>Anon of the Ancestor Clan cleaned up the forge after Pipsqueak had failed his first lesson in metalworking.
>He was a bit disappointed, but he wasn't really surprised
>He gave a gruff chuckle when he remembered when he fucked up way worse the first time he worked with metal
>And the Clan had a metal shortage
>And his trainer was twice as brutal as he was to pipsqueak
>After that day, he didn't really do anything but stand in the sun and try not to fall over dead
>He stretched, his work complete, and walked back to his cottage as Luna brought out the night
>He got into bed quickly, not bothering to read over his books
>That night, he dreamed old dreams...
----------------------------------------------------------
>Anonymous of the Ancestor clan stood atop the snowy ridge
>He looked down with his battle brother, Vatul.
"Vatul, look over here!" Anon hissed, pulling them both into a squat and pointing to the west
>There was a shadowy figure, cloak and hood, stalking across the meadow and straight towards the Ancestor encampment, which was a few leagues away.
"Do you think he is the cattle-thief, Anon?"
"Probably, but we must find out for sure."
>Vatul nodded and they sneaked through the light woods towards him

>Soon, they were ahead of him and he was walking straight towards them
>Anonymous drew his sword and shield, ready for a fight
>Vatul took out his two handed axe and prepared as well

>The figure entered the clearing
>As he got close to their hiding place, Vatul gave a signal and they both jumped out
"What are you doing here! What is your clan! Answer now or die!" Vatul shouted
>Anonymous pointed his sword at the guy
>The figure looked at both of them, and reached for his belt
>He gripped the hilt of his own sword
"Hey! Don't draw that weapon of yours!"
>The man slowly put his hands up and walked backwards
>The two Ancestor-clan warriors kept on him
"What clan are you from? Name yourself or suffer!"
>The man seemed to look up to the sky for a second

>Suddenly a loud cry came out
>Both Ancestor glanced up in the sky and saw a hawk diving right for them!
>Vatul got his axe up just in time to avoid getting slashed by the man from the Hawk-Clan
>The Hawk-Clan warrior attacked Vatul again
>Anon tried to get closer, but the Hawk pecked at his eyes and tried to blind him
>Anonymous stumbled backwards, and fell over
>He was unharmed from the attack, but the bird flew over to Vatul and began to peck at him
>The man took the opening, and stabbed forward
>He impaled Vatul through the stomach
"NOOO!"
>Anonymous sprang to his feet
>He swung his sword up and with a advanced slash, managed to cut off the bird's head and wing in the air
>He then rushed for the Hawk-Clan warrior, and raised his shield for a blow he saw coming
>The sharp steel, (but inferior to the Ancestor's steel), banged against the shield harmlessly
>Now, it was Anon's turn to go on the offense!

>Anon used the massive strength of his lower body and back and pushed his shield with great strength
>It left the Hawk-Clan warrior wide open!
>Anon slashed with his sword and hit the Hawk-Clan's arm
>He dropped his sword and fell down, defeated
>Anonymous pointed his sword down at the fallen warrior
"You killed my battle-brother! I will not let you return to your clan; I will kill you now. Any last words?"
>The Hawk-Clan was still panting and groaning from his wound, but somehow managed to laugh through the pain
"What's so funny?!" Anonymous roared, jamming his sword's point against the Hawk-Clan's neck
"I have defeated you! You and your pathetic bird familiar! Your clan magic cannot defeat our warriors! The Ancestor clan is undefeatable in battle! You have no room to boast, thief!"
>The Hawk-Clan laughed even harder
"Oh please, Ancestor-Clan Warrior. You take pride in coming back from the brink of defeat, from pushing back against all odds. But you and I both know; a rabbit that outruns a fox a dozen times is still just a rabbit."
>Anonymous fell silent, just staring daggers at this man
"Your clan has no magic. You can never compete with the other clans, even if you have the best steel and the most powerful warriors. What can a sword do against the voice of a Thunderclap-Clan warrior? Against the curses of the Witch-Clan? Nothing.You will always survive, on the brink, but you will never be the predator, always just a hare."
>Anonymous stared at him for one last second before he slit open his throat.
-------------------------------------------
>Anonymous slowly woke up
>He swore he could still feel his blade slice through that bastard's throat...
>The memory faded from his head slowly, but it was still fresh in his mind from all those years ago...
>Why was he having dreams of his own memories? Was it the Ancestor's? Were the trying to tell him something
>He sighed, the Ancestor's have never contacted him in this strange realm, maybe their power didn't exist here? Or perhaps it was just weaker...
>He shook his head and stood up, and prepared for the day

>After eating a hearty breakfast of meat and potatoes, he looked out on his porch and saw a letter
>It looked official
>He opened it and read it
>It was a urgent summons from the Princess

>Anonymous stepped out of his home, locking the door behind him
>He was fully geared out, armed with a mace, shield, bow and quiver
>He was also wearing some chain-mail this time, he was expecting a tough fight where he was going
>He saw a small figure trotting up the path towards him
"Pipsqueak!"

>Pipsqueak ran up to his teacher
"Hello Anonymous! I'm ready to train today! I'm not going to complain or whine- I'm really ready!"
>Anonymous couldn't help but smile at his student's excitement
>he would put a stop to that once he got back
"Well, Pipsqueak, I have to go on a trip, so you get few days to heal and practice by yourself, don't break anything of mine, and be ready when I come back. We're going to have to make up the time you've missed. Oh, and start running miles for conditioning, we'll need that stamina for later."
>Pipsqueak seemed very disappointed, but nodded
"Alright, Anonymous."
>Anonymous smiled and placed a hand affectionately on Pipsqueak's head and messed up his mane
>Without any more words, he began to walk away, his gear clattering in the morning silence.
>As he walked, he heard Pipsqueak shout after him
"Hey! You'd better come back!"
>Anonymous didn't return the shout, but just smiled as he left the cottage and made his way out of Ponyville.

>Anonymous didn't have trouble leaving Ponyville like last time
>The celebrity status of him saving Ponyville from the changelings had since died down
>a few p0nies gave him a wave or so, but he managed to get away without and bullshit
>Even his friends seemed to not give a shit.
>At any rate; he began his walk to the dragon mountain outside Ponyville
>Once he reached it, he sighed as he looked up it
"I really gotta climb this with all my gear? Fuck."
>He began his ascent

>Celestia better be right about these fucking crazies, or else Anonymous will be pissed
>Or should he say, Saddle-Sore?
>Either way; he'd be fucking mad

>Soon, he got to the top
>Huffing and wheezing, he sneaked up to the cave entrance
>he peaked inside, and saw darkness
>He hesitated for but a second, and then bravely went into the cave.

>As he went deeper into the cave, Anonymous of the Ancestor clan saw blood
>He saw it pooling around and smeared all over the place
>The smell also started to get really bad, and he heard low whispering and groaning
>He perked up and followed the sounds, trying to avoid any blood-puddles to betray his presence.
>He soon got deep enough to see something illuminated by candle-light
>It was a table with blood everywhere, and several figures all standing around it
>Anonymous tried very hard to get a closer look
>He then saw what as on the table
>It was a p0ny, and she was alive.
>The figures stood around her, and were brutally slicing her skin with small razors
>they were collecting the blood, examining it, and then pouring it on the ground
>Anonymous gagged silently, what kind of sick beings were these?
>He recognized their clothing and strange metal bracers around their necks
>They were the same as the ones who attacked him at that inn!

>Anonymous heard something new happening up at the table
>The female pone on the table, who was gagged, gave off a louder than usual grunt as he saw one of the bad p0nies draw blood from her smile as he saw the glass bottle.
>The blood looked, somehow, cleaner than normal. More alive.
>He shouted in triumph
"We have it! The Vitae! Kill her, she is useless now."
>One of the cloaked members nodded and drew a big knife
>Anonymous knew it was time to act

"Hey!"
>the cloaked figures whirled towards the human
>He had his weapon drawn and ready, he snarled at them
"You pathetic torturers want some bloodshed? Come here, and I'll give you some bloodshed!"

>The Torturers were very surprised at Anonymous of the Ancestor clan's presence
>The one that appeared to be the leader told the others to hold Anon off, and he ran deeper into the cave, possibly to a secret exit
>That left four
>one Pegasus, two Unicorns, and one Earth P0ny
>They draw their weapons
>The Unicorns both have knives, the Earth P0ny has tough, metal horseshoes on his front feet, and the Pegasus has a whip
>The Pegasus flies upwards, and makes the whip crack nearby Anon
>Meanwhile, that Earth-p0ny charges and the Unicorns advance
>Anonymous readies his Mace and shield
>Anon's mace shined in the dim candle-light of the cave
>He grit his teeth, they outnumbered him
>The Earth p0ny was now close enough to engage
>Raising his front hooves, he tried to smash down on Anon
>Anonymous lifted his shield and slammed it against the p0ny's chest
>The p0ny was now pressing his considerable weight on the warrior
>he kicked his hoofed feet around, but not connecting with Anon
>Anon dug a foot into the ground and twisted, slamming the earth p0ny onto the ground
>he followed him with his body, and now he was trapped on the cold cave floor
>Anon raised his club for the killing blow, when he felt a sharp pain across his back
>The whip!
>he hissed and jumped off the earth pony, while turning around and giving the other fighter a powerful blow across the head on the way
>the earth p0ny was not defeated, but he was bleeding and bellowed in pain
>Anonymous raised his shield and deflected another hit from the whip
>he looked to his sides and saw the Unicorns coming to flank him
>shit!

>Anon heard one of the Unicorns bark an order
"Blackwing! Get his shield!"
>The Pegasus lashed out with the whip again
>it managed to hook onto Anonymous's shield
>He or she was pretty good with that!
>The Pegasus began to fly upwards
>It wasn't able to lift Anon and his heavy equipment, but it did manage to keep his arm up and shield useless
>Without that shield, he would be defenseless!
>The Earth p0ny stomped his big hoof and charged again
>Anonymous thought of what to do in a second, and then waited for the charging male to get close enough
>Once he was just inches away, Anon jumped to the side slightly and grabbed his snout with his shield-arm
>the earth p0ny was surprised and Anon shifted his weight to follow him and push him down
>the Pegasus lost it's power and was pulled down
>Anon tugged on the whip, and got the Pegasus very close
>He lashed out with a sideways blow of his club, knocking into the Pegasus's head directly
>It went limp, dead instantly
>he then turned and beat down on the head of the earth pone twice, and it too laid dead
>he noticed one of the unicorns in the corner of his eye tried to stand up before he got stabbed
>he forgot about his shield and he lost his footing

>Anon was now on the ground
>he shifts and raises his shield right as the Unicorn stabs down on him
>he deflects the first stab with his shield, but knows he has limited time
>He kicks with his leg and manages to roll over again
>he was now over the unicorn 
>he raised his club for the finishing blow, but suddenly he felt a strong magical force around his club and upper arm
>it was the other unicorn, pulling him away!
>Anon raised a foot to stomp down on the shield, keeping the unicorn down while retaining his footing
>he then raised back his club, pulling it away from the magical force with pure muscle
>The unicorn pulled harder at the club towards itself
>Anon wanted it to do exactly that
>he jumped off the shield, making the unicorn under it grunt, and flew through the air
>he now had quite a bit of momentum behind him, and he used it to a great over-hand strike with his club
>there was a horrible crack as he smashed down on the unicorn's head, cracking the skull and horn in one blow
>it fell down dead
>He turned, the other unicorn had gotten up and was starting to run away
>Anon ran not straight towards him, but towards the shield and the whip still wrapped up around it
>he picking up the shield and threw it, while grabbing the whip's handle in his other hand

>The unicorn looked back, and dodged the shield
>the shield went farther then the unicorn though, and so Anon pulled on the whip with all his might
>the shield dragged across the ground, and the unicorn accidentally stepped on it, causing her to trip and fall face-first onto the cave floor
>Anonymous ran, ignoring his shield and just getting atop the Unicorn
>She saw him coming, and she made her horn glow
>the magic surrounded the deadly collar around her neck
"Oh no you don't!" Anonymous yelled, pulling out his emergency dagger and slipping it between her neck and the collar
>The necklace could not kill the unicorn, the knife stopped the blades before they could slit her throat
>she looked up at the warrior and tried to get up, but he grabbed the side of her head and slammed her down, fully pressing his weight upon the p0ny
"Where did your leader go? What is "Vitae"? Why do you want it? Who are you working for and why? ANSWER ME!"
>he pressed her face down harder, trying to get her to respond
>Her only response was a cold hard stare
>Anonymous need information, he couldn't go home empty handed again
"...Do you know what my tribe would do with the women of an enemy tribe when we captured them? We would ravish them. Don't make me do that to you! Answer me!"
>The p0ny under him looked visibly shaken, but wouldn't speak
>Anonymous sighed, he didn't want to resort to torture to get his way
>He hated torturers.
>So instead, he raised his club and brought it down, killing the Unicorn instead
>He then drew out the blade from her collar, and looked around
>He saw the table from before, and remembered the p0ny on it from before
>He ran over to the table, hoping he wasn't too late to save the victim

>Anonymous looked over the bloody table, but mostly he was focused on the bloody p0ny on it
>he checked her breathing, she was alive
>he untied her restraints, but when he saw one of the latches had a lock that needed a key, he just smashed it apart with his club
>he gently touched the p0ny across her face
>she was unresponsive
>he picked her up as gently as he could and carried her out the cave
>as he stood outside the cave's mouth, he saw a rainbow Pegasus flying around outside nearby
"Rainbow Dash! Get help!"
>Rainbow Dash flew closer, but as she saw the victim in Anon's hands, she flew away
>Anon looked down a the p0ny in his hands, as he didn't get a good look at her in the cave
>suddenly, he gasped as he realized who it was
>It was Twilight Sparkle!
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End Part 7