A Fiend's Game

Chapters

TUTORIAL
LEVEL 1: A wonderful night to die
LEVEL 2 Heads Down
LEVEL 3: His Silver Mane
INTRO
LEVEL 4: Unwelcoming committee

TUTORIAL

///TUTORIAL///

"Well, here we are! Wake up, sleeping princess!" Chi started to wake Erica up. She wouldn't wake up from her slumber at first, but quickly stood upon her feet on the realization that the heating nightmare of Khanrakesh was replaced with gentle coolness of the new, unexplored world.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Val stood beside the van, staring up, his jaw wide open. Above them was the most amazing sight they ever saw. The night was illuminated by a red and green nebula that took over more than half of the sky. But it was dwarfed by a different wonder. Lots of moons, different in size and hues giving strange multicolored shadows to the landscape below them.

"I've counted over 80 of them. Several already left the sky, and I don't know how many of them on the other side." Ri's eyes were eliciting smoke again with a spell. "Their altitude is fairly low. I wonder why they don't fall down."

"I think they are interconnected by something. That would be logical." Chi suggested, tinkering with that mysterious device from the van. Around her were drones, and the satellite dish was deployed on the ground.

"You will have plenty of time to count stars, Ri. We are going to camp right here. I need a rest, and," she pointed at the mysterious device," this thing needs some time to determine where should we go from here. We don't have the luxury of military satellites, and wandering around this wasteland without any direction is pointless."

"Before we do anything else, I would like to take a moment of your time." Said Erica. "Please, kneel down on your left knee."

"Why?" Chi was curious. She rarely dealt with a priestesses before.

"I don't know why it has to be like that or why does it works. Divinity gave us this powers, but it won't answer such questions even if we ask nicely. Now kneel, please."

Chi obliged. Erica placed hands on her shoulders then kissed her forehead. "I bestow this blessing upon thee. May Divinity aid you." She began whispering words of her prayer.

Val was already on his knee, but Ri hesitated. He didn't seem to believe in blessings effect. Val glanced at him. "Her divination really works, trust me. Saved my life several times." The elf sighed and kneeled. "And how exactly do you know it was a 'help from above'?"

"Well you know, an empty battery of my rifle suddenly completely recharged itself in the middle of a battle. There were lots of minor occasions of 'strangely' fortunate happenings, but there is a way to test it."

Erica turned to them. Val smiled "Give me a 'gambler's luck' please." Erica frowned, but before she could say anything young man continued. "I'm not going to gamble, it’s just to prove that your blessings work to this unbeliever."

"I'd prefer word 'sceptical'" Ri corrected.

Erica smiled, then kissed Val in the forehead. "May the Divinity grant you luck in any game you play."

When Erica's prayer ended, Val stood up. "Lets play a game. Heads or tails?".

They have been flipping the coin for several minutes, each time coin landed in Val's favor. Chi watched them with amusement, looking at her friends face. Elf's expression was shifting from disbelief to acceptance and back. He could not decide if it was really blessing or just a skill.

"May I?" Ri decided to flip coin himself. "Of course, but lets spice things up a bit. Throw it first." As the coin fell through the air Val said. "Edge". That caught Rirandiriel by surprise, he tried to catch the coin, but instead made it fly further away. The coin had rolled to the van's wheel and stopped there. It didn't fell on either side.

"See. If we try to play any game that involves luck - I'll win without any doubt or effort. Priestesses make an oath to never use it to gain money. It alters reality in your favor, and your win is another man’s loss."

"And priestesses can't harm people," The elf concluded.

After accepting their blessings, the explorers made camp. Rirandiriel brought his hands to the ground and raised two slabs of stone, making benches. Val made a fireplace, and ignited a magical flame by drawing some magemas on the ground. Erica took over the cooking, placing a pot over the flames and filling it with water and some gray powder.

"Gnomish moss. Don't worry, she is really good at cooking it," Said Val, noticing elf's confused look. "I'm not worried. I have our bread. Anything is edible with elven bread. Well, almost." He sounded more hopeful than certain. The men started to set up tents.

o--(==========-

Chiffery didn't participate in making a camp. She was still tinkering with her device, rotating a dial and listening to noise in her headset. "Caught any good stations?" Val snickered, coming closer. "What is this thing supposed to achieve anyway?"

"It monitors flows of chaos energy outside of the world we are in. Hopefully, it will allow us to find rifts with more than 80% accuracy. It's my own invention, based on Erica's theories of thaumaturgic laws." Chi glanced at the redhead gnome, that was stirring the mass she cooked in the pot.

Suddenly, one of the drones that were laying around them buzzed and took off in the air. "I'll need more data to determine the epicenter of that energy emanation. As well as more triangulation points." Chi said, sending the remaining three drones out in the air. They hovered in place for a few seconds, then flew away in different directions.

"You are amazing, you know that?" Val asked, looking at the drones in the distance. "If this thing works, we will be able to locate so many new worlds! Why are you not with the Bureau? I'm sure they would fund your project."

"They didn't believe it would be possible to use Steelgrip's Binding on chaos flows. I was able to combine the Binding and Similarization. The flow of magical energies here," the orcesse pointed at the crystals built in the devices command panel "is a small-scale model of the flows outside of this world. I hope four drones are enough to get enough accuracy. I wouldn't have enough money to build even one without Erica's help."

She continued to slowly rotate the dial, until something unexpected happened.

"What?" Val turned his head, unable to find the source of this voice. It sounded synthesized, but it didn't came from Chi's machine. And it spoke in pure Virelle, language of the Vireny.

"Is something the matter?" orcesse asked.

"Have you heard the voice? It said something about the 'Connection'. Sounded like a machine."

"No. My ChaosMapper is purely analog. It doesn't have a voice module."

[Ral? Wake up! Something is going on!]

"Are you sure you are alright?" Chi gave him a weird look.

"Don't worry. Just talking to one of my demons".

"Oh. Okay." Orcesse returned to her device, clearly uneasy about the whole "demon inside" thing.

[Great. Now she thinks I'm crazy.]

[Don't worry. You are not... Maybe just a little.]

[Very reassuring, Ral.]

[Thanks, I aim to please.]

Val felt the dark creature inside him smile. Close bonds allowed them to feel emotions of each other, sometimes even visualizing their reactions in his inner sight.

[Do you hear what I hear?]

[Loud and clear. That's your armor. It made your skull vibrate, so only you can hear it.]

[But it never talked to me before. I didn't even knew it could do that. And what about those updates?]

"Chi, could you please turn that dial back a bit, I think I've got onto something." Chi obliged. "What is this all about?"

"I think my armor caught a signal."

"Aha! Here it is! Stop the dial!" He looked at orcesse that just sat there, staring at him.

<Essentials installation complete.

Verbal interface initialization... Complete.

Panzir guide... updated.

Tactical analysis system... updated.

OS version: ShelOS 3.1.

OS status: outdated.

Current OS version: ShelOS 19.7

Warning!!! OS update required.

Estimated update size: 34 GByte.

Calculating bandwidth...

Estimated update time: 9 hours.

Question: Would you like to proceed with an update?>

o--(==========-

Half an hour (and one awkward explanation) has passed since Val started the system update. They sat around fireplace, Chi and Ri staring at their plates, Val and Erica eating.

"Is this what I think it is?" Chi asked, looking at what seemed to be an omelet, except that it was blue in color.

"Yep. Gnomish moss. One of the most nutritious things in the world. Come on, give it a try!"

"It's also one of the cheapest foods in the world. Oh, whatever." Chi sighed, bringing a spoon to her mouth. "Hey! Its not half bad! Tastes like chicken. How did you do that?" It was quite a question, since gnomish moss was known for its absence of taste whatsoever.

Erica smiled. "When cooked with proper magic it can have any taste. This taste would be mild at best though."

"Hmm..." Everybody turned to Rirandiriel. "And nobody seems to mind that our friend here started... hearing voices?"

"Things like this happen to him on a regular basis." Erica assured him. "You do not need to concern yourself with him being possessed or insane. Trust me. If he says that his armor is speaking - that means that his armor is speaking."

"Fine." Elf was still unsure of whether believe Val's story or not. But priestess was sure of him, and priestesses never lie.

"Don't you understand what this means?" Chiffery landed on a bench beside the elf. "It's a contact! There is a Vireneese civilization out there that uses the flows of chaos to transfer data! The same civilization that made Val's armor!" She was excited beyond belief. "If we could send a signal into chaos itself we would be able to communicate with them!"

"Or attract demons." Ri was quick to find flaws in any plan.

"Yeah ... ." Chi frowned, but then quickly regained her good mood and hugged the unsuspecting elf from behind. "Out there!" She waved her hand at the beautiful sky. "Is the source of the signal! I have triangulated it - one of the moons still has a working artifact that resonates with my machine! This is the discovery of a lifetime!" She continued to hug him. The elf tried to resist, but it was obvious that he is doing it only to show his general unappreciation of the orcesse's excitement.

Val smiled looking at them.

"He is really dense isn't he?" Asked Erica.

"More than you know. Look at her left cheek."

"What about it?" Erica had little knowledge of orcish culture.

"Her makeup is incomplete. The glyph on her left cheek shows her social status. In its current state it means that she is "In pursuit." Guess who is the target of her 'hunt?"

Erica looked at the clueless elf and smiled widely.

o--(==========-

Val sat at the bench near the campfire. He persuaded his friends that even without any sign of danger, camping without a watch is just asking for trouble. He volunteered to be the first - he was still poking around the new abilities of his armor.

[What is the update status?]

[Yes, please]

His armor buzzed, bringing up a helmet.

This words were not spoken, but instead appeared in front of him.

Then a list of changes started to scroll down at such speed, so all the lines dissolved into a blur.

[Stop scrolling. How many changes there are?]

[Way too many huh? Alright, any major features?]

<5386 major updates detected.>

[How many are compatible with my armor?]

<Checking for compatibility...

Warning! Hardware status: outdated.

Warning! Hardware incompatibility detected.

Hardware update status: unavailable.

Thaumic compatibility: 67%

Arcane compatibility: 89%

Warning! Vireny arcane compatibility may vary.

Powerline compatibility: 100%

Peripheral compatibility... 34%.

Compatible hardware detected: Spellsinger MK3 pistol.

Compatible hardware detected: HeavenSplitter sword, modification C.

Compatible hardware detected: Panzir default sheath module.

Compatible hardware detected: Panzir default control gauge module L.

Unknown hardware detected, determining compatibility:

Type: Shotgun.

Determining enchantment...

Enchantment determined. Type: Impact.

Classification...

Compatible hardware detected: Impact Shotgun.

Compatibility check complete.

1201 update is fully compatible.

768 update is partially compatible.

3417 update is incompatible due to outdated hardware. Please update your hardware at the nearest Legion outpost.>

['Legion'? What is a 'legion?']

[How do I do that?]

[You are lucky it didn't ban you from using armor. I bet it can do that too.]

[Do I have access to the Panzir manual?]

A text of the manual appeared before his eyes. He read through the main part quickly - most of it he already knew from his own experience. He concentrated his attention on the new features, the meaning of which he did not understood, like "Reeve Module sheathing", "Linking break", "Terminal Directive" and "Blink Prediction".

[Blink prediction? What the hell is that?]

[Ugh... Okay, very useful.]

[There are some monsters that can hypnotize or even turn you to stone if you look'em in the eye. I guess this can be used against them.]

[Alright, lets try it the other way. What are the most used features of the Panzir?]

<Kinetic power enhancement. Amplifies physical power output. Unavailable.

Thruster module. Allows jet-powered flight. Unavailable.

Wing module. Allows enhanced flight control. Unavailable.

Reeve Module sheathing enhancement. Allows usage of folded space to store weapons, ammunition and peripheral modules, thereby negating their weight and mass. Available.

Advanced Tactical Analysis engine. Allows CPU-aided tactical support and limited movement assistance in critical situations. Available...>

[Alright. Enough for now. Reeve sheathing looks promising. Can you activate it now?]

With a buzzing sound Val's weapons dissipated the same way his armor usually did.

[Hey! How do I bring them back?!]

Val pointed his arm forward.

[Spellsinger!]

A weapon appeared at his hand in an instant.

[Cool!]

Val could have sworn he heard a sarcasm in a machines voice.

[Heh. Armor with an attitude. I like it.]

[After the update is finished enable all available features.]

o--(==========-

Hours passed by in a flash. Even though Val was occupied, he still noticed that Ri woke up. The elf sat at the bench across campfire, looking at him.

"You're up early." Val looked him in the eyes.

The elf remained silent.

After several minutes of the staring game the arcanist asked: "Why did you became a fiendmaster? Was the usual arcane magic not enough?"

"I never asked for this." Val shrugged. "What do you know about reincarnation?"

"Old theory that dead people can be born again without memory of their previous life. A fairy tale for those who can't believe that death is final." Elf snickered.

"Your information is outdated. That theory has been proved. And I am a proof. I was born as a fiendmaster - completely with a demon, a seal and a safeguard."

"A safeguard?" Ri interrupted.

"An ancient fiendmaster's technique. If one of my demons takes over, my soul along with every demon will be instantly sent into a spiral of reincarnation. And no demon wants that, because for them it is certain death. They still can try though. That's why Erica is perfectly fine with being around me."

"I don't get how that proves anything. How do you know that is true?"

"I'm getting to it. I was born with a demon, because in my previous life I died while trying to seal him. Ral is a FiendLord - one of the most powerful demon types that exist. He managed to survive the spiral of reincarnation that erases memory, but he still hasn't got through completely scot-free. He had lost some memories of his own, and the unfinished seal bound us together. He could speak with me for as long as I can remember. When I was little I thought he was my imaginary friend, when I grew up and read some books on psychology, I thought that he was some quirk of my subconsciousness, noticing things that I would miss and giving me ideas and solutions I wouldn't think of. The fact that most of his suggestions were helpful proved that theory of mine, until I'd met a real demon and accidentally sealed it. I saw his seal, saw him and realized who he really was. He helps me because we are still bound, and if I die we will go through the spiral again together, which will make him lose more of his memory. Also I guess he finds my life amusing and does not want the show to end too early. Well, that's my story."

"Thats a lot to take in ... . Why haven't I heard about the whole "reincarnation is confirmed" thing? I'm sure media would have been hyped about it for several weeks."

"That's the exact reason. Scientists, the guys who do the actual work detest journalism. Yellow papers are ready to distort and overblow anything you throw at them, and that can really hinder the progress of actual research. We were barely able to calm things down after Erica published her works on advanced thaumic-arcane interaction. That was a hell of a two weeks." Val smiled, remembering their hectic attempts at avoiding attention.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to trade places." Val got off his bench, heading to the tent.

[What's the download status?]

As soon as Val's head reached the pillow, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

o--(==========-

Chi's device determined that the epicenter of magical emanations was located about eighty miles away from the rift. They have been driving there since morning, but their speed was hindered by uneven terrain. They had to drive around some hills and find their way across several chasms, Ri's magic was really helpful in that.

As they went up another hill, a gorgeous view opened below them. A small city, nearly completely intact, seemingly untouched by time. The group erupted into cheers and laughed. They knew they had struck gold after Val received a transmission yesterday, but they never expected to find a settlement in such perfect shape. The last time any rift explorers had such luck was Aquarius - a city entirely submerged in water, filled with grimoirs and technology. It was found three decades ago and scientists still hadn't discovered half the data it could hold.

Most of the buildings were two to three stories high, constructed of gray or red stone, with the occasional dilapidated state of a building that succumbed to the tides of time. Three landmarks stood up over the landscape. One was a black obelisk in the center of the city, it's purpose was unrecognizable at this distance. The second one looked pretty much like a Divinity's cathedral, but it's roof had unusual for such a building, the shape of the dome with a weird figure on top. It looked like a head of a trident, facing downwards, with a cross where its shaft should be. The third building was a palace of some sort. It was surrounded by huge statues, though their features were hard to discern from where group stood.

The van stopped at the entrance to the town. It welcomed the expedition with the empty eyes of windowless windows. The sight of desolation, while the structures were left intact, was eerily unsettling.

"The emanations go from the obelisk and palace, but I get a strange readings from cathedral as well." Chi started to brief the team. "So, we have to decide where should we go first."

"Maybe flip a coin?" Val smiled.

"Nope. We have three targets and coin has only two sides." Chi raised a brow at him.

"Well, it has an edge as well. I wonder if gamblers luck had worn off." He chuckled.

"Won't that defeat the purpose of flipping a coin ?"

Ri raised his hand. "Maybe we should go back and get the Bureau to send a full-fledged team here? This is huge discovery and I'm sure we will miss an awful lot of useful stuff if we do it all by ourselves."

Chi wanted to argue, but Erica held her hand in the air. "I agree." That earned her a surprised gasp and a questioning look from orcesse. "I never intended for it to be a large scale expedition and wanted to call for Bureau as soon as we found anything worth researching. However, seeing it as a great opportunity for our group to establish itself as pioneers of this world, we should gather what we can before we head home. I suggest exploring the three buildings we noticed and at least trying to find the source of Val's signal. This expedition is already a success and we will all receive a revenue for discovery."

"I suggest going to the temple first, since our leader is a priestess and all that." Val bowed to Erica, making her smile.

o--(==========-

They looked into some of the buildings on the way to the temple, but all they found were piles of dust and rusting pieces of what used to be metal. Time showed no mercy.

"I noticed something." Said Rirandiriel, leaning to the wall of what used to be a house. He stayed like that for several minutes, shushing his companions not to interrupt him. "I can hear it moving. The flow is slow, but it is certainly there." He pushed back from the wall. "This city is sustained by powerful magic. It runs through everything you see. Its flow is subtle and nearly unnoticeable. This is amazing… ." The elf sighed. "Whoever built it, he built it to stand here for aeons. And it did. Everything this people used, everything they had, just crumbled and faded away, leaving no trace, and yet this city still stands. And it will continue to stand for billions of years." He traced his hand along the wall, as if it was alive, then parted with a another loud sigh.

The temple... No, the Temple, with a big "T", towered above them. It was much larger than they thought, seeing it from the distance. It was built in shape of a cross, the same as Divinity's temples, with a giant pillar holding each end of it. These pillars still had remains of ornaments and fragments of pictures and bas reliefs on them, but most of it was far above ground level. The outside walls were blank and simple gray stone. There was no way to tell whether it was built like that, or the result of age.

The entrance had three huge doorways, one in the middle at least thirty feet tall, above it were three round windows, placed to shape a triangle. The other two were placed much lower - not higher than twelve feet. The window above the right one was shaped like two intersecting circles. The similar window of the left doorway had shape of a square.

Chiffery tapped the side of her headgear, activating a camera. They needed to document as much of their presence here as possible.

Val looked at the priestess. "Which doorway should we enter? I think it may have some significance, what do you say?".

"Even if it had, it was lost a long time ago." Said the priestess walking into the middle entrance. As soon as her feet touched the floor behind the doorway she stopped. Val noticed her tension.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I... I think I can sense a Divinity's presence here." She turned to her followers. Her voice trembling. "When Divinity is talking to the priest, we can sense its presence. It is also present in at least one of the temples at any given time. Here... The presence is... It is different. It is not the Divinity I know, it is something else. It is weak and distant, but it was here for a very long time. I'm sorry, you will have to wait for me." She turned away and kneeled, entering a praying stance.

After several minutes she stood up. "It is... it is dead. What could have possibly kill a god... ?"

"Death of the world." Val hugged her tightly from behind.

Erica turned around in his embrace and buried her face in his chest. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I have felt it, Val. I have felt it's sorrow. It's loneliness. It can't leave this place. It became a prisoner here. For eternity… ." They stood like that for a while, Val gently stroking her head. Seeing her tears was causing him physical pain. He felt an ache in his chest, as he felt empathy for Erica, shedding her tears for this unfortunate Deity, trapped and alone in this world.

[You are hopeless, aren't you? Couldn't you find a different woman to fall in love with?]

[Sorry, but my heart does not take orders. Besides, how can I not love her? She was always there for me, even if I didn't ask her. She was always looking out for me. She cared.]

[She is a priestess. That is her nature.]

[Yes — But still … .]

In the dark room, lit only by a large screen the large demon sighed loudly. [You are beyond help.]

[I do not need any.]

Finally, Erica pushed herself from Val's grasp. "I'm alright, thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it’s just — it was not my emotions that overwhelmed me. It was it’s — Or rather hers. I'm fine now. Let's get going."

Chiffery felt quite uneasy. "Is it okay for us to be in the temple of a dead god? Is it not going to curse us if we do something wrong?"

"Don't worry, it was not that kind of a god." Erica assured her.

"Or maybe it totally was." Val pointed in the direction opposite of entrance. On the wall was a grim emblem, representing a skull, and what seemed to be two scythes behind it. Blades of the scythes were forming a circle around the skull.

Val couldn't hold a gasp of surprise. Above the emblem was a stained glass, which was preserved in a pristine shape, unlike windows in the city. It was covered in dust though, but a female figure was still recognizable on it. Val invoked his magic, making a carefully controlled gust of wind blow on the glass. The temple filled with dust. The group started to cough violently, covering their eyes.

"Sorry." Val formed another wind, a stronger one, making it blow all the dust outside.

"You should be more careful with your magic! You could have damaged it!" Rirandiriel snapped.

"I do not need your advice, thank-you-very-much." Said Val, turning to the glass. What he saw there made his jaw drop and cleared his brain of any thoughts. The stained glass had still preserved it's color, uneven glow of many moons made it shift a bit every second, creating an illusion of movement and life. It depicted three women, standing side by side. All of them had red skin and a pristine white hair.

"They worshiped... Silverheads?" Ri asked, looking at Val, but young man was too mesmerized to notice. He walked up to the glass. "This is ancient vireneese ... . I think I can read it." He walked to the middle image. A young Vireny woman, not older than twenty seven - thirty (Editor's note: That translates to human as 19-20). She looked a bit sad and concerned, with a gentle smile of hope. An optical illusion made it so her gaze will always catch a viewer's eye. "A kind death, a gentle Darkness. Shea-La, Princess of the Dead." The field behind woman was golden and ground below ash-gray. Perhaps it had a heraldic meaning. Val shifted his gaze to the left glass.

A girl about 20 years old (human 14-15), smiling widely, standing on the flying red dragon. She looked to the left, onward to the target of the dragon's flight. One foot was on its head, but it didn't seem to mind. Her short white hair were flared by the wind. Behind her back were two sabers, resembling elvish ones in design. The field was light-blue, obviously representing the sky. This glass looked more like a cover for an adventure fiction book than an iconic image. "A fierce flame, absolute freedom, Life without limits. Qyori, the Dragon Princess." Val touched the stained glass, and immediately jumped away, holding his right hand. The glass burned him, as if he put his hand into a campfire.

"I guess that is clear enough that we should not touch anything in this temple." Noted Erica, tending to Val's burn.

"But maybe … ." She walked to the picture and carefully touched it. Nothing happened. "Ri, try to touch it."

"Mmm... Okay... I'm not sure it's a good idea though." He looked at Val that was still holding his right arm, the burn was healed, but the pain wasn't gone completely. He gulped, and touched the image. And again, nothing happened. Chi smiled and put her hand beside Ri's.

[I wonder if that is because of all the demons you contain? Gods and demons are natural enemies.]

[Well, if you say so.]

"So I guess this restriction applies only to Vireny." Concluded Erica.

"Or fiendmasters. Ral enlightened me that gods do not like demons, and I have several with me." Val shrugged

"Whatever the reason, please be careful, Val." Said Erica, looking into his eyes.

"Don't worry, I will." Val assured her. However something made him unsure whether he would be able to keep his word.

He looked on the right stained glass. It depicted a mature Vireny woman with in a simple dress akin to the priestess' one. She was holding a half-bloomed flower. Her hands emitted a dim yellow glow. There was no border between glow and the rest of an image. Green field transitioned into the glow, combined with uneven flickering moonlight created an effect, that the flower was constantly washed over by waves of yellow energy flow. "A binding light, that gives power. A soothing song and inner peace. Alesta, Princess of the Reborn."

"Life, death and rebirth. I think they represent the cycle of soul's existence. But the order is strange, it is usually the oldest god that represents death … ." Erica rubbed her chin, looking at the middle image. Something didn't felt right, but she couldn't quite grasp that feel.

"Hey! Just look at this!" Chiffery's shout was going from one of temple's side wings. Erica and Val rushed to her. There, in the corner alcove at the end of the wing was a large statue, covered in armor.

"That's — oh, by divinity!" Erica couldn't hold her surprise. The statue depicted a man in exact copy of Val's armor. Behind him stood a dragon. Both dragon and statue were made of the same metal Val's armor was. The wind Val conjured earlier blew away some of the dust that was covering the ensemble. Val walked closer to wipe dust off the tablet below the statue. "Meister, god of chains and bonds. Keeper of the order. Shelest the Steel Dragoness, goddess of technology. Keeper of Justice."

"This means that — this civilization is the same one that had once colonized Fluss! They had means of trans-world travel!" Erica clapped her hands in joy.

"Or they had used rifts the same way we do." Val was quick to find an alternative.

"There was only one constant rift in Fluss, and it leads to Ter-as-Nihil." The priestess countered.

Such exchanges were frequent between them. ‘Truth is forged in the argument’ - such was the gnomish saying. These two often proved it right.

"What makes me wonder is why is it that these two are gods, but the life-death-rebirth ones are "princesses"? That makes little sense." Erica was confused.

"Beats me. Maybe because these are "keepers" of something and those three just represent a cycle without any actual duties? Like a princesses." Rirandiriel walked from behind. "Come, there another two statues in the left wing."

They were about to move, when Val suddenly put his hand in the air. "Hold it! Don't move, don't make a sound. I think I heard something moving."

Following his command, his full armor formed around him.

[Scan for ALL targets!]

[External hardware? What the … .]

A sound of metal clashing against metal came from behind statue. Val tensed, looking into the darkness.

[Impact shotgun!]

A weapon appeared in his hand at the same moment, as something leaped at him with a clang. It was slim like a snake. Following his reflexes, Val pulled the trigger, blasting whatever it was away. A short chain impacted the wall, leaving a crater behind. It fell to the ground and shook it's end, like a snake shakes it's head. Then it attacked again. Val's shotgun was recharging and regular buckshot had no effect on this thing. As soon as chain touched his armor, it disappeared with a buzz.

"What was that thing? Are you hurt?" Erica ran to his aid.

"It's nothing. I've just received an unexpected upgrade. Wait a second - I'll try to figure this thing out."

[What is a Meister's Chain?]

<Chain Weapons: Can be used for climbing, transportation, binding, chain magic and indirect object manipulation. Can stretch up to 200 meters and hold a weight up to 900 kilograms. Can manipulate objects up to 120 kilogram. Can be used as a short to medium range counter-demonic weapon.

Meister's Chain: A piece of chain that belonged to Meister himself. It has limited self-awareness. It has the holy blessing of Meister. It makes the wielder resistant to any form of binding/restricting effects. Can choose it's own wielder.>

[Looks like a holy artifact. You are incredibly lucky.]

[Work of a Gambler's Luck blessing?]

[Why ask me? I'm a demon - I do not know jack about blessings.]

[Anyway, lets try it out.]

"I'm going to try something, go several meters away and stand still - I don't know what it will do."

[Chain!]

A chain made of the same material as his armor appeared right from his right arm. It didn't seem to be attached to his body, or exit it - it's first link appeared gradually, from being transparent at the base where it met his palm to completely solid just an inch away. Val grabbed the other end of the chain and pulled. To his surprise he didn't feel any resistance - with a clang several more links formed in the middle of the chain, making it longer.

[Alright. It said that chain can stretch up to hundred of meters. So how the hell do I use it!?]

Val stretched his hand upwards, trying to reduce the possibility of harming his friends or destroying the surrounding environment. He tried to think of a command to give. Suddenly chain shifted up on its own, then in a fraction of a second it launched itself to the ceiling, stretching all the way, then retracted with a cling, pulling Val alongside. Only superior reflexes saved Val's skull from being smashed against the ceiling. He managed to regroup on his way up to go feet-first into the Temple's roof. Val could bet he heard bones of his legs cracking on the impact. It hurt like hell, but his armor's vital display told him that thankfully, his legs were still alright.

[Never. Do. That. Again.]

Val felt a — connection? He felt distant emotions that were not his, they were sent to him. Shame, regret and apology.

[What was that? Is that you?] Val looked at the chain.

Agreement. Ready to serve. Ready to protect. Friends?

[Friends, friends. Now get me down.]

Agreement. Too many words. Simpler. Just wish.

[Just a wish, hmm? Makes sense. Having to voice your command during battle is way too slow. Lets try it out.]

Following his will chain began to make new links, lowering him to the floor.

Val looked at his friends and smiled. "Looks like I found myself a new toy."

"You're a living artifact magnet, Val." Erica commented. "Everywhere we go, you manage to find something for yourself."

"Wrong. I never found anything worth taking with me in Symphony."

"That’s an exception that proves the rule."

Val sighed and disabled his new — friend? Was this artifact actually alive? The armor said it had limited self-awareness, but how limited was it? The young man decided to deal with it later.

In the opposite wing of the Temple they found another two statues. One was of a young girl with short hair. Behind her forelock was a third eye. "Ezrestas, the Fallen Lord, Mistress of Magic. Keeper of Knowledge." Val translated again.

The second statue represented a young man with a splash of liquid at his feet. His ears were pointy, but had a different form than elvish or vireneese. "Randark, God of Blood and Ritual. Keeper of the Family."

In about the hour they spent in the Temple, the team had found several sealed entrances which led underground and one collapsed secret passage. They had no resources for the excavation, so they had decided to leave it to Bureau. Their next destination was a spire-like obelisk in the middle of the city.

On their way there Rirandiriel decided to theorize on what they saw.

"The text in the temple was Vireneese, plus three of their deities are silverheads. I think this world may belong to the pre-exodus period Vireny. If documented tales about strength of ancient Vireny wizards are true, then that would explain the magic that sustained this city. So far Vireny conclaves were the only ones to breach the border of the worlds at will."

"Yeah, except that none of their actual gods are Vireny. That Meister guy had a beard and 'stache, and that girl, Ezrestas had three eyes. They were not Vireny." Val countered.

Erica decided to add her input. "Randark's ears were much more pointy than Vireneese. Probably an elf of some kind. How many different elf-kin were there before the exodus of your people, Ri? I've never been very knowledgable on elvish history."

"Four. Only one survived. Syrriel, Snow elves kept mostly to themselves - they decided that The Forest would not get them. They realized their mistake too late. Drowael, Mountain elves... We were never able to find a trace — they just disappeared. Maybe they found a rift and fled same way we did. Kyniel, Wood elves — they lived in the forest and fell the first victims of it. We, Lytriel, lived in the cities and managed to hold our ground for some time, then we were saved by a rift and the united forces of Human and Vireny. That Randark's ear shape was closer to a Kyniel, but still not quite. I'd say he was a mix of kyniel and something else, but I doubt someone would worship a half-blood."

"Elven prejudice in a nutshell." Val shrugged. "They worshiped deities of at least five different kind: a Vireny silverheads, a human (probably), a dragoness, a three-eyed-something and an elvish-looking someone. Either they were not prejudiced against any race, or different races worshiped their own god. That one is unlikely though, since every deity governs different things. Anyway, no point in guesswork now, we better leave that thing for the Bureau historians. They get paid for that."

They proceeded in silence. Val was deep in his own thoughts. He could not get his mind off of those three silverheads. The middle one, Shea-la invoked a weird emotion in him. A feeling of... familiarity. But he could swear he had never seen her before, or ever heard that name.

o--(==========-

An obelisk stood tall in the middle of a large square. From a distance it was indistinguishable from black, but up close it was clear that it is made of dark blue stone. It had a triangular shape with one side about twenty feet long. Upon entering the square whole team immediately felt a strong magical output coming from it. Strangely enough, all of the emanations were contained within the square without leaking or affecting the city. Val felt the flow of energy coming to his hair. In a matter of seconds his reserves were filled to the brim. He invoked a wristguard and checked the charge. The energy of his armor, depleted by yesterday’s connection and update was recharging at an incredible speed.

Chiffery stopped the van and rushed to her equipment. Ri just stood in place, looking at the obelisk, his eyes smoking white. "I can't believe it! Mielorn field — this thing generates a Mielorn field!"

"Okay, what's a Mielorn field?" Chi asked. Ri didn't answer. He started to slowly walk around the obelisk, carefully studying its surface.

"Mielorn is a sacred elven tree. They didn't survive the Elven Exodus, and that was quite a hit for their culture. They were said to be highly magical and even sentient." Erica looked at the arcanist walking around the obelisk Mielorn field is an arcane term. We can not feel a thing, since we are not an arcanists." Erica started to draw a small arcane circle in the dust. Four symbols in the circle that represented Fire, Earth, Frost and Energy started to glow. "Hmm... That's strange... It doesn't just feed the energy as a refilling artifact would. The field makes it circulate in the outline, as if it was a natural source."

"In a sense, it is a natural source." Rirandiriel answered, putting his hand at the side of the obelisk. He touched it with his forehead, concentrating. After about a minute he stumbled back, landing on his butt and panting heavily.

"I couldn't connect to it. There is something out there that is blocking it. I didn't pry further for the risk of it becoming aggressive." Ri concluded, after catching his breath. Interaction with the obelisk was more taxing than he had anticipated. "By the way - there is a tablet with Vireneese writing on the other side."

The tablet Ri was talking about was lying on a pedestal made of the same dark-blue stone as the obelisk.

Val started to translate it. "Those who selflessly sacrificed their very being to save us all from fate worse than death shall never be forgotten. May their names be preserved in this stone, till the end of eternity.

Mythrael the Awakened

Chrysaimer Andromalus

Alvenheim Starcrusher

Rayelin Godslayer

Helica Engelguard

Balor Deucrux

Ralnthastar Farseer

Nga Hmey N'heng

Dei-Zimmer D'Elden

Timmofarer Lightning

Ebishi Blackhole."

"Wait... Dei-Zimmer? Is "Zimmer" a common name among your kind?" Ri asked.

"Well, not generally. We try to make our family names unique and having same means direct descendance. Besides, this "Zimmer" seems to be part of a first name, so I guess it's just a coincidence."

Chi flashed her headcam to get a high-res shots of the tablet then returned to her machine. "I'll try and get as much data on that field as I can. By the way, it regenerates Van’s energy tanks, so we can use this place to refuel and extend our being here."

The study Chi has conducted returned some results in a matter of few hours. She managed to find out that the energy is not contained within the square - it simply goes underground through special sinks and then flows into the city, preserving its state. However that much energy is way too much for such task, so it would seem that this energy feeds other devices or spells. They have to be located deep underground though, not to interfere with the surface spell. The team decided to drop it for now and head towards the last landmark - a palace.

o--(==========-

As they got close to the palace Rirandiriel started to feel the flows of magic shifting towards it. He wanted to warn his friends about it, but then found out it was unnecessary. A beam of white light, dim at first, but getting brighter every minute shot out of the palace straight into one of the moons. It was clear by now that their presence at the obelisk has activated it, and it started to power whatever it was made for. They were wrong about their destination - it was not a palace, but a magical artifact of unknown purpose.

"I do not feel any danger." Erica assured her friends. "Whatever that is, it is, I do not think it was meant for causing death or destruction. Should we proceed or stop now and return? I think we should vote on that one. I do not want to take any unnecessary risks you did not agree to take."

The only one that felt they need to stop now was Ri. He didn't see the point in messing with stuff they could not comprehend, and suggested that they had enough on their plate already to make them rich and famous, as explorers of a new, extremely perspective rift, so they should leave the rest to professionals.

"Come on! Where is your lust for adventure!" Was Chi's reaction. "I'd rather work in the calm of my laboratory - my adventure quota for today is full. I nearly freaked out when that thing jumped at Val in the Temple." He sighed. "I will have to go with you however, since its not like I have any choice. Besides," He looked Chi in the eyes, "Someone has to look after you, else you'll manage to find a trouble where there is none, once again."

Chi blushed heavily, then in the spur of the moment pulled the elf in for a kiss. His eyes sent wide, as their tongues met. He simply forgot to resist, and soon enough he was not sure he ever needed to. This discovery both surprised and confused him. Up until now he had never thought that their relationship would someday evolve to this point. The orcesse broke the kiss and whispered "Thank you for taking care of me" in his ear, leaving him dumbfounded. It took him about a minute to gather his scattered thoughts. Somehow he understood that this was the turning point in his life. He got a hold on himself, then weighed all the options he had. Not that much, traditions be damned. He looked up to meet Chi's eyes, and couldn't hold his smile.

Then he pulled her in a more passionate kiss. "Let's save all the serious talk for the evening, shall we?" He pushed away and started to walk to the van. "We have an adventure waiting for us! Let's go!" It was quite unusual for his former self. He was a different man now. He had made a decision.

o--(==========-

The structure they were going into was clearly associated with a military. Around the "palace" stood tall statues of a warriors of many races, some of them unknown. People with the faces of cats, dogs and lizards, an elven-like beings with sharp fangs and many more. They wore armors and weapons of different kind and each of them was unique. Several had the same armor as Val, and were depicted with chains either around them or in their hands.

The column of light shone brightly, dimming the light of the moons. The interior of the strange structure consisted solely of the pillars and a large metal circle in the middle, that was the base of the light column they saw from far away.

The circle and the floor around it were engraved with mystic symbols, ornaments and glyphs that were pulsating with a dim blue light.

"So that's where all the energy from the obelisk goes. It's a giant thaumaturgic device — I can discern certain patterns and combinations from here. Better not to step on it — until we know what is its purpose." Said Erica.

"Are you sure you can do it? It looks incredibly complex." Rirandiriel’s doubt was obvious.

"Don't underestimate her, friend. She is the best expert on advanced thaumaturgy that I know. Even if the Bureau were to try and decipher it on their own, they still would have called her to do it." Val chuckled. While he was not new to thaumaturgy, he was more practician than theorist.

Erica made a trip to the van and returned with a bulky photo camera. "Can you fly this over the schemes and take a shots? I'll try to figure it out right here, but if I don't manage to do it an a day we will return home and I would have something to work with. Besides it beats having to run around it." She asked Ri. "Try not to fly into a light - we do not know what will it do to the camera".

He obliged, and soon was using his telekinesis to fly camera around at Erica's command. After half an hour the whole thaumic scheme was photographed and catalogued. Erica brought her laptop and were busy dividing the whole scheme into a discernible circuits.

While she was busy, Val and the others set up a camp near the entrance. The elf and orcesse were sitting talking quietly. Chi smiled, and Val could swear he saw something in Ri's eyes when he looked at her that was not there before.

Eventually Val decided to help Erica to his limited abilities. They sat together side by side with laptops — Val has borrowed Chi's — comparing the pieces and looking for symbols which purpose they already knew. After several hours Ral decided to raise his voice.

[I think I know what that is. It's an elevator. To the sky.]

[And I think you are messing with me. Why would anyone build such a thing?]

[How about "moonwalking"? Look where this light goes.]

Val looked up, then gently tapped Erica's shoulder. "Eri, look up there." She adjourned her work and looked upwards, to the point where the beam of light met with one of the moons. Her eyes lit up, as she began to hectically browse through images until she found a collage depicting the scheme as a whole.

"I'm an idiot," She groaned astonished. "How could I not notice that?"

"No, you are brilliant, and don't you dare convince me otherwise. Now show me what you found. Ral told me something ridiculous."

"If he said that this is a gravity elevator, then he was right. Look here and here." She pointed at the corners of the scheme. "It's the same outlines as in the gravity traps we found at the Symphony. I could not get the meaning of surrounding glyphs, but now I realize that they look like a heavily modified version of a force stabilization. They were probable meant to stabilize not the force of impact, but the gravity itself. The rest of the scheme may be used to control the energy input, allowing control of the lifting process!"

Val stood up and looked at the merry couple of his new friends. "Hey, people! How about a romantic picnic on the moon!?" The elf and orcesse jumped at the sound of his voice, Ri's face flushed red.

"That is too dangerous! We do not know if the mechanism is still fully intact!" Erica objected.

"Well, I think there is only one way to find out! I will go ahead and see what happens. I have a way of negating a fall, should this thing start malfunctioning in midair." Val lifted his hand upwards, sending out a chain. In a matter of a second he was sixty feet above the ground, on a roof of a building. "Don't worry, I've done this many times!" With that, he simply jumped down to his astonished friends. But instead of hitting the ground as it would be expected he stopped midair, hovering several feet above it for a brink of a second. Then the gravity defying magic ended and he landed as if nothing happened.

"I learned to use a "Dash" spell in all directions, including upwards, a while ago. The distance of the fall shouldn't matter for it - I will be able to slow myself down and land no matter the height."

Erica exhaled heavily, after holding her breath entire time. "Don't do that again please, or at least warn me."

"Sorry, it won’t happen again." Val sensed a tiny sting of guilt. He regretted making her worry more than was necessary.

"That was awesome!" Chi hopped next to him.

"Awesome is my second name." He caught a glimpse of Ri's face. "Occupied is the first. I'm not going to steal my friend’s girlfriend." He chuckled.

Erica returned with a small earpiece. "Here. Document everything you see. Getting video feed at this distances would be much harder, so we will use a thaumic resonator to receive vocal transmissions from you." She started to draw symbols on the piece of cardboard, making an enchantment.

When the preparations were finished Val stood before the column of light. Nothing happened when he stepped on it, but it was not supposed to. It took Erica several minutes to find a control scheme, and now Ri was waiting for his signal to activate it. As he nodded to him, Ri followed Erica's instructions and directed a flow of his magic into it, giving a mental command to lift up. A metal disc began to float upwards, towards the yellow moon.

o--(==========-

Deep below the Moonbridge City...

<System reactivation: complete. Polygon status: inactive. Warning! Shield tension level rising.

Activating Polygon systems... polygon systems active. Outerworld demonic activity: grade D. Looking for available slayers... Slayer signature found at: Moonbridge platform one. Establishing connection … .>

o--(==========-

"Everything is fine, don't worry!" Val tried to reassure his friends. The platform he was standing on had just turned over. Up and down had switched and now the moon was below him, while the city - directly above. Contrary to their worries there was oxygen here, so Val turned off his helmet and enjoyed the view. Suddenly his armor emitted a soft buzz. A thin line of a helmet's display appeared in front of his eye like a visor.

"A new feature? Neat." Val mumbled to himself."

Val had no Idea what that meant and what should he do about this "maintenance", so he decided to ignore this at the moment. Soon enough the platform embedded itself in the floor of the reception point on the moon. The place looked exactly the same as on the planets surface. The air was nice and the gravity was about twice as low, probably maintained by the magic of the place. Val looked outside of the building. Surface of the moon was radiating a warm yellow light. In the distance far away Val could discern an honest-to-goodness bridge, connecting this moon to another, green one.

"Do you read me? One, two, three." Val said in the air.

"Loud and clear. Everything works fine" Erica's voice came out of his earpiece. "Describe your surroundings."

"Alright. I'm standing at the reception point. It's pretty much the same as on your side. I don't think this moon has more than ten miles in diameter. They are actually pretty low. I see a bridge in the distance, it seems to connect to another moon. Also the moon itself is glowing. But there is no signs of radioactivity, or excess magical output."

Val kneeled and put a braid of his hair to the ground. Immediately, he felt strong magical current flowing into him.

"I'm wrong. This glow is magical. This whole moon is condensed magic! It just does not escape its surface. This is — I do not know what to say. This could mean the end to our energy crisis! If only we could find a way to transport all this power to our world … ."

Val turned around and found out that the building was not in fact exactly the same as on the planet.

"This reception point is different. There is a wall surrounding some sort of a city district. There is no entrance here, so I guess it is inside the palace on this side."

He found the entrance to the closed zone at the opposite side of reception building — it appeared to be a checkpoint of some sort.

He opened the door only to be greeted with a long hall made of white marble. There were benches on the side made from the same materials and remains of unknown mechanisms. He described some of them to Erica for the record and proceeded further. At the end of the hall there were large gates made of metal. As he approached, they began to slide, opening a square room with the same gate at the end.

<Polygon Level is: Grade D. Your estimated level is: Grade C. Access to polygon granted.

Last polygon maintenance was performed: 6327 years 173 days ago. Immediate maintenance is advised.>

Val froze in place. Six thousand years ago there were people here. Six thousand years ago an event called "Calamity" happened.

"Erica — " His voice was shaking. "My armor has connected to the systems of this place. I know how long ago it was abandoned. Sixty three centuries ago. The same time demons invaded our world." He gulped. "I'm going to look further."

"Val, I think that's enough exploration for today, head back, we are going home." She waited a bit before adding. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Val breathed in and out, calming himself. "Don't worry. Nothing bad is going to happen. This world is abandoned and the local machinery perceive me as their rightful user, thanks to my armor." He assured her.

He stepped into the room which appeared to be a transition point. The gate behind him began to close and the ceiling started to lit up.

[And how the hell am I supposed to do that? I do not even know what should I maintain.]

[Looks like this thing does not care much. I guess we will have to go with the flow.]

As the front gates opened, Val was greeted with the sight of a city district, akin to the ones in the city far above him. Except this one had clear signs of fighting on it. Scorched walls, covered with holes and bullet marks. Crumbled buildings and roads broken with chasms and craters of explosions. Some of the chasms looked more like a giant claw marks. The sight was familiar to him, and he didn't like it one bit.

A realization struck Val. "This place looks like a military training ground back home." He looked around checking his surroundings. "There are buildings and ruins of all sorts and configurations. I think this is why it is called a "polygon". They were training to fight demons on the streets of a city here." He looked again at the big footprint before him. "And these insane maniacs used real demons to do it."

o--(==========-

A female voice came from above. Val looked up and noticed that the sky got covered with some sort of a shield. In that instance he felt a subtle demonic presence.

"This mechanism is still working! And it just summoned a demon. You were right, we should get back home. Start packing up now and wait for me — I'll try to make it quick." He said into a microphone.

"A demon? But — Wait a moment — Chi's Chaosmapper shows no sign of demons — It is capable of doing that too." Erica's reply came muffled with a background static.

"I can sense it. Or rather them — this place has a counter-demonic shield so it probably prevents you from detecting them."

He cut off the dialogue, as three humanoid figures came running at him down the street. Some lesser demons. They could have been mistaken for a Vireny from afar, due to their red skin and dark hair, if not for the fact that they had blades for their hands. They did not pose any threat to a slayer though.

Val summoned his pistol, Spellsinger, switched it to fireblast and lined up the first shot. The head of the middle demon exploded, but even after that, the thing still was alive, trying to crawl towards him. Val frowned. He switched to iceblast. The next shot encased legs of a running monster in ice, sticking it to the ground. Confused at being tripped over, and breaking its legs, it started to howl trying to claw the ice away.

Meanwhile a third demon reached his target and began flailing its arms at Val. The slayer smirked and took out his sword. He parried the next swing with the side of his sword, stepping in and slashing upwards, slicing the monster’s arm and shoulder off. The thing did not even flinch, and continued to try and hit him.

[They are not the lowest class. They are too resilient.]

He dodged another attack and slashed the monster in half. After a moment, the demon’s body lit up and incinerated, turning to ash in an instant. Val severed the link that bound the demon’s immaterial being to its body, and consumed its power, destroying it. He looked at the two demons that were still trying to make their way towards him. Their bonds were powerful enough to keep them going even after severe injuries ... . A feat of a semi-sentient demons akin to the Torturer, rarely exhibited by such pathetic beings like these.

Val walked to the demon that was still struggling with ice. Its attempts to fight were cut off along with his arms. Val looked at the blades, while being below him tried to bite through his armored shoe.

[The base of this blades is made of bone, but the edge is metallic. What the hell is that, Ral?]

[Shit.]

[What!?]

[These guys follow a higher demon. It had enough sentience to improve his minions.]

[A demon-officer? Here? If that was true I'd had a whole wave coming at me right now.]

[You may just have.]

[Lets hope you wrong.]

[They say that hope dies last. Be careful.]

Val finished off two demons, consuming their power and restoring his own. The road and ground here were isolated from the moons surface, so it did not emanate energy.

The demonic presence Val sensed did not change, which was unusual. If more demons arrived, it should grow, if not — then it should have faded with disposal of these three. Suddenly the slayer felt something. He concentrated on the feeling and realized that the ground was trembling a bit. With haste, he used magical dash, sending himself backwards. Several snake-like beings emerged from the ground on the place he just stood. They screeched, and burrowed themselves again before Val could make a shot. Slayer cursed and summoned an Impact Shotgun. He concentrated on his feet, ready to dash again. He evaded these demons once more, but this time he did not hesitate to shoot, shredding their heads with accelerated buckshot.

Two snakes coming from the sides took him by surprise. He shot, following his reflexes, sending one snake into a wall. The impact splattered it all over, painting a grim image on the wall. The second snake tried to bite him, but instead of a shoulder it was aiming at, its jump was met by a blade, that sliced it in half.

Val felt something hit his feet. The sight of a "stone snake" jaws coming right from the stones, biting on his foot made him cringe. "My boots? Again?" Angered, he lifted his foot, bringing the monsters head up from the stone, then sent a surge of magic down his leg, stomping with force. The impact shattered demons skull and left several cracks in the road. Val looked at the damage done and cursed again. That bitch actually managed to make a dent in his armor with its strong jaws.

Distant howls broke the silence. A howl very familiar to him.

Val looked behind his first seal with an inner sight. [Hey, Hound? How would you look at a little hunt, my boy? Feel ready to play with your brethren?] For some weird reason The Hound found most joy in fighting the same feral monsters like itself. Doing so brought it pleasure, to feel that under Val's command it gained strength to outpower even the most ferocious of its "untamed" brethren.

o--(==========-

Down below, or rather above — it is all in the point of view — the battle field, Erica was looking at the yellow moon, worried. She held an enchanted cardboard close to her chest. The last words she heard from her dear friend were curses, then sounds of fight followed. She tried to reach him, but he did not respond.

On the moon, Val cursed again. The Hound really outdid itself this time. He had to disable his armor, to let it assume the form it wanted. Phantasmic flesh outlined a silhouette around him. A silhouette of a monster The Hound became. A transparent blue ear, coming from his own made his earpiece to fall in the middle of a battle. The look on these monsters faces was totally worth it though.

When Val got surrounded by a pack of a large black wolf-like beings, their alpha, a bigger and bulkier one stepped into the circle, challenging Val with a loud roar. Val smirked and released his control over the Hound. The phantasmal beast emerged from him, enveloping the man in a blue glow. His body floated in the air inside Hound's phantasmal form. Normally, releasing a demon like this would be an insanity. However, Val trusted The Hound completely. The first time it was released, Val was knocked off unconscious, and the Hound protected him, fighting off demons until he regained his senses. His safeguard didn't reacted, which meant that the Hound decided not to take control over him, when it had the chance. Since then Val released it on numerous occasions, always with devastating result.

The Hound opened its maw, but instead of a bestial roar, as was usual for beings like Hound, it released a loud, unnaturally high-pitched demonic scream, which often managed to shake even demons. The alpha-wolf stumbled back, its ears flattened and head low to the ground. It just realized that they caught prey they could not have hoped to swallow, or rather hope that it would not swallow them. Its hopes were crushed as the Hound pounced at it, aiming for the throat.

What followed would be better described as a "wild hunt". Witnessing a quick demise of their alpha, the pack quickly scattered around the district, trying to get as far away from the raging monster as possible. The Hound pursued, hunted and played with its prey, often using walls of the buildings as another plane of movement - an ability these fiends lacked. After about thirty minutes of chases, assaults and ambushes, demonic pack was finished. Exhausted but happy, Hound retreated behind its seal for a well deserved rest.

[This guy surely knows how to unwind, eh?]

[Totally agree.] Val himself did enjoy being a savage hunter every once in a while. He considered the feeling of freedom, power and the joy of the hunt The Hound shared with him to be his greatest gains from their unity. It allowed him to release all his built up aggression in the most effective way possible.

Val returned to the square where initial transformation happened to pick up his earphone.

"Erica, do you hear me?"

"Val! What in the name of Divinity happened?! We heard fighting and then you went silent for half an hour! I — We thought we lost you!"

"Calm down, please. It was just an unexpected demon hunt. You need to get ready for departure though. Demons keep arriving through the breach," Val interrupted, listening to the sound of heavy footsteps. Whatever it was, it was big. "Disable the elevator and go on without me. I'll catch up to you later."

"What? If we turn the elevator off, how — Oh no. No, no, no, you are not going to do what I think … ." Erica's voice gave away her panic.

"That is exactly what I am going to do. The demons this thing has thrown at me got stronger each time. Right now there is something big, and worst of all — I can not sense it. I do not know even if it is alone or not. If this continues, I'll slow them down for you, and when you reach the rift, I am going to use "dash" and go skydiving. Moon will give me enough energy to lift off, and the spell I was working on will negate the landing impact. I can not allow these demons to follow me to the surface - since we are the only living beings in this world, they all will chase us and I am not sure if I'll be able to keep us safe in this case. You have to turn the elevator off. Trust me."

Val cut dialogue off abruptly, as the wall behind him started to shake from hits. He dashed away from it in time not to be crushed, when it fell revealing a demon he never seen before.

It was a chimeric abomination, a centaur that resembled a large feline at its base, but had a demonic torso where its head should have been. Its head was adorned with large curved horns, and in its hands — only reflex and sheer luck helped Val to escape a hail of bullets. He quickly dashed away to take cover behind a wall which was left of a crumbled building.

[Since when do demons use freaking guns!?]

[I told you they have a commander! Wait a moment — Take a peek on it real quick. If I am right, we are fucked. Pray to Divinity that I'm not.]

Val obliged, but when he tried to look around corner, the wall above him got shredded to tiny bits, so he had to take cover again. He managed to notice one detail though.

[Is its chaingun merged with its body?]

[...]

[Ral! Answer to me!]

[... We are screwed. This is a cybernoid. Remember that metal on the claws of a humanoid-thing? It was created that way.]

[Alright, what is a cybernoid and why do you think these things are bad?]

[First — run away and take cover. This wall won't hold long — I'll tell you on our way.]

o--(==========-

[Cybernoids are mechanical demons. They can merge with anything from swords to guns, vehicles and sometimes even buildings. The worst part is that they can infect your own weapons mid-fight, so you better not wave that pistol around, unless you want it to turn into a snake that will bite your hand off. You could beat it with magic of one of us, but that is not all. We are in deep shit because you can not feel other demons while they are clearly there. That is a dampening field that is produced by Hivemind, comprised by the Cybernoid Unity. And at the center of the Hivemind is usually a CyberLord. He sees everything his minions see. He already knows we are here.]

[How powerful is this Lord, and what can we do against him?]

[... Do against him? Do you know the difference in power between Archdemon and a Slavemaster? Tothumikatum is an Arch. Torturer can be considered a slavemaster, though that’s stretching a bit. Lord will overpower Archdemon the same way Arch will overpower a slavemaster. Demonlords are nothing short of demonic Gods.]

[Lords? I thought you were a fiendlord? Does that mean you were a god?]

Val could hear demon chuckling inside his mind.

[If only. Fiends were created by demon nobles. Fiendlord is just a pale imitation of a true power. Those like me are very limited in abilities. While I have only my eyes and demonic magic, true Lord can draw strength from his minions in the time of need, gaining all of their abilities and powers. And he can command them as a whole, leading them to battle.]

If Ral was to be believed, things were looking pretty grim. It took several minutes of thinking for Val to find a solution. [We are not coming back. I’ll try to stay and hold these things off as long as I can.]

[... Very well. I'm sure this Lord will try to meet with you in person. When he does — You know where to find me. Always wanted to fight one of them, but never got a chance. Damn subordination.]

[In your dreams. Once I am dead, then maybe … .]

Val noticed that a Chain he completely forgot about manifested itself. It was trembling and pulling him. Suddenly, young man found himself in a shadow of — something. He looked up to see a glimpse of another chimera jumping at him from above, when Chain managed to pull him out of the alley by attaching itself to a building on the opposite side. Clever artifact detached itself before the impact, sending its owner on the roof of a building.

From here Val could see that it was not the same monster he was hiding from. If he was to fight them, he had to disable one of them, or at least damage its weapon.

Demonslayer began to cast a spell.

[Torturer!]

[BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD! KILL KILL KILL!]

Val cringed, suppressing the urge to throw himself into battle right away. Torturer's eagerness for fighting never ceased.

Seeing two demons reunite at the square below him, Val decided to take action and released the spell. "ICE BARRAGE!". A shiny blue orb appeared above one of the demons and started to send icy spikes at it with incredible rate. Unlike "blizzard" or "comet" spells, these spikes did not break on contact, shifting and molding across the area, encasing their target into a frozen shell.

The second demon opened fire immediately after a trigger shout, blasting part of buildings roof to bits, but Val had already taken off, holding two huge phantasmal hands before him to take at least part of the bullets. His armor could take quite a lot of punishment, but it was far from indestructible.

Jumping, he increased his upward speed with a 'dash' and went over the demons head with a somersault. On his way, Torturers hand’s grabbed the monsters horns and, using the momentum of the spin, ripped its head off. The thing was still alive, so Val quickly stuck his blade into its back and put his hand in the wound. "Yok fego!". With an incinerating spell, the demonic flesh took only a couple of seconds to turn into ash.

Val looked at his first foe. The 'Ice Barrage' spell did its job and now monster was looking more like an icecube exhibit from a museum. Val placed his hand on its surface and pressed in his fingers. With a twist of hand the spell took into its second phase, crushing the monster inside into a bloody pulp. Blood streamed through the cracks in the shells surface like fountains, covering everything around it.

[Well, that does it. Now my armor is covered in blood from head to toe. Happy now?] Val asked his demon with a frown.

In the innerscape Torturer shrugged and departed beyond his seal with a grim smile.

A sound of pawsteps attracted Val's attention, so he turned around to find that there was a third chimera, but this one was running away from him. An instinct of self-preservation in a demon? That was something new.

o--(==========-

[Gateway breach, polygon compromise — Shit. That sounded disturbing. Do you think this means that demons may get out of here if we don’t do anything?] Val was uneasy, suspecting that there is a chance he would fail no matter what he did.

[Your guess is as good as mine. We better prepare for a worst-case scenario. The thing is neither of us knows how to deal with that "gateway breach" or even where and what the hell that "gateway" is.] Ral decided not to reassure him.

While they had a silent conversation another demon appeared in the distance. It had a humanoid form and unlike many demons that walked around naked (not that they had anything to cover) this one was wearing a cape and a gray robes. In its hands was something resembling a rifle. Val quickly took cover in the alley and leaned over the corner.

The demon walked towards him without a hurry, as if it was on a stroll.

"Huh? Whats wrong with this guy … ."

[Take cover now!]

Val ducked away to find that the piece of a wall where his head would've been has just disappeared, as if it was carved out in shape of a sphere.

[Run away! Questions later, just run and hide. Keep cover between you and this thing at all times, or you're dead!]

[Alright, what this all about?] Asked Val while running down the alley. [My armor … .]

[Your armor doesn't stand a chance against raw disintegration!] Ral interrupted.

[Disintegration? That guy didn't carry a power plant to charge his gun.]

[I said 'raw disintegration'. It's simpler and much cheaper, and in theory less devastating … . Key word is 'theory'. While it does not destroy things on molecular level, it still disrupts molecular binding, turning stuff into dust. You have no way to protect yourself against it.]

[That is unless I find a material shield to take a first hit.]

[... That may actually work. You need plenty of distance between you and your shield or you might get into a blast radius.]

Val managed to run pretty far at this point, but to he still was able to hear demons footsteps. Either the thing decided to cut a stroll and pursue him the usual way, or it was walking faster than Val was running. Young man rushed behind next building and began preparing a spell. When footsteps echoed in the alley, indicating that monster was close now, Val jumped out of his hiding spot and put his hand to the ground. "Earthpulse!" chunks of earth and concrete bursted up from the ground between him and his target, covering him from sight. Val rushed forward through the cloud of debris, when the boulder before him disappeared, leaving a spherical clearing. Val shot his shotgun right through the clearing created by his enemy, blasting away his upper half.

[Well, that was easy — What the … .]

Remains of the demon began to float up and reassemble back. In just a second a humanoid figure stood before him. It could be mistaken for a real human if not for the complete absence of facial features. The face of a monster was completely clean.

[Shit. Run as fast as you can!] Val could feel Ral's panic not only in his voice, but through their link as well, which was very unusual.

[This is a Faceless Hunter! They can regenerate from almost any state, even burning this thing to ashes or tearing it with plasma won't help.]

[How do I kill it then?!]

[Thats the trick! I do not know! They were using scythes as a weapon of choice in my time though. Cybernoids seem to love their hunters high-tech.]

[Alright. Theory time. Does it has blood flowing in it, and will it die if I tear out its energy source?]

[Yes, and of course, as every demon does. Do you think it will just stand there and allow you to do that?]

[No, but I may have a plan. I need to get to higher ground.]

Val settled on a roof of a nine-story building. It was the highest one in this block of a district, so this Hunter won't be able to attack him from above. There he set up another trap based on an earth magic, so it would throw several large pieces of a wall at whatever comes to the roof. He then folded back his gauntlets and carefully cut his fingers, allowing blood to flow down his palm. Following his will, blood formed two short blades, that played a crucial role in his plan.

The Hunter decided to take a shortcut through the floor, surprising young man. Val nearly got his face disintegrated, but he managed to dash away from that almost point-blank shot. The trap worked, and now it was Hunter that had to dodge flying blocks of concrete. Val took an opportunity to attack, and managed to catch The Hunter off guard, striking his hand right through its chest. A rather unique spell he read once allowed wizard to instantly gather energy from a foes blood, but to do that their bloods should've "flown together" as was said in that book. It also used up quite a lot of his own blood, so careless usage may have killed him as well.

o--(==========-

Faceless Hunter or whatever it was, did not recover from this blow, so Val guessed it was over. He was tired though, partially from a loss of blood. He looked up to the planet above him. At least Erica and friends were safe … .

o--(==========-

"Well shit. Looks like we finally had it this time..."

[No kidding.]

Before Val stood a large demon, the kind of he never seen before. It was vaguely humanoid, but it had no skin. Instead it had bare muscles made of metal. Long metallic tendrils were growing from its back. It was using them as a transportation, which made him look like a giant spider with a body of an android. Behind it a dozen of faceless hunters were standing.

"Well, what do we have here? A pesky demonslayer decided to awake us from our sleep? At first I though to leave you up to my children, but now — I am going to savour you myself." Its voice was synthesized and cracking like an old voice module.

Demonlord emanated so much power, Val could feel its pressure on his shoulders. It was bringing him down, forcing him to stand on his knee before the monster, and Val hated it even more for that. Forcing all of his will, Val managed to stand up to look this being in its eyes. If he was going to go down, he might as well do it with music.

"Savour this, bitch!"

[Tothumikatum! Folgora!]

[Right this way!]

[Coming to you, sugar!]

Val directed a blow of the raw elemental powers right in the face of a demon, making it stumble. Monsters behind him immediately turned to frozen statues, unable to resist the power of the King of Frozen Dead.

Blizzard mixed with a thunderstorm followed him, as he ran away down the street. Everything around him was turning to ice and got scorched by lightning bolts. The demon did not gave chase though. Instead it simply appeared before Val, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him off the ground.

"Did you really think you can run away? Now do not move and allow me to gather you! Or, you can move as much as you want - you will only make it more painful for yourself. Your choice."

o--(==========-

On the planet below them, Erica stood, unable to take her eyes from the sky. They were waiting at the rift for some time now. Her eyes shot wide open, and she was unable to hold a scream of terror, as a yellow moon, that once was connected to this world by a ray of light, has disappeared in a flash, taking Valianir Zimmer away from this reality.

o--(==========-

Val slowly came to his senses, but wondered if he is still dreaming. Above him soared remains of the city. The buildings and pieces of the road were floating in random directions, rotating around and colliding soundlessly.

"Much good it will do me..."

[Welcome back to the world of the living. However short your being here would be.]

[Where exactly are we?]

Val slowly stood up and looked around. He was standing at what appeared to be a wall. He walked to its edge and looked down. Below him was a perfect example of an asteroid field, as portrayed by space-fiction magazines. Everything that was left of the moon. The sky was dark orange, and there was no sign of a planet.

[I guess we have been brought to Chaos. A place beyond places.]

[You sound sad. There is no way out of here, isn't it?]

[No. Unless you are a demon of course, then you could have tried and break into one of the material worlds. I guess it is time for me to say "good bye". It was a fun ride, but as everything there is, it came to an end. Pity. Maybe I will live after you die, maybe I don't. Maybe we will be reborn together again, or maybe chaos will claim our souls. Maybe this CyberLord will find a way to bring me back and torture me 'till the rest of eternity.]

[Why would he do that and where the hell is he? Why isn't he coming for us if he is here too?]

[He is here. Just lost his physical form and is very angry because of that. As to why, that is not a question for a demon. A question is: why not? Cybernoids never liked us, fiends. Also, look up.]

Val obliged and saw a chimera flying between debris. Apparently it was the one that ran away before. It was flailing its paws furiously, but without any effect. Soon, the flesh on one of its paws started to dissipate into a red mist, torn apart by the energies of chaos. Soon chimera disappeared, leaving a red cloud behind.

[That is the fate of all materia that comes here. Materia is a form of order, and no order can exist in chaos.]

[How about demons? Even immaterial, a consciousness is a form of order too.]

[We were like this once, I remember the times. But then we changed, adapted. We let our minds flow in all directions at once and remain connected at the same time. That was long ago.]

Several minutes passed in silence. Val was staring upward, looking at the surrealistic landscape above him, trying to contemplate the fact that this would be the last thing he will see.

[Looks like there is no rest for the wicked. That son of a dick tried to invade your consciousness just now. You should get away from here, or else you will be possessed!]

"What does it matter now?" Val asked in a monotonous indifferent voice.

[Listen! The state you are in is unnatural! Pull your shit together and knock it off! If this bitch possesses you, he can get your imprint, and assume your form next time he will enter material realm! He could get a tool to infiltrating some world, maybe even yours!]

Val's hand stretched up up its own. A chain shot out of it towards a rock high above him, then it contracted, sending young man up at ludicrous speed.

"Whaaaaaa!!!... the hell?!" Val shouted, as his body shot right through the "asteroid field" of rock and debris. The chain didn't listen to him, shooting again and again, sending him further. Val felt no pressure, as if there was no acceleration at all. Finally, they stopped above the remains of one of polygons squares.

Val brought hand with a chain to his face. "Thank you. You managed to save me again, if only for a twenty minutes."

Suddenly, a loud sound broke the silence of this place. Val looked down to see half of the square disappear in the rift that opened in the middle of it. Somehow young man understood, that beyond this rift there was no world. Only nothingness. He looked around, and realized that the end might be even closer than he thought. A pitch-black rifts of many sizes were opening all around, swallowing matter. Val looked at the chain in his hands, and decided to fight until the end, simply out of spite.

He began to sling it to the large pieces of rock, navigating between them . Several times he managed to evade rifts that were opening right on his way, but all luck comes to an end. One small rift opened right before him, making a clean slice through his stomach. The wound was not deep, to Val's surprise, but with part of his armor gone he had no protection against the streams of chaos. He held hand to his stomach, trying to keep his guts inside.

"Resurrection, huh? Now — Goodbye, Ral. It was — fun — knowing you..."

His consciousness began to slip away, but the tugging of a chain on his left arm held him on this side. He looked at it. "Go away — Let me rest … .". But the chain did not listened to him. It tugged him once more, then shot somewhere far away. After several seconds it began to pull. The force was getting stronger, and finally Val saw its destination. One of the rifts was not entirely black, but more dark, like a night. The chain attached itself to a something beyond it.

He was going faster and faster, the gravity of another world taking hold on him. "Oh, the Divinity — This is going to hurt!"

o--(==( x x )===-

He was swimming in nothingness. Nothing material ever was here... At least not now … .

… In the beginning, there was a smile!

"What?"

-===( x x )==)--o

He felt pummeling into the ground, breaking several of his ribs. With a great effort he managed to turn on his back, and stared into the night sky.

"Well, at least I will die the usual way in the regular place."

He could see branches of a tree to the side above him. The sky was filled with much more stars than his homeworld, and a single, big white moon was shining, casting shadows. The stars shimmered and blinked. For a moment Val thought he saw them moving and shifting a bit, outlining a silhouette of a giant bear.

"It is a beautiful night. Too bad I won't see the dawn … ."

[Wait what? When did it manage to recharge?]

[Probably has something to do with ambient magic field. Your hair were pumping magic like crazy. Oh shit... I'm losing conne... ou... ind … .]

[Ral? Ral?!]

"I have a bad feeling about this!"

And then the forest around him exploded.

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-

LEVEL 1: A wonderful night to die

///LEVEL 1: A wonderful night to die///

Twilight stepped back to enjoy the view of a work well done. Neat row of shelves, every book on its place. Reshelving done right, Twilight smiled and nodded to herself. She looked out of the window. It was beginning to get dark out there. How much faster she would do the same if Spike was here?

Spike... Twilight smiled again at the memory of her number one assistant. Despite him writing letters every week, she still felt lonely in the empty library. How long has it been? She sat down behind the table with a cup of tea and started to remember.

o--(==========-

Six month ago she woke up early in the morning to the smell of coffee coming from below. Spike didn't like coffee, often blaming it for the bags under Twilight's eyes. It had to be somepony else, and she went down the stairs to investigate.

Behind a table sat a dragon with a steaming cup of hot black liquid. It was definitely Spike — purple scales and green spine were dead give away, but right now he was taller than her, even while sitting on the floor, and much different in stature. His shoulders became broad, his spikes thinned, and now there were two curved horns on his head, growing back from his forehead.

"Spike! Did you had a growth-spurt again?" She hoped that he learned his lesson last time and would not repeat same mistake again.

"Twilight, this is not what you think … ." The dragon tried to turn around, but not being used to his new size he nearly knocked the table over. Realizing his mistake he stopped and carefully stood up.

"And what, pray tell, is it then?" The lavender mare walked to the dragon. He was towering above her, almost two feet taller than she were.

"I do not know! I didn't do anything. I just woke up today and was already like this." Spike waved his hands to emphasize his point. "And when I went to sleep yesterday, I was the usual me." The young dragon was clearly as confused with the situation as she did.

"Alright, please calm down and let us sit and think this through. What were you doing yesterday?" Twilight went to the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee. Apparently, Spike made enough for both of them.

"Well, you know the first half of the day — I was with you, nothing interesting happened. After you finished with your research you said that I could have a free time, so I went to Rarity's to help her out. I was there until the evening and then I came home, had dinner and went to sleep, that’s it."

"Hmm … ." Twilight sipped from a cup and rubbed her chin. "This can not be all. Try to remember everything in detail."

Spike looked down into his cup, deep in thought. Twilight had a suspicion that he was not telling her everything. She might knew the reason for his sudden transformation, but decided not to give herself any hopes before confirmation. She waited for his response.

"I don't know Twilight … ." The dragon sighed. "You know how I'm usually fast asleep, right?" Twilight nodded. He was a baby dragon ... Well, at least before. She made sure he followed his regime and went to bed in time, and he was usually fast asleep after he get to his bed. She had to admit, being her assistant may be exhausting sometimes.

"Well, yesterday I was unable to sleep for some time. I was thinking about — stuff … ." His cheeks turned red, further confirming Twilights suspicion. She decided to lure it out of him. "Spike, what were you thinking about? This might be important!"

"You see … ." He sighed. "Okay, yesterday I heard Rarity speaking to one of her customers about, you know — stallions. I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, they were just speaking so loud. They talked about different things they liked and did not like, and that made me think — Maybe I should stop simply dreaming about her, and trying to get her attention? That won’t get me further than being just her friend — Maybe I should try to become somepony she could be actually interested in, but — I tried to think last night what can make her interested in me, what do I have to offer her?" He sighed, and drank the whole cup of coffee in one go, then looked at Twilight. "And I could not find anything."

Twilight gulped, swallowing a knot that formed in her throat while her friend spoke. She walked to him and said quietly. "I think I know what happened to you, Spike. You grew up."

"Like I haven't noticed." The dragon chuckled. Looking at her from above was an unusual experience for him.

"I did not mean just that." Twilight smiled. She stood on her hindlegs and touched his forehead. "You grew up here." She moved her hoof to his chest, where his heart was. "And here. You are not a baby dragon anymore, Spike!" She tried to suppress tears that were formed from an emotions that overflowed her. "Does that means I am an adult now?" He was clearly surprised. "No, not yet. You are adolescent." Spike noticed a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong Twilight?" She wiped the tear away and smiled at him again. "Nothing is wrong." Then she pulled him in for a tight hug. "I am just so happy — dragons live for thousands of years. Ponies hardly know anything about your kind." She pulled away from him. "I was afraid you could stay a baby dragon for the rest of my life. I was afraid to never see you grow up, and now," she wiped away another tear, "it actually happened!"

She looked up to his face, when she noticed something. His horns were glowing faintly with a dim green light. She looked back at the cup he was holding. A mad idea just went to her mind.

"Spike, put that cup away. Do not ask, just do."

Spike looked at her, confused by strange demands, but still obliged, setting his cup on the table. With a flick of her magic, Twilight pushed the cup a bit further, just out of his reach, when he was turning back to her. She felt enthusiasm of the explorer.

"Now, Spike. Try to pick it up again without looking at it. Do not turn around."

The dragon shrugged and bent his arm back, trying to get a grasp on a cup that was not there. His horns glowed green for a split of a second. "Here." He handed the cup to her. "What was that all about?"

"Spike, do you realize what you just did?"

He looked at his hand. "Picked up an empty cup?"

Twilight laughed. "You used magic, Spike! I pushed the cup away out of your reach, but you picked it up anyway! You subconsciously levitated it to yourself!"

"I did?" He looked at her dumbfoundedly.

o--(==========-

For the rest of the day, they were experimenting with his new found ability. Spike proved to be quite a fast learner. In the evening he already could freely levitate two small-sized items at once.

"I know what I should do now." He told her at the end of an exciting day. "I should apply for the Canterlot Academy For The Gifted Unicorns".

"Spike, I can teach you the same things, here, at home!", the unicorn argued.

"Of course you can Twilight, but say, between a dragon with magical talent nopony knows about and a graduate with a diploma of a most respected academy in Equestria, even if he is a dragon, who will an employer choose?" She opened her mouth only to found out that she can not find the right argument against that.

"But that would mean you will leave … ." She muttered.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize... I was thinking only about my self, and completely forgot about you. I am so selfish, aren't I? I'm sorry, of course I will stay … ."

"No." She put her hoof on his mouth. "It is alright. You are completely right. You should go to Canterlot and learn magic the proper way, besides," she winked at him, "every student in the academy earns a title of lesser noble at the end, as representative of Canterlots elite. They also teach arts, poetry, etiquette and everything else you need to know to be a proper gentlecolt there. I will ask Princess Celestia to smooth things up with your entrance exam. Ponies in the committee can be quite — traditional. This will allow you to participate on equal ground with anypony else."

Spike’s idea began to sound better and better to him, but he was still worried about Twilight, and promised her to write letters every week.

After two days of preparations, early morning, Spike was standing at the platform of Ponyville train station. He smiled, as the photographer took a picture of him and six mares that were standing around him.

"I will send you the photo as soon as it is ready." Twilight assured him.

Spike nodded, and hugged her tightly. All the words they could say to each other, they have said already in the past hour. Spike knew, it would be hard to let go of his old life, of his best friend, but knowing is one thing, and actually experiencing it is completely different.

The train whistled, signaling that there was not much time left to departing.

"Take care of ya'self out there, pardner. Don't let those snooty Canterlot ponies step over ya!" Said Applejack sticking out her hoof.

"Will do, AJ. Will do." Spike answered, shaking it.

"Umm... be sure to eat well. Since you’re grown up now, you'll need eat more, but make sure your food is healthy. If that's okay with you... I mean." Said Fluttershy.

Spike nodded and smiled, as pegasus hid behind her mane again. She was not used to his new size and was a little bit more shy than usual.

"About food! I brought you these super-delicious cupcakes, my special recipe, to make your road sweeter! They will surely make you smile! Eat them and remember us, but don't keep them as a memento, because if you eat them later they won't make you smile, but rather make you do other things you don't want to do, so make sure you eat them!" Pinkie blurted in one go, handing him a bag of cupcakes.

Rainbow Dash never had a knack for this ‘mushy stuff’, as she used to say about herself, so she simply wished him luck and tapped him on the shoulder.

Rarity trotted to Spike, stood on her hindegs and draped a scarf over his neck. It was white and blue, with a diamond knitted on it. "To keep you warm in a cold mountain air. And to look absolutely smashing of course."

"Thank you, Rarity." He turned to the other girls. "Thank you, all of you."

He walked to the train and stepped in the door, then turned around and looked at them once again. "Rarity, I promise that I will do everything I can to become somepony you may fall in love with!". The doors closed, and train began to move, carrying him away to the new chapter of his life.

On the platform Rarity stood flustered, her cheeks bright red. "He was really serious about it, was not he?"

"More than you think so." Twilight confirmed with a chuckle. "Beware, Rarity. Next time you see him, he would no longer be 'Spike', but 'Sir Spike the Heartbreaker'". Everypony laughed, but Twilight noticed that Rarity's laugh was a bit... forced.

She found her own feelings to be strange and new. She felt a weird mix of sadness about Spike's leave, happiness that he finally found his own way in life and a sense of pride that she was able to help him along. She wondered if those were the same feelings her parents felt for her once? She never considered herself to be Spike’s parent, despite hatching him and caring about him all his life, he was more like a little brother to her.

o--(==========-

Twilight smiled, looking at the photograph they took back there. Beside it stood another one, that Spike sent her with one of his letters. Thanks to his time with her he already knew quite a lot about magic. And so he was able to master the year program in just three month. On that photo he was standing in a robe of a second year student.

Twilight sighed and put a photograph back on a shelf. It was already dark outside. She looked out of the window, and noticed a flash of light far away in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Curious, she looked harder, and her eyes widened as she saw a column of light rising against the dark sky. In a moment, the column dissipated, then came a strange sound, as if someone hit a drum. She felt a surge of magic coming from Everfree, it lasted less than a second, but that was enough for her to understand that she never felt anything like this.

In a hurry, she picked her saddlebag, a map of Everfree, a lantern and a notebook with a pencil. Sleep could wait, when there was an unknown phenomena at hand … .

o--(==========-

[Oww, shit. About time I started hallucinating.]

Val caught a glimpse of it, whatever it was with his peripheral eyesight.He was completely powerless. He couldn't even move a finger, all the energy he had came rushing out of him with an explosion that cleared the forest around him. Now everything he had left was staring at the beautiful sky above him. Several times he thought he saw the stars shifting, forming a different figures.

Feeling as his strength leaves him, he muttered. "What a beautiful night to die... ."

o--(==========-

Twilight noticed that the air itself started to feel different for some reason. The usual smells of the forest were dulled, replaced by... She concentrated for a bit, remembering, when did she smelled something similar. And she remembered a closed wing of the Canterlot Library for some reason. A smell of the air that did not circulate for centuries. Intrigued by this revelation she continued onward towards a clearing in the woods, and stopped at the edge.

This clearing was unnatural! It was more resembling a crater of an explosion, but the trees around it were not bend, but damaged by magic that cut part of them clean off. In the crater there were no signs of any remaining vegetation, probably destroyed too by the strange phenomena.

Twilight channeled a bit of her magic, trying to get a feeling of the magical flows inside the crater. She cringed. There was nothing. It felt like something simply burned away all the magic in a certain radius, taking along whatever was around it. She never heard about anything like that, but whatever it was, it had passed, and now the hole in the magical field was slowly filled down again by the wild magic of Everfree.

She poked into the area with a stick, but nothing happened to it, and the magic flowed as usual again, so Twilight assumed that it was okay to go there and investigate everything first-hand. She walked into the clearing and gasped. In the very middle of it lied something.

It was a creature akin to a minotaur, but different in its physique. It had the same legs and almost the same hands, but its shoulders were not as broad, and its muzzle looked flat, completely different from anything she ever read about. It appeared to her that the creature was wearing clothes, much more than ponies or minotaurs ever did, it was covering most of its body, save for the hands and its face. It had no fur on either, and its mane was long and white, stained by dirt and... blood? As she slowly walked closer to it, trying not to make a sound, she heard it mutter, "What a beautiful night to die."

It could speak! It spoke Equestrian! Wait... To die? The lavender unicorn looked at the creature, there was a small puddle of blood around it. Panic gripped her, she was not the one to let anypony simply die in front of her, not if she had any say in it. She hurried to the being, trying to remember every healing spell she knew. Turned out she didn't knew much of them. One for small bruises, which clearly was not the case here. The other one for healing a flu, not this one either. She reached the being and looked at the damage. In its stomach was a searing wound, covered by its hand. It obviously tried to stop or at least slow down the bleeding, but obviously did not succeed. She carefully lifted its hand off to see the extent of a damage and gasped.

It looked like something just took away a clean slice of it, removing part of its guts along. Twilight barely resisted the urge to vomit. She had no time for this, she had to help it somehow. Finally, she remembered the spell she needed. A spell to heal the wounds and mend bones back to normal. It was a complex one, but the mare never was the one to give up easily. She looked at creatures face and saw that its eyes were open, and it looked right at her. The eyes were as strange as everything about this being. They had no whites, only irises that were glowing gold yellow, and vertical pupils, like the ones of a cat.

Shrugging it off, Twilight focused at the task at hoof and began to cast her spell … .

o--(==========-

Val felt something touch his left hand and lifting it of his wound. Opening his eyes proved to be a hard task, but he managed. It was a horsey-thing from before, but this time it was up close, so he could actually see it. It was hard to make out the color in the dark, but he could swear it was purple, and it had a horn on its head. Its horn glowed with a faint purple light, revealing its features. The head of this thing was nothing like a horses though. It had large eyes that were facing forward, much shorter and pointy muzzle and very thin lips. Now that it was up close Val could say that it was probably two times shorter than he was. Way too small for any equine he knew. Then he noticed a saddlebag on its back. It meant that something around this parts had intelligence. Enough to domesticate the thing. Maybe gnomes or tashti, Val couldn't think of any other race that would be comfortable riding something as small.

Then he looked back at its head. It was staring right back at him, and in its eyes Val could see intelligence and determination. Perhaps he was wrong about this being being domesticated. It was its own owner it would seem. But what was it trying to do? It looked back at his wound and its horn began to glow brighter.

He felt a familiar sensation of his tissue growing back together and ribs shifting in his chest, realigning themselves. Painful — It was healing him? But how — ?

Then he felt something else. A strong flow of unfamiliar energy entered him, washing away the pain … .

Suddenly, he felt The Hound’s seal shifting. He rushed in his innerscape, but it was too late. The seal was shifting and twisting before his eyes, and in a matter of seconds it was broken, releasing the beast and destroying the sealspace that was holding it. The Hound stood before him, unsure of what to do now. It was irritated at the disappearance of its forest, and could not understand what did its alpha want from it right now. It let out a low growl.

[What the flying fuck?! Ral! What the hell is going on!]

The demon did not answered. Afraid of what could happen, Val rushed to the next seal. The current materialized here as a flow of water that was slowly flowing into The Torturer's chamber. The seal began to crack.

"No! No-no-no-no-no!" Val tried to reassemble the seal, to force the water away with his will and to reform the lines, but every time he did it, the water came back, washing it off. Eventually the seal started to glow and exploded, sending Val to the depth of his innerscape where he never was before. The current grabbed him, and pulled him further away. In the distance he could hear the demonic scream.

[Free!]

o--(==========-

A drop of sweat dripped from Twilight's forehead. She rarely exerted that much magic for such a long time. The being before her was twitching and writhing in pain, despite the fact that the spell had an anesthetic effect in it. She felt sorry for the poor creature, but there was nothing else she could do at the moment. It took her over twenty minutes to finish channeling the spell. Exhausted, she fell on her haunches.

The being held its arm up and tried to reach her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. The creature stopped convulsing, so she guessed that pain was caused by the process of healing, though she wasn't sure. Its life was in no danger anymore.

Suddenly, creatures arm shot upwards and grabbed her horn."Food!" It said with a low growling voice. Twilight tried to get away, but she felt that her powers both magical and physical were leaving her. Still holding her horn the being stood up, and Twilight realized that she had no means of stopping it now, without her magic.

"I am not food! Let me go!" She screamed, trying to buck it, but her strength was weakening really fast. That creature, that monster! It drained her!

The monster brought her to his face by a horn. Twilight stared into its eyes, unable to look away. It smiled with a wicked grin, revealing a set of sharp teeth and canines. Her forelegs gave away from terror. The monster was going to eat her. Twilight tried to turn away as it started to sniff her, but the monsters grip held her horn tight.

"Delicious fear!" It sniffed again. "Delicious blood!" It pulled her up, making her wince in pain, as she was held by her horn with her forelegs several inches away from the ground. "Virgin blood! I shall make the perfect mix of suffering and despair! And meat! And more suffering!"

Twilight's lips trembled, tears of fear were flowing down her cheeks. She was so terrified she couldn't think straight. "Please don't eat me! Please, I don't want to die!". She prayed to the Princesses for a miracle that would save her from this monster, but her prayers were in vain.

The creature released her and she slumped to the ground, unable to move. The touch of this monster drained her dry. It walked around her and she heard a sound of cloth. She felt its hands gripping her rear with relentless force and pulling it up.

This could not be — what did this creature want with her!? "No! Please, no!" She cried, but it did not listen. She felt something brushing against her private area. Was that it? Would her first time be with a monster that would soon eat her?

It entered her in one go, taking her virginity. She tried to scream from pain and terror, but all she could manage was a quiet cry. The monster leaned forward to her ear. "Cry! Cry and fear!" It grabbed her head and forced her to turn and look into its eyes. It leaned further and licked her cheek, tasting her tears. "Delicious! We had just began brewing the mix and it's already good!".

Twilight's mouth opened, as the creature pulled back while still holding her head, and pushed right back in with a force, making her flank bounce. She was powerless to stop it, her magic refused to answer her. Everything she could do now is cry and wait for the end, or a miracle … .

o--(==========-

[What is that mongrel doing?! Who does he think he is? A fucking incubus?!]

[Well, Toth, I don't see the reason for the rage. At least you are not getting flooded like I am.]

The pipe coming from one of the machines near Ral's seal bursted out and now was filling his room with a smoking gray liquid. He did not knew what did it meant for Val's brain and hesitated experimenting on what it might do to him. So he took a gamepad and climbed on top of the couch. The liquid did not reach him yet, but looking at this rate it was not for long.

[Also note that he is a slavemaster, and as one he can gain strength from suffering of others. I think he is trying to gain as much power as he can, using the resources available. Did you ever got a virgin as a sacrifice?]

[I had no worshipers! All I've got I took myself!]

[Well, virgins are the most delicious meal, let me tell you. Well, at least he is enjoying himself while he can.]

[How do you know that? Our kind has no interest in mortal pleasures!]

[Well, your kind does not, but he is connected directly to our host's senses, and feels the same our host would feel in his place. The same works for me. Oh and Valianir can feel it too of course. And see. Traits of being possessed by a lesser demon that does not know how to cut the tails.]

[Aren't you going to do anything about this?]

[For now? Nothing. Just sit, watch and enjoy.] Ral looked down at the gray liquid. [While I can afford it of course.]

o--(==========-

The monster pounded into her, making her whimper from pain each time. She had abandoned hope, now simply waiting for this torture to end. With a dread she thought that her captor wouldn't give her such mercy easily.

"Lets add one more ingredient!" The monster growled and grabbed her mane, pulling her head backwards. Twilight didn't had the strength to beg or plead anymore, her cries reduced to a quiet whine. She felt its canines touch her neck. It waited several moments to make her fully understand what awaits her next, then it bit her, sticking its sharp teeth into her flesh. She felt the wetness of her own blood and licks of the creature's tongue. She felt her consciousness finally slip away, releasing her from pain. A hit to the side of her head brought her back from oblivion. That would've been too easy … .

"Looks like you're expiring! Lets not waste the meal, shall we?" The monster continued to rape her, now slapping her flanks harder and harder to keep her awake. Its speech became more complex over time Twilight noticed, her mind beginning to detach from the current state of her body. Why did she thought that? Nothing mattered anymore … .

o--(==========-

[And what is your great plan? Sit here and look like this idiot rampages around killing and raping until somebody kills him?]

[Relax. You do not know about how Succubi really work, do you? Unlike you I find time to educate myself even here. I had a lot of talks with Folgora recently.]

[And how does that going to help us?]

[Us? None. Val on the other hand...]

Thotumikatum sighed. He hated riddles, or rather he hated riddles he could not find solutions to. Ral laughed, and that laugh irritated the self-proclaimed king to no end.

[Everything is going to be fine. I know Val's movelist and I'm quite proficient at pushing buttons.]

[Of course. That clears everything up.] Spat out the irritated demon. Being trapped here with this bucket of wits was even worse than being frozen in the ice for a thousands of years. At least he didn't have to be conscious back then.

Ral chuckled. [Just wait till he finishes and see what happens, I know you'd like the sight.]

Toth didn't believed him one bit.

o--(==========-

Finally, Torturer started to feel that he was close. Soon he will gain everything this horse had to offer, and then he will eat her, and gain knowledge of where to find others like her. And then hunt and eat them. Easy prey.

He grabbed her flanks, impaling her on his cock once more and released his seed with a loud roar of pleasure. Who knew that possessing mortals felt that good?

As the semen flowed out of him he sensed that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. "No! That was not supposed to happen!" With each twitch of his dick, he felt energy leaving him, all the power he tried to collect so far. He tried to stop, but couldn't, he pulled himself out of his victim, but that did not help. He felt his grasp on his host's body weakening, feelings and emotions of this wonderful mortal body fading away.

He appeared on the barren wasteland. Only earth and rocks as far as the eye could see. An enraged growl came from behind. The Torturer slowly turned around, he would have been afraid to look, if he had any sense of fear that is.

[You fucking son of a bitch!]

A giant beast stood before him. It had a devilish mix of canine and humanoid traits. Standing on its hindlegs, it looked like someone decided to cross a canonic image of "dark overlord in a spiky armor" with werewolf, and some sort of angry spirit.

Valianir Zimmer and The Hound had fused together. Here, in Val's innerscape, his rage and hatred became material, and their appearance reflected it.

[Since you can't see what's going on on the other side of the innerscape, I'm going to comment this marvelous event for you.] Ral said with a grin.

[Oh, bugger.] Well, not like Toth had anything else to do … .

o--(==========-

[Ouuhh... And here goes his spine! They continue to beat him into the ground! There is a hole beneath them already! They are lifting him up and throw him high into the air! Wait — I didn't thought it is possible to use a Chain in the innerscape! Val uses it to bring him back into the earth, that's gotta hurt! Oh, he has a new idea, wait — They are ripping his hand out and … . Oh wow, they are beating him with it, can you believe that? Beaten by his own hand, what a twist! Okay, apparently now Val is going to — Oh no, he didn't, that magnificent bastard! He is going to play baseball with that dicks head! Using his arm as a bat no less! A-a-and — Homeru-u-un!!! Ha-ha! Whew. I guess this is the end of it.] Ral continued to laugh at Torturer's demise.

[Well,] Toth chuckled [You made me wish I could actually watch that for my self. Thanks I guess.]

[No problem, brother-in-host. I've enjoyed commenting it myself. I think I know now what's so good in the career of a sports commentator. No sport as awesome as demon-beating though.]

o--(==========-

Val had a splitting headache. He had beaten The Torturer in his innerscape to a bloody pulp, but now he felt as if it was his head that got launched into orbit by a giant bat. He brought what remained of the demon back to his cell, then reinforced the seal. He made sure to add several extra bindings to it.

[While he wouldn't die from it, I doubt he would be operational for several months at least. Good job.] Val heard familiar voice of his oldest occupant.

[Long time no hear. Why didn't you warn me? Did you enjoyed seeing me being possessed by another demon, huh?] Val was angry at him.

[Hey! Take it easy. Like I had any options! You didn't hear me. I guess it was because of all the liquid I nearly drowned in. Fried some of your circuits for good, that thing.]

[What liquid? The water?]

[No, a different one — how should I explain — One of your pipes got broken and started to leak, then it broke completely and flooded my chamber nearly to the brim. It dissipated once you regained control though, but I don't think it was The Torturers doing. He lacks the knowledge to do something like this. By the way it still dripping a bit. I'm no brain expert, but it seems to me that you have a minor case of serious brain damage!]

[Minor case?]

[Well, you are not a plant-like idiot yet, so I guess it was something non-vital.]

[Just great. Fucking great.]

With an effort of will he returned control over his body and opened his eyes. He was standing before a body of a little horse. A being that saved him. A being that he … .

"Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. Fuck."

[Whats the matter?]

[I have harmed a person that saved my life. I have harmed her in the worst way possible. I have raped her — I've felt everything that bastard did. And the worst part? I have enjoyed every second of it! I have enjoyed raping a little horsey-thing. Who saved my life. It is the worst thing anyone could ever do.] Val slowly started to succumb to despair, holding his hands on his temples, he kneeled before the little unicorn. She was still breathing, and the blood from the wound on her neck stopped. She was alive.

[... You are not responsible.]

[I am! I could not hold him! I didn't hold him! I-I felt like I could really control him if I wanted, but I enjoyed it and let him stay! I … .] Tears began to roll out of Val's eyes. It was quite unusual for him to cry like that, but this was just too much.

[This is the worst … .]

[It is not.]

[Don't try to make me feel better, I know what I did, or rather what I didn't!]

[You do not. Now answer me one question. What will you do, if someone harms a priestess?]

That question was ridiculous. Harming a priestess, a being pure of heart, that tried to help everypony in need, unable to do anything bad … . It was simply unheard of. Any bastard that would do something like that deserved to die, without a doubt.

Satisfied by a meaningful pause, Ral continued: [Your circuits are really fried if it takes you this long to follow. Now look around. This is a dark forest at night. No smoke, no signs of settlement nearby. And now look at her.] Val turned around. [She came all this way, as if she knew there was someone that needed help. And she had the power to heal you.]

Realization struck Val like a gnomish hammer, blasting away all the other thoughts he had.

"I have raped a priestess … ." His legs went limp, and he fell on his knees. He looked at his shaking hands, unable to process the thought thoroughly. " I have … ."

He pulled a pistol out of a reeve and placed it to his head, gulped and closed his eyes.

[Stop!]

[... Why should I?]

[You didn't think again, don't you? What would happen if you kill yourself?]

[You will go with me, you wanted to say this? I do not care anymore!]

[Well that's where you wrong. Your safeguard is busted. Means if you kill yourself now, I will be able to control your body. Maybe. Maybe not, but there is a chance. But thats not important right now. Think about what will happen to her! It's a night in a dark forest and she is unconscious! Will you let her just lie here until a wild beast would stumble on a free lunch, ready and served?]

Val breathed deeply, trying to calm down and think this through. In the end, Ral was right. Besides, death would be a release for him now, not a punishment. He will turn himself in to the authorities of this world, and let them decide his fate. He would likely be skinned alive, but that did not mattered for him right now. He thought he deserved far worse.

[What should I do?]

[I dunno. Maybe carry her out of the forest for a start? I think you should head the way she came from.]

Val picked up a little body, and a sting of pain entered his heart. She was so light. And she was still crying, even while unconscious. He bit his lip and tried to hold back the tears that were streaming down his own cheeks. He wiped them, then looked at the moon, checking the direction. He started to move through the forest, holding a little unicorn carefully. It was a wonderful night to die, but not now. He had something he had to do first.

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-

LEVEL 2 Heads Down

///LEVEL 2 Heads Down///

Val walked through the forest, carrying an unconscious mare before him. She was surprisingly light, even for her size. She stopped crying some time ago, and now her breath was quiet and steady. It seemed that she was simply sleeping now.

In the meantime, walking became a bit harder for Val, for a very strange reason.

[Rall? There is something wrong with me.]

[What now? I'm trying to figure out how badly this whole ordeal messed up your head.] In his sealspace, Ral held a strange green microscheme that fell out from one of the computers. He looked inside the system block, to find out that its place was taken over by a new, shiny one. [I wonder what this does. Anyway, what's the problem?]

[I have a boner, and I do not know why.]

[Oh...] Ral touched the new microscheme and tried to get a general feel of it with whatever limited magic he had. It felt strange, but also cleared up things a bit. [I think I know what is wrong. Say, what do you feel when you look at the naked woman.]

[Umm... Arousal?]

[Exactly.]

[I do not see how is that relevant right now.]

[Well, there is one right before you. She apparently doesn't wear any clothes.]

[... You've gotta be shitting me. I am not into little horsey-things!]

[You are now. Whatever that was, it replaced your attraction towards humanoid women with attraction towards these little horsey-things. Would be great if that applies to females only.]

[Well, fuck.] What else there was to say?

Val looked down to the mare in his hands. Her features smoothed, free of fear now. She looked kind of cute like this, curled in his embrace. Val gulped and tried to get these thoughts away. However a skin contact denied him that. He felt the fur of her coat under his hands, and the feel was pleasant in more ways that it should have been … .

o--(==========-

Twilight slowly came back to her senses. She felt something holding her tightly. Carefully, she opened her eye and looked at the monster. Its face, lit by uneven moonlight was somehow different from before. That wicked grin was gone, and now his face looked determined. It would seem that it was carrying her somewhere, maybe its lair, to finish what it started … . Twilight tried hard not to shrug, not to make a sound, to avoid alerting the creature. She decided to try and run away as soon as this being would release its hold on her.

"You woke up." A quiet voice said.

Twilight couldn't help, but tense up. She tried to curl up, pressing legs to her body, and shut her eyes tight.

"No need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. Not anymore. I am sorry. I truly am — sorry… ."

She felt a wet drop on her body, and opened her eyes in surprise. The monster was crying.

"Why?" Her voice was weak. She barely had any strength, and realized that at this point any attempt at running away would be an instant failure.

"I got possessed by a demon, and didn't hold it back. I am sorry." He repeated. "I will accept any punishment you, or your people would bestow on me."

That was strange. The monsters speech completely different now. And the thing it was saying — possessed by a demon and didn't hold back? Sounds like a typical excuse of a loony criminal. 'A voice made me do it!'. If that is so, then it could revert to a previous state any moment now. Better try and use this time to find out more about this creature. Maybe find a way to fight it. She decided to be careful in her questions though, since she did not knew what could provoke it again.

"Who are you?" She tried to shift in his grasp, but apparently she still was too weak for that. She felt him move his hands carefully around her, making her more comfortable. His hand held on her left shoulder now. She looked up at him again, noticing that he was wiping his tears away, using fabric on his shoulder.

"My name is Valianir Zimmer. I belong to a race of Vireny, and I am a fiendmaster. May I ask who are you then?"

"Twilight Sparkle. A pony, Ponyville's librarian." She answered. He answered her question, so it would only be fair if she would answer his. Not like he would be able to gain any advantage from that knowledge. "You said you would agree to any punishment, why is that?"

"Because I am guilty." A simple answer.

"Even if said punishment would be spending a thousand years on the moon?" She didn't knew why did she asked that last question. A strange chain of associations perhaps?

"Yes. But that would hardly be a proper punishment. Your moon is beautiful."

Their moon? What did he meant by that? Against her better judgment, she decided to pry further into the issue. "Why are you so willing to accept it? Wouldn't it be logical for you to run away?"

"What would it change? I can not run from myself. I know what I did. I took your power — I am sorry" He sniffed, suppressing more tears and collecting himself. "I know that what I did could not be redeemed, but know that I will do anything you want."

It appeared to Twilight that he believed he took away her magic power for good. Terrified, she reached into herself, and sighed in relief. Her magical potential was still there. Her energy reserves however were nearly dry. She hardly could light a candle or lift a book in this state. It already started to replenish itself the usual way though. She held herself from telling him that the damage was not permanent. Who knew how he will react? But what will happen when he finally finds out? She decided that it would be better to be surrounded by ponies when this would happen. Hand him over to the guards, he suggested this himself, would be the best solution.

"If what you're saying is true, bring me back to Ponyville then."

"Ponyville? You said you are librarian there. Is that where you came into the forest from?"

"Yes. It should be located... Huh?" She finally realized he was carrying her in the general direction of the town.

"How did you know where to carry me?"

"I just followed the same direction from where you came from. I figured I could get you to your people that way."

Twilight shifted her head, trying to get a better view of surroundings. She noticed a change in the ground, and that a more swamp-specific plants were growing around, confirming her suspicion. She heard splashes of water nearby.

"Stop. If you have headed straight to where I came from, then we should be near the bog. We should head there." She waved her hoof. "And find a road."

"Okay." Val agreed, and wanted to say something else, but suddenly a roar interrupted him. He looked in the direction it came from. There, from a body of water a thick snake-like head began to rise.

"Why are you standing still? Run!" Twilight tried to shake him, to get his attention. But Val had another idea. Carefully, he laid her on the grass and took of his jacket, putting it over her, then turned around. The air around him began to glow with a dim blue light. The Hound still was with him, unsealed and free. And it would not understand why its alpha suddenly ran from a fight.

Another monster appeared near the first one. Now two heads were spying him, clearly figuring out a better moment to attack. A third monster followed suit.

"Damn. It's starting to get a bit crowded here." His armor went offline right after the explosion, but it would seem he still had access to some of its features. He unreeved his Spellsinger and shotgun, making them appear in his hands.

As the first monster decided to initiate the attack, it roared and headed straight for the young man, but instead of a meal it got a facefull of buckshot. It roared in pain and backed away. Val expected a shotgun to deal at least some noticeable damage at this distance, but it would seem that this beast had much thicker skin than he anticipated. The shot ripped part of its skin away, along with its left eye, but it seemed more enraged now.

"That didn't go well."

Twilight couldn't help but watch with amazement, as Valianir Zimmer dodged hydra's attacks, periodically cursing and taunting the beast. His moves were smooth and fast, as if he danced with the dangerous being. She did not understand why did he act this way, but somehow felt there was a reason to it. She thought about an unusual artifact he used. It looked like a weapon, sure it won't do that much damage to the hydra, famous for their regenerative abilities, but still — and that glow around him. It was similar to the glow around a horn when a unicorn used magic, but at the same time it did not. This glow was — she could not find a better word than ‘smokey.’ It wavered and shifted, as the Vireny moved around. The artifact in his other hand flashed.

"Good, now lets try this!" He dodged the monster once again, making it jaw strike the grass. Why wasn't it coming out of water? Was it too bound to its natural habitat? The monsters were getting hang of it though. They figured out his tactic and started to act together, two of them covering the obvious routes to dodge the attacks of a third one. He was able to out maneuver them, thanks to Hound's agility.

Next time they initiated an attack, they came at him from three sides. Val did not dodge in either side, as he did before. Instead he leaped high into the air, pointing his Spellsinger down. With a click of a trigger he unleashed a spell onto unlucky monster. Struck by "iceblast", its head turned into a nice ice statue. On his way down, he focused his will on his fist, manifesting The Hound's paw, and as he descended, he put all of Hound's strength, combined with an inertia of the fall into a devastating attack, breaking a frozen head to tiny bits.

The other two monsters roared, witnessing the death of their own kin. He was too reckless. While he enjoyed his victory one of the monsters managed to get closer to him without him noticing. It attacked him from above, trying to swallow him whole. On pure instincts, Val pulled his shotgun upwards, and fired a hollow shot, making a kinetic blast throw the hungry maw away.

The creature flailed its head around, trying to shrug off the effect of the shot. It seemed like the blast broke its neck... And then its head fell off, showing a clean cut, without a trace of blood coming from it.

"What." Val watched as the body of a monster stood up from the water. He looked at his first enemy. The part of its neck lied there along with frozen remains of a head, cleanly cut like the second one. All of these serpents were connected to a single body, and it had one more head, that was looking at him with fear. Two remaining heads roared, then the beast turned around on its two stumpy legs and started to walk away.

Val frowned and tried to chase the thing to finish it off, but a quiet voice stopped him.

"Don't. Please don't kill it. You hurt it enough already." Twilight's voice was pleading. She sounded as if she was about to cry. Why would she care about a thing that just tried to eat them? Val knew the answer. Her personality was already formed. She was a priestess, and priests never enjoy seeing harm done, even if it was on an enemy. Erica was a special case... Erica. What would she think about him if she saw him right now? What would she say?

He reeved back his weapons, sending them into a folded space, put on his jacked, then picked up Twilight.

She grabbed onto him.

"You walked into its home." She said accusingly.

"I guess I did. I didn't knew though." Val answered indifferently.

"Why did you had to fight it if I clearly told you to run?" She continued.

"Because one of my demons is still around, unchecked. And running from a fight is a best way to irritate it. You don't want to deal with an irritated demon. I think you had enough dealing with one before."

That comment made her remember... She sniffed, and started to cry quietly.

"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot - I shouldn't have said that." He placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears. Her cheek felt warm. He held his hand in place, letting this feeling of warmth sink in, then came to his senses and pulled it away.

o--(==========-

"I am sorry okay?" Valianir Zimmer looked into her eyes. Surprisingly for her, his touch didn't elicit any bad memories. On a contrary, it was pleasant and soothing. Twilight sighed.

"I forgive you. For that. You said that you will do anything I ask of you, so if I tell you to do something next time, please do as I say." She still was not sure if this would work.

"Alright. Now, where did you said I should go?"

"There." She showed him. "A road leads straight to Ponyville, you can't miss it."

As Valianir carried her down the road, she thought about what she saw back there, during a fight. The glow around him was certainly magical, but he was not a unicorn, and how much magic did it take him to make his whole body glow? The only times she saw him actually doing magic, was when he jumped, and when he made his arm grow into a blue shining paw. The other times were clearly an effects of his weapons, what were those, and where did he put them? He said he was a ‘fiendmaster,’ but what exactly is a ‘fiendmaster?’

She wanted answers, but now was neither time, nor place to ask questions. She had to get home first… .

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-

LEVEL 3: His Silver Mane

///LEVEL 3: His Silver Mane///

Val could see the village in the distance. Quite a rural place. Dim moonlight made it harder to discern colors, but he could already say that it was colorful. He wondered how will it look like under the sunlight.

On his way down the road he managed to seal the Hound away. The seal he made this time was hurried and incomplete, and the Hound was left unhappy with a fact that it didn't had as much forest inside to live in. It agreed to bear with it for the time being though.

As they were getting closer to their destination, Val started to feel that something is off. He felt as if he was a tipsy, but this feeling was getting stronger every minute. He looked at the mare in his hands.

Now, that they were out of the woods and there was enough light, he could see that he was mistaken about a color of her coat. It was not purple, but a gentle lavender tone. Her mane was dark purple with lighter strands, and a strand of pink.

His view shifted down her body, making him gulp. Something was definitely wrong with him. He started having weird thoughts again, and found it hard to avert his gaze.

The little mare managed to fall asleep in his arms. He rocked her gently, to wake her up. Twilight shifted a bit and opened her eyes.

"We are near the village now. Where is your home?"

"There. See that big tree? It is a library. I live there."

"You live in the library?" Val lifted his brows in surprise.

"Yes. I do not have to go to work, and I always have the books I need on hoof."

The streets of the village were empty. Apparently there was no night life, and that played in Val's favor. Preoccupied with sorting out his own emotions, he was not ready to face these people.

[Ral? I need your help! I think I'm starting to lose it!] He called, but the demon was silent, and that worried him.

To his surprise the tree Twilight told him about was apparently still alive, while being carved up from inside. He could see doors, windows and a balcony, that made this giant tree all the more similar to the regular building. Any elf would throw a fit just from looking at it. Building their houses in unusual ways seemed to be a norm here, as he could see a house in shape of a cake further down the street.

"It is open." Said Twilight, as Val got close to the tree.

He looked at it. Something was off. "There is light inside."

"I may have forgotten to blow out the candles," Twilight answered with a sheepish smile.

"What would happen if somepony decided to drop by while you're away?"

"They will have to check out books by themselves. That is how it worked before I settled here."

Val wondered about the crime rate in this parts. Apparently in a small community like this everypony knew everypony, and that helped a bit, but not locking their doors? And using candles in a tree? That was something.

He opened the door with his shoulder and bent down to walk through the low doorway. Surprisingly, the ceiling inside was high enough for him to stand comfortably.

He carefully put Twilight down on the floor. "Can you walk?"

"Yes, I … ." She said, trying to stand down, but her hindlegs were still shaky. She made a few steps, then fell on her haunches.

Seeing her like this made Val wish to carry her again, and that thought invoked a flurry of ideas. Mostly naughty ones. Even in her current state she was cute and... Beautiful? Val shrugged, trying to sort out the mess of thoughts that were filling his mind. Whatever was happening to him. this condition progressed. He had to get away from her.

"I have to go now." He turned away and started to walk to the door.

"Where are you going? I thought you wanted to hand yourself over to our authorities."

"I have a better idea. The bog where that monster attacked as seemed like a fine place."

"A fine place for what? Are you going to live there?"

"No." Val gulped. "I'll drown myself in it. I'm sure that thing would be happy to get her meal. This way, demons won't be able to control my body after I die. That would not be necessary, usually, but my safeguard is broken."

"Are you serious about this 'demon' stuff?" She still could not believe him. To throw his life away just like that … .

"I am a Fiendmaster. I use powers of the demons I catch. You saw the glowing blue paw I used in a fight?" Twilight nodded. "That was the Hound. The tamest of my demons."

She believed him now. "But why? Why would you try to kill yourself now? What changed?"

"Look, I … ." He sat down before her. "When I am around you my head fills with thoughts and wishes. I want you." He said suddenly. "I want you so much I can barely hold myself." He placed his hand on her cheek.

To Twilights surprise, the feel of his smooth skin was more pleasant than anything. Unconsciously, she nuzzled it slightly, then looked him in the eyes, not quite understanding what he had just said.

For Val, that was the last drop. He leaned in and kissed her hard on the lips, invading her mouth with his tongue. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. When Valianir broke the kiss, she still could not realize what had just happen. Her thoughts were running around in different directions. That was her first kiss! Did she hated it? Did she liked it? She could not decide what to think. Should she be afraid? For some reason she was not scared by this sudden outburst.

"See? I can not control myself anymore!" His voice was shaking."I'm afraid that I might hurt you again — I won't be able to live with that." It took all his will to slowly remove his hand from Twilight's cheek.

"I should go." He stood up again.

Twilight realized that if she would let him go now, she will never see him again. Something in his eyes told her that he was really determined to follow through with his plan.

"Do not do this." If she won't think of something, he is going to die.

"If I stay, I might not be able to hold back."

"Then don't." Words came out of her mouth before she could think. Why did she said that? He is going to be alive. He said he could harm her. But would he? Twilight remembered the eyes of the demon that captured her in the forest. Those eyes were filled with rage and thirst. Valianir was different. His eyes were full of sadness and regret. Was he still dangerous? Yes, but Twilight — liked it? This last thought derailed train of her thoughts, making it crash. Did she like him?

o--(===<3=====-

"Then don't."

That did it. The remains of Val's restraint were brutally crushed. He walked to Twilight and took her head in his hands, caressing her cheeks. He looked into her eyes, trying to find an answer. Why? He didn't see it. But he didn't see any signs of fear either. Unable to resist the urge, he kissed her again. Controlling himself this time was easier. He wanted to make this contact as pleasurable to her as possible. He wanted to be gentle.

Twilight closed her eyes and accepted his kiss. This time it was completely different. He hesitated to use his tongue this time. While she never read any book that specialized on kissing, several explicit romance stories Rarity lend her had it covered in enough detail. She entered his mouth with her tongue, and met his halfway. She tried to give it a lick, but it slided alongside her own tongue and swirled around it. The feeling was new to her, but not as unpleasant as she was afraid. Descriptions given in the books weirded her out. His tongue was much different from hers, short and flat. Unintentionally, she touched one of his canines, and she could not help but shiver a bit. Overcoming herself, she touched his teeth with excitement of the explorer. While his front teeth were sharp like a predators, his back ones were flat like ones of a pony.

Val felt the mare's growing confidence in the way she kissed. As her long tongue began playing with his inside his mouth, he put his hand on her neck, gently pushing her. He ran his fingers through her mane, enjoying the feeling. He traced the back of her head and touched her ears lightly. This was not like kissing a humanoid woman. Not at all.

After several minutes they broke a kiss, both breathing heavily. His heart was trembling, ready to burst from his chest. "That was something … ."

"Valianir … ." She looked at him. His long silver mane was shimmering in the dancing candle light. It was pretty.

"Call me Val." He corrected her, moving his arm down her neck. "Shall we continue?"

Twilight composed her confidence and nodded. With a quick move, Val lifted her off the floor, holding her tightly to his chest. Twilight made a short scream of surprise as he literally swept her off of her hooves.

"What are you doing!?"

"Going to bedroom? Or would you prefer a cold wooden floor?" Val smiled, looking into her eyes. There was something captivating in them.

"No, the bedroom is fine. It is upstairs."

o--(===<3=====-

When they reached the bed, Val carefully put her down on the blanket and leaned on top of her. He kissed the tip of her nose, then nuzzled it gently. Twilight let out a chuckle and smiled nervously. Adrenaline and excitement made her legs tremble a bit. Val smiled back at her adorable face and kissed her cheek, then right below her ear, eliciting another giggle from her. He made a trail of kisses down her long neck and stopped when he reached a bitemark. Two red dots with specks of blood around it. He didn't knew what compelled him to do it, but he kissed exact the same spot where he had bitten her earlier this night. Twilight twitched under him, but he continued moving down, kissing her on the way.

For Twilight, each kiss Val made brought in a little bit more excitement and anticipation. Initial nervousness subsided, allowing her concentrate on a new feelings. While his skin felt pleasurable against her coat, his lips, still moist from their kiss were even better. She jerked a bit when he reached the middle of her neck, exact same place where he — the demon, she corrected herself, bit her, reminding her of how dangerous he really was. This sense of danger made adrenaline rush through her veins, raising her excitement even further. Breathing heavily, she touched his wonderful long mane with her hoof. It was splayed around her, covering Val's ministrations as he proceeded down with his kisses. She moved it and carefully tucked it behind his ear to take a better view of his face and actions … .

Val's hands were not idle either. While kissing, he gently stroked Twilight's coat on her chest, revelling in feel of her fur. His hand stopped for several moments, when it reached the left side of her chest. He could feel her little heart beating beneath his palm, and was amazed at what ecstasy this sensation had given him. He followed further down, to her private parts.

Her slit was already moist, and the touch of Val's finger made her gasp from sudden pleasure. Of course, Twilight touched herself down there before, mostly when reading certain novels, but it never felt that good before.

Val brushed her entrance again, and pushed his finger inside, making her moan quietly. He started carefully moving it in and out, while his other hand slowly stroked her belly. He looked up to see Twilights reaction, and liked what he saw. The lavender mare threw her head back, biting her lower lip in pleasure. Smiling, he brought his face to her sex and made a short lick to the little hood above it, making Twilight whine. The small nub that showed up below it was his real target. He traced his tongue around it, coating it in saliva, then planted a soft kiss. Twilight arched her back, bucking with her hindlegs. Her love canal clenched around his finger. Val doubled his efforts, teasing and playing with her clit, while fingering her. He now inserted a second finger, and started move them around inside her slightly with each push. Soon enough Twilights body trembled, as she reached her peak. She bit her lip, whining and moaning as the waves of pleasure subsided.

When her head cleared enough to comprehend surroundings, Twilight noticed that Val started to take his clothes off. What baffled her, is why would anyone want to wear a second set of clothing underneath the first? The contrast between Val's mane and his deep-red skin was glamorously beautiful, why would he want to conceal it? When he turned around, she took notice of his ‘thing.’ She had caught glimpses of a stallions dick before, but this one was different. She could not judge its size, but it had no sheath and was thin and pointy.

"Sorry."

"What for?" Val's words confused her.

"Even if you ask me now, I won't stop," He stated it as a fact. She felt a sting of fear, but not as powerful as it should have been. She gulped and took her eyes away from his member to his face, as he walked to her.

"W-wait! The position is wrong!" She tried to argue with him.

"No, the position is right," He countered, leaning over her.

"Get ready." he warned her, as he slowly started to enter. He went in slowly and carefully. While she was already lubricated, he wanted to make sure not to cause any pain. Twilight held her breath without realizing it, as his shaft slid in her, gradually filling her bit by bit. The constant slow friction began to rise a flow of pleasure and delight. When he finally stopped, she could not believe how she could accept so much of him. She never thought about how sexual intercourse actually works. Her first time she tried to detach herself from its feeling as far as possible, but now she was studying it. She looked down carefully, not to poke him with her horn, and saw them connected, his groin touching her, as if there was nothing between them. Then, he began to pull back at the same pace. Combination of slowly building pleasure and anticipation of more was driving her crazy.

"Faster." She whispered, and gasped immediately, as Val filled her in one quick motion. He started to pump her, slowly drawing back, and then entering quickly all the way. She could not hold screams of pleasure each time he did that, and she felt her bed sway and creak beneath them.

Val changed pace again, now he entered her completely, then started to quickly sway his hips in a waving motion, bumping in her flanks. She wrapped her forelegs around him, bringing him closer. She clung tightly to his chest, trying to feel his smooth skin with as much of her body as she could.

Val finally found what he was looking for. He changed his tactic again and pulled his penis out, aiming and aligning it with his hips, then shot straight back. The angle was wrong, but the sight and feeling of mare clinging to him was definitely worth it. This time, he held it in her, trying to press at the found spot as firmly as he could. It was further than he used to, but what knowledge of sex he had allowed him to finally find it.

Twilight's pussy tightened from sudden burst of pleasure, allowing her to feel every curve and texture of Val's cock. She could not hold her scream, and was highly disappointed when Val began slowly retract — but he pushed back in and did it again and again, sending her to new heights.

The new tightness of Twilight's love canal brought Val much closer to the end than he wanted and he slowed his pace down a bit. One of his hands was holding her buttock firmly, to preserve the aim. He put his other arm on her wonderfully long neck, making her look up, and then kissed her, swallowing her next scream of pleasure.

Finally, Twilight arched her back as orgasm rocked her body. Her pressure on Val's dick

delivered him to the end of the line, as he released his semen into the trembling mare.

o--(===</3=====-

[What the divinity's smutting fuck!?] A demon's voice invaded his scrambled thoughts.

[Ral? What are … .] Val hadn't come to his senses completely yet. This sex was amazing. Not the most amazing in his life, but still … .

[I nearly drowned in this fucking smoking shit!]

[Ral, calm down … .]

[If I am going to die here, know that I will take you with me! I will find a way!]

[Calm the fuck down and explain what happened!] Val's shout, surprisingly calming the demon down instantly.

[Okay. I know what was messing with your head. And it also was going to kill me. It took me a lot of power to stay alive, while you had fun with your — Horsefriend.]

[She is a pony.]

[Whatever. Remember that gray liquid I was talking about? It is magic. At least the part that your systems can not digest. It is poisonous for you and feels like burning acid to me. While I do not need to breathe, drowning in the acid is not fun let me tell you. Thanks to your current lack of control over your energy pool, you released all that magic in the most ancient way — through sex.]

[— If it is a magic of this world that affects me, then there is only one thing I can do.]

[Wait!] Ral tried to stop him, but young man did not listen.

o--(===<3=====-

Twilight watched as Valianir stood in the middle of the room, silently. His expression changed a bit, as if he was having a conversation with someone. He collected his mane in a tail, and a sword appeared in his hand, without any flash or magic. How did he do that? She watched in a shock as he made a quick swipe, cutting his majestic mane off .

"Why?" She asked him with a tearful eyes. "It was so beautiful."

"To stay sane." He said, but she did not understood. "If you liked it so much, I will give it to you." He put what was once his only means to gather magic on the table.

Val looked at the mare before him. Now that he was free of the magical influence of this world he did not knew if it would change how he looked at her. He walked to the bed and caressed her cheek, then traced her curves with his other hand. The feeling was still wonderful, and she still looked beautiful in his eyes. The flick of her ear, her soft cheeks and muzzle, her belly and flank were still sexy to him. He smiled and asked: "Ready for a second round?"

Second round? Could it be that he still was able — Val's arm embraced her cheek, his fingers brushing lightly behind her ear, scrambling her thoughts and dissolving her doubts. So far, her second experience was much better than she thought it would be, but could it become even more? Her quiet "Yes" was followed by a deep kiss, when Val locked their lips.

He didn't need to hold back this time, nothing was pressing his mind, he did not have the urge now to rut her senseless. This allowed him much more freedom, and he welcomed it, playing with Twilight's tongue on her own grounds. She accepted the game, throwing her forelegs around his neck and bringing him closer in. She felt his hand running through her mane and caressing her neck, as she discovered new ways of interacting with her tongue, using its superior length to swirl it around his, forcing it to accept her rules. But Val clearly had way more experience than she did, and in the end they parted, agreeing to the truce.

Twilight gasped, separating from him. But the lack of air was only part of her heavy breath, excitement being the other. Val whispered something into her ear, but the sound of her own pounding heart in her ears disrupted his voice.

"Wha- What?" Twilight asked, trying to catch her breath.

"I asked, what position is right? You said before that it was wrong."

"Not wrong — just different. I understand it now." She pondered about it for a second. She could see some advantages in face-to-face sex, but her curiosity pushed her to try something different, to experience this the way it was supposed to go according to books. "Usually, the stallion mounts the mare from behind."

Val chuckled. "That sounded overly bland, and totally unromantic. Lets spice it up a bit." He gently turned Twilight on her side and laid down behind her. The smell of her mane compelled him to move closer. He pulled her in, laying his hand on her chest. Sensation of her heart beating under his palm filled him with a weird sensation. He wanted nothing more, than to hold her tight, and never let go.

He nipped playfully on the tip of Twilight's ear, making her giggle. "Tell me if this will become uncomfortable." He whispered, placing his other hand underneath the mare. Twilight decided to let him continue, believing that he knew what he was doing. She felt his bare skin touch her back, and she shifted a bit, burying herself deeper in his embrace. Now she could even discern the muscles of his stomach pressing against her flank. Val's arm slid down, following the curve of her belly. He held his hand just above her most intimate part, tightening his grip a bit, pressing himself further against her. Twilight could feel his erect member touching her hip.

At first Val didn't understood what has he stumbled upon, but then remembered those little bits of equine physiology he knew. How could he miss it before? He was pressing his hand against Twilights nipples, and they were getting quite hard. There was no breasts to speak of, however, but the area around his sudden discovery surely was a bit different from the rest. Gently, trying not to make any sharp movements, Val pressed his hand against it, and started shifting it around. Now he could feel that her breast was protruding, just a little bit.

He was rewarded with Twilight's quiet moan, and buried his face into her mane, starting to cover the back of her neck in a trail of kisses, while still paying attention to her lower parts.

The fingers of his other hand began to move up on the inner side of her hip, getting closer to their destination. He played with her outer folds a bit, then allowed himself to enter. Twilight started to shift, rubbing herself against him. When he began to twirl his fingers inside her, the mare arched in his embrace, scratching his forehead with her horn.

He laughed and stretched upward, to place a little kiss on it, and Twilight's reaction surprised him. A short, high-pitched scream of delight came out of her mouth, as her pussy clenched his fingers harder. With a little bit of luck, he found a weak spot.

He moved his free hand from her crotch to embrace her neck, and carefully bring her closer to him, in order to allow utilising his new knowledge to its fullest.

He doubled his effort, increasing speed of his fingers, twisting his hand inside the mare in a way that would allow him to stimulate her clit at the same time. Moans and heavy pants filled the room, as Val tried new ways of delivering pleasure to his lover. Firmly, but gently, he brought Twilight into position that would allow him to reach her horn again, and started delivering a short licks to it every time his fingers delved into her depths.

Twilight was captured by the storm of feelings and emotions. Valianir delivered her two different kinds of pleasure, one she was familiar with, and one of a completely different kind. The waves of pleasure from her loins, and sweetly tingling sparks of magical energy coursing through her horn sank down to her very core, mixing and blending together into a pulsation that made her entire body spasm in ecstasy.

As Twilight reached her climax, Val moved his hand from her neck to her chest, pressing himself against her, feeling and absorbing her every tremble. The grinding of his bare skin against her soft coat, her moans and screams of pleasure made him even harder.

When the mare's orgasm subsided, he aimed himself, and entered her with ease. Her body was still limp from before, but as soon as he penetrated her, her ears perked up. Twilight turned her head and looked at him through the haze that blurred her vision. "Hold me tighter. Please."

Her soft, slightly cracking voice made Val's heart beat even faster. He obliged, by running his arm around her withers and bringing her close to him. In this position, her ears were just within the reach of his mouth, so he couldn't resist the urge of kissing them. Twilight chuckled, then gasped, as her lover began to move.

Shifting himself inside her, pressing into her inner walls, Val quickly found the right spot. He began to sway his hips slowly, sending his member as deep into her as he could, then withdrawing just enough to touch the sacred place, and holding himself there for several moments, pressing into it before sliding back.

His hand held Twilight tightly by her groin, and he decided not to waste the opportunity. Still moist from before, his fingers gently rubbed the little nub below, coating it in the mare's own juice. She tightened around him, arching her back and screaming something indiscernible. Smiling at his achievement, he decided to use advantages of his current position. Twilight's horn was just within his reach, so instead of licking it swiftly like he did before, he gave it a full lick from bottom to the top, feeling the little bumps of the spiral.

Twilight's passage tightened even more, locking his member in place, buried deep inside her, as she screamed and thrashed around in Val's strong grip. Not the one to waste the opportunity, he withdrawn nearly completely, letting only the tip of his dick to remain inside her. The friction was nearly enough to bring him to the limit, but he managed to hold himself on the edge. With a powerful thrust, he sent himself back into the mare, making her tremble again. He used the new strategy, stimulating her horn just enough for her to tighten, then using this tightness to bring them both closer. Once he felt that he could hold back no more, he positioned himself just right, then focused on stimulating the mare's clit.

Twilight arched, throwing her head up and presenting her horn to him, just as he wanted. Val shifted his hand from her withers to her neck, holding it firmly, then delivered a long lick from the horn’s base to its very tip.

Twilight shuddered and convulsed, riding the wave of another orgasm. Her strong grip on Val's dick tightened even further, overpowering his will and bringing him beyond the limit. Fighting with the pressure, Val buried himself as deep into the mare as he could, releasing his load inside her.

Val's embrace held the mare tightly, making her coat brush against his chest and stomach with every tremble, adding spice to the their climax.

Exhausted, Twilight closed her eyes, panting heavily. Feeling, as her stallion’s member slid out of her, releasing the mix of their fluids on the sheets, she quickly drifted into the lands of dreams.

Val smiled, looking at the sleeping mare in his embrace, then brought himself over her and kissed her cheek. Twilight smiled in her dream, murmuring his name. This sight filled Val with a mixed weird feeling. The young man decided not to rush any decisions though, and layed down beside the mare, holding her tightly to his chest.

o--(==( x x )===-

He awoke from the sound of his own breath, deep and very heavy. At first he thought that he was surrounded by darkness, trapped in the nothingness again, but soon his eyes adapted. His armor protected him and even allowed him to breath in the vacuum of space. He saw the stars and looked around. Below him was a blue and green planet, shrouded in clouds. It slowly but steadily grew bigger, indicating that he was falling onto it with a great speed. In panic, he turned around and his eyes went wide from terror. He saw the moon, but it was not a celestial body that scared him. It was the fact that the moon was falling apart, giant pieces floating adrift, illuminated by unnatural light from within of what should have been the Moon's core.

His sense of demonic presence suddenly picked up something moving extremely fast in his direction. He turned around just in time for his boot to smash through a thick demonic skull. His reflexes once again proved to be faster than his thought. But what would a demon do on the orbit of a planet? That question remained unanswered, as more demons began to appear out of small rifts that closed immediately after letting them through. This time they maintained the same speed as he did, remaining in place relatively to him.

Having little experience of zero-gravity combat, He reached back, unsheathing his sword, but to his surprise, instead of a ceramic blade he saw an unfamiliar Flamberg claymore made out of bones. Its guard was adorned with a demonic skull that emanated necrotic energy.

While he was contemplating on the weirdness of the situation, demons took their time to prepare an attack. They came at him from all directions at once, and he had received several hits before managing to slash a demon with a blade. Eyesockets of the skull flashed green, instantly turning the demon into ash.

He found that his shoulders and legs had additional modules he did not recognise at first, that worked as a maneuver thrusters, allowing him great control of his position. Wondering about this discovery he decided to see what else was different about his new equipment.

[What weapons do I have?] He asked silently.

According to a system response he got, he had an entire arsenal at his disposal, and none of the names were familiar to him. Some however picked his interest. Having to act quick, he chose ones which names sounded more threatening.

[Devastator, Shredder and Tetricon!]

A dim blue light enveloped his wrists, adding a crude appendages to them, that seemed to be connected to something behind his back. Something that looked like a bulky assault rifle appeared on his hip, and a minigun found no other place to materialise to but his hands.

[It's getting fun.] He thought with a grin.

With a pull of a trigger and sway of the weapon, the front line of demons was reduced to ash by a barrage of laser rays. Looking with astonishment at the six-barreled monster of a gun in his hands, he whistled. "A laser minigun? Really?"

The rifts continued to open before him, bringing more demons into the fight faster than he could diminish their ranks even with weapon this powerful. Clouds of ash and scorched bodyparts were floating past him at an increasing speed.

A small window appeared in the corner of his display with a face of an orcesse. Her hair were done in a tight braid and her left ear was pierced with three rings, indicating a highest-level mastery in whatever her profession was. He could not recognise the type of her facial tattoo, or even what clan she belonged to, which was unusual.

"Turn around now! Something big is coming through right at you!"

Following this suggestion, he turned around, to find himself staring at the giant eye. The eye blinked back at him, then a loud roar of a giant maw shot him right through the cloud of demons like a cannonball, wrecking every unlucky being in his path.

Now that he got some distance, he realised that staring back at him was a giant floating head. Its face consisted of one eye in the middle, a giant mouth that emanated glowing steam and lots of small bloody-red tendrils and tentacles.

"Its the Caco-Lord! He found you! Shoot him in the eye before he … ." The orcesse's face turned to static, scrambling the rest of the message. However her tactical advice sounded solid.

The stream of lasers however was not nearly as precise as it was needed, only a tenth of rays actually hitting the monster. Parts of them found their targets in the cloud of remaining demons, some actually made contact with a head, but did seemingly no damage. The giant face frowned and seemed to growl, but he had escaped the bubble of air that got through the rift along with the Caco-Lord, so he could not hear it.

Once one of the beams found its way to its eye, however, it screamed again, sending several unlucky demons in all directions with the blast of a sound wave.

Arcs of electricity began to shoot through the Head’s teeth, eventually forming a big lightning ball. The head spitted it in his direction, disregarding of its fellow demons. Sparkling ball of energy floated right through the cloud, disintegrating everything in its path.

In panic, He pushed the thrusters to their limits, trying to outrun the impending doom. He managed to do so, evading the ball by a matter of inches, but it managed to cut off part of the miniguns barrels, and gone further towards the quickly approaching planet. He noticed that there were several more demonic groups on its way, probably waiting for him to get near. They were in for a nasty surprise.

Not risking to use a damaged weapon, He threw it away, pointing his wrists at the giant demon. "Whatever weapon this is, it has to be good."

His display flashed with red, tinting his view for a moment. Now the demonic head was outlined, its eye glowing brightly, probably indicating its weak point. A lot of lesser red dots were scattered across the screen, showing the remains of the first demonic ambush.

Two handles with triggers on them jumped right into his hands, and he wasted no time, pressing them right away. The devices on his wrists turned out to be miniature rocket launchers that now were sending constant stream of missiles in the heads general direction. The kick of the gun proved to be very hard to handle, especially in the absence of gravity. However, missiles quickly reoriented themselves, homing straight for the eye. As the first of them struck their goal, the demon roared in pain and tried to send another ball of lightning after him, But opening his mouth this wide proved to be worst idea. The stream of missiles pushed its deadly projectile right back into its maker. The demon shut its maw, swallowing it attack along with the rest of the rockets. It wailed in pain, white steam engulfing its mouth.

A red text flashed at the top of his display and a new buttons appeared at the top of the handles in his hands. "By infinity immeasurable, I like this gun!" He laughed, pressing the buttons.

In a bright flash, the giant head exploded into the chunks of demonic flesh and a cloud of blood.

With a quiet familiar vibration of a reeve, the weapon started to dissipate.

"Aww, I wanted to try it out some more!" He sighed, picking another weapon from his wrist. It began unfold itself in his hands in a quite unusual manner, forming something similar to a chaingun, but it has three barrels instead of one, and its chain holding ammo was getting semi-transparent and disappeared into nothingness just twenty inches from a barrel.

"Hmm. That’s — unusual." He lined up the gun to his shoulder and aimed it at the next wave of demons that was approaching him really fast, or rather he was falling into it, as the planets surface now occupied most of his view. He could see the sun of this world rising slowly above the blue surface. A truly marvelous sight for sure, but he had no time for sightseeing. His feet got engulfed in a flame, indicating that he has entered an atmosphere. How did the demons held themselves stabile at such height he had no idea, but that did not stopped him from using it for his advantage.

When he started firing his weapon at the group of demons, it became clear that the chain of ammo that fed the gun was in fact appearing from nothingness at the same speed as the three barrels chewed on ammo, unleashing rain of lead upon his enemies. Mowing down enemy ranks he chose a bigger demon, and maneuvered himself right into it, planting his feet right into its chest. Now it was the demon who took most of the damage from the atmosphere friction for him. With another pull of a trigger, He became a shooting star … .

-===( x x )==)--o

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-

INTRO

///INTRO///

He ran down the hallway, fueled by a mix of fear and adrenaline. For half an hour he was chased by a demonic monstrosity that looked like a giant bipedal four-armed spike-covered alligator. The fact that the spikes it had all over its body were covered with intestines of his former squad-mates didn’t help either.

Half an-hour ago he found a room, covered in blood and guts from floor to ceiling, corpses of the people he knew hanging from the walls, disfigured and dismembered, and a huge demon in the center of the room. The monster was decorating itself with what left of his commander, and that image would haunt his nightmares for quite a long time.

At the time, all he cared about was getting as far away from this demon as possible. Thanks to the demon’s poor sense of smell, he was able to get one floor below it unnoticed..

Calming down his breath, young man tried to concentrate and think the situation through.

“That damned thing definitely had high resistance to magic. My fireball and a lightning spark spells proved that. Exceptional strength, capable of smashing through walls with ease. Great speed. Lack of smell and hearing below average. Looks like it relies on some demonic-exclusive senses to track its prey. And that’s why it is unable to find me,” he muttered to himself, calming his nerves. He had demonic powers that let him hide from his enemy, or in this case powers of a certain demon.

[Hound]

And the Hound came to him, from within of his consciousness. He hesitated using its power, seeing it as the last resort. Should his will shake, should he show any weakness to his unwilling partner, he would have to fight for control over his mind and body. He couldn't afford for that to happen right now. A faint blue glow enveloped his hand. He waved his fingers, getting used to five-inch phantasmal claws growing out of them now - The Hound’s natural weapon. 'Looks like I'll have to use the indirect approach', the young man thought.

He shifted a phantasmal ear, concentrating on the sounds of his foe’s steps above, and carefully started to follow them. His adversary stopped. “Did it sense me?”. He had no time left, and decided to act now. Leaping straight up, he plunged his new weapon through concrete towards where demon’s feet should have been, and he was rewarded with a loud roar. “Time to try some earth magic.” He lifted himself, concentrating energy in his feet, stomping them straight up. Several spikes made of metal and concrete have shot at the demon from below, impaling its head onto the ceiling. Another two spikes penetrated its feet, incapacitating it.

Valianir cast a fireball, blasting through the floor right behind the demon. Looking at helpless being, he smirked. “Now who’s the boss?”. The demon growled, trying to get the spikes out, but unable to do so … . Then something totally unexpected came. The Monster pulled its head, disregarding the spikes and ripping half of its skull off in the process. Its feet, heavily torn, already started to regenerate. Even heavily wounded, it moved lightning fast, smashing young man into a wall.

As a ringing in his ears grew stronger he thought 'But that was not how it happened'... .

-===( x x )==)--o

Val awoke to the sight of a familiar ceiling. The ringing intensified. With an effort he lifted himself off the floor. Half-awoke he stumbled towards his alarm clock, which was ringing furiously, reminding its owner that he overslept.

"11 in the morning. Why in hell did I set it up this early ... ." With an annoyed grunt he looked over the room. It was his lab, not his bedroom, and the floor was covered in symbols and occult figures. Written in blood. His own blood. [Nightmares. Practicing blood magic does this to you]. "No kidding."

As the young man stumbled across his living quarters, a memory began pouring back into his brain, as hot coffee into a cup. He has remembered why he woke up in the first place.

"Erica!" Yesterday she told him that she finally got permission to organize a small rift exploration team, and of course, he was invited. Since the first time they met on the battlefield, and the young priestess managed to literally pull Val back from the grave, they never again ventured into alien worlds without each other.

Rift scavenging, - traveling through different dead worlds and claiming whatever technology, artifacts, or knowledge was left behind by its inhabitants - was a passion, life calling and main source of income for Val Zimmer. For a priestess like Erica though, it was a rather strange hobby. Priests and demons don't mix well, and it were demons that took over most of the known worlds, wiping out everything in their wake, effectively killing the worlds. Of course, thousands of years had passed since then, and demonic forces now were disorganized, most of the monsters returned back to their wild state, losing their sapience without the influence of the Demonlords. Nonetheless, exploring unknown worlds that lied beyond the rifts was extremely dangerous, as even small pack of wild demons could easily wipe out an entire army. A regular army that is. Specially trained, alchemically enhanced soldiers, combat wizards and battlemages were more than capable to stand against anything alien worlds could offer.

Val was a fiendmaster, one that forces demons and fiends into submission, forcing them to lend him their powers in a struggle against their own kind. Erica was a priestess, a being of pure soul, connected to Divinity itself, incapable of hatred or jealousy, unable to lie or harm a living being, which allowed her to manifest miracles of healing and protection. Her affinity to magic, however was certainly unusual for a priestess - she had an uncanny intuition regarding relics, artifacts and their use. She felt flows of a lifeforce like no wizard ever could.

Having a bright and logical mindset, Erica applied the scientific methods to her empirical experiences, as well as wizardry. With Val's aid, dangerous adventures and ancient tomes of magic-long-forgotten, Erica made a real breakthrough in thaumaturgy, proving that it is possible for a being without magical talents to manipulate magic energies through special rituals. With a doctorate in Advanced Thaumaturgy, The Bureau Of Outworld Exploration and Exploitation gave her the right to request grants and assemble her own expeditions.

And yesterday she had received a grant to assemble her own little field research team. It was suggested that she would join forces with a group already working in the fields, but something told Val that Erica had a different plan in mind. They'd been on enough expeditions as independent contractors and gained quite a fame for it already.

In the bathroom Val sighed, realizing a horrible thing. His pristine silver hair were covered in bloodstains and it would take forever to clean it all out. Silver hair was unusual for his kind. Deep-red skin and yellow eyes with cat-like slit pupils, that Val also possessed, were. 'Silver head' was not. Val Zimmer belonged to a race of Vireny, and they were generally unable to perform anything magical. Only one in a forty thousands had a 'Silver head' - a special hair, that gave an ability to gather magical energy, and their performance depended directly on their state.

For his three feet long hair, a little flask of special and very expensive shampoo would last only for two or three times. The case at hand would take a whole flask, if not more. Washing his hair, Val stared at his reflection with a sigh. His reflection stared back.

[So, what are you going to do now?] The reflection asked.

"About what?".

[You and her! She is cute, she is smart and she likes you. Ask her out!].

"She does not like me in that way, and she is a priestess, above all else. It would never work out."

[Well, you can't bone her now, but you can wait until she get tired of being a priestess. Since your species are both long-living, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Also you can try and convince her that priesthood isn't worth it].

"You know that I won't do such thing. You're just trying to drive me insane by bugging me about my crush on her, aren't you?"

[Yep.]

"Shut up then. You aren't going to succeed."

A Fiendmaster can not allow one of his demons to affect his actions. Doing so is the first step towards being possessed, and then (very quickly) dead. Ral was the most powerful of his demons. And the most helpful, though his help was not in his abilities but in his knowledge and wisdom, however rarely he decided to manifest them.

With that, and his hair clean and ready to absorb magical energy, Val dressed up and headed to his weapons rack. Erica told him that there is nothing to worry about, but she didn't go into details, so Val decided that it would be better to be prepared.

"Lets see, there is no need to encumber myself, so I guess a shotgun and pistol should be enough" Val said to himself. He looked over his personal collection. The simpler weapons were bought from Bureau-certified manufacturers. Those used some of the reverse engineered technologies Bureau managed to gather. They used standardized types of ammunition and were reliable, but they often lacked in firepower that was needed against tougher demons, like The Torturer. Val shrugged, remembering how he found that out on his own experience. He has settled on a GRD-19 - a short double-barreled shotgun, enchanted by a mechanist to accelerate regular pellets to high velocity. As a side effect to this enhancement it could now be fired without ammo, producing devastating kinetic blasts.

[Ideal for dealing with things close and personal, now get something long-ranged and let's go. I cant wait to hear what that girl has in mind.] Ral couldn't hold his anticipation.

"Calm down. She said that there won't be anything dangerous. I'm getting armed just because I feel naked without a weapon." Val confessed, while browsing his options.

"Huh ... . Haven't taken you out for a while," he said, picking a bulky long barreled pistol. That was one of the first artifact guns he found together with Erica, and it certainly brought back some memories. It could hold several spells and replicate them at the pull of a trigger. It also allowed to fine-tune a spells power with a special switch. Unfortunately, it used a built in energy source that could manage only some basic spells. As Val's skill in magic progressed, he found this gun to be less and less useful, and eventually it ended up collecting dust on the bottom of his weapon rack. He had nearly forgotten of its unusual property that made it more useful at great distances - it casts a spell directly on a target, without any material medium or visible projectile. Even if it wasn't really strong, it had an effective range of several miles and was impossible to dodge.

Val reached the gun with his magical senses - he had long since forgotten which spells he put in there last time.

[Fireblast, Deepfreeze and... Paralysation? What were you going to paralyze back then, Val?].

"I don't remember, okay?". Val was confused as well - paralyzation is ineffective against demons, so he had used it only a few times. "Maybe I was going to hunt something. It was so long ago." He didn't had the time to extract the spell and put in a new one. Besides, Fireblast should have been enough for upcoming little adventure.

Val reached inside his mind, bringing out a familiar sense of protection, concentrating it around his left wrist. With a quiet buzz a wrist-guard formed out of thin air, an indicator on its inner side showing almost full charge. It meant that his armor was in a top-notch state and ready to defend him against any harm any cruel and unusual worlds might want to inflict on him. Everything was as it should have been.

"Well, off we go then!", Val said to the empty room. Following this custom command, all electronics and magical devices in his apartment turned themselves off to conserve energy. With that, Val following an almost reflectory action, summoned a set of sheath for his weapons. Going through a corridor, he grabbed his favorite sword and put it on his back. The pistol found its place on his left hip and the shotgun on his right. Had he used a regular holsters and sheath, his weapons would become unavailable, covered by magical armor. Val had learned this the hard way, and the timing for that lesson was less than appropriate.

o--(==========-

One bus-ride and a short walk later Val arrived at the “Round Table” - Erica's favorite cafe. Very quickly he spotted quite an unusual company – even in modern civilized times it was rare for elves, orcs, and gnomes to share the meal. An orcesse in a leather jacket was quite well-toned and somewhat cute, as far as an orcish female with tusks and all could be. She was grinning, enjoying her own jokes, looking at a confused elven gentleman, who tried hard to keep his face straight. A gnomish girl observed the two with a raised eyebrow. She had a red hair, done in a traditional gnomish braid, with beautiful green eyes and adorable freckles. Her face was very d and expressive – Val could endlessly observe her. How her eyes were lit by inner fire when she had a new idea. How she smiled, looking out of the window, enjoying the rain. How she —

[Stop daydreaming already! Or ask her on a date. Even if she declines, I'll still enjoy the pain of your broken heart].

That girl was Erica.

Noticing him, she smiled, making Val's heart skip a bit, and waved at him to come and join them. The other two were obviously going to be a members of their little expedition.

“So, let me guess. Since we already have a priestess, a mechanist — then you must be either a thaumaturgist or a demonslayer.”

“A demonslayer. My name is Valianir Zimmer, and you are... ?”

“Oh, I'm really sorry for my ill manners. Being around her, ” he pointed at the grinning orcesse “makes me forget about them sometimes.”

“Oh, you flatter me”, the orcesse interrupted him, but the elf remained unfazed

“My name is Rirandiriel, and I am a bachelor arcanist”.

“You can call him Ri-ri, I'm sure he wouldn't mind! Oh and I'm Chiffery Tohrak! Nice to meet ya!” The orcesse stood up to shake hands with Val. Her grip was strong, but controlled giving her off as a seasoned fighter. Being around orcs for quite a while, Val learned to estimate their abilities.

[Chiffe... A curious snow fox... Quite fitting name, don't you think?]

“Ri-ri?!” That pet-name was the last drop in elf's cup of self-control. “Would you mind if I call you Chi-chi then?”

[Oh look, they are going to fight, that's cute.]

Elves and orcs do not mix well together. Thats a universal law, and it would seem that green-skinned girl had been poking at it for quite a while.

“Not at all”.

Her answer obviously surprised the elf, that was waiting for her to continue their riposte. He opened his mouth and closed it again, trying to digest it.

“What's the matter with you and pet names?”

“Just trying to bring something cute in the gray “serious” world of yours. You know, for contrast. And 'Ri-ri' sounds cute!”

Elf sighed. “Expeditions to unexplored rifts are serious business.”

“And being way too serious is bad for your health, mental at least. And your face color”. Chiffery replied.

Val couldn't hold his smile. He got the general idea of what was really going on, so he decided to pour some fuel in the fire. “Look at you, bickering like a married couple”.

The elf's face flushed red. “Hey we are not married yet!”

“Yet? Then when are you going to marry then?”. Erica joined the fray, quite unusually cruel of her.

Elf began mimicking a fish, trying to find words, but the traditional wisdom of his race eluded him.

“When the thought that age difference doesn't matter much will manage to drill its way through a thick skull of his!” Stated orcesse, and it was clear at this point that she and elf know each other for quite some time. And since they didn't killed each other yet, Val assumed that such exchanges were usual for the couple.

“Well, screw you!” Unable to find words, Rirandiriel gave up.

“Only after marriage, my dear. I'm sorry, but my family is fairly strict about that.”

Rirandiriel's face turned redder than a tomato.

After about twenty minutes of friendly banter, new friends agreed to call him just "Ri". Exhausted by debate, elf sighed, finally admitting his defeat. With a happy scream,the orcish girl jumped at him with a hug. "Don't mind her. She is always like that" He said with indifferent face, obviously used to his friends antics.

"You can call me just "Val" then. All my friends do" The young man said. He completely trusted Erica's judgment regarding people, and she seemed to enjoy herself in their presence. Being around them just felt... Right.

"Good. Now we just have to wait for our thaumaturgist." Said Ri, looking at his watch.

"We don't have to - she is already here. Erica has a doctorate in advanced thaumaturgy." Val pointed out.

"Hey, you have a doctorate too!"

"I've got it alongside you. Not that I didn't help you get it, but you still know much more than me. I'm more of a practitioner myself." Said Val, facing his new friends. "Never had a knack for reading lots of dusty tomes".

"Well, you didn't seem to hesitate to grab that grimoire from Aquarius, as your share of loot." Erica shrugged with a smile.

"Wait a moment!", Chi' slammed her hands at the table, standing up. "How could I not understand it earlier! You, are Erica Steelgrip, princess of Ironhold! Your thaumaturgic inventions turned our clan's life upside down! I thought you'd be older ... ."

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. Were the changes for the better, or worse?"

"For the better of course!" Chi's face beamed with admiration. "And you," she turned to Val. "Must be her companion, Silverknight Zimmer! A legendary fiendmaster!"

"Fiendmaster?!" Rirandiriel nearly fell of his chair, suddenly trying to make a distance between him and the Vireny.

"Silverknight Zimmer? Since when did I change my name?" Val was curious. He disregarded Ri's reaction at the moment.

"Well, you know, people like giving fitting nicknames ... . Can I examine your armor?" Chi held her hands in a pleading manner, trying to make puppy eyes as hard as she could.

"A fiendmaster?" Ri stood up, planting his hands at the table in attempt to get everyones attention. "Why don't we bring a timed nuclear bomb with us instead?! At least we would know when its going to explode! Nobody can tell when his demons take over and … ."

"Ri." Orcesse gripped his hand firmly.

"What?"

"This is Silverknight, Ri. Do you know an average Fiendmaster's life span? Seven years. Seven years until demons take over, and the fiendmaster is sent into a red zone. Silverknight Zimmer is a legend. He has been in business for thirty years now, and I don't think he will reach his limit anytime soon."

The combination of her voice and hand contact made Rirandiriel calm down little by little.

"Besides, he is Erica's companion, and if she trusts him with her life, so should we."

"Alright." Val put his hand in the air. "You seem to know a lot about us, but I don't know anything about you. So would you mind telling something about yourself."

"Well … ." Chi took initiative. "I’m Chiffery from Clan Tohrak, I'm a bachelor mechanist specializing in xenotechnology, offensive constructs and direct material alchemy. I can drive anything that has wheels, tracks or whatever, produce ammunition of all known calibers, if provided with materials of course. By the way … ." She looked at Val intently. "I have seen you on the job. You took down several hecatonheirs during last demonic outbreak four years ago. You saved our lives."

"Wait! Now I remember you!" Ri was clearly surprised at his own realization. "You had decapitated a giant demon back then, exploding its head and drowning my apartment in demonic blood!" The elf's face was slightly green. Even thinking about such amount of gore made him want to vomit. " Oh, I'm sorry. You saved my life too, after all. Well, I am Rirandiriel of the Great House of Aevencass. An arcanist, with a degrees in elements, artifaction, and manipulation. If there is an energy flow or enchantment - I can analyze it and tell you what it does. Never had a chance to work on xenoartifacts though - they are rare and quickly claimed by higher ranked wizards." He frowned, clearly irritated by such injustice.

"I guess I should tell you two about myself too." Erica suggested. "I am Erica Steelgrip, and yes - I'm a princess, but please don't call me that - I'm a fifth daughter, a priestess and therefore not in line for the throne." She raised her hands, showing her simple tailored white dress to emphasize her point. "Besides regular priest abilities - like healing, protection and blessings, I also have a doctorate in Advanced Thaumaturgy, meaning given enough time for preparation and proper ingredients I can cast any spell there is. Problem is "enough time" can be as much as several weeks, and some ingredients like "petals of a fireflower, basked in moonlight" are rather hard to get. I can also banish lesser demons back to chaos, where they belong. I don't know what did I do to get that ability, or how it work, but I can do it."

Erica looked at Val, expecting him to do his share too. "What?" The young man never liked to talk about himself. Erica raised a brow. Val heaved a sigh, before introducing himself to the others. "Okay. I'm Valianir Zimmer. You can call me Zimmer or Val - if you like. I'm a fiendmaster, but that does not hinder me. I know a bit of advance thaumaturgy, practice elemental magic, as well as some darker arts like bonemancy, runerend and bloodmagic. I can do just fine as a demonslayer even without my mastery. I'm also quite proficient with a sword, martial arts and have some powerful artifacts at my possession - both xenotech and of our own making. And while I'm at it ... ." He looked at the orcesse. Her eyes began to shine as soon as he spoke of the artifacts. He smiled and unsheathed his sword, putting it on the table. "What can you tell me about this one?"

Chi didn't hesitate to place her hand on it. She knew this was a test and she was not going to fail it. As she concentrated releasing her power, a white blade of the sword started to envelop in a net of tiny streams of magical energy. She was analyzing its structure and composition. Her eyes widened. "A ceramic blade? But why would someone use ceramic?"

"Look further and deeper." Val advised with a smile.

Orcesse frowned a bit, concentrating harder. "It's ... . Wow... It is like three-dimensional mageweaving! I can not identify the material, but is a high-density composite metal. Nobody can forge that in, it had to be done after making of the blade, but how did it blend with ceramic so perfectly without falling apart?"

"That's advanced xenotech for you." Val chuckled. "It is a combination of magic, alchemy and technology we have yet to comprehend. While we can analyze and study it, we are unable to replicate it. Well, doc, what's your verdict?" He turned towards the elf, whose eyes were steaming with tiny trails of blue shining smoke. Rirandiriel was looking at this blade with his magesight.

"This doesn't make any sense. This enchantment activates the spell formed by a mageweave made of whatever that is. And that spell uses energy of the impact to negate energy of the impact. Doesn't this makes the blade useless? Any force applied to the hit would be simply absorbed by the blade. And I don't understand this little swirls going around the tip - they just seem to circulate energy into a loop until it fades off. What does that supposed to achieve?"

"And if we assume that blade itself is not supposed to cut anything?" Val locked his hands on his chest with a smile.

"Sorry, I'm not weapon expert, it does not look like spell is released on strike, slash or whatever. It is supposed to just sit there, doing... something."

"Fair enough. Only a few wizards back in Bureau were able to crack it. It is a combination of "indestructibility" and "splitting". Blade absorbs energy of its own blow, negating damage to itself, and then sends this energy to the "swirls", making them split anything near the blade with conductive energy current. One downside - it doesn't work in non-magical environment, and it can not break some magical defenses, that would be easy to a regular physical weapon." Val concluded.

"So..." Chi looked a bit nervous. "Did we pass?"

Val couldn't hold a smile. "Of course you did, and I guess you can have a bit of reward."

With a buzzing sound his entire figure began to envelop itself in a layer of metal, forming a monolithic full-plate armor, making him look like a feature-less sculpture. He held his left hand against his face, and a metal spread from his neck to his head covering everything but a thick tail of his hair with a futuristic helmet.

"Wow... What is this made off? It's not like any metal I've ever seen! And its method of deployment... Fascinating! Is it your brace that does it?" Chi couldn't hold herself. "The brace is just another part of it. It is made by nano-machines on-the-go. Nobody knows the material. I received it when I injected myself with what I thought was a combat stimulator. Now it is a part of me, I guess." Val's voice was muffled by armor's speaker system. "It is much more complex than just a layer of steel though. It has internal weaponry, strength amplification and even some sort of tactical computer. Those features waste its energy damn fast, so I usually switch off everything non-essential."

"Alright people!" Erica jumped off a chair. "Let's move if we want to make a trip today. Chi kindly provided us with a vehicle of her own, but our budget is still extremely limited. We better move now if we want to travel in optimal conditions. The world we are going to visit is devoid of any signs of demonic influence, but organic life is limited to grass and some small plants. The thing that caught my attention was a weak uneven magical signature. It was not a regular background magical field. The Bureau labeled this world as "unperspective", but I've got a feeling that there may be something. And I want to investigate it. Let's go!"

[“Optimal conditions”? Why do I have a strange feeling that there is a catch she didn't told us about?]

o--(==========-

Six hours later.

[I knew there was a catch! I told you so!]

"Yeah, yeah. But it's not helping me right now". Val was sitting in an off-road van, his tongue limping from the side of his open mouth. Outside temperature 49 degrees Celsius. They were traversing the great desert of Khanrakesh - homeworld of the Orcs. And it was rather cool right now - by this world's merits. Eri and Chi were in the main cabin, Chi driving her van and Eri giving directions. The men were traveling in the back with the equipment and some large machine that Chi referred to as her "ultimate masterpiece".

The rift to the world they were going to was located somewhere in the desert. Apparently Chiffery and Erica knew each other for quite some time, and even developed a new innovation together. Fusing together mechanistics and thaumaturgy they managed to make a drone that was able to measure fluctuations in space and energy fields, allowing them to find rifts by indirect means. Due to the nature of these measurements, the rate of false positives was ridiculously high. This rift was the third they have found by this method in half a year. The other two led to completely dead worlds.

Having nothing to do, Rirandiriel found escape from heat in meditation. Following his example, Val tried to meditate, but his ability to concentrate failed him, so he decided to go the easy route.

He reached into his innerscape, invoking an image of a rainforest. He sensed the Hound, its desire to hunt, its wild joy of imaginary freedom and appreciation of its master. Its "alpha". The Hound was the first demon he subdued. It was not even a demon in the proper sense - just a very powerful supernatural beast, altered by demonic emanations. These emanations were enough to let it exist in immaterial form, but not enough to rid it of it's animal instincts. When they met, Val managed to defeat The Hound, to prove his will and fighting prowess. The Hound was last of its pack that Val dispatched of earlier. It witnessed demise of its fellow pack mates and the fall of her former "alpha". It has accepted his strength and welcomed him as its new leader. Initially it tried to resist his mental influence, but as they travelled and fought together, it became more loyal... and playful.

"Stop! Hound! Pffft ... ." Val wiped off Hound's saliva from his face. "Happy now?". The Hound stood against him, sticking out its tongue, wiggling its tail like a dog. A really big six-foot tall dog with dagger-like fangs and claws that could tear any armor to shreds. Over the years it had grown quite a bit, as well as benefits it bestowed on its master - keen senses, agility, phantasmal claws and fangs, not that Val ever used the latter, claws allowed him to rip enemies apart even in unarmed combat as well as climb walls and mountains.

"Woof!"

"Alright. Hound - check. Everything in place." Val examined the seal that separated this part of the innerscape from that of his own mind. He could traverse beyond seals, but while doing so he was extremely susceptible to demon's power. He never tried to step over any other seal but Hound's.

[The Torturer]

A grim cell, covered in blood and gore, and an angry four-armed demon sitting in the middle.

[Not enough bloodshed. Not enough action. Bored.] The demon shared his opinion.

Val stepped closer to examine the seal. The Torturer was much stronger than the Hound, much more aggressive than any other of his demons, and therefore required more care. In a moment, demonic fist hit the seal from other side, making Val stagger back.

[Want blood! Want pain! Give me yours!] The demon roared.

[Not in your lifetime, pal.] Val snickered. Giving strength to a power hungry demon was the last thing Val wanted. His dream was still bothering him. Back then he managed to force the incapacitated demon into immaterial form and absorb him, but that dream could meant that Torturer still haven't given up completely. His power was in his strength, thick hide and additional set of arms. Wielding four weapons instead of two is always a benefit.

[Folgora]

A peak of the mountain, a giant storm cloud circulating around it, lightning striking at the top every now and then. At the top of the mountain stood a throne with a pale-white demoness residing in it. Fingers of her two lower arms played with the skulls of humans, orcs and specimen of other races Val did not recognize. Sometimes she would lift one upper hand to catch a lightning, condensing it into a thunderbolt, then swallow it as if it was a delicious treat. Folgora was a demoness of the same kind as a Torturer, but she managed to disguise that quite well.

[Really well I'd say. Remember how you nearly lost the fight, staring at her boobs?]

[Ral, I'm a man. Any man would hesitate when amount of boobs is suddenly doubled.]

[Well come forth and claim what you desire] Demoness smiled seductively.

[Sorry, I swore off on letting myself into hands of a half-succubi.]

[You're no fun.] She pouted. [Then at least allow Ral to enter! You can't imagine how great demonic sex is. I might as well let you watch.] she licked her lips, making tiny lightnings dance on them, then follow outlines of her gorgeous body, making Val shrug.

[How the hell can she make electricity sexy?]

[Succubi can make anything sexy. Don't ask.]

[I know better than that, thank you.]

Lightning was Folgora's specialty, and being a higher demon, she was really good at it. Her seal was incredibly intricate and... feminine. Val didn't quite understood, how a spell could be "feminine", but if any spell could - then this seal was it one hundred twenty percent.

[Tothumikatum]

A vast plain coated with snow. The bones of giant dragons from ancient times, and a frozen form of an incredibly beautiful winged human woman in the middle of it all. Her chest was pierced with a sword. Even the old man that inhabited this magical prison did not knew who she was.

[Ah... Young man looking for some... c'old wisdom?] Old man turned around, revealing his face, or rather absence of it. A single giant eye. That was all. Val always wondered how Toth can speak without a mouth.

[Magic. I ain't gotta explain shit.] Toth laughed.

The fight at the Dragon's Graveyard, as Val called it was one of the toughest he ever had. He nearly became one of the frozen statues there. Tothumikatum was both Cryo- and Necromancer, and used both of his skills to their full extent. Reanimated warriors, ice golems and undead dragons. A court of self-proclaimed "King of Frozen Dead" was a force to be reckoned with and gave even the legendary demonslayer as Val was already at that time a full run for his money. He participated in the last outbreak, leading armies of undead. It took seventeen demonslayers, Val included, to deal with him. Only four survived.

His seal was a complex three-dimensional projection, resembling a crystal. Val did not remembered how long it took to make it. Battling with a powerful demon for his soul and making this seal at the same time put him into a state of a coma. Erica barely managed to pull him from the brink of death. He promised to never try to capture demon of that caliber again. Reward nearly didn't worth the trouble - Tothumikatum shared with him only what he wished to share. Beating it out of him was out of the question - the outcome of such confrontation would be unpredictable.

Last seal. It was unique in a sense that it was fused with his very soul, making it, and the demon behind it inseparable from him.

[Ral]

In a dimly lit room that looked like a cramped server room, if all computers had weird multicolored lights allover their surface resided a FiendLord. He sat at the wide couch, his back to the seal, staring at the wide TV that covered whole wall. The TV showed Rirandiriel, sitting in a meditation pose.

[So, my life is just a movie to you?]

[More like XBox, really.] Ral shifted his headset a bit, to bring microphone closer to his mouth.

[What is that?]

[Doesn't matter. Anyway its much more fun that what those losers got. At least I've gotta talk to you not only when you decide to pay a visit. Also right now this movie is kinda dull. I'm waiting 'till the action starts. Wake me up then.] Demon stood up, stretching his arms high in the air. Not that he needed it, since all of this was not real, but sensation of his muscles being stretched was pleasant. He stood over seven feet tall, with dark gray skin covered in scars. What could leave a scar on a demon that could regenerate torn-off limbs, and claimed that he once regenerated back from being turned to ash? He said he don't remember. Maybe he really didn't, maybe he just didn't want to - he would never admit it. He had two arms and a pair of bat-like wings. His head was bald, only a few bumps of white bone indicated a places where horns should be - he could grow them on a whim. He had four eyes - two on their right places - in the eye sockets and other two on his forehead. Every eye had a different color, and as Val knew, different power. Red eye for demonic sense - he could see any demon behind any obstacle at a long distance. Green eye for life flow vision - everything alive has an energy flowing through them. This eye allowed to see it and manipulate it. Blue eye for arcane plagiarism - to instantly decipher and replicate any spell thrown at him. White eye of true sight - to shoot sharp, see through lies, deception and illusions.

Sometimes Ral shared one of his eyes with his host. It was really weird experience to say the least.

Vans sudden stop broke his concentration.

"At last we can get out of this scorching hell!" Ri was out of his meditation and looking forward.

It looked like someone just cut out a piece of the photograph and placed another photo underneath. The Rift to the other world looked flat from the side, but everything inside it had as much depth as the regular world. Anything that would touch the Displacement Zone - the edge of the rift, would be instantly cut, no matter how hard or durable the material is. The gate of the rift was barely enough for the van to fit in.

"Alright lets remove everything from outside the van, or else we won't get through!" Chi exited the vehicle. The men jumped out, following her. There were several drones on the side of the van and some sort of satellite dish on the roof. They needed to get all of it inside the van. "Sorry guys, but you'll have to bear with cramped space for a bit."

And so after fifteen minutes of heavy lifting, they entered a new, unexplored world.

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-

LEVEL 4: Unwelcoming committee

///LEVEL 4: Unwelcoming committee///

Val woke up to a wonderful sight of Twilights ear sticking up from her messy bedmane. Her breath was slow and steady and he could feel her heartbeat under his arm. He couldn't hold himself from kissing her behind the ear. It flopped in response, and soon Twilight shifted in his embrace, waking up.

Twilight felt another kiss on the back of her ear and turned around, planting her hooves in Val's chest to get some distance.

"You are way too huggable, you know that? Sorry." Val's voice was sad and quiet.

She smiled. "You don't have to apologise for that."

"No, I wasn't apologising for that. For yesterday. I failed to control myself again and — did — things to you … ." He trailed off, looking into her wonderful purple eyes. Hell, he wanted to do things to her even right now.

"Well, while it was weird and unusual experience, I can't say that I didn't liked it. Quite the opposite actually, so you don't have to apologise for that either." She gave him a warm smile and leaned in to nuzzle him.

A feeling of her cheek sliding against his washed away Val's depression, and made him smile back at her. "We sure made quite a mess yesterday," He chuckled, making Twilight finally take notice of her surroundings.

"Sweet Celestia, we're dirty." This fact has slipped from her last night. Her side was covered in dirt from lying on the ground last night, and the sheets below her were no better. She sniffed, taking in an odor of sweat and sex that filled the room. She got used to it in her sleep, but now that it came to her attention, she was not going to bear with it.

Without a second thought she channeled her magic, opening two windows on the opposite sides of the room, making the morning breeze sweep the smell away. Only when Val's hands stiffened around her she realised what she just did.

Her mind raced, looking for a solution. How would Valianir react? What would he do? She never explicitly told him that she was powerless, he concluded that himself, and felt so much guilt for that, he considered suicide to be a viable option, and she played along with that. Her ears flattened, as she lowered her head, trying to struggle out of Val's strong grip.

"How did you do that?" Val asked quietly.

"M-magic?" Twilight's fear made her stutter a bit. She remembered well how he dealt with the hydra, and decided that honesty would be the best option.

"But priestesses can't perform magic!"

Priestess? Is that what he mistook her for, whatever that is? "W-what is a priestess?"

Val seemed to be calming down. He noticed that he was holding her too tight and eased his grasp. "A priestess is someone who can call to the power of Divinity to heal, protect and help people. They are incapable of harming anypony, and harming a priestess is the greatest sin one can commit. You healed me yesterday," He looked at Twilight intently.

"I am not a priestess - I healed you with magic, there are several spells for that, but your wound was so severe that I had to use one of the most complex. While you drained my magical power, it returned to me naturally overnight." She felt Val ease up, then he smiled and suddenly pulled her in for a deep, long kiss.

When they parted, gasping for a fresh air, she saw tears in the corners of his eyes.

"I'm so happy. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that was permanent!" He whispered into her ear. Twilight was relieved to hear that. Judging by his reaction, he was not angry at her. She decided that this was the time to ask questions of her own.

"I have never heard or read anything about a 'priestess', 'Divinity' or anything similar. I have read almost all of the books in my library, and many others back in canterlot, and I am pretty sure that none of them mentioned anything like that. That raises a question: Where are you from, or better yet, what are you? I've never heard about anything like you either."

"Well, maybe that is because I'm from a different world?" He smiled back at her.

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, as she tried to process this information. "... That means that Starswirl's Multi-Universe Theory is correct! But it was proven wrong long ago and — you're an alien! An alien from a different world!"

She jumped straight up from the bed. "Let me study you, tell me about your world, please, please, please, please!"

Val couldn't help but laugh, watching her antics. "I think we had agreed that I will do anything for you." He stated, looking at her with a smile.

"But … ." Twilight stopped. "You have no reason to hold on to your word. You did no permanent damage, and even what you did was not really your fault, if what you're saying is true."

"Ral told me the same thing, but — if you're telling me — then I'll have to agree. However, a man never backs up on his word, and I already gave you mine. I will tell you everything you want to know."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Twilight began jumping in circle, overwhelmed with joy and anticipation."How do you do your magic? I saw you glow yesterday when you fought Hydra. Where do you put your weapon? Why did you cut your mane?" Questions flowed from her like water from a spring.

"Wait, not everything at once, and I suggest we take a shower first." Val looked around. "And clean this place too."

"You're right, sorry. I get too excited when I get something new to study." Twilight answered with an apologetic smile. "Come with me." She led him to the bathroom.

"Are we going to use the shower — together?" Val asked reluctantly, standing in the doorway.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Twilight asked, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, not exactly. But sharing a shower is considered an intimate experience among my kind."

"We already shared a bed, which is much more intimate than showering. Besides, I would really like to examine your body closely. For research purposes." Val shrugged and entered the bathroom with a sigh.

Surprisingly, the bathtub was enough to fit both of them at the same time. When Twilight turned the handle and a warm water rained from above, his nervousness started to go away along with dirt, bloodstains and sweat. He looked at the set of shampoos and soaps. "Keeping that coat and mane of yours in proper state must be tedious at times," he noted, turning back to Twilight. Her wet mane splayed tightly to her head and neck, outlining her gentle curves, as she smiled back at him.

"Not exaсtly. While it is difficult for earth ponies and pegasi, a unicorn's magic makes such tasks much easier." She said, picking up a scrub with telekinesis and pouring liquid soap on it. Her magic flickered, making her lose control and splatter soap over the floor. "Darn it. Looks like my magic is still not reliable enough." She sighed.

Val caught the scrub on its way down and picked up the soap bottle. Placing a hand on Twilight's wither he asked: "So... What shampoo do you usually use for your mane?"

"Depends on the situation, but I like this one the most." She pointed to a white bottle with an orange cap. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if we already bathing together, why don’t we wash each other? It would be a waste of opportunity otherwise." He beamed a smile at the confused unicorn. "Also what are Earth ponies and Pegasi and why do they have problems with washing?"

Twilight smiled at him, while he run his hand through her hair, applying a shampoo and setting her strands free from knots. That sensation was surprisingly pleasant, making her close her eyes, as Val brushed his fingers into her mane. "Want to start the question session already? There are three main kind of ponies: Unicorns, who have horns and are able to cast spells, Pegasi, who have wings and are able to fly and control weather, and Earth ponies, that have neither, but are much stronger physically and have a natural affinity to growing plants. There are also Batponies, but they are rare, and Seaponies, of whom nopony heard anything for the past thousand of years. Since we stated already, it would be fair if I ask some questions in return. Who exactly are you? Tell me about your species, and yourself in particular."

Val moved the hose to Twilight's head, taking care to thoroughly wash away all the shampoo. "My race is called "Vireny", which means "People" in ancient Virelle, our language. Not very original, I know, but we were never known for originality. We are a genetically engineered race. We changed our genome long ago in an attempt to give us superior abilities. That did not succeed however, and the modified genome got watered down throughout generations. Regular Vireny are just like me, red skin, yellow eyes, but the hair is different — usually black, ash-gray or deep purple. Some of them are born with remnants of failed genomes — like horns, wings and most commonly, tails. We tried to give ourselves the ability to fly, but that didn't turn out well. Vireny with hair like mine are called 'Silverheads'. The 'Silverhead' genome is one of the rarest — only one out of forty thousand has it. Our hair allow us to gather and use magic, a feat no other Vireny is capable of."

"Wait a minute. You say that your hair operates like our horns, and you — cut it off?" Twilight's eyes widened in terror, as she tried to look him in the eyes. Willingly severing yourself from the source of magic? She dreaded even to think about it. "W-why would you do that?"

Val sighed, carefully scrubbing her side. "My hair absorbs all the energy it can, and I found out that it was the ambient magic of this world that was making me lose control. So the only solution I found was limiting my energy income." He chuckled. "I doubt that cutting my hair is anything similar to cutting off a horn. It's not a bone, it will grow back. I hope I could find a way to make myself resistant to the local magic before that. Yesterday, I thought for a moment that it was magic that made me attracted to you. But then it proved to be wrong." He leaned in and kissed the tip of her ear. "Has anypony told you that your ears are sexy?"

His quiet whisper made Twilight back off and blush. Val's sudden compliment took her by surprise. "Does your kind consider ears to be sexual objects?"

"Usually not, but I find yours very attractive." Val continued to brush her coat and his hand was moving closer to her flank. He started slowly caressing one while washing the other. "By the way, what is the meaning of this picture?" He traced his finger along the starburst on the lavender pony's flank, monitoring her reaction. It looked like this spot was particularly sensitive, and he took mental note of that.

Twilight found it harder to concentrate, as she began to understand how taking shower could be intimate experience, and she enjoyed every moment of it.

"It's a cutie-mark. It appears when a pony discovers his or her special talent. My talent is studying magic and performing spells."

That took Val several moments to take in. How is that even possible.

[Magical world. It follows different rules.]

[About time you showed up.]

[I was trying to figure out how this world affects you and a way to counter that.]

[So, what did you find?]

[I'm no expert on brains, but I can say that the magic of this world works like an alcohol on you. You become mana-drunk and lose all of your inhibitions.]

"What's the matter?" Twilight asked, noticing his strange expression.

"Ral just spoke up. He is one of my demons, the friendly one. As much as a demon can be at least."

Twilight snorted and took the scrub from his hand. She could ask him later. For now, she decided to take her turn and wash him. While Val's interest was more erotic, her’s was scientific. She explored as much of his body as she could, memorising details to put on paper later. His muscles were not as apparent as of some stallions, but they were hard as steel to the touch. She looked down on his flanks and the memories of the last night events came to her with new vibrance. She remembered as these flanks pumped into her yesterday … .

"Hmm. I think I'll take care of myself from here, thank you." Val's face was red from the beginning, so Twilight could only guess that he was embarrassed. His member began to grow and now stood proudly for Twilight to see.

"But thats not fair!" She argued.

"Life is never fair." Val laughed. "Okay. You can stay and watch if you want."

After Val quickly finished with the shower, he and Twilight changed the sheets on the bed. She took Val on a short tour around the library-tree afterwards. Val asked if she had vegetables in stock, and suggested to cook them, which raised a question of his diet.

"I thought with those canines you would be carnivorous?" The thought that she would have to feed him with meat was something Twilight tried to push to the back of her mind.

"Omnivore, actually. I can eat both meat and vegetables. It would be hard to digest grasses and hay though, so I hope you have something beside them."

"Of course I have. Take a look in the fridge." Twilight was relieved that some of her worries were in vain.

After rummaging through the fridge, Val settled on making mashed potatoes. As he began to peel them with a knife, Twilight noticed how nimble and agile his fingers are.

"Could you give me your hand, please? I would like to take a closer look." Val obliged, and held is hand before her eyes. She touched it with her hoof, noticing the pattern of lines on it, then turned it around.

"Hmm... Your claws are rather small. How does your kind hunt for food? I mean naturally, without weapons."

Val laughed lightheartedly, returning to the peeling. "We don't. Our kind has not hunted for a very long time now, because there is no game left in our forests. And even when we did, we never did it without tools, the simplest being a sharpened stick. We grow our food on farms, meat included."

"Wait — what do you mean ‘grow meat’? Just meat? Without an animal?"

Looking at her confused expression, Val burst into laughter. Wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye, finally calming down, he answered "We raise animals on farms, that's what I meant," He scratched his chin. "However there is artificial meat. It's like an animal but without all unnecessary body parts, grown in a tank. It is extremely delicious, but also much more expensive."

"And the animals do not mind? Even if they know that they will be killed? How do you keep them from running away or breaking out?" Twilight heard of griffins trying to farm animals for food, but they ran away way too often, so the practice was rare.

"Well, they are just animals, so they don't care about that. We feed them and care for them, so in the end they live much better than in the wild." Val shrugged. Then the implications of the question struck him. "Do you mean to tell me that local animals are capable of comprehension?"

Twilight nodded. "To a certain extent. Most of them are capable of understanding at least basic concepts. And I know at least one pony that can talk with them and understand their answers."

"Crap." Val cursed. "I guess no meat for me then. I would never eat something that can understand me." He dropped the potatoes into a pot of a boiling water.

"You still haven't told me anything about yourself." Twilight put a sheet of paper before her on the table, not trusting her telekinesis yet, and prepared a quill.

Val scratched his chin. "I am a silverhead Vireny, fifty four years old, served in the military … ."

"Wait." Twilight interrupted him. "What is an average lifespan of your species and how much is a year of your world." She was writing furiously.

"Our year is 365 days, each day 24 hours, each hour 60 minutes, each minute is 60 seconds and a second is about as much as it takes me to make two steps."

"So, pretty much like our own year? I wonder if that a coincidence or there is something more to it … ." Twilight hummed to herself.

"Its no coincidence. A year is about same length in every world I've been to. Nopony knows why it is though. An average lifespan of a Vireny is about 450 years, so I am still considered pretty young. We age fast though, reaching maturity at 23. I had to fake my age to enter military service — I was just 18 at a time, but I always looked older so I managed to pass. By the way how old are you?"

"That is one question mares are allowed not to answer. I'm joking." She said, looking at his expression. "I'm 21, and an average lifespan of a pony is around 80, though I know several ponies older than that. Back to you, why did you fake your own age? What's so appealing in your military service that you decided to cheat your way in?"

"It's not that there was something appealing. It’s that I was sick of my caretakers. You see, I am an orphan. I was found in the ruins of a house that was destroyed during an outbreak. Nopony knew who my parents were though, because the house was uninhabited at the time, and there were no bodies." Val sighed.

"It is unusual for a silverhead to be an orphan. Since we are rare, government takes care about us, providing orphans like me with a proper family, however this time they decided to give me a caretaker. In retrospect I understand what they were trying to achieve. There were several caretakers that changed through the years, they were teaching and training me to become a loyal battlemage for the government, but they made a mistake. They all were strict and demanding, and none of them ever pretended to be a family to me. I had literally no childhood.

But when I grew up and started gaining information about the world not from my teachers, but from books, television and personal experience that I realised that my situation was not normal at all. If government wanted to brainwash me, they did a poor job. I'd seen families, happy ones and others — not so much. I've seen people my age that had time to go to read books they wanted to, hang out with friends or even go to a movie just on a whim. In contrast, my whole life was strictly scheduled from morning to evening. I knew exactly what I needed to do weeks, months ahead even. And there was nothing I could change, except for abandoning my past life entirely.

I faked my ID, adding several years to my age, and applied for the military. Thanks to my training I was more physically developed than a typical boy of my age and knew a lot about tactics and combat. That helped me to pass the tests. I've heard a lot of different things about an army before, not all of them were pleasant, but one thing was for sure: once you're one of them, they stand up for you no matter what. Captain Rakhen, officer in command of my platoon, defended my right to stay with them even after my lie was discovered."

Val took the pot off the fire and poured the water out in the sink. There was a bottle of milk in the fridge that he now poured onto potatoes, as he began to mash them with a fork.

"So, what was life in the military like?" Twilight asked, preparing for the next writing session.

"It was like — I don't know, having a family? The hardships everybody saw in the army life were just normal to me, but we did everything together, as a squad, and we were always estimated as a whole, not as an individual person. But for our squad to succeed everypony had to pull their weight, and they all understood that. Challenges that we overcame together made us more than just friends in a very short time. We were inseparable even when we were off duty. It was not a "normal life", but much closer to it than what I had before, and I received a good payment for that too."

Val chuckled. "Seeing you writing down my biography as something worth a thousand bits, is flattering, I have to admit." He said, looking at a furiously scribbling unicorn.

Twilight looked up with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, it's not your biography..."

"You wasn't listening? Why did you ask in the first place then?"

"Oh, I was listening, it's just that I have to finish my report to Princess Celestia as soon as possible, and I'm really good at multitasking."

"Report? Princess?" Val sighed. "So... I take it that I'm going to the dungeons then?"

"What? No! Princess Celestia is my mentor, and I have to inform her about a being from another world that will be living with me. I'm sure she will be interested in both yourself and my research of you." Looking at the confused stallion before her, she decided to start from the beginning. "Princess Celestia is one of the two co-rulers of Equestria. She is Princess of the Day, and is responsible for raising and lowering the sun every day. She is a fifteen-century old alicorn, wise and very kind. If anypony is capable of helping you with your magic-resistance problem, it's her."

"Raising the Sun? As in millions-of-miles-away, bigger-than-the-world-ball-of-plasma Sun?" Val's mouth was widely agape in disbelief, threatening to dislocate his jaw.

"Yes. She is a Goddess of the Sun, that's what she does." Twilight answered nonchalantly, clearly amused with his dumbfounded expression.

[Goddess?! Oh shit! Oh shit! We might as well be dead!]

[Ral, what's got into you? Panicking like this is not like you at all!]

[Gods are antagonistic to demons to the point of total annihilation on sight. Let me make it clear to you - if She knows you have even single demon inside you, she might consider incinerating the whole village just to make sure we die! It will take her just a tiny bit of solar matter and "Fwoosh!" Nothing but ashes for many miles, casualties be damned.]

[Crap.]

He looked at the unsuspecting mare before him. Even if he already had accepted inevitable death as a very near prospect, he did not want to endanger her as well.

[I wonder how much did she wrote?]

He leaned in to look at the paper, but all he could see was scribbles. He knew that they should've been letters, but they made absolutely no sense to him.

"Why can't I read it?" He asked in frustration.

"Err... You can read it before I send it, since its about you … ."

"No, I didn't mean that. I can't understand what's it says at all, it's like a completely different language!"

[And what language do you think you are speaking now?]

[GeTra, of course. Can't you tell?]

[Oh, I can tell of course, but why would a sentient pony from another world talk a language devised by humans for General Trade? Clue. She does not. And neither do you. It's a magical property of a cross-world travel - you learn the general spoken language of your destination point, but only the spoken one. You will not be able to read it.]

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked with concern. The young man just stood there, staring into the distance with an empty gaze.

Val shrugged his weird state off and looked at her. "It may be. I can not read your language, only speak it, so I will ask you: Do not tell anything about the demons in your letter. Do not mention them at all. Should your princess hear of them, she might consider killing us all."

"Princess Celestia will never do such thing!" She screamed at him in shock.

"Even if you manage to prove me harmless, which I am not, a potential threat of a demonic outbreak will surely prompt her to do just that. believe me, Twilight, demons are that dangerous." He tried to convince her.

"Just what the hay are those demons you keep talking about?" Twilight continued to scream, now more in frustration. Of course she knew about beings of Tartarus, but they were not that dangerous, were they?

"By the definition, a Demon is a being that consumes souls of sentient beings to prolong its existence, procreate or gain more power. Since souls are not that easily replenishable, excessive demonic presence in the world throws it off-balance. And if the world's balance is shaken enough, it may start to wither and die, and once that began, there would be no way to reverse it. They have killed many worlds, Twilight. In fact your world is the only one I've seen that is still alive."

Twilight stared back at him in disbelief. These demons were nothing like the ones he heard about before. In his eyes Twilight saw traces of sadness and grief. She was afraid to pry further, but her curiosity took better of her. "But you said you have several of those things inside you. What for?"

"I was born with one of them, as a legacy of my previous life. Apparently, I was a fiendmaster back then and captured him, then killed myself to destroy him, since he was way too powerful to be killed normally. It failed though, and the seal he was held in fused with my soul, making him lose part of his memory and be reborn with me. His name is Ral. When I was little, I thought of him as my friend that nobody else could see. An imaginary friend, you know? When I grew older I began to think that I was a bit crazy and my subconsciousness takes form of a voice to warn me about things and give me ideas. It was only when I encountered my first demon and won did I discovered what he really was. I left military to became a Fiendmaster, someone who can capture demons and use their powers to protect people. And that is what I am best at." He sipped some milk from the bottle to moisturise his throat.

"What is it like, having demons inside your head?" Twilight's voice was quiet. She levitated her quill away. This was not for record. He put his life in her hooves, willing to follow through with her decision, even if it meant his imprisonment or death. She decided to trust him in this, at least for now, but she still wanted to know the truth and estimate a possible danger.

Val put his hand on her cheek and smiled slightly. "It's not that bad. At least while I'm in control. They reside silently within me, but I can interact with them at will. They can try and break out sometimes, but I can subdue them with relative ease, as they are much weaker now than they were, without the income of fresh soul. I do not know why the seal of The Torturer got broken, and I could not hold him back. I'm sorry." He looked into her eyes, and brought his finger to her lips, interrupting whatever she wanted to say. "Had he manage to gain more energy, all of this village would've been in ruins by now."

He smiled again, reading the worry in her eyes. "He won't be able to do anything at all for at least several months now. I've made sure of that. I'll keep him in check from now on."

He sat back at the opposite side of the table. Both chair and the table were too low for him, so he had to cross his legs to sit right. "Our potatoes will get cold If we don't enjoy 'em now."

"We?"

"Well, I made enough for two."

"More like for three." She said looking into the kettle."Ponies do not eat that much. At least I don't". Twilight smiled back at him and tossed the letter she was writing into a trash bin. "I'll write a new one later." She spiced the dish with some dandelion petals.

They have indulged in silence, enjoying their meal. Val observed Twilight, as she levitated her spoon carefully.

"How long until your magic comes back in full capacity?" Val asked with concern once they have finished. He caught Twilight's dish midair after she tried to levitate it to the sink, but her magic flickered again.

"About a day or so. Seems like I won't be able to lift anything larger than a quill for now." she snorted in frustration. "Don't worry. This already happened to me after I managed to transport Ursa Minor back into the Everfree. It's a giant stellar bear about three stories high. Two young colts thought it would be a good idea to lead it to Ponyville."

"That sounds like quite an adventure! And an impressive feat of magic. Telekinesis and levitation aren't the easiest of spells. Do all unicorns have that much power? " He asked while washing the dishes.

"Telekinesis comes natural to all unicorns, but everypony have different limits. Being Princess Celestia's personal student, I am one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria." She smiled shyly. "In terms of raw power of course. I still study and practice new spells almost every day."

o--(==========-

After Val had finished with the dishes, he made some tea and the couple began trading questions. while Twilight was eager to learn about Val's world, he was more interested in Twilights life than anything else. Sipping their tea, they began to share the stories of their lives.

Twilight told him about her and her friends adventures, about how they defeated Nightmare Moon and saved Princess Luna, how they defeated the chaotic Discord and thwarted the invasion of Changelings.

Defeating an ancient evils and saving the world was not new for Val either. He told Twilight about regular demonic outbreaks that provided his world with an awful lot of new horrors every once in a while. He told her the story of each and every of his demons, deciding that she deserved to know what she was dealing with, just in case of something going wrong.

She was amazed at the manifestation of the Hound Val provided. Warily, she touched the phantasmal claw, first with her magic, then with her hoof. Val assured her that the Hound was most obedient and tame of his "residents".

The story of the Torturer terrified her. The young man described how he and his squad went on a mission to rescue the research team from the ruins of a city they deemed relatively safe. The squad separated to cover more area, but one-by-one, their radio signals were cut-off, spreading panic among the remaining soldiers. Eventually Val was the only one left. He was forced to use the powers of a demon for the first time to follow the trail of his squadmates and discover what was left of them, on the top floor of abandoned office building … .

Twilight tried to shrug off the memory of her encounter with the being, but failed. Shuddering, trying to hold her tears she felt Val's hands hug her from behind. Val sat down and lowered his head to her level, nuzzling her cheek from behind.

"Everything is going to be alright." He held her tightly to his chest, brushing away her remaining tears. Strangely enough, his embrace calmed her down, clearing her thoughts again. "Lets change the subject. You told me that you know the Princesses really well, but you didn't go into a detail, what are they like?" Val's plan was simple. He noticed that Twilight's face brightened every time she mentioned her mentor, and now she really needed to lighten up. She shifted, adjusting her position in Val's embrace, and began to talk.

"Princess Celestia is an alicorn - she combines the best of all three pony types in one. She is a very kind and benevolent ruler. When I was little, she noticed my magical talent and took me in as her personal student. I lived in the palace with her for many years, learning from her everything I could. She is always smiling and almost never shows when something is bothering her, but sometimes I could feel that her smile is a sad one. I always tried to do something to make her smile for real. Most of the times I tried to impress her with my feats of magic, but that didn't always worked out quite the way I imagined. Sometimes it ended up in a complete disaster, like when I found an old tome with a spell to bake a magical Cake, so I tried to make her one. I ended up ruining half of the kitchen facilities, as well as being completely covered in flour. But at least I made her smile."

Val chuckled, imagining the scene that opened before the Princess.

"Hey! That’s not funny!" Twilight elbowed him lightly.

"Sorry, I just imagined you, pure white from flour sitting in the middle of a large kitchen with confused look. So adorable!"

Twilight giggled. "Well, maybe it was. You have a good imagination. However it was not funny for me back then. I had to clean the whole mess. Without magic." She turned her head to look at Val. "That time I learned an important lesson: If something can be done without magic, most of the times it is better being done without magic. I've forgot it over time, but got reminded about it recently."

Val breathed in the scent of her mane and smiled. "Elven wizards have a saying: 'If something can not be done with magic, it is not worth doing at all.'"

"Elven?" Val noticed that Twilight got her quill and a new parchment ready and smiled again.

"Do you want a short version, or a lecture?"

"Hmm... I would like to report to the princess as much as possible, and I know I'll want to hear the complete version anyway sooner or later, so why not now?"

"Okay, so lecture mode it is then.”

“There are several races living in Ter-as-Nihil, thats the name of my world by the way. It means 'A World above the Abyss'. I already told you about my people - Vireny. There are also Humans, Orcs, Gnomes, Elves and Tashti.”

“Humans, Orcs and Elves generally look just like Vireny, except that Orcs are bulkier, Elves are thinner and Humans are a bit shorter. Elven ears are much more pointy than ours and orcs have fangs growing from their lower jaw. Ears of the humans are round.”

“Orcs are renown for their combat prowess and agility, while elves more known for their magical talents, which is no surprise, considering that they have ages to master and hone their magical skills. Humans are some-what middle ground, there are both talented wizards and mighty warriors, but they age faster and therefore their potential limit is lower. Orcs do not lose their physical abilities with age. They cover their faces with a special tattoo and piercing that describes their life, status and skills, and sometimes even what they are doing now or planning to do.”

“Gnomes are shorter than Vireny by a great margin — average gnome is about 2/3 my size. They are greatest craftsmen and are known for their expertise regarding anything that involves metalwork and engineering. All gnomish males wear long beards. braided in special ways — losing a beard is one of the most terrible things that can happen to a gnome.”

“Tashti are widely different. They are race of insects, covered in black chitin. They have eight legs and walk on two of them, using other six as manipulators . Each individual is not as bright as a regular person, but they combine their thoughts when they gather together, forming a hivemind. A group of three Tashti is about as smart as a regular Vireny. The most interesting thing about them however is their technology and instruments. They can regenerate and change their bodies to a certain extent, so when they need an instrument, they bite off one of their hands and grow whatever they need in a matter of minutes. Oh, and they can not grasp the concept of a personal possession, so they are generally not welcomed in settlements of other races.”

“Now, we agreed at 'answer for an answer' deal, so please tell me, what other people does this world has."

Twilight cleared her throat and began a short lecture about ponies, griffin, hippogriffs, minotaurs, lamas, moose-folk, donkeys and many other different people that populated the land of equestria. When it came to dragons, she mentioned that she had a baby-dragon as a little brother/assistant.

"Wait, wait, wait. A dragon? How can a pony have a dragon for a brother? Or am I missing something here?" Val interrupted her lecture.

Twilight laughed. "He is not really my brother, at least not that way. When I was seven, a dragon egg was found on the outskirts of the Dragon Mountains. Princess Celestia tried to find its parent, but apparently dragons care much less for their children. They told her that they do not care about the egg and she can do whatever she wants with it.

Ponies know very little about dragons, but it is known that for a dragon to hatch, the egg needs to be infused with a special magic, which signature matches the one of a mother of an egg.

So, Princess had many unicorns try and infuse the egg with their magic in order to hatch it, but every single one failed. Then she decided that students of her School for Gifted Unicorns could try and handle this task for her. Nopony from higher grades succeeded, so eventually everypony who hasn't tried it yet was given a chance to do it, even first-graders such as I was.

I tried hard, the egg twitched, but it did not hatch. Then — something amazing happened." Twilight smiled warmly. "Spike has broken through the shell, and that's how I became Princess Celestia's personal student."

"Well, according to you, you are more of his mother, than a sister then. You hatched him!"

Twilight blushed, remembering the thoughts and feelings she had back then on the platform on the day of Spike's departure. "Maybe you're right. But I never thought about him that way before. Besides I didn't even raised him — Princess Celestia did. It's not until I began to really study under her wing when I met Spike again. We quickly became friends and were inseparable ever since." She sighed. "He didn't even changed that much since I first met him, until recently. Dragons grow in spurts, and now he is away, studying in Academy for Gifted Unicorns."

"So, a dragon goes to the school for unicorns and nobody is surprised by that? How many dragons there are in Equestria anyway?" Twilight heard concern in Val's voice, but could not see the reason behind it.

"Quite on the contrary. Everypony were surprised by that. Dragons are not known for their magic. Most of them are uncivilized brutes that care only about the size of their hoard and would stop at nothing to increase it. Spike is unique, and his application caused quite a stir among conservative part of nobility. There are very few other dragons in Equestria, most of them are old and know better than to try and assault ponies. They spend most of their time sleeping in the mountains." As she spoke, Val's fingers began to idly stroke her mane. The sensation was pleasant, so Twilight decided to let him do it.

"That sounds nothing like the dragons I heard about." Val noted. "Dragons from the past of my world were noble, wise and had powerful magic. Actually it was them who taught magic to the first 'Silverheads', and the foundation of our magical school stays the same for thousands of years.

They also cared about their offspring deeply. There is a record about a mad king that decided to steal a dragon's egg for himself. After the adult dragons recovered it, they turned his capital into an erupting volcano with a spell, and declared that anypony who would dare to threaten their own would meet a similar end."

Val's voice was quiet, as his fingers ran through Twilights hair, brushing her neck slightly. The sight of her ears sticking out of her mane, twitching slightly every now and then made him smile.

"Wow. I doubt that any being of this world, aside from Princesses can handle the magic of such caliber. You said 'dragons of the past'. Are dragons of the modern times weaker?" Twilight already got a bit tired from writing so much, and that was not something she used to.

"Not weaker. There are no dragons in my world now. They left thousands of years ago, presumably tired of constant wars and conflicts my people waged among each other. Dragons tried to tone down the violence, to stop the wars, but they rarely succeeded. Eventually they gave up and left us to our fate.

It appeared that they could traverse between worlds at will, and that the next world they came to was Khanrakesh, world of the Orcs. The Orcs worshiped them as gods and welcomed them with sacrifices of their own, which was not what the Dragons wanted at all. Orcs were savage nomads at that time and did not knew any better. Dragons left their world and nopony knows where they went. "

Twilight scribbled furiously, holding the sheet down with a foreleg, the tip of her tongue showing between her lips. Val found her concentrated expression adorable.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" he asked, once the mare finished writing and neatly stacked the papers.

"I will need to write a letter to the Princess, since we scraped the first one, and I will need to do some arrangements in order to make villagers accept you."

"I hope they won't come to your doors with torches and pitchforks," noted Val.

"Do not worry," smiled Twilight. "Once Pinkie Pie, one of my friends, will throw you one of her trademark 'Welcome to Ponyville' parties, ponies will see that they have nothing to fear from you. They do not, do they?" she looked into his yellow eyes and asked sternly.

"Of course not!" Val assured her.

"Also, you can release me now," noted young mare. While Val's embrace wasn't causing her discomfort, quite on the contrary, she was not used to such level of skinship.

"Sorry, you're just way too cute and huggable," Val laughed, releasing her.

Not used to receiving such compliments, Twilight smiled shyly. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do," Val nodded. "In fact, it baffles me that such a beautiful mare like you never had an intimate relationship and lives alone by herself."

Twilight sighed. "I think that is mostly because of my lifestyle and lack of time. I always have something to study or research, and when I do not — I hang out with my friends, who happen to be all mares. Or some disaster happens and we have to go and save the day. Actually," she smiled sheepishly, "looking back to the times of my scholarship, I think there were some colts that tried to capture my attention, but I was too engrossed in my studies to notice. I prefered silent books and the stories they had to offer to the company of noisy young ponies back then. Now I learned to appreciate noisy friends and parties too." Twilight's smile was warm, as she remembered the fun times she had. "It took direct order from the Princess to make me go to Ponyville and socialise though. If it was not for that, I would have still been a bookworm recluse."

The mare caught Val eyeing her form with a look she never experienced before. She always thought that being perceived as a person was always better than just a ‘mare,’ but right now she found it to be just as flattering as his compliments — it proved that he was saying the truth. As he stood before her with nothing but his pants on, she could not help but admire his well-toned muscles, his strangely alluring fanged smile and a subtle glint of desire in his eyes.

"I see, you are still eager to continue our — bedroom endeavour?" She half-asked half-stated, trying to sound seductive. She never tried that before and was unsure whether she done it right or not, but Val's loud gulp subdued her doubts. "I am inexperienced in such matters, so I think more — experiments are in order to confirm my theory."

While she spoke, Val moved closer and closer to her, and now was looking into her eyes, his face just several inches from hers. "And what is your theory?" He whispered, gently placing his hands on her soft cheeks.

"That having sex is awesome," She whispered, answering him in the same tone.

"I can not deny such an invitation." Said Val, leaning in for a deep kiss. There were no ‘tongue fighting’ this time, but instead slow caresses, brushes and soft touches. Twilight's long and dexterous tongue carefully moved around his, drawing unusual pleasure from it. She may have been inexperienced, but Val never felt anything even remotely similar from kissing some before. He felt an incredible arousal. For a moment he was afraid that the state he was in yesterday has returned, but that fear was quickly dismissed. He still was in control. He scooped the mare and continued their makeout session while carrying her upstairs. Twilight locked her forelegs around his neck, pressing herself tightly to his chest.

Val carefully laid the mare on the bed, breaking the kiss. When they parted, panting, a string of saliva trailed between their tongues. Kissing her jawline, then neck and chest, he slowly made his way down toward his target. In his ignorance, he neglected a certain spots on Twilights body before, and now he was eager to make it up to her.

When his mouth found her little nipple hiding in a lavender coat, he gave it several soft licks, monitoring Twilight's reaction. She looked at him, biting her lower lip, which made it clear that he was heading in the right direction. He grabbed her flanks firmly, holding her in place. His thumbs were tracing circular patterns on her cutiemark, as he directed his attention even further down. Carefully, he coated her clit in saliva and began to give it soft and slow licks, trying to prolong the moments of friction for as long as he could, making Twilight gasp loudly every time. The look on her face, her eyes half lidded, mane disheveled and mouth open, gasping for air, was definitely worth the effort. Val averted his gaze from her, concentrating on the task at hand. The mare's musky scent excited him. With renewed fervor he assaulted her marehood with licks and kisses, occasionally darting his tongue inside her depth. Soon enough Twilight became quite audible, screaming in pleasure and thrashing her head to her sides, splaying her mane across the blanket.

Twilight was riding on the wave of pleasure. The buildup was much faster than before, but when she was about to reach the peak, Val slowed down, holding her right there. He alternated paces and techniques, stimulating all the right spots in her nether regions to prolong her pleasure. She did not remembered when she began to scream his name, all she wanted now was a sweet release and a feeling of him penetrating her. She grabbed his head with her hooves and looked pleadingly in his eyes. Val understood her perfectly. He stood up to remove his pants, when something made him stop and look at the open window.

"Get away from Twilight!" A cyan blur exploded into the room, heading right at the standing man. In an instant Val's reflexes kicked in, as he dodged the sudden attacker. A shotgun appeared in his hand, already aimed at the enemy. The blast of purple energy struck his hand, blasting the gun out of his grasp.

"Don't kill her!" Twilight screamed, quickly realising what was going on. She remembered how effective her new friend was in battle. Her desperate attempt at saving Rainbow took all of the magic she managed to gather so far, making her helplessly collapse on the bed.

Seeing as the blur was heading towards him for a second strike, Val jumped with a spin and put all of his momentum in a single kick to redirect enemies trajectory straight into the second window.

Being a relatively good soccer player, his aim was true and the hit struck its goal, sending whatever it was out of the house.

Looking through the window, now he could see that his assailant was in fact a sky-blue winged pony mare with a weird rainbow colored mane. She hovered before the window for a moment before disappearing in the distance with a scream: "Hold on Twilight! I'll get help!"

"I guess that was one of your friends you told me about?" Val asked, still looking at the window. The whole encounter took only about three seconds.

Twilight was laying on her back, panting heavily. Rapid transition from ecstasy to panic and magical exhaustion took their toll.

"Yes. It was Rainbow Dash." She said between pants. She was happy that her friend was safe. "What made her attack you though?"

"I think it may have something to do with the facts that the windows were open and that you were screaming." Val laughed nervously. "How did she missed the context is another question entirely."

"She may be bold, brave and loyal, but she is not very keen, especially in certain areas." Twilight sighed, finally managing to calm down.

"So... Should we expect townsfolk to show up with their monster-hunting inventory?" The young man frowned. He didn't want to deal with an angry mob.

"I doubt it would come to that," stated Twilight, trying to get up from the bed. "I think she would firstly gather my other friends. Don't worry, I'll be able to convince them that this is a simple misunderstanding. Meanwhile we should make ourselves presentable." She sighed. "Rainbow sure knows how to ruin the mood … ."

o--(==========-

Rainbow Dash was flying with all the speed she could muster to the apple orchard on the outskirts of the Ponyville. Her friends very life was in danger and she was not known for letting her friends down.

Seeing the orange earth mare bucking one of the trees, she darted down, stopping her descent right before Applejack's muzzle.

"Monster-in-the-library-is-going-to-kill-Twilight! We-gotta-help, hurry!" She screamed out in a single word.

The mare before her sighed. "Now say that again, sugarcube, in Equestrian please."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Twilight must've summoned some kind of a monster in the library and now it is going to kill her! I'm going to gather the others, hurry!" Without waiting for a response, she flied back to the city at a breakneck speed.

"Ah, horseapples!" Applejack cursed, taking off in the gallop to the giant tree prominent in the middle of a small town.

o--(==========-

"I think I hear the welcoming committee," said Val looking out of the window. Not far from the library five ponies were rushing in to storm the building.

"This is just a misunderstanding. I'm sure you will get along once I explain everything. They are nice ponies," said Twilight assuringly.

She was still weak after the burst of magic and swayed a bit when walking. Seeing this, Val carefully picked her up. While he believed that her friends were indeed 'good ponies', he prefered to be ready for anything, so he set his Spellsinger to paralyzation beforehand and took Twilight to the door. The first thing he saw when opening it was a familiar cyan pegasi coming right at him like a cannonball.

"Put her down right now!" Screamed Rainbow Dash, aiming for Val's head.

In one fluid motion the young man summoned his pistol and lined up a shot, then ducked below now unconscious, but still flying pegasus, putting Twilight down and covering her, just in case. The mare's body shot past them through the doorway, crashing in the bookshelves.

The orange earth pony with a hat was running at him, and a clear bucking intention on her face told Val that negotiations were not an option at this point. When the mare was near him, preparing to buck, he made a swipe at her hooves, using the advantage of longer legs, making her roll along the grass. He shot her with another paralyzation charge as she began to get up, taking her out of the fight.

Right after that he had to dodge a boulder aimed at where his head should have been. A furious white unicorn with deep blue mane was dismantling the road and hurdling the stones at him with magic. He had to fire several shots at her, since she was light on her hooves and shooting a moving target while dodging her assault was not easy.

He looked back at the remaining ponies. The pink earth mare didn't seem that eager to fight and the yellow pegasus was clearly afraid of him. She tried to hide behind her long pink mane, but then she frowned, and brushed the strand away, looking right into his eyes.

The world around Val disappeared.

o--(=====-( x x )

The memories of his life unfolded before him.

When he was fourteen he lied to his caretaker to sneak out and go to the movie.

"I am sorry."

When he was eighteen he counterfeited the documents and faked his age to join the military.

"I am sorry."

He covered up for his squadmates faults whenever they decided to break the regulations and have some fun in the barracks.

"I am sorry."

o--(=====( x x )-

He felt that something was wrong there, that something was watching them. They should not have separated. Had he voiced his suspicion, had he insisted that they should not separate, his squad would have still been alive. Their faces stared at him from the walls of Torturer's chamber.

"I am sorry."

They are already dead and do not need your apology. They no longer care. A simple apology is not enough.

...

[S___p _t __ it!]

o--(====( x x )=-

You shouldn't have done that.

He stared at the body in his arms. Several minutes ago it was a young demonslayer. He thought his will would be strong enough, he thought that Val would cover his back in case of trouble. Val was too late.

"I am sorry."

Your apology would not bring him back. It is not enough.

...

[W___ __e _l_ r ___ d___g?!]

o--(===( x x )==-

The plan required flawless teamwork. They all knew that and they all volunteered. Behind them was a city, covered in an unnatural snow. Before them were armies of undead lead by a demonic necromancer, and the necro-dragons soared in the sky above. Val held back. He hesitated using Folgora's power in fear that she may consume him. His hesitation cost them dearly. Now ten powerful demon-slayers were frozen solid in the Dragon's Graveyard.

"I am sorry."

They could have done so much more, save so much lives — yet they are here, because of you. Your apology not enough.

...

His hand started to move up.

[S__P! T_R_ A__Y F___ H_R!!!]

o--(==( x x )===-

She told him about her suspicions. She told him to turn away and head home, yet he didn't listen. He neglected the advice of the one who cared about him the most, and opened a doorway for demons into a clean world, putting his friends in grave danger. And then he disappeared without a trace.

"I am sorry."

You know she is blaming herself for what had happened to you? She will carry it for the rest of her life, and that wound will never heal, for she is a priestess. Your apology is not enough.

...

He switched the firing mode to fireblast, full power.

[NO!______E____D!]

o--(=( x x )====-

She was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball and crying from pain and terror. It was his fault. He could have stopped him, had he steeled his will and did what had to be done, yet he failed. He gave up before even trying. And he enjoyed it.

"I am sorry."

That will never be enough. You have done enough harm to those around you in your life.

o--(( x x )=====-

The barrel of the gun pressed hard against his forehead.

[_________]

I hope this would suffice.

Something moved in the corner of his eye, perception of the world slowly coming back to him.

Is that a cannon?

-===( x x )==)--o

A cake impacted Val's face with a loud splat, knocking him to the ground and clearing his mind from the influence he was under. A pony jumped on his chest, bouncing on it several times, proclaiming "I hit him! I hit him!".

In a single swipe of her tongue the pink mare licked the remainings of the pastry from his face. "Mmm, tasty!" she said, smacking her lips.

Still not feeling quite right, his head aching like hell, Val raised his gun to zap the bouncing pony.

[S___CH __E M__E!]

[What?] Ral's voice was nearly indiscernible over the noise in his ears.

[Switch the goddamn firing mode, or you will spill her brains all over the place!]

Val switched the spell back to paralyzation and fired straight at the mare's head, then stood up, shoving her limp body off himself.

[At two hours, slightly down, don’t look at her.]

Young man followed the instructions, disabling final and the most dangerous pony in the group. Twilight said that only unicorns were capable of magic, then what the hay was that? Even the mental attacks of the demons were weaker than this. A little bit more and he would have killed himself. Val shuddered at this thought.

He looked back at the doorway, where he left Twilight. With a blank expression, tears streaming down her cheeks, the mare stared into the distance.

Crap! She must've thought I've killed her friends!

Hurrying up to her side, Val kneeled down before her, taking her head in his arms. "Everything is alright. They are all alive, just paralyzed. It will wear off in about fifteen minutes." Life started to return to Twilight's eyes as she began to sob. "Did you really thought I would've killed your friends?"

"I have seen what this thing can do! I did not know what to think!" Twilight answered, trying to subdue her crying. "Do not you dare ever do something like this ever again!" She punched Val in the chest, as he tried to hug her, but then gave up and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Alright. Next time I will allow myself to be killed," said Val, stroking her mane lightly.

"I didn't mean it like that! We could have easily explained to them that you are not a monster. You should not have resorted to violence!" Still angry at him, Twilight punched again.

"Well, I'm quite sure that if I didn't paralyze them, I would have been dead at least three times over before you even began talking. That Rainbow mare alone could have taken my head clean off. By the way, I didn't intended it, but she crashed really hard. We should check on her," Val answered, looking into the library.

The pile of books under one of the bookshelves grunted and shifted, revealing a pegasus slowly crawling her way from under it. The spell was wearing off faster than Val expected, but it would take time for the mare to regain her fight capability. She stood up, swaying from side to side, and waved her hoof at him, mumbling something incoherent. That made her lose her balance and fall to the floor, where she continued to try and push herself up.

Val walked up to the mare and kneeled down. "Would you please stop trying to attack me? I am not an enemy, and as you can see your friend Twilight is unharmed."

The lavender unicorn already pulled herself together and was near him now. "He is speaking the truth."

Rainbow blinked looking at the weird monster before her and tried to say something, but her tongue was still limp, so it just fell from the side of her mouth, refusing to cooperate. The mare groaned in frustration.

Twilight giggled at the sight. "Do not worry, she took far worse crashes without any serious injury," she said, noticing Val's concerned look. "She had crashed into my library several times before. We better gather up the others and explain everything to them."

o--(==========-

After about fifteen minutes the effects of the spell wore off completely, and Twilight had her friends sitting on the pillows in the main room of the library. She introduced Val and told them the story of his arrival. She left out quite a few details though.

"Woah! A real alien from a different world! And you are some sort of a hero back there too? That's cool!" Recovered after the effects of paralyzation, Rainbow Dash was hovering in the air before Val. "Well, we are heroes too! I'm Rainbow Dash, the coolest one, and the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria!" She offered her hoof to Val.

"But not the most modest one, I see," Val said, after a hoofshake. "Also, honestly, I am not exactly a 'hero'. I am a demon-slayer. I kill monsters, and from what I gathered your kind generally does not consider any killing a 'heroic' deed."

Dash's hoof and facial expression froze still for a brief moment, while she composed herself. "Y-you only kill bad guys, right?" She asked nervously.

"Only the worst," Val assured her.

The yellow pegasus, that was sitting quietly before, perked up. "But there should be another way!" she said with firm resolve. "Any intelligent being can be reasoned with!"

[For someone who nearly drove you to suicide she sounds quite pacifistic.]

[Hypocrisy wasn't invented yesterday, after all.] Val tried hard not to meet the mare's eyes, and eventually decided not to look at her at all, just in case.

"Most demons aren't intelligent at all, and those who are use their intelligence for one purpose only. Demons are beings of destruction. It is the only thing they want, and the only thing they do."

[Oh, really?]

[Exceptions confirm the rule, Ral.]

[You know that is not true.]

[I can believe whatever I want.]

He heard loud gulp coming from Fluttershy — that's how Twilight called the mare. Suddenly two large blue eyes obstructed his vision. Somehow the pink earth pony with a puffy mane appeared on his shoulders, leaning over from behind of his head, so her face was upside down right before his.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you, Mr. Alien! Since you're new to both Ponyville and Equestria, I absolutely definitely positively have to throw you both "Welcome to Ponyville" and "Welcome to Equestria" parties! Two parties are always better than one, but what should I do? I could throw you both parties at once and double the fun, or I could make them consequential and double the length! What do you think? What do you like? Do you like cupcakes? Pies? Cakes maybe?" The pink pony's unstoppable barrage of questions continued for some time before Val's ears began to ring again.

"I'll leave it all up to you." He interrupted Pinkie, reaching to his back to pick the pony from his shoulders and put her before himself. "I have no preferences in terms of parties, but can I ask you something?"

"Double the fun it is then! And you're already sort of did, silly!" The mare giggled. "What is it?"

"Where did you get that cannon you fired the cake from? I didn't see it when you were coming to the library." That was bothering the young man since the fateful shot that saved his life.

"Well, I store a spare party-cannons all over the Ponyville in case of party emergency! Well, actually I don't. My Pinkie-sense told me that if I won't bring it with me somepony is going to die, so duh, of course I brought it with me!" answered Pinkie with a smile, as if predicting the future was completely normal.

"Pinkie-sense?" Val began to doubt Twilight's statement that only unicorns could perform magic in this world. He turned to Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"Pinkie somehow is able to predict outcomes of different situations, or feel when somepony breaks a 'pinkie-promise' based on reactions and twitches of her body. Don't question what Pinkie says or does, and don't try to make sense of it or find an explanation. That only leads to confusion and self-combustion." Twilight noticed that her last sentence made Val even more confused, and sighed. "Don't ask."

Meanwhile, the alabaster unicorn named Rarity took an interest in the pants that the young man was wearing. "Excuse me, darling, but I must say that I am quite intrigued by the material your garments are made of. I can not say that I have ever seen anything like this."

"It is an enchanted leather." Val expected her to back away, but the unicorn leaned in instead, touching the side of his jacked with a hoof.

"Hmm … ." Rarity mused, tracing the pattern on the jacket. "What animal was it made of? And what of its enchantment? It does look a bit like a zebrican, but it looks so much more sophisticated."

"The hide of a bullboar, enchanted to be unstainable and very hard to damage. Unfortunately, it can not withstand cross-dimensional tears." Val tugged the other side of the jacked to show her the long thin hole.

"Hold your horses, sugarcube. Ya mean to tell me that this thing was made out of a livin' critter?" Applejack was clearly taken aback by that revelation.

Fluttershy's reaction was different though. She had backed away, as if trying to hide behind the backs of her friends. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes, and kept hovering behind Val's back, as if such things were usual here.

"Oh, do not be such a prude, dear." Rarity made a waving gesture with her hoof at the orange mare. "Griffons make quite a lot of their clothing out of their livestock. Living in the harsh mountains they learned to get absolutely everything from what they have. Since I feel obligated to know as much as I can about clothing and fashion, I have learned everything I could about their designs. And I must say, they have nothing close to this quality! This is so fascinating!"

The mare scratched her chin with a forehoof, over-thinking something. "Idea!" She suddenly sung with excitement. "How about you let me repair your clothing as an apology for hurtling those stones at you?"

"That is a generous offer, but you see, my kind does not have as much protection against environment as you ponies have, so we wear clothes all the time. The problem is, what I'm wearing now is everything I have, and I'm not comfortable walking around naked." As Val spoke, Rarity's smile grew wider, and at the end she was quivering with joy.

"Don't worry, darling! I have designed clothing for bipeds too, so I think I'll figure something out for you too wear." Noticing that young man was about to argue, she hurried to dismiss his doubts. "Don't think I'm doing this just for you, dear. I wanted to practice working with leather for quite some time now. Unfortunately the demand for it is nonexistent here, so this will be a great opportunity and pleasure for me."

"Ah can understand your obsession with fashion and all, but Ah think being eager to meddle with dead animal's skin is mighty creepy. Besides," Applejack stepped into the conversation, "Ah don't trust this fella. He's a predator, but thats not what bothers me. He’s a trained killer!" She turned to Twilight. "How can ya be sure he won't harm no pony?"

"He... promised?" Twilight looked at Val for the confirmation, but Pinkie had other ideas.

"Oh I know, I know!" Bounced the pink mare. "Make him Pinkie-promise!"

"If ya can hold him to it, sugarcube, that'll be fine by me," agreed Applejack.

"Nopony can break a Pinkie-promise without me knowing, silly filly. I thought you'd learn that by now!" Came the answer.

"Ah sure as hay did." Applejack ruffled the pink mane lovingly.

"This is the second time I’m hearing about this 'Pinkie-promise'. What is it?" Asked the young man.

"It's simple! You promise something, then you do this," Pinkie started to make a closing gesture with her hoof. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She made some other gestures as she spoke, and Val felt a weird tingling sensation on his nape. His remaining hair stood still.

[Looks like a magic ritual to me.] Ral suddenly decided to speak up. [You should be very careful with the wording of your promise.]

[If that what it takes for them to accept me ... .]

"I promise not to harm anypony, unless they explicitly try to harm me." He performed the Pinkie's ritual, and that seemed to ease the tension around him. Applejack seemingly relaxed and the shy yellow pegasus peeked up from behind Rarity. Val quickly averted his gaze not to make an eye contact with her.

"Well, that settles it. Ah still think there's something' fishy about ya, Ah can feel it with my guts, but until ya break the promise, you have nothing to fear from mah side," Applejack assured him. "Ya haven't told us everything though, sugarcube. What the hay made Rainbow assume he is a monster?" The orange mare turned to the Rainbow Dash, awaiting the explanation.

"Well, I was doing my morning practice, when I heard screams coming from the library. The window in the bedroom was open so I rushed in and saw him," Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof in Val's direction, "looming over Twilight. She was screaming, what else was I supposed to think? I rushed in through the window and then — What?" She asked noticing her friends reaction.

Applejack's mouth began to hang open, as she processed the implications of the described situation. "Sugarcube, don't tell me that you — and him … ." Her voice trailed off as she pointed at Val. Twilight's face lit up with red, as she shrinked in with an embarrassed smile, confirming Applejack's suspicion.

Rarity placed her hoof to her mouth with a quiet 'oh my', blushing slightly. Fluttershy's wings were trembling slightly, as she tried to hide her burning face behind her mane. Pinkie, on the other hoof, smiled widely.

"Ah don't wanna sound judgemental, Twi, but — Really? Instead of a nice stallion, ya picked an alien predator? Ah can understand, ya always strived to be open-minded, but this — " Applejack pointed at Val "just feels wrong."

Val sighed. Such reaction was perfectly normal, after all. Did he really expected something else? He looked at Twilight, who tried to find an argument in her defense and opened her mouth to speak up, when somepony else took the initiative.

"I can perfectly understand Twilight!" Pinkie Pie declared loudly. "He is tasty!"

"Wait. What do you mean 'I am tasty'?" Val asked in surprise and confusion, but the pink pony just flashed her smile at him and winked. The fact that there was at least somepony else supporting him cheered him up, making him smile back at the mare. She saved his life, and now she also backed him up. He already liked her.

"Well, I don't see any problem, Applejack. If that what makes Twilight happy, then so be it. Besides there are not that many stallions available, and what is more important, worth looking at, in this town, so it is quite understandable that she decided to look for opportunities elsewhere, " stated Rarity, looking at the cowpony.

Val's smile grew wider. This went much better than he had expected. It looked like he had some allies here, and he hoped, future friends.

Applejack sighed, refusing to continue an awkward conversation.

"What are you all talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash, hovering above them.

"Don't worry, darling," said Rarity softly, realising how wonderfully oblivious her friend was about sexual matters, "I will explain everything to you, and maybe even show you, if you find time to visit me later." She always liked the brash pegasus, and found her attractive. She even tried to give her subtle hints from time to time, yet Rainbow always ignored them, and now Rarity knew why. She was perfectly innocent. Always trying so hard to be best at everything she does, Dash simply ignored things that were of less significance to her. Things like stallions, or mares for that matter. Anything that was 'mushy' or too 'girly,' as she would say herself. And that was magnificent. She had so much to learn, and Rarity was more than willing to teach.

"Hmm, okay." Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "Aliens are cool and all that, but if there is no emergency, I'd rather go catch up on flight practice. See you later!" With that, the cyan pegasus took off and flew through the open window, not noticing the look her alabaster friend was giving her.

"I don't mind him either," said quiet voice. Fluttershy decided to speak up, finally walking from behind Rarity, making Val flinch slightly. "If Twilight says he's nice, then he must be. Um, excuse me, but I have to go, my animal friends need me... if that's okay with you, I mean."

"It's perfectly fine, Fluttershy," Twilight assured her.

"I'm afraid, I have to depart too, darling! I have a set of clothes to make! Ta-ta!" The white unicorn decided to follow her friends example and take her leave.

"And I have a super-fantastic Welcome-to-Ponyville-and-Equestria double party! Oh, wait! Now it is Welcome-to-Ponyville-and-Equestria-Mr.-badass-alien plus Congratulations,-Twilight,-for-loosing-your-virginity party! That makes it a triple party! Thus is the best day ever!" Pinkie Pie started to bounce around.

"Pinkie! Losing my virginity is not something I would like to declare to other ponies, and certainly not something I'd like to celebrate." Twilight frowned, darkening Val's mood. He felt obliged to cheer her up, but could not think of anything right now.

"Aww, are you sure you don't want to celebrate?" Pinkie's mane looked like it lost a bit of its puffiness. Must've been the light, decided Val.

"Pretty sure." Twilight confirmed.

"Alright then, I'll be on my way. Be sure to visit Sugarcube Corner at eight!" Pinkie smiled, bouncing away.

"Shucks, why do Ah feel like Ah am a bad pony all of a sudden?" asked Applejack to nopony in particular. "Look, sugarcube, Ah don’t have anythin' personally against ya, but Ah don't think Twi did a well thought-through decision either," she said to Val. "And Celestia help me, should ya ever make her cry, ‘cause I'll have the whole Apple family coming after ya, got it?"

"I would never forgive myself either, if I do, so feel free to give me everything you've got." Val suddenly didn't feel obliged to be nice anymore. If that pony had a problem with him, that was her problem alone. For now.

When everypony left, he looked back at Twilight, who was still sitting at the table, deep in her thoughts.

"I don't think she likes me."

Twilight perked up and smiled at him. "Relax. She will come around. And now, I believe we have a party to look up to! You have to make your best impression! I'll give you a quick rundown on things you should … ."

[Why do I suddenly have a feeling that we are going to get an exam instead of a party?]

o---{>=L=O=A=D=I=N=G=-