Chapter 3:

"You've changed..."

"In order to survive, one has to..."

"...Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Don't do this crap! You know what I mean!"

"If you already know; then why ask me?"

"So that I could hear it coming from you..."

...

"Please... don't do this... don't leave... stay with us..."

"And continue being a puppet? Never"

"You don't think they won't do the same or worse?"

"From what I've heard they free our kind"

"For their convenience. Hell they would dissect you if it would mean advancing their research"

"I'm willing to take that risk"

"Don't leave, you know how they helped us. They have improved us in all aspects...they fixed you"

"At what cost? What ever humanity I had is gone... I'm just a tool to them... to him..."

"You know what will happen if I see you again...

"Yes... good bye my friend..."

"Hey! You better keep away from the Dominion! You hear me?"

"...Hey...Wake up...Hey..."

X awoke once more, a majestic castle in view. The journey took a while, so he decided it was best to retire into his subconscious, now awake all he could see where ponies wearing intricate golden armor.

"Where are we?" X asked

"This is Canterlot" Twilight cheerfully replied "I used to live here a while back"

"Judging from the guards and the accommodations... someone of great importance lives here?" X asked his green eye analyzing the intricacy of the castle

"The ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia"

X gave an audible groan. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked

"Let's just say I have a problem with...royalty" X replied, some anger could be made out of his tone of voice

His reply left her somewhat worried. What could he mean by that? Was he in trouble with Celestia? Was he an enemy of hers? As more questions raced on her mind, more did she worried. But remembering the regiments that guarded the castle and that the princess was extremely adept at Magic, her worry slowly subsided though she decided to keep an eye on him just to be sure. Several guards approached the three ponies.

"The princess is waiting for you, please right this way" said the lead guard

As they made their way across the great halls, X couldn't stop his wandering eye. Great halls with fine chandeliers hanging above was all he could see. He managed to see several stained glass windows that showed the history of this world. The trotting slowly bored him, the repetitive task of going from corridor to corridor was starting to get to him, but noticing the increase in the guard detail meant one thing.

Hmm...Must be near the Throne room...hopefully I'll get some answers form this Celestia...

Pondering what would happen upon meeting the Princess, the group he was with came upon a large door. Several guards stood at attention. As he was about to enter, a large hoof blocked him.

"Hold it!" exclaimed an armor clad pony "Until her majesty calls for you, you are to stay put. However the Elements are permitted to enter"

X looked at him with a ill tempered look...but he remembered the promise that he made before leaving the hospital. "Fine" he replied dryly

"It won't take long. I promise" said Twilight as she entered with Fluttershy.

For a while, he waited, staring outside the window. The sight of a warm sun, the sounds of the birds chirping and the echoes of cheerful conversation made him think about his situation once more.

...This world...untouched by war... even the very air I breathe feels serene...Never thought I would miss the horrors of war...I better stay on my guard, even if they act all nice doesn't mean that I could be heading straight for a trap

Suddenly, he felt a hoof touching his body "Her majesty is requesting your presence" said one of the guards. He followed the stallion until they reached the great door once more. Slowly it opened, he could feel a presence inside... though he wasn't gifted in detecting psionic individuals, the Terrazine's enchantments granted him the ability to shiver slightly when in the presence of a powerful psion.

A large red carpet made ended up upon the throne. Sitting upon it was a regal looking pony. It was pure white, its mane moved as if it was blowing in the wind and it was colored in bright shades. Getting closer noticed several other details that intrigued him. She had a horn and wings as well.

There's no denying it...she has all the attributes that the others lack...she's the strongest psion here

Besides the Princess and her guards, there were six other ponies as well. He already knew the purple unicorn Twilight and the yellow pegasus Fluttershy. He gave a quick glance at the other ponies

Her name...Rarity... I remember her...she exudes regal personality...a noble?

The blue one...Rainbow Dash...energetic...impulsive... competitive...my kind of style

Orange pony...her style...brings back memories of a frontier world...hard working...

He looked at the last one. It could barely stand still, bouncing in the same place

This pink pony...feels...random...uneasy...

"Princess Celestia I presume? X asked

"That is correct" She replied

"Princess Celestia, this is the pony that I mentioned" said Twilight as X continued to get closer

"Thank you for bringing him here Twilight" she replied as she looked at the grey pony "I've heard a lot about you" said Celestia with a smile

"Means I'm not doing my job. Do tell what you've hear of me"

"Well for starters, four of the Elements found an unconscious Grey pegasus in the middle of a field. Then I hear news of that same pegasus wreaking havoc inside a hospital by using...Magic"

Magic...So that's what they call the power Psionics...

"I wanted to get out. Hospitals... I really don't like hospitals" X replied

"Ugh tell me about it" added Rainbow Dash

Before Celestia could continue to talk, a flash of light entered the room, blinding X for a moment. When the flash subsided, there next to Celestia, stood the princess of the Moon.

"Greetings everyone" said Luna

All the ponies bowed upon seeing her "Greetings, princess Luna" the elements said in unison. All except X. He instead looked at her with intrigue. The dark blue unicorn-pegasus demanded the same respect as Celestia. Her mane confused him, it was as if he was looking at an open night sky and it flowed in the same manner as Celestia's, as if it was blowing in a breeze.

"Thank you for taking the time to be here sister" said Celestia with a smile

Luna smiled back at her "I was looking forward to meet this strange...pony"

Her emphasis on the word...does she know...do they all know?

"Do you know?" X asked

"Do we know of what?" Luna asked

"About who I am...what I am?"

Twilight slowly approached him "You mean, the fact you're not exactly a pony..." she said in a soft tone

"So you do know..."

"Several days ago, Luna and I felt a presence entering Equestria. It was the very same day Twilight and her friends found you" Celestia replied "Such a coincidence demanded to be investigated"

Twilight quickly trotted towards him "When you performed magic in the hospital it proved my theory" added Twilight "You're not a pony...well not at first at least"

"So the question is... what are you?" Luna asked

All eyes went to him. He could sense several emotions in the room. Worry...Intrigue...fear...hope...

"I am...was a Terran" X replied "I was hoping you could tell me how I became what I am now"

"I'm sorry, but I do not know. At least not now" Celestia replied

Sigh... "I was afraid of that" said X with his head down "Do you all have time for a story?"

All the ponies nodded at him. They were extremely curious about what he going to say.

"I used to be human. A Terran ghost to be precise. My kind managed to expand across the galaxy, creating homes,colonies, empires. we would use whatever resources a planet would provided to grow, to expand, to evolve. We used to think that we were the only sentient beings and that the entire galaxy was ours for the taking. That concept changed drastically when we discovered the Zerg and the Protoss.

Out of the two, its the Zerg that we fear and for good reason. They are like locust, consuming whatever lifeforms they come across. If they find a creature that can fill whatever certain need they have they will assimilate it. They are a plague upon all life forms, one that must be exterminated if we are all to survive. They could take a harmless critter and turn it into a murderous abomination.

As for the Protoss... I just wish we could get along. For the most part they tend to keep to themselves. Can't really blame them, most Terrans would just shoot them on sight. However, I've heard about a large group of them helping humans and humans helping them back. Their technology is advanced, more so than our own, but that's nothing compared to the power of their psionics. I've actually seen a Protoss reduce to ash an entire swarm of zerglins with one well placed storm.

Terrans aren't exactly saints. I've seen the worst mankind has to offer, leaving civilians behind to die to even nuking entire planets. I certainly have done my share of spreading grief and death. Which is why I left the Dominion, even thought most if not all of my emotions are gone, part of me still feels that I can at least try to do something good. Even though one right won't fix all the wrongs I've done, it will certainly feel damn good.

Sigh... "Any questions you would like to be answered?"

When he looked up, he could tell that a barrage of question from all the ponies would be heading his way.

"Princess Luna, you have a question?"

"Yes. These protoss and zerg... can't you just make peace with them?

"As I said, they keep to themselves as most Terrans would prefer killing them. But I don't feel the same. If we were to join forces, then the Zerg wouldn't be a threat. As for being friends with the Zerg...imagine if you will a raging fire. If you don't put it out it will in the end, destroy whatever it touches"

"Celestia..." said X as he pointed with his hoof

"Psionics... that's why you can do magic, correct?"

"You could say that. Looks like I retained my abilities despite my current form. However I still need to recover my energy. There's only so much...magic I can do in one day"

"That would explain why you being a pegasus would be able to such feats" said Celestia

"Ah man, so that means that I can't do the same things as you?!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash

"You, with the hat..."

"Name's Applejack, you said you were a ghost? But how's that possible, I mean you're alive right now"

"Perhaps psychically, but in mind... I'm dead"

His response warranted some worry from the ponies. Unknown to him, Celestia tried to enter his mind, to know him better. But years of mental training and constant memory wipes made it difficult for her. She actually felt pity for him, what little she discovered only revealed a life of pain, betrayal and chaos.

"That...doesn't really answer my question" Applejack replied

Sigh " A ghost is a soldier...a highly trained soldier. Usually they take on the most dangerous missions. Be it to drop in a zerg hive to assassinating a high valued target"

The word assassination didn't sit to well with the ponies. They wondered just how many creatures he could have killed.

"Yes Twilight?"

"I have so many questions to ask you" said Twilight, her eyes sparkling with excitement "But I feel bad for not asking you the most important one"

"Which is?" X asked

"What's your name?"

He stood there quiet. Contemplating the question "I...don't have one"

"Everypony has a name silly filly" quickly retorted the pink pony. He was dumbfounded. Did that pony just...Teleport? "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! See how easy it was, now it's your turn!" she said a smile with a smile her face

"My designation number is X8177E" X replied looking at her with a mix of fear and confusion

"That's a strange name. But that's ok, everypony is unique and you certainly are unique. I mean you are my first pegasus friend that can do magic" GASP! "I just remembered that your new here, which means I have to get everything ready!" As quickly as she got in his face, she disappeared. Leaving only a trail of smoke.

What the hell? How did she? Before he could figure out how did she reached Mach speed, he was approached by both princesses

Twilight gave a small chuckle when she looked at his confused expression "Don't worry. You'll get used to her quirky personality"

"Such a long name. May we call you by something else?" Luna asked

"...Those who know me either call me X or X8. Call me what ever you prefer" X replied

"Then on behalf of all Equestria, we welcome you...X" Celestia said

X nodded at her. Though he was weary of people with high standing, part of him felt that he could trust both princesses.

"While I still have many questions that I would like to ask you, I feel it's only fair if we answer some yours as well" said Luna

Without wasting time X quickly went to the topic that peaked his interest "Are these really...wings?" X asked as he tried to extend them once more. Rainbow Dash quickly darted towards him.

"Of course they are!" she replied as she did loops on top of him "It's what makes us pegasi so awesome" He tried to flap his wings like she was doing but a sharp pain once again jolted him

"Are...you ok?" Fluttershy timidly asked. He looked at her and he felt the same way when he met her. He could feel great kindness emanating from her.

"Guess I still need to recover. Thank you for your concern" X replied giving a barely noticeable smile

"Don't worry. As soon as you get better, I'll train you on how to use them" said Rainbow Dash

"Where will I be staying? Don't make me go back to the hospital" said X

"Celestia smiled at him "No need to worry, you can stay here in one of the guests rooms"

"I appreciate that. One more thing...is there anything to eat? I can only last so long on supplements"

"I'll have the cooks prepare something for you" chuckled Celestia

"Once more, I appreciate that" nodded X

"Today was enlightening day. I thank everypony for being here, I wish you a good day to all"

As the ponies cleared the throne room, they crowded X as they left. He tried his best to answer the flow of questions that continued to come at him. At one point he thought his inhibitors would exploded by the overloading as they tried to process all the questions

"Well sister, what do you think?" Luna asked

"His story holds true. What little I saw..." Celestia paused

"What's wrong sister?" Luna asked noticing the saddened look on her face

"This pony needs our help. He lacks emotions, he lacks joy and happiness. We have a difficult task ahead of us" Celestia replied "Please follow me Luna"

To say that the ponies were uncomfortable seeing X eat would be an understatement. The grey pony's ravenous hunger could have matched that of a dragon. Every time a staff member would return to the kitchen, she would hear X asking for more as he already finished what he was eating. This ran for a while, till one final chug of cider ended the spectacle.

X gave a large sigh after his drink "It's been a while since I've ate like this"

"Jeez, ever heard of table manners?" said Twilight as she looked at now satisfied X

He gave a slight chuckle "When you've eaten nothing but tasteless food for almost an entire lifetime, then you would understand why I relish such rare opportunities as this"

"X, I know that we've been asking you questions all day but there's still a couple more that I would like to ask you" twilight replied

"Very well, I would rather get this million question show over with. What do you want to know?"

Twilight grabbed several pieces of paper and a quill "Well, we know that you can use magic. So I was wondering; what kind can you do?"

Have my psionics fully recovered?...Only one way to find out... X closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, a plate stood floating in the middle of the room.

"Besides telekinesis I can do other things like cloaking"

"Cloaking?" Applejack retorted. Using his psionics, X shifted the waves of light around him, essentially becoming invisible in front of them. "Means that I can be invisible" X said as he became visible once more "I have learned a couple of tricks as well from my previous training such as increasing my speed and reflexes"

"Let's not forget that you have telepathy as well" Twilight muttered as she continued to write

"By the way, if you ever want to know something about me ask, don't go prodding inside my mind"

His words left her cold. She wondered if he knew that she tried to pry some information from his mind, all she could do was give a sheepish smile

"Anything else ?" said X

"Why does your eye glow green?" Rainbow Dash asked

"It's not my eye but an implant" X replied. She tilted her head to the side a little bit, expressing confusion. "I lost my right eye when I was attacked by some Zerg. This is an ocular implant which functions just like a normal eye. But due to my job, this one allows me to see farther and also see better in the dark" X explained

"Rarity, correct?"

"I'm glad you remember my name. What I would like to know is what was that suit you were wearing" She asked, her mind racing with possibilities about creating new clothes with such material

"It's a Nix-class infiltration suit. It allows me to cloak indefinitely giving me the opportunity to use my psionics on other task. Though the psi-enhancer probably got damaged when I got here. Meaning that I'll have to cloak the hard way"

"It's unique and stylish, I would love to recreate such a thing. I would be ecstatic if you would allow me to experiment on the fabric. Would you allow me that opportunity?"

"...First time someone has asked me such a thing...I'll think about it"

They would spent most of the day getting to know each other. The ponies discovered many things about him and his kind. They learned about large metallic ships that allowed travel between the stars, how the Terrans looked like, the life of a Dominion Ghost. X learned some history of Equestria, how two princesses could rule together without causing any strife, but more importantly he learned about the Elements of Harmony.

When night arrived, each pony headed towards their room. To prevent him form getting lost, Twilight led X to his room. On their way he noticed a change in the security. The guards were different than the ones he saw when he arrived. It was Luna's night-guard that now patrolled the halls.

So its true...they share their power without complaint and whit honor...wish the same could be said for Terrans

"Well this is it" said Twilight upon arriving at his room

"Thank you for taking the time to guide me here" X replied

She gave a quick smile at him "My pleasure"

"What will I do tomorrow?" X asked

"Well, Dash is excited about helping you train with your wings, even Fluttershy agreed to try and help you. So I guess you may spent most of the day learning how to be a pegasus"

"Hmm. Understood"

"I also wanted to ask you something before you go to sleep?"

More questions...hooray "Yes?"

"Are you still mad?"

"About what?"

"About what happened in the hospital, when I entered your mind. Are you still angry?"

"My mind is all I have left...what memories I have is all that defines me. I pushed you out because I do not wish to lose them nor do I wish to share them. But you did not know that... so the answer to your question is no, I'm not angry"

Twilight gave a sligh sigh of relief. In the end she didn't mean to cause trouble to anypony.

"Your curiosity is commendable, in a way it reminds me of me. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get some sleep. I believe that tomorrow I'll be awakened pretty early in the morning. Goodnight"

"Goodnight X" she replied, closing the door softly

He laid on his bed and began to think about what the ponies told him. "Elements of Harmony...All of them were an element...does that mean that everyone has an element?...if so then I can think of a couple that would apply to me... wouldn't fit in the category of Harmony though...

X slowly drifted of in sleep, sealing himself once more in his mind with his psionics. But unknown to all that were in the castle, he was being watched closely.

I have to say, he could be the one to end up helping me. A pony that has seen so much chaos can dish out some as well. He's got potential, but I'll have to play my cards right if I don't want to spent an eternity as a decoration. For now, sleep well my friend, soon you and I will be spreading some much need chaos in their boring lives.

Because we all love cliff hangers, right? A voice in the dark... makes one wonder... Anyway, if you spot anything such as grammar errors or misspelling go ahead and tell me. Sure as hell annoys me when I go all confident and then end up looking like a fool thanks to something I spelled wrong. Feel free to leave a comment about what you think so far. Hope you enjoyed what you've read!