Author's Note

Well there's Chapter 2, and I think it's a little shorter then the first one. Anyways, hope you guys like it, and hopefully it'll have a lore-friendly explanation to how Di-Meen became a hybrid. Any constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 2: Everfree Forest

Twilight Sparkle yawned slightly as she woke up to the sound of her alarm clock going off, which made her smile softly, and turned it off. With that done, she climbed out of bed, trotted down the stairs and into the bathroom, where she did her morning routine. She then combed her hair after her shower, and yawned a little again as she trotted out the bathroom, and bumped into a tall figure. This made her rub her eyes slightly and looked up, seeing Helrek from yesterday, which made her smile. "Morning, Helrek, how did you sleep?"

He grumbled slightly as he yawned, then nodded to the bathroom, which made Twilight smile and move out of the way, which led to him heading in, and closed the door behind him. Twilight then trotted down the stairs, and found Di-Meen fast asleep on a couch, with four books on one end, and a massive pile of gems on the other, which made Twilight's jaw drop at how many there were. There could be around 50 of them from how big each one was.

Twilight trotted over to the sleeping Argonian, and tapped his shoulder, which made him slowly blink his eyes open, and looked at her, causing her to speak. "Good morning, Di-Meen, I take it you had a long night?"

She nodded to the gems and books to indicate she was curious, which made him sit up. "I will say this now, that dig site a ways away had a lot of these gems down there, I just took as much as I could carry and came back here. Then I read a few books, and fell asleep." He picked at his ear. "I didn't really know Dragons ate gems and gold."

Twilight smiled. "Well, more so on gems, though I'm not sure on gold quite yet." He nodded as he stretched out a bit, cracked his neck, and got to his feet, walking over to the kitchen while Twilight began to put the books away. As she did so, she noticed Spike coming down the stairs, which made her smile. "Hey, Spike, how did you sleep?"

Spike simply rubbed his eyes, and glanced up the stairs, giving an annoyed look to Givan at the top. "That guy was staring at me when I woke up, asking me questions about dragons here in Equestria. I don't know what to say, but he won't leave me alone."

Givan stepped down into the library, and simply shrugged as he walked over to the bookcases, grabbing a book from the 'D' section, and began reading. This made Twilight raise an eyebrow, but shrugged it off as she could smell something wonderful in the kitchen. This caused her to trot in and speak. "Wow, Di-Meen, what are you cooking? It smells wonderful..."

"Beef."

Twilight went wide eyed, her face went slightly green, and her pupils shrunk at realizing that it smelt good. "Oh... is that for all of us, or..."

He shook his head, knowing Twilight wouldn't eat any. "No, only enough for me, Givan and Helrek. No need to worry."

Twilight slowly nodded as she grabbed a couple apples from the fridge, and sat down, while hearing Spike cry out about gems. The morning was going good so far, so she might as well have a good time and talk to her 'roommates'. "So... Di-Meen..." He glanced at her. "How did you become... you know, a hybrid?"

Di-Meen stayed silent for a moment. "Does your kind believe in demons?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yeah, they live deep in Tartarus."

Di-Meen slowly nodded. "I used to worship two different Demons known as Daedric Princes. One of them was called Hircine, Lord of the Hunt, while the other was named Molag Bal. Molag created the first vampires, me included, and sent us out into the world. I preyed on many innocents then as I was too young to know better. Eventually, though, Hircine began to get annoyed that I was a vampire, and turned me into a werewolf. This caused conflict between the two lords, until they decided on just making me both, so they wouldn't have to waste time on each other. I guess you could call this the short explanation."

Twilight was confused and also worried, but slowly nodded since he mentioned he was simply too young to know any better. She then noticed him set down a plate of eggs, bread, and hay in front of her, which made her raise an eyebrow as he sat down. She looked at him. "So... why didn't you make this bread into toast?"

Di-Meen raised an eyebrow. "Toast?" She nodded, making him tap his chin. "I never heard of toast, though I think it was mentioned as an idea by someone back home. Not sure what it was exactly, burnt bread, maybe..."

He continued to think about it, while Twilight simply shook her head in amusement, and went to begin eating her food. She also watched with concern as Di-Meen bit into the beef he cooked, and ate it like it was just food. Maybe it was just her, seeing as how Griffons possibly eat it the same way.

Givan grabbed his plate and began eating his beef, same did Helrek, and they mostly ate in silence, until Helrek spoke. "Hey, do you guys remember that time we fought off that massive force of Thalmor?"

Givan bit his bread in response, and spoke with his mouth full. "Yes, actually." He swallowed. "Those idiots still think they deserve to be the rulers of Tamriel, when it should be ALL who rule over it. I was sick of this, so I left them."

Di-Meen grunted at that. "We all know why you left, Givan, no need to repeat it."

He glared at him. "Maybe YOU two know it, but I am sure Miss Sparkle here didn't know."

Di-Meen rolled his eyes and continued to chew his food, while Helrek bit into his eggs. "I wonder what we should do today. Anyone got any ideas?"

Givan wiped the grease from his beard in response. "I would recommend going back to those ruins in the Everfree, I wish to further examine the place, and see what I can find."

The Argonian gave a nod. "I agree, maybe there are some ancient treasures there that we missed. I haven't looted a large ruin for a while now."

Helrek clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled, we leave for the ruins after breakfast."

Twilight got in on this. "Wait a minute! Are you all crazy?! The Everfree Forest is dangerous!"

The three simply stared at her, then all exchanged a good laugh, before Givan spoke. "Miss Sparkle, I have fought dragons for a living, and studied all their moves. Helrek here has the ability of all known dragons, and had fought Alduin the World Eater. And Di-Meen here can take out twenty bandits one by one. I think we'll be safe."

Twilight looked between the three with wide eyes, before sighing as she slumped her head. "Alright, just please be careful. I don't want you guys dying."

Helrek patted her shoulder as Di-Meen stood up, and headed for the living room. "Relax, Twilight. We will be fine, have a little faith."

Twilight gave a soft smile, and nodded.

...
Later
...

"GODS DAMN!!!"

Helrek rolled out of the way as the Ursa Minor slammed it's paw into the ground he once stood, roaring at them as they held their swords. They had gotten pretty far ahead, but Givan wanted to investigate a nearby cave, which led to them being attacked by this guy. And now they were having more trouble then they wanted.

Di-Meen readied the Fireball spell as Givan dodged another of the Ursa Minor's paws, until Di-Meen threw the fireball, and it slammed into the Ursa's face. This caused it to collapse backwards, and begin whimpering as it sped off for the cave. This made the three cheer at their victory, while Givan spoke. "Okay... I take all the blame on this, now let's get out of here before something worse shows up."

Just then they heard a roar that was far deadlier then the Minor's, making them slowly turn to the cave, and see a Ursa Major. This made all of them go wide eyed as Di-Meen spoke. "We're doomed."

Helrek gulped as the three began backing away slowly from the massive bear, who was glaring daggers at the three. It then roared loudly, and brought it's paw high into the air. "RUN!!!"

The three dove out of the way as the paw slammed down, taking down a good amount of trees with them, while Givan spoke. "Is this punishment for my curiosity?!"

Di-Meen gave him an annoyed look. "Just be quiet while we try to stop this thing."

The other two nodded, as Helrek spoke. "I think I got an idea, but we need to work together on this." The other two nodded. "When I say go, we are all going to use Unrelenting Force to try and get it away, ready?"

Givan looked at him. "And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we're dead." Givan whimpered. "Alright, everyone get ready." The three moved their feet so they wouldn't fall backwards. "Three... Two... One..." He breathed in deeply, same as the other two, before they all roared out.

FUS RO DAH!!

The force of all three shouts slammed into the bear, making it stagger back a bit, and shook it's head before glaring at them, making them all wide eyed, as Di-Meen spoke. "Like I said, we're doomed."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The three went wide eyed as they saw that butter yellow pegasus from earlier, giving the Ursa Major a gaze that made the three warriors go silent and stare with wide eyes.

"YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE TO ATTACK THESE THREE!!"

The Ursa Major whimpered in response.

"Well then, I believe they are sorry for hurting your baby." She looked at the three. "Isn't that right?"

Di-Meen and Helrek pointed at Givan, who went wide eyed and waved his arms frantically. "WAIT! I saw a cave, alright?! I thought it'd be great to explore and see what treasures were in it! I didn't mean to wake up one of those!"

She nodded, then looked at the Ursa Major. "See, they didn't mean to cause any damage, but your little baby was hurting them. They were just defending themselves." She then offered a soft smile to it. "Go on home now, and check on your baby."

The Major quickly nodded, and sped off to it's cave, leaving the butter yellow pegasus to fly down to us, and give a shy smile. "I... I'm sorry that happened."

Givan pulled on the collar of his blue robes. "Yes... well... It was technically my fault, so..."

She gave a soft nod, then offered her hoof, more to Di-Meen then the others, given his animal look. "My name is Fluttershy."

Di-Meen smiled and shook her hoof. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Fluttershy."

She smiled shyly, then looked around before speaking. "I should probably head back home, it was nice to meet you three." She then waved, and flew off.

That made Helrek speak. "We didn't even give her our names."

Di-Meen simply shrugged. "My guess is she was too busy, or Twilight told her our names."

The others slowly nodded in response, and they headed off for the ruins.

...
Much Later
...

Givan looked over the markings on the statue in the middle of the large room. They had arrived a few minute ago, and have been searching around the castle for a while now, while Givan looked over the markings. He was truly enthralled by them, even though he figured out they were pony written, he seemed to be trying to read them. Not much of a surprise really.

Di-Meen walked in through one of the doors, carrying a small sword, and a golden shield, as he spoke. "Found these down in what I'm guessing to be the Guard Armory, though I've yet to check out the Royal Armory."

Givan nodded. "These inscriptions are fascinating, and seem to hold writings that aren't in those books I've been reading."

"And how many have you read since you've been here?"

"Around 20 I think."

Di-Meen whistled in response, and tossed the sword and shield into the sack he carried with him, then headed back through the door. Once he was gone, Helrek walked in, carrying a pickaxe in one hand, and the handle for a cart that he filled up with ore that was around here. "You have no idea what kind of ore is out here, Givan!" He sat the cart down. "There's Gold, there's Diamonds, there's Silver, hell, there's even ebony!"

Givan dusted off some more words. "Yes, I can tell, and these inscriptions state that Equestria is very rich in ores and minerals. And there also appears to be a different flow of magic here as well, which is rather surprising for me. I honestly thought magic flowed the same in all realms."

Helrek shrugged as he began to put the biggest of the ores into the sack, liking that it all fit in there, but then grew confused. "I wonder why we woke up with these sacks."

Givan looked over. "I am curious as well, and they hold all of our belongings from Skyrim. It's strange, honestly." He then looked in one. "I think it's supposed to be a void sack."

"A what?"

Givan looked up at him. "A void sack, able to carry more then we usually can, and is technically a bottomless void. However, I fail to see how it gives us what we expect to grab."

Helrek rolled his eyes at him. "Sure, I get it. Still strange to me."

Di-Meen soon walked back out of the door, carrying a long, golden sword that was very elegant, and one that was blue and in the same design of beauty. He then spoke as he examined them. "Found these in the Royal Armory, one has a fire enchantment while the other has a ice enchantment."

Givan looked over at him in response. "Truly?" Di-Meen nodded. "Interesting, anything to indicate who it might have belonged to?"

"Only the designs on the hilts. One is a sun, while the other is a crescent moon."

Givan and Helrek went deep into thought at that, while Di-Meen stuffed the swords into his sack, sealed it up, and spoke. "Other than that, the other racks and chests were either empty or holding septims. Nothing of importance besides those."

"What about the Royal Armory?"

Di-Meen sat down. "Well, there were open walls that seemed to once hold weapons even stronger then these two, but they are long gone. As for any kind of armor, it's all pony armor, and wouldn't fit us."

The other two gave their nods in understanding, before Givan looked back at the statue, reading more of it. Di-Meen pulled out some venison and began to nibble on it, while Helrek began to mess around with his fire spell, casting fire on the walls, or juggling fireballs to entertain himself. It was rather boring there, since they already looted the place of everything it had.

Givan then spoke as he finished writing down in his journal. "Alright, I think I'm good for now, let's head on back to Ponyville."

The other two nodded in agreement, got together everything, and began their trek back.

...
Later
...

Di-Meen had a red scar along his cheek, and had a very annoyed look on his face, while Givan was trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Givan was testing his throwing with daggers, and threw one a little too close towards Di-Meen, and the Argonian almost killed him in response. And Helrek was staying between them, keeping them from fighting.

Just then they spotted a whole mess of ponies chasing after Twilight, which made them raise eyebrows, and walked further into town. They stayed silent as they went into the Library, and all sat down. They pulled out some bread and cheese, and split it between themselves, until they heard Twilight burst through the door, and lock everything from the door to all the windows, then shut the lights off.

This made Di-Meen speak. "Does this have anything to do with us seeing you running from the town?"

Twilight nodded, before all the lights turned on, revealing the other five mares across the room. This made Twilight yell a little, they had a heart-filled moment, sent something away, then received a letter, along with six golden pieces of paper. This made Helrek speak. "Okay, what did we miss?"

They looked at the three, as Twilight chuckled awkwardly. "Well, we have been invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, and have just received the tickets for it."

Helrek thought for a moment. "Sounds like that party at the Thalmor Embassy, except without having to go undercover."

The ponies raised eyebrows at him, while Givan spoke. "Maybe I could go there and learn a few things from any mages that might go."

Di-Meen grunted in response, rubbing the red mark on his cheek. "I just want to keep from getting attacked."

"That was an accident!"

Di-Meen glared at the elf. "One you've yet to apologize for."

Givan gave a defeated grunt and began walking up the stairs. "I give up, wake me up when it's tomorrow."

Helrek thought for a moment. "Yeah, I need to get some sleep too, see you tomorrow, Di-Meen."

The Argonian simply grunted as he went up stairs, and the girls left the library. Spike then burped up four more tickets, and cheered before running after the girls, leaving Di-Meen alone.

He stayed silent for a few moments, then shrugged, popped a vial open, and downed it's contents before heading out the door, and transformed into a werewolf to go out and release the anger.