kill me though; he tried to comfort me, awkward as it was and then he took me to his place and cared for me. Even after finding out that I had nowhere to stay he let me stay without wanting anything in return. A soft sigh escaped her lips, I guess what made me thing we were close enough to be considered friends was when he was so upset over that nightmare that he actually came looking for comfort which was so unusual for him.

While these thoughts ran through her head she continued to look at Ponyville. Eventually her thoughts turned to how she was going to handle the situation. She winced as some pain shot through her as she tried to fully extend her damaged wing. With her wing still out of commission the idea of running away was less appealing than it might otherwise be though she could still hoof it to Ponyville and try to find someplace to stay there.

However a combination of her damaged wing and the anger she felt caused part of her to rise up and yell No! No more running away! You’ve always run away and in the end it hasn’t solved anything. Do you really want to be friends with this guy? If the answer is yes then you are going to have to face this problem and John head on and no matter what happens you do not give up!

Even though nopony could see her she nodded in assent to an internal decision. She began trotting around the area near the cottage again this time with her head up and a smile on her muzzle. It might not be easy but she had a plan and she was ready and willing to fight rather than run away. However long it took him to get back she would be there and she would not let him out of another discussion not matter what it took.

I had a feeling that I was going to be spending a lot of time at the dojo just punching this bag and not as a demonstration. This time I didn’t bother with any sort of routine or specific moves I just let loose and hit that bag as hard as I could as often as I could. Sweat was beginning to soak my shirt and my muscles were beginning to burn from not letting up but it was helping me lose my anger as I focused more and more on the sensation of my fists hitting the bag.

Tough Hoof noticed me of course and trotted over, “Hey John, looks like you’re getting out some anger again.” His expression became one of concern, “That’s two days in a row now. Are you sure you’re ok?” My fists slowed down and I looked at him askance. It might have been because of earlier with Windfall but I wasn’t sure if he was also trying to befriend me or if it was just the natural kind of concern people might feel watching someone be angry.

After debating for a moment I answered, “I’m fine. Just had an argument earlier today and am trying to work off the anger.”

Thankfully he was satisfied by that answer as he smiled with understanding, “Ah, yeah this does work pretty well for getting your anger out.” He began to trot away though he looked over his shoulder and said, “It’s certainly better than taking it out on anypony right?” My reply was just a grunt and I went back to pummeling the bag, putting all my concentration into it until my world was nothing but the bag and my fists.

In fact the only reason I stopped was when I heard a cough to my side and a soft, “Excuse me, Mr. Tracker?” Looked over I saw Loving Heart and her daughter Faint Heart looking at me. Mrs. Heart’s expression was a look of concern similar to what Tough Hoof had show earlier. Faint Heart on the other hand looked like she was both terrified, yet intensely curious and perhaps even a little bit of awe, the latter two of which was a welcome change from her displaying just fear.

Seeing them I quickly looked at my gauntlet’s screen, checking the time and noticed that it was a little after the start of my shift. Giving my best apologetic look, which probably didn’t look very apologetic I said, “Sorry about that, I lost track of time and hadn’t realized you came in.”

“Oh, that’s ok Mr. Tracker. Um, if you would prefer we could come back another time?” As she said it she looked like she almost wanted the excuse and tempting as it was to give her one I did have a job to do.

I shook my head, “No, that’s ok Mrs. Heart I’m good to go.” Not really expecting an answer I looked at Faint Heart, “Are you ready to go Faint Heart?”

To both my surprise and her mother’s she spoke aloud, albeit soft enough to strain my hearing, “Yes Mr. Tracker, I’m ready.” She took a tentative step towards me, “Um, are you going to teach me how to be that fast?”

Now I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that so I cocked my head to the side and gave a little, “Hmmm?”

Faint Heart took a breath and with a little more volume said, “We watched you for a minute and you were hitting very fast. Are you going to teach me how to be that fast?”

Well this was an improvement from how she had been yesterday and if I could keep her like this than teaching her might go a lot smoother. To that end I knelt down before answering, “I’ll do my best Faint Heart but speed isn’t something you can really teach. I can show you all kinds of moves and give you advice on how you might improve but if you want to be that fast than you need to practice the moves I show you. The more you do them the better at them you’ll get and the faster you can go as a result.”

She nodded a little and gave me a very faint smile, “Oh ok.”

Her mother was surprised but seemed pleased, “Thank you Mr. Tracker. You still don’t mind if I watch do you?”

Looking up at her I gave her a reassuring look, or the closest I can manage anyway, “Of course not Mrs. Heart. Please feel free to stay and watch anytime.” Turning back to Faint Heart I gestured to the bag, “Go ahead and show me what you remember from yesterday Faint Heart.” Standing on her hind legs she began to punch the bag, not really doing anything to it but then again she was a filly.

What mattered more to me was that she was at least doing it the way I had shown her yesterday. I asked her to do an uppercut and she did without any falling down or anything so she at least remembered yesterday’s lesson. Nodding in satisfaction I said, “Very good, now do ten reps of each but push yourself to hit the bag as hard and fast as you can.” As she did I watched for any changes in either her movements or how they affected the bag.

It seemed to me like her forelegs were moving faster this time and I think I saw the bag begin to move a bit under her punches. At one point she overdid it and fell forward, grabbing onto the bag to keep from hitting the floor. She looked up at me pensively and I just gave her a reassuring nod, “Its ok Faint Heart. Believe it or not falling down is a useful lesson in martial arts in and of itself.”

Her face scrunched up in confusion, “What do you mean?”

I held up two fingers, “Two reasons; the first is that it helps you to learn your limits and when you might try to do more than you are capable of. The second is that learning to take a fall, or a hit is important if you ever find you need to use these techniques. Ok?”

“O-ok.”

“Now stand back up and try it again.” She did as I said and she stayed up longer this time though she did fall again. However this time she got right back up and went back to it without any say so from me. As she seemed to get more into a rhythm she seemed to enjoy it more as a smile crossed her face. To be honest seeing her enjoying herself and losing her scared demeanor, even if only for a little bit made me feel a little warm inside. The corners of my mouth even turned upwards a little without me trying to.

Assuming the schedule for Loving Heart hadn’t changed I only had a few minutes left and I was looking for something to add to the end of our class. Looking around I spotted some of those gloves that instructors wear on their hands to let students punch them. Surprisingly they didn’t look like they had been altered any from the ones back on Earth though I suppose they could have strapped them onto their forelegs instead of hands.

I had to adjust the straps but I was able to get them snug enough and at least this way I could better judge her improvements in speed and power. Kneeling down I held up my hands and pointed to them so she would know what I meant when I said, “Ok Faint Heart I want you to punch my hands here, hard as you can.” She nodded and did just that, surprising me with how much force I could feel from such a little pony and through the padding even.

Remembering how much pain I had felt from just the blocked blows when fighting Tough Hoof I had to wonder just how much physical power these ponies had despite their size. Horses back home had a ton of strength but they were also much taller and bulkier than these ponies. On top of that their coloring did not suggest physical strength, at least to my eyes but rather…well to be honest I had no idea because I could not name any other species I had even come into contact with that was as wildly colored as they are.

Loving Heart came over after a few minutes and with a more confident smile than she had shown me before said, “Thank you for helping her Mr. Tracker but we must be going.”

I nodded, lowering my hands though staying down, “Of course. Good job today Faint Heart, you’re making progress. See you tomorrow.” With a small smile and a small wave of her forehoof she left with her mother. Standing up I walked to the door and watched them leave, Faint Heart looking at least a little less nervous than usual and I pondered how this was making me feel.

Earlier I had felt good to see her make progress and to be able to help her find a way past her fears and nervousness. Thinking of that brought back how I had felt when I had helped Windfall, having saved a life, her life rather than taking life as I was more used to. It was impossible to deny that it did make me feel good though it was an unfamiliar feeling so it stood out more than it perhaps would have otherwise.

Reflecting on that feeling I tried to recall the last time I had helped someone prior to my arrival in Equestria. If I had helped anyone recently before arriving I couldn’t recall having done so and given my state of mind I was pretty sure there weren’t any events to remember. The last time I could recall having helped someone was when my wife was still alive which would have been at least five years ago, maybe more.

Blinking in surprise I ran that number through my mind again; five years. Had it really been that long since she died? Is that how long I’ve been stuck like this; wanting to die but trying to finish one last mission before I did? God, I could still remember the pain of her and our daughter’s death and the anger that came with it. How had I gone this long with it? Why haven’t I just pulled the trigger?

I knew the answer; my mission. When I had made the decision that I was going to kill myself and it was a decision I had made after some internal debate, I had also decided before I died I wanted to fulfill one final self made mission. There were some people that I had heard of or met that were the most evil and despicable people I had ever heard of. Some of it was rather personal to me but I decided I would not end my own life until I had ended theirs so that there were at least a few less nasty individuals in it.

That mission was close to complete, down to the last individual left in fact before Sheeva hauled my ass here to ponyworld. My hands had unconsciously gone to my chest, clutching the memory bag where I had my last gift from my wife as my thoughts strayed to her and all that had happened since her death. If it was just one individual why not just end it here and now? It’s not like I didn’t have the means and it was only one guy left.

Even as the thought crossed my mind my eyes closed as the truth brought my back from those dark thoughts. In this Sheeva was right; as long as that one guy was still alive I wouldn’t take my own life no matter how much I wanted to. In my case that one guy was the most personal of all of the people I’d killed; Wilhelm, the man who’d broke me and had set me on the path to becoming a killer.

Hate can be a powerful motivator; it can start giant movements that spread like wildfire or it can endure through centuries and millennia when other things have faded. I hated Wilhelm with everything I had in me and there was no way I could take my life while he existed. Horrible as it was it gave me a purpose to continue living for; one I would gladly continue to strive for until I could finally carry it out.

Until I had completed it death would have to wait for me. As far as I was concerned it was just a part of the reward; kill the bastard for his crimes against me and others and in return end the pain and frustration. So lost in these thoughts was I that I didn’t notice Tough Hoof coming up beside me until I felt his furry hoof tap my hand to get my attention, “Hey John, how did it go with Faint Heart today?”

Shaking myself out of my thoughts I answered, “Better than yesterday at least. I think she’s making some small progress both in her capability with what I’ve shown her as well as she’s losing a bit of her shyness and actually getting into the spirit of things.”

He smiled, “Well that’s great to hear; keep helping her out. What about you? Twice today you’ve been so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t notice anypony around you. Is everything ok?”

With perhaps more edge in my voice than needed I replied, “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now, that’s all.”

I had hoped he’d take the hint but either he didn’t get the hint or he didn’t care, “Why don’t you come with me after work to this nice little pub and inn nearby? Just about every night I go there after I leave here. Mind you I don’t get drunk or anything but I find a good hard cider to be rather relaxing. Once you got a pint in you I bet you’ll feel much more like talking and you might just feel better afterwards.”

The immediate reflex was to say no because I didn’t want friends and I definitely didn’t want to talk about myself and what was going on. However the more the idea ran through my mind the less terrible it seemed; after all I didn’t have to tell him anything really and he was only asking me to join him for a drink. That alone didn’t mean he was trying to be my friend, though that was still a possibility of course.

After mulling it over I said, “No, not tonight Tough Hoof. Perhaps some other time but tonight I’m gonna head home; got some things to take care of.”

He nodded in understanding, “You do that then. We’ll go another time.” It wasn’t brought up again and I spent the rest of the shift doing the little maintenance jobs anyplace has to deal with such as cleaning up equipment, sweeping the floor and other things to keep the place presentable to others. During that time other ponies came in for their classes and I would help Tough Hoof with them, sometimes even going so far as to spar with him as a demonstration.

Closing time finally came around as the sun went down and the moon came up. Looking up at it as I began my journey home I tried to conceptualize the fact that Luna controlled the moon and could use it as a means to watch over her subjects. Try as I might though and even having seen various levels of supernatural power used I found I just couldn’t see it. Come to that I had a hard time believing a lot of what I was being told about this place. It just seemed so different from how things worked that I couldn’t quite see it. Perhaps at some point I could ask for a demonstration to see for myself that it was true.

A groan escaped me as I remembered what I was going home to which tempted me to take the long way so she’d be asleep by the time I got there or to find a place to stay the night to avoid it. Neither option would help though because it would only prolong the discomfort and most likely make it worse when I could no longer avoid it. With a grimace I activated my gauntlet and began to make my way home.

I opened the door to find Windfall sitting on the couch with her forelegs crossed in front of her. When she saw me she turned a glare on me as I entered the cottage though Windfall’s voice was calm as she pointed to the table I had sat when she had first woke up after getting injured and said, “Sit down John. We need to talk.” Knowing I wasn’t getting out of this and it would only make things worse if I tried I sat down without protest and gestured for her to go ahead with whatever she was going to say.

She took a deep breath, “Earlier you told me you didn’t want to be friends because it would bring you pain but you wouldn’t tell me why.” Her face took on a pained expression, “While I want to be your friend if you don’t want to be friends I at least want to understand why. Would you please explain how being friends would cause you pain?” My instant reflex was to tell her no but that would just make things worse.

Finally I decided to tell her the truth without telling her the specific events, “In my experience there are two paths that friends tend to take, both of which end up causing me pain.” My gaze, which had gone to the floor as I had made my decision came back up to see her watching me intently so I continued, “The first is that people are only calling themselves your friends because they want something from you. When they get what they want they leave or stab you in the back. That is the pain of betrayal.”

Softly she said, “That’s horrible.”

Nodding in assent I went on, “The second path is that the people actually mean it when they say you are friends and you become very close. While that doesn’t sound so bad it means it hurts all the more when they are taken away from you.”

Cocking her head to the side she asked, “What do you mean?”

I went to answer her but the memories that came to mind caused a lump to form in my throat so though my mouth opened no sound emerged. Swallowing it back I answered, “Windfall, remember when I mentioned that I had been in a lot of fights?” She nodded and said that she did remember, “Well those fights made me a lot of enemies; enemies who aren’t afraid to…to kill people I care for to get at me.”

Her forehooves went to her mouth in horrified shock and I nodded in understanding, “That’s what happened to everyone I came to care about; they either weren’t really friends and left when they got what they wanted, or they were really my friends but they died because someone wanted to hurt me.” Heaving a sigh I finished, “In the end it’s more or less the same thing; pain of betrayal or pain of loss. It’s all pain either way I don’t need any more of it.”

Windfall leaned forward and took my one hand in her hooves, her voice choked with emotion as she said, “John, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know and I wouldn’t have pushed the issue if I had.”

Taking a deep breath to try and calm myself from the emotions this discussion began to raise I said, “I know. Now you do know though. Was there anything else you wanted to know?” When she shook her head no I got up, gently disengaging my hand from between her hooves and went upstairs. Grimacing at the thought of the nightmares this discussion was likely to bring up I was able to at least take some comfort in the fact that the matter was dealt with as best as could be expected.

Chapter 7, Part 1 - Flashback and Folly

Author's Notes:

Author’s Note: Hey guys, two things I want to say real quick: The first is that this chapter is the first to contain the first action scene for the story and so I wanted to qualify it that I’m not a soldier and have never been in combat. My writing style for action tends to be a mix of movie/anime/comic styles so don’t expect much realism though I do try to make it feel like its plausible.

The second thing is that this chapter might feel a bit cut off. It was originally going to be longer but as it went through changes during the writing process I realized it was going to be freaking huge and I didn’t want to try and power through that all the way and make everyone wait longer so I cut the chapter into two parts. Now that I have that out of the way, enjoy!

“JOHN,” The word pounded through my skull like a hammer, causing my eyes to fall open. Along with it came a sense of danger almost physical in nature and without thinking I reached under my pillow and grabbed my gun. The very next second the door opened, a large Furrigen standing there with a blood encrusted knife in one hand. His eyes widened a bit in surprise at me being awake.

Before the surprise even left his face he had leapt towards me, knife hand ready to strike. Instinctive response was to save me as I raised the pistol at lightning speed, finger pulling the trigger several times in rapid succession. Inside the bedroom the loud crack of gunshots nearly deafened me; all sound being replaced by loud ringing. As the bullets tore into the assassin’s torso he jerked and twitched then fall still onto the foot of the bed.

Seconds passed as my mind raced to catch up on what was going on. Then I remembered the voice that had awoken me; my wife, Tala’keer. I threw aside the bed sheets and ran out of the room only to stop almost instantly. Lying on the floor was my wife, her green eyes now dull and lifeless and beside her the unmoving form of our little baby girl. Even as I stood there in shock some part of my mind was already assessing what I saw; Lots of blood on the ground, coming from their necks. The assassin had a knife, wouldn’t have wanted noise that could alert anyone else, slit their throats.

The shock gave way to a sort of disbelief; knowing the truth but not wanting it to be true and so for the moment unwilling to believe what I was seeing even though I had seen death so many times before. My voice came out low and strangled, “Tala? No, c’mon Tala don’t do this to me…please don’t.” Feeling like I was swimming through syrup I knelt down, reached over, and touched her porcelain face.

It was cold, completely devoid of any signs of life. Truth began to force its way through the shock and my hands began to shake. Inside my stomach seemed to fall away completely and all other senses dulled except for the image in front of my eyes which seemed to fall into perfect clarity. That image began to blur then as hot tears began to gather, form and fall down my cheeks and onto her unmoving body.

I was hit so hard by this that I didn’t even know I had gathered the both of them into my arms until I felt their cold cheeks pressing against my warm and now wet cheek. Where gunshots had rung the walls previous now they were replaced by my cries of agony and loss; cries that… were echoed as I woke up, trembling. My hands fumbled to try and grab my necklace, the one she had given me but it was in the nightstand with the other mementos.

Anger filled me and I turned around so I could punch the living shit out of my pillow and mattress. It was not the most mature response but I just needed to fucking let it out or I felt like I was going to explode. For a while all I focused on was just punching the bed as hard as I could until finally I had no more energy left for it and fell back on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer I could stand being here in Equestria.

The longer I was here the harder it was becoming to keep everything together; first trying to help Windfall and letting her get closer than I should have to having a harder and harder time keeping my emotions and memories under control. This dream was just the latest example; I had certainly dreamed about my wife’s death before but that was mostly around the time she had died until I had tried to bury the memory as far down as possible. While I still had nightmares concerning her they were more of an accusatory nature; me being blamed for failing to protect them.

Now here I was, reliving the moment of her death in detail, just as I had one of my encounters with Wilhelm. There was no way I was going back to sleep after that, not with the threat of more nightmares lurking in my mind so I got up, got dressed and got armed. As quietly as I could, and having had to use stealth on more than a few occasions I could move decently silently I came downstairs, grabbed some sandwiches to go and left.

The moon was high in the sky so at least the landscape was pretty well lit as I made my way through the forest. Since nopony was up and I wanted to avoid anypony anyway I didn’t bother using the hookshot but just walked instead. This was rather similar to yesterday’s reaction to my spat with Windfall however to me that was just one of the ways I handled things. When there was a lot on my mind or I needed to get my mind off of something I either threw myself into some work as a distraction or I went somewhere peaceful to try and work things out in my head, at least as best I could do.

For me the question was the same one I had asked before; what was it about this place that seemed to cause me to lower my guard? Why had I felt the need to comfort Windfall and later Derpy? What made me more willing to help Windfall than others I had came across previously? When I had that nightmare I couldn’t shake why did I seek comfort from Windfall instead of doing what I was doing now?

Oddly enough one of the events that didn’t trouble me was when I had offered Luna some comforting sympathy. After all I really did know what it was like to do something that would horrify most people. To be honest I had done it one a pretty much daily basis for years however eventually I became numb to what I was doing. I sighed as that track of thinking brought my mind back to the death of my wife.

I’d heard that when you are grieving for a loved one you would be angry and were liable to do things you never would normally; things you’d later regret. As I crested a hill I was able to look over Ponyville and the view reminded me enough of another memory. With my wife’s death coming back to me in full force I could hardly avoid the memories that came after it. My eyes closed and I remembered.

Below me sat a small village, the businesses and houses made to look rather quaint and pleasant. A vacation resort for anyone to come, relax and escape the confines of the life they usually led. In this village was my target; one Paul Redriver. Inside a little voice tried to tell me that this was wrong because he was innocent. Even as the thought occurred to me I snorted with derision.

It had taken a little bit of digging from my old pre-marriage contacts but eventually I tracked down who had sent the assassin that killed Tala and Aietha, our daughter. Mr. Redriver in the village below was not the one who sent it but his wife Taliva Redriver, the empress of this sector of the galaxy did. The empress and her husband were taking a small vacation from their duties here or so my contacts told me.

Finding information on the empress and her husband wasn’t hard; it was fairly common knowledge what they looked like as well as some of their background. While that at least allowed me to be surer of my target when the time came to take them out finding the opportunity was not as easy. They had a palace that was pretty well defended at all times and while there’s no such thing as a foolproof defense I didn’t feel like cracking it alone was a good idea just yet.

Even if I did want to try the empress wasn’t my target yet, not for a while according to my plan anyway. She may have been the one responsible for my wife and daughter’s death but that didn’t mean I wanted her dead, yet. Killing her right away would be too quick given how I felt; after all you had to live to suffer and I fully intended on making her suffer greatly indeed. With Tala’s memory to give me ample motivation I came up with a plan to do just that.

The very first part of that plan was to make sure she lost her husband so I spent quite a bit of time looking for an opportunity to do that. I spent a lot of time in bars and pubs talking to people about Mr. Redriver, cultivating contacts within their own populace. For me the most help were the paparazzi; always trying to get the inside scoop on anything which allowed me to trade information for information.

I’d get some inside information about a hidden scandal or somebody’s skeleton closet and in return they’d let me know of anything the Redrivers were doing. Initially I was worried that the empress and her husband would learn of my presence on their world which would lead to them bunkering up as well as sending more assassins my way. My fears were never realized though as there was no public information on the attempted assassination.

Eventually my work and patience were rewarded by one of the paparazzi having learned that the empress and her husband were going to take a vacation for a while. He was thinking of going out there for some pictures or recordings to use for a juicy story. When I asked why he wasn’t already heading out there he told me that he wanted to wait until both of them were there but that right now it was only the husband.

Now I was on the hill overlooking the village and ready to put my plan into motion. I quickly checked that I had the extra gear that I brought along for this; a dart gun that attached to my gauntlet, a device designed to enhance networked signals as well as hack them, and a silencer for my pistol. Satisfied that everything was in order I walked away from the top of the hill and to a rented sky car.

Less than a minute later I had piloted it to the front of the village hotel, parked it, and got out. Outside the front door was a furrigen who was obviously security for Mr. Redriver complete with openly worn weapon and small earpiece. His dark eyes followed me as I came towards the door and he held up a hand to stop me before I entered. In a voice that came out as growls and barks but was translated by an ear implant from my time aboard the Stringent Income he said, “Hold on, I have to scan you for weapons.”

Pretending to be compliant I stood back as he took a small cell phone sized device from one pocket, held one side out to me and waved it up and down in front of me. The device beeped to announce it had found weapons on me and instantly he had a small energy pistol pointed at my face. “Drop the weapons, slowly and carefully,” He growled at me. My hands were in the air at about chest level, palms out towards him, making it look like I was ready to surrender and do as he asked.

In reality I had my hands at that height so my gauntlet was pointed only slightly up instead of straight up with the dart attachment aimed at him. I flexed my wrist a little hitting the small button trigger for the dart which flew out with a small hiss of air and into his neck. Despite its simple design it worked like a charm; the needle like barb at the end punctured his skin and the poison it was coated in dropped him immediately with no sound from him.

As soon as I had heard the hiss of the dart I was in motion so I could catch the body before it hit the ground and possible alert more guards. Looking around to make sure no one had seen it happen I hauled the body behind some hedges lining the hotel. Calling up the computer on my gauntlet I scanned his earpiece until I had found out what frequency the guards were using and sent a signal to my ear implants to act as a radio on the frequency.

With that taken care of I headed inside like I was just another hotel seeker. There were a few guards standing around the lobby however other than just following me with their eyes they made no moves. I was pretty sure at least that the guard outside hadn’t used his radio and my method of killing him had been silent so I was pretty sure I was safe. Even so I kept them in my peripheral field of view just in case.

After checking into one of the cheaper rooms on the first floor I began to get to work. No one was patrolling the corridors or anything down here so I walked around until I found a maintenance closet. Ducking inside I pulled out the signal enhancer/hacker, set it up and connected it to my gauntlet’s computer. Once it found the wireless signal the hotel’s network was using and enhance it enough to try and gain access to it I started the hacking program embedded in it.

As that was running I made my way back to my room just in case any of the guards decided to check in on the hotel residents. While there I attacked the silencer to my pistol and checked to make sure it was loaded as well as my back-up weapon, an MP7. For this mission I hoped I didn’t have to use it but if something went rather wrong and I got swarmed by guards then I wanted something to even the odds a little.

Eventually my gauntlet dinged at me to alert me that the network had been hacked so I called up the files now available to me; specifically the guest list. Looking through it I found where Mr. Redriver was staying which I copied and saved to my gauntlet. Next I called up a floor plan for the entire hotel, copied it and saved that too. With everything now in place I left my room and headed for the back of the hotel.

At the end of the corridor was an emergency exit as well as a set of stairs that could be used if the elevator stopped working. Opening the door I entered the stairwell and slowly began climbing it, pistol drawn and held pointed at the ceiling. As I neared the fourth and final floor I saw movement; a guard standing outside the door and watching the stairwell. His head swiveled down to see me as I moved into view.

To his credit he reacted swiftly; one hand headed for his earpiece and the other headed for the gun at his side. Unfortunately for him I was faster and already had my weapon in hand. A split second to bring the gun sights over him then two pulls of the trigger sent him to the floor. Breathing a sigh of relief that I had managed to kill him before he could get a call off I quickly hopped up the stairs and propped his body up against the door.

According to the layout I had acquired as well as the information on current residents of the hotel I knew that his room was closest to this stairwell. If I ended up alerting his guards then they’d flee down this stairwell, so the body will at least slow them down a little bit. Normally I’d put explosives in the stairwell so any enemy fleeing down it would end up dead however I wanted this guy alive.

That also meant that I couldn’t just leap out this door and make for his room because there would be guards standing outside and watching the halls. While I’m sure I could kill them no problem I didn’t think I could do so before they’d warn the other guards and Mr. Redriver. There also could be more guards inside his room in which case they’d either try to get him out or they’d bunker up and wait for reinforcements, neither of which I wanted.

With that in mind I went down a level, stashing my pistol again as I did and crossed over on the third floor to the stairwell on the other side of the hotel. That stairwell also had a guard in it however he was a little smarter than his fellow in the first stairwell. He leapt back as I went to fire so my bullets hit the ceiling and the guardrail instead of him so I vocalized my frustration, “Fuck!”

In my ear I heard his voice over the earpiece, “Attacker in the east stairwell, request backup.” While he was saying that he pulled out a small plasma pistol and leaned over to fire it at me, however I leaned back outside where he had a clean shot and the plasma bolt melted the metal in front of my feet. I leaned back out and fired several shots at him, not really aiming and succeeded in getting him to duck back giving me time to get out of the stairwell.

Thanks to my earpiece I heard the guards being directed to cover the back exit and the stairwell leading to it because a car was on the way. They were also calling out that they had found the guy I’d killed and that I was no longer in the stairwell but was instead back in the hallway. Whoever was in charge of the guards decided to continue with the plan to get Mr. Redriver out to the incoming car.

It was a safe assumption that their car was parked out front like mine which meant I had to get outside fast and stop the car. I also was assuming that their car would be armored just like most national leaders’ cars were so just spraying the car with bullets wouldn’t work. The only way I was going to stop that car was to actually be there when the doors opened to kill the driver which would expose me to anyone guarding the back door.

Still the only other option that I could see was the let him get away so he could hide in his palace with his wife until God only knew when. My head shook at that thought and decided I was just going to have to take the risk. I moved to in front of one of the doors and shot the area around the lock to weaken the door’s integrity then kicked as hard as I could. The wooden door easily broke away from the lock, the door jamb causing the edge to splinter as it flew inwards.

A furrigen couple stared at me with fright as they huddled on their bed. Acknowledging them with a grunt as I ran across the room I emptied the rest of my pistol’s magazine into the window. There was nothing I could do about the noise the shattering glass made and in fact I heard it called out over the radio so I just had to suck it up. Replacing my pistol with the MP7 and switching to hook shot on my gauntlet I took a few breaths while I psyched myself up then leapt out of the window.

My mind registered that I had cleared the window and I twisted my body around to look up at the roof. I brought my arm up and let the hook fly, watching it sink into the roof and felt my teeth slam together as my arm stopped but the rest of my body tried to keep falling. Even though I was no longer falling towards the ground I was now swinging forward towards the wall, which I brought my feet up to take the impact.

As I hit the wall a plasma bolt passed close enough that my cheek suddenly felt sunburned and I could feel and smell some of my hair singe. Twisting as best as I was able I pointed my MP7 at the door and pulled the trigger. The gun bucked in my hand as I fired on full automatic; it would either kill him through sheer volume of fire or it would drive him back inside either of which I was ok with though the former would be more to my liking.

Sadly it was the latter that happened but I took advantage of it to start repelling down the wall though faster than normal to keep my time exposed to a minimum. My feet hit the ground with enough force to send a shock up through my body however I was able to use the downward momentum to go instantly into a crouching position between the hedges and the wall as the hook was quickly brought back into the gauntlet and deconstructed back into nanites.

When the guard looked back out he couldn’t find me and thankfully he assumed I had gone to the roof to get a better vantage point, buying me some time. This time was used to quickly reload both my weapons and to crouch-walk towards the exit and not a moment too soon. In my ears I could hear the whine of a passing sky car coming in to land at the rear entry, Only one chance to get it right then.

It felt a little like flying as I put as much effort into an upward forward lunge as I could, left arm outstretched to grab the guard around the throat and pull him against me as a shield. My right arm swung the MP7 into the doorway as my brain quickly analyzed Guy in front is a guard, not the target, fire which I did. As the other guard pulled Mr. Redriver back into the safety of the stairwell I swung the gun around the body of my shield and fired into the car, killing the driver.

The guard I had used as a shield hadn’t even had the time to lose the look of surprise before I spun him away from me and emptied the rest of the magazine into his chest. I reached in and closed the door to the hotel so that I’d at least have some warning if they were coming out at me then turned my attention to the car. Pulling out my pistol I emptied all 15 shots into the control panel rendering it completely useless.

Angry chatter in my ear alerted me that the guards were heading now for the front of the hotel where they would commandeer one of the parked cars. A plan formed in my mind as I sprinted around the hotel, the wall now being on my right as I came into view of the parking lot. My MP7 was out and reloaded and this time I pulled out the collapsible stock so I could brace it against my shoulder.

I waited a little back from the corner of the building so that I wasn’t immediately visible as they came out en masse. Several guards split off to check both sides of the building while two other guards were escorting a hastily dressed furrigen into the parking lot. One guard cried out as he spotted me right before I shot him then began firing bursts all around the parking lot causing most of the guards to duck or dive for cover.

The two guards with Mr. Redriver sprinted for the nearest car trying to get him behind it for cover but I had switched my aim to their legs and fired on full automatic. As I fired I swept the gun in a line until it clicked empty however I had already achieved my goal as all three of them were now down on the ground screaming in pain. Pulling out my pistol I began to get to work on the rest of the guard which numbered four in total.

Two of them I dropped before they could get back to their feet again which I had to duck back behind the wall as plasma bolts from the other two began to fly my way. One of the two remaining guards kept firing as the other ran to try and drag Mr. Redriver behind a car and out of the line of fire. Risking it I moved out enough to take aim at the guard and fired off three shots before my aim was thrown by a plasma round impacting my chest.

I staggered back behind the wall though not before seeing the guard I’d shot fall to the ground and his gun go skipping forward from inertia. Intense pain and heat seared my chest and I quickly looked down where I’d been shot expecting to see a lot of blood and a nice big hole. Instead most of the blast had been ablated by the armored threading I had going through my coat and all my clothes.

Enough had gotten through that a ragged circled of flesh was pretty crisped. Thankfully there was no bleeding because the heat of the plasma had cauterized the wound. Gritting my teeth against the pain I looked around to see the final guard, gun still aimed in my direction grab Mr. Redriver under the arms and begin to drag him. He looked up to see me still up and moving and fired before he could aim gouging a hole in the side of the hotel.

Pain flared through my chest as I raised both arms to get the best firing grip I could which caused my aim to dip and the first bullet hit the pavement. His next shot was better aimed though it still feel short of hitting me however it was close enough that chips of walls sliced into my forehead causing it to bleed. My second bullet was more on target than his though and he double over as it hit him in the stomach causing bullet number three to go right into his head as it was bent down.

Wincing in pain I walked out into the parking lot which seemed eerily quiet after the firefight even with the wounded yelling in pain. Walking over to the two guards I’d taken out at the legs I ended their misery with a quick bullet to the brain before going over to the prone and panting form of Mr. Redriver. Eyes glistening with fear stared at me as I stood above him then knelt down beside him and he asked, “W-who are you? Why are you after me?”

Looking at him with hard eyes I replied, “The answer to the first is also the answer to the second question; my name is John Tracker.” A panicked sense of recognition flickered in his eyes before I slammed the handle of my pistol against his temple and he dropped unconscious to the ground. Using my gauntlet to call my car over to my side I grunted in pain and picked him up; now it was time for phase 2 of my plan.

Opening my eyes I came back to reality where I was still overlooking the town of Ponyville. It took a moment of looking around to reassure myself I was not back there. Whenever I would revisit my memories there was a sense of inevitability about where I was going even if I wished to change things. Of course if I stayed here long enough my mind would start to wander and I worried about where it would take me.

A distraction came in the form of a grumbling stomach, which I sated or at least quieted for the moment with one of my sandwiches. As I ate I walked to keep me sufficiently distracted as to not allow myself to slip back into memory; I’d had enough of that already this morning. The moon was still in the sky with no sign of the sun yet though if I kept to walking that would be changing about the time I got to Ponyville.

Doing so would leave me a lot of time to kill and I wasn’t sure what I’d do to keep myself occupied though perhaps I’d finished mapping the town out. Even then that wouldn’t take up much of the time before my shift at the martial arts studio. I shrugged; I’d just have to think of something when the time came. Once again I wished Sheeva had not sent me here because filling time was not something I had trouble doing before.

My time was spent searching for the remaining people on my list and if I couldn’t do that for whatever reason there was always a local criminal element that I could put time into dealing with. Here there was no such thing for me to deal with, at least not that I had found and I doubted I’d get a lot of cooperation if I went looking for one. Either way it was no good speculating as my thoughts were just going in circles so I concentrating on walking.

Eventually I found myself at the outskirts of Ponyville but to my dismay the moon, while lower in the sky that earlier was not yet replaced by the sun. Walking around a little longer I found a bench that was almost indistinguishable from a human made bench except that it was lower to the ground. Even so I was able to sit comfortably enough on it, which proved to be a mistake. The lack of sleep began to overtake me and my eyes ultimately lost the battle, closing of their own will rather than my own.

I stood in the shadows observing as a semi-circle of Elediel as they chanted something in their language which even my earpiece couldn’t translate. Even though I couldn’t see the center guy’s hands I knew what he held; the soul gems from my wife and daughter. The Elediel lived for millennia and with that came a terror for the unknown of death which caused them to look ways to avoid it.

What they found was the soul gem, a gem that each one of them would imprint on at birth and when they eventually died their soul would be caught and nurtured in the gem for eternity. One downside was that they could only imprint on one gem and if it got destroyed they were screwed when they died, at least from their point of view. They even made it into a worst case punishment; like death row but worse for them.

Each Elediel community had a soul chamber where the deceased’s soul gems were stored made out of materials that allowed the souls to communicate psychically with one another. For each chamber there was a cadre of priests who kept and maintained the chamber or occasionally act as a voice for the souls stored within. The same material that allowed the souls to communicate with one another allowed them to talk to the priest when they pooled together though from what I had been told that was rare.

Even though it was my wife and child they were adding to the chamber I was not allowed to be any closer to the ritual since I was considered an outsider. I wouldn’t even be allowed to see it if I hadn’t been married to Tala’keer, though even that almost wasn’t enough to let me be here for this. Tala’s father, Ele’keel was a prominent figure in the community as he was famed for having the gift of far sight, allowing him to see into the future and guide his people towards the best outcomes.

When Tala and I had decided that we were going to get married we went to her home to let her parents know and hopefully to get their blessing. He was much more understanding and accepting than I was expecting and he more or less adopted me as if I was his own son. When the priests of the chamber had tried to argue that I should not be allowed to witness the event it was he who talked them out of it though I was still made to be as far away as could be while still able to watch.

The ritual was now complete and my eyes tracked the head priest as he walked into the chamber proper to put the gems in place. I tried to feel a sense of finality about it but all I could feel was a cold pain, numbing my senses while still allowing me to feel hurt. For the last several days since she had died I had gone from that numb hurt to blazing anger at whoever had sent the assassin after me and my family.

No matter what though I didn’t cry; after years of trying to hold back any pain I felt before Tala came into my life tears didn’t come easily to me. They wouldn’t have done me any good anyway but anger, that I did know well and knew how to use it. Even as the chamber was once again sealed the flicker of anger began to burn inside me and with it I roused enough from numbness to promise Tala, our daughter and myself that I would see them avenged.

With the ritual complete the priests as well as Tala’s family as well as friends of the family began to file out. Looks of disdain were tossed my way; though whether it was because I was human or because I was dressed in my vigilante clothes instead of fine robes I didn’t know. I would have worn some nice clothes but I didn’t own any and I couldn’t bring myself to care enough anymore to go out and get some.

Her father peeled away from the other attendees and walked over to me, sympathy written on his slender, angular face. A long fingered hand rested itself on my shoulder and in a strangely sing song voice he said, “My son, as I grieve for my daughter I grieve for you.”

I wasn’t sure if there was a proper response to that and I knew he would understand that so I said, “Thank you father. I’m sorry that I failed.”

His head cocked to one side, “Failed in what?”

“That I failed to protect her.” My hands clenched into fists, “It’s my duty to look after my family and instead I’m still alive while they are not.”

Both hands gripped my shoulders now as he looked at me in sadness and gave a slow shake of his head, “No my son. You are not to blame for this. There are only two who should accept the price of the blood spilled; the one who spilled the blood and the one who sent them.”

Reluctantly I nodded, “Well the first one has paid for his crime already but the second one is still alive, for the moment anyway.”

The sadness deepened and he shook me gently, “My son please do not allow your grief and anger to so cloud your judgment. When I look ahead into the future I do not see good coming from it but only more pain.”

I disengaged myself from his hands, backing up slightly as I prepared to leave, “I’m used to pain father. What do you think I feel right now?” Turning away I began to walk out to where a ship I had chartered was waiting for me, “It’s going to give me incentive is all.”

“Wait my son,” He called from behind me, “Remember this no matter what comes; not matter how dark the days seem I’ve seen that some hope remains. Look for it when you are at your worst.”

I started awake to the sun now being up and ponies going about their business, the nearest of whom stopped to stare at me for a moment before moving on slightly faster than before. Checking the time I saw that it wasn’t that far into the morning so at least I wasn’t going to be late for work. As if thinking of work summoned him Tough Hoof walked past my bench, did a double take, then walked over to me and took a seat next to me.

He raised an eyebrow, “Did you get kicked out of your house or don’t you have a place to stay at all?”

I shook my head, “No, its just that I was having trouble sleeping so I went for a walk then sat down here and fell asleep.”

Tough Hoof nodded in understanding, “Oh, I see. Have you eaten breakfast?” With a hoof he reached into a saddlebag he was wearing and pulled out two apples, offering me one. My stomach was rumbling a bit so I took it and for a while we sat there in silence and just munched our apples. After a bit he asked, “John, from what I’ve been hearing from the other ponies around town you don’t really socialize with anypony, you come into town, walk around, eat some food from the markets, come to work, and then you just leave. With that in mind I’d like to offer for you to join me after work tonight at the pub, please.”

Unable to hold in a sigh I said, “Look Tough Hoof I’m not really interested in making friends right now.”

To my surprise he just nodded, “That’s ok but you can still come to the pub and have drink.” His hoof touched my shoulder as he continued, “Remember when I said I had been taught by a lot of different teachers, not all of who were ponies?” When I nodded affirmative he said, “When I had those teachers I was traveling all around trying to learn as much as I could of martial arts and often I left Equestria.”

I waved my hand and head around to indicate that I didn’t understand the point of what he was saying, “Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m saying that I know what it feels like to be a complete stranger somewhere. The other ponies regard you with fear because you are unknown to them, which is something I had to get over when I started traveling the world. While you may not want any friends that doesn’t mean you can’t at least feel welcome here and that’s what I’m trying to help you do. Now, what do you say?”

What he said made sense to me which warred with my desire not to make friends until finally, with a sinking feeling I said, “Alright, I’ll go with you after work tonight.” He smiled happily but said nothing, patting my shoulder with his hoof before going back to his apple. As we sat there some more I could only hope that I didn’t regret my decision later.

Chapter 7, Part 2

“Goodbye Mr. Tracker and have a good evening,” Was the farewell given to me by Mrs. Heart and accompanied by a waved hoof. I waved in return as she and Faint Heart headed away from the dojo and felt a small sense of satisfaction. The class had gone smoothly, mostly just running her through her routine and watching for signs of progress. As far as I was concerned that was about as good as it could be.

Oddly enough though there were almost no other ponies in the dojo that evening; certainly less than was normal for Tough Hoof’s class. Now that my class was done I walked over to him and inquired about it to which he replied, “Tonight is one of the nights I give my class off, let them relax and enjoy an evening to themselves. Tomorrow it’ll be back to normal, you’ll see.”

With the crowd reduced we were mostly left with busywork and some one on one sparring with the few ponies who had come in. While I didn’t know any of the names of the ponies there they at least had become more used to seeing me now. The upside of that was that they weren’t as skittish around me as most other ponies still were. One of them even asked me to demonstrate how I grappled opponents for comparison which I did, on Tough Hoof which then turned into a on the spot competition between us.

Thanks to this the other ponies were laughing, making friendly wagers and cheering us on which only drove us to try and win harder. Before we knew it the time had come to close up shop and everyone waved to one another and said our goodbyes. Even I had to admit it was the closest I had come to feeling like I had enjoyed myself in some time. Memories began to surface of other times I had felt like I had that night; a sense of camaraderie and acceptance.

However those memories led back to before I had met my wife and I didn’t want to revisit them, certainly not right then and there. Shutting down was less painful and I did just that. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I had agreed to go with Tough Hoof right after work I would have just gone home to further shut down. Since I had agreed however I found myself walking beside him down the nearly deserted streets of Ponyville.

He gave me a grin as we walked, “Looks like the other ponies are getting used to you John. If we can keep it up you’ll feel right at home in no time.”

Not if I have anything to say about it, I thought though I declined to say it out loud. How I was going to keep that from happening I had no idea as of yet since I was doing a terrible job of keeping myself from in any way becoming invested in the people here. The obvious answer would be to do something terrible that would make all the ponies so afraid of me that even the ones trying to befriend me would leave me alone.

Even as the thought came to mind I immediately dismissed it; one the one hand since I did find myself getting at least a little invested I didn’t like the idea of doing that and on the other hand the ponies themselves were rather innocent. No matter what I had already done it was still very ingrained in me that I should not harm the innocent. In addition anything I could think of doing would likely end me up in trouble with the authorities which would lead back to innocents getting hurt and me possibly losing the freedom to try and finish my mission.

Tough Hoof was starting to wonder if I was going to answer so I said, “It would be nice not to have ponies looking at me with fear.” That was at least true enough and it did the trick, causing him to nod and continue trotting forward. Eventually the buildings around us began to thin out as we neared the edge of town where a large wooden building with a straw roof stood with a mug on a wooden sign hanging out front.

Trotting up to the door Tough Hoof turned the knob with his hoof, though I still had no idea how that worked or why they even had door knobs. Even as I ducked a little to get through the door I couldn’t help but notice many things that were suited more for humans than ponies. The bar itself had barstools, the tables had chairs instead of cloth covered pills of straw like some of the restaurants in town had and the mugs had handles though they were a little larger than normal so pony hooves could fit through.

We sat at a table near the back, mostly because that was where I had made a beeline out of habit. From there I could always observe everyone around me and if trouble came through the door than I had plenty of warning. I sat in my chair, leaving my coat on without thinking as Tough Hoof hopped into the chair across from me and put his forehooves onto the table. My eyes immediately began scanning the room noting everything around me.

From the door we entered the bar sat off to the left with a staircase leading upstairs off to the left of that. A couple of the tables had groups of ponies sitting around them, a mix of mares and stallions who were all drinking, chatting and laughing though nopony was getting drunk at least not that I could see. At the bar was only one pony; a pegasus mare with dirty white fur and a very dark pink mane and tail. Her wings hid her cutie mark but it was the eyes that caught my attention more than anypony else had.

I knew the eyes of someone used to fighting and she definitely had those eyes; that kind of awareness of what was going around you while holding hardness to them because of the things you had seen. She looked up from her mug and locked eyes with me and I was pretty sure she was reading the same thing about me. After a moment we both nodded to one another in unspoken understanding and went back to what we were doing.

Tough Hoof followed me stare then turned back to grin at me while nudging me with his foreleg, “Enjoying the scenery are you?”

My eyes turned to regard him without so much as a raised eyebrow, “No.”

“Oh? Then why were you staring at that mare?”

“Her eyes held something that caught my attention, that’s all.”

“Ah.” He waited a second before going on, “Though maybe you found her attractive or something. If you’re worried I’ll judge you because of that then don’t be. Some ponies dislike interspecies relations but I’m for whatever floats your boat.”

“I’m not against it either just not interested at the moment,” Which was true, after all I had been in a relationships with nonhumans before even married one. Since I wasn’t on Earth anymore and wasn’t likely to be going back anytime soon it had been the only other option back when I still had desired friendships and companionship. Even if I still had been open to the idea of becoming romantically involved with someone I’m not sure I’d have classified the ponies in that category.

I didn’t have a problem with correlating them to animals; I had been among aliens for far too long for that to happen. However I didn’t feel a sense of attraction to them on a physical basis like I could with some other species, mostly the humanoid ones and I had no intention of getting to know any of them well enough to see if personality alone would do it. If I had to say how I saw the ponies physically I would have no real classification for how they look. For some I might have used the adjective ‘cute’ to describe the way they look while for Luna I would actually say she was pretty but in the end nothing that called to me in the same way a humanoid form could.

Before we could continue the conversation an off white earth pony mare with a liquid filled mug on a serving tray cutie mark came over and asked for our order. Tough Hoof ordered a single much of hard cider for himself and I order a mug of sarsaparilla. As she left he looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, “Not much for drinking?”

This at least I could tell the full truth on, “I’ve never been a fan of alcohol mostly because I literally gag whenever I taste the stuff. People tell me it’s an acquired taste but I have no desire to acquire that taste so I stick to what I like.”

He shrugged, “Fair enough I suppose. Now I know its only been a couple of days but how do you like the job so far?”

“It’s not too bad really. At least I think its going ok so far all things considered.”

One of his forehooves swung in my direction, “Faint Heart seems to be getting more comfortable with you, as are the rest of the guys.”

I waggled my hand in a gesture that said ‘sort of’, “Faint Heart has warmed up a little bit, enough that she is less hesitant during classes which is good. The rest of the guys who are regulars are more comfortable with me than she is but that’s likely because they’re adults and have more self confidence than she does.”

He smiled at me as our drinks arrived, “Well keep at it John. Helping her gain confidence in herself will help her and you. Once ponies see her change and they learn that you were the one to help her they’ll start to rethink the way they see you.”

Lifting my glass to my lips I said, “Maybe.” After that a pleasured sigh came unbidden from within; it had been a long time since I had access to soda of any variety and the sarsaparilla tasted very good. Sadness rose then within me and I felt my eyes water without knowing why. It took me a moment to think it through but I realized that mentally I had just made another connection back to Earth, family and my old life.

With concern Tough Hoof asked, “John, are you ok? It seems like every time I see you something has you feeling down so please don’t tell me that everything is dandy. I know you said you don’t want any friends right now but will you please at least let me help you?”

Maybe it was the current weakness I was feeling or all the recent memories constantly flashing up but either way I found myself answering without intending too, “Just remembering my old life back home. The first time I ever taste sarsaparilla was during a reenactment event near my house. One of the suttlers, that’s what we called people who dressed in period clothing and sold period wares, was selling bottles of sarsaparilla as they made it back then. It tasted really good and I remember sharing it with my two brothers and my dad.” Even more unexpectedly I added, “They’re all dead now and I haven’t been home in almost a decade.”

To my surprise he came around to a chair closer to me and sat close enough that our sides were touching. Looking into his eyes I saw sorrow, concern and sympathy and nothing more. A friendly foreleg circled my shoulder as I had done in the past when comforting a buddy and while I should have pushed it away at the moment I couldn’t bring myself to. His voice cracking with emotion he said, “John, I’m so sorry for bringing that up. Just know that you don’t have to keep facing this alone though; I’m willing to help you anytime you need it and I bet if other ponies knew they’d do the same.”

I was saved from having to answer by the sounds of the door crashing open followed by shrieks from various ponies. Quite a few weird looking dog things came running into the bar and began chasing after everypony they could find, looking for all the world like someone had let a dog pound loose in the pub. The only pony who wasn’t fleeing for their lives was the pegasus I had noted earlier who had immediately taken to flight to dodge one of the dog things then kicked it in the face with her hind hooves.

Two other dogs came, front paw-hands things outstretched to grab her to which she just raised an eyebrow and beckoned them forward with a forehoof. With a lunge the closest dog tried to grab her but she flapped backwards then while he was vulnerable she flew forward again and delivered an uppercut that smashed the dog into the bar. After that she danced in mid-air, executing a twirl that took her behind the next dog who she knocked out by slamming both her forehooves into the back of its head.

“Get her you fools! She’s only one pony,” Came the angry and disgusted cry from a dog standing near the doorway, one pony already clutched in its arm. Flanked by two large dogs I made an unconscious decision that he was the leader and so turned my attention to him. Falling back into instinctive habit my right hand pulled out my Glock knowing that the desert eagle my wife had given me would easily punch through the dog and possibly hit an unintended target.

Standing with knees bent I held the gun two handed and slowly advanced towards the dog, Tough Hoof beside me and looking ready for a fight though not without a questioning glance towards the gun. Since the dog had a pony in hand I decided to speak rather than start shooting immediately, “You, dog boy! Put the pony down and walk out of here.”

He turned towards me, blinking in surprise as he did, “Oh yeah? Who and what are you to tell me what to do eh?”

“If you don’t put the pony down I’m the guy who will be killing the lot of you.”

With a laugh he replied, “You gonna kill all of us? Spot, Rover, go grab him too. We can make him work in the mines with these ponies.” Even the ridiculousness of the names didn’t register this time as it hit me that this was essentially a slave grab causing cold anger to fill my belly. My focus tightened onto the dog, the pony he was holding and the two big dogs who were now rushing forward towards me.

Moving my arms to the left my brain quickly processed the gun lining up on the target faster than I could consciously and immediately squeezed the trigger three times. Like an old friend came the feel of the pistol kicking in my hands as did the dog’s jerking movements as the bullets tore into him. Before that even hit my thinking mind my hands had swung to the other big dog and fired three more times into him, dropping him to the floor only a few feet from my feet.

Events seemed to speed up after that as my ability to think instead of just act returned and I noticed Tough Hoof now standing a few feet further away from me, eyes wide though from fear or surprise I couldn’t tell. The leader dog had now dropped the pony that fled immediately, his hands now in the air and backing away. Stammering he begged, “H-hey now! You prove you too strong. We go now, promise!”

My only reply was to shake my head; to me it was too late as soon as I realized it was a slave grab. All the conversation had done was give me time to line up a shot right between his eyes which I took, dropping him like a stone. Looking around I saw a few other dogs were now down, knocked out by the pegasus who had been sitting at the bar. As for the rest of the dogs they were trying to flee the two of us.

I let them run towards the door until there were no ponies near them then I shot every one of them. With the fight now over things seemed unnaturally quiet like it was a horror movie when you’re waiting for the big monster to suddenly leap out and kill everyone. Nothing happened though and I felt the familiar shaky feeling of my body coming down from all the adrenaline that helps in combat.

Everypony was just staring at me while also trying to hide, even Tough Hoof though he wasn’t trying to hide, he just looked dumbfounded with his mouth working while nothing came out. Trying to avoid the awkward moment and having to see their frightened stares I put away my gun and went to leave. Tough Hoof called out to me to wait but I ignored him. The only thing on my mind at that point was putting as much distance between the ponies and I as possible.

My steps were quick as I went through town, more so if I let the looks I had been given come to mind, yet more proof that I needed to stay away from these ponies. A soft whooshing noise caused me to look up where I saw several gold armored pegasi ponies flying past me and towards the pub. I almost started running flat out at that point because if they were this world’s equivalent of police then things could get out of hand and fast.

In the recent past, the same one that I wish I could stop remembering I had killed many cops during my revenge rampage. If I was found by the ponies once they learned what I had done they would likely try to arrest me and I would resist in a likely lethal manner. Even though I had done it before that didn’t mean I wanted to do so now or that I was proud of what I had done.

The trip back to my cottage took longer than normal even with the use of my gauntlet because I kept stopping to check for pursuers. Windfall thankfully said nothing other than a quick ‘hi John’ and a wave of her hoof. I returned it to ward off suspicion and told her that I was going to bed. With a nod she bid me goodnight and went back to walking around a bit, still working on her wings and limbs.

Unlike normal I didn’t undress as I lay on my bed but stayed fully clothed and armed just in case somepony came by to try and take me away. As I lay there the stares of the ponies in the pub kept coming back and before long they led my mind down another road of memory.

My head snapped around and I tasted blood in my mouth from the force of the punch which also caused me to fall to the dirt. As I pushed myself up on my elbows I turned to face the guy who hit me; Colonel Jason Brightmoon, the rest of his merc team standing around him and all of them glaring at me. His teeth were bared and shining under the moonlight as he asked, “What the hell is wrong with you human? When you were part of my crew you had a sense of honor and morality. Now I hear that you contributed to causing an empire to fall into chaos, my people mind you and not only did you do that you killed civilians in the process? Not to mention what you did to the empress’ husband.”

Looking from face to face I saw I had no friends here, each of them already labeling me in their minds as ‘murderer, monster’. Hauling myself to my feet I found that despite wanting to explain everything to them I felt betrayed by them for this so I decided to tell them nothing and instead went with the classic, “You wouldn’t understand.”

That set him off even further and he advanced on me with fists clenched, “Don’t you dare give me that fucking lame ass excuse!” He stopped just short of pummeling me as I drew my gun and aimed it right between his eyes. I had already killed civilians, people I swore I’d never harm so what did it matter if I decided to kill someone I once considered a friend? Carefully I got to my feet, eyes never leaving him and the others just in case however all he said was, “Get out of here pup, you’ve dishonored your pack.”

My eyes opened quickly and I shook my head to dispel the last of the memory, sitting up as I did so. It had been a long time since I had thought about Colonel Brightmoon and our less than friendly encounter. I suppose the way I felt about how Tough Hoof had looked at me mirrored how Jason had looked at me when we had met after I had exacted my revenge on the empress.

First it was the memory of having kidnapped the empress’ husband and now my meeting with Jason after the whole affair had ended. Not wanting to know what I was going to remember next I tried to keep my mind blank and when that proved too hard, focused on something else. Of course that eventually stopped working too as I ran out of things to think about especially with all the other memories so close to the surface now.

He sat there panting and stinking of fear, eyes darting around and his head moving around as far as it could go. I was pretty sure he was looking for a way to escape from his current predicament in which case good luck to him because I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him escape. The room was solid wall with no windows and only one door, which I currently was leaning next to.

Every so often his eyes would wander my way and I would make a show of fingering my pistol and looking like I wanted an excuse to use it. Of course I really did want to use it but I wanted it to be done effectively and if my plan worked it would definitely make an effect. A short knock on the door followed by a low voice interrupted the moment and I opened the door just enough to see the speaker though I blocked the door itself with my body.

A young furrigen, most likely in his late teens stood there holding a palm sized silver cylinder which he held out to me, “We’re in. Tap this end to start the device and it’ll hover and record unless you give it any further instructions. As soon as it starts recording we’ll take over the broadcast signals and broadcast it to the entire empire.”

I smiled with satisfaction, one of my last smiles and thanked him before taking the cylinder and moving to stand by the wall directly in front of Paul. Even as afraid as he was he didn’t ask me what was going on, just stared at me as I followed the directions and left the device hovering there. The device lit up on one end and faced us with that end while it projected what it was recording on the wall behind it.

Before they began broadcasting I moved to in front of my prisoner and waited for confirmation of live broadcasting to come over my ear implant. Once I got it I began to speak, “Hello to the empress of all furrigen-kind I am John Tracker. A few months ago you sent one of your assassins out to kill me and as you can see he failed.” My eyes narrowed, “However he did kill my family which is why I’m here now.”

Walking to the side I gave the audience a chance to see the prisoner as I walked around to be behind him but still visible. Allowing my anger to show I went on, “I was retired and no threat to you but you couldn’t leave me alone could you? No you felt you had to remove any possible threat to you and your regime. Now I am a threat to you and it is entirely your fault. I’m not going to simply kill you as I have those I’ve come after in the past though, oh no that would be far too kind for what you did.”

“You took my family away from me Taliva and so tonight I begin my vengeance quest by taking your mate,” Without further drama I put my pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. In the confined space the gunshot was louder in a way that fit the situation perfectly. As I put my gun back in my holster I turned back to the camera, “That was just the beginning.” I strode forward as I went on, “I am going to kill everyone you love. If you built it I will destroy it. Everything you care about will be taken from you so that you will feel the same pain that I have felt since they died. Then and only then will I finally do you the mercy of killing you.”

As soon as I broke out of the memory I felt the old familiar guilt from that particular action and I found myself wondering if that was the point where I began my fall. Even as the thoughts formed within my head the old arguments began to surface as part of me tried to justify what I had done. Taliva certainly didn’t have any qualms about having my family killed why should we care that we killed hers? Just because she did it doesn’t make it right. Like what we did was right the whole time? Face it whenever we killed someone it was murder by any law anyone cares to name. Yet we justified them all and pushed it from our mind. That was because we weren’t like them, we didn’t kill innocents only people like them who preyed on the innocent.

Over and over until I thought I was going to lose it causing me to get up before I spiraled further into memory and actually did lose it. For the whatevereth time since I had arrived in Equestria I cursed it and what was happening to me while I was here. If I was to get out of here and finish my mission I needed focus. I can’t get that focus though because I was dealing with these uncomfortable emotions and now my memories kept popping up.

Windfall looked up from where she was lying on the couch trying to sleep and asked, “John is everything ok?”

I answered as I reached for the door, “I need to get some air, clear my head is all. I’ll be back.”

The sound of her hooves hitting the floor followed the sound of the door opening and soon I could see her lime green face as she cantered over, “I’ll come with you.” There wasn’t even time to try and argue against it because the sound of flapping wings grabbed my attention. Turning to face the source of the sound I saw Luna on the most Goth chariot ever pulled by two stallions with dark blue armor and bat wings with two more flying alongside coming to rest in front of my cottage.

Involuntarily my one foot moved backwards as she gave me a glare that I was pretty sure was augmented by magic to cause actual fear. Jabbing a hoof at me Luna declared, “John Tracker you are under arrest for killing several Diamond Dogs earlier this evening. You will be held under guard pending a hearing tomorrow morning where your fate shall be decided.” At a nod from Luna the two armored ponies not pulling the chariot moved towards me to try and arrest me but I was having none of that.

With reflexes honed from a decade of fighting all over the galaxy I drew and aimed both my desert eagle and my Glock. The ponies didn’t know what they were but they knew I wasn’t pulling them out without a reason so they stopped in mid-step. Luna’s eyes narrowed, “Resisting arrest John? That is not very wise of you.”

My guns jabbed towards them to emphasize my words, “I’m not going to jail Luna. I’ve had more than enough of being someone’s captive and at their mercy or lack thereof. My life has been out of my control for too long and no matter how I feel about my life I’m not letting anyone else take it away from me do you hear? I’ll kill whomever tries to do either to me do you understand?”

To my surprise her eyes softened and she said, “I do understand John. Like you I know what it is like to be captive and have no control over your own life. Nor do I desire to become a captor myself so I will give you this proposition; you come with me peacefully and I will be the one to watch over you. No guards, no prison and no chains understand?”

That was rather generous by any standards but there was one problem with it which I voiced, “What about the hearing?”

“I cannot cancel the hearing without a very good reason John however I can help ensure it is fair to you and my ponies. There is no guarantee that you will be punished anyways however if you are I promise I will make it a fair sentence for everyone involved. Can you accept that?”

“What if I don’t like the sentence and decide to fight my way out anyway?”

A sudden midnight glow around my weapons which felt like static electricity on my skin and my weapons were yanked from my hands. They came to rest by Luna’s horn which was glowing the same color, “I could have disarmed you at any point John but I am trying to be reasonable. This is your last chance to accept my offer.”

My teeth gritted as I felt like I was losing control of my life again but as I said it was a generous offer from her perspective and I doubt I could get anything better so finally I said, “Very well Luna, I accept.” Gratitude and relief crossed her features as she pointed a hoof at the chariot. Nopony made any attempts to restrain me or anything as I got into the chariot which made me feel a little easier about the affair, more so when Luna handed me back my weapons though she did ask me to put them away so her ponies wouldn’t be frightened by them.

Windfall attempted to run over and join us in the chariot but the two armored ponies made a barrier with their batwings. Luna gave her a small smile and said, “Let her through please. I’m sure she will want to see how things turn out. Please come aboard my little pony.” This she did quite promptly after the guards lowered their wings which caused her to shoot Luna a gratitude grin.

I had intended to remain standing to try and retain some feeling of control over the situation but the movement of the chariot, especially the takeoff forced me to sit down. It was rather crowded with the three of us in the chariot so we were all sitting literally together while trying not to press into the person or pony next to us. Personally I was sitting there wishing I’d had the foresight to bring some of my anti-power gear.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t fought creatures with magical powers before, as I had told Luna earlier though most of the time I knew what I was getting into and was equipped accordingly. Since it wasn’t a common enough thing I didn’t carry the stuff with me all the time but at that moment I was wishing I had it just in case. Windfall interrupted my thoughts as her head peaked around Luna with uneasy curiosity seated in her eyes, “John did you really kill some Diamond Dogs?”

Pleading the fifth came to mind as did the phrase ‘What you say can and will be used against you.’ Even as the thoughts came up I decided to tell the truth anyway because I wasn’t going to lie about what I had done, not even at the hearing and if it was going to come out anyway then her hearing about it now wouldn’t make it any worse. Heaving a sigh I said, “Yes I did Windfall, at the one pub on the end of town.”

Her eyes went even wider though as big as they are to begin with I have no idea how that is possible. After a moment of finding her voice she got out, “B-but why would you do that?”

Conscious of the fact that Luna was listening even though she was trying very hard to look like she wasn’t I answered, “To keep them from enslaving your fellow ponies. Too bad the ponies don’t seem to appreciate that fact.” All of which was true and was how I felt however it had the fortunate effect of completely killing the conversation for the rest of the ride.

The figure grinned widely, a mouth full of fangs visible in the light of the console. His hunt was finally nearing its end as the faster-than-light drive was spooling up for a jump. After nearly a year of searching he had finally found the last planet where John had been spotted and according to all sources was still on. Soon enough he would go there, find the hole where John was hiding in, drag him out and kill him.

With a chuckle the figure said aloud, “I’m looking forward to seeing you again John. It’s been so long since I last felt your body cave under my fists and I miss the feeling immensely. Even better is that I, Wilhelm will be the one who will become famous across the galaxy’s underworld for killing the dreaded Human.” Satisfaction infused his features as he contemplated the death of the human he had such hatred for.

That was not to last as an alarm sounded on his board, interrupting his fantasies. A freak cosmic storm had just formed and was headed right for him. His eyes darted about as he took in the information and tried to come up with a course of action. Trying to outrun the storm would do him no good; the storm was much faster than his little ship was. He could try an emergency jump with his FTL drive but that could tear his ship apart especially so close to a storm.

With literally seconds to go before the storm would engulf and destroy his ship he decided that a possible death was better than an assured death and hit the jump command. The ship shuddered violently and for a moment he thought it wasn’t going to work, that the ship would be caught and torn apart. However with a final shudder that slammed his head against the nearest bulkhead the ship leapt out of normal space just as the storm reached it.

We landed at the tallest building I had seen to date in Ponyville which I was informed was the town hall which is where I would wait for the hearing to start. True to her word she didn’t try to stick me in a cell or a room where she could easily keep me from escaping but instead got Windfall and I cots and set them up in the main room near the entrance. The cot was a little small for me and I was worried about the weight so when I sat I was rather careful about it.

It held though so I looked up to find Windfall lying on her stomach on the other cot and Luna sitting on her haunches flanked by her guards. We each fidgeted uncomfortable as we sat in silence, each of our gazes moving from person to person. Eventually Windfall sighed and broke the silence, “John I just do not understand you. I am trying to be your friend but I cannot understand your decisions a lot of the time.”

Luna cleared her throat, “I can understand his decisions better perhaps however that does not mean I necessarily agree with them, especially after asking him not to employ violence while here in Equestria.”

Windfall shook her head, “That’s not all I was talking about your highne-sorry, that’s not all I was talking about Luna.”

Luna’s head tilted a little to the side, “Oh? What did you mean?”

Windfall took the time to recount our previous argument about being friends and finished with, “I’ve never seen someone reject friendship that was offered like that, have you?”

To my surprise Luna’s head lowered, her ears drooping, “I have seen it before. After my return I visited Ponyville during the Nightmare Night celebration where I had hoped to make many friends and become loved like my sister was. My thought was that if I came in, stated my intentions and tried to work together with my subjects than I would accomplish my goal. Instead the ponies of Ponyville began to scream and run away every time they would see me.”

Windfall gasped softly and I have to admit that I felt anger stirring within me on Luna’s behalf. In my time away from Earth I had certainly had that happen to me back when I wanted friends and knew what it felt like. My curiosity had been piqued however so I inquired, “Why did they scream and run away from you? It can’t be because you’re an alicorn because Celestia is too and from what I’ve heard she is loved and respected by her subjects.”

Luna looked very uncomfortable with that question though to my surprise so did Windfall, who looked away from the two of us. After clearing her throat Luna answered, “Sadly, my sister and I have always been treated differently though my sister has tried very hard to rectify that.”

“That doesn’t explain why they screamed and ran from you though.”

Windfall scoffed, “Oh like you tell me everything about you John. I’m not stupid; I can tell when you evade my questions or only give partial answers.”

I fidgeted a bit then finally bit out a, “I have my reasons.” It was an unbelievably weak argument and I knew it and unfortunately so did they.

Luna just lifted her head a little in a regal glare while she gave a little hoof stomp, “What makes you think I do not have my reasons as well? If you are not willing to share with us about yourself then why should we share to you hmm? Should you find it within yourself to trust us enough to tell us your story then I shall also tell you the reason the ponies were afraid of me.” Glancing out at her moon she changed demeanor and said, “For now I think it is best if we all get some sleep. I do not suppose you would be willing to let me watch over your dreams for one night?” At my headshake she sighed, “As you wish, however please try not to wake Windfall.”

Sighing I lay down on the cot and turned to face away from the both of them though it was hard to get comfortable with half my legs sticking out over the end of the cot. Even so sleep did eventually come for me, though I personally preferred that it would decide not to.

I felt absolutely miserable as I strode down the partially lit hallways of what would have been an elementary school back home. Never before had I ever attempted something like this nor wanted to nor did I really want to even now however it had to be done. The idea had belonged to a resistance leader who really liked to screw with the emotions of his enemy which was the purpose of this mission.

My ultimate goal of revenge was to destroy everything Taliva cared about before finally killing her and that included bringing down the regime she had built. There was no way I could do that on my own so I hooked up with the local resistance, of which there were six different groups each vying for control. Since I didn’t care about any of the individual ideologies of the groups and needed all the help I could get I did work for every group; weakening Taliva and strengthening my allies with each mission.

Even though we wanted to screw with people’s emotions on this mission we still drew the line at killing children so I waited until long after school hours were over to begin. Emotional conflicts were freaking killing me though as this was a terrorist action, something I had fought against as a vigilante. Within me came another voice that argued that so long as we weren’t killing any children it didn’t matter and was necessary.

The two voices kept bickering within me as I continued to move forward through will and maybe more than a little hate for Taliva. All of this was interrupted by a voice behind me, “Excuse me sir, you can’t be here right now, the school is closed.” Turning I saw an older furrigen, his fur turning a dull grey with age and a few wrinkles appearing even through the fur on his face.

Eyes widened in recognition of me as after the execution of Paul Redriver my face was plastered all over as a wanted enemy. His voice quivered a bit as he started to back away, “Y-you, you’re.” Those were his last words as instinct took over as soon as I saw him and I charged right at him, drawing my k-bar as I did so. He tried to run but I grabbed him from behind just after he finished turning and rammed the knife into his back.

A small gasp escaped him as the air escaped from his punctured lungs and I yanked the knife back out, letting him fall where he stood. Kneeling down I wiped the blood that had gotten on my blade off on his uniform which was that of school security. Guilt hardened in my chest but I paid it no mind, focusing my mind on the memory of Tala’keer and Aietha, my daughter. My anger was stoked and it easily overrode any guilt I felt at my actions.

Leaving him where he lay I set off again heading for one of the building’s support columns in the center of the school. Upon reaching it I pulled out a large satchel that I had hidden under my coat which contained blocks of C-4 explosive and detonation caps. I firmly attached the block to the column and inserted a detonation cap, activating it and tuning it to my detonator’s frequency.

There were no more run ins with any security guards and I made my way around the rest of the school attaching explosives to various stress points. With the first part of my mission done I left the building and began part 2 of my plan. The leader I was doing this for didn’t just want me to destroy the school; they wanted it to be a big spectacle so the newshounds would be all over it and all over Empress Taliva. With that in mind the rest of my explosives went outside where they would mostly just make a large explosion not geared towards any particular outcome other than spectacle creation.

Once that was finished I headed over to a nearby alleyway behind the school where I could see what was going to happen but would have some cover from the shrapnel and blast shockwave. As I withdrew the detonator from my coat whatever conscience I still had made one last attempt to persuade me not to do this but it was in vain. One final glance at the school and I thumbed the switch.

A spectacular series of explosions lit up the night while the building collapsed in on itself in a shower of rubble and dust. The aftermath was an odd silence like the explosion had sucked out all the noise however as I walked out to survey my handiwork I began to hears voices from the other side of where the school had been. Skirting around the edges of the rubble I saw various people running and yelling in fright while others were knelt over bodies lying in the street or on the sidewalk.

I frowned, guilt hitting me in the gut as I realized I had failed to check to see that the streets were fully cleared before detonating the explosives. Even though I had timed the mission for when no children would be in school and for when the fewest people would likely be out and about that didn’t mean nobody was out at that time. Something touched my ankle as I stood there and I looked down to see a bloody hand grab my ankle.

His face looked up at me with pleading in his eyes. This close I could smell charred flesh and burnt fur as he lay at my feet. He needed help but I was the only one around at the moment, everyone else had either fled the scene or were looking after their own problems. My instincts screamed at me to help him, he was an innocent man and had nothing to do with what was going on and yet here he had been caught in the middle anyway.

Even as I thought that another thought had come to mind that began to drown out any feelings or thoughts of compassion; he wasn’t innocent, no one here was. He may not have worked directly for who I was after but he lived here and worked here and paid taxes here. Even if he wasn’t a direct employee he was a part of the system that had wronged me and it was held up by people like him. His scorched lips moved a little and he finally managed to let out a call for help.

I turned on my heel, unable to look him in the eye, “No. Not my problem.”

My eyes flew open into darkness and for a moment I thought I was still standing on that street and still smelling the charred flesh at my feet. Then my eyes adjusted and I realized I was in the Ponyville Town Hall with the first rays of sunlight beginning to pour into through the windows. As I sat up I heard the tapping of shoes on the floor and turned to find a concerned looking Princess Luna walking over to me.

“Are you ok John,” She asked. “It was obvious you were having a rather awful nightmare.”

With raised eyebrow I replied, “Obvious because you were using your powers?”

Her eyes narrowed and she sighed, “No John, I promised I wouldn’t look into your dreams without your permission and I’ve kept my promise. The reason it was obvious was because you were tossing and turning and making rather unhappy sounding noises in your sleep. There was even a few words in there, mostly the word no.” Luna sat on her haunches right in front of me, obviously intent on talking about it, “So what happened?”

While I could have just kept my mouth shut and said absolutely nothing that would have just made the situation unbearably awkward since I couldn’t leave. Given the situation I could at least tell her some general information about my dreams, “It was not so much a nightmare as a memory, one that I’d sooner forget happened. I’ve had quite a few since yesterday.”

Luna listened to me intently though when I stopped her curiosity came in, “What was the memory about?”

“You said once that you had done things you would rather your ponies not know about; things they would find monstrous yes?” She nodded sadly, no longer looking at me as I continued, “Well I’ve done my share of things that are considered to be monstrous, even to me. Yesterday’s killings weren’t even close to the worst thing I’ve ever done.” I sighed, feeling the memories weighing on me, “For some reason lately the memories of some of my worst acts have been surfacing again when I sleep.”

I felt the hardness of metal upon my knee as Luna placed a forehoof there and gave me a sympathetic smile, “I too know how that feels John. As you have said I have done things that are monstrous and even though I control dreams I cannot nor should I hide from the memories of what I have done.” Her tone changed to that one someone quoting someone or something, “If we do not learn from others’ mistakes than we are destined to make them again.”

“We have something similar back on my world; ‘those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

She nodded her agreement, “It is a wise and true saying which is why I shall not try to forget what I have done so that I may never repeat such acts again and I would say the same for you.”

I shook my head, “I’d rather just forget about it. Life hands me enough baggage to carry without constantly dredging up what I’ve already done.”

Her eyebrow came up, “And how will you keep from repeating your mistakes then? Moreover since it is so obvious that it bothers you how do you think trying to forget about it will make it go away instead of confronting it?”

If I told her why it didn’t matter I’d have to reveal my intent to kill myself and I was pretty damn sure there was no way she’d simply let it go at that and neither would Windfall at that. Crossing my arms and sitting back I said, “I have my reasons Luna. That will have to suffice for now.” Her eyes narrowed followed by a sigh as she turned to look out the window as the sun rose, quite literally moving upwards visibly until it stopped.

Once it stopped moving her gaze came back to rest on me, “The day has begun. Prepare yourself John for soon the hearing shall begin. I just hope you can explain your actions or else I will be forced to take your freedom from you again.”

Chapter 7, Part 3

At Luna’s suggestion we had all retired to a side room so as not to possibly spook anypony who was coming in to attend the hearing. The only new pony I saw during the time we spent waiting was a pony that Luna informed me was the mayor of the town; one Mayor Mare. God really must have had a sense of humor when he created these ponies given how they look, act and their names for everything.

Windfall had tried to engage me in conversation a few times but I wanted to be left alone so for the next two or so hours we stood around in silence. Eventually a gold armored pony with normal pegasi wings knocked on the door and announced that they were ready for us. Luna led the way and I was flanked by her guards though nopony made any moves to try and restrain me or disarm me or anything.

As I entered I realized I had been taken to the side entrance with a stand on my right, which I was led to and next to that was where the mayor was currently sitting. To my left was the gallery which was full of the multicolored little guys, all talking in that way that you can’t make anything out without looking at the person talking to you. Word quickly spread that I was now in the room and a sea of equine heads turned to regard me with ridiculously large eyes.

Fear was palatable from the mass, some even flinching as my gaze passed them. There were a few exceptions, such as the regular crew from the dojo who were sitting with Tough Hoof. Tough Hoof even tried to give me a reassuring smile and waved at me which did actually make me feel a little better knowing that not everypony was inclined to judge me right off the bat. I also was able to pick out the pegasus from the bar who had kicked the shit out of the diamond dogs.

Other faces that I recognized were that of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash who were talking to three other ponies I didn’t know; a buttery yellow pegasus with pink mane, a white unicorn with curly purple mane and a very pink earth pony with poofy pink mane. Applebloom was sitting next to Applejack and talking with two fillies her age; an orange pegasus and a white unicorn. They weren’t the only fillies in the crowd as I spotted Faint Heart and her mom who was sitting next to a stallion with a grey coat and a grey and black mane and tail.

From the way Faint Heart kept inching away from the other ponies sitting around her and trying to hide behind his legs I was guessing this was her father. Finally I spotted Derpy in the crowd who gave me a wave and a smile which was lessened a little by her weird eyes still, like with Tough Hoof it did make me feel a little better. Windfall trotted over to a vacant seat and sat down as the mayor brought her hoof down like a gavel, quieting everypony down.

More gold armored ponies, some unicorns closed the doors and stood guard beside them while Luna sat on her haunches beside me. I would have sat down myself but there was no chair behind the stand so I remained standing and thus taller than everyone else in the room. The mayor turned to me and asked, “Would you please sit so we may begin the hearing Mr. Tracker?”

Raising an eyebrow I replied, “I’m not a pony Ms. Mayor, sitting on the floor is not customary for my kind and if I did my head would be below the height of the stand. Do you have a chair I can use?”

“Oh my, I am quite sorry. Yes indeed would somepony please go and get Mr. Tracker a chair?” One of the guards left and returned a short time later with a chair that, while a little smaller than I would have liked at least would suffice. Taking it with a curt nod I sat down and the mayor went on, “Today we are gathered here to hear about events that took place in Ponyville last night and to render any judgment that might be necessary.”

Pointing at me with a hoof she continued, “Last night at the Dancing Pony Pub a Diamond Dog raid was stopped with nopony being taken in the end. The reason for this hearing is that according to the testimony of the ponies on the scene several of the Diamond Dogs were killed by this creature on the stand. This hearing is to determine whether what, if any punishment if necessary.” Her glasses covered gaze turned to me, “What do you have to say Mr. Tracker?”

Grimacing I started, “Well first of all I don’t take too kindly to being called a creature. I’m not an animal, I’m a person. If you need to call me something other than my name then call me by my species which is human.”

Taken aback she said, “Oh, o-of course Mr. Tracker. My apologies, I had no intention to offend you. If you would be so kind as to give us your account of the details of what happened however?”

Nodding I stood up, feeling like it would add some kind of weight to what I had to say anyway, “Very well. Last night I went to the Dancing Pony with my employer, Tough Hoof to have some drinks.” My hands lay on the stand now and I leaned forward to glare at the ponies assembled, “Seems that he noticed how feared and avoided I was by the general pony populace here in Ponyville which I find to be funny considering I had been told that you ponies are supposed to be some of the friendliest beings anywhere.”

Taking a deep breath I continued, “Anyway Tough Hoof was hoping to make me feel more welcome here in Ponyville hence why we went to the pub. As we sat there and waited for our drinks the Diamond Dogs attacked. Once Tough Hoof informed me of what the Diamond Dogs were and what they do I killed them to stop them from taking anypony both now and in the future.”

Mayor Mare looked rather uncomfortable at that, “You admit to having killed the dogs then?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Tracker you are not helping your case any you know.”

“Do you not have any laws regarding defending yourself or others?”

She tapped a hoof on her chin, “Well yes we do actually. Very well then, we shall begin to accept testimonies to determine whether or not your actions really constituted a defense of the ponies. Perhaps you would like to give us a bit about your background, for context purposes.”

Reflexively I wanted to tell her no however if I was going to defend myself I felt that I should cooperate and give them at least a brief idea of what my life was like. If I was lucky then at least they might be more understanding of my situation so I nodded and began, standing as I did, “Very well.” I was able to pick out Windfall and Luna looking with even more interest as I prepared to talk about myself.

Taking a deep breath and trying not to think too hard about what I was going to say I started, “I used to be a very different person than I am now. About ten years ago I was a student in school for higher learning when I was kidnapped not only from the school but also from my planet.” The entire courtroom was now dead silent as the ponies stared in shock. Whatever they had been expecting me to say that clearly wasn’t it.

Internally noting how that seemed to have gotten their attention I continued, “My kidnapers were the ones who taught me how to kill mainly by forcing me into situations where it was kill or be killed. While I eventually got away from them I was unable to go home so I took up mercenary work to earn some income. As a merc I saw a lot of the underside of the universe and after seeing some things that really hit home for me I became a vigilante.”

“I’ve been a vigilante now for about eight years give or take. During that time I’ve been dealing with the worst scum imaginable and whose lives I’ve taken so that they can’t harm others. With that in mind when I saw the dogs trying to kidnap ponies and I was told what they would do to them I acted in the manner I know best. What I saw were slavers who would use ponies as slave labor then discard them when they’ve taken everything they can get out of them. If I had not killed those dogs then there would be less ponies sitting here today and eventually the dogs would have come back but now they cannot come back and you are safer.”

Finished I sat down then looked around at a roomful of stunned faces. The least stunned pony in the room from what I saw was Luna who still looked shocked just not as shocked as everypony else. Minutes began to stretch on as the silence showed no signs of stopping. Their stares began to make me feel like a target and I began to fidget as the desire to dive for cover began to rise in me.

Eventually a cough ended the silence as Mayor Mare began to try to move the proceedings forward. She coughed again then said, “Well Mr. Tracker that does provide us with an…interesting insight into your state of mind though if I had known all that it would entail I might have sent the children out. If, as you say you were indeed defending our ponies from being taken by those horrible Diamond Dogs then your actions could be considered in defense of others. To that end I would like to have everypony who witnessed last nights’ events to please testify on what they saw. We’ll start with your employer; Tough Hoof if you could please come to the bench.”

Tough Hoof trotted from his seat down a central aisle and over to the witness bench which was on the other side of the mayor from me. As he made his way there he tried to give me a reassuring smile but the shock still came through on his face and eyes. Sitting down the mayor told him, “Please state your name, occupation and how you know the defendant.”

Clearing his throat he began, “I am Tough Hoof, I am the owner and a teacher at the local martial arts dojo and Mr. Tracker there is my employee.”

“And how did you come to be at the Dancing Pony Mr. Hoof?”

“I usually go there after work for a drink though nothing too heavy just something to relax with. This time I had invited John to come with me because I’ve been trying to make him feel more welcome here in Ponyville. He agreed so after work we went right there.”

“Would you mind recalling what happened last night?”

“Not a problem mayor. Well at first we were just waiting for our drinks when suddenly the Diamond Dogs busted through the door and began to chase everypony near them. They managed to snag one pony but were having some difficulties with a pegasus at the bar who was fighting them off. I got up to help since I’m a martial artist and John got up with me so I thought he was going to try and help me fight them.”

He took a breath and continued, “Instead of going at them with his hands-“

Mayor Mare interrupted, “Excuse me but his what?”

“His hands mayor,” At her confusion he explained, “He doesn’t have hooves on the end of his forelimbs there; instead he has hands. I travelled the Minotaur lands and they have the same things and that’s what they call them.” As he explained this I heard a happy sounding gasp from the crowd that I thought came from a minty colored unicorn though I couldn’t be sure. “Where I would use all four hooves to fight with as a biped he would primarily stick to using his hands if he were to use martial arts in a fight.”

“I see. However you said he didn’t use them so what did he do instead?”

“He reached into that big coat he’s always wearing and pulled out a device I had never seen before.”

“What did it look like Mr. Hoof?”

“Well it was black colored with an end for him to grip with his hands and another end that he pointed towards the dogs. After that he told them to let go of the pony they’d grabbed or else. They didn’t take him too seriously even when he warned them that he would kill them if they didn’t comply. The leader had two of his partners attack John and planned to put him to work in the mines like they would the ponies.”

His forehooves began to nervously rub one another as he recalled the killing itself, “Next thing I know the thing in his hands make a bunch of loud cracks, spits smoke and the dogs have new holes in them and are dead on the floor. The leader of the bunch tries to get out of it by dropping the pony he had hold of but John kills him too. With that the rest of the dogs tried to flee the scene but he kills them too.”

Tough Hoof was clearly shaken as he said those last words and the mayor noticed, “Are you ok Mr. Hoof?”

“Sorry mayor, I just…I thought he was going to let the rest of the dogs go because he didn’t attack right away, just watched them run but then as they were nearly out the door he killed the rest of them too.” He looked at me with a mix of apology and horror as he said, “That scared me to be honest. I’m trained to be able to defend myself, even take a life if I have to, but only when I have to. John you…you killed those dogs even after they had given up. Maybe that’s how you do things as a vigilante but…” He trailed off head lowered and shaking slowly back and forth.

Mayor Mare cleared her throat, also clearly unsettled, “I see. Thank you for your honesty during your testimony Mr. Hoof. Please return to your seat.” Her gaze turned to me, grave and unhappy as he left the stand, “Even if you were defending the other ponies from the dogs you took matters too far by killing those who were surrendering or fleeing. That is only one testimony however and I am obliged to hear the rest if only to give the fairest ruling I can.”

Adjusting her glasses with one hoof she looked at a list sitting on her desk, “Next is Hollyhock. Miss Hock if you could please come to the stand?” Trotting up to the stand was the pegasus who had kicked a lot of ass the previous night. “Please state your name, occupation and how you know the defendant?”

With no expression whatsoever she stated, “My name is Hollyhock, I am a travelling martial artist making a living competing in tournaments across and occasionally outside Equestria. Personally I don’t know the guy but I was there last night and saw what he did.”

“Would you please tell us from your point of view what happened last night?”

“Like the stallion said we were all there enjoying our drinks when the dogs attacked. Three of them tried to grab me but I fought them off pretty easily. After I had finished I heard John there make his challenge to the dogs. They attacked him; he killed them all then left.” She shrugged, “Don’t know why he left though it’s not my problem.”

Mayor Mare turned to me and asked, “Why did you leave Mr. Tracker?”

“Two reasons; one because I was pretty sure whoever was going to investigate the whole thing wasn’t going to be happy and I really didn’t want to have any altercations with your law officers and…well to be honest I’m getting sick off all the looks of fear I’ve been getting and I certainly got some last night.”

“While I am sorry for the looks of fear you’ve been getting normally Mr. Tracker I must say that it shouldn’t be too surprising that you got some last night?”

“I suppose not I just don’t like seeing that kind of fear directed at my by innocent people. I’m not a threat to those who are innocent only those who would harm innocents and if anyone should be afraid of me its those kind of people.”

“I see.” She turned back to Hollyhock, “Anything else you want to tell us?”

Hollyhock said, “Other than to confirm that yes, John was holding a weapon like Tough Hoof described and that he used it to kill the dogs, than no.”

“Thank you Miss Hock, you may take your seat again.” She cleared her throat before turning to one of the gold armored guards, “Do you have the weapon in question?”

“No madam mayor we do not. He has been in the care of the lunar guard the entire time.”

She turned to the bat ponies, “Do you have the weapon then?”

Luna stepped up, “Allow me madam mayor. I have allowed Mr. Tracker to keep his weapons for the moment. When we confronted him to arrest him became confrontational and informed me that he had been held against his will before. After hearing his story earlier today I can better see why he would be ready to fight rather than be taken captive and I myself have experience as a prisoner and do not wish it upon another. In any event I have shown him quite clearly that I can disarm him at any time if necessary that gaining his cooperation by being lenient was worthwhile.”

“I…see. Mr. Tracker for the record may I see the weapon used last night?’

“As you wish,” I said though not sure how relevant it really was. Pulling it out of my coat I dropped the magazine from the back and pulled back the slide, catching the round that leapt out before holding up the weapon for all to see. The nearest ponies leaned back in fear despite the fact that I wasn’t using it and in fact had rendered it safe.

Mayor Mare stared for a moment before clearing her throat again, “Thank you Mr. Tracker, you may put it away now. Now for the next testimony.” For the next hour we listened to various testimonies from ponies who had been there including the bar tender, the waitress who had served Tough Hoof and I, the pony who was being kidnapped and a few of the other patrons who had seen various parts of the whole thing. They all boiled down to confirming that I had indeed challenged the dogs, killed the dogs, did not hurt anypony but did not allow the dogs to escape or surrender either.

After all that the Mayor took off her glasses, rubbed her forehead like she was uncomfortable and put them back on, “Very well. Before I pass sentence is there anypony who would like to speak either for or against him?”

To my surprise a tiny voice followed by a tiny hoof rose from the crowd , “I-I would like to s-say something Miss Mayor,” said Faint Heart.

Mayor Mare was surprised as well but she said, “Of course Faint Heart. Please come to the stand.” The little filly squeaked and seemed rooted to the spot causing the mayor say gently, “Your parents can come as well if you wish.”

Both of them followed or rather lead her to the stand where she sat silently building up her nerve for a good five minutes though nobody tried to rush her. Finally she said, “When I first saw him I was very s-scared of him because he was big and different. He has been teaching me martial arts and trying to help me build c-confidence in myself. No matter how scared I’ve been or ready to give up he has been patient with me and encourages me no matter how bad I think I’m doing. I don’t think he’s a bad person otherwise why would he help me?”

After that it seemed like she couldn’t continued but her mother took it up, “I can vouch for that as well. I certainly was uncertain when Mr. Tracker was made her teacher but he has been rather patient with her and I am seeing some positive changes in her. They are small but they are there. Even with what he did last night I cannot say I see him as a bad person either.”

“Thank you Faint Heart, Loving Heart for your words, is there anypony else?”

Hollyhock passed the Hearts on her way to the stand, “I would just like to say I think John did the right thing, harsh as that may seem.”

Tough Hoof stood up, “As a martial artist you believe that? That goes against what we are taught about using our abilities.”

Hollyhock answered, “I learned my martial arts from being in the Royal Guard but I also learned that I have to be ready to do whatever is necessary to protect the ponies of Equestria. The reason I bring this up is because John said himself that if he didn’t kill them they would just kidnap other ponies anyway. Even if we see it as excessive and unnecessary in his mind and from my point of view he was defending not just the ponies at the bar but also the ponies that the dogs would have kidnapped in the future.”

Mayor Mare seemed to consider that, “A very interesting point of view Miss Hock. Thank you for sharing it. Is there anypony else?”

Luna stepped forward again, “I would like to say something myself.”

“Please princess, go ahead.”

“Many ponies do not remember it but before my sister and I came to rule Equestria times were not as peaceful and harmonious as they are now. Hearth’s Warming Eve may have helped the three pony tribes begin to put aside their differences but old prejudices run deep. On top of that there were beings like Discord who were incredibly powerful and used that power for their own selfish reasons. Back in those days peace was very fragile and always threatening to collapse so sometimes my sister and I had to fight to keep the peace or sometimes return it to Equestria. Not every decision was easy and sometimes I do wonder if we could have done better.” She looked around the room, the ponies rather shocked though Twilight Sparkle didn’t look as shocked, “I ask that you keep in mind as you make your decision, whether it be your verdict madam mayor, or your opinions on our strange guest that sometimes peace is something that must be fought for and there aren’t always happy moral solutions.”

The mayor put her glasses down blinking as she processed what she had heard, “That was, unexpected. Thank you your Highness. Is there anypony else who would like to speak?” No one took her up on that offer this time so she said, “Very well then I will render my judgment. John Tracker, it is the ruling of this hearing that your actions, while extreme were done with the intent of protecting the ponies of Ponyville and beyond. As such no charges of murder will be levied. A warning shall be served however, that such extreme actions will not be tolerated again. If you should find yourself in a situation where you feel you need to defend other ponies please find methods other than killing them and if they surrender please accept that surrender and leave them to the proper authorities. This hearing is over.”

She banged her gavel on the desk a few times then left through another door while most of the ponies in the gallery got up and began to file out, a mumble of conversation filling the room. For the first time since last night I was able to breathe fully, relief filling me. If she had decided to call me a murder and levy charges against me I was not looking forward to having to try and fight my way out of that.

Luna put a steel shoe covered hoof on my shoulder, “I am glad that turned out the way it did. Are you going to be ok?”

“Well I’m glad the trial is over but I have a feeling that the fallout from this is not over.”

She nodded sympathetically, “I believe you are correct. If it helps you can talk to me about it when I next visit; I know what that feels like. In the meantime try to enjoy yourself. As for myself I need to get back to Canterlot and help my sister with the royal duties.” With that Luna, accompanies by the bat ponies left the room, with salutes from the gold armored ponies. Windfall and Tough Hoof walked over to me, watching her leave.

Tough Hoof seemed to have a hard time meeting my eyes, “Sorry John that I was…am scared of you for last night and that I gave them reason to think you were doing more than defending ponies. It’s just…you seemed so casual about taking a life that it really scares me.”

I said the only thing that came to mind, “Story of my life Tough Hoof. Nobody is going to understand where I am coming from. Am I fired?”

He recoiled in surprise, “No of course not. You weren’t found guilty and like Mrs. Heart said you are doing good with Faint Heart and I don’t want to take that away from her. I’m still your friend John I just…don’t understand this is all.”

All that was getting more than a little uncomfortable for me so I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow normal time then,” And left without another word.

Windfall trotted alongside me, “Is everything ok John?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Like I said during the hearing, I hate it when innocent people fear me. This whole experience drove home for me that I don’t really belong here; I’m just too different and there is no call for someone with my skills here.” That seemed to upset her but she didn’t say anything for once and just trotted on silently. What I didn’t tell her was that Tough Hoof reminded me all too much of how Brightmoon had reacted to my revenge on Empress Taliva and how I really didn’t have the high ground in those situations.

I clicked the detonator in my hand and a large section of wall, including the part that was a hidden door blew open revealing a hidden passage. With a red-dot sighted MP5 tucked into my shoulder I turned into the hallway, waiting a couple of seconds for guards to come running up the hall but nothing materialized so I began jogging down the hallway, gun ready. The building shook a few times while I made my way down the hall but I barely paid it any mind.

My mind was solely focused on what I was here to do, finish what I had started when I had kidnapped Paul Redriver almost a year ago; kill Empress Taliva. In that year I had done all I could to hurt her; took out her family, her friends, destroyed what she had built and strengthened those who opposed her. Even as I jogged down that corridor her palace was under siege from various rebel groups, all of whom wanted to see her dead.

Thanks to an inside informer in the palace I was able to get a map of her hidden escape routes. This one was her best bet to get out because it led to a secret spaceport hidden right in the palace and was located right in her private quarters. If the rebel artillery and air support had done their jobs right the exits should be covered in rubble and unusable, leaving her trapped for me to finish the job.

Turning a corner I was greeted by two plasma bursts flashing past me to gouge some holes into the wall behind me. Instinct took over and I fired a burst at the first figure I saw. The guard staggered but didn’t go down and no damage could be seen to his clothes either which meant that he, like me was wearing armored threaded clothes. Part of my mind processed that as I whipped over to fire on the second guard, a more sustained burst of fire.

Bullets hammered the armored thread enough that it could not hold itself together and the bullets tore through it and the furred flesh beneath it. As that guard toppled with a cry the other had gotten his balance back and fired another plasma bolt that seared my side, burning the coat, shirt and flesh that was in the way. Thankfully between the adrenaline running through me and the fact that I went into shock almost immediately I didn’t scream in pain but rather just yelled in anger and emptied the rest of my magazine into that asshole, turning him into hamburger.

Cursing the time it was costing me I grabbed a large bandage designed to look like skin and slapped it over the wound in my side though the heat of the plasma cauterized it so there was no bleeding. A shot from a stimpack heightened my adrenaline levels to where I could move and ignore any wounds I was feeling. Reloading I stepped over the two corpses and continued down the hallway, more cautious this time.

That caution paid off as I heard footsteps eventually moving my way. I got to a bend in the hall and hid there, one eye watching the direction the footsteps were coming from. Three guards came into view and from the brief words they exchanged they were scouting the hall to see if it was safe to bring the Empress back up. The news that she was indeed down this hall brought a small smile to my face even as I contemplated how to deal with these guards.

Of everything that could happen the last thing I wanted was them calling their boss or else they would go to ground and even with my skills getting them out without getting killed would be a bitch. Making up my mind I put away the MP5 and pull out a M1911 with extended magazines, my K-bar and a flash bang grenade. Taking out the pin I tossed it down the hall and waited for the noise and flash of light.

Once it went off I ran down the hall, glad for the stimpack I had taken to see the three of them staggered and clutching their ears or eyes. With a quick jab downward I stuck my knife into the first guy’s throat and he went down. As I pulled the knife out, still moving forward I stuck the barrel in front of the second guy’s face and pulled the trigger, ending his life. The third guy had just enough time to realize he was under attack before my blade slashed across his airway, causing him to clutch his throat as he went down.

I paused to see if anyone else was coming down the hallway but there was no sound or any other indication someone was on the way. Putting away the knife and pistol I took up the MP5 again and continued on my way. Without further incident I made it to the end of the hallway but did not exit the hall, crouching down in shadows cast by firelight from the hangar. Peeking in I saw that the entrance had indeed been demolished by the rebels, the fire coming from a destroyed spacecraft.

As I looked I saw the empress sitting on a nearby crate, head lowered as if she couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Five guards were moving around, looking for a way out or otherwise waiting for the report from the scout team I had killed. My mind raced as I tried to come up with a way to quickly take down the five guards without possibly killing the empress yet. Inwardly I cursed myself for not bringing my M-4 and its under slung grenade launcher.

The best I could come up with was the hit the guards closest to her first and hope to pick off the rest either as they ran toward her to protect her or as they tried to take me out from where they had cover. Taking a deep breath and steady my MP5 on my shoulder I took aim at the first guy, fired an extended burst to make sure he went down then turned and shot the second guy with another sustained burst.

They went down hard as the Empress looked up, stunned while one guard ran toward her and the other two jumped behind cover. I fired the rest of my current magazine into the running guy and he went down, skidding across the floor. Ducking back as plasma blasts came my way I reloaded then waited for the firing to stop or slow down. Hearing the rate of fire drop I quickly peeked out, saw one guy firing cover for the other who was running to other cover.

Desperately I fired a burst at the runner and caught him in the leg before having to pull back so I didn’t get hit as well. With his mobility severely impaired I was able to line up a better shot while he was vulnerable and took a chunk of his head off. That left one guard who decided to stop firing, probably waiting for me to pop up and give him a better shot. Grabbing my last flash bang I armed and threw it.

As soon as it went off I was up and running, feeling a little pressure in my side from pushing myself so much. Some plasma fire followed me but didn’t connect as I made it to the next piece of cover. Taking a deep breath I shouldered my MP5 and came up quickly so as not to give an easy target which allowed me to see where he was as he fired a wide shot. Thankfully my own reflexes had been honed by many shootouts and I drilled him in the face with several bullets, toppling him over backward.

Turning and standing up I was about to go over and confront the Empress when all I had time to see was maddened eyes, sharp teeth and slashing steel. I tried to raise my gun to block and jump backwards but I wasn’t fast enough and my chest exploded in pain as she raked her blades across it. Falling heavily to the floor and dropping my MP5 gave me a chance to better see what I was looking at; the empress, wild eyed and carrying a plasma pistol and a gauntlet with three long steel claws on it.

She aimed the pistol but I was able to trip her with my legs, dropping her to the floor and causing her to lose her grip on the pistol. With a crazed snarl she leapt back to her feet, eyes glaring death at me as I came to my own feet with my knife in hand. An animal roar chilled me as it escaped her throat and she leapt straight at me, no strategy other than to kill me. I barely blocked with my knife but she kept swinging and I was forced to back up defensively.

Spittle was flying from her mouth and roars rang my ears as she continued to just try and clobber me with blows. Eventually I purposefully missed a block and spun with the blow and around her allowing me to jab my knife into her backside. A scream of pain replaced her roars and she arched her back while I backpedalled, pulling out my pistol and shooting her in the back of both knees.

Down she fell, still alive but unable to come and get me. With a deep breath and a grimace as I held in a shriek of pain I lurched forward, coming into her view but remaining out of her reach. Her gaze reached mine, hate and madness in it, then in an instant the madness receded replaced by cold clarity though the hate remained. “Is this what you had hoped for human? To see me helpless before you as my empire burns down around us?”

“More or less,” I replied.

“If you hated me so much than why didn’t you just kill me? That’s what you do isn’t it? You kill those you think are evil to protect those you call innocents.” A smile grew on her face, “Yet in this campaign you killed innocents did you not? You’ve gone and done the same thing everyone you’ve ever killed has done…you killed innocent people in your way to get what you wanted. Oh the delicious irony of it all.”

While it’s not like I didn’t know I had done those things, I had done my best to rationalize and put aside what I had done to focus on my mission. Hearing her say it though made it suddenly far too real and I shivered, felt sick and nearly threw up. Her laughter didn’t help any but it did make me angry and help me remember why I was here regardless of what I had done. Straightening up I looked her in the eyes, “You’re right, I did all those things. Congratulations you’ve completed my transformation from normal human to complete monster. Does that make you happy empress? Maybe I should commit more monstrous acts would you like that?!”

With that I shot both her shoulders, “Well how did that feel?! Did you like that?!”

Glaring she spat out, “Bastard.”

“That I am. You’re right, I could have killed you at the beginning and saved a lot of time, but this time, I wanted something different. You see empress your assassin killed not only my wife and child but also my chance to be a better man than I was, to make a better future for myself. I have no past to turn to, its all gone; can’t go home, family is dead and I’m the only human left in motherfucking space.”

Taking a breath I continued, “But your assassin failed to take my life so I’m left to suffer the loss of my past, loss of my loved ones and loss of my future. To take your life would have ended any suffering you had in this world while I still had to live and suffer. We humans have an old saying, you have to live to suffer so I let you live and instead targeted the very things that have been taken from me.”

“So why kill me now?”

“Because I’ve run out of things to take from you. I won’t say I’m being merciful though I think in some ways it is a mercy but there was no way I was going to let you live after what you did, I just made sure you lost everything first.” With that I looked around the hangar until I found what I was looking for; a full fuel container which I brought back over to her. She watched confused as I took the container and then poured it all over her. I grabbed a piece of burning wood, carefully and walked over.

Her eyes lit up with understanding and she began to protest but I just threw it on the fuel, causing her to light up like a bonfire. I stayed and watched the whole time and I hate to say it, but her screams were like music to my ears.

Chapter 8, Part 1 - Journey and Jawing

I spent most of the next day not leaving my cottage if I could help it with no desire to go back to Ponyville until I had to. Some of that time I managed to kill by cleaning my pistol from its usage at the pub however the rest I more or less sunk myself into the galactic net. Trying to find Wilhelm ended in frustrating failure; all sightings of him were old and useless given the frequency with which he seemed to be moving about.

Unfortunately the information I had did not lead me to really know why he was moving around so much. He could have been looking for something or someone, he could be on the run from something, or he could just hate staying in one place for long. Not like it matters, I thought, Its not like I have any way to get out of here and go after him anyway. Fuck you Sheeva!

At least she didn’t respond for once and for the moment my thoughts were my own. Even Windfall didn’t seem to know what to do or say to me today and spent it outside trying to get her wings stretched. I had to wonder if all ponies had that kind of healing ability or if her injuries just weren’t as bad as I first thought. Looking at the clock on my computer I sighed, time for me to go to work and face the ponies.

It kinda reminded me when I used to hold down a job back on earth as a cashier in the retail sector. Like most of the cashiers where I worked I was in high school at the time and I never looked forward to going to work after school. A chuckle almost forced its way out my mouth as I thought about it; I wish that was my only worry nowadays. That thought caused my to think of my family, something else I wish I still had.

Reaching into my shirt and pulling out a brown bag on a string I pulled out an old photograph and stared at it for a while. After all these years I knew the photo by heart; my mom was in the front right, red haired like me and wearing a beautifully made necklace given to her by my dad who was next to her. His brown hair was graying and thinning but he still had the gleam of good humor in his eye.

Right behind him was me, clean shaven and smiling though by this time it looked weird to see me smiling and with color in my skin and a healthy filling to my face. My middle brother was next to me, looking younger than I remembered though with dad’s brown hair and next to him was the youngest brother, red haired like me and with baby cheeks despite being in middle school. It was the last family photo we had taken together, the Christmas of my senior year of high school.

Five years after this photo was taken they were murdered and though I tried to rescue them all I managed to do was arrive in time to witness their deaths. My eyes stung as they watered and as I blinked back to tears that this place seemed to keep trying to unlock I brushed my fingers over the photo. “What I wouldn’t give to have you all back again,” I said. The photo went back into my memory bag and under my shirt, the only consolation being that I eventually killed the bastard responsible for their deaths.

Reminiscing wasn’t getting me to work however so I got up and left the cottage only to have Windfall spot me and come trotting over. “Are you headed to work,” She asked.

“I am,” I replied.

“Do you mind if I come with you? I’d like to visit the hospital in town and have my wings checked out; see when I can try flying again.” Seeing that I was about to try to object to having her with me she butted in before I could speak, “I don’t know the route from here to Ponyville from the ground; I’ve only ever flown over and then only once. When I did that I was looking at the town, not the ground and it definitely doesn’t look the same from down here.”

I sighed, “Yeah, you have a good point Windfall. Ok, come on, let’s go.” Together we set off; her trotting gait smoother than it had been earlier when she had begun to move after her injuries. As we set off I noted that having a pony with me didn’t seem nearly as odd as it used to be. She seemed to be healed enough that she had no trouble moving at a fast enough pace that I was able to jog at a pace that ate up the miles yet was sustainable.

Even at that pace I was still glad to be able to slow down when we got to the edge of Ponyville. Windfall didn’t seem to even notice the physical demand of the distance we had just jogged and I had to wonder just how fit these ponies all were. With the edge of town now in sight Windfall broke the silence we had maintained, “Hey John, did anypony show you where the hospital is in Ponyville?”

“Yeah they did. I suppose you want me to take you there?”

“That would be the nice thing to do yes.” Wondering when I had started giving a shit about the nice thing again I started off in that direction.

Before we got there a voice cried out, “What are you doing?! Get away from him! He’s dangerous!” Turning towards the voice we saw a light purple pegasus mare with a silver mane shouting from where she was hiding behind the corner of a cottage.

Windfall got this annoyed look her wings flaring up as best they could and stepped between me and the other pony, “He’s my friend and while I don’t necessarily agree with what he did I do agree with the motives behind his actions. I certainly am not going to start cowering behind a building just because he’s different from us!” The pegasus’ jaw almost literally hit the floor while being lost for words.

A snort escaped Windfall’s nostrils and she turned to me, grabbed my sleeve with her teeth and pulled me in the direction we had originally been heading. For the rest of the trip to the hospital I heard her grumbling about the ponies of the town. Finally we got to the hospital where Windfall bid me goodbye and told me to have a good time at work. Turning to head towards the martial arts dojo I saw six ponies standing on the path in front of me though cautiously back.

Three of the ponies were familiar to me by this point, especially the purple one who stepped forward and said, “Hello Mr. Tracker, I don’t know if you remember me…”

“You’re Twilight Sparkle, right?”

A relieved smile lit her face, “Oh good, you do remember me. You remember Applejack and Rainbow Dash also right?”

“I believe so. Applejack ran the apple stand and is sister to Applebloom correct?”

Applejack smiled a little, “That’s right.”

“Of course I definitely can’t forget Rainbow Dash. I doubt many ponies are as good at making an impression as she is.”

Rainbow put a hoof to her chest, “Of course they’re not.”

Twilight pointed to the other three ponies with them, “This is Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.” The last pony she mentioned was trying to get a good look at me from where she was hiding behind the other ponies.

“I recall seeing you all sitting together at the trial yesterday. Is there something you wanted?”

Twilight looked a little more concerned now but went on, “Well yes actually. Do you remember that I am the student of Princess Celestia?”

I answered though unsure of why she was asking, “Yes, why?”

“Well she sent me a letter today telling me that she wants to see you right away in Canterlot and asked if we would accompany you there.”

My eyes narrowed, “Am I under arrest again?”

Twilight quickly reassured me, “Oh no no no. Princess Celestia just wants to talk to you. She’s probably heard about what happened, wants to see you for herself and make sure you aren’t going to be a danger to her ponies.”

I couldn’t help but ask, “And if she thinks I am a danger to them?”

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, “Well she’d probably ask you to leave Equestria immediately.”

Trying to hide a sudden surge of excitement I replied as neutrally as possible, “I see.” For the first time since I came here I felt a surge of hope; if I could convince the princess that I should not be here in Equestria then I’d be forced to leave and Sheeva would have to let me leave. The surge of hope was so large and so intense I actually found myself smiling though the gesture felt unfamiliar.

Twilight and her friends looked at each other in confusion after which I replied, “Very well then, let’s go meet a princess.”

The six ponies began to head towards the main part of town when another voice interrupted us, “Wait for me!” We all turned to see Windfall galloping towards us. She stopped and said, “I’m sorry but when I saw the element bearers coming to talk to John I stopped and watched what was going on. I heard everything and I want to come too.”

Twilight smiled politely as she said, “I’m sorry miss, you are?”

Windfall looked a little sheepish as she replied, “I’m Windfall, John’s friend.” Before I could protest she shot me a look promising pain if I did so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

Applejack seemed to suddenly recognize her, “You’re new in town right? I think I remember you buying some apples from ma’ stand.”

Rainbow Dash cut in, “I’m glad to see you’re ok Windfall. When I first heard what happened from this guy here I thought he had hurt you. If he had I would have kicked his flank hard you can bet on that!”

I muttered, “Sure you would have, not.” She must have heard me because she gave me a glare which I replied with a ‘bring it on’ gesture. Taking off she attempted to do just that but was stopped by Applejack grabbing her tail in her teeth. The rest of the ponies got between the two of us, not joining in but rather trying to keep it from escalating any further.

A lone soft voice managed to cut into the situation and stop it dead, “Please don’t fight you two, it isn’t very nice.” Turning I saw the source of the voice was the timid yellow pegasus who still looked rather timid but also like she couldn’t keep quiet about what she was seeing. Her head turned and looked at me, “Mr. Tracker please don’t antagonize Rainbow Dash, she never backs down from a challenge.”

Holy shit, her voice sounded like it was designed to make even the manliest of men break down into incoherent coos and to hug her like a fricking teddy bear. Of course I didn’t do that but I did give in to the desire to apologize for what I did, “Oh um, I’m very sorry for doing that…thing that I did.” To my surprise, delight and dismay at feeling delighted my apology got a smile out of her.

Applejack spit out Rainbow Dash’s tail who muttered, “I totally could have taken him.”

The white unicorn, who I believe was named Rarity smiled and put a hoof on the yellow one’s shoulder, “My my Fluttershy, I’m quite impressed by you standing up like that.”

Fluttershy blushed, “It was nothing really.”

Windfall, “Oh it was something alright. I don’t think I’ve yet seen him apologize like that or even seem to feel like he was wrong.”

Fluttershy’s blush grew even deeper, “Thank you.”

Twilight spoke up, “So Windfall, why did you want to come with us? Princess Celestia didn’t request your presence.”

Windfall nodded, “I know Twilight Sparkle but like I said he’s my friend and though he seems to not be the nicest guy out there he did save my life and has been taking care of me this whole time. Princess Celestia called him in because she heard about something he did that looks bad but she needs to know the whole truth.”

Twilight smiled, “It’s great that you want to help your friend Windfall. Why don’t you come along as well then and I’ll let Princess Celestia know you’re coming?” With a cheerful nod and smile Windfall joined us and we began to head back through the town itself. The townsponies still looked at me with fear but they seemed to be less afraid while I was accompanied by Twilight and company.

Eventually we came to a train station complete with the least manly train I have ever seen in my life; even had a heart on the front of it. Windfall asked, “What are you looking at John?”

“I do believe I am looking at the death of my masculinity.”

Windfall glared at me and even went so far as to hit me in the arm with her hoof and it hurt more than when a human or human equivalent did it, “It’s just a train John. We like the nice colors ok?”

Rubbing my arm I replied, “It looks like a toy train for five year olds. There’s even a heart on the front of it for God’s sake! What does the horn sound like for this thing, ‘friendship, friendship’? Instead of smoke do rainbows and flowers come out the stack?” With a derisive snort Windfall turned away, flicked her tail at me in annoyance and trotted back to Twilight’s friends.

As she did I noticed Twilight talking to a little purple and green lizard that was bipedal and had clawed hands. It was writing something with a quill on a piece of paper. From the way it kept glancing at Twilight while she spoke I more or less was able to assume she was dictating something that it kept writing down. Before I got close enough to hear what was said the lizard breathed green flame onto the paper and the resulting small smoke cloud flew without dissipating towards a large castle set on the side of a mountain.

Twilight indicated the lizard with a hoof as I approached, “John, this is my assistant Spike. He’s a baby dragon and my assistant.”

Spike looked up at me with a smile and a wave, “Hey there, nice to meetcha! It’s nice to see somepony else that stands on two legs like me for once.”

“Yeah I bet. Twilight said you’re her assistant?”

“Yep! I help Twilight get supplies, take notes, organize the library and stuff like that.”

My gaze shifted to Twilight who looked a little uncomfortable when she looked at my eyes, “So in other words…Twilight uses child labor.” I began to slowly walk towards her, “On my world that’s considered a crime, punishable by death.” To their credit her friends weren’t hesitant, even Fluttershy to jump in front of her and protect her. The station got very quiet and the tension was easily felt by anyone in the vicinity.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked like they were ready to give me a good ass kicking if I tried anything while Fluttershy looked like she wanted to hide but wasn’t going to let her friend down. Twilight looked shocked, scared and more than a bit like I’d slapped her in the face. Windfall in the meantime put a foreleg around my arm and pulled like she was going to hold me back.

When Twilight finally found her voice she protested, “I don’t use child labor! Why would you possibly think that?”

“You just said it yourself Twilight. Spike is a baby dragon yet he does work more akin to a secretary and housekeeper role. If that’s not child labor then I don’t know what is.”

Spike moved to stand between me and the rest of the ponies and began to plead with me, “No John, it’s not like that at all! Twilight raises me and treats me like a little brother to her that’s all. I’m happy to help her out whatever way I can.”

Twilight smiled a little at that and added, “Spike’s right John. The work he does is household chores for a library as well as a few things to help me out with my own work. I would never make him do more than he could handle I promise you that I care too much about him to do that. There was a point where he was having trouble assisting me so I brought on another assistant so he wouldn’t have to work so hard.”

Spike ran back to her and gave her a hug which she returned then he looked at me, “Yeah see? Everything is ok.” The station went quiet again while everypony looked at me for what my response would be. On one hand Spike seemed to be ok with whatever arrangement they had and Twilight seemed to be sincere. On the other hand I wasn’t sure whether or not I could trust her, student of a princess or not and everything in me screamed that she was using child labor and that she should be shot for it.

As I was deliberating Twilight seemed to come to some sort of realization and pushed through her friends to stand in front of me. A small smile came upon her face as she looked up at me and said, “I think I’m beginning to understand you more Mr. Tracker.”

“What do you mean by that Twilight?”

“At the trial you mentioned that you hunted criminals for years and that you killed them. You also mentioned that you killed the Diamond Dogs to so they couldn’t harm anypony again. I admit that I couldn’t really understand; I’ve fought to protect the ones I care about but I’ve never tried to kill to do so. Here I could see you were thinking of killing me because you believed I was using child labor. While I never would do such a thing I began to think of what that would be like and the idea of it made me shiver in disgust. In that moment I began to understand why somepony would go to an extreme level.”

She smiled wider and continued, “In doing so I believe I understand more what motivates you. You said you’d be affected personally by crime and if I take that kind of experience and combine with the horror I feel when I think of something as bad as child labor…I can now feel the desire to use extreme measures to ensure it doesn’t happen. I’m not saying I entirely approve of it mind you, but I think I can understand your actions.”

I blinked, thrown off by her deduction. Normally people who don’t agree with me don’t even try to understand me yet she did a pretty good job of looking at it from my perspective, not just intellectually but from the heart as well. To be honest I wasn’t sure how much of that motivation still held given my intent to die however I couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility of that motivation being behind my final mission either.

Eventually I found my voice, “I see there is more to you than questions and being a student Twilight Sparkle. Thank you, for reasoning it out as you did. Shall we continue our journey then?” Everypony nodded, still a little tense but we all boarded the train, Twilight handing somepony in a uniform enough train tickets for all of us. The inside of the train was surprisingly roomy considering it was made for these ponies.

My head nearly touched the ceiling but that was more than I was expecting; I had expected to be hunched over any time I tried to stand. In addition the seats were surprisingly ornate and comfortable booth benches. There weren’t many ponies on the train, or at least if there were they weren’t in the same car as I was and the few that were in our car apart from my escorts stayed well away from me.

I took my seat with Windfall opting to sit next to me while Twilight and Applejack sat across from me. The other ponies sat in the benches right behind Twilight and Applejack. They began to lightly converse with one another over various everyday things though I declined to take part in the conversation. As the train began to move I stared out at the scenery though at first I could only see the town.

If I had looked out the other side of the train I could have seen part of the Whitetail Woods where I was currently living but as it was I saw a bit of woodland and a lot of grassland. We also passed over a river just outside of Ponyville that Twilight informed me ran there from Canterlot. Shortly after we passed over the river Twilight decided to start asking questions, “So Mr. Tracker…”

“Call me John,” I interrupted, “I’ve never been comfortable with anyone calling me mister.”

“Oh, ok then John during your trial you mentioned that you became a vigilante because what criminals were doing really hit home for you. Why was that?”

I sighed, “If I said that I didn’t want to talk about it would you not ask again?”

To my surprise her reply was, “Of course. If you said that then it would obviously be something very personal for you and I would understand if you didn’t want to talk about it.” The surprise must have shown on my face as I looked at her because she asked, “Why does that surprise you? Don’t most people leave you alone when you tell them that?”

With a snort I replied, “Yeah right they usually pry harder.”

Twilight actually looked sorry, “I didn’t realize that. I’m sorry; forget I asked anything.”

Somehow her apology and willingness to drop the subject made me more willing to talk about it. “It’s ok Twilight, I’ll tell you anyway. You see before I was a vigilante I was a mercenary.”

Applejack chimed in, “You sure seem to pick jobs that involve fightin’.”

My shoulders moved in a shrug, “My circumstances dictated it at the time I’m afraid. I needed to live and eat which means I needed a job. The only skills I had at the time that I could market was some experience in a merc group prior to that. Anyways I was given the chance to lead one of our missions which was to hit a pirate ship that was under the command of a pirate captain that was high ranking in a larger pirate organization.”

Rainbow Dash’ head popped up, looking a lot more interested all of a sudden, “What happened?”

“The mission itself was rather uneventful…we managed to stow onto the ship, killed all the crew and the captain and took control of the ship which got us a bonus. However…the captain of the ship was in fact the son of the leader of the pirate organization and he was unhappy about it. He found out that I had been in charge of that mission and he tried to kill me. To be honest he nearly succeeded but I got away.”

A pained sigh passed my lips, “I don’t know how he found out where I was from or who my family was but he did and he sent me a message letting me know it too. Even though I knew it was a trap I went anyway to try and save my mom and dad and my two younger brothers. All I succeeded in doing was getting there in time to watch them die instead. In a rage I attacked him but nearly died again.”

Everypony literally was dead silent at this point until Applejack took off her hat, “Well that makes a bit more sense now. Ah know what it feels like to lose your folks and if it had happened like that to me than Ah’d probably want some revenge myself.”

I nodded, “Yeah that’s more or less how it started. After that I left the mercenary group and used the money I had saved to get as much equipment as I could and to train and prepare myself. During that time it occurred to me that I would have to do something after I got my revenge and I was well aware of how bad crime was in the galaxy and how people were suffering because of it. Because of that I decided I would become a vigilante and give the criminals something to be afraid of.”

Suddenly I felt something simultaneously hard and soft on my hand and looked to see Windfall’s forehoof on it. She tried to speak but seemed unable to so she mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’ to me. All I could say in return was ‘thanks’ before we all went quiet again. The mountain with the castle on it was getting closer before Rainbow Dash decided to say, “So I bet you’ve gone on some real adventures huh?”

Rarity poked her head up over the seat, “Really darling, is that what you care about? After what we just heard?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “I’m not trying to be mean or anything Rarity I just really like hearing about stuff like that. We’ve gone on our share of adventures and they’ve been awesome. I just want to hear about some of his that’s all.”

My eyebrow went up, “I thought you ponies weren’t used to violence.”

Rainbow replied, “Most aren’t but we’ve had a few good fights like the time we beat Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings…”

Well that certainly piqued my interest, “I’d love to hear about those actually.”

Rainbow smiled, “Make you a deal then, you tell me one I’ll tell you one.” As she said it she held out a hoof like she wanted a fist bump.

Since I did really want to hear these stories I bumped her hoof and said, “Deal. Ok so yeah I’ve seen and done a lot so picking one is going to be hard for me.” I racked my brain for one of my adventures that might allow them to not judge my methods too harshly. One did come to me with a snap of my fingers and I started, “Ok so this story takes place about a year and a half after I became a vigilante…”

There are a surprising number of constants in the universe, one of these being the existence of bordellos. I’m typically a supporter of such things but if the people are there of their own free will than it’s not something I going to bother anybody about. This one however had got my attention; it was a lynchpin of the local sex slave trade. The females and occasional male that folks could come blow off steam with were slaves being used then eventually sold elsewhere.

Slavery has always been evil to me regardless of what form it takes so this made me hopping mad and its things like this that influenced why I dealt with the diamond dogs the way I did. For this I was having to time it perfectly; the employees were there getting ready to open later that evening and the slaves were also there, waiting to be forced to give themselves over to paying customers. In other words, this was going to be my best chance to kill those involved in this ring and free their victims.

Typically when I confront a group larger than me I tend to try to at least whittle their numbers down a bit through sneaky kills before going to more out in the open directness. Sometimes however I would through stealth to the wind and would essentially go in and re-enact the lobby scene from The Matrix. This would be one of those times. To that effect I was using twin-Uzis with recoil dampening upgrades and extended magazines. For back-up I had my Glock and a ka-bar knife.

I had done background checks on all the staff that worked at the bordello and they were all in on the slave ring which made them all targets. As I headed toward the building I saw two bouncers at the door. The name of their species failed me but they had four arms, red skin, a caveman look to their faces, sharp teeth and muscles that would have done any WWE wrestler proud.

I’d have to get past them without drawing too much alarm so that meant knife or very quickly shooting them then entering the building. Given the size of their arms and how strong they were I didn’t fancy the knife option but another plan came to mind. Walking up to the door like I was a customer who didn’t realize they weren’t open yet I was stopped with a firm yet polite hand.

“Sorry sir,” The guy on my right said, “We’re not open yet. You’ll have to come back later. Try in about an hour.”

Feigning an indignant attitude I crossed my arms, using the gesture to slip my hands into my coat and grab the handles of my Uzis. “What do you mean you aren’t open? Look I’ve had a rough day and I really want to blow off some steam now let me in!”

Righty crossed his upper pair of arms, “Like I said sir try again in an hour. If you press the issue we may have to make your day even more rough ok?”

“I think I’ll try right now thank you,” And with that I whipped out my guns and fired a sustained burst into their stomachs then entered the establishment before their bodies hit the floor. Those inside heard the gunshots and were still in shock and looked in my direction as I walked inside. Behind the bar were two guys stocking drinks and glasses and they shot their hands under the counter, likely for a weapon so I stitched a string of bullets from the one then across the bar counter to the other.

One danced under the hits before falling backwards while the other simply collapsed onto the bar itself. Some guys who were wiping down tables or onstage setting up lighting and sound equipment tried to go for weapons inside their clothes so I switched aim with both guns. For the next ten seconds I felt the rush of two guns kicking in my hands, the slight satisfaction of seeing each one get hit and toppled over then a strange silence when my guns clicked empty and nothing was moving.

Nobody else came running in and I was pretty sure they were fortifying in a different part of the building so I took the time to reload both guns and set out. There were three areas left for me to explore; the offices, the private backrooms customers could rent and the basement which was were the slaves were kept. My first stop was the offices and sure enough there were people barricaded in the big one down the hallway.

I had to duck back as a variety of ranged ammo came flying my way; lasers, plasma and even slug rounds shredded the wall behind where I first tried to step into. Taking a deep breath to steel myself I put one Uzi around the corner and held the trigger down. The resulting hail of bullets forced them to duck behind their barricade and I began running down the hall firing as I went.

When the first Uzi went dry I dropped it and fired the other one which got me to the barricade while my free hand grabbed the knife. One guy got up and a got a shot off which seared my shoulder but adrenaline cut through the pain and I drove my knife right into his throat. As he fell I caught him and held him up as a meat shield to absorb the fire that was beginning to come my way.

With my other hand I pulled out my pistol and began taking out the remaining assholes one by one. It was easy enough since I was at the barrier they didn’t have anywhere to hide really. My shoulder still burned but I could ignore it for now so I retrieved and reloaded all my weapons and went to check the private backrooms. To my surprised there was no one there which meant anyone still alive was in the basement.

I put my Uzis away and kept out my pistol so there would be less chance of accidentally hitting one of the poor slaves if I got in a firefight. The basement itself looked like a dungeon and smelled like one too and believe me I can verify what one smells like. There was only one guy left down there and he was scared shitless but holding one of the women hostage. He had a gun to her head and when he saw me he started screaming, “Don’t you fucking come near me or I’ll blow her head off!”

Even I took a shot and even if it was a clean kill then the gun he was holding would still likely go off and kill her. For a tense moment I wasn’t sure what to do but then an idea came to me and given my circumstances I went for it. Slowly I put my gun to the ground and backed away from it though I stuck out my left arm and pointed an index finger at him then inwardly groaned as I said, “You won’t get away with this.”

His gun left her head to point at me, “Says you!” Before he could fire however I had already moved my hand in the way that caused the hookshot to fire which grabbed his gun and the hand holding and reeled him towards me quickly. I believe I also yelled, "Get over here!" Or something to that effect. In surprise he let go of the woman and before he could recover I drove my right fist into his nostrils. Releasing my hook shot’s hold on him I continued my attack, driving my fists into his stomach then ribs in a barrage of blows.

Once he was too battered to really fight back I took out my knife, grabbed him by the head and forced him to look at me for a second before I drove the knife into his temple. He dropped dead and I picked up my weapon then helped the woman to her feet. She thanked me shakily to whom I replied with a nod before grabbed the keys to the cells from the guy I just killed and letting the slaves go.

There were two dozen in total from at least six different species and though they weren’t abused beyond use they did show some signs of harsh use such as bruises and some cuts. They followed me back upstairs where I asked them to wait a moment as I went and rounded up some weapons and money which I distributed to all of them. With whispered thanks they left and though I never found out what happened after that I hoped they were able to get on with their lives. As for me before I left I went back to the office and began downloading their files. They did business with others after all and I was going to bring them down too.

I looked around, “Well?”

Rarity shivered, “No offense darling but that was a very disturbing tale if you ask me.”

I shrugged, “No offense taken I remember being very disturbed at that sort of thing back then.”

Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “It’s ok though because you went in and kicked their sorry flanks! Ha! Those guys never even knew what hit them!”

“I suppose so,” I leaned forward interested in hearing her tale, “Now I believe its your turn.”

She nodded with a smile, “Right so here’s the story of how we fought an army of Changelings…”

Chapter 8, Part 2

“Then we had a big dance party to celebrate the wedding and Cadence and Shining Armor rode off to their honeymoon. It was the best wedding ever!” After finishing that story Rainbow Dash looked at me with a gleeful smile on her face, “What did you think?”

Truthfully I replied, “I have to admit that I’m rather impressed. From my experiences so far here in Equestria I never would have imagined anything like this happening let alone expecting anypony to actually do any fighting. Not only did the six of you fight but apparently kicked a lot of ass. Even for someone with my experience fighting that fight would have been a big challenge yet you guys won the day even after being captured.”

Twilight spoke up, “We may not like fighting but we will when we have to though as far as I know we’ve never killed anypony doing so.”

“Yeah about that, have you ever had any problems with the villains you defeated coming back to try again?”

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, “Um…I can’t really recall any that did. Discord was a villain we defeated and he did get released eventually but we were the ones to release him.”

Applejack said, “We were asked to try and reform him.” She had the most skeptical look on her face as she actually made air quotes with her hooves, “So he’s ‘good’ now.”

Fluttershy actually joined in the conversation, “Applejack, Discord really is reformed. He and I exchange letters all the time and he’s my friend so I trust him.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Yeah because he’s so trustworthy.”

Fluttershy actually looked a little angry, “You never gave him a chance Rainbow Dash. Nopony gave him a chance but me. I know he did a lot of bad things but how else were we going to have a chance of changing him if we weren’t willing to give him a chance to change?”

Twilight nodded, “Fluttershy is right. To be honest I don’t trust him but if it wasn’t for Fluttershy giving him a chance and showing him the value of friendship he would still be a villain. According to Celestia he hasn’t done anything wrong since then.”

My arms crossed as I processed that statement in my mind, “Any others that came back?”

Rarity said, “Well there was the time Trixie came back to get revenge against you Twilight and ended up taking over Ponyville.”

“True but she was being corrupted by the alicorn amulet.”

Pinkie jumped in, “Well what about the Diamond Dogs? They might have been the ones John killed. Eww! That word is nasty!” She stuck out an impossible long tongue and began running her hooves over it like she was trying to get a nasty taste off of it, “Nasty word! Nasty!”

Twilight did an affectionate roll of the eyes, “Maybe but problems with the dogs are a lot more widespread than just in Ponyville. It’s definitely the work of more than one pack.”

Hearing that made me want to volunteer to try and deal with their dog problem in my own manner however I wasn’t going to stick around much longer if all went well so I didn’t. I did ask, “Is anything being done about the problem?”

Twilight said, “Celestia is aware of the problem but she hasn’t said anything to me about what they’re doing about it though. I’m sure she has a plan or is working on the problem. Speaking of Celestia…we’re almost there.” My gaze turned out the window as we came out of a mountain tunnel and beheld not just a castle but an entire city. From Ponyville all I could see was the castle but up close I could see it was far more than just a castle.

It was surrounded by a wall complete with drawbridge and a moat though the moat looked less like a defensive measure and more decorative. The prevailing theme was pure white with gold trim. There was a hole in wall designed for the train to enter and led directly to the train station. We exited the train and I stopped to look around with Windfall gaping beside me at the city. To be honest it was almost cute how awed she was.

She saw me looked over at her expression and blushed a little, “I’ve never been to Canterlot before and to be able to actually see the capital in person is so cool.”

I went to reply but a hoof tapped my arm followed by a soft, “Um, excuse me Mr. Tracker?”

Turning I saw Fluttershy standing next to me with a kindly expression in her eyes and I asked, “Fluttershy right? Is there something you need?”

Given how timid she had been for most of the trip I was surprised when she put her hoof on my hand, “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened to your parents and your brothers. It seems like you’ve had it rough for a while so if you ever feel like you need to talk about it you can talk to me ok?” In her eyes was such kindness and compassion I felt like tearing up.

I managed to stammer out a ‘thank you’ and walked away before I really lost it but Applejack came trotting up next to me. She gave me a knowing smile, “Finding it hard to handle Fluttershy’s offer?”

“A bit…though I’m surprised given how timid she had been up until now.”

“She saw how much it hurt ya John. Fluttershy is one of the nicest ponies you will ever meet. As shy as she is, she hates to see ponies or anyone really, hurting and it overcomes her fear.”

“I see,” I said then went quiet and tried to focus on other things such as the city of Canterlot. It was the most spacious city I had seen bar none with wide streets and walkways. Even most of the buildings had quite a bit of space between them. The city was also incredibly clean with none of the usual grime and refuse I was used to seeing in large cities. Another thing that stuck out to me was that a lot more ponies here were wearing clothes compared to Ponyville.

On the surface it looked like a wonderful place to live which caused my skeptical side to start wondering what kind of underworld they had here. Usually the nicer a place looks the more it had to hide which I wanted to investigate. My plan to try and get myself thrown out of Equestria reasserted itself so I put thoughts of the criminal underworld here out of my mind and went back to looking around.

Another thing I noticed was there was a lot of water in this city; streams ran all over the place and ponds were rather prevalent. It wasn’t unusual to see fountains either or greenery and it definitely lent to the ambience of the city as whole. I asked Twilight about it and she looked pleased at the opportunity to share some knowledge, “A little further up the mountain is a lake where the snow that constantly caps the mountain goes as parts of it melt. From that lake runs a river which was partially diverted when the castle was originally built here a long time ago.”

Taking a breath she continued, “As the city of Canterlot was formed and grew over time the river was further diverted to add beauty to the city and even a little bit of defense.”

“I see. Well it certainly does spruce the place up quite a bit I must say.”

Twilight was obviously pleased to hear that, smiling happily as she said, “Canterlot is the center of Equestria after all. Nothing but the best for our capital!” She wasn’t the only one who was enthusiastic; Windfall and Rarity were both looking around. Windfall was looking in awe at every little thing she saw while Rarity was more focused. If anything she seemed to be looking for something specific but wouldn’t necessarily know what it was until she saw it.

Before long we came to the castle grounds where some of the golden armored guards were posted. They seemed to recognize Twilight though they still asked her about me and the purpose of her bringing me there. While she explained what was going on I got to take a better look at these guards and three things stood out; the first being that all the guards shared one of two color schemes on their fur and manes and the second was that they were all stallions and lastly they were all unicorns or pegasi with no earth ponies that I could see.

Once Twilight was done explaining our purpose there we were allowed in though to my surprise there was no weapon check or anything. The castle was very beautiful as well with lots of windows letting in light and bright colors to catch the light. In one particular hallway I noticed a lot of stain glassed windows depicting various scenes and I began to notice many of them starting to relate to the group of ponies I found myself walking with.

They really hadn’t exaggerated when they said that they had gone on a lot of adventures. Even Spike had his own window as well as one that had to be of Shining Armor and Cadence if Rainbow’s story was to be believed. As I passed one of the windows I stopped dead in my tracks causing Windfall, who had fallen behind as she looked at every little thing to bump into me. Everypony else also stopped and turned to look at me with Rarity asking, “Is anything wrong?”

The window I was looking at depicted the six of them with halos of light around their heads and firing beams of the same colored light at an evil looking alicorn mare. What caught my eye and held me there was the mare’s cutie mark…it was the exact same mark as Luna’s. “A pony’s cutie mark…are they unique to each pony or do they occur in multiple ponies,” I asked.

Twilight answered, “Each pony’s cutie mark is unique and nopony ever has the same exact mark as another pony.”

That could only mean one thing, “So this mare…she has the same cutie mark as Princess Luna. How does that work?”

Twilight looked surprised, “Luna hasn’t told you?”

“Told me what?”

She looked rather uncomfortable, “I don’t think it’s my place to tell you John. You should probably ask her yourself when you get the chance.” With that she turned and walked down the hall again obviously eager to get away from the topic. I filed the window away in my mind but was determined to get answers as soon as I could as I marched after them. At the end of the hallway were two very large ornate doors with a armored unicorn on either side of the doors.

Without a word their horns glowed and the doors opened inviting us inside. More windows lined this place with copies of each of the stained glass windows I had seen before among them. A long red carpet ran from the edge of the door to a raised golden dais with a golden throne with red cushioning. Flowers and little fountains adorned each side of the dais and next to and slightly below the throne were spaces were a pony could stand or sit on either side.

Standing in front of the throne at the top of the steps leading up to it was a large white alicorn with a mane that wasn’t quite a rainbow in color but that’s the closest description I can give its color scheme. Like Luna her mane was flowing as if in the wind though we were still inside. Her eyes watched me with some curiosity and though I might have imagined it I thought I saw some empathy in her eyes. She wore a golden and gemmed tiara and necklace. This could only be Princess Celestia and I vaguely remembered seeing her shortly after I arrived in Equestria when I was still watching Ponyville through binoculars.

However she was not alone; to her right stood her sister, Princess Luna who looked rather angry and if her gaze was any indication she was directing that anger at me. What the hell did I do now, I wondered. I quickly forgot that however when I looked over at Celestia’s left and saw, sitting cross legged in mid air and waving at me with that stupid fucking shit eating grin on her face was Sheeva.

Seeing her there reminded me of the situation I was in and how it was all her fault. Something inside me snapped and I shouted, “You fuckstick,” while drawing the desert eagle Tala had given me with my right hand and firing it at her. The bullet struck a shield around her that wasn’t visible until the bullet hit it. That room got so quiet that the spent cartridge from the shot I fired hitting the floor was the loudest sound to be heard.

Sheeva sighed, “Really John? Trying to kill me right in front of everypony. Decided to abandon your rule of not killing innocents again have we?”

I actually laughed when she said that though it was not a happy laugh and more of a derisive laugh but the first laugh in a long time nevertheless. My hand holding the gun never wavered, “You think you’re innocent? Oh please, I could make a list of things you are guilty of that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone for doing. You’ll probably claim that it was all done with the best of intentions however a certain phrase about the road to hell comes to mind.”

Sheeva shrugged, “Yes I would claim that and I stand by my actions just as for the most part you stood by yours. Its not like I didn’t know how angry you were with me so I’m glad I was prepared.” Before I could issue a rebuttal the sound of hoof steps came from behind us as two guards came toward me carrying spears though I didn’t recall the guards carrying those when we came in. They pointed them at me and told me to drop my weapon and surrender.

The gun in my hand suddenly was surrounded by midnight blue light and it was yanked from me before coming to rest next to an even angrier looking Luna. Celestia didn’t look happy either but her voice was even and gentle as she said, “Please John there is no need for violence here. There are some things I need to explain but I want you to be assured that I don’t desire to hurt you nor do anything to you other than help you.”

My voice was a growl as I said, “I don’t want help. Not from you or Luna or Windfall or Sheeva or anyone else! What I want is to leave this planet, go back to my mission and complete it!” A sharp poke reminded me of the spear holding guards, “And if you poke me again there will indeed be violence!”

Perhaps the guard felt like he had to show me that he wasn’t afraid of me because he did it again only this time I grabbed the end of the spear and yanked him toward me. His surprised face flew forward to plant itself into my now raised boot and he dropped like a stone holding a bleeding muzzle. With an enraged cry his buddy lunged at me and tried to stab me but I turned it aside with the first guy’s spear then jabbed the blunt end into his face. As he reeled back in pain I spun the spear around and brought the sharp end crashing down onto the top of his head though only with the flat of the metal so it only knocked him unconscious instead of killing him.

Celestia and Luna gave a yell of rage with Celestia saying, “There was no need for that! I would have stopped them from mistreating you further! How dare you attack my little ponies?!”

Their horns began to glow and I prepared to dodge an attack however Sheeva floated in between us and held up a hand for calm. The two alicorns didn’t stand down but they did get quiet and looked at her questioningly. Sheeva said, “I had a feeling something like this would happen.” She turned to look at me, “I’ve known you for far too long John and of course I happened to overhear your thoughts about trying to convince the princesses to make you leave Equestria. Fortunately for me and though you don’t believe it for you as well I was prepared for this like I was prepared for you to try and shoot me.”

With a wave of her hand the two guards became nothing more than light and vanished. Turning back to the princesses she continued, “I soundproofed the room so the real guards outside didn’t hear anything and created two fake guards with my power for him to attack. In reality he has not actually hurt anypony.” A mocking smile crossed her face, “Sorry to burst your bubble but on top of that I had already informed Celestia and Luna about your plan to try and get kicked out.”

My vision was getting pretty red and the temperature of the room seemed to have jumped as I felt such anger coupled with complete hopelessness. The glowing light disappeared from Luna and Celestia’s horns though they didn’t look happy. Finally I grated out, “What right do you have to hold me here Sheeva? Is it because you have the power to do so? In that case what makes you any different from all those who had power and then abused it?”

Celestia took a deep breath then let it out, visibly calming herself, “I see what you mean Sheeva. He certainly seems to be unwilling to see the good in what you are doing.” I turned toward her but before I could ask any questions she took a few steps toward me and said, “Yes I know Sheeva quite well. We met sometime during a very lonely period of my life as I explored different levels of reality. While I can’t cross the same boundaries she can I can go to realms beyond this reality and happened to meet her there as she explored that same realm. We became fast friends, especially once I learned that she too was incredibly long lived.”

Sheeva took up the tale, “Once I knew of your plan to kill yourself I tried to figure out how I could stop you without causing my people to say I had directly interfered. It ate at me quite a bit I’ll have you know and eventually, during one of our weekly chess meetings I spilled my guts to her. The idea for you to come here to find friendship was actually hers and she gave me permission to bring you here.”

Celestia turned to Twilight, “My last visit to Ponyville was really to see if he had made it safely which I confirmed as my chariot flew into Ponyville.”

Twilight spoke after a moment, “Wait you knew he was in Equestria and you knew that he was suicidal? Princess why didn’t you tell me? I would have tried to help.”

Celestia nuzzled Twilight comfortingly, “Of course I trust you my most brilliant student. Imagine though if you had suddenly shown up at his house claiming to want to be his friend. He would have been most suspicious and he certainly would have turned you away. In fact given his mental state when he arrived he might have even harmed you. As much as we want to help him it was better to let him gradually interact with our world at his pace.”

Luna came up to me, still mad, “I am most unhappy that you did not inform me that you intended to kill yourself. Have you told anypony at all?”

I snorted in derision, “Of course not. Why would I?”

Luna replied, “Oh I don’t know perhaps to get some help?”

“I already told you I don’t want anyone’s help.”

Windfall came up to me, “But what about your friends? We want to help you.”

I snapped, “WE! ARE! NOT! FRIENDS! None of you are my friend because I don’t want any friends so I don’t make any! Yes, fine now everyone knows I intend to kill myself. Good for all of you. Now let me leave Sheeva!”

Sheeva looked over at Celestia who met her eyes for a moment then shook her head firmly, “Sorry John but I will not.”

“Why not? I’ve already said that I will not accept friendship and that I will kill myself so trying to keep me here is pointless.”

Celestia stepped in, “Despite your actions and your attitude I cannot find it within me to simply let you end your own life.”

“Why? You’ve already seen that I am not a good man and that I’m prepared to do the worst.”

“It’s true that I have seen some very ugly things in you John and that I hardly know you but my decision is still the same. Have you heard of Discord John?”

“Fluttershy mentioned him on the way up here, something about him being reformed now or something like that.”

Celestia nodded, “Indeed he is. He was my enemy for a very long time and caused a lot of chaos and unhappiness for my ponies here in Equestria. Despite that when I found somepony who I believed could change him for the better I still gave him the chance of redemption.” Celestia came closer and looked me directly in the eyes, “Sheeva has told me much about you John, more than just your plans and it pains me to hear what has happened to you. Also I have been listening for reports on your actions here and I see that there is still hope for you despite what you want or believe.”

I snorted again, “Yeah my actions here have shown so much hope for me haven’t they?”

Celestia didn’t waver, “Perhaps not so much here however there is so much more to your time here in Equestria than simply your visit here.” She turned to the other ponies, “Perhaps you should show him how his actions have been more than just harmful.”

Without hesitation Windfall stepped up with unhappy but determined eyes, “I was injured over the Whitetail Woods at night and if I had not been found by you John then I likely would have died out there. I couldn’t move and would have been unable to get medical help. You were the one who found me and you took me into your home and treated me. Since then you’ve cared for my needs and even let me stay for free while I have no job.”

Rainbow spoke next, “At first I thought you were some kind of monster but then you tried to comfort Derpy; shows you have a cool side after all.”

Luna came next, “Derpy was not the only pony you attempted to comfort. When we walked around town during our second meeting you tried to comfort me as well. In addition I have heard that you have been helping the little filly Faint Heart to gain more confidence by teaching her to defend herself.”

Rainbow came back in, “Oh yeah I almost forgot; I know a lot of the guys at the martial arts place and we talked the other day. They’ve started to see you as a cool guy instead of a monster and enjoy you showing them your style of moves.”

Luna took over, “And finally let’s not forget what we learned at the trial the other day. You killed those dogs out of a desire to prevent them from harming innocent ponies and in doing so helped protect the ponies. We may not like the methods you used but we can certainly appreciate the desire behind those methods.”

I was shaking and I wanted to scream. How despite everything I had done were these ponies so willing to continue trying to be my friend? Why couldn’t they just let me be? Up until now I was sure my actions though not calculated to get me thrown out would be enough to do just that. Yet here we were with them somehow looking past the bad and seeing the good and apparently deciding that was enough to keep trying.

Sheeva decided to throw some more fuel on that fire, “I also had my minds eyes on you when you arrived in Canterlot today. Fluttershy showed you kindness and compassion and it almost had you in tears, don’t bother trying to deny it. Admit it John,” She points her index finger at me, “These ponies are getting through to you despite all your attempts to the contrary!”

I flinched like I had been struck. It was exactly as she had said; after all I had thought those exact same words myself. My fists clenched and my teeth ground together, exposed for all to see in my anger. Strange noises began to emerge from my mouth, “Nnnn….grrrgh….gaaaaaah! SheeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVAAAAAAAA!” Arms outstretched and fingers hooked like claws I lunged for her however she teleported away a few feet. Roaring with rage I ran after her, swinging punches that never landed as she teleported like her name was fucking Nightcrawler.

Eventually my rage was spent and I stood there taking deep breaths, sweat pouring down my face while everypony just watched me. It took me a bit but I managed to get out, “Why did this have to happen to me? No matter what I do nothing ever changes. You would think after what has happened to me in the past I would have learned to stop letting people in but it just keeps happening no matter what. Why can’t I stop it?”

Sheeva’s voice softened with kindness as she said, “It’s a part of being human John. Like these ponies your people need friends, family, loved ones. Without those things you will slowly destroy yourself so even though your conscious mind seeks to keep others away there is still a part of you that will always seek out that needed friendship.”

Suddenly my cheeks felt wet as despair just flooded me. It took almost everything I had at that point but I said, “Haven’t I endured enough yet? Can’t I just be allowed to die when I believe there is no hope left in living?”

Windfall walked over to stand directly in front of me, “I’m sorry John but while you may have endured a lot I can’t just let you die.” She stood on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around me, holding me tightly, “Even if you don’t want me as a friend and refuse to see me that way, I see you as a friend and I will fight for your life even if you won’t.” After that all I could think of was that things were even more hopeless now.

They knew of my desire to kill myself and even with all I was doing they still wanted to be my friend and keep me from dying. My body moved on autopilot while my brain just wallowed in the despair of it all. Any thought I had about trying to end things anyway was stopped by the deep desire to find and kill Wilhelm. The hatred I had for him was too personal for me to allow myself to die even now. What could I do though? I had no idea. Whatever else was said, decided or done after that I don’t even remember though I have a faint recollection of going back through Canterlot and boarding the train. Nopony spoke to me on the way back and I just sat there with my head in my hands. It was all so hopeless.

Author's Notes:

As I wrote this I was listening to a Phoenix Wright OST and I've watched game play of a lot of the series at this point. There is a moment that was kinda drawn from it. See what you think. I also have to say writing the latter half of this chapter hurt like hell.

Chapter 9 - Calm and Crash

I blinked as I woke up the next day confusion clouding my mind. During the night I wasn’t sure if I had my usual nightmares or not; if I did they just blended into the rest of the despair from the day before. Next was the fact that because of said despair I didn’t remember anything beyond the meeting from the previous day. To top it all off I was definitely not in my bed or even my own cottage for that matter.

Sitting up and looking around I saw a cozy room with wooden floors and walls. Beneath me was a comfortable red couch with a wooden back to it with two large chairs facing it diagonally forming a triangle. On the floor there was a round green throw rug and off to my left was the entrance to another room. From what I could see it was a kitchen. In front of me on the wall beyond the seating area was a door and window looking out into town.

The look of the town made me pretty sure I was back in Ponyville. Standing up I began to take a look around to find out where I was and, as I realized my weapons were missing as well as my trenchcoat I started looking for them too. Behind the seating area were a couple of shelves holding mementos, pictures and trophies. Walking over to them one of the pictures caught my eye; that of a younger looking Tough Hoof holding a trophy in his hooves with two earth ponies standing on either side of him.

These must be his parents, I thought, And I guess that makes this Tough Hoof’s house. How did I get here? Moving away from the pictures I came to the trophies, one of which was the trophy in the picture I had just seen. As I looked them over I noticed one common theme; they were all martial arts tournament trophies. Many had pony figures on them though some had what had to be gryphons and minotaurs on them.

There was no sight of my coat or weapons though, at least not here in this area. Before I could leave the room however I suddenly heard voices outside the door which opened shortly thereafter to reveal Tough Hoof and Windfall talking as they walked inside. Tough Hoof was saying, “That’s a really interesting story and…oh looks like he’s awake.” Windfall looked at me and before I could say or do anything came over and wrapped me in a big hug.

Right then that hug did make me feel a little better. Part of me wanted to be upset because that meant she continued to get through my defenses but at that moment I didn’t give a shit. She let go and took my arm with one of her wings, leading me over to the couch where she sat me down. Tough Hoof sat on one of the chairs facing the couch while Windfall sat to my left on the couch. Even after living with Windfall since coming to Ponyville it looked weird to see ponies sitting on furniture. They sat like I would expect a pony to sit it was just the fact that the furniture looked like human furniture that made it weird.

Tough Hoof cleared his throat a little nervously, “Windfall has filled me in on your…um…state of mind.” He looked a little crestfallen, “I realize that maybe I was a bit lacking in trust after your trial but I still am your friend John or at least I want to be so understand you can tell me anything.”

Windfall shook her head, “He didn’t tell anypony including me.” Her face scrunched up unhappily, “John also claims that nopony is his friend because he doesn’t want any friends.”

Tough Hoof nodded, “Ah yes I believe he and I spoke on something similar before now. I still can’t say I understand why though.”

Windfall snorted, “Because he doesn’t want it derailing his plans for self destruction.”

At that point I finally chimed in, “Not entirely true Windfall.”

Windfall looked surprised to hear me talk, “Well sweet Celestia up in Canterlot he is still with us. Wasn’t sure if you were or not since you were being so quiet.”

I grunted, “I don’t talk unless I have something I feel I should say. My being suicidal is not the only reason I don’t want friends though it is perhaps the biggest reason I have.”

Tough Hoof leaned forward in interest, “So what other reasons do you have John?”

Leaning forward and resting my elbows on my legs I sighed, took a deep breath and told them, “Years ago not too long after I started my vigilante ‘career’ I ended up making a lot of friends. In most cases however it did not end well. Many of my so called friends were only getting close to me to use me for their own ends and once they were done with me they discarded me. It didn’t end well for them. As for the rest, the ones who actually did give a shit about me…most of them ended up dead. Given what I was doing I suppose I should have realized how stupid getting close to people was. My enemies sought to use my friends against me whether as blackmail or by hurting or killing them to get at me. Whichever way they ended was painful to me but…I didn’t learn my lesson until around the time I decided I wanted to die.”

Tough Hoof put his forehooves together in front of his face like someone might do with their hands when they are thinking, “So the reason you are avoiding friends is partially because you don’t want to let that stop you from suicide and partially because you’re scared of the pain having friends might cause is that right?” When I had answered with a nod he leaned forward, smiling reassuringly, “John, Equestria is a peaceful place for the most part and whatever enemies you’ve made in the past are not here nor will they be able to get here so you needn’t worry about us dying on you. As for us just becoming your friends so we can use you I assure you that is not the case. We genuinely want you be your friend and make you feel welcome here and knowing what we do now we want to help you even more.”

He got off the chair and came to sit beside me, putting a foreleg around my shoulders like an old friend would, “I also hope that as you come to see us as friends we can help you find a reason to live again.” I went to protest but he held up a hoof to stop me, “Ultimately that is your decision however I am just telling you what I hope to do. Whether or not you believe it we do care about you John and we will try to help you whatever it takes.”

Then they both hugged me and I let them. When they let go I asked a question that had been on my mind, “I don’t really remember anything after some point during my visit with the princesses so what did happen and how did I end up here?”

Windfall looked happy enough to answer, “Well we tried to get you to talk a few times but you just stood there not responding which was starting to really freak us out. Sheeva took a look into your mind and told us that you were drowning yourself in despair and that we likely couldn’t get you out until you came to grips with it. After that Celestia used her magic to heal my injuries and asked me to thank you for helping me. Then we brought you back through Canterlot, took the train back here and since our house was so far away we went to Tough Hoof, explained the situation and asked him if he’d let us stay the night and here we are.”

A new voice broke into the conversation, “Speaking of how far away your cottage is I talked with Celestia about that and at her suggestion I moved it to the edge of Ponyville.” We all turned to see Sheeva hovering near the back of the room. Now that we knew she was there she floated over to sit cross-legged in the air above the green rug. “At least you won’t have so far to go every day now.” Her face changed to one of concern and caring instead of her usual slightly sarcastic self, “I’m glad to see you back to reality and letting others help you, however slightly that is.”

I shifted a little in my seat to face her more squarely, “At the moment there is little else I can do except go through my daily routine. Thank you for moving the cottage closer, it will make things rather more convenient at least.” Turning to Windfall I asked, “Any idea where my coat and weapons are now?”

Instead Sheeva answered the question, “I took them from you before you left Canterlot Castle. Don’t worry I put them back in the cottage for you. Oh and I almost forgot, Luna wanted me to pass on this message to you; she’s upset at not being told about your desire to die however she intends to help you however she can when she isn’t busy with her royal duties. Sounds like you made another friend whether you like it or not.”

I managed a slight upturn of my mouth, “Well it does seem like I have a way with people who live incredibly long lives.”

Sheeva gave a genuine laugh of pleasure at that, “That does seem to the case doesn’t it? First me, then you married Tala’keer and now you’ve made a friend of an alicorn princess. I’m almost afraid to ask what long lived being you’ll manage to befriend next.”

Tough Hoof and Windfall exchanged confused looks with Tough Hoof asking, “I didn’t know you were married John. If that’s the case then don’t you think suicide would hurt her?”

I sighed, “If she were alive I wouldn’t be suicidal.”

He looked incredibly sad and ashamed for a moment, “Oh, I’m so sorry John.”

“It’s ok. Maybe someday I’ll tell you the whole story. Sorry I missed work yesterday by the way.”

“It’s ok. I was a little upset that you didn’t show but I was more worried than anything else. When Windfall brought you here last night she explained about your meeting with Princess Celestia so at least you had a good reason to not be there. Speaking of upset you might want to explain that to Faint Heart and Mrs. Heart since they wandered where you were. They were pretty worried for you too.”

The thought of causing them to worry didn’t make me feel good at all, “Yeah I guess I better do that. I’ll do so today at work.”

“Glad to hear it. We’re having a little tournament tomorrow by the way. There will be different levels of competition, like the beginners level for Faint Heart. Now don’t worry too much because for her level we aren’t being real serious or anything. We can see how well she’s learned what she’s been taught and usually they have a lot of fun.”

I stood up to go see my cottage and to get a change of clothing, “Alright, I will do my best to get her ready. I’m going to go change into some new clothes then I’ll meet you at the dojo.”

Windfall got up as well, “I’ll come with you John. No offense but I intend to keep an eye on you for the time being and I will not take no for an answer.” The only real answer I could give to that was to sigh and set off, following Sheeva to the new location of my cottage with Windfall hovering beside me. To be honest I was happy to see Windfall flying again if for no other reason than because she seemed to be really happy to be able to fly again.

As we walked through town ponies reacted to me as they have been since the trial, running away and hiding. Sheeva seemed to go completely unnoticed, something Windfall caught onto, “John, why does nopony seem to notice Sheeva?”

“It’s not unusual for her to make herself invisible to the rest of the world actually. When we first met there were a few times people around me thought I was a crazy person because I was arguing with someone they couldn’t see or hear. Now that I think about it a bit more I guess I could qualify as crazy since Sheeva is often literally a voice in my head.”

“I see,” She said then went quiet again as we got back to our humble little home. Walking inside I could see that Sheeva did indeed return my coat as it was draped over the back of the chair by my computer. A moment spent searching inside the coat then into the gun lockers proved the return of my weapons as well. Windfall went into the kitchen area and began going through the fridge while I went upstairs and changed clothes.

When I came back down Windfall looked over at me and frowned, “I thought you were changing clothes John?”

“I did. All I own is several pairs of the same thing.”

“From what I’ve heard you might not want to tell Rarity that. I’ve heard she can be a bit crazy when it comes to clothing and fashion.”

“I’ll do my best not to tell her then,” I said. Windfall trotted over to me with a plate of veggies and fruits in her teeth which she gave to me then went back to grab one for herself. We spent a few quiet moments just eating on the couch which kinda made me homesick for the times I used to eat and watch TV with my family back on Earth. It didn’t last long at least and we finished pretty quickly.

I took my two pistols and knife and put them on the inside of my coat as per usual then went to leave. To my surprise Windfall came trotting out with me. She must have seen the look on my face because she replied before I even started asking the question, “I’m going to go watch you tonight. It’ll be fun for me to get out some more and to see what you do when you are at work. It'll be a good chance for other ponies to see you in a different light as well”

“It’d be a nice change of pace compared to ‘Eeek! He’s a monster! Run away!’”

Her wing gently petted my arm, “Most ponies are afraid of new things they don’t recognize, more so if that thing is dangerous which you’ve proven you are.”

By this time we were making our way down the street walking side by side, “You and Tough Hoof would be the exceptions then huh? Neither of you have shown much fear of me and you’ve even gone so far as to be annoyingly persistent about friendship despite my telling you no repeatedly.”

With a chuckle she replied, “What can I say? I’m a stubborn mare. Also unlike the rest of the town I have the advantage of having been rescued by you in the Whitetail Woods so I know there is more to you then the killer you’d love us all to think you are.”

“What makes you think I want everypony to believe I’m a killer?”

“You never hide the fact that you are willing to resort to violence as a solution as a start. Add to that the fact that you don’t want friends and so would do whatever it took to push them away from you.”

“Those are both true though I’m still not sure I’d go so far as to say I want them to think I’m a killer. Yes I do have no problem killing certain kinds of people and have done so many times. The problem with them thinking of me as a killer is that it gives them the impression that I will kill indiscriminately and for the most part that isn’t true.”

Her head turned to regard me quizzically, “For the most part?”

Inwardly I sighed and though Dammit I didn’t mean to give that away. Out loud I said, “I don’t want to talk about it ok? Suffice it to say something happened and for a while I stopped caring about anything, kinda like how I don’t care if I die.”

A frown appeared on her furry face, “Ok I’ll drop it but only for now. Later I want to hear the whole story.”

I snorted, “Good luck getting it.” About that time we got to the dojo and went inside. It was rather empty except for Tough Hoof and one or two other ponies. The other ponies waved at me which I returned but Tough Hoof was frowning at my coat.

He trotted over, “John please tell me you don’t have any weapons under that coat.”

“Ok, I don’t have any weapons under my coat. Now would you like me to tell you the truth?” Tough Hoof looked so upset by what that meant that even I had to try to put his mind at ease, “Look I’m not going to suddenly lose my shit and try to use them on myself. If that was likely to happen do you honestly think Sheeva would have returned my weapons to me? Until I find Wilhelm and kill him I won’t try to take my life of that I can promise you.”

That calmed his down a bit but he still didn’t look fully convinced, “Why do you need to carry weapons with you anyway? Unless something from the Everfree forest attacks we’re perfectly safe here.”

“I’ve gotten used to people trying to kill me at any time and any place so I always carry weapons with me. At this point I feel naked without a weapon on my person.”

“Forgive me but is that a bad thing for humans? I’m sure you’ve noticed that ponies usually go around naked.”

“Ah right, good point. Yes humans aren’t generally into being naked with a few exceptions. We don’t have fur to protect us and…well our reproductive organs aren’t hidden like yours are. Perhaps a better way for me to say it would have been to say that I feel exposed and vulnerable without a weapon on my person.”

“…Oh, I see. Yes I suppose that makes some sense then. You promise me that aren’t going to use those weapons on yourself or anypony else?”

“As long as Wilhelm is alive and nopony here does anything illegally harmful to anypony else then I promise.”

He sighed while looking a little deflated, “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for.”

Before he could say anything more the door opened and in walked Faint Heart and her mother. Mrs. Heart looked at me, “Oh good, you’re here today Mr. Tracker. I wasn’t sure since you were gone yesterday and Mr. Hoof didn’t know why.”

“I…apologize for that though to be honest I didn’t know I wasn’t going to be here either. You see I got a sudden summons to see Princess Celestia yesterday before I even got here and I didn’t have time to swing by and let Tough Hoof know.”

“Oh my, you got to meet Princess Celestia? Well that certainly makes sense then. Forgive me if I’m prying too much but I hope it wasn’t something bad?”

“She just wanted to assess me after the incident with the Diamond Dogs.”

“I see.”

Faint Heart walked forward, “I’m glad you’re back Mr. Tracker. I really missed getting to have class yesterday.”

Kneeling down I replied, “Oh you enjoy our class?”

She gave me a rare smile, “Uh huh! It makes me feel so much less afraid.”

At that moment I wished I could have given her a smile to show how that actually made me feel good but it wasn’t quite enough to get my lips to move into a smile. Still I said, “I’m glad to hear that Faint Heart. Are you ready for our class today then?”

All enthusiasm she said, “Yes!”

“How about the tournament tonight?” I glanced over at Tough Hoof, “You were told about that right?”

Mrs. Heart answered, “A little. Faint Heart isn’t going to be doing any serious fighting yet is she?”

Tough Hoof answered, “Oh no Mrs. Heart. For her level it’ll be a more informal thing where we can see how well she is learning what she’s been taught. We’ll all be on hoof to make sure nopony gets hurt or anything serious.”

I said, “Well then we better get to work right Faint Heart? C’mon let’s stretch by doing some of those basic punches I showed you.” Tough Hoof moved on to his other students while Mrs. Heart and Windfall watched Faint Heart and I. After going through the punches she knew I expanded her repertoire until she could do crosses, hooks and even an uppercut.

With the tournament drawing close and ponies beginning to come in I let Faint Heart rest a little and get some water while I went and helped Tough Hoof and other instructors set up mats and seating for everypony. Some of the ponies I’ve gotten to know a bit at the dojo waved at me when they came in which I returned. Once we were finished I headed back out to where I typically taught and I saw Windfall and Mrs. Heart talking with Twilight and her friends.

Faint Heart was even talking, hesitantly but still talking to a small group of fillies; Applebloom as well as the orange pegasus and white unicorn I saw with her at the trial. Twilight looked up at me and waved while smiling, “Hello Mr. Tracker, glad to see you up and about after yesterday.”

“Just call me John; I hate that ‘Mr.’ stuff. Mr. Tracker was my dad and he would have told you that it was his dad.”

“Sorry,” She said with a sheepish grin.

Of course I asked the obvious question, “So what brings everypony here?”

Rainbow Dash answered, “We’re here to watch the tournament duh!”

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, “Some of us simply wanted to take the opportunity to check in on how you were doing darling.”

Applebloom also chirped, “And Faint Heart here’s a classmate of ours so we came to cheer her on!”

The orange pegasus also spoke, “We’d heard that she’d started taking martial arts and we wanted to see her in action.”

All I could reply to all that was, “I see.” Looking at the two fillies I didn’t yet know I asked Applebloom, “So who are your friends Applebloom?”

She pointed a small hoof at the unicorn, “This is Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister.”

Sweetie Belle waved and said in a voice that squeaked, “Hi there!”

Applebloom then pointed to the pegasus, “And this here is Scootaloo.”

As she spoke I noticed Scootaloo’s voice rasped similarly to Rainbow Dash’, “I’m the second most awesome pony in Equestria, nice to meet you.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Who’s the first most awesome?”

“Rainbow Dash of course!”

Rainbow grinned, “You got that right Scootaloo.” I face palmed; the world, hell the galaxy didn’t need two of them and yet here they were, one of whom was part of the future generation ensuring it would continue. Rainbow kept going, “I was trained here you know so I’m looking forward to seeing if anypony can even come close to my level of awesome. I doubt it though.”

Before I could reply Tough Hoof came out and welcomed everypony, telling us the tournament was about to start. We broke up, Faint Heart coming with me and everypony else going to the seating area we had set up beforehand. Being that these were ponies they didn’t need seats so the floor where they were to sit was simply marked by tape. Their seating area was on three sides of the room around the center which was covered in mats. The remaining side was for the staff and the students though there was one chair which had been provided for me.

While we waited for everypony to get seated I leaned to the side and said to Faint Heart, “This is your first fight so don’t worry about how you do ok? Just try to use what I taught you as best you can and do your best to roll with the punches. If you feel you’re getting hit too often and you can’t take it yell for me to end the fight and I will.”

She looked up at me, “Shouldn’t I try to win?”

“Winning or losing isn’t what’s important here. What is important is that we can see how far you are coming along but we don’t want you to overdo it. Just go out there, try your best and try to have fun ok?”

With an slightly confused look she said, “Ok.” Any reply I would have had was interrupted by a small commotion from the entrance where I saw Princess Luna walking in, ponies bowing and trying to move out of her way so she could get through easier. I couldn’t hear her very well but she was smiling at the ponies around her and saying something after which they would stand up, smile back and go back to getting to a seating spot.

Luna looked over at me and waved and spoke loud enough for me to hear her, “Good evening John. I have heard that you were teaching one of our young ones and trying to help her build confidence. This is a good thing to hear and I came tonight because I wish to see how that is going.” She turned her attention to Faint Heart, “Good luck little one.”

Faint Heart looked like she really could faint as she whispered, “Princess Luna spoke to me…” It was really cute and I almost chuckled, more when Princess Luna sat down with Twilight and friends and I got a brief glimpse of the looks of the ponies behind where Luna sat. Like the movie theaters back home they had the look of someone, or in this case somepony who knew the really tall person with huge hair was going to sit right in front of them and ruin their view.

By this point there were very few ponies still coming in so Tough Hoof went out to stand in the middle of the room and began to speak, “Thank you everypony for coming tonight. We’ve been looking forward to the chance to show off the things we have learned and for you to enjoy the show of skill. We’ll start things off tonight with the beginners fights; please be sure to be polite and encourage them. Beginners, please come out to the mats!”

Faint Heart got up and hesitantly made her way out there with the other beginners where Tough Hoof assigned them to another beginner to spar with. He was certainly careful about trying to keep them in similar age groups as well as amount of time having been taught. After all was said and done there were about five different pairs of ponies facing each other on the mats, Faint Heart facing off against a unicorn filly with a tan coat and a long golden mane.

Tough Hoof looked around then shouted, “Begin!” My eyes were glued to Faint Heart and her opponent though it wasn’t much to look at towards the beginning. That was ok since it was her first fight but my mind was more on her accidently hurting herself or something and I was ready to step in and end the fight if need be. Perhaps that was me caring more than I wanted to but I was her teacher and I felt responsible for her.

At first the fight went pretty evenly with both fillies taking clumsy shots at each other but I was happy to see Faint Heart trying to use what I showed her. Clumsy her attacks may have been but I could still see when she tried to throw a cross, jab, hook and even one or two uppercuts. The attacks were clumsy as one would expect from someone’s first fight where they were unfamiliar with using those attacks against another person.

Eventually however she began to control them better and use them more effectively though neither pony seemed to be getting hurt. However when Faint Heart began to get better with her punches the other filly suddenly switched to kicks. Her kicks were as clumsy as their punches had been at the beginning but it threw Faint Heart off balance. Having never practiced kicks she didn’t know much about them and wasn’t expecting them resulting in her taking a buck to the side of her face and falling onto the mat.

I was out of my seat instantly and when Faint Heart didn’t stand up I ran over to her, my stomach tighter than a knot and filled with ice at the same time. The other filly was practically crying, looking over Faint Heart and saying over and over that she didn’t mean to hurt her. My mouth was on automatic as it spoke the words ‘It’s ok, it’s ok’ over and over. Kneeling down and leaning over to check on Faint Heart I was relieved not to see any signs of bruising meaning she hadn’t taken the full brunt of the hit.

Using my fingers I gently prodded her face to see if any bones had been broken despite the lack of bruises. Thankfully there didn’t appear to be any broken bones either however I began to notice that Faint Heart was quietly crying. Before I could say anything she suddenly got up and bolted from the room. In one motion I was up and sprinting after her; the sound of multiple ponies running behind me could be heard but I didn’t pay it any attention. Reaching the front classroom where we usually practiced I saw Faint Heart curled up in a corner crying.

Kneeling down next to her I said, “I’m sorry Faint Heart, I should have stopped the fight earlier. No strike that I should have simply told Tough Hoof not to have you fight in the first place.” Even as I said that part of me was pretty angry at Tough Hoof for not having given me more notice of the tournament so I could have prepared her better even if the fight wasn’t supposed to be a serious one.

Sniffling she replied, “I-I’m not really hurt actually.”

“Then why are you crying sweetie,” her mom asked bringing me to notice that she along with Windfall, Twilight and her friends and Applebloom and friends were standing to my right.

“B-because I lost,” she cried, “I didn’t do a good job even though Mr. Tracker tried to teach me.”

That surprised me, “Wait so you’re crying because you think I’m upset with you or something?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m not upset with you, not at all. If anything I’m proud of you.”

Her little head lifted up to look at me, “But I lost even though you showed me these moves.”

I tried to look comforting and reassuring though I doubt I pulled it off, “That’s ok it was your first fight. Trust me when I say that for your first fight I thought you actually did pretty well. For me the most important things were that I could see you trying to use what I taught you and that you are ok. If you want to blame anyone for you losing then blame me because I didn’t prepare you for an opponent trying to kick you.”

She looked like she didn’t quite believe me so I said, “Faint Heart, I know how crazy a fight can be. More often than not it’s chaos and unless you are used to it you can easily forget what you need to do. With that in mind the fact that I could tell you were trying to use what I showed you makes me very proud of you. If that’s not enough for you let me tell you that even now, after ten years of using what I’ve been teaching you, I still lose fights. You have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all.”

Slowly she got to her hooves, wiping away her tears, “Really? You mean it Mr. Tracker?”

“I mean it Faint Heart.”

Another voice came from behind me, “Indeed he does and he is correct.” Turning we saw Luna standing there, a smile on her face for Faint Heart who looked at Luna in awe. She went on, “You are doing well for one so young and I am pleased to see that you are learning much.”

Scootaloo chimed in excitedly, “Yeah you were totally awesome! I mean not as awesome as Rainbow Dash but still totally awesome!”

Applebloom came in, “Yeah, you gotta show me some of them moves!”

Sweetie Belle squeaked, “Me too!”

A huge smile lit Faint Heart’s face, “Ok!” As she began to show off her moves and the other began to copy her and generally have a good time I watched her mother tear up a little and smile.

Mrs. Heart came over to me, “Thank you Mr. Tracker for helping her. I cannot tell you how it makes me feel to see my little filly interacting so openly with others her age.”

“I’m glad I could help,” I said and I meant it too. As I watched the fillies having fun and Mrs. Heart being happy about the whole thing I felt warmth fill me and a big, broad, real smile crossed my face that I just could not get rid of.

Windfall noticed and said, “John I’ve never seen you smile like this before.”

Luna also noticed, “It is good to see such a smile. Pray tell what has made you smile so?”

I answered honestly, “I’ve always hoped that my actions as a vigilante improved the lives of others by taking away those who would harm or use them. It is hard to really point out whether or not that has been the case most of the time. Right now however I can honestly say I have made a positive difference in this young filly’s life, and it feels so very good.”

Windfall gave me a hug and Luna smiled wider as she said, “I too and very happy to see you make such a difference, both because it is good to see our citizens happy but also because this is how things will get better for you.” After that I said nothing just continued to smile as we all did as we watched the fillies continue to mock fight and talk and laugh. Eventually we made our way back to the main room to watch the rest of the fights.

Wilhelm managed a sigh of relief as his FTL drive disengaged and he returned to normal space still alive though his head was still throbbing from when it had hit the bulkhead. His sigh quickly became a gasp of near panic as normal space had a blue and green planet looming right in front of his ship. Fingers moving quickly he attempted to get the ship’s main drive to activate and take him into a stable orbit but the instruments were not working optimally thanks to the near destruction of the jump through the storm.

Cursing he attempted a reboot which slowly began to bring various affected systems back online but by that time fire was flying up the viewport. With re-entry buffeting the ship and it still being affected by the jump error messages began to appear on his console as parts began to give out or systems would overload. Unable to maneuver the ship he went for his last option; a set of emergency thrusters that was designed to slow a crashing ship down enough to make the impact survivable.

The thrusters activated with what felt like a kick in the rear and he was able to turn his attention to what he could see outside the viewport. A night sky was visible as was a small town below though as he fell closer to the surface he realized he was going to miss the town. Consulting his console it looked like he was going to come down in a forested area outside the town. He gripped a set of crash webbing securing him to his seat and hoped that the ship could be fixed and that the town could help.

Windfall and I had said our goodbyes to everypony and were walking back to our cottage. Windfall was smiling, “That was a lot of fun tonight, watching everypony show off their skills.”

It felt normal for me to ask, “Did you ever think of taking martial arts?”

“Not really, but I enjoy the spectacle. By the way John I’m really proud of you for helping Faint Heart tonight and I know her mother is happy for the way you’ve helped her gain more confidence overall.”

“I am glad I was able to help,” I replied though I was stopped from saying anything more by the night sky getting a little but noticeable brighter. Looking up along with Windfall I saw a blazing object coming down though the light surrounding quickly went out. It didn’t take long before the object came close enough for me to see that it was a ship. A ship! Looks like it’s in trouble though. The thrusters are firing so it may survive the crash which means I may be able to get a ride off this planet if it can be repaired!

Windfall’s gaze followed the crashing ship, “Looks like it’s going to come down in the Everfree forest!” True enough it did exactly that, leaving a pall of smoke rising into the sky. Using that I programmed into my gauntlet a direction towards the pall then ran back towards my cottage with Windfall yelling ‘wait’ and flying after me. Once inside I took off my coat, checking to make sure I had my knife, Glock and Tala the desert eagle before I went over to the weapon lockers.

Opening one I found what I was looking for, a SPAS-12 which I pulled out thankfully without Sheeva suddenly popping into my head or magically stopping me and began loading shells into it. Once loaded I grabbed a pouch which I filled with more shells before grabbing a harness, putting it on and hooking the pouch to it. Windfall watched all this and asked, “What are you doing John?”

“Getting ready to go into the Everfree forest. You said it was dangerous right? Well I’m going in there to find that crashed ship!” Throwing my coat back on I grabbed the gun and ran outside and in the direction of the pall of smoke. Windfall followed though I hardly noticed as the ship was the only thing on my mind. Ponies in the town got out of my way quickly enough as I went running through towards the forest. At that moment, the prospect of getting off world made each footstep feel almost like running on air.

Sheeva gave a contented sigh as she lay surrounded by energy, relaxing in it as a human might enjoy relaxing in a bath only without the need to get naked. She had felt John’s happiness at having helped the little pony Faint Heart and it made her happy that he felt that way. “Looks like my plan is working after all,” She murmured to herself. Just then a magical warning she had put in place went off in her mind and she frowned, opening all three eyes.

Using a bit of energy and focus she was able to see John running with a gun in his hands, Windfall following him. “Where are you going John,” She wondered. Pulling her sight back a bit she looked around in the direction he was going until she saw the pall of smoke. Zooming her sight in she saw it coming from a structure that had been partially cut out of a cliff face and partially built against the cliff.

Adjusting her sight even further she saw a hatch open from the ship that had crashed and was causing the smoke. A wobbly figure half fell out of the ship and her heart froze as she recognized him as Wilhelm. If he was in Equestria that meant John might find him and if he did then one way or the other that was going to be end of John. Her sight shifted back to see John running and sure enough it was directly towards where Wilhelm now waited causing her to use a word she often heard humans use, “FUCK!”

Chapter 10 - Final and Farewell

Tala’keer murmured a few more words as her mind focused its energy into the completion of her work, a faint blue glow visible even through closed eyelids. The glow faded and her warm eyes opened to behold the green bauble in its golden cradle and the little golden chain that would allow it to be worn around neck or wrist. It has taken her almost six months as her husband measured things to create this for him but it was worth it.

Despite her worries the timing could not be better with their one year anniversary coming up in just a few days and she was glad to have finished it. In her mind flashed the vision from six months ago, the one that ended in John’s death and the reason for the delay in finishing this gift. Originally it had merely been meant as a valued item, one holding memories of their time together, with more recent memories with their daughter Auriala, newly born just a month prior added in.

Smiling she looked down where little Auriala lay wrapped close to her body sleeping with the lack of care all children start with. Singing softly she stroked the little girl’s head with her fingers as the happiness of having a family once again filled her. Auriala’s birth had not been the real delay in finishing his present but rather the need to try and guard against the future she saw. Now the present contained not only memories but also, should the need arise, a message. “Now my little one, we can only pray…pray that the future either does not come to pass or if it does, that my actions are enough to stay his hand in the end.”

Fuck forests.

No seriously, fuck forests right up their leafy asses. If I were to somehow ever get back to Earth I’d punch out the next person to yell ‘save the forests’ then maybe kick them in the nuts while they were down. Should they lack nuts for me to kick I’d aim for the stomach instead, I’m easy. Despite what it might sound like my hatred for forests wasn’t anything anti-environmental but rather borne out of annoyance.

I’d had more than one drug lab or weapons stockpile that I had to take out that had been located deep in a forest before and operating in forests sucked. Cover was good but that worked both ways and I had nearly lost the element of surprise by running into a guard I couldn’t see more than once. The amount of foliage also was great for slowing down any speedy intentions especially if you liked to wear a trench coat, which I did. Yeah, I could have gone without it but fuck that, the trench coat is part of my thing that makes me me ok?

Add in humidity and plenty of dangerous flora and fauna and I came to deeply loathe forests over the years. The Everfree forest was surprisingly not humid compared to most forests I had been in however what it lacked in humidity it made up for in dark spookiness. My nerves were also taught at the prospect of running into one of the dangerous denizens that Windfall had told me about prior.

Speaking of that pegasus pony I could feel her fearful breathing on the back of my neck and her forehooves were somehow clutching my shoulders as she flapped along close behind me, ears and eyes alert for anything dangerous. My senses were also on high alert and I heard every rustle of leaves and cracking of branches, every animal noise both familiar and alien. Our progress wasn’t very fast despite there being a path, somewhat overgrown now that led through the forest.

We stuck to that path but our steps were cautious so we could maintain awareness of our surroundings and I held my shotgun ready for anything. Yes I wanted to die however death by mauling was not on the list and I wanted to finish my mission then die on my own terms in a quick and clean manner. “S-shouldn’t we let somepony know about this? Maybe get some help instead of trying this on our own,” Windfall stammered out.

That would be the smart idea however I didn’t want to let on just yet that my intention was to use the ship to leave the planet. If there were more ponies along then it might become obvious really fast what my intent was and they might try to stop me and also if we waited and the pilot died, assuming he wasn’t dead already then his ship might not respond to me if it was locked to him in some way. I told Windfall the last part, more or less, “We might but right now I’m worried about the pilot. The sooner we can get to him help him the better odds he’ll have of surviving whatever injuries he may have.”

My answer seemed to satisfy her and she went silent again. Given that we had just decided speed was of the essence we both unconsciously picked up speed. At one point the path branched off and I had to use my directional point on my gauntlet to pick the right path. Within the hour however we stood at the base of a mountain, or cliff I couldn’t tell too well from down there and through all the vegetation. There were stairs carved into the stone though which I began to mount.

Windfall opted to fly up, keeping herself level with me and watching my progress for any potential problems. Once the edge of the stair I had stepped on crumbled and I fell against the side of the stone as Windfall was there to grab me in case I fell. In my chest my heart was hammering at the near drop and I found myself grateful for Windfalls presence. Taking a moment to catch my breath and nodding assurance and thanks to Windfall I got back on my feet and began to climb again.

The trees disappeared beneath us as we climbed higher, the moon and stars shining brightly tonight and giving me greater visibility. As we climbed I asked, “Hey Windfall, do you know anything about this place we’re climbing?”

She shook her head, “No, I don’t. It’s not the Castle of the Royal Sisters I can tell you that.”

“The Castle of the Royal Sisters?”

“Yeah, it used to be the castle Celestia and Luna ruled Equestria from.”

“Why don’t they rule there anymore?”

She looked surprised, “Oh, you don’t know the tale of Nightmare Moon?”

“No, I don’t.”

Instead of telling me as I was expecting her too she looked embarrassed, looking away from me, “I’d tell you but…well you should ask Luna.”

“What does Luna have to do with Nightmare Moon?”

“You should ask her yourself, that is all I’ll say,” And she shut her mouth tightly no matter what I asked so I stopped asking. Looking up at the moon as I continued my climb I wondered if Luna was aware of the crashed ship. She had been aware of Windfalls accident when I first got here after all. My heart sank as the thought hit me that she might already be there. With my luck she was indeed and I might just lose my chance to get off this planet.

A few minutes later I saw an end to the stairs; a landing cut into the cliff. About fucking time, I thought as I silently cursed whoever decided to build such a large staircase. I took a minute to stop and regain some strength, my breathing deep and ragged. Windfall didn’t even look winded with her wings flapping slowly. Her face showed concern for me which I waved away.

My strength regained I made for the landing which was wide enough for a tractor trailer to comfortably sit on. Four large pillars went from the back of the landing to the ceiling high above me and inside I saw what looked like a small library rotting away. If there had been anything to keep out the elements I saw no sign of it now. The ship wasn’t on this level but at the back of the room I saw more stairs Fuck cut into a tunnel curving upwards.

Another minute spent sprinting up those stairs brought me to what looked like an observatory. In the ceiling was a hole that was obviously made and not natural where a telescope could easily have fit out. Another landing dominated the right side of the room, held up by more pillars though one was gone now along with part of the ceiling. Following the natural direction it seemed to point at I was drawn to where the platform for the telescope would have been.

When I say it would have been there I meant that it was now crushed under a couple tons of spaceship. It was a silver arrow headed spaceship that was crumpled on the front. That made sense at least since that was the part that had the privilege of meeting the ground first. As I was getting ready to go forward to see if the rest of the ship was ok I saw a figure checking out the engines at the back.

With the nice enlargement in the wall made by the ship the moon provided sufficient light for me to see who the figure was. The figure was tall, well muscled with a dark furred tail, a dark furred lupine head and a scar running over one eye. I was literally so shocked that I couldn’t move for a few seconds. Then I began to laugh, loud enough to make Windfall and the figure leap back in surprise as I held my gut and my whole body shook.

He blinked a few times, nose moving as it sniffed the air involuntarily and a low, surprised, throaty growl emerged, “John?”

While being doubled over laughing I managed a wave. I must have been quite the sight since no one did or said anything but watched me laugh for a few more moments. When I could calm down enough I straightened up and threw my arms wide, “Wilhelm! For once I can honestly say I am happy to see you!”

A huff escaped his muzzle and he grinned, “Actually, so am I John. I’ve been looking for you for a while now.”

“No kidding! Small galaxy then because I’ve been looking for you too!”

“For what reason? Is that why you’re carrying a gun?”

I grinned, “All the better to kill you with my dear!” My arms were a blur as I raised and fired the shotgun, the loud noise almost deafening. Windfall closed her ears with a shriek while Wilhelm dodge rolled to his right. He turned that roll into grabbing the side of his ship and vaulting himself over to the other side as a second blast bounced off the ship. Knowing he would be ready to counter attack almost instantly I began running for the cover of the nearest pillar.

As I ducked behind the pillar I heard a loud whining noise and kept running. My peripheral vision was practically blinded by a searing white light and the pillar I had about to use for cover exploded. Wilhelm had always preferred the most powerful plasma pistols on the market I recalled at that moment. My sprint carried me behind and past the second pillar which disrupted his sightline long enough for his aim to fail.

Rubble falling around me I was now sprinting in the open, his ship having taken out the next nearest pillar. Looking to the side and raising my shotgun I began firing as fast I could pull the trigger. One of my favorite features of the SPAS-12 is that it can be set to either pump action or semi-automatic and I always had it set to semi-auto. Wilhelm ducked back behind his ship as a small torrent of buckshot filled the air in his general direction.

With a slide that would have made a pro baseball player proud I made it behind the final pillar and frantically reloaded my shotgun. Another loud whining noise was all the warning I had before the pillar exploded above me forcing me to roll out from behind it and come up sprinting. The nearest available cover was his ship which I headed for without hesitation. It suddenly felt like a day in mid-summer as another plasma bolt flew behind me, missing me by no more than a foot.

Instinctively I decided to end this fight and instead of hitting the ship and pressing myself against it I instead leapt, my foot hitting and pushing against one of the metal wings. This took me up the side of the curved hull as did my next footstep. One more and I was leaping in the air over the top of the ship, shotgun pointed in his direction. A surprised look and a too slow raise of his pistol was what awaited me as I fired as fast as I could.

Any triumph I felt was short lived as the air around him flared with light, A shield! Powerful but short lived personal shields only lasted about a minute when constantly used which would be more than enough time for him to kill me. Without thought my body swung the butt of the shotgun down like a club, smacking his pistol just as it discharged. My lungs were emptied with a scream as a searing heat claimed my left side.

Almost as quickly as the pain came it numbed as shock kicked in and I was able to recover before he could bring his pistol back to line up a shot. One thing personal shields could not block was slow moving attacks like melee attacks so when I brought the butt of my shotgun up under his chin he took the full brunt of the hit. His head snapped back and he dropped the pistol.

I made to smash my weapon into his face however he surprised me with a sudden snap kick to my stomach, doubling me over. A follow up snap kick hit my wrist and the incredible pain unleashed another scream and caused me to drop my gun. Without thinking my body tensed to receive the next blow however it never came. What I first thought was my legs quivering from pain soon turned into something else as rumbling filled the air.

The structure we were fighting in began to sway and shiver now that it had no pillars to help support the weight coming from above. Wilhelm and I took off running for the platforms edge as chunks of the ceiling began falling down around us. Right as my right foot hit the edge the floor gave way from all the weight falling down onto it. Fortunately the lower landing was further out from the cliff than the one we were one so we had a relatively close landing site.

The height was still enough to break bones if not careful so I forced myself to go limp and roll before I hit the floor. Pain drove a spike through my brain when my side rolled across the rough floor and I saw red. My body however just pumped out more natural painkillers and the pain subsided though I saw a slick of blood where I had rolled. Rather more immediate though was Wilhelm getting to his feet, his teeth fully bared and legs spread like he was going to take a run at me.

Thinking that his shield generator might have been damaged in the fall I got up pulling out Tala. The kick felt I was trying to stop a moving car thanks to my damaged hand and the size of the round being fired. Wilhelm was charging at me without taking notice of the shot so I must have missed. His shield flared on the second shot though which was all I had time for before he cannoned into me and we went rolling across the rubble strewn floor.

I gagged at the smell of his breath which I got a good whiff of when he tried to snap his jaws around my face. Well I dodged but only barely but then I tried to bite his nose, don’t ask why it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Some of his weight stopped pressing me down but that was quickly replaced by the hammering of his furry fist against my face. Several hammer blows later I tasted blood and I was pretty sure I heard a cracking noise.

Suddenly his hands were wrapped around my throat, his fur tickling me a bit as my air intake was suddenly lessened severely. The only thing my eyes could focus on was his lupine face, growling and glaring down at mine. His lips began to move though I barely could make out what he was saying. Growling and full of hate he said, “I always hated you, from the first time I laid eyes on your pathetic naked monkey body to having to train your worthless ass to make you worth something even as just cannon fodder. About the only thing I liked about you were the screams you made when I punished you in your ass.”

Red began to creep into my vision as his words awoke fury within me, mixing with the blackness of oncoming unconsciousness from lack of air. However he wasn’t finished yet, “The Stringent Income was my home, its crew my family. I’m glad you decided not to become part of that family but I hate you even more for taking that family from me. Revenge, it’s all I care about anymore and now it is mine.”

With a sudden lunge my hands closed around his pointed furry ears, squeezed hard and turned them almost 180 degrees around. A shriek escaped his lips and his grip on my throat lessened as he involuntarily leaned back. My fist flew into his face a few more times driving him back until he tried to stand up to escape my fists. Instead his face met my boot once, twice, three times until he was falling onto his back.

Without giving him time to recover I leapt onto him, straddling his torso and began to hammer my right fist into his face over and over and over. For ten years now I had waited for this moment, I had saved my hate and now it spilled out of me. There was no thought behind my blows only hate and the need to hurt this mother fucker who ruined my life. Each time I felt the small pain of hammering his face into a sticky mess it was like a drug that had no equal.

Words erupted from my mouth now, “Fuck you Wilhelm, you and your god damn family! You stole me from mine remember? Know what else you stole? My innocence! My future! My dreams! I can never go home again, never be among my own kind because the government thinks I’m a fucking alien! After all the killing I’ve done do you think I can just quit and live the quiet life now? No! Every criminal organization in this arm of the galaxy has a bounty on my head so no retirement for me!”

“Do you get it now Wilhelm? YOU!” Hammer blow to his face, “RUINED!” hammer blow “MY!” hammer blow “LIFE!” At that moment my energy finally ran out and I knelt there breathing heavily looking down at the man I hated the most. His face was now a ruin of blood and broken bone but he was still breathing. Throbbing pain was making my right hand feel about 10 times bigger than normal. Looking at it I could see I had heavily abraded the skin there and blood ran all over the skin and I…I felt the best I had in fucking years.

Finding his shield generator I tore it off and threw it away, slowly standing up and withdrawing to a safe distance to shoot him where he couldn’t lash out with a foot or anything like that. As I bent to pick up Tala I saw my shotgun had made the trip down with the rest of the rubble and was lying against the edge of the landing. Putting Tala away I picked up the shotgun and reloaded it with shaky hands.

Slowly I walked back over, shaking more and more as the adrenaline was starting to ebb allowing the pain to come back to me. Taking a deep breath I carefully aimed the shotgun at his head only for a scream to interrupt me, “DON’T DO IT JOHN!” Looking over I saw Windfall flapping hard to get to me carrying Tough Hoof in her forehooves. Judging from the look on their faces I must have looked like quite a mess, or a monster, or both.

Ignoring her scream I turned back to finally finish the job when I noticed his eyes were looking directly into mine. In them I saw the hate, the anger, pain and finally…pride. He coughed up some blood and croaked out, “Well…who knew…when I trained you…all those years ago…you’d go…from that pathetic…monkey to…this. Heh. I’m…proud of you…my boy.”

I looked for the sarcasm, the lies but there was none. It was all genuine; this man I hated, who hated me, was proud of what I had become. Because, I realized, Because I was just like him now. The realization shook me and I roared as loud as I could to blot it out as I fired, blowing his brains out onto the rubble floor. Inside I still shook from the revelation but alongside that came another feeling; one so alien that I didn’t realized what it was at first.

That feeling was freedom. My mission was finally complete and the last of the criminals who had personally caused me harm was dead. With that out of the way there was only one thing left to do. However I did feel that I owed Windfall and Tough Hoof one basic courtesy so I told them, “You guys might want to leave. I doubt you want to see what is to come next.”

Their big eyes filled with great fear and desperate pleading. Windfall stepped forward, “Please John no, please don’t do this. I beg you come back with us, let us help you!”

Tough Hoof joined her, “Please be reasonable John, you can’t just throw your life away like this. It’s not worth it, not right and despite what you might think there are many who would be hurt by you doing this.”

I almost smiled; it was exactly what I expected from them and it was actually touching to think they still would try even now to save me. “Sorry guys, but I’ve waited too long for this. As for those who’d miss me…they’ll get over it one day.” Heat and metal touched the skin of my chin as I shoved the barrel of the shotgun under it and prepared to fire.

The sensation was suddenly gone and my arms were pulled away from my body. My eyes opened to look directly into the angry, tear filled eyes of Windfall. Her forelegs were wrapped around my shotgun and had pulled it to now point into her chin. “I’m not letting you do this to yourself John,” She declared, “If you want to kill yourself then you have to kill me first!”

Angrily I yelled, “I can do that you know! You saw me just now, I can kill no problem!”

“Then why don’t you just do it and get it over with?!” My brain racked itself trying to recall if she knew about my inhibition to killing innocents even as I tried to force myself to pull the trigger. Every time my finger so much as twitched against the trigger I found myself full of guilt and the desire to throw down the gun. Instead I tried to wrestle the gun from her grip but she was a lot stronger than she looked, stronger than me in fact and I couldn’t get it.

Through clenched teeth I said, “Give…me…the gun.”

“NO!”

“Fine then,” I yelled as I let go of the shotgun and grabbed Tala from its holster, rapidly backing up as I did so. Before I could use it Tough Hoof was suddenly there, looking more serious than I had ever seen him look before as he grabbed my arm in a lock and twisted, causing me to drop Tala. Anger boiled inside me; this couldn’t be happening! Not now, not when I was finally free and I could bring myself to die.

Another voice cut in, “It’s over John. You will not die this night for your friends refuse to let you.” Standing on the edge of the landing was Princess Luna, her serious face on and looking steadfastly into my eyes. She continued, “Please do not dishonor them any further by continuing your suicidal attempts.”

I bit out, “It’s my right to die if I choose.”

“Perhaps, but it is also our right to try and prevent you, if we so choose.”

Before I could reply my shirt lit from within and I felt a warm presence suddenly fill my mind and body, pushing back the pain and emotions of the time. The ponies looked as surprised as I was but what surprised me even more was that I knew this presence though it had been years since I felt it. Tala, I thought, How can this be? From under my shirt levitated the necklace Tala had given to me years before, just a few days before her death.

Suddenly she was standing before me, taller than me by a foot at least, thinner than a human but not too much so and her proportions matched to make her look very lovely. Her skin was pale but not unpleasantly so and her features were similar to a human’s yet different. Those hazel eyes held a depth to them that no other species I had encountered ever had. Unlike human ears her ears had no lobe and were pointed. She was Elediel, known more commonly among humanity as Elves.

Soft lips parted in a smile she began to speak, “John my beloved I see we have come to a crossroads I hoped you would never have to walk.” Her hands reached for mine and without thinking I reached out to take them. To my surprise her hands made solid contact with mine and I felt her presence even stronger. Still smiling she continued, “When I began making this gift for you my father’s talent, divination, suddenly emerged in me and I saw the future, one where you took your own life. Well, if you are seeing this than that future has come to pass.”

There was a pause and then she continued, “After that I began to think on how I might prevent it from happening though my vision included no details on exactly why you were like this. What I could tell was that neither I nor Auriala were there so I surmised we must be dead or somehow separated from you. This message, with just enough of my soul to contact you, was the best I could really do without more knowledge.”

“John, my beloved I beg of you to live. Whatever has befallen you since I gave you this I want you to know that my love for you will not have changed even in death. It is this love that wishes to see you live that you may one day find a happy future. Do not say there is no such future for you for even with the talent of divination no one can fully see the future. Take comfort in the piece of myself I leave with you for through it I will always be there for you.”

Then she was gone and I felt her withdraw from me and I began to shake, “N-no. Please…come back! Don’t…don’t leave me again…please come back.” There was no response and for the second time it felt like she had died even though I still had the necklace. Grief welled through me, so much so that this time I could not stop the hot tears from flowing from my eyes and I began to wail like a child.

Warmth and softness surrounded my neck and face and I saw Windfall crying and hugging me, telling me it would be ok as she nuzzled my face and rubbed my back with her hooves. Tough Hoof and Luna soon joined the hug, surrounding me and whispering assurances as I cried like I hadn’t in years. I don’t know how long it was that we sat there all I know was crying until the blackness overtook me.

Chapter 11 - Beginning of Background

I felt warm light against my eyelids, soft support on my back and some thick warm coverings on my torso. If it weren’t for the fact that I was a terrible human being and the fact that my head felt about three times its usual size I might have guess I was in heaven. At the same time it certainly didn’t feel like hell; well no more than my life usually did. Sadly for me the only conclusion that I could draw was that I was still alive.

Even as that thought crossed my mind I began to recall the night before; the crashing ship, the trip through the forest, finding and fighting Wilhelm, his death, the ponies trying to stop my suicide and finally…my wife. My heart ached even thinking about her appearance though it did leave me with a mystery, two actually. There were a lot of questions I had about the message itself while the second mystery was why I didn’t feel any pain from my injuries.

I tried to move my arm, push aside the warm coverings when I realized they were incredibly heavy for blankets. A small groan reached my ears and I slowly opened my eyes to see Windfall was sleeping across my arm and my chest as well. She wasn’t alone either; Tough Hoof was also sleeping on the bed with us. Looking past her I could see his head and forelegs on my stomach while his torso covered my arm.

With them there I couldn’t see my injuries however I felt no pain. Another thing I noticed quickly is that my coat, weapons and even my gauntlet were gone. How they got it off I hadn’t a clue at the time since it had tamper resistant programs. A stab of disappointment hit me; I was free from Wilhelm but I was now at the mercy of ponies who were determined to make me live.

My eyes began to roam around the room; first thing I noticed was the large covered bed we were sleeping in. It had a purple mattress, cover and curtains with white for the poles and structural parts. The rest of the room was white with gold or purple accompaniments save for the window which had a golden look to it. Even though I had only been there once I was able to tell the architecture was that of Canterlot.

Windfall began to stir as my movements, little as they were interrupted her sleep. Blinking those enormous eyes of hers she raised her head and looked at me. Relief filled her eyes upon seeing me, probably because I was still alive. Neither of us said ‘good morning’; it just didn’t seem appropriate for the occasion. After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence she spoke softly, “I am glad you are alive John, even if you aren’t.”

What could I say that wouldn’t have been expected to that so I just asked, “What happened to my injuries?”

“Oh Luna and Celestia used their magic to heal them after you fell asleep. Do they hurt?”

“No they don’t which is why I was surprised. They did a good job,” I stopped before saying something like ‘I wish they hadn’t’. At this point Tough Hoof stirred and woke up. His head came up to look at my own and he smiled a little.

“Welcome to a new day John,” He said, “Like your wife said, you are still here so there is still hope for you.”

I growled, “Relentless much Tough Hoof? Last night might not have gone as planned but that doesn’t mean I’m suddenly ready to live.”

He sighed, “Of course you aren’t. I wish you could see how much it saddens us to hear that.” Standing up and jumping off the bed he began to slowly walk toward the door, “Princess Celestia asked us to inform her when you wake up. Everypony wants to talk with you today so be ready for that.”

As the door shut behind him I ran my hands down my face, “Great, more peppy pony pep talks.” Looking at Windfall I asked, “Do you know who all is going to be there?”

Cocking her head to the side in thought she answered, “Both Princess Celestia and Luna will be there as will Tough Hoof and myself. Twilight and her friends will be there as well.”

“That is a lot of ponies just for me don’t you think?”

She shrugged, “Well this is a big deal. Equestria is more or less a happy place and I can’t recall anypony ever being suicidal. Since it something new and important I can’t say I’m surprised that all these ponies are going to be there.”

While she spoke she stood up and got off the bed as well so I swung my legs over the side and sat up. I had to ask, “Why is it such a big deal that I want to die? Yeah it may not be a thing over here but is it really so bad? It’s not like I’m some innocent talented person who is just sad at the moment.”

Windfall sat on her haunches and crossed her forelegs, “I beg to differ. You may not see yourself that way but I certainly do. Whatever else you’ve done it seems as though you were someone who was innocent and was wronged terribly. Those wrongs have stuck with you and have shaped your thinking in terrible ways. Tough Hoof, I and all the other ponies see that and want to help lift that burden from you.”

Before I could say anything the door reopened and Tough Hoof and Celestia walked in. Celestia gave me a warm smile; surprisingly to me given she hadn’t been very happy with me last time we met. “Good morning John,” She said, “I am relieved to see you are recovering well. Are you ready to have breakfast with myself and a few others?”

My eyebrow went up, “A breakfast in which you hope to convince me to live?”

To my surprise again she chuckled, “Perhaps though what I really wish to do is hear your story.”

“You want to hear my story?”

“Yes. How else will I or anypony else understand you if we do not know the story behind it? Perhaps once we know the full story a solution can be found.”

“Pfft. Good luck with that.”

Her face got this smirk on it, “Well at the very least we will see what makes you so worthy of death and perhaps we will finally stop trying to help you. Would that not be worth it?” Okay so it was pretty obvious she was more or less playing me to get me to do what she wanted and we both knew it. However what we also both knew was that it made sense which is probably why she went with it.

I acquiesced, “Very well. Shall we go to this breakfast then?”

With a smile she turned and began walking back out the door, “Why yes I think we shall.” Windfall and I followed her down the hall until we came to a dining room. Oddly enough there were no servants that I could see. The room itself was warm and inviting with an earthier coloring and decoration scheme to it. There were no windows though, just the one door giving the room a private feeling to it.

On the table were stacks of pancakes of all flavors, muffins, cake, cupcakes, and some cereal along with jugs of milk. Seeing and smelling these familiar and delicious looking foods reminded my stomach that I had no eaten since yesterday. As if that wasn’t enough to make me hungry I had been in a fight which made me ravenous. Before I could go indulge myself my eyes finally made me aware that ponies were sitting all around the table.

At one end of the table Celestia sat down on a pillow, gesturing with one hoof for me to sit to her right. Windfall sat to my right as I did so and Tough Hoof sat to her right. To Celestia’s left were Luna then Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sheeva, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie to Tough Hoof’s left to finish the circle. Wait a minute…SHEEVA?! Doing a double take I looked back to see that indeed she was hovering just a little above the pillow at her place.

She didn’t have her usual smirk on but she did give me a small smile and a wave. A question formed in my mind and came right out, “I’m surprised you didn’t show up last night Sheeva.”

From her came an explosive frustrated sigh, “I wish I could have. To be honest I did see what was going on and I had intended to intervene. However Scholla intervened and stopped me from intervening. Have you met her yet?” As my head shook negative she explained, “She’s the eldest of my kind and is the closest thing we have to a ruler. Normally she doesn’t interfere with my actions since I’m usually careful to only bend our non interference law instead of break it.”

Sheeva ran a hand through her hair, staring at the table as if concentrating on remembering the night’s events. “In this case she saw what I was about to do and decided it was going too far. She kept me from acting but also forced me to watch. While she said that it was our place to watch and not intervene I can’t help but think that it was partially a punishment for all the times I’ve bent that stupid law.”

Someone who can actually put you in your place Sheeva? Now THERE’S someone I’d like to meet! Of course she heard that as if I said it aloud and gave me a withering glare with all three eyes. Sounding almost like she was grating her teeth she continued, “Thankfully things did not end as badly as I feared. To be honest I was as surprised as you by your wife’s recording in her gift to you but I am glad she did it. I doubt otherwise you would have stopped.” She turned to smile at Windfall and Tough Hoof, “I am grateful for your part in stopping him though.”

Windfall said, “We’re rather glad to have been a part of it ourselves.”

Celestia said, “I am proud of you my little ponies for your efforts to save this one’s life even if he is not. Come now, let us eat and we can get down to business.” As we gathered our food mostly pancakes, muffins, and cereal for me, I glanced around and noticed to my surprise that Celestia only had cake on her plate along with a cup of tea. We sat in silence save for some idle chitchat as we began eating.

I took a bite of my first pancake; it was delicious. There was the perfect amount of fluffiness and flavor in each bite. Those with fruits in them blended the flavor of the fruit in without distracting from the rest of the taste. My memory ran back to younger years; to home and family and sitting around eating pancakes like these. Even the idle chit-chat reminded me of the times I had spent with my family.

Luna suddenly had a look of concern on her face, “John what is troubling you?” That got everypony at the table to look my way. Just as I was about to ask what she was talking about I realized there were hot tears pouring down my cheeks. Hands wiping away my tears I replied, “Just thinking of home.”

Sheeva gave me a knowing nod while holding a forkful of pancake, “It’s surprisingly primal isn’t it John?”

I nodded, “Yeah. The food tastes just like mom used to make.”

Windfall nuzzled me, “How long has it been since they…died?”

“It’s been eight years or so now. Why do you ask?”

Her voice dropped to a soft almost whisper, “I thought time was supposed to heal all wounds.”

From my lips came a bitter laugh, “That’s such a pile of horseshit. Time doesn’t take the pain away at all. All time does for you is allow you to spend longer periods forgetting what you’ve lost.”

Celestia smiled sadly and knowingly at us, “John is correct, if vulgar about it. When I think about friends I’ve lost no matter how long ago it was I can still feel the pain of their absence.”

It surprised me to hear her admit that so openly and I felt compelled to ask, “Celestia, how do you handle it? I believe I asked this last time I was here but I have to ask again. How do you standing outliving the ones you love over and over?”

Her smile didn’t waver but there was a note of pain beneath it now. She answered, “I have learned a measure of acceptance of it. It doesn’t stop the pain but it allows me to bear it. In addition I learned to look forward to those friendships I still had and to try to look ahead to what new friendships may yet await me. Thanks to my long lifespan I have met many ponies and each has been unique and special. That allows me to retain the thrill of discovery to help me continue. There is one more thing; my sister and my friend Sheeva. They provide me with pillars that will be with me no matter who comes and goes in my life. As much as I had gotten used to watching ponies through the ages I find it comforting to now have those pillars.” Comforting eyes turned to grab mine, “Does that answer your question John?”

“It does, thank you. Unfortunately I do not think it provides me with the answers I would need.”

An eyebrow lifted over her one eye, “And why is that?”

“My desire to die stems from more than just those I’ve lost though I must admit they certainly are a large part of it.”

A cup of tea lifted on golden magic went to her white lips. After a sip of the tea inside she set the cup down and turned back to me. Gently she asked, “Perhaps you would be so kind as to enlighten us more fully as to your reasons?”

Sheeva cut in too, “Tell them the whole story John. Start from the beginning and tell them all that has happened these past ten years.”

My turn to raise my eyebrow, “That is a lot to tell Sheeva.”

She rolled all three of her eyes, “Yes it is, I get it. On one hand you want them to understand in hopes that they will let you die as you wish and yet you still reflexively have trouble trusting them enough to tell them the whole story. Well if you don’t tell them I will do more than tell them; I’ll show it to them using my power! You can bet I’ll make sure they see the need to help you too!”

Too bad glares can’t kill because she would be so fucking dead. “Very well,” I ground through gritted teeth, “I’ll tell them myself.” Taking a deep breath that doubled as a sigh I began to tell my tale, “I’ve told at least part of my story before I know but I am going to tell those parts again. The reason for this is that I will try to go in order and if I leave them out I may lose track of where I am time wise.”

Nods of understanding met my words so I continued, “Well this all starts around 10, almost 11 years ago now. Back then I was in college or higher education if that makes it easier to understand.” A little wistfulness got in my voice as I said, “If you can believe it I wanted to be a writer at the time. I wanted to tell stories and create worlds for people to enjoy. It was my hope that I could entertain people or give them a temporary surcease of the problems they faced.”

Twilight somehow seemed to perk up even more despite already listening raptly, “You wanted to be a writer?! That’s great! Oh I wonder what kind of books you would have written. Wait, how did you go from being a writer to being a killer?”

I fixed my glare on her, “I’m getting to that.” Sheepishly she folded her ears down and nodded so I continued, “I had a friend there named Rachel who was almost the opposite of me. Whereas I was of the nerdy persuasion she was an athlete and health nut.” To my surprise I found myself smiling at the memories, “We used to tease each other mercilessly about those differences but at the end of the day we still enjoyed spending time together.”

A snort from Rainbow Dash interrupted me, “Hard to believe a guy like you making friends with anypony.” My glare combined with others from her friends to shut her up.

“Anyway,” I said, “One day I’m walking home from class when I hear a struggle coming from an alleyway. At the time there were rumors going around about people being kidnapped from campuses all over the world so I thought that was what was happening. I was going to call the police when I heard Rachel’s voice in there. She was the one they were attempting to kidnap. That made my instincts kick in and before I knew it I was rushing down the alleyway and throwing myself against the thugs trying to take her. It wasn’t until after I had joined in I realized her would be abductors weren’t from our world.”

Luna smiled at me, “It was very brave and noble of you to help your friend. Were you able to save her?”

I nodded, “Yes, in the confusion she got away however I ended being taken in her place. To be honest I wasn’t what they wanted; they were taking healthy athletic people like her. The only reason they took me was because they didn’t want to go home empty handed nor did they want me talking about what I had seen. They would have gone after her for the same reason but I had delayed them long enough for it to not be worth the effort. That is how I ended up aboard a ship called the Stringent Income.”

Celestia asked, “So they had taken other humans as well then?”

“Yeah they did. My memories are blurry about what happened after the alley but I do recall at one point being in a medical bay. According to what I was told later that is where they implanted a translator in my ears so I could understand what was said to me. Next thing I recall for certain is being in a large space with a bunch of other humans, a metal collar around my neck and various aliens standing in front of us. Their leader addressed us, letting us know that we were basically their slaves now. The collars were our control devices that could cause us pain if we resisted or blow our heads off if need be too.”

Everypony looked completely shocked and appalled by that. Celestia even lost her composure, “Such cruelty…I have not seen such things in over a millennia. I must admit I fear what other atrocities you will speak of but please continue.”

My voice was low as I said, “Yeah, I’m afraid it isn’t over just yet. We were then informed that our purpose was to basically be their cannon fodder to be used in expendable and dangerous roles. They were going to give us some basic training so we wouldn’t be entirely useless but only basic training. The one glimmer of hope they gave us was that if we survived eight missions we’d get better training. If we survived ten missions we’d earn our freedom and could join the crew or leave if we wished.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Ah don’t know if Ah would have trusted them on that one. It sounds mighty generous from a bunch of kidnapping, no good varmints.”

She did have a good point and I said so then added, “I do think it had a practical side to it though. By dangling that bit of hope in front of us it helped ease the idea of us trying to revolt or resist them. After all why get your head blow off when you have the option of earning back your freedom? The captain then pointed out the other aliens with him as our instructors and handlers. After that he left and we were put through our first session.”

Windfall asked, “Was Wilhelm one of those instructors?”

With a heavy sigh of pain I said, “Yes he was. He was also one of the kidnappers who had tried to take Rachel and ended up with me instead. Thanks to that he took an instant disliking to me and went out of his way to make my life hell. All our lives were made into living hells but in his case he took a special interest in making mine the worst he could. There was nothing he wouldn’t do; rape, torture, beatings, and nearly killing me only to have them nurse me back to health so he could do it all over again were just some of what I endured at his hands.”

Windfall had tears in her eyes and laid a hoof on my hand, “No wonder you hated him so much.”

“Also why I very much enjoyed beating him into a pulp then killing him.”

Before I could say more I heard full on crying and looked over to see Fluttershy in tears and sobbing. She looked at me with the same kindness filled sorrow that she had upon hearing of those I had lost and I felt my heart break again. Her wings brought her over the table next to me and she enveloped me in a hug that felt very warm and comforting, like a security blanket had just been draped around me.

I could feel hot tears running down her face as she whispered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry. They were so cruel to you; you need kindness so badly.” My hands came up in a reflex to try and push her away. The last thing I wanted was to make myself vulnerable through more emotional outbursts. However I could not do it; whatever had broke last night made me emotionally raw and I began to cry again against her shoulder. A hoof rubbed my back as she sobbed that it was ok, it was going to be ok.

A warm feeling of comfort began spread through me, though I tried desperately to stop it. What is it with these ponies? How can they do this so easily? Or is it perhaps something on this planet?

It is the ponies John, specifically these ponies, came the voice of Sheeva, They are all rather special. Windfall and Tough Hoof are the most ordinary of this group however they too have a part to play that makes them special.

A few more minutes passed as the ponies waited for me to stop crying. As I used my palms to wipe away my tears I went to resume my story. “For about a year I was their captive, forced to fight for them. Most of the humans that were with me died during that time,” I stopped as I recalled those times. Shaking away the memories I continued, “I don’t know why I survived when others didn’t. Almost all of them were more physically fit than I was so why am I the one who lived through it? Was it luck or was there a purpose to it?”

Sighing I said, “Hell, I don’t know what the truth is. Anyway thanks to my surviving I got the foundations of my combat skills in the form of experience and more training. When the time was up I elected to go home and to my surprise they dropped me off back on Earth.”

Applejack asked, “If ya got to go home then how did you end up away from home and killin’ things?”

My face contorted in a grimace, “Because the fairy tales with happy endings are complete bullshit Applejack. I wasn’t home a day before I got grabbed and stuffed into a van. As it turns out that there really were some government agencies that were watching for alien activity. They thought I was an alien so they interrogated and experimented on me. No matter what I said they never believed that I was human. To be honest I nearly died in their care. One day I overheard the guards talking about how I was going to be killed and dissected to learn the truth.”

Celestia put a hoof to her mouth, “Oh my goodness that’s horrible. How did you escape that fate?”

My mouth almost made it to a smile, “Irony is how. During my time aboard the Stringent Income I did manage to befriend one or two of the crew. The main technician of the ship was actually really nice. When she had joined up she didn’t know what they were doing and it horrified her when she found out. She used to try and show me kindness when she could get away with it. Her named was Bre’tta and she was the one who rescued me from my own people.”

Sheeva raised a hand, “I looked into that group some time ago John. It turns out that they were a rogue element of a larger agency. Apparently the rogue group was so paranoid about the possibility of an alien invasion that they decided to do things their way.”

My eyebrow went up, “Really?”

She smirked, “C’mon John, how smart would it be for your people if their policies towards new species were ‘experiment and kill all the things’? No the actual policy was to attempt peaceful contact if possible though to be ready in case of hostility.”

“Yeah ok that makes a lot more sense. I always wondered how that could be considered a good idea.” I shook my head, “Of course I would end up being found by the group that does want to kill all the things.”

Luna softly asked, “So what happened next?”

“We fled the planet and joined up with others she had been recruiting and bringing together. All of us were former abductees of the Stringent Income and she was offering us a chance at revenge. She hated what they were doing and had been looking for a chance to escape. One had presented itself and she took it. They were pursuing and hunting her now for it of course. Her only chance was to take them out before they could kill her but she couldn’t do it by herself. For that reason she had been tracking everyone down she could and getting us ready to fight back.”

Celestia held up a hoof, “I think that is enough for now John. Luna, Sheeva if you would both accompany me I believe we have a lot to talk about. Twilight, would you and your friends please accompany John around Canterlot?”

Twilight nodded eagerly, “Of course princess we would be honored to do so!”

Celestia smiled at Twilight, “Thank you Twilight. Perhaps when you return we will hear more of the story.”

Chapter 12 - Friend and Find

I suppose I should have guessed that Twilight would take us to a library or some similar type of place after we left the meeting. We were currently walking through what I had been told was the Canterlot archives. Twilight droned on and on about how full of history this was and all the books and scrolls it held. She pointed with one hoof at a guarded door on our right, “And there is the Starswirl the Bearded section of the archives. He was one of the greatest wizards in Equestrian history!”

Pinkie piped up as she bounded next to me, “We’ve been there before too! One time Twilight got this visit from a future self and we couldn’t figure out what she was telling us to prevent so we totally snuck in her except that we got found but the guard was super nice and let us in and we found his time travel spell and we used it to try and stop ourselves from worrying in the first place but it turns out that was what caused us to freak out in the first place!”

Were anything about my life normal I would have dismissed that as crazy rambling. Instead I not only believed her but it grabbed my attention enough to ask, “Did you say time travel spell?”

She nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah Twilight used it to go back to try to warn herself not to freak out!”

“Well now, that is certainly an amazing feat,” I said. And possibly a very useful one.

Twilight interrupted my thoughts, “It only sends you back one week though, no more.”

“Fuck,” I muttered as made it far less useful for what I had in mind. Then another thought occurred to me; if there was a spell for time travel and I knew a spell existed for relocation then maybe a chance still existed. One question could determine the answer to that, “Twilight are there any magical artifacts that can be used by someone without magic?”

She tapped a hoof to her chin, “While plenty of magical artifacts exist I’m not sure if they can be used by someone without magic. Why do you ask? Wait, you aren’t thinking of trying to use one on yourself are you?”

I’m not a good liar but I hoped this one time I could be convincing, “No, just curious. I know little about how magic works after all.”

“”Oh of course, that makes sense,” She said and we continued moving through the archives before heading out into the city proper. Ponies of all kinds were moving about the cobblestone streets, filing the city with life. Even I had to admit it was a beautiful city and well designed. A pang hit me as I looked at it and found no trace of anything resembling human architecture.

One of the things I missed as the years away from Earth passed was human style food, architecture, culture and entertainment. As much as I had taken them for granted when on Earth I found out just how alone not having them can make you feel when away from home. Lost in thought I almost hadn’t noticed that we had stopped. Rarity was having a conversation with a well dressed stallion called Fancy Pants.

He gestured to me asking a question and Rarity was trying to get me to come over and introduce myself when we were interrupted by a scream of, “HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!” Before I even knew what I was doing my feet were pounding on the cobblestones, ponies scattering before me as I raced towards the scream. My ears and feet took me into an alleyway where a mare the color of cotton candy lay on her stomach crying into her forehooves. In my peripherals I saw a disappearing set of sand colored hooves around the far corner.

“M-my purse, he stole my purse,” She was saying as she sobbed. I had only slowed to try and ask what had happened but that told me enough and I raced down the alleyway. Turning the corner I saw a stallion with a purse in his mouth making another turn down another alley. Arms pumping I sprinted down after him but he was much faster than I was and catching him seemed impossible.

No matter how bad it seemed though I was not going to give up. Overhead a rainbow streak flew by and I heard Dash say, “I’ll help!” Nearing the corner I heard a surprised yelp and the sound of hooves striking the cobblestone. Rainbow shouted, “Hey! You give that back right now!” The sound of galloping hooves was her only reply. By that point I had rounded the corner and saw the stallion now heading my way, eyes wide with fear as he looked over his shoulder and her.

Said eyes got even wider as they turned to behold me sprinting towards him. He didn’t stop though, seemingly to figure that I would be the easier of the two to try and deal with. He figured wrong though as I spotted a plank of wood I would pass in a quarter second and I snatched it up. The stallion tried to hit me with his forehooves and knock me flying however it was pretty telegraphed by his rearing onto his hind legs and I dodged to the side easily.

A flowing feeling as my arms swung followed by a painful shockwave travelling up my arm as the plank smashed into the back of the stallion’s head, the board breaking in two. Down he went, the purse flying from his mouth to land on the cobblestone. Before anything else could happen Rainbow zipped over and pinned him to the ground. Everypony else including Fancy Pants and the mare that had lost the purse came galloping down the alleyway.

I handed the mare back her purse and she left after thanking me. Turning back to the pinned stallion I was prepared to finish the job so he couldn’t steal again or worse. Twilight and friends seemed to understand my intent because they stood like a wall between me and the thief. At the same time Fancy Pants began to talk to the pinned stallion, “Good heavens my dear fellow whatever would you steal a mare’s purse for?”

The stallion seemed near to tears as he replied, “About a month ago the shop I worked for went under and I lost my job. It’s been so hard to find work,” As he said that Windfall flinched, “I was desperate and Canterlot has so many rich nobles in it I thought I could steal what I need and they would never really miss it.”

Fancy Pants shook his head, “A tragic story to be sure. Here come on, let’s get you up.” He got Rainbow to let the guy go and gave him a hoof up, “That’s better. Now I may be able to assist you.” Reaching a hoof into his coat he withdrew a business card, “Come to this address tomorrow morning and I’ll see if we can’t find a place for you in my employ.”

The stallion’s eyes went wide, “You’d do that for me?” Tears began falling down his face, “Thank you so much! I-I don’t know what to say!”

Fancy Pants patted the stallion’s head, “There there my boy, just doing my part to help the good ponies of this city.” Muscles contracted as I frowned. My experiences over the past decade screamed at me to end it now. I couldn’t do that without having to harm the innocent ponies trying to help me. Sighing I decided not to force things; I didn’t want to hurt them and maybe, just maybe this thief could be saved from a life of crime.

“Um,” Our heads turned to Windfall as she rubbed one foreleg over the other, “I don’t suppose you could help me out as well? I’ve been out of a job and out of bits for a while now.” She pointed a hoof at me, “If it wasn’t for John letting me stay with him and providing for me I might have found myself in the same position.”

Fancy tapped his chin with a hoof, “I might be able to. You are from Ponyville along with Madame Rarity if I’m not mistaken?” At her nod he continued, “I don’t do a lot of business there I’m afraid however I have connections with a Filthy Rich who has a thriving business in Ponyville. I can contact him for you if you like.”

Windfall looked happier than I had ever seen her up to that point, “Oh thank you very much Mr. Fancy Pants.”

He replied with a smile, “Think nothing of it.”

At that moment a pegasus guard pony flew down in front of us, “Excuse me, Mr. Tracker?”

Surprised at hearing my name I replied, “Yes?”

“Her highness Princess Luna would like to speak with you at the castle. If you would please follow me I shall bring you to her immediately.” With a shrug I bid goodbye to the rest of the group and followed the guard back through the city and into the palace. When we came to Luna I recognized the same hallway that I saw the stained glass window with Twilight and friends defeating a pony with Luna’s cutie mark.

Luna stood staring at the very same window as we walked over to her. She turned her head, dismissed the guard and asked me to stand next to her. “John, I think it’s about time to tell you the story of Nightmare Moon. I believe you will understand better than most what she went through and it should help you understand why we are trying to help you as well.”

Given what I had seen so far I was certainly intrigued, “I’m all ears.”

After a moment of silently staring at the window looking uneasy she said in a low voice, “I was Nightmare Moon.” That shocked me into silence though in hindsight it did explain the cutie mark thing. Her voice was still low as she continued, “During the early centuries of Equestria my sister was often worshiped by our subjects while I was ignored by them. They loved her beautiful days and the warmth and life they brought while the night was nothing more than time for sleep to be ready for the next day.”

Tears began to form in her eyes as she recalled those days, “I grew jealous of her and how loved she was. To make matters worse she had little time for me in those days. At the time I thought it was because she too did not care for me or was too full of herself. However I now know it was only because of how busy she was with our fledgling kingdom.”

My own voice was quiet as I felt myself being drawn into the story, imagining how she felt, “Did you talk to her?”

She shook her head, “No I didn’t. I should have I know for things may have turned out differently but I let my feelings cloud my judgment. Since I believe she no longer cared for me why should I have believed that she would listen to me?” That struck home for me as I had often believed the same about others. “My jealous grew worse until it physically transformed me into the mare you seen in this window.”

“So when you said that a lack of harmony is dangerous this is what you mean?”

“It is certainly one aspect of it. There are other things, dangerous things that are imprisoned but could be released if enough disharmony were to occur. I decided to overthrow my sister and plunge the world into eternal night. If our ponies would not love me and my nights then I would MAKE them love me! My sister tried to stop me, to reason with me but I would not listen. After all I was alone and who was she to tell me how I should feel and what I should do?!”

In complete surprise I stared at her. Here was a kindred soul; one who believe she was alone again the world with nowhere to turn but to her own abilities. Luna continued, “We fought and I nearly killed her. Tia had to resort to using our most powerful defense; magical artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony. We had wielded them before to defeat our most powerful foes but this time she had to use it to stop me. At the end the Elements banished me to the moon and my sister had to take all duties upon herself. A thousand years she was alone without me until finally I was able to break free from my prison and return.”

I had to ask, “What happened? I mean you are obviously not Nightmare Moon anymore and there isn’t eternal night.”

“My sister had a plan in place; she searched for those with great magical talent who could wield the Elements to not only defeat me but also restore me. She found such talent in Twilight Sparkle. Magic talent alone was not enough however, Twilight needed friendship with others who could provide aspects of the Elements of Harmony to be able to utilize them. When the time was near Celestia sent Twilight to Ponyville to make some friends.”

“So her friends are also Element wielders?”

“Yes they each represent an aspect of harmony. Together they found the long lost Elements and restored me to who I was. My sister forgave me and I was able to return home at last. I struggled still with gaining the love of my subjects but Twilight and her friends helped me with that. I’ve been very lucky in the end.”

“You certainly have,” I muttered unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.

A soft feathery touch reached across my back and the back of my arms as Luna put a wing around me, “That is why I want to help you as well. We are offering you the same opportunity John. You merely need to accept it.”

I felt the pain welling up inside me, “For the first time Luna, I understand your actions towards me completely. Like you I know what it feels like to believe that you are alone again everyone. When I was married to Tala I felt like someone could share the burden with me and that I didn’t have to fight anymore. After she died though it became me against the world and I too became a monster during that time.”

Her muzzle gently nuzzled my face, “What happened?”

“The one who actually killed my wife and child was just an assassin, an agent of an empress who had a tyrannical bent. After finding out I was going to be a father I retired from vigilante work but she didn’t believe it hence the assassin. I didn’t go after her right away; instead I went after her friends, her family. If there was a place she loved I destroyed it or a place where someone she loved was I destroyed it too. There was no target I would not go after; I even destroyed the school her children went to though I did not kill any of the children. Even in that state I had that limit at least. On top of that I helped those who wanted to overthrow her, all of them. When I was done she knew my pain and only then did I kill her. During that time I never gave a thought to what my actions were doing beyond hurting her however I could not escape them afterwards.”

“What did happen afterwards?”

“I realized just what I had done; left her empire in chaos due to a six way power struggle and I had killed innocents during my slaughter of terror. It all came crashing down on me along with the grief of having lost my wife and my daughter. Friends left me, my name became hated far beyond the criminal underworld and I felt dead inside. There’s nothing left to keep me going and I can’t muster enough hope to move forward either.”

Luna spoke softly, “I too feel that way sometimes. My sister has forgiven me and Twilight and her friends have shown me friendship but I do not feel as if I deserve it. We understand each other all too well John Tracker.”

“Yeah,” I felt the corners of my lips curl upward a bit, “I have to admit it feels kinda nice to have someone who understands the way I feel.”

She smiled as well, “I feel the same. We are friends now you and I, a bond shared from our similar experiences and as such I shall help you as I have been helped.” Warmly she hugged me, her fur soft to my skin. For once I didn’t try to fight either the hug or having a friend. A friend who completely understands me; I’ll be damned. I gladly accept it and felt for a moment at least at peace with things.

Our hug was interrupted by a cough as a gold armored guard got our attention, “My apologies your highness but Princess Celestia would like a word with Mr. Tracker alone.”

Chapter 13 - Plan and Counter

The guard led me to a pair of doors that I recognized from my last visit as the doors to the throne room. Without any words the two guards on either side of the door opened them for me and I went in. Unsurprisingly the room was empty save for Celestia standing in the center of the room. She waved me over with a hoof and began to talk, “I heard there was an altercation down in the market section of the city.”

Is that what she wants to talk about, the theft I stopped? Out loud I said, “Yes, a purse was being stolen so I acted to stop it.”

“So I have heard,” She raised an eyebrow at me, “I’m surprised you didn’t kill him given the methods you’ve admitted you preferred.”

“Your student and her friends made sure I didn’t. They may even be right in this case.”

Her eyebrow went even higher, “Is that so? That is surprising coming from you.”

“He was a guy down on his luck so perhaps there is still a chance for him. Thefts aren’t something I usually handle anyway so perhaps my methods would have been wrong for it.”

“What do you usually handle?”

“Rape, murder, slavery, drug and weapon running. Basically if it ends in innocent people getting harmed or killed I get involved. Most thieves prefer not to harm their victim, just steal their stuff.”

“That is true,” She said as she stood directly in front of me, her eyes becoming even more serious, “Twilight also tells me that you stated an interest in magic, something she has not seen in you prior to learning about a time travelling spell.”

My stomach went icy, “It intrigued me and I wanted to learn more that is all.”

She snorted, “John you are a terrible liar so please don’t do it anymore. You want to go back and fix events don’t you?”

I had to struggle not to ask her how she knew that; she was over 1000 years old and like she said I hadn’t had much of an interest in magic prior to hearing of that one spell. Instead I said, “And what if I do? Is there something wrong with that?”

A sigh escaped her lips, “I can think of a few things; such as not knowing what harm it could cause for future events or the potential to end reality if it is changed.”

“Ask me if I give a shit anymore Celestia. At this point my life’s become a complete wreck and I’m not even being given the option to end it so what the fuck do I care if I fuck up everything for everyone else?!” Sweat began to bead on my skin as my anger rose and my temperature with it, “At this point I want my life back, the way it should have been and if I can’t die then I will do whatever it takes to get it!”

Her ears drooped, “That is what I was afraid of John.” She stepped even closer, “Do you think I would not go back to change events from my own life if I could without consequence? You spoke of artifacts that contain magic that could be used by someone without magic. If they do exist then why have I not used them or allowed anypony else to use them?” Before I could answer that she went on, “There are consequences to using such artifacts often harmful on top of the potential problems from changing the timeline.”

I understood what she was saying but my own pain was all I could see, “I don’t care. Perhaps that makes me a bad guy but I’ve already done terrible shit so if I have to do more to fix my life I will.”

Another sigh came from her, “I’m sorry to hear that John though I guess I am not surprised. Part of me hoped you would see sense and in doing so let go of these plans. However I will say that I do not think ill of you for it and I continued to hope for the best for you.” Her horn flashed and the doors opened and Twilight, her friends, Luna, Tough Hoof and Windfall entered the throne room.

Twilight asked, “You said you wanted to see us princess?”

Celestia nodded, “While there is more to John’s story than what we have heard so far I believe I’ve heard enough for now. Twilight, I charge you and your friends along with Tough Hoof and Windfall to watch over John. He must never be left alone otherwise I fear he may be able to fulfill his goal of self termination. Continue to be his friends for I believe as Sheeva does that friendship is the only thing that will save him.

They all bowed, “Of course princess” Twilight said, “We will watch over him.”

Celestia smiled at her, “I know you will, all of you. One more thing; he would try to use magical artifacts to go back in time. There is too much that could go wrong if such a thing could happen so he must not be allowed to get his hands on them.”

“How dare you,” I exploded, “You have no goddamn right to force this on me!”

Celestia looked at me with sad eyes, “As the ruler of Equestria I am responsible for all within its borders. You will not give up your self-destructive desires and you seek means that could have disastrous consequences. That gives me the right to do this to you. I realize you probably hate me however I sincerely hope that one day I will not have to do this to you.” She turned away, “I wish you the best. Goodbye.”

I felt so helpless; angry but with no weapons and surrounded by magic using ponies I could do nothing. Turning on my heel I marched out with my fists and teeth clenched. Nopony said a word to me as we made our way back to the train station however they didn’t let me out of their sight either. The train ride back to Ponyville was just as silent with everypony just looking worriedly at me.

As we got out at Ponyville Sheeva appeared before us to tell me that she had some business to take care of so she wouldn’t be around for a while. She went on to tell us that she trusted my care to my new pony overlords and that she couldn’t wait to see how they did when she was able to return. After that she left and I trudged through town to my cottage where I sat in an angry stupor for a while.

Windfall sat where she could see me but otherwise left me alone, probably because I looked like I would tear limbs off for fun at that point. How dare they think they can choose for me! What gives them any right to do so? Since I was sitting at my computer station I could turn to the gun and equipment racks which I did, testing them to see if I could access them. Of course I couldn’t; when my hand got close a shield of some kind suddenly appeared and blocked me.

Windfall said, “Sheeva told us while you were talking to the princess’ that she put a shield around your weapons so you couldn’t use them. Your coat and gauntlet are in there too.” I growled to myself but said nothing. Eventually I began to calm down enough to look at my options since brute forcing my way out of this didn’t seem to be an option. Ok, option 1 would be to look for alternative ways to kill myself. There’re quite a few ways I could go about doing that but I’m pretty sure that’s why I’m being watched at all times by the ponies. If I’m going to go with that option I’m going to have to either find a way to ditch whoever is following me or I’m going to have to fight them. They have magic and wings so neither option is very pretty and as much as I hate what they are doing I don’t want to harm them unnecessarily.

Shaking my head at that option I kept thinking, Alright, option 2 is the obvious given my situation; just let the ponies help me. Who knows it might even work and like Tala said in her message, if I don’t try than I will never find that happiness we had again. For once it almost sounded like a half decent idea even if I didn’t really believe it would work or should for that matter.

Another though popped into my head, Option 3 would be to try and find a magical artifact I can use to stop my life from becoming like this is the first place. Sadly like option 1 the ponies are going to be looking out for that as well and I’d have to ditch or harm them to accomplish it. A light bulb suddenly went on, Unless I can do it in such a way that they are unaware of what I am doing then I have a chance. If I can do that though then why not take option 1? Oh who am I kidding, I know why; for the first time in years I see a way I can fix everything and make it as though it never happened so I’m going to take it!

With hope beginning to rise within me I turned to working out what I needed to do and how I was going to accomplish it without being noticed. In many ways it felt like preparing for my raids against criminal strongholds and I enjoyed the sense of familiarity. On top of that it felt good to do something rather than just sit around being forced into something I had no control over. A better life could be within my grasp and I was going to reach out and take it!

Chapter 14 - Buoyed Spirits and Book

Putting together a plan and feeling like I had some measure of control again was such a soothing balm that I got the best night’s sleep I had in years. It was a more long term plan that was going to require patience and acting like I was going to try and improve my outlook. That meant I had to get out and let myself integrate with pony society until I could gather what I needed.

Determined to get off on the right foot I got up and planned to have what I dimly recalled being normal once. One thing that was not normal for me and that I had forgetting about in my glee of having a plan was that when I woke up Windfall was sleeping on my bed instead of the couch. She sleepily awoke as I began moving and explained that she was taking her job of watching over me seriously.

I made a sarcastic remark about whether or not she’d follow me to the bathroom to which she straight facedly replied that she’d get Tough Hoof to do that. We went down to make breakfast when I noticed we were almost out of meat products. Luna had promised to arrange for me to get more though as of yet she hadn’t told me anything about it. Turning to Windfall I asked, “How does one go about contacting Princess Luna?”

She shrugged, “I’ve never tried before so I have no idea. Twilight Sparkle is on intimate terms with the princesses though so maybe she could help you. Why do you need to talk to her anyway?”

“I’m running out of meat and I doubt I’d find a seller around here.” Grimacing I continued, “I don’t have access to my weapons so I can’t even try hunting if nothing else works.”

Lifting a apple with a hoof in defiance of natural laws she took a bite before saying, “I guess we’re paying Twilight a visit then.”

“Looks that way doesn’t it,” I remarked as I grabbed some remaining sausage and bacon and began to fry it. A little later I added in some eggs and ended up with a tasty breakfast meal. The excellent taste added to my better than usual mood and prepped me to conquer the day. My mood was so good I almost kicked open the door to shout ‘look out world!’ Of course I didn’t do that because that would have looked very stupid.

With Windfall trotting beside me I made my way through Ponyville, almost humming I was in such a good mood. It felt very odd to me given how long it had been since I felt like that. Even so I had to admit that I liked this feeling; I liked it very much. My spirits were so buoyed that I was walking through town without knowing where Twilight lived and I didn’t even think about that or care.

After a while of walking around I finally realized I had no idea where I was going. “You know, this town is a lot bigger once you walk around in it than it looks from the outside,” I remarked I then continued, “Where is Twilight’s house anyway?”

Windfall chuckled at my comment on the town before answering, “She lives in the library John.”

Of course she does. Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?

Windfall began to trot ahead, “This way!” Following her I nearly ended up face palming as I recognized the large tree library from having passed it three times already today. We went in though I nearly had to get on all fours to get inside. Thankfully the interior was much roomier than I feared looking at the size of the door.

I was looking around the library when I heard a male voice from my left, “Heya John! Hi Windfall! Good to see you again!” Looking over I saw Spike standing on a set of stairs with a smile waving at us.

Returning the wave I walked over, “Hello Spike. Is Twilight Sparkle here?”

“Oh yeah, she’s right upstairs. I’ll go get her.”

He ran up the stairs and I resumed my room gazing. My eyes fell on a brown owl sitting on a perch watching us. It hooted at us and to my surprise Windfall pointed a hoof at me and said, “Him?” Another hoot and she pointed at herself, “Me?” This was of course followed by another hoot and she angrily stomped her hoof, “Well who do you want?”

Is that really happening or am I in hell?

“Oh I see you met Owlicious,” Twilight said as she came down the stairs.

Windfall pointed at the owl with a hoof, “He keeps asking me who but he won’t specify anything else!”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder, “Yeah he does that sometimes; don’t let it get to you.”

You have got to be shitting me right now.

Twilight then turned to me, “Good morning John. You look almost happy today.”

I coughed when I attempted to chuckle, “Yeah there must be some virus going around, do you have a cure?”

She began pulling all kinds of books from the shelves with her horn, “Oh I have cures for all kinds of things though I don’t know why you would want a cure from being happy.”

This time I did facepalm, “That was my lame attempt at a joke Twilight.”

She blushed in embarrassment which I didn’t know ponies could do and put the books away, “Ahehe, sorry about that. May I ask why you did come here?”

“Yes, I need to contact Luna about an arrangement we she made with me and I have no idea how to do that besides going to Canterlot and trying to gain an audience with her which sounds like a major hassle.”

Twilight lit up, “Oh is that all you need well I can help you there! Spike can send a letter to the princesses and receive them. It’s one of his unique talents.”

That was both impressive and convenient, “Pretty handy ability there Spike.”

He grinned, “Yep.”

“Twilight do you have any paper and pens I could borrow?”

She nodded, “I certainly do! Here you go.”

In my hands now lay a roll of parchment ready made to become a scroll and a feather quill pen and a bottle of ink. My eyebrow went up at the old fashionedness of it but I said nothing. The tech tree is all over the place here, I thought as I wrote out a letter to Luna letting her know I was low on meat and asking how it was coming getting more. Spike took the letter and breathed green flame on it and I watched a sparkly cloud fly out the window and head towards Canterlot. If my masculinity were a physical thing this place would force me to kill it out of mercy.

Instead of saying that though I simply asked, “When can I expect an answer?”

Waving a hoof she said, “I couldn’t tell you honestly. Most of my letters go to Celestia so I’m not sure how punctual she is with her replies. Don’t worry about it though; we’ll let you know when an answer arrives. Anything else we can do for you?”

I was about to say no when an idea that could help my plan popped into my head, “Any chance you have a book about Canterlot on hand…er hoof? It’s quite the place and I’d like to learn more about it.”

Gleaming she rushed over to one of the shelves and pulled down a book that looked different from the others near it. In fact it was so different that it felt out of place with the rest of the books. With a smile she gave it to me, “Here you go! Everything you ever wanted to know about Canterlot and more! It’s my personal favorite book on the subject and in fact I’ve already read it ten times!”

Her enthusiasm almost made me smile again, “Thanks Twilight, I’m looking forward to reading this. I’ll bring it back when I’m finished with it and then we can talk about another book perhaps?”

I swear I heard a squeal, “Of course! I’m so glad to see you like books despite what your rough exterior would suggest. Oh I didn’t mean to offend you I just, I mean I…um…”

With a sigh I said, “Don’t worry about it; I know I come off as more of a thug than anything else. Back before the whole kidnapping and everything that came after I loved to read though mostly science fiction novels. In fact I went to college to become a writer myself.”

She perked up, “Oh that’s right you mentioned that during the breakfast we had in Canterlot.”

“You’re right, I did mention it. Obviously my life has not gone in that direction and it’s been a long time since I’ve really had the chance to read for pleasure. It’s something I’m looking forward to.”

“Well enjoy that book John and there are plenty more for you to read when you finish that one!” On that cordial note Windfall and I took our leave and headed back out into town.

Windfall remarked as we walked, “Since when were you interested in Canterlot?”

“Since our last visit. Having had a chance to see more of the place made me more curious about it. It is a very beautiful city and one I wouldn’t mind visiting again.” All of the above was true at least without having to divulge any other motives. Even as I answered the question I was busy making a list of other books I would need to borrow at a later date. I was so involved with my planning I nearly walked right by the martial arts dojo.

Windfall tapped my arm with a hoof, “Hey John don’t you want to go in, see if you are supposed to work?”

Blinking with surprise as I came back to reality I sheepishly said, “Oh uh yeah, I probably should do that.”

Unsurprisingly Tough Hoof was waiting for me inside, “Good to see you John, Windfall.” He leaned forward, looking at me quizzically, “John you almost look happy today. I’m glad to see it but I’m curious as to what made you so upbeat.”

Oh wouldn’t you like to know! Out loud I said, “I decided to not try and fight with you ponies anymore and just accept your help. It’s actually quite freeing to be honest.”

He smiled, “Oh I’m very glad to hear that! It will be worth it, I assure you. Will you feel up to returning to work soon?”

“I’m up for it now if you like.”

“Great! C’mon in and let’s get started shall we?” The rest of the day passed quickly enough as I resumed my routine and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. It was almost too bad I had other plans but only almost.