DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony or any of their characters. I do own my own OCs but you know that's also originating from MLP and Hasbro… credit where it's due. Without any further ado, enjoy!
On the busy streets of Canterlot, merchants were up and about selling their items: various wares of different qualities and backgrounds. Among the controlled chaos, a particular stallion wove his way in and out of the crowds, drawing no attention to himself regardless of his impressive stature. The stallion wore a brown cloak over his body, concealing his identity and whether or not he had wings or a horn. He looked around vigilantly, dark brown eyes tracing alleys and rooftops. He made his way through the crowd until he faded away from view.… "Princess Celestia!" "Twilight, my faithful student. I am glad you were able to arrive on such short notice. And I see you brought along your friends." The Mane Six, along with Spike, made their way into the castle, led by Twilight. The castle never ceased to amaze them, the intricate designs and wonderful window paintings adorning the interior. They followed Celestia through the halls and into, what could only be described as, a dining room fit for royalty. The tables were made of fine oak planks, the chandelier shining with brilliance and purity, the floors a marble so clean and beautiful, but what really caught the eye was ON the table. Breads, jams, cakes, cupcakes, among other cavity-inducing goodness. "Cakes! Cupcakes! Mmmm!", Pinkie Pie squeals delightedly, bouncing towards the heap of sweets. "More like a one way ticket to toothache town", interjects Rainbow Dash as she stared at the table, eyeing it to make sure it doesn't take a step closer to her. "Now now, we mustn't forget why we are here." Celestia added. "We are here to prepare for this year's Grand Galloping Gala. And I know last years was one of the best, but I'm sure this year can be even better." "I don't see how we can make it any better! Last year was so crazy, how could this year possibly be any crazier?" asked Rainbow Dash, and an unseen force answered her call. "Gooooooood morning Celestia! I bring great news from th-", the stallion froze and did a 180 turn before being lifted into the air by Celestia. "Come along now, Jack, we need you as well prepare for the celebration", Celestia said with a smirk on her face as she brought Jack closer to the group. "What kind of name is Jack?", asked Rainbow Dash to no one in particular. "Like Rainbow Dash is any better", Jack retorted under his breath as the group entered the throne room. "What was that?", asked Rainbow Dash hotly. Before any bones could be broken, Celestia stopped before her throne and set Jack down. Now that Jack was on the ground, the Mane Six could finally see him clearly. He was a cyan unicorn with a blue mane and red highlights in his mane. He was also quite tall, standing a clear foot above most other stallions and just shorter than Celestia, and he looked much healthier than most snobby sorcerers or any high class pony. He had a blue, pointy horn which spiraled upward with authority and power. But what really caught the Mane Six's attention, was his cutie mark. It was a pentagon with a deck of cards in the middle. The sides of the pentagon each had an element; fire, water, earth, wind, and magic. But before anyone could ask Jack about it, he briefly announced, "I must fetch the others who will be apart of the planning. Buh bye!", and quickly vanished behind a blue aura. "Um, is his cutie mark.. what is his cutie mark?", asked Twilight, puzzled. "Quite a mystery, is it not?", asked a smirking Celestia. The girls just looked at Celestia, lost. The doors to the throne room burst open and Jack, leading a group of high class ponies among major elements of a good party, which included Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and other artists alike, came in. "How did you get all these people together in such little time?", asked Rainbow Dash. "What, scared I was faster than you right now?", jabbed Jack as he helped set up the room to situate the dozens of ponies that now occupied the room. "You? A unicorn be faster than me? Ah hahahaha!", Rainbow Dash fell on the floor in a fit of laughter. "That's got to be the best joke I've heard this week", Rainbow Dash finally said as she sobered down. By this time, the room was set up with a round table and about a dozen chairs about. Jack stared at Rainbow Dash before snorting, and he began to giggle. Everyone in the room fell silent as the only noise that could be heard was the laughter of Jack. After calming down, Jack grew calm and serious before stating," I could beat you in a race without even using my magic." At these words, Rainbow Dash grew confused, then thoughtful, and finally furious. "Fine! After we plan for the Great Galloping Gala, you, me, Everfree Forest." "By ourselves? My my, but I've barely met you. At least take me out on a nice dinner beforehand," teased Jack slyly. "What? Oh, no, that's not, wait..ughhhhh. Are you always this insufferable?", stammered Rainbow Dash, hot with embarrassment and still a bit angry. "No. Just usually on my good days," answered Jack, as he finally set up the magic projector to broadcast the plans for the Gala. Discord was going to play a large role, but he was one of the few people Jack couldn't get a hold of. The Gala was going to include many new celebrities, and so security was an issue. The Royal Guard could only do so much when it came to securing a location, even as fierce and competent as they were, so Jack got a hold of a contact that could provide more.. strict and cutthroat security. Of course, he had to make sure the party wasn't affected by the swarms of officers and security, which was a problem for the cyan unicorn that he was planning on fixing. Shining Armor guaranteed a fleet of his best troops to be offered on that day. The musical artists all agreed on a particular piece to show off during the event. Celestia and Luna agreed to provide royal treats and food for the guests. The Mane Six all guaranteed their attendance and left shortly after to tend to some pressing matters back at Ponyville. He was a stallion of his word and planned on keeping his word to Rainbow Dash. However, he had a contact to visit just before he did. He made way into a dark hallway in the castle. He looked around to make sure no one could see him before stepping into a passageway.
He put on a cloak which he had conjured and stepped into the room. He was greeted by a single stallion wearing a similar cloak. He simply nodded before another stallion replaced him.
This is the stallion Jack was looking for. "So do you think you can provide enough security for the Gala?", asked Jack rhetorically.
The stallion in grey smirked, showing a row of sharp teeth. When he spoke, time seemed to slow around him, and he gave off an aura of insanity. "Oh my dear Jack, if you didn't think I was a competent stallion, you wouldn't be here. So tell me, who are you after this time?", said the voice in a low voice, almost too low for most people to hear.
"I'm not after anyone. It's simply a favor for Celestia", replied Jack monotonously.
"If you says so, Jacky boy. I'll get the package ready, and it'll be there on that night. Just remember this is your second wish. Choose the last one carefully. Until next time", the figure concluded and disappeared behind a black aura.
Jack went out of the room through the passage he had originally entered. He teleported the cloak away before making his way into the castle halls. He had a race to be in.
He began his journey. As he made his way to the Everfree forest, he looked upon the path he took. He had left the castle of Princess Celestia and Luna, and now he was upon a dirt road with direction towards Ponyville. The flowers were small and happy; they danced in the wind and chirped along to the wind. He saw a change, and now he could see small shrubs and tall grasses, docile and quiet. Soon after, he stumbled upon a creek with crystal water, splashing and moving. He decided he could take a drink to refresh himself. He took two gulps of water before he felt the survival instinct to throw himself back. Out from the water came a beast with green scales and razor sharp teeth. The beast had missed its initial attack but was now crawling on its small scaly feet towards Jack menacingly, snapping its jaws. It had the intent to kill in its eyes. Before the lethal jaws could close in on Jack's body, a blue shield appeared and took the impact of powerful jaws. Jack barely flinched as he conjured a small tornado and sent it toward the beast. The beast was flung backwards six feet and was briefly stunned. It got back up with rage and charged Jack once more. This time, Jack was ready. He used much more magic for his next attack. He waited on the beast to get a certain distance before shooting his magic into the ground. The ground shook violently and the beast tripped and growled, irritated. Suddenly, an enormous crack appeared under the beast, and before the beast knew it, swallowed the beast whole before closing like nothing had happened. Jack plopped his flank on the grass; the adrenaline starting to leave his body. "What the hell was that thing," said Jack, exasperated.
He looked at the ground where the beast had been. He knew the beast was more than dead. Jack had studied in Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns, and he was familiar with a similar creature that looked to what had attacked him. It had looked like an alligator, only much bigger. And much more aggressive..
Rainbow Dash stood leaned on a tree looking at her hooves, bored. She had gotten to the Everfree Forest as soon as the Mane Six had resolved their daily dose of conflict. She began to think if Jack had decided what was best for him and just stayed home. But to her apparent dismay, or rather, hidden glee, she observed a cyan stallion with a large horn approach her. However, the snappy comment she was about to say toward Jack died at her tongue as she saw his mane was ragged and he looked out of breath.
"Hey, sorry, uh, for being late. Got caught up with some paperwork," lied Jack.
"Woah, you are NOT okay. What happened? Are you hurt?", asked Dash, worried.
"It's nothing, really. Take it as a nice warm up for the flank-kicking you're about to receive," replied Jack, half hoping she would cancel the race.
However, Rainbow Dash had lost the worry at the sound of her being taunted.
Still, a race wouldn't be a race if there were no audience to see someone win. That's what Spike thought when he heard the challenge between Jack and Dash. And so, through a magical microphone, the voice of Spike could be heard narrating the race followed by quick comments from Pinkie Pie. The noise had caught the attention of at least thirty ponies close by, including the rest of the Mane Six, and now a crowd could be seen around Jack and Dash.
They agreed to start at the foot of the Everfree Forest, travel parallel to said forest. The trail then led to a mountain-like region, through a small lake, intersect at a cave and path, and finally end at Sweet Apple Acres.
There was no time limit, only 1st place and last place. And their ego.
Both contestants lined up and got in position. Twilight stood a couple of feet in front of them, holding the traditional race flag. She waved it.
Two streaks of color, cyan and rainbow respectively, raced pastel Twilight, leaving her spinning and disoriented.
The streaks of color became defined and Jack could be seen pounding the ground harshly while Rainbow Dash flew fiercely. Rainbow Dash flew in front of Jack and pulled a vine back, letting it recoil upon Jack, stunning him briefly. He let out a gruff curse under his breath and kept running, a small trickle of blood forming across his cheek.
Jack seemed to start losing ground by the time they reached the mountain regions. Jack had a serious handicap as he often cut his hooves or sides with jagged rocks as he passed through. Rainbow Dash simply flew over the sharp obstacles. She bucked the ground once and flew higher. A couple of rocks cracked and hit Jack as they tumbled down, eliciting a sharp curse out of the battered unicorn.
To Jack's surprise, the lake was uneventful, save for a couple of waves caused by Rainbow in an attempt to slow him down. He still lost far more space, though.
Rainbow Dash reached the intersection and paused to look back. Jack seemed far off in the distance, so she did what any other pony would do. She flipped the sign that pointed towards the path to the cave and went on her way to an easy win.
Jack came upon the intersection and barely looked up as he made his way into the cave.
"Huh, so it's this way? I could've sworn it led to a path." He shrugged and made his way deeper into the cave.
Rainbow Dash came to the finish line at Sweet Apple Acres. She jogged through the banner and smiled at her victory.
"Wow. It appears Rainbow Dash left Jack eating dust", commented Spike.
"Yeah. I'm great like that", boasted Rainbow Dash.
After a few minutes of no appearance of Jack, ponies began to get worried.
"Where is he?," asked Twilight, "He should be here by now. Unless he fell in the lake or got lost at the intersection. But that's not possible. I made sure the sign pointed to the path and not to the cave. There is a serious danger in that cave", finished Twilight.
"Oh yeah?", asked a pale Rainbow Dash," what kind of dangers?".
"Oh Celestia, a huge three headed serpent with claws lives there. But of course Jack would never go inside such a place. I wonder wh-"
"We need to go to that cave, NOW!"
Jack found himself in a death dance.
He was originally startled by the creature of three heads and began to trace his way back out. However, the creature was highly aggressive and moved quickly onto Jack. He teleported out of the way, barely managing to avoid getting crushed by the beast.
Once at a relatively safe distance, he fired a tornado of wind toward the creature. The creature simply blinked before roaring and sending Jack on his haunches. Jack shook himself out of his stupor before diving from the place he was sitting in, avoiding a deadly snap of jaws from one the heads. He then fired a column of fire towards the beast. The creature seemed more annoyed at this rather than mad. The snake began to swipe at Jack, hitting him across the snout, marking him with a slash mark. Jack cursed as he began applying healing magic to his wounds. The creature took this as an opening and swung its tail at Jack, sending him into a wall. He limped up from his position before deciding he was losing the fight. He conjured a ball of pure magic and flung it at the snake. The magic penetrated slightly, aggravating the beast further. He was starting to lose options. So he improvised. He waited for the beast to close in on him before teleporting directly above the creature. He brought down on the beast a flurry of all elements and leaped back quickly to examine his choice of attack. He was shocked to see the beast was now a heaping mess of blood and organs spilled upon the cave floors. He didn't mean lethal force, and he was now in a state of shock at what he had just done.
"Jack! We came to save you! There you are! What are yo-", Rainbow Dash paused and looked horrified at the scene. Fluttershy squeaked in utter shock. Rarity fainted. Applejack almost lost her breakfast. Pinkie Pie looked distant. Twilight had to look away.
"I didn't mean.." Jack started, tears threatening to escape his red eyes, before teleporting away to the surface. He walked away from the cave and made his way to the only person that could help him. This would be the last time he lost control of his power.
He was going to make sure of it.