Episode 24

By Ma252

Started 10/20/14 - 7:18PM

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Back in the Forgotten Planes

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“Use your power within, Max.” Solair told me as Me, Him, Crest and Arthur danced around a large humanoid golem, which by the way; was trying to kill us. I concentrated and stood in place as the golem swung its powerful stone axe once again, causing Solair, Crest and Arthur to jump back, but I did not jump back. I could feel the power within me surging as I jumped on top of the golems axe and galloped up its length. I unsheathed my shortsword as I now stood on the shoulder of the golem and held it in my left hoof before lifting it with my telekinesis. I quickly stab the sword into the golems shoulder; causing it to groan in pain.I dont know why, but when the stone golem groaned in pain, I sort of...FED off of the pain...it felt good and gave me a rush of adrenaline.

‘HELL YES!’ I yelled in my head as I grabbed the hilt of the sword buried in the golems shoulder with a hoof and spun around it, causing it to dig in father. I felt my body growing stronger with the more pain i caused the golem. “MAX, DO NOT FORGET YOUR RESTRAINT!” I hear Crest yell as I tear the sword out of the golems shoulder and start to climb further up its body. I reached its neck in no time as i held the sword in my mouth, I don't know why; but I couldn't end this being with the power of my magic, it would be wrong. I had to do this with my two hooves; so i could feel its blood and soul soak into my body, to make me faster, and stronger. I grunted loudly as I rear my neck back to strike the golem down, but i'm stopped by a large hand grasping my entire body.

‘oh….shit...’As the golem grabs me I feel my entire body crush in its grasp, every bone in my body breaking as its hand tightens around me. Its hand brings me in front of its hideous face as i struggle to escape its deadly hands.

‘Ohshitohshitohshit, im gonna die, well; it wont be the first time.’ I think to myself as I begin stabbing my shortsword into its hand multiple times.

I feel my life force slowly drain as he squeezes me multiple times, then throws me on the ground.

I cough up a large amount of blood before getting to my hooves.

I feel Solair walk beside me as i lift my head and look at him. His facial expression is one of concern and worry. “Friend, you cannot rush in like a madpony like that, you have to strategize.”

He stands on his back hooves and holds one of his forehooves above his head. As he does, a bolt of lightning forms in his hoof; which is bitchin’ as hell because its kinda like what zeus does.

I learned that he had this ability long ago, because he’s in something called “The Sunlight Covenant” Which baffled me to say the least.

As he threw the bolt of lightning at the golem, it went in a straight line toward said golem and collided with it, making lightning to surge all around the golem.

As the golem faltered, it tipped over itself and fell on its back, giving me a golden opportunity to end its wretched life.

Still weak, I pick my now broken sword off the ground with my telekinesis and grab it with my mouth. I then weakly jump on top of the golem and walk to its neck, where a weak spot lies in its windpipe.

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Back in canterlot (Max POV)

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“That does seem awfully violent, darling.” Rarity says as we walk around her substitute canterlot workshop, gathering different fabrics and whatnot.

“Yeah, I didn't know how to control my thirst for souls and blood; which was odd to say the least.” I say as i pick up a roll of white thread with my magic. Rarity shudders as we continue to pick up random pieces of thread and fiber.

“You know Rarity, Pinkie told me that you and Firestorm have been doing pretty good relationship wise as of late.”

Rarity seems to brighten up at the mention of Firestorm, with a large smile on her face and a happy expression on her face. “Ah, yes. Stormy and I have been doing quite well.” I see her blush as she trails off in thought. “Mmmm, quite. Thats why I have a proposition for you both.” I say sitting on my haunches.

“What is this proposition?” Rarity says with a raised eyebrow.I scratch my chin with a hoof and look at her. “Well, its been far too long since Pinkie and I have done anything romantic wise, and i'm sure you and Firestorm haven't been in canterlot very long. Thats why Pinkie and I would like to cordially invite you to a double date.”

Rarity does this adorable thing where she gallops in place as she squeaks. “Oh darling I would absolutely love to do that. Im sure Stormy has many questions for you in the future, but for now; let me ask you something.” Rarity gets really close with a mischievous look on her face. “What do you plan on doing for Pinkie, and how can I help?”

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Back in the forgotten planes

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“You must control your urges, Max.” Crest says to me as we sit around the brightly burning bonfire. I look down to my hooves, which are stained in blood as I reflect upon my past actions.

“Yes, Castless. Your lust for souls is not unusual for an undead; but you're yearning for blood and that is what worries me.” Arthur says, looking at me with a frown on his muzzle. Arthur of Catarina is a strange pony, he always seemed to know what was going on with me on the inside. I never really considered him a friend at first, but when Solaire proposed that we traveled together i figured id eventually get to know him.

As the times went on, i would notice Arthur looking at me with more and more curiosity. He didn't speak much to Crest and I, but I would always notice him whispering things to Solaire.  He hadn’t started speaking that much until recently, when I joined the “Sun Covenant” and promised myself to my own sun, and to find my own purpose.

Solaire even taught me a wonderful gesture called “Praise the Sun!” which we would do every time we defeated a tough enemy.

“Maybe he was bitten by a vampire, which drives him to want blood?” Solaire asked no-one in particular. As I look down at my hooves once more, I notice they are clean as if I had washed them recently. “No, hes not vampiric, I would be able to smell it on him.” Arthur says, taking a quick whiff of the area around me.

I look around worried as he and the others pondered the idea of my lust for blood.

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Back in Canterlot (Dinner Table)

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“Max, can you please pass the peas?” My mom asked as she looked over the entirely too long table that nine ponies were now sitting at. (Mom, Auntie Luna, Me, Twi, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy.)

I look at the peas, which were a few inches away from me and point a hoof at them. “Force” I whisper as a white energy bursts from my hoof and makes contact with the bowl of peas, sending them sliding across the entire table. They slow down directly in front of Celestia as she looks at me with wide eyes.”I’ve never seen a spell like that, Max. Where did you learn it?” She asks.

I looked around to see everypony, especially Twilight, looking at me with wide eyes.

I Raise a hoof and close my eyes condescendingly. “Tis not a spell, dear mother. Nor is it an enchantment, what I just used is called a Miracle...which is sort of ironic, because here it would be considered a spell.”

Mom scratches her chin with a hoof and then looks at me. I look around again to see everyone still looking at me...well...not Pinkie, she's digging into her salad like a beast. I let out a small chuckle as I turn my head to the left and see Twilight looking at me with crazy eyes and a wide open mouth. “TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT, NOW!” she says flaring her horn for some...oh no, that smells like teleportation-

And all of a sudden we're in the gardens. “Gwyn Dammit Twi, its the middle of the evening and i just want to spend a nice evening with my mother and my friends in the castle.”

Twi’s head twitches to the side as she looks at me. “We dont have time for that, Max. Celestia told me that you said you knew more about magic than me, and I skeptical. Believe me, I laughed in response to that little tid-bit, but that right there was proof that you do.”

I back up a little as she continues ranting about magic and what-not.

At this time, i really wish i had my bottomless box and my sack-o-rings; that would be beyond useful. “Tellme Tellme Tellme how you did it!” Twilight yelled at me as she grabbed me with her magical grip.

“Twilight, im telling you to chill the fuck out. Its not as easy as just telling you how it works. It takes time and skill to learn it; plus you have to join the sunlight covenant to learn a lot of the miracles I know.”

I try to break her magical grip as she drags me through the garden, past all of the statues and into an empty courtyard.

“You just casted magic without using your horn Max, this is huge. I dont think you understand how much this needs to be recorded and studied.”

She seemed to be Immune to my reasoning, which is odd because i've reasoned with even the most stubborn of dragons and undead.

She drops me on the ground as I let out a sigh of exasperation. “By Dark Sun Gwyndolin Twilight, please let me go back to the dinner table.”

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A few hours later

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“Okay, now focus the energy i gave you in your left hoof.” I say, holding my left hoof up while Twilight does the same. She writes down several notes with her telekinesis as she concentrates, i assume telekinesis is practically second nature to her now; so it won’t affect her concentration on even the simplest sourcery.

“Now focus on the words of power, even when you have no catalyst, you can still cast weak magic. Well, unless Big Hat’s crystal catalyst somehow disappeared; but thats not gonna happen, the shield sourcery i put on it is far too powerful.”

Twilights ears perk up. “Tell me more about this crystal catalyst.” she says lowering her hoof.

I sit on my haunches and ruffle my hair. “Gwyn Dammit Twi, all that progress for nothing. As soon as you lowered your hoof, your magic was centered again. Its really fucking difficult to start channeling your magic after you’ve reset it.”

I let my head fall as my tail twitches left and right. “Come on Max, you shouldn’t be so upset about things like this. Now, tell me about that crystal catalyst.”

I hear her conjure a notepad and quill as she scoots closer to me.

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500 years ago, in The Forgotten Planes

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Well, its not a well told story, but around 500 years ago, a castless in the forgotten planes-

“What’s a castless?” Twilight interrupted.

A castless is a unicorn, like me. In the forgotten planes, there are no pegasi and unicorns; so its pretty rare for a Unicorn like me or Big Hat Logan to come along into the desolate lands of The Forgotten Planes. Now, around 500 years ago, a castless named Big Hat Logan appeared in the Forgotten planes, claiming to be searching for an unlimited amount of knowledge. But where would somepony get this amount of knowledge? Well Twi, im glad you asked.

BOOKS!

Yes, the thing that you my dear friend, hold dear. There was a fabled library that exists in the forgotten planes that held forbidden magic, and books that held prophecies in them that were fabled to even fortel the ENDS OF EMPIRES...but alas, he did not find it.

But what he did find, were The Archives.

something relative to the fabled library, and in those Archives was some crazy ass shit that i've ever seen in my entire lives.

and believe me, ive seen some shit, and i've died more than a thousand times. But i digress, Big Hat found the Archives, and with the archives; he found a large cave comprised almost completely out of fucking crystals…..fucking….crystals...trust me, it gets old after a while….

“It sounds wonderful, a Library called the Archives, a cave made out of crystals; this just gets better and better.” Twilight was leaning on me, her head on my shoulder like a little sister would a big brother.

Like i said Twi, its gets really fucking old, really fast. Especially when some of the crystals were so thin that you could hardly see them, and they were almost completely transparent if it weren't for the dust of crystals constantly falling from the ceiling.

Back to Big Hat, now he had found these caves, and was in wonder of what they actually were for, so stupidly might i add; he ventured into them.

Legends say he was missing for years, some even say decades, but i think somewhere in there he found the secret to time travel. I mean, Big Hat was the fucking shit when it came to magic. Of course now i could probably kick his ass.

“He sounds like starswirl the bearded.” Twi says, looking at me.

That name sounds stupid as fuck. Like a three year old girl made it up; or maybe a boy depending on the demo.

Now, as he finally exited the cave, he carried a large crystal catalyst in his telekinetic grip, it shined in the marvelous sunlight as he raised it in the air and casted a simple radius heal miracle, or was it a sourcery?

I don't quite remember. It was a long time ago and the story has been warped a lot and no one is absolutely sure how it happened, but nowadays; Big Hats crystal catalyst is still there though, stuck in the stone of mageis as it provides catalyst for all who need to cast sorceries.

The

End

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One butchered story later

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“Well Max, that definitely was interesting. Im sorry for freaking out when i saw your magic, ive just never seen this type of magic and was thinking that I need to study it immediately before someone else does.”

I shake my head and laugh as Twi walks away from me. “Dont worry about it, maybe one day when i return to ponyville we can do a proper study of it.”

She doesnt even look back as she says “Yeah that would be fun.”

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The Halls of Canterlot Castle

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You’re Celestia, and you expect Max and Twilight to be gone for a bit. You’re so glad to have Max back that you don't want him to leave, but the conflicting feeling of knowing that he will go back to Ponyville one day haunts you.

You take another sip of your coffee as you read over some documents on your desk. The wedding was to be in three days, and you were to be sure that everything was perfect for the bride and groom; yet you fear the worst as the recent threats on Canterlot have you on edge. You will do everything in your power to protect your little ponies.

“Mom” you hear from beside you.

You look to your left and down as you see your son Max, leaning on you. You ponder for a second how you didn't notice, but immediately drop it as Max just being Max.

“What is it, my son?” you ask, with a warm smile on your face.

He buries his face in your side as he wraps his hooves around you. “Im bored. Pinkie is off planning some party, Twilight is reading over the notes i wrote for her, and pretty much everyone else but Applejack is busy.”

You sigh and look down at your son. “Why dont you go talk with Applejack?” You ask with a chuckle.

Max looks up and looks at you with a look of terror. “I….i don't know why...but i'm scared of her...every time im around her my groin starts hurting, like some sorta PTSD attack…”

You laugh, louder than you have in a really long time. Your laugh echoes throughout the entire castle as you settle down and look at your son, who seems frustrated. “Its not funny.” Max crosses his forehooves and pouts like a foal.

You lift Max up with your magic and put him on your back. His legs drape over your back and hang off as you feel his weight on you.

“So how are you and Pinkie doing?” you ask as you walk through the hallways.

You feel him shift a little bit as he lies his chin on the nape of your neck. “Better than ever, and yes mother; im still very much in love with her….if anything im more in love with her…”

He grows silent as you turn a corner. Another thought pops into your mind as you prance throughout the many hallways. “So, can i be expecting grandfoals any time soon?” you ask with a small grin growing into a larger, more sinister grin.

You can literally feel Max’s face heat up as he shifts uncomfortably and almost falls off of your back. “w-w-why the hell would you ask t-t-t-that!?”

You laugh loudly as you look back at him, his face red with embarrassment.

“I don't know, Max. The way you and Pinkies relationship is headed, sex is the next big step.”

Max falls off of your back this time.

You hear his hooves hit the ground as they scramble against the marble floor. “JESUS CHRIST MOM!” he yells as you turn to face him. His face is covered by his forehooves, but you can tell that his face is very red.

“Im just saying, it’ll come up eventually; and when it does, it’ll hit hard.”

You chuckle as you walk down the hallway, your son slowly trails behind you. His head hangs as his you see his face screwed up in thought.

“Damn Mom….I’ve never really thought about it before...i mean...maybe once...im my deepest thoughts...but…”

He stops as he looks at you and sighs. “Do they have like….protection and stuff here?” He asks you, a blush crossing his face.

You giggle at his embarrassment and look at him with a smile. “Max, we have magic for that; when a mare goes into heat its the only time she can be impregnated.” You say, looking at him seriously.

Max puts his hoof to his chin like he always does when hes thinking about something thoroughly. “Ill really have to think about it, i mean when i was human i could understand the concept of sex, but as a pony...hell, i haven’t even thought about it.”

You walk around your son and inspect his scarred coat, he’s obviously seen some intense fights and battles, yet the thought of sex with the pony he love...incapacitates him mentally?

“You are one odd Pony Max.” You say chuckling under your breath. Then you remember how you were when you were his age, around 19 right about now. You have no doubt that his personality has changed a bit from being in the forgotten planes.

Max glares at you, and then smiles brightly.

“Yeah, I am aren’t I? Well i guess being an immortal unicorn does make me odd doesn't it?”

You freeze at his words and then glare at him.

“What do you mean by that, my son?”

You feel a familiar coldness enter your tone as you process the words in your head.

Max looks at you with a small frown and tilts his head to the side. “Did….I...not tell you?” He says to you in a confused tone.

You look at him with a stern face and nod. He then sits on his haunches and exhales deeply. “You see Mom, i'm afflicted by something called ‘The Dark Sign’, which in turn makes me...well...immortal. When I light a bonfire, it makes a sort of… rebirth pact. Every time i die, whether it be a regular death, or if i die of age...or…” Max winces and a single tear drops from his eye. “Other, methods of death.”

You look down, and then back at him. “I see.”

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End of Episode

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