A New Being, and A New Begining

Chapters

A New Being
The Lies They Tell
A New Form
Self Discovery
Meetings and Masks part 1
Meetings and Masks part 2

A New Being

The sun had set, as it was about nine PM, and Fluttershy was out in her yard, tending her nocturnal animals. The bats had been particularly needy this eve, but Fluttershy didn’t mind, even if there were ten dozen hanging out on the side of her house.

“Aww, do you have a tummy ache, little guy?” she asked one bat in particular. “Maybe you ate too many bugs tonight, try not eating so many, please. I don’t want you to eat yourself sick, after all.”

All the bats suddenly stopped squeaking at Fluttershy and each other, only to stare just over her shoulder… directly above the Everfree Forest.

“W-what’s wrong? I-is there s-something behind me?” Fluttershy stammered out.

Every last bat shrieked and took off at once, causing Fluttershy to jump back with a little “Eep!” sound. She looked over where the bats were looking, and saw something falling into the forest, from some odd hole in the sky.

‘Oh! Oh no, somepony needs to help! I… Oh, I need to help, they could be hurt!’ Fluttershy thought, grabbing her med kit and running off.

A few minutes later:

Fluttershy was peering through the trees, looking for any sign of whoever… or whatever fell. “Oh, where are they? I hope nothing” Fluttershy gulped, “ate them.”

Suddenly a roar rang through the otherwise silent forest. Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her fur hearing it.

‘Oh no, a Hydra! I really need to find this pony quickly!’ She started running the opposite way from the roar, but another stopped her.

‘Wait… Oh dear, that’s a hunting roar. The Hydra might have the pony!’ Fluttershy ran in the worst possible direction, towards the roars.

‘Oh, I hope I’m not too late. Oh I wish I had the girls with me!’ She thought, running through the dim Everfree.

Earlier, over the Everfree:

“Falling.” The creature opened it’s eyes. “Why am I here? Where am I? Wait… Who am I?” It tried to remember, thinking as hard as it can, falling through the air.
‘My name... is… Dante. I am a human. My location… Huh, no clue. Wait… I remember now. I have to thank him… her… whatever, if I see it again.’ He thought.

…

‘Damn, forgot I was falling. This will hurt, in any case.’

A loud crash was heard, as he hit the ground. ‘Okay, not dead again, so it was a good landing. How am I not dead? Why does my body feel funny?’ Dante thought to himself.

He got up on all fours, only to notice, he wasn’t human any more. He seemed to be a bone-white Kitsune, but when he felt his chest, something was off. ‘Well, this doesn’t help my not dead theory.’ He thought, feeling the four inch hole where his heart used to be.

‘Need to find some water or something to use as a mirror. Only then can I be sure.’

A few minutes have passed since he awoke:

He came across a small, still pool of water and looked at his reflection. He didn’t notice the low growl from behind him.

‘I suppose God must think this is funny. I prayed to go to Equestria, but not as this.’

A roar rang out behind him, and Dante said to himself “Well, might as well see what powers I got along with this fashion statement.”

‘Rarity is so gonna kill me when I meet her trying to get this thing off my head.’

Fluttershy was running, directly towards the source of the roars. She saw the white fox running from it, but stopped when the fox leapt a hundred feet in the air… and stood there, on top of air. Now realizing her jaw had hit the ground, she closed her mouth to watch for an opening to save the fox.

She noticed something was strange about the Hydra. It… was wearing masks? She had never seen a Hydra wear anything! But her jaw dropped a second time. At the bases of each of the four throats, were large, seven inch holes. Which went straight through, yet the Hydra could still breathe.

The Hydra roared and shot an odd, blue-black beam at the fox, which couldn’t dodge. As the fox fell, he began to spin, throwing spikes off his back at the Hydra hollow. When he hit the ground, he flicked his… Nine tails? Fluttershy couldn’t believe it, a Kitsune! She knew the Neighponese had myths of such creatures, but she never saw one before!

When she started paying attention to the fight again, the Hydra had just inhaled deeply, and the Kitsune was still flicking his tails at the Hydra, send scores of spines flying right to the Hydra, who then opened all four mouths and bellowed blue-black flames to the Kitsune.

Fluttershy gasped, fearing the worst, but a red-black beam shot through, and impacted the Hydra. Mortally wounded, the Hydra let four beams fly at the Kitsune, who could not dodge yet again. The Kitsune flew back and hit a tree a full hundred yards away. A sickening crack was heard, even at the full hundred yards, by Fluttershy. Looking at the Hydras lack of breathing, she knew it was safe to approach.

“H-hello? Kitsune? Are y-you okay?” Fluttershy said, approaching him quickly.

“Grah… That hurt…”

Fluttershy heard this and her eyes widened. “You can speak? You speak Equestrian?”

“To me… it sounds… like you are… speaking English…” He panted out.

“My name is Fluttershy, and we need to get you home! You must have broken ribs after a hit like that!”

“The name… is Dante,’ he said, blood dribbling out of his mouth, “And I… have a lot worse… than some broken ribs… But I fell from the sky pretty far… and survived, so… my body is tough enough to handle this… but some medical care would be nice” Dante promptly collapsed.

“Oh, oh no! Wait here, I’ll get Twilight to come fix you up!” Fluttershy said. ‘I hope the “Teleportal” of hers works out here!’

Fluttershy laid a small lavender disk on the ground. “I’ll be right back!” she yelled, flying off at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash’ jaw drop.

Golden Oaks Library, four miles away, and two seconds later:

“TWILIGHT!”

“Who in the world was that?” Twilight asked Spike.

“Sounded like Fluttershy, but way too loud for it to be her!” Spike said, walking over to the door.

Opening the door, Spike got pushed aside by a butter-yellow and pink blur. “Twilight! I need you to bring your best healing spell and use the Teleportal! Quickly, he won’t live much longer without healing!” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“Uh, y-yes, right on it! How big a creature?” Twilight asked.

“Pony sized Kitsune! Hurry!” Fluttershy was noticeably panicking.

“All right, I’m ready to go.” Twilight said, picking up a spell book and a scroll.

“All right, it’s in the Everfree, roughly four miles south-east.”

“Got it! Prepare yourself, this will be disorienting.” Twilight said as she charged her horn.

*FLASH*

“Ow… my eyes?” Spike said, rubbing his eyes to clear away the stars.

In the Everfree:

*FLASH*

“Oogh, that always feels odd… are you all right, Flutter… shy?” Twilight was looking at where Fluttershy had been to see nothing.

“Oh dear, he’s so much worse already.” Fluttershy said from Twi’s right.

“Oh my, you weren’t kidding, Fluttershy!” Twilight said, running over.

Twilight scrunched up her face and closed her eyes, casting the spell and overcharging it to compensate for the magnitude of the damage Dante had sustained.

“Hang in there Dante, you’ll be okay soon.” Fluttershy said.

“Okay, the spell took hold. He’ll be sore, I think, but he’ll live.” Twilight said. ‘How did he end up in this condition? Did he fight a dragon or something?’

“Oh, good. I was worried he had beaten the Hydra-like thing only to succumb to his injuries.” Fluttershy said with a sigh of relief.

“He beat up a Hydra?!?” Twilight jumped into the air and screamed.

“No, but it may have been a hydra/dragon Hybrid, given the four heads and fire-breath. But, wait, the both used another attack, an energy beam of some sort, and both wear these masks, and… Oh no, there is a hole in his chest!” Fluttershy screamed.

“WHAT?!?” Twilight came over and looked. “Good news, it isn’t a wound.”

“Oh thank Celestia!” Fluttershy sighed as she collapsed on the ground.
“Now, where is this supposed Hydra/dragon?” Twilight asked.

“Laying behind you.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, okay. I’ll need some samples.” Twilight said.

After a few minutes, Dante began to open his eyes. The first sight he saw was Fluttershy right there, in his face, smiling ear-to-ear. He blinked twice, and asked, “So I take it I am still alive?” She noticed his eyes. The part that was normally white was black, the iris was blood red, and his pupils were slitted.

“Yes, all thanks to Twilight.” She said, looking over to her friend.

‘Well, at least there isn’t a language barrier.’ He walked over to Twilight, and sat down beside her. He waited about a minute for her to notice him, then sighed, and nuzzled her to try and get her attention.

“Not now Spike, I need to figure out what this thing is.” Twilight said without even looking up from the Hydra’s hollow mask.

“Pet names already? I haven’t even thanked you for saving me yet. I suppose I can cope with this. Spike kind of fits, though.” He said, smirking beneath his mask.

“W-what? Oh I didn’t even notice-EEK!” She screeched, jumping into the air as she caught sight of who was talking to her.

“… Ow… Note to self, sensitive ears” Dante said, laying his ears back and leaning away.

“S-sorry, you caught me off guard. Fluttershy told me what happened, seems like you gave it plenty of warning to back off. Nopony who gives that much warning can be all bad.” Twilight said, blushing.

“Sorry to you as well. I’m rather happy to be alive, and when I get happy, I make jokes. Uh, you ponies have hooves, so remind me to avoid any lewd jokes or the like around any females. Getting slapped with a hoof must hurt.” Dante said.

“Um, okay… You actually won’t have anything to worry about. Mares make lewd jokes all the time, just don’t make any around a stallion. Then you’ll get slapped. Hard.” Twilight said. “Now, I really need to figure out what this thing is. A hydra that breaths fire, with a bone mask on every head, or any head, is unheard of.”

“It was a hollow, like me. But it was made from an animal, so it was pure instinct and no control.” Dante said. “Now it’s lunch for me, though. I would assume you ponies are herbivores, so you might want to look away.”

“Actually, ponies are omnivores. All sentient-sapient-intelligent creatures are. Seems to come with the territory of ‘No longer an Animal’, so we actually have no problems with meat consumption. We just don’t eat it much, as it is tough to chew and expensive to buy.” Twilight said.

“Well then. Want me to bring this back so we can share it, or want me to start cooking it here?” Dante asked.

“How will we carry it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Heh, special ability of mine.” Dante said. His eyes bean to change. The Iris turned white, then his body started changing. His tails all merged into one, long serpentine tail, his body lengthened, and his head became reptilian. His legs turned into huge, alligator like limbs, but it wasn’t done yet. He started growing even more legs, ending up with twelve total. His hide darkened to a dark sapphire blue. He was about five times his original size now.

“You’re still too small to carry that Hy- uh, hollow.” Twilight pointed out.

“Ngh… Not done… yet.” Dante grunted out.

He began getting bigger and bigger. He stopped growing when he was about a thousand feet long, thus being about five times the size of the Hydra hollow.

“Ugh, this should work.” Dante said. ‘Big and slow, but heavily armoured, and the lightning breath attack could be useful.’

He slithered under the hollow and lifted. “See, no problems now.” He said, smiling under his newly reformed mask.

“Uh, y-yeah, that’ll work.” Twilight said loudly. “He just broke half the laws of physics…” she muttered to herself.

“Here, Dante, follow me. We’ll go back to me house, and cook this.” Fluttershy said, leading the way back to Ponyville.

Fluttershy was clearing a field of nocturnal terrestrial animals, but a small white bunny wearing a nightcap was squeaking and trilling at her, which was keeping her from working.

‘One of the good things about this form, it’s silent.’ Dante thought as he came up behind the rabbit. “I just snuck up on a rabbit while carrying eight tons of meat on my back.’

“Please, Angel, I need to finish clearing the field.” Fluttershy pleaded. Angel cocked his foot back to kick her leg, and Fluttershy winced. Dante leaned down his head and quietly said “I would not suggest hurting her, considering it would piss me off, and I’m able to carry ten tons on my back, breathe lightning, am a thousand feet long, and have razor sharp claws and fangs.” His hollowized voice cut through the night air, and sent a shiver through Angel. The white bunny slowly turned and looked at Dante, whose hollow masks line of razor sharp teeth seemed to frown at him, while also grin with a thinly veiled starving madness. Angel did the only smart thing a coward can do. He promptly dropped a few “pellets” in the grass and ran twice as fast as if his tail was on fire.

“Hey, don’t threaten Angel! He might be a jerk, but that is no reason to threaten to kill him!” Twilight shouted, looking very stern.

“Ha ha ha ha! Sorry, heh, it’s just funny. Thought you would have caught on to what I did, Twilight. Did you, Fluttershy?” Dante asked.

“No, and I certainly don’t find you threatening my friends funny!” Fluttershy said, on the verge of giving him The Stare.

“Think about what I said, girls. The worst I said was that him attack my friend, one of the two who saved my life tonight, would piss me off. I then gave him a rundown of my current appearance and abilities for two reasons. First, and this is the main reason, was so he would imagine something even worse than me, so that I wouldn’t quite be as frightening, and that way he wouldn't have a heart attack. Second, it gave him a reason to clear the field in a hurry, as this hollow Hydra is heavy, and I do not want him getting crushed. Everything else but he and we cleared out as soon as I broke through the tree line. I will admit, I did want him to think I might hurt him if he hurts you, Fluttershy, because it seems I might be sticking around town a while, and considering you’re my friend, new friend or not, I plan to give him plenty of incentive to change his ways for the better. Mind you, I won’t actually hurt him until he pulls something stupid, and even then it’ll be at most the equal of a spanking for a misbehaving child.” Dante lectured. “I have no intent to bring lasting harm to anyone here that I have met, him included. Yet, anyway.”

“So, what you are saying is, you made his mind make up a threat you never actually made, because he abuses Fluttershy, and refuses to change for anypony? And you even still don’t want to harm him? Okay, that was kind of smart. Mean, but smart.” Twilight said.

“Oh, I do hope he isn’t too scared of you.” Fluttershy said.

“If he isn’t, then I’ve failed. But considering how fast he left, and not to mention the second between him turning around and him running, he ought to be glad he doesn’t wear pants. He’d need a clean pair right now. So, where do I dump the meat?” Dante said, oddly cheerfully.

The Lies They Tell

“So, Where do I dump the meat?” Dante asked, oddly cheerful.

“W-well, since all the an-animals left, right h-here is fine” Fluttershy said.

Dante shrugged the Hollow-Hydra off to the left, away from Twilight. ‘Huh, when Twilight said ponies are omnivores, she couldn’t maintain eye contact. With humans that doesn’t mean much, but ponies… I wonder…’ he looked at Twilight and said “Hey Twilight, mind fetching some firewood? I’ll dig a roasting pit”.

Twilight visibly shuddered, as she was saying “Uh, s-sure. I’ll go do that.”

Dante watched her trot off to Fluttershy’s cottage. ‘Well, that confirms it. She’s almost as bad as Applejack about lying.’ He turned back to Fluttershy, asking “So what is her full name again?”

“Oh, it’s Twilight Sparkle” she said, looking over at the corpse before trotting after Twilight. “I’ll go help her, if that’s okay.”

“Sure thing. Hurry back, I’m hungry.” Dante called after her.

Twilight was searching for firewood, dreading what was to come. She knew, however, that given the reason behind the first Griffon/Pony war, she made the right choice. She looked up, noticing Fluttershy coming her way.

“Hi, Twilight, do you mind if I help?”

“Sure, you could if you wanted. Besides, it’s your wood, after all. I’ll cut some more next week, okay?” Twilight said.

“Um, that’s all right, I can manage. Wouldn’t want to burden you.” Fluttershy replied with an adorable smile.

Both mares’ ears perked at a low rumbling sound. “What in Equestria is that?” Twilight said. They peeked around the side of the cottage, seeing Dante supporting himself on his front two and back two legs, slowly spinning in place, the other eight legs digging furiously.

Suddenly he stopped when it was about two feet deep and crawled away to look at his work. “Pit’s done!” he yelled. ‘Wow, can he dig!’ Twilight thought.

Dante looked at the mares as they returned, Fluttershy carrying a small bundle of wood on her back, using her wings to keep it in place, and Twilight levitating what looked like an entire tree’s worth of wood.

“Yeah, that should be about enough wood. Just go ahead and dump it in the pit, girls.”

“Okay.” Both mares said in unison.

Once they had, he placed himself over the pit, just as he had while digging, but looking between his legs, using the rest to arrange the wood.

“Hey, Fluttershy, do you mind fetching the flint? I’m not too good at fire magic yet.” Twilight said.

“No need, I’ll light it.” Dante said. He started shifting back to his Kitsune form.

“Are you sure? How are you going to light it?” Twilight asked, cocking her head.

“Like this.” Dante took a deep breath, and exhaled black-purple flames, igniting the wood. Twilight jumped back, wide eyed, mane frizzled.

“How did you do that? Behir don’t breath fire!” Twilight practically yelled.

“Still a Hollow, remember?” Dante said.

“Heh heh, forgot, sorry.” Twilight looked at him sheepishly.

“No problem. I’m hard to offend.” Dante said, smirking under his mask.

‘How am I going to clean the hollow? Oh, right. Behir have huge, razor sharp horns for preening.’ He proceeded to cut open the hollow, spilling its organs. Twilight looked quite disturbed, yet for some reason, Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind at all.

“So, what cut do you girls want? Haunch, ribs, flank steak, flat iron, it’s all there, pick what you want.” Dante said, testing the girls. He wasn’t expecting this, though.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could I have a leg?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sure thing, little lady” Dante said, showing no signs of his confusion, while Twilight gaped at her. ‘Okay, not what I was expecting.’

“Uh, I’m f-fine. I u-uh, ate ear-earlier.” Twilight said.

“Okay, how you want it cooked, Fluttershy?” Dante said. ‘That’s more what I was expecting’

“Raw, please. If that’s not too much trouble” Fluttershy said, eyeing the meat.

‘Wasn’t Twilight lying? Ponies eating meat… That is creepy…’ Dante thought, slicing through the desired cut. “I’ll throw the ribs on to cook for you girls.”

When the meat was cooking, leg sitting off to the side, Dante shifted back, wincing a bit, as a headache cut through his head. ‘Okay. Shifting for too long causes pain. Noted for the future.’

“So, Twilight.” Dante said.

“Yes?”

“I noticed you couldn’t maintain eye contact when you told me about ponies being Omnivores.”

Twilight tensed, taking a deep breath to calm herself, but gagging when the scent of the cooking hollow hit her.

“Uh huh. That’s what I thought. Why did you lie to me, Miss Sparkle?” Dante said, not a trace of venom in his voice.

“W-well, about a sixteen hundred years ago, the Griffons started a war with us ponies, because they thought of us as nothing but food. They believed that anything unable to eat meat, was prey, and that prey wasn’t smart enough to be sentient. So I uh, just thought you might think the same way… Sorry…” She said, wincing at the end.

“Pfft, if I thought that, I’d off myself real quick. Before I became a Hollow, I was a vegetarian. Turns out, not very healthy for a human. Made me weak. Made me slow. Ended up blasting myself with my own spell, trying to save some people, hope they got saved anyway. Died, met God, sort of, prayed to come here, got turned into a hollow along the way. Got lucky, though. Turns out, because I gave my life trying to save others, I got to live again.” Dante said nonchalantly.

“Wait, not healthy?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yup, humans are omnivores, some herbivores, others carnivores. I tried to be an herbivore, but I needed a high protein diet. I didn’t like eating things that never got the chance to fight back. But yeah, I see where you’re coming from, Twilight. All is forgiven.” Dante said with a slight chuckle.

“Thanks. So you use magic?” Twilight asked, before gagging again at the smell.

“How about I tell you tomorrow, Twilight. You aren’t looking so comfortable.”

“No no, I’m *gag* Fine, really.”

“So, Fluttershy, why did you want that meat?” Dante asked, noticing she wasn’t gagging.

“Well, sometimes hurt carnivores, like wolves or wild cats, come to me. Normally I just gather some out of the Everfree from animals that died in there. It’s sad, but nature has a cycle.” She said.

“Well, you certainly seem more comfortable with me. And… are… are you sniffing the air?” Dante asked, uncertainly.

“Um, well… yes…”

“Okay then. Any reason why, and how worried should I be about getting butchered and fed to wolves?” Dante asked, teasingly.

“Oh dear, I’d never do that! I admit… I enjoy the smell… Maybe it has something to do with Grandma…” Fluttershy said, looking at him with big, sad, puppy eyes. ‘Oh Gods is she cute.’

“Wait, Grandma? What does your grandmother have to do with this?” Twilight asked.

“Well, she was a Griffon. That’s why my wings are larger than a normal Pegasus.” Fluttershy said, looking down at the ground.

“So in other words, you are part carnivore?” Dante asked.

“Yes, though I’ve never tried meat. I always worry that if I do, I might want more, and hurt some animals…”

“Huh… If you ever want to try, let me know. This world seems to have plenty of Hollows in those woods” Dante said, looking to the forest. ‘Okay, I really hope she says no.’ He thought, a little creeped out.

“No, I couldn’t. I still worry…” she said, oblivious to his discomfort.

Both mares shivered, having heard a loud roaring howl from the forest. Dante lifted his head… And let fly a howl, louder than anything the girls had ever heard. They felt the very earth beneath them tremble, more than a little afraid.

“What w-was that about?!?” Twilight yelled once Dante had finished.

“Just marking Ponyville as my territory. If you prefer, I could always do so the old fashioned way.” Dante said with a chuckle.

“Your territory?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, that way most of the hollows will stay away. I just marked it as my hunting grounds, and all souls within as my prey, and mine alone.”

“Wait, your prey? Y-you eat ponies?” Twilight asked, getting up and backing away from him.

“I could, but I won’t. It just means hollows weaker than me won’t come here, looking for an easy meal. I will only eat other hollows, and those souls who turn themselves over to evil.” Dante said, calming Twilight down a bit.

“What do you mean, turn themselves over to evil? I can’t see anypony doing that.” Twilight said, eyeing him suspiciously. “And how did you know the name of the town?”

“Well… shit…” Dante grimaced under his mask. “No point trying to hide it now. Back in my world, before I died, there was a children’s show, aimed for young females. It was called ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It was well done enough that it had acquired a large following, known as bronies and pegasisters, male and female fans of the show, respectively, who were teenage to adult in age. The show was centered around six characters, you two being two of them. I remember bits and pieces of the show, but not much. I remember Ponyville, Appleloosa, Canterlot, Hoofington, as being town names. I remember what a cutie mark is, I remember nothing else though. I think my memories were stripped or locked away when I came here, probably by God.”

“So, we are… fictional?” Twilight asked, obviously on the verge of a breakdown.

“No, nor was the show. We were seeing another world through the mind of the show’s creator, albeit, through a filter. You are just as real as I am, not fictional.” Dante said, trying to soothe her uneasy mind. “This is what I was trying to avoid, existential crisis.”

“I… I see… Good to know. So, do you know who Celestia is?” Twilight asked, Dante turning the meat to check it, before pulling it off with his teeth.

“No clue. Sounds familiar. She, or he, a friend of yours?”

“She is the Princess, co-ruler of Equestria.” Fluttershy said, licking her lips.

“So, you met a God, could you describe it?” Twilight asked, a curious gleam in her eyes.

“Sure. He... She… Whatever, it was a pony, like you two, both wings and a horn, taller than you two, midnight blue, cutie mark of a crescent moon on a black field, ethereal mane, seemingly of the night sky, blowing without a breeze. She, he, had blue eyes, a black crown, and a chestplate bearing her cutie mark.” Dante said, not looking at the two mares. “Her energy was soothing. Yeah, it was a female… Huh… Anyway, she said to avoid her lookalikes counterpart here. Said the other’s energy would be very damaging to me.” He turned, noticing somehow, their jaws had hit the ground from a full stand.

“Jeez, you girls okay? That looks painful. So who did I describe?”

“You… You just described Princess Luna to a T…” Twilight said incredulously.

“Princess… So I need to avoid this Celestia…” Dante said, narrowing his eyes.

“So, hollows eat souls?” Fluttershy asks, shaking slightly.

“Yeah, we do. However, the magic of this place is really similar to soul energy, so I won’t need to. I’ll still eat hollows, though, if they try to attack town.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I was worried you’d eat somepony.” Twilight said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Not unless they are evil. Even then, they would have to have committed one of the three great evils beyond question for me to eat first, ask questions later.” Dante said.

“What are the three great evils?” Fluttershy asked.

“Murder, rape, and enslavement are the three great evils. The attempt of any or all is just as evil as the act itself. Each are punishable by one another. To commit, or try to commit, one or more is to give up all one’s rights, reducing them to nothing more than an intelligent object. They are no longer a person, for by attempting or committing one or more is to willingly give up all your rights.” Dante said, eating a rib, bone and all.

“I see… I… I can’t say I agree to how you punish them, but I also can’t say they don’t deserve it…” Twilight said, seeming to be very saddened.

“Huh, figured you’d fight me fang and claw saying everyone deserves a second chance.” Dante said, brushing a tail against her side, causing Twilight to blush brightly.

“Well, I-I need to g-get home n-now. See ya!” Twilight said, galloping off. ‘Odd. Ah well, meat time. Man this stuff is good!’ Dante thought, seeing her run off.

About an hour later, having finished his meal, eating all but the set aside leg of the Hydra, Dante sighed, and stood up, Fluttershy, who was sitting beside him, watching the fire, looked at him curiously.

Dante took a deep breath, inhaling all the flames, pulling the very energy out of the fire, putting it out quickly.

“Well, it’s late, and I’m tired. Better go find a place to sleep. Thank you, Fluttershy. I’ll bring a few trees by tomorrow, to replace the wood we burnt.”

“Oh, no! I can’t let you sleep outside! Come inside, you can sleep here.”

“That isn’t really necessary. I should be fine, and I don’t want to put you out.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble, here, come inside.” She says, grabbing his paw and dragging him into the cottage.

Once inside, Dante noticed all the animal hutches in her house. ‘Wow, she really has a lot of pets.’ he thought as she drug him upstairs to her bedroom.

“Well, here’s the bed, make yourself comfy while I go make up the couch. Ii-f that’s okay, I mean.” Fluttershy says, seeming to be shy again.

“No. No way am I making you sleep on the couch. Not. Going. To. Happen.”

“Well, I could take the bed, and you could sleep with me.” She says, barely stammering at all. Dante turns red enough, even his mask is blushing.

“I think I’ll go sleep outside for a bit. In an icy lake.” He says, turning around to leave, all nine tails wrapped around his lower half and walking funny.

Fluttershy looks on, confused, before she turned just as red as Dante, realization dawning on her. “Eep, n-not l-like that! I m-meant we could share the b-bed, not rut!” She said after him, following closely.

“I know what you meant. It’s just… how it sounded got a reaction. Didn’t know I could still do that as a hollow.” Dante said, half to himself.

“I still think we could share the bed, if that’s okay. But I’m really fine with the couch.” Fluttershy said, finding her eyes drawn to a certain area, still covered by his tails.

“All right, that will work. After I dry off. I still need a cold shower or bath.” Dante said, still blushing heavily.

“I have a bathtub you can use, if you want.” Fluttershy offered, wondering why she couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

“Thanks, lords know I need it.” Dante said as Fluttershy led him to the bathroom.

Five minutes later, Dante walked out of the bathroom, Fluttershy waiting out in the hall for him. “Thanks for that. Think I figured out how to dry off fast.” He closed his eyes, focusing on his fur. After a few seconds, his fur began to glow a dark purple, giving off heat.

“H-how are you doing th-that?” Fluttershy squeaked out.

“Same way I breath fire, but through my fur instead of my mouth.” He said. Now completely dry, he let the flames go out that had formed. “Well, ready for bed?”

“S-sure. Sure, it is rather late, after all.”

As the two climbed into the bed, Fluttershy said “Good night, Dante. Sorry if I get a little cuddly during the night.”

“It’s *yawn* alright. Just don’t try anything more, okay?” Dante asked, teasingly, making both of them chuckle as they fell asleep.

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay, this one was a pain to write.

A New Form

Chapter Three: A New Form

Dante awoke, feeling refreshed, letting his eyes stay closed. ‘Well, that was likely the best sleep I’ve ever had. Even before that damned mass teleport spell… What’s holding me?’ he thought, looking down to see Fluttershy, fast asleep, hugging him tightly.

‘Aww, she’s adorable,’ he thought as he slowly looked around, pausing at the window to look outside. Judging by the sun’s position, Dante figured it was about six. ‘0600, too early to wake her.’

Just as he finished his thought, Fluttershy nuzzled into his chest, before slowly opening her eyes. “Morning,” Dante said with a grin, “sleep well?”

“Eep!” Fluttershy jumped out of bed, blushing lightly. “I’m s-so sor-sorry! I didn’t mean t-to cuddle you! I-I was j-j-just joking last night!” she stammered.

“Hey, it’s all good. Anyway, what’s the plan for today? I know I have to answer Sparkles’ interrogation, but other than that, my day is clear.”

“W-well, I need to p-pick up some food for my animal friends, and my dress for the Summer Sun celebration. I was also hoping to pick up some cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner. You could help me out, if you don’t mind, that is.”

“Sure. Better than sitting around doing nothing. Ah, almost forgot, still need to get you more firewood.” Dante said, face-pawing.

“Oh, um, don’t worry about it. I can get it myself.” Fluttershy said, opening the door to head downstairs. “What would you like for breakfast, Dante? I could cook some of that hollow, if you would like.”

“No, I’m alright. Keep that for your animals. If I get hungry, I’ll just go hunting for Hollows in the forest.”

“Well, alright. Just let me know if you change your mind. You know, if you want to…”

“Okay. Thank you, again, for yesterday. I quite literally owe you my life, you and Miss Sparkle.”

“Oh, you don’t owe me anything, Dante.”

A half hour later :::: 06:45 ::::

After Breakfast, Dante and Fluttershy were heading out to town. The sun was bright, and although there were few clouds, a new development was about to be discovered.

‘Why do I feel hollow? Besides the obvious reason, but something feels… missing inside.’ Dante thought as he walked with Fluttershy.

“What’s wrong, Dante? Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked him, sensing the look on his face, despite the mask.

“Okay, you are so going to have to explain how you can see my expression through this thing. In any case, I don’t know what it is… Wait… Don’t tell me…” Dante closed his eyes. “It’s gone!”

“Eep, what’s g-gone?” Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane.

“M-my Behir form… It’s gone…” Dante said, dropping onto his haunches.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do it. Ah well. I’ll get other forms, I can feel it. There are two more permanent forms, deep down. They’ll trigger when the time comes. Who knows, maybe I’ll get my Behir form back. Eventually. Man, gonna have to eat one really powerful Hollow to make it permanent.”

“Oh, okay… Do you just want to stay here while I get the food?” Fluttershy was coming out from behind her mane, at least.

“No, you saved my life, just as much as Miss Sparkle, and you let me stay here for the night. I have to repay that somehow.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

As they walked towards town, Dante couldn’t help but wonder. ‘When and where will the next Hollow attack? Well, the where is easy. Highest reishi concentration. Probably Twilight, unless the rest of the town gathers together. Six high reishi individuals in town, Twilight and Fluttershy are two… One is to the East… Another just a bit to the South of there. And two more in a line to the South-East. Twilight’s to the north east. Huh, we’re going straight to one.’

After a few minutes, Dante couldn’t resist the joke anymore. “East, always to the East, a Demon marches with his companion. Oh, the irony of it.”

“What? What Irony? What demon?” Fluttershy said, trying to look everywhere at once.

“Well, I would be the Demon, you the companion. The irony is that I used to play a game where you followed the Demon and tried to slay him. The Demon marched always to the East.” Dante said, chuckling.

“You’re a… d-d-demon?” Fluttershy stuttered, backing away.

“Oh boy. Technically, yes. Hollows form from souls allowed to fester in the world of the living for too long. They become corrupted by their regrets. When they form, they become pure instinct, or evil, most of the time, but there are exceptions, like myself.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

As they were walking, Dante had a thought; “Huh, forgot about those two.” He said, stopping for a moment.

“What two? I-if you don’t mind me asking…”

“I remember two other names, and a fact about each. I remembered Applejack, who is a terrible liar, and Rarity, who wants everything to be beautiful.” Dante started walking again.

“Those are two of my friends! Were they in that show you mentioned?”

“Don’t remember… I think so.”

Dante suddenly stopped walking.

“Dante, are you…” Fluttershy trailed off, staring at his eyes… which she could no longer see under his mask.

“It comes. Madness gathers his army. The Elements shall fall, and the Phoenix shall rise anew. The Empire shall return. Love shall rule, as is her right. Darkness shall be overcome. Day into Night, and Night into Day. The Tyrant shall plot, the Empress shall take another. The Tree shall weaken, as one of the Six shall become the Fourth. Beware the Forest of Freedom Eternal, for within it, all the Seven held. The Four approach this land. War rides upon a Red tide, Death beholds a Pale Horse, Famine knows the Orange mare, and Pestilence shall ride upon Blue and Silver.”

As he shook his head, Dante remembered everything. “Alone. Alone, for so long. My Trial to earn peace is still incomplete. But I remember my world… And Heuco Mundo.”

“Dante, are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay!” Fluttershy was flitting around, checking him over. “Did you hit your head on something? Did you eat something bad for you?”

“Nah, I’m fine. But Twilight is going to love our interrogation now. I remember it all. Including My Little Pony. And moreover, I remember what happened after I died.”

“Are you sure? I can get what I need on my own, so you can go rest if you want.”

“No, I’m fine. But I know what is going to happen today. When we get to Applejack’s stall, convince her to move it three feet to the left.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“Why, save the town, of course. We have twenty minutes to get there, giving you girls ten minutes to move the stall.”

“But-“

“No questions, please. I’ve told you all I can.” Dante began trotting to town, Fluttershy still dazed by his words, and worried about the way his voice… Changed. She followed him without a word.

:::.0650.:::

As they arrived in the Market square, ponies parted nervously as Dante headed straight for Applejacks stall. Just as they were about to panic, they noticed Fluttershy wasn’t scared of him at all, and calmed down, thinking him harmless.

“Howdy Fluttershy, here fer… What in tarnation is that critter next to ya?” AJ said, shooting Dante a curious, if slightly fearful, look.

“Name’s Dante, would you mind moving three feet to the left? Trust me, it would be wise, given what is heading this way” he said, before scratching behind his ear with his back paw.

“Gah, what in Equestria?!?” AJ jumped up onto the roof of her stand, faster than the eye could see.

Dante looked up at her, cocking his head. “Mind if I move it, then? Don’t want it getting crushed in… Nine minutes.”

“Uh, s-sure, knock yourself out…” AJ sat, getting over her surprise, looked at him curiously once more. ‘How is somethin’ that scrawny gonna move this thing? Took me two hours ta get it here.’

Dante walked over to the right side of the cart, and placed his left forepaw on it. “Hold on tight, pretty mare.” With a twitch, the cart skidded exactly three feet.

“Whoa Nelly!” AJ nearly toppled off the cart. “How’d ya do that?”

“I’m stronger than I look. Need any help getting down? I just remembered how to use this body, so I really want to stretch before the fight.”

“What fight? And I wouldn’t say I need any help, but it’d be nice.”

A slight static sounding boom resounded as Dante was suddenly beside Applejack, laying on his belly. “I normally only let children ride me, but you don’t look too heavy.”

“Are you sayin’ I look skinny” AJ glowered at him, after overcoming her shock at his speed.

“No, I’m saying you don’t look overfed. Pure muscle, too.” Dante said, facepawing.

“Well, alright then.” AJ climbed up onto his back. They were a good seven feet in the air, so she was glad to have help down.

As Dante walked to the edge of the roof, AJ suddenly asked “So how’re we gonna get down without hurtin’ ourselves?”

“Like this” Dante said as he jumped off the roof… and landed on the air.

“How in the blazes?!?” AJ just gaped.

“Come to the Library around eighteen hundred hours. All will be explained there.”

“Eighteen… What?”

“Six P.M. dear.” Dante said in an amused tone, beginning to climb down the air, as though he were walking down stairs.

Dante’s POV, first person

“Alright, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks. Now, you know the fountain in Town Square?”

“Yeah, I know it. Why?”

“I need you to get all the ponies there, quick as you can.”

“This got anythin’ to do with ya?” I landed, and she jumped off. The ponies were noticeably more frightened, but oh well. I had a script of sorts to stick to.

“Eeyup.” I simply said.

“… Please don’ say that again. Ya sounded like my brother.”

“Heh, we’ll see.”

AJ trotted off, yelling for everyone to move to the fountain. As I was shown beforehand, the CMC stayed behind, along with a few adult ponies. A great flapping was heard, and everyone froze. The Hollow I was told to expect landed, right where AJs stand had been, was where its left claw now rested. It was only about twice my height, so about a head above a pony. It was a wyvern, a dragon with no front legs, just wings, like those in Skyrim. Its silver-black scales shone like polished jet, and the four curving horns on its mask were quite impressive. Two curled back, like a Red dragon, while the other two, at the sides of its head curved forward, like a Black dragon, both from D & D. As it roared, the ground shook.

Oddly, the ponies were still too stunned to move, or even scream. Its twenty or so foot tail came up, then lashed at Applebloom like a scorpion’s. Unfortunately for the Hollow, I knew that was coming. As my fangs dug in, it tried to recoil, so I gave it its tail back.

After biting clean through it.

“I will not allow you to hurt these ponies, wretch! They have shown me kindness, even after learning what I am, that I have not seen in ten thousand years! Flee, if you wish not to die here and now!” I roared out, not just shaking the very earth below me, but cracking it in sheer volume, directed solely at the Hollow.

“Huh… Very well, your life is forfeit, demon!” I leapt towards it, firing a volley of spines off my tail into its eyes, blinding it. As it writhed, attempting to pull them out, I landed between it and Applebloom, charging a Cero. It pulled a spine out and regenerated its right eye, just as I fired, dodging left. It charged a Bala and fired at me.

‘Shit. Script changed. Can’t dodge, or it’ll hit the filly. This is gonna hurt…’

I was right. The Bala had enough power to hurt like hell, and it just kept firing. As dust and smoke filled the air, the ponies all screamed for Applebloom, all but her herself.

“…Ow…” I coughed up some blood. “You okay, little one” I asked, looking back to the terrified filly.

She was hiding under her hooves, too terrified to answer. ‘She’s more adorable when she’s happy’ I thought, before hearing a sound I knew all too well.

That damn hollow was charging a Cero this whole time!

‘Fuck me sideways with a cactus. That would hurt less.’

When it hit, just a second after, I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. My mask felt cracked, like a broken bone, I was scorched to hell, but my tails managed to protect Applebloom at the last second.

I was ready to collapse, but I charged anyway, tearing at its left wing, focusing on the side that was still blind. It began charging another Cero. But then, something unexpected happened. Between its horns a second Cero began to charge, lined up with the one in its mouth. It aimed at Applebloom again.

“No way in Hell, you bastard!” I roared, jumping between them.

The Cero hit, just as I flared my tails to protect her, and the ponies behind her. When the dust cleared, I felt like I had just been drug through the River of Flames in Hell.

“Are… Are ya okay, mister?” Applebloom asked, still terrified. “What is that thing? Is it gonna eat me?”

“Not on my soul it won’t. I would give my life to protect you. To protect this town. And if it comes down to it, I shall make good on that.” I said, my gaze never leaving the hollow. I fired a Bala barrage of my own at it, then started charging my Hollowfire Cero.

As the dust cleared, I fired, a screeching roar telling me I hit.

But it wasn’t done yet. A Cero erupted out, heading for me, with AB still behind me. When it struck, more of my mask shattered. “Damn it… I need more power… I must protect them… I will protect them… I will protect them!” As I roared the last four words, I felt something. I started to shift. I had unlocked a new form, one of the permanent ones. Only a second later, I stood on two clawed legs, in a form I recognized, wearing a red scaled loincloth. I had become a purple-black Pit Fiend.

The Wyvern Hollow came charging out of the dust, firing a Cero, which I blocked with my wings, barely even feeling it. Even while protecting the little filly with my wings, I was charging a Cero. “Time to end this fight.”

I turned and flew straight at the Hollow, my Cero in hand, and fired it point blank. What I didn’t expect, was for it to be Hollowfire… Or to disintegrate the Hollows head into ash.

As the hollow fell back, AJs stand was revealed to be untouched. I turned and walked back to the filly, offering my hand to help her up. The other ponies were still too shocked to move, even more so when they heard me ask “Are you okay, little one? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“I’m okay, mister, thank ya fer asking, and thank ya fer protecting me like that.” She replied, with the most adorable smile I had ever seen.

“Well, let’s get you back to your sister.” As I scooped her up, Applejack recovered from her shock, walking up to me and Applebloom.

“Here you go, safe and sound,” I said, “were any ponies hurt?”

“N-no, nopony was hurt, thanks ta you.” Applejack hugged her sister.

“Good to… hear....” And with that, my world turned black, as I vaguely heard ponies calling my name as I fell backwards.

Author's Note

Damn, this took forever! Fucking writer's block. Ah, well. Anyway, hope y'all like the fight scene well enough.

Self Discovery

“Ugh… Where am I?” As I opened my eyes, I saw nothing but black. “Great, am I dead again?”

“Are you just going to lie there? We need to talk.” A second, distorted voice rang out. As my vision cleared, I noticed stars whirling above me, as if hours of night were passing in mere seconds.

“No, but maybe I hit my head. My vision is foggy. Think it cleared, but everything is moving too fast.” I sat up… And saw myself. My human self, but he was different. His skin was bone white, and his eyes were like my hollow form’s eyes. “So, I take it you are my inner hollow? Here to fight while giving me a lecture on instinct, or an analogy about kings and horses?” I got to my feet, and prepped for battle.

“No, not this time. I know you are in charge here, and were I to devour you, we would both die. And the world out there needs us, or at least you. Me, I’m just here for the fun. But your idiocy nearly got us killed. If I hadn’t given you that defense form, you would have given your life for that pathetically stupid little horse.” My hollow said, narrowing his eyes.

“Don’t insult her again. She isn’t stupid, just young, and inexperienced. And if you call her, or ANY of them, a horse again, you’ll never live to regret it.” I got in a fighting stance, instinctively reaching for my chain. Oddly enough, not only was it there, but it had changed. Now the links were bone white, and weightless in my hand, but it was only five feet long. ‘Damn it. I’m used to fighting with a twenty foot chain.’ Suddenly it grew to nearly five times it’s length, and began writhing at my will. ‘Whoa, cool. Back to the issue at hand.’

“Okay… I see how calling her stupid is an insult, but calling her a horse? She’s an equine.” His face displayed confusion, but not intimidation.

“She’s a pony of Equestria, and to them, calling a pony a horse is akin to calling a woman a whore. How do you not know this?”

“I only know some things. Not everything. I never fully formed as you passed through that dimension, thus I still have some morals, loose, yet rigid, and I don’t know everything you know. It also results in what we need to talk about, and time is of the essence here. I don’t know how fast or slow time in here is passing in relation to the “Real World” out there, so could we please move on?”

“Fine, just remember, small things I’ll let pass, but now that you know what “horse” means here, don’t use it again when uncalled for.” I willed my chain to hover around me in a halo over my head, just to try, and it worked.

“Well, first off, introductions. I am Etnad. I already know your name, but you must know mine. If you need to speak with me, just close your eyes, and call my name. Take a moment to survey that which surrounds you, because after a while, you’ll master this realm, and be able to return at will, just by willing yourself to appear here.” As I did as he asked, I saw that even though the stars were whirling fast, the moon wasn’t moving fast. There was not a cloud in sight, nothing to mar the deeply scarred moon, which was full. It may well have not been moving at all. I was sitting in a valley, with mountains to all sides, about five miles off. How I knew this, I really don’t know, I just did. I saw no life, but there were streams running from the mountains, falling into a large hole just a couple hundred yards away, in the center of the valley. The ground was hard pack soil, rocks, and sand. The ground was a dark grey, almost black, but not quite, allowing me to tell where stone, sand, and dirt were separated. The water was too far away to see into.

“So, now that you have done that, this is your inner world, or rather, inner universe, as yours is bigger than most, it seems. This place is where you should come for introspection. It will be clarified here, where mind and soul are closest. You may also unlock your power further here, with less time taken, but be warned, unless done in hollow form at full power, it may not make you physically different, as in strength, endurance, and the like. This brings me to my next point, our power. Our power is intrinsically intertwined, the same, yet separate, in that our power grows at the same rate, making me weaker than you, but not by much. How they are separate, is that your power, your magic, can be used without draining my power, and vise-versa, when used in a pure state. You have a fair amount of power, and the mind to handle it. About our-“

“Hang on, hang on,” I interrupted, “I have a few questions. Aren’t you my soul? Our power is connected? And what does my mind change about it?”

As I spoke, Etnad narrowed his eyes, giving a gruff grunt. “Just save the questions for the end. Time is short. After what happened you will likely be awoken abruptly. As I was saying, our powers are different from one another in a few ways. Your power, from what I have gleaned when I could, is not dissimilar from the power of a Soul Reaper. This gives you a… Soul Weapon, I guess you could call it.” As he was about to continue, I had to interrupt again.

“Zanpakutō.” I said. “It’s called a Zanpakutō. I know I wasn’t supposed to interrupt, but I know how fast I latch onto dubs like that. I would assume you are the same, or at least similar.” I sat down as his face went from scowl, to confusion, and finally acceptance.

“Very well. Anyway, my power can be used in three states. Hollowfication, in which you form a mask, and some abilities, but otherwise are unchanged, Hollowization in a lesser state, in which you have the forms and abilities of your full hollow forms, but at a lesser power, and full Hollowization, which is simply full power. I was running off of some strange distortion before, and though my power was running thin, you were not turning back for a few days. Now, though, I don’t know how long it could last. Less than a day, of that much, I am certain, same for Hollowfication. You can still Hollowfy, but your limit is about seven minutes. Use these at your discretion. Hollowfication uses the least power to form, but cannot be held for long, as it hemorrhages power, thus, in situations like this, when threatened, it is best. Lesser Hollowization, when I am fully recovered, I can hold permanently. It’s best for a fast response. It works like this. Your Hollow forms are like a faucet and barrel full of water. Lesser Hollowization is like turning the faucet halfway on, but Full Hollowization is full blast. Hollowfication, on the other hand, is like unscrewing the faucet all together. I can refill the barrel to compensate for Lesser, but not Full, or Hollowfication. Okay, now I’m done with that. Any questions?”

“Yes, one. Why are you telling me all this?”

“To keep you, and therefore me, alive.”

“Okay, next. What’s that star doing?” I asked, looking up.

As Etnad looked at one particular star, still in the sky, and getting bigger and brighter, he answered, “I have no idea, but it burns. I have to retreat for now. Try talking to your Zanpakutō. See if you can manifest him outside.” With that, he jumped in the hole.

I turned my eyes back to the night sky, seeing it was now more along the lines of twilight, just before dawn, as the star had grown into a small sun. I stood up, thinking this might be bad. Once it reached the size of the sun fully, it stopped and simply hung there. ‘Okay… Maybe this is Celestia?” I began to feel a… pressure, I suppose, in my mind, like something that shouldn’t be there, was.

“All right. I don’t know who you are, but I can feel you. I’ve dealt with telepaths before, so why don’t you make this easy and come forward. If I have to pull you here, it’ll hurt you unimaginably and may even kill you.” I yelled, trying to coax them out. It half worked, as the pressure suddenly left. ‘Okay, why did they… Oh. Level Seven. Wow, sucks to be them, they hit a trap card. Still glad all those years of playing that card game paid off.’

“Well, now that that light is gone, I have to ask, what did you do?” Etnad asked, coming out of the hole.

“Well, you know how my mind is layered, right?”

“Nope. I haven’t ventured out of your soulscape.” He answered.

“Ah, well then. When I was little, something terrible happened, and it caused me to layer my mind, so I could shove what I couldn’t deal with into a specific layer. I built nine layers, nine rings, in my mind. Ironic, given my name. Anyway, after I had dealt with my problems, my mind was still layered. This allowed me to meditate, and traverse my own mindscape. One day, I got hit by a car, and although I was mostly, by some miracle, uninjured, I had hit my head hard enough that a certain cluster of neurons fired wrong, causing me to slip into a coma while my brain healed. This gave me months to wander my mindscape. While I did, I ended up setting the whole thing up based on influences from my younger life. On layer Seven, the city of Dis, I used an old card game as inspiration. I laid down blank cards, monster, spell, and trap cards, all face down. All the trap cards activate no matter what when stepped on, but the spell cards require me to will them to activate, and any invaders can do the same. The monster cards always try to activate when trodden on, but the more powerful monsters will burn out the monster cards around them to summon, at least until the one they must fight is thrown out of my mindscape. The invader, whoever it was, hit a trap card. They stepped on “Expel” and were blasted out of my head. I imagine they have one hell of a headache.”

“Sounds like a good area to practice in.” Etnad looked at me, as if sizing me up. “Wouldn’t have figured you would have made your mind so complex.”

“Yeah, yeah, Now, explain something to me. We were in Heuco Mundo for a long, long time. How are you not fully formed?”

“Simple, really. Time wasn’t progressing the same. Since we were tethered to this world, we basically were progressing at it’s speed, even though Heuco Mundo was progressing faster. Or at least, that’s my theory.” He said, before giving a sigh. “Anyway, there is something else you should know. That Behir form, as you called it, was a temporary reaction. You can’t sustain it for long, but you can get it back. It will be available, but you can only use it for a few minutes, as it acts like Hollowfication.”

“Got it. So, when am I getting out of here?” I asked, with a sigh of my own.

“No idea, but I need to rest. See ya.” With that, Etnad simply faded away.

“Well, my Zanpakutō, it’s just you and me. Let’s talk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~What felt like five hours later:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ARGH! I’ve tried everything and you still won’t speak!” As I yelled, I grabbed my Zanpakutō, who I had hovering in front of me, and heard something…

“I’ve been trying to talk! Listen ya damn git!”

“Wait, what?” I looked around for my Zanpakutō, but saw nothing. Just the chain in my hand, and the desert.

“Finally listening? It’s about fucking time!”

“Fine, fine. What is your name?”

“Fury. At least you hear me now, even if you can’t hear my name.”

“Actually, I heard it fine. Your name is Fury. I wanna try something, because I may know why I couldn’t hear you.” I said, wondering if it might be the case.

“Alright, but try not to break me, or I will return the favor a thousand fold.”

I let go, saying “Try talking to me. In a few seconds I’m going to grab you again and we’ll try it again.”

I stared intently at Fury, but could not hear anything. After a minute had passed, it was time for part two. As I took hold of my weapon again, I could suddenly hear the string of rather… imaginative… expletives.

“Holy shit man, calm down!” I yelled, blushing like mad at what he just said about me and Twilight Sparkle. “Jeez, how would a pony even do that, and what would it have to do with a banana and hose?!?”

As he whispered it straight into my mind, I couldn’t help but become horrified… Because he was sending images, too.

I shuddered violently at the thought. “Sorry I asked…”

Clearing my mind, I began to wonder a few things, but they simply had to wait a moment. “So, I can only hear you when I’m in direct contact with you. So, how do I manifest you in the real world?”

“Depends. What’s real and what ain’t, kid? The characters in a book all think they’re real. Every possibility exists somewhere, but I know what ya mean.” He said, coiling around my arm. “Take a seat on a comfy patch of dirt or rock and grab a beer. This is gonna be a hell of a long story, kid. First, ya gotta clear your mind. Then, start by…”

Author's Note

Edited by me. Finished it like, five minutes after Fimfiction went down. Anyone willing to work as an editor, for free, mind you, as I can't pay you money I don't have, go ahead and send me a PM. Let me know what y'all think.

Meetings and Masks part 1

‘Well, kid, now you know the two main ways to get me out there. Just remember, the longer I’m out, the stronger I get, but you’ll get unstable.’ Fury thought to me, from about five feet away. Still, I had a piece of him, a single round link, around my wrist. We figured since he only seems to gain power while three or four links long, one link in the waking world would be enough for a quick summon. Glad he knows his limits.

“I’m already crazy, what’s a little more instability?” I smirked as I felt him chuckle in my mind.

‘You’ll get worse, kid. A lot worse. Even we don’t know your true depths of insanity, but one must be pretty fucked in the head to put a Hollow under their command without even being aware they are doing it at all. If you overuse my powers, you’ll get more… how should I put it?’

“Pinkie Pie like?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

‘Yup.’ I shivered in horror. One with my powers, a mean streak, magic, AND a Pinkie personality? Oh Gods above! ‘My sentiments exactly, kid.’

“Uh, and if I overuse Etnad’s powers?”

“Imagine yourself becoming like a true and full Hollow. In my case, you will get more aggressive, more stable, and more calculating. Then you’ll start truly craving souls, and you and I will merge, then things all go to hell. You’ll deny yourself for a time, a long time, but you may lose yourself into the depths of sin. You’ll get hungrier and more sadistic, more perverted, and you’ll end up trying, and hopefully failing, to devour all of the souls in this world.” Etnad made a good point for not surpassing my limits too quickly.

Apparently I had spellseals all throughout my soul. These seals kept my powers in check, allowing only a fraction through, but they are recent. Damage may have been done already, but not… too much. They work to keep me from overwhelming myself while using my powers. In short, I can go for an hour at full power, three hours at half power, or indefinitely at one tenth without trouble. Problem is, the seals only work on my Hollow power. Fury is always at full. “Guys, why couldn’t I set something up so I can use my full power without corruption?”

‘Well, you could, but either you’ll have to make it cut our ties, meaning we can only talk at certain times, or in your mind, by cutting the feedback from you, or by limiting your power growth and adapting your power level maximum to our combined levels.’

“There might be other ways, though. Hit the library. Do research. Maybe the Princesses know something.” Etnad looked worried about that last part.

“Don’t worry, mate. Princess Celestia is a last resort, and she’ll be nowhere near you. But, next time she’s near, try some of my shielding techniques. Maybe we can bypass your weakness to light magic if we aren’t above ten percent max. From what we gathered during our tests, her power can only affect you if you directly contact it.” I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Alright, I’ll try, but if this doesn’t work, send her away.”

‘Kid, you gotta go. You’re waking up.’

“How can you tell?” I was seriously confused, until Etnad piped up.

“Look up.” And sure enough, when I took his advice, I saw something odd.

“So, it isn’t night here, it’s an eternal eclipse. Cool.” As the sun lit up brighter around the moon, I felt groggy as hell.
~~******************************************************************~~

“Ugh.” Man, I felt like shit, but I was getting better.

“Ah, you’re up! Wow, quick recovery. I’m nurse Redheart. I’m going to go get the Doctor. Do you need anything?” A female nurse, huh? Haven’t had a female nurse in forever.

“Caffeine, high concentration, please, and a book on which species are present in Equestria, if I’m to stay here for any length of time.” I mumbled, still groggy.

“Um, okay. Coffee it is. How do you take it?”

“Black, extra strong. Triple brew if you can.” I know, I know. Not good for the machine. Or me, but hey, I’m a Necromancer who’s already half dead.

“Alright, but it’ll be a bit. I’ll brew a fresh pot, my own blend. Sure you only want a triple? I prefer quadruple brews myself.” She asked. Finally, someone who knows coffee for energy!

“Oh man, a quad brew gal? I think I might be in love. I’ll take it, and you have my undying gratitude!” Finally, my eyelids decide to respond, giving me a really fuzzy, really, really bright view. “Mind closing the blinds, too?” She must have heard the pain in my voice, given how quickly she reacted.

“I don’t know about love, we’ve barely met! Not to mention you look young enough to be my son! You couldn’t be more than fifteen!” Oh, I like her.

“You’d be surprised. I’m a lot older than I look.” I said cracking a grin. Now that I could make her out, she was a cute one. She had a white coat, pink mane done up in a bun, which actually looked good on her, and the red cross with hearts in each corner for a Cutie Mark.

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.” She said giving me a sidelong glance, just a hint of naughtiness hidden with those big baby blues. Damn.

“Wow, now that I can see you, that little ‘In Love’ joke doesn’t seem a joke, and I’m the one who made it!” We both chuckled at that awful jest, before she walked out.

“Well, now what?” I casually scanned the room, taking note of my surroundings, which were the usual you would see in a long-term room at a hospital. The only odd part were the clothes on the dresser across from me.

Not but five minutes had passed before a brown earth pony with a black main in a white coat walked in. “I’m Doctor Splint. I’m glad to see you’re up, you took quite a beating.”

“Eh, news spreads fast, huh, Doc?” God how I wish I had a carrot for that one. I sat up on the edge of the bed, while he pulled out a step stool.

“It helps that most of the town was at market that day. Most saw first hand what you did. It was admirable. Stupid, but admirable. Ah, but to be young and able to do such things. In any case, I’m here to answer questions and see how well you have recovered.” He pulled out a stethoscope.

“I’m not as young as I look, Doc. But I’m feeling better. Well, sort of. I’m rather groggy. Nurse Redheart said she was going to bring up some strong coffee.” Man, why are stethoscopes always so cold?

“Oh, my. Well, it’ll take care of your grogginess right quick, but it is rather strong, to say the least.” And now he pulls out the reflex hammer.

“Uh, Doc, that’s not such a good idea.” Oh, boy, he isn’t listening.

As soon as the hammer came down on my knee, on my left leg, which he was standing right in front of, I accidentally sent him flying about ten feet, into the door.

As he peeled himself off, I grimaced, expecting to get in trouble of some sort, but to my surprise, he actually laughed!

“Well, strong reflexes. Sorry, son, but given the Apples live here, that’s the only way for me to accurately judge it. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Okay, I have to ask, are you guys made of IRON? Seriously, that should have broken most every bone in your body!”

“No, we have special spells in place on everything in the hospital. Everything here is enchanted so that it cannot bring harm. Unfortunately, we can only tune it to ponies.”

“Huh… That works.”

“Well, you seem to be in good shape. I’ll send in your… Visitors, now.”

Wait… “Why the pause, doc?”

“You’ll see, kiddo.” And he closed the door. Without really answering my question.

Great, as if that couldn’t have been ominous. Well, no use getting worked up over it.

More waiting. And more. ‘I wonder who it is? Hopefully not a contingent of guards.’

Five long minutes later, and the door opens, bringing with it a horrible burning sensation. Thank you, boot camp and military service, for the pain resistance you have bestowed upon me.

“Hello, Princess Celestia.” Without even turning my head or opening my eyes. Man, that must be creepy.

“Hello. I would like to ask you a few questions, as would my sister.” Wait, sister?

“Greetings.” An indescribably beautiful, if slightly cold, voice stated.

I immediately snapped my head their way and opened my eyes, seeing them standing right inside the door, guards behind them.

“P-princess Luna?”

I, was in an instant, kneeling on the floor before her, head bowed, left fist upon the floor, right fist over my heart. My rapid movement caused the guards to tense and draw their weapons.

“Luna dea sum in umbra. Ego in vobis est, et postea usque ad mortem, ab incunabulis ad aeternitatem, ab urbe condita: ego semper in angaria. Sicut olim sic erit, ut et corpus spondeo, mentem meam tibi anima mea, ut tibi videbitur, ut in conatu, quia ego te, Luna dea est.” *

“W-what? Thou... Thou cans’t mean such. Nopony hast taken the Oath in two thousand years, and thou knowest it? Thou pledgest thineself by it? Upon meeting Us for the first time in thine life? Thou art playing me for a fool! Thine tricks shalt work not!” And she goes into full Alicorn Goddess mode. Well, “Ad mortem” may come a little quicker than expected.

“I seek not to trick you, Divine Goddess. I have meant every word. I am prepared to die, should you decide such is my fate.”

“I can tell he’s tellin’ the truth, Princess. I ain’t got no clue what he done said, but he meant every word, with all his heart.” Oh, so Applejack is here to, and vouching for me? Interesting. Note to self, give her a bear hug and a great big bag of bits in gratitude. Once I have bits to give.

“Thou... I mean, you are sure, fair Applejack?” Luna set back down, looking rather normal.

“Eeyup. He ain’t lyin’. I still ain’t sure we can trust him, but he ain’t lyin’, at least.”

“Thank you, Applejack. To what do I owe the honor, Princesses? Surely the avatars of the Goddesses have more important matters to deal with than a lowly Hollow such as myself?”

“So then, it is true. You are a Hollow, then. Tell me, Dante, why is it you know our names? Why do you pledge yourself to me in such a manner?” Luna now, at least, looked more curious than furious. “And how do you know the Lunar Oath?”

“On my world, I was a moon worshiper, your Highness. That pledge, I made on my world, and have made in Hueco Mundo. I mean every word, and until told otherwise by you or the Moon Goddess herself, shall obey every order to the best of my ability, until I am no longer able to do so.”

“Why do you still bow?” Celestia asked.

“I have yet to be given permission to rise.”

“Oh... Please, rise, look me in the eye when you speak, Dante. 'Tis most uncomfortable to speak as you are.”

“Of course.” I rose, and looked her in the eye, standing at attention.

“Now then, on to the questions we came to ask. Why are you here?” Celestia trotted up on the edge of my vision, as she asked the question. Yes, THE question.

“I am here on the Moon Goddess’ behest. She stated your world would need my power in the coming days. Thus, I have come to help Equestria until such a time as I am no longer able to.” All this, said without breaking eye contact with Luna.

“Why do you not look my sister in the eye?”

“Because you did not give me permission to break eye contact. You ordered me to look you in the eye.”

“I see. You may be at ease.” At this point, naturally, I took her advice.

“Now, Dante, why do you defend our little ponies?” Another from Celestia?

“I defend them because I have the power to do so.” I said, causing Celestia to think for a moment.

“That is not the reason, that is the way.” Luna chimed in.

“I disagree. I have to power to defend them, therefore I defend them. Though it is true that isn’t the entire reason, it is the entire reason it matters. I could go on for hours, but mostly it is instinct.”

“So you act on instinct?” some random guard piped up.

“Yes. Don’t you?”

“No, we think our actions through before taking them, like we were trained.”

“I... see. Princesses, are your standing military and police force separate?”

“Yes and no. Our guards are divided. Army, and Peacekeepers. Peacekeepers protect towns from within, the Army from without.” Luna explained.

“And these are Peacekeepers, I assume?”

“No, standing Army.” Celestia added.

“And they take time to think about every action they take?”

“Of course.”

“That’s... Really ineffective, to put it mildly.” Luna looked like she was about to chew my head off, but Celestia stopped her.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, unless they are also used for domestic defense, as in, as Peacekeepers, they need to react instantly. The moment an enemy shows itself, they need to drop it. No thought, only lessons so ingrained into their minds, it becomes instinct. Second nature. That way, they can react in a moments notice against the enemy, without any time wasted. Maybe it’s different here, but in my world, a quarter seconds hesitation on the battlefield is a death sentence. In that quarter second, some enemy soldier with faster reflexes just shot and killed you. In that quarter second, a soldier of the past would have found that the enemy who just jumped over the cover he was using, had introduced a sword to his brain. A soldier who had reacted in time would, in the first scenario, have shot the enemy, and in the second, would have had his own sword up to block his enemies swing, and deliver one of his own. For cops, yeah, you need to think everything through until it is kill or be killed. But on the battlefield, you need to act on instinct, because it is always kill or be killed.”

“You make a good point.” Luna admitted.

“Now, back to matters at hoof.” Celestia, who had listened to my entire rant impassively, began, “Dante, as a Hollow what drives you to protect others?”

“As a Hollow? Nothing. As a matter of fact, as a Hollow, a pure Hollow, I would be killing all of them and devouring their souls. But I am not a pure Hollow. I am still human, with human morals. It is my human half that drives me to protect. I cannot sit idly by while the innocent are harmed. If I have the power, I will protect any and all that I can, assuming they are not guilty of one of the Three, and unrepentant.”

Celestia shifted her expression into concern. “Your protection is conditional?”

“Yes. Those guilty of rape, murder, or enslavement of the free will of an innocent being are my prey. Should they be repentant, and seek redemption, or at least to spend the rest of their days paying back the infinite debt that such acts incur, they shall fall under my protection. For those three sins, the Three Prime Evils, are unforgivable in life. Only in death may they be forgiven, but only if the sinner is truly repentant, because what they did was evil, not because they suffer for the act.”

“So, in all honesty, you seek to protect others?”

“Yes, I do. I intend to give those who do not control their actions rest, as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Hollows. They do not control their actions, their inner Hollow is fully formed, unlike mine, and mad with hunger. It controls their body, their mind. It forces them to kill and devour without end.”

“And how do you intend to free them?” Luna inquired.

“Simple. I will slay them again. The Hollow is not the true soul. The soul is trapped inside, and by killing the body of the Hollow, the soul is set free.” I sighed, and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Hollows can move on when they are slain. The soul is freed from the darkness and sin of the Hollow. I’m not sure mine can...”

Luna moved closer, a confused look on her face. “What do you mean? Are you not also a Hollow?”

“I am... But I’m not. It... it would be easier to show you. May I show you what I mean?”

“Very well.” Celestia said. “You may show us. Indeed, I would very much like to know what sets you apart.”

“First things first. Celestia, are you able to limit or suppress your power? So that it won’t touch me unless you actively try to use it on me? I didn’t want to offend you, but your magic burns.”

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?!”

“Like I said, I didn’t want to offend you. I might be slightly insane, ten thousand years in Heuco Mundo will do that, but I do still have self preservation instincts. I think.”

Celestia looked bewildered, but she closed her eyes and began breathing deeply and slowly. I felt the burning sensation lessen and vanish.

“Done. Please, in the future, mention such things.”

“Alright. Well, lets do this.” I stood up and moved further away. When I stopped, I turned, and focused on drawing out my power. I brought my left hand up, and raked it from top left to bottom right across my face. I felt and heard my Hollow hole open with an audible, fleshy rip.

Author's Note

* “I am in the Shadow of the Moon Goddess. I exist to serve you, until my death and thereafter, from cradle, to eternity, from deepest chest, for I am forever in your service. As before, so shall it be again, that I pledge my body, my mind, and my soul to you, to use as you see fit in any endeavor, for I am yours, Moon Goddess.”

Yes, that translation came from Google Translate. I'm not fluent in Latin.

Meetings and Masks part 2

Naturally, I got the reactions I thought would come.

“Oh mah word!”

“By Mothers light!”

“…”

“Holy Father!”

Wow, the only one to remain silent was Luna. Of course, she’s still got her jaw on the floor. Ooh, look at that! I made Applejack pass out! Achievement Earned, The Shocker!

“Well, that’s about it. This, this is my full form, in all it’s demonic, shielding terror.” Oh if only I could put a picture of it in my journal! “Now, I can also… Umm, could someone wake up Applejack?”

“Wha- Didn’t that… How are you… But… What happened to your heart?!?” Luna seems… Upset.

“Unnecessary. My Hollow body doesn’t need it. My arteries take care of pumping my blood. Also,” I shifted into Kitsune form, “I can do this.” By now Celestia had woken both the guard and Applejack.

“Yer… Didn’ that hurt?”

“Uh, yeah. I just tore open my chest and dissolved my heart.”

“Buh…” Applejack seemed rather impressed. War story time!

“Still, back in Magus Boot, we had to crawl under barbed wire, carry out training matches, and, even in our sleep, we were always subjected to the spell ‘Agony’. This is nothing. Any of you ever felt the Agony spell in full effect?” One guard raised his front hoof. “Care to describe it?”

“It was like I was on fire, constantly. The Changelings had moved in a little while I was patrolling the border of the Badlands.”

“Huh, you guys got it, but that’s a weak version.”

“WHAT?!?” Okay, now Celestia seems disturbed. Hell, even Luna is turning green.

“Yup. Our version, and yes, we tested this, back in the Dark Days, is like being on fire, in the heart of a sun no less, being frozen to absolute zero, having every bone in your body broken, every muscle torn, every ligament fried, while being struck by lightning, and having been doused in Sulfuric Acid, and being kicked in the nuts by a mule wearing spiked, serrated, red hot horseshoes. Very few can handle it, most would die of a heart attack first. Nowadays, we test them, and if it would kill them, recruits are enchanted so it won’t. Once we can pretty much ignore it, training really kicks in.”

“You… went through that? For how long?” Luna was actually tearing up.

“Um, don’t cry, please. I went through it up until I died, so about five, ten years. Really, it’s okay, I would have died if not for that conditioning, and I can ignore it.”

“That…” Luna rushed up and hugged me, closely followed by Applejack, and Celestia. “Why? Why would they do that to children?”

“Children? I joined at nineteen.” And now I’m being crushed with hugs. Nice way to go.

“Nineteen? By the Light! You weren’t even out of high school!” Celestia, Luna, hell, every pony in the room is crying, even the guards… Who just decided to join in the hug… Pointy armour!

“Ow, watch the armour guys.” I hugged as many as I could. Wait, why’s everything pink? “Pinkie, I can’t see.”

“It’s just so sa-a-ad!”

“Come on, let go and stop crying. Those were, for the most part, the best years of my life after Mom died.”

Reluctantly, they all let go. “I didn’t mean to make you all sad. I’m sorry. But it really is okay. I signed up for it.”

“Your people allow children to sign up?” Luna, once again, was on the verge of tears.

“No. We reach adulthood, biologically, at about fifteen, and are adults from a legal standpoint at eighteen. After Sol died, my ‘Father’” I spat out, “I signed up. He always said I was too weak to join, so I proved him wrong. I was, as it turned out, the single most powerful Necromancer on my world.”

“You’re a Necromancer?!?” Celestia, even Luna seemed appalled. The guards eyes hardened, but they didn’t raise their weapons. I reached up, and even as they all tensed, pulled my mask off, revealing my human form, but with Kitsune characteristics added.

“I was wondering what would happen. Yes, I come from two houses of Necromantic Nobles. Necromancy is literally in my blood. I went through the Rite of Passage at seven. I had to go out into the Winter Wastes, survive on my own, without provisions, kill fourteen predators, and resurrect them to do my bidding. I was out there for two full years. Boot was nothing compared to what my ‘Father’ did to me. See the scar across my right eye? I was ten, and spoke out of turn. Sol took a whip to me.” I was practically seething at this point. “Anyway, I eventually branched out past Necromancy. I take it Necromancy has negative connotations here?”

“Yes. Grogar used it. Tell me, why shouldn’t we kill you now?” Celestia seemed rather angry, though Luna seemed cold, she wasn’t glaring at me.

“Necromancy deals with death, and the control of dead tissues, this is true. But, what is the real use of Necromancy? To help. To heal. I perform last rites, commune with spirits, calm them and help them move on, take the illnesses of others into my self, so they may heal. I keep their soul in the body long enough for one to be healed, I study death, I study the soul, but more over, I free the mind and soul. I teach others to meditate, so that their soul and mind can leave the body, and return to it safely. I remove curses, and I place them, if asked, so that the cursed may benefit.”

“And just how can a curse be beneficial?” Celestia asked, eyeing me warily.

“Immortality. Good Fortune, Wisdom and knowledge boundless. These three curses are powerful, ancient, and if applied properly, beneficial. Improperly, they can break you. Good Fortune is a curse to those around you. Used mainly on spies, it can be the downfall of entire nations.”

“I… see.” Celestia seemed to ponder this.

“So, ask your questions. I’ve got all day.” I sat down on the bed, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.

Author's Note

So, new chapter.

Yes, it's short. Part three should be longer. I kinda just wanted to let y'all know I'm still alive and kicking. This chapter still doesn't feel right, but, twenty rewrites later, this was the best version.