Wish Upon a Star

A day had passed since the arrival of this Wesker into Changeling's territory and while their unnamed friend's prediction was quite accurate, he never informed either him or Boulder that Wesker was a 'holier-than-thou', eccentric scientist.

Sure, he did seem smart, but they just had to deal with a self entitled queen and now that they were free of her, suddenly another self entitled queen arrived.

Sombra's plan had so drastically changed, his scheduled plan of investigating Nemesis was foiled by their hidden friend, but he at least seemed to know things no pony else knew and seemingly seemed powerful enough to have defeated the elements and any other type of opposition... In another universe.

For Sombra, it all seemed rather bananas. "Things are getting difficult." Said the fallen king to his companion as he and Boulder walked through the camp, waiting until everypony was ready to depart. The aforementioned companion grunted before giving Sombra a look. "Don´t even try to blame me, how would I know getting rid of Chrysalis would only bring us more trouble?" Boulder grunted in response.

It had been a couple of hours since this Wesker left, three hours after finishing reading the books he had requested. Sombra had to admit, he wouldn't have expected this being to eat through the books in three hours and remember everything.

It actually set him on edge and probably wouldn't trust him if it wasn't for the other one's presence.

Setting the thoughts aside, Sombra looked at Boulder, noticing his way of speaking. The enormous Changeling truly was something. "You know? I´ve seen the rest of the Changelings speak at least better than you, but why do you keep the strong and silent facade?" He asked, getting a grunt as a response from Boulder. "Suit yourself." He replied.

Truth be told, the Changeling didn't find Sombra's presence particularly annoying or dangerous and offered at least more interesting conversations than the queen, plus there was way less tension since she died and he could finally focus in the incoming plan against Nemesis?

"Look Boulder, things are starting to looking up after you got rid of Chrysalis, the rest of the Changelings, knowing she had already lost her mind, believe the good ol´ queen commited suicide." Said Sombra, cutting Boulder's thought short. "We just have to deal with this Wesker until the other comes back."

Boulder snarled, he didn't trust this new creature and neither the other one. On his part, Sombra shook his head. "Geez, how am I understanding if you´re not even speaking?" Asked to nopony in particular. "I know we shouldn´t trust the other, but at least he... somehow gave us an explanation and knew when and what this Wesker would ask for us. Still, we should be on the lookout."

With that, he remained silent. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind.

Wesker was scary enough, but their unnamed friend... There was something... Off about him, almost like an invisible presence, a sensation of dread and cold, but above all there was something that caught his attention. "Did you see his eyes?" He asked Boulder, getting a quick glance from the Changeling. Sombra shuddered. "Even his presence felt... cold."

"Red skin, horns."

Sombra chuckled at this. True he couldn't see him well considering he was in the dark, but even if Boulder had better sight, the thought of a demon looking entity roaming around seemed unlikely considering Cerberus was guarding the gates. "Maybe you´re starting to loose it as well?" Boulder grunted in response. "I´m only joking." Replied Sombra. "In any case, we must start to learn more about our guests, especially..."

"Me?"

Sombra's heart skipped a beat, silently wondering just for how long had this human been eavesdropping then. Their hidden 'friend's' existence was to be kept exactly that... Hidden to Wesker and considering what they had discovered about him, it would be risky if he was to know of the other party.

Turning around, Sombra and Boulder spotted the human in front of them, books under his arm and an unreadable expression that quickly turned the moment uncomfortable.

Regardless of their 'friend' not telling them, both Sombra and Boulder knew this Wesker was a genius or at least seemed to be one, in the end, what kind of idiot would jump into the fray without knowing a single thing about his enemy?

True to that, as soon as he arrived, the human had asked for any kind of information about Equestria, it's royalties, power scailings and of course the Nemesis.

One thing Sombra had on his side however, was lies, he was a master of them and right then he would put to the test his abilities by faking calmness as much as he could. "About time you showed up." He finally said, a faint glint of annoyance.

Wesker remained there, looking at him for who-knows-what. His black shaders barely hiding the sudden red cat like eyes before fading away. "Plenty of stories told about you and I've yet to find any of them accurate to what I'm seeing right now."

Sombra rolled his eyes. He loved to do that, Heck! Any 'intelligent' being seemed to enjoy mocking others they considered less, at least that seemed to stay true with the interdimentional human. "Is there any point to this?"

The cold and hard stare of Wesker would soon soften after what Sombra presumed was satisfaction, thinking there wasn't anything up.

As the fallen king released a silent sigh, Wesker walked past them and towards the entrance of the forest surrounding the camp. "What do you know about the Nemesis?"

Sombra grunted. "I would know if you would tell us."

"But you could have learned." Stated Wesker, locking eyes with the fallen king, before a look of annoyance appeared on his face. "Being ignorant and being stupid are two different things."

Sombra gritted his teeth, amusing Boulder who did nothing more than look between the two. A few seconds of silence passed before the fallen king sighed in frustration. "You said you came here to help us."

"Help, not babysit." The human spatted back. "The Nemesis is a bio weapon, created after the infusion of a parasite into the cortex of T-103." He explained. "He was upgraded moments before he arrived in your world and before that, he never exhibited traits of understanding beyond basic commands, nor a personality per se and emotions like compassion or sadness."

Sombra deadpanned, looking at him for a few uncomfortable silent seconds before shrugging. "And..."

Placing both fingers over his nose, Wesker let out a long deep sigh. "You are known through Equestrian history as a master of deception and here you are complaining about a monster, planning on how to use him when all this time all you had to do is use that little brain of yours and play with the sudden psychological traits that not only he developed, but are also clearly shown." He stated, lowering his arm a he locked eyes with the annoyed fallen king. "Fiction and reality are very different things indeed, as these books may depict a clever genius, I just see nothing but a buffoon."

Sombra was breathing heavily, shooting daggers at the human as he did everything he could to remain in control. He had his horn back and with it, incredible power and he was not going to let some kind of holier-than-thou moron insult him.

"Do not let the scientist's words get the better of you." Sombra's eyes suddenly shot open as he heard a very familiar voice inside his head. "He suspects something, I can feel it and the more anger he incites in you, the more you are likely to loose control".

On his part, Wesker raised an eyebrow, slightly cocking his head at the side as a look of suspicion appeared on his head, something shared by Boulder who wondered what had happened with the sudden change.

"I guess you are not only stupid, but outright retarded, a self bloated, so called king who is way over himself."

Whatever anger he felt, was soon diminishing as Sombra's stern, yet calm gaze met with Wesker's. "Everypony makes mistakes, Wesker, but thanks to what you know about this creature, I may be able to up my game." The human said nothing as he simply looked at the fallen king. "I has been so many years since I've managed to accomplish something big, but my title stands and I will show it to you."

Wesker looked at him, completely silent, which to Sombra seemed like he was analyzing him again. This time, he remained calm.

With a expressionless chuckle, Wesker's gaze softened. "Have most of your Changelings ready to depart back to their home and select a female to take the place of their queen... For now." Sombra said nothing in return, a silent way of telling Wesker he was wondering why such action. "The Changeling hierarchy dictates that females are the dominating force and regardless of your friend's..." He motioned towards Boulder. "Unique condition, a female would fall in place of the established order to successfully consolidate a hive mind as well as serve for reproduction."

Sombra cringed. "Ugh, you had to go there."

Wesker said nothing in return. "We may need to gain allies if we are to retrieve the Nemesis safely from your princesses."

Sombra arched an eyebrow at this. "Retrieve?" He had expected Wesker to outright get rid of Nemesis, but it just seemed insane to even think of catching this monster alive, sadly for the fallen king, he was not far off.

"Do you really think I would let an specimen like the Nemesis go to waste? He's a powerful weapon and regardless of his self awareness we can always make him 'ours'."

The fallen king chuckled at this. "What, you're gonna try a mind control spell on him? I felt the ugly thing's will from a mile away!"

The human snorted at this. "It is true that heavy psychological stress could cause the Nemesis to loose control, but if my theory is correct and his psyche is either in process or already similar to that of a fully sentient being, then breaking him would bring him to a blank state in which this so-called will is useless." He explained. "We will need allies, forces to repel or keep the princesses occupied and if what you told me is correct, once the Nemesis is under control, not even Equatria's royalty will contain him."

Suddenly, Sombra heard a sigh inside his head. "The scientist may be thinking of going with either the dragons or the griffons and that would take too much time." The unnamed 'friend' said. "There is another way, a wild card currently residing inside Hell or as you call it 'Tartarus'."

Sombra had to make an effort to not let his eyes wide open. There was one thing that was indeed trapped inside there and the fallen king had a feeling both him and the the unnamed 'friend' were talking about the same entity... He was nuts. Are you crazy? If you know of him then you know what he's capable off if fully powered.

"You think I don't know what Tirek is capable off? Then you should know I have a way for dealing with him once he is of no use to us."

"What are you talking about?" Sombra asked, hearing a faint chuckle from the other end.

"The Eclipse stone." Their 'friend' said. "It may not exist in your world, but it helped in mine, as I know it will help in yours." Sombra said nothing, waiting for him to finish. "The stone has capabilities similar to Tirek's but on a larger scale, meaning if the 'demon' steps out of line, you would simply need to take his magic away."

"Then I guess we're going back to Ponyville." Thought the fallen king, as he released a mental sigh.

"Good choice Sombra, now be on your way and may the Force be with you." With that, the cold sensation disappeared, while leaving Sombra to chuckle at the very last words from their 'friend'.

That was a certain change of events, as Sombra pondered on the existence of said stone. If what their 'friend' said was true, then they could quicken the pace. "Wait!" Called the fallen king at Wesker, who turned to gaze at him. "I have a better idea."

Luna, Twilight and Nemesis walked towards the castle in complete silence. The rest of the group had parted ways as there was much to prepare for nightmare night. For as excited as everypony felt, none was as eager as a certain night princess for the celebration to come, especially when she had an ace on the hole to beat Rainbow Dash in her own game. A towering, dangerous-claw-wielding-beast trump card.

Her plan now had all the room for success, with the only wild card being the young alicorn that was giving her annoyed quick glances. Deciding to break the ice, Luna cleared her throat. "So... do you have a costume prepared for tomorrow, Twilight?"

"I have something in mind." She answered coldly, before releasing a sigh. "Princess, with all due respect but I still think this is a bad idea."

Giving her an innocent look, Luna turned to look at the huge golem walking with them. "Nemesis, do you think this is a bad idea?"

Nemesis grunted, not even looking at her, regardless, it caused the night princess to give Twilight a smug.

"Does not seem like he does."

Twilight face hoofed and grunted in response. "I´m being serious, princess."

"So, you do not take Nemesis seriously?" Asked Luna, a smirk on her face as she saw the reaction she was expecting.

Twilight instantly perked up in surprise. "What? No, I do, but in all honesty I don´t think he cares."

"Did you bother to ask him?"

Instead of answering, the young alicorn released a low deep sigh of frustration. "Okay, this is getting off topic, as I was saying..."

"Nemesis, do you care about this?" Luna asked, interrupting Twilight. On his part, Nemesis simply grunted, he really didn't care, all he wanted was get back to the castle and be left alone and free from fillies and annoying princesses, although he had to admit that Luna really wasn't as annoying as her sister. "If you had the chance, would you kick my sister´s butt?" And speaking of the devil, almost as if she was reading his mind, Nemesis reacted differently, almost excited at the thought as he took his claws out for a few seconds as an answer. Luna chuckled at this. "I like him."

On her part, Twilight gave Nemesis a look which he ignored before looking back at Luna. "Princess..."

"Hey Nemesis, do you want to scare some ponies?"

"Aha! So that´s the reason you came!"

Upon the accusation, Luna placed a hoof over her chest and made an exaggerated offended expression. "How poorly you think of me, young Twilight." Twilight grunted in response before looking back in front of her. Not even a second passed before the night princess smiled mischievously at the beast. "So, Nemesis, do you?"

This time, Twilight let out a loud and tired grunt as she came to a complete stop, then turned back to face the princess who had a sheepish smile on her face. "Alright, that´s enough." She exclaimed, Nemesis getting behind her as he simply stared at the scene. "Princess, I really think you should talk with Celestia." Luna frowned at this. "Look, if you just..."

"Nope! Too many hours and words wasted!" She answered, closing her eyes as she looked away from Twilight, then after a few seconds, Luna locked eyes with the young alicorn again and raised a hood over her smiling face. "My night only comes once a year and I am not going to destroy it because of some wannabe sister!"

Twilight grunted again. "So how long will this take?"

"As soon as my night is over, I will try, ONLY if she is the one who approaches first." On her part Twilight figured there wasn't much to discuss about the topic and settled with the night princess' answer. Wanting to get the attention of the now more relaxed alicorn, Luna cleared her throat. "Now, about a room?"

"I have, although I don´t think it is that much settled yet."

Luna shrugged at this. "As long as it is comfy." She answered. The walk continued for a few minutes in silence as they began to approach the enormous castle, when the night princess noticed the expression Twilight had as soon as she laid eyes on the tower. "Twilight, what is wrong." She called out, getting nothing but a deep sigh that Luna recognized, turning the moment uncomfortable until she decided to change the topic. "So, uh, any new books you want to talk about."

Noticing what Luna was trying to do, Twilight complied on her efforts and tried to place any unpleasant thought aside to focus in the answer. Indeed there was, one that had caught her eye back at Canterlot. "Just this one called 'The secrets of Hope and Fear' "which honestly sounds more like an imaginary tale than anything else."

Luna chuckled at this, recalling her own 'fairy tale' about her return. "Just as a certain hot, formerly evil alicorn´s tale..."

Twilight returned the gesture with a thin grin, before setting her thoughts back on the lecture. "This one´s just a little bit more... I don´t know how to put it." She said, staying silent for a few seconds as she tried to come up with an explanation. "There´s this being, the embodiment of Hope and Fear, an entity capable of moving universes and changing the course of history." Luna have her an interested look, on her part, Twilight struggled with the thought. "I don´t know, it just seems, so impossible."

The young alicorn princess had always have the benefit of the doubt about these tales and even more since Nemesis appeared, but there was something about this entity that simply seemed unbelievable to her. She came to the conclusion of investigating more of the matter as soon as she arrived home which was right in that moment.

The trio came to a stop as they stood in front of the castle's gates. Nemesis looked at the splendor of the castle, something Twilight caught an eye on, but much to her dismay, he simply looked disinterested as he soon gazed away from the structure and towards her.

Releasing a grunt, Twilight instantly knew he just wanted to get inside. The young alicorn couldn't help but to release a thin smile at the child-like attitude of the giant killer golem. She never told Nemesis, but the beast already knew he was more than welcome of staying inside.

With a smile, Twilight motioned with her head towards the door. "Come on." She said and not a moment too soon Nemesis raised his hand towards the entrance.

Suddenly, remembering the experience between him and doors, Twilight instantly panicked and called out the beast. "Wait, let me..."

Smash!

Too late, Nemesis didn't even bother to use a handle and simply walked through the door, destroying it's thick wood with only his body mass and leaving a rather comical silhouette resembling Nemesis himself. Twilight facehoofed at this, releasing a grunt, while Luna simply whistled at the scene.

"How come we never had a Nemesis before?"

Twilight simply sighed at this as she turned around and walked inside, making a mental note to fix the door later on the day. Right then, she only wanted to settle Luna inside a room and figure out where to put...

"AAAAAAH!"

A laid scream caught the attention of the two princesses, who wasted no time to rush towards the source. On her part, Twilight's heart was threatening her to leave her chest, as she thought about the word possible outcome and considering the scream had belonged to Spike. 'Oh no, he must have angered him and Nemesis must have...' her thoughts soon came to a stop as she entered the library through one more pair of broken doors with Nemesis' distinctive silhouette on them. Frantically looking left and right until they set gaze upon the source, Luna and Twilight released the breath they were holding.

There, in the corner of the room was Spike hugging his legs and shaking badly as he simply looked towards the huge figure of Nemesis, who didn't even bother with the small drake as he had his full attention on every book he could hands on. However, since he couldn't read, the beast simply threw away every book that didn't have drawings on them, which was causing quite a mess inside the library.

"Twilight!" Called out Spike as he ran towards her legs, warping his arms around them. "Get rid of that thing!"

She sighed in return. "It's okay Spike, he's with us and it's not a thing, his name is Nemesis."

"You mean, the guy who kicked princess Celestias' buck?" He asked, still hanging tightly to the alicorn's leg. On her part, Twilight sighed deeply in frustration, as Luna simply chuckled at his question.

It wasn't only the sound of something being ripped apart caught the alicorn's attention that Twilight used her magic to take the Drake off her leg and began to walk towards Nemesis.

The beast was taking hold of a book and with one hand, he shook the object as pages began to fall from it. "Hey! At least be careful with that!"

He didn't even hear hear, as he grabbed yet another one and used both hands to open it, accidentally tearing the book in half. Unsatisfied with it, Nenesis simply threw it away. On her part, Twilight had a vein popping up on her forehead.

"Nemesis!" She called out, getting closer to the beast as she prepared to use her magic. Engulfing the new book the beast was grabbing, Twilight attempted to pull it away and used her strength to fight against Nemesis'.

ROAAAAR!

Throwing the book away, Nemesis locked eyes with Twilight, snarling as he raised both of his arms to his side in combat position and scaring the living crap out of Twilight and the rest present. On her part, Luna prepared for an assault.

"Take it easy..." Twilight said, her voice as smooth as she could to avoid the beats from going into a rampage. "Take it easy..."

Nemesis seemed to breath for a few moments, before erguin his body and making everypony present to release the breath they were holding.

Twilight took the opportunity to talk to him. "Listen, I can separate every book that has images on them for you, but I need you to stop destroying my library." She explained, noticing with contempt that Nemesis was paying her full attention. "Can you do that?"

Moments passed as the beast simply locked sight with Twilight, then as if he was considering her words, Nemesis looked from another book on his hand to the wary alicorn.

Just as Twilight was about to sigh in desperation, Nemesis extended his arm, giving her the book he was holding. The princess couldn't help but to release a smile as she grabbed the object with her magic.

"Holly Molly!" Said a certain drake behind her, looking with eyes wide open towards the now take creature. He and heard about Nemesis since the battle of Ponyville and later with the Canterlot struggle and the fillie's friendship with him and he had expected a know creature, maybe even a powered up unicorn, but he had never thought to see a zombie-looking giant. Definitely way more intimidating than he thought.

"Spike come here." Twilight called him out, taking the drake out of his trance. A look of shock appeared on his features as he pointed towards his own chest with a finger. The young alicorn chuckled at this. "Come on, he won't hurt you."

Spike shook his head a few times before being pushed to the front by Luna, who held a fake innocent smile on her face. Defeated, he gave a grunt and slowly began walking towards Twilight and Nemesis, the later had his eye locked straight at him.

Once opin front of them, the drake placed himself behind Twilight, looking at Nemesis from the 'safety' of Twilight's hind hoof. "T-T-Twilight..." He stuttered.

"Spike, this is Nemesis." She said, then looked back at the beast. "Nemesis, this is Spike."

Shaking behind Twilight, Spike did his best to smile at the beast. "Uh... H-h-hi."

"Now..." She finally said, placing the book alongside her on the floor. "I have the feeling you're going to get pretty bored inside the castle, so I was thinking maybe I could take you out to visit the town while Spike stays to clean up."

"Hey!" Called out Spike, who was about to complain, until a grunt from Nemesis was enough for him to stop his whining and instead placed a claw over his head as a form of salute towards Twilight. "On it boss!"

The alicorn princess chuckled at this, before looking back at Nemesis. "Ok, I believe we should..."

"Actually Twilight, I would love to accompany Nemesis and show him around." The voice of Luna caught Twilight by surprise, who turned to look at the night pony as she smiled at the enormous giant. Twilight, however, held a suspicion look towards the night princess.

It wasn't hard to deduce what she was planning. "You don't have to worry, I can..."

"Glad you agree Twilight!" Said Luna, interrupting Twilight as she turned around to leave the castle while motioning with her head towards the entrance. "Come on big guy!"

"Wait, but I was about to say..." She never finished her sentence as she saw Luna going through the door Nemesis had previously destroyed, then stopped to look back the enormous beast who was simply staring at her.

Truth be told, Nemesis really wanted to simply stay inside the castle and "read" a few books, but it would seem Twilight wouldn't let him alone and since there didn't seem to be much else to do inside the place, the enormous golem decided to follow his curiosity. But then there was Luna, while she was no Celestia by any means, he knew the night princess would be pestering her with some "nightmare night" stuff, then again, he could simply ignored her and it seemed to work pretty well with ponies.

With no other moan or roar, Nemesis simply began to walk towards the entrance, however, before getting to the entrance and much to the surprise of Spike, Nemesis grabbed the little drake and placed it under his arm, taking care to no squish him. With that, he made his way towards the exit, ignoring the grunts coming from the you alicorn who was calling out for him.

He liked Spike, he just seemed so malleable and his fear was amusing to Nemesis, almost like a plushy, a screaming and terrified living plushy.

It wasn't long until the beast walked through destroyed door, making Luna give Twilight a smirk, to which the young alicorn answered with a desperate sigh.

"Just keep an eye on them alright?" She said, frowning at the night princess. "And don't let Nemesis destroy half Ponyville!"

Luna smiled and placed a hoof over her chest. "Scout's honor!" Without, sh exited the place, leaving a frustrated Twilight behind to clean up the disorder.

"Hey, let go of me!" Screamed Spike as he did anything that would not anger the beast, but help him get free from his grasp, which was basically yell.

On his part, Nemesis simply kept walking, Spike in hand and without a care in the world. "Come one, man! I'm getting nauseous." Same as before, Nemesis kept walking.

The huge beast was about to exit the castle, until another voice called him out. "Wait for me, I'm coming!" Screamed the night princess, who placed herself alongside the still walking monster.

"So, where do you want to go?" She asked. "I know a few places where we can practice before nightmare night."

"What!?" Exclaimed Spike. "How about convincing him to let me go!"

"Sorry Spike, but for an amazing nightmare night, sacrifices must be done."

Spike grimaced at this noticing Luna wasn't going to help him. With no will left, Spike simply gave up and stopped struggling and accepted his fate.

"So Nemesis what do you like?" Asked Luna, walking faster to stay in front of the beast, who gave her a side glance. "Eating pies? Kicking trees?... Scarying ponies?"

The drake grunted. "How about letting Spike breath for a moment? Seriously, you grip is tight, dude!"

Almost as if it was a miracle, Nemesis listened and let go of Spike, catching him with a hand and placing him over his shoulder. The young drake remained there, surprised at the course of action, before shrugging with his shoulders. "Meh, at least is better."

Luna chuckled at this.

The walk continued in silence for a few minutes and although no pony... And monster, had a destination, they simply followed their feet to whatever catched the attention of Nemesis. The road was pretty quiet, although that could be contributed at the shock of everypony towards the beast who had defeated Celestia, who was simply walking down the street of Ponyville.

Looking around, Nemesis noticed so excited of the still destroyed structures in town, casualties of the battle that would have most likely changed a lot of things if he hadn't intervened.

Behind him, the beast heard a sigh coming from Luna. "Change!ings have never been this brutal." She said, managing to get a quick glance from Nemesis. "You know? We didn't have time to tell you, less my stupid sister, but if it wasn't for you, the elements could have been gone by now."

He looked at her again, before setting his eyes back on the road.

On his part, Spike chimed in. "Wait, were you also the one who..." He gulped, shaking at the thought of Nemesis' action towards Boulder. "Did that to that Changeling?"

Nemesis grunted.

"What he did was necessary and it was more that anything my sister would ever do." Answered Luna coldly.

"Did you get angry with your sister, princess Luna?"

"Rightfully so, Spike." Was all she answered, basically telling the young drake she was not going to discuss anything further about the matter. On his part, Nemesis sympathised with her about the whole sun princess thing. He just hated who someone felt like riding a high horse, it reminded him of a certain scientist who had brought him back after Raccoon and into a crazy world of beings in spandex uniforms and crazy looking creatures.

"So..." Called out Luna, getting the attention of Nemesis. "Have you thought about aiding me tomorrow?"

The beats grunted in frustration, causing the moon princess to sigh. "Look, as you may be aware of, Nightmare night come only once a year and I have never met anyone who is as if not more terrifying than me!"

Nemesis stopped on his tracks and snarled at Luna, causing her to jump back as she felt the heart leaving her chest. "Fine, more terrifying than me!"

Point made.

"And speaking of terrifying, aren't we approaching Everfree?" Called out Spike from Nemesis' shoulder, amusing the beats as he noticed that they were indeed approaching the forest. He wondered why he just kept going back there.

With no other grunt or roar, Nemesis' continued his walk towards the forest.

Luna should be more than used about visiting said place, for Spike though, he should be getting ready to abandon Nemesis' shoulder. Surprisingly enough, he figured there was no way they would find anything more terrifying than the beast itself, it was with this thought in mind that he simply remained silent at Nemesis' choice while silently wishing he would decide no to venture to far into the forsaken place.

With that, the trip got inside the Everfree.

Their walked followed in silence for a few minutes, until Spike looked at Nemesis' and used his claw to gently tap his head. "Hey, by the way, are you a zombie?"

Nemesis grunted in response, why did everyone think he was a zombie? He still had memories of his nightly mission back in Raccoon city and remembered pretty well the characteristics of the undead. Before he felt desperate trying to answer the drake's question, Luna came in to the rescue with a chuckle.

"I do not think he is a zombie, young Spike, although I would not question further his origins." That last bit sure did co e as a threat and not from the moon princess perse. Thinking back at the castle and Nemesis' reaction to Twilight, Spike heeded the advice.

Setting his thoughts apart from the matter at claw, the young drake noticed a very familiar cottage in the distance, the place where Nemesis was actually walking, causing Spike to mentally sigh in relief, thinking that they would not get any further into the forest.

Nemesis didn't really know where he was heading as he simply walked to his contempt, but he found the place interesting. As they got closer, critters and many more animals began to flee in terror from the approaching monster, who walked into a straight line towards Fluttershy's home.

Before either Luna or Spike could say anything, a singing was heard nearby, a song that both instantly recognized belonging to a certain pony.

"Guess we're about to crash Fluttershy's lessons."

Without another word, they continued their walk, a she two silently wondered why Nemesis had chosen the cottage and what would happen once they find the yellow pegasus.

Soon enough they recognized a familiar set of wings and their owner looking at a flock while maneuvering with her hooves the moment each bird had to sing. Luna and Spike instantly felt at easy while listening to Fluttershy's voice, on Nemesis part, he was hypnotised.

There was something about her chant that made him feel tranquility. As relaxed as he was, Spike could feel some kind of tension on the beast's shoulders all the way up to the cottage, then, they were relaxed.

Nemesis then decided to get closer. Suddenly, bird stopped singing, as they laid eyes on the upcoming beast which had succeeded in scaring them and force them to instantly flee, leaving a confused Fluttershy to try and retain the flock.

She called them out a few times, until an enormous shadow casted itself over her. Heart heart suddenly raced as she felt her hooves trembling to whatever was behind her and the only thought she had on her mind was that it was friendly.

Taking as much courage as she could, Fluttershy began to turn around, getting ready to whatever the Everfree had sent her. Suddenly, her pounding heart relaxed while releasing the breath she was holding. Behind her wasn't a monster, but rather a very unique creature.

"Nemesis you scared me." Said Fluttershy, managing to surprise Spike who was expecting the pegasus to get away in fear. Cocking her head to the side, the pegasus asked. "I'm sorry if I bother you, but what are you doing here?"

"Stars..." Answered Nemesis.

"I offered Twilight to take Nemesis out to know the town, however, he simply decided to come here." Answered Luna.

Fluttershy had figured at most, considering Nemesis had answered with the one word related to the young alicorn, plus the fact he had come with princess Luna.

"Hey there Fluttershy!" Looking to the side of Nemesis, the pegasus gave a warm smile as she spotted Spike riding on Nemesis' shoulder.

"Hello Spike, how are you doing?" She asked.

The young drake placed an elbow over Nemesis' head while letting smug appear on his face. "Just riding over the shoulder of a giant." The pegasus chuckled at this.

She found it no weird seeing Nemesis carrying around Spike like that, considering how he behaved towards the fillies. Letting the thought aside, they did scare her flock and her training had gone to waste for the day, not considering the numerous things she had to do before the day ended as well as doing her best to bring the flock back.

As much as she wanted to know Nemesis more, Fluttershy had things to do. Perhaps another day.

Giving the beast the warmest of smiles, she said. "I am so sorry if I can't invite you inside, but I have a few animals to attend to, a flock to gather again and a bear to search for."

Spike cocked his head to the side at this. "Where did Harry go?"

"I asked him to go to Zecora's for a special brew, but he hasn't gotten back."

The young drake instantly shot his eyes open at this. "And you're planning in going there by yourself!?" True, Fluttershy had experience when regarding the Everfree, regardless, the forest was evil and unpredictable and going inside was like rolling a fortune roulette.

Giving a step up front, Luna seconded Spike's words. "Indeed, you may be brave but you should threat lightly."

Fluttershy shook her head at this. "Thanks for your concern, but I can't stay here not knowing what happened to Harry, besides, I could never ask you to accompany me."

A smirk immediately appeared on Spike's features, as he once more accommodated himself over Nemesis' shoulder. "Normally you would be right, but we happen to know someone scarier than the forest."

Fluttershy looked at him curiously for a few seconds, wondering what he was referring to, until she noticed the young drake's claw giving a certain beast a few knowing Pat's on the head. Instantly knowing what he was up to, the pegasus shook her head once more.

"Oh no, I could never ask Nemesis to do something like this." She answered, getting a roll of eyes from Spike.

"Come one Fluttershy! With Nemesis here, nothing inside the Everfree would even dare getting close!"

"I know, but..."

"And besides," interrupted Luna, who was as eager on going as Spike, "I'm sure even he wants to..."

"Roaaar!"

The trio instantly jumped back at the beast's sudden reaction, even Luna whose smug had instantly disappeared as she felt her heart leaving her chest. "Why do you always shut me up!"

Nemesis ignored her.

It had become a trend by now for the beast, listening to ponies or whatever was in this place, talking about what he should be doing instead of actually considering him. It was annoying, to say the least, especially when he had gone out the castle to do whatever he wanted.

Right then... He was struggling to think what exactly he wanted to do. He found the forest a little bit more interesting, as he at least had a few stress relievers in the form of it's inhabitants, however, he also like the tranquility of either a simple walk or a good book's images. Then he thought back at Fluttershy, the small pegasus that looked too frail.

Going in there would most likely be more dangerous for her.

Looking between the pegasus and the forest for a few seconds, Nemesis grunted, then to the surprise of everypony present, he began walking towards the forest. Over his shoulder, Spike turned around and gave Fluttershy a cocky grin, something the shy pegasus responded with a warm smile.

Luna, however, rolled her eyes at one important aspect everypony seemed to forget, especially the enormous golem. "Do you know where we're going, Nemesis?"

The beast stopped his advance, scratching his head for a few seconds before looking back with a moan towards the night princess, who was chuckling at herself, something mirrored by Fluttershy who walked up front Nemesis.

Looking back, the shy pegasus motioned with her head towards the forest. "Follow me."

Nemesis moaned In return as a confirmation as he walked behind Fluttershy and into the Everfree.

A few minutes passed as the group went by in silence and even though, Nemesis did manage to bring some sense of security, the numerous glowing eyes looking behind the most around the area, sent shivers down the group's spine, with the exception of Nemesis who kept his gaze towards Fluttershy as he made sure not to loose her.

He was not afraid of either the forest or the beasts inside, quite the contrary, he was actually eager to find something to but her.

"Hey, Nemesis." Suddenly, Spike's voice cut short the beast's thoughts, then gave a grunt to let the drake know he was listening. "You think Harry's alright?"

Nemesis grunted again. He didn't know who or what this Harry was, even less if he was alright or not. Frankly he was more focused on getting the group back safe than thinking about someone he didn't even know.

Spike, however, seemed to make his own translation of Nemesis' way of communicating. "Yeah, I guess you're right, we shouldn't worry."

Nemesis sighed in return.

"Harry!" Fluttershy's voice took the attention of Nemesis, who looked back at the pegasus, who found herself running towards... A bear. So that was Harry.

The animal was safe and sound outside a small house that seemed partly destroyed and under construction. Going back to the bear, he had what appeared to be a bag over his back and he looked quite peaceful for an animal like that... Then he locked eyes with Harry.

The bear instantly pushed Fluttershy behind him and arched his body, snarling at the creature who remained there unfazed. Regardless of how taken aback where Luna, Spike and especially Fluttershy, Nemesis' was relaxed and soon ignored the still snarling bear to spot something behind him and Fluttershy.

"Stand back! Don't be afraid of the beast in black!" A small Zebra went outside the hut and past Harry who seemed to calm himself after the new one appeared. Still, he eyed Nemesis warily, who had his own gaze locked with the Zebra.

Zecora walked towards the beast, stopping right inches away from him and stared at his face in silence for a few seconds. "A strange sight indeed, from a being that made a hydra bleed." She said. "And now that you are here, the forest itself trembles in fear."

She narrowed her eyes. "Never thought I would see a beast so vile, with shining claws and a wicked smile!" As soon as her words left the Zebra's mouth, Nemesis tensed up and let his claws go out from his knuckles, snarling at the Zebra who did her best to remain unfazed.

Everypony present was once more on their hooves, while Spike was simply frozen at the scene. If the Zebra said anything else, there would be nothing stopping Nemesis from gutting her.

Suddenly, a warm smile appeared on Zecora's features. "But I was gravely wrong, about such a heart that strong! For you're not the real beast, but he who dwells within the mist."

Nemesis breathed for a few seconds, relaxing his body as his claws got inside once more. Everypony around him began breathing easier after the beast's change in humor and Zecora's bright smile towards the monster.

What Nemesis did was vile, but then again, had it been the other way around, it would have the same effect. Nature is nature and it can't be changed and dead is it's calling card, the only certain thing about life. The forest has always had its own categorization regarding it's most dangerous creatures and right then, the top of the pyramid stood in front of her, yet there he was, protecting the group with which he had walked inside.

Aparting her gaze away from Nemesis, Zecora turned her attention towards the rest of the group. "I'm sorry if I do not accompany you back outside, but I have to search for the one who hides."

Luna cocked her head to the side, completely forgetting about what just happened in favor of the alarming words of the Zebra. "Wait Zebra, who are you talking about?"

The Zebra's expression suddenly turned serious. "He who Mauls the weak, a being of red that makes me shriek." She explained. "His presence has unsettled the Everfree, for the path he serves has called upon me."

Shaking her head, Luna looked at Spike, who shrugged in response at Zecora's words. If it was indeed a threat, either the night princess would feel it, or they would all find out by then. Maybe it was just a superstition from the Zebra, regardless, they still had the box's disappearance problem to fix.

Giving a step up front, Luna locked eyes with Zecora. "I thank your for your warning Zebra, but for now, we are going on our way."

With that, the moon princess looked back at the group and motioned her head towards the place they came from. They all followed suit, waving goodbyes at the Zebra.

"Wait, Nemesis!" She called the beast out, with Spike looking attentively from his shoulder. "You must keep an eye open for him, when he's close you'll hear a rhyme so grim." She gave a quick glance behind her, before looking back at Nemesis.

"Far above, far below
We don't know where we'll fall

Far above, far below
What once was great is rendered small."

Spike cocked his head to the side, thinking about those words, while Nemesis got completely lost by the first sentence... Of course he would not inform Zecora as she seemed to enjoy herself too much.

Suddenly, her expression softened. "I did not inform the princesses about this presence, for his eyes and ways have lost all essence, but still cautious you must remain, the safety of the stars you must maintain."

"Stars..." Answered Nemesis, getting a chuckle from the Zebra, who motioned with her head towards the path where Luna went.

"Now off you go."

With that, Nemesis turned around and started walking. Besides him, Spike sat on his shoulder as he shuddered at the scene that had just unfolded. "That sure was weird, don't you think?"

Nemesis moaned in return. To be honest, he remembered little about the whole thing, with the exception of the last part. 'The safety of the stars you must maintain' she said and Nemesis had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe she was just playing a game and took her interpretation very seriously.

Setting the thought aside, Nemesis kept walking down the path, never noticing three pairs of eyes looking from behind the bushes.