A role-playing gamer in Celestia's Court

Chapters

A Strange Awakening
Not the Greatest Survivalist
Helpful 'Neigh'bors
Being the New Guy
The Afterparty
Knowledge of Power
New Home and Unexpected Guests
Bite of Foreknowledge
A Day in Manehattan
Something Different
Another Interesting Wakeup
Chance Meetings and New Beginnings
Growth and Unexpected Knowledge
Warm Hearts and Growing Darkness
Face to Face with a Queen
Facing the Darkness
Sealing the Darkness
Reprecussions
No Rest with the Wicked
Smoke Under the Mountain
Rumble in the Mountain's Heart
Taint Misbehaving

A Strange Awakening

It happened in the night, at least I figured it must have because I had fallen asleep in my crappy bed that night and woke up on thankfully a soft bed of moss in the middle of a forest with what seemed to be a thick canopy of green over me. Even under normal circumstances, this would be cause for surprise, but I about slipped into unconsciousness when I looked at my hand seeing that it appeared to be a very wrong shade of gray along with my fingernails having gone black. With quite a justifiable amount of surprise, I sat up and looked to my feet which I discovered had just become hooves the same jet black of my fingernails. The revelation of which caused me to let out a rather unmasculine scream of shock and horror.

I was in quite a state looking about the mossy floor under the thicket I had somehow ended up under for a few hours before finally working up the nerve to finally take a full inventory of what had and had not changed in my physiology. I had taken on a much leaner version of what seemed to be my basic body type of square, was thankfully still male by human standards, and seemed to still be my former height of six feet tall. Unfortunately, that was about all that had remained the same.The front of my face around my nose and mouth had elongated to a muzzle sticking out about three or four inches from where my face had been. A long crystalline horn was growing from the center of my forehead curving up at the last third, the hair that had replaced where I had normally had hair was black, rather long as well as in quite an unkempt state with matching tail, and my aforementioned male body part being quite different from it had been when I had been human.That bit of self-discovery out of the way, I began to take an inventory of the things in my person which consisted of one of my longer t-shirts, dark black with an ice-blue version of the Superman's "S'' and a pair of black pajama pants all of which had become rather loose due to my sudden lack of bulk.

After having spent two hours coming to terms with my changes, I remembered that I was also in an unknown place.Upon leaving the thicket I had kept myself to, I found that the surrounding area had a rather pleasant temperate forest environment and no hostile flora or fauna that I could recognize or that was behaving as such. I decided I would explore the area surrounding my thicket first so as not to lose track of what seemed to be a safe place. The greater forest around me only had a bit more light than the thicket I had been under, but none of the soft moss as I thanked having hooves as bare feet on this forest's open floor would have been rather unpleasant. A very short walk away, and still within sight of my origin point, was a ten foot wide slow moving creek with rather deep but clear water. My mouth suddenly felt very dry, so I decided to take a knee and use my hands as a cup to take a drink.

Thankfully I hadn't become too absorbed enjoying the cool water to not notice a set of ripples in the water coming towards me against the current. I backed off just in time for what looked like a rocky alligator or freshwater crocodile that had to be at least a third larger than me to miss snapping me into its jaws. The force of its weight slamming down on the shoreline shook the ground around my feet enough to make me lose balance. Once I fell on my ass, I watched in horror as the rockodile ran at me. I needed it gone, I was scared, I put up my hand to try and put it between it and the rest of my body wishing I had a spear or anything to stop a charging animal. It opened its mouth wide to take ahold of me as felt a warm sensation wash over the center of my forehead and the rockodile was suddenly stopped by a long, crystalline spike jutting out of the ground the tip burying into what I could only figure to be it's brain as it had stopped moving, it's eyes looking blank and dead to the world around it. My heart was racing in my chest as I looked over the aftermath of my encounter with the rockodile.

The spike appeared to be onyx or maybe obsidian, some kind of dark black, glossy stone that had formed a spear from the ground. I had a feeling that strange sensation I had felt and the spike were certainly connected. How had I done that? Was there more I could do? I looked at the spike and thought hard about it going back down into the earth. I felt the warm sensation and noticed a kind of black light aura around the spear as it began to shake very slightly. I backed away quickly before the spike shattered and the pieces sank into the soil which I noticed was far darker than the forest floor had looked before. I reached down, taking a handful as I took a sniff. It smelt like rich earth or composed soil full of death and decay but good for plants and new life. It was both calming and unnerving at the same time. I put my hand back in the dirt and wondered if other things were under the ground as I felt the now more familiar sensation but this time it flowed down my forehead into my eyes as I "saw" all of the ground surrounding me. Rocks, gems, bone, underground water, and even the footsteps of creatures moving along the ground. It was so much information to take in at once, so I narrowed it down to shallow dirt only about a hundred feet around me. I was amazed that with just a little use, this was becoming much easier to do, but I was starting to feel drained and sleepy. It seemed doing what I was doing left me fatigued with over use so I made my way back to safety of the thicket that I had started in to rest and recover. There was still part of me that thought this had to be a dream and that I was going to wake up in my bed. Another was excited that this could be real. A land of adventure and danger but I had some power of my own to fight back. It was too awesome.

Author's Note

I know it's not that great but I'd love any feedback you're willing to give me. Thank you for reading.
To beings with superpowers, if this is in the inncorrect place because the character is no longer human let me know and I will promptly remove it from your folders. Thank you.

Not the Greatest Survivalist

I awoke to find that it was still light outside and my stomach rumbling angrily which was causing even the leaves of the thicket I was taking refuge in to start looking rather tasty. I plucked a few leaves from the brush and brought them up to my nose taking a deep sniff before giving them a testing lick. They didn't seem toxic as far as I could tell by the senses I had on hand. They were even aromatic like basil or maybe parsley. I figured I'd may as well go all in and put the leaves in my mouth and began to grind them into a paste on my molars before swallowing. It had a bit of a strong taste on its own, almost like basil mixed with mint a little certainly would go a long way on some meat, maybe that was what made this such a good hiding spot, the smell of the plants was hiding my scent from predators. Thinking of meat had me curious as to the state of the rockodile corpse I had left at the creekshore and if that had attracted anything else's attention.

I stuck my head outside the thicket looking around, seeing the coast seemed to be clear and the corpse of the rockodile was still at the creekshore. The idea of getting a much more substantial meal in me had my stomach rumbling again. I willed an obsidian knife with about a six inch long blade as I bent down and picked it up making my way to the corpse to prepare the parts of it that seemed remotely appetizing to me. It was during this short walk that I realized the knife I had made was naturally sharp, looking nothing like any kind of tool of its kind that could have been made by hand and its balance rested comfortably in my hand. I knelt down beside the corpse, cutting the legs and tail ,as they seemed like the easiest parts of this beast to cook without any experience, with impressive ease thanks to the tool at my disposal. While going about skinning the parts I planned on cooking, I noticed that the rocklike growths on the rockodile appeared to really be stone. This revelation gave me an idea as I looked at the rocky growths on the corpse's head, my forehead once again awash with the warm sensation as I noticed the black-light aura around the rocks. I then visualized them pushing into the rockodile's skull as a sickening cracking noise was soon coming from the corpse soon followed but a snap and squelch as the rocks had pulverized the skull on their way to touch one another.

"Messy and not very hard, handy.." I said aloud to myself and heard an unfamiliar voice only in the vaguest sense like my human one coming from my muzzle. Strange I could have sworn between the scream and the fact I normally talk aloud to myself I would have noticed that this a bit deeper and slightly gravelly voice, kinda fitting seeing as what I seemed to be able to do with things of earth. was coming from me. Maybe I had blocked it out till now or maybe I hadn't talked until now because I wasn't ready to know. I felt a bit of headache coming as I munched a few more leaves before digging out a small pit to put a cooking fire. This power was still getting easier to do, but until I had a safer place to practice, anything I could do with less magic seemed to be the way to go. I began to gather up any stray wood I could find to add to my little firepit. Taking the straightest sticks I could find, I sharpened one end with my knife and after skewering the meat through on them I knelt down and put the blunt ends into the ground by the pit I then set about arduous task of starting a fire using friction as I shaved bark into little strips and then cut a divot into a bigger piece of wood.I then took a smaller straight stick and rounded a tip as I then pressed the tip into the divot and began to spin it as quickly as I could between my hands watching for smoke. Once I picked up enough speed to see some I bent down and gently blew on the smoldering bit of wood to get it to glow as I put some of the shavings on it hoping they would catch. After what felt like forever I finally managed to get the wood alight and into a nice little cooking fire.

After having rested my powers, I felt a bit better. Now I was curious, I wanted to see just how I looked. but there wasn't anything reflective nearby. "Ok, nothing too big, don't waste too much effort." I cleared my mind. closed my eyes, and envisioned a slightly bigger than my hand disc of gems merging together with a slight sheen of silver drawing itself over the front surface to make a mirror. I felt the tingle of power from the center of my forehead and then felt it die as I opened my eyes seeing a mirror at my feet with a smile creasing on my muzzle. I picked up the mirror and took a look at myself. "Well let's see what I look like." I had a horse-like face, very slightly elongated canines with pearly white teeth, my horn appeared to be black as jet at the base fading toward ruby red about half way up turning fully red for the last quarter to the tip, my eyes had golden sclera and piercing emerald iris. "Well, aren't I the villainous looking one? Oh crap, I think I am. I look a lot like that Sombra villain from My Little Pony. This is too weird" I put down the mirror and turned the sticks so the other side of the meat was now facing the fire, the slightly more cooked side looking rather nice, slightly browned and still sizzling. "If I'm in a world like MLP and this is a wild forest, Maybe I'm somewhere in the Everfree" I was trying to get used to my new voice, that while close to my old one wasn't mine and that was rather unnerving. It didn't make any sense. How was I here? Was I even sure I was right here?

That train of thought stopped as my stomach growled and the scent of the cooking meat was fully enjoyed by my sense of smell. Now using my mirror as a plate for the now cooked skewers, I cut off the tip of the tail and popped it in my mouth. So far, it seemed I could eat meat without any adverse effects so I was still omnivorous by nature which was rather helpful to know. Otherwise I would have wasted quite a bit of time and effort to get this cooked. "If I'm in the Everfree, maybe that means I could find Ponyville or even the sister's old castle." I was getting a bit more used to the idea that this was going to be my new voice. Thinking about how I had a new body in a new place, had me thinking about going with a new name as well. Joshua Sylvan wasn't really a name that fit all that well with either my new villainous appearance or even MLP naming conventions, if that was really were I was, but my appearance, the rockodile, and that I seemed to have some kind of magic at my disposal all pointed to that being as likely a case as anything else my brain was coming up with.

My thoughts were interrupted by a long, loud howl coming from close by as what looked to be a six foot long almost four feet tall at the shoulder wolf recreated from bark and other bits of wood that instantly registered in my mind as timberwolf and as soon as I saw the one, three more showed up leave one of me against four of them, which were not favorable odds for me. I noticed that their attention seemed split between me and the corpse. In an act of desperation, I made the ground under it shift to move it much closer to them while bolting up grabbing the knife and mirror hoping that would take the easy and larger meal rather than chase after me. I heard growls and teeth tearing into flesh followed by a howl as I turned my head back to see that the first one that had seen me was much more interested in me rather than a body that had been dead for a few hours, talk about picky eater. I stuffed some of the legs and thigh meat into my mouth and then turned around slinging the rest of the meat off my mirror and, in a rather lucky shot, hit it right in the eyes, staggering it. Seizing the opportunity, I charged at the timberwolf, my aura encircling the mirror as I threw it and then willed it to go to it as fast as it could into the timberwolf's face. The mirror ripped through half of its lower jaw reducing the impact point to splinters as I managed to connect with it stabbing all around its head in a frantic hope that I could find some weak point before finally jamming the knife into its right eye. I don't think this baddie had been expecting me to put up the kind of fight I was giving it. I backed off from it and focused on the knife making it shake about in the timberwolf's eye socket before it shattered with impressive force as I then caught the shards coming my way in an aura flinging them back towards it obsidian now buried deep inside the timberwolf's head. It's yelps of pain it had been letting out since my counterattack had now died to a light whimpering as it slumped down. Going on the prevailing theory that timberwolves aren't really living but some kind of wooden construct, my aura shimmered on the dirt around it's feet as the timberwolf yipped in terror as the ground under it gave out and was filed in with tar.

I turned around and started running again, my head aching very hard as I grew lightheaded. I couldn't pass out here, it wasn't safe. I forced myself to keep going as long as I could before my knees gave out and I fell. "Cover, I need cover, or at least concealment." I spoke my thought in a daze as I forced myself to crawl to the nearest brush I could find. I couldn't be out in the open. To be exposed would mean my death at the teeth or claws of some creature while I was helpless. I wasn't going to die here, not after just getting here, not if I could help it. I made it into the brush and relaxed as I let darkness overtake me, sending me to a world of dreams.

Author's Note

It will likely take a lot longer on the next update. I had this one mostly pre written before I even posted the first. I hope to try and get these out with as little lag as I can manage. As with the first, I'd love feedback if you lovely readers are willing to give it.

Helpful 'Neigh'bors

I heard humming and the strange scent of some kinds of plant matter being boiling together. I jolted awake, my eyes snapping open to see a strange witch doctor like hut surrounding me with fetish masks and drying plants. It took a few moments for the gears in my head to really start turning as I sat up in the bed I now realized I was in.

"Really? I got rescued by Zecora?"

"Yes, indeed you did, would you rather you be dead? However does one with such a visage untame, have any idea as to my name?" I turned to look and saw a three and a half feet tall at the shoulder zebra looking very much like the TV show character I had seen before.

"Um, well you're very well known among the circles I run in." She raised an eyebrow at me as I had a very bad feeling that she didn't really believe anything I had just been saying. I laid back down in the bed as my head was still pounding like my brain was too big for my skull.

"So you say my strange friend. You are here in the Everfree to what end?" Zecora moved in closer and gently put her hoof on my forehead. I looked up to her as she spoke to me before closing my eyes again.

"I got lost in the forest from a botched teleportation. The nearest town to here is Ponyville, right? Could you give me directions?" Once she took her hoof off my forehead, I risked sitting back up as I looked to where she appeared to be cooking something in her cauldron as she had gone back to stirring the spoon with her hoof..

"You say you're lost from your home.However the nights of the Everfree are not a safe place to roam." She pulled the spoon from the cauldron and trotted over holding it out as I saw it to be filled with some kind of pungent green liquid, perhaps even a soup. In a rather trusting fashion, I opened my mouth for her to put the spoon in as I gulped it down. It didn't really taste bad, just different, kinda like cream of potato, but blended with wheatgrass and garlic maybe. I perked up a bit and then thought as to how I should introduce myself to her.

" I'm sorry, I've forgotten to give you my name, I'm Onyxian, thank you for taking me in and letting me stay until daylight." She had gotten two bowls of soup ready while I had been talking as I took one from her when she offered it to me.

"You shouldn't use your magic with just such little regard, the toll it can take on even the best is quite hard. Just what is it you plan to do, once there is light anew?" Not about to disrespect my gracious hostess, I had started eating with gusto as I thought about the question Zecora had asked. What plan did I have after going to Ponyville the next morning? Did I have any plan at all? It's not like I had any plans where I had come from.

"I think I'll make my way to Ponyville and see where things go from there. Plans just make you lose the flexibility to react to changes unless you keep them vague. I think the real key is goals and I think my current goal is to find one. I'm very far from home, but that just gives new chances to learn and I have a lot of that to do." I gave her a smile as I began eating again, my ears darting about trying to catch any sounds of nighttime monsters in the Everfree. I noticed Zecora clearing her throat as I perked up eager to listen to any advice the wise zebra had to offer.

"A goal is indeed a worthy thing to seek, it is important for both the mighty and the meek.Indeed it would be good for you to go Ponyville way, at the breaking of the next day." I was rather happy she didn't ask much about me personally as we soon finished eating and I laid back down still feeling pretty worn out. It had been one hell of a day, being in a truly safe place with someone wishing me well really helped me relax and give myself a chance to really rest. I closed my eyes and continued to relax myself farther as I heard a soft voice speaking to me in my head that I couldn't quite make out. Images began to form and it appeared I was in the night sky. I looked around and did a double take at seeking what looked to be Luna standing in front of me. I tried to talk but couldn't, she was gorgeous in person. It didn't really help that she was my absolute favorite princess. As those thoughts crossed my mind , I noticed that the princess seemed to blush slightly.

"Correct, We are Luna and you are a rather lost person. Are you not Onyxian? We understand what being lost and alone in a strange new place feels like." I managed to find a voice, I figured this had to be a dream, but that didn't mean I couldn't be really talking to the real Luna. Dreams were one of her realms after all.

"Yeah, your time among the moon creatures, I remember that. I'm sorry, your Highness. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable with my staring." I shifted a bit as she moved in closer.

"Your form is much like that of an old foe, but you are so very different, very alien in thought. Terror and excitement, wonder and weariness, lost and yet you feel at home." I couldn't help myself as I moved in and gently gave the Princess of the Night a hug. It was something I had always had to do ever since she'd been freed in the second episode. I felt her flinch at my hug and could understand why. I was a stranger she had come to address and here I was fanboying out and even making the very bold move of hugging her.

"How do you know about our name, the trials, and creatures We have met? You are not from this place." I let her go feeling rather silly at not having better control over myself. I figured I'd tell the truth as she'd be the most likely to believe me in spite of how fantastic it would sound in this world.

"Where I'm from, this world is one known only in stories. Perhaps it is simply luck that facts involving you are mostly correct? Did you notice me not being from this place because of my dreams?" Luna nodded her head as I watched her mane moving, It was like seeing the Milky Way in her locks that flash animation would have stood no chance doing her justice.

"Yes, We did and so thought you might require aid in returning to your world." I shook my head emphatically at her statement.

"No, I really don't want to go back, at least not yet. This is the kind of world we can only dream of, Equestria is a marvelous land of myth and adventure compared to where I am from. I'd like to see more and do more while I am here, especially the things I'd never be able to do in my world." I looked at her with pleading eyes as I then sat down with her looking over me. The princess then perked up and looked off in the distance. Maybe she was seeing someone else's dreamscape that needed her tending. Her horn glowed as a portal opened behind her.

"Sadly, it seems we are needed elsewhere. Please take care in this world, Onyxian. We also understand the allure of power and the corrupting influence it can have." With that luna trotted through the portal which closed after her leaving me to my dreams.

I woke up to the light shining in my eyes as I turned over on my side and opened my eyes feeling like I could take on the world. Now I knew what the 'well rested' status in Fallout; New Vegas felt like in person. With a slight yawn I stood up from the bed hunching over so I wouldn't hit my head or horn on the ceiling as I walked out the door to tend to a certain set of business. Once concluded, I sat down by the tree house enjoying the beginnings of a warm summer day. My quiet enjoyment of nature was broken when I heard a small, girlish gasp as I turned to see a little foal with a yellow coat, red mane and tail with a big pink bow in her hair. I know my face must have lit up when I saw her as I gave Applebloom a friendly wave.

"Well hello there little filly, good morning to you." I did my best to give my friendliest smile hoping I wasn't scaring her.
"Uh, hello there, mister. Is Zecora in?" She seemed a bit fidgety as I figured my appearance was rather unnerving so for her sake I did my best to seem as passive as possible.

"I think she's still inside, but she might have left before I got up and be out, or she could still be getting ready. I'm Onyxian by the way. What's your name little 'un?" Watching the Apples had always brought out my Southern accent.

"You makin' fun of da way I talk, mister? I ain't little neider, I'm a big pony." I quirked a brow at her and then gave a playful roll of my eyes letting her have her moment.

"Now cool yer hooves, sugarcube. I ain't poking' fun at ya none. I know ya gotta be a big pony if’n they let you go into dis here forest all by yerself." I'd almost forgotten what it's like being a kid feeling like the grown-ups were being condescending to you and never listening to what you have to say. "I'll try to not sound folksie if you feel it's insulting, Miss." That lit her face up. That I was respecting her like an adult looked to be making her day or least improving her thoughts of me.

"Well, thank ya kindly, I can understand ya just fahn either way. I'm Applebloom, it's nice ta meet ya, Onyxian. Did I say dat right?" I nodded my head to her as the door opened behind me and out walked Zecora.

"Good morning to you Onyxian and Applebloom. It is good to see my young friend again so soon." I stayed sitting and turned back to look at Applebloom.

"I was hoping you'd be able to guide me back to Ponyville after you were finished with your business here. Please?" I thought I saw the filly about jump for joy at hearing I, an adult, was asking her for help with something.

"I dunno, I am rather busy, but since it'll be on my way back and you asked so nicely. Sure, I can help you get to Ponyville." It seemed I was finally on the right track to getting somewhere. It was only morning and so far things were already looking up.

Being the New Guy

It had taken about an hour for Applebloom and Zecora to conclude their business as I had pretty much spent that time munching on a few edible plants I could find while generally keeping an open eye and ear out for danger. Once she was ready to go, Applebloom and I gave our farewells to Zecora before striking out on the path to Ponyville. It was during our walk that Applebloom asked me a few rather interesting questions to help pass the time.

"So where ya from?" She asked a few minutes into our path.

"A place very far and different from here. Often not in good ways either." She looked a little unsatisfied by my answer.

"So jus what are ya anyway?" Damn, that was another hard question to answer. I wasn't really sure what I was either.

"I'm a unitaur, kinda like a minotaur version of a unicorn." Applebloom perked up as it seemed she felt that was a much better answer than my last one.

"Dat's pretty neat, so can ya use magic like a unicorn?" I nodded my head as I answered her question farther.

"Mine's rather specialized, it works with earth, metal, and rock." I noticed her looking at the Superman 'S' on my t-shirt before she mustered up the courage to ask.

"What's da S on yer shirt stand for?" I chuckled figuring I could squeeze a rather corny line into the conversation.

"It's not an S, where I'm from it means 'hope'."

"Well where I'm from it's an S." I could barely hold back a chuckle at her retort.

"It's really an S where I'm from too, but it's worn by a great superhero of comics named Superman."

"Sound rather uh, super. So they have comic books where yer from, that's cool." Quick to shift the subject off of me. I figured I'd get some reconnaissance out of the way.

"Say Applebloom, has anything really strange or special happened recently in Ponyville?"

"Well yeah, the Everfree got all strange and attacked. So mah big sister along with her friends had to stop it." I let my mouth go slack to look as shocked as I could, which wasn't too hard. "I know, there were des black vines all around making all kinds of trouble for everypony." This was very close to the end of my knowledge of the current episodes of the show that had aired.

"Your big sister is one of the Elements of Harmony? That must be amazing." Applebloom seemed a bit confused as to what I was talking about. "Your big sis is part of the group that stopped Nightmare Moon when she returned and ended Discord's second reign of chaos, right? We hadn't heard names but called the group 'the Elements of Harmony' because they say that's how they stopped them. At least that's what they say." Maybe I should play dumber, but I couldn't help it. Even the comics don't go into a lot of world building other than plot, but acting like I had no idea about anything in the world could just as likely cause a whole boatload of problems and having to come up with how I don't know what should be common knowledge. Not that it wasn't a situation I was likely to find myself in soon anyway. Applebloom just looked at me with a slightly stern gaze.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty cool. I mean to me she’s just mah big sister, but she really has dun some amazing things." I thought a bit and figured it might be easier to keep her talking on a board subject I was sure she could talk about.

"So, what's Ponyville like?" I don't really know a lot about it other than it's close to the Everfree." That got her talking for the rest of the trip out of the woods as she told me about landmarks from the show along with a lot of different small shops around town she had visited with family members. Once we were out of the forest, we stopped at a fork in the road.

"Welp, jus follow dis road ta da right and it'll lead ya into Ponyville square. Da left leads ta Sweet Apple Acres. See ya around. Onyxian."

"Thank you for the Applebloom." Her face lit up as we waved our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. A few minutes walk and I was in Ponyville town square just like Applebloom had said. I got more than a few strange looks as I did my best to seem friendly, not wanting to end up another Zecora and having all the ponies too scared to even interact with me. I took note of a lot of the background ponies people had given names milling about as I found a bench and took a seat to rest my legs I suddenly heard another gasp from a very familiar high pitched female voice as I turned to see a pink earth pony with curly mane and tail with big ice blue eyes somehow level with mine.

"Hi there, I'm-"

"Pinkie Pie, it's nice to meet you, too. I'm Onyxian." She seemed a lot less perturbed that I knew her name than I would have expected her to be, but I wasn't sure what to expect from a fourth wall breaking pony able to abide by cartoon physics in a most normal world as far as natural laws were concerned.

"Oh you know me, that speeds things up a bit. Saaay... you look an awful lot like a villainous king from a lost crystal empire that was recently rediscovered." I gave her the blankest look I could before a slow blink and then moved back to see that she had been standing on the bench to be eye level with me. "But I don't think you are. I relaxed and gave her a soft grin.

"Happy to hear it, I'd rather not have everypony scared of me on my first day here." I was suddenly bombarded by confetti and the sound of party noise makers.

"Then let's have a meet and greet party tonight where you can meet some ponies and no longer be a scary stranger, but a new friend." I thought about how I hadn't really been one for parties but how many would show on such short notice.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. Though, I could use some better clothes for a party." Pinkie jumped for joy letting out a woohoo as she took me by the hand leading me to Carousel Boutique and opening the door before shouting,

"Raaarity!! I've got a customer for you." The white unicorn walked out from the back seeing me and gasping in horror.

"Oh goodness, he was wearing that, in public? Thank goodness you brought him here, Pinkie dear." Rarity brought out a tape measure as I was sure I looked rather startled as she was on me in a flash. My arms were held out as she measured them while I kind of fidgeted around, not used to being poked and prodded as she did her work. "Hold still, darling. I need exact measurements if I'm going to make anything right. Oh and do please stand fully upright." I stood up straight as I could for her.

"What's wrong with my t-shirt? I don't normally wear my pajama pants in public, but sadly these are the only set of clothes right now." I thought she was about to have some kind of fit at what I had said.

"What? All you have? You'd be better off walking around with nothing at all! Hmm I guess this t-shirt isn't all that bad, but baggy was a season ago, Sweetie. What did you have in mind?"

"Uh better question, why are you still in your PJs in the middle of the afternoon?"

"Oh a um botched teleportation sent me to the middle of the Everfree Forest." Pinkie seemed to look a bit disappointed at my answer.

"So you didn't mean to end up here? What about staying in Ponyville and the party? I mean you're even getting clothes made for it." I managed to take the conversation from there.

"My home is very far away from here. Ponyville seems like a great place to stay until I figure out if I even want to go back. Well I guess if the party is tonight, a pair of pants might be the fashion issue to worry about first. "Rarity eyed me over in a bit of a huff.

"Well, I don't normally mix and match pieces, but I do agree that those pants are better only be for sleeping in and time is at a premium."

"I hope I'm not imposing on a more important client. I'm sure a designer of your talent has better things to be doing." My face fell as I noticed both of them looked a little hurt.

"Now now, Darling. No need to get self deprecating-"

"Yeah what she said.-"

"Yes, it is rather short notice but, for a lost newcomer to Ponyville, I will do my best."

" Well, then I know it will be great. Something simple to care for and comfortable. In any color you think would go well with my shirt. It can be my first ensembl." I perked up and gave her a thankful smile.

"Hmm I think I will manage something for you dear. I'm Rarity, what did you say your name was?"

"Onyxian, I look forward to seeing you at the party if you can come."

"Don't worry about that, Nyxie. I won't let her forget." Pinkie piped up again as she made her way out likely to plan some other part of the party. I was about to leave Rarity to her work but felt a tug on my pants stopping me.

"Why don't you leave Pinkie Pie to her planning. I think you could really use some cleaning up before meeting new ponies." I quirked my eyebrow then looked at myself and clothes seeing just how filthy they had gotten in my time in the Everfree.

"Yeah I guess I should do a bit of cleaning up before the party."

"Very good, there's a spa and salon not far from here that can get you all fixed up, but I need you to leave your shirt with me. In fact, why don't you just leave all you clothes and I'll see to them getting cleaned." I felt my shirt coming off as I struggled for a little bit, but let go of not wanting to ruin it with a sour look on my face before my eye bugged out at feeling magically pantsed.

"Hey. hey I can't just run around naked there are some things about me I'd rather keep private." I protested as Rarity had taken everything but my blue boxer briefs as I was desperately fighting to keep them on.

"Onyxian, it all just smells rather dirty and really should be cleaned. The sooner you let me help you the sooner you can get cleaned up and I can get to work on your pants." With a sigh, I let go in defeat as they came down. Rarity then looked at something about face level to her and then back up at me. "Ah I see, well it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of." I think having her say that broke something in me.

"I'm not going outside like this, it's too embarrassing."

"Really now, you're just being silly. No pony is going to judge you.Now go get cleaned up for your party."

I've had nightmares and dreams where I'm walking around naked in public. In real-life the sense of dread and embarrassment is much much worse but no one really seemed to mind so I made my way to the spa only then realizing that I didn't have any money to pay for anything. I made my way around the corner and used a bit of magic to drag up a nice handful of cut gems before walking into the spa. I walked up to I think Aloe who seemed more than put off by my haggard appearance.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any of the local money. Would you be willing to let me pay you in gems?" I held out my hand and opened it to reveal the handful of gems I had been holding. She looked at them with a look of surprise as I felt rather silly at the moment.

"I think we can work something out." The accent was a little strong but I didn't have too much trouble understanding her as I followed her past the lobby. "What were you looking to get done?"

"Well a bath and a uh mane cut. Maybe my tail, too if there's enough for that in what I have." I noticed the spa seemed a little dead but maybe that was just because of the time as I noticed Lotus Blossom was maintaining the large group bath they had used in 'Bridle Gossip' as Aloe stopped me. "Um after that anything you figure that would help me look nice for a party I'm going to tonight if I still have anything after everything else." I handed over all the gems with a smile sure that I was overpaying but not really all that worried. "Rarity spoke very highly of your spa, so I know I'm in good hooves." Aloe seemed rather surprised at me name dropping Rarity as I was taken deeper into the spa. A few hours later, I was out and glossy with a shiny coat, tail, and mane that had been trimmed down a lot and done in a fashion similar to the upper class pony Jet Set since I let Lotus and Aloe have at my mane under the stipulation that it would be easy to manage. I even got a hoofcure and my nails done along with my horn buffed as Aloe confirmed for me that it was gemstone not bone. Feeling the most primped I'd ever felt in my life, I made my way back to Carousel Boutique waving and generally being friendly to anyone that crossed my path on the way there getting a few winks and even a handsome from one mare as it seemed I might have been considered a kind of exotic handsome by some ponies. I stepped into the boutique and heard.

"Oh lovely, darling perfect timing I just finished the last seams." Rarity walked and let out what I hoped was an elated cry. "Oh marvelous! You clean up very nicely. Why I am going to have to get you into some proper clothes later. I simply must." I felt a bit weird at her saying that to me, but figured I better get dressed and ready for the party. I found everything to be cleaned and a new pair of blue pants had been folded over my shirt. I got dressed and was very happy with them slightly heavy, but very easy breathing. I walked out to find Rarity.

"Thank you for the pants, these'll be perfect for everyday wear."

"Thank you darling, oh yes they look rather nice on you indeed. Not my best work, but they do go with the shirt. Is painting shirts common where you're from Onyxian?"

"Yeah they are, all kinds of logos and symbols even words get put on them."

"Interesting, I noticed your shirt and pants were machined clothe."

"Well clothing is a really big business where I'm from, public nudity is very frowned upon so it has to be made cheaply for the masses" Rarity seemed rather surprised by the idea. "Interesting, I do look forward to seeing you at the party."

"Same here, it's always good to make friends and you've been very generous to me, a complete stranger. I do intend to return such generosity as soon as I can."

" Don't feel like you have to return it like a loan, darling. Seeing how much you like them is all the reward I need." I waved to her on my way out figuring I'd make my way to Sugarcube Corner to wait for Pinkie Pie. I walked in and was greeted by Mr. Cake.

"Hello there, welcome to Sugarcube Corner, I'm Mr.Cake. You must be Onyxian, Pinkie Pie came by talking about you."

"Nothing bad I hope." Mr Cake seemed to lose a beat. Maybe that wasn't a common turn of phrase here.

"Well no, just that you accidently ended up in Ponyville, but found it a nice place so you might be staying awhile." I nodded to him and heard a pair of small babbling voices turning to see the Cake's twins Pound and Pumpkin.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the long and the short of it. Cute babies." They both noticed me making their way to me with baby noises as Pound zipped right at me as I managed to catch him gently with a hearty laugh. "Already flying around? Won't you just be running your poor dad ragged in a few years? Looks like you might already be at it now." Mr. Cake gave a sigh of what I hoped to be relief that I had caught him as I turned back to him with a slight smile. "I'm sure they're the lights in your eyes, Mr. Cake." I gently set Pound on the floor musing his mane before letting him go back to playing with his sister who had fortunately for me lost interest and was on to sticking one of her toys in her mouth. "If it's ok, I was hoping to wait for Pinkie here."

"Oh uh yeah, that's fine."

"Thank you, I'll wait outside." I took myself back outside and just kind of pony watched until I saw Pinkie Pie trot up to me.

"Hiya Nyxie, ya ready for your party?"

"As ready as I can be. Lead the way." I followed Pinkie to Twilight's treehouse library rather surprised that she would have been the one to provide the venue for a party. Upon entering, I saw the treehouse had been decorated much in the same fashion as when they had thrown Twilight her welcoming party. I looked around the room, seeing about ten or twelve ponies at the party. After about a minute of feeling a bit lost, I was approached by Twilight herself, her wings tucked behind her.

"Hello Onyxian, I'm Twilight Sparkle, welcome to Ponyville." She gave me a smile which I returned in the most friendly manner I could.

"Thank you, I'm sorry if my appearance disturbs anypony. I've been told I look an awful lot like a former foe of your's." I looked to see Spike huddled behind Twilight's right foreleg in a tensed pose as if expecting me to lash out right then and there.

"Well, now that you mention it, you do look alot like King Sombra, the once dark ruler of the Crystal Empire. You'll have to forgive Spike. He had a much harder experience with Sombra than I did."

"Well howdy, welcome ta Ponyville, Onyxian. Name's Applejack, my little sister Applebloom told me about ya." I turned to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash now flanking me.

"And I'm the awesome Rainbow Dash, I'm sure you've heard all about me." Not really against taking some of the wind out of Rainbow's sails, I replied.

"Rainbow who? Nope, sorry, never heard of you, but I'm not from about here."

"What?! No pony even said anything about me?"

"Sorry, guess it never came up while I was talking with anypony."

"Speaking on what you do know, I'm rather interested in what you know about The Elements of Harmony." I turned to Twilight very sure I had a deer caught in the headlights look.

"Um they're the primal forces of order in Equestria, right?" Twilight's face turned rather stern at my answer.

"Mostly correct, but what I'd like to know is how you know that? That's not even common knowledge in Equestria and you know that we could use them."

"No, I told Applebloom I was aware of some pony heroes that had defeated foes that had only been defeated by The Elements of Harmony before. We called them that because we figured that's what they were using."

"An ya used very vague answer when my little sis asked where you were from. 'A place far and different' is what I think she said."

"Now wait a moment. Why are you all ganging up on him like this?" He's lost in a new place and you're all being very mean to him." I heard a soft voice speak out as I saw a light pink mane behind me.. It was fluttershy and I can say I was rather surprised she'd be the one coming to my rescue. The rest of the ponies around looked rather hurt at being called out as she was now beside me. "You should all be ashamed. Uh Mister Onyxian? Why don't you ask Pinkie to introduce you to everypony else?" I nodded and took my leave to find Pinkie, thankful to have dodged the issue for now.

Author's Note

For appearance this is Jet Set

The Afterparty

Pinkie had managed to get a few of Ponyville's other ponies of note to come and meet me on such short notice. The first I was introduced to was Mayor Mare. I was rather surprised that she had come personally since I wasn't anyone important, just an odd being that had expressed an interest in taking up residence in her town.

"Mayor Mare, this is Onyxian. Onyxian, Mayor Mare." I gave the mayor a polite nod and she returned the gesture.

"Pinkie Pie tells me you're far from home and currently not able to return. As well as interested in staying in Ponyville?"

"Yes, I'd like to have permission to stay in Ponyville proper for a while."

"Well of course you can stay in Ponyville, but you're going to need some way to care for your needs."

"I have a few ideas as to how I might be useful enough to the ponies here that I could make ends meet, maybe even do a bit better." I gave her a bit of a wry smile. She simply smiled back at me, she was a bit harder to read so I did my best to lighten my expression incase that had come off as menacing.

"Very good, welcome to Ponyville."

"Awesome! Now that that's out of the way, let's get you meeting everypony else!" The party continued for a few hours as I had been introduced to a few other background ponies before the party died down to me, the mane six, and Spike. I looked like my time had run out once again and Twilight was ready to give me the fifth degree.

"So, you ended up lost in the Everfree Forest after a failed teleportation, are from a place far away, but have heard of some of the things that my friends and I have done recently. How?" I was still at a loss, I didn't really want to play the 'from another world' card just yet.

"Well, it's not like Nightmare Moon's return and sudden defeat wasn't a big deal. It was the first major threat to the world in nearly one thousand years. The return of the Elements of Harmony is also a big deal. Why don't more of your citizens know or care about such events happening in their country?"

"Stop trying to evade the question!" Rainbow Dash was right, I was trying to evade the question. What would make the most sense for why I would know any of this? A really dumb idea came into my head but I figured it was worth a gamble.

"I'm a wizard's apprentice. The wizard Gygax, is a powerful magic-user and scholar of arcane lore. I had just entered his tutelage before the teleportation spell he was using tan foul and I ended in the Everfree." Twilight perked up as most of the mane six seemed to have only a passing interest after my explanation.

"Oh, so you were learning about magic? Well I guess it does make sense that you could have some knowledge of the Elements then. A wizard, what's Gygax like?" I thought about how to continue figuring I could go with Gary Gygax's famous archmage of Greyhawk, Zygax.

"Well, he's kind of a shut-in, always in his tower performing all kinds of magical experiments and perfecting new magic spells. Not much of a people person, I was very honored that he was willing to take me as his apprentice. I hadn't been with him very long so I don't really understand a lot about magic." To that I could tell Twilight seemed about ready to explode

"I'd be more than happy to try and teach you more about magic until you can return to your studies." I bowed my head to her.

"I'm not sure if I'm meant to go back or if I want to go back. At least I don't want to go back right away. Pinkie took all this effort to throw me this party. Seems like a waste to not see what Ponyville has to offer and what I might be able to offer it." Pinkie certainly seemed to like my answer though I still noticed a look of disdain from Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash.

"And wut about finding a place ta stay?"

"Well, I'd just need a bit of land to build on." Twilight came up at that remark.

"No,no, you can stay here in the library until you find a place. That way you can study more about Equestria and magic." The hour appeared to be rather late and the rest of the Mane Six bid Twilight and I a goodnight as while I wasn't really sure about staying there, I didn't really have anywhere else to go. Twilight still had the second bed from 'Look Before You Sleep' and brought it out for me to use. I sat down thinking about how strange and crazy the last two days had been.

"Something on your mind, Onyxian?" I looked over to see Twilight on her bed. It was strange, I was sitting across from Twilight Sparkle, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"It's been a strange two days since I ended up in the Everfree Forest having to use what magic I had to survive Timberwolves and Cagidiles. Now I'm the houseguest of a princess that's taken it in her hooves to be my mentor. Life is funny isn't it?" Twilight sighed lightly and nodded her head..

"That does seem like a lot to take in all at once. I understand it can be overwhelming. I'm no stranger to rather sudden and radical change. Don't feel ashamed to have to take it rather slow." I nodded in agreement and stripped out of my clothes, folding them up and then slipped into bed. I was out like a light, the feeling of safety was still strange but calming as I felt a familiar feeling in my dreams as I was once again greeted by princess Luna.

"Two visits in two nights? A guy would be liable to think he's special with this kind of attention." Luna quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Well, we hope we are not disturbing you." I gave her what I hope looked like a mock stern face.

"Are you really here on royal business? I'm not going to hold it against you if you speak plainly to me."

"That suits me just fine then. No, I'm not here on royal business I just keep sensing you in the dream realm. Your mind is rather distinct. Why did you hug me like that when we first met? It was as if you knew me or at least more than just of me and you certainly seem to know things I haven't told many people about."

"I'm not from this world, where I'm from, this is all a work of fiction made to sell little girls toys." Luna seemed a bit confused at what I was saying.

"Where you're from, I am only known as a toy? Then why do you care to know about me?" This was getting into rather strange subject matter though for me everything was still strange so I simply kept going.

"Basically, there are a group of young and older adults that enjoy the stories, care for the world and a number of the ponies in it. So well, you're one of my favorite ponies. Certainly my favorite princess. You just always seem so lonely and distant. I guess I gave you a hug because I know the pain of feeling alone as well." Luna pawed the ground in a nervous fashion when I called her my favorite princess. I'm sure she hadn't been told that by too many ponies.

"I see, that would explain why your mind seems so different."

"So, what were you hoping to learn from this little visit?"

"Nothing in particular, like you, I sensed another lonely soul, but one far from his home. Are things going better now that you are among more ponies?" I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I got a bit of the inquisition from Twilight. I think she thought I might have been some kind of spy."

"Hmm strangely unlike her, but with the loss of the Elements, I can understand her being a bit more worried about oncoming threats. These stories you know, would any of them have to do with events that had not come to pass?" I thought about what I should tell her. Would them knowing or me being here change things?

" I think they might, but as far events soon to happen. None of it will be anything they can't handle. I'd keep an eye on Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle." She bowed her head politely to me.

"I shall do that." I moved a bit closer and noticed we were in a nice spring meadow at night.

" I've always liked the night looking up at the Moon and stars. It's really hard where I'm from to see them unless you go out into the country because we have a lot of artificial lighting in the towns and cities." I sat down in the grass and was joined by Luna with a smile on her muzzle.

"I'm happy to hear that you enjoy the night. Most ponies are asleep by now, well so are you. and they never seemed to enjoy the night as much as the day.." I scooted over and managed to lay against her rather enjoying the moment.

"Thank you for visiting me again. I'd like the chance to meet you in the waking world if you're up for something like that."

"Perhaps, it's not as if I can't send you an invitation to Canterlot Castle." At that I turned to look at her and gave a playfully smug look.

"Princess Luna? Inviting the lost stranger? Oh the scandal!" I began to laugh as she joined me before I turned fully around and gave her a hug around her neck which startled her a bit. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a hugger."

"No, it's fine. I rather like it, I'm just not used to having so much affection directed at me." I let up on her as I looked up at the dream night sky. I didn't want this dream to end but I knew that like all dreams I would have to wake up.

Author's Note

Thank you for taking the time to read. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Knowledge of Power

I woke up before the sun was out as I rubbed my eyes and let out a bit of a yawn. I had the nagging feeling that this was going to be another interesting day, at least for me. I got dressed and smirked seeing that Twilight and Spike were still asleep when I had an idea for a way to thank her for letting me spend the night. I crept down stairs and found the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to find eggs, milk, flour, butter, and baking powder I needed. After a bit more looking around I found a frying pan and mixing bowl. After finding a box of matches, I set about mixing all of the ingredients together along with some brown sugar and oatmeal. I got the mixture nice and fluffy and set about lighting the stove which to my surprise turned out to be gas. I melted a little of the butter in the pan and set about making a nice stack of pancakes for Twilight and myself. Once I was finished cooking and cleaning up, I had three places set at the table two with oatmeal pancakes and one with a bowl full of a mixture of small gems I willed up for Spike along with a few extra pancakes if anyone wanted seconds. I heard Spike's voice come from behind me.

"Woah, you did all this? You're really quiet when you wanna be." I turned to greet Spike with a smile and noticed a sleepy Twilight coming in behind him.

"Are those oatmeal pancakes? They smell wonderful. Where'd you find these gems?"

"Oh uh in the yard, about thirty feet underground." Twilight suddenly seemed more awake at hearing my comment.

"Ok, then, how did they get in the bowl?"

"I used my magic to bring them up. I'm pretty handy with earth magic if not much else."

"That's a rather impressive feat of magic for a beginner. How are you feeling?" We all sat down as Spike sampled both the pancakes and the gems before tearing into them.

"I'm doing better now. Felt a bit winded after I found them and brought them up." Spike noticed the lack of coffee and hopped from his stool going to get a coffee pot and grounds as he worked the stove which he lit with his firebreath.

"Sorry, I didn't know you drank such things." Twilight gave a yawn and munched on a pancake.

"Mmm delicious. Maybe I should just keep you here." Spike's head snapped back and gave me a bit of a glare.

"I'm not sure Spike likes that idea. Don't want to steal his thunder as your assistant." Spike turned back to the coffee with a smug look on his face.

"Well, I'll overlook this once since what you made was pretty tasty." Twilight and I both gave a roll of our eyes as I replied.

"I'm happy it gets the dragon seal of approval." I set about eating as well as listening to Twilight.

"I'm sorry if Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and I came off as harsh at the party, it's just that we recently lost the ability to call upon the Elements of Harmony and it has us a bit on edge about possible threats to Equestria. Spike, nothings planned for this morning or afternoon is it?" Spike turned from the coffee pot right as it began to sound and he turned off the stove.

"Nope. free and clear until Twilight time with Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo after school lets out." He then prepared a cup and put it in front of Twilight as she took a careful sip.

"Mmmm thank you very much, Spike. Well Onyxian, that gives you and I more than enough time to figure out what you do and don't know about magic along with the differences between your magic and unicorn magic. So, what do you know about magic?" I looked at her as she took another sip from her cup looking at me and listening intently. I wasn't really sure about the subject so I went with personal experience.

"Um well, in practice, for me atleast, magic works through focus and visualization of what I want to happen. It feels very instinct driven, almost primal. Though now that I've been using it more, it seems to be growing less and less so." I watched Twilight dip a bit of her pancake into the coffee and eat it as she then seemed to notice I was done talking, giving a quick gulp and clearing her throat.

"Well, that's typically how magic starts for young unicorns when they're still beginners. Though very few start off quite so specialized as you seem to be. Magic can be a very intimate part of a unicorn's life or simply a handy tool. The ones that go on to study magic formally tend to be the first category. Is magic common where you come from?" I shook my head as the short answer to her question before getting down to a verbal explanation.

"No, magic's rather uncommon, people with magic tend to go on to do great or terrible deeds that awe common people. Basically it's common enough that people think it's real, but rare enough to still cause a bit of fear and wonder."

"I see, so what were you hoping to learn first?"

"Control and conservation of energy. With a firm foundation you can build anything." I figured I'd got the most important aspect of magic in most tabletop and computer RPGs, being able to cast reliably and often.

"A very good start. I like that saying. Is that from somewhere?"

"Maybe, after all there's nothing new under the Sun...Uh I forget if there's more to the quote." We both had a bit of a laugh as I then ate a bit more listening to Twilight.

"Alright, so control and being able to cast more spells on less energy. Sounds like you expect to have to use your magic in a rather frantic fashion. Guess the creatures in the Everfree startled you quite a bit. Spike, please find me 'Basic Combat Magic'. The unicorn guards tend to be the most interested in the rapid casting of spells over a short time. It should be a good place for you to start." Twilight helped me set up a little place to study as I was happily surprised that I could read the language the ponies wrote in as I tore through the text book like I would with a new player's guide. It seemed magic was a lot of mental flexing and the stringing together of thoughts into a spell. Getting an idea after reading all of it, I put up the book and walked outside which caught Twilight's attention. "Onyxian? Is something wrong?" She followed after me as I was too busy clearing my mind for the task at hand and didn't answer her. "Onyxian, I can't help you if you don't talk to me." I found a nice clear patch near the library and stopped Twilight barely stopping in time to not walk into me. I motioned to her to let her know I could hear her. I then began to bob my head a bit and raised my hand over a patch of glowing ground as Sim Gretina's remix of "Raise This Barn" played in my head. I visualized a long handle with a large rounded head covered in notches as what usually came to my mind when what looked to me like a heavy mace emerged from the ground formed of the same obsidian as the spikes I made in the Everfree forest as I took hold of the handle picking it up and I noticed the ground around the library had grown dark like it had in the Everfree as well as the hole had filled in from where the mace had come from. Twilight pawed the ground looking at the dark earth on her hoof before looking at me. "Is this kind of thing normal when you get the sudden urge to use your magic?" I had given my mace a few test swings before resting it on my shoulder as I looked at her.

"Well the ground does turn dark after I use my magic. Sorry about not telling you what I was doing. I was just really excited at getting to try out what was in the book. I think it'll be a very helpful trick for long and complex spells." I'm sure I was beaming like a kid that had managed something silly that he thought was awesome.

"So this is a normal effect of your magic? Strange, it's like composted dirt. Any idea why your magic causes this?" Twilight seemed a bit concerned.

"Well all my magic has something to do with the earth. At least all the magic that comes naturally to me." Twilight looked at the mace I still had resting on my shoulder.

"Not too many unicorns can do magic that creates objects like that. It's very specialized." I fought my smile down to just a humble smirk.

"It's not that I'm creating something from nothing. It's all there in the earth under our hooves. I just kinda get it all to come together like how a unicorn would assemble something with magic." She just frowned at me like I had called what I had done a simple magic trick.

"That's parts made to go together, you forced a bunch of crystal into a single object. That's high level magic."

"It took a lot of focus and effort to do it, I likely couldn't have done it without the knowledge I gained from the book you suggested I study." I backed up as she moved suddenly to me from a close distance.

"You read a book about the basics of combat magic and somehow managed to apply that to a complex spell that allowed you to assemble that from what was in the ground?"

"Well, yea I guess. I mean my go to natural attack spell makes crystal spikes shoot from the ground at high speeds. Maybe my magic is more about conjuring things."

"I'm sorry, unicorn magic is much more general in nature. You're a savant compared to what I was expecting to teach, it's really throwing me for a loop. You're so eager to push the bounds of your magic, too. It's a little unnerving like you're on edge about something. Why was the first thing you wanted to make a weapon?" I let the mace drop by side as I looked down to the ground. She had a good point. Why had I made weapon? A few ideas came to mind.

"I guess you're right about me still being on edge from the creatures in the forest. Maybe I wanted something to take the fight to them and keep them away from Ponyville." Twilight cocked her head to the side at me with a rather surprised look on her face.

"You're worried about Ponyville being in danger from the creatures of the Everfree? It's not like that many of them come out of the forest. Are monster attacks more common where you're from?"

"To a point, yes. I guess I'm just being paranoid. I'm sure there's something a gem shaping would-be wizard can do to make bits in Ponyville." I turned my fallen face back up into a smile. Twilight looked back to the ground and then to me.

"Not sure if the Ponyville has the economy to support a jeweler but I'm sure a lot of ponies around town could use the soil enriching your magic seems to do. Both I'm sure do go a long way in helping you hone your control." It seemed now I had a next step in mind and something to work towards. Certainly a productive start.

Author's Note

The song, please give an awesome artist more support.

New Home and Unexpected Guests

About a month had passed, I had been working for Rarity helping her make accessories to go with her outfits from the gemstones I gathered while enriching the gardens and even the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. I had gotten good enough that using my simple spells hardly even had me winded unless I was casting them in rapid succession. I was even lucky enough to still get nighttime visits from Luna at least once a week.

However, today was a big day. I'd managed to save up enough bits that I bought about a quarter of an acre on the outskirts of Ponyville that I could now call my own near Fluttershy's treehouse. I had taken the day off to get started on building my new and first home. I started by forcing the ground in front of me to crest up like a bubble forming under the soil. Once I got it to about twelve feet tall at the crest, I set a hole in the shape of a seven foot tall door and a few small holes for windows as I had special ordered these things which Applejack and Rarity were nice enough to be bringing from Ponyville to me later that day. I packed the dirt nice and tight bending stone to my will to form an inner concret-like shell about three inches thick. I crafted a fireplace for heating from the same stone and set up a raised platform of stone about two feet tall off to the side as about the dimensions I remembered to the extra long twin bed I had in my old apartment. My new home wasn't much larger than a studio apartment, but It was all I figured I needed since I was living alone.

After finishing a few more important interior designs, I was beat from using so much magic and sat down outside enjoying the late Spring breeze I'm sure courtesy of some weather worker as I heard the sound of hoofsteps and opened my eyes not sure who'd be here as Applejack and Rarity wouldn't be by until later. I was quite surprised to look up and then have to look higher as standing in front of me was Luna. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and it seemed I was finally meeting Luna in the flesh for the first time, the excitement of which had me up on my hooves and giving Luna a hug.

"Luna! It's wonderful to meet you in the realm of the waking. Wait, what brings you here to Ponyville?"

"Well, somepony sure is friendly with my sister. No titles or anything. Won't you introduce me to your interesting friend then, Sister?" I let Luna go and saw Princess Celestia standing beside her.

"Oh, right. This is Onyxian, he's from outside Equestria. I've met with him a number of times in the dream realm over the course of the last month." I took a knee and lowered my head politely.

"Your Highness, your reputation as the ruler of Equestria precedes you." I swore I heard her giggle at me.

"He certainly has a handsome quality to him. I can see why you had wanted to come alone, Luna." I was sure I was blushing as I saw the shocked look on Luna's face as she then flared her cheeks and nostrils at Celestia.

"Why would you say that!" Celestia gave her little sister's indignation a dismissive wave of her hoof.

"Now, now, I’m just teasing my little sister. Frankly, I'm rather happy you let somepony new into your life, especially one that draws you away from your princessly duties, too" That coy grin on Celestia's muzzle had me wanting to smack her, but she hardly seemed malicious in her teasing. It was just like a big sister happy with her little one but still giving her a bit of a hard time.

"If Princess Celestia would like a hug, she has but simply to ask it of me." I spoke matter of factly as I gave Luna another hug, still very surprised and doing my best to conceal the shock that I was getting a royal visit out of the blue. She leaned into my shoulder and I felt Luna's foreleg on my back. Celestia gave a playful huff.

"Hmp, I might just hold you to that someday, Onyxian. I shall take my leave for now lest Twilight find me and end up believing that my unannounced visit is the delivery of dire news." Celestia launched into the air with a mighty flap of her huge wings and flew off into the sky as I gently stroked Luna's mane and noticed her ear twitched cutely when my thumb brushed against it. I couldn't hold back my curiosity, gently catching her ear between my index finger and thumb and began to rub it softly between both fingers enjoying the feel of the soft fuzzy fur as they began to twitch about in my gentle grip.

"Ah! Onyxian, what are you doing?" I moved my other hand doing the same to her other ear at the same time as she wiggled about still leaning against me as her wings flared open on her back in the classic "wing boner" position. "Ahhh...Onyxian, please stop." I let her ears go as she pulled away on slightly shaky legs shaking her head and managed with great effort to force her wings back down to resting on her back. "That was quite brazen of you. Even if we are friends." I blushed not thinking as to why she had been making those kinds of sounds just then.

"Uh sorry, they were just so cute." Luna flared her nose at me.

"Playing with my ears...You're lucky nopony saw you doing that. I'd have never heard the end of my sister's teasing if she had or learns about it." I wasn't sure so I figured I'd just play dumb and asked.

"So was that like an erogenous zone for you?" Luna blushed and nodded her head.

"Yes, it is a sensitive part of pony anatomy that feels rather good when handled gently. Also playing with somepony else's ears is a show of deep affection for that pony." I kinda gave her a lopsided smirk.

"Ah, got yah I'll make note of that. Next time I'll make sure and ask." Luna blushed again and nudged my shoulder with her forehoof.

"Now that is a brazen statement 'Next time' So presumptuous. Not that I'm not flattered by you saying that you feel such feelings for me." I gave her a rather hurt look.

"I haven't overstepped myself by thinking in my blind adoration that you might share my feelings, have I?" I turned and gestured to the hollowed out hill I was making my home. "I'd invite you inside if I had much of one to invite you to. How about a date? I'll court you like I should such a lovely mare. Face to face." Luna smiled and offered her hoof to me which I took.'

"That sounds wonderful, I look forward to it."

"So where would you like to go and do?" We both climbed to the top of my hill and sat down looking up to the early evening sky as I then my eyes fixed on the night sky waving in Luna's locks.

"I'm not sure, I’ve seen a bit of this 'dating' you speak of many nights around Canterlot and the rest of Equestria. Maybe a night out on the town in Canterlot, dinner, perhaps music or a movie could be fun as well."

"Sounds like fun, sadly I'm a bit busy for the next few weeks, helping Rarity with some accessories to go with the clothing line she is going to show off in Manehattan. Now that I think about it, we could meet up there. I'm not likely to be needed for the show, so we could enjoy a day and night out on the town." Luna perked up and nodded her head emphatically.

"Yes, that sounds wonderful and gives us ample time to prepare. I've heard a bit about the growing popularity of musical plays in Manehattan and have been wanting to attend one." I heard a gasp as I looked to see Applejack and Rarity with the door and windows.

"What in tha hay? Since when did you know Princess Luna, Onyxian?" Applejack was helped out of the yolk to the wagon she had been pulling.

"Indeed when did you two meet? You do know she is a princess, right?"

"So? Being a princess hasn't stopped you from being friends with Twilight."

"Well naw, but is dis really tha same?" Rarity got between me and Applejack as I walked down at Applejack's question.

"Now, now, Darling. Applejack wasn't implying you were befriending Princess Luna for personal gain. Just how did you two come to meet?"

"We met on the first night he'd ended up in the Everfree Forest. In his dreams. I sensed him there, by his mind in the dreamscape. We got along well. We've met in his dreams on several other nights since his stay in Ponyville." Luna stood up and walked to stand beside me. looking at both of them. "Onyxian and I have arranged to meet up for a date on your trip to Manehattan. I hope that doesn't cause any conflict." Rarity looked flabbergasted, her jaw dropping open at hearing what Luna had to say.

"A d-date!! That's wonderful. This calls for a full suite for you, Onyxian. With the help you've been giving me in the boutique, I should have more than enough time for your suite. Isn't it wonderful Applejack? Our newest friend has a special somepony!" Applejack herself seemed rather shocked as well at the revelation. Rarity appeared to be full of excitement at getting in the gossip first. "This really is wonderful, Onyxian is a good worker and so passionate when something gets his attention. A bit rough around the edges on his manners, but certainly as caring and gentle as he can be." Luna smiled as it seemed to be my turn to be embarrassed.

"Thank you, Rarity. You're certainly being generous with your compliments." Luna's hoof gently pushed on my back.

"Nonsense, Rarity is quite accurately listing many of your good qualities, Onyxian. Humility, like anything else, can be bad in excess."

"I don't think I'm that humble." Applejack had managed to recover her wits and join back into the conversation.

"Sometimes yer annoyingly humble an' won't even take a compliment that ya rightly earn, but enough of dat Rarity, we came ta help get these doors an' windows in place not pry into Onyxian's private life." I silently mouthed "thank you" to Applejack as she gave me a wink. Rarity luckily seemed to miss our exchange as the four of us installed the frames in each hole, then the door, and finished with the windows. By the time we were done, Luna had to raise the moon as we watched at a lake close to my home.

"Well Onyxian, Applejack, Rarity, I bid you goodnight. I should get going back to Canterlot before the Night Guard is scrambled to find me." She took to the sky with a slow beating of her wings drifting gracefully up into the air before flying off into the night sky with the three of us waving her off. Applejack then gave my back a nudge.

"Yer quite the lucky stud there, lovercolt."

"Yeah, I really am." I turned to face her with a big smile on my face.

"Ready fer Applebucking?" I nodded my head.

"Sure am, just point me to my part of that orchard tomorrow and I'll give them a nice shake up. Can't wait to give your Fall crop a try." With that, I waved Applejack and Rarity goodbye and headed back to my new home to rest for the busy day to come in the morning.

Bite of Foreknowledge

Applejack had been talking about this day for a few days which meant this was the first event of the show I was going to be around for when it unfolded. I had trouble sleeping last night, one because I'd forgotten a bed so I had to sleep on stone, two I was rather nervous about whether I should even interfere. Would just being there change things irrevocably? Should I back out now while I still had the chance to not change things? I had made the promise without thinking, but now that I thought about it I figured I at least owed Fluttershy after she stood up for me at the party. She should feel that someone was in her corner when the rest of her friends were going to pressure her into doing the Flutterstare on the vampire fruit bats

I got out to Sweet Apple Acres just in time to hear Applejack begin the apple alert. I made my way to the orchard to a distraught Applejack trying to rally her family.

"What's wrong?" I asked, fully knowing the answer and preparing myself to look as shocked as I could when the inevitable news came.

"It's sumthing awful, Onyxian. Vampire fruit bats are all in da orchard eatin' up mah crop." I had an idea but still wasn't sure if I should change things but still spoke kneeling down to be eye level with Applejack as I noticed she was on the verge of tears.

"What if we harvested the other side of the orchard from them and kept the apples out of there? I know it's not much of a solution, but it should limit their impact." Applejack seemed relieved at any plan coming her way at the moment as she nodded her head.

"Dat'll work til we get another plan to act on, thanks. I need ya and Big Mac ta start on da other side. Me, Granny, an' Applebloom will do what we can ta slow dem down." Big Mac and I exchanged nods and made our way to the far side of the orchard as luckily the Apples had already set up wooden tubs to catch the apples. I stopped Big Mac from wasting a mighty buck on a tree with a wave of my hand.

"I'll get the apples down, you just pull them back to safety." Big Mac seemed a bit confused as I then closed my eyes and stomped my right hoof on the ground as suddenly, like a ping from a sonar, my vision of blackness was filled with root system and four hooves. A tenth second later, I was seeing the full height and sway of the trees and a strong outline of Big Mac standing beside me. I then lifted my hands the warm sensation building on my forehead while tapping my left hoof a pulse traveled to the ground building to a sudden tremor shaking all of the nearby trees until their apples fell out of the branched and into the tubs set under them. I made sure to only shake the ground around enough to get the apples and tried not to disturb anything else. Once I made the tremor stop, I let out a sigh feeling a bit winded. "Ready for the hard part, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup." He nodded his head with a look of steadfast determination. We both dashed to gather the tubs into the wagon Big Mac was using to pull them to safety of their barn which I worked to seal up so no bats would be able to get in. After a few runs I heard the sound of voices in debate.

"You got this without me, right?"

"Eeyup." Big Mac gave an understanding nod. I had already cleared a huge area for him, so he won't need my help for a little bit. I then set off to see what was going on as Fluttershy looked to be getting ganged up upon by the rest of her friends going on about how much of pest the vampire fruit bats were as I ran to her side this time.

"Jus' look how much damage yer 'harmless' bats have dun."

"That's not fair, you're judging them just because you think these are all your apples." Fluttershy was back in a corner as looked over at me in a pleading fashion.

"These are mah apples. A bad season could ruin the farm. Why do you always gotta be on the side of every critter even when they ain't where they're supposed ta be."

"Yeah, it's not like they should even be here. Why should we have to miss out on awesome cider just because a bunch of fat bats ate all their food in the wild?" Rainbow Dash Chipped in on the conversation.

"Yeah! Fat bats. Fatty bo batties. Big ol' greasy, jiggle puffs full of Applejack's apple juice. The thieving meanies! They should be happy with what they stole and get going." Pinkie Pie jumped up and down as she spoke. I couldn't tell if she was on a side or just enjoying riffing on the bats.

"Hey, Fluttershy's just trying to speak for something that you can't speak with yourself. I'll admit they're being quite the nuisance, but wouldn't the best plan of action be to limit their impact on the harvest?" I moved between Fluttershy and the rest of the group.

"Yes, you could limit the amount of damage done by setting aside part of your orchard as a sanctuary for the vampire fruit bats." Fluttershy didn't seem all that happy with what I had to say but spoke up in the break I had given her.

"Dat dun make a lick of sense. I'm rewarding the with a place ta stay an' more of mah crop ta eat?" Applejack really tore into Fluttershy's idea as poor Fluttershy had also noticed Applejack seemed to really hate the vampire fruit bats.

"What if we round them up and then we can worry about what we're going to do with them?"

"Dat's a plan, but how?"

"I was thinking Twilight and Fluttershy could gather them up someplace and I could make a pen to hold them for a bit. After we are done with the harvest, we could take them to a zoo or animal sanctuary or even release them back into the wild to find food." I turned and gently gave Fluttershy a pat on the head. She and I managed to get along pretty well in spite of me being so new, likely thanks to my unpony appearance and not always enjoying large groups either. Though somehow I'd been lucky enough to not run into Discord the times I'd met with her.

"I think I have a spell in the library that could make the bats not want to eat apples." I watched Twilight and now had to really come to a decision. Would I change the major event of this plot and prevent Flutterbat or would I let it happen? No, I wasn't. Fluttershy didn't deserve to be transformed like that.

"I think magically enforcing our will on them is going a step too far."

"I agree.": Fluttershy spoke up after me. "What if the spell makes them starve because they won't want to eat anything?" Twilight ears dropped at the statement.

"I hadn't really thought about that. That would be awful. So just a simple telekinesis spell to move them once Fluttershy has the bats immobilized by the Flutterstare?"

"If you and Fluttershy are ok with that." I turned looking over to Fluttershy as she looked up at me.

"Um ok, it's not really what I was hoping for, but at least they aren't going to be hurt or have any weird magic used on them." Fluttershy got into position in front of a tree full of the vampire fruit bats and began her hard stare at them all of the bats going quiet and stopping as Twilight gently pulled them from the tree as I then formed a roomy cage, with small spacing between bars to ensure they wouldn't be able slip out, around them. Twilight let them go and Fluttershy stopped her stare as the bats flitted about not very happy at their sudden containment. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash helped the rest of the Apples as, after about an hour of work, we got every vampire fruit bat on Sweet Apple Acres rounded up into stone cages. We met back up in the middle and really tore into the harvesting of the apples.

After a long day of work, we all gathered around to figure out what should be done with the bats.

"Well I had Spike send a few letters and it seems the Canterlot zoo could house them."

"I'd say dat sounds like a swell idea, don't ya think Fluttershy?"

"Well, it does take care of them without having to use up more of your orchard on another sanctuary, Applejack. I'm sure they'll be well taken care of."'

"They will, I visited there a number of times and the animals always looked happy and well cared for."Twilight added as Fluttershy nodded her head, but still seemed a bit down as all the other ponies and Spike left. I took a seat on the ground and gave a sigh as that seemed to attract her attention.

"Are you ok Onyxian?" Fluttershy sat down looking a bit concerned.

"Yeah, just a bit tired from magic use. A lot more cages than I thought I was going to need to make for all the bats. How about yourself? You seem a bit down." Fluttershy looked down at the ground pawing her hoof at the dirt.

"I just feel like this could have worked out better if I could have worked better if I could have understood them. They wouldn't be in cages right now."

"Or you could have still been shot down by the bats or maybe they were ignoring you even though they could understand you.. To be honest, this was a problem with no right answer, just one you answer the best you can." I gave her another pat on the head. "Thank you for helping Twilight and me with the bats. If you hadn't helped, we would have likely had had to be more forceful and it could have gotten violent." Fluttershy looked over to me with big scared eyes.

"Thank goodness you didn't have to. I would have felt so bad for the little dears. I still do." I noticed Spike coming out of the barn and waved him over.

"Hey, what's up Onyxian?"

"Any idea when the ponies from the zoo will be able to pick up the bats?" Spike thought for a bit scratching his head as Fluttershy turned and looked over at him intently.

"The last letter said they'd be here on the morning train to Ponyville."

"Oh that's wonderful, I was so worried they were going to have to wait a long time." Fluttershy and I got up as she headed to the barn with Spike while I headed towards home until I was stopped by Spike calling out to me.

"You're not sticking around? Without you they wouldn't be celebrating right now." I shook my head at him.

"Tell Twilight and the others I'm beat. Guess it's one more night with a rock bed tonight."

I headed home and was rather surprised to find an extra long twin bed by the door of my house. I found and opened the bed which read.

Onyxian,
Thank you for the help today. Granny thought you might need this.
Signed, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Applebloom.-

I folded up the note and with a sigh looked at the bed.

"Hell of a day."

A Day in Manehattan

A week had passed and it was the day that Rarity was taking the rest of the mane six to Manehattan for the fashion competition. I had remembered this as the episode "Rarity Takes Manehattan", but I wasn't about to try and effect the events in any way. Rarity had made a whole dresser full of clothes for me in the time I had been in Ponyville, but had been quite eager to have me in more formal attire for my date with Luna. She had helped me don my new black three piece suit with a white shirt and green tie which Rarity commented went great with my eyes. I'd even made a few pieces for the outfit myself in the form of a pair of gold cufflinks capped with a small jet on each along with a little surprise that I hoped Luna would like. For the moment, I left my suit open to show off my black almost pinstripe like vest.

I had mostly left the mane six alone during the ride reading a Daring Do novel which rather reminded me of pulp adventure novels geared to young adults. I was sure I was going to miss Rick Riordan's style of storytelling. Of course, knowing this was all something that really happened did give me a lot of respect for her as an adventurer.

We got off at Manehattan Central Station and I was greeted by a navy blue unicorn with a light blue mane in a bob cut that reminded me a lot of Luna right after she had been turned back from Nightmare Moon.

"Hello Onyxian, I trust the train ride was pleasant?" I quirked a brow at her holding my luggage close to my side.

"It was good enough. You have me at a disadvantage, you seem to know me, but I have no idea who you are." I got a slightly better look into the mare's midnight blue eyes as she looked into my emerald green before I trailed along the rest of her as I noticed she was wearing a kind of black slip dress with fishnet stockings on all four of her legs with her cutie mark hidden by the dress. The mare gave me a pout as she beckoned me to lean down which when I did as she whispered to me in Luna's voice

"I think you might know me a little better than you give yourself credit for." I leaned back trying my best to hide my surprise.

"Well, that certainly is a different way to greet your date. Dodging guards again or just not sure how ponies will react to you among them in an informal capacity?"

"A little of both." Her voice had changed back as she gave me a smile.

"I also thought you might prefer to enjoy a day unmolested by guards and journalists, At least for a first date."

"Really Onyxian, you can't even wait for your first date is over to start flirting with another mare?" Rarity walked up to me with a disappointed look on her face. Luna only smiled at me.

"Oh, I assure you, he is only flirting with his date, but thank you for your concern, Rarity." Rarity almost squealed at hearing Luna's voice come from the mare in front of her.

"Oh my, a disguise! A secret engagement between a lost soul and a princess? It's just like a romance novel, how delightful! What a lovely outfit you picked out, Your Highness. Onyxian, why don't you let us take your bag so you and Princess Luna can get started on your date?" I handed over my bag as Luna giggled after Rarity trotted away.

"She is quite excited for the both of us is she not?" I turned to look back at Luna with a grin.

"She does enjoy being in the know on the subject of relationships. So is this an illusion or a transformation?" Luna cocked her head to the side at my question.

"Does it really make a difference?"

"Well for the function of a disguise I'd say no, but for interacting with you on our date, it might be good to know if you're your normal height now or that of a normal unicorn's."

"You make a fair point, it's a transformation spell." I walked with her out of the station and onto the busy sidewalk.

"Perhaps I should learn my fair date's name. So I won't make a fool of myself." Luna stiffened up her eyes going wide as it seemed she hadn't thought up of a name to go by while she was in disguise.

"The thought of a name never even crossed your mind did it?"

"It really had not." Luna hung her head and gave a light sigh. "I can't believe I hadn't thought about it before you brought it up. I was rather excited to have a nice time with you without having to worry about my rank." I gently put my hand on her head. "I worked hard on this disguise."

"And it's a very good one. You deserve not having to live under a microscope. How about Aurora? Aurora Nightglow?" Luna perked up and gently pushed her head against my hand.

"Aurora, I like it. Nightglow is a nice touch, too. So where are we going first?"

"Well Rarity helped me get tickets for a musical tonight. I was told by Pinkie that there's a popular amusement park on a pier on the bay called Pony Island. If I recall correctly, you're quite good at festival games. Pony Island should have games like that but are a bit harder and offer the winner prizes. Or if you're looking for more of a quiet enjoyment of each other's company, the central park and zoo isn't too far of a walk from here." Luna simply smiled as I had noticed a few token glaces from what I figured were locals but got longer stares from tourists like I'd sometimes get from out of towners in Ponyville. Luna moved in closer beside me in a protective fashion as I smiled at her.

"This Pony Island place sounds like a nice change of pace for the both of us. I think I would like to hail a taxi." She made her way to the edge of the sidewalk waving her hoof in the air. "Taxi! Woo Hoo! Taxi please!" I gently picked Luna up and put her on my shoulders. "Woohoo! Taxi!" She continued as I waved a hand in the air along with her as after a bit of time, a taxi pulled up. I walked over and set Luna down in the cab before getting in as the large built earth pony cabbie turned his head to watch us.

"Where ya headin'?" Luna perked up as I motioned for her to tell him our destination.

"Oh right, Pony Island, please."

"You got it. You and your friend having a little tour of our city?" I sat down and the cabbie started walking artfully weaving his way around traffic like the professional he was.

"Indeed, we were both in the city and figured we'd make a date of the day. Neither of us were busy." I was busy looking around taking in the landmarks and the staggering energy of the city.

"Interesting choice of date you found there, miss. He talk much?"

"When I have things to talk about. This is a very impressive city you're a part of. I've not seen this much controlled chaos in my stay in Equestria until I got off the train today."

"Indeed , it sure has the energy to it that's almost overwhelming ." Luna chipped in as the cabbie chuckled and continued pulling us along to the harbor area.

"So, do you two always dress up for a day on the town?"

"Well I do when it's a date for Aurora here. Her living in Canterlot and being in Ponyville myself, I don't get to see her often so I tend to make an effort to look nice for her."

"That's pretty sweet, but Canterlot and Ponyville are closer together than either of them is to Manehattan . Wouldn't visiting each other be easier?"

"To a point but I'm sadly so busy in Canterlot and it just worked out that we would both be in Manehattan at the same time, so we thought we would have a date while we were both here." I noticed the taxi was coming up to a pier and, after a bit more walking, stopping as the cabbie turned to look back at us.

"That'll be-" I reached out and handed him four small emeralds and stepped out of the taxi and turned around holding my hand out for Luna to take. "Uh more than enough. You want change there, big spender?" Luna put her hoof in my hand as she stepped down and set her other hooves on the pier.

"I think you earned a tip." The cabbie's jaw dropped looking at me.

"Thank you kindly, Sir. You've certainly made my day." The cabbie gave a nod and trotted off to find his next fare.

"Trying to impress me with your generosity, Onyxian?"

"Not intentionally. Shall we take a chance at one of the games, Aurora?" She smiled as we made our way up to a booth as the male earth pony manning it reminded me of the Flim Flam brothers but with a blond mane.

"Take a chance, win a prize. Whaddaya say there, Mister? Win the lovely lady a prize?" I looked at the game seeing it was the one where you had to knock over three stacks of bottles in six throws of a baseball. I handed him a bit and then handed the balls to Luna.

"I think my lovely lady can win her own prize." I then leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I remember how this game works, one of the bottles is weighed down. Just throw as hard as you absolutely can." Luna looked up at me and nodded her head as she lined herself up taking the first ball in her hoof, chucking it down range where it connected, sending them flying.

"Very nice throw there, Miss. Just two more stacks to go." Luna lined up with the second and gave another mighty throw which connected with the bottles sending them scattered around the floor of the booth. "Another amazing throw, I can see why you let her go first." I simply smiled at him as Luna lined up with the last stack with a determined smile. She then let the ball fly as it struck the bottles so hard I noticed one of the ceramic bottles crack at the impact point as they tumbled down as the stallation running the booth let his mouth gape open. "Uuuh...We have a winner. Pick your prize." Luna looked wide eyed at the plush dolls hanging from the booth as I chuckled at her playfully.

"Having a hard time choosing?"

"Well, I... yes it's just.." I gently gave her a pat on her head between her ears as she stopped talking and tried to pick out something. After looking around the booth I took note of a Celestia plush and looked around trying to see if one was a Luna.

"Do you have a Luna doll? She's Aurora' and mine's favorite princess and I noticed you have a Celestia doll." He perked up and looked around his side of the booth bending down to put a plush version of Luna on the counter.

"This what you'd been looking for, Miss?" Luna looked at the plush and nodded her head as she then hugged me. As I hugged her back I looked around and saw a ferris wheel along with a few other couple's rides. I let her go and she levitated the plush onto her back .

"It's perfect, thank you, Sir." We made our way from the booth as I could tell he was a bit miffed that she had won. "So, what should we do now, Onyxian?" She looked up at me as I pointed to the ferris wheel.

"Have you ever been on that kind of ride before? I know since you can fly, the view might not be all that special , but it's a big couple's ride where I come from. She tilted her head to the side looking at the wheel.

"Really just going up and down?"

"Well, it's a lot more fun with a special somepony to ride it with." I brought Luna into the line with me as she blushed.

"Oh, so it's sharing the view that makes it more special?"

"That's the idea. So has work been going well?" Luna seemed a bit confused by the question, but then it seemed to click and she played along.

"Yes, work is going well, still watching for that thing you said I should watch out for." The line moved on and soon we were at front where I then paid for the both of us. Once the next car was free, we were led up and into it. Once we were seated and the car was closed I turned to look over at Luna with a smile. Luna looked over at me. She gave a small gasp of surprise as I leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Are all stallons so bold where you come from?" I chuckled and shook my head.

"Most aren't, some are, and some are even more so." I gently nudged my muzzle with her as she leaned in against me watching the horizon slowly sink lower and lower in our field of view. I reached my hand back behind her head as she jumped when she felt me touching both of her ears again.

"Onyxian, what do you think you are doing?!" I grinned a bit and touched our horns tip to tip as I let her ears go.

"Letting my special somepony know I feel about her." She blushed as I pulled back and gave her a wink as I pulled out a necklace box. "I made something for you. I hope you like it." I opened the box showing her a silver necklace with a silver pendant in a crescent moon shape laid over an onyx to act as the night sky.

"It's beautiful, the nicest gift I've ever gotten." I had a slightly hard time believing that, but having her say it was still very nice all the same. I put it around her neck giving a bit of a frown.

"A little big for your disguise, but I'm sure it will look nice on you in your true form." I unhooked the necklace and made it shorter as I put it back around her neck. "There, better fit." Luna looked over the necklace more and then gave me a hug.

"Thank you Onyxian, this has been wonderful, a great date." I smiled and gave her a gentle pat on her head.

"It's not over yet."

Author's Note

Sorry about the wait guys. As always feedback is very welcome. I'll get back to action at some point.

Something Different

We were on the train heading back to Ponyville. Pinkie filled me in on all the crazy stuff that had happened involving Rarity which I was only half heartedly listening to lost in thought about the wonderful night Luna and I had shared together, such as getting to see her properly wear the necklace I had made for her in person. I was sharply brought back to reality by a hoof to my forehead.

"Oww! What was that for?"

"Who's got your mind all busy, Nyxie?" Pinkie giggled at me as I gave her a stern look.

"A special somepony that I got to spend a very wonderful time with." Pinkie lit up and moved in as I noticed the rest of the mane six looking at us with interest as Rarity and Applejack moved in.

"A special somepony, when did that happen? Who are they? Are they from Manehattan?" Rarity and Applejack pulled Pinkie Pie off me as Rarity gave a smile.

"Oh, your date went well, then?"

"Guess it musta been since we hardly saw ya 'til it was time fer the train." I chuckled and nodded my head.

"Well, she was nice enough to let me spend the night at her hotel room." Rarity's jaw dropped as both her and Applejack had let Pinkie Pie go.

"You spent the night in Princess Luna's hotel room?!" Pinkie Pie gasped as I looked around seeing Fluttershy agasp, Rainbow Dash perking up from her nap, and Twilight doing a soda spit-take all over poor Spike.

"YOU'RE SPECIAL SOMEPONIES WITH PRINCESS LUNA!!" Rarity, Applejack, and I were sent reeling by Pinkie's shouting and now everypony in the train car was looking at me.

"Oww, yes. At least I think we are."

"So that's why you only popped in to get your clothes that first night. I must say I'm rather surprised. It seems very unreal to me, Darling."

"It's pretty unreal to me, too." Twilight walked over and looked up to me as I saw Spike head off to likely go get cleaned up before the sugary beverage dried into a sticky film.

"So, just when did you and Luna meet?"

"Oh, Twilight dear it was so romantic,they met when Onyxian was in that dreadful Everfree Forest, in his dreams." Twilight looked at Rarity and then back to me.

"And who told you that?"

"Luna herself did Twilight. Sumthing about them meeting in his dreams over the month he's been here." Applejack piped in as I nodded my head.

"That's coolerific, Nyxie. Here we were worried you were having trouble making friends and you'd gotten yourself a special somepony." Rarity drew Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and me closer.

"They even met with her in disguise at the train station."

"You told me he was going sightseeing"

"Well, that's not really a lie. I'm sure he and Luna did a lot of sightseeing together."

"And just why was I left out of the group?" I sat up having regained my cool, calm demeanor.

"Well, because we kinda thought you might freak out." Twilight huffed and gave me quite the glare.

"I don't freak out!"

"Huh Twi, ya kinda do. Just relax."

"Indeed, who is special someponies with whom is nothing for us to get bent out of shape about. Besides Onyxian is a fine upstanding individual." Twilight sighed and nodded her head.

"I just wish you had trusted me enough to tell me, Onyxian." I sighed and shook my head as Twilight looked rather dejected.

"It it makes you feel any better, I had been trying to keep the relationship under wraps until Luna was ready to come out about it."

"Too bad Rarity was one of the first ponies to find out. I'm surprised Gabby Gums kept a secret like that for a whole week." Rarity looked a bit hurt at Rainbow Dash's comment as she joined in.

"Rainbow Dash! I can certainly keep a secret. It just slipped my mind that it was one." I moved away from the rest of the Mane Six over to Fluttershy's bench as I laid out beside her.

"If it's alright with you, Fluttershy. I'm just gonna nap the rest of the trip." I closed my eyes and felt a wing lay out on top of my head as the world under my eyelids went darker. "Thanks, you're the best." I drifted off into my own thoughts for a while and was woken up by feathers tickling my nose.

"Wake up Sleepyhead, the train has stopped." I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I kept you in your seat the whole ride."

"It was hardly the whole ride, just the last hour. I'm happy to help my friends."

"Well, if you need a helping hand, just let me know." I stood up getting my luggage along with Fluttershy's.

"Onyxian, you don't have to get that." I shook my head and carried all of it off the train.

"It's no big deal, you and I going on the same road." We bid everypony else goodbye and made our way to Fluttershy's treehouse. About a two-thirds the way there, I stopped dead in my tracks as a strange feeling I was being watched overcame me.

"And just who might you be?" A voice and head said right in front of me as I was now face-to-face with Discord or at least his head.

"Onyxian, this is Discord. Discord, meet Onyxian. He's the new resident of Ponyville I told you about." Discord's body fully appeared as he stood up showing that he was a good two maybe even three feet taller than me.

"I see, Fluttershy tells me you ended up in Equestria after a teleportation spell went awry. You feel other worldly and certainly have a look much more becoming of a rather villainous nature." Fluttershy seemed a bit flustered.

"Discord! Onyxian has been nothing but kind and well mannered since I've met him. You should know what it's like being judged by your appearance. Why would you say something so mean?" I simply brushed it off not wanting to give Discord any ideas. Discord looked down at Fluttershy with a hurt expression.

"I didn't mean anything hurtful by it, but he sure has a lot of colors that go with being a villain.

"Are you saying I shouldn't be trusted with Fluttershy's things? Because if you'd like to carry them for her, you can be my guest. I don't have any intention of hurting Equestria or her ponies." Discord looked me over from a magnifying glass in his talon, his little iris distorted to the same size as his larger one.

"No, I trust you wouldn't hurt Fluttershy or any other pony." Fluttershy and I made our way to her treehouse where she opened the door and was greeted by all of the animals, each one quite excited at her return as Angel hopped over in a rather dismissive fashion but then hugged her foreleg when he thought nopony was looking. I gently set her luggage down next to her.

"Well, I'm sure you and Discord have catching up to do, so I'll leave you two to do so."

"You're sure you can't stay, Onyxian? I'm sure you and Discord would get along great if gave it a bit more time." Suddenly, I heard a loud, powerful roar or maybe it was a collection of roars ring out from near by in the Everfree forest.

"That sounds like trouble, and close at that." I stepped out of the treehouse looking around as the animals had gone to take shelter as I felt powerful and large footsteps shaking the ground as out of the forest a five-headed hydra crashed through the tree line its heads scenting the air in different directions before lumbering its way to the chickencoop. Fluttershy looked in horror as I leapt to action sending a two-foot wide blunt pillar of stone into the Hydra's gut, all of its faces contorting in pain as the force of the impact pushed it back from the henhouse. I sent a second pillar into its gut sending it sliding back but not nearly as far as it had before as it had caught itself by digging its claws into the ground to keep from sliding back as all five sets of eyes looked down at me. I bared my teeth and growled right back at the snarling heads while trying to keep from shaking with fear. I focused on the ground under the hydra which suddenly began to give out from under its feet as it sank till the mud now around it was around its feet. It roared and began to lumber at me but was held in place as I managed to will the mud into stone around its feet. It was an old trick I'd pulled as a druid all the time while playing D&D. I made sure to stay out of its reach as I circled it.

"Hey Discord. Wanna be a pal and give me a bit of help?" Suddenly, Discord was right next to me as I looked over at him.

"Very nice handling of a hydra, not many ponies can say they've managed to subdue one by themselves and so quickly, too."

"I'd hardly say subdued. Preoccupied might be a better word. I need you to send it back to its home or I'm going to have to solve this problem with the only means I have, violence. And I'm sure Fluttershy wouldn't approve since you're here and could just teleport it away." Discord quirked an eyebrow and put his eyes level with mine,

"And just how would you have any idea of what I can and can't do?"

"Come on, you're Discord: Spirit of Chaos, one of the most powerful beings in Equestria. You could shrink it down to the size of a puppy and keep it as a pet if you wanted, all I'm asking is for you to send it back home where it belongs."

"Alright, but you don't have to be so dramatic with that '...only means I have...' bit."

"I wasn't being dramatic so much as practical. I don't have anyway to contain or control the hydra." I sent a long wall up whacking most of the hydra's heads as they drooped down and the struggling stopped for the moment. I saw Rainbow Dash zip down from the sky seeing the hydra slumped down now with it's feet stuck in the ground.

"Woah, what's a hydra doing out of the Everfree?" Fluttershy walked out looking up at Discord.

"Indeed, a hydra wouldn't normally ever come out of the Everfree. Why don't you send it back home, Discord?" Discord brightened up and looked down at Fluttershy.

"Of course, anything for a friend." With a snap of his fingers and what sounded like the popping of a huge soap bubble, the hydra was gone. I simply rolled my eyes figuring he was simply being difficult because he could be with me. I was about to head home as Fluttershy stopped me by trotting into my path.

"That was a lot of magic for you. Are you sure you wouldn't rather rest here?"

"Yeah, it's starting to catch up with me. I figured I'd just go home and nap it off. Likely wake up hungry enough to eat a hydra." I slumped down on my luggage, that rapid fire magic use taking a bit more toll than I had first expected. It didn't help that I had done all of that on an empty stomach.

"Woah, you don't look so good, Onyxian!" Rainbow Dash came over and helped me stand up. "Take it easy, I got ya."

"Are you ok, Onyxian? Let's get inside." Fluttershy looked rather worried as I worked up a smile for her about to protest. "No buts, you're coming inside right now." I could tell Discord wasn't too happy with the way things were playing out as I looked at him from Rainbow Dash's shoulder height. For all I knew of Discord, he could have brought the hydra himself just to try and scare me off. I got off Rainbow.Dash and took a seat trying to keep my head up as my stomach let out a long growl trying to reassure Fluttershy I was okay with a chuckle.

"Well, if you're going to drag me in." I gave a yawn and shook my head trying to stay up. I heard a knock at the door as it opened to reveal Twilight.

"Hey Onyxian, I'm all for you trying to stay cool even when you don't feel your best, but it's ok to let your guard down." I looked over to Rainbow Dash and slumped back with a sigh as Twilight interjected.

"Onyxian, don't fall asleep! You have to eat something first." My head felt heavy as I forced myself to look up to a purple blur I hoped was Twilight. "Oh this is bad, he pushed himself very hard. Fluttershy get anything sugary and start a kettle. Onyxian, you have to stay awake until you eat and drink something." My vision went dark as I was sure my eyelids had closed but I couldn't force them to open back up. I heard muffled noises which I figured was Twilight trying to keep me awake as I was pulled into a dark, quiet void.

Another Interesting Wakeup

I woke up suddenly, with a gasp laying on a hospital bed Rarity at my side along with Sweetie Belle as I moved my head weakly to try and take in my surroundings.

"It's okay, Darling. You gave us quite the scare when Rainbow Dash had to fly you here after you fainted in Fluttershy's house from magic exhaustion. Don't try to sit up just yet. You've been out for a few days." I stopped trying to lift my head, resting it back on the pillow with a sigh.

"I'll go get a nurse."

"Good idea Sweetie Belle, we should let them know he's awake." I heard hurried, small hoof beats as Sweetie Belle made her way out of the room.

"Uh, just how long have I been out?"

"Three days, Darling. They put this tube in your arm to slowly introduce more fluids and nutrients back into your body. I think Twilight might have even written Princess Luna the night you fainted." I gave another sigh and shifted a bit in the bed.

"Great, so I got all of you worried over me. Sorry for being such a pain in the ass." Rarity seemed rather surprised at my using such an uncouth saying.

"You saved Fluttershy's henhouse and maybe even Fluttershy herself. Now you're worried about being a burden on us? Where do you get such idea's, Onyxian? We're your friends." I heard two sets of hooves walk in and an unfamiliar voice.

"He's speaking with you? Can you understand me, Sir?" I nodded my head lightly.

"Yes, I can understand you."

"You're recovering from severe magic exhaustion." A white hoof took hold of my head and a flashlight shined into my eyes. "Well your pupils are dilating properly. That's a good sign." I looked up as my eyes adjusted back to normal light seeing Nurse Redheart looking over me,

"That I'm not blind? I'm sure I might have panicked at Rarity if that had been the case."

"Well, your wit seems to be a bit overactive."

"My wit is how I know that I'm alive. Can I sit up or am I confined to bed rest?" I was a bit surprised by the gentle nudge of her hoof on my cheek.

"If you want to sit up, do it slowly. I said you're recovering, not recovered." I very slowly edged up on the bed getting to sitting up after about a half a minute.

"There, I like being able to look at who I'm talking to." I took a look around at the three ponies around me as I gave them a smile. "So any idea on when I might be able to leave and how much this is going to cost me when I do?" Nurse Redheart looked a bit bewildered when I asked about cost.

"Well, we are going to want to make sure you're fully recovered before you leave. As far as the cost of the bed and care we've given you, it's already been taken care of."

"Don't look at me Darling. As far as I know, none of us have even seen a bill." Rarity spoke after I turned to look at her with a confused look on my face.

"We were informed that all medical expenses were to be directed to the Royal Treasury at Canterlot." I turned looking back at Nurse Redheart with a look of shock on my face.

"I see...Thank you for letting me know." I eased myself back down into the bed with a sigh. I guess after Twilight's letter, Luna wanted to help. "Rarity, if you see Spike, could you ask him if he'd be up for giving me a visit?"

"Well, I'm sure he'll be with Twilight when they come by later today." I shifted a bit on the bed still having to watch out for the IV in my arm.

"Then I guess it'll work out just fine. I'm going to head back to sleep if that's all right with everypony."

"That's fine, Darling. We'll wake you up if they bring a meal for you." I nodded my head and closed my eyes.

"Thank you."

I was woken up with a light shake as I opened my eyes looking up to see Twilight looking down at me.

"Hey." Twilight cocked her head to the side at what I guess might have sounded like a half-hearted greeting.

"Are you not feeling well?"

"Is it normal to not dream after magic exhaustion? I was hoping to tell Luna thank you for helping with my medical expenses, but I haven't dreamed for the three days I was out or during my nap."

"Maybe you're just not remembering them." I sat seeing a salad on a plate in front of me as I dug in, noticing the IV was out of my arm. The rumbling of my stomach suddenly reminded me I hadn't had any real food in three days.

"Rarity had said something about you needing to talk to me. What's up?" Spike spoke up as I looked over to him.

"Yeah, I was hoping to write a letter thanking the Princess for paying for my stay at the hospital."

"Oh that was Twilight, she used some of her grant money Celestia gives her to pay for it. Ow!" Twilight stopped Spike as she seemed to be blushing.

"Well, I still have a princess to thank, then." I moved over and managed to give Twilight a hug around her neck.

"It's no big deal. What are friends for? I'm just happy you're up and recovering."

"I guess you're right, I just wish I was sharing more good times than bad." I let her go before it got too awkward.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was out?" Twilight shook her head in short answer to my question.

"Nothing Earth shattering that I can think of. I'm sure Luna will be happy to hear that you're better. I took some time once you were in the hospital to check out the area where you trapped the hydra and I was very impressed that you managed all of that magic use and were still standing afterwards. Doing all that on your own is amazing for any unicorn without help or a lot of training. You really would do better to go to Canterlot and study at the academy." I chuckled at her as I sat back in the bed and had gotten into an apple while she had been talking. I swallowed my bite and replied.

"Canterlot? All of my friends are here. I'd feel bad just leaving." I took another bite and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sure I could continue to practice here. My magic in a city built into a mountain? That doesn't seem all that safe." Twilight had a thoughtful expression on her face that then turned a bit sour.

"You make a good point there. That could turn South if you were to have some kind of mishap. You could go to the Crystal Empire? I'm sure Cadance and my brother Shining Armor would be happy to help you. He once put a huge magical shield over all of Canterlot and held it for weeks. He's one of the best unicorns that could help you push your limits." I gave Twilight a thankful smile.

"I just built a home and own land here. The idea of growing and pushing my limits is really tempting though."

"I'm not saying you have to leave for good, just that it could really help you with how hard you push yourself magically when you encounter danger. You're certainly clever in your use of limited magic types, but you're very hard on yourself."

"I asked Discord for help." I chuckled dryly.

"I heard and I heard he was a bit unhelpful to you." I frowned a bit and nodded my head.

"Maybe her thought I was trying to show off. We had just met." Twilight quirked an eyebrow at me and gave a sigh.

"Well you hardly try to show everypony up when I'm around you. I just thought you could do well in the Crystal Empire." I gave a heartfelt sigh and nodded my head.

"If that's the advice of my teacher and friend, then let them know I'll be there as soon as I'm able to go. I'm sure I'll see all of you around sometime." I watched Twilight's ears drop down in a slightly saddened fashion.

"I'm sure Pinkie would want to plan something." I shook my head at the idea.

"It's not like I'll be gone for good. A farewell party would make it seem like I'm not coming back at all. You girls are my friends, I don't plan on leaving for good." Twilight brightened up and gave a smile. She reached out and put her forelegs around me in a hug, her head resting on my shoulder.

"I'm glad you think so, too." A few days later I got better, had set my travel plans in order along with my house, and was saying my goodbyes at the train station. I Was dressed in a pair of green cargo pants and a white semi dress shirt Rarity had made for me as everyday wear my mane cut back into a more ruley fashion like I had had at my welcome party thanks to Lotus and Aloe as I started down the line giving Applejack a hug.

"You be careful out there, ya hear? You can always write us if'n ya get lonely." I let her go and nodded my head.

"I'll make sure to send a letter that I got there safely." Next was Rarity who was a bit less reserved with her hug.

"I'm certainly going to miss all of those wonderful accessories you make for my outfits while you're away. There'll most certainly be an opening for you in my boutique when you make your return." I let her go and moved to face Rainbow Dash who looked up at me.

"Don't think you're getting a hug from me. I don't do mushy." I simply chuckled as she held out her foreleg and I bumped my fist gently against her hoof.

"Thanks for coming to see me off."

"I don't leave friends hanging." She smiled up to me as I nodded my head in understanding and was then hugged by Pinkie Pie who was sobbing.

"I'll really miss ya, Nixie. I wish you had let me throw a party, but I'll make sure to throw an extra special one when you come back to Ponyville for good." I smiled and hugged Pinkie with one arm, my other hand patting her head.

"Can't wait. Thank you Pinkie Pie." She held onto me a bit longer than I would have liked. Once let go, I scooped Fluttershy up into my arms lifting her gently off the ground. She hugged around my neck with her forelegs and, after a silent moment, I gently set her hooves back on the floor to let her go. The last was Twilight, she let me give her a hug around her neck.

"I know you'll learn a lot from my brother." I chuckled and let her go standing up picking my luggage.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Twilight." The train whistle blew and made my way onto the train giving my friends one last look as I then set off on something new.

Chance Meetings and New Beginnings

I disembarked from the long train ride and was hit by a blast of chilly Northern air as I shivered and wrapped the green scarf Fluttershy had made me before I left Ponyville a bit more tightly around my neck. I was rather surprised they had already finished the new train station the new train station that was inside the domain of the Crystal Empire for the Equestria Games. I looked around the platform holding my two bags and backpack of luggage as I spotted Shining Armor much to surprise levitating a sign with the name "Onyxian" written on it. I walked over to him as he looked up at me with a start.

"Wow, I guess Twilight wasn't foaling around when she said you were something new. I'm Shining Armor, Twilight's brother." I bowed politely to him.

"I'm Onyxian, you're just like she described. I wasn't expecting you to come get me yourself. Do I need to get a hotel room or something for a while before I get more long term accommodations?" Shining Armor shook his head.

"Not a chance, we've got more than enough room in the palace. Cadance got a room all ready for you." I was rather surprised by the news that I was going to be a houseguest to royalty.

"Oh, I hope I'm not imposing on you and your wife."

"Hardly, Cadance is really excited to entertain a friend of Twilight's" I walked with him off the platform and out onto the mainstreet.

"Quite an interesting place she rules over. I'd heard it was lost long ago and recently resurfaced. Must be strange being in a land where almost everypony is over a thousand years your senior." Shining Armor scrunched his face slightly looking at all the crystal ponies going about their day.

"You know, I hadn't really thought about it. I know Cadance had to update the Crystal Empire's education system but I didn't think as to why until right now. So what did you do for fun before you ended up in Equestria, Onyxian?" I looked back at him from my sightseeing of the crystal buildings.

"Some friends of mine and I played Dungeons and Dragons, a role playing game for telling stories in an age of legends."

"Really? Sounds a lot like Oubliettes and Ogres, it's a very similar game, at least in the fact it's a role playing game with a similar setting." I had seen it before in the comic that told the story of how Cadance and Shining Armor first got together. We talked about characters we had played and the adventures that had had. It was nice getting to nerd out even though it seemed Shining Armor had been out of gaming for a bit which I could understand with a new wife and the demanding nature of being a guard captain I noticed a few gazes were lingering on me as I passed by groups of crystal ponies.

"So be honest, I look a lot like somepony named King Sombra and it's unnerving someponies, right?" Shining Armor looked a bit awkward as she looked around at the other's looking at me.

"Twilight had said you kinda looked like him, but what's important is who your are not what you look like. Given time, I'm sure you'll make friends just like you did in ponyville." I needed to get on track with why I was even here.

"So when would be a good time to start lessons?" Shining Armor gave a nod as I was rather shocked I hadn't recognized the crystal palace as the guards opened the gate to let us in.

"As soon as you're ready to start. I'll do my best to teach you all I can." We walked along through a few chambers and I spotted a familiar starry tail flowing from the corner of vision stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Princess Luna is here?" I also heard Cadance's voice in the room as the door was pushed open as I saw Luna looking to me the necklace I had made around her neck as she smiled to me.

"Onyxian? I didn't know you were coming to the Crystal Empire." I couldn't help but smile as I then saw Cadance turn to look at me and then back to Luna.

"Oh really? Those rumors going around are true? That's wonderful! I thought I saw a love in your aura, Luna." She turned her head to look back to me. "So you're Onyxian, Twilight spoke very highly in the letter she sent ahead of you." I blushed lightly and moved in dropping my bags to give Luna a hug around her neck in greeting which she returned.

"I'd gotten the letter about you trapping a hydra single hoofedly. I wish you didn't push yourself like that, but I know you couldn't leave a friend in danger. What brings you here?" I grinned and let Luna go.

"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor have been kind enough to take me as a guest while I train under the captain." Luna seemed rather surprised and Cadance moved the little party into a proper sitting room as a member of the palace staff took my luggage.

"That certainly is a change. A big saddening that you'll be farther away from Canterlot, but we'll still have our dreams." Cadance looked on at the little drama in front of her in doe-eyed fashion.

"Can't you stay a little bit longer, Luna?"

"Sadly, it is not meant to be. I am needed back at the castle post hate." She shook her head with a sigh giving me one more hug on her way out as she was escorted by Princess Cadance. Shining Armor and I were left in the room staring at eachother.

"So not to be too noisy, but what's Luna like behind the tiara?" I turned to him laying back on the couch.

"Wonderful, she just needs somepony to remind her from time to time. I'm just the lucky guy that gets to do it."

Growth and Unexpected Knowledge

Shining had been training me hard for the past three months. He thought that some physical guard training would be good for me on top of the magical training I was doing under his guidance. I had never felt this badass before. I was wearing a set of guard training armor that I had magically shaped and molded to fit me along with turning it a more white gold look that I felt went a bit better with my colors. Everything was well into the Winter season as the training ground where I was sparring with two guard was covered in snow while Shining Armor watched with a critical eye.

The two guards were using practice spears making stabs at me as I batted any blows getting too close away with my own. I was trying to position myself in such a way to prevent them from flanking me as apparently I was taking too long as two more guards joined the sparring ring with two more pegasi guards swooping in to try and hit me as well. I willed up a spell as quickly as I could as suddenly all the guards in the ring were struggling against their armor which had a faint black light aura as I willed them in place. I heard hooves running in the snow behind me as I turned my head and body to brace my spear in one arm to line up just in time to contact the charging guard who stumbled from the impact.

“Alright, nice job, Onyxian. Same for the rest of you.” I let them all gently go making sure the pegasi guards were still beating their wings so they wouldn't fall. Shining Armor trotted over to me speaking in a lower tone. “I can certainly say that you seem to be improving your control and concentration. I’d be honored to have you among our numbers in the guard.” I sighed and shook my head.

“:Thanks, but for the hundredth time, I don’t plan on joining the guard. I wanted to train for myself, maybe become a real adventurer rather than just play one with pencil and paper.” Shining Armor quirked an eyebrow at me and gave a chuckle.

“Well it’s not that Equestria doesn't have room for more heroes. I only keep asking because I think you’d do more good working as one of us rather than trying to alongside us.” I sat down in the snow removing my helmet to take a bit of the white powder and rub it against my forehead.

“And I get where you’re coming from, but I don’t think I’m cut out to be a guard.” Shining Armor’s face turned stern on me.

“I’ve noticed you haven’t made many friends in your time here. Any thoughts as to why?” Now it was my turn to look up at him.

“I’ve thought of you and Cadance as my friends. Did I make an error in my judgment?” Shining Armor seemed a bit flustered by my response.

“Oh, well no. We are your friends. I’ve just noticed you seem to keep everypony at arm’s length. Does this have any connection with you not feeling cut out to be a guard?” I sighed and laid back into the snow.

“So when is this Hearth's Warming holiday? I’ve been working on gifts for my friends in my spare time as magic practice and want to make sure they all get them on time.”

“Soon, but as luck would have it, Celestia has invited the three of us along with Twilly and her friends to Canterlot Castle for a Hearth's Warming for a few days.” I sat back up sure I had an excited look on my face.

“That is a stroke of good luck. That would be everypony I was wanting to get a gift to and getting to see them all face to face when they get them will be all the better.” Shining Armor gave a slight nod. “So was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?” I stood up brushing the snow off of me.

“I guess just finish up the big reps for today, make sure to eat something, and do whatever you need to get ready. We’ll be heading to Canterlot in a few days.” I nodded and forced my horn to glow as fifteen pony-sized statues rose from the ground around me. I then launched a two by ten columns from the face of one closest to me and grabbed the end of it using my magic and arm strength to make a long sweep obliterating three more statues before slamming down on a fifth with enough force to to break the column into two pieces and sending those pieces into two more statues and finishing by levitating the last eight into the air like I had during sparring only ending by crushing them to dust from the outside in. I had gotten so use to using that much magic, that it only left me slightly out of breath as I smirked at my progress. I make my way to the Crystal Palace kitchen where an early lunch spread had been left out on the table. My stomach growled at the sight of food and I sat down and tore into the food fighting with every bit of willpower to keep from eating like a wild animal, my ears perking up at a giggle from a female voice.

“It’s not going to run off the plate.” I looked up at her and quirked an eyebrow at the crystal earth pony in a maid’s outfit.

“I don’t know, I’ve heard of some strange things that could disagree with you under certain circumstances. I’m Onyxian. It is a pleasure to meet you.” I could almost hear her rolling her eyes as I went back to eating but at a much slower pace.

“I’m Ruby Shine, you’re the guest from some far off land that’s been training with the captain and the guards here, right?” I nodded my head in affirmation, my mouth full at the time she had finished her question. “Not to be rude, but you really do look an awful lot like former King Sombra.” I looked back up from my food noticing she was rather close and seemed to have been studying me over.

“So I’ve been told. I was wondering if it made crystal ponies scared of me.” Ruby Shine tilted her head to the side at my comment.

“Some, it may have been over one thousand years ago to everypony else, but for us, King Sombra’s rule only ended one year ago.” I stopped eating and sat up. “Do I scare you?” I looked Ruby Shine right in her eyes noticing her eyes had sparkling red irises just like rubies as she leaned in almost touching her muzzle with mine.

“There is certainly power worthy of respect behind your visage, Onyxian, but I’d say you inspire awe rather than fear in me.” I laughed as lightheartedly as I could which seemed to confuse her. “Did I say something funny?” I simply patted her head tussling her short red hair in response before going back to eating a bit more, offering her some of the food from the spread.

“Do you want to know what I’ve missed most in my three months in the Crystal Empire? Meat. In ponyville, I’d pop into the Everfree Forest to catch something every now and again and nopony would be the wiser.” She certainly seemed surprised that I had told her that, her slightly lighter red body shivering.

“You can eat meat? Interesting. Do you always open with that line?”

“Nope, you’re the first pony I’ve told that to in the Crystal Empire and only like the third in Equestria.”

“Why did you tell me that?” I looked at her with a deadpan stare, all humor gone from my face.

“Because you’re not a crystal pony.” The filly in front of me looked shocked rather than insulted at my statement. “Crystal ponies have an aura of the earth about them. When I touched your head, I confirmed you didn’t. So who are you really?” Ruby Shine gave a pout as the image faded away, replaced by a changeling drone which replied in a slightly feminine buzz much like a turrian from Mass Effect.

“Echo. So if you knew I wasn't a crystal pony, why am I not in a cell now?”

“Why are you here?”

“To find the source of the sudden magical influx in Equestria. For Queen Chrysalis.” I narrowed my eyes on her.

“Well, did you find it?” Echo suddenly turned sheepish looking down to the floor at her hooves.

“Yes.” I got out of the chair gently putting my hand on Echo’s head, the crook of my thumb and index finger encircling her horn.

“Ok then, what is it?” She looked up at me with green insect-like eyes now showing fear.

“You.”

Warm Hearts and Growing Darkness

A few days had passed and I was sure I was going to regret having let Echo go, but I was pretty sure I’d put some fear in her to take back to the changeling queen. Likely she’d either be insulted or interested and I wasn’t sure either was a good thing, though I’d be able to get some help if things got out of control. I was packed and riding with Cadance and Shining Armor.

“So, excited to get to see your special somepony again?” I looked up from my book and my thoughts and gave Cadance a smile.

“Yeah, I’ve talked with her a few times in my dreams, but it will be great to see her again face to face. This’ll be the first holiday we’ll get to share.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet. Have anything special in mind for Luna?” Cadance smiled as I shifted a bit. It was rather strange to have anyone interested in my lovelife.

“Just the present I’d been working on. Not really sure if we’ll get any time to ourselves, though I’m sure I’d move a mountain for the chance.” Cadance had the look of a doting older sibling on her face as Shining Armor chimed in.

“I’m sure you would for her. Just be careful about which ones you move.” He gave a chuckle as Cadance gently elbowed his shoulder.

“I’m pretty sure I remember you forming a band with your friends for me.” I gave a bit of a laugh as Shining Armor playfully sang the song at Cadance as she giggled at the bawdy lyrics he had written to the tune of Oingo Boingo’s “Little Girls”. As out of place as I felt sometimes, it was kinda nice seeing a happy couple still able to poke a little fun at each other.
The pegasus-pulled carriage landed at Canterlot Castle a few hours later as we disembarked and the castle servants collected our belongings and we were greeted by Princess Celestia.

“Cadance, Shining Armor, Onyxian, I’m glad you three could join us here at the castle. I trust the trip fared well?” I was a bit more dressed up than I might have been normally been with a blazer and wool pants Fluttershy’s scarf once again around my neck as I looked around not really paying attention to the conversation the other three were having.

“I’m sure Princess Luna would have wanted to greet you, but she’s still asleep.” I turned to look at Celestia with a smile. Celestia beckoned a guard over. “Show Onyxian to Princess Luna’s chambers.” I looked a bit shocked as the guard seemed outright flabberghasted. He managed a salute to her Highness and I followed after him through the corridors leading to a set double doors flanked by a pair of batwinged guards.

“Her Highness, Princess Luna is not to be disturbed from her slumber.” One of the guards said gruffly. I simply smiled to them.

“I assure you, I won’t disturb her, but I will be going in to rouse her.” The batwinged guards seemed a bit confused by my statement as the guard that was tasked with leading me came in between me and Luna’s guards.

“This is Onyxian, and I was tasked with leading him by Princess Celestia.” The batwinged guards took a more relaxed pose at the mention of my name.

“I see, so you’re the one from the rumors. Well, I guess we can let you in.” I was a little hurt Luna hadn’t told her guards about me and was rather surprised they had heard rumors about me and Luna. The left hand guard slowly opened the door for me and I bowed politely to the three guards and made my way into Luna’s chambers with the doors closing after me. The first room was a parlor or sitting room with a set of double doors to my right decorated with a nightsky motif which I figured had to be her bedroom as I walked over and opened it as silently as I could seeing Luna in her darkened bedroom as I moved closer to see her laying in a bed that looked like a star filled sky with her sleeping form replacing the moon’s radiant light. I climbed in slowly and put my arms around her gently trying touch my forehead with her’s but mostly just rubbing horns. I watched her eyes slowly open and backed up just a bit with a smile on face.

“There’s the Best Princess.” Luna’s eyes opened fully as she seemed more alert as she looked to me and hugged me back.

“Onyxian! It’s great to see you again.” I noticed her hooves tracing along my shoulders and arms. “What’s all this? You’ve changed so much in just three months.” I was a bit surprised and held back a yelp as her hooves moved along my chest and torso. “Mmm, I rather like it.” I gently grabbed her flank in a teasing fashion and we exchanged a kiss.

“I’m glad you enjoy the change, Luna.” After a more indepth expression of love and affection with one another, we both exited to the parlor after cleaning up as I adjusted my clothes back and made sure my hair was dry as Luna trotted out in full regalia with my necklace still among her filigree.

“I’m sure we should join the other’s, Onyxian. Lest they get worried.” I rolled my eyes and beamed at her offering her my arm which she locked with foreleg as we exited her chambers as her guards were doing their best to hide their shock from Luna. I let her lead me into a common room with ample seating for everypony that would be coming along with a large fireplace Celestia was seated in a large couch as she waved over at her sister and me.

“There you two are. I wasn’t sure you were going to be back before Twilight and the other’s got here.” She seemed to give a knowing smile to her sister as Cadance gently nudged my shoulder.

“I see somepony allready got into the Hearth’s Warming spirit.” I turned to look at her and gave a wink with a smile.

“I have no idea what you mean. This is my first time celebrating this holiday.” I was rather pleasantly surprised by a sudden nuzzle of cheeks from Luna as I unwittingly returned her affection hearing a light giggle from Cadance.

“I don’t need magic to see the love between you two.” I felt Luna’s cheek warm up as I chuckled lightly and hugged with her while still keeping up the nuzzle before she backed off.

“I guess we aren’t being too subtile are we, Luna?” We both had a laugh as I ran my fingers through her mane Celestia smiling at her sister as I let her go.

“I’m quite glad you feel you can express affection with somepony among us, Luna. I’m happy you and Onyxian have been able to grow together.” I heard a gasp and turned around just in time to see a pink blur fly at me as my arms came up to hug around Pinkie’s form.

“Nyxie! It’s so super awesome to see you again!” I chuckled as Twilight and the rest of my friends came into the room.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve, Onyxian.” I smiled and waved to Fluttershy who seemed very happy that I was still wearing her scarf as she sheepishly waved back at me.

“My goodness Darling, you haven’t gotten any new clothes in the Crystal Empire?” I rolled my eyes playfully at Rarity’s question.

“Only because I was sure none of it would compare with your works of art. Really I was pretty busy training so I didn’t think about it. Enough about me, I’ve missed you girls. What have you six been up to?” I listened as they told me of adventures and events, some a knew about from the show, which seemed we were just after episode 11. This had me worried that the changelings and Queen Chrysalis were planning a comeback that would take place after the Equestria Games. Sadly, luck had been against me since I had ended up here before the finale had aired. I was brought back to the room by a nudge on my shoulder from Twilight.

“You look like you got something big on your mind. Everything ok?” I put on my best smile and nodded my head .

“I was just thinking about all the fun I’ve miss getting to share with you girls.”

“Not all of it was fun, but there certainly was an adventure we could have used your help on. I still can’t believe Daring Do is a real pony. That’s. Just. So. Awesome!” I did my best to seem shocked even though I had already known that and still only found them to be middling reads. After a bit of food and traditional holiday merrymaking, I got a servant to show me to my room so I could gather the gifts I had made for them and came back into the room carrying them with the biggest grin on my face.

“What’s got you all smiles, Sugarcube?” I looked to Applejack and then to everypony else.

“I’m sorry, I’m just a bit excited. I wasn’t sure if you give gifts on this holiday, but I’d been making some things for magic practice and wanting to give them to you.”

“That’s really very sweet of you, Onyxian, you didn’t have to do anything like that.”

“He didn’t, but Nyxie is such a superific guy, he did!” I handed the first package to Twilight then, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and ending in front of Luna holding out a gift to her which she took with her magic aura. Twilight started by opening her box which held a thin gold wire frame tiara with amethyst gems on the points

“Oh, a new tiara, that’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you Onyxian.” Applejack opened her’s second pulling out an iron pie pan. “Is this a pure iron pie pan?” I nodded my head with a smile.

“As pure as I could make it. Modeled it after the Royal Chief's pie pan in the Crystal Palace. I hope it’s the kind of fancy an Apple can get behind.” Applejack was looking it over with a smile.

“It certainly is, everypony back home will love it!” Fluttershy seemed in awe of the bracelet I had shaped of jade with a pink diamond in the shape of a butterfly. Rainbow Dash seemed to like the metal bookmark I had made her with engraving in a similar style to the border patterns on the hardcover Daring Do book covers.

“You sure this wasn’t for Twilight, too?” I chuckled and shook my head.

“Nope, I thought you could use a bookmark as tough and cool as you are.” I heard the ringing of tiny bells and the clopping of hooves as Pinkie was dancing around with the bangles I had made her. Simple silver band with blue, pink, and yellow painted balloons which were the bells.

“Hehe these are great, Nyxie!”

“It’s something performers wear where I’m from. I just thought you might like them.”

“Oh Darling, I love it! I’ve missed getting to see new jewelry from you and now you’ve made such a lovely piece just for me.” I had made Rarity a gold horn ring with sapphires going around the band. “Oooh I’m going to love making a nice ensemble for this.” I turned looking to Luna as she looked over the large silver band with a crescent moon about the size of a silver dollar on one side.

“So, just where is this supposed to go?” I walked over and showed her how to unhook it before snapping it around her left upper foreleg.

“I thought this would fit better with your regalia. Just a something to let you know I’m always there for you.” A few of the girls let out an awe as Luna looked to it then back into my eyes.

“This is very lovely.” She moves in and kissed my lips to which some of the girls hooted as I frozen in place before forcing myself to relax into the kiss. After a few more hours of merrymaking, we retired to our respective rooms. I laid back in the bed, a content smile on my face . Sadly, I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to get to see the girls, Luna, or any other friendly face for a while as I planned to confront the Changeling Queen and her swarm.

Face to Face with a Queen

Before leaving Canterlot, I managed to find the report Twilight had written the second time she and her friends had dealt with Queen Chrysalis and her changelings. From that information I was able to piece together a likely location to start my search for them. I had told Princess Celestia and Luna that I was looking to do some field work and would return with my findings. It didn’t take nearly as long as I had expected to pick up the trail, but it had still been almost two years since the last time they had surfaced. After a few days, I had made it into the former changeling stronghold. While searching for clues, I heard an insect like hiss and moved out of the way before a chitinous spear lodged itself into the spacing between floor tiles. I turned to face the changeling warrior as he narrowed his eyes at my black cloaked figure as I glared at him coldly, my golden eyes like molten pools in the shadow of my hood. He returned my glare in full force with his cold blue orbs that passed for eyes as he hissed out a low warning and readied another spear.

“Come a long way to die, Stranger.” I simply smirked and tapped my right hoof lightly on the floor. Lucky me, it was stone. I willed my power through it to pool like a shadow under him as I then forced the stone around him up his legs making sure not to hurt him just yet as he struggled trapped in the rock as I stepped slowly to move within reach of him.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions, changeling. Let’s start with an easy one. What is your name?” The warrior glared and hissed at me as I drew in closer, lifting my hood from my head as I narrowed my eyes in a stern manner at him. His hissing stopped as he seemed dumbfounded by my appearance. His face then twisted in pain as I forced the rock around his legs to tighten on him. “What is your name, Changeling? Don’t make me repeat myself again.”

“Aah! Creeper, I’m called Creeper. Please have mercy.” I growled at his plea in disgust.

“Just answer my questions Creeper, and you won’t have to appeal to my sense of mercy. Am I understood?”

“Yes.” Creeper whimpered in pain. At his answer, I lessened the pressure around his legs as she let out a sigh. “Thank you.”

“Thank your good sense, Creeper. Where would I go to find Queen Chrysalis?” Creeper looked at me with a mixture of confusion and horror.

“Queen Chrysalis? She moved the hive to Mount Mourne.” I opened up my map and scanned the local area for nearby mountain ranges. I was rather surprised to find it on the map about sixty miles away from here.

“Just how far away is it?” Creeper seemed a bit scared of me again and looked down at the stone around his legs holding him in place.

“Not too far for flight, maybe three days on the hoof, but with your magic could be a lot faster for you.” I gave him a dry look.

“Perhaps I should bring you along.” Creeper gulped looking back up at me.

“Why would you want to do something like that?”

“Well, so I can make sure you’re telling me the truth and not leading me away from the hive and so you can’t fly ahead and warn them of my coming. Though, I guess if you’re very against coming, I could solve the second issue by simply killing you.” Creeper’s eyes grew wider as I went completely dead pan in my expression.

“Sure, I’d be happy to lead you.”I thought it was very likely he was leading me into a trap but that trap could be more warriors which would let me show him I mean business. I willed most of the stone from his legs as a bit crept up his chest as I formed a collar around his neck making sure it was uncomfortable but not choking him.

“Shall we get going, Creeper? Oh, leave the spear on the floor. I’d hate to show you what the neckwear I made you is for just yet.” I stopped him from bolting away by magically yanking him back by the stone collar as I walked up to him. “And now you’ve seen the leash. Let’s not be so eager to hurt ourselves, Creeper.” We headed out towards the mountain range as I worked out a nice easy trail for us to walk.

“Who are you?” Creeper asked after a few hours of silence. I smiled to him after forming another set of stairs up the face of the mountain as I pulled out and popped a nickel sized piece of rock candy into my mouth.

“Onyxian, though I doubt you would have heard of me.”

“You’re the one that caught Echo in the Crystal Palace and sent her back to the Queen.” Creeper’s mouth went slack as I chuckled lightly.

“I’m surprised you’d know that, are all warriors so well informed?”

“Word gets around when we’re idle.” I chuckled and we began our climb into the mountain range that housed Mount Mourne. “You know, the Queen became very interested in you once she found out you were the source of the magical influx. What do you plan on doing once you get to Mount Mourne?” I thought about the question for a bit as we continued our climb.

“I guess I’d like to have a little chat with her. I’m aware that she’s not on the friendliest terms with a group that I sympathize with so I intend to ask her a few questions and answer some of her”

“Why don’t you send me ahead so I can state your intentions?” I looked over at him and sat down rather tired from climbing so many steps and the magic it had taken to make them.

“Because I don’t trust that her and my concept of guest are the same thing and that she wouldn’t just send all of her warriors to extend her invitation. I’d rather go to her at my own pace. Do you already tire of my company, Creeper?” He looked at me and sat down. “I won’t hold it against you.”

“I’m sure I would find your company more enjoyable if I were a willing companion.” I gave a shrug and a slight tilt of my head.

“Fair enough, can’t say I’d enjoy the company of somepony that had recently stronghoofed me for information and had threatened me.” I looked at Creeper and laid back on the stone looking up to the night sky above. “So, changelings feed on love, does it have to be directed at you?” I could hear Creeper shifting around in a slightly uneasy fashion.

“No, but it’s much more filling if it is. Any particular reason for that question?” I rolled onto my side and looked over at him.

“I guess I was wondering if you needed to feed soon. I might be distrustful of you, but I can’t have you starve to death on me.”

“I’m doing fine, your concern is appreciated.” I opened a pouch and tore into some trail rations before settling down for a nap. I awoke to other hissing voices as I opened my eyes. “No, we’ll - we’ll get to the Queen soon. it’s too dangerous to try and force him to go anywhere. Just let him get there in his own time and we won’t have to worry about him starting off violent with us. Go inform the Queen.” I stayed silent and let him convince his fellow warriors to leave me alone, but mentally readied myself to strike in case they didn’t like his idea or wished to earn glory. The other warriors seemed to be listening to his idea and soon I heard them take to the sky and fly off in the direction of what I figured to be Mount Mourne. Once I was sure they were gone I sat up and looked over at Creeper who seemed rather scared by the fact I didn’t seem like I had just woken up.

“So was that a patrol or did you leave to go get help?” Creeper looked to be trying to shrink down as small as possible as I could see him shaking. “Creeper, don’t lie to me. You were smart enough to keep them from doing something very stupid. I only need one of you alive to lead me to Mount Mourne and likely would have just kept you. So, did they find us or did you bring them?” Creeper gulped and looked me in the eyes.

“It was a patrol that spotted us.” I relaxed and sat back.

“Fine, good work talking them down.” Creeper perked up at my compliment.

“Uh, thank you.” I could tell he was much calmer now and heard him shuffle as he relaxed. I closed my eyes and wrapped myself up tightly in my cloak to keep warm and woke up to the light of the sun in the sky with a slight yawn. I sat up and looked around to see Creeper beside me.

“I hope you managed to get some rest.” Creeper nodded lightly as we both stood up and started our last leg to Mount Mourne. The hours passed in relative calm as I was able to use trails and passes that were already carved into the mountain by nature so we weren’t having to stop for me to catch a break from magic use. By nightfall we had made it the gate of the fortress the changelings had carved out of Mount Mourne for their Queen. I absently tapped my hoof against the stone to get an idea of the layout to the impressive structure making note of a few other exits and entrances all around the mountain. I caused the stone collar around Creeper's neck to crumble to pieces at his hooves. “Sorry to trouble you with leading me the whole way on hoof, Creeper. Thank you for your generous service.” The changeling warrior bowed his head in a polite gesture as I made my way to the gate looking at the two warriors. “I am Onyxian. I come seeking an audience with her Highness Queen Chrysalis. I believe I am expected?” The warriors nodded and the gates opened enough to allow my entrance. It was rather dark and dank with that strange Aliens vibe to the interior decorium as a drone stood before me.

“Follow me, please. Her Highness is eager to meet you.” I quirked an eyebrow and followed him to a large set of double doors which were opened to reveal the queen sitting on a black throne with green cushions. I steeled my expression trying my best to show no weakness before what I know to be a cruel seductress.

“Ah, you must be what I sensed earlier this year. Onyxian, such a pleasure to meet the one who put such fear in my poor scout face to face.” She narrowed her eyes at me as I locked mine with her’s.

“Oh? I just figured I was making a point about my disdain at being spied on. I thought if you wanted to know something about me we could just meet and have a nice chat to get to know eachother better.” Queen Chrysalis rubbed her chin with the back of her right forehoof.

“So, you wish an exchange then? I guess that’s fair enough if I might be allowed to start.” I bowed my head in a polite fashion. “Why have you come all this way to me? Echo was under the impression that you seemed to dislike changeling kind.” I gave a shrug and shook my head.

“I wouldn’t say I dislike changeling kind so much as I am wary of any creature able to change its appearance. I’ve come to ask if you still have your gaze tightly fixed on the ponies of Equestria that I call my friends.” Queen Chrysalis perked up looking me over in an appraising fashion.

“Hmm interesting. So you’ve allied yourself to Equestria?”

“More like a select few that I call my friends that you have been at odds with before. Some of them felt a stirring darkness and I-”

“I have no designs on Equestria at this time, Onyxian. To be honest, I’ve been much more interested in what turned out to be you over the last six months.”

“As means to some end I’m sure. Why should I believe you when you’ve been Equestria’s most active adversary?” Queen Chrysalis got up from her throne and walked up to me tha both of us eye level with each other as I steeled my gaze back at her glare.

“Because I am not Equestria’s only recurring adversary, Onyxian. I’d do well to wait and let it fail before I try again and possibly end up simply giving it an easier time.” I quirked an eyebrow, Queen Chrysalis had certainly caught my interest.

“What?”

“Indeed it is a what, very good.” My eyes grew wide at the thought of what might again be able to rampage unopposed now that the Elements of Harmony were gone.

“The Nightmare Force is making a comeback?” Chrysalis gave me a knowing smile.

“Exactly.”

Facing the Darkness

I was still trying to recover from the shock of being told that the Nightmare Force had escaped its last encounter with defeat at the hooves of the mane six and Luna as well as having Queen Chrysalis simply allow her to leave after our little exchange. I was now combing slightly easier terrain about a week after our little chat. Investigating a lead of strange noises and lights in a normally very peaceful forest near a thorp called Hoofton which appeared to be made up of three-fourths earth ponies. After asking the ponies a few questions, it seemed everything started about about a week ago after news that a traveling magician was lost on her way to Hoofton but I sadly couldn’t find anypony that could confirm the magician’s name for me so I just had to hope it wasn’t the pony I thought it was.

I had spent the last three days searching the forest and once again having a chance to enjoy meat without any chance of being caught, the fact of which might have been the only good thing to come out of my time in the wilds of Equestria. I was making my way back to the clearing I had been using as a campsite during my search until I froze in place with the fur on the back of my neck raised as a wave of foreboding washed over me.

“Who dares disturb the Great and Powerful Trixie with their stomping about and flagrant flaunting of their magic?” I turned my head expecting to see Trixie only to see a black coated unicorn with white-blue mane and tail wearing Trixie’s iconic magician’s outfit. I was taken back in shock seeing Trixie sport much of the same change in appearance that Rarity had undergone when she had fallen victim to the Nightmare Force as I dropped my prey to the ground. “:Well, whoever you are, you seem wise enough to show Trixie her proper respect.” It seemed my fears were being realized in front of me, Trixie was one pony that could make a very powerful vessel for the Nightmare Force. I turned to face her head on and looked Trixie over.

“You seem different from what I've been told about you, oh Great and Powerful Trixie.” I gave a bow to her as she smirked in a haughty fashion in keeping with her new role.

“Oh, an admirer? Well yes, I have changed much and gained great power to boot, and just who might you be, stranger?”

“I’m Onyxian, a humble wizard’s apprentice that was accidently brought to this land by one of my master’s experiments.” Trixie cocked her head to the side with a bemused smile crossing her lips.

“Oh don’t be so humble, you wield your magic quite expertly. You display quite a bit of training with you control and natural talent.” So, what brings you to this odious place?” I stood back up and kept my cloak closed as best as I could to hide my armor from view.

“I had heard you were going to have a show in Hoofton but showed up. I thought I’d come looking for you when I heard stories of strange sounds and lights in the forest. I thought perhaps I could be of assistance if I were to encounter you.” Trixie scoffed lightly.

“Such a venue was beneath me even before my ascension to true greatness. Your desire to be of aid to me was unneeded but certainly appreciated, Onyxian.” I felt my hood being lifted from around my head as I kept my gaze on Trixie. I noticed even her eyes had changed color and taken the snake-like slit pupils of Nightmare Moon’s as she made an appraising hum. “Quite a handsome face, even if you are strangely built. A certain exotic and even dark appeal.” My eyes widened as she smirked at me. “I find it rather attractive.” I tried to hide my gulp as every player instinct I had was telling me the situation was going from bad to likely worse or certainly more complicated, but how does one let down somepony taken over by an empowering malevolent force that preys on your darker thoughts gently?

“I’m flattered you think so, but I already have a special somepony. She means the world to me.” Trixie’s eyes narrowed at me in response to what I’m sure was an unsatisfactory statement.

“Quite a pity, for with my new found power, I am not one to be denied.” I took the initiative and launched a discus of stone from the ground going for a body shot which managed to connect with her side just before she formed a dark shimmering bubble that looked to be a shielding spell that waived as she whined in pain while I launched a few more projectiles against the bubble in an attempt to overwhelm her defenses. The attacks smashed into her shield which rippled in an angry fashion from each impact point as I heard a crackling sound when the ripples came in contact with each other. I studied her shield as best as I could while trying to avoid her bolts of dark energy before raising a mound to use as cover while trying to think up a better plan. I’d rather avoid using deadly force but having any real impact on her was likely going to require me to go all out on her. First step was breaking her shield or finding a way to attack around it.

“Is that all you’ve got ? I was expecting a bit better from you considering what I heard .” Luckily vanity isn’t a major flaw in my character but it did remind me it is one for Trixie. “Your reputation speaks a bit too highly of you. I’m sure Twilight Sparkle would have beaten me by now.” I heard a very angry and magically empowered voice sneer out.

“How dare you speak that name in the presence of the Great and Powerful-”

“More like Long Winded and Self-important.” She yelled out in disdain as I was blown onto my back by the impact that ripped through the mound I had been behind.

“I’m starting to find your mouth a little less attractive!” I scramble to my hooves and let fly another volley of assorted projectiles which clashed against her shield “Is your most powerful spell .simply your sharp tongue?” As I was about to retort, I noticed something about her shield bubble. The ripples stopped at the ground. This got me to think that I should attack from an different angle as I rose five columns from the ground at her hooves as fast as I could with two missing their mark but three scoring solid hits to her chin and guts the force lifting her off her hooves to let her drop to her knees. the hit must have forced her out of focus as her shield shook violently and disappeared. I kept at the ready and pulled a stone mace from the ground letting my armor show from under my cloak. “Are you scared of me, Onyxian?” Trixie jibed as she picked herself back up onto her hooves.

“Just treating a dangerous pony with healthy respect.” I lunged at her with my mace in both hands going for an overhead swing down onto her with all my muscle as she horn glowed once more with magical power enhanced by the Nightmare Force. My mace struck her one the head just before her spell could go off, the magic aura around her horn harmlessly dissipated as I then pressed my advantage pulling my mace back behind me with one arm before once again gripping the handle with both hands for a sweep slamming the mace into Trixie’s shoulder knocking her onto the ground.

“Quite the killer instinct you have there, Onyxian.” I froze hearing a dark sultry voice in my head rather than my ears. “I saw it right there on your face,” I saw Trixie get back onto her hooves as I backed away. “But you held back. Strong, cunning, resourceful, and deadly. what a waste of such potential.” I needed help. The only way I could stop Nightmare Trixie by myself would be to go all out, stop pulling punches, and aim to kill. I was desperate to not have to kill a pony that had only been misguided, not evil. I needed somepony wise and powerful, the name Star Swirl came to my mind and I felt a strange surge of magic lance from my horn into the ground beside me. The ground erupted with a sick greenish purple light followed by what sounded like the screams of the damned as a cloaked figure with a broad brimmed hat and iconic cream beard and coat was risen from the ground as if on a piston by my side. The pony turned his head to look at me with a scowl of disapproval before turning to look at Nightmare Trixie in front of us. I was in shock standing next to Star Swirl the Bearded as I pointed at Nightmare Trixie who seemed rather shocked by what I had done as well.

“I need your help freeing this pony from the possession of a malevolent force.” Star Swirl gave a dry smirk, his horn glowing with golden magic.

“Hmm quite the problem, but certainly not one without a solution.” Trixie seemed to have regained some of her confident air.

“Surely this is just some illusion. Nopony knows magic that is able to raise the dead.”

“You would be correct, nopony does know magic of that sort. However, I wasn’t brought here by a pony. Now was I?” Trixie let fly a bolt of magical energy which connected with an invisible shield Star Swirl had apparently conjured as I had told him the goal we were trying to meet. Trixie seemed dumbfounded as I charged in a second time at her. This time around she managed to dodge out of the way by rearing back just as my mace came down where the front of her had been while Star Swirl bolted to the right looking to maneuver around and force her to split her attention in two directions. I noticed her raise another shield around her as a beam of golden magical energy danced along the surface of it. The attack originated from Star Swirl’s horn. This time around, my attack from below was to grab hold of Trixie’s hooves with the ground and have stone travel up her legs to hold her in place while she had to concentrate on feeding more energy to maintain her shield against Star Swirl’s continued onslaught.

“This can’t be, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. I will not be stopped by the likes of you, two. Your efforts will only bring you your own ruin.” I reinforced the rock I was holding Trixie still with more from the ground as it climbed up covering her body leaving her only able to thrash her head about in defiance as I moved it up the back of her neck taking a page from Sombra’s book of tricks but trying to be more gentle as the rock began to wind its way around the base of her horn as Trixie looked panicked trying to struggle but unable to thwart my attack while holding Star Swirl at bay. Trixie’s horn was half covered as the bubble began to wane and the shattered as Star Swirl, in his forward thinking, had been glancing his beam off the top of her shield and stopped as the last of it sailed over Trixie’s head harmlessly with my rock shell now fully covering her horn and suppressing its magic.

“Excellent show, a bit close to dark magic for my personal taste but a good way to restrain her without injury. So, just what are we dealing with here? Oh, how rude of me. I’m Star Swirl the Bearded. Who are you?” I looked at him and then back at Nightmare Trixie letting out a sigh.

“I’m Onyxian. The thing possessing this mare is known as the Nightmare Force. It feeds off the negative emotions of whoever it bonds with, usually starting with loneliness which it elevates to hatred over time. I’d figure its motive is to once again bond with Princess Luna and become Nightmare Moon once again.” Nightmare Trixie seemed rather put out by just how much I knew about the Nightmare Force.

“You’ll not stop me from my rise to power, Onyxian.” I glared at Nightmare Trixie moving in close to look her in the eyes as she was only a bit shorter than I was.

“You will not hurt my Luna.” Both Nightmare Trixie and Star Swirl the Bearded went wide-eyed at my statement.

“Well you seem kind, the interesting fellow, Onyxian. From what you’ve told me, sealing it away will be a difficult process. However, we could bond it to one more resistant to its influence for the time being to try and keep it in check while we work out what we need to do.” I turned looking back to Star Swirl as another sinking feeling hit me and I said something I shouldn’t have.

“Ok, I’ll do it.”

Sealing the Darkness

Nightmare Trixie looked over to me with an understandable glare of anger.

“This isn’t about saving anypony. You just want the power for yourself, you liar.” I had pretty much taken to ignoring her as best as I could as she struggled in what was basically a stone body cast with an open face area.

“How long would it take to find a way to seal or destroy the Nightmare Force?” Star Swirl ran his hoof against his beard thoughtfully.

“Hmm, it could take some time. Months at least, years at most I’d say. Forcing it into you will be the easy part but you will is going to have to act as the lock keeping it trapped inside you. Do you think you are up to the task?”

“I’ll just have to hope so. Usually the Nightmare Force goes into hosts that’s defenses it’s already broken by emotional pain, and three out of four have been ponies. My mind might be alien enough to give me an advantage.” Star Swirl nodded his head and began a magic circle around Nightmare Trixie and me. After a few minutes of work on Star Swirl’s part, his horn took on its golden aura and his eyes began to glow with golden energy as the magic circle began to glow to match as Nightmare Trixie began to thrash about in anger.

“You selfish fool, I’ll not let you take power which is rightfully mine! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!” I stood firm and looked at Trixie feeling a bit sad at her plight but knowing in the end I was helping her free of the Nightmare Forces grip.

“Maybe you should focus on spreading joy with your shows rather than inflating your own ego. I’m sure you’d find this world to be a much more warm and loving place.” The Nightmare Force began to bleed off Trixie as her normal colored face showed through with tears streaming down her cheeks as the blackness of the Nightmare Force latched onto me and the world went dark.

“Quite the hypocrisy you just spouted, Joshua. Though I do agree Onyxian is a much better name to use in this world. Such darkness in your heart and you thought you’d have any chance to control me.” I saw a pair of green burning eyes looking at me through the darkness. “Such hatred in your life. More than I have seen in this world. What would your friends think if they knew you had been lying to them all this time?” I reached out and in a flash punched the Nightmare Force square between the eyes my fist connecting with something in the darkness as the eyes winced in pain. “I don’t understand, how did you do that?” I punched it again and slapped it across its head.

“Because I know how to hate. It might be the thing humankind is best at. Another thing we learn how to do is direct hate and right now the thing I hate most of all is you.” I reached into the darkness wrenching out a female form that I was rather surprised shared my digitigrade morphology, but at the moment I was on a roll. “You hurt the pony I love and a dear friend of mine. You want me to hate them and blame other people for my own faults. I’m much more likely to blame and hate myself for my own failures, but you didn’t know that. If my friends left me because I lied to them, that’s my fault not theirs.” Those burning green eyes had a bewildered look to them as I locked with them.”You better remember this, you’re stuck with me until I let you and that’s not going to happen until you’re dealt with.” I was back in the waking world looking at a perfectly normal Trixie looking up at me.

“Um, would you be so kind as to let me go now?” I let the stone around her crack and flake off of her body as she shook a bit out of reflex. “Thank you Onyxian. I feel like myself again.” Star Swirl looked at me as the magic circle was still up as I turned to look over to him.

“Well she seems free of its influence. How about yourself?”

“I don’t know, do I look any different?” Star Swirl studied over me and did a round of what I figured to be some kind of magical detection.

“Well, you have done a bit of changin, but if the eyes are the windows to the soul. Then you seem to be yourself in spite of appearances” I looked to my hands seeing my coat had gone to harsh dark almost metallic grey as I noticed my fingers had taken on a claw-like quality to them with my nails growing sharper and thicker.

“Great, I didn’t think acting as this thing’s prison would change my appearance so dramatically.”

“Well, you are still forcing its power to reside in you so a change of appearance could have easily been the least of your worries. If it means anything to you, I am impressed.” The magic circle faded from the ground and Trixie’s head bowed to me.

“I’m sorry you have to hold such evil inside you because of my own weakness.” I reached out and gently gave Trixie a pat on her head before gently putting my hand under her chin to get her to look up as I gave her a kind smile.

“You’re not weak, I really mean what I said to you about your shows. You could be a magician worthy of title if you learned to put the joy of the crowd ahead of your own. You’re a great showmare” Her face brightened up with a weak smile before she pulled away from my hand.

“Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, Onyxian. I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am running behind on my promise to put on a show for the good ponies of Hoofington. So, I must recover my cart and make haste.”

“Perhaps we can join you? I’m rather interested in the nature of modern show magic. Just how long have I been gone?” We walked with Trixie as she looked over at Star Swirl.

“Well as I recall, Star Swirl the Bearded, you’re from the time before Luna became Nightmare Moon which was over one thousand years ago.”

“Goodness me, I shall have a lot of news to read up on then. Won’t I?”

Reprecussions

It didn’t take long for me to regret the choice I had made. After helping Trixie get her cart and the three of us making our way into Hoofinton, Trixie offered to treat us to a night at the inn. After what we had gone through, I wasn’t about to refuse a warm, safe place to sleep and food not cooked over a campfire. I noticed my new appearance was getting more looks than I usually got.

“A bit late for Nightmare Night isn’t gentlecolts?” The barmare said with a lighthearted laugh as Star Swirl and I entered the Smiling Mare Inn as he seemed downright perplexed as to the nature of the joke.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t you know it? I go to try and take it off only to realize it’s my skin.” I tried to sound as cheerful as possible, getting a few laughs out of the drunk patrons along with a few chuckles from the more sober in the tavern area.

“Oh Onyxian, you’re such a foaler. The great and powerful Trixie would like to get a round of drinks and some food for herself and her friends.” Star Swirl and I nodded as the barmare pointed to a free table which we sat ourselves at.

“What is Nightmare Night?” I turned to look over at Star Swirl after he asked me in a whisper.

“It’s kinda like a harvest festival with traditions made around Luna after she was taken over by the Nightmare Force and imprisoned in the moon. Ponies wear costumes to protect their identities from Nightmare Moon’s gaze, play harvest-style games, and gather treats from their neighbors, some of which they put out as an offering to Nightmare Moon to convince her to spare them.” Trixie nodded her head as shortly after, three mugs of what smelt like cider were put in front of us.

“Here you go. Soup’s going to take a bit to warm back up.” I picked up the mug and took a sip and let out a chuckle.

“Good stuff, kinda reminds me of Ponyville.” Trixie perked up as the barmare had trotted off to tend to the other ponies in the room as Star Swirl took swig.

“Hmm good to know some things as I remember them.”

“You’ve been to Ponyville, Onyxian?” I chuckled and nodded my head.

“When I first ended up in Equestria, I was taken in by Twilight Sparkle. I’ve made friends with a lot of her friends there. I even own a house there. I’ve missed it a lot in the three months I’ve been away. but I think having a place to call home helps remind me of why I want to adventure.” Trixie and Star Swirl seemed confused.

“Is adventuring common Trixie?” Trixie shook her head.

“There are travelers such as myself and other ponies, but I’ve never met anypony that saw their profession as adventurer.”

“Well, it was rarely a profession in my time either, but we did have ponies that heard the call of adventure for a time.” I listened and took another sip from my mug.

“We had a concept like that where I am from though usually it was called the call to action. It usually meant becoming a guard or soldier.” Star Swirl frowned at me.

“I called it what I called it. It was often an important part of what drove a pony to become a hero or heroine. That’s not important anyhow. you were saying something about missing the place you think of as home in Equestria. I would expect you to want to return to it sometime soon.” I nodded my head to Star Swirl in agreement.

“I really would like to at least visit my friends again, though I did meet up with them in Canterlot for Hearts Warming a few weeks ago.”

“Ah Hearts Warming, now you’re speaking of a festival I know about. I always did enjoy Winter when I was younger. Anyway back onto the topic at hoof, would you wish to make your way back to this, Ponyville?” I thought about the question while the barmare brought out three bowls of soup for us and placed them on our table. We thanked her and I waited until she was gone before I answered.

“I don’t know if I should. Finding a way to seal the Nightmare Force should take first priority, but there’s a castle in the Everfree Forest that might have tomes that could help us to those ends. I guess we could go say hello while we’re there.” Start Swirl nodded his head in a fitting sagely fashion.

“That settles that issue then. I shall begin research there and you can let your friends know that you are well.” I nodded emphatically in agreement as we ate and drank, enjoying ourselves for a bit before Star Swirl asked a rather loaded question. “So, other than this Nightmare Force which I recall you saying once possessed Luna and a new holiday, what else has happened while I have been gone?” Trixie and I exchanged looks with one another not sure where to even start as I cleared my throat and began.

“Well, not being from Equestria myself, I only know Major recent events that have happened. Uh somepony finished the spell you started that causes ponies to exchange cutie marks.”

“Oh really? To what result, I wonder.”

“Well, it affected the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony and she managed to get their cutie marks back in order through their bonds of friendship which cause her to attain alicorn hood.” Both Star Swirl and Trixie looked at me with mouths hung open.

“Do you mean to tell Trixie that there is now a fourth Alicorn princess? Who is she?” Star Swirl looked like he might have done a spit take if he had had anything in his mouth at the time of Trixie’s question.

“Fourth! Equestria has a third?” I picked back up after their reactions figuring first to answer Star Swirl’s question.

“Yes, that is Princess Cadance, the new monarch of the Crystal Empire. To answer your question , Trixie, the new alicorn princess is Twilight Sparkle.”

“WHAT!?” Trixie seemed absolutely flabbergasted by news that her one-time rival had risen to such great heights. “Trixie doesn’t think that was a very funny joke, Onyxian.” I shook my head at her attempt to disbelieve me.

“It’s not a joke, she really is an alicorn princess. The Princess of Friendship.” Trixie’s mouth fell open again.

“And you have seen this with your own eyes?” I nodded my head slowly.

“When I first ended up in Ponyville, I stayed in the library with Twilight until I was able to buy land and build my house. She’s an alicorn now, wings, flight. and about half a head taller than almost everypony in Ponyville. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Trixie collected herself and gave a slightly haughty laugh.

“No worries, The Great and Powerful Trixie shall just have to push herself to new heights to match that of her rival’s.” Star Swirl gently patted her shoulder.

“That is a good goal to strive for, but striving for power with selfish intent can be a dangerous path. One doesn’t always require power to see their true goal through.”

After a bit more lighthearted chatting, we finished our meal and retired to the room Trixie had so graciously bought for us. As Star Swirl began to settle down I looked over at him from the twin-sized bed I had taken.

“I’m sorry I brought you back.” Star Swirl turned and looked at me with a weary smile.

“Well, it’s not like you brought me back back kicking and screaming.” I’m sure I had a rather confused look on my face as I felt my left ear drop.as he answered my unasked question. “It was more of a call for help and an outstretched hoof for me to take hold of. I sensed a good nature behind you when you called and your great need before I let you bring me back.” I sat back in thought.

“So it’s more like a raise dead spell then create undead. Then how did I do it without your body?” Star Swirl quirked an eyebrow at me.

“Bringing the dead back to life is a spell where you are from? That’s certainly impressive.” I turned on my side and enjoyed the soft down pillow.

“It’s hardly a common spell. I’m just confused because my magic is naturally focused around the Earth. Where does raising the dead fit into that?” I heard Star Swirl make a thoughtful grunt.

“Hmm, are your dead given to the Earth like in Equestria?” I opened my eyes and sat back up.

“Are you saying I might have access to the metaphysical nature of Earth as well? Wait, wouldn’t death be a dark aspect of Earth? That would explain why anywhere I cast magic leaves soil that smells like a compost heap.” Star Swirl sighed lightly taking off his hat and cloak before sitting on his bed.

“Your magic feels different from what I would know as dark magi, but I feel you may not be too far off your mark as to what kind of magic you might be naturally talented in.” I felt a bit better and laid back down before hearing Star Swirl speak. “However, it does share some similarities with it. Rest well, Onyxian.”

Once asleep, I found myself facing a rather unwelcoming dreamscape and that dark voice once again calling to me.

“Hello again my brave, Onyxian. My would be warden.” I turned to see the Nightmare Force smiling as she trotted to me in a strange slinky fashion. “Welcome back.” I tried to speak but felt my voice gone as I simply narrowed my eyes at her in a mute show of displeasure. “Oh not so talkative this time around are we?” Well that’s fine, I'm sure I'll have a lot to talk about with Luna when she gives us a little visit.” I reached out and struck her again with my fist on her cheek glaring daggers at her. “Goodness, you are so very protective of her. I’d almost call it romantic. How do you think she’s going to feel when she learns that you have me inside you?”

“You...won’t HURT MY LUNA!!” I forced the words out hearing them echo across the dreamscape as the Nightmare Force and I looked at a ripple in the air that usually heralded her visiting as I lunged at the shadow tackling her to keep from making some kind of attempt at Luna. The look of confusion on her face turned to horror as I looked back to her still having to fight for my voice. “Run- sorry-forgive-me.” The Nightmare Force laughed still pinned under me as I continued to slam my fists against her head.

“Look how he fights for you. Isn’t he wonderful?” I stopped her laughter by trying to strangle her with my bare hands.

“Leave- Luna- alone.”

“Onyxian, I’m sorry,” I turned looking back at her, a wave of sadness flaring from me.

“I- love- you.” I watched Luna fade away as the Nightmare Force smiled her wicked smile at me.

“She’s abandoned you.”

“LIAR!” I grabbed her by her muzzle and mane twisted her head until I heard her neck snap.

Darkness thankfully filled the rest of my slumber and I woke up feeling at least somewhat rested. I didn’t pay much attention during breakfast and only came back as we were parting ways with Trixie. When we exchanged a farewell hug, she leaned in and whispered.

“I know the nightmares are rough. If it’s any comfort, I’m cheering for you.” I hugged her a bit longer before letting her go as Star Swirl and I began our journey back to Ponyville.

No Rest with the Wicked

The trip was thankfully easier with Star Swirl by my side, but going was slow on account of sleep was much less restful with the nightly nightmares. A week of poor sleep had left me getting looks from Star Swirl as we stopped on the side of the road to rest.

“I haven’t been, it’s been pressing the offensive pretty hard when I dream.”

“Oh? And have you been defending yourself?” He spoke in that sagely manner that reminded me of Ian McKellen's Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

“I kill it. Every night, I kill it.” Star Swirl looked at me in shock.

“Well, I can certainly see why that would be stressful. You’ve spent time in your dreams with Luna, have you ever practiced anyway to set up a kind of default dreamscape?” I continued looking at the ground as I thought about better times when Luna and I could meet in my dreams.

“I wasn’t great at it, but it isn't an angle I’ve tried yet. Thank you Star Swirl.” Star Swirl cleared his throat as I turned to look in his direction.

“Perhaps getting back among friends will also serve to strengthen your defenses. I do remember you saying it tends to try to possess its host through loneliness.” I nodded my head and stood back up.

“Don’t discount yourself, Star Swirl. I’d like to think I can count you among my friends or at least among my allies.”

“Well, I am certainly flattered you feel that way after our short time working together. Shall we continue along our way to Ponyville?” Star Swirl rose back up onto his hooves and we continued along the road until nightfall as I rose a small one room hut of magically packed dirt just off the road.

Star Swirl left to gather food as I removed my armor and sat down looking at its silvery color thinking back to my time in the Crystal Empire only a month ago and how Shining Armor had shown me how to maintain my gear. I grabbed my polishing rag from my backpack and buffed the breastplate focusing around the shoulder plates to clean the dirt and grit that would get stuck in the joints as my eyes grew too heavy to keep open. I slumped back against the hut so I wouldn’t fall over as my world once again went black.

There I was once again standing face to face with the strange female form both familiar and alien, her sickly green serpentine eyes staring into mine.

“Back again so soon? Quite a stroke of good luck for me, I have a bit of information I’m sure you could find very helpful. Interesting choice of dreamscape by the way.” I looked around and noticed we were standing in the room I was in before waking up in Equestria.

“What do you have to say?” The Nightmare Force quirked an eyebrow at me and sat down on the mattress with box-spring left on the floor that I called my bed.

“Not the response I was expecting from you after the week we’ve been having. Why the sudden change of heart?” She crossed her legs and smiled up at me from her spot on my bed.

“Why don’t you tell me and I’ll be the judge of its merit.” I brought my eyes to meet back with her’s. She shifted a bit before laying back on my bed.

“Why don’t you come down here and I’ll tell you.” She replied with a coy giggle followed by a gasp of surprise as I laid down on my back beside her. The bed was just as I remembered it, bringing back memories of lonely nights spent coasting along what I called life. I miss my friends that I would play weekly D&D with, family too, but the strange feeling that my actions meant something in Equestria is what really kept me in the world I knew my body was in now.

“Are you ready to tell me now?” I turned to face her and gently pulled her into a hug as I felt her tense at my touch before relaxing.

“F-fine, there’s a powerful dark aura a few days East of where we are right now. It’s powerful enough to threaten Equestria. Now release me.” I let her go and sat up to hide the smug look on my face.

“Any idea as to the source?” I felt her weight shift on the bed.

“You believe me?” She said in an incredulous tone as I tried to put on a neutral expression before turning back to face her.

“To be honest, you could be lying to stall for time, but I wouldn’t see the point in just a few days out of our way. But you haven’t answered my question.” She had turned to lay on her side as she looked back up at me with those serpentine eyes.

“Hmm, well it seems to be a being, magical but not a unicorn or pony dark mage. A powerful surge of greed for wealth, hmm I’d go with dragon as the source. May I ask why you are willing to trust me on this subject?” I gave her a flash of a smile and turned so as to be easier to face her.

“Because I know you want to rule and if there is something that could threaten that, you’d want it removed. Evil rarely plays nice with others unless forced to or it’s to its benefit.” The Nightmare Force sat up and smiled at me with her jagged teeth that reminded me of a bear trap.

“You make a fair point, Onyxian. As a show of respect, while you deal with this would be usurper, I shall let you rest in peace, but I think it’s time to wake up.” She lunged at me jaws first and I jumped from where I was slumped down looking over to see Star Swirl cooking as I was back in the hut with my hands shaking.

“Hmm pity, you looked to be resting well if a bit uncomfortably until just now. Is everything alright, Onyxian?” I felt groggy as I picked my armor up and put it away while I told Star Swirl of my latest encounter with The Nightmare Force as he listened intently while making sure dinner didn’t burn. “Well now, you wanted adventure and it seems to be close at hoof it’s your choice what we do.”

“not much of a choice really. We’re gonna check it out and hope it’s just a lie but expect an evil dragon.” Star Swirl chuckled as we sat down to eat.

“Never a dull moment with you so far is there?”

Smoke Under the Mountain

I followed the Nightmare Force’s directions to a metalworking town called Steelhoof. It was a decent sized pony town at the base of a mountain that housed their iron mine. Years of tabletop gaming led me to figure that our dragon problem was in the mines, but I figured gathering information from the townsponies should be our first course of action.

Our first pony was an earthpony with lime green fur, white mane, and big brown eyes.She looked over Starswirl and me with an appraising look before adjusting her glasses from behind her desk at the mineworks office. “And how may I help you two?” She spoke in a clipped professional fashion as I caught a look at her nameplate that read Keylime Pie.

“Would you happen to be related to Pinkie Pie?” I asked casually as Starswirl looked at me confused and the mare tilted her head to me.

“That would be my cousin. Though I doubt you came all this way to ask that. Fan of hers?” She adjusted her glasses at me.

“Friend of hers, actually. I know this is going to be a weird question, but have any ponies gone missing or new passages opened in the mine recently?” I tried to play cool as I could while she took a harder look at me with narrowed eyes.

“And how would you know that? Why would I tell you that anyway?”

“We just wish to help. I have information that there’s something dangerous near the town and I figured it might have hidden in the mine.” Keylime moved her scrutinizing gaze between Star swirl and me again.

“So, what is it that you are hoping to do here?”

“May we at least investigate the mine for a bit? If we’re wrong we’ll simply be our way.” Starswirl gave a dramatic huff and flourish of his cape. Keylime gave a laugh as she couldn’t fight back a smile from her muzzle.

“Fine, you may give it a once over, but I better not hear you getting in the way of the miners, understand? Say hi to my cousin for me.” I nodded to her in understanding as Starswirl and I took our leave to the mine after she wrote a note and stamped a seal on it. We showed it to the guards and entered as I closed my eyes and let my magic flow out into the mountain mine to map out everything. The mine itself was impressive and then I hit a hidden complex and found numerous caverns filled with large bipedal creatures along with a huge creature laying in a large room with a domed ceiling.

“Well young friend? What’s the verdict?” I brought my focus back to myself looking at Starswirl.

“Pretty big cavern complex, a tribe of maybe diamond dogs, and looks like Nightmare was on the money about the dragon. I’m not sure you and I could handle a whole tribe by ourselves.” I wiped my brow as the old sage stroked his beard in a manner fitting his historic personia of the classic wiseman.

“Hmm, a whole tribe of diamond dogs is certainly concerning even without a possibly evil dragon. I guess a bit of digging and certainly you are surrounded in your element of specialty.” The both of us made our way to a wall that I knew had a cavern on the other side. “We should try to convince them to close the mineworks while we try to clear this little problem.” I marked the wall by shaping the rocks to look like a smiley face.

“I don’t expect them to listen, but who knows. Stranger things have happened.” We trekked out and confronted the guards at the entrance. “There’s something dangerous in the mine. Is it possible to call an early break or clear the mine?” The guard looked at me like I had grown a second head.

“Do you have proof?” The two guards shifted at their posts.

“We…Don’t have proof we could bring you without making the mine more unsafe for the miners.” The two guards turned to look at eachother with concern.

We made our way back to Keylime as she reflected my sour look back at me. “Pinkie’s friend, the look on your face tells me that you’re about to suggest that I need to close the mine. What was your name again?”

“Onyxian, I met your cousin about six months ago. Yeah, there’s a big group of something and a big something in your mine. Right now, I’d like to get everypony out before my companion and I try to clear them out.”

Keylime crossed her arms shooting a hard look up at me. “Let me guess. All for the low-low price of?” I was a bit taken aback.

“The price of nothing or the price of lost labor for a bit. Nothing for me and my friend. I really just want to get rid of whatever’s in the mine for my own peace of mind.”

“Really? Your own peace of mind? Nothing else?” Her body relaxed and her face softened. “Okay, I’ll clear the mine.”

Starswirl had looked ready to argue our case to Keylime as the both of us seemed a bit surprised as we followed her back out to the mines as the guards snapped to attention at seeing her.

“Get everypony out.”

“Everypony? Ma’am?”

“Did I stutter? Everypony, clear them out and once they’re clear only these two can go in and nopony else is allowed in until they say the problem is dealt with.” It was pretty impressive watching Keylime work as she adjusted her glasses at the guard on the right side of the door. “Well? I believe you have foreponies to inform of the situation.” At that the guard hustled off into the mine and in no time the miners were all accounted for.

I made my way in and back to the wall I had marked and turned to look back at Starswirl with a gallows smile. “One last chance to turn back.”

He simply did that old man clearing his throat cough and adjusted his hat and cloak. “ You know this could all be a ploy by the NIghtmare to kill you? I’d be a very poor friend to leave you to face such a threat by yourself. Just open the blasted wall and let us begin this foolish errand.”

With a wave of my hand the wall crumbled away to expose the cavern on the other side as the old wizard made a few gestures with his horn and both of our bodies were now transparent as we slowly made our way into danger.

Rumble in the Mountain's Heart

So far Starswirl’s invisibility spell was holding up as we now had visual confirmation that the bipeds I had seen with my magic were in fact diamond dogs. They were all hurriedly digging at the walls and pulling out gems with their powerful paws as we kept our distance as I tried to catch any conversations they might be having.

“When is food time? Digging makes me hungry.” I rolled my eyes, not surprised that this would be a topic of conversation among diamond dogs.

“Keep digging or one of us’ll end up food for Jadescales. I’m not getting eaten because you’re lazy.” The smaller one next to them piped up in a smaller, more femine voice.

“She always threatens with eating one of us but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her live up to the threat, Frena.”

“That’s because we keep her filled with gems. Grik’s shoulder burn from him being mouthy in her sight. I’d rather not test her patience, Lunk.”

I’d moved up beside them as I could feel Starswirl cursing me silently as I spoke. “So would all the diamond dogs leave the mountain if someone were to end Jadescales? You’re too close to ponies and I can’t have that.” The two diamond dogs froze and looked around themselves as I couldn’t help chuckling as Lunk picked up a rock by his paw to look under it.

“Uh who says that?” Poor Lunk looked to be using all his brain power as I moved out of easy arm’s reach of the two of them.

“Depends, can you really kill Jadescales? She big and scary, Mr. Voice and well you’re just a voice.”

“Do any of the diamond dogs guard her?”

Lunk laughed in a bawdy fashion. “Guard her? Jadescale doesn’t need a guard. Mr. Voice is pretty funny, Frena.”

“If you can keep all the diamond dogs away from her chamber and leave the mountain. I’ll kill her.” That stopped Lunk’s laughing as Frena looked in the direction of my voice in awe.

“You- you really mean it don’t you Mr. Voice.” Frena began to fidget as I could tell she was thinking about my offer. “If you killed her, it would make you the leader.” I wasn’t sure if I would want to be the leader of a tribe of diamond dogs but only having to deal with one of the problems here would be much easier than having to deal with both at the same time.

“Get all the dogs out of the mountain. I’m going to fight Jadescale and I guess we’ll see who wins out.” I made my way from them as Frena huffed and pawed at the cavern wall a bit in a half hearted fashion as I willed a number of the gems around them to their feet as they gasped and Lunk picked them up looking around more.

“Woah, Mr. Voice makes gems appear! Good luck Mr. Voice, I hope you win and become the new boss.” Frena looked in thought as she gathered up the gems with Lunk leaving as I made my way with Starswirl to what was apparently Jadescales’ resting chamber.

It looked like the dragon lived up to her name, big, green, and pretty big. The dragon stirred and sniffed the air looking around as she stopped as she had her face pointed right at us.

“I smell you, trespassers. Much too clean to be any of those diamond mongrels. Come to bask in my glory and offer me tribute? Or more likely an invisible usurper comes to sate my thirst with blood?” She began to lazily stand up as I bolted from Starswirl’s side willing a two handed crystal mace from the floor into my hands as I became visible, my face twisting into a sneer flashing some teeth at her as I made a swing that she stumbled up from just in time to lessen the blow as the head impacted against her scales. She let out a deafening roar at me that shook my bones as I grit my teeth and fought my body from shaking, leveling what I hoped was a defiant or at least steadfast glare back at her while she shot a wicked grin at me.

“Oh quite a tall drink you’ll end up for me.” She lashed out to snap her jaws at me as I dodged with a left leaning back step and recovered my balance by swinging my mace down from an overhead position crashing the crystalline mass into the crown of her head. I quickly tried to back pedal a bit as it was going to be difficult to dance between being too close for her fire breath and being in range of all of her other natural weapons. I was lucky she hadn;t thought to take to the air yet as while she was still reeling from my hit, I willed a lance from the floor at high velocity to her tail while sidestepping and hammering her tail into the lance like a reverse nail as she roared out as blood burst from her. In an instant my lance had wicked barbs facing against the path she would likely want to pull it free as she was now rooted to the floor.

Her claws lashed out at me with frightening speed seeking to rend me apart as I wasn’t as lucky this time around and felt her claw rake into my arm denting it in as I pulled on the metal to keep it from hampering my movement. She came in for another bite as I made a defensive swing to force her away as it seemed I misjudged her intent as she caught my mace her maw like some kind of massive dragon lollipop slowly crushing my weapon in her maw with a wicked look in her eyes like this was some kind of powermove. I let the comically oversized macehead shatter as Jadescales’ mouth was now full of razor sharp spikes as I pulled the handle from her mouth to reveal an ax of matching sharpness and took a wild swing and suddenly a clawed hand was gone, her left forelimb a bloody stump.as she bellowed out in pain. I felt I’d be lucky if all I came out of this fight was tinnitus.

A peel of thunder rang out as Jadescales seized up as I was pretty sure Starswirl had just used a lightning bolt as I used the seizing from the second bolt to duck in under her knee letting the handle fall away into a hyper sharp dagger which I threw my weight into to pierce her neck and then then drag it to the other side to flood her throat with her own blood.

“Onyxian! Don’t cut there, you could catch her fire bladder!” It seemed Starswirl’s warning was a bit late as suddenly Jadescales erupted into flames from her neck and suddenly I was thrown back. The fire bathed Jadescales turning her into a small sun in the middle room. The problem I noticed was that she didn’t seem to be going down from all that trauma.

Her scales began to turn the color of coal and at first I thought we’d gotten her so hot that even her heat resistant dragon body was succumbing to it until I heard a voice that made my blood run cold.

“YOU WILL ALL BURN!” I don’t know how she was talking with a hole in her neck and sounded more like a demon from the depths of Hell than the haughty dragon I had been battling earlier.

“Chill of hard hearts and hard ponies! Wrath of the Wendigos!” That was the first time I’d heard attack magic that required a chant as Starswirl leveled a hoof and suddenly a herd of the spectral horses began to appear and charged at Jadescales with the sudden force of a raging blizzard colliding with the raging fire still surrounding. “It’s deathblaze, we have to smother the fire or she won’t stop until even her bones are ash!”

It was so hard to even hear myself think much less Starswirl’s explanation of what was going on over the cacophony of sound. “Run! I’ll put her fire out!” Big talk as my head was starting up that familiar ache as I dropped the dagger and reached up with both hands open to the ceiling to help focus myself in the moment and then clinched them into shaking fists as it felt like yanking a physical weight with my arms.

The ceiling tumbled down in an avalanche of rock and smaller debris that swiftly began to fill the room. I knew I should be running but instead there I was pulling more of the mountain down around us. I had no idea if it was working yet but I knew if I just kept pulling more to where the fire had been it would hopefully put her out like sand on a firepit. The world began to swim and go hazy around the edges but I kept pushing. It was like being in the zone, my head didn’t hurt anymore. There was only the mountain and Jadescales and I thought the two of them should get intimately acquainted. I didn’t care about myself as the room kept filling and I was surrounded by the mountain as well. It felt so right, the tight comforting feeling pressing around me singing the siren song that I deserved a rest and just give into the feeling. I couldn’t feel my right arm anymore, maybe it had been crushed.

A pang of regret traveled through me. I wished I’d made more friends, it was such a stupid thing to think right now in the middle of all of this. I wish I’d had a full adventuring party, that would have been a dream come true. Traveling Equestria, making it a safer place bit by bit. Sure there would be hard times, but with a good party anything was possible. I felt something leak from me in both a physical and metaphysical sense as I closed my eyes in the darkness with the faint sound of hoofs digging away rocks.

“Keep digging. Our new friend doesn’t look so good, does he?” A sure sounding femine voice pulled at the edge of my perception as I drifted off to darkness.

“Eyup.”

Taint Misbehaving

There I was now staring at the Nightmare face to face in a black void once again. I let myself slump back as suddenly there was a chair under him as I let out an exasperated sigh. She moved in and bent down to look me once again in my eyes. It was in the moment I noticed that she had taken an appearance that was an amalgamation of Nightmare Moon and my own, her hands resting on her thighs as I was pretty sure she was purposely pushing her arms together to enhance her cleavage.

“What are you trying to do? Just let me recover or die in peace.” I did my best to keep my eyes locked with hers rather than let myself get distracted.

“Just trying to lighten the mood you sourpuss.” She sat down next to me as the chair I was sitting on suddenly became a loveseat. I took my eyes away from her looking at the darkness around us as it slowly twisted into a porch under a starry night sky as I felt shifting around beside me. “Oooo very nice. You’re getting much better at control.” I heard the sound of metal lightly touching against metal as I noticed her form had shackles around her ankles and wrists. She made a giggle and playfully kicked her hooves as the shackles jangled. “A little present from you it would seem.” I felt my power coming from them as I looked up and closed my hand in front of her like a force choke into a clenched fist as a matching metal collar formed around her neck. “Oh, feeling kinky?”

“Nope, just reminding both of us who’s dreamscape this is. So I’m still alive? Was Jadscales supposed to kill me and then you were going to possess her?” I blushed and waved a hand as black dress appeared over her form.

“Aww, party pooper. You’re so puritanical about the weirdest stuff. I guess it's being an alien to this world.” She held the pause for what felt like minutes but dreams were always flexible on subjective time. “Yes you’re alive and not dying. At least as far as I can tell. I’m not sure I could even tell. Well, I don’t think I’d die with you.”

“Guess it would depend on how hard of a grip I’m keeping on you as I go. Wouldn't be too bad if it were the last good thing I did for the world as I die.” I gave a soft grunt as I felt her press herself against me as she tried to climb into my lap.

“Oh come on now. Isn’t that just a bit too mean-spirited even for you?” I don’t know why I let her keep touching me, maybe I was just attention starved. Pretty sure that was the point of her taking the form she did. “I mean it’s not like you’ve never done anything like this in your dreams before.” At that, I pushed her away from me and put her back at arm’s length.

“I highly doubt you have needs like the people you possess. Pretty sure you’re just trying to get any upperhand. Forgive me if I don’t trust a manifestation of negative emotions.”

“Oh come now. Am I merely the product of my creation? How did being from the other world let you even know the nature of my creation? Stupid stories from your world.”

“I have a hard time believing that you’re trying to overcome your desire to impose your will on all life or at least to inspire those tendencies in the victims you’ve possessed. Do you plan to answer my question about the dragon?”

She huffs and shifts to lay back away from me as I mirrored the position. “Well, I figured either way I win out. You dying and maybe your hold’s too weak to drag me down with you, or the much more likely you prevail and I have one less contender. Since I’m being a little honest with you. What is your real goal in staying here?”

“A sense of belonging is a hell of a drug. I’d think you’d know that from preying on the lonely.”

She fixed me with a hard gaze. “That’s just not losing. An easier prospect for sure but in the end it’s always something you’ll eventually fail at or have to pass on the burden to someone else. Power like your’s and mine are wasted on simply maintaining the status quo. You’ve already changed the world to your image just by being here. Why not take a greater risk and see just how big of an impact can be made?”

“Did I impress you that much?” I scoffed with a snide tone, but I’d be lying to myself if it wasn’t tempting as an offer everyone wants to feel like that they made some impact otherwise the fear of dying alone and forgotten wouldn’t be a thing.

“Oh very, it’s why I managed to sneak just enough of my magic through you to call that help you heard as you passed out. It was very difficult on this side but when you were looking to make peace and accept death. You left just enough of a crack for me to slip a little help out. I’m not going down with you, and you’re certainly an interesting host.”

“Well I guess even prisoners help the guards every once in a while, but that’s just what you stay, my prisoner.”

Soon she was back on me as I drew in a sharp breath as she pressed with me. “Oh we might be a little bit closer than prisoner and guard after my little diabolus ex machina. Unfortunately for both of us.”

Why did she have to feel like that? Why did she feel like a warm body? Why wasn’t I better than this? It was in a moment of weakness that I wrapped my arms around her and I swear I heard a soft nicker like Luna would make when we cuddled as I felt arms slip up from my chest to wrap behind my neck. “See? This isn’t so bad.”

Suddenly, I felt a jolt move through my body. “Why are you trying to keep me asleep?”

“Because we need rest, but someone is very insistent that you get up now. It’s rather rude.”

I closed my hand as the collar around her neck tightened as she began to make a choking sound in an attempt to try and elicit sympathy from me. “Let me wake up and it should stop. On three. One… Two…Three.”

My eyes snapped open as I looked around at the apparent bedroom that I was being kept in as I felt my hooves hanging off the bed as was normal in most pony houses. I saw Starswirl and two more ponies. First, a pink pegasus filly with blue mane kept back with a streak of sky blue running through it pulled back in a ponytail. A confident smile on her face as light purple eyes looked at me before giving me a playful wink. Second was an earth pony colt with a wild mane that reminded me of wheatgrass and peach fur that turned white around his hooves. His pale blue eyes gave me an appraising look from behind his locks.

“Oh good you’re awake!” Starswirl said as I lifted my hand and noticed that my fingers were now black as my nails. I then lifted my right and winced as it had been wrapped but I saw from my exposed finger tips that it looked like they match. “I was worried as to what had you unresponsive, but you seem to have overcome it. I have however had time to speak with our new allies you managed to summon during the room collapse.” He gestured first to the pegasus. “This is Firefly, former commander of the Canterlot Airguard and ace flier.”

She made a crisp but obviously informal salute to me with a coy smirk on her muzzle. “Thanks for bringing me back in the middle of a cave in, really in my element right there, though I guess fast is still fast wherever you need it.” I felt a bit groggy still and looked at her before moving to look at the dour earth pony.

“I’m Dutch Apple of clan Pie, it’s an honor to heed the call from Hades and return to Equestria. The wizard tells of you wishing to be a hero for ponykind.” He nodded his head in what seemed like a gesture of approval. “We have much to discuss then.”