The Most Dangerous Game
Isaac opened his eyes to see the yellow mare sleeping soundly next to him. Her eyes fluttered open showing their teal color. "Morning." She said with a small kiss.
"How'd you sleep?" Isaac asked as he sat up and stretched.
"Just wonderful." The mare said with a smile. The two then heard a tapping on their tent.
"Rise and shine you two." A familiar southern accent said in a tired tone. "Twi's got something important she want's to tell us." The farmer said as she left.
"We'll be right out." Isaac said as she slipped out of his sleeping bag and threw on a pair of camouflage jeans and a dark green T shirt. He stepped out of the tent to see the mare's starting to break down their tents and pack up. "Did I miss something?" He asked as Twilight walked up to him.
"I just got a message from Spike saying that we need to return to Ponyville immediately." She said in a serious tone.
"Why?" Fluttershy asked as she stepped out of the tent.
"He got a letter from the Princess. Only he said it looked weird." She said with a shrug.
"You do know that it took us like three days to get here right?" Dash said as she rolled up her sleeping bag.
"That's why I have this." Twilight said as she pulled out a piece of paper with an odd symbol in it.
"What's that?"
"It's a warp gate. It acts like my teleportation spell, only it's for long range."
"So why didn't you use that to get us up here?" Isaac asked in a confused tone.
"It only works one way and the other end is in the library." She said with a sigh. "So hurry up and get packing."
"Yes, ma'am." Isaac said in a half mocking tone. After packing up his things and folding the tent up Dash walked over to Fluttershy with a smile on her face.
"Hi Rainbow Dash, what's up?" Fluttershy asked in her usual timid tone.
"Oh don't try to act innocent on my Shy." Dash said with a smug grin. "How was it?"
"How was what?"
"You know." The mare said as she waggled her eyebrows and glanced towards the human. The yellow mare's face turned scarlet and felt her stomach jump into her throat.
"H-how did you know?"
"On account of we heard ya last night." Applejack said as she walked up to her friend. The yellow mare pulled her pink hair over her face in hopes of hiding from the embarrassment. "Easy there sugar cube. We don't blame ya."
"Yeah Isaac is a really cool guy." Dash said with a smile. "I was just curious." The mare said as she put a hand on her friends shoulder.
"C'mon guys. We need to get back to Ponyville pronto!" Twilight said in an impatient tone.
"Calm down Twilight." Isaac said as he finished packing. "Celestia is a reasonable mare. She won't be angry if we're tardy." The lavender mare's eye twitched and glared at the man.
"I have NEVR been tardy and I don't want to start now!" She said in a half crazed tone.
"Twi, take a chill pill." He said with a sigh. The lavender mare put the piece of paper down on the ground and waited for everyone to step on it with their bags.
"Everyone ready?" Twilight asked. The group nodded and the mare's horn glowed a faint purple along with the seal. The group saw a flash of purple light and then found themselves inside the library. The lavender mare's horn stopped glowing and started to collapse. Isaac and the cyan mare caught their friend before she hit the wooden floor.
"You okay Twilight?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, it's just that this spell takes a lot of power." She said as they sat her down on the couch. The purple dragon walked up to her with a glass of water. "Thank's Spike. Now what's so interesting about this letter?" She asked before taking a sip of water.
"Well, it arrived here by a mail pony not magic." He said with a shrug.
"That's odd." Applejack said as she scratched her head.
"Maybe she couldn't. Is there a range where she can't send letters?" Isaac asked.
"No, she sent me one while she was in Gryphonia and that's like on the other side of the world." Spike said with a shrug.
"Maybe she was too tired?" Pinkie asked. "Raising the sun everyday has to take a lot out of you."
"Doubtful." The door suddenly opened to reveal the white unicorn mare.
"Oh, I didn't know that you all got back." Rarity said in surprise.
"We just did." Applejack said still shaking off the teleportation.
"Anyway that's not the only thing that's weird." Spike said as he pulled out the letter. Twilight gave it a read and passed it around.
Twilight, I must speak to you and your friends on the outskirts of Ponyville immediately.
P.S. Bring the human as well.
~Princess Celestia.
"That does seem odd." Rarity said as she scratched her head.
"Not to mention that she didn't use my name, just 'the human'" Isaac said as he scratched his chin. Twilight got to her feet and let out a pant. "You sure you're okay? We can go tell Celestia that you weren't feeling well. I'm sure she'd understand." Isaac said as he looked at the mare.
"I'm fine. I just need a minute." She said as she sat back down.
"How about this, the rest of us go drop our stuff off and when we come back then we'll meet Celestia okay? We ditch our stuff and Twi rests a little. Everybody wins." Isaac said with a shrug.
"Sounds good to me." Dash said with a smile.
"I'm fine with it." AJ agreed.
"Alright. Just hurry back." Twilight said in a flat tone. The group nodded and made their way back to their houses. Isaac walked along the road and he scowled as a familiar white Unicorn mare with an electric blue mane walked up to him.
"Yo, Isaac what's up?" She asked with a smile.
"Something you want to tell me Vinyl?" He said in a harsh tone.
"Sheesh, what's up with you?"
"How about not telling me about your girlfriend?" Vinyl bit her lip at the words.
"Yeah about that." She said with a gulp. Isaac stood still with a blank expression on his face. "Look, I'm not a complete lesbian. I'm bi."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? You used me to cheat on your girlfriend." He said in a rough tone.
"Tavi knows. I told her that morning and she's totally cool with it."
"Really? Even though I'm a completely different species?" He said in a sarcastic tone.
"I didn't tell her that you were a human."
"I think that that's a major detail you left out." He said with a grunt. "Look, when does this....Tavi girl come back?"
"She should be back in two days. Why?"
"We and by that I mean you, Tavi and I are going to have a little chat and resolve this like mature adults." He said as he walked passed her. "Call me when she get's back and we'll discuss what happened then."
"Alright." She said as she hung her head in shame. The man side stepped the saddened mare and continued making his way down the street with his bag latched onto his back. Isaac kept walking down the road when he was approached by a familiar teal Unicorn mare.
"Hey Lyra. What's up?" He said with a smile on his face.
"Not much. I haven't seen you in a few days. Where'd you go?" She asked as she started to walk next to him.
"Camping with Twi, Dash, AJ, Pinkie and Fluttershy." He said as he got to his home.
"How was that?" Isaac to moment to chose his words.
"It was....fun." He said as he walked inside. "Want to come in?"
"YES!" She said with a wide smile. The two entered and Lyra immediately started examining things. "Wow, this is so cool!"
"I'll be right out. I just need to grab a few things and put some stuff back." He said as he walked down the hallway. Isaac made his way towards a jet black door and went inside. The room was large and circular. The walls had pictures of several men in uniform. He pulled out the black box and put the handgun on the side as he pulled out a brown leather hip holster. Isaac pulled out the foam holder inside the box and loaded the gun and a speed reloader before putting it in the holster.
He looked around the room and saw several glass boxes line in a row. Each had a folded American flag inside and a series of medals. He stopped next to the last one and saw a golden medal. Isaac was so engrossed with the medal that he didn't notice Lyra had entered the room and started to look around.
"What's this-"
"GAH!" Isaac said nearly jumping five feet in the air. He spun around to see a startled Lyra staring at him. "Oh sorry Lyra, I didn't hear you come in." He said in a flat tone.
"What is this place?"
"My dad called it the war room. It's a collection of my family's military records." He said with a sigh. "My family dates back to the founding of my country. We've fought in almost every war since then." Isaac said as he started walking out of the room with the teal mare following close behind. The man rifled through his bag and withdrew his knife and clipped it on his belt. "Doubt that will happen again."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't have a way back remember?" He said in a flat tone.
"Oh....I'm sorry." She said as she held her head low.
"It's fine. I've come to accept things as they are." He said as he walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"For some reason Celestia sent Spike a message wanting to meet Twilight, me and the others on the outskirts of town."
"Why?"
"No idea, but my gut is telling me that things are gonna go south." He said as he turned to face Lyra. "Mind doing me a favor?"
"Sure, what?"
"Follow us, but stay in the shadows and if things go bad get to Spike and tell him to send a letter to Luna. Can you do that?" The teal mare nodded and ignited her horn and her body turned invisible.
"How's this?" She asked.
"Wow, that works perfectly." He said with a nod. "Okay, keep that up for as long as possible. If things go well, which I highly doubt, then you can just step out. I'm sure Celestia wouldn't mind."
"Got it. Lead the way." Isaac nodded and made his way back towards the library. The man motioned Lyra to hold back as he entered the tree to see the other mares waiting for him.
"There you are. What took you?" Dash asked.
"Sorry, I had a little chat with Vinyl." He said in a rough tone. He then turned his attention to the lavender mare. "You okay to go?"
"Yeah, I'm feeling much better." She said as she got to her feet. "Let's go. Celestia is waiting for us. Spike stay here and watch the library."
"You got it Twilight." He said with a salute. The group made their way out of the library and made their way towards the outskirts. Isaac looked behind him and saw that a faint shimmer was following them.
"Hey Isaac." Twilight said as she looked at the man. "Why do you have your gun?"
"Well, knowing you, I figured that you'd want to tell Celestia about it sooner or later. Since we're meeting with her I figured I'd skip a step and show her myself."
"What if she tries to take it away from you?" Dash asked.
"I doubt that will happen."
"How can you be so sure?" Twilight asked. "Once she hears how dangerous it is-"
"Don't lecture me Twilight. I'm sure should the argument come up then she'll take my side over yours." Twilight was taken back by the ma's words.
"What? I'm Celestia's private pupil and I've known her my whole life. While you have known her for barely a month!"
"True. However there's something both of us have done that you haven't." He said as he looked at the lavender mare.
"What's that?"
"We've done what's necessary for the benefit of others. That includes killing." Twilight looked at him in shock. "Can you honestly say that Celestia has never sent somepony to death row or killed for the benefit of her country?" The lavender mare was speechless. "I thought so."
"But you've killed people and-"
"I don't expect you to understand Twilight. The only ones who can are those who've been out in the trenches and have fought the enemy, who or what ever it may be." He said in a rough tone. "Besides, do you honestly think that I would kill an innocent civilian?"
"Well-" Isaac looked at her in complete and utter shock.
"I gotta say Twilight. I'm extremely insulted by that. I've only killed in self defense. Whether it was for my protection or my friend's." He said in a rough tone.
"There's always an alternative to-"
"No, you don't get it. I didn't grow up in the same happy atmosphere where everyone is your friend. You have to do what's necessary to move forward." He said in a rough tone. "I don't like killing, I hate doing it, but I will if I have to." Twilight blinked twice and gulped. "Bottom line, I'm keeping my weapons and there's nothing that you or anyone else can say to change that." He said as he continued to walk towards the outskirts of town. The mares all gulped and looked at the lavender mare in shock.
"He does have a good point Twi." Applejack stated.
"You're siding with him?"
"Yeah seriously Twilight. Thinking that he'd kill on a whim is pretty low." Dash said in a low tone. "You always told me not to judge a book by it's cover. Isaac is just another book. An extremely hot book from another dimension with a crazy past, but a book none the less. That doesn't mean he's a bad guy."
"But he's-"
"We turned Discord to stone, your brother and Cadence kicked Chrysalis and every other Changeling out of Canterlot and let's not forget about the Crystal Empire thing, not to mention those manticores we had to take down yesterday." Pinkie added. "We've done a lot too and we saved all of Equestria and each other by doing those things." Pinkie said as she scratched her mane. "Isaac did the same, just in a different way."
"Pinkie that.....actually makes sense." Dash said in surprise. The mares and human were all dumbfounded at Pinkie's spark of intelligence.
"Thank you Pinkie." The man said with a nod. "If Pinkie can understand it then why can't you? I mean I thought you were the brains of this outfit." He said as he looked at the lavender mare.
"What do you mean the brains?" Twilight asked.
"In every crew there's the brains, the looks, the muscle and the wildcard." He said in a flat tone. "You're the brains, Shy and Rarity are the looks. Dash and AJ are the muscle and Pinkie is definitely the wildcard."
"So what does that make you?" Twilight asked.
"Me? No fucking idea. I'm just along for the ride." He said as he shrugged.
"Eh, I'll buy it." Dash said with a shrug.
"Now that that's settled we've got someone waiting on us." Isaac said as he continued to walk forward towards the edge of town. The mares followed him as Twilight kept her mouth shut and processed the information. As the group got to the edge of town they saw the white goddess waiting for them. The lavender mare immediately rushed forward.
"Princess Celestia, it's nice to see you again." She said with a smile.
"Twilight Sparkle, my prize pupil. I was wondering when you were going to get here." She said as she waved her hand for them to come closer.
"Is there something-" The lavender mare felt something grip her tail and pull her back towards the group. She looked back to see that the man had the end of her tail in his hand. "What are you doing?"
"Twilight, we've been had." The man said as he focused on the white Princess.
"What?" Isaac walked forward and ran his hand over a wire. He pulled out his knife and cut it, causing the ground to open up in front of the group into a deep pit. The mare's jaws dropped and looked down to see that it was easily twenty feet deep.
"Looks like someones been setting booby traps." He said in a flat tone. The group of ponies then heard a clapping sound coming from the Princess.
"Impressive." The Princess's voice shifted from her warm and angelic sound to a rough and harsh tone. The white goddess's body burst into smoke to reveal a black unicorn stallion wearing a black hood and a silver mask. "No ones ever been able to spot one of my pit traps before."
"I'm going to assume that you were the one who set up that rope trap in the forest." Isaac said as he crossed his arms.
"Correct. I'm also the one responsible for that manticore incident." The mare's eyes shrank at the stallion's words. "It was all a test to see if you were worthy enough to face me head on and you passed. I'm actually impressed." He said with a chuckle. The man then saw a cyan blur fly over his shoulder and towards the stallion.
"I'm gonna squish you into cider!" Dash yelled as she stuck out her leg for a kick. The stallion dodged the mare's attack and grabbed her by the throat. The stallion's horn started to glow and a small red beam sent the mare back flying into the group of mares. Isaac's eyes shrank at the collision and bore holed through the stallion's eyes. The stallion them pressed his hands on the ground and a magical red cage trapped the mares.
"You're after me then." The stranger nodded as he removed his cloak. "Mind if I ask why?"
"Business."
"An assassin then." The stallion's horn glowed and a four massive red magical walls surrounded the two warriors.
"Insurance so nothing can interfere with our spat." The stallion's horn flared and Isaac felt his gun fly out of it's holster and into the air. The weapon teleported outside the barrier. "Right then. Let get down to business. My name is Skull Crusher."
"Isaac. A pleasure." He said in a sarcastic tone as the stallion charged forward and threw a punch at the human. Isaac caught the stallion's attack and elbowed him in the ribs. The masked stallion let out a grunt of pain and sweep kicked the man causing him to fall on his back. The stallion followed up with a punch only to be caught by the man. Isaac used his free right hand to grip the stallion's chest Isaac gave a sharp tug and ripped the stallion's cloak along with a tuff of fur.
The assassin took a step back and looked down at his now ripped fur. Isaac got to his feet and dropped the ball of fur in front of him and let out a breath. "No sense in wearing this thing anymore." The stallion said as he removed his torn garment. Isaac's eyes shrank as he saw the stallion's muscular body riddled with scars.
"Must be some interesting stories behind those scars." Isaac said as he cracked his knuckles.
"You have no idea." The assassin took a deep breath and focused his sight on the man. "Enough warmup. Time to fight." The stallion said as his horn glowed and a sword made of red magic appeared in his right hand. Isaac withdrew his hunting knife and took a defensive stance. "You're going to fight me with that small thing."
"The size of the weapon is irrelevant. What matters is how you use it."
"Wise words." The stallion lunged with the blade held high. The assassin swung the blade only for it to be blocked by the man's small knife. The two stood in dead lock for a good forty seconds before breaking apart.
"C'mon Twilight! Isn't there some type of spell you can use to bust us out of here?" The cyan mare said as she banged against the magical wall.
"I'm still worn out from that spell. I need a little more time or Spike to get me some boosters."
"On it!" The six mares heard a familiar voice say. They turned to their right to see Lyra appearing before them.
"Lyra? What in the name of Equestria are you doing here?" Rarity asked.
"Isaac asked me to tag along in case things went bad."
"He knew?" Dash yelled.
"I don't think he expected this, but definitely something." The mint green mare said. "I'm going to go get Spike so he can call in for back up." She said with a smile.
"Good, now go!" Applejack yelled. Lyra nodded and took off towards the town.
"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.
"We hope that she get's back here soon and that Isaac can last long enough for us to help him." Twilight said with a gulp.
"C'mon Isaac! Kick his ass!" Dash yelled.
The two fighters exchanged blows with their blade free hands. The stallion saw an opening and slashed the man across his stomach with his magical blade. Isaac jumped back and clutched his side. The stallion panted as he waited for the man to attack. Isaac let out a sigh and removed his green shirt to show the cut mark across his abdomen.
Isaac grinned and traced a finger across the wound. He lifted his blood tipped finger up to his mouth and lightly touched it with his tongue before wiping the rest of it off on his pant leg. Isaac took a defensive stance and made the 'bring it on' sign with his left hand. The stallion grunted and charged forward with sword in hand. Isaac brassed himself and caught the stallion's armed hand with his left. Skull did the same with the man's right hand and the two entered a power struggle.
"Well, I'd say that this is where the fight ends." The stallion breathed out.
"How so? You're not looking much better than I am." Isaac said and he felt his muscles starting to strain.
"You're forgetting that I have magic on my side." Skull's horn glowed a deep red and two puffs of red smoke appeared. Out of the smoke came two copies of the assassin each with a sword of their own. Isaac immediately backed away and dodged the two attackers.
"I thought this was a fair fight."
"It is. Magic is allowed remember." He said as his horn flared. "Granted your power level is under five hundred. Hardly worth the effort."
"Then why use them then?" Isaac asked with a pant.
"I like to mix things up a little." He said with a smirk. The three stallion's charged at the man who brassed himself for the oncoming pain. Twilight and the mares watched helplessly as their friend was losing ground. Dash kept hitting against the magical barrier hoping to see a crack.
"Break damn you!"
"Dash that won't do anything!" Twilight yelled.
"We have to do something! Isaac isn't gonna last much longer!" She yelled. Twilight perked up seeing a familiar purple dragon and mint green unicorn running towards them. "Bout bucking time!"
"Spike did you send Celestia a letter?" Twilight asked as spike pulled out a purple vial.
"Yeah, she's on her way with Luna and the royal guard." He said as he breathed a breath of lavender flames and the vial disappeared. Inside the prison, the vial appeared in Twilight's hands. The mare quickly drank the liquid and closed her eyes.
"Everypony stand back." The mares backed away from her friend as she started to glow a vibrant purple color. The air around her crackled with magic. Her eyes burned white with energy and her horn shot out a massive purple salvo at the far wall of the prison. The red walls started to crack and break. The mares instantly leapt out and pounded against the prison where the warriors were fighting.
"C'mon Twi. Think you can do that again?" Dash asked.
"I can't." She said with a pant. "That potion I took only works once and-" She was cut off as she felt a small wave of pain. "I'm almost out of magic." She said as she sat down.
"Lyra, Rarity, think either of you can do something?" The two unicorn's looked at one another and shrugged.
"Sorry Dash, but this is way to advanced for somepony like me." Lyra said with a shrug.
"Likewise." Rarity said as she tapped on the red surface.
"So we just sit here and do nothing?" AJ yelled. Dash yelled and her amulet morphed into the two daggers and she started to slash against the shield. The mare kept slicing at the shield in hopes of seeing a crack.
Isaac was dodging left and right from the clones's attacks. The man took a moment to collect himself. He dropped to one knee and examined his beaten body. The slice mark that had formed across his chest hadn't stopped bleeding. The original stallion stepped forward and held up his sword.
"These blades are laced with my own magical energy which is preventing your blood from coagulating." He said with a smirk. "You have two options, one; give up or two you bleed to death." He said with a chuckle.
"The I'll just have to end this quickly." The man said with a chuckle. Isaac lunged forward with the knife in his hand. One of the clones scoffed and lunged forward with the sword aiming for the man's chest. Isaac quickly side stepped the sword and slashed the clone across it's chest causing it to turn into a cloud of smoke.
"Well, look who's finally getting serious." The stallion mocked. He snapped his fingers and ten clones appeared beside the stallion. Each with their own sword. The human gulped and was fighting to keep himself awake. He took a defensive stance as the group of clones charged at him with murder in their eyes.
The mares summoned their Element weapons as started to beat against the red wall. Pinkie gave a massive swing with her hammer and a small crack appeared on the surface.
"Hey! A crack look!" The mare's stopped their attacks and looked to see the small crack.
"Okay, everypony, focus on that weak point." Twilight said as she focused what little magic she had left. The group all took turns enlarging the crack. The group then saw a flash of blue light. The looked to their right to see Princess Luna in a flowing blue dress.
"I apologize for the late arrival everypony. My sister and I were meeting with the Griffin King. What is the emergency?" She asked as the mares pointed inside the prison. Luna's eyes shrank and she quickly walked over to the side of the prison. Her horn and right hand clenched into a fist started to glow a dark blue and she slammed it into the fractured wall. A large crack sprouted up the wall and spread out to the others.
Inside the prison Isaac was getting beaten left and right by the copies. Isaac panted and felt his vision starting to blur. Shit, blood loss, not good. He thought as he was given an uppercut. Isaac coughed up a mouthful of blood. Two copies slammed the back of his knees which mad him drop to the ground in pain.
The human fought to keep conscious as the copies took turns kicking him. They stopped as the original stepped forward and his horn glowed. Isaac felt himself being lifted off the ground by an invisible force.
"I have to say, you lasted a lot longer than I thought you would." He said with a smirk. Isaac spat a mouthful of blood in his face and smirked. Skull wiped the blood off his face and slammed his fist into Isaac's stomach. The stallion looked closer at the man's exposed body and cocked an eyebrow. "Looks like you're hiding a few things. Let's see those nasty scars of yours then."
The Unicorn's horn started to glow and Isaac felt a burning sensation wrap around his body. The ponies watched in horror as bits of his flesh was being ripped off of him. Skull's eyes shrank as the spell ended. Isaac's chest had a massive scar running from the top of his right shoulder down to his left leg. A series of healed cuts coated his arms and burn marks were placed all over his body.
What in the name of Celestia happened to this thing? Skull thought in disgust. Isaac lifted his head up with a defiant look in his eyes. Skull then noticed that the man had a large scar over his right eyelid. Isaac's stare bore holes through the dark Unicorn. Skull felt a small wave of fear creep over him as he heard a banging noise. The mares continued their bombardment and the prison was cracking apart. Isaac's mind clicked at the noise.
"They will knock four times." He remembered the mare's words and grunted. The stallion snapped his fingers and a glowing red blade appeared in his hand. The stallion let the man go from the grip so that he stood on his two feet while his hands were being held by a copy.
"Sorry Isaac, but this is the end." Time slowed. Isaac's eyes shrank as the blade shot forward. Isaac heard a loud breaking noise and looked up to see the red prison collapsing as he felt an incredible pain. The man looked down to see the blade of the red sword enter his chest. The human heard the angry cries of the six mares and the lunar Princess.
The man looked forward and time slowed down. He felt nothing, no pain, no death. Isaac felt his strength leave his body. His mind was losing focus. He looked forward to see the white hooded figure from before. The figure shook it's head and looked at him with a scowl on his face.
"Honestly, you're pathetic. Getting your ass handed to you by this chump?" He said as he looked at the black stallion. Isaac kept coughing up blood as the figure started at him. The white hooded figure then saw the purple crystal necklace that Celestia had given him. "For fucks sake no wonder you're so weak." The figure said as he looked at the bleeding man. "I think I'll take this." He said as he wrapped his hand around the necklace and ripped it off him. "Time seemed to shift back and the figure put a hand in Isaac's shoulder. "You'll thank me later."
The black stallion groaned as he saw the red wall collapse and he was staring down six enraged mares and one furious Alicorn Princess. As he tried to pull his sword out from the man he felt something grab his arm. He looked forward in horror to see the human latched onto his sword arm. "Impossible!" He said as he felt him squeeze on his wrist. "Wh-what are you?"
"You wanna know what I am?" The man said as a dark blue aura started to seep out of his body. "I'm not telling!" As the man looked up Skull saw that his crystal blue eyes were spliced and had a crazed look behind them. The man clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it into the stallion's jaw. Skull staggered backwards and regained his balance.
The mare's looked in shock as the man lashed out a clone making it puff into smoke. The human looked down at the magical blade and wrapped both hands around the hilt and pulled it out of his chest. Skull felt nauseous as he watched the red blade exit the man's chest. The human's body started to steam and his wounds started to rapidly heal. The man took the blade in his hand and smirked.
"Nice sword. I think I'll take it." He said with a grin. The man's body seemed to be wrapped in dark blue shadows. The sword morphed from it's broad physic to a smaller, narrower blade. Isaac looked at the group of black stallion's who gulped. "Now we're gonna have some fun!" The man bent his knees and he launched himself with the sword drawn at the group. One of the copies froze as Isaac appeared in front of him and slashed it across the chest, causing it to disintegrate. The human looked ahead at the other eight stallions. "Who's next?" He asked as he raised the blade.
The stallion started to chuckle and soon broke into a laugh. His horn glowed and the eight copies vanished. "Now this is a fight! It's like hunting!" He said as a sword formed in his hands.
"As Richard Connell stated; Man in the most dangerous game." He said as he ran forward swing ing the sword rapidly at the stallion.
The other mares, including Luna were frozen in shock in fear as they saw the man fighting the stallion that had almost killed him. The lunar Princess then felt a familiar chill run down her spine.
"Wow, look at Isaac go." Pinkie said in a cheerful tone.
"Kick his ass Isaac!" Dash yelled.
"Twilight Sparkle." Luna said as she looked at the lavender mare.
"Yes Princess?"
"Get ready to use the Elements on Isaac." She said in a serious tone. The mares all cast a look of shock at the dark blue Alicorn.
"Why? We don't even know what they would do to him!"
"I know this magic it's foul and dark, like evil itself."
"What?"
"Isaac has a good amount of my magic stored in his body." She said with a gulp.
"Yeah so?" Dash asked.
"Who else's magic does he have then?" She said in a fear filled tone. Twilight's eyes shrank at the realization.
"Nightmare Moon." She said softly. Luna nodded as the mares gasped.
"I've been visiting Isaac in his sleep and through his dreams I've seen an...alternate side of him then you have not yet witnessed. A much darker, darker side." She said with a sigh. "I only hope that it doesn't come to that." She said in a low tone. Isaac and the stallion locked blades again. The stallion could feel his legs starting to buckle and being forced back.
"What's wrong? What happened to all that talk earlier?" Isaac said in a malicious tone. The man's blade started to glow and a dark blue blur could be seen from the man's sword hand. The blast knocked the stallion back a good thirty feet. Skull felt himself tumble on the ground. Isaac grinned and raised the blade.
Skull got to his feet and realized that he was low on magic. He heard a cracking sound and realized that his mask was starting to crack. Isaac lunged forward with the sword in hand. Skull looked forward at the oncoming creature. "I am no match for this human." He said in a defeated tone. The man ran towards the stallion with murder in his eyes. As the mask cracked in half showing his face, the stallion closed his eyes and waited for the eventual pain.
Skull felt a small pinch on his neck and opened his eyes to see the man standing right in front of him with the tip of the blade just touching his neck. The stallion also noticed that the man's eyes shifted back to their original shape and the dark blue shadows that once danced across his body vanished.
"That was you in the forest wasn't it?" Isaac said keeping the blade on his neck.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you kill me then? I was an easy target, dangling by a piece of rope attached to a tree branch with a manticore only ten feet away." He said in a cold tone. "Why didn't you just let me die right then and there?" He asked.
"Too underhanded for my taste." Skull said in a rough tone. "I like to give my prey a chance to escape. I can honestly say that you are the first to best me like this." He said with a small grin. "So go ahead, claim your trophy." He said as he closed his eyes. The man looked down at the blade and back at the stallion. He raised the sword up and slammed the butt end of the blade into his stomach. Skull gave a sharp cough and fell forwards onto his knees.
As the sword vanished in a flash of blue light, Isaac started to walk away fro the stallion when he heard a cough come from him. "Why? Why spare me?' Skull asked in a defeated tone.
"A life for a life." Isaac said as he looked at the defeated stallion. "My debt is repaid." He said as he continued walking.
"Wait." Skull said as he slowly stood up. He was panting heavily and a trail of blood could be seen coming from his mouth. "As leader of the Red Talon Assassination Society I hereby grant you the name, 'The Predator." He said with a sigh. "You have my word that neither I nor any other members of my guild will ever set foot in this town again." He said as he placed his right hand over his heart.
"Thank you." Isaac said with a nod.
"Should you ever need a hand with something. Don't hesitate to look us up." He said as he tossed him an amulet with an eagle talon etched into the stone. skull's horn flared and his body vanished in a puff of red smoke. Isaac let out a sigh of relief. He walked over to the broken mask and picked the two pieces up. The man was then bombarded by a pink blur that tackled him to the ground. He looked up to see a sobbing Pinkie Pie wrapping him in a death gripping hug.
"Ohmygoshweweresoworried! Wethoughtyouweredead. Thenyouwhenyougotstabbedandthenyouwentallglowyand-"
"PINKIE PIE!" Dash yelled. "Let him breath for Celestia's sake." She said as she pointed to the man's blue, oxygen deprived face.
"Sorry!" Pinkie said as she let the man go. Isaac took several deep breaths and looked up at the mares. Twilight walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Isaac, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I was out of line." Twilight said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"It's fine." He said with a sigh. The ponies then noticed the man's now heavily scared body.
"What did that guy do to you?" Lyra asked as she crouched down next to him. "All those scars."
"They were always there. I just hid them with plastic surgery." He said with a sigh.
"Why?"
"I was ashamed of them along with everything else." He said as he hung his head in shame.
"Like what hun?"Applejack asked. Isaac bit his lip and let out a long drawn out sigh.
"I lied to you guys. I'm not twenty-two." The mares looked at him in surprise. "My real age is twenty-six."
"WHAT?" Pinkie yelled. "Humans have four birthdays in just two months!" The ponies looked at her in confusion.
"No Pinkie. I just lied about my age." He said in a shame filled tone.
"Now why did ya go and do a thing like that?" The farmer asked.
"I was ordered to by my Government when I was discharged. You see I-" He was cut off as a massive wave of pain ripped through his body and he started to cough up blood.
"Isaac! Are you okay?" Luna asked as she knelt next to him. The ponies looked in amazement as bright blue magical sparks started to shoot out his mouth and into the air.
"What's happening to him?" Spike asked.
"Magic backlash." Luna stated as she scanned the human with her magic.
"What's that?" Applejack asked with concern present in her voice.
"It happens when a Unicorn or, human in this case uses too much magic at once." Twilight clarified. "Judging from what happened I'd say Isaac used more magic than what his body could handle."
"Will he be okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"He should be fine. He just needs to rest for a while." She said in a calm tone. The ponies all let out a sigh of relief. The mare's then scanned their eyes over his scared body.
"I can't even begin to imagine what he's been through." Rarity said as she buried her face in Spike's shoulder. The dragon put an arm around her and comforted the white mare.
"We will take him home." Luna said as she lifted the man's arm over her shoulder. As she turned around the mares all let out a gasp. Luna looked at the man's back and her eyes shrank as she saw a massive image of crossed swords. One was jagged, curved and dark red while the other was light blue and straight. The two swords crossed behind a shield with a seven pointed star painted on the shield.
Luna's horn flared and the two vanished in a flash of blue light. The mares looked at one another with worry. Spike helped Twilight to her feet and the group started to walk back towards the small town.
The lunar Princess found herself inside the man's home and laid him down on the couch in the living room. He was still holding the two pieces of the mask. She gently took it from the human's hands and set the pieces on the table in front of the couch. The Princess snapped her fingers and a blanket appeared over the man's body. Luna looked at the man and let out a sigh.
"You have many secrets Isaac." She said as her hand started to glow. "I'm sorry, but I must learn more about you." The blue mare gently put the glowing appendage against the man's forehead. She closed her eyes and focused her magic. Luna saw several images flash into her mind. The Princess covered her mouth to muffle her gasp at the images she had seen. If the human suddenly woke up she would wrap him in a comforting hug. Like a mother would hold a child after they had scraped their knee and reassuring them that everything would be okay.
"You poor, poor man. You have seen horrors that even I dare not think of." Luna said as a small tear rolled down her face. The Princess exited the home and teleported back to the pristine white castle of Canterlot. She quickly made her way into her sister's bedroom to see the white Goddess brushing her hair.
"Ah Luna, what happened in Ponyville?" She asked in a concerned tone.
"An assassin was paid to kill Isaac." Celestia's eyes shrank at the news and stood up. "He is fine and defeated the assassin."
"So Isaac killed him?"
"No, he let him go." Celestia looked at her sister in confusion. "I don't understand it either sister, but there is something we must discuss." She said as she sat down on her sister's bed. Celestia cocked an eyebrow and sat next to her sister. "The assassin used a time spell to revert the human's body back." She said as she hung her head. "He has many scars and a symbol on his back." She said as her hands shook.
"What symbol Luna?" She asked as she wrapped an arm around her sister.
"A pair of crossed swords, one good and one evil behind a shield." Luna said in a low tone. "A star was portrayed on the shield."
"What is troubling about this?"
"It was The impossible star." Luna said as Celestia's eyes shrank. "A seven pointed star." The white Princess pulled her sister into a warm hug. "I....I saw into his mind and I saw terrible, horrible things done to him." She said as he horn flared. A projection showing several images flashed across the room. Images of men and women falling to the sound of gunshots and screams of pain filled their eyes. A single tear rolled down Celestia's cheek as Luna's eyes were filled with tears.
"We must speak with him and the other Elements as soon as he awakens." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Luna looked at her sister in surprise. She walked over to a chess board and looked at it with a blank look on her face. Six white pieces stood on the board. Each shaped like the Element bearers. "It is time for the final piece to take it's place on the board." She said as she held up a single black piece that was in the shape of a man and had no definitive features to it