From Eorzea With Love

Chapters

001

Hear...

I wasn't entirely sure how long I'd been trapped in stone. I only really "woke up" when other beings came near. It had been a long time though, that much was certain.

You probably want to know how I got there, what I did to deserve petrification and placement in Princess Celestia's little statue garden. To put it simply, I got in the way. I wasn't on bad terms with Equestria's royalty, back in the day. I was there when Discord turned Equestria into his little playground. Instead of trying to run or hide from the ugly bastard, I fought back. I engaged a god-tier being in combat with everything I had at my disposal to buy time for Celestia and Luna to pull a Deus Ex Machina. When they returned with the fabled Elements of Harmony, I made one last-ditch effort to keep Discord in place long enough for them to use the Elements.

The holy rainbow hit us both and left us imprisoned in stone.

I wasn't angry. I know Celestia and Luna had looked for a way to free me. The number of Royal Mages they sent to examine my still form proved that much. I was never directly told why I couldn't be freed, but if I had to guess I'd say my petrification was tied to Discord's. If he broke loose, so would I and vice versa. Once again, I wasn't angry about my situation. Instead, I was bored out of my skull most of the time I was awake. If it wasn't a boring tour guide come to wake me up, it was one of Celestia's personal students. That sort was a bit of a mixed bag. Some of them dismissed me as just a statue, while others used me as an outlet to talk about the troubles of their lives. The latter category always brought out my full attention. If those fillies and colts were going to pour their hearts out to me, the least I could do was be there to listen. Like that Sunset Shimmer filly. So many troubles, such a desire to grow in power and do her best... but she vanished from the face of Equis and was quickly replaced by Twilight Sparkle.

I shifted my focus from internal mutterings to the outside world. Even if my physical body was covered in rock, the magic of the Elements ensured that I could still see and hear. Oh, another tour group. This one had a purple mare with a smiling daisy for a talent mark at its lead. Another school field trip? I had to wonder which town this one came from. A few of Manehatten's school districts had been in last time and Baltimare's before that. If the teacher bothered mentioning me, or if one of the students noticed my statue, they'd likely get an extremely short introduction without any hint of what my actions had really done for Equestria. I know I told Celestia that I preferred to stay away from large crowds and awards ceremonies, but some recognition would have been nice at least!

"Oh ah know this one!" A young filly's voice piped up, drawing me out of my internal grumbling once more. I tilted my gaze down and found a yellow filly with an apple-red mane nearly bouncing in place as she grinned up at me. The pink bow in her mane was oddly familiar, but that was more likely coincidence than anything else.

"Puh-lease. What would a blank flank like you know about a statue in Canterlot?" This came from a pink filly wearing a jeweled tiara. Her attitude immediately marked her as the class bully, enough to set off my annoyance.

"Diamon Tiara, that is quite enough out of you! One more snide comment like that and you'll be serving detention. Apple Bloom, what can you tell us about this statue?" The teacher proved to be more effective at keeping her students in line than I initially thought.

"This here's Kikiru Kiru! She's the one who brought Chocobos to Equestria!" The yellow filly, Apple Bloom, was trembling in excitement as she introduced me. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that part of my history to be the key selling point, but it was true. When I first arrived in Equestria, I'd been given a few extra items. Among those were a clutch of chocobo eggs.

"That's right, Apple Bloom. But Kikiru is also known as the Warrior of Light. Legend tells that she was able to draw upon the powers of ancient spirits to battle evil. Unfortunately, she was sealed in stone during the final battle with the next statue, Discord."

Ah, there we go. The whole "drawing upon the ancient spirits" thing was a bit of an exaggeration, but the rest was pretty spot on. I suppose it's time I gave the whole truth and a more proper introduction.

My name is Kikiru Kiru. Lalafell, Adventurer and former Human.

Oh? Did that last bit catch your attention?

The details are a bit fuzzy from a few thousand years or so of separation, but I have the gist of it still. I went to a big gaming convention dressed as a Summoner from Final Fantasy XIV. I wasn't going for any particular race or character scheme beyond the Summoner robes, mainly because I wanted to draw attention to the costume over the one wearing it. I had put my heart and soul into making it, spending weeks learning metalworking just to craft the fittings for the horn and wings. At the convention, I found myself drawn to a shady tent pitched in one of the back corners of the hall. It was well away from where the merchants were supposed to be and I guess that was what drew my curiosity.

Inside the tent was a man dressed up as a rather famous merchant from another video game. He even imitated the speech patterns of the character as I talked to him and browsed the store. All over the tent were replicas of weapons and miscellaneous items from various game series. More than a few Final Fantasy items were included in the inventory, but I looked past them to a crystal bottle with gilded fittings. I only had so much cash for the convention and a novelty drink, or at least the bottle it was in, were much closer to my price range. The merchant really made his sales pitch on it too, selling it as a bottle of Fantasia. For those who don't know, Fantasia is a legendary potion that can change the race, appearance, or even gender of the one who drinks it when they go to sleep after drinking it.

Well, the legends are true. Too, too true. I'd taken a small bet to actually drink the Fantasia just to earn some of the cash back from buying it. I'm not going to lie, it didn't taste that bad and the lack of immediate effects made me believe I was safe.

I awoke the next day in a new world, missing a few key features of my anatomy. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that the Fantasia did. It stole my original name from me, replacing it with a perfectly normal name for a little Lalafell girl.

Switching my focus to the outside again, I saw that the class had finished with Discord's statue and were moving on.

"Hehehehehe..."

I knew that laugh. I knew it all too well. If I was able to hear that laugh, then that meant...

Calling on the flow of Aetheric energies from the world around me, I flexed my magic and felt a grim satisfaction when my ancient prison exploded into shrapnel. I drew more power into myself from the atmosphere, then immediately focused my attention on Discord's prison. I knew I didn't have much time before he broke loose. There were already notable cracks on the white marble that entombed the draconequus. Without delay I pulled the heavy grimoire from my belt, cracking it open and smiling as a little crystal popped up to act as a guide for aiming any spells cast through it. I quickly flipped through the pages of the Grimoire and channeled my gathered magic in ways that the Equestrians could never quite duplicate. The thing to note about Summoners is that while they have a number of minions or pets they can call upon to fight for them, Summoners are a branch of the Arcanist. The big thing Arcanists are known for are their poison spells, which can significantly weaken a target over time if the spells are properly stacked. With Discord as vulnerable as he was, it was an easy matter to hit him with all of the lasting spells in my arsenal. Miasma, Bio, Biora (also called Bio II) and Virus. All of those spells combined would leave Discord heavily weakened when he did break free and buy me some time to speak to the Princesses.

Hopefully they hadn't been sitting idle these last few thousand years.

They had been sitting idle the last few thousand years.

The new Royal Guard was a joke compared to the united army I'd helped establish back in the days where Unicornia, Pegasopolis and Gaea were still separate nations. The new guards' golden armor wasn't even properly enchanted. At best, the guards were a glorified police force. I could only hope that the Adventurer's Guild hadn't fallen to the same fate.

I passed through the halls of Canterlot Castle undetected, following the currents of pony traffic until I at last found my way to the throne room. Making my way through the doors was a little more difficult, but still pretty easy when you didn't even come up to a stallion's chin in height.

When the doors were opened for the next petitioner, I slipped inside, hiding in the blind spot of one of the inner guards. It still amazed me how utterly blind ponies could be if they weren't actually looking for something. I paused in my hiding spot for a bit, staring up at the throne and the pony on it. There sat Princess Celestia, the white Alicorn Mare who I'd traveled the length and breadth of Equestria with, once upon a time. That was back before we properly attempted to unite the three countries, back when she was simply Celestia. Now, she seemed so tired on the throne, clearly forgetting the lessons of delegation I'd tried to teach her back when I set up the Adventurer's Guild. If Celestia's... heftier figure was anything to go by, she'd also forgotten about regular excercise too.

The petitioner's plea was over a small land dispute on the eastern edge of the Everfree Forest. Basically, they needed a final verdict and a small detachment of the Royal Guard to make sure the settlement went over peacefully. Once the petitioner's case had been made, I stepped out from my hiding spot, startling pretty much every pony in the room. Celestia's reaction was a bit odd though... was she glaring at me?

Then, I felt a shift in the Aetheric energies of the room. Of course Celestia would keep Unicorn guards in the throne room. They were the most versatile in close quarters thanks to the variety of spells they could learn. If Celestia was anything like what I remember, she'd have an attacker and a barrier specialist on duty. I turned on my heel, pulling the Veil of Wiyu from my belt and flicking my wrist to open the tome. I frowned as the pair let loose with their spells. The weak bolts of light wouldn't be enough to singe my robes, let alone stun or stop me. Were these really all that Celestia had to offer these days? How did she expect to re-seal Discord without the assistance of her Guard to keep the Lord of Chaos distracted?

"You know, this isn't the warm welcome I expected," I said with a deadpan expression, glancing over my shoulder at Celestia. "This also wasn't the state I expected to find Equestria in once I returned."

I turned fully to face the Princess, barely noticing the Royal Guards that kept flinging spells at my back, even when they were joined by the outer throne room guards. I began to walk down the Princess's fancy red carpet as I made my complaints well known.

"Your security is weak. I was able to enter the castle and make it all the way here without being noticed until I openly revealed myself. The very fact that you run a court like this means that you didn't take a single lesson I taught you about politics to heart. On top of that, you've let the Royal Guards fall from being an elite army to little more than buzzing flies!"

After a brief second to focus, I flung my arm backward indiscriminately, binding all of the Royal Guards in place with the Summoner's trademark "Tri-Disaster" spell. I heard the collapse of all four guards and suppressed a wince. If I could knock them out with Tri-Disaster, especially when I wasn't channeling through the Veil of Wiyu, that meant the Royal Guard was weaker than I'd thought.

"Now," I said, finally arriving at the foot of Celestia's throne. "What do you have to say for yourself, lady?"

"You aren't supposed to be here, Kikiru."

My world froze. I was expecting her to be happy to see me, or at least curious as to why I had finally shown back up. Instead, she had coldly dismissed me. That... that wasn't right. That wasn't the Celestia I remember.

"You're right, Celestia. I'm not. I was supposed to be dead ages ago after growing old and passing on all of my knowledge to the next generation of adventurers. Discord and the Elements of Harmony put a rather big damper on those plans though, in case you forgot," I replied with the same flat tone she'd used on me. I stepped back from the throne and shook my head. "Maybe Luna will be a bit more accommodating, since you seem dead-set on being a cold, unfriendly bi-"

"If you take so much as one step near my sister, I will personally cast you into the sun!" Celestia shouted as her eyes changed color from magenta to gold, the sign that she was a hair off of activating her Solar Wrath form.

It was taking all of my conscious effort not to break down crying at the harsh treatment from one of my oldest friends. I wasn't sure what had changed over the years, but this Celestia wasn't the same pony I'd once fought side by side with. In fact, she seemed dead-set on treating me like another threat to Equestria, but I didn't know why. What had I done to deserve such treatment? I mean, yeah, I'd wrecked her pathetic guards, but we both knew that I wasn't even using a shred of my real power to do so.

There was nothing I could do to change her mind like this, not until I had more information on what could have happened during my time trapped in stone. At the very least, I could still fulfill my original objective.

"Discord's prison has already cracked. I hit him with the usual line of spells to soften him up a bit for you, but that's only a stalling method. If this is how you're going to treat me, then he's your problem to deal with now," I said plainly, trying to contain my emotions until I could properly address them. With a snap of my fingers, I activated Swiftcast. It was an odd ability, technically drawn from another Adventuring Job, but usable and useful for Summoner. Swiftcast nullified any channeling time for the next spell cast. It even worked on Aetherial Teleports, allowing me to instantly travel a fair distance across Equestria in the blink of an eye. I didn't even have time to double-check my destination list, I just used the first one that came to mind.

Upon arrival, I immediately fell to my knees and wept.

I sat before the glowing blue crystal, the only thing in my new surroundings with any sign of life. It was known as an Aetheryte, a magical construct that linked to other crystals of the same type to allow for easy teleportation without straining the user's magic. For some reason, an active Aetheryte was in the ruins of a castle I didn't recognize. It made me wonder just when I'd added this Aetheryte to my personal network and why it hadn't been moved or destroyed when Celestia changed castles.

Celestia... the thought of her filled me with sorrow again. Just what had happened to make her act like this? Not once in my memory had Celestia and I had an argument before then. The castle probably wouldn't have any clues, it was pretty clearly abandoned long ago. If I had to guess, it was the original castle the Princesses had made. The castle had been constructed at the point where all three of the old nations' borders intersected as a sign of unity, a shift from the divided nations to one whole Equestria.

I slowly picked myself up off the floor and began wandering. This was where both Discord and my statues resided originally, even if my memory of those times were still somewhat fuzzy. Slipping through dusty corridors like a lonely ghost, I tried to imagine what the place must have looked like back when ponies lived there.

"Was it worth it, to come back?" I asked aloud. I don't know why I chose to speak, but it felt right, to just let the words and my emotions fade into the silence. "Everyone except the Princesses are dead by now. Celestia's turned on me and I bet Luna's following the trend. I have nothing to work towards! Not the Guild, not my Chocobos... what's the point?!"

Part of me knew that it would be a simple matter to find something new to live for, to make new goals and push myself to new heights of power and skill. Maybe it was time to leave Equestria entirely. There had to be one or two Elder Dragons still alive that might remember me at least. Yet... I couldn't just abandon Equestria. At least, not until I was sure Discord had been re-sealed. Whether I particularly liked it or not, my fate had long been intertwined with the Draconequus.

I took a deep breath and went in search of a mirror. If I was going to face Discord, then at least I'd go into battle looking my best.

It took longer than I liked to find a serviceable piece. I spent a while just staring at my own reflection, wondering once more just when the face staring back had really become my own and not a stranger's. My features were fairly common for a Dunesfolk Lalafell, with a childlike rounded face , long ears that slowly curved into a soft point and a small dusting of freckles across my cheeks. I couldn't help but wince at how dull and dead my normally bright green eyes looked, but I'd always had trouble fully masking my tiredness or emotions. Without further ado, I found a side room and focused my powers inward.

There was a flare of light around my body and I felt shifting weight as objects disappeared and manifested on me. I looked down to make sure that the change had gone to plan, and let out a short sigh of relief when I saw a familiar set of white robes. That was the truth of my abilities, the reason why the schoolteacher claimed I could "draw upon ancient spirits". Over the course of my time in Equestria I had discovered a number of "Soul Crystals", each containing the powers and souls of a specific "Job". When I first arrived in Equestria I had the Summoner Soul Crystal, but managed to find three more through my various adventures. One of the souls belonged to the White Mage, which was primarily a healer but also could manipulate certain elemental forces. Fortunately for me, one of those elements was Water.

I quickly stripped out of the robes and left them in a neat pile nearby, then braced myself for what was to come. Holding the white-winged Thyrus staff in hand, I called upon the Elements to pour a large amount of water over my head.

I was fairly sure my screams could be heard from Canterlot.

When I'd finished my makeshift bath, I used the White Mage's Aero spell to quickly dry myself off, then Job Changed back to Summoner. The White Mage Robes and Thyrus vanished from their resting places and I was immediately dressed and armed again. For one final touch, I pulled my blonde hair up into a messy ponytail, mostly so it wouldn't get all over my face in the middle of combat.

"Okay, Kikiru, you're ready," I said aloud, staring into the mirror one more time.

Discord was undoubtedly free by now and creating as much chaos as possible to make up for lost time. With any luck my spells had weakened him to a manageable level, but Discord had always been a difficult bastard to pin down. A few poisons likely wouldn't make too much of a difference. I could only hope that the Elements of Harmony were close by this time, since I wasn't sure I could handle another drawn-out fight with the Lord of Chaos.

There was only one way to find out. Only one way to end this.

I focused my magic and Teleported.

Author's Note

Yeah, it's a Displaced Story. Was it the one I originally intended to write? No. Not by a long shot. For some reason, Kikiru just wanted to be written and here we are. Don't worry, the reasons for Celestia's coldness will be explained in due time.
For anyone who's played FFXIV, Kikiru's effectively level 50 with all of her Jobs and has the bottom tier of her Relic Weapon. She's strong, but not even close to the peak of power.
Useful Terms
Fantasia: A potion that changes the race, appearance, or even gender of the one who drinks it. These are extremely rare and difficult to brew, however.
Summoner: Summoners are a Damage Job and one of the two branches of the Arcanist. Like the Arcanist, they have access to a number of "Damage over Time" spells, but their real power comes from the pets they can summon. Their Relic Weapon is a Grimoire known as the Veil of Wiyu.
White Mage: White Mages are a Healer Job and a direct upgrade to the Conjurer. They maintain the Conjurer's control of Water, Earth and Wind, but can also heal dire wounds or even resurrect recently-fallen allies. Their Relic Weapon is a Staff known as Thyrus.
Chocobo: Chocobos are flightless birds commonly used as beasts of burden and mounts in Eorzea. They were first brought to Equestria by Kikiru and fill a similar role. Chocobos are surprisingly intelligent and easily trained by anyone with a skilled hand... and plenty of snacks.

002

Hear... Feel...

In a swirl of darkness and violet light I reappeared in Canterlot. The active Aetheryte I'd selected had spat me out in the middle of a giant hedge maze... and I wasn't calling it that just because I was height-impaired. Considering all of the Aetherytes that had mysteriously gone missing, I considered it a stroke of luck that there had been any available near Canterlot. Now the problem was finding out where Discord was and what he was up to... aside from the usual chaos, I mean. That much is a given when dealing with him.

I closed my eyes and spread out my Aetheric senses, spreading my range as far as possible. Most "normal" civilians wouldn't ping on my radar, but large or unique sources of magic stood out against the background. I quickly discovered Celestia and Luna's signatures, but no sign of Discord yet. That was odd, had he already moved on from Canterlot? If he did, there was little sign of his passing.

"So... what'cha doin'?" A familiar voice spoke in my ear. Oh Shi- I dove away from the source of the voice, tearing the Veil of Wiyu off of my belt and dropping as many spells on the surrounding area as I could. When the dust finally settled, I found Discord hovering in mid-air in front of me, reading a newspaper. Finally noticing that he had my attention, Discord folded his paper into a little airplane and threw it over his shoulder. It promptly started a strafing run on Canterlot Castle, dropping cherry bombs on anyone unfortunate enough to get in the way. Discord must have blinked out of range before any of my spells hit him, which meant I'd just burnt through half of my magical reserves for nothing.

"Are you just going to stand there glaring?" Discord asked, leaning forward and prodding me on the nose with his lion paw. "I mean, you do look cute when you're angry, but it's not exactly changing much, is it?"

"You're being awfully casual for a spirit of chaos," I stated plainly, "What's your game this time, Discord?"

"Oh, nothing too big. Just a scavenger hunt with all of Equestria as the prize. You won't be competing of course. That just wouldn't be fair," Discord chuckled and floated out of my reach, his serpentine body making nearly hypnotic patterns as he went.

"I can't let you get away with your plans, Discord," I said, flipping to the page where one of my strongest spells resided. I doubted it would work, but at least I could say I tried to take him down. The Draconequus seemed to deflate a little, dropping closer to the ground. For the first time since I'd met him, Discord actually had a serious expression on his face.

"We'll battle again, little Summoner," He said, "But not here and not now. Let's be honest with each other, it just wouldn't be fun."

"It's not about fun, Discord, it's about keeping your focus on a target that can actually take your chaos magic without breaking!" While he'd been talking, I'd been waiting to finish channeling my spell.

A swirl of dark magic centered on Discord's body and erupted outward into a dome of shadow, ripping away at the Draconequus' hide and leaving behind dark flames on every cut. Before he could escape, I activated Swiftcast and hit him with Tri-Disaster, watching with some satisfaction as he was hit with a combination of ice, fire and electricity that formed a binding seal on Discord's limbs. After that it was a simple matter to hit him with the usual trio of Bio II, Miasma and Bio. Each additional swirl of poisonous energy caused the Lord of Chaos more visible pain. I knew it wouldn't last for long. Tri-Disaster's bind had a best-case scenario of twenty seconds, but a stronger opponent like Discord would likely break out of it-

Discord burst out of Shadow Flare's dome in a blaze of fury, slamming headlong into my tiny body with enough force to lift me off my feet. No matter where you go, the ground is hard and unforgiving. I was fairly sure I skidded a meter or two before coming to a stop. It was hard to tell with the pain and possible concussion. Say what you will about Discord, but when he goes on the direct offensive, he can really pack a punch.

"You have such a high opinion of yourself," Discord chuckled, looming over me and looking more and more like a demon with the flames still lingering on his skin. "Just because you can cast a few fancy spells doesn't make you anything special. The only reason you haven't been broken is because I've enjoyed our little bouts so far. That last little... tantrum of yours nearly changed that. So unless if you'd like to spend the rest of your life as my personal plaything, I suggest you sit there and think about your life. Ta-Ta!"

Discord vanished in a dramatic cloud of pink smoke, leaving me dazed and confused. If my self-esteem wasn't in the dirt before, it certainly was now. I'd stacked my full roster of spells onto Discord and he shrugged them off easily. His words had no hint of deceit either. The Lord of Chaos was just playing with me when we fought the last time. Four Soul Crystals weren't even close to enough to take him down, especially not the four that I currently had. Ugh, I hadn't even considered Job Changing during that fight. My greatest ability and I'd completely ignored it just for the sake of familiarity through Summoner. Hell, I hadn't even been using my Summoner abilities correctly!

I sat up and scooted forward until I could grab the Veil of Wiyu from where it had fallen. I'd been making up for my deficiencies by researching and developing "cross-class" spells like Swiftcast for Summoner, but the truth was that the Summoner Soul Crystal was just incomplete. It was missing the three Summoning Spells that defined the Job and due to Equis' nature, it was impossible for me to replace or develop those spells myself. I flipped through the pages of my Grimoire and found the Physick spell, which was effectively a knock-off of the White Mage's abilities that allowed me to speed the recovery of minor injuries.

I let out a sigh of relief when the spell cast successfully and bathed me in soothing green light. It was good that the spell took care of headaches too, or the rest of my day would just be a miserable mess. Then again, considering that I just got curb-stomped by Discord it was likely to end poorly regardless of my headache's presence. With that in mind, I turned to one of the pages of my grimoire that often went unused. I wasn't sure why I subconsciously avoided it, considering there wasn't anything inherently wrong with the spell, but I could count the number of times I'd used it on one hand. Maybe once I'd learned that I would never be able to manifest the three 'Egi' the Summoner Job was known for I gave up on the Arcanist's weaker alternatives.

That ended now. I gathered magic from the atmosphere and sent it through my hands into the Veil of Wiyu, focusing on the geometric pattern that would determine how the magic would be used. A spell circle manifested underneath my feet, slowly spinning in time. Three emeralds suspended in magical bubbles spawned next, used to aid in giving the spell its final form. I could feel the ebb and flow of the magic as it worked, a little bit here and a little bit there.

At last, the spell erupted in brilliant green light and a small, furry form rolled out, landing lightly on four paws.

This was the Emerald Carbuncle. I honestly still couldn't decide whether it looked more like a pale green fox or cat with rabbit ears, but its overall appearance was hardly the Summon's key trait. No, the most notable feature was the shining ruby embedded in its forehead, which was the core of the Carbuncle's power.

The moment was lost when the Carbuncle immediately pounced on me, nuzzling and licking my face. I just laughed and hugged the squirming ball of fur and fluff, wondering why I had ignored her for so long before now. I could only imagine what the Carbuncle was feeling, having had little to no contact from me in so long. It made me feel guilty for ignoring my Summon for so long and I made a silent vow to call on her more often.

"So whilst Discord roams free, you sit here playing with pets," A familiar voice spoke, accompanied by a small gust of wind and the clink of horseshoes impacting the ground.

"I've already had my first round with Discord. Just getting ready for the second," I answered, not even bothering to see who it was. I had an idea of who it was and the tone they used had already hinted at a few previous suspicions.

"Nay. You will leave Discord alone. Our Sister already has a plan in motion to deal with the beast. Your interference is not wanted or needed."

I gently set Carbuncle on the ground before turning to face the second Alicorn from my past. Luna was just as I remembered, midnight blue with a star-filled mane to match. The hateful expression in her cyan eyes barely even fazed me after Celestia's betrayal.

"So I sacrifice myself to buy you two time to get the Elements... and this is how you repay me. I don't know what changed while I was imprisoned, but I've done nothing to deserve this treatment from you and your sister," I said, my grip on the Veil of Wiyu's spine tightening.

"Your presence was the reason Discord arrived in the first place!" Luna shouted, stomping her hoof in anger. "Your every action weakens Equestria's Harmony. The guild you founded, the changes you made to the Army, it only would have ended in the destruction and devastation of Our lands."

"And how did you find this out? What proof do you have? My goal was to put Equestria in a proper position of power, without the need to hide behind you and your sister's control of the sun and moon. When Discord arrived, we were at peace with every other nation on Equis! Tell me, Luna, how that ruins the Harmony of Equestria?" I demanded, taking a step toward the Princess of the Night. Her response was to flare her horn with an unknown spell.

"I see," I said, shaking my head sadly, "You can't even answer me. You just followed along with whatever Celestia said, again, without checking the facts for yourself. Remind me again just how many times doing that has lead to trouble? Trouble that I had to drop everything and bail you out of?"

"Enough! We will not be spoken to in this way, least of all by you!" Luna snapped, firing off her spell. It manifested as a horde of spinning crescents that flew toward my position with frightening speed. I dodged back and again as the crescents impacted where I'd been standing and rebounded to track me again. Luna wasn't messing around, which meant I needed to get serious too. As I landed from another dodge, I issued a mental command to Carbuncle. It unleashed a shaped gust of wind, blasting through and dispelling Luna's magical constructs.

"This is your one chance to stop, Luna. I'm only offering this to you out of our former friendship. If you keep attacking, I will not hesitate to end you," I growled, already flipping through pages and committing the patterns of several spells to short term memory. "You know what I can do when properly motivated and with how far Celestia's gone to scrub out my work, I doubt she's allowing White Magic to be taught anymore. That means no Raise or Resurrection spells except through me. Do you really want to risk it, Princess?"

Luna seemed torn between pushing her luck and retreating, before she at last let out a small sigh and took to the air. I tracked the Princess of the Night until she had vanished back into the castle, then let out a sigh of relief. Even though I'd sparred with Luna back in the old days, I doubted i could really take her down if she was really focused on the fight. Where Celestia had a habit of "Nuking" her enemies, Luna had always excelled at taking on single opponents.

I let out a long groan of annoyance and flopped down on my rear. I was burning bridges by the hour now and barely had any idea where Celestia got the idea that I was a massive threat to Equestria. It was even more odd that Celestia sent Luna after me, when she'd threatened my very existence for mentioning her sister. Unless, of course, Luna had acted alone.

"What am I going to do, Emmy?" I asked, pulling my Carbuncle over and hugging her like a stuffed animal. I couldn't face Discord with my magic as drained as it was, even if I drew in a few rounds from the atmosphere with Aetherflow. The Princesses had turned on me and already proven that they weren't above an outright duel if provoked. Almost every Aetheryte within Equestria's borders were offline and the ones outside were too far to reach without some form of relay. If nothing else, I could hide out in the Castle of Unity for a while and slowly build my resources back up.

For the time being, I scooted over to the hedge and leaned against it, leaving Carbuncle to stand guard while I took a nap to try and restore my magical reserves faster.

I awoke to the crackle of lightning overhead and Carbuncle growling up a storm of her own. I cracked open one eye and saw that the majority of the Hedge Maze had been replaced by an absolutely gigantic crater. From my place at the top edge I could see Discord rolling in the dirt laughing maniacally while five young mares looked on. Four of them had their colors washed out, marking them as under Discord's influence. I'd learned of that particular ability when he inverted the personalities of my comrades when we'd gone to fight him the first time. I was too far away to hear what was being said by the mares, but the Earth Pony with the poofy mane was quick to get in an argument with a pegasus... Shortly after that, another Earth Pony in a cowboy hat got into a small hoof-fight with a white unicorn over a small boulder. The only one that hadn't been corrupted, a purple unicorn, ran back and forth trying to restore order. It was all for naught though, I knew that from personal experience.

I've seen enough, I thought. I leapt down into the crater, rolling on impact to keep from breaking my ankles. The corrupted ponies didn't pay me any mind, but the same couldn't be said of the Purple Unicorn. She seemed to nearly go into a panic attack, looking back and forth between Discord and I at high speed.

"So this was Celestia's master plan for taking you down? Seems like it's working about as well as expected," I commented.

"Oh yes, she wagered her entire kingdom on 'the magic of friendship'," Discord replied, rolling his eyes. "At least I'm getting a show out of it. Popcorn?"

I accepted the offered treat, not having had any real junk food since before I came to Equestria. For conjured food, Discord got the balance of salt and butter just right. I let out a moan of pure unadulterated pleasure. The popcorn satisfied a craving I didn't even know I had in the best possible way. When I finally recovered from my foodgasm, I noticed a heavy blush on the cheeks of everyone in earshot, including my own Carbuncle.

"What? It's good freaking popcorn!" I snapped defensively, flopping down on the couch Discord had spawned earlier.

"Why are you just... sitting there?!" The purple mare demanded, "Aren't you and Discord supposed to be enemies?"

I looked at the Lord of Chaos with a raised eyebrow, then turned back to Celestia's lackey and shrugged.

"I had my go at him earlier. Obviously didn't work so I'm going to see how things play out from here," I replied. "Besides, if Discord can summon snacks that good, I might be up for a bit of Chaos. Maybe a month or two's worth. We'll play it by ear."

"But... but you're supposed to be a hero! The Warrior of Light! How can you just sit there?!" The purple mare demanded, gesturing vaguely in my direction.

"What makes a hero is a matter of perspective," I replied plainly. "A hero to one person is a war criminal to another. Your princesses have already set out to mark me as the next villain. The one thing that remains constant, however, is that the so-called heroes or villains have power. Power that generally makes others with power afraid."

"Ooh, getting all philosophical. This should be interesting," Discord commented, spawning a pair of large Colas and passing me one. I took a long sip through the straw while I waited for Celestia's lackey to recover enough to form a coherent sentence. When she failed to do so, I posed a very simple set of questions.

"Tell me, have you ever heard of Arcanima? Conjury? White Magic? How about the Adventurer's Guild? All of these were things I brought into Equestria, entire branches of previously undiscovered magic that could go so far as bring back the wrongfully deceased... All of them have been wiped from history by Celestia because she feared the power it would give anyone with the talent for it. She sabotaged her own military, reducing them to a bunch of bumbling fools just to avoid the lessons and tactics that I trained the United Armies in. If Celestia believed me a hero, would she do that to my legacy? No. If you need a bit more evidence, Luna even tried to kill me once she learned that I'd been freed."

"There has to be a logical reason-" She was just grasping at straws now and I'd heard enough.

"Take your fanaticism somewhere else. Celestia and Luna aren't gods, they aren't all-powerful. They can, have and will make mistakes just like you or I. The sooner you accept that, the happier the rest of your life will be," I said, then gave Discord a pointed glance. "Would you kindly-"

"Say no more," The Draconequus chuckled, snapping his fingers. All five mares vanished, leaving me alone with my... well, I wasn't entirely certain what Discord was to me anymore. He wasn't quite a friend or an enemy really. We both understood that we'd have to fight each other at some point down the line, but I don't think either of us were particularly looking forward to it. The entire situation, like many things since I'd woken up, was just weird.

"So... off to terrorize an innocent village?" I asked when Discord rose from the couch and stretched. His joints popped in the tones of a harpsichord, just compounding the oddity of my temporary couch-buddy.

"The innocence part is always debatable... but yes," Discord chuckled. "Anything you'd like before I go?"

"There's a lot of things I'd like, but I'm content for now. You mind if I kidnap the couch?"

When I received no direct response, I placed one hand firmly on the blue upholstery and focused on the Aetheryte in Unity Castle. As my body vanished from that plane of existence, I idly noticed that Carbuncle had somehow despawned. Oh well, I'd call her out again once I had some basic living quarters set up in the castle. On that note, I had to figure out just how I was going to lug the heavy couch all the way to the room I had in mind...

Author's Note

Don't shoot! I know this chapter wasn't too big in terms of progression, but it got a number of character appearances out of the way. Yes, Kikiru seems to be undergoing some personality shifts and there's a very good reason for that. Provided the story doesn't just tell itself without my active input like this chapter, the Discord opening arc should be wrapped up.
Useful Terms
Aetheryte: Aetherytes are magical crystals that act as a teleportation relay across Equestria and beyond. They were primarily invented for the purpose of fast travel, with an enchantment that allows an Aetheryte to automatically seek out the shortest path between two points by bouncing the user off other Aetherytes.
The Adventurer's Guild: A united force of explorers, peacekeepers and monster hunters wrapped into one. Whenever there was a job that required a more subtle touch than the United Armies or required a particular set of skills, a contract was sent to the Guild and an Adventurer dispatched. Before the battle with Discord there were over four hundred active Adventurers across Equis, coming from all Sapient races on the planet.
Summoner (Part II): As the name implies, Summoners are best known for their ability to Summon. Through rituals they can bind the essence of powerful elemental beings into a controllable form known as an 'Egi'.
Arcanist: Arcanists are a group of spellcasters that use geometric patterns called Arcanima to guide their magic. To make the casting of these patterns easier, they carry and use grimoires into battle. Arcanists are also notable for their ability to create and summon Carbuncles.
Carbuncle: Carbuncles are the latent power of gemstones given form and life through Arcanima. There are two notable versions of the Carbuncle, each based on a different gemstone. The Emerald Carbuncle is a powerful spellcaster in its own right, capable of manipulating the wind. The other version, the Topaz Carbuncle, forgoes spellcasting in favor of raw power and defensive capability.

003

Hear... Feel...Think...

I lounged on the couch in my new quarters. It had taken nearly two hours just to get a room clean enough to live in and remove all of the broken furniture. My little Summon let out a yawn and wiggled into a more comfortable position on my chest. I'd remained true to my word and resummoned her, but while my Carbuncle could relax I found it a bit more difficult. I couldn't stop thinking about the five mares that Celestia had sent to deal with Discord. It was clear they were my "replacements", but from what I'd seen not a single one had any training against mental intrusion and influence. They were more like lambs sent to the slaughter, to be honest.

Once again I questioned whether I was doing the right thing. Discord needed to be re-sealed eventually, but did I have to step back into the fray for it to be done? For the time being, no. I'd let Celestia's plan play out. If it failed, if the Princesses came and begged for my help, then I might help seal Discord again. I doubted that would happen though. Both Celestia and Luna seemed determined to keep me out of the picture, though I found it odd that they hadn't shared their views with the group they sent after Discord. It was just another oddity and inconsistency with the behaviors I expected from everyone I knew...

"It has been over a thousand years," I muttered to myself, since Emmy was now squeakily snoring. "They might as well be different people. It would be so much easier to deal with if they didn't look the same."

It was funny to think about it, but Discord was the only true constant. He was just as crazy as ever, twisting reality to his whim. I'd seen cotton candy clouds cover the sky before I teleported and what looked like an upside-down house floating off in the distance. The Castle of Unity had been left untouched, likely due to its already wild natural magic. Unlike nearly everywhere else in Equis, the Everfree forest actually followed a natural weather cycle. Most ponies were terrified of it, preferring their safe and controlled environments. For those who chose to settle in the Everfree, a dedicated branch of the Adventurer's Guild and United Armies were put on patrol to keep the towns and roads safe. The frequent monster attacks produced some of the best Pegasi Lancers and Griffon Archers I'd ever seen.

I shook my head, dispelling those images of the past. There would be plenty of time to mourn the lost guild later. Even with this room well out of the way, I still didn't feel safe in the Castle of Unity's ruins. I needed to get some proper defenses set up and some decent furniture. The couch was comfy, but it wasn't a long-term solution.

"Ugh, I'm just stalling," I groaned, hopping down off of the couch and checking for another Aetheryte closer to the Everfree's borders. I felt the burning need to check on Discord, to make sure he hadn't gone too far in his distribution of chaos. It was probably a bad idea to leave him to his own devices anyway.

When I didn't find any Aetheryte near Discord's large magic signature, I decided to do something a bit stupid.

I teleported without linking to an Aetheryte.

Don't get me wrong, teleporting spells were a tried and true branch of magic by this point. The downside was that without an Aetheryte Link, all of the magical cost of the trip was paid by the caster. All of the magic I had restored with my nap was taken from me and then some, but at least I didn't have to go through the Everfree without backup. I doubted the forest's population of monsters had gotten any less vicious over the years. I'd probably end up burning the same amount of magic as a teleport just in random monster battles.

When I reappeared near Discord, I was greeted with a landscape that might have been designed by a five year old child's weirdest dreams. What little remained of the original houses of this particular village were floating upside down, torn out of the ground by their foundations. The roads had been replaced with bars of soap and had buffalo dressed like ballerinas dancing across them. The rest of the ground had been replaced by a two-tone blue checkerboard made out of a material I couldn't even begin to identify. Those were only the easy changes I could spot, apart from the previously mentioned cotton candy cloud cover.

Looking around for Discord, I finally discovered him standing in plain view with a bullseye affixed to his chest and a pair of sunglasses on. The five ponies from before, now joined by a purple and green baby dragon, were standing in some sort of odd formation with the purple mare at their head. I had to give her credit, she was a bit more resilient than I initially expected. The rest of her friends had turned fully grayscale by now, showing a deep root to Discord's influence over their personalities. All six were sporting golden jewelry, each with set a gemstone in the shape of the wearer's talent mark (with the exception of the dragon, of course).

Wait. Wait. Were those the Elements of Harmony? The colors matched up, but no. It couldn't be. Why would Celestia and Luna put them in the hooves of ponies who hadn't even remotely been trained for it? Maybe Little Ms. Purple at the front there, but the others? I just couldn't see it. Still, I sat back and watched as they rose into the air, surrounded by a swelling white glow. Then, just as quickly as it came, the light faded and the five mares were dropped to the ground. I felt a bit bad for the little dragon, he hadn't even gotten that much mileage out of his red lightning bolt necklace.

Discord stepped forward to deliver his usual taunts and subtle mental manipulation while the rest of the ponies dispersed. Celestia's plan had a lot of holes if her chosen champions were failing this badly. The Lord of Chaos skated away on the soap road a moment later, but I continued watching. Purple was the only one left now, staring off into the distance with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Come on, kid. You're stronger than that," I whispered, seeing myself standing there in her place, watching as my comrades threw down their arms and walked away from the fight. She'd kept herself together this far. Celestia had put her trust in this mare. That meant she was special. Even if the necklaces weren't the Elements of Harmony, even if she stood alone, I had this feeling that Miss Purple would pull a miracle out of her arse before all was said and done. All I knew was that I needed to be there, needed to help her through it. I took a step forward.

"Don't," Discord whispered in my ear, wrapping me in a tight embrace from behind.

"But she's breaking," I nearly whimpered, seeing the gray seeping into Purple's color scheme from her hooves up.

"If little Twilight Sparkle really is your double in this era, she'll find a way. History has a habit of repeating itself, you know. It's so boring, ponies repeating the same patterns over and over without change for millennia until something comes along to force them into a new mindset." Discord said, all but forcing me to watch as the gray spread up to the mare's barrel. "Unfortunately, that's the way Celestia likes it. She doesn't want change. She doesn't want progress. She'd rather just have her little dollhouse with all of the ponies playing peacefully inside."

"Is that why she was so eager to turn on me?" I asked, feeling a part of my heart break when the purple pony turned fully gray and walked away with her head held low.

"That's something you'll have to find out on your own, little Summoner. I can't just give you all the answers. There's just no fun in that," Discord chuckled. He floated away with me still in his arms, until we came to a richly decorated throne fit for an evil overlord. Except, I was starting to see that Discord was more than the villain role he'd always been cast as. He was a primal force personified, change incarnate. His methods may be extreme, but he was only following his role with as little physical harm caused as possible. Maybe things could have been different if he could contain some of his reality manipulation or limit it to a very small area that was technically uninhabited.

That made me think a bit more. Had Celestia even tried diplomacy with Discord? The first I'd caught wind of him was when the Adventurer's Guild got flooded with requests to deal with him, with the addition of one signed by Celestia and Luna themselves. I'd taken a group of volunteers and quickly met with the Princesses to discuss our plan of action. The end result, as they say, was history. I led my team to fight Discord while Celestia and Luna went on their quest to find the Elements of Harmony. I'd treated Discord the same as any other high-powered threat. I'd blindly gone along with the idea that he was just another villain and monster, when there was really more to the story. When he had proven himself sapient, why hadn't I just tried talking? Why had I pushed the battle on and on until I was the only one left fighting?

"You're close to an answer," Discord murmured, his furry chest rumbling with every word. "It should be obvious to you by now, little Summoner. You know the reason behind our conflict, you just refuse to see it. You dismissed it as impossible because Equis isn't the same world your powers came from. The thing you forget is that nothing is truly impossible."

"I don't want it to be true," I mumbled, details and lines of potential starting to align in my brain. "You've been kinder to me than anyone else since I've woken up."

"Why wouldn't I be? Just because we're destined to fight from time to time doesn't mean we have to be enemies," Discord snorted, "Even if the ponies think otherwise, what do they know? Besides, their opinions shouldn't rule your life. Your life and your choices are yours, nobody else's."

The evidence slowly worked itself out in my brain. He'd mentioned Eorzea, implying that he had some connection to it or operated similarly to something from there. Discord mentioned impossibilities and things I'd dismissed as such. The only thing I could think of recently was the completion of my Summoner Soul Crystal, which would require me to defeat and bind the essence of a Primal to my will. If there were any Primals in existence and tied to the races of Equestria, I would have found out long ago. Still, Discord had appeared out of nowhere and his habit of mental manipulation was on par with a Primal. The problem was that Discord didn't have any sort of followers from what I knew. Nobody to summon him and no proper catalyst for that summoning. Even the ponies he Inverted didn't attempt to spread that inversion to others, they just went about spreading chaos through their friends and loved ones. On the other hand, Discord's reality manipulation was easily on par with a Primal.

I felt my heart begin to race as I tried to form the question, to get a definite yes or no for my suspicion.

"Easy, easy," Discord whispered, gently nuzzling the top of my head. "I didn't think you'd get so worked up over something you already knew on some level."

"But-" I couldn't find the words. Everything just felt wrong, like my whole world was crashing down around my ears.

"As much as I hate to leave in the middle of your crisis, I do have some tasks to handle that I've been putting off," Discord sighed, gently lifting me off his lap and setting me down on his throne. The Draconequus snapped his fingers and a large plush version of him appeared, softly floating down into my arms. With that, Discord poofed out of existence, leaving me to look on the twisted landscape and sigh.

It was nearly an hour before Discord returned, calmly retaking his seat and setting me down at the foot of his throne.

"It's almost showtime," He said, giving me a small smirk, "We'll see once and for all if Celestia's plan works or not."

"Those necklaces were the Elements of Harmony, weren't they?" I asked, resigned to the possibility that I may be losing my friend sooner than expected.

"They were indeed. It seems Celestia and Luna lost control of them some time while we were locked away in stone. I'd tell you the full story, but it's hardly relevant right now and we just don't have the time."

"You're going to be sealed again, aren't you?"

"Oh you just sound so sad," Discord chuckled, "It's still up in the air, really. If Twilight managed to somehow restore her friends' personalities, then I'm likely to be a statue by the end of the day. If not, well, I highly doubt they have any tricks that would keep me away for long."

"It's funny. I actually remember Celestia introducing Twilight to me, back when I was a statue," I said, picturing just how curious the little filly had been. She'd asked so many questions about me, eager to soak up every scrap of knowledge. Celestia had calmly shut her down, which made a lot more sense now that her destruction of my legacy had been revealed.

"Of course. She is Celestia's most recent personal student. The poor filly worships the ground Celestia walks on. It's sad, really. Twilight could go so much farther if she had a different teacher. Maybe one who could introduce her to all new branches of magic never before seen by the modern pony?" Discord gave me a pointed look at that, but I just shook my head.

"No. Celestia seems to have enough reason to be out for my head. I'd rather not provoke her into a headhunt. Twilight will just have to be another case of wasted potential in this world. On that note, I wonder what happened to Sunset Shimmer. Now there's a mare I wouldn't mind teaching a few things. Poor girl was desperate for some real guidance, but Celestia just kept holding her back."

"Discord! We're here to put an end to your reign of chaos!" Twilight's voice cut in.

"Do you mind?" I groaned, "We were having a nice conversation here, and then you have to cut in and ruin it."

"Whoa, isn't that-" A blue pegasus with a rainbow-striped mane wondered, only to be cut short by Twilight again.

"Yes, It's Kikiru Kiru. Why she's siding with Discord, I don't know, but just ignore her for now."

Ignore me? Oh, that was the wrong thing for her to say. I was content to be a bit passive and let Discord handle them himself, but that changed things. If there was one thing I hated, it was being underestimated.

"Hold my plushie," I told Discord, passing him the stuffed incarnation as I stood. The Draconequus took it with a raised brow, but I turned to look at the six mares with more focus, examining their team composition. First and foremost was Twilight herself. She was easily a combat mage, but likely hadn't had too much formal training in battle magic due to Celestia's instruction. If I closed the distance and went melee, she'd be down and out in a good hit or two. Next was the other unicorn, white with a purple mane. Her talent mark was a trio of blue diamonds, which could have a bunch of meanings. From her appearance, I wouldn't peg her as combat-trained, but the little display back in Canterlot showed that she had some knowledge. Similar strategy to Twilight, but a little more wary. Next up was the unicorn's former opponent, an orange Earth Pony with a blonde mane. From her muscles, I could see that she was likely used to physical labor. I'd have to keep far out of range with her.

"Are you going to stand there staring, or actually do something?" The Rainbow-maned pegasus taunted, "Come on, you don't look that tough! I could take you with both hooves tied behind my back!"

Oh. That was the last straw. I wasn't normally one for dramatic displays, but I wanted this pegasus to know just how utterly screwed she was. I focused inward, latching onto the spiritual form of the Soul Crystal I wanted. I pushed my power into that Crystal, causing a corona of power to erupt around my body, colored the same deep blue as the crystal I'd chosen. Twilight's eyes were wide by this point, likely able to sense just how much energy I was channeling. With a little more power, the other Unicorn gasped in shock. The crystal appeared over my my left palm, held out as though beckoning. Its physical form was cut to look like a flame, with a stylized dragon head standing out in white on its surface.

"Oh my, you never broke that one out for me," Discord chuckled, aiding in my intimidation tactic.

I closed my fist on the crystal and the lightshow swelled to new levels, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. The light blinded me to what was actually going on during the Job Change, but I could still feel the weight of my new armor as it formed on my body. Reaching behind my back, I gripped the haft of an ornate spear and whipped it forward into a mighty thrust that caused the aura to explode outward. I couldn't help but feel awesome when I saw the expressions of the ponies in front of me. From the looks of it, a yellow pegasus had outright fainted in terror.

The Dragoon's armor was rather terrifying, colored such a dark purple that it might look black in the right light. The helmet was designed to look like a dragon's head in mid-bite, with four horns sweeping backwards and a curved visor that covered the upper half of my face. The gauntlets and boots featured bladed projections on the elbows and calves, useful if you have to go hand to hand for whatever reason. There were some obvious flaws though, like the stomach being left bare and a gap between the gauntlets and pauldrons. Unfortunately, I wasn't in control of the armor the Soul Crystal manifested, or I'd have changed it the second I first found the flaws. It's why I'd been so hesitant to use Dragoon before now.

"So, still feeling confident?" I asked, grinning viciously at my challenger.

"Girls, Formation!" Twilight commanded, her horn glowing magenta and levitating the fallen pegasus back to her hooves. After witnessing their failed attempt to seal Discord earlier, I knew exactly how to deal with that. Replacing the dark spear, Gae Bolg, on my back, I tapped into the Dragoon's unique abilities. Fortunately they could be used without a spear in hand, since I was determined to go non-lethal in this fight.

I leapt upward with great force, going at least ten meters high by rough estimate. As the mares slowly lifted off the ground, I selected my target and adjusted my aproach vector before coming down like a meteor.

A split second later, my foot impacted Twilight's face with crushing force, knocking her into the ground and sending the Element of Harmony she wore flying. I pushed off the mare and landed lightly on my feet where I'd originally been standing, just in time to watch the other five fall on their collective rears.

"Twilight!" They cried out as one, rushing to the side of their fallen friend. I felt like pressing the attack, exploiting the opening they were giving me, but I stopped. There was no point in trying to teach a lesson that wouldn't be heeded. Still, with the leader knocked out in one hit, the rest of the mares couldn't use the Elements of Harmony.

"A little more violent than my methods," Discord admitted, "But it seems to have worked for the time being."

"She's going to have one heck of a headache when she wakes up," I agreed, crossing my arms as I continued to observe. "I'd switch to White Mage and heal her, but then we'd just be back to square one."

"Celestia won't be happy that you hurt her precious student," Discord warned, "Are you prepared for the consequences?"

I snorted at that, shaking my head. Celestia already hated me. By this point, anything I did would just continue to fuel her hatred. I'd already shed all my tears for that lost friendship.

"Considering Luna pretty much declared war by trying to kill me, Celestia should know that I was being merciful," I replied. "It's weird that she didn't warn them about me. She must have known that there was a possibility we'd cross paths."

"Maybe she was holding out hope that you'd prove her beliefs wrong?" Discord offered. That was actually a fairly good point, but it was far too late to entertain it now.

"So, when do you think they'll notice we're still here?" I wondered, watching as the mares continued to fuss over their fallen leader and try to wake her up.

"Even I don't have the answer to that," Discord admitted, rolling his eyes. "This is bordering on pathetic now. I think I'm just going to find some other town to start on."

"You know, if you clean up your work here, you could probably make them think you just vanished and it'd possibly take weeks for them to come after you again," I offered. Discord gasped at this and clutched at his chest.

"Kikiru, that's downright evil. I love it!"

Discord snapped his fingers, reverting his chaotic wonderland into a fairly normal village with thatched-roof houses. When I looked at him again, Discord was wearing a fedora and trenchcoat, carrying a suitcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

"Well, I'm off! Ta-ta!"

He stepped off into nothingness, leaving only the plush version of him to fall into my arms. I stayed there for a moment, wondering what I'd just unleashed upon the world, then I Job Changed back to Summoner without much fanfare and channeled a teleport back to the Castle of Unity. It amazed me how blind ponies could be to their surroundings. All of that and not a single one of the six mares had so much as glanced in our direction. The teleport finished its countdown and the world faded into the multicolored energy of the Aether.

Author's Note

Okay. This was not how I originally planned for this chapter to go. At all. I'm not sure what happened during the writing process, but this was the result. I would like to make a clear note that there is no Romance tag. Letting the characters roll their own way or not, I'm going to do my damnedest to avoid pairings. In other news, there was actually another section being tacked onto the end of this chapter, but I decided to cut it and put it in the next chapter. Unfortunately the transfer screwed up and I now have to rewrite that entire section. Thank you Microsoft Clipboard.

Useful Terms
Primal: While their true nature is still technically unknown, Primals are the "gods" of Eorzea's Beast Tribes given physical form. They often represent or manipulate a specific elemental aspect of Aether, such as Ifrit's Fire affinity or Leviathan's Water affinity. It is currently believed that Primals cannot be summoned or exist on Equestria, but this is not a known fact.
Dragoon: Dragoons are a Damage Job that are known as the ultimate dragon hunters. Armed with spears or lances, Dragoons are capable of incredible acrobatic feats, which they most famously use in their "Jump" skill. Their Relic Weapon is a lance known as Gae Bolg.
Lancer: Lancers are a spear-weilding class of the Adventurer's Guild. Taught to be fearless in battle, Lancers were often deployed in the Everfree both during and after their training, where the dangerous creatures would constantly test their skills and courage. Many of the more famous Lancers of the Equestrian Adventurer's Guild were Pegasi, who took advantage of their flight to allow for additional vectors of attack.
Archer: Armed with a bow, Archers played a more supporting role in the Adventurer's Guild. Equestrian Archers were taught precision marksmanship to best "pin down" enemies and allow for Lancers to close in. Archers are also often instructed in the use of various poisons to help turn the tide against stronger foes. Griffons, with their opposable thumbs, were found to make some of the best Archers.

004

I tumbled out of the other end of my teleport, making a mental note to set up a few more Aetherytes in places I might visit again. There was also an odd feeling of... dissatisfaction, as if I'd missed a major opportunity for something in the middle of my teleport. That couldn't be right though, since it was impossible for mortals to stay in the Aetheric Plane for long without suffering from a sort of energy overload and dying. With a small shrug, I located where my plushie had fallen and pulled it into a quick hug before wandering down the halls to my room.

When I reached the door to my room, I paused. I knew I had the right place, but the door was in much better condition than when I'd left it. Frowning, I slowly pushed the door open, letting out a gasp when I saw what had been done. All of the old furniture had been removed and replaced. The room had been expanded, for lack of a better term, to include additional side rooms to make it more like a proper apartment and less like a half-baked attempt at quarters for a foreign ambassador. The color scheme for the main room followed my Summoner robes, all shades of green, gold and bronze. The carpet was plush and matched the shade of my robes perfectly. It already made me want to get a door mat and insist on visitors wiping their feet/hooves/whatever before entering. Not that I was liable to have too many visitors anyway, but still.

It seemed that whoever was responsible for the renovations had at least somewhat predicted this desire, setting a coat hanger and shoe rack next to the door. With a smile on my face, I quickly undid the top laces of my boots and tugged them off, then hung up my robe. After a moment of internal debate, I added my headband to the rack. I usually didn't remove it, thanks to a specific marking on the middle of my forehead that could very easily be mistaken as a Talent Mark. It was a tiny silver shield, actually made of metal but fused to my skin by unknown means. I'd tried to remove it in the past... only to find that it was impossible to do so by normal or magical means.

I let out a long sigh and my negative emotions with it. Upon seeing that my new bookshelves were fully stocked, I made my way over to take a look.

"Discord..." I gasped, reaching out to let my fingers brush over the bindings of each book. The Lord of Chaos was responsible for this, I had no doubt. Who else could manage to track down or create copies of every book from my old library at the Adventurer's Guild? No, it went further than that. Discord wasn't the type to stop halfway in anything. With trembling hands I reached out and pulled one of the books from the shelves, the Novice's Guide to Alchemy that I'd added my personal notes to back when I was first learning the local methods for brewing potions. It didn't even come close to Zebraic Alchemy, but it had given me a starting point. On muscle memory I flipped through the pages to a simple potion that would help speed the recovery of injuries when ingested. In my original copy, I'd made several notes about how the base materials were poisonous if taken in large doses or not brewed properly.

Sure enough, I found my old shoddy penmanship dotting the margins and around the images, effectively ripping apart the recipe with criticism.

"Now now, dry your tears, my dear," Discord spoke, growing out of my plushie and giving me a firm hug. "It's the least I could do to make sure my new friend is comfortable."

"I thought I'd have to start over from scratch... but it's all here! How did you even-"

Discord pressed a claw to my lips, giving me a big grin.

"Ah ah ah, trade secrets. Suffice it to say that everything you owned should be somewhere around this place. I did... update a few things though. Those Ponies are still using quills, blegh."

"I never did quite get used to it either. Give me a ballpoint pen any day of the week," I rolled my eyes, smiling at my only real friend now. With a sweep of his hand, Discord produced a generic pen without any brand markings. I giggled at his silliness and gave him another hug. "So, how do I get ahold of you? I know you just showed up this time, but we never really talked all of this out."

Discord's expression turned serious for a moment, and he gently turned my face up to meet his eyes.

"Rest assured that if you call for me, I will hear you. No matter where I am or what I'm doing."

Then, just to break the tone, he booped me on the nose. We both shared a small laugh at that and I nestled my head against Discord's chest again.

"You're incredibly affectionate," Discord commented, but made no move to get rid of me.

"I can't help it! Nearly everything sapient on Equis is soft or fluffy! Sometimes both!"

"Well if you don't mind, I need to get back to work. There's this lovely little border town that's just perfect for stirring up chaos. Ta-Ta!" Discord shrank back into my plush and his magical signature vanished from my senses. With a smile on my face I continued exploring the apartment, noting that Discord wasn't kidding at all when he said he'd updated things. While the main room was still fairly standard, the rest of the apartment was up to Modern standards in technology. For the first time since coming to Equis, I had a working refrigerator and microwave! That's not to mention the shower and other bathroom amenities.

I'd adapted to the technology level back when I'd first arrived in Equis, but I couldn't deny that having those comforts back was a huge blessing.

"So," I murmured aloud, sitting in the kitchen with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. "What do I do now?"

Sure, having a comfortable base of operations was nice, but I didn't really know where to go from there. At the very least, I needed to re-establish communication with the other nations. Maybe see if any of my old friends or their descendants were still around and willing to lend a helping hand. I also needed to get caught up on events while I was sealed. Surprisingly little news reached me while I was imprisoned. I hadn't even known about Celestia's betrayal until I was freed. That unfortunately meant that the official history books in Equestria would likely be telling a whitewashed version of history. From Twilight's reactions, I knew that even she hadn't been told the true events.

It made me wonder just what Celestia had really been up to all of these years that would require her to keep secrets even from the ponies closest to her. I knew Celestia. If she took a student, they were treated as her children in all but name.

Ugh, I was going in circles. After downing the rest of my snack and tossing the glass into the sink, I returned to the main room and flopped down on my bed. Emmy slowly blinked open her eyes before wiggling her way over and cuddling up. After a few seconds of ear scratches, she was out like a light again. With nothing better to do, I closed my eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position as well, hugging my Discord plushie with one arm and Emmy with the other.

As I observed the village that was Discord's former playground, I had to stop myself from screaming my anger to the heavens. Even after Discord has torn the place apart with his Chaos Magic, not a single Royal Guard or alternative security force was visible. Back in my day, no town ever went undefended if we could help it. The civilians just went about their lives without a care in the world, many probably not even remembering that the Lord of Chaos had even invaded the day before. It was sickening and disturbing. Sure, constantly dwelling on an enemy wasn't healthy or good, but pretending they never existed in the first place would only lead to disaster later down the line. I'd given Discord an alternative target for the time being, but there was nothing really stopping him from launching another major attack on Equestria.

How could this be the path Celestia had chosen? She put all of her trust, her entire nation, onto six mares that weren't remotely combat trained. Discord thankfully wasn't the physically violent type, or the Elements of Harmony could have been rendered completely useless with a single stroke. I couldn't guarantee that future threats would be so generous.

"Time to go all-in," I sighed, rising from my hiding spot in the bushes and startling a random mare into fainting. If that was the average pony's reaction to an unfamiliar being low on the visually-threatening scale, I hated to see what they'd do when faced with a real scare. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or motivation to change the baseline reactions of an entire nation. That work would have to fall to someone with far more patience. No, my target was Twilight Sparkle. I would teach her to fight, to lead, whether she liked it or not. Even if the Elements of Harmony were used on me in retaliation, I would not condemn the world to Celestia's flawed views.

First, I needed to find out where Twilight Sparkle actually lived. It shouldn't be too hard, considering she had a fairly strong magical signature for a unicorn. It would easily stand out against the background magic of the village. Seeking to distance myself from the unconscious mare, I stepped out into the street. Maybe I'd have better luck revealing myself to the larger populace.

"Kweh!"

"Chocobo?" I blurted dumbly, hearing that all too familiar call.

Then, the world became a wall of brilliant yellow feathers. I was surrounded and consumed by the fluff, with no escape in sight. My ears were flooded with happy chirps and trills, slowly bringing a smile to my face.

"Windy! Git back here ya' rascal!" A young filly's voice called, possessing an oddly familiar accent that I just couldn't place.

"Yeah! How are we supposed to get our Cutie Marks in Chocobo Taming when you keep running off!" Okay, another filly's voice and they were starting to sound really familiar. Hoping that my training methods were still being used, I whistled out a trio of notes.

Instantly, the chocobo bounced off of my smothered body and landed two meters away, snapping a sharp salute with one wing. After brushing a helping of dirt and feathers off of my clothes, I turned a critical eye to the giant flightless bird that had tackled me. Where my chocobos had been lean muscle to serve as runners and mounts, these chocobos had clearly been born and bred for heavy labor. Satisfied, I whistled another three tone code and watched as the Chocobo relaxed.

"Now, what's this I hear about you causing trouble?" I demanded, fixing the Chocobo with a stern glare. The Chocobo's blue eyes widened in shock and it immediately began trying to plead its case in Warks and Kwehs. I was having none of that, stomping forward and prodding him on the beak with a single finger.

"Listen here, young boko. Just because you're bigger and faster than those fillies does not give you the right to run off on your own and cause havoc. They're responsible for making sure you're taken care of... and you're responsible for keeping them safe from harm."

I heard a quarted of confused voices and let out a short sigh, navigating to a doorstep nearby to sit. My audience, once I saw them, consisted of the same three fillies that had visited the Statue Garden in Canterlot. I had a feeling that they didn't even know they were partially responsible for freeing Discord, but that wasn't relevant to the lecture.

"Despite being recognized for 'bringing Chocobos to Equestria', I didn't personally train many aside from the first clutch of eggs. Once they'd grown up and started selecting mates, I knew that I'd have to teach others how to raise Chocobos as well. Otherwise I'd be buried by the work. It took a few clutches to really iron out the details, but we found that it was often best to pair a single trainer with a single chocobo. This allowed the trainer to focus entirely on that chocobo and bring out its fullest potential and established a very personal bond between the two. In return the Chocobo became the trainer's protector and bodyguard, using their great strength and speed to intercept threats before they could get anywhere near the trainer. Now I won't deny that Equestria's a decent bit more peaceful than I left it, but the point still stands. The Chocobo and trainer have to grow and work together, or neither will reach their full capabilities."

"Get away from those fillies you bucking monster!"

Oh, that was an angry voice. I dove off of the doorstep less than a second before an angry blue blur slammed through where I'd been sitting. Only splinters remained of the innocent wooden door that had been behind me, a testament to how much raw power the attacker had put into their flight.

"Watch your language. There are impressionable minds around," I commented dryly, noting the wide-eyed fillies glancing between the house and me. The rainbow-maned pegasus from Twilight's group stomped out of the home, snorting in barely contained rage.

"You're going down, even if I have to follow you to the ends of Equis!" She spoke, pawing at the ground like a bull preparing to charge. Such determination. She would have made it far in the Adventurer's guild with that attitude. Maybe...

"Alrighty, let's get this over with. Henshin!" I summoned the Dragoon Soul Stone and crushed it again for dramatic effect, mostly to establish the false belief that I actually needed to do that to Job Change. The Princesses would probably debunk it if asked, but for the mean time it gave me an element of surprise. I pulled Gae Bolt from my back and stabbed the dark spear into the ground point-first, then took a few steps away. The pegasus seemed a little more calm and satisfied now that I had accepted her challenge, I spotted the rest of the group nearby, with Twilight Sparkle sporting a rather impressive set of bandages around her muzzle.

"Are they going to get involved?" I asked my opponent, waiting for the fillies and their chocobo to scramble out of range.

"No. This is between you and me."

I nodded and widened my stance, finding the rhythm of the world around me. I won't deny that I didn't have nearly the Martial Arts skills on my own that the Monk Job would allow, but I'd done my share of training with the Pugilists. I blinked in surprise when the pegasus rose up onto her rear hooves and nearly matched my form.

"Oh this is going to be fun. Show me a good time!" I called, my mouth twisting into a vicious grin. If one of the Elements of Harmony's bearers had knowledge of the Adventurer's Guild Disciplines, then I already had a foothold in their group. The Pegasus clapped her forehooves together, creating a nearly invisible swirl of wind around them. My excitement only grew. She was a Pugilist and advanced enough to use Fists of Wind? I could only wonder what else she had up her metaphorical sleeves.

"Rainbow Dash, be careful!" This came from the other Pegasus of Twilight's group, a frail thing in pastel yellow and pink. Just a glance had the poor mare shaking and attempting to hide behind her long mane.

The distraction nearly cost me the fight. The now-named Rainbow Dash launched herself across the battlefield with nigh-untrackable speed, slamming her forehoof into my chest. Despite the pain, I took the hit and used the proximity to counter with a rapid flurry of light punches. I had to hold back a lot because of my gauntlets, but it was clear that I'd still done some damage. Rainbow tried another swing, but I managed to duck under it and step around to her flank. I put much more force into the open-palmed strike there, knocking the Pegasus to the ground.

"The one problem with the Pugilist forms is that they really weren't designed with Ponies in mind," I stated, stepping back and letting her get up. "It's why Diamond Dogs were the main students of that Discipline. Their bipedal stature allowed them to learn the forms as they were originally envisioned, without needing a filter. There was, however, one specific pegasus I remember that overcame that weakness and even surpassed me in the Way of the Fist."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Rainbow snapped, rising onto her rear hooves again.

"It's odd that a forbidden form of Martial Arts would manage to survive right under Celestia's nose. I wonder just how you've managed to keep it a secret this long," I chuckled as I watched the swirl of emotions race across Rainbow's face. "The thing is, you can go further. You'll need to if you want to survive being the Bearer of an Element. When you're ready to get serious about your role to Equestria, seek me out."

"You're not getting away!" Dash surged towards me again, clearly feeling her injuries now. I didn't even need the traditional Pugilist Forms for this one. I grabbed Rainbow's foreleg and stepped in, quickly turning and throwing her over my shoulder. With the loud thump of Rainbow Dash hitting the dirt, all activity on the street stopped. The crowd of ponies that had formed during our scuffle let out a collective gasp at one of their own being so soundly defeated. Just to stay consistent with my appearances, I called out the Summoner Soul Crystal, a misshapen green stone engraved with the image of a unicorn's horn, then crushed it to change back to my typical attire.

"If I help you up, are you going to attack me again?" I asked, standing over the fallen pegasus. At a slight shake of her head I grabbed the pony and hauled her back to her hooves, then took a few steps away just to be safe.

"Alrighty then!" I said brightly, dusting off my hands, "Now for the real reason I came here. If you wouldn't mind taking this to somewhere a little more private?"

I knew I was running the risk of getting ganged up on by all six of the Elements at once, but hopefully my little demonstration with Rainbow Dash would curb the desires to pummel me. Or at the very least, temper those desires with caution. Still, after a short and inaudible conference, the six Bearers nodded and led the way.

The chosen meeting ground was a library carved into a tree. If a Conjurer hadn't been involved in its construction, I'd eat my grimoire. The interior of the library was lit by a yellow Arcane Lamp set into the cieling, mimicking the color of natural sunlight. While the ponies all settled into various locations around the room, including the three fillies and their chocobo companion, I took a seat on the solitary red couch in the library's main room and tried to make a larger shape of what I was going to say.

"So first off, introductions. My name is Kikiru Kiru, as you likely all know by now."

"Can we just get to the point?" This came from the cowboy hat-wearing pony. "All I want ta know is why you sided with Discord."

"Ah, cutting straight to the point. I like that. Unfortunately, the answer's a bit complicated," I replied with a short chuckle.

"Twilight? What's going... on..." The new voice, which sounded like a young colt's, came from the top of the staircase nearby. I glanced up and felt my breath catch in my throat. I knew that the difference in time would mean that my old friends would have moved on and started their own families. Seeing their descendants was another matter entirely. Standing at the top of the stairs was a young dragon, barely a hatchling. His purple scales and green spike crest marked him as the child of one of my oldest friends. Just what one of Tiamat's brood was doing in Equestria was beyond me, but there was no mistaking his lineage. As if to further confirm it the Dragoon Soul Crystal began to emit a comforting warmth, much like I'd felt when cuddling up to Tiamat's hide.

"Spike, please go back upstairs. I don't think this conversation is for young dragons. Or ponies for that matter," Twilight said, glancing at the three fillies. Taking the hint with mild grumbling, they made their way up the staircase with the Chocobo, leaving the room in silence.

"Does he know his heritage?" I asked, looking at Twilight.

"What do you mean?" She responded, tilting her head in confusion.

"The easier question is to ask what your relationship is with... Spike and how you came to meet him," I said.

"What does Spikey-wikey have to do with anything?" The posh white Unicorn asked.

"Please, just answer the question. I need to know," I practically begged. I had to know why one of my friend's children was in Equestria and not with his mother, who would have entered the Great Wyrm stage of her life by now.

"I hatched Spike during my entrance exam to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twilight admitted. No. No. Please, tell me she didn't... "We grew up together and he's been my Number One Assistant since I started my Independent Study."

"Did Celestia ever say where she got his egg from?" I asked, forcing my face into a blank mask. Twilight considered the question for a moment, then shook her head.

"Not that I can think of. I just never really saw the need to ask. Why are you so curious about Spike?"

My shoulders slumped. Keeping up the mask was just too much effort.

"He's the son of one of my best friends," I explained, "If Spike's egg was used as an entrance exam, then Tiamat is dead. She would never have willingly given up one of her children."

"I'm not sure I like what you're implying," The posh unicorn said, sharing a look of unease with the rest of the Bearers.

"Then I'll come right out and say it. Spike's egg was stolen by whoever killed Tiamat. Considering that she would have hit the peak of her power some time after my sealing, that limits the list of possible suspects by quite a fair margin," I stated, "What further limits the list is the fact that it ended up at one of Celestia's schools."

"Pfft, Like the Princess would really go and fight some random dragon friend of yours," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You just want it to be her so you can say you had a good reason to join Discord."

"Oh I already have plenty of good reasons to side with Discord," I laughed darkly, giving the Pegasus a vicious grin. "This is just more fuel for the fire."

"I've known the Princess for years," Twilight protested, "She wouldn't do something like that!"

"I guarantee you I've known her for longer. I've seen under that mask she loves to wear for the public. I will admit Celestia can be a good teacher, a good mother. Heaven knows she frequently came to make sure I hadn't buried myself in paperwork and forgot to eat or sleep," I sighed, remembering those blissful days before the whole world went wrong. "Even after sacrificing myself to seal Discord and running to her first-thing to warn her of his escape, all I received in return was a glare and a death threat. Your precious princess has had thousands of years to perfect the art of lying through her teeth. I only hope you'll see the truth before you're tossed aside like trash for her next 'faithful student'."

"So you're being a big meany-pants because you're mad at the princesses!" The Pink-on-pink Earth Pony mare declared, pointing a hoof at me in accusation.

"Tell me, pony, have you ever been betrayed? Truly stabbed in the back by those you thought you could trust with your deepest, darkest secrets?" I asked, looking the mare in her blue eyes. "Can you even imagine how it feels to see one of your best friends for the first time in centuries and be told that you're not wanted or needed anymore? I have. It hurts. It hurts worse than any physical or emotional wound I've ever suffered before and let me tell you, I've suffered quite a few."

With the sound of a balloon deflating, the pink pony's poofy mane went completely straight and flat, tears welling in her eyes. Instantly her friends all gathered around, trying to comfort the mare and sending quick glares my way. I snorted in disgust. They just dropped everything to run to each others' aid. They were like... toys, so easily thrown around and broken. It was disturbing to me, to see this was my intended replacement.

"When you're actually ready to actually listen to what I have to say, come find me. Hopefully a competent threat doesn't appear in the mean time, because you six aren't ready to do what's needed to protect Equestria."

When my words were ignored, I snapped my fingers to activate Swiftcast and Teleported back to the Castle of Unity. I trudged down the dusty halls, eager to end the day.

Maybe I was a bit jealous of those six. They were so blissfully naive. Like little children, they couldn't understand things outside of their personal experience. They couldn't feel my pain, understand what I'd lost.

So many years were gone, so many friends and allies felled by the unforgiving advance of time. Their faces flashed before my mind's eye, one by one. I slowly pushed open the door to my apartment as the first tears fell, hugging Emmy close when she ran to meet me. Through the haze of tears I managed to get off my boots and robes, leaving them where they fell. I collabsed sobbing onto the bed shortly after, holding my Summon close in one arm while the other pulled my Discord plushie into a hug.

I'd lost so much on a misguided gamble and it had proven to be worthless in the end. If I'd just talked to Discord instead of treating him as any other threat, none of this would have happened. I'd be sleeping at the Adventurer's Guild surrounded by friends and family, instead of crying myself to sleep in a ruined and empty castle.

Author's Note

I'm tempted to just toss the Sad tag on here, but it seems a little early to say for certain.
Anyways, I included the brief fight with Rainbow Dash here, cut from its original place in the last chapter as part of the Discord encounter. We see in the series that she knows martial arts, so I translated that into the Pugilist class from FFXIV and the preservation of knowledge through family history.
This chapter was also supposed to be Kikiru's introduction to her Displaced status and open it up to crossovers... but that just didn't quite happen. Maybe next chapter.
Oh, the little bit at the beginning was a reference to another piece of cut content. A certain Final Fantasy character was supposed to appear and provide the introduction, but I decided against it for now.

EDIT: The final section of this chapter has been changed significantly from the original version. Basically some of my BS was called out and I decided to make a few changes to incorporate the suggested material.

Useful Terms
Pugilist: Through rigorous training in martial arts, Pugilists are a force to be reckoned with. Often forgoing weapons entirely, Pugilists instead rely on speed and strength to overcome their enemies. Unfortunately, the origins of this class of the Adventurer's Guild make it difficult for non-bipedal species to adapt. The most powerful Pugilists were Diamond Dogs due to their balance between speed and strength, though there were several notable Minotaur Pugilists as well.
Monk: The Monk is a Damage Job and a direct upgrade to the Pugilist. Like the Pugilist, they use only their fists and knowledge of Martial Arts in battle, but can bolster their abilities by opening their spiritual gateways, known as Chakras. The Relic Weapon for the Monk is a pair of gauntlets known as Sphairai.
"Fist" Abilities: An interesting trait of the Pugilist and Monk is the ability to alter one's internal flow of energy and change its elemental aspect. These changes have differing effects based on the element used. For example, the "Fists of Wind" ability increases the user's speed, while the "Fists of Earth" ability makes them more resilient.

005

I finished penning the letters I intended to send to the current leaders of Equis' other nations. My intent with the letters was to re-establish myself as a free and independent agent for hire. Basically, I was re-building the Adventurer's Guild from scratch despite the likelihood of Celestia shutting it back down as soon as she caught wind of it. It was honestly the only thing I could think of to do since the Bearers of Harmony didn't seem interested in coming to me for training.

The method to get the letters out was rather simple once I re-read my notes in preparation for constructing a new Aetheryte. The Aetheryte Network needed extra Aetherytes to act as a relay between two distant points. However, the number of relays needed and the distance that could be traveled depended largely on the mass of what was being transported. A Carbuncle like Emmy was composed almost entirely of magic with a gem serving as its physical core. That meant I could send her pretty much anywhere on the Network with a slightly varying cost. Considering that I could still detect several distant Aetherytes, it wouldn't be too hard to send Emmy wherever I needed her to go. The only problem would be waiting for her to return before I could send the next one.

I groaned and facepalmed, realizing that I'd forgotten another one of my resources as a Summoner. Since Emmy was effectively permanent now, then I should be able to summon my other Carbuncle without issue.

"Emmy, I'm going to see if your big sister can come out to play," I told my familiar as I cracked open the Veil of Wiyu. "If you both can't be out at the same time, then I'll call you right back out, okay?"

"Kyu?" Emmy tilted her head in confusion, pawing uncomfortably at the scroll tied to her back.

"It also means you won't have to deliver as many letters," I added, giving her a quick ear scratch for the trouble. Once I'd found the page I was looking for, I rose from my seat and stepped out of the apartment so I was certain I'd have enough space.

As I poured power into the spell, a yellow runic circle appeared beneath my feet and a trio of yellow gems appeared in mid-air, suspended in bubbles of magic. Just like when I'd summoned Emmy, the circle and focusing gems began to circle faster and faster, matching the swell of magic from my body. After a minute of this, the three gems altered course, colliding in front of my outstretched hand.

"Kyu!" A new Carbuncle mewed, its voice just slightly deeper than Emmy's. The yellow Summon looked much the same as its Emerald counterpart, but with a bright yellow coat and an overall fluffier appearance.

Within seconds I was tackled by both of my Carbuncles, eager to greet me and each other. It was honestly the first time I'd summoned the Topaz Carbuncle, but she was already greeting me like an old friend.

"Okay, just need to make sure you're permanent like your sister," I told my new familiar. "It wouldn't do to send you out to deliver letters but despawn the second you go through the Aetheryte."

We walked down the corridors to the hall that held the Castle's Aetheryte. Emmy was just as boisterous as ever, when she wasn't napping on my bed. In contrast Topaz, or Paz as I'd chosen to call her, walked sedately by my side. Sure her tail was wagging, but she always stayed within arm's reach. It was likely due to the Topaz Carbuncle's normal role as a bodyguard for Arcanists.

Huh... if there's an Emerald Carbuncle to act as a Caster, a Topaz to act as a Tank... I should look into making a Garnet Carbuncle to be a stand-in melee attacker. Or a Sapphire to act as a healer!

"Kyu!" Emmy complained, pawing at my leg. I blinked out of my thoughts and saw that we'd arrived at the Aetheryte already. Grinning guiltily, I made a mental note to look into making more Carbuncle varieties later.

"Well, Emmy, time for you to take on your first solo mission," I told her, bending down to hug my furry friend. "Be careful, alright? The Zebra Tribes should be friendly, but there's always a risk of something going wrong. If it does, high-tail it back to the Aetheryte as fast as you can. The letters are important, but your safety is even more important to me, got it?"

Emmy sat back on her haunches and snapped a salute, then she vanished in an orb of void energy. I let out a long sigh and picked up Paz, cuddling my other Carbuncle as I walked back to my room. I set the yellow fluff ball down on my bed and backed out of the apartment again.

"Stay here and get comfortable. I'm going to test and see if you're like your sister," I warned Paz, then used the only Aetheryte Link within range. It was a risky location to warp to, but I wasn't going to burn all of my magic in case Paz wasn't permanent. Besides, Canterlot was on top of several Ley Lines that I could use to refill my magic reserves quickly through Aetherflow.

I appeared in the Canterlot Castle Hedge Maze, which is was quite surprised to find completely intact. Apparently Discord had undone much of his wide-spread chaos in favor of keeping himself hidden for as long as possible.

After waiting a few minutes to be certain I wasn't going to have the Royal Guard or Princesses dropping in on my head, I focused my will inwards and checked on my bond with my Familiars. In most cases I couldn't sense them if we weren't within a few meters of each other, but a bit of pre-trip experimentation with Emmy had proven that I could still sense my Carbuncles from any distance so long as I focused on their link to me.

I let out a sigh of relief once I'd confirmed that both of my familiars were still summoned and where they were supposed to be. While I had the chance to test it, I tugged on Paz's bond and let out a small cheer when she suddenly appeared next to me. I could call on my Carbuncles from any distance too. That would be extremely useful if I needed to bring them out of danger or call them in to help with a battle.

After a minute of experimenting with a few possibilities, I sighed and flopped down on my rear. It was only a matter of time until Luna or Celestia paid me an inevitable visit. They knew I was in Canterlot by now and clearly they didn't want to send the Royal Guard or the Bearers after me directly. That was the weird thing. The Princesses hated me, but they didn't want the public to see me as a villain. Why? I had too many questions and no useful answers.

"Oh..." A feminine voice spoke, "You aren't what I was expecting."

I glanced up and had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Standing in front of me was a slim pink alicorn with a very familiar crystal heart as her Talent Mark. I could only assume she was the Crystal Empire's current ruler, but I had no idea what she was doing in Canterlot, let alone bothering me for.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Empress, but I didn't come out here expecting an audience," I replied, standing and dusting off my robes. Paz warily stepped between me and the Alicorn, her hackles raised.

"Empress? I'm sorry, my name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadance if you like," The Alicorn seemed genuinely confused by my use of her proper title... which did not bode well for the current status of the Crystal Empire.

"So you aren't the rightful heir to the Crystal Empire's throne? Kind of hard to believe with that Mark," I commented.

"I... I am, but the Crystal Empire's been gone for nearly a thousand years. My Cutie Mark symbolizes my position as the Princess of Love," Cadance admitted, glancing back at her flank. I had to immediately reign in the new swirl of emotions that threatened to break my composure. The Crystal Empire was gone? I needed to know more and I needed to know now.

"Do you know what happened to it?" While I hadn't been the closest of friends with the original Princess Amore, I was still interested to know what had become of her.

"Auntie won't tell me the full story," Cadance sighed, "It seems to be a recurring theme with her... oh, sorry, just... forget I said that, please?"

"Your aunt is... Luna?" I asked. It would make sense that the Alicorns would be related in some form.

"By extension, yes. But I was talking about Princess Celestia," Cadance admitted, blushing in shame. Now there was a nugget of information. Celestia was keeping the true history from her own family?

"Well, it's been an enlightening conversation, Princess," I said, giving a short curtsy, "But I have other obligations."

"Wait, please," Cadance interrupted me before I could link to the Aetheryte and teleport back to the apartment.

"Do you actually need something?" I asked, turning back to the particular pink pony princess. She fumbled for a moment before sighing and speaking up.

"I came out here because I felt a heart more broken than anything I've ever sensed before."

"Ah, that does make some sense. I'm sorry for interrupting your day," I smiled sadly at Cadance. I'd known the rare few Empaths that trained with the Adventurer's Guild. Every time a particularly strong negative emotion appeared near them, they were compelled to seek it out and do their best to nullify it. I imagined Cadance had it even worse off with her Alicorn Status amplifying her empathic abilities even further.

"It's just, I want to help, but I don't know how!" Cadance declared, starting to pace in a small circle. "There are so many tangled threads of emotion that I can't even begin to sort them all out!"

"Then don't," I spoke gently, wrapping the panicking Alicorn in a gentle hug before she could make another circuit. "You control your abilities, not the other way around. I'll be fine as-is for a while longer, alright?"

"But-"

"No buts," I replied, gently stroking her striped mane. Cadance was starting to calm down, but she was still trembling, wanting so desperately to fix an array of problems that even the best psychiatric care likely couldn't touch. Once I was sure the Princess wasn't going to have another panic attack I released her and stepped away. No need to make things uncomfortable, even if she was surprisingly cuddly. Damn it Kikiru, stop. Ponies do not exist solely to be hugged by you.

"Thank you," Cadance said with a small smile.

"Any time, Princess. Now, I really do need to be going," I replied as Celestia's magical signature spiked in intensity. With one final wave, I teleported away.

I deliberately avoided going into the Bearer's town or Canterlot for the following week after my meeting with Princess Cadance. Considering how much raw fury I'd felt from Celestia's magical signature, I didn't want to push her too much farther.

While there were several projects rolling around in my head, I spent much of the week relaxing and being a bit lazy. It was a luxury I didn't have back when I ran the guild, despite my attempts at delegation. Even the few times I'd attempted to resign had lead to some catastrophe or other that required me to take up the position again.

Emmy returned after four days, but brought no reply with her. She hadn't been harmed, but there was little chance that her message had actually reached its intended destination. After a hug and a brushing, I sent Emmy out to the next target. The Griffons were proud warriors but often were undercut by their swolen greed. I doubt even Celestia's influence could change something so critical to their culture and identity.

Similar to Emmy, I sent Paz out as well after finishing the harness to hold her letter. She was sent to the proud and industrious Minotaurs. They took great pride in personal strength of mind and body and had often served many roles for the guild. Their metalworking skill was nigh-unmatched, even by a pony with a smithing Talent Mark. The forge I'd found in the lower reaches of the castle ruins had all of the marks of being Minotaur-made. Getting it back in working order was on my eventual to-do list, since I'd need it to craft the casing and focusing rings for any new Aetherytes.

Ugh, even when I was supposed to be relaxing I couldn't stop thinking about work that needed to be done.

"Maybe I should call up Dissy and get a bit further away from it all," I muttered to nobody in particular. Then I paused when I realized that I'd automatically called Discord "Dissy". Maybe Celestia had placed some curse on Equestria that was making me more passive and childlike the longer I stayed around. It would certainly explain why I've been more huggy than usual lately.

Then I considered the amount of magical power Celestia would need to create such a large pacification effect and scratched the possibility off my mental list. Even a slow or subtle field would likely take more magic to cast and sustain than all three princesses had at their disposal.

With a long sigh I left my apartment, content to just wander the ruins for now. It still had several secrets left to uncover. All of those traps had to be guarding something in the bowels of this place.

On my way to the Castle of Unity's entry hall, where I typically started any expedition, I heard the clopping of frenzied hooves. My brain easily did the math. Someone, likely a pony but possibly any other hooved race, was attempting to use the castle as a safe haven. Something had frightened them enough to run, which would make all sorts of noise in the Everfree and draw undue attantion. The solution was simple: find the scared person and calm them down, then deal with any threats that may have entered the ruins after them.

When I finally reached the entrance of the castle, my eyes narrowed in anger. A pack of Timber Wolves had closed in and were circling around a young Changeling Drone. The poor thing was barely out of nymphhood and severely malnourished, judging by the holes in is legs. Timber Wolves were an expression of the Everfree Forest's will, natural golems powered only by wild magic. Fortunately, that meant I had the upper hand.

The White Mage Soul Crystal was practically singing for me to use it. Its physical form was like a miniature sun when I called it forth, drawing the attention of the Timber Wolf pack.

When the White Robes settled around my body, I opened myself to nature and immediately felt the Everfree's spirit settle around me like an old friend's embrace. We hadn't had time to properly meet during my impromptu shower when I first broke free and I hadn't had need of the White Mage Crystal until now.

The Timber Wolves bounded over to me like eager puppies, yipping and barking happily. I made sure to give each of them a round of ear scratches before sending them on their way. I stayed in White Mage and sent a distinct feeling of displeasure to the Everfree's spirit over its actions towards the young Changeling.

The Everfree Forest's spirit seemed surprised. I could feel and see the tendrils of its magic sweeping over the little love bug. Then, the spirit admitted that it hadn't felt a Changeling in a long time and had almost entirely forgotten what their presence felt like. It only served to confirm another fear of mine. The Changelings had been expelled from Equestria and had likely been forced to take up unhealthy methods to obtain the love they needed for survival. Of all the betrayals, of all the things Celestia could have done, this ticked me off the most. The Changelings had lived in symbiosis with Ponies since their release by Starswirl. A Changeling Drone was almost like a pet, or another family member, willingly pairing themselves with a family that needed that extra bit of companionship or help and accepting their love and gratitude in return. To reduce any Changeling to the malnourished mess I was seeing would have been a crime punishable with several years imprisonment back in the old days.

I stepped forward, ignoring the Changeling's frightened squeaks as it tried to scrabble to its hooves and flee from me. Before it could get too far I pounced, grabbing the 'ling in a hug and pushing as much love as I could into it. It wasn't hard to remember what I loved about their species. Changelings were cute and cuddly in their own way, with those glowing blue pools for eyes that managed to convey so much emotion in their own special way. Their silly blue "saddles", which hid their wings while at rest, always looked so silly and adorable. Despite their natural carapace, Changelings also had a ticklish little coat of velvety black fur that just felt so satisfying to the touch.

That was to say nothing of the myriad of personality quirks I'd seen in the Changelings, making each Drone unique in their own special way.

Before my eyes the Changeling's Hunger Holes began to shrink. Its ears and leathery head fin grew less ragged, Even the Changeling's eyes seemed to gain a new brightness.

When the Changeling had its fill, I felt drained beyond all recognition. It was worth it though, to see one of the little love bugs alive and fed in this day and age.

"Sorry... I can't give you... more," I wheezed out, weakly hanging onto the little 'ling. "You should probably... take that back to your siblings. They could use a good meal I imagine."

It was getting really hard to keep my eyes open. Some part of my barely-conscious brain knew I'd given too much of my energy to the Changeling, even as it wiggled out of my grasp and fled. I didn't regret it for a second. Chrysalis was one of my closest friends and I'd do anything within my power to help her children.

I could only pray that she wouldn't betray me like the rest.

Author's Note

Edit: A bit of reader input requested here! Take a look at my blog post for more details and cast in your opinion!
I... I don't even know. The Changelings and Cadance just hijacked this chapter from me. I'd originally intended to handle the altered Lesson Zero here, but instead we were invaded by love-related lore.
Believe it or not, some of that is at least partial canon. The holes in the Changelings are from hunger, as seen in their origin story from the comics. I can't pinpoint the issue for you guys to look at, but it's somewhere in there.
I have been shaping up the larger narrative and making some long-term plans for where this story will go. The question is just how many filler or sidetracked chapters we'll get before then.

Useful Terms
Empath: An empath is a person that can sense the emotions of others nearby. In the case of negative emotions, the Empath is often compelled to find a way to help the person suffering however they can.
Elemental Aspects: When dealing with magical energy, it can some times be altered or "aspected". This aspect represents a different elemental force, often associated with the traditional four elements of Alchemy. Six aspects are officially recognized by most magical scholars, with an additional two being heavily debated. The six official aspects are Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Lightning and Earth. The Two unofficial aspects are Light and Dark, which is sometimes referred to as Void.
Genius Loci: A Genius Loci, or "Spirit of Place" is an intelligent spirit that resides and guards over a specific location.
Topaz Carbuncle: Another Carbuncle that can be summoned by Arcanists, the Topaz Carbuncle is frequently used as a bodyguard or "Tank". It uses the inherent Earth-Aspect of a Topaz to enhance its durability.

006

Someone was carrying me. I could barely open my eyes, but my nose registered the scent of cinnamon. Discord, I thought blearily, my subconscious guiding me to wiggle closer to his chest and the warmth the Chaos Lord provided.

When I next awoke, I was alone in the apartment, tucked into bed and hugging my plushie. A quick inward glance showed that my energy reserves were back within acceptable levels, but I wouldn't be up to fighting any high-tier enemies for another day or so.

With a small yawn, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the kitchen with the plushie still tucked under one arm. Some dim part of my half-awake brain recognized that Discord was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. He could wait. I needed caffeine and needed it now. I popped open the fridge and eyed the shelves curiously, noting that all of my food and drink options had been restocked. All of them were "Chaos" branded, likely as a small joke and reminder from the pseudo-deity of just who I had to thank for my current comforts.

After a moment of browsing, I pulled out a two-liter bottle of Chaos Cola and crawled up onto Discord's lap. The Draconequus glanced down at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just mumbled something unintelligible and tried to twist the cap off my drink with little success.

"You just can't function this early in the morning, can you? Maybe if I'd started my takeover a few hours earlier Equestria would be all mine right now," Discord chuckled, transfiguring the cap of the two-liter into a water bottle's nozzle. I murmured something again and started chugging.

Once I was a little more awake I realized where I was and what I was doing. A bit mortified, I glanced up at Discord, but he'd gone back to reading his newspaper. I felt and heard his barely-contained snorts of laughter. Then, I considered everything and realized that I didn't have anything to be embarassed about. Discord was a friend and if he had any real problem with me using him as a glorified cushion I wouldn't be sitting on his lap.

"So," Discord began, flipping to the comics page, "You've been keeping yourself occupied since we last spoke."

"A bit. Mostly just lazing around and letting my Carbuncles do the leg work," I admitted, then turned and gave him a proper hug. "Thank you for making them permanent by the way. It's a lot more fun with them around."

"Oh it was nothing. A small favor between friends, hm?" Discord's usual smirk changed into a gentle smile. "On that note, I believe I may have found one of those little crystals of yours."

I sat up, any trace of tiredness gone in a rush of adrenaline.

"You found a Soul Crystal? Do you know which one it is?" I was bouncing in excitement. The Soul Crystals were always well-hidden and well-guarded, but that just made it even more fun to try and retrieve them.

"Calm down, little Summoner," Discord chuckled, patting my head. "I said I may have found one. All I know for certain is that I was wandering around some Diamond Dogs' territory not too far from here and I felt a bit of magic very similar to yours."

"Even a possible Soul Crystal find is better than nothing. I'll get packed up and ready to go after breakfast," I giggled, hopping off the draconequus' lap. He quickly grabbed me and pulled me right back.

"Not a chance, young lady," Discord said, poking me on the nose. "You just gave all of your energy to a Changeling and are still weak. I won't have you running off into danger until you're at your best and have at least your Carbuncles to aid you."

"But... but... Soul Crystal," I whined, pouting at Discord and hugging my plushie to make myself look as cute as possible.

"Possible Soul Crystal," Discord corrected. "Don't think the cute act will work on me either. I can automatically regenerate from the spontaneous heart failure it causes."

"Fine," I slumped, taking another sip from my two-liter. Still, the possibility of getting another Soul Crystal excited me. Each one I collected raised the effective power of the others, as well as providing its own unique skills that I could use to raise my unpredictability in combat.

"You may want to try recruiting the Bearers of Harmony for this expedition," Discord commented, catching me by surprise. Before I could raise my voice in protest, he waved a paw to cut me off. "I know they're not all that skilled in combat, but this would be a nice way to show them just what they should be doing with their position and power. Plus, the more you interact with them on a positive note, the less likely they'll turn on you at Celestia's command, hm?"

He made a fair point, but was it worth it to drag those ponies into danger unprepared? Rainbow Dash may have some experience as a Pugilist, but if things went south I doubted I'd be able to protect all of them.

"I'll make them an offer, but if they decline I won't push the issue," I conceded, if only to prevent any possible argument from Discord.

"That's about as much as I could hope for, I suppose," Discord rolled his eyes, gently depositing me in the chair he'd been sitting in. "While you head to Ponyville, I'll be confirming that it is, in fact, a Soul Crystal. Wouldn't want you wasting your time on a fool's errand. Call if you need anything in the mean time!"

Just like that, he was gone. I didn't waste much more time, grabbing a couple of pop-tart packs from the cabinet and tossing them in the toaster. It wasn't the healthiest breakfast when paired with the cola, but my Lalafell metabolism kept me at an acceptable weight no matter what I chose to eat.

After my "meal", I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth, then Job Changed back to Summoner. After a moment of further consideration, I switched back to White Mage. Summoner may have been my go-to Job, but White Mage would make me look better on the Good/Evil scale thanks to the brighter colors.

As soon as I stepped out of the apartment I could feel the Everfree Spirit settle around me, conveying its concern and mildly chastising me for doing something so reckless. It made me wish that I had any talent for Conjury while I was in my other forms, that I could communicate with the Everfree's spirit even when I wasn't a White Mage. It was another old friend, one that I had neglected far too often from my own preferences.

The Spirit gently began to feed its wild magic into me, easily replacing what I'd given to the Changeling and then some. The message was unspoken, but still there. All is forgiven.

As if to compound on this, a single Timber Wolf loped into the castle's entry hall. I noticed that its back was shaped oddly, somewhat similar to a saddle? The Everfree Spirit seemed to giggle at my confusion as the wolf approached and dropped a small stick at my feet.

When I picked up the stick, I could feel my magic reach out and bond with it, much in the same way it bonded with any Soul Crystals I collected. Then, it reached further and wrapped around the Timber Wolf, who seemed content to lie there and accept whatever my power was trying to do to him. A set of instructions imprinted themselves into my mind, guiding me to throw the stick in a high arc.

In a flash of light the Timber Wolf vanished from in front of me and reappeared in the air to catch the stick. It landed lightly on its paws before walking back to my confidently and dropping the stick at my feet again.

My first non-Chocobo mount, I realized. With a new grin on my face I stepped forward and settled onto the Timber Wolf's back, thanking the Everfree Spirit for its generous gift. With a snap of my fingers the stick was gone, but I could feel its unique place in my powers. So long as I could throw the stick, I'd be able to summon my Timber Wolf anywhere and likely contact the Everfree Spirit through it. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to always have the Timber Wolf with me or use him for minor trips. From what I understood the Timber Wolves were magical constructs, but they also had their own pseudo-intelligence and personalities. Thus, the Timber Wolf had his own wants and needs apart from my wishes or the Everfree's.

With that in mind, I reached forward and gently patted the wooden wolf's head before guiding him out of the castle with my knees.

It was time to see what the Bearers had been up to since I'd last visited.

At the edge of the Everfree I dismissed by Timber Wolf with a round of scratchies. He'd made good time through the twisting trees and unseen paths, saving me from having to deal with any possible monster encounters.

Hopefully the civilian ponies wouldn't be hostile once I reached the town. A friendly village meant that I'd have a safe place to potentially buy and sell much-needed resources. I'd need a supplier of some sort if I was to complete all of the work I had planned. Scavenging would only go so far in the long run and there were things that I just couldn't get out of a centuries-old ruin.

I sighed and subtly cast a Cure spell to remove the headache forming from that line of thought. I needed to keep my focus on the task at hand; recruiting the Bearers of Harmony for an expedition into a dangerous situation that they weren't remotely prepared for.

Yeah... Discord's suggestion or not, this was a terrible idea. I turned on my heel before even reaching the town, only to come face to face with a grinning pink nightmare.

Oh wait, it was just one of the Bearers. She was about as harmless as you could get, as far as appearances went. Pink on Pink for her color scheme, only broken by the trio of balloons for her Talent Mark. Plus, that poofy mane and tail looked so soft and fluffy and... No. I will not hug a random pony just because they look fluffy. Especially not one of the Bearers!

"Done with your internal monologue yet?" The Pink One asked, giggling as she bounced in place.

Wait, how did she know?! I quickly checked my mental shields, but they were all still in place. The Pink One snorted a bit with her barely-suppressed laughter. I had a fair idea of which Element she was supposed to represent, if her Talent Mark and general behavior weren't an act.

"Aww, you're just so adorable! Why can't you be like this all the time instead of a big meany-pants?" The Pink One asked, suddenly invading my personal space with a bone crushing hug. The Tables have turned. They Prey has become the Predator! Abort mission! Abort mission!

My logical response was a tiny squeak as the Pink Pony squeezed the life out of me bit by bit.

"Um... Pinkie Pie, maybe you should let Kikiru go," A soft, meek voice whispered. "I don't think she can breathe right now."

"Oh my gosh! Sorry!" The newly identified Pinkie Pie giggled madly as she released me and bounded a few steps away. "My Pinkie Sense just told me that somepony needed a big hug out here, so I ran over as fast as I could!"

I made an incoherent sound in reply, unable to see much from my position face-down in the grass.

"So, what are you doing out here, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, completely ignoring my downed state.

"I live here, Pinkie," The other voice responded in what I could only imagine as a timid person's deadpan. That's right, I was near a little cottage when I decided to abort my mission.

A surprisingly soft pair of hooves lifted me up and set me back on my feet. Much to my surprise, it was the yellow Pegasus from the Bearers' group. She seemed much less afraid of me now, standing there with a gentle smile on her face. Her Talent Mark was a trio of pink butterflies, which gave me little to no idea of what her actual Talent could be based on her personality.

I glanced towards the cottage nearby, which I'd overlooked during my "internal monologue" as Pinkie put it. Instantly I was surprised by the sheer quantity of animals in a variety of species watching us. Many tried to hide in the thick foliage that covered the cottage's roof, with differing levels of success. After all, it was hard for a bear to be stealthy when its entire head was poking up out of the leaves.

So, a veterinarian? Odd profession for a Pegasus, but maybe... When I met the Bearers of Harmony, I was silently gauging each of them to try and figure out just what path they might be suited for from the classic Adventurer's Guild lineup. Rainbow Dash had been the easiest, since she already had some training, but the others had proven difficult since I hadn't had too much direct interaction with them. Seeing Fluttershy's personality and home firsthand had given me an idea, however. It all depended on whether or not she had the talent.

Unfortunately, I had the feeling Pinkie Pie would object to me taking Fluttershy into the Everfree Forest to test my idea. It'd have to be shelved until Fluttershy sought me out of her own accord, or a better opportunity presented itself.

"What made you come back to Ponyville... um... if you don't mind me asking, that is?" Fluttershy asked, pulling me out of my thoughts once again.

"Yeah! Especially after your big mysterious 'come find me when you're ready' speech!" Pinkie interjected, suddenly reappearing atop Fluttershy's back and waving her forelegs dramatically.

"A friend asked me to look into something," I replied. It was the truth in some form, without giving away details that might cause a negative reactions. I was more concerned with what Pinkie Pie had just done. She'd moved from Point A to Point B without any visible travel time or detectable magic flares. If she could pull things like that off at will, it gave me a sneaky idea for what I could train her in.

"Hmmm..." Pinkie Pie leaned forward, staring at me intensely. She finally lost her balance and fell face-first into the grass, taking Fluttershy with her.

I was fairly confident the sound of my facepalm could be heard from Canterlot. Maybe she wasn't quite cut out for what I was thinking of.

"I'm just... I'm just going to walk away now," I said, taking a long step away from the silly ponies. If anything, this interaction had proven that they weren't ready to go on even the most minor of missions with me, even just as spectators.

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing up from her prone position. "Now that you aren't acting like a big meany-pants I need to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!"

"Probably not the best idea. Especially after I fought Rainbow Dash in the middle of town," I replied as I increased the distance between us. "A 'party' can easily turn into an angry mob complete with torches and pitchforks. Trust me, I know from experience."

"Alright then, you've forced my hoof. It's time to break out my ultimate weapon!" Pinkie Pie declared, bouncing toward me as if her legs were made out of springs. I paused in my escape attempt, curious to see just what a modern pony would consider an "ultimate weapon".

My vision was filled with the image of a pouting pink pony's face. Her baby blue eyes, brimming with tears, pierced into my soul mercilessly.

When I recovered my senses, my arms were wrapped around Pinkie in a fair imitation of the bone crushing hug she'd given me earlier. Unlike me, however, Pinkie Pie didn't seem to mind it in the least. I nearly shoved Pinkie away when I heard a giggle from Fluttershy's direction.

"Uh... anyways... I'd better get going," I said, feeling my cheeks heat up in an embarrassed blush. I really needed to get a better handle on the childish behavior I'd been showing lately.

Even if it'd cost a chunk of my magic, using the Swiftcast Teleport was worth it to get away from the ponies and the insanity they drove me to.

Author's Note

Yes. I know it's shorter than usual.
Yes. I know the quality might be a bit lower than the typical standard.
Yes. I know it's another bloody filler chapter.
Yes. I know there's more Diskiru fluff even though I said I was trying to avoid it.

Don't worry. Things are being set up to earn that Adventure tag. There are two key points that are going to happen very soon, likely within the next chapter or two. Unfortunately, I just couldn't pull a decent second section for this chapter out of my rear even after a week.
On the plus side, Kikiru now has a mount! Yay!