I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!

Chapters

Issue 2-Two Mares' Ancient Ruins Is Another Man's Castle!
Issue 3-A Dragon and a Zebra Walk into a Castle!
Issue 4-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 1]
Issue 5-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 2]
Bonus Issue-Concerned Parties and Concern about Parties
Issue 7-Making a Mark [Part 2]
Issue 7 1/2 ?-The Origin of the Bandit Age
Issue 8-Making a Mark [Part 3]
Bonus Issue-Making a Mark [Epilogue]-Word Gets Around
Issue 10-The More You Learn...[Part 1]
Issue 11-The More You Learn...[Part 2]:The A-Maze-ing Crossover Special
Issue 12-The More You Learn...[Part 3]
Issue 13-The More You Learn...[Part 4]
Bonus Issue-The More You Learn [Epilogue]-Stops Along the Way
Issue 14-A Stranger Comes To Town [Part 1]
Issue 15-A Stranger Comes To Town[Part 2]
Issue 1-An Unconventional Convention (Dis)Appearance
Issue 6-Making a Mark [Part 1]
Issue 9-Making a Mark [Part 4]

Issue 2-Two Mares' Ancient Ruins Is Another Man's Castle!

When it comes to the Everfree Forest it always spoken with a hint of trepidation. For the local inhabitants that live within eyeshot of its border always consider its strange and unpredictable nature. The weather was under its own whims without so much as a pattern to follow its bizarre occurrences. The plants had the outlandish capabilities of blooming into florae with unpredictable properties. None of that compared to the number of ferocious beasts in the Everfree. There is such a wide array of dangers to avoid that whispers spoke of how any who would dare to venture into the deep wood would become lost and no trace of them would be found.

Still, none of that seemed to matter to its newest resident for a few reasons. He wasn’t a native-born member of this realm’s inhabitants so he never heard the tales told of the place, nor developed the opinion to consider the oddity of its self-sufficient ecosystem. The other reason that stuck out the most was that this fellow, a young human male named Ethan McIntyre, was coming to discover that he inexplicably had the means to face the more deadly of Everfree’s challenges.

Take for example where he currently was: near a den of large feline creatures with scorpion tails and bat-like wings. Some had long shaggy manes to indicate they were males, while the ones that didn’t were probably the females due to how they stuck near their cubs. All of them looked threateningly at the approaching person.

For Ethan, accidentally walking in on this should have been the equivalent of being stranded on an island without your pants: an embarrassing way to die. That would be the case were it not for how he had been given something to extend his chances of getting past these creatures: a working suit of the character Mysterio.

“I am a friend.” A slow and steady voice came from the figure, despite no mouth being visible. “I am no danger to your kind. I am a friend.”

Each step he made seemed to release a greenish fog that slowly seeped into the environment. The manticores keep their distance, but still stood ready to strike. Rather than appear intimidated, this ‘Mysterio’ smoothly stepped towards the one at the forefront. Normally, this utterance of words would be synonymous with such terms as ‘suicidal’ and ‘insane’. It wasn’t helped by how calmly he walked up to it with a hand extended as if to pet it. The lead manticore reared itself to be ready to pounce on this imprudent challenge by prey and-

Not Prey! Friend! Happy to see Friend! Friend is good! Friend likes when we stay still to scratch ears! Friend may reward good behavior with snacks!

The manticore sat down like an obedient pet. The other members of his pride convened in a similar manner soon after. Each of them looked a bit sleepy, but enthralled to see the strangely dressed figure with what may have been a big pearl for a head.

“That’s a good fellow.” The strange figure said in a deep echoing voice. He then reached into his cap and pulled out a strip of dried meat to give to the docile manticore. The others slowly walked near as well, to which he broke off more pieces to hand out to the pride. When that was settled he scratched the ears of the last cub who approached him and simply walked out of there with no trouble at all.

That was good. That meant that his heart could cease its thundering in his chest and settle itself now that they were a good distance away from the now settle downed scorpion lions.

“Holy-ulp!” He had to bend over to stop himself from throwing up, which in his fishbowl-like helmet would be a horrible idea. After a good amount of breathing settled his stomach, he stood up taking the time to look around for any sign of civilization or danger. While he was thankful for the lack of the later, he had yet to see any signs of the first. Thus he knew he was still not out of the woods yet, literally!

“I’ve gotta to at least find something to stay in when the night comes.” He spoke aloud to himself. “I may be able to fool the creatures to keep away now, but I’ve got nothing in case I pass out from exhaustion.”

That was only partly true. The truth was Ethan had no idea what his limits were. He only woke up in this costume that gave him the capabilities of the supervillain; it wasn’t like he understood it like the back of his hand yet. For all he knew it was solar powered in which case, come nightfall he’d be worse than a sitting duck to whatever else this forest wanted to toss his way.

So Ethan walked through the woods, not having a set destination in mind, only a general idea that something had to be this way. After all, this forest couldn’t go on forever.

[}0{]

He wasn’t quite sure what time it was. When he was at the convention, it was nearing late into the afternoon. Yet, he got the impression that he may have been walking in these woods since some time in the morning for it was still the better of daytime. In fact the sun didn’t seem to change position whatsoever despite Ethan knowing for a fact that he had been walking for a couple hours now. It was strange and unnerving to someone used to seeing the slight change of it when walking outside. He was certain that it would eventually set, but the mere idea that he might have spent a night here with no memory of it was disturbing.

“There’s gotta be something that explains where I am.” He looked constantly for any signs of civilization. Although he wasn’t quite sure if he would greet the locals with great salutations, considering that so far everything he met seemed to be some sort of predator, and not a person with some form of civility. Still, he hoped to see some sign of reasonable folk living nearby.

Finally, he came to the end of his path at a cliff’s edge. Before he could call it quits, he found an old rope bridge. What struck his attention more was what it led to on the other side.

It was an old ruin of what might have been a castle. It looked as if a massive blast of something struck it long ago, leaving it to appear as it the vegetation growing on it was the handyman’s method of plugging up holes with duct tape. Still despite the age of the structure, it seemed to be his best bet of finding shelter from the woods.

The Mysterio cosplayer walked carefully, but swiftly across the bridge, hoping that it didn’t break under him. Once he made it across, it was but a good stone’s throw until he reached the grand doors of the entryway and let himself inside.

The inner foyer of the castle was a bit better than outside. While the floor had been worn away to dirt and patches of grass, it still seemed well kept. Even the walls made of stone and perhaps some sort of concrete looked like they could stand tall against invaders. What stood out the most in the chamber was this broken fountain in the center. It had no water, but seemed to be incomplete for it had space to display six objects. Perhaps time had destroyed whatever baubles they were?

In any castle, even with the dust and the rubble this castle still held on to the semblance of grandeur it once possessed long ago. Even up here at the top of this platform which once housed two thrones, Ethan felt as if there was a lingering presence of royalty. The only other signs that life was once present were the tattered banners that depicted either the sun, the moon, or some form of flying unicorn.

“I hereby proclaim this derelict place to now be designated as…WONDER CASTLE!” ‘Mysterio’ decreed with his cloak outstretched and flowing behind him. His forced proudly echoed thanks to being next to the thrones and his helmet’s apparent speaker system. “May all come to know that I, the Great Mysterio shall hence reign force as its lord for many years to come! Dah-dah-dah-DAH!”

The only response to this momentous event was that his echoes slowly died away until the silence resumed once more.

“Damn it. I’m lonely.” He said aloud to break the silence. What kind of castle lord was he if he had no subjects to share it with? All of this brought him down to the unignorably honest conclusion: He had no idea where he was and no idea on what he should do.

So as a preventative measure for that depressing thought, Ethan did what he always did when he felt troubled: find something to occupy his mind.

“I suppose the first thing to do is an inventory check.” He said, going through his backpack. “Hopefully I have something I can use.”

He placed each item carefully in front of his as he sat on the steps. However, he found a majority of the items that made his life convenient were not that useful in these circumstances.

Firstly, his cell phone was not useful. For some reason he couldn’t get as much as a bar of signal out here. This worried him because in this day and age he should at the very least be able to contact some sort of emergency number. Of course every attempt was met with silence. That was not good.

He checked out his Vita. Yes, he had a Vita. It was well kept for being through a great deal of playtime. While it did have some of his favorite games to play like the Persona and Disgaea series, they wouldn’t do him much good when it came time to eat. Still, having the device gave him some things to do keep the bucket list dwindling.

He had the chargers for his devices which would be great if this castle even had electricity.

He had a spare undershirt, pair of briefs, sports shorts, and socks in case he got too sweaty in his costume. He also had a t-shirt with a ‘Safari Zone’ logo done in homage of Jurassic Park that he bought. So at least he had some clothes…

Aha! He did have some emergency snacks that he brought to avoid buying food at the convention. He had another bag of beef jerky, a large bag of trail mix, and some animal crackers. These were some of his favorite snacks. All of which would make him thirsty…for water he barely had left in two bottles…and would need to stretch from now until he got back home.

“I am going to die…painfully!” He whimpered. He turned to the last thing he had in his inventory: the box that possessed that shiny object he bought alongside his new costume bits.

He could feel the key to it hanging from the chain he wore around his neck. The thought of seeing this object here too made the chain feel more like a prepared nose. So of course, he was quick to take it off, but that still left the idea of using it to open the box. He was hesitant to approach it, but considered to at least see if it was damaged in the day’s activities.

He stuck the key into the hole. He was about to turn the key until he remembered just what this thing cost him to own.

“All this for a stupid piece of glass that I would have probably left on my desk to collect dust.” He tossed the box and the foyer’s central fountain display thing. “I’m sure it was worth my life!!”

The Mysterio cosplayers rushed to grab at his helmet, hearing a few locks disengage before he was finally able to remove it. He threw it alongside the box as he fell forward in despair. Ethan crouched as he huddled into a ball, finally having enough of this horrific feeling he was struggling to hold back.

He was alone.

He had no idea where he was.

He was trapped in a place full of danger.

He somehow had tools that he never had before.

He had no way to get home.

As the saying goes, while crawling on the ground, you can then see the light; for the light came to Ethan in his time of need. He turned to face the source which was the box that contained that glowing crystal sphere. It must have opened with his throw because the key was turned.

The light shone brightly to Ethan, amplified further by his tossed aside helmet like a light-bulb. Never before had he seen something so beautiful. For a moment, his eyes seemed to glow with blue, then yellow, until they turned back to his usual brown.

“What was that?” He murmured as he picked himself off the ground. His mind seemed to be racing with new ideas as if he was thinking clearer than he ever had in his life. He felt renewed and refreshed.

“No! I may be lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to lie down and just die! I’m better than that!”

He picked up his helmet and set it back on. As he picked up the box, he gave it one last reverent look before locking it shut. Maybe it was good he had the thing after all.

“In any case, the first order of business is clear enough: find a good place to set up as my base of operations.” He announced, finally speaking with a determined tone in his voice. “Once located, I shall ensure that it is hospitable enough for my needs. That and barricaded to stop anything from ambushing me.”

His cloak seemed to wrap up around him, before he turned to walk down a hallway with a sweep of his arm.

“Thus I have decreed it, so mote it be!” The costumed man affirmed with a new distortion in his voice. No longer did he sound like a young fellow with a cheap microphone, but a resolute supervillain named Mysterio.

[}0{]

“Hmm, whoever owned this castle certainly had an artistic affinity for pegacorns.” ‘Mysterio’ noted as he looked at the worn banners. While the sun and the moon he could understand as some sort of sign of royalty, he had yet to interpret why this creature in particular was so predominately featured. “Maybe they were attracted to the idea of widespread purity. In which case they must have been a zealous lot!”

He looked about the other details of the hallway for any signs of what kind of people made this castle. So far, nothing stood out that was intact enough to identify a clue.

When he reached the end of the hallway, he found another pair of massive doors. Opening them led to possibly the best thing he saw all day.

It was a library! Tall shelves of books stretched out as far as his eye could see. Surely this would be the place to answer all of these questions he had.

He picked one up at random, taking heed to consider it carefully as it may be ancient. He was surprised to instead see it so well kept and intact. The environment should have not made such a thing possible; for crying out loud, there wasn’t much of a ceiling to this great hallway of books! Yet this one he held looked fairly new, if worn like an average library shelf resident; not barely holding itself together like an ancient tome from the dark ages.

“The Effects of Sunbeams on Cabbages?” The costumed character looked at the names of the author. “As penned by…Clover the Clever?”

With a title like that, it could be something poetic, or a literal interpretation. Considering it was a pretty large tome, he figured it was more likely to be the first choice. At the very least it would be best to give the book a quick skim to see what it could contain. About fifteen minutes later, he stood up with the book in his outstretched arms.

“This is…! This is literally hundreds of pages about sunbeams hitting cabbages! Somehow this overblown drivel was dedicated to a Princess Platinum?” He threw it over his shoulder. “No wonder no one has heard about it. A timeless classic it is not!”

He picked up another book.

‘’The Chancellor Puddinghead’s Perfect Party by…Smart Cookie?” He pondered. “Is this some sort of children’s book?”

He gave it a chance, and was surprised to find the content was not quite what he expected. It depicted a world in which this ‘Chancellor Puddinghead’ was a head of a class of farmers and other workers who were under the oppressive deal that their crafts and food that they made would be given to two other tribes. One would control the weather, while the other would control the day and night cycle. So long as they were sated, they would not destroy the balance of nature. The story seemed to be a commentary of how Chancellor Puddinghead was telling the author, Smart Cookie, how she was dreaming of a great party in which her oppressed tribe of workers would be able to share their goods with the other tribes as equals instead of being considered lesser to the two. While the Chancellor was presented as silly and scatterbrained, the author seemed to be able to pick up the points of honesty in her words and tried to counterbalance them with her own reasoning of what must be done to actually make such a thing occur.

“An interesting work of allegorical satire! Perhaps this Smart Cookie is like Voltaire.” ‘Mysterio’ said as he closed the novel, and found himself finished with it. It was then that he came to see that the moon was out, showing that he was too engrossed in the book to notice time pass. That and his helmet seemed to be a good enough light source to keep reading in the dark.

Feeling the urge to sleep finally hit him, the special effects wizard settled into the chair he found as best as he could and leaned back for a few minutes rest.

“Well, I hope someone out there is having a better night than I am.” He bid goodnight and snapped his fingers, not caring how he knew that would turn out all the lights on his suit.

[}0{]

While a young man was dressed up as Mysterio was finally going to sleep in his newfound castle, in another place there was someone else still up at this late hour.

Here on a road with no clear destination in mind was somepony who had nothing but her silvery blue nightdress to keep her from the cold wind of the night. Her hair was disheveled due to being forced out of bed at a late hour. Any other night, she would seek shelter to last the night until morning arrived. Yet she continued to run and cry as if she could literally run from the crushing blow of what she lost: her home, her livelihood, and her possessions up to the very clothes that should have been on her back right now!

Was it her fault some dumb kids did something as imbecilic as bring an Ursa into town!? For crying out loud, it was bad enough her day included hecklers that actually went on her stage to try to outdo her act! Could these country bumpkins not tell themselves the difference between what is a embellishment and what is fact? Apparently not!

Here was a young mare with aspirations to finally show the world how great she and her branch of magic were. Now she was without a home, and running into the night like a criminal on the run in basically her underwear! Where could she possibly go from here?

The worst thing…the absolutlety worst thing…was that she KNEW who was partly to blame for this turn of events! There were a handful of individuals, but one in particular stood out in the forefront of her hurtful memories of what happened. It was a purple unicorn mare, whose very name got Trixie’s eyes to water in anger and her blood to boil in fury.

“One Day, I’ll show that Twilight Sparkle who the best unicorn is!” She promised herself, remembering why that unicorn looked so familiar to her. “Then we’ll see how much of spell castor you really are when everyone realizes what you’ve done!”

This was the oath of Bellatrix ‘Trixie’ Lulamoon took and it would be one that would drive her life into a different direction than the one she hoped for.

[}0{]

While a unicorn mare named Trixie was running into the night to parts not known to even her, somepony else was dealing with those ponies that she left behind. For in Ponyville, that night was filled with people who were dealing with the aftershocks of another attack on their homes. Some felt thankful that a talented mare such as Twilight Sparkle was around to deal with the threat. Others felt angered at the thought that it was one braggart showmare that led to an Ursa Minor invading their town. Yet all of them were feeling free of the stress the event of the night brought to them as they all laid asleep in their beds.

It was all thanks to a special somepony currently visiting their part of the Dream Scape.

It took a special type of being to be able to traverse this ethereal plain. The realm was one of dreams and was thus subject to the had-beens, could-have-beens, and never-weres that were kept in the subconscious and condenced into other forms of pseudo-reality. To navigate such a place required a great deal of delicacy and finesse; both of which she once hade in spades, but now found herself trying to get the hang of once again. It had been at least a thousand years since she last practiced.

This mare that walked through the realm filled with cloudiness of imaginings was different than most. If anything, she looked like she was a teenager budding into the era of womanhood, or marehood as the case may be since she had equine features to her bipedal structure. She had a nightly violet-blue shade of fur with a short kept mane, that seemed to shine with the hint of having perhaps glitter in her blue strands. She had a good sized spiraled horn on her head, which held her tiara steady. However, unlike a unicorn, she also possessed wing which were folded behind her back as she strolled along in her encrusted horseshoes. The rest of her outfit consisted of a dark blue blouse and skirt combo, which had a crescent moon emblazoned on the front. It was the same marking that could be faintly seen on her leg. Overall, even if she appeared young, there was still the sense of dignified royalty that seemed to emanate from her person that belongs to someone twice her age.

This was Luna, Princess of the Night and while she was only getting used to being in a time period that had many new things to her, The Dream Scape should not be much different. It was after all, the one realm she could traverse better than any other in the time when she last reigned as a sovereign. Still, she needed practice to once again gain the level of skill she once possessed with dreams. So having portions of it in turmoil due to recent events like tonight gave her something to apply her capabilities wards and polish them up.

She was essentially done with this sector of the realm, finding most of them now dealing with their shock in more favorable ways thanks to her influence to their dreams. Just as she was about to leave, she saw an intriguing occurrence in a relative vicinity to the zone that consisted of Ponyville citizens.

Unlike those in Ponyville, who were currently being seen as a collection of clouds surrounded by a starry sky this one’s dreams were appearing in the dreamscape as a greenish fog. She couldn’t recall a similar occurrence in her recent memory, so she deemed it worth investigating.

“Such strange dreams! Perhaps this one’s distress is most pressing!” She decided to make haste to find the source of this manifestation and find out what individual was under such cerebral circumstances.

Before she could take another step in the direction of the sensations of emotions, her progress was immediately impeded by the sudden appearance of a blue door. While it was standing in front of her with no foundation to speak of, Luna had the feeling that she was looking at the guarded entry way of a mighty fortress. The door opened with a slow ease, yet she backed up a few meters to get some distance from whatever was stepping out.

Out came possibly one of the strangest figures she had ever met.

She wasn’t quite sure if this figure had wings, or if they were just part of its oddly colored coat. The Dream Scape had a way to make one’s senses blur in their coherent capabilities. Even so, she should at least be strong enough to determine what type of shape this figure was choosing to exhibit. Yet her eyes seemed to distort the figure from being an oddly colored, but simple dressed pegasus male, or some sort of flightless bipedal creature. Even the number of digits he seemed to have shifted constantly from the same she possessed to five in each hand.

The only things that seemed to remain consistent besides the odd color of his coat and other clothing, was that he had no head to speak of and that he was holding a blue bowler hat in one hand and a blue opened umbrella in the other. Still, she had the feeling that she was in the presence of something import like another alicorn.

“Perhaps he is supposed to be one and has no horn due to his missing head?” was something she pondered. Before she could ask anything of him she sensed a feeling of ceasing her inquiry the moment he took a step forward.

He seemed to speak without a clear voice. Luna felt the emotion from the being speaking these words with no sound, but they rang clear in her mind and her heart. It felt like being spoken to by a kindly gentlestallion, or perhaps a fellow passerby, which was a feeling she longed for in this new point in time.

“But who-?” She started, but stopped as the figure gently raised the hand holding the hat to stop her.

He continued as he stepped towards her.

The door chose to close at that moment. A series of locks seemed to sound off after it did. Still neither character seemed to pay attention to anything else but the other in this realm of dreams.

The headless one said with a flutter of emotion that felt like a smile as he held his umbrella in her direction like a pointer.

“What are thou-?”

POKE! POKE! POKE!

[}0{]

POKE! POKE! POKE!

“Luna! Wake up!”

POKE! POKE! POKE!

“Ugh! Sister! Cease thy poking! We art now awake!” Luna cried out in irritation as she stood up in her bed. She woke up in her royal chambers, dressed not in royal garments, but in her pajamas. To her embarrassment, they were for a young teenager who was obsessed with black kittens. She was an adult, not a young juvenile filly! Her sister seemed to take too much enjoyment from having her dress up as such. If only she could gain back her power quicker.

Speaking of which, here was her sister leaning over the bed. Unlike her younger sibling, she was a tall, Alicorn mare of about nine feet in height. Her fur color was white, but her mane flowed by an unseen air current in the form of pink, blue, and green translucent hues. Even in her simple, but elegant negligée her figure was a thing of beauty with from her greatly proportioned bust, her well-toned build, and well-rounded lower half. The only thing to further enhance her was how a sun-mark perfectly engraved her identity to each of her upper thighs, for in many ways she was a goddess on a mortal plain. She was Celestia, the Princess of the Day, Raiser of the Sun, and elder sibling of Luna.

“Are you alright Luna?” She asked with a hint of worry in her voice. “I finished raising the sun, but instead of finding you ready to partake in a shared breakfast, I found you here tossing and turning in a deep sleep.”

Luna ceased her thoughts of annoyance at her sister’s rude awakening, understanding that it was done not out of mischievousness, but of love. Her sister still worried about her ever since she returned to her from her imprisonment. Maybe the headless one’s words had much more weight than she initially gave them.

“We believe so, dear sister. However we have encountered things that we find even strange to the realm of dreams.”

“Oh, do tell?” Celestia sat down on the bed with full attention.

“We encountered a strange green mist that seemed to permeate from the dreams of some unknown subject. Before we could seek the reason for this alteration to the normal visuals of the realm, we were stopped by another unknown fellow.” “We do not know whom this fellow was. He was skilled in the art of dreams as we, for he too moved as if he were one with the Dream scape. ”

“Can you describe this being?” Celestia asked.

“We cannot, for his form seemed to shift before our eyes. At best we could say that he had no head, but that could mean anything from the place where metaphors are but other actualities.” She sighed. “While he seemed to express himself as not a threat, he was not apportioning any opportunity to ask him our inquiries.”

Celestia stared seriously at her sister as she asked her next question. “Do you believe either of these beings to be a danger, Luna?”

Luna thought long and hard before she answered.

“We think they are not a danger currently, but we fear that perhaps they will provide some ripples that may lead to things that could affect our kingdom’s subjects.” She looked up at her sister to see her reaction. Celestia looked contemplative and serious, and in this manner you could see why she was a sovereign that stood strong for over a thousand years.

“Well there doesn’t seem to be much else we can do for now. If they are malevolent, then they will be boisterous when they arrive, thus they will be easy to deal with. If not, then we will simply be sure to be ready for when they come and determine how to react properly.” Her serious expression then broke into her usual tranquil smile. “For now, let us head to breakfast. I have yet to introduce you to the wonderful confection that is chocolate chip banana bread, and how could I be a good big sister if I didn’t do that!”

Luna sighed with a hint of a smile. “Will it be like the ‘chocolate chip waffles’?”

“It will be twice as good!” The Solar Princess grinned as she pulled her younger sister out of bed. “Now come on, I already raised the sun, and thusly, did your job as well. The least you could do is enjoy breakfast with your sister!”

“We are hurrying as best as we can, dear sister!” The Lunar Princess huffed as she did her best to keep up with the much taller mare dragging her along. “We aren’t all craven barbarians when it comes to baked goods as you!”

‘Still, she is right.’ She thought as she felt a hint of relief due to her sister’s words. ‘The only thing we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best!’

It was with that final thought that two sisters found themselves racing to breakfast like they once did long ago. To them it was the start of a relationship finally on the stage of affirming its resilient bond.

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Author's Note

Well, this was a chapter I was trying my best to create. I kept struggling to find time to write it, so I apologize for the errors or dings that may still be apparent in it. It was also meant to have much more occur in it, but I realized that this chapter was long enough. So there is definitely a new one up and coming in the works with most of it plotted out. I know the direction I want this story to go to reach the next big event, so the least I can say is that these chapters are building up to things with Ethan and the world he finds himself in. I don't want to give too much away, but rest assured that things are coming and we will definitely be finding more things when they come. At least that's something, right?

Also, bonus points go to whoever can guess why Ethan named the castle with what he chose! Any fan of Spider-Man or Mysterio should know!

Issue 3-A Dragon and a Zebra Walk into a Castle!

When in New York, people must adapt to whatever changes quickly befall them. It is something that the citizens must quickly accept if they wish to thrive in this city that never sleeps. The city is a big collection of the latest trends in entertainment, media, and lifestyles. At the same time, it is a constant and unfaltering pillar in the subconscious of those who live in America. It is a place where you face diversity and acceptance at equivalent amounts. For every rich person you see walking through the city, you will find their polar opposite on the other side of the block. It is a place full of familiar faces because ever stranger is equally strange to the other. So even if you find yourself seeing something amazing or exciting, it is not quite so to the New York subconscious. Everything that goes on in this city is just a regular occurrence that makes New York the amazing location it is.

Take for example the Brooklyn Bridge. It is an icon that has been featured in media nearly as often as the Statue of Liberty. Yet even now it is currently scrutinized only by a few of the many individuals who journey across it to witness one of the less common events that take place on it. In this case, it is the two outlandish beings currently fighting on top of it.

“Good going, Fishbowl! Another foot and you might have nudged me!” said the one wearing a suit of blues and reds with a spider motif. This acrobatic fighter for justice was the spectacular hero named Spider-Man. Currently he was trying to reach the top of the bridge without getting hit by blasts of energy that he was able to dodge with his spider-sense.

“You are nothing but a bug that refuses to accept the crushing blow of my boot!” said the other in a mostly green suit with yellow gauntlets and a purple cloak. The aforementioned ‘fishbowl’ was a helmet that hid his identity and glowed with each word he uttered. This was Mysterio, who was currently firing shots of energy from his gauntlets at the web crawler as he tried to climb his way up the bridge. “Now fall!”

He moved his blasts from the dodging superhero, to the actual brick above him to start a rock slide to bring him down. However, Spider-Man saw an alternate route opened to him by releasing his hold on the wall, and used the larger chunks of the bridge as stepping stones to reach his opponent. In a skilled display of his spider-like agility, Spider-Man jumped his way to the top and met Mysterio’s helm with a mighty uppercut, which knocked him down to his back.

“At least I talk like I belong in this century, Mr. Man-behind-the-curtain!” Spider-Man quipped as he readied himself to continue this match. “If you fought half as much as you talked, then maybe you might actually stand a chance when we go head to head against each other!”

Slowly, Mysterio picked himself up, straightening his cloak as he rose. “If I wanted to sully my hands with you, I certainly wouldn’t waste my time conjuring ways to defeat you, like so.”

With a flick of his wrist, he let out a cloud of smoke, which transformed into a few serpentine dragons. Spider-Man simply dodged them before flinging more web-lines at the villain. This led to one entrapped supervillain who was unable to do more than struggle out of his bonds as his tried to remain standing.

“Give up, Mysterio, none of your tricks work! They’re as out of date as the effects in a scary show for kids!” Spider-Man grunted as he tried to pull the villain towards him.

But Mysterio was unwilling to admit defeat. “No Spider-Man! It is you that shall be defeated! For I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane-!”

The web-line connecting the wrapped super villain snapped, and with the release of momentum, Mysterio found himself falling backwards off the top of the bridge.

“Mysterio!” Spider-Man rushed to try to grab the strand, but was too late!

The supervillain could only cry out as he was helplessly tied up and falling to his doom. “WAAAAHHHH!!!”

[}0{]

“WAAAAAHHHH!!” ‘Mysterio’ cried out as he rushed into consciousness. A quick look around revealed that he wasn’t in New York facing Spider-Man, but back in the library of the derelict castle he claimed as his new base. He was somewhat thankful of the fact. As much as he would have liked to be in a populated city instead of in some strange forest of creatures and other dangers, at least he wasn’t facing imminent death right now. The dream unnerved him with how real it felt to face the web crawler one-on-one. Every brick that flew by, and every web-shot fired felt real. Even now he swore he could still feel the sense of being tied up by the strong web-lines of the superhero.

As he looked down, the supposed spell caster came to realize why the sensation hadn’t left him yet. He was tied up to the chair he slept in by a great deal of webbing!

“WHAT THE HELL!?” ‘Mysterio’ exclaimed as he struggled out of his bindings. But try as he might, he couldn’t break free. “Did I actually get tied up by that web crawling super-”

He stopped his struggling as he noticed the movement in the corner of his vision. What he found made his heart jolt in fear.

Crawling on top of these contracting strands was a multitude of spiders. Each of them was bigger than a hand and each stared at him with a set of six unblinking eyes. They had the aspects of some sick cartoonish parody of a black widow, for on their backs were large blue stars instead of the red hourglass.

Now Ethan was not known to be what you call a ‘scardy-cat’, but even you could forgive him for the shriek he gave out at the sight of all these eight-legged critters that were crawling around him.

“Back! Back up you arachnids!” He shrieked as he struggled to break his bindings. “I’m not going to be defeated by irony today!”

Closer and closer they moved towards his helmet. He could make out the drip of something from their twitching mandibles. Maybe it was venom, or perhaps the saliva that drips from hunger about to be satiated. Either way, Ethan was horrified to see it getting so near his face.

An icon stating his oxygen supply had been activated came into view at the corner of his eye. Next to it was the Spider-Man logo in a No sign. Before he could consider the implication, his suit started to release a gas that was different from the one used for suggestion. This cloud was clear with the slightest hint of violet.

The fiends seemed to stop in place as their movements started to slow. It wasn’t until the first one fell over onto its back and curled up its legs that it was finally understood what this particular fume that Mysterio was unleashing was a type of pesticide. He also felt some sort of grease being released from his is arms’ armor sections that dissolved the webbing into a state weak enough to break apart.

The spiders gave the impression well enough that they understood what was occurring before them. The cloud was death and those that stayed here would be caught by it. As for their prey, the way it was breaking its bindings showed that they trifled with something that was clearly not weak.

“I get it. You probably have a natural inclination to go after me. However, we’re in a library and I don’t think these books should be touched by your eight legs, let alone me as I sleep.” ‘Mysterio’ stated as he dusted his arms and looked at the remaining bugs doing their best to keep away from the gas. “So I suggest you get going now. I’ve just woken up and I’d hate to squash you accidentally as I stretch.”

The spiders saw the cloud receding and took that as a sign to scurry forward, and to perhaps get the jump on this should-be-prey.

“I said GET OUT!!” The cloud of death took the form of a skull and roared at the remaining arachnids. At the sight of this, they all scurried out of every window and exited out of the castle to flee the dangerous being they foolishly tried to ensnare.

[}0{]

It took a long while for Ethan to calm down after that horrible wake-up call. Even after the spiders fled the library, he still twitched at every dark nook and cranny considering how their might have been more hidden away somewhere.

“Great, so it’s not enough I have to barricade this place from tree monsters, now I gotta watch out for star spiders…as Mysterio!” He complained to no one. “Yesterday that wouldn’t be considered rational to think of, let alone say aloud!”

Currently, he was outside the costume he wore and in some light clothes. He made sure that the air was clear of toxins before taking it off. As much as he wanted to keep it on, he needed time outside of it to ease up his body and to let it recharge. It gave him a notification to let is gather up more air for the suit, so he figured to take it off would probably be best because he knew the comics only gave Mysterio an air supply of thirty minutes unfiltered.

His hands were busy dissecting one of the dead spiders for anything useful. Normally, he wouldn’t even go near the things with a ten foot broom handle, but here he was taking one apart for it’ s fangs and venom sacks. He collected them into little jars he found for what he assumed were plants that died ages ago. As he did so, he pondered what he was seeing as well as why he was doing it.

‘So these spiders have some sort of liquid I’ve certainly never seen before.’ He held the jar up as he inspected the gathered liquid glowing in a bright translucent blue. ‘It looks like Zydrate. Yet for all I know, this stuff is potent enough to kill me a hundred times over!’

He carefully placed the jar back on the table, making sure that it wouldn’t spill. He then placed the fangs in the other jar as he threw the rest of the spider into a larger pot that had a fire going inside it.

‘Still, this whole idea to collect these things, and the method to do so…just popped into my head.’ He wondered just how it occurred to him and what did he benefit from doing it. “Anyways, now that’s done, time for more important things.”

He considered the first main concern: getting provisions for survival. As much as he would like to live on a diet of trail mix and animal crackers, Ethan knew he needed a better source of food to keep himself going. So the first thing was to figure a means to gather something edible and to find clear drinking water.

By the time the sun was in its highest point in the sky, Ethan was surprised to find himself sitting down and reading a book while casually eating some fruit and drinking some water he found in the nearby environment. As he sipped the water, he felt confident in how he knew he could drink it and not worry about dehydration or starvation in the coming days. All he had to worry about now was to figure out a plan to find his way home.

Still, it amazed him was how all these survival worthy techniques just came to his mind. He knew how to get water, and know which plants were safe to eat just by looking at them carefully. If he thought about it more, he could think up ways to collect game by imagining blueprints for traps in his mind. Yet, he still wondered where these thoughts were coming from. Sure he used to watch shows such as Survivorman with his dad back in the day, and he was always picking up the odd fact like how you could make a toothbrush out of a reed, but this was much different. In some ways, he was thankful, but in others he was worried that this was a sign of some form of psychotic breakdown. Considering he was witnessing tree monsters, scorpion-lions, and star spiders, sanity was getting harder to maintain.

“If I am going mad then I wish I could have some company. Going insane is a lonely business.” He muttered as he turned the page of the latest book he found. It was entitled ‘The Changeling Queen’ by an Endmound Spinster. “Besides, having someone to talk to would probably pass the time faster than reading these stories staring characters with silly sounding names.”

Before he could delve further into the adventures of a knight named Red Cross and how he embodied the virtue of holiness alongside his lady Una Cornerstone, there was a noise that resounded distantly in the halls. Ethan ceased his reading and carefully bookmarked the page as he listened for the noise. He slowly picked his helmet off the desk and placed it on after realizing what it was.

Someone was knocking on the main entrance doors!

[}0{]

Ethan readied himself mentally as he prepared to encounter anything that was trying to get through those large doors. Granted, he had yet to fully understand what he was capable of beyond gas clouds and Jedi mind tricks. While he still hoped for some sort of energy blast, surely those options would be better than just the candelabra he picked up as a melee weapon. Carefully he moved aside the furniture he set in front of the doors as a barricade. The banging looked as if it stopped with the sound of it grinding against the floor. With it placed aside he pulled the great doors open, and stood at the ready as an imposing character wrapped up in a cloak. What he expected was another beast rearing to attack him. What he found was something that didn’t fit that exact description.

It was reptilian, with greenish scales, and had wings of leathery skin. Yet Ethan came to discover that this creature was different from the other beasts he met in this forest. She, for he took the slight sign of curves of the body to designate it as a ‘she’, was possibly the strangest discovery that he made so far in his time at ‘Castle Wonder’. She wore what appeared to be a simple cloth wrap like garment around her upper torso, and had a long skirt that covered her legs and had an opening for a tail. While Ethan was a tall enough fellow with his height around 5’ 11’, he could tell that had this Dragoness stood up, she would be around a foot taller.

Yet there were other details that stuck out to him. It was mostly around her face. She has a rounded spike on her snout and six other horns sticking out on the back frills of her head. However, her eyes were what drew his attention the most. They were slit as a clear sign of reptilian inheritance, yet the yellowish colored orbs were expressive in a way that only something with sentience could convey.

She was a creature that he knew from legends as something to fear, but her eyes showed him something that looked afraid and in despair.

If that wasn’t enough, she appeared to be starved to death and was barely able to cry out to him. “Please…h-h-help!”

She fell forward and just lay there in front of the main doors, probably passed out from exhaustion. The young man dressed up as Mysterio gawped at this sight and contemplated a proper response to this turn of events.

He wasn’t exactly sure why his first choice was to duck down, move her arm over his shoulder, and start to drag her into the castle like a drunk friend when a party ended. Truth be told, he just couldn’t leave her in the woods like she was. It felt like a death sentence being out there in the open…and he certainly wanted to live, so why not her?

Perhaps this was a means to start accepting the situation he was in as something more than being lost in the woods. He clearly saw signs of things that declared he was not in California anymore. First, it was he tree monsters, then the scorpion-lions, and after that the star spiders. Now there was this dragon. A female dragon with human-like characteristics, but a dragon still the same.

As for trusting her not to harm him, first and foremost was that she was clearly in no condition to lay so much as a hand—or claw in his case—at him. Second, she spoke a bit of English, so at the very least there wasn’t that big a language barrier, but that assumed that they even knew the language by the same name. Thirdly, she was wearing clothes. Hers were considerably more remote with them being a wrapped top and some sort of sarong/flowing skirt thing, but the fact that she wore clothing showed she had some form of sentient thought. The pattern on them was artistically done, so that was another good sign.

Of course, this led to the downside of bringing her to his base of operations. He knew nothing about her, and everything he was considering couldn’t be backed up by anything substantial.

Even though taking care of her may have been the equivalent of cutting what supplies he was able to scrounge together in half while doubling his workload, he still felt that it was the right choice that would pay off in some way.

[}0{]

“Got it!” Ethan cheered as he pulled in another catch for dinner. This was a good sized trout that was perfect to include into his current pile.

Ethan had been able to rig together a simple fishing pole from some odd and ends he found in his search through the old castle. While he didn’t have much in bait, he was amazed at how much fish he was catching with the next best thing: one of the gold coins from the case he received. He just threw it in and in about fifteen minutes, he would find a decent sized fish for his next meal. It looked as if the fish around here really found the shiny objects enticing.

Of course, he still had to be careful of other things that found them appealing too! Nothing ruined a peaceful moment of fishing than discovering that pile of rocks near the last fishing spot was really some sort of crocodile with coarse camouflage abilities. He lucked out that it was distracted by having a basket full of fish thrown at it so he could get away. His helmet didn’t even notice it until it moved, so It was a lesson he wrote deeply into his mind that even with his suit, he wasn’t a hundred percent guaranteed that he was safe from the dangers of this place. Just recalling the incident made him anxious enough to draw in his line and call it a day. It was a decent amount of fish for the meal he would cook for himself and his guest anyways.

It had been three days since he had found himself here. Two since he dragged this female dragon/lizard/ person all the way to an old bedroom of this decrepit castle. He did what first aid he could, but even he could tell what he knew wouldn’t be enough to cure what was ailing her. He saw signs of starvation such as her shrunken in frame and slight sag to her skin. She would have brief moments of consciousness, but she was too weak to do any real talking, so Ethan would just use those times he could rouse her conscious enough to eat. He made sure to do it a majority of times in his armor, so as to have a means to defend himself if she turned out to be violent. However, there may have been a few times where she was too ailing and out of sorts, so he took it off to better assist her. He didn’t worry about any reveal of his identity because at those times she seemed too out of it to even look straight ahead.

While he did worry about her status, he couldn't help but to ponder what answers she could lead to if she woke up in good enough health and was capable of talking to him. Ethan always enjoyed stories of fiction, and here was someone who could easily fit in the types of books and stories he grew up with. Tales of other worlds and other types of characters always fascinated him to this very day. The problem was that with fiction, the possibilities were infinite when it came to these types of things.

For instance, supposed she revealed that he traveled in time. This female did wear some form of tribal looking attire, so maybe he was back in a time eons ago when dinosaurs ruled, and had a much more secret society than paleontologists could find proof of existing. If that was the case, how much did he screw up the timeline by giving those animals beef jerky?

Maybe he went the other direction and is actually far into the future where mankind has left the Earth and thus it is inherited by creatures that have long since evolved into superior species. That might explain this possibly flight-capable lizard woman and the tree monsters. Her speaking the same language might be based on some ancient relic left in the dust. It would be like Planet of the Apes, except with reptiles and plants.

Then again, maybe he didn't leave his point in time; just the planet he lived on. He could be an unfortunate subject to some unseen alien observer and is in fact in some sort of hunting reservation or bloodthirsty competition. In that case, this being could be some fellow victim of circumstance, or even an opponent he’d have to fight in a Battle Royale.

But supposed the other option of him being transported into another world occurred. If that was the case, he may never find a way back with all the different universes and timelines that composed the multiverse. Heck, he might even find a way back, only to kill himself by ending up in a world in which it was like his own, except people had made it so you could only live in it if you breathed carbon dioxide instead of oxygen or something!

All this thinking was just giving him a headache induced by stress. It was times like these that he wished he could just wake up from the strangeness of this whole situation. Yet every time he wished to dismiss it as just a mad hallucination something unexpected would come along to shock him back into taking notice of his reality.

“You who choose this place as their lair! I request that you come out from there!”

Case in point, apparently he had another visitor. One who was apparently a poet perhaps? It was hard to tell with the long cloak that hid the person’s body. All he could really tell from his angle was that they were tall and were probably female by the voice. At the same time, they could not be human because they only had three fingers and a thumb, based on how it was holding a staff that was composed of bamboo with some dangling ornaments at its end.

“And who is this that asks for me? Are you an ally, or an enemy?” He shouted, making certain that his suit’s speakers made him heard.

The hooded figure immediately turned towards his direction. She held her staff at the ready with one hand while having the other reaching into a satchel she also had.

“Who are you? A traveler in search of refuge? A neighbor hoping for tea? Perhaps an adversary in the mystical arts?” Ethan asked again as he delved further into the persona of Mysterio. He stepped forward into the shadows of the doorway castle walls. This caused his body to be hidden and the only light being shown to originate from his helmet as he spoke. “I’ll come greet you as I should if you are willing to shed light on who you are.”

“I suppose such a question is only fair. I assure you I am but a mare.” She responded as she reach for her hood to lower it.

He expected maybe another dragon-like being underneath that hood. She had the same amount of fingers that he could see after all despite the lack of claws. He was certainly not expecting to see a black and white striped collection of features. She was equine in nature and was adorned in a collection of golden necklaces and earrings. Her fur looked to be mostly white with black stripes, and possessed a mohawk that ran down the top of her head. Yet despite the appearance of this striped-horse woman, it was the way her eyes gazed upon him that stood out more. They spoke of wisdom that was earned through years of harsh experience and cunning. At the same time, he could tell that she was looking at him to determine how much of a threat he was and how should she respond.

“Zecora is the name I received at birth.” The humanoid zebra replied. “Please take that knowledge for what it is worth.”

“Then I shall be sure that I remember that. I am…” He stepped into the light fully.

Now Zecora was used to seeing the strangeness of Everfree. What stepped out of the shadows was a figure like no other. He was bipedal to be certain for he stood determined on two legs at a stature that was not that far off from her own height. He was adorned in an outfit that was mostly green, yet he wore gauntlets and boots that had more of a yellow in their hue. More unusual was that he had an extra finger on each hand than she knew most bipeds possessed. He was wrapped in a purple cape that gave the impression of moving by an unseen wind. Yet the most distinguishing feature was his face, or rather his lack of one. He had a head that looked like a crystal ball that glowed whenever he uttered a word as he spoke.

“I am Mysterio, a master of the Arcane Arts.” He bellowed in a voice that possessed a deep echo. “Tell me…Lady Zecora. Where is this realm which we all find ourselves residing in?”

She found it unusual that this would be the first question such a stranger would ask first, but answered it the same.

“This realm is known by Equestria to those of the Pony descent.” She noticed a slight flinch that he gave at the admission. “Yet I see that this fact brings you discontent.”

“Indeed it does.” He lowered his head a bit. “For you see, it means that I am a stranger to you in more ways than one.”

Mysterio opened the entry way as he carried a sack full of fish inside. Seeing that he had not closed the door behind him, Zecora took this as his invitation for her to follow him inside. She entered, making sure to note route for escape if the need arose, as she waited for Mysterio to continue.

The globe-headed being set his bag of fish on a nearby table that was placed alongside a camping area. After doing so, he turned to face the stairwell to gaze upon the pair of tattered banner that hung above it. While it was difficult to determine his expression, it was clear by his stance how they now seemed to trouble him.

“I come from a place far away from here. I do not know from which direction I took, or which method it was, only that I find myself a stranger in a strange land.” He explained as he turned to face the Zebra-woman.

A stranger in a strange land indeed! Zecora considered all she knew of Equestria and couldn’t recall a land where one might find inhabitants with any form similar to his. For a moment, Mysterio had her pity.

“I can understand that plight at times and similar gripes. For I may be the only one around here with stripes.” While that was a matter she could relate to, there was still another much more important one that needed confirmation for the balance of things. “However, I have made my home here in the Everfree. So now I must ask a question that has been plaguing me.”

He shrugged and crossed his arms. “I suppose I may answer if I am able to do so.”

“Recently the Everfree has been facing a change. Timberwolves have been running which is very strange.” She discreetly reached a hand to her satchel, hoping it would be an unnecessary gesture to be disregarded. “Normally fire is what makes them flee in such a way. Yet not one spark or sign of smoke I have seen these days.”

Her other hand however gripped her staff tighter, and Mysterio did in fact take notice to that. His arms uncrossed and while he did place them behind his back, he slowly started to prepare himself to interact with certain functions on his wrist guards.

“I also passed by a manticore pride’s home. There I found traces of this thing that roams.” Before Mysterio could so much as unfold his cloak, he found the top of Zecora’s staff near the center of his head. “I found the scent of something twisted and coarse. So now I must ask, are you the source?”

While the staff had no point, Ethen could feel as if something sharp was closing in on him. He definitely did not want to test this zebra-woman’s capability with it, so he chose his next words carefully. He was grateful that having a helmet in which none could see his face helped him keep up his charade of showing no fear.

“If these ‘timberwolves’ are the wooden creatures that are quadrupedal and vicious, then yes, I am the cause of them running in fear of late. However, I assure you that what I did was nothing more than a minor…fear spell.” He answered quickly as a way to explain it. He continued the falsehood, finding that it probably was best to explain it as best as he could in magical terms. “The strange scent you are finding must be what lingers from it being cast, for you see, unlike those that need visual contact, this one was focused more on the sense of smell being that I didn’t know if they were mere magical constructs by an enemy sorcerer nearby. The fact you address them as some sort of well-established species is surprising to hear.”

Zecora still did not lower her staff. “So you inflicted them with fear to drive them away? You had no other option to keep them at bay?”

“Surprisingly, I had limited time to think so I went with the quickest available option at the time. Surely you could accept that what I chose was not something destructive, merely…persuasive.”

She tilted her had at that as she brought up the other working example for Mysterio’s possible malevolence. “And the manticores’ lair possessing that smell? Surely they hadn’t ambushed YOU there as well?

Mysterio sighed forlornly as if explaining that would be detrimental to his repute.

“Unfortunately, much as it embarrasses me to admit, I walked in their territory on accident. I thankfully was able to placate them with a simple suggestion spell so they didn’t see me as an enemy.” He held up his hands in a placating manner. “A harmless enchantment, on par with simple hypnotism, I assure you.”

Neither dared to move a muscle. It was as if to test the other’s willingness to act out. Eventually, Zecora moved the angle of her staff, which gave Mysterio enough reason to stop his fingers from reaching for his wrists and let his arms down.

“I shall accept that that answer you claim. I only hope your actions will not leave me to blame.” She sighed as she lowered her staff to an unthreatening position.

Mysterio crossed his arms at that. “And what, pray tell, would that imply?”

Zecora pointed to the main entrance as she explained. “Not far from here, there is a simple town. For some essential supplies I occasionally come down. When I come, I find not a soul there in the square. I only find empty stands and whispers of that ‘enchantress mare’.”

Mysterio didn’t need to ask any more. He understood well enough the point she was getting across.

“Well, I can hardly comment on this town and its inhabitants. However, I can assure you that you have my sincerest apologies if my actions have affected you badly these last few days.” At the sound of groaning that echoed down the halls, he turned to start his way towards the source. “I am rather preoccupied with other matters.”

Zecora took the slight haste in his steps to mean that this was a matter that might need her expertise, so she followed.

[}0{]

Zecora was glad that she kept a few healing poultices and tonics in her satchel as she examined the sickly dragon lying in the bed. “A dragon lacking a great deal of muscle and fat? Whatever could have occurred to her to cause that?”

“I have no idea. I found her at the entrance, collapsed and starved. I’ve treated her as well as I could, but there is so little I can do to help her condition.” Mysterio solemnly explained as he started to crush some berries with an improvised mortar and pestle into a paste to serve her. It was something that seemed to help, but alas showed what limited ability the sorcerer had in the healing arts. “I implore you, please, if there is anything that can be done for her, then I ask for it to be done. I shall repay the favor in any way I can.”

Now this was a change of pace. Zecora could hear the honsesty in his request and with no hesitation, she started to prepare what concoctions she had on hand.

“My potions should help keep death at bay.” She said as she moved the dragoness’ head to help her swallow the potions. “But we will need many gems for her affliction to allay.”

“Gems?” Mysterio asked.

“Yes, for dragons such as her find gems quite a feast.” She stopped her motions to give the Arcane Master a questioning look. “You did not know this at least?”

“I did not.” Mysterio answered briskly. “Again, I am from a faraway land and strange to your ways. I’d ask you more questions when time is no longer against us.”

The zebra could accept this. There would be time for questions later.

“By the way, you have yet to tell me her name.” She asked as he made to leave. “Under what clan appellation did claim?”

“I know neither myself. Perhaps if she were to fully awaken we can discover that together.” He reasoned as he hurried out the door.

Zecora pondered this as the apparent ‘Master of the Arcane Arts’ left to find gems. “Of your history and identity, he does not have a clue. Yet without hesitation, he is trying to save you.”

She gave a slight grin. “Perhaps he is not a danger that terrible after all. Yet the signs point to his forming a cabal. Hopefully he remains good when his motives are unfurled. He seems like the type capable of shaking up the world.”

[}0{]

“This is the ruins of a castle! How can there not be one shining bauble or chandelier!?” Mysterio bellowed in anger. So far he could find no trace of any gemstones. He had hoped he could find at least something of the sort in this decrepit place that once housed splendor. Yet every door he checked showed a room that was barren of anything but the most basic of furnishings. “At this point, I’d think it be better if I’d just see if I could find books in the library that may have bejeweled covers-”

A resounding thud sounded from a hallway he passed. He readied himself to deal with the possible assailant, only to find no one in the hallway. Instead, there on the ground was a golden goblet with ems encrusted into it. It lied on the ground adjacent to a trail of coins that trailed down the hall towards a now open door.

Stepping into that door was a figure dressed up in an oddly covered overcoat with an open blue umbrella hiding their features.

“Hey! Wait!” He shouted but the figure did not act like it heard him. It just stepped inside with no faltering in its stride.

Mysterio rushed after the figure, but did not find them inside the chamber. Instead, he found what he was looking for.

In the chamber was a great deal of chests and shiny items. He opened one to find a great deal of treasure probably worth tens of thousands or more! Already he could feel the rush of ideas about what he could do with this newfound wealth. Then he reminded himself of the reason why he needed those gems, and immediately closed the chest and rushed to find the Zebra and Dragon who needed them.

Had he paid more attention to his surroundings, he might have noticed the figure with the umbrella stepping out of a hidden passage in the wall. The being said not a word; only flipped an object in his hand like a coin before leaving. That object happened to be the lock to the chest Mysterio took with him.

[}0{]

It was touch-and-go for a while, but having the chest full of gems was the greatest help for the dragoness. Thanks to Zecora’s mixtures, she had enough strength to eat the glittering stones, and with each one she visibly reached a better state of health. Seeing this was enough for Zecora and Mysterio to each sleep soundly knowing that come morning, there would be three characters up with much to discuss.

So it was the next day that a zebra, a dragoness, and a Master of the Arcane Arts found themselves sitting in a large and aged dining hall about to talk about many things. Mysterio went as far out as he could with the breakfast arrangement of different fruits and nuts that he picked earlier. The prize of the table was the tea set that was polished and used for the occasion. It wasn’t much, but his guests appreciated his gesture as even they could tell he gave them the best rooms in the castle to sleep in while he stayed in a place they weren’t aware of.

The dragoness in particular looked as if she appreciated the mixture of gemstones in her servings, for she ate with gusto. While no longer just a placement of skin over a skeleton, she was still a skinny thing. Yet it was apparent that every bite into a jewel showed an increase her vitality. There was definitely more life to her today.

“I am glad that you are now well enough to speak. It makes it easier to discuss matters now that you are both guests in my castle.” Mysterio started the conversation with. He did not eat, which left the two others at the table wonder if he was capable of doing so. ”As is polite, let us introduce ourselves to one another. I am Mysterio, a Master of the Arcane Arts, and current Lord of this castle as it were. I greet you both with the hope that you will be much more pleasant company than the other inhabitants I have run into in these woods.”

“As I have greeted once before, Zecora is my name. I am an herbalist in the Everfree’s domain.” She smiled at the dragon. “I see that you appear better thanks to my art. To see you up and about brings joy to my heart.”

They waited for their third guest to answer.

“I am Tsavorite.” She simply said. Her voice was a more husky and humble tone than the deep voice of the zebra, which was probably expected of a dragon. Yet it was clearly taut due to nervousness and a bit of worry that she was expressing as a whole.

“What an interesting name.” Mysterio commented trying to lighten the mood. “That is a type of gemstone, is it not?”

“It is.” She said as she bowed her head. “I thank you for saving me. I owe you my life.”

“It isn’t mine to take.” Mysterio responded. “Nor do I think it is Zecora’s either.”

“We helped because it was the right thing to do. We did not do it to be indebted by you.” Zecora stated in agreement. “You owe me nothing for this not done for a bill. Your debt is more towards Mysterio for wanting you to live was his will.”

Tsavorite still did not raise her head. Instead she placed a claw to her heart and repeated herself.

Again Mysterio shook his domed head. “Indeed, but like I said, your life is your own to do with it as you please.”

Tsavorite was still adamant about this. “Still, what you did for me requires a life debt to pay off. As such, my life is now yours to do as you see fit. Such is the Noble Dragon Code.”

“Is there nothing I could do or say to sway you?” Mysterio pleaded, knowing this was beginning to become a circular argument.

“No, for the code is adamant that should you spare a dragon in dire need and near death, there life is debited to yours.” She bowed her head in sorrow. “For this I would grant you each a boon, but I have no horde to give nor home to return shelter to. All I have is the life you saved.”

There was personal story in those words, but Mysterio needed information on some more basic things in this setting before he could even touch that subject matter.

“Perhaps we could discuss this more as we get to it. I have a great number of pressing questions, and your actions show how my ignorance in other cultures may lead to unforeseen consequences.” “First off, assume that I know nothing about this place and its inhabitants. What are the basics if I were to properly habituate in this…’Equestria’ was it?”

“Yes, Equestria is the name of this great illustrious realm. It is mostly inhabited by ponies with Princess Celestia at the helm.” Zecora explained. “But surely you should not find that strange! They are the dwellers with the widest range.”

“I know not of the ‘ponies’ you refer to.” Mysterio answered. “In my realm they are…quadrupedal beasts of burden used for transportation and assistance in pulley labor. You are the first one I have ever met that has bipedal features and the capacity to speak and think such an intelligent capacity.”

Now this surprised the other members at the table. That sounded nothing like a Pony at all. It sounded like Mysterio knew only a beast of burden facsimile of what a Pony should be.

“What about dragons?” Tsavorite asked. She knew ponies were the most widely spread type of residents in Equestria, but Dragons spread a bit farther to parts they were not as willing to settle. Surely this stranger must have met one of her type of kin in his lifetime!

“That is different. None have shown themselves in my realm beyond what we consider myths. I have heard a multitude of stories about them and their kind. However, there are so many supposed facts in them that it is hard to tell what is factual and what is fictitious.” He explained with his arms crossed in discomfort. He was not blind to how every word he spoke seemed to disturb them further. “Still, you too, Tsavorite are the first I have ever seen.”

Neither knew just how to respond to that. Just what kind of world did he come from?

“Perhaps it’s best I don’t speak more on this matter. It’s clear that our worlds are too different to accept it all at once just yet. It is better to take it in increments as we go forward.”

“It’s probably for the best. Still, how did you get here if you came from a land that seems farther than Equestria’s borders?”

“That I wish I could tell you, but the details are feeble at best. I was at a... good-natured gathering…in which many sorcerers and other fellows of the impressive sort assembled to meet up, sell their wares, and to overall have a good time.” That seemed to be a good way to explain a convention to an anthropomorphic dragon and zebra. “I was haggling wares from a merchant and made a great bargain. I was even offered a chance for employment from a third party to which the merchant acted as an intermediary. The very next thing I recall is waking up in a forest and about to be attacked by a pack of those ‘timberwolves’.”

“And that is where you struck them with fear.” Zecora recalled. “I’m assuming not long after you took residence here?”

“Well, I tried to find civilization, but the closest I found was this derelict castle.”

“I’m surprised you have lasted this far. The Everfree is full of predators and other things bizarre.”

“Yet you reside here.” Mysterio quipped.

“Yes, I do, that is true. But I know well how to live here, unlike you.”

“Perhaps, but surely you cannot deny the benefits of residing in a castle! Back home I would be lucky to even find a room at an affordable price. Here I am the lord of a place that shall be a wonder to come for a social call.” He stood up and spread his cape in a grand sweep. “Thus, I have retitled it ‘Wonder Castle’. It shall be a place of majesty, dignity, and grandeur! The perfect place to hold my stratagems for my ultimate goal! I admit it will take much work to bring it up to my specifications. However, doing so may be a sufficient usage of my time, which it seems I have much to spend. ”

Zecora and Tsavorite had different reactions to this proclamation. The dragoness insinuated surprise and awe at haring such dedication. It gave a glimmer of a smile to her face. Yet the same could not be said for Zecora who had a slight look of apprehension at this news. She found it was best to address the ruins they were currently in.

“I know a bit of these ruins that you have recently acquired.” Zecora began. “This place was where a battle between the day and the night transpired. Two goddesses came and brawled for what they believed to be their right. Only the one of the day left after sealing the one of the night.”

“But in order for you to understand their fight, I must first bring a few other things to light…”

And so Zecora spoke of a history in which three tribes of ponies grew alongside each other in Equestria. There were the Unicorns, which could cast magic and control all that it pertained to. The skies and the weather were under the domain of the Pegasi. As for the land itself, that was the territory of the Earth ponies that were known for their strength and their connection with nature itself. It was centuries spent in oppositions with each other, but ultimately they united under one banner which would be led by two sisters who exhibited the traits of all three tribes: Princess Celestia of the Day and Princess Luna of the Night. While they defended their kingdom with their almighty abilities, eventually a rift formed between them that led to the younger Princess of the Moon attacking The Princess of the Sun in their home at the previous capitol. While the current capitol was Canterlot that did not lessen the fact that they were currently in the ruins of what was once the most important place in the realm.

“Many centuries of peace where established hence. Although sometimes at another’s expense. Still from that battle none have come here to lay root. They believe it to be cursed so neither do they loot. Plus we are deep into the woods of the Everfree. Being here is to have doom be more or less a guarantee.”

Mysterio was enraptured by this tale as simplified as it was. He filed it into his mind later to see if the library would have more to say on it.

“Interesting,” Tsavorite commented. “None have come to the very least restore the foundations?”

Zecora shook her head. “None would come out of fear for the Everfree. What good is an old capitol if it brings death to you or me?”

“Quite. So what you are saying is that in all this time, not one person-being they pony or even dragon- has come here to reclaim this ruin for any reason?” Mysterio asked.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like foolish superstition.” Zecora frowned. “But still, that is mostly why you find a lack of competition. If you are so stalwart in your mission, then I have no way to counter your ambition.”

Mysterio took those words to mind, but found very little he could say to sway the argument reasonably to his favor. The place had cultural significance, but at the same time this seemed to have a few resources he needed for his endgame. It was more pertinent that he investigated that library now that he knew it was speaking in an authentic fantasy setting and not one based in fiction and metaphors. As for everything else, well he was only making the best out of a bad situation after all!

“I don’t believe I have much else choice, Lady Zecora. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I am a stranger in a strange land. I must therefore do what I can to adapt until I can find a way to meet my ultimate goal. To do so will require a long list of objectives to be completed before anything I formulate to be fully realized.”” Mysterio answered solemnly. “Besides, what harm would it be to make this place more bearable to host company? Surely you cannot deny that this place would need a good remodeling after such a climactic battle. Even you must admit to give it that would not bring any strife to anyone.”

Zecora said nothing for a long while as she contemplated Mysterio’s stance on claiming the castle. On one hand, there was really no reason she should prevent him from doing it. He did not seem to want it out of maliciousness, and surely anything of value or danger would have been removed from grounds to Canterlot and its archive centuries ago. On the other hand, having him here may have given him a prime position to invade other territories based on its location in Equestria. Still, as much of a sorcerer he claimed to be, he had yet to show anything a simple Solar Guard couldn’t handle. That and he was but one being and all on his own for the most part.

“I have yet to see you bring actual harm to this land. So I suppose I may still be willing to offer a hand.” She relented as she turned towards Tsavorite’s direction. “You stopped this poor dragon from becoming deceased. A hand in friendship I can offer at least.”

Mysterio was relieved to here that. “You have my thanks, and a promise that so long as I am treated well, these inhabitants have nothing to fear.”

“That’s good enough I suppose. I’ll still be cautious of you and your strange clothes.” Mysterio tried to hide his flinch at that. It seems she did catch on to his movements earlier. “But if I am wrong to give you the benefit of the doubt…”

A wide smack revealed the shattered cup that Mysterio had set next to his plate. The culprit was the staff in Zecora’s hand now lying next to her seat.

“I will not even give you the chance to cry out! After all, let me tell you something not so funny. I am capable of taking a bugbear’s life and their honey.”

Now that was a serious claim! Mysterio had no inkling of whatever this Bugbear was like in the woods, but just the fierceness of that statement was enough to make him forever note to never be on this mare’s ‘list’. “Of course! I wouldn’t expect one who walks freely in this Everfree Forest to do anything more.”

He then turned address the dragon in the room. “What about you, Tsavorite? Do you feel concerned with my presence here?”

“No, nor do I have no reason to dissuade you from coming here.” “But if you were willing, I would ask if I may help you in your goal as part of my debt to you.”

“Wouldn’t you rather just go home?” Mysterio asked. “I am willing to offer you room and board for the time of you recovery, but you may find that they may lack in the quality to your standards.”

“It does not matter. I have no home to return to.”

“And why is that?” He asked, noticing her eyes beginning to water. It didn’t take a genius to notice something was wrong.

She composed herself to speak her troubles. “For reasons I would rather not say, I left my homeland, in order to find my own place. However, a few weeks ago, another dragon came across my lair. Rather than face me in proper combat, he waited until I was well into sleep and smoked me out in my own cave. While I fortunately was able to escape, I had to leave it and my horde behind.”

What could a person really say to that? For a long time Mysterio said nothing. He could feel the stares of his guests bearing into him. One was hoping to be allowed to stay here, while the other waited to see what kind of decision the Master of the Arcane Arts would make and base their judgement upon it.

It was with that mental reminder of what he now was that started the chain reaction in Mysterio’s mind. For he got an idea, one that would have been considered stupid, maybe even suicidal if any other thought of it.

“What if I were to get your hoard back from this loathsome thief? What if I were to drive him away and to take back everything he stole from you plus interest?”

“Then you would have my most solemn oath.”Tsavorite looked hopeful. “I would serve you as I promised. Your will would be my will. All would be for my master.”

He was not any fool or cheap practitioner of magic tricks. HE was Mysterio! A man capable of so much more!

“Then I would accept your offer.” Mysterio sat forward with his hands folded in resolve. “I will make my first step in establishing my goal to return your hoard to you. I swear to accomplish this or to go down in flames. Failure is not an option!”

As he stated this, for a moment his helmet glowed in a blue glimmer, before once again resuming its trends of lighting up with his speech. “Now, tell me, Tsavorite. What can you tell me about this dragon that has taken your precious treasure away from you? I’ll be sure to show him why mistreating a sorcerer’s subordinate is a horrific mistake to make.”

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Author's Note

Well this chapter barely made my personal deadline I tried to set for myself. I try to not take more than a month to write a chapter with my life being how it is, but the days seemed to have all sorts of things pop up to keep me preoccupied. Rather than go on about that, just know that I put in a lot of effort to get this chapter out to you.

I hope you all enjoy it, because I tried to make sure it had some interesting things to build into for my story such as:
1. Ethan developing a proper justification to develop arachnophobia and hatred for Spider-Man beyond OMD!

Zecora being a friendly neighbor, but also showing that she will not stand for having an evil sorcerer's malicious acts pinned on her!
A Dragoness who needs someone to drive out that Red Drake that took over her lair that clearly has a smoking problem!

So I hope you all enjoy another chapter of this story. Please like it if you enjoy it so far. Also comment on any questions or concerns you have and edits I need to make note of. I always try to proofread my work before posting, but sometimes I miss a thing or two. That and I always appreciate construction criticism so long as it remains polite.
Thanks for that, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Issue 4-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 1]

The sun shone brightly in the sky as it was intended to do. The only difference now was that instead of being an object of positive energy and cheeriness, it was instigating further misery upon the individual trotting bellow it. To her it was an object that was hurting her on multiple levels. It was a symbol of intense heat and the length of time she would suffer under it. At the same time, anywhere else in Equestria, ponies would probably be praising it and the monarch (or diarch now) that raised it to give light to the day. Perhaps if it was another time, and she wasn’t suffering the effects of dehydration and exhaustion, she could appreciate it as well. But then again, can you really blame a pony for hating the sun after spending who knows how long wandering into what amounted as a desert?

Trixie just about had it with this direction she was taking. It had been days since she’d seen so much as a sign of any sort of pony settlement. She should be trying to make more bits to cover her loses after the great fiasco in Ponyville. Unfortunately, she had forgotten what happens when big news hits the ears of ‘country bumpkins’: they spread the word. Word spread far and wide of a blue unicorn showmare who led an Ursa Minor into the town of Ponyville to inflate her ego only to lose control of said beast and nearly cause the town to suffer because of it.

Gossip seemed to follow wherever she tried to set up another show. At first she was able to earn enough bits to get some new clothes and a decent meal or two while facing a crowd that would laugh at her performances. But as she moved on, like a game of telephone-if such things were to exist in this realm-the stories whispered behind her back seemed to become more spiteful and nasty. The story seemed to evolve into a tale of a con artist who was more talk than talented and couldn’t take on an Ursa Minor newborn, to a crazed lunatic who forced two innocent young colts to act as bait for an Ursa to attack the town. By the time she reached the entrance of the last town she stopped in, she found herself being chased out by a mob with pitchforks, torches, and rocks of all things!

With that came the last straw. Trixie knew her time as a showmare was done. No longer could she show her face in any civilized setting without being laughed at best and driven out at worst. So she set out to journey and perhaps find some place to find…something…anything…she wasn’t really sure anymore. She just knew that each step forward had to in some way be another step away from the horrid state her life had become.

She was lucky that she was capable of eating foliage and flowers raw otherwise she would have starved by now. At this point, she’d give up her long locks of hair for some water. All she had was a sack full of used up supplies and the clothes on her back. At least this time she was dressed well enough with a simple outfit consisting of a slightly worn out blouse and pants. She would have hated to feel more undignified to be stuck in only her night clothes again.

“Where do I go?” she spoke out in the driest tone of voice she could gasp out. “I don’t…want to die here.”

She faltered onto the dirt and minimal foliage that covered the earth she walked. Trixie Lulamoon was unconscious in what seemed to her to be the middle of nowhere. Had it really been so, it may have been the end to her story right there.

Yet, it wasn’t quite the middle of nowhere. Oh it was still a dessert like setting as far as the eye could see. However, in the distance there could be a large and fragmented looking settlement that could be made out. For a few minutes more, a large and imposing figure was traveling from there on a pathway that eventually came across the unconscious unicorn.

Unlike the pony, in the glare of the sun it could be barely noted as to what its features were like. The shadows that it did create did make out that its features were more canine than equine. Whatever it was, it appeared to be collecting scrap that it placed into a barrel that it wore like a backpack. When it came across Trixie, laying their unconscious, it seemed to be contemplating on how to react to this unexpected change to its daily routine.

“Only trash get buried here.” The large figure said with a feminine sound of annoyance. “If yall’s trash, then at least ya’ll be useful to someone who could use the extra paws.”

She threw the passed out mare over her shoulder as she walked towards her previous location. “There’s always a better use for stuff ponyfolks throws away after all!”

She walked calmly back to her place of residence. The closer she got to it with every step, the more the structure in the distance revealed itself. As it turned out, it was a massive junkyard, a place where most things find their end.

That is, except for a couple of things that would find a new beginning. After all, one’s junk could sometimes become another’s treasure.

[}0{]

If there was one thing that could be said that Mysterio did right, it was plan a scheme. For every heist, robbery, and outright attack he performed there was a great deal of ingenuity and planning that had gone into it. Why the cartoons even went out of their way to show strong clues of it with his every appearance. From the blueprints layouts of the buildings he would appear in with his special effects magic, to his holograms of fully thought out settings to use as diversions or escape routes, Mysterio was one master of not just manipulating his environment, but his opponents into positions that he controlled.

The problem was that unlike Mysterio in his comic and cartoon scenarios, Ethan was limited on resources. He lacked a great deal of Mysterio’s usual materials to plan around with. He didn’t have any sort of financial backing like Mysterio did when he worked for big names like the Kingpin. He certainly didn’t have a studio filled with old props he could salvage from. At most, he had a library, and maybe some suits of armor for what he now knew were equine-descended people. But even with that he lacked any tools to create anything that would be a significant boost to his scheme like a robotic duplicate or an elaborately disguised weapon.

Rather than derail him, Ethan still felt he had amazing capabilities in planning out a heist such as this. He sat there at the desk taking notes on what he could learn about dragons that could be useful. It wasn’t just that the library had a good sized section of material to read up on either. He had a direct source of draconic knowledge from his newly enlisted subordinate, Tsavorite.

He used the term subordinate to only denote her status as a lower rank. He didn’t want to come across to her as a Master who owned her, but as a leader with a new employee. While her code of honor seemed to dictate her into thinking he owned her life, he did his best to counter argue and take a stance that she wasn’t subservient. It was a circular argument that led his decision to soften his image as a mighty sorcerer to her. So it was a couple of days since Zecora declared her to be healthy enough and felt she should return home, that he decided that if Tsavorite was going to stay and choose to serve him willingly, she had best to comprehend just who she was pledging her service to.

To do that, he decided to do the one thing to get her to start understanding him a bit.

He recalled the first time he decided to let her catch a glimpse of his true self behind the globe.

[}0{]

“Now Tsavorite, what I am about to show you may perhaps be the most horrifying thing you have seen in your life.” He said to her that day as they stood in the library. “I ask that you try your best not to scream, or to let your fight-or-flight instincts attack me as a reflex.”

“What are you-” Tsavorite started to question, before her mind seized her voice.

The sound of something unlocking occurred as Mysterio reached for the part of his head that connected with his shoulders. A great hissing gave out a cloud of steam as he lifted up the globe and lowered it around his arms to hold it.

The Dragoness’ eyes widened at the sight of Mysterio without his helmet.

“It’s!”

“Yes?”

“IT’s!”

“Yes!?”

“It’s very underwhelming.”

Well that certainly took the wind out of Ethan’s sails. He had been ready to give a speech about how he was nothing to be disgusted by, only to find that his big reveal was met with monotony.

“I mean no offense Lord Mysterio, but I was imagining that you were something much more horrific, like a collection of eyes, or,” She shuddered. “Tentacles kept under that helmet. Instead, your features are just plain, albeit peculiar.”

‘Peculiar?’ He was expected her to say ‘bizarre’ or ‘uncanny’, but ‘peculiar’…now that was practically insulting! “How so?”

“Like those round ears of yours. They just stick out on the sides of your head.” She tilted her head as she considered why they weren’t on top of his head like most beings. “That is very strange.”

“I’ll have you know my ears are fine!” They weren’t that round, were they? They stuck out a good angle from his head like any other person. Still, the sensitive topic gave him a bit of a tic. “At least I have them! I don’t see you with any, so how you can listen eludes me!”

Tsavorite seemed to either be unaware at Ethna’s displeasure, or ignoring it because it didn’t deter her survey of his features.

“And that fur on your head. You don’t have it anywhere else except over your eyes.” She continued. “What sense does that make?”

“I could have it on other parts of my face if I wanted.” He was capable of growing facial hair just fine! “I just choose not to.”

“And that nose.” She flicked at it with a claw, not seeming to care at how he flinched. “What purpose does it serve sticking out of your face like that?”

“Yeah, well, what purpose does having a spike on your nose serve?” he said as he poked a finger at her said appendage.

The two stared down one another before they finally ended up laughing at their fight over nothing.

“Thank you for that. I needed a pick me up.” Ethan said as he placed his helmet back on.

“Still, why do you choose to hide your features? I understand you look strange compared to ponies and my kind, but I do not think it is something to be disturbed by.” She tilted her head as she also noted his voice not having the echoing tone “Although, I admit, it is quite unexpected to realize that your voice is much more…youthful without it. Still, it is nothing to be ashamed by.”

“While I appreciate your acceptance, I think I should keep my ‘true form’ hidden for now. I don’t yet know if my being a human is accepted as well by others in this realm.” Maybe when he got the courage to show Zecora what he looked like he could feel more relaxed with the thought after her reaction, but until then, the helmet stays on. His voice returned to echoing with a deep resonance as he placed the orb back to its proper place. “Besides, I feel…good when I am in the full attire of the mantle I inherited.”

[}0{]

From that moment on, Tsavorite seemed to become friendlier and at ease with how she reacted around Ethan. She still held onto the idea that she had a life debt to repay to him with to be certain. At the very least, she wasn’t as hard pressed to act subservient to him. She still asked to help when she could, but she seemed to take comfort in not being expected to attend to him and being able to speak up more.

While Ethan felt relief that he wasn’t unintentionally taking advantage of someone, he found himself even more hard-pressed to come up with a plan to take down this red drake that drove Tsavorite from her home and hoard. This wasn’t helped by how he noticed that there stores of gems were only getting smaller with every day that passed. While he wasn’t blind to how much the dragoness needed to eat to keep herself healthy enough, he knew that there was a clock ticking that was counting down to when she would start fading into that emaciated state once again. She was getting better if the lack of ribs and her skin filling out where any indication. God forbid that her condition would start worsening again because he couldn’t drive a red dragon away from this cave in the mountains somewhere.

“If I had just one more tool to make a plan possible, I could do this, no problem!” Ethan thought aloud as his annoyance grew with another piece of paper being torn up for its implausible design. This one involved getting all the suits of armor and melting them into projectile that he could launch at the drake. The problems with it were too out of the question. He had maybe a week to build this launcher which with his skills alone would take him a month, and as far as he knew, he had no welding torch substitute as Tsavorite was not strong enough to breath fire to so much as scorch the metal.

This was the eighth attempt at planning out an idea and it was already late afternoon. Yet each one from planning a cave-in, to creating an army of robotic knights was deemed too implausible due to a lack of time, resources, and chance of success.

“I need to perform a miracle.” He banged his head onto the table top he was working on. “But even a miracle needs a hand.”

He looked towards his helmet that he set aside like a desk ornament. It was like gazing into a crystal ball, only he was trying to see a way to make his own future into something he could control.

Well, he supposed it couldn’t hurt to voice his question to the tool that helped him survive here for so long. “You’ve been a really helpful hand. I don’t suppose you could show me anything up your sleeves that could take out a dragon?”

In an ironic twist, the suit decided to do just that. With the utterance of that question, one side of the square-like gauntlet he wore on his right arm slid open to reveal a hidden compartment. What he found was a collection of items that would make his miracle happen!

[}0{]

“Tsavorite!” Mysterio proclaimed as he knocked onto the door of the bedroom. “Are you decent? I have something I must show you!”

“Come in.” She yawned as she woke herself up and made to get out of bed. It was late into the night and knowing Mysterio, he probably got her up for something truly important. Throwing the covers off of herself she stood out of bed straight and at attention to hear what he had to tell her.

“Well, then I must first inform you that-” his words faltered as he stood in the doorway. His express was difficult to read because of his helmet, but he seemed to be frozen for some reason.

“Is something the matter?” Tsavorite asked. She was worried about why the sorcerer had stopped in place. Did she not address him properly or unintentionally insult him somehow? She knew he was not strict to ceremony, but perhaps she should have shown more respect as he entered.

“I’m terribly sorry about entering at this time of night! I’ll discuss this news of mine in the morning when it better suits us.” He spoke quickly with what dignity he could muster. Apparently he was the party that did something embarrassing.

The globe helmeted figure hurried to step out and close the door as quietly as he could. Tsavorite could only blink as she was flabbergasted as to what she may have did that caused such a reaction in him.

[}0{]

As Ethan settled himself to sleep in a bedroom some halls away, he found that he was far from tired. His mind kept racing with questions and difficulties of the cultural faux pas he just walked into.

“She sleeps in the nude, yet nothing is indecent when she is uncovered.” He had to ask himself aloud to classify the validity of what he just saw. “How does that work or make sense?”

Evidently, Ethan would be finding it hard to fall asleep that night with his mind bringing up questions like ‘why a person wore clothes if it didn’t appear that they really needed them?’ and ‘If this was the female draconic form, then what was the male’s like?’

[}0{]

“So what is this matter that you wished to tell me?” Tsavorite asked as they sat down to eat breakfast.

“I have found the method in which I will drive that dragon from your home!” He pulled out a handful of objects and placed them onto the table between them. “Behold! I have right here the key components to my spells for this errand of mine.”

There were metal cubes that had hollowed out holes on each side. They were not much bigger than a dice, she supposed but they didn’t seem to appear that interesting. There were also some vials of what appeared to be some different colored liquids that bubbling and in some cases glowed.

“What makes them so significant?” She wondered as she continued eating her daily serving of gems. “Surely this can’t be all you’ll need to take on a mature dragon, Mysterio?”

“Oh, you’ll see!” He held up one of the cubes to her eye level. “This cube for instance is one of the keys to my great victory. One in which I’ll show just how powerful of a sorcerer I am! Now, first I must go over the fundamental of my great plan.”

[}0{]

As the two sat down and were discussing matters of strategy, two others were discussing their own approach of dealing with Red Dragon that had begun preparing for a hundred year nap.

“Sister, tis madness!” Luna proclaimed at her sister’s decision. Her plate of breakfast nearly went flying at the impact of her fist upon the table. It had the added effect of not only showing her strength that contravened her youthful stature, but also had the servants discreetly leave the dining hall to avoid what they thought to be a fight between two goddesses.

“Do you think I don’t know that, Luna?” Celestia argued back, trying to keep her voice calm and composed. “Do you really think I am unaware of the risk that I am having Twilight and the Element Bearers undergo for this?”

“But not even a squad of the Royal Guard to accompany them?” Luna raised. “Or at the very least, to send the Elements of Harmony to them? It is a full-grown dragon for Mother’s sake!”

“I know that, Luna, but our hands are tied. Their sovereigns may be civil when it comes to discussion, but it does not take them much to remember that we have come to a ceasefire, not an actual treaty of resolution. A handful of them would love to reignite the flames of war, literally and figuratively.” She explained. “I am still in discussions with their High King if the Elements of Harmony should be considered a war power, or not. So far they have diplomatic power according to them, so they at least know that they are not to be harmed lest they become the instigators.”

She continued with a quick drink from her glass to cool her nerves. The next point was just as, if not more, frustrating than the last to her.

“As for our soldiers, whatever squads that are not out patrolling right now are being reevaluated by our Colonel since her coming out of retirement.” She rubbed her forehead in annoyance at the results of that disruption to her forces. “Already, I am forced to give each of them a week’s worth of paid leave to recuperate from how far she is driving them to meet ‘her qualifications’.”

Luna had to raise an eyebrow at that emphasis of ‘her qualifications’. “Is she that harsh of a drill instructor?”

“Let’s just say, I am surprised Shining Armor didn’t throw away his badge when she volunteered to reevaluate him as the new Captain of the Royal Guard. Candace is already sending me letters of how the vacation she planned to spend with him is now dedicated to treating his wounds as he is bed-bound in the infirmary. ” Despite the outcome of that incident, it at least kept Shining from being in a position to hear about his sister being sent to negotiate with a dragon and to go AWOL to rescue his B.L.S.F.F (Best Little Sister Friend Forever). “In any case, I find that we are hard pressed to lend much help, at least in time, to avert possible disaster. We’ll just have to see what they are capable of, and hope that they have what it takes to deal with the situation before we can send anything that becomes available.”

It was then that Luna noticed the look in her sister’s eyes. Despite her best to maintain the regal presence of the Princess of the Sun, she could see that image was blemished. Her regalia were askew, showing she did not take the concentration she usually had placing them. Her hands that were holding the glass to sip from were shaking. It was only slightly, but she spotted them. Even her hair did not seem to flow at the same angle that it usually did by unseen wind.

In that moment, Celestia did not have the picture perfect appearance of the Beloved Princess of Equestria. Instead, she had the look of a mare that sent her filly out into a dangerous world. Only, this filly was Twilight, not a progeny of her body, but of her wisdom and teachings. To lose her was something she knew her sister never wanted to experience with her prized student. Especially, when she considered how her sister seemed to hint at how she despaired losing her and something else some time back.

“Tis would be easier if we were back in the old days. We wouldn’t have to worry so much about the consequences of driving a dragon from blowing smoke on our lands.” Luna sighed out as she recalled the age in her youth-her actual youth mind you!-and how dragons were not but adversaries to defeat, not political rivals in civil games. “When a dragon dared to think it could just take a hundred year nap, we gave it a list of reasons why it was a bad idea. Usually with our fists repeatedly being inflicted on its face.”

That seemed to cheer up Celestia a bit as she gave a giggle at the image of how her sister and her fought of dragons like the warriors in the tales of old. Such simpler times indeed!

“That’s part of the problem, Luna. Growing up means being responsible for your actions, and in this case we must be sure to act in a manner that is not going to restart a war that nearly tore the realm apart.” She stated with an exhale of her own. Still, Celestia tried to remain positive. “I’m sure Twilight and her friends can come up with a way to resolve this matter peacefully. With any luck, a solution to our problem will be found and they’ll find themselves back in Ponyville safe and sound.”

That was all that they could do at that moment: Hope for the best and pray the worst never came to pass. Little did they know that the next day something would occur to alter the events that should have transpired; something…wonderful!

[}0{]

On this day, the sun shone steadily as it was intended to do. Only, it did not shine as brightly due to the smoke layer that was developing in the sky above. It almost seemed to be reminiscent of an active volcano. Yet it was not a spout of lava that the smoke was originating from, but the entrance to a cave that was located near the peak of a mountain.

“Now are you certain the smoke shall dissipate the moment this drake leaves?” Mysterio asked as they neared their destination. The trek up this mountain was long and treacherous, but it seemed they made good time to be there with the midday sun.

“I believe so. Dragon smoke tends to dissipate quickly when a dragon is awake for a good while, so it stands to reason that it should cease when he is driven out.” Tsavorite rationally stated as she shuffled behind him.

Despite Mysterio reasoning that he only needed directions, she still insisted on personally leading the way to her old den. The fatigue of the journey was clearly present in her as she traveled along; showing that she still had some ways to go before being fully recovered from her brush with death. Still, Mysterio gave no argument to deter her decision to come. He made concessions to stop when she needed, but brushed it off by stating how his suit was like a sauna (whatever that was).

As for the sorcerer himself, he was hard to read with that dome head of his. He did not give the semblance of being worried as they drew near to their destination, but neither did he give off an aura of confidence. The best way Tsavorite could describe his current emotional impression was neutral determination.

“This should be far enough.” He declared as they reached the turn to the clearing before the cave. “You should wait for me here so that you are not harmed in the crossfire. Try not to let him know that you are here. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve driven him out.”

“Are you certain you will not need my help to deal with him?” She asked as she sat on a flat rock to rest. She tried to hide her weakness, but the journey was just too strenuous for her at her current state. There was no way the sorcerer didn’t notice.

“Tsavorite, the trip here alone has tired you out more than it has me. You can barely stand up to him as you are.” He wrapped himself up in is cloak as he turned and steadily walked to the cave. “Trust me. I will handle this!”

Tsavorite looked like she was about to protest more, but realized the futility of doing so. She could do nothing more, but watch him from a distance, muttering whatever well wishes she could in hopes for his success.

[}0{]

While Mysterio gave off a presence of being stoic to his upcoming challenge, Ethan was doing his best to remain calm and not break into a run for it.

‘Come on, Ethan, this is no different than the time you tried out street magic and ran into those gang members.’ He thought as he tried to reason out the situation by recalling a previous time in his life when he was this scared to act. ‘Of course, while those guys would shank you if you didn’t hand over the money you pulled out of their ears, they weren’t big enough to tear you in half with one bite, or burn you into a crisp with fire breath.’

As he approached the entrance to the cave, he could already make out the rumbling snores of the beast that lied inside. As much as he tried to disregard the volume as an echo, he knew that whatever was making the noise was big. He was half tempted to make some form of ‘bigger boat’ line, but his mind blanked out for a moment as he heard a loud coughing noise, followed by a flicker of light, or what was probably flame.

‘Well, if I fail, hopefully I’ll be a pile of ash in a blink-’ He punched his fists together as a last chance effort to psyche himself up and abandon his fear. ‘What am I saying?! I’ve got this! I’m a master of sleight of hand. Sure it’s a dragon, but he’ll be no different than any other lout once you’ve shown what tricks you are capable now!’

It was with that conclusion that Mysterio began his latest performance of his art.

“Hear me, dragon!” He pointed accusingly towards the cave entrance. “I come here to face you for your transgression!”

There was no answer. Only more snores and smoke exited the cave. Not a sign of anything so much as a red scale or spine.

This raised Mysterio’s ire, so he raised his voice to reflect this disrespect to his demand. “I said I come here to punish you for the crime you have committed! Now come out from there, or so help me, I will drag you out from their like a hatchling!”

Now that started something! For in an instance, the smoke stopped puffing out. There was a loud series of thuds that started to get louder as something large drew near the cave. Mysterio readied himself into a fighting stance as the being stepped out into the daylight.

If Tsavorite was nearly seven feet, then this dragon was around three times that height, give or take. He was built like an armored reptilian Adonis. Seriously, if his musculature didn’t determine him to be a threat, it was how his red scales seemed to shine with a heated gleam, while the yellowish ones of his torso was like a Kevlar vest of gold. It was like if Brooklyn from Gargoyles took up Goliath’s training regime and got boosted into the Incredible Lou Ferrigno while becoming a C-rank kaiju. Heck, he even wore a loincloth that reminded him of the type they wore in the Gargoyles cartoon, only it had a linked chain instead of a leather belt. The only difference seemed to be that he had no hair, but extensive spines that stuck from a long serpentine neck. His needle like snout revealed sharpened teeth ready to bit him.

Or in this case, drawn back to yawn. “-Yawn- Now who is this that disturbs my slumber?”

Mysterio composed himself into a more respectable persona and stature. When his cape started fluttering in the wind, he began his introduction to this opponent before him.

“I am Mysterio, the Lord of Wonder Castle and a Master of the Arcane Arts!” He raised a fist in fury as he continued. “I come here to reclaim the territory and property of Tsavorite the Dragoness! You may remember her as the green dragoness whose hoard you have stolen for your greedy black heart!”

The Red Drake raised a brow at that declaration before chuckling out. “Really? You come here on behalf of that slítere?”

“Slítere?” Mysterio whispered. Inside his helmet, Ethan saw his HUD immediately pull up a translation protocol and a brief explanation appeared on the side of his view. ‘Slítere’ was a term that in Old English had connotations of being a waster, destroyer, or a consumer of food; in other words, a gorger or glutton. Seeing that this was some form of insult, he pointed accusingly at the drake as he furthered emphasized his stance on the matter at hand. “I come here on behalf of my newest subordinate who has shown me a prime example of one who exhibits Dragon culture. You on the other hand have proven to be nothing more than a smokepot!”

The Drake stopped laughing. His eyes glowered in anger as he angrily questioned that accusation. “What was that?”

Now if there was one thing you did not call a dragon, it was a ‘smokepot’. From Tsavorite’s brief explanation when he asked for some insults to throw at him, this was the one that did not only imply weakness, but impotence. To call him such would be to call him ‘wickless’, which she warned might send him over the edge.

“Are you deaf as well? I came here to face a dragon, but instead I find a smokepot that only needs to be put out!” Mysterio proclaimed, not caring about how much his words were driving the drake into a rage. He was on a roll. “So while it is not worth even my piss to do so, I will oblige you with a moment of my time to receive your apology as you get the hell out of here!”

The Red Drake flared his nostrils as he heard this slight to his character.

“HOW DARE YOU-” The Drake began to rear back its long neck, only to find his words interrupted again.

“How? Simple! I dare it, and you just take it like lumps of coal you poorly maintained furnace!”

The Red Drake roared with a mighty bellow that could be heard for miles. If there was any evidence to how angry he was, it was that smoke was constantly pouring out of his mouth as his eyes gave off a fiery glow as they glared into the reflective surface of Mysterio’s visage.

“You think I am going to leave MY dwelling and hoard because of the demands of a foolish jester who claims to know magic?” He clenched his clawed hands as the sharp spines along his neck seemed to flair out. “You think I would give up this entire sum of treasures for the sake of a wasteful Slítere?I have taken this treasure as my own, and therefore, only I am entitled to it, you cheap conjurer of tricks!”

“I am no mere conjurer of tricks! I am Mysterio! And I’ll only need three spells to end you!” He held up three fingers to emphasize his claim. He then dwindled down to one, before giving off a snap as he initiated his first spell. “Magicis Mistius!”

A deep mist surrounded them. Unlike his usual green mist, this one was more of a yellowish tinge. It spout from Mysterio and expanded into a deep fog that hid everything from view. Mysterio was no longer able to be seen, but the drake knew he was there by his sense of smell. This was but a poor form of concealment from a predator such as himself.

“You dare to call ME the smokepot, but all I see is one who unleashes a load of foul air!” He raised his wings as a bright orange glow gathered in the back of his throat. “Now perish in flames!”

He ignited the dense mist with his breath of flame. That was a big mistake! The mist ignited and became a massive burst of sound and light as it detonated into a shower of colorful explosions. The drake felt disorientation hit him with the force of a rock slide. Were he a lesser dragon, that move may have finished him.

“That was just my first spell, but I am giving you one last chance to flee, before I change my mind.” Said Mysterio’s voice as it came from behind him. “So if I were you, I would take it because I would be too frightened of facing my most primal fear as a dragon.”

The Red Drake turned and entered the cave as quickly as he was able to face the spellcaster. He just stood in the center as if waiting for his arrival.

“I’ll watch you burn before I see you claim my treasure trove,” He growled out as he readied himself for another breath of fire.

The sorcerer did not cower in fear, or make any move to avoid the incoming attack. Instead he slowly gave out a noise as his glassy orb-like head blinked out a light in a repeated motion. He was not making noises at random, but was actually laughing aloud like he understood a great joke.

The Red Drake ceased his developing attack to ask him what was so hilarious. “And what could a fool like you find so funny? Have you finally succumbed to hysteria in my presence?”

Mysterio just waved him off as he started to calm down. Though he was still chuckling a bit, he settled himself into a coherent enough state to talk.

“Look around you, Drake! I’ve already taken it!” He spread his arms wide as he spun about the room. “Every piece from the biggest gem encrusted chalice to the smallest golden coin is gone! Nothing in here remains but rocks and the shifting piles of dust!”

The Red Drake at first didn’t believe this. Then he noticed the fact that the only thing occupying this cave was himself, some stones, and this spell casting thief. There wasn’t so much as a single piece of gold or jewel to be found.

“The Treasure!!” The Red Drake exclaimed as he frantically searched about the chamber for any glimmer of it. But all he found was a collection of useless pebbles and stones. “Where is it?! What happened to it?!”

Mysterio just stood there with his arms crossed, enjoying the Red Drake’s displeasure at this change of fortune.

‘Part one of the plan: Complete!’ Mysterio proclaimed to himself in joy as he thought back to the plan he solidified yesterday.

[}0{]

As the two had finished their breakfast, Ethan and Tsavorite were discussing the plan that he had come up with for their attack on the Red Drake. Ethan had improvised a model of the mountain out of various things he could find to get his point across. What looked like a salt and pepper shaker on their way up a pile pf various dishes was in fact a representation of Mysterio’s great scheme.

“Now the key to the plan is making sure he gets outside of the cave long enough.” Ethan stated as he pointed to the part of the mountain that had the entrance to the cave. The teapot was placed menacingly out of the tilted bucket that was the cave that was filled with some of Mysterio’s golden coins to represent the treasure.

“Why is that?” the Dragoness asked.

“Because how else am I going to rob him blind?” He then took the coins one by one as he explained this part. “He just needs to be outside and not anywhere near the treasure for about two minutes. Then we won’t have to worry about the treasure for I will have taken it in that time.”

He jingled the coins in his hands, before opening his palm to reveal that they were gone. It was a simple sleight of hand for him, but Tsavorite saw it as an amazing magic technique.

“Amazing!” she exclaimed excitedly, before remembering the targeted prize was a lot more than a few coins. “But how will you possibly take all of his treasure in such a limited time?”

“Why with my magic off course! If a human magician is capable of making a statue about a hundred and fifty feet tall disappear, then a sorcerer of my caliber can certainly make a cave full of treasure disappear in just two minutes.” Ethen placed a hand behind his ear, before taking the coins out of it. “Maybe three at most.”

While that was an impressive claim to make, Tsavorite still looked worried at the prospect of attempting such a thing.

“But what makes you think you even have a chance?” She countered. “This is a dragon in his lair. With his hoard surrounding him, he will be strongest due to his greed.”

Ethan saw the honest worry in her glance. Despite the reptilian nature of her pupils, they were still able to express such anxiety with no chance of misrepresentation. It amazed him how relatable an expression was, and thus compelled him to find a way to alleviate it not just for her sake, but for his own similar feelings he was trying to hide.

“Let me tell you a story about an earlier man who took the mantle of Mysterio and the greatest trick he ever pulled.” He began as he told her one of the most severe appearances of Mysterio in all of comic book history.

“It was against an opponent who was said to be unbeatable. His bones were unbreakable, and had a healing factor that made him immortal. He fought with claws that jutted out of his fists that were composed of this same metal. His fury was that of a wild animal, and he was the best at what he did, but what he did wasn’t very nice to say the least.”

Tsavorite seemed to flinch at this image of such a monster. Ethan noticed, but continued his tale.

“One day, it was up to this Mysterio to subdue him. He knew right away that the odds were against him. In fact, those that heard of his assigned task probably considered him a dead man walking.” He then banged his fist on the table, nearly causing the mountain of dishes to tumble over. “But he was able to accomplish his goal with the skills he had against this supposedly unbeatable foe and left his in a state in which he would never fight again for years to come.”

“What did he do?” Tsavorite asked, immensely curious how a magic user could defeat such an unbeatable foe.

Ethan seemed hesitant to answer at first, before succumbing to her curious stare. He tried to word it as lightly as he could.

“This Mysterio used the opponent’s enhanced senses and animalistic rage against him and broke him with but a few simple spells. The warrior thought he was fighting a congregation of his worst enemies in a massive battle royale in his home.”

“And what else?” Tsavorite asked, knowing there was something that he clearly was hesitant to tell her.

Ethan was silent for a good while, before finally getting the nerve to tell the dragoness just what was the ending to that story he was trying to avoid saying.

“When his mind cleared, the warrior found forty dead bodies not composed of his greatest villains, but his dearest allies.” He continued despite the gasp Tsavorite gave at that revelation. “The blood on his hands made him lose his will to fight and nearly to live. All of it was thanks to a couple simple spells from this sorcerer.”

Tsavorite actually looked a shade greener than she should at the story. Ethan could only hope that his moral on the spot could ease her into a better understanding of why he said this story.

“The reason I tell you this is not so you are aware of the violence that was done, but to let you know the potential anyone who takes up the mantle of Mysterio is capable of enacting.” He tried to explain as he absentmindedly twirls a coin in his fingers. “Not everyone is unbeatable. Sometimes one’s greatest strength can become their greatest detriment.”

“But the way that one…person…did it is unimaginably cruel. Yet not only are you not the first Mysterio, but this is the legacy you have chosen to inherit?” She looked wearily at him as she had to ask, “Would you ever even consider doing such a thing so…horrible?”

Ethan felt really guilty at that question. That wasn’t what he wanted to convey to her. He certainly wasn’t that kind of person like that Mysterio. That still did little to alleviate the rotten feeling that hit his core. Yet, he still was able to collect himself into a determined attitude as he affirmed his good intentions.

“I don’t think I would kill a dragon’s loved ones for a mere pile of gold.” He asserted with a slam of the golden coins in his hands onto the table. He gave a smile as his emphasized his confirmation. “Besides, if this plan goes well, I won’t even have to wound him to get back your treasure.”

[}0{]

So far the plan was going well. While the explosive gas did some serious damage onto the dragon, it was nothing close to being fatal. While it did harm the drake, which broke a bit of the unspoken rules he gave to Tsavorite, he didn't see it as a failure on his part. Rather, he viewed it as a good sign in how was able to rattle the supposedly sturdy creature into acknowledging his capabilities as a fighter. That and the fact that he somehow took the entire hoard away in such a limited amount of time clearly shattered whatever confidence the drake had at his own competence.

“Now I have gotten what I came for, so you may as well be on your way.” Mysterio nonchalantly shooed at him like you would a cat to get away from your doorstep. “A big strong Drake like yourself is sure to find more treasure elsewhere. At the very least, you won’t starve without it like poor Tsavorite seemed to when you wrongfully claimed it.”

“Give it back!” The Red Drake demanded with gnashing teeth. “Give it back or I will burn you and everything that is set around here!”

“I will not! I have taken it and thus am entitled to it, as said by someone quite recently, I’m sure.” He then flicked his cloak back as he threw a pointed towards the exit. “Now be gone before you rile my wrath against you further!”

The drake let loose a mighty roar. Mysterio only took that to mean ‘No’.

“Have it your way then!” Mysterio curled his cape tightly around himself as his visage glowed with a green light for a moment. “My second spell will be a warning shot so you can understand my capabilities.”

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

Author's Note

Well this chapter missed my personal deadline. As I said before, I try to not take more than a month to write a chapter with my life being how it is, but again the days seemed to have all sorts of things pop up to keep me preoccupied. This last month in particular was jam packed for me, and I don't doubt it's going to be busier the deeper we go into September and beyond. So apologies in advance for my update rate, but my Real life takes priority. I'm sure you all understand.

In any case, this was a chapter that started to stretch out to be much longer than I anticipated. So I split it down the middle as cleanly as I could, because I found that the second part needed more time to work, and the least I could do is give you this first part to read in the meantime.

I hope you all enjoy it, because I tried to make sure it had some more interesting things to build into for my story such as:
1. Where is Trixie? What happened to the Great and Powerful Showmare?
2. Who is this mysterious figure that lurks in the shadows of discarded things?
3. How does some(one/pony/dragon) react to the true terror that lies under Mysterio's helmet?
4. How is Mysterio one of the Most Underated Supervillains in all of Comic books?
5. Why would Celestia and Luna ever agree to send six ponies of to face a fully grown Red Drake to parley for it to leave?
and More!

So I hope you all yet enjoy another chapter of this story. Please like it if you enjoy it so far. Also comment on any questions or concerns you have and edits I need to make note of. I always try to proofread my work before posting, but sometimes I miss a thing or two. That and I always appreciate construction criticism so long as it remains polite!

Thanks for that, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Issue 5-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 2]

[}0{]

“Give it back!” The Red Drake demanded with gnashing teeth. “Give it back or I will burn you and everything that is set around here!”

“I will not! I have taken it and thus am entitled to it, as said by someone quite recently, I’m sure.” He then flicked his cloak back as he threw a pointed finger towards the exit. “Now be gone before you rile my wrath against you further!”

The drake let loose a mighty roar. Mysterio only took that to mean ‘No’.

‘Now to show off just what kind of mind-screws I can throw your way!’ He thought as he fully prepared his latest ‘spell’.

He threw open the cloak and revealed that something was taking the place of his right hand. No longer was it the yellow-green gauntlet with a rectangular wrist portion with intricately etched symbols on its faces. It was no longer even the hand of a man like himself but the…living and breathing maw of…The Red Drake!?

“What-” The drake was interrupted by the maw unleashing a torrent of flames upon him that were enhanced in their intensity by the yellow mist that once again suddenly surrounded him. He didn’t have time to question where the mist came from because of their end result being truly painful.

The flames set him ablaze! Were he not a fire drake, they would have severely wound him. Even still, as durable as he was due to his alignment they worsened his disoriented condition with their concussive burst and searing capability.

“As a sorcerer of my capabilities, it is mere child’s play to reconstruct the attack of a drake such as you.” Mysterio stated eagerly as he held out his dragon for a hand like a cannon. It roared jeeringly at the being it mirrored. Mysterio stroked it like a feline as he continued his lecture. “But allow me to show you what I can do with a little bit more…imagination. You’ve wasted enough of my time, and I would like to settle this matter today. So I hope you’ll enjoy watching my final spell in action. Watch as we begin with the first part.”

The drake head on his arm closed its maw to give off a malicious smile. Before The Red Drake could dwell on seeing himself look so viciously…at himself, it began to bubble and stretch until it clearly settled into a complete metamorphosis. The scales were no longer red, but were transmuting into a violet hue. There were no longer extensive spines, but greenish ridges along the neck and atop the head. Great horns crowned this new monstrosity as it was clearly the head of a greater drake than even he ever hoped to become.

But what frightened him more was how this drake opened its mighty jaws and behind rows of teeth, a bright light could be seen emitting from the back of its throat. It was a very intensely white light that was blinding to see.

“That’s-!” The Red Drake was frightened at the visage for he recognized this mighty violet Drake among drakes and the charging shot it was readying.

“You know it? Good!” as he outstretched his left hand next to the glowing violet head of the dragon. “Then I don’t have to explain the basis to get you to understand how I contributed to this wonderful attack for now you shall witness the next part.”

Another violet dragon’s head merged out of the previous one and onto Mysterio’s other hand. It was already charging up with its own power that it clearly desired to unleash. The two of them were like a pair of conjoined draconic twins that dared to hold a pair of stars in their maws like jawbreakers.

As Mysterio readied the salvos, he recalled how he came up with this step of the plan.

[}0{]

After easing Tsavorite about the tale of the Mysterio against the unbeatable warrior, Ethan found himself in the library, asking the dragoness about any information about dragons that could be useful. He had already gone over insults (definitely planning on using ‘smokepot’), but now it was time to ask more about dragonfire and the like. The plan depended heavily on this information in order to be successful.

“Now we get to the climax of the plan. When I asked you about dragons breathing fire, you said that there are many different types of fumes and flames a dragon can unleash. Even those that breathe something like fire can have different colors. So which one is the most deadly and the most feared?”

Tsavorite pondered this carefully, for the answer of this question was similar to explaining which type of gemstone was the most nutritious to her; it was difficult to explain if you weren’t a dragon to understand it. “I would have to say it depends on the dragon. Most follow the general rule that the dragon with the hottest breath give the brightest attack. Therefore, they would only back off if they feel their own attack would not outshine the others so to speak.”

“But which is that type that drives all the others away?” Ethan emphasized. “Which one is the type that the moment you see the dragon rearing its head back, you start running for your very life? I get the impression that there is at least one type that every dragon stays as far away from as they can.”

So that was what he wished to know. Tsavorite knew now what he wanted to hear. The dragoness took a breath as she gave the answer to that and tried not to shudder at the possible implications as to why he wanted that information.

“Every dragon, from hatchling to elder knows of one type to flee from. Those that are targeted are vaporized nearly instantly. Not even ashes remain. It’s said to be hot enough to burn even the Sun Goddess herself. No lie, I know historically she was hit with it once and the fact that she survived was only due to being magically tied to the sun. Even with her godly nature, she still suffered burns that made her bleached whiter than her natural fur as the tale goes.” She shuddered as she imagined the type of breath that all dragons feared. “The attack comes from the jaws of the High King Violetmaw himself! The moment that he opens those large fangs and a light glimmers from the back of his throat, everyone in the vicinity starts fleeing to avoid a searing end! For no one would be foolish enough to stay still to the attack known to many as ‘The Vanishing Flare’!”

[}0{]

“Now you have a choice, Red Drake: either take your divine punishment like a proper dragon and be decimated by me, or flee like the yellow-bellied lizard you are.” The Dragon heads opened their maws wider as the searing light built up in their throats. “I highly suggest you do the latter because I won’t have a thing left to remember you by when these two attacks go off.”

‘Flee! Flee! Flee! Flee! FLEE!! FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE!!!’ The thought shouted in the Red Drake’s mind. It snapped him out of his frozen stupor as he turned to the entryway of the cave. Like a minor prey to an apex predator, he decided to not take the risk of attempting to face this attack head on.

Oh by Celestia, did the Red Drake fled! He didn’t give a DAMN how the sorcerer was conjuring it, but he wasn’t going to take the full impact of TWO salvos worth of ‘The Vanishing Flare’!

Still, despite the drake clearly running for it, Mysterio still motioned to unleash this attack upon his opponent.

“Dou-ble…Van-ish-ing…FLARE!!” He shouted as the two beams flowed out from the gaping maws.

The Red drake heard this and took to the sky as fast as his wings could carry him. He nearly broke them trying to raise him up with such speed, but was almost glad as he saw the beams missing his clawed feet by mere inches. He just barely avoided death! To think that the sorcerer was capable of not just copying the signature attack of the Dragon High King himself, but to double it was immensely horrifying!

Thus, the Red Drake just kept flying as far as his wings could carry him! All that ran through his mind was how close his hundred year nap came to becoming the final sleep.

His departure was witnessed by a few individuals. One of which was a green dragoness who used to live in that cave.

Tsavorite just stood by with her widely surprised expression. She looked towards the caves’ entrance and back at the Red Drake flying away in the distance as if one of the sovereigns was on his tail. To think, from her hiding place all she saw was Mysterio mutter a few words as he conjured that mist around him. She noted how he threw something into the cave-probably a rock-and past the drake before luring him inside. She heard great shouts, but could not make them out beyond what sounded like Mysterio’s laughter and the Red Drake’s distress.

And yet he not only got the Red Drake to fight him, but he did something even more unthinkable. Judging by the torrents of bright light that the drake flew away from, Mysterio somehow conjured not one, but two instances of the great attack of Violetmaw himself!

“You can come in here now Tsavorite! I doubt he’ll be back anytime soon by the speed he’s flying out of here!” Mysterio’s voice echoed from the cave. She hurried to meet him inside to be certain that he was alright from this clash.

Inside she found nothing more than the cavern walls and piles of rocks and stalagmites. There was nothing in there except the lone Lord of Wonder Castle himself. Mysterio was just standing in the center of the cave with cloak wrapped around him as if expecting to be attacked again.

“Over here.” said a voice behind her. Tsavorite immediately turned to face it, and was surprised to see Mysterio already behind her leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in nonchalance. She turned back to see the one she saw in the center, but he wasn’t there. Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

“Are you alright Tsavorite? You looked surprised to see me alive and well.” He held a hand in front of his ‘mouth’ in mock surprise as he asked, “Did you doubt my ability to keep my promise to you?”

“No, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried that the Red Drake wouldn’t wound you in some way. I am amazed that you not only drove him away, but did it in such a way that I am not sure how to describe it.” She was just too dumbfounded for words to display how amazed she was at the way things turned out. Yet one thing still bothered her that she knew she had to ask. “But how did you take away all the treasure?”

Mysterio gave out a laugh as he readied to reveal a magician’s secret to his subordinate.

“It was very simple. I didn’t.” He snapped his fingers. “Revealous!”

The cavern was no longer empty, but instead was filled with the piles of treasure it previously displayed. Scrooge McDuck himself would hand over his nephews for a chance to swim in these piles of gold, jewels, and other such wonderful pieces of splendor. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes at the sight of it all to be certain that she wasn’t imagining it all being in front of her.

“I simply cast an illusion on him to make him believe he was facing me in epic combat while ultimately hurting only himself. As for the cavern, I placed a spell that would only allow those to see the cavern and not the treasure.” Mysterio sounded smug as he tilted his head a bit in satisfaction of his actions. “What do you know? It only took two spells for me to reclaim your horde! Do you doubt my level of sorcery now, Lady Tsavorite-?”

Mysterio found himself off his feet and in the embrace of a most grateful damsel who was no longer in distress. “Thank you, Master Mysterio!”

Mysterio could only coyly show nonchalance at the praise. “You’re welcome. But how many times must I tell you I don’t own-”

He stopped his thought as he could clearing hear a clopping sound in the distance that was drawing nearer to the cavern’s entrance. Tsavorite let him go so that he could get a closer look at whoever was coming before they entered.

What he discovered shook up a few things that he considered factual about this world. Unknowingly, he was also glimpsing a few individuals who would forever change his life as he knew it, even as it was now.

There were six individuals, all female by their features, and each one was more unique looking and colorful than the next. They were all humanoid equines (equinoids?...humaniquines?...Ponies!) While he recalled some features being similar to those he noticed in Zecora, there were some clear differences that went beyond how they each looked a bit younger than she.

The first had purple fur. She had long hair with bangs, or a mane, that was dark violet with a pink stripe and a purple stripe. She was dressed in a business casual outfit that consisted of a blue buttoned up blouse with a red bow, and a purple skirt that had an emblazoned logo of a pink star with tiny white ones surrounding it. It seemed to be the same symbol that matched the tattoo like marks in her thighs. Overall, she certainly had a studious vibe about her.

The next one was pink furred with a pink and poofy mane. It reminded him of cotton candy. She was dressed up in a small blue sweater, a white shirt with a heart, and a long pink skirt with a yellow and two blue balloons on the side. She too had a similar mark on both of her thighs. She had a bubbly and excitable energy that emitted from her.

The third one was a sky blue furred equine character that had a shortcut main of rainbow colors. She was dressed in a dark blue track outfit that had a short top that showed off her hard earned abs and a pair of shorts. The markings on her thighs-for Mysterio was beginning to notice a pattern-was a cloud with a primary colored lightning bolt. She seemed more hotheaded and prone to fighting if how she kept shadowboxing the air was any indication.

If anything, the more intimidating one might have been the cowgirl dressed one arguing a bit with her. Her clothing was a simple red plaid shirt and jean shorts. She had orange fur and a straw yellow mane with a brown Stetson on her head. The mark on her legs was a trio of apples. She was clearly the more strength oriented one of the bunch with her musculature that was even thicker than the blue one.

This next one was definitely a model of elegance. She had white fur with a purple curled and stylized mane. If she didn’t dress somewhat casual with a long sleeved white shirt and black skirt with trio of diamonds on her thighs, he would have sworn he was looking at one of them of noble upbringing. That and she seemed uncomfortable with the idea of having to sit on the dirt covered rocks.

Still, she seemed to be trying to comfort the last member of the party. It was a yellow furred one with a long pink mane. She shyly sunk her head into her long sleeved yellow sweater. She also wore a green with butterflies that he assumed would match a mark on her thighs were her skirt not covering a good deal of her legs. This one seemed to be frightened at her own shadow by how skittish she moved as she sat.

The features that stood out to Mysterio were that the purple and the white one had spiraled horns on their foreheads while the yellow and the blue ones had wings. He knew Zecora explained that Unicorns and Pegasi existed, but he didn’t think he would encounter them out of the blue like this.

Mysterio found himself disturbed by a number of reasons. Not only did they exhibit colors that in no way would he associate with horses, but they were dressed in clothing that was so…modern! He had expected to be in a world in which the inhabitants lived in villages and had tribal upbringings. Yet already he saw a few dressed up no differently than any young woman he would encounter back home. Just what kind of world did he find himself in and how diverse and widespread was it?

Tsavorite interrupted his thoughts as she had to ask why the spell caster was so quiet. “Who is coming?”

“It looks like six of those…ponies that Zecora mentioned. Two unicorns, two pegasi, and two…earth ponies. They seem like a colorful bunch, but harmless enough.” He stepped back towards her as he continued reporting his findings. “They looked like they were appreciating how the sky was clearing up, so maybe they were just here to negotiate with the Red Drake to stop emitting the black smoke?”

“If they were, then that means they aren’t going to be much trouble.” She sighed out with a hint of relief. “Ponies and Dragons are currently in a type of agreement of non-violence. As far as I know, so long as they don’t fight dragons, dragons won’t fight them and vice versa.”

Ah! So in a sense, they had the advantage here. This gave Mysterio an idea.

“Listen, Tsavorite, it’s probably best if I don’t reveal myself to them just yet. I’ll disapperate myself and retrieve a method to move this treasure back to the castle. Can you handle things here until I return?” He clasped his hands together hopingly.

“I believe so.” She nodded her head. Then she realized what he just said. “But what-”

“Good. I’ll be back.” He said, before fading out of existence. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes again at that to make sure her Master had not just been a figment of her imagination or something else of the sort.

“Oh, good, you're awake.” said a voice of a figure entering the cave. The green dragoness turned to see an approaching purple Unicorn mare addressing her. She gave a bow as she used her magi to set up a presentation behind her, and began by first introducing herself.

“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria. Ponyville, to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke. Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?” She reasoned, hoping the dragoness would be amenable to the request. She’d hate to have Rainbow Dash try her attempt next, and more than likely start up a war in the process.

“Of course.” Twilight’s ears perked up at Tsavorite’s nod in agreement. “It would be best if I do it posthaste before that no good thief comes back!”

Now this was certainly news to the young mare. “Thief? Was this lair stolen?”

“Yes, you see, this was my home, until a few days ago a no good crimson thief came and cast me out. He wished to take my hoard for his own and take a century nap on top of it. Seems that he was also uncaring enough to allow his smoke to spread through the sky in a way that would make the nearby land only suitable for himself.” She hugged herself as she thought of the one responsible for getting it back. “Were it not for the help of my master he would still be here, causing problems for us both.”

“Master?” Twilight asked, honestly curious.

“Yes. My master. A sorcerer of incredible power and ability.” She affirmed with a slight smile. “He was more than capable of taking care of that robber and driving him far away.”

Twilight was surprised at his new information. She had never heard of a dragon taking to serving a master before. Even Spike, her number one assistant, saw her more as a family member to help out than some leading individual to follow. From the way this sounded, this dragoness willingly chose to serve this being. As for this character, they must have been a powerful unicorn to take on a full grown drake like Celestia’s letter suggested.

“Hey Twilight! Are you ok in there?” A voice shouted into the cave. “If you’re not being eaten, or a pile of ash, give us a shout! I’m going in there and kicking the first dragon flank I see!”

“Dagnabit, Dash! Just hold on a second!” Another voice sounded off. This one seemed as if it was straining to hold something back. “We don’t want ya to go startin’ up a war like Twilight said!”

Seeing the green dragoness perk up at the threat of incoming violence, Twilight’s ears drooped in embarrassment. Leave it to Dash to assume diplomacy would be the first option to fail.

“You don’t mind if my friends come inside, do you?” She nervously asked. “They mean well. It’s just that well we spent this whole journey expecting…well…”

“Believe me; if you arrived a few minutes earlier, they would have seen something to be afraid of.” Tsavorite nodded in understanding. “You may as well let them in. I’d rather they not think I am enjoying some fresh fried unicorn.”

“Thank you.” She bowed her head, before calling her friends over. “I’m ok girls! We’re just talking. You don’t have to worry; she’s a really nice dragoness!”

That seemed to get all the voices to calm down. The five remaining ponies cautiously stepped into the cave, their faces lighting up at the fact their friend was safe (or in the white one’s case, at the sight of so much treasure!).

“Dragoness?” The Blue one asked. “I thought we were supposed to face a big, red, mean, fire breathing dragon!”

“You just missed him, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight answered. “Apparently someone else got to him first.”

“Darn!” Rainbow Dash punched her fists together in frustration. “Now how can I prove how awesome I am?”

“Never mind that, Dash. Instead, why don’t ya tell us whose this here dragon that’s next to ya then if the red one’s gone an’ skedaddled.” The orange mare in the Stetson hat asked.

“Oh this is…” Twilight started, before she realized she never asked her what her name was. She would have started freaking out then, if the dragoness didn’t introduce herself.

“Tsavorite. I am the dragon who lived here before I was driven out by that Red Drake.”

“Oh, that’s so sad!” Said a soft and nervous voice. Tsavorite noticed that it came from the yellow pegasus mare that was shyly peeking out from behind the blue pegasus. “Are you still hurt, Miss Tsavorite?”

“Not as much as I was before I was able to find help. I was much worse off then to be certain. Thankfully I found someone who was willing to help me recover from the near death state I was in. Not only was he willing to offer me a place stay, but he was willing to put himself on the line to reclaim my hoard. For that, I am willingly able to I owe him my life.”

Before she could go on further, Tsavorite then found her vision blocked by something pink and hyperactive. Somehow the pink mare had gotten on her shoulders and was looking at her eye-to-eye upside-down. She felt her checks get smooshed by the mare’s hands as she was given one of the most enthusiastic greetings in her life.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I like your name! Tsavorite is such a pretty gem! At least I think it is! I only saw it so many times, growing up on a rock farm! I tend to get it mixed up with Peridot! Which is funny because Tsavorite is a type of Garnet, and you wouldn’t get those two confused with each other, especially when you see how one is an alien scientist, while the other is a fusion fighter! Still, I have to say I think I prefer Rose Quartz! –Deep Gasp!- I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings because I think you still have a pretty name that is perfect for a dragoness, although being that you are the first I have met-Deeper gasp!-This calls for a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her’ Party. I should get onto setting that up! Be right back!”

The Pink blur was gone leaving a shaking Tsavorite, who noticed somehow she had an invitation in her had for a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’ with her name on it and the words ‘Super-Duper Guest of Honor’ highlighted and underlined with a star next to it. “Umm…thank you?”

“Don’t worry about anything she said too much, Darling. That’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.” The white one calmly stated as she introduced herself. “As for more, I am Rarity, fashionista extraordinaire and owner of Ponyville’s Carousel Boutique. I must say, I am not one for the color green, but you certain make it work for you with your different shades of scales. And that outfit! Why it’s intricately artistic design is marvelous! Why it truly reflects the yellowish shine of your eyes!”

“That’s very nice of you-”

“Don’t fall so easily to her compliments, Miss Tsavorite!” The orange mare said as she nudged the white unicorn aside a bit. “I reckon she’s just trying to butter you up like a flapjack at sunup!”

The white unicorn places a hand to her breast aghast at the accusation. “I beg your pardon Applejack, but I would never-”

“I seem to recall a certain somepony saying that the way to a dragon’s treasure is through flattery and hollering!” She got up in her face and pointed accusingly. “Maybe if we were still dealing with this no good Red Drake, I’d let him get his comeuppance. Seeing as this dragon looks skinnier than an apple sapling in winter, I won’t let ya do such a low and dishonest thing on my watch!”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t resort to such a thing just to take advantage of our host. That would be most inappropriate as a guest!” Rarity angrily retorted while absentmindedly rolled one of her curling strands of mane with a finger as she then muttered. “Besides, I said ‘pony charm’. To be ‘hollering’ is to be uncouth!”

Twilight just sighed at the sight of another argument about to spark from those two. Honestly, one day she was going to figure a way to get them to become better friends, if it meant to do something like keep them looked up in the same spot for a night. But that was a matter for another time. She had a dragoness in need of relocation to deal with right now. “So I’m not sure how familiar you are with the territory rules regarding dragons in Equestria, but I’m afraid to inform you that this mountain is too risky of a place for a dragon to be, especially since the chance you may…smoke, means it would pollute our sky in a wide radius for a possible century. So I’m afraid on behalf of Princess Celestia, I must ask for you to find another place to dwell in for the sake of the other inhabitants nearby. If you could pack your things, we could help you find a new location to suit your needs.”

Tsavorite didn’t even hesitate, for she knew how to answer the suggestion.

“That won’t be necessary. I already know a decent place in mind. Of course, being that it will hold my treasure, you understand why I won’t allow you to come along. If you could just provide carts, then I’m sure he would take care of the rest when he returns.” Her arms crossed as she also raised her eye ridge and sternly added, “I will even pay you for your services so you don’t have to sneak away gems that you think you can get away with.”

They all turned to look at Rarity who sheepishly placed the diamonds she was taking back into the pile.

She immediately gave a curtsy as she frantically began apologizing to their host. “I’m deeply sorry! That was very unbecoming for someone like me-”

The dragoness held out a hand to ease her. “It’s fine! Just be warned to never steal from a dragon. You may not like the consequences.”

“Consequences?” Rarity nervously swallowed air. “Like what?”

“Let’s just say, that the only things that can be daring enough to wrongfully take a dragon’s hoard, are other dragons.” Tsavorite grimaced as she looked to the cavern’s entrance, hoping her master would return soon.

[}0{]

Elsewhere, Ethan was traveling with great speed to a source of manual labor that he knew off the back of his hand. Another time, he would be amazed at seeing the other things he was discovering that he could do as Mysterio. Heck, he should be more impressed at how with but a few of the tools of the villain’s collection of tricks he was able to get a dragon of all things to flee for his life. Instead, his mind kept focusing on the different implications that were brought to him with just the sight of those six young mares.

‘So if they have the mindset to dress in such a manner, then they may be much further in their technological level…which could mean…!’

Before he could complete that thought, he found himself at his destination. To be within its boundary would require him to keep his wits about him, so he stowed those thoughts away for later. Right now he had a labor force to recruit. Fortunately they were one he knew how to bribe…and ensnare!

The Manticore Pride looked up at the strange figure that calmly walked up to their lair. The males growled threateningly while the females stuck close to their cubs at the ready. Each alone was a threat in themselves without the added incentive of keeping their pride mates safe.

Yet Mysterio had no fear towards them. He knew how deal with these felines after all.

“Well, hello there.” Mysterio folded his arms behind his back. “Would you like some fish?”

A deep green smoke started to roll in from behind him. The Manticores could do nothing but breathe it in and find themselves hanging onto every word the apparent sorcerer had to say.

“Good kitties get fish!” He clapped his hands together in a gleeful manner as he spoke as calm and enchantingly as a TV Host. “Now I have a job for you kitties, so be good!”

[}0{]

As Mysterio was gathering up his workers, Tsavorite was doing her best to lead the efforts to pack up her hoard into something more manageable. Normally, this would be considered an impossible undertaking. Fortunately, there were a number of advantages in the group that was there.

You had Applejack, one of the strongest earthpony mares in Ponyville. She bucks the majority of an apple orchid of trees every day as the sun is sure to rise. Moving piles of treasure was not that different from moving bushels of her family’s money crop. If anything, the most noticeable difference to her was that she got to carry the bushels of her harvest in gilded jars covered in jewelry. Gaudy as they may be, she was definitely asking to keep them when they were done with this task. That and she thought they would be perfect for her strength training!

Her willingness to work the problem with a show of strength was met with another who wanted to show off her capabilities in speed. The pegasus who claimed to be able to clear the skies around her hometown in ten seconds flat, decided that this was another competition with her athletic rival. Rainbow Dash flew diligently like a blur moving gems with such a pace that she may as well be causing it to rain treasure into manageable piles.

Behind her as if she could match her speed was Pinkie Pie catching whatever valuables Rainbow Dash missed or dropped, and tossing them into a great big pink wheelbarrow. Apparently this task of moving heavy material and managing it was nothing new to her after growing up on a rock farm. Still, one had to wonder just how she packed a wheelbarrow for ‘wheelbarrow emergencies’ all the way up here?

Still it seemed the others were too preoccupied to concern themselves with the question. Such was Rarity, who was gleefully enjoying being one of those in charge of managing the treasure. As much as Rarity liked to praise gems, she knew how to appraise them. With a speed that would make her athletic compatriots impressed, she categorized the treasures based on quality and type. Yet she still took Tsavorite’s warning to heart. Sure it would be easy to separate a few more gems into the pile meant for the ponies, but she fought off the temptation to take more than their fair share of the treasure albeit with some sorrow.

As for her fellow unicorn, Twilight Sparkle found herself enjoying greatly this wonderful motivation that needed her skills in planning, organization, and execution. After sending word to her assistant in Ponyville, to get some carts and leave them at the base of the mountain-Tsavorite was insistent that they were dropped off there and no further-Twilight was doing her best at utilizing her special talent: Magic. While Rarity was seamless her he applications of magic related to gems and jewelry as clearly shown in how she not only organized and appraised the treasure while simultaneously shining and polishing them, Twilight spent a great deal of her life studying up on every spell she could. Here was the perfect situation to test out some of spells she had previously little reason to utilize before. Such spells she used included ways of making the bigger and heavier pieces as light as a feather, to magically magnetizing them so that they could clump together, to even shrinking the piles for an impermanent amount of time to better transport them. Twilight felt good knowing that spells she’d thought would never get to employ beyond her days learning them with Celestia’s supervision. May she be proud of her student!

That left a yellow Pegasus seemingly without much to do. She wasn’t among the strongest or fastest of her friends, nor was she capable of magic so there was not much she thought she could do to help them with their efforts. Yet she wasn’t entirely discouraged by the thought, for she knew how to use her own strengths to contribute to the situation like her ability to make friends with other animals. Fortunately, they were coming in handy with helping out the dragoness herself, for it seemed she was taking her time to rest up and eat some gems of her reclaimed treasure.

“So, Fluttershy, you seemed to still be a bit nervous to be here.” Tsavorite ate a few more rubies before continuing. “Am I that imposing of a creature to you still?”

“Well, no, but I was worried you would be big, scary, and mean –eep! Sorry!” Fluttershy quickly withdrew into her sweater in a manner similar to a turtle.

“I understand.” Tsavorite tried to reassure her. “We dragons tend to have quite the reputation for being such creatures.”

Fluttershy peeked out a bit. “So you’re not like that?”

“Not now at least.” She then exaggeratedly puffed her cheeks and spread her wings out as she spoke in a deeper tone of voice. “Maybe after I put on a few dozen more pounds. I’ll be back to the ‘big’ for sure, but we’ll have to see if I’ll even be in the mood to be ‘scary’ or ‘mean’.”

The yellow Pegasus giggled a bit at that. “I hope not. You seem too nice to be that kind of dragon.”

Tsavorite felt glad that she got the young mare to feel easier around her. “Well, I certainly try.”

“Welp! That there should do it!” Applejack smacked her hands together as she let the last bit of treasure drop into a pile. “Course, I coulda had done it before sundown. There was no need for you and Rarity ta rush the process with your magic, Twilight.”

“Now Applejack, these are not your apples, which you always emphasize on their natural quality and how not one bit of magic goes into their production or harvest.” Rarity chided before Twilight could say a word. “Besides, as much as I’m sure you and Rainbow Dash would love to continue your little contest further, we have to be sure that we are prepared to introduce ourselves to our host’s special guest who will be transporting all this treasure.”

The girls almost forgot about that. In their effort to gather the treasure into manageable piles, it seemed to slip their minds that the reason why they were even able to do so was because of the valiant efforts of Tsavorite’s master.

“Rarity’s right! We shouldn’t be arguing about this.” Twilight reasoned. “I for one would like to learn more from this sorcerer. He must be quite accomplished and knowledgeable to be able to drive an adult dragon away from a hoard like this.”

“Right! This apparent ‘sorcery guy’. Who was somehow able to get a dragon to just leave. And not end up a burnt crisp. ”Rainbow Dash asked with finger quotes. “So Tsavory, anything we should know about this ‘master’ of yours?”

Tsavorite tilted her head a bit. “Just that he may look…rather strange.”

“How so?” Applejack asked.

“Well, he’s not a pony, which is probably why the ceasefire is not in danger of being broken.”

“Really?” Twilight’s eyes widened at that, as did the others’. “Then what is he? What is he like?”

The dragoness scratched her check as she pondered where to begin. “Well to start…he has the most unusual looking face.”

“Huh?” They all asked aloud.

[}0{]

While the girls were learning more of the one that Tsavorite called her master, elsewhere was another figure heading towards the mountain. He was a tall and buff stallion with crimson fur and long blonde locks for his mane. He was dressed in a simple set of overalls that seemed just big enough for a towering and muscular fellow like himself. Sewn onto the main pocket near his pecs was a patch of a green apple cut in half with the seeds on display. This pinnacle of stallions was Big Macintosh, of the Apple Family, and older brother of Applejack.

Overall, the day was going pretty well for him. The sky was clearing up again, which eased his mind in how the danger his sister and her friends ran straight towards seemed to pass. When young Spike came to him about a letter he received via dragonfire-still had to get used to that form of mail delivery-he found himself having to get five carts together from whoever could spare them and deliver them to the mountain because apparently they needed help moving the dragon’s treasure trove somewhere else.

Now ordinarily, a strong stallion would be able to successfully pull a cart, let alone five good sized ones like he was doing. It certainly helped that they were empty, and not loaded with anything more than a few empty baskets, rope, and some tarp. Still, it certainly gave an illusion of being much stronger than he looked to the love-struck mares in town, and having that fellow Snowflake (or Bulk Biceps as he was known on the stage) declare them rivals in might again!

“Pardon me, my good sir!” a deep voice interrupted his line of thought.

“Eeyup?” Big Macintosh stopped to turn to see who was addressing him. He nearly dropped his wheat when he glimpsed who was talking.

The figure was wrapped up in a purple cloak. Within it, he could see the hints of an outfit with green armor by the looks of it. His gauntlets were a more yellowish green than the rest of him and were covered in all manner of symbols that he couldn’t make sense of. The oddest part about him was his face, or rather lack of due to him having a shining reflective sphere where his head should evidently have been. It was like a crystal ball, or some sort of glassy globe that couldn’t be seen into.

To make it even stranger, he was leading what looked to be an entire pride of manticores, one of which he was standing proudly upon its back.

“Are those carts to be used for a certain purpose?” The mysterious figure asked in an echoing tone of voice.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac curtly answered.

The figure tilted his ‘head’ a bit as he asked, “Might I know it?”

The red stallion just pointed towards the mountain. That seemed to be enough to get his reason across to the orb-faced person.

“I see. So you were just going to leave the carts there, correct?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded. Seeing as how this character seemed to know the specific instructions he was given, the stallion could only assume that this was the odd sorcerer that Twilight’s letter seemed to suggest keeping an eye out for if he came across him.

“Good fellow! I’ll take them from here. You best be on your way back home then.” The distinct being then declared as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a sizable sack, “Here’s some coin for your trouble. Keep the change!”

The Red Stallion caught the bag as it was thrown at him, and gave a peek into the contents. What he found was a number of coins that at first appeared to be bits. After giving one a good bite, he found that they were all of high quality gold. His eyes widened at this as he looked to see that the figure was already on his way to the mountain with the carts being drawn by a few members of the beasts he was escorted by.

Ordinarily Big Macintosh would probably follow the apparent fishbowl headed figure that was leading a pride of Manticores to a place that his sister and her friends were currently adventuring at.

“EeNope!”

But he turned around, deciding that whatever was happening was certainly not worth the headache. It was bad enough that his old pal Shining sent a letter trying to convince him to keep an eye on his sister (boy did he still have that sister complex!) and to go take out the dragon on his own before they packed up and left for the mountain he lived on. Strong as he was, his muscles had nothing on being set ablaze! Besides, he had a very good teacher who taught him that sometimes it was better ‘to trust a hunch and to avoid a bad crunch’ as she would say. And his instincts seemed to be pointing to get back home as far as he was concerned.

Besides, he was certain that Applejack and her friends could handle it. This fellow couldn’t be worse than Nightmare Moon, so how much trouble could he be?

[}0{]

His introduction was certainly one to stick out in the memories of the six element bearers. Granted, they were not sure what they were expecting when they knew a bit more about this sorcerer who went by the name Mysterio.

It certainly wasn’t a whole pride of Manticores climbing up the mountainside while the unusual figure of Tsavorite’s description sat on top of the one in the lead.

“Hear me! I am Mysterio! A Master of the Arcane Arts!” He proclaimed with his arms outstretching his cape. “All should take heed for even the deadliest of beasts are but subjects to my will!”

They starred him down in their own ways. Some were worried. One was intrigued. The last two were stern faced, and moved towards him in a scrutinizing manner.

Mysterio was expecting the blue Pegasus with the rainbow mane to perhaps be one to confront him. He was also expecting the Stetson wearing one to be alongside her, but she appeared to stick protectively close to the worried looking yellow pegasus and the white unicorn. Instead, the one trotting alongside her was the pink mare with the cotton candy-like mane.

While Mysterio showed no reaction to the two staring mares that were now a few feet away from him, Ethan felt a bit anxious under his helmet. He felt a strong sense of uneasiness at how serious they looked. That is, until their stern expressions were broken by their sudden surges of laughter.

“Hee-hee-hee-hah! His face does look –hee-hee-! Like a giant pearl! –Snort!-”Pinkie Pie giggled.

“No way!” Rainbow disagreed with a guffaw. “His head looks more like…-heh-…a fishbowl!!”

Rainbow and Pinkie broke down into rolling laughter. While this coused their friends to sigh out at their antics, this was not as well received by the one who they were in hysterics over.

“Fishbowl?!” Mysterio bellowed at the most irksome insult to ever infuriate him. It was a crystal ball for crying out loud! “I am a great and powerful sorcerer! A lord of a castle! I demand respect for my station!”

That pronouncement seemed to dim the mood as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie slowly settled into a less frenetic state of being.

“Oh great, it’s another blowhard like Trixie.” Rainbow Dash huffed out.

He seemed to give them a long look before replying to that comment. Or at least as long of a look he could convey due to his lack of features.

“I know not who this ‘Trixie’ is, but I assure you, I am no mere ‘blowhard’.” He vehemently affirmed as he got off the manticore. He wrapped his cloak around him as he decided it was better to show them. If one were to look closely he was tapping his fingers alongside his wrist before starting his scene. “I find it most irksome to be greeted with such a response! And to not even be graced the names of those who find my appearance so humorous! For shame!”

He raised a hand to where his forehead could have been as he seemed to get into a most artistic lament. Around him, it seemed that everyone suddenly found themselves in the audience of a theater stage. There, Mysterio was giving a soliloquy like a thespian.

“Alas we find ourselves among fellow strangers to these parts. We hope to find companionship, but instead daggers to our hearts!” It seemed as though a spotlight suddenly feel upon him as he fell to his knees on a dark stage. The next instant everything returned as it was, leaving a whole cast of characters wondering just what happened.

“Oh I’m so sorry Mr. Eeyo!” Fluttershy came to the side of Mysterio to rest a hand on the downtrodden spellcaster. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie didn’t mean to poke fun of your face. It looks rather nice and…um…shiny.”

‘My face…?’ He discreetly gave a look in Tsavorite’s direction that was hidden undernearth his helmet. She seemed to be hiding a slight grin of her own at that tidbit. ‘Oh! I see!’

“Well, I suppose that is alright. I shall let it pass (this time!). Still IT is most inconsiderate to refer to my countenance as a ‘fishbowl’.” He stated as he picked himself up. “Also, my name is pronounced Mysterio, as in ‘Mysterious’, not ‘Mr.’ like ‘Mister’ followed by an ‘Eeyo’. I take no offense to that mistake knowing that my name must be much stranger than yours…umm…”

“Fluttershy.” She whispered most shyly. It was barely enough of a decibel that he was able to catch it, but he did.

Seeing how their friend introduced herself, the others quickly gave their names.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

"Rainbow Dash."

"Applejack Apple!"

"Rarity Belle."

"Pinkie Pie, Hee-hee!"

“Err…yes! Those!” Mysterio tried to not sound too perturbed at that, so he quickly sped up to get to his point. “So with that matter out of the way I would like to say that it is a pleasure to meet you all, but alas, I must insist we set up to make our departure posthaste.”

“Oh must you go? We haven’t even had our ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’! You got an invite to it and it even has a gold star! Lucky!”

Lo and Behold! There in his hand was an invitation to a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’ for Tsavorite, and it was address to Mysterio.

“Well! I am…Errrrrr….” The lack of logic due to all kinds of rules being broken was making Ethan under that mantel of Mysterio dizzy.

“I believe my master is right. It is best we get going.” “That and I am sure that the Manticores wouldn’t want to leave their mates and cubs waiting all night for their return.”

“Errrr…Yes! Of Course! We wouldn’t want to do that!” Finally Ethan’s wits were quickly returning to him. “They are a…motivated volunteer task force, but they have to return once their task is done. The sooner the better!”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Earlier I sent a letter to my assistant to have the mayor arrange for some carts to be brought to the mountain.” Twilight replied, before noticing them already hitched to go. “And I see you found them. I certainly wasn’t expecting the way they would be brought here.”

“Indeed I have. It was certainly a very nice gesture.” Mysterio answered before quickly redirecting the conversation to address the next thing that stood out to him. “I also see you’ve reorganized the treasure. Although I could have sworn the cave was full of it when I last gazed upon it.”

“Well, there still is! You see, using our combined teamwork, we not only moved the treasure into more organized sections, but using some of Star Swirl’s principles of gem resonance we were able to alter it in ways that would make it easier to carry.”

“I see.” Mysterio sounded impressed at seeing the results of their efforts. Judging from what he could see there was some interesting making at work. From the knight’s helmet that was the size of a pencil top, to the gold statuettes that were not being crushed under what should be heavier stones, there were certainly some magical alterations that made these much smaller piles. “That would certainly make it much easier to load up the carts and carry them to our location.”

“Yessiree!” Applejack bellowed. “Now we’d best be moving if you-”

A green mist suddenly poured in, breaking whatever train of thought she had going.

“Now, ladies, would you kindly start loading up the treasure into the carts?” Mysterio asked with such benevolence. “I would appreciate it, and I’m certain my dear subordinate Tsavorite would as well-l-l-l-!”

Surely it wouldn’t hurt to help them load the treasures into the carts. After all, it never hurts to help!

“Never hurts to help.” Twilight mumbled as she and the others started to get to work on loading the carts.

“Mysterio! What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I must! I’m making sure that we can leave this encounter all behind us!”

[}0{]

“But you said-!”

“I know what I said! I’m not doing this to harm them, but to protect them!” Oh did he ever wish he could still rub his eyebrows with his helmet on! The gesture as it was looked ridiculous with Mysterio doing it as he was. “Believe me, trust me, and remember I’m not the type that would do something despicable just to get what I want. I’m only doing this for the good of everyone involved.”

“Fine.” Tsavorite relented after a long while of thinking quietly. She choose to serve this man, so surely she could put her trust into his decisions no matter how harsh they seemed. They surely must have a well-meaning intention for him to do so. “But just so you know, I also promised them that they could keep some treasure for their trouble.”

Mysterio just placed his hands across his back as he walked towards the wagons being loaded up to oversee their progress. “A surprisingly munificent offer to make. The other member of your species did not appear to be that giving. In fact, I believe he would kill me if I so much as asked for one mere coin at the time.”

The dragoness merely shrugged as she followed him. “I am not like him. My disposition is more attuned to being a waster, not a hoarder.”

“I see.” He gave a nod before pointing exuberantly at her. “Well, I am but a man of my word, and thus have kept my promise to return your horde to you. It is your choice to do with it as you wish, but remember, I have your oath!”

Tsavorite thought long and hard at that. There was much that this man had done for her in the short time they knew each other. He had not only saved her life, but placed his own on the line for her. So she only had one answer to that pronouncement.

“You certainly earned it, Master.”

“Umm...excuse me.”

Mysterio immediately turned to face the shy speaking mare. Unlike her friends who were busy at work loading up the carts, she nervously stood there as if contemplating what she should do.

‘Interesting. She wasn’t affected by the suggestive chemicals.’ He pondered as he kept a steady gaze at her reaction.

“Ummm…Mr. Eeyoo-I mean Mysterio! Umm…What did you do to my friends?” She rang her hands together as she withdrew into her sweater a bit. “They seem very…dedicated to the task-Not that it’s a bad thing! It’s just rather…weird to see them act like this.”

Oh, if Ethan was in a better situation, he would have not had to resort to such trickery. Yet he could not rescind his actions; only try to improve the situation he was now stuck in with more trickery. In this case, it was to talk his way into making things not seem as dastardly as they appeared to be.

“My dear, I was merely trying to help your friends.” He emphasized with a congenial tone of voice. “With this suggestive spell, they will not only be able to work faster and longer without much need to rest, but they will also have the benefit to forget meeting me.”

“Why would you want us to forget meeting you?” The yellow pegasus shivered. “Is it for a…terrible reason?”

“OH nothing malicious! Just that…I’m very worried about making a first impression!” He countered as quickly as his mind could come up with it. “If I am to formally introduce myself to your species, I would want to do it in a way that I can be sure to make a good impression on them.”

Fluttershy peeked out a bit further from her sweater at that reason. “A good impression?”

“Of course! Think about it! I’m a power master of magic who just drove a dragon away, and here I am after the battle being practically ambushed by a group of your species as I am leading a manticore pride to pick up the hoard of another dragon that serves me and appearing as if I am heading to battle. Does that sound like the type of person you want to walk to your house?”

“I suppose not-” Before she could finish, Mysterio was already patting her on the back (making sure to avoid her wings) like a reassuring salesman.

“Then there you go! As long as you permit me to influence your friends so that they will not remember me, I will ensure no harm will befall them on my part.” He then quickly made the gestures of one of the most well-known oath that humans tended to make. “Cross my heart. Hope to Die! Stick a needle in my eye!”

Fluttershy gasped at that promise. “You would really do that if you broke your promise?”

“Well…I shouldn’t have to if I keep my word. So please feel at ease knowing that I will not harm your friends.” He continued his walk to the rest of the mares who were surprisingly finishing loading up all of the treasure to take it away.

“Umm, o-kay. I trust you.”

“Good! Now there’s just one more thing I need to ask you before we head on our way.” Mysterio confidently got upon the back of his Manticore mount. Like a classic magician, he pulled out a long red strip of cloth from his gauntlet. “I’ll need you to wear this.”

[}0{]

Much later when it was nearing sundown, the outskirts of the Everfree Forest were the sight of a most intriguing gathering. Six mares (five under some magical ensnarement while the sixth had on a red blindfold) and a pride of Manticores were gathered around an orb-headed figure with a dragness by his side giving them thanks for all the work they did today.

“Now remember, only good kitties get fish when I have some to spare.” Mysterio shouted to the Manticore pride. “Now go home and enjoy the rewards of such good work!”

The Manticores left with little noise and strolled into the treeline. It seems they left steadily, but quickly to probably hurry home and enjoy the baskets of fish they were carrying.

“As for you six.” Mysterio addressed the mane six. “Thank you for help. I’m sure your parents will be proud of such wonderful daughters they raised!”

They gave no true response to that. For six of them it was because of their state of ensnarement. For the sixth, it was due to her being nervous of the blindfold she was wearing blocking what was going on.

“Umm, Mysterio. Could I take the Blindfold off now? It’s been so long and I would really like it off, if that’s ok?”

“Of course! You were such a good sport today, and I thank you for that Miss Fluttershy. In fact, you all were! Why don’t you all just go home, hug your loved ones if you got them, and then sleep in tomorrow for a job well done!” He then clapped his hands into applause as gave his final instructions. “Make sure you go home safe, quick and avoid any danger that comes your way until you get to your front door. Return those cart and put the treasure you earned in a safe place, and the moment you awake you’ll be back to your normal selves with no memory of Mysterio and his secret lair.”

‘Go home, hug loved ones if you got them…sleep in tomorrow for a job well done…go home safe, quick …avoid danger until you get to your front door…return carts...put treasure in a safe place…forget Mysterio and his lair…’

The entranced mares moved in a swift and orderly fashion as they too began their journey home. Applejack was pulling a train of shrunken down cars behind her. Fluttershy removed her blindfold, to find that she was not that far from the route to her own cottage. Before she could take off, the sorcerer had one more thing to say to her.

“As for you, Miss Fluttershy. Remember to tell them tomorrow what I told you to say.” Mysterio said as he started walking into the Everfree. “And make sure they are safe!”

Fluttershy waved goodbye as she flew to hurry after her friends. “I’ll be sure to tell them. Goodbye Mysterio. Goodbye Miss Tsavorite!”

“Take care!” He shouted as a mist enveloped himself and his scaly fellow. Slowly it enshrouded the scenery until only the light from Mysterio’s face could be seen. When the mist finally dissipated, there was no sign of them whatsoever.

[}0{]

When evening conclusively hit, there were two individuals feeling elated at their new fortune.

“So now we wait and see what happens.” Ethan said as he gazed at his helmet that he took off. He was currently in what would now be known as ‘The Treasure Room’, which was previously a large chamber that was barren with a high ceiling that existed under the castle.

“I’m surprised she took your deed as well as she did. She and her friends showed such spirit and integrity I was certain they would become fine allies for you.” Tsavorite remarked as she ate a few gems. She was lying on a great big pile of them, curled up in a near feline manner. She was elated to be surrounded by such goodies once more. Still, there was one thing that was bothering her and she had to ask, “So what was the true reason you wanted them to forget you and this place, master?”

Ethan carefully considered his words. Initially, he wanted to talk to them and to ask them all sorts of questions. When he first heard of the pony races, he thought for certain that they would help him in so many ways. But considering the cultural tells that he noted of Tsavorite and Zecora at the time, he thought that they would be too primitive to have what he needed.

But the way they were dressed…it changed a lot of things he thought he knew about this world! And that in many ways terrified him!

What was their society like now? It was clear the library he had access to was a few cultural renaissances out of date. Not to mention he clearly had little idea of their capabilities. Their magic capabilities and feats of strength made it possible to carry all this treasure that he thought would be a couple weeks’ worth of work in less than a day. For crying out loud, this bunch looked like civilians yet from what Tsavorite told him of the time she spent with them they were sent to deal with the Red Drake.

“I guess I simply desired to meet them in a more prepared setting.” He said with conviction as he placed his helmet back on. His voice deepened once again as he decreed, “In any case, we’ll certainly have to prepare ourselves to be in a first-rate condition to greet the pony race. Only then could we be assured of being taken seriously when they know of us.”

“By your will then, Mysterio. You’ve shown that you can keep your word by your actions.” She nestled a bit deeper into her pile of delicious jewelry. Sleepiness was catching up to her and her dragon instincts were telling her that her hoard was safe again for her to find rest in. “I can only –yawn- place my trust in you further. After all, my life is yours to do with…as you will.”

Ethan wanted to argue against that point again, but felt that the dragonesses could use her rest, so instead began to look positively towards their newly earned wealth.

“I suppose. Still, can you see it, Tsavorite?” He extended his hand towards the chamber as if mapping out the constellations. “All this treasure and with it the beginning of a great number of wonderful things to come!”

“Yes, and with you –yawn- needing it as a resource to accomplish your goals I’ll be sure…to make my hoard last us the month.”

“Well, I’ll be certain to not abuse the privilege considering…” He stopped raving as the dragoness’ words finally reached him. “I’m sorry, did you say a month?”

“Well, I can eat a great deal of gems per day. So at most what we have is about enough for me to eat in about a month. Two if I don’t snack in between meals.” She smiled assuredly with her eyes closed. As Tsavorite opened her eyes to bid her master good night she noticed that Ethan started to sway side-to-side uncontrollably. “Master?”

Ethan fell back into the gold pile, and was motionless.

“Master!” Tsavorite exclaimed as she rushed to his side. Was it something she said?

[}0{]

Ethan felt as if he was weightless, but the feeling quickly passed as he became aware of the sensation of something…comfortable. He was in a grand armchair. Where that was placed was another story. It was a grand library that had shelves that reached great heights. They were filled with all manners of books. Each shelf meet into a ceiling that seemed to depict a night sky that was depicted well enough to suggest that perhaps one were gazing at the true constellations. And yet, all of it, had a tinge of a lunar green light was covering everything in color.

The voice continued.

“Who are you?” Ethan asked. He was concerned with a number of things: Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here? Yet the most prevalent question in his mind seemed to be this:

Who was this figure that was talking to him despite not even having a head, let alone a mouth with which to speak? He wore a large coat of blended colors and looked as if he stepped out of a painting. He sat across from him at a grand and round table in which an opulent tea set, snack dishes, and other baubles were elaborately set between them.

The headless entity replied in that oddly mellow tone of voice.

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Author's Note

Well this chapter most definitely missed my personal deadline AND my monthly one. This last month in particular was filled with a lot of things I have to deal with so apologies for that but as I've stated before: My Real life takes priority. Let's just say, when it rains, it pours, and when it rains stones, it hurts! I'm sure you all understand.

In any case, this was a chapter that I mentioned before had started to stretch out to be much longer than I anticipated. I split it down the middle as cleanly as I could, because I found that the second part needed more time to work, and the least I could do is give you this first part to read in the meantime. This second part however with what limited time I had to devote to it (again, real life!) still needed a lot of editing. So I hope you enjoy some things I put in it, but let me know if it has any problems because I had to scrap it once and rewrite it another when my Dropbox made the wrong save.

I hope you all enjoy it, because I tried to make sure it had some more interesting things to build into for my story such as:

What is Mysterio's special technique?
What is the secret to the tricks he can keep up his sleeves?
Who are these six figures coming up the hill?

4.What kind of party do you have when it turns out the dragon is friendly?

How is Mysterio going to react when he realizes he's not in a Anthro-Pony Savage Land?

and More!

So I hope you all yet enjoy another chapter of this story. Please like it if you enjoy it so far. Also comment on any questions or concerns you have and edits I need to make note of especially because this one I went over a lot and I still feel a bit unsure about it. I always try to proofread my work before posting, but sometimes I miss a thing or two. That and I always appreciate construction criticism so long as it remains polite!
Also, as of this moment, my story has over 100 LIKES!! HOORAY!!
Thanks for that, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Bonus Issue-Concerned Parties and Concern about Parties

The sun rose that day like the constant cosmic marker of the beginning it was. Yet, to the well trained eyed, it may have seemed a bit different than the normal. It seemed to rise with a hint of sluggishness as if it too was struggling to get up out of bed. It was almost comical but then you remember the fact about Equestria’s sun: its motion is not guided by the universal powers of gravity and planetary alignment. No, instead, its movements are based upon the will of a goddess.

The goddess in question, Celestia, stood upon her balcony as she looked at the sun she raised a few hours before. Even now, dressed in nothing more than a white negligee and slippers, she looked like the regal figure that would make the burning celestial orb rise on her whim. It was something she made certain occurred for over millennia. The times were it did not happen could be counted on one hand with the most recent involving the return of her forlorn yet dearest sister, Luna.

“Sister, art thou well?” Speaking of which, here she was now. The blue alicorn with the body of one many, many…many years her junior and adorned in pajamas of purple with black kittens. “I may hast been gone for some time, but I seem to recall the sunrise being more fluid than that.”

“Of course you would notice. You always had an eye for detail, down to the tiniest star.” Celestia sighed. “If only I could be so observant.”

“It isn’t hard to notice when one realizes that by now you would normally be at the table breaking your fast as I also eat with you before preparing for bed.” Luna gave a slight grin, before faltering into her question. “Now what troubles you?”

Celestia was quiet for a good long moment before curtly answering. “Twilight never sent me a Friendship Report.”

“Well perhaps she was simply tired from her journey home.” Luna began, trying to elevate the tension building up on the balcony.

“You don’t understand, Luna. In all her years as my student, Twilight has never failed to send me some notice of her situation. Whether it was a simple note that said she was too sick to come to a lesson, or a long apology for being up all night researching material related to a new spell she learned, I always received some confirmation of her status in some shape or form.”

To hear such a claim made Luna fear the worst for her newly formed friends. “You don’t think-”

“Oh, mother above, no!” Celestia quickly ceased that thought with a hand to her heart. “If they were…if the worst came to pass, we
would both be…well informed. Those that are connected to The Elements never quite forget the bonds that they formed after all.”

The message was clear and unspoken: If they died, they would certainly know. Luna took a bit of comfort in hearing that, morbid as it was, but still worried over her sister’s implication.

“I am certain Twilight will respond as soon as she is able. She simply must be working hard on this report due to it involving a diplomatic mission. So it can be reasoned that thy worries are simply unfounded.” She tried to perk not only her sister, but herself. “She is your student after all! Surely we art both simply making an issue out of nothing!”

Celestia sighed, but gave a hint of a grin. “You are probably right, Luna. Twilight always was able to keep a calm mind when it mattered most. I’m sure she is probably spending the time write now just trying to come up with the proper wording to convey what happened yesterday.”

[}0{]

“Errgh! Why can’t I remember?!” Twilight banged her head on the desk for what was perhaps the fourth time. In front of her was a blank sheet of parchment, and an ink well with a feather dipped at the ready. Yet despite using every method she could think of, she couldn’t recall the most important part of yesterday’s events.

It was a mystery that confounded her and derailed her entire day. From waking up with no recollection of how she got into bed, let alone how she was able to get home with her friends, to discovering that she slept in TWO HOURS beyond her usual wake up time her whole schedule was just thrown off today!

“Are you sure I didn’t say anything about yesterday, Spike?” Twilight asked out in near desperation at the other occupant in the room. “I seriously doubt I wouldn’t tell you anything about the trip or to make even a note to send to the princess.”

The individual she was speaking to sighed as he had already gone over this multiple times. He was a young lad, but was not of the pony species like Twilight. He had purple scales, and green rounded spikes running from the top of his head to near the end of his tail that were evident of a reptilian nature. Instead, he was a young drake, who was no bigger than a colt despite his protests of at least being a few years younger than Twilight. Still, you would make the mistake of thinking he was just a kid due to his simple purple t-shirt and green shorts he wore. This was Spike the dragon, the loyal assistant to Twilight Sparkle, and practically her younger brother in all but blood.

“I’m telling you Twilight, that’s what happened. You came inside, saw me, picked me up in a great big hug, carefully put me down, and went to bed.” He shrugged in his own state of confusion. “I figured that you were probably worn out from dealing with the whole dragon problem, so I let you sleep in for five more minutes like you usually set. Yet somehow I couldn’t get you up for a couple more hours!”

That was surprising for the purple unicorn to hear. “Not even with-?”

“Not even with any of those contingencies you ordered!” Spike ran a clawed hand through his head spikes as he explained a bit further. “I tried the alarm clock, the smelling salts, the air horn, and even splashing you in the face with water, but nothing woke you up! At that point, I was worried you were under some sort of spell that needed ‘true-love’s-kiss’ because you were clearly breathing by the sounds of your snoring.”

“I do not snore!” the unicorn protested. The young drake squinted his green and slit-pupil eyes vehemently as he argued back.

“Well you did this time! And you wouldn’t stop or wake up until the clock chimed 10:00 on the dot!” His protest disappeared as he took up a defensive front with his hands waving about. “It wasn’t my fault, Twilight! I tried to get you up! I swear!”

“I believe you, Spike. However, this whole situation is concerning. I haven’t slept in that late since I was a filly!” Twilight pulled out her checklist as she saw that by now she should be having lunch instead of trying to play catch up with what should have been a daily routine. “Even if I was to skip out on my creative spell work period, and to minimize my mealtimes to ten minutes, I would still not catch up to my daily schedule! Still, I don’t know why I can’t recall a single part of yesterday that took place after we entered the cave. I mean, I faintly recalled meeting a dragon, but I don’t think it was red…or a drake…maybe it was a she?”

“Well, maybe Fluttershy would know.” Spike muttered as he looked at the list as well to see if he could be helpful in reorganizing it in some way.

“Huh?” Twilight broke out of her faint musings. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, I remember how she said something about getting together today to go over stuff as she was picking up her animals.” Spike remembered. “She didn’t say what, but being that it was after you went to bed, I’d figure it was no big deal at the time.”

“Did she say where and when?”

“Well, she said that she would come by later, but she seemed to be trying to think where to meet.”

At that moment there was a knock on the front door. Twilight went down to see who it could be, only to find the yellow Pegasus in question with the rest of their friends waiting to enter.

“Umm…can we come in?” Fluttershy asked quietly from her spot behind Applejack. Even among friends, Fluttershy lived to embody her name. Still, she seemed especially nervous today for some reason, which made the pile of mysteries Twilight had going through her mind consider her to be especially involved in some way.

“Fluttershy said she has something to tell all of us.” Rarity started to explain as she entered. She was carrying a large hat box in her magical grip alongside her. “She wouldn’t expand further until we all agreed to meet up. Oh Spike, would you be a dear and set this on the table!”

“No problem, Rarity! Anything for you!” He eagerly reached for the box. When the white unicorn ceased using her magic, he found himself struggling to lift it. Strike that, he was struggling not to drop it and possibly be crushed by it. Still, he tried to play it smooth as he placed it on a table in the center of the room next to some chairs. “That wasn’t so hard! I could have mistaken it for being empty. Heh-heh…still what is it?”

“That, Spikey-wikey is one of the reasons’ why I thought coming here at Fluttershy’s insistence was a wise choice.” Rarity gave a slight grin as she sat down. The other three mares were already seated, but were a bit preoccupied with wondering what could be in the box. The fashionista then looked pointedly at Twilight in a manner that suggested that they should get on with their business.

Twilight took the hint to get the conversation going to the point. “So Fluttershy, what is this about?”

Fluttershy nervously withdrew into her sweater as she mumbled a bit.

“Come on, Shy! This isn’t a presentation at flight school!” Rainbow huffed in annoyance. Yet, she still seemed a bit gentle with how she was trying to nudge her fellow pegasus into speaking up.

“Um…well….first of all….” Fluttershy looked around at the others. “What do you remember about yesterday?”

“I remember getting pumped up to face off against a drake!” Dash grinned. But then she faltered. “I don’t recall if I did though.”

“Same here.” Applejack agreed. “I remember getting ready and going with you gals up that mountain, but for what happened after, I have as much recollection as a rattlesnake has left feet.”

“Ok. How about today? Anything unusual happen?”

Pinkie jumped up into a handstand on top of the hat box as she rushed into her day’s events. “I slept in late, which as much as I enjoy dreaming, I usually get up before the sun comes up to help the Cakes get the day’s goodies all goody and ready! Instead, It was when the clock went ‘ding-dong’ ten times instead of six that I finally leapt out of bed and had to hurry up and help all those hungry customers get some yummy foods!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and yet somehow perfectly mimicked the sounds of a cuckoo clock’s hourly chimes in her retelling. At least until she fell back into her chair in a tired heap. “But I wasn’t able to be as fast on my hooves today because I very tired and sore too! –Gasp!- Do you think there was a plot to keep me asleep by a rival bakery to sabotage all of the Cakes’ business?!”

“I do not believe that is the case, Pinkie dear. I normally do not partake in sleeping in since I have to open the shop at a certain hour, so I must take the time to especially prepare myself.” Rarity twirled her mane a bit as she gathered her thoughts. “However, I suppose I needed a couple hours more of beauty sleep, but I was certain that was only because of the harsh environment we had to tread through yesterday.”

“I woke up at 10:00 too, which is surprisingly early!” Rainbow Dash complained, making it seem like it was a really bothersome thing. “I mean, why would I get up that early? It’s not one of my workout days and the weather can wait till I’m ready to deal with it, right?”

“Only you would think that was early!” Applejack huffed as she crossed her arms. “I was supposed to be up and about ready for the chores by the time the sun got up, only that didn’t happen! Instead, I got another lecture of responsibility and not staying up late from Granny. Land sakes, I haven’t gotten one of those since I was barely old enough to wrangle in the sheep.”

“Wait, you all woke up at 10:00?” Twilight asked, noticing a pattern.

The mares, besides Fluttershy nodded.

“So did I! Spike even said that nothing else he tried could wake me up any earlier.” Twilight went on to explain her morning to the others. The mares looked at one another as they could all clearly see something most unusual was afoot.

“So what happened?” Rainbow asked.

“Sounds like some form of magic, but why would we all be effected in such a way?” Rarity pondered. “And why can’t we remember our events beyond going into the cave? Most peculiar.”

“Well, uummm…I know what happened yesterday.” Fluttershy muttered. All eyes went to her and she instinctively withdrew her head into her sweater again at them.

“What happened?”

“Well…” She settled her feathers that anxiously stood up on her wings as she took a breath to begin. “I suppose it all started when we finally reached the dragon’s cave. Only, there wasn’t a red drake, but a green dragoness…”

And thus Fluttershy told them the story of what they couldn’t seem to fully recall. It was of how they reached that cave expecting to have to find a way to convince a drake to leave. Instead they found a green dragoness named Tsavorite who was previously driven out by a greedy drake. She wasn’t big, scary, but rather nice.

Yet she served a sorcerer named Mysterio. At that the story changed tone. It was revealed that he used his magic to drive away the red drake, take control of a manticore pride, and cast a spell on the mares that not only made them vulnerable to suggestion, but also was the cause for their memory loss. And it was through this act that they all moved the dragoness’ hoard to a location that was secret to all but Tsavorite and her master. He said he did it to avoid ‘making a bad impression’ on them, but even Fluttershy gave the indication that she didn’t believe that reason for a moment.

Each mare had their own reactions to this apparent and blatant use of ‘Mind magic’.

Twilight was of course startled. Strike that, she was immensely distressed. Mind magic was forbidden and with good reason. It was capable of doing a horrid assortment of dark affairs: making the innocent into slaves to the user’s whims of self-indulgence, turning one’s own kin against the other, and hiding debasement to one’s self just to name a few examples. To think that she had no recollection of what this sorcerer looked like or even his name was disturbing for how could she report his crimes to Celestia?

Rarity was scandalized. Growing up as lady of class (albeit with more ‘humble’ origins) she grew up up hearing stories of males using charms to get their desires sated whether they came in honeyed words or spiked drinks. To think that she could have possibly came close to something of that nature, with the forbidden form of ‘Mind Magic’ no less caused her to instinctively withdraw herself into a curled up seating position. Even with Fluttershy’s reassurance that nothing that untoward occurred, she felt as if she was nearly burnt by something malicious.

Pinkie was sad. She didn’t look like it coming into the library as she was trying to keep up her normal (for her) public image. Yet even with her exuberance, she felt a bit off her ‘Pinkie sense’ making her tap her hooves as if she was on pins and needles. It meant she was off her party track and needed to reschedule one that she accidentally skipped to make up for it. It may seem senseless, but for the party planner it was a great concern for she never missed a party that she planned even on the spur of the moment. However, finding out that she was made to forget one that she wanted to throw was enough to deflate her normally poofy mane in sorrow.

Rainbow Dash was mad. She was mad at the fact that she didn’t get to show off her skill against a dragon. She was mad that somepony else took care of the problem. She was mad most of all at how she was apparently beaten by a magical blowhard who claimed to be ‘great and powerful’…again! The next time she ran into this Mysterio guy, she would be sure to show him why it was a dumb idea to mess with the fastest flyer in Ponyville.

Applejack was even angrier at the situation than Rainbow Dash. As a member of the Apple family with their humble and rustic upbringing, she had a natural aversion to magic from the start. Yet for her it went much further than that. Needless to say, the next time that sorcerer decided to show up, he may find himself getting a heavy beat down from the mare that bucked apple trees as part of her daily routine.

Fluttershy was a witness to all this, and so she felt bad at being the one to tell her friends this information. And she still had a more destressing detail to tell them. “Um…But that is not all.”

“What else is there?” Twilight asked.

“Well, umm, I’m not sure if Mysterio was just not aware of how well our other senses are…or that maybe he just didn’t know about how well I could navigate the area…”

“Well, c’mon. What is it?” Applejack nearly pushed.

Rainbow Dash’s patience was thinning out as well. “Yeah Fluttershy! Spit it out already!”

Fluttershy reflexily blurted out her theory. “I think his home is around where we met Nightmare Moon Because we came out of the Everfree Forrest!”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Say what?”

“-Gasp!-“

“Dun-Dun-DUUUH!!”

“Well, the route we took wasn’t the same, but I recall that before we started going underground, I smelt that musty smell that was where we found the Elements.”

This was definitely worse news as it got Twilight to start pacing as her mind raced with the dastardly possibilities of Mysterio’s possible location. “He’s not only close to Ponyville, but the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. If he’s found something there, or makes a move with something from that environment then Equestria is in great danger! We have to tell the Princesses and get the Royal Guard here as soon as possible!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t!” When she saw all the eyes on her, Fluttershy hid her face in her mane. “-Eeep!- I mean, maybe we could…not send the royal guard after him.”

“Fluttershy, darling, mind magic is some of the most punishable and crucial magic to be used on somepony. The fact that he used it on us, uggh!” Rarity shivered. “I don’t want to consider what he might of done had you not been somehow immune to his magic.”

“But he didn’t do anything! He said he wouldn’t!”

The other mares looked at each other unsure as to why Fluttershy was trying to stick up for Mysterio, albeit in a timid and reluctant fashion.

“Why are you trying to defend him, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “Sure you weren’t affected by his spell, but that doesn’t make what he did any better.”

Rainbow Dash was questioning this as well. “Yeah, you should be hoping he gets put away too!”

Fluttershy looked most unsure as she recalled something more personal she learned about the one named Mysterio. “Well, it’s what he said when I asked him why he really felt it was better to erase our memories of him.”

[}0{]

The treasure chamber was being organized nicely thanks to the five mares doing their best to utilize their talents to get the job done. Were it not under some form of enchantment, Fluttershy would find it just as amazing as she did when she saw her friends do the same at Tsavorite’s old mountain cave. Instead she felt sad seeing her friends act so…automatically, without any of their enthusiasm or spirit being shown in their work. It wasn’t right, but there was nothing she could do but sit there in a pile of treasure with her knees in her arms and her wings wrapped around her as she felt more helpless than usual.

“Is there anything I could do to make you more comfortable, Miss Fluttershy?” Mysterio said as he walked by.

“Oh, no thank you.” She shook her head. She didn’t want to impose any more than she was probably bound to.

The sorcerer just nodded, and was about to turn away before he was suddenly stopped by Fluttershy’s words.

“Mysterio, um sir, I’ve been thinking about how you said you wanted to make sure you made a good impression with my friends which is why you wanted to erase our memory of meeting you.” The yellow pegasus steeled herself as best as she could to get her point across.
“But I don’t think that is the reason at all.”

The sorcerer tilted his round head as he gave the impression of turning his full attention towards her. “Oh? Then what do you think is the reason?”

“I think…I think you are trying to avoid something that will happen if you were to introduce yourself to us. That you are trying to stop something worse from happening by using something that should be bad.”

Mysterio said nothing, nor did he move to give any hint that she guessed right. Still, Fluttershy continued with a personal experience of hers. The young mare didn’t smile, nor did she frown. She just told the story as simply as she could for it was a moment of her life that was definitely mixed in emotions that were hard for her to determine right away.

“It’s like when my mama was worried when I moved out of my home that she made sure that I understood what was in the Everfree Forrest. She stayed with me for a little while when I moved near there. It was there that I first saw how harsh nature could be for a pack of timberwolves hunted down a family of bunnies that lived near my home. To think that timberwolves don’t even need to eat being made out of wood, yet they have hunting instincts that are very mean and scary. Yet it was also because of that event that I met my pet bunny, Angel.”

Mysterio was still silent, but it didn’t seem like he was looking in her direction anymore. If anything, he looked deep in thought.

Fluttershy finished her point with this. “Everyone tells me that there is nothing to be afraid of and that I shouldn’t feel so shy. I understand that, but I’m still frightened all the time. But it’s not just at how scary the world can be, but at how even when something should be ok there is still something there watching and waiting to get you. It may sound unreasonable but it’s what keeps me going in spite of my special talent.”

For a good while she sat there, waiting for the enchanter to say something. At this point, she was not the only one, for she could see in the distance Tsavorite stopped focusing on her meal and was inconspicuously watching out for her master’s reaction.

With a sigh, Mysterio finally spoke out. “There is just something about you six that frightens me immensely. I don’t know why, but it feels as if each of you has something very deadly about you.”

Fluttershy was certainly not expecting that answer. “Even me?”

“Even you, Miss Fluttershy.” Mysterio nodded in affirmation. “In fact, you may be the most frightening of all! The others right now don’t seem to make me feel weary seeing as they are busy with their work. Yet, your being here seems to be unnerving in more ways than one.”

Now this news was something Fluttershy was certainly not anticipating to hear that anypony-that anyone could be afraid of her.

“I had hoped I could just have you all wave this whole thing off as nothing more than a dream, one in which you felt like you accomplished what you came to do, despite another doing it for you.” He gave a slight shrug. “It would help me in the long run.”

“Well maybe we can help you. It seems we were able to do so much together to help Miss Tsavorite.” She looked hopeful. “Shouldn’t we be able to help you more without this spell?”

“If only it were that easy.” He focused his attention on Tsavorite, who seemed to be directing the mares to gather bits and pieces of the collection into the wagons they brought with them. “Yes, you six seem to be quite courteous and I am grateful for such. I am most thankful especially for all you were willing to do for my dear servant, Tsavorite. However, you six are but a handful of individuals in a population of what? Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions? Who’s to say that all of you will be just as welcoming or as tolerant?”

“But we can be, Mysterio.” Fluttershy got up and started to float in place as her wings began to flap in her new determination.

That determination seemed to dissolve entirely as Mysterio confronted her. For at that claim, Mysterio turned to face Fluttershy directly, causing her to flinch as he had a way to break her argument.

“Really? Because I’ve heard differently. I’ve made a friend who gifted me with the knowledge to save Tsavorite’s life. She told me of a town beyond the borders in which she lived where she is constantly eschewed. Knowing her appearance, I guessed that she must be an entirely different species than what they know. Imagine my surprise, seeing the six of you gathered here, with your multitude of colors, appendages, and figures. Now this may be just my eyes distorting my perspective, but I find myself thinking this:” He spread his hand towards the five mares that were now just standing still, their work complete, and now waiting for new orders. Yet Mysterio used them as examples of his major remonstration. “All she has that differs from you on the surface is that her color pallet is monochromatic instead of rich and vibrant. Yet, she is an outcast from your whole society. What do you think is going to be the reaction if I were to make contact? I who am one of the strangest beings you have ever come across?”

Fluttershy slowly lowered herself to the ground. She felt that there was nothing she could say to counter Mysterio’s words. She wanted to say he was wrong, but even if she wasn’t so shy, she did not feel that she had the will to speak against him.

Mysterio sighed in displeasure. “I’m sorry about my opinion, Miss Fluttershy, but that is what I believe. Tomorrow if your friends ask you what happened, tell them what happened. But don’t lie on my behalf for that will only be a lie against yourself. Instead, tell them that I am sorry for my choice to act on this decision, but that I don’t for a minute doubt that they would have acted in a similar manner if they could.”

[}0{]

“That’s what he said. So I don’t think we can judge him that harshly.” Fluttershy finished.

There was a good deal of thinking at that as each listener considered what Mysterio meant with his words and his subsequent actions.

“It’s like Gilda.”

“Huh?” Twilight turned to find that Rainbow Dash of all people was the first to break the silence.

“Back at flight camp, she was given a lot of shit for being the only griffin to attend.” The blue Pegasus huffed and she tried to shake off the feelings of the last time she saw her old ‘friend’. “It took a while for us to somehow become friends, and even with the way she is now I’m not sure what caused her to open up to me.”

Not wanting the mood of the group to sink even lower due to the mention of Gilda, Rarity was the next to speak up. “Well, I don’t want to simply advocate a possible abuser of mind magic, but I suppose if there is one thing to be said, he did pay us for our services.”

“Say what now?” Applejack asked.

“Well how else do you explain this?” Rarity opened the hat box she carried with her. Only the contents revealed were not anything hat related, but rather an abundant collection of immaculately polished gemstones and gold pieces. “I would certainly remember if I recently purchased such fine stones for my lines, darlings. Since I cannot, I can only assume they were given to me by our apparent…benefactor.”

“That don’t excuse the fact we’ve been worse than lied to! At least when yer telling a lie, yer only gonna get yerself in trouble when the truth comes out. With this darn ‘Mind Magic’ we can’t even find this varmet to bring hims to justice.” Aplejack was unyielding in her opinion. “It’s like trying ta lasso a dust devil: Impossible! Yer just grabbing at dirty bits of thin air.”

“I don’t know about that, dust devils are dirty, so they got to be able to be touched since everything they touch is dirty. Maybe Mysterio is just as dirty, but does that mean Tsavorite is dirty, too? I hope not, because I still need to give her that ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her’ Party.” Pinkie stuck out her tongue. “It’s not her fault her boss is a meanie-beanie who didn’t want to party-hardy!”

“What I think everyone is saying, Fluttershy, is that we still have to tell the Princesses.” Twilight reasoned aloud as she decided to break up the craziness from going further than it had.

Fluttershy conceded at that. “I know, but please, Twilight. Try to make it sound…a bit nicer…”

The purple unicorn kept a tight lipped expression towards that request as she simultaneously went over the facts that she knew. Her conclusion was that this would not be a report she would ever look back on with favor.

“Spike, take a letter!”

“Right away!” the young drake saluted as he got a parchment and pen ready. Thus Twilight began to dictate her letter.

[}0{]

Dear Princess Celestia,

To start off, I wish to apologize for the tardiness of this report. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to send it as promptly as I should. Rest assured that we in Ponyville are fine and that I will be sure to never be late with a Friendship Report again.

As you are well aware, my friends and I were given the task of negotiating with an adult drake into relocating to another dwelling for his hundred year nap. The other Element Bearers and I prepared ourselves to undertake this journey to the dragon’s place of residence and were ready to give it our best attempts to assure everything went to plan. However, they did not.

Now this is account is based on the observations of Fluttershy for reasons that will be later explained, but apparently the drake in question had in fact stolen the lair and treasure from a female dragoness named Tsavorite. The dragoness served a master, who in retaliation to his servant’s mistreatment, personally cast out this malefactor using his skills and prowess as a master of the arcane arts. Lady Tsavorite told this explanation as well as other details of her master, named Mysterio.

He is a sorcerer and lord of a castle. Sadly, besides Fluttershy, none of us can recall enough detail to aptly describe him. That is because of his magic which is most disconcerting: he appears to be a spell caster who is capable of performing ‘Mind Magic’. He was able to subjugate an entire pride of manticores to being servile to his will. More notoriously, he cast a spell on us to not only erase our memory of meeting him, but to entrance us into moving the treasure to another location and be unable to recall just where it resides. It seems it even had a wide post-cast effect, for those off us that were affected did not feel the effects of the suggestion leave us until we all awoke at 10:00 a.m. this morning. Already it seems this Mysterio is guilty of breaking one of our most scrutinized laws regarding magic. IF that wasn’t enough, we suspect that he has taken residence somewhere in the Everfree Forest.

While his actions and location are to be given a great deal of concern, Fluttershy was somehow immune to his magic. She has gone on to tell us these events that have transpired and who was involved. Also, she is surprisingly adamant in supporting Mysterio’s side of the events. According to her testimony, Mysterio tried to erase our memories so that he could avoid the conflicts of a confrontation with him. While I know that we would certainly use more peaceful forms of diplomacy, he seems to be under the impression that we are a more discriminatory-prone race. At least, that is what I understood from Fluttershy’s secondhand account of his words.

Princess Celestia, I honestly don’t know what to do. You’ve taught me that ‘Mind Magic’ is one of the most corruptible forms of magic and that those that use it on a whim are a dangerous sort. Yet Fluttershy swears that this Mysterio didn’t mean to harm us, but instead had a misguided notion to protect himself and perhaps us by trying to make us forget him. Normally I would take his words to be nothing but lies, but the oath he swore seems to be above the level of a ‘Pinkie Promise’ (which according to Pinkie Pie even you would dare not break). His servant also paid us with a very substantial amount of treasure for the help we provided which when considering what little we know of Draconic culture is practically unheard of. So perhaps he is not as bad as he seems but could use a reeducation of proper magical conduct?

Always your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

P. S. Please, please, please! Do not tell Shinning about this! I heard how he got injured the other day due to a training accident of some sort and knowing him, he probably tried sending some of his recruits to come and check up on me. I’ll write to him to tell him I’m fine, but I don’t want him to overreact. The last thing we need is to have him go AWOL after he recently made Captain of the Royal Guard.

[}0{]

“Oh, Twilight!” Celestia let out a tear as she finished the letter. She was overjoyed to receive confirmation that her student and her companions were alright, but saddened by this new development that required her counsel. “Of all things you must be tested with, I certainly did not foresee this!”

“We shall hunt for this scoundral at once!” Luna bellowed as she readied herself to take flight. Twilight was her newest friend, and she and the other mares brought her from the darkness and back into the light. To think somepony would dare try to turn them into beings without wills drove her absolutely livid. “After that we shall truly teach him the meaning of pain-”

“Luna, that’s enough!”

Luna stopped with a startled scoff. “Sister! Don’t you care-?”

Immediately she stopped that sentence because she saw her sister give a determined glare despite the tears. She was angered as well, and was trying to hold her composure.

“I care. But what can we do?” Celestia wiped her eyes as she regained her cool, calm and collected bearing as best as she could. “We know very little of this foe other than conjecture.”

“We have a multitude of methods to hunt for him!” Luna lowered herself to fly to her sister’s gaze. “By nightfall alone, we can search the Dream Yard for him!”

“Yes, but there are other factors to this we must consider before we act, lest we end up aggravating an already volatile situation. I made that mistake once of assuming the worse, and seeing an enemy, only to end up creating one.” She didn’t specify which one, and unfortunately Celestia found that a good number could be specified in that statement; especially, in her next avowal. “I made that same mistake again of not hearing the other side and ended up losing my sister.”

Luna nearly dropped out of the air at that reminder of why she was estranged for a time. “Sister-“

“And I keep making that mistake and finding myself losing more than I gain.” Celestia continued with lament. “Is this to be my sin? To constantly make enemies instead of friends for the sake of my little ponies?”

Luna was quiet for a while, before she considered her sister’s words long enough to at least be less obstinate for the sake of dealing with the problem. “Then what do you suggest, dear sister? This Mysterio cannot simply receive a mere slap-of-thy-wrist for his transgression. In my time, we had public executions for illegal use of ‘Mind Magics’ as well as sentences to the Gates.”

Celestia knew that, for it was because of Mind Magic that the Gates to Tartarus were opened last. Still, she felt the perplexity of her royal duties for she had to play the parts of a diplomat, and a judge simultaneously.

“Luna if I could, I would have the guard search the Everfree with a spear in one hand and a comb in the other. Even if we had the numbers, I dare not consider it. There are much more dangerous things now dwelling there since the time you saw it last.” She breathed out heavily as she made her decision. “As of right now, we are to regard this ‘Mysterio’, under scrutiny. If we have an opportunity to meet with him, then I shall give him an audience under the rules of diplomacy. However, without a doubt, he will be considered an enemy of the kingdom at the moment he shows his true colors as one who dares to harm my little ponies.”

Luna conceded to that decision. She may not like how they had to wait for a possible enemy to show their hand, but she trusted Celestia’s judgement. “Then by thy will, sister. So mote it be!”

Thus was the day that the being named Mysterio would be known by those of the Royal Guard as a suspicious character to be given audience to her Royal Majesty for questioning.

Yet a few days later, he would be given more priority for royal inquiry when certain events took place involving a small junky corner of the desert known as ‘Clutter Coulee’.

Author's Note

Well, today is my birthday. I am surprised to find that it seems to coincide with a number of cartoon events. One year, it was the day Twilight became an Alicorn, now it's the day (or the day after) that Gravity Falls ended. In any case, this was a bonus chapter that I told/warned you all about and I would definitely like to see your comments and reactions to it because it was especially hard to write. It is really challenging o write a chapter without your main character being actively present to bounce of and center the direction the narrative is going in.

The idea of these 'Bonus Issues' is to give insight of the other characters' reactions to Ethan's/Mysterio's actions. That way the impact of what he does and what consequences come about are brought up for examination, instead of being swept under the rug. That, and I hope to eventually do sort of slice of life tidbits (like Tales of Ba Sing Se) to give more insight into my versions of these characters we all recognize. After all, this is an alternate universe and you may find that these characters are much more different than just being bipedal versions of the cast.

So please leave a like and a good comment for the birthday boy! I always write better knowing that I am not just sending words into a void and expecting them to somehow echo back to me in some form of visual stimulation/simulation!

Issue 7-Making a Mark [Part 2]

Author's Note

Well this Chapter was certainly tough to get through. But then again, life has been busy with a new job and stuff. Anyway, here it is! So let's get this Author's note out of the way so we dive into it before I have to get back to it. Hope you like it! Remember to leave some good comments and likes and all that, as well as what you think of it! Enjoy!

Issue 7-Making a Mark [Part 2]

“Everyone wants a bit of joy. Whether it is from opening a shiny toy from the packaging, reading a newly released story, or seeing a child’s face light up at a successfully performed magic trick, that wonderful feeling is what everyone wants to have.”

That was the philosophy of why a man opened a shop called ‘McIntyre’s Magnificent Merchandise’. It was a reasonably small store found in the downtown area of the city; a decent spot due to being near a few eateries, a candy shop, a neighborhood, and a college in walking distance. The name was coined as a reflection of the man’s history of being a simple, but respected stage magician, who decided to try his hand at selling wares such as magic tricks, gags, games, comics, and other such commodities. He thought calling it after his family name was respectable, but the man’s son thought it wouldn’t be as appealing to have the name blazing in the window without it being a bar. Still, Stuart McIntyre had the final say in what he wanted to call his store and his son, Ethan, really had no complaints to the place where he would spend his long summer days.

“That is why I decided to open this shop. To give people what they really want: that semblance of joy.” Stuart finished his thought as if he had not said any similar speech in the past. He then looked back at the door, only to find that his audience was only composed of one person and not another customer was in sight. “So where is everyone?”

The contrasts between the father and son were outstanding. Stuart was a man of a robust build and presence that was signature of a stage performer. It helped that he was wearing a white buttoned up shirt, red bowtie, and slacks as if he was preparing to go onto the stage and perform a few tricks to dazzle a crowded house. He was a descent height and constitution, whose mustache curled with a whimsy that was still respectable. Even though he wore a copula hat to hide his thinning black hairline, he still looked like a man who could jump into a rendition of a Shakespearean soliloquy if given the request. Yet, besides him was a young, skinny teen with an unremarkable face currently at the age of fifteen. His brown head of hair was spiked about as if his fingers were enough of a comb for him to use on it. He too was dressed in a similar faux magician’s outfit, but on him it seemed a bit off with his lack of presence unlike his father. He barely looked like he could run a mile for gym, let alone lift the crates of comics and other merchandise that the store demanded for his position.

It didn’t help that Stuart’s son couldn’t have appeared anymore bored with life as he had his comic in hand and sat on a stool behind the counter. Despite the surplus of intriguing wares surrounding him, he seemed to ignore them instead for the story in which Spider-man was facing off against Jackal, Morbius, Dok Ock, and a back from the dead Mysterio.

“What do you expect? It’s the opening weekend of Toy Story 3. Even though it’s summer, everyone and their kids is in a movie theater whereas we are sitting here waiting for some unlucky geek to swing by with nothing better to do.” Ethan said nonchalantly as he turned the page without so much as looking up at his father’s incredulous expression. It seemed that the movie theater a few corners down was essentially taking away his business and there was not a thing the once ‘Great’ magician could do about it.

“Ah, what do you know? You’re only knowledgeable in the few tricks I taught you, not business models!” Stuart muttered with annoyance as he looked at the clock and saw it was time for lunch. The man got up and started to head towards the door. “Now I’m going to go get us some food. Looks like it’s Subway’s turn to make us lunch. Promise me you’ll still be here at the register and not sneaking off to read the rest of that comic. We could use some money, son. And serving customers properly is the best way to do it.”

Ethan waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be here.”

“Promise me.”

“Fine! I promise that I will be here at the ready the moment a customer comes in asking about a comic, game, or some other gag we sell. Until you come back, this place will be the same as you left it, so help me God!” Ethan raised his hand in mock salute as he gave a smirk at the hamminess of his performance. He then went back to The Amazing Spider-man# 141. “After all, who else can you expect to make sure this place keeps running while you are gone?”

“Yeah, well just for that, I’m going to take my time in deciding my sandwich.” Stuart smirked as he laughed in a false evil manner. “You’ll just have to take the turkey and enjoy it, because I’m the boss here!”

“Whatever, old man!” His son shouted at him as he left through the door. “Better make mine a footlong, or don’t bother coming back!”

[}0{]

Ethan felt a sense of dizziness overtake him despite waking up. It wasn’t grogginess that was hitting him, but a sensation of vertigo due to something else. When he recollected himself and fold he was unable to rub his eyebrows due to his domelike helmet, the memories of his current situation came back to him.

“Master, are you alright?”Tsavorite asked as she looked over her shoulder to gaze upon Ethan in Mysterio’s attire hanging tightly to her shoulders.

“I’m fine. Never better.” Ethan lied in Mysterio’s echoing voice. The distortion of the suit’s speech made it so that his panic was not apparent to his draconic companion and current flying conveyance. Sure any other time, Ethan would probably be imagining flying across a magical land on the back of a dragon, but actually doing it seemed to remind him about why he hated flying on a plane when his dad traveled for one of his shows. That, and knowing planes had seatbelts, as well as actual seats and did not require you to hang on in what was essentially a piggyback ride a few stories above the ground had something to do with it as well.

“Well you seem to be shaking a great deal. If you are cold, I have no problem carrying you and embracing you tighter so you can better feel my warmth.” The dragoness offered, thinking that was the issue at hand.

“No!-I mean, that is not necessary. I am fine in that regard.” Being on her back was nerve-racking enough. Having her essentially hold him like a babe to her bosom, while being forced to gaze at the distance to the ground…well he didn’t want to get motion sick as well as scream in alarm if she started to descend while flying in that manner to say the least.

“…Are you sure?”

“I’m fine. How much further until we reach our destination?”

“I don’t believe much further. Although this method of finding it is not necessarily something I can judge well.” She looked down to take a peek at the object that was hanging from a bangle around her wrist. “Are you certain this is the best method of finding the way from north?”

The object was an old potion bottle that was round at the base, but contained a liquid mixture with a hint of reddish tinge and glowed in a mystical glare. The light source emanated from a needle that not only floated in the round container, but was vibrating as it pointed the direction for her to fly in. While the young man had kept aside “Count R. Clockwise’s Creative Charades and Countermeasures” for another day, the book “Fortune Folly’s Fantastic Spells for Frequent Use” did come in handy after all. In particular, the spell that enchanted the needle to point the direction to a location that it was used to write its name. While it was a simple method of magic, and was certainly leading them somewhere, it still had some serious flaws that made it apparent why it was a magical novelty. On one hand, it seemed to be a constant direction that was definitely not north based on the compass app on his phone. On the other, while knowing the direction to go in was helpful, and having a companion who could fly made it easier but it gave no indication as to how far they had to go to get there beyond glowing brighter the closer they got to it. The other major annoyance was that this spell needed to be recharged, which meant Ethan had to constantly recreate the ritual after a few hours. It was certainly an annoyance to keep pricking one’s finger to keep the magic going, and to use part of their supply ration’s to sterilize to parts to avoid infection.

Speaking of which, he noted the state of their stash for the trip and found that they were running low on nearly everything. “It’s the best we have for the time being. Hopefully we will reach it today. Otherwise we will have to come up with a way to get more of what we need out here.”

Now that was a terrible joke! To be forced to find anything out here in this desert beyond the rocky terrain and blaring sun. Sure, they had advantages that made this environment more bearable like the climate settings in his suit, or Tsavorite’s draconic genetics. But those things wouldn’t be much help when they finally ran out of water, food, and--for the dragoness--gems. Ethan in particular couldn’t help but to notice how when they camped for the night, he was woken up by a low grumble that he found to be coming from Tsavorite’s stomach. God help him, but the reason for his apparent lethargy was that he felt the need to sleep in sessions because Tsavorite unknowingly sleep-ate nearby rocks and minerals she instinctively sniffed with her serpentine tongue and dug out. The munching reminded him of what he imagined to be the crunching human bones. He didn’t sleep well after that thought to say the least.

Still, his mind ran in frustration as to what was this whole journey for? Why take the excursion to this place known only in his thoughts as ‘Clutter Coulee'? What was there that could be so important that he could be one step closer to his main goal?

“I know there is an easier way...but it is my choice anyway...don't let me waste my time, in futile thinking any more…”

The young man who wore Mysterio’s armaments stopped his pondering as he took notice of the tune Tsavorite was murmuring as she soared through the skies and realizing that he knew it quite well.

“Is that ‘Fly in the Freedom’?”

“Hmm?” The dragoness stopped her humming as she felt her thoughts unclouded from the sky’s spell on her senses. Flying for this long did tend to have one linger into ‘Skyway Hypnosis’ if one wasn’t to careful to maintain a level of alertness. “What was that, Master?”

“That song you are humming, is it ‘Fly in the freedom’?”

She pondered for a moment, before shrugging as best as she could with the sorcerer on her shoulders. “I am not sure of its name. Only that it was playing on that ‘eye-fone’ of yours when you lent it to me last. I really enjoy it if it is.”

“Well, you seem to be able to sing it wonderfully enough. I’ll be sure to lend you my music more often.”

Now that was an interesting thought! To think that something like his music would be a welcome commodity to share was something Ethan found some excitement in. But before he could consider other songs to entrance his draconic subordinate with, he caught a glimmer of something shinning on the desert plains below. The makeshift bottle locator was glowing with a brightness that would make any Christmas tree envious in response.

“We are here!” Mysterio proclaimed as he motioned for Tsavorite to land.

[}0{]

“So this is Clutter Coulee.” Tsavorite stated as she gazed upon the place’s magnificence, or rather lack thereof. She had been expecting maybe a township, or possibly a trading post; something that would be well-to-do enough to have resources to his cause. Instead, she found something even dingier.

‘Clutter Coulee’ was a scrapyard. It was surrounded by a high metallic fence with a grated gate. Heaps of organized odds-and-ends could be seen piled at heights above these walls. A couple buildings could be seen inside which gave the impression that someone worked here, or possibly lived here if the juxtaposition of the hot desolation of the environment surrounding it was any indication. Still, that may have been a stretch because they too look worn down like the scrap piles surrounding them.

“This place looks like it has nothing to offer us, Master. Perhaps it would be best if we quickly requested some water and be off on our way. Although, I admit, there is doubt we shall find even that here.”

Mysterio seemed to cross his arms at that, but pondered for a bit before committing himself to journeying into this place they traversed such a length to reach.

“In my land we have a saying, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ Now that can be taken in a number of ways.” Mysterio announced as he leisurely strolled toward the front gates of the place. “People, or ponies in this case, have no idea that the things that they discard and disregard can still be useful.”

“The discarded can still have a use?” For some reason the words rang a cord in the dragoness’ heart, but before she could dwell on them, her master made to announce himself with a few bangs on the gate with his fist.

[}0{]

“To whomever owns these parts, let them come forth for I have business to discuss!”

“Who is that at this time of day?” Trixie asked aloud as she stopped her work for a moment. She was currently shoveling scrap into piles alongside the two Diamond Dogs. They too stopped their work to perk their ears at whatever this male voice just shouted.

“Is it a customer, big sis?” Norah excitedly asked with a skip. Customers were a good source of shinnies so long as they got their scraps that they were looking for.

“Sounds like them guards ponies. Probably wants more metal bits so they can makes more armors and spears.” Bo said as she took up her shovel and trotted towards the lever near the entrance. As she struck it, the chains that it controlled gave a shrieking groan as they lowered the gate to open for their latest guests.

The one standing the tallest was a dragon. Bo was surprised to see one out here in this desert; even more so since there was practically nothing of value to be had among their pile of scraps. Yet here was this female who had green scales shimmering in the sun, and dressed in the minimal garb of one who has lived in the lush jungles she assumed. She gave a pointed stare at the Diamond Dog that was as evenly matched to the point on her nose.

However, even she seemed to be outclassed in strangeness by the being standing next to her. It was a figure garbed in a green bodysuit and adorned in a purple cloak. Yet what was even stranger was the lack of a face. He, for the musculature was clearly a male, had a shining crystal sphere for a head that glimmered in the sun like a mighty pearl. It seemed to light up even more vibrantly as he spoke out:

“I am Mysterio! A master of the arcane, and soon to be the new proprietor of these premises!”

[}0{]

Mysterio couldn’t believe who it was that stood behind the gate of this junkyard property. As it lowered, he expected to find perhaps an earthly colored bipedal stallion that ran the place. Instead, he found a bipedal canine, and a female one at that. The way she was dressed and the way she carried herself showed that she was a hard worker who was not to be trifled with. Despite the other differences to her appearance in comparison to a pony, a few stood out the most. For instance, she had sharper claws at her digits as well as paws at her feet. She had natural chomping bits outside her jaw that were not amongst her teeth. Her overall body type was broad, plump, but muscular and she was blessed with ‘magnificent tracts of land’. They might have even been equal in size to his helmet. Yet that maybe had to do more with her being at least two heads taller than he as well as thrice as broad. Yet she was a part of the junkyard scene with how she was dressed in a pair of dark overalls and a flannel shirt of plaid. Overall, Mysterio summed her up in one thought: Here was a doggie version of Ellie from Borderlands 2 who looked ready to kick his ass.

“So big talk coming from a strange pony…” The female junkyard dog started to comment, before she took a closer gander at him. “You ain’t no pony I’ve ever seen. What are you?”

“I am a man of the human race, and a skillful sorcerer. That’s all I will say on that matter.” He unfurled his cloak a bit as he stood with his arms folded. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to carry on with my day. So let us begin the negotiation in order for me to acquire this place of business properly.”

“Over our doggie doornails! Right, Big Sis Bo?” barked a more youthful voice. Running up to the large bipedal collie, was a little scamp of what probably amounted to a puppy. She wore a blue shirt with a pink bunny as well as a faded pink skirt over a pair of orange pants. She had short orange hair with a black bow near her right ear. The more distinguishing marks she had seemed to be the black mark like a bullseye around her right eye and her larger forepaws and hind paws. They seemed even bigger than the larger dog’s and were almost bigger than her face, muzzle and all. If the big doggie was Ellie, then this little one had to be like Tina: tiny, but explosively dangerous enough to get you killed for underestimating her. At least, that was what Ethan felt when he looked her over.

“You mean ‘dead as a doornail’ bodies, Norah. But she’s still right. What make you think I just bow to you?” Bo asked with her paws on her hips. She seemed to lose a bit of her sternness at her sister’s misuse of a phrase, but regained it quickly enough to maintain an intimidating stature.

It was certainly working, for already, Tsavorite was subtly moving to get into a range to attack; something that Mysterio most definitely wanted to prevent from occurring. So in order to maintain control of this rising situation, he did what he felt was necessary: he prepared to play a hand to change the direction of this game they were playing.

“Let me be clear, I do not believe I can make you become my servant. Nor do I consider that I have much of a chance to take away this place from you so that I may be able to accomplish my goals.” He then snapped his fingers as he quickly revealed a fan of playing cards in his grasp. “However, perhaps I can propose a wager? It can be a contest of your choice in which we compete against the other.”

“Doggie-pile-driver-off!” The younger pup gleefully barked. She seemed to ignore her sister’s irate look as she immediately called the challenge and her terms. “Winner knocks the loser to the ground and keeps them there to the count of ten! If Bo wins, you give Bo shinies until you die!”

“Shinies?”

“I think she means gems, master. They are Diamond Dogs and thus they desire them nearly as much as I hunger for them.” Tsavorite quickly explained.

‘Diamond Dogs, huh?’ So this was another species that Mysterio would need to investigate. He put that thought aside for later as he swiftly came up with his terms of the challenge. “Very well then! If I win, I will get to use this scrapyard in anyway I see fit to do. Will that suffice?”

“Fine!” Bo held out a hand-er, paw-out as she stated the final terms of this apparent. “But remember, no help from your dragon friend and no backing out when you lose!”

“Done!” Mysterio agreed as he shook the offered paw. “Now, when shall we start?”

“We starts…right now!” Bo growled as she tightened her grip and threw the costumed man over her shoulder.

“Master!” Tsavorite was ready to run to his aid, but stopped when Mysterio quickly righted himself in midair and landed calmly on his feet.

“Stay back, Tsavorite!” He swept his cloak behind him as he readied into a battle worthy stance. “I can handle myself against this one alone!”

Immediately he had to take a great leaping dodge to the left as the large she-doggie rushed at him like a bull seeing red. When she failed to impact him, she quickly turned about-face and began to swiftly release a flurry of hard hitting punches. Mysterio found himself dodging a practical hailstorm of clawed fists as he did his best to avoid every strike made towards him. The suit seemed to help, for its HUD could display every incoming attack’s direction of impact. However, the lack of sleep and the effects of the desert climate seemed to be affecting him with every successful dodge he was able to force his tired body to make. If this was a battle of attrition, then already he was falling behind in the race.

Fortunately he had a few more tricks up his sleeves. Like an actual energy attack! “Sortilege salvo!”

He curled up his palm as a magenta burst of energy came flying out towards the Diamond Dog. However, she was not only quick enough to dodge it, but did it in a surprisingly agile way. She leant back and contorted her body into a side kick that hit Mysterio with enough force to knock him back aways.

Mysterio fired a few more shots in her direction. However, not only did she dodge them, but she actually battered a few of them away with her bare paws!

“You thinks I don’t suspect magics in fights? I faced off against trickier fillies than you!” Bo bellowed as she rushed Mysterio again.

Mysterio was able to stand up again, but was not fast enough to start dodging all of her strikes. This time he was forced into a more defensive position as some of her hits were just to close to dodge. The suit gave him some protection, seeing that it was probably made to take blows from Spider-man, but again he knew that he could only do so much before Bo could claim this fight as her win. He had to make a plan to change the outcome of this match and fast!

‘She’s quick! Even for one as bulky as her, she’s surprisingly quick on her feet. Not to mention she is pretty well versed with throwing those punches but with one handicap.’ He tried to avoid that line of thought, but there was one reason (or rather two big reasons!) as to why not all of her punches were hitting him with the impact that they should of at this close range. ‘But can you blame her with them at that size, it’s a wonder that she can see me over them, let alone reach me-’

It seemed that maybe Bo was getting wise to her attacks not having the bite that they should, because she gave an annoyed bark before winding up to give a greater blow; one from her tail with the force of her FULL weight behind it! The impact was enough to through him off balance, but fortunately he was able to catch himself into a roll, and quickly regained his footing. ‘That tail is something else! She knows it well enough to use it to make up for her lack of reach. However, that still leaves the glaring weakness of her technique available for me to exploit!’

He stayed crouched as he heard her steps come closer to him. Each one sounded off with a bounding thud, but the key detail was that they were consistently hitting the ground one after the other.

‘Wait for it…now!’ instead of getting off his feet, Mysterio slid his body right towards her left foot as she got into his range. With his whole body behind that move, he was able to knock her off balance While also kicking up a large dirt cloud.

“You are an excellent fighter, but you seem to be unwilling to let more than one foot off the ground!” Mysterio chide as he appeared to shimmer brightly in the sunlight. He was about to proclaim himself victorious, but was made silent by how she was no longer falling towards her back. Rather, she stopped herself by the strength of her tail. It was enough to give her time to have both of her paws to catch the ground again.

“Enough of this! I will finish this NOW!” like a mighty spring, her tail was able to launch herself up onto the pads of her feet and with that, she leapt up and prepared to body slam the sorcerer in a finishing move.

[}0{]

While this entire match was going on, there was another spectator to the fight: a blue unicorn mare named Trixie. She was watching from the shadow of one of the sheds, but could clearly see everything well enough. Believing it was not as forthcoming, but that wasn’t as surprising considering the way her life has been going these past few weeks.

A sorcerer and a dragon. Of all the things Trixie saw come to this desert junkyard, these two were not a part of it. The Dragoness was tall and looked strong enough to be a viable threat. However, her ostensible master was what drew her eye more. He had a crystal ball for a head, a spoke as if he was capable of magic greater than she could imagine.

Granted, when Trixie first saw him, she was still unsure of his actual capability. She knew the boasting game among practitioners of magic after all. It could have turned out that he kept that dragon as some sort of enforcer, and thus perhaps was only a spellcaster who was rich enough to keep powerful servants to do his dirty work. That line of thinking stopped the moment he told the dragoness to stay back to deal with Bo’s challenge on his own. It was cemented further by how he was remarkably dodging Bo’s strikes and capable of striking back with powerful magic. Even more so, was that he was able to knock the bitch off of her feet.

This sorcerer was strange to be certain. Yet perhaps he was the answer to Trixie’s wishes of late. Too bad it seemed that he too was about to fall into the diamond dogs’ ‘indentured servitude’.

'If only…' She thought as she saw Bo about to body slam him. Then she found herself gasping in surprise as he seemed to fade away like a mirage before Bo slammed face first into the dirt.

[}0{]

Bo couldn’t stop as she felt the dirt kiss her muzzle. The ‘hyooman’ couldn’t have teleported, for there was no flash, or burst of noise like when other things blinked to another spot. The shiny headed figure just stopped being there. Before the Diamond dog could dwell on the how, she felt a new sensation that was hitting her body. She couldn’t seem to pick herself up, but she soon discovered why.

Her legs were tied tightly together by Mysterio’s purple cape. They were knotted securely together to her wrists in a way that made it practically imposible for her to get off of her belly.

“Who’s on top?” Mysterio crossed his arms as he mockingly joked, “It seems I’m more on top than the top dog around here.”

“But how?” Bo asked as she tried to use her strength to break free. Yet whatever material the cape was made from had to be sterner stuff than any rope that Bo could break.

“How indeed?” Mysterio shrugged as he laid a boot on Bo’s back. “10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Looks like I win, all the same.”

He grasped the purple strand and with the flourish of the tablecloth gag, he pulled the cloth from Bo’s appendages and placed it back upon his shoulders. Norah rushed to her sister’s side to help her up while also giving Mysterio mean looks.

He walked calmly towards his dragoness companion as he began to preach of his victory. “As for my winnings-”

“We are not serving some shiny-headed-trickster-cheater!” Norah barked angrily with a tear or two dripping over her bullseye.

Mysterio stopped in place as he turned around to correct the evident misunderstanding. “Servitude? All I desire is the right to obtain whatever scrap I see fit to use and the methods of which to craft with it that you have here.”

That seemed to cause the Diamond Dogs and their unseen observer’s eyes to widen.

“That’s it?” Bo asked.

“Of course!” Mysterio spread out his arms in exasperation. “What else would I want that you could possibly give me?”

“Perhaps a meal would be acceptable as well as a place to stay the night?” Tsavorite interjected as she drew Mysterio’s attention. She gave a sheepish look as she held out the bag of supplies they carried with them. Only now it seemed to be bereft of certain goods. No doubt, it was due to the nervous hunger of the ‘Gem Gourmet’ at the sight of her master getting quite the near defeat handed to him.

“…Really Tsavorite?” He then sighed as he addressed the two Diamond Dogs. “I’d hate to impose more, but it seems that my servant decided to eat the last of our supplies as we fought.”

Despite the lack of a face, Mysterio somehow managed to give a shamefaced demeanor, and the dragoness gave an apologetic expression. Despite their previous scuffle, Bo just couldn’t help but to feel sympathetic enough to give a bit of hospitality.

“So long as you don’t stick your noses up at our cooking!” She gave a canine smirk. “We don’t waste food around these parts.”

[}0{]

“What a day!” Mysterio sighed out as he sat down in a shaded corner of the yard. Tsavorite took off to follow Bo and Norah to make arrangements for their staying the night. He trusted her judgement, and thus found himself taking it easy for a moment that he absolutely needed. He could practically see steam coming out of his suit due to him roasting in there. This suit was made for playing tricks and taking hits, but this heat was something else.

‘Kicking up the dirt was enough to hide that holocube for a quick diversion.’ He then took a few stretches to try and work some kinks out of his muscles as he tried to think of a way to cool off. ‘So I was only able to get the upper hand by some quick thinking. I’ll still need to work on my act if I want to keep up this charade.’

A mug suddenly floated into his range of vision. “Hmm?”

It was surrounded by a magenta glow. Clearly it was the sign of magic at work.

“You look like you might need a drink.” A feminine voice spoke as a tall figure stepped into his view.

It was a blue unicorn mare. She possessed a silverfish mane that was tied up with a worn rag. She was also dressed in a pair of overalls and flannel shirt which were dirty with the signs of working here. Yet it seemed out of place on her, as if she wasn’t originally meant to wear them. No doubt, they must have been old hand-me-downs that Bo must off outgrown at some point of her life. Overall, she was certainly pretty as far as these ponies go, but that made it more prudent that she didn’t belong to this junkyard setting.

Mysterio calmly snatched the mug from the air as if it was a normal occurrence. “Thank you kindly, miss…?”

“Lulamoon. Bellatrix Lulamoon. But you may refer to me as Trixie.” She gave a smile as she thrusted out a hip to lean against. “Your use of magic was most impressive. I was unable to see how you were able to cast that final illusion so flawlessly and with no sign of a traceable tell that are caused by spell work. Just how did you manage to pull it off with such little time has Trixie most curious.”

Mysterio was no fool, and neither was Ethan. He knew the look of a woman…or female…who clearly was after something he had. Many a woman could try their wiles, but he was a man who kept his secrets close to the vest. It certainly helped that she was being obvious in her stance.

“Well, it is a trade secret my dear. I doubt that it would remain as such if I were to tell it to everyone who asked me how.” He swirled the mug of water around as he considered just how he could possibly drink it with his helmet on. Still, he could at least humor her a bit. “Besides, what would a unicorn with such a skilled eye for magic such as yourself need with a mere parlor trick like that?”

That certainly was enough to preen the mane of Trixie. It had been a long time since she had heard any such compliment.

“Very astute for you to notice. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. I am the one who is capable of matching any challenge and trick any pony alive dared to throw at me…” She started to stand with a bit more pride as she recalled her early days of ‘showmareship’. Yet her flare of esteem simmered down as she recalled she was not upon a stage, but in a shaded corner of a junkyard she was forced to work in. “Or at least I was. Now Trixie is just the humble and unrecognizable scrap pillar collector.”

Mysterio knew that look pretty well. “Life threw you one too many lemons?”

Trixie scoffed as she kicked a nearby rock with her hoof. “More like stones! Trixie remembers the last town she was in had a rock farm!”

Ouch! Mysterio didn’t like the sound of that; too literal for his tastes by the way she reacted.

“Sounds like they didn’t take a ‘stage incident’ well.” Her gazed upon the water as he saw a reflection of the two of them standing apart, and decided to impart something to a fellow magician. “Then can I, the Great Mysterio, offer a piece of advice to a lovely young…mare such as yourself?”

“Yes!” Trixie was ecstatic to see what this sorcerer had to offer her. Maybe it was a powerful spell to make her dreams come true! Or perhaps a magical amulet that could boost her power a hundredfold!

“Find another act.”

She dropped her jaw at that. “What?”

Seeing her reaction, Mysterio waved a hand as he explained his suggestion a bit further. “I’m not saying to quit. That would be a waste of all your time and effort. It would also make your naysayers think they’ve one. Rather, find another way to give them what they want. Only then will you find that method that has your audience captivated to your own plight.”

As he finished that, a drinking straw appeared in his sleeve. The moment he carefully picked it out, a tiny induction port opened in front of his mouth that was the perfect size for it. Hazzah! It seemed Mysterio had a way to drink while in costume after all.

‘What do you know, he was prepared for any situation!’ He immediately stuck the straw into the port and started sipping as much of the cold water as he could.

'Find a new act…?' Trixie wondered just how she could do that.

Having completed her task, Tsavorit choose that moment to reconvene with her master. “Master, I’ve made the arrangements and it looks like we will be staying in the ‘guest cabin’. Miss Bo says that there will be another we will have to share it with.”

“That would be me.” Trixie answered as she saw an opportunity to grasp.

“And who are you?” Tsavorite readied her wings as she looked questionably at this new unicorn trying to become familiar with Mysterio.

“This is Miss Lulamoon or Trixie as she is known.” Mysterio introduced as he paused from his sipping. He gave the same curtesy for Tsavorite’s introduction as he announced her as well. “Trixie, this is Lady Tsavorite whom I have dubbed ‘The Gem Gourmet.”

The dragoness kept a straight face until she held a claw out with a grin. “It’s a pleasure.”

Trixie grabbed it to shake. “The pleasure is mine!”

“I hope we won’t be a nuisance due to having to share such close quarters.” The dragoness stood taller and tightened her grip. Her subtle way of appearing bigger while showing more teeth made her unspoken message have a bit more edge. ‘Keep your distance, mare! My master is beyond your paltry tricks!’

“Do not fret! Trixie is used to making due with worse!” The unicorn’s grip tightening as well as maintaining eye contact also aided her unspoken response to that. ‘This dragoness thinks she could tell me to back off! I’ll show her!'

The two stared down the other. Mysterio just sat and drank his water, unknowing that there were silent daggers flying between his two acquaintances.

“Food’s ready! Eat up or you’ll get nothin’!” Bo’s voice rang out as a dinner bell started to ring.

“Ah, nothing to cement a new bond of companionship than a well-cooked meal!” He stood up and dusted himself off to be ore presentable.“Well, shall we ladies?”

“We shall/We shall!” The two females exclaimed as they followed his lead. Neither was willing to let up their pace to make way for the other.

[}0{]

It was an interesting meal to be certain. Not because of the dishes being served. The main course was chili beans hot from the pot. Bo was at least kind enough to make another pot without the ground beef for Trixie’s sake, but the way the smell wafted nearby and seeing the dogs dig into it made her nauseous and nervous. No, what made everyone ate the table wide eyed was who else was planning on participating in the meat filled dish today.

“You don’t mind meat?” Norah asked. Here they all were at a table made of scrapped materials like at a rubbishy picnic. She and Bo had planned to share the meat inclusive meal with the dragoness, but they didn’t expect that the round headed being would scoop up a spoonful from the pot into his own bowl.

Yet here was Mysterio eagerly swirling a spoon in his bowl to mix up the chili. “So long as it’s cooked properly, I’ll eat it and tell you if I enjoy it!”

“You are weird, Mr. Eeyoo! Even if you are some ‘hyooman’.” Norah didn’t bother with a spoon, and just dove her muzzle in to scarf as much food as she could.

“I’m sure I will get that a lot.” The ‘human’ set his bowl down to cool. He was also waiting for a proper opportunity to take his helmet off to eat.

The young pup wiped her muzzle with one of her forepaws as she asked a question she’d been having all day. “Still, how cans you eat with no mouth or holes?”

“Norah!” Bo chided with a pointed spoon from her own bowl of chili. While Norah ate with a ill-mannered gusto, she certainly had manners of a proper host, and thus wished her sister wouldn’t ruin the nice mealtime they were all sharing.

“What? He doesn’t has one!” Norah defensively retorted.

“I do. It’s just that my face looks…really scary!”

That appeared to excite the young pup. “Really?”

“Yes. It may give you nightmares for weeks to come!” He facetiously raised finger in a warning as he tapped his shinning orb of a head covering. “So don’t look when I take this helmet off, alright?”

Norah was far from deterred at the prospect. “Now I gotta see!”

Bo adamantly put a stop to that. “You better not! Last time you gots that scared we hads to get you a new bed.”

Everyone at the table developed smirks, and were holding back laughter at the implication. Norah waved her paws about as she embarrassingly defended herself. “Not because of that!”

Bo shook her head in annoyance as she explained further. “I wish! That would be better than you setting explosives to gets the monster that you said was living under it!”

Tsavorite raised a surprised eyebrow at that. Trixie seemed to blanch and look even more appalled at that bit of information. Mysterio noted the way she also rubbed her neck in which a junky looking collar with gaudy lights was adorned.

“So Norah, you’ve got an unusual name.”

That seemed to distract her into a calmer state of being. “Not really, all doggie names are based on our qualities or other things that are easy to recall. When we was fighting, I was able to be very sneaky and no-doggie could hear me until it was too late! So I was named ‘Norah’.”

The way she pronounced it was ‘No-rawr’, which was an interesting tidbit to Ethan. It seemed that names for Diamond Dogs had a story behind them. Granted, names in his world could work in a similar manner, it seemed they had a more active quality here.

“So why do they call you Bo?” Mysterio asked, trying to further explore the topic. Unfortunately, he seemed to have stepped onto another landmine, by the expression that developed on the older female Diamond Dog’s face. Norah didn’t seem to notice as she explained it with a poem of all things, and a surprisingly familiar one at that!

“Little Bo Peep, loose her sheep, don’t know where to find them. Leave them alone, and then they come home with wagging tails behind them.” Her pup sister recited.

Mysterio tilted his head at that recitation. Apparently some things were truly universal. He’d definitely have to explore that at a later date to be certain!

“Well that sounds very ni-”

“It is name of prey, not hunter!” Bo bellowed as she slammed a fist onto the table, leaving a crack on its surface. “It double insult because it is shorter than ‘bow-wow’. It is name for…”

She lost her anger and seemed to fall into a depression, with her ears and tail lowered. Norah’s ear drooped as well as she realized she slipped up again and her sister was the one hurt by it.

“What kind of name?” Mysterio asked gently without trying to push her. He had to know. At this point, if there was some sort of cultural deviation at work he would pay attention to it.

The Diamond Dog sighed out. “It is a name for a runt.”

If his eyebrow could rise any higher, his helmet would have cracked. “You are a runt?”

“Norah may have been born from a latter litter, but I am the runt of my bunch.” Bo answered with a bit of bite back in her voice. “As if magic-man didn’t know!”

“I did not. You must understand Miss Bo, I am from lands far beyond here, and every culture is as strange to me as mine is probably to yours.” He then raised a hand to his ‘chin’ in consideration as he commented. “In fact, you are the first ‘Diamond Dog’ I have ever seen.”

“Really?” Norah asked in honest surprise. “You know no things ‘bout Diamond Dogs?”

“Truly.” The man nodded as he folded his hands. “You could have told me any number of tales and I would have to consider the possibilities of their truth. Why…”

He unfolded his hands to reveal a pair of Queen playing cards he set on the table. The Diamond Dogs as well as Tsavorite and Trixie looked intrigued at the designs of a human woman in a suit of diamonds and hearts as he went on into a dramatic tale to lighten the mood.

“You could have told me you and your sisters were lost princesses of a warrior culture, the two of you on the run with nothing more than each other and a song in your hearts.” He waved his hands quickly over the cards as the two suddenly became a set of royal flushed of each suit in a ordinate pattern. “You could then impart to me the adventures of how you had found, fame, fortune, power, and love along a widespread journey in which you ended up here as a couple of successful entrepreneurs in a form of working retirement.”

“Magic-man sounds crazy, and silly!” Norah clapped. “Can we hear more?”

He shrugged. “That depends on you. It is your story to tell after all.”

“Aw…guess I’ll has to think it up and make it real special!”

“I’m sure you will.” Mysterio looked around before conspiratively whispering.“Perhaps with puppets, or something similar. Everyone likes those kind of stories from my experience.”

“I gots stuffed animals!”

“Then why don’t you practice? We will look forward to your reiteration of this wonderful stream of proceedings!” He said with a pat to her head.

“Huh?”

Tsavorite quickly translated her master's words into simpler terms. “We would love to see your show!”

“Ok!” Norah scampered away to fetch some props for her storytime. This left the adults in the room alone to carry on the
uncomfortable conversation.

“So why did you think I would know you were a runt, Miss Bo?” Mysterio asked when he could no longer catch sight or sign of the young pup.

“It’s quite obvious if you knows us Diamond Dogs well. It is plain for all to see.” Bo sighed as she held out her paws. “I eats lots. I works out lot too. And no matter what I do, the mark of a runt never leaves me.”

Her paws were about the same size as a normal human hand. Besides being padded like a canine’s and slightly plush due to her weight, the only other thing of note was that she had three fingers and a thumb unlike the five fingers he himself had. He supposed they looked average as far as anthro paws went, and couldn’t find any sort of marking on them. He was about to disregard her admittance that they were the sign of her runt status, but then he realized the comparison to her sister. Despite the pup’s age, she clearly had enlarged paws that were made for digging and would definitely make a deep impact into hard surfaces. Her bottom paws were a similar manner in that he recalled as they fought, he had to be quick on her feet to make up for her lack of reach.

“So the fact that your paws are smaller than what I assume are the norm are what make you an outcast?” He asked.

“You says it like it is just an inconvenience. But to Diamond Dogs, we needs to be bred strong to serve our lot in life. These are not paws of digger and fighter.” She shook them in restrained fury. “These are paws of clan bitch at best!”

Bo took a few calming breaths as she composed herself.

“So I show other dogs, I not just baby oven! I am BO! The Diamond Dog that is smarter than the rest!” She still gave a bit of a snarl as she looked directly at her guests at her table. She was especially pointed at the one who beat her today. “So now, Mysterio, what do you wants with this place I works so hard to keep safe from bad dogs like those I runs away from long ago?”

Mysterio said nothing. For what could he say? Looking discreetly at Tsavorite and Trixie, he saw that they too felt bad at this insight into Diamond Dog culture. Bo was a strong female, and apparently had worked hard to get to this place by the sounds of it. The idea that she had escaped a life of being a breeding machine was disheartening to say the least. After a bit of deliberation, he finally spoke what he hoped would placate her concerns.

“I said it before. You could have told me that you were the queen of these lands! You could have said that you reign from the distant mountains to the tree line as a benevolent and beautiful ruler and I would have to consider it. I would need you to prove it, but I would still consider it a possibility. I never considered you lesser, and even after our…small exhibition, I do not think of you as some…doggie only good for one thing.” He held out a hand as he did what he felt was the best way to assure her she was not worthless. “After the insight you’ve given, I think you have a great deal of untapped potential that could be amazing to see when it’s fully realized.”

Bo tilted her head at this. “What are you saying?”

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m offering you a new beginning. You can forget all this mistreatment because of your culture’s stigma and become one of my subordinates. Lady Tsavorite can vouch for me as a ruler.” Mysterio turned to her, and she nodded firmly at that.

Bo took consideration in that. Dragons were a proud race, and their word in regards to those with power carried weight. Still she was not as convinced at this sorcerer’s words. “Norah and I works ery hard to avoid slavery. What do you offer that’s so different?”

Mysterio thought this was a fair inquest. He crossed his arms as he showed a thinking pose. “Well, to start, how about you tell me what you want. Name it and I shall see about acquiring for you.”

“The Heart Stone!” shouted the young pup who revealed that she had been listening to their conversation this whole time.

“Norah!” Bo shouted though it was unclear if her admonishment was due more to Norah hiding, or her apparent request.

“What? He said anything, didn’t he?” She waved a stuffed grey doggie in one hand and a white unicorn with wings in the other as she excitedly barked. “So he can help us find it!”

“What is this ‘Heart Stone’?” Mysterio asked.

“It just stupid dream that should just lie with sleeping dogs.” Bo moaned with annoyance as she looked at her sister looking too
wound-up at the apparent prospect of acquiring it. “There’s no way even you’d be able to find it. Better dogs have tried and failed for the last eon. Of course, that’s what’s gotten us Diamond Dogs into this mess of our parts of the world to start with.”

“Oh really?” Mysterio asked.

“Yep! No-doggie has ever found it.” Norah barked as she held her stuffed animals together as she seemed to get ready to tell a story with them. “No-doggie has seen it! Yet everydoggie has been looking for it!”

“Ever since the day that cake-gobbler Celestia sent our kind's old head honcho, King Crunch into Tartarus!”

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Issue 7 1/2 ?-The Origin of the Bandit Age

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Issue 8-Making a Mark [Part 3]

Author's Note

Another short chapter I am afraid! I am sending this out as I am heading to work, which seems to have gotten busier since receiving a promotion. Expect that to affect my already erratic writing schedule. As for me, I hope to expect plenty of comments, likes, and good reviews for what I am about to show you! TTFN!!

Issue 8-Making a Mark [Part 3]

Young Ethan was just about finished with his comic when it happened. He had just got to the part where Ned revealed to Peter Parker that Mysterio had died in prison a year before, when the bell to the entrance rang. Seeing that his father had left to fetch lunch less than 10 minutes before, he assumed it was him. It wouldn’t be the first time he forgot his wallet on some shelf while busy dealing with the back inventory.

“What, did you leave your wallet in the back…” he started to snidely comment before he looked up and saw what really made the bell ring.

He was tall and broad shouldered, with his features darkened by long exposure in the sun. He looked roughed up with his patchy hairline and his unshaven stubble. His clothing was thick like it was set for winter, yet torn at the edges probably due to moths and rodents. Overall, he looked homeless, vagrant, and crazed.

But Ethan disregarded all of that in an instant and instead was focused more on the dull and roughed out revolver in his hand. The man pulled back the hammer and lifted it at the ready as he then demanded the teen to empty the cash register.

[}0{]

The sun rose up as schedule over Clutter Coulee. However this time, there were a few more faces rising up as the light peered through the window of one of its shoddy cabins. They were no bigger than sheds really, but it seemed they were sturdy enough to be considered acceptable shelter’s from the environment’s scuffles. Yet, one of them had a green scaled dragoness, curled up outside its door, as if to keep watch from potential threats. She perked up as she heard footsteps inside, followed by a jingling of the knob.

“Did you sleep well, Master?” Tsavorite was already up and about by that time the door opened. Like a good subordinate, she stood outside the door at the ready.

“Fine enough, Tsavorite.” Mysterio murmured as he stretched his joints and muscles. The suit he wore may have had its ways of being comfortable to adorn, but did not act as a proper substitute for pajamas. Another thing he still needed to look into getting on a growing mental checklist. Another thing that he needed get done was to get his draconic accomplice to understand she could tone down the lengths of her subservience. Despite Mysterio’s request that she could sleep in her own room, she insisted on keeping watch outside. “It seems no Diamond Dogs, or Unicorns saw fit to assault me as I slept. An excellent job of keeping me safe!”

Tsavorite smiled at the praise, although seemed to keep a suspicious eye at the other cabins nearby. Specifically, at the one next to theirs in which a certain blue mare should be still lying asleep.

“Perhaps we should make our departure soon. It would be better to leave before the sun gets too high.” ‘And that mare to get out of bed.’

-Rumble!-

She held a claw to her belly, while blushing at the attention it was drawing to her. “Of course, it would probably be best to ensure we are fed and resupplied for the journey ahead. It would be a terrible thing to find ourselves unprepared for such a trip!”

“Hmmph! I’m sure that’s the only reason to not rush!” Trixie smirked as she trotted past them. She was already dressed in her work outfit for today. Only, it seemed to be a much cleaner, and prettier one based on how the shirt was floral print with violets, and…was that eye shadow she was wearing? “Still, it seems rather rude for a servant to rush her master along without so much as a goodbye to their hosts. You’d think you’d know better!”

Tsavorite flared a bit of smoke from her nostrils at that.

“Oh, I am sure that she only wants us to avoid that glaring sun at its highest point. She is my wonderful chauffeur and method of traversing the desert after all.” Mysterio chided as he strolled to the table they all gathered at last night.

Tsavorite, ceased her ire at that comment. That seemed to brighten up the dragon’s mood from the mare’s observation as hers seemed to sour. Yet, she still made sure to blow a big smoke ring at Trixie’s face as she walked by for it, leaving the blue unicorn as a coughing mess despite her efforts to get up earlier to be more presentable today.

Point to the dragoness.

Still, Mysterio was ignorant to this little squabble behind him as he faced toward the two Diamond dogs. Already, he could recall a conversation that took place last night as he offered Bo a position in his potential organization.

[}0{]

As the others had gone to sleep, Mysterio felt he should try one more time to ask Bo for her agreement to a partnership. For despite his willingness to earn it, she declined the proposition and offer for her allegiance. She didn’t give much of a reason why, but Mysterio did not how she seemed to keep a good on his interactions with Tsavorite and kept Norah a bit closer to her as she seemed to widen at the thing on Tsavorite’s back.

“So there is nothing I can do to make you change your mind?” Mysterio asked now that they were alone. The two sat across from one another at the table. Bo gathered up the dishes and set them aside into a pile to wash later, as she looked up at the now seated sorcerer.

“Nothing. Not even the Heart Stone, because I knows that promise is about as empty as a dried vein of shinnies.” She answered with no hesitation. “And don’t think you can have another bought and have me bet on it either.”

Mysterio crossed his arms at that idea being tossed aside. “I seem to recall we fought and I won.”

“You means you cheated.” Bo huffed out. “I don’t know hows you did it, but I knows that for a minute you disappeared despite my nose telling me you were there.”

Well, that was an interesting tidbit to put aside for later. He knew he lucked out, but he didn’t realize just how close he snuck victory out from the female.

“Besides, you saids all you wanted was your pick of the scraps and permission to use my tools.” She shrugged. “Aint nothing about becoming your slave while you’re at it.”

He took offense to that accusation. “But I am not trying to make you a slave-”

“Tell that shit pile to your dragon ‘friend’!” Bo barked, before quickly calming herself due to the night air willing to wake her sister up with her echoes. “I don’t knows how you gots her eager to please you and do what you says. Maybe a favor, or maybe that weird magic of yours, but you can’t hide something like that mark on her back and not know what it implies.”

“Well, I can assure you that it is a magical seal to assist her with an unusual affliction. When I asked how it should look, she asked for my mark. I never really wanted to give it to her, but she insisted on having it.” Ah, so now he was getting an idea of why she was not as accepting to the idea. “Maybe we are at a cultural impasse, but what do you think it means?”

Bo stared down the round headed sorcerer, and seeing that she was getting no reaction, she instead desired to go for a more direct approach. She reached her paws to unhook her overalls’ straps from the front. Then after pulling it down for a bit, she reached for her shirt and started to lift it up near the bottom of her breasts.

Mysterio immediately drew his cloak to block his range of view as he stuttered in surprise at the Diamond Dog’s forwardness. “Miss Bo! Please! Keep some decorum-!”

“I ain’t flashin’ ya my teats like a bitch in heat, you idjit!” She barked out over her armful of chest-flesh. “Look closer!”

Hesitantly, he lowered his cloak to examine what she wanted him to see. What he found was something he would not forget.

It was clear that Bo had been in a series of fights based on the scars and marks in her fur. also, despite her girthy appearance, it was clear that she was of a more muscular body type because he could still glimpse her ab muscles on her torso. Yet the thing that stood out was the mark that was a contrast to her fur and skin below her breasts.

It seemed to be some sort of reddish mark that was etched with shapes like wings, or perhaps a furry crest of fur. It did look like it had a face it was trying to hide. It all seemed overshadowed by the dominant part of it. The most obvious aspect of it was the golden paw print in the center. Had he raised his palm to it, Ethan would have found the paw print to be bigger than his own hand.

“I didn’t get this here mark ‘cause it looked badass! I got this when I earned my place at my master’s side. The things I did to get it are a life I woulds rather leave lying down.” She explained as she set her clothing back in order. “I won’t say them much, but there were times whens I was a beast, an attack mutt, and others whens I was a pet. Slowly I worked to become a full clan sister. When I was at that point, I was able to takes what I could and gets as far away from there as possibly. And yet I was one of the lucky ones in this way of life.”

He hadn’t much to say to refute that. “So you won’t be taking my offer then?”

“Woulds you? Knowing whose you are and your own history?”

“I suppose you have a point.” He started to get up. “Still, I hope that we can still be considered acquaintances and not foes.”

“I don’t know.” Bo mumurred, as she also recalled how the sorcerer looked as he took off that helmet to eat. He was certainly no Dog, that was for certain. “You do has that strange face.”

“Always the face!” He muttered annoyingly. At least it was ‘stange’ and not ‘silly-looking’ like Norah laughed at.

“Take the unicorn!” Bo barked out before he stepped out of earshot.

That stopped his train of thought. “Say again?”

“The unicorn. She ain’t nothing much but a complainer, but she works hard and I’m sure a magic hyooman like you will find a use for her.” She then gave a canine grin as she added. “Maybe she can serve ya drinks, cause she can’t cook for shit! Think about it!”

It didn’t take long for the human to realize that the undertones were saying much more than what her words were affirming.

“I’ll think about it!” He nodded in agreement. “Goodnight, Bo!”

[}0{]

So here they all were gathered around a decent breakfast of hash browns and scramble eggs. Mysterio was certainly looking forward to eating it once he took his helmet off. But first, he found there was a matter of business that needed to be addressed.

“So, Miss Lulamoon.” He began, drawing the eyes of everyone at the table.

“Yes?” She quickly lowered her fork and tried to straighten up her appearance a bit.

“Well, last night, I was discussing certain matters with Miss Bo here and she suggested that you are…not as happy working here as an employee.”

“It could be said. Maybe not quite the way Trixie would put it.” She nervously answered seeing Bo raise an eyebrow and Norah give a pout.

“Well, in any case, I considered it and thought that perhaps I could offer-”

“But she can’t leaves! She still owes us!” Norah interrupted.

“Norah-” Bo started to reprimand.

“No! She has to stay to pay off her stuff she owed us!” The pup yelled out as she held out a little box that had a flip of some sort on it. “Otherwise, she gets punished!”

Mysterio and Tsavorite had no idea what the device was, but Bo seemed to recognize it immediately.

“Norah!” Her eyes widened at the device as she looked at the collar Trixie was wearing. “You didn’t-?”

But that question was interrupted by the sudden explosion that burst through the front gates. Everyone at the table flinched as they turned their attention to the smoke rising where the gates once stood.

“Now what was that?” Mysterio asked as he readied himself.

“RAIDERS!” Bo bellowed as she hopped to her feet and grabbed Norah. Norah dropped the device as she was picked up with a speed that bellied someone of her sister’s size. “Find a place to hide!”

‘Hide? There is nowhere to hide!’ Mysterio started tapping at one of his wrists as he withdrew a couple of holo-cubes. ‘We’re boxed in here and they know we have nowhere to go!’

“Master, look out!” Tsavorite shouted as something flew in his direction.

Mysterio hastened to fire off an energy blast from his palm, as he took not at what flew at him: a long rusted spear.

He gazed at the figures that were starting to rush into the grounds. They were wild, and had mangy fur. Some had deep scars, while others seemed bulkier and more muscle toned. They were dressed up for a desert lifestyle, but not in a way that would hinder their speed. Rather, they wore simple clothes that were enough to keep them covered, but clearly identified them as thieves. Bo called them Raiders. Mysterio saw them for what they were: a pack of Coyote descended Diamond Dogs that undoubtedly had foul intentions for them based on how well armed they were.

As soon as they saw the sorcerer and his draconic companion, they began to growl and ready their collection of spears, axes, and chains.

It was not the first time Ethan stared down a weapon.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be the last!

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

{OMAKE}

“Now everyone, what I am about to show you may perhaps be enough to drive you into insanity.” Mysterio stated as he readied his hands to his helmet. “I ask that you try your best not to scream, and remember that I am not a predator to be feared.”

“Maybe you should-” Bo started to question, before her he little sister interrupted with a paw over her mouth.

“Not now, Big Sis! This is going to be good!”

The eyes of the Diamond Dogs and the unicorn widened at the sight of Mysterio without his helmet.

“It’s…!”

“Yes?”

“IT’s…!” Trixie seemed more wide eyed.

“Yes!?”

“It’s so lame!” Norah yelled out.

“What!?” Ethan yelled.

“I thought you said it was going to be scary, and gives us nightmares forevers.”Norah pouted with a huff. “Instead, your real face turns out to be so super silly!!”

“Oh come on!” Ethan threw his helmet on the ground as he had enough of this. “I risk a lot to bear my soul like this, and you treat it like a joke? Fine. Whatever. I’m just going to go eat now.”

He sat back down and started to eat the chili. It was a few bites in that he noticed Norah was sitting attentively next to him, staring like the puppy she was.

“Can I help you?” Ethan asked.

“How can you hear with your ears on the side of your head?” Norah asked.

“Errgh.” Ethan slumped his head to the table, as he knew the pup was about to begin a series of questions.

“What happeneds to all your fur? You stuck your face in a river and washed it away?”

As that was going on, the other two females were asking their own questions to Tsavorite.

“So he really has no fur on his body? Beyond his mane?” Bo asked as she continued to eat.

“He claims that he could choose to grow fur on his face, but I haven’t seen so much as a whisker sprout in the time that I’ve known him.”

“That’s really weird.” Trixie commented as she looked at the sorcerer’s features. She supposed he was handsome in a way, but certainly no stallion with his pointed nose and comparatively flatter face.

“It aint natural, is what it is!” Bo took a sip from a mug she had in hand. “How does he keep warm without much fur?”

“It seems his species is more reliant on clothing. Of course, that is just a theory.” Tsavorite answered as she ate her meal in large spoonfuls.

“Wonder what he would look like without his armor.” Trixie muttered.

Tsavorite slammed her spoon to the table as she reared her wings up in a more aggressive manner. “As if you would get the opportunity!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes as she met the dragoness’ gaze. “And what does that mean?”

“What do you think it means?”

Bo just watched this argument develop with an amused glint in her eye. IT reminded her of how some of her pack sisters would argue over males that stroked their fancy. ’Y’know, those two don’t even knows if they are comparable with hyoomans to be fighting like that!’

She then turned her attention to notice how her little sister was still continuing her onslaught of questions despite Mysterio trying to ignore her. Yet every once and awhile would answer her questions. ‘As for you, to be willing to go this far for some scrap, what are you really after?’

It was a question that would be answered another time.

Bonus Issue-Making a Mark [Epilogue]-Word Gets Around

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Issue 10-The More You Learn...[Part 1]

Author's Note

Well the good news is that I have a new laptop! The bad news, besides the obvious that I needed a new one, is that I have to work more to pay off the lovely new device I own. So that is partly why this update is coming to you all this late. So sorry, but life is life! Yet I hope you are all enjoying this story still and will continue to like, comment, and kindly critique it so that it continues to develop into a saga worth construing. It is only by wonderful readers like you that I continue typing in my free time. So thanks again!

In any case, we come to the next arc of Ethan's story! For there is always more to discover about the individuals we meet and even new secrets to uncover about ourselves. The question then becomes how we react to the new findings we collect? Do we stand in awe or cower in fear? And whose to say that is the zenith of what we can newly experience. After all, strange things tend to be attracted to strangers in strange lands!

As they say, the more you learn...

Issue 10-The More You Learn...[Part 1]

It had been a few days’ trip from their start at Dodge Junction, and were they any other type of species it would have probably taken them much longer to get here. However, these three broad and hardy individuals had the benefits of being Minotaurs. They had the advantage of being able to travel with these wagons full of junk at a steady pace across this desert climate like an afternoon jog. Due to their immense strength and stamina, it was ideal to have a team such as them pull such a heavy load a long distance. It was a really substantial cargo indeed for word had reached the town that Clutter Coulee was more than willing to triple the usual scrap load sent their way. Being so eager to have a place willing to deposit the refuge from their developing town, they eagerly hired the Minotaur team to deliver it posthaste.

For the three minotaurs pulling it, this meant having two full wagons that two would pull while the third pushed. The distance and heft of the loads gave them some leeway for breaks, which they were only so earnest to take their time with. They were in no hurry, for they knew the junkyard dog who owned the place and how much of a patsy she was since it was just her and that pup most of the time. What’s the worse she could do? Sit on them?

When they finally arrived to their destination, their leader couldn’t help put to raise an eye at the state of the place. Sure Clutter Coulee was a dump, but it looked like it had gone through a tornado, explosion, and Ursa Major Rampage at the same time. The walls were nearly threadbare and missing gaps, while the shacks he could see inside had hastily hammered over coverings that where plain to see. Even the piles of junk looked like they had been placed in the ringer. There was no gate at the entrance so they didn’t bother announcing themselves; not like they ever did before.

Normally their jobs entailed ensuring the junk pile they carried was properly organized as a part of their service. But that was more work than they were willing to bother with, so why start the trend now?

“This place looks more like a dump than usual!” The lead Minotaur said as he tugged on the straps of his overalls as he surveyed the greater mess the place of refuse was. He then looked to his similarly dressed companions and gave his orders. “Let’s hurry it up fellas! The sooner we dump this lot, the sooner we can enjoy our time off while heading home!”

The rest cheered at that news as they just began dumping the wagon’s load haphazardly at the busted gates of Clutter Coulee. That is until their whooping and hollering caught the attention of its owner who rushed to meet them as fast as her shorter paws could carry her steps.

“Oh no! Like I told you dunderheads many times before, you dump that there junk into its proper piles!” Bo barked as she saw that once again these junk delivers were making a mess that would make more work for herself and her crew.

The head Minotaur just waved her away uncaringly. He had a good couple heads of height over the junkyard dog, so he knew she wasn’t much of a threat to him and his teammates. “Oh stow it! Just be glad we are even giving you this scrap to work with for your cruddy place.”

The others nodded in agreement with one even vocalizing, “Yeah, so quit your yapping and just let us do our job so you can get on with yours!”

That did nothing to get Bo to back down. Instead it made her angrier. “I’m warning y’all, the three fools I sees better be busy fixing their mistake or else!”

The lead bullheaded lummox laughed at the threat instead of taking it seriously. “Or else, what? You gonna sic your sister on us?”

“Or some skinny armed pony that you tired out?” The third jeered with the full innuendo intended.

The three of them laughed at that, which only further shortened the fuse of Bo’s temper. Before she could even take a step to prepare a swing at them, business practices be dammed, another voice spoke out.

“You wish she would. Unfortunately, both are currently busy, so I shall have to suffice.”

The minotaurs stopped their guffawing as a new face steeped into her view.

This was someone they had never seen as part of Bo’s crew nor expecting to encounter in their lives. Dressed up in a similar set of overalls as the Diamond dog and a buttoned up shirt to match. She didn’t fill them out a fully as Bo so she didn’t have the stoutness of her figure, but she certainly had her beat in height and presence due to the other details of her form: greenish scales, leathery wings, and a long rigid tail. Everything was prominently at display as she crossed her arms and stared displeased at her similarly dressed companion. Clearly she wasn’t amused at these junk suppliers’ attitude toward Clutter Coulee’s owner.

“What was that? Sorry, it’s a bit hard to hear you over my friend’s stomach rumbling. It’s been some time since she ates a decent meal in these parts besides my tasty Beef chili.” Bo sardonically asked with a paw raised to her ear. “So woulds you care to rephrase that?”

Seeing the dragoness lick her lips and give a glint of her teeth at that, the minotaurs immediately blanched and changed their tune into one with more frantic humility.

“We meant to say we would be happy to get it in order!” said the head of the trio. “Right fellas?”

The other minotaurs were quick to nod their heads.

Bo seemed to perk her mood up at that as she spryly replied, “Well good! See that you gets those piles done before I change my minds about whats I’m cooking today! Take care now!”

Bo then walked away wiith a pertly sway to her steps. The dragoness moved to follow, but not before making a ‘watching you’ gesture with her clawed fingers before joining her friend in a stern conversation. When they reached out of earshot of the now frenzied workers the pair of them finally let go of their austerity and laughed at how much of a joke they played on the rude minotaurs!

On a nearby roof of one of the shacks, Ethan saw the two amused at the hastily working junk crew and how they were now busy pointing out their mistakes which they were all too eager to correct under the gaze of the Owner and her new draconic friend.

“So woulds Miss Tsavorite really eats them?” Asked Norah who was looking at them as well while messing with a couple of stuffed animals.

“Of course not!” Ethan said, but thought, ‘At least I hope not!’

Normally he wouldn't doubt his friend and servant, but just recently he found a startling secret about her.

[}0{]

It was after the battle against the Desert Ash Pack. Evening was approaching and everyone was doing their part to get dinner ready knowing they would need the meal to refresh themselves after quite the auspicious day. While the duties of food preparation mostly fell on Bo, with the assistance of Norah and Trixie, the actual setting of the cooking pots and utensils came to Ethan and Tsavorite.

Ethan, who was outside his Mysterio suit (much to the shock and stares of his compatriots of how he looked in simple clothes), was busy setting up the wood for the pile. Unfortunately, Bo could not find the matches she used the night before as Clutter Coulee was still a bit of a mess from the raiders’ earlier assault. He was gazing about in hoping of finding something to light it up until it occurred to him that he was struggling at setting up a cooking fire with a dragon! A dragon who he could not recall breathing fire the entire time he’s known her! Suspicious of that factoid, he eased the question to her. “Say Tsavorite, couldn't you simply light this pile with just a breath?”

The dragoness stumbled a bit at the pots and stands she carried as the question was asked of her. “Um…well, Lord Mysterio, there is an issue with that…”

“Now that you mention it, Trixie can't recall you breathing one bout of flame while we were getting captured earlier!” Trixie stopped her task of chopping vegetables as she too realized that one of her new acquaintances was supposed to be a fire spewing dragon. “Did you forget you could breathe flame?!”

“No! I didn't forget!”

“Then what's the problem? A few bursts of fire could have made this whole problem be solved faster without ya boss’ mumbo jumbo!” Bo asked with a bit of bite. She was vigorously chopping meat (which Ethan hoped was domestic and not sapient now that he considered it) as she also realized that the battle could have gone a bit easier.

Tsavorite took that comment personally. It might not have been intended, but it implied that she forced Mysterio to act because she was very unwilling to dirty her own claws as it were.

“It wasn't as if I wouldn't have used them in the end! The breath I create takes a great deal of strength out of me and I had already spent it facing a good number of those brutes. Also they muzzled me before I could let it lose! Had I even been given the chance, it would still be too great a risk for us all even with that pack taking the brunt of it. My flames are too hungry to consider who’s in the crossfire!”

“Are they that hot?” Ethan pondered aloud at that choice of description. For he recalled many instances in fantasy of super-hot flames that could consume all they touched because they burned at such an intense heat.

“Not quite the way I would describe it. Perhaps a demonstration…” She glanced about before finding a suitable target to test her ability upon. “Miss Bo, which pile is stuff you want to get rid of for good?”

Bo quickly made a decision seeing the glint in the dragoness’ eye on the many remaining piles of scrap and refuge nearby. “The one on the left. Over yonder!”

“Watch carefully, everyone!” Tsavorite cautioned as she took a deep breath. When she swallowed enough air she opened her jaws and a glint of light emitted from her throat before she exhaled an outbreak of greenish flames. When they covered the pile it was like a greenish cascade of tongues over the rubbishy surface. The dragoness then ceased her attack as she started to catch her breath again as it seemed the outburst took a bit out of her. Ethan could almost swear she looked a bit leaner after utilizing her flames, but before he could consider that, Tsavorite pointed to the pile, “See how my flames react to what they touch?”

Everyone looked at how the pile of refuse was burning away. Only it wasn’t burning away as one would expect. It was rather dissolving like it was under the duress of something corrosive instead of burning hot. It took a few minutes but when the pile was fully melted, it left a still burning mist like moss as the only remains.

“Ain't never seen no fire eats junk like that! It even took away part of the nearby stones!” Bo remarked as she was astonished at the fire Tsavorite conjured.

“Uh-uh!” Norah agreed as she stared in awe at the way the scrap pile dissolved in the light.

Trixie said nothing, but her wide eyed stare was enough convey how she would reconsider her plans to deal with her rival for Mysterio’s attention.

‘Have I?’ Ethan thought as he felt there was a sense of something familiar about the green flames eating the pile as it did. But where could he had possibly seen a dragon breathing acidic flames before in his life? It was impossible to consider, so he let the matter go for now. Besides, it seemed the dragoness wasn’t done with her demonstration as she leaned down until she was at eye level with the remains and did something even more unexpected: She began to suck them up!

It was practically a green pond of brilliant emerald tongues in a misty cloud that appeared toxic to breathe in let alone touch. Yet Tsavorite drank and drank until it was all gone from the eye and down her gullet. When she was finally done, she wiped her mouth as she addressed all the wide eyed stares at what she just did.

“Pardon me! It’s the only way to keep them from spreading wild that I know of. Plus, I would hate to waste food like that!” She bashfully covered her mouth as she stifled a hiccup.

“So Miss Dragon Lady can eats garbage, just like that’s?!” Norah gaped with a wince. Even one who grew up with junk found the idea of eating garbage disgusting.

“Well no, I do not eat trash…but I can break down things like I do gems. Although I would much prefer a good amount of them like I keep in my hoard, I suppose I can make do with this useless metal. These scraps are basically minerals anyways, so I get the full nutritional value from them as well as killing off any bacteria.” She nodded as if that made more sense. “I hope that is not a rude request that I ask to partake more in these piles later?”

Everyone could only blink owlishly at that. It seemed that any counter argument was either pointless due to the little sense it made to refuse, or that they dared not to admit the logic in what she just asked and make sense of it.

So Bo broke the silence with a hesitant, “I suppose it woulds be rude to makes certain one of my guests was nots being fed properly. So longs as you asks first, I can allows it.”

“Most splendid!” Tsavorite grinned as she went to work on a similarly discarded pile and began cooking it for her feast. Seemed she would be enjoying her meal a little earlier than the rest of them.

“Of course you better note I’ll be watching the fine silverwares from nows on!” Bo sharpely addressed to Ethan before muttering, “And consider this going into your tabs for all the headaches y’alls been givings me!”

Ethan was too transfixed by the sight of his draconic companion converting garbage into an edible plasma. What concerned him the most was the look on her face when she completed the task of eating the entire flaming substance. It was only for a moment, but he could tell it was not satisfaction one would have after consuming such a substantial amount. It was more than lingering hunger, too. It was a hungry gaze that called for something, but what it demanded was something more primal that she feared to satiate and that fear was felt by Ethan as well.

[}0{]

Ethan shook his wandering thoughts as he felt they weren't that necessary or wanted right now. At any rate, he at least felt Tsavorite seem to be eating well enough now. Bo was surprisingly more open to the idea of Tsavorite consuming the unwanted scrap metal as part of her daily intake seeing that some of this metal was just too junky and broken down to be of any other use than to make bigger piles. Instead, he joked to himself, that it was going into making a bigger dragoness! Already he could tell that she was slowly beginning to fit better in Bo’s discarded hand-me-downs and was now another foot taller. Clearly she was being well fed like he swore to her, so he doubted he really had much to worry about her in that regard. Right?

Anyhow, Tsavorite seemed to becoming pretty close friends with Bo. While he didn’t pay much attentions to their discussions, albeit overhearing them seemed to indicate some talk over purities and uses of certain metals and the best ways to find gemstones, he felt happy that they seemed to be getting along pretty well. The dragoness seemed to be getting along fine with her pup sister as well. Young Norah kept asking for flying lessons, and details for how big her hoard was and its location, which she swore was for curiosities sake and definitely not for stealing reasons!

He wished it could be said the same for Trixie, but despite their polite conversations, they didn’t seem to get along that well at times. In particular, the dragoness gave a smoky snort at how his new apprentice too regarded him as ‘Master Mysterio’.

New apprentice. Now that was another thing to add to his list of unexpected events in his life. Sure, that list included a great deal of content of things he had also learned about his comrades, but having a Blue unicorn-woman ask him of all beings to teach magic was a gold star on the spreadsheet. Trixie was eager to learn from him, yet impatient to how he taught. To be fair, she immediately assumed that the ‘great sorcerer’ would be imparting to her a multitude of spells to add to her magical repertoire. The day after she made her oath of apprenticeship, she got up bright and early at the crack of dawn thinking she would be utilizing her spell work to its fullest potential. She was prepared to cast spells that would conjure great beasts, or unleash devastating occurrences upon her enemies!

Instead, she discovered that her teacher was starting her from beyond a beginner’s level, and would not be using magic until, as he put it, “properly prepared to perform his type of conjurations”. So here she was, sitting at a table with his deck of playing cards trying to succeed in naming each card she would draw without an iota of magic being used. To a unicorn this was nearly demeaning if not infuriating!

“3 of Diamonds!” She called out with her eyes clenched, hoping to finally achieve a streak of five cards in a row! Her teacher promised an actual spell to practice if she could achieve fifteen, but considering the days she spent doing this, she'd never get it at this rate! Opening her eyes, she looked at the card,

“Dammit!”

And saw it was the 4 of Hearts!

She slammed it onto the table as she crossed her arms and pouted, “This is impossible! What this has to do with magic, Trixie doesn't know, but she is certainly feeling more foalish with every attempt at this!”

Ethan saw how annoyed she was, so he came down from his perch and headed to his apprentice (still strange as it was to call her that in his head, but considering his life now!) and figured it was time to get her to understand why he was making her do this for reasons beyond hiding his current nonexistent magical abilities.

“So is my apprentice really going to give up?” He asked to garner her attention and trying not to laugh at how embarrassed she looked at realizing he was watching her efforts. “Or are you just going to give up believing that you are learning anything?”

“Trixie doesn't want to give up! But this is ridiculous! Trixie already knows cards tricks! She could make any card she wants to appear in her hands!” she said as she used her magic to levitate the cards to her hands to shuffle them. Only to have Ethan swipe them from the air and start going through them to be certain all 52 were there.

“That's not the point, Trixie! The point is you must learn one of the most fundamental aspects of magic.” He lectured as he shuffled them intricately, while noting for himself their order.

“Which do you refer to?” She asked as she noted how well he shuffled cards with his hands despite having an extra digit on each more than her. The young man tilted his head as if pondering to give her the answer before deciding to hand her the deck back to prove his point.

“How about a test to see if you pick it up?” He said as he crossed his arms and patiently stood still. “Here they are, now shuffle them in your hands, without magic.”

It almost made her blush, were his look not so determined seeing him watch her shuffle the cards. Each motion she made was carefully played before her audience of one. For even though this wasn’t a stage, she felt that she was performing and under great scrutiny for her ability to captivate her audience. It was a fleeting sensation, and one that she felt was over too soon when finally, she finished and held out that deck in her palm and readied herself for the next step.

“Now draw the one on top without showing me, and I will call it.” Ethan directed as she motioned to do what she was told. He could not see the card with its back facing him, but he declared its depiction as if he knew for certain. “The card you are holding is the 7 of Clubs.”

‘Lucky guess.’ Trixie thought as she looked and saw that it was in fact that card.

Ethan didn’t hesitate as he commanded her to draw again. “Now the next one. That one is the 9 of Hearts.”

Trixie drew it and saw that the call was right, too.

“Again! 3 of Spades.”

So was that one.

“Jack of Diamonds.”

And that one.

“5 of Spades.”

And that one!

“4 of hearts.”

And that one!!

“10 of hearts.”

And THAT ONE!!!

“8 of clubs.” Ethan widened a grin at how Trixie was looking more flustered with every card he called correctly without giving any indication as to how he knew. “I can keep going, if you want.”

Trixie dropped the deck onto the table as she stared intently at her teacher. “How? Are you using magic to read my mind? Is there an illusion you cast on the deck when Trixie wasn’t looking? Did you hypnotize me into thinking I am seeing what you are saying?”

Ethan blew a raspberry at those accusations. As childish as it was to do, it was enough to snap the near frenzied mare out of her state. Plus, as much as he could have done those things (being Mysterio after all), that wasn’t the key to this trick and more importantly the lesson.

“Hardly! A magician never reveals his secrets, but this one is something you need the train in: memorization!” He started picking up the cards that were dropped and shuffled them, only now being more piercing with how he was glancing over each one as he shuffled. “In that one instance of shuffling, I memorized the order and paid attention to the motions of the cards shifting. At my level, it is a breeze to know what every card in that deck is and where each one stands at any given time.”

“Any card?” Trixie asked. Ethan leaned the new deck to her so she could draw the top one, which she did.

“You just drew the Ace of Hearts, didn't you?” He smirked as if it was really a question.

“…Yes!” Trixie stammered as she recognized that the gap between her and her new master’s level of skill was fathoms more than she previously thought. Seeing her dejected look, he decided to provide some words of comfort to make her less discouraged.

“Trixie, I am not trying to to baby you. What I am showing you is how I learned things like control and tactics. Things that I am certain are expected to be picked on during your own personal exploration than practical magic, which I promise we will get to eventually! You just have to be patient and trust me, you’ll get it!” He patted a hand on her shoulder as he let out a light laugh. “I can tell because you wouldn't find it so boring if it was too difficult to understand, right?”

The unicorn looked brighter at that acknowledgement. “Right!”

“Good! Now just keep at it! Your goal is to know 10 cards as you draw them. If you can do this, I will begin teaching you more sleight of hand. Maybe even a few card tricks of my own that you probably never heard of!”

The apprentice’s good mood faltered a bit at that news. “But..!”

Only to have her complaint stopped by a raised pointer of Ethan’s. “And what did we agree on?”

Trixie huffed as she tried not to pout after being given recognition by her teacher. “You're teaching Trixie magic as you were taught!”

“Correct! Like I said, my magical knowledge is different than yours. But trust that what you will learn will help you become the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie you claim to be!” He handed her back the deck. “Remember, sometimes it isn’t so much what cards you are dealt, but ensuring you can control what’s being played. Keep at it, you’re doing fine!”

He decided to part away from Trixie, seeing as she was now looking more determined to meet her quota. Hopefully he pulled enough of a charade that she actually learned things from him. He would hate to disappoint her too with how he wasn’t quite the spell caster she thought he was.

“Seems that there is more to magic than simple chanting and expanding energy.” A voice interrupted his musings. He turned to see Tsavorite standing nearby, apparently watching his interactions with his apprentice. “Although I suppose there must be otherwise everyone could perform it with no hesitation.”

“I suppose some are better at it than others, but there are some things than should be learned before further deepening into the studies. As with most things.” He unintentionally had been avoiding her lately, Ethan realized. Perhaps it was an indirect sense of caution he felt with learning a bit more about her; knowing that even now she still had more secrets. But how could he consider her his friend if he wasn’t even willing to make small talk with her? “So, you have an ability that lets you get away with eating a lot more than gems, huh?”

“Yes. Does that worry you, Master Mysterio?”

‘Yes, I actually does!’ He thought, but instead waved his hand in dismissal, “No, no! Of course not! It’s a very impressive ability! Although, there goes my plans of having a barbecue over dragon fire, lest you’d be the only one dining!”

He joked, hoping she wouldn’t take that as an insult, but she took it in stride as she felt more comfortable speaking to him once more. “Surely a great sorcerer such as yourself could cook a grander meal than I ever could with his magical skill?”

“Bah! Consider one of my weaknesses reveled; I can’t use kitchen magic to save my life! I am stuck using the cookware like any mortal man!” He dramatically sighed as he ruminated on how at most he could cook pastas and flip burgers, but fine dining would forever elude his comprehension. He changed topics to hide his perceptible embarrassment. “I don’t suppose dragons can use magic, can they?”

Tsavorite chewed a lip at the question, mulling it over at first on how to properly convey the words. “Dragons have a magic of their own since were are considered by many to be living forces of nature. Albeit, I personally will never be able to cast spells like the unicorns and other naturally proficient species could. Still, I suppose it is not that hard to pick up on things to at least understand them especially with how much experience I have gained in my lifetime.”

“Sounds like you might know some interesting skills to practice from years of observation.” Before he could stop himself, the question popped out from his lips. “Dare I ask, how old are you?”

He was expecting her to reveal a birthday not far from his own. What he got made him rethink another bit about how he saw Tsavorite and her draconic nature, as well as dragons in general!

“I am not that far from the first half of my first century. Perhaps a decade more, give or take a summer?” She seemed most unsure of the specifics, as if it was no big deal to forget perhaps a decade of time!

‘She’s fifty or sixty?! But she seems my age, or only a year or two older than I am at most!’ To think she spoke of it like it was not that far from turning twenty-one. Ethan himself wasn't even old enough to drink, yet this female friend was old enough to share drinks with his grandparents!

A burst of laughter interrupted their conversation as the two came to realize that their conversation was being overheard by others. Trixie in particular was still shuffling her cards, but seemed to find Tsavorite’s age particularly humorous.

“Well, I suppose we should respect our elders!” Trixie smirked. “You are probably filled with wisdom, And Trixie being a mere twenty-two summers old will have much more time to learn!”

Tsavorite seemed to flush a bit at that as a tick developed in her eye. But before she could quip back at the mare, Bo decided to make her presence known by doing it for her.

“That still makes you just an upstart, Trixie! Though I don't like pointing it out, I may as wells. I’m around 26 summers, not that much older than yous, dumb mare. Not sure if that’s the same as our Doggie calendars, though.” Bo sighed. ‘After all, No one wants to hear how their maiden days are goings aways!’

Norah just heard a mention of ages and thought it had to do with preparing a birthday party! So she leapt from her place on the roof of a shack as if it was no big deal, and hurried to tell her own age in hopes that maybe it would lead to so good treats when the time came.

“I’m 9 and a half summers!” She proudly declared to everyone, before pointing dramatically at the other females present. “When I am 10s, I will finally gets to be respected like you older ladies!”

‘Older?!’ The other three twitched at the child’s choice of wording. It seemed to draw the knife in further when she spoke it with such chipper youthfulness.

“What about you, Boss Mysterio?” Norah asked with blissful ignorance to the sour mood she caused. “As a Sorcery guy, you must be very old to be as powerful as you are!”

‘What does age have to do with being powerful in magic?’ He thought before considering all the prime example of magic users that were impressive in fantasy: Gandalf, Dumbledore, Yen Sid...it seemed they all were well into their maturity as he concluded with, ‘Then again, how many powerful sorcerers gave in to the long bearded look?’

“Sadly, that is not very true. I am still in the youthful phase of my life. Not quite sure if our calendars match up, but I am twenty years old.”

Everyone else just stared at him. Norah looked at him in childish wonderment at how he was twice as old as her, while the others had their own reasons for being incredulous at that tidbit of information.

‘He’s even younger than I and still a Master of the craft!’ Trixie thought before internally gasping. ‘Wait! Does this mean that…it is Trixie who is …the mature one in this matchup?!’

‘Goodness! To achieve much in such a short amount of time! I will have to work harder to match his impressive standards!’ Tsavorite thought with determination after the shock of how much younger her chosen lord was than her. ‘I will have to double my efforts to show him I am more than capable of meeting them!’

‘This young chump is going to be in charge?’ Bo was heatedly flummoxed. ‘Well, tan my fur, he better be real smart or so help me I’m taking Norah and just boltin’ for the nearest proper settlement!’

Norah however was just amazed at the revelation for other reasons. ‘Wow! He’s twice as old as me! Like are all magic uses at least that older?’

‘Wow, they all seemed so surprised to hear that. Maybe I should’ve lied and said twenty-five?’ Ethan thought as he took noticed the looks he was receiving for such an admission. ‘Still is it really that surprising?’

Oh if only he knew!

[}0{]

Much later from that awkward situation, Ethan was busing himself with another important item on his agenda. For after the debacle with the Desert Ash pack, he had been trying to figure a way to head back to base camp. Even if he were to get more supplies to make the journey with Tsavorite across the skies once again, and assuming he would even risk flight again, he still had to factor in three new traveling companions. Even just taking Trixie wouldn’t be an option any more, for Bo adamantly informed him how despite saving her life and that of her dear sister, he still had a tab to pay.

So naturally, the first step was to establish what kind of working affiliation he had with the Dog sisters. To do that, he spent the day formulating a contract. Using parchment and ink, he spent the past few days in his spare time drafting and writing one that would benefit the both of them working together. It wasn’t as wordy as the ones he knew of back home, and since he was not a lawyer, he doubted it was airtight. But at the very least it was a sign that he treated them like proper business associates which seemed to be more than what most of this world’s inhabitants were willing to do. Hopefully they took it well that he worded the terms that he did.

Surprisingly they didn’t, but not for what was written but how it was written as he came to discover another secret about himself.

“What in Tartarus are you tryin’ to pulls here!?” Bo barked after perusing the documents for a good minute. She had first been astonished to see Mysterio come up with such a thing as a matter of respect, but after seeing it with a spot for her and Norah to sign, she felt angered at being treated like a poor sucker!

“Well I understand the wording might be a bit complex, but I tried to present it plainly so-”

“Then why’d you write it in this confounded script!? Why not something that can actually be read so I can knows you aint trying a double-cross or three on us!?”

“I’m sorry?” Ethan pursed his mouth closed at that before going over it in his head. “Wait! You can’t read this?”

“You’re darn right better be!” Bo simmered incessant at the contract. “And to think you would try such a low down scam as to write it in some unknown script-”

But Ethan interrupted as he firmly gathered the contract. “This writing here! You can’t read this?”

Bo was about to extend her tirade, but seeing the serious look Ethan was giving at the question she stopped and cooled off her fury. “Well, no, I can’t read it.”

“Tsavorite, Trixie, come over here for a moment!” Ethan called out, not caring that the two were eavesdropping the whole time to watch this business unfold. The two rushed to his request as he held out the contract towards the two of them. “I want you to tell me what this paper says.”

The two skimmed the pages as best as they could, but it only was a minute into it that Trixie was the first to break the silence. “Trixie can’t understand it! It’s not in Equestrian, and not in any old magical script she recognizes.”

“I am afraid I cannot read it either. It’s not any form of Draconian script or other language I’ve encountered.” Tsavorite sighed as well, disappointed that she too was not much help.

“Well it certainly aint Doggie Script! So what’s going on here!?” Bo asked.

Ethan just brooded over the contract as he took it into his own hands. The words were to him plain as day in plainer English. Suddenly, it occurred to him what may have been happening, but he needed to test it.

“Ok, I need each of you to write this sentence in every language you know: ‘Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs’. Can each of you do that for me?” He asked as he gave each of them a back of a page to work with as he hurried to acquire the writing utensils he worked with.

“But what does that-” Trixie started to ask.

“Trust me! I hope to God I am wrong!” He shouted back as he went to get the ink to work with.

When he came back he found four individuals giving worried glances, but willing to do his request and so each of them took turns writing that sentence. What he hoped to find was that there would be a collection of glyphs and letters he had never seen before.

Instead he found a collection of sentences, albeit in different sized fonts, but all written the same:

Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

“GOD DAMMIT!!” Ethan roared as he ripped the papers in furious anger. It was more than adequately expressed for the others flinched in fear at him doing something worse with his magic. But instead he just slammed his head down onto the table and mumbled furiously at himself.

Seeing that he may not conjure something in his anger, Tsavorite braced herself as the first to approach the human, hoping her dragon genetics would be enough to withstand his potential lashing out. “Master-”

“Please don’t start with that now, Tsavorite!” Ethan lifted his head to look at her. “I just came to realize that I am cursed!”

“Cursed?” Trixie asked as she kept behind Tsavorite as a shield.

“Yes, cursed! For you see, everything you all write and say is plan to understand for me, and that should be good.” He flippantly waved his arms before slamming them on the tabletop again. “Except nothing besides the words from my own mouth can be understood by others!”

He recalled as he was looking over the documents, the time he sent flying and hearing Tsavorite hum the words to the song ‘Fly in the Freedom’ and how she said:

“I am not sure of its name. Only that it was playing on that ‘eye-fone’ of yours when you lent it to me last. I really enjoy it if it is.”

The song has its title written on the iPhone screen, and the lyrics themselves are part of the refrain! How would she not know it was that if she was clearly singing it…Unless the words she was singing were not some that she herself usually spoke!

“Let me guess, right now we are all speaking some foreign tongue that pertains mostly to the ponies or something, right?” Ethan rubbed his temples as everyone looked incredulously at him.

“Of course! We are speaking normal Equestrian right now!” Trixie stated. “It is the primary language of the realm after all!”

“So if I asked Bo and Tsavorite to say something in their native tongues, because I doubt they grew up on speaking the language of ponies their entire lives, what would happen?” He pointed a finger at the two. “Go on, try it?”

The two were hesitant to do as asked, but seeing the glare Ethan was starting to give, they both complied posthaste.

“What would you like me to say, my lord?” Tsavorite said, only this time her voice came out in a hardier tone than her usual vocal pitch.

“This is too crazy for me to deal with!” Bo replied, only it seemed her lips were not matching the sounds she was making. “I swear, if you can understand this, then I am most impressed with your capabilities at linguistics!”

“Then be impressed, Bo!” Ethan gave a sarcastic laugh at seeing the Diamond Collie’s eyes widen and Tsavorite looking worried as he met her gaze. “And really, Tsavorite, you can say whatever you want so long as you don’t mind that I can hear it!”

He laid his head down as he tried not to break down further. “Because I can understand everyone and everything, but it looks like nothing in this world can understand me!”

[}0{]

The Quidam closed the book he had been reading as he thought long and hard about that last line read. Even he a being as grand and nearly infinite as he felt a little iota of sorrow due to his empathy for the displaced young man.

The headless one pondered as he looked at the table set for tea. Only this time, in this inner world he appeared to get the gist of something not seen before. For it was a study room set up for a nice luncheon after a study session in this chamber with walls the color green. Thus far only he was present and he was but an entity intruding upon the scene. Where were the guests? Where was the host? Not here that’s for sure!

He twiddled his blue bowler hat.

He gazed at the crack in space that was set over the table. Only instead of being in a tea cup, the Quidam set it on a tea pot. He then picked up said pot and seeing it stick to the vessel, poured himself a few cup of tea and set them at different spots.

Yet with each pour, instead of hot water, out came a different object from another place in time and space.

He grabbed a cup at random, not really caring about the token that was in it at tossed it into his bowler hat where it disappeared into a glowing portal.

[}0{]

Ethan just wanted to be alone. He would apologize to his companions in time, but for now he just wanted to take a bit of a stroll away from it all. He wouldn’t wander the desert on his own without proper protection, so once again he was Mysterio! The Master of Arcane Disaster!

‘Even that title is too pompous for me!’ he thought as he looked up at the sky. Night was approaching. Soon the stars would be blinking into view almost instantaneously. ‘And another thing, Kingdom Hearts hard it wrong! This sky looks nothing like the one back home at all!’

The first one appeared, slowly followed by others in a sequence. Ethan jokingly focused on the first as he hammily went into a soliloquy.

“Star light, star bright,

First star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have this wish I wish tonight.”

'I wish I had a way to get off this crazy train!' He wanted to shout, but knew nothing would come of it. Except for that star to suddenly come crashing down in front of him…wait, what!?

“Mother FU-!!!” He dove out of the way as the thing impacted the surface. It was a fiery shockwave that gave off an earsplitting shatter. Mysterio 's cloak was wrapped tightly around Ethan like a cocoon, before it unraveled to reveal him panting in the domed helmet. As he was sprawled on the ground, he gave himself a minute to compose himself before standing up and dusting his outfit. “Way to answer that request, Universe!"

The young man in a super villain's facade tirade ended as his attention was drawn to the object in the crater. Whatever it was, it gave off a hum as if calling out to him.

“Well now, I suppose I better see what insanity fate has decided to present me with this time!” He murmured as he approached the object, not fully comprehending just what had been sent his way: A gamble for salvation, or another hazard to his sanity!

[}0{]

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

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Issue 11-The More You Learn...[Part 2]:The A-Maze-ing Crossover Special

Ethan cautiously approached the crater, prepared to face a great number of possibilities. Considering how his so-called adventure had been going, he expected to find a massive chunk of space rock with deadly radiation, or even a crashed spaceship. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised to come across some sort of venom symbiote, because why the hell not!?

Oh, he was still surprised by what he found, but not because of its presented danger, or a complex shape. Rather, because he was almost killed by one of the last things he ever expected to come from the stars: a box… a cardboard box!

“A cardboard box? I was almost killed by a cardboard box!” He gazed into the heavens, and if it weren’t for Mysterio’s helmet, the expression of ‘What the Hell, God?’ would be plain to see. “Well when you ask for hope, expect them to deliver the package promptly, I guess!?”

Considering that this apparent package came with great force, and didn’t burn on re-entry, he was hesitant to touch it. So instead, he leaned in a bit closer to glance at its details, letting his suit’s HUD do more of the work at trying to make sense of it than his mind currently could. At first glance, it looked no different than any other cardboard box you would use for your daily machinations. It had the logo for some produce company, for emblazoned on its sides was “THE APPLE”, albeit upside-down. It seemed large enough to hold a person if crouching, but there was not much else to note for its surface. Yet it seemed to be emitting some form of...radiation?...presence?...He really needed to practice more with this suit’s skills because he had no idea what he was looking at other than that it was making his suit’s warnings go off! For crying out loud, it was empty and barely even cosplay prop quality! What could be so dangerous about it, other than it coming from space like a comet?

Ok, fair enough! Still, the question was, what to do now? Walk away? Hardly an option considering that this was something he was meant to find. Also, as cautious as he was, he felt a compulsion to see what would happen if he were to touch it like so-

He immediately jumped back the moment his gauntlet made contact with its coarse surface. For the moment he did so, it began to vibrate and emit a sound; a voice with a message!:

"Hi, my name is Maze, I’m a magical cyborg ninja. I do a number of things well; Combat, Stealth, Peeping and I’m a half decent cook. If you need help and I’m available and willing, I will endeavor to arrive quickly. Though I will expect compensation; I have my own ideals and will not fight on the behalf of yours for free. I’m also not an assassin; you do your own dirty work."

-DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE BOX!-

It finished the last sentence in a much deeper voice, but he knew the vocal resonance of a woman when he heard it. At least, he thought he heard it, for it felt more as if the message was being spoken in his mind like recalling a memory, than being spoken aloud. Of course, this only proved the box was clearly magical.

“A magical cyborg ninja?” sure, he could believe that. Why not have a box from outer space bring him a cyborg ninja? He waved his arms sarcastically and stated, “I suppose all I have to do is chant ‘Come forth oh mighty magical cyborg ninja’ and then this box will surely-”

The box jumped and tumbled onto the floor with its opened side against the dirt, then shifted back and forth slightly. The clearly-no-longer empty box then started to rise off the ground, a pair of legs appearing from within. Finally a whole figure stood with her back to Mysterio as she tossed the box aside haphazardly. She had short, unevenly cut hair and was clad in a tight and tactical looking, though not unstylish, suit. A technical looking sheath with some kind of triggering system hung at her hip. Though, other than a what looked like a few seams and what could be data ports on her exposed skin and maybe the sword, ‘cyborg ninja’ didn’t really come to mind to look at her.

She stretched and looked around, noting her currently crater bound position before finally turning to see her summoner.

“Ah, there you are!” she delivered brightly and climbed out of the crater to stand before the magician. With what looked like a somewhat ornately gauntleted arm resting on her sheath, she offered the exposed right hand to him “Hiya! I’m Maisie, my friends call me Maze.”

Mysterio just stood there, wrapped in his cloak like the imposing figure he played. On the surface he appeared indifferent to the new development, but inside, Ethan was dumbstruck! Sure she was dressed in something that seemed from an anime, and was the first individual he encountered that was actually shorter, maybe only 5’ 6” to his own 5’ 11’, but there was no denying it; standing before him was another human being!

Maze arched an eyebrow at the unmoving Mysterio. “Were you expecting something a bit more dramatic?”

Seeing the young woman staring at his lack of response, he quickly steadied a hand towards his cloak, hoping to not flub his first instance of human contact in such a long time. Now to play it like the smooth villain he pretended to be, “Hardly! Although with such a boastful proclamation, I had expected you to be taller. Still, I suppose even a Master of the Arcane such as myself cannot complain when assistance is offered! I am Mysterio, and am charmed to make your acquaintance, Miss Maze.”

He finished with a dramatic flutter of his cloak, hoping he nailed the right pose as he reached her extended palm to shake it in greeting. Surely that was enough to ensure that his first impression was spectacular!

“Yeah, I got that much from the outfit” Maze failed to hide her amusement as she shook his hand, “You go by that or you got a real name?”

‘Outfit?’ Ethan questioned in his head before trying to further clarify. “I suppose ‘Mysterio’ is more of a title, but that is the moniker you may refer to when addressing me. It’s how everyone of this realm knows me, and I doubt it needs changing!”

“Just Mysterio then, got it. Actually I don’t use my old name anymore either, I mean I changed so much that… well, it just didn’t seem appropriate anymore y’know?” Maze delivered back as she took a more casual stance, waving off the memory of her old life. Her smile then grew a little bigger “Just don't be surprised if I start call’n you ‘Misty’.”

‘Misty?’ He hadn’t used any mist yet. Not that he would since this Maze had yet to show any threat, but the possibility she knew what he really was; well, there was one way to test her! “So long as you don’t refer to me as ‘Fishbowl’, I believe it is acceptable!”

“Nah, I always liked Mysterio. Didn’t read the comics much but the show was cool. Besides, I don’t know if I’m quite as skilled enough in Spidey style banter to get away with it. I do try though.” Maze shrugged.

She KNEW!!

“You know about Mysterio!?” Ethan broke his lordly character a bit, which with Mysterio’s voice still projecting from his helmet made it a bit more humorous to hear. “Like for really reals? You know about the comic and animated character? Like it’s really a thing in the world, no questions whatsoever!?”

“Well yeah, granted Mysterio’s lower tier on his rogue’s gallery but come on; it’s Spider-Man, probably Marvel’s most popular character… well except maybe Wolverine.” Maze answered honestly “No offense on the lower tier thing of course.”

“True, I suppose the argument could be made-” He shook his head. “NOT THE POINT! You know about pop culture! So you know about our world, don’t you!?”

He pointed accusingly at the ninja as if daring her to deny the claim.

“Our world?-OH! Oh oh oh!” Maze realized and got excited, even bouncing a little as she brought her hands up “I get to pop your cherry! Oh I figured it might happen but so soon?! Oh you’re in for it now!”

Maze laughed and dragged the costumed man to a large rock nearby and gestured to it.

“You’re gonna wanna sit down for this. Oh but take your helmet off, this won’t be any fun if I can’t see your reaction.”

Ethan looked to the rock, and back to Maze. As far as he knew concerning his situation, it involved a Merchant who sold him some items and was now under the watchful gaze of some headless being called The Quidam. But now that somebody else may be in the same metaphorical boat, he had no doubt her tale would make him wish for a more comfortable seat.

So like an astronaut preparing to breath fresh air, he reverently removed his helmet. He placed it between himself and the girl as he simply looked her in the eye and sat down. “Very well. Let’s hear it.”

“So let me guess,” Maze started, still standing with hands on hips “You were cosplaying, probably at a convention, when some creepy guy offered you the singular most Perfect little trinket to complete your ensemble?”

Ethan recalled the Merchant, eagerly playing the part of creepy entrepreneur while also recalling how he bumped into The Quidam only moments before. “Was it that obvious to guess?”

Maze chuckled.

“No, it’s just apparently the most common story. There’s some variation but yeah, that’s the staple” Maze admitted before softening her tone “You and I are part of a group known as Displaced: Picked up from one world, changed and then dropped into another; that other being almost always some variation of Equestria... or Equis or whatever they wanna call it. Or at least so far as we know if what I was told is true. There could very well be displaced in other ‘Non-Pony’ worlds but that seems to be the running theme for now.”

“Other variations of Equestria?” Ethan looked about as he thought about what he had seen and encountered so far in ‘This Equestria’. “So I am guessing you were put somewhere else then?”

“Yep; some follow alternate timelines, in some the ponies are anthro, mine for example, some almost completely different, and of course some are just like the show. The variations, well... vary-” Maze rattled off before being interrupted.

“Show? What show?” Ethan asked almost deaf to the rest of Maze’s words the moment he heard that particular tidbit. “This is all based on a show?”

“You mean you haven’t figured it out?” Maze asked, pure amusement gracing her face “Well y’know how Mysterio is from Marvel right? Well Equestria comes from a franchise oft’ considered strictly the realm of little girls and was originally a marketing cartoon for cheap plastic toys; a little show titled ‘My Little Pony’.”

“Never heard of it!” Ethan answered as he rubbed his head in dismay. “I suppose it must not exist in my world, right? Dare I ask what it is?”

“Oh…” Maze’s face dropped to a contemplative pucker, she hadn’t expected him to have not even heard of it with how the media jumped all over bronies. “Well that may take a bit of explaining then. But I suppose if there are multiple Equestrias then there being multiple Earths would make sense, too...”

Maze muttered the last bit as her attention grew distant. Snapping back after a moment she shook her head and continued.

“Sorry! Well to summarize: My Little Pony is a show about ponies, shocking I know” Maze added playfully “They’re colorful, they can talk and they have all kinds G-Rated adventures in friendship and other such rainbow-tastic stuff. The first three iterations were about as you expect from such a show, pretty much barbie-esc entertainment. But the show’s fourth generation… let’s just say it got a lot better and a lot more popular. It’s that iteration most of the Equestrias out there seem to be based on. Now truth be told this is only my second time in another Displaced’s Equestria and only the first were I was actually summoned, but I’ll try to answer whatever questions I can.”

Oh, did he have questions! How many worlds were there? How many other Displaced were out there? Why was he apparently in one that had anthros that participated in slavery and other dark details if it was all based on a kids show? Why was he thrown into this cosmic game of sorts? Why him of all people in all the universe?

He had so many questions to ask her, but the first one that came out was:

“What does all of this have to do with that headless being called The Quidam?”

Maze just blinked a couple times and finally asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“...Who?”

[}0{]

Had he had a nose, The Quidam would have had his tea spurt from it at the reaction of the realm’s latest guest. Instead he seemed to shake a bit more with good humor as he carefully watched how his current chosen reacted to this other displaced and her truths.

“” The Quidam took the teapot in the Green Room and prepared another cup. “”

As if answering to the call, he heard a crackle go off. Knowing of only one thing to be the source of the noise, he drew his attention to the crack in space. It began to widen, only a smidgen but that was still not necessarily a good thing. “”

The mindscape shimmered slightly as a new presence found its way in. An older, balding man, dressed in a simple ‘business casual’ ensemble, adjusted his glasses as he took in the environment and found the headless figure standing politely with a cup of tea.

"" The Quidam raised his cup in greeting.

“Quidam old boy! So Zis iz vhere you’ve been hiding youself!” the bespectacled man announced with a german accent as he caught the headless one in a quick hug “Zo good to zee you again!”

“" He motioned to a nearby seat at the tea table. ""

“Ah yes. Normally I vouldn’t follow vone of mine so far, but zis girl she… but yes, sorry zhe intrusion Qui’ but well…” the Doktor glanced over to the room’s small fissure “Zhe door vas open as it vere.”

“” The Quidam gave only the slightest indication of looking at the crack now about the size of an index finger, but decided it would be best to keep that worry at bay. Besides, a good host was always composed in front of his guests. ""

He took another cup and poured it full of tea for The Doktor.

“Vhy zank you, yes! Zhough I prefer ‘charges’ to ‘test subjects’ dear Qui’- I do still care for zem after all. Had I not, I vould have simply left Maze to drift in zhe voids” the Doktor said as he drank “Can you believe zhe girl made a blind jump!? And vithout being summoned! Zank chance I managed to guide her zomewhere suitable… And here I zought my broken little accidental vould be zhe one keeping me keeping me on my toes! Oh but I do so love zis kind of exciting data!”

“” The Quidam then started scooping sugar cubes into his tea. “”

He kept putting cube after cube of sugar into the cup. For anyone else it was worrisome, but not for The Quidam. It wasn’t until the twentieth cube he stopped for a sip.

“Zat sveet tooth of yours...” the Doktor chuckled “Vhen zey do zose things yes, my unintentional zough... only recently is she finally getting involved now, and only after I introduced new variable. But enough of mine, what of zis ‘Mysterio’?!” Doktor asked excitedly “I hear you even went to ‘zhe troll’ to in ensure you got him!”

“" The Quidam stopped his words, and was still in sad recollection for a good moment . ""

He took a long sip from his cup that let out a loud slurp. “”

“Oh don’t feel bad Qui’, ve all have our failures. Zough yes, I’ve noticed it iz getting harder to lure new charges, especially with His methods if some of my recent attempts are anyzing to go by... I zhink these humans are developing a kind of instinct about all zis… hmmm, actually zat may require further testing…” Doktor drifted off in sudden thoughts.

"” The Quidam seemed proud at how how that slight swindle over the Merchant’s control of IT was a bonus to acquiring his latest charge.

“Oh, zo you finally gotten it back zen… You’ve been after zat for a vile now. I do hope you know vat you’re doing zough, many vouldn’t take zhe risk.” Doktor replied a bit more seriously now.

“” The Quidam waved off, not mentioning how the trade included giving that mercantile troll a Tesseract to play with. “”

He seemed ambivalent of the fact Ethan had such an object in his custody, but the way he spoke of it led to the impression that it wasn’t something a mortal should possess on just a whim.

"" He shrugged in dismissal. If he had a face, he would be squinting his eyes pointedly at The Doktor. ""

He raised his cup toward the Doktor.

" "

“Or at least be interesting!” Doktor returned the toast.

But as their cups clinked, the crack in space seemed to roar as the mindscape started to shake about as if undergoing an earthquake.

“” The Quidam sighed as he returned his attention to the two displaced who were going to have their conversation interrupted by a most rude guest. “”

“At least it’z interesting! And should give zome good data too!” Doktor added in good humor before scooting forward to watch as well.

The Quidam just gave the Doktor a blank stare. Or at least as blank a stare one could give when you have no face.

“Oh don’t give me zat look.”

[}0{]

“Me? I’m from Metal Gear, or well... sort of...” Maze answered “I was dressed as a bunch of characters, most of them cyborgs from Rising, though also a few ‘less enhanced’ humans and just ended up a simple looking yet also more complex mix. I guess that explains why I’m less… shiny and more human looking than the typical Metal Gear Cyborg. So I guess you could say I’m more from it in spirit since I’m not any established character.”

“Spirit, huh? I can respect that. I mean, my original costume was inspired by The 90’s animated Spider-man. Made it myself and used whatever I could find to craft it.” Ethan gave slight smile as he recalled the homemade cosplay. “Even parts from an old gumball machine of all things. Now though,” He glanced over his current suit, wiggling his fingers as he noted all the technological odds and ends of it. “I think I’m made of some stolen tech from other characters from the comics, but still stuff Mysterio would use. Definitely more than the animated series showed off, though. So what can you do, Miss Cyborg Ninja? Any gimmicks of your own?”

“Plenty, probably too many. On top of the typical perks of being a cyborg I-” Maze started only to be interrupted by the sound of “...that a fighter jet?”

Ethan perked up immediately at the sound. It certainly sounded like it. Having flown on Tsavorite’s back, he knew it wasn’t a dragon making the noise. But as he turned to see the speck in the distance grow closer, he had to double take at what he was seeing. “You got any sort of telescope on you? Because I hope I am wrong.”

He reached for his helmet and quickly locked it into place. His hud immediately reacted to the incoming aircraft zooming in on his HUD. All the warning signals it could have started to go off as it was clear to him what it was the moment a certain spider logo appeared in his peripheral.

“It…” Maze blinked and squinted, her enhanced vision letting her see a bit more detail as it approached. “It looks like something from Power Rangers.”

“Oh, it’s worse than that! This is a power ranger’s grandfather! And one that belongs to my nemesis!”

It was a blocky spaceship that was mostly black, but also had yellow and red parts to it that were most notable. The yellow was mostly concentrated in a feline-like head piece while the red parts had web detailing. It was a vehicle of sentai design, and one that Ethan recognized for its notoriety: It was The Marveller; Known throughout fandom as Spider-man’s Megazord!

“LEOPARDON!!” Mysterio pointed in determined outrage at the sight of the giant robot of his arch-enemy. As if calling its name was a signal, the ship began a transformation. Opening up and refolding certain compartments, it slowly became a massive bipedal behemoth of a robot made for the Amazing Webslinger!

“Like from that weird Japanese Spider-Man?!” Maze asked with a wide smile, far more excited than her counterpart.

“SUPAIDA-MAN!!” Mysterio raised a fist in fury as he gazed upon Leopardon in flight. “WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO TORTURE ME SO WITH WHATEVER FORM YOU TAKE!?”

“Hey relax,” Maze said calmly “Fighting giant robots is kinda my thing.”

Mysterio stopped his ranting for a moment. “Oh don’t get me wrong, I love fighting robots, too! BUT HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID!!”

The grudge of Mysterio towards Spider-man’s sins would never be forgiven, Giant fighting robot or not!!

The giant robot landed before them and then slowly rose…

As a song began to play for all to hear?

“Is it playing its theme!? Is it mocking us, or am I going mad at the sight of its awesome, yet cruelly ironic presence!?” Mysterio asked out to the heavens as if the stars had the answer.

“No that’s me. Sorry, I don’t have much control over it” Maze added offhandedly with a shrug as she smiled up as the visitor “Picked it up from some sirens and now it just kind of happens.”

“Oh….so it's just a thing with you?” Mysterio deflated a bit at that explanation. “I am not sure if I should feel relief or disappointment at how acceptable that answer is.”

Maze and Mysterio looked up at the Sentai robot, which just stared silently back as the music continued to blare from nowhere. After a few more awkward moments the pair glanced at eachother and then back up, Maze finally yelling,

“...ARE YOU GONNA DO ANY-”

*CRASH*

Maze’s question was immediately answered by a giant fist driving into the ground just before them, sending the two flying back. Mysterio was quick to get to his feet as he noted Maze was also quick to flip back and slide along with the momentum.

“I’m no expert on Metal Gear, but I seem to recall facing giant robots being a selling point. Any tips?”

“Don’t let it step on you and hit it really, really hard!” Maze responded playfully as charged sword drawn straight at the massive machine.

‘Don’t let it step on you. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe cause all it would take is a few steps to reach me!?’ Mysterio thought sarcastically as he decided to move about the area to avoid being trampled. ‘Still, how does an under six foot fellow like myself take on an over 40 meters tall machine?’

While Mysterio was strategizing Maze reached their foe and leapt to halfway up its shin and, sword sparking, delivered a spinning slash… that stopped dead against a spider web shaped energy field.

“Well this complicates things” Maze muttered before being launched like a hackey sack straight past Mysterio, tumbling and bouncing along the ground. She finally caught herself and rose, hands on her hips. Battered and bleeding but still functional, she called out “Any ideas?”

“Besides not dying by trying to hug it?” Mysterio quipped. “Well, it is a larger opponent and needs keep balance and understand its reach, so...try to use that against it?”

“I don’t think its reach is that much of a handicap!” Maze called as she disappeared in a flash of violet light and reappeared in front of him, blade held ready against a barrage of missiles. She cut the first wave out of the air, peppering the pair with shrapnel but gladly taking the lesser injuries over explosives “I’d talk fast if I were you!”

“Ok, give me two seconds!!” He started speeding through his mind for everything Leopardon could do. It had a sword finisher, its head crest could be launched like a boomerang-

“DODGE!” Maze yelled stopping the magician from his thoughts as that very crest flew straight at them, forcing them apart as they jumped out of it’s path. Maze was the first to stand ready only to see a massive, detached fist literally rocketing at her, it’s owner running right after it.

“THAT IS SO COO-!” was all she managed before it struck.

It had a rocket punch-! And seeing how the robot’s wrist was open after launching it gave him an idea. “That’s it! We need him to use the rocket punch again!”

Unfortunately, he had no idea if Maze could hear him finding herself now quite some distance away, nor did he have the time to reach her to inform her as Leopardon was just a few steps from crushing him. ‘No time to inform the lead actress of the script’s revisions! Instead, it’s up to the a method actor to direct the improvisation and hope she can follow his lead well enough!’

So the first step of his plan went into action: releasing a heavy mist. His suit let out great clouds of smoke normally used to release hallucinogens, but this time to simply hide himself from plain view. ‘Hallucinations won’t work on a machine! But getting it to stop seeing me instead of seeing something else is the point in this case!’

The fog grew thick enough to come up to Leopardon’s shins; not enough to even reach it’s torso, but more than enough to hide Mysterio from the naked eye.

‘Undoubtedly as a robot it has to have other ways of targeting an enemy. Maybe heat seeking, or bio-rhythm scanners.’ Mysterio reached into his sleeves and pulled out a handful of holo-cubes and started haphazardly through them as he ran through the fog. ‘Fortunately, my little toys are more than capable of mimicking such things since they were made to fool the ‘Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger’ after all!’

Leopardon seemed to be searching the fog, unsure of its current target’s whereabouts. It sensed multiple moving targets despite the logic that there was only one left to face. It’s confusion was the opportune moment Mysterio was looking for!

‘So while it's distracted, and thinking I am in the fog,’ He hurried to the leg. ‘I’ll be praying that Mysterio’s magnetic boots are not bullshit and will help me get to the final stage of the plan!’

The wayward fist finally returned as the automaton searched, jostling Maze off from its surface as it reconnected. She met the ground hard but thankfully hidden by the fog. Definitely worse for wear she groggily pushed herself up as best she could, blood flowing freely from her nose, mouth and several new gashes across her form.

“I don’t feel so good…” she groaned as she hit her enhanced vision, trying to find her summoner through the fog. At first she thought she saw him, but but then caught multiples of him running about the fog. She stood holding a limp arm and finally spotted one a bit different than the others, less hollow… walking vertically up Leopardon’s leg.

“You look like you are having a bad day!” One of the nearby Mysterio copies spoke up to her.

“Not as easy as they make it look in the games, I suppose?” Spoke another running by Maze.

“Then again, I am still impressed you took a hit like that and lived!” A third complimented.

“Well done!” A fourth clapped as it stopped in front of her.

“Yeah yeah, cute trick” Maze quipped with a smirk, though not failing to notice the holograms’ unique features “Now what you got planned?”

“Well, I got good news and bad news!” The currently clapping hologram stopped as it pointed towards the real Mysterio currently making its way up Leopardon’s back. “Considering your condition, which would you rather hear first?”

“Let me guess; you want it to punch me again” Maze deadpanned; Good news bad news? Yeah, she knew that kind of plan all too well “Right?”

“Well, one of us is a rather squishy illusionist, while the other is a durable cyborg.” Mysterio’s hologram shrugged. “Also, I am already nearly in position and ready to-”

“Yeah yeah, whatever it is just hold on. He ain’t gonna be holding still...” Maze interrupted and popped her shoulder back in with a painful cringe “Now don’t blink! You’re not the only one who can put on a show!”

Showing an ability far greater than her injured state would suggest, Maze vaulted from smoke at the mech again, immediately grabbing it’s attention. The cyborg landed deftly on its attempted kick and ran straight up to its face, dragging her sword all the way along her electric wake. The damage was minimal thanks to the energy field, but that wasn’t the point.

Bracing on it’s face she sprung off, provoking another barrage of missiles. Missiles quickly cut and even ridden higher.

“THAT ALL YOU GOT YOU CHEAP MEGAZORD KNOCK OFF!?”

And then came the raised fist, firing once again only this time to have its target disappear in a quick flash of violet light.

“He’s all yours Gumball!” she called as she reappeared and began to fall.

‘Gumball!? ...Well, it’s certainly better than ‘Fishbowl’’ Ethan thought as he hung on for dear life. The upside was that Mysterio’s magnetic boots worked wonderfully on the giant robot’s metal body. The downside was that he had to keep moving or else risk falling off to his doom! Currently he was trying to get over the robot’s shoulder and up to the arm. Having Leopardon focus on Maze was a fine part of the plan, but he forgot to include the factoid that he was essentially trying to jog on a dancing skyscraper with how it tried to get her. ‘Still, now’s my chance!’

Finally getting on top, Mysterio stood tall before reaching into his suit for the next key item for his performance. He held a few more holo-cubes the size of oranges instead of the usual dice ones he employed. “Oh Leopardon, you are magnificent, but unfortunately, I’m going to have to do to you what Quesada did to Spider-man! Break up one of your wondrous components and leave you a shattered mess!”

Before Leopardon could lose focus on Maze, Mysterio scurried up the arm until he was at the closest distance he could be to toss them. The cubes flew true and sailed through the air, shifting into one last hologram each: Giant green spiders that had the Mark of Mysterio on their backs like a widow’s mark.

“Taste my irony, SUPAIDA-MAN!” Mysterio laughed as he flipped two birds at the robot’s face. It had turned its attention towards him at the sight of the big bugs crawling into its wrist port, but was too late to stop it from happening. The spiders crawled inside and within a minute or two would the fireworks go off. “I’d ‘stick around’, but I’m afraid of catching a horrible case of ‘explosions’! I hear it's spreading this time of the year!”

Mysterio then deactivated his magnetic boots and took off in a great leap away from the appendage. Leopardon reached out with his other mighty hand for him, but found its attempt gravely interrupted by the great explosions going off in its open wrists. They started with a few booming bursts of glimmering heat, but soon a chain reaction started up that spread from the wrist, and up to the elbow. What was once a mighty limb of possible alien design and ingenuity, was now a great scattered throng of burnt casing shards, interior motor fragments, and chunks of other scorched metal.

Among this collection of falling debris was Ethan trying his damndest to jump from piece to piece in hopes of getting to the ground safely before the explosions reached reached him as well!

“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot Shoot!” His frantically muttered as he used his boots to their fullest potential. ‘I am a magician, not a ‘flipping’ acrobat!’

It certainly wasn’t easy trying to avoid the robotic scrap avalanche, especially since under the costume, he was only playing a super sorcerer. Sure Mysterio’s gimmicks made this parkour possible, but seeing how the residual heat and occasional scrape still touched him, he felt as each jump was only a second away from avoiding being impaled, fried, or splattered.

‘Can’t do this all day!’ He was gasping for air at this point, as he felt sweat drip throughout his face. There was a last minute gambit he could try, but Ethan was unsure if it would work. Still it was better than nothing, so he gripped his cloak as if it was going to spread wings. ‘So my only hope is that Mysterio picked up flying or else I’m going to find myself arguing against an angel for a second chance in the next act!’

With that desperate detail in mind, Mysterio dove towards the ground, hoping to be able to make the distance and stick the landing. ‘C’mon! I know he’s not a Marvel, but please let me glide away like Batman!’

Amazingly it worked! Mysterio was gliding away to safety from the reach of the Robot and its deadly case of ‘explosions’! He was descending from the night sky with the grace and majesty of a owl about to snatch a mouse. ‘Marvelous! Now how do I get down-’ “OH SHIT!”

He landed the hard way onto the ground, tumbling like skipping ball, getting tangled up in his cape! Thankfully his descent was relatively slow to avoid serious injury. However, feeling the desert landscape as dusty and rocky slammed into him was no way to conclude such an outstanding feat. When he finally stopped rolling he felt so beaten up that all could do was mutter out a weak, “Ta-daaahhh...ugh!”

Slowly, with all the dignity of crash test dummy, he pushed himself up and got back to his feet. “Uggh, take that, Leopardon! I the Great Mysterio just blew up your fricking arm! And I am not even a megazord or whatever!” He was too damn tired to keep up the full Mysterio persona. Besides, seeing his accomplishment, he doubted the robot would care about his less gracious manner of speech.

Leopardon looked like it had seen better days, scuffed up and scratched sporadically throughout its body. Yet the most glaring flaw in its appearance was the gapingly broken off segment that remained of its arm. The rest was probably now the debris surrounding its feet. The rocket punch it unleashed, with nowhere to dock, came crashing down like a meteor next to it.

The robot had no way of emoting with the way its face was designed, but seeing as how it was lifting its other fist in Mysterio’s direction, it could probably be best assumed to be most displeased with what happened to it.

“Go ahead! Do it! I’ll just blow up your other arm, too!” Mysterio shouted as he reached for more explosive holo-cubes.

Leopardon however didn’t seem to be willing to go for the temptation; Instead it reached for its other hand and started ascending up into the air. Before Mysterio could do anything to stop it, even assuming he could, it had had become little more than speck and flew far away into the night!

“Yeah! You run away! Smartest thing you ever did! And I’m including the time you faced The Thing!” Mysterio shouted after the long gone Leopardon. He huffed a bit more in frustration, before finally feeling the need to sit down and take off his helmet, for he desperately needed some fresh air after that whole mess! When the dome came off a sweaty and out of breath Ethan could only ask. “Did all that -huff- really just happen?”

“No, it’s just a dream!” He heard a woman shout “This is all a reflection of your fear of squirrels.”

Ethan groaned as he got back to his feet, picking up his helmet as he turned to walk to in the direction of the voice. It was a bit of a distance, made more wearisome by the aches and bruises he was feeling, but he found the source alright. “You know, if this were a dream, I suppose that makes you the pretty damsel I was supposed to rescue from the giant behemoth’s clutches. Way to ruin the scene, Maisie!”

He would laugh, but considering he was barely able to stand he decided to just sit down indian style in speaking distance from the cyborg.

He found his new compatriot laying flat on her back, limbs spread wide. She glanced over to him, a bit too damaged to really put forth more effort than that. Her systems were already stopping her bleeding and beginning repairs but that last little burst took a good chunk of her reserves. Still hurt too.

“In my defense; the giant robots back home don’t have energy shields, not non-magical ones at least” she delivered first with a tired smile “And I’m no damsel.”

“Nope, you are not!” He agreed with a grin. He then broke into a bit of a posher accent as he hammily declared. “Damsels are boring to star with; Only good for being eye catching and noisy. A magnificent actor such as I needs the best co-stars to keep the show going on! And you fit the bill!”

He leant over with a hand held out. “So I may be new at this whole ‘Displaced’ business. I may be...very uncomfortable with the ideas it brings to mind...But you know, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it brings people like you and me together. So, let’s try this again before another giant robot comes and makes trouble for for us: Hello, Maze was it? It’s nice to meet you. Need a hand up?”

“Thanks” Maze returned with a bit of humor as she took the hand and started to raise. The magician grunted and had to re-brace and use both hands; Maze was a lot heavier than she looked “And yeah, just Maze, short for Maisie. Sorry Voltron got away, you’ll probably have to deal with that again now.”

Now that was thought that could sour Ethan’s attempt at a good mood! Still, he kept up a brave face as he focused more on trying to help his new friend to her feet.

“Oh don’t...err!...fret about it! That thing’s bound to be….cowering away for a good long while!” She must have been carrying some heavy equipment on her or something! Maybe he was just that exhausted? “Besides! Errgh! Mysterio shouldn’t fret when Spider-man gets away, so why…-huff-...should I..err...when I scare his...giant robot into running?!”

Finally, he got Maze standing, but at the cost of knocking himself on his back!

“Whew! Like I said, why should I worry when I clearly showed I can take him just fine!” He tried to play it cool as if he totally meant to do that, but how could one play off landing on their ass when trying to do the gentlemanly thing? “Nothing to worry about!”

Maze chuckled as he looked up at her, trying to play it off. She reached down and hefted him straight up with ease, now that she was standing herself.

“Sorry ‘bout that. All them shiny inside bits can tend to make us cyborgs pretty heavy, y’know?” she waved off the incident and started looking around “So… Now what?”

That was a very good question. What did one do after facing off against a giant robot? It wasn’t like one just went back home and ate dinner like nothing hap...pend-!

“Oh crap! I left them back there after having a fit!” Ethan smacked his forehead as he realized he originally walked out to get some time to himself to cool off! Now that this whole incident with Leopardon occurred, and considering the noise it must of made, “They gotta be freaking out about the noise, if not the sight of the ‘Giant Golem’ in the distance!”

He looked about, trying to find Clutter Coulee. He was completely turned around with all the fighting and walking he did tonight. Not to mention that he had very little light to see the distance he must be from the scrapyard. “Hey Maze, do you have a flashlight, or something to see...What am I saying? You’re a cyborg! Do you have night vision goggles?”

“Googles? No sorry, I have enhanced vision but all my systems are integrated” Maze answered “What’cha look’n for?”

“It’s a junkyard known as Clutter Coulee. I left a group of companions there after...Well, I was upset at something and came out here originally to cool my head. Anyways, if you can help me get there and make sure everyone’s alright, it's another favor I’ll owe you!” He held out his helmet “I’d do it myself, but my equipment isn’t as long ranged as your stuff probably is, and I’m still trying to figure out what most of my readers even are trying to label.”

“You can see through smoke but not in the dark,” Maze quipped as she began to search. Her HUD soon outlined a series of jagged structures piled high that couldn’t be much else other than a junkyard. “Come on, I’m pretty sure I found it...”

She started hobbling towards it with a notable limp and an arm held close, the walk somewhat quiet at first. She figured she’d get a concern out of the way before they met whoever his friends were.

“So you want them to know about all this Displaced stuff? I was told some prefer to keep it to themselves.”

“I would rather you didn’t!” Ethan immediately answered. Trying to hide his abruptness, he then went on to say. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to let them know about this ‘Displaced’ business, or anything about our world. Don’t want to break the ‘World Order’, ‘Prime Directive’, or whatever you want to call it! As far as they know, I am Mysterio, a master sorcerer, from a distant land who ended up here because of a magical mishap.”

He then pondered aloud. “Come to think about it, I think I’ve only told Tsavorite that much. I still need to let the others know about that!”

“Well in that case I’ll try this now,” Maze stated before another cardboard box materialized, top open. A transparent screen suddenly projected in-front of her, a small red highlighted ‘calling’ message in the middle. A face suddenly appeared on the screen “Hey it worked!”

“MAZE!” yelled a flustered aquamarine unicorn “The hell did you go?!”

“Sorry! I guess this stuff just happens. How long’s it been?” Maze apologized as the pony just sighed.

“About an hour” her friend answered before asking the obvious “And how are you already hurt?!”

“Oh relax, I’m fine. And there’s only a little time difference, so no worries!” Maze brightened “I’ll be back before ya know it so just tell everyone to chill out.”

“Fine. I’ll let the others know, just… be careful” she replied, hand to her temple.

“I always am!” The screen disappeared as the pony rolled her eyes with a scoff and she turned back to Mysterio “Sorry, last time I jumped I ended up gone for four months when I thought it’d only be a week. So yeah, another thing you’ll wanna watch out for out there.”

“I’ll make a note of that. Although, forgive me for finding that another thing to worry about.” Ethan said as calmly as he could muster. “So I see you made some friends with the locals. Any tips on how to properly introduce oneself to the Pony population? Seems every type of person here has some bone to pick with me for one reason or another.”

Considering his track record of how he encountered this realm's inhabitants, that was putting it a bit lightly. Maze however, just started laughing.

“Oh you’re asking the wrong girl Gumball! Until recently I was a wanted criminal and feared as 'The Bloodletter' ...actually most still think that” Maze explained, noting the questioning look after “...long story.”

“How long are we talking?”

“Long enough” was all she said, her expression growing a bit more somber. Her attention soon focused on what looked like a pair of taller figures heading to meet them “Well it seems our bit of fun gained someone’s attention. So what do you want to tell them? Another human, or mostly human, suddenly here might raise questions… assuming there aren’t others here that is.”

“There aren’t. As far as I can tell, you and I are the only beings in this entire world who have five fingered hands and call themselves members of the ‘Hyooman’ race.” he gave finger quotes before placing his helmet back on his head. “So, here’s the thing. I mentioned before they think I am a powerful sorcerer and would like them to keep that opinion going. Think you can play along with my charade, following my lead? As a favor from one displaced to another?”

“What like a demon summon or something? I really don’t think it’ll be hard for anyone to figure out we’re the same species but sure, why not?” Maze shrugged.

“Good. Then let us begin our interactions with my fair subjects!” Mysterio dramatically proclaimed as he waved to the two familiar figures heading their way “Good evening ladies! It seems as though I found the perfect method of venting out my frustration. Do forgive us for the noise! I had hoped to not disrupt your evening more than I already have!”

Maze’s eye’s widened slightly at the sight of them, or rather at the pony of the pair. It was Trixie, not her Trixie of course; her Trixie didn’t tower half a foot taller than her, but she hadn’t really expected to run into another of her so soon.

“Holy hell, you’re ponies are Amazons…” She quietly muttered sideways to the illusionist.

“Really?” Mysterio whispered back without motioning his head, his helmet hiding his look of surprise at the tidbit “They seem to be of normal size to me.”

“Hmmm and here I was getting used to being tall...” the cyborg trailed off.

The dragoness and unicorn reached Mysterio and Maze at last, most happy to see that their chosen leader was ok.

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” The dragoness exclaimed as she reached them first. “We tried to get here as soon as we could, Lord Mysterio. I am deeply sorry for not being with you when that Great Golem appeared. Please punish me as you deem just!”

She lowered her head in a solemn bow, as if expecting to be struck for her foolish mistake.

“I wouldn’t go that far Tsavorite!” Mysterio quickly raised his hands to placate her. “I was the one who wandered alone to calm my frustration. That is on me, not any of you! Besides, it was quite fortunate that as usual, I was prepared if such an occasion, as unexpected it could be, would happen! So I would like to reassure you that I was in no real danger as Miss Maze here could validate.”

The two turned their attention to the other person in front of them and simultaneously widened their eyes at her.

“Who is she!?” Trixie asked sharply as she glanced about Maze. The Unicorn noticed immediately the similarities with her Master’s unarmored form, and internally concluded her to possibly be a female ‘hyooman’! Already that made her a being to be weary of in her struggles for her master’s attention and it was already bad enough she had Tsavorite to compete with! “She’s not like anything Trixie’s ever seen before, except you, Master Mysterio!”

“Indeed! I would even say she looks a bit similar to you, except for some aesthetic differences. Is she a member of your species?” Tsavorite asked, unsure if she would like the answer either.

“Hardly!” Mysterio proclaimed, ignorant about the true reason why his subjects were hesitant about Maze possibly being a human female. “She is my summon! A demon from another plane of existence capable of taking down multitudes of golems such as that one and shrugging off their pitiful attempts at damaging her! The reason she appears like a female of my kind is because her true form is much more terrifying and would be too great of a distraction for our fight.”

Mysterio felt proud at how quickly he thought up that load of baloney. It at the very least seemed to placate both Tsavorite and Trixie’s worries.

Though he wasn’t nearly as proud as Maze was with the wicked thought he’d given her. A devilish smirk graced her lips and she waited as the unimpressed unicorn looked her over her injured form.

“Demon? Hmph! She hardly looks-” was all she managed before letting out a sharp shriek when Maze suddenly snarled at her, her skin all at once flashing to a fiery crimson with a burst of red electricity. The cyborg even summoned a pair of her mechanical tentacles, also camouflaged, to add to the mix. Maze chuckled darkly as she straightened; Glowing gold eyes stared out from under electric blue locks… she even managed to have her octocamo form subtle horns and pointed ears.

“Hardly looks what?” A flanged voice finished for the mare.

Trixie blanched as she tried to maintain a brave face despite how badly her hooves were shaking. Even in her overalls she could feel her knees buckling together. “Umm! Trixie deeply apologizes for whatever she was going to say about her master’s summon!”

“Indeed! Truly a fearsome creature you can control!” Tsavorite nodded a bit as she was more impressed with Mysterio’s skill level in magic if he was able to have a demon like this in his command.

Mysterio tried to hide his shivers at that shocking transformation with a nonchalant shrug. “I wouldn’t necessarily say control. Rather employ, as I do with each of you. Only her contract is much stricter in order to keep her from...going rampant! Besides, I still owe her payment for her services. One does not merely bring forth forces from another dimension and expect them to do as they are told for free after all!”

He nodded solemnly at that information, to which the two couldn’t disprove the logic. It seemed to make sense.

“Trixie supposes that is true.” Trixie hoped that this would be magic she would eventually learn. The payment portion she could deal with later, but knowing she could summon something like this Maze would give her an edge in so many situations!

“It does seem fair.” the dragoness agreed. It was understandable to her how Mysterio must be using some form of powerful magic to keep her in check. Perhaps it had to do with the matter of payment. “So what manner of payment do you have to present for this Maze’s service, my lord?”

“Oh I don’t know…” Maze sang, maybe having a bit too much fun with the act “Dragon souls are fairly valuable… Or I could alway use a fresh source of pony magic…”

The woman smiled wickedly at the pair, making sure to show off those canines. Yeah, she was definitely having too much fun.

The two paled at those particular forms of payment. Thankfully Mysterio interjected with a loud and dramatic sigh. “Really Maze! First you jokingly ask for my firstborn when we met, and now the souls of my first subordinate and apprentice! Is there no way to satisfy your rapacious nature that we can all agree on? For old time’s sake?”

Maze leaned forward and mock whispered to the girls.

“I didn’t ask for his first born, honestly I wasn’t sure if he’d even ever get laid” She winked at the scandalized expressions of the unicorn and dragoness. “Besides, what would I do with it? Eat it? Raise it? The hell with that!”

Mysterio said no words, but his crossed arms conveyed his disapproval at that claim of his ‘game’. “In any case, I think we should best be on our way. We can discuss proper payment later, Maze. Assuming you would like to stick around a bit longer, I suggest you maintain a more conservative form before we enter Clutter Coulee. I myself am but a guest there, and it would be bad manners to have you show up...in such a provocative state. I doubt our host Bo would appreciate you scaring her young sister.”

“Fffiiiine” Maze bemoaned, turning back to normal as the metal tendrils dispersed in a flurry of particles. She was really starting to like the whole demon look “I’ll probably just have to do it again though, if they’re anything like this one.”

Trixie gave a worried glance towards her magical teacher, but only received a shrug in return.

“Fair enough. But let it not be said that I, Mysterio, was so rude a guest that he could not even have his summons show a little decorum.” He then addressed his subjects. “Now then, ladies, shall we get going and assure Miss Bo that all is well and that I even have found a wonderful collection of scraps for her premises to collect? Who knows what she can do with that pile that golem so carelessly left behind!”

“I am sure she shall be most impressed with them, master!” Tsavorite concurred. “Such a golem of that size and might will surely have left behind considerable fragments that she could have forged into a multitude of things!”

‘Or it could be just set aside for you to feast on, and that you just don’t want to ask! Admit it you insatiable dragon!’ Trixie thought with a eyebrow raised as she noticed her draconic compatriot seemed all too eager at the prospect of this golem leaving behind scraps.

“Well this may be your show” Maze interjected “But I suggest we move it along to proper lighting… or at least catering.”

“Indeed, that would be best! A meal would be suitable for our discussions for your services. Of course, that is assuming you are willing to partake in our hosts’ cooking.” Mysterio motioned for everyone to follow his lead to Clutter Coulee. “So how about it Maze? Care to stick around a bit longer? Bo makes one ‘Hell’ of a bowl of chili!”

“...With meat?”

“With meat.” Mysterio nodded.

“Then hell yeah,” Maze smiled and actually started toward the yard before the rest, quiet grumbling barely heard “So tired of all this veggie pony food…”

Tsavorite looked pleased at the thought of the meal, while Trixie appeared a bit disgusted at the prospect of another carnivore and their ‘meat fixation’. She’d stick with the veggies, thank you very much!

“So let’s get going before we have to face another nuisance to our evening plans!”

[}0{]

Back at Clutter Coulee, Bo and Norah were doing their part to keep themselves occupied. After Tsavorite and Trixie left to help Mysterio when that massive golem came flying over the junkyard the two of them stayed behind. Well rather, Bo stayed behind with the intent to ensure Norah wouldn’t run off into the ensuing battle, despite her protests of being able to take it on as ‘The Greatest Diamond boom expert’ since the last clash. Bo didn’t even try to humor her insistence that she could blow a hole in it’s ugly face parts with stuff from her ‘special toy chest’.

“How much longer do I gotta do this, sis?!” Norah whined, stirring the large pot of tonight’s dinner. Chili again, but this was made fresh as could be since Bo forced her to take her time with every step of its preparation.

“Until I can smells it being ready to serve. Remember, you burns it Norah and everyone’s gonna knows it was your faults for not watching it!” Bo yelled back at her sister from her perch. She was up on one of the shack roofs, using a pair of binoculars to look out for the others while using her other sense to keep watch of her sister’s progress. She had a keen nose for the food, and sharp ears for the pup. “Besides, I can sees them coming so it won’t be much longer!”

“So the fight’s over alreadies!? But I was gonna break out my shiniest toys for thats kitty-faced golem!” Norah complained, greatly disappointed. The idea she missed it, and had no excuse to bring out her best stuff was enough to droop her ears, until she noticed her Big Sis’ pointed glare as she set her binoculars down.

“And just where was you keeping these ‘toys’ of yours?”

“Nowheres!”

“Norah!” Bo had a warning tone in her voice, to which the young pup finally answered with a hint of skittishness.

“Well, nowheres important! Just in the shed near my cookie stash!” Norah tried to grin as innocently as she could.

Bo however was not pleased at that news “What!?”

But before she could address the issue further, her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Turning her attention back into the field, she saw the group she hoped return, however with one more to their number. She caught sight of something helping Mysterio out, but was unable to tell what it was from the distance. Now that it was but a few meters away from the gates, it appeared to be a female of whatever the heck Mysterio was….’Hyoomans’! A “Hyooman’ female!

“Ok Norah, that pot is cooked enough. Set the table for six!”

“Six?” Norah asked as she started to count on her paws.

Seeing her sister try to solve the puzzle, Bo quickly gave the reason. “Looks like Mysterio’s broughts himself another guest! And a weird one like him!”

“Really? Does it have ears on the sides of its head and hardly any fur, too!?” She asked in excited curiosity.

“Yep, and I thinks it’s a girl likes your age since it's so short!”

Norah seemed most excited at this news! It had been a long time since she met a pup around her age, albeit this would be a human pup. It was the chance to make such a new friend that she hurried to set up the table as quickly, yet neatly as she could!

Bo, however kept a close eye on the gate. Sure, she was starting to trust Mysterio and had forgiven him for his earlier mishap with the contract earlier in the day, but was still suspicious of the new company he kept. She seemed to be smaller than the others, but that sword was definitely no ceremonial piece. True that if it came to a fight she didn’t doubt her own skills to take her on and get her to work for any trouble caused, but again her main weakness that prevented her from using her all was currently humming songs while setting the table. So she would play ‘good host’ as Mysterio would say, but be ready to break out her ‘special technique’ the moment the short hyooman so much as tapped her hilt.

“We’re back, Bo! And we come back with excellent news of victoriousness!” Mysterio proclaimed the moment he stepped through the entrance of Clutter Coulee. He spread his cape dramatically as it fluttered in the wind. Trixie and Maze turned to their dragoness compatriot to see she was in fact providing a soft breeze with her wings.

She stopped when she noticed their stares, and muttered a quick, “Apologies!”

“Oh no judgements here; I wish my friends would help more in my attempts to be cool” Maze chuckled “They usually just give me crap for trying.”

“Yes, VICTORY!” Mysterio went on without faltering. “For you see, one of my greatest enemies sent for a great golem to attack me while I was most vulnerable. As I am currently before you, unharmed and still standing, I assure you that it was no trouble at all to drive away.”

“No trouble, huh? Then what’s with the states of yous and your new friend there?” Bo wisecracked at how dirty and hurt he and this new companion of his looked. “I seems to recalls hows y’all gots chased and struck about from that big things rampage through the desert.”

“...You saw that?” Mysterio deflated; his hopes for giving his confidantes a tale of his awesome feats against Leopardon were a bit tarnished.

“Yep! It was awesome, although Bo saw mosts of its from the Binoculars!” Norah remarked as she skipped to the rest of them. “That part where you crashed into the ground was the funniest!”

“It was pretty funny!” Bo smiled.

-snnrkk!-

Mysterio turned to find the other three ladies were also holding in their laughter. Apparently they too didn’t miss his landing. “Oh come on!”

“Hey you got off lucky, it never even hit you” Maze countered.

That drew Bo’s attention back onto this new face. “Don’t thinks I gots your name, little one.”

She leant down, to meet eye level with Maze. “I saw whats you could do out there. Granted, I thoughts you were another of this magic fellow’s tricks, but seeings you looks a bit older in the face, and smell like metal, I get the feeling you are not just some female ‘hyooman’ like he would have us believe.”

“Perceptive, this one” Maze commented.

“Very astute observations, Bo.” Mysterio sighed as he composed himself from his earlier embarrassment. He gestured to Maze as he began introductions. “This is Maze, a summon in my employ who was a great help in defeating that mighty creation known as Leopardon. Maze, This is Bo, the proprietor of Clutter Coulee and her younger sibling, Norah. We have a working relationship thanks to recent events.”

“Nice to meets you.” Bo held a paw out, to shake.

“Back at ya” the cyborg returned “Now what’s this I’m told about chili?”

“That it’s flippin’ delicious!” Norah pounced over to her sister’s shoulder and perched. “Cause I mades it! So it’s gotta be great!”

“Better than mine?” Bo smirked, as her serious mode disappeared at her sister’s enthusiasm.

“Wellllll…..I wouldn’t says that!” Norah decided to answer truthfully. “But if miss Mazey-lady likes it, then it’s gotta be one of the bestest evah!!”

“Well then I can’t wait to find out!” Maze happily replied to pup. She however grabbed Mysterio to hang back as the rest made their way to the table, asking quietly “I smell like metal?”

“They’re scrapyard dogs that know their metal purities and minerals like art appraisers. They can probably smell your cybernetics and think you’re carrying something high end. Plus with Bo…” He gave a discreet nod to her as she was preoccupied with her excited sister. “I have yet to know everything she’s capable of. So she’s probably has a secret or two that makes metal easy for her to locate and craft with.”

Even with the explanation Maze still stood a bit confused as Mysterio moved to join the others. She lifted her new arm and gave a tentative sniff, then just shrugged and joined them as well.

Soon as Maze sat down, everyone began to partake in the meal in their own way. From Trixie trying her best to maintain dignity by using her magic to control her spoon as she was taught, to Norah just digging into her bowl like the pup she was. Even Ethan had taken off his helmet and ate diligently and still talked lordly despite getting meat stains on his face. It wasn’t long until the conversations started and soon everyone was actively being amicable in some form or other. Within an hour it could be cemented that everyone at the table had some form of camaraderie with one another.

“So is Maze-lady like Boss Mysterio’s little sis?” Norah asked as the conversations opened a new topic. “Because you both seems similars with your ears and furs, but different because they’re different, too!”

“Little sis?” Maze giggled “No, we’re not related. I’m also pretty sure I’m the oldest one here too.”

“How much older? Cause Mysterio’s twice as olds as me, and he’s younger than all the ladies heres!” Norah asked, not noticing how said ladies were now finding their empty bowls especially interesting.

“Well, technically speaking, I’m over twelve hundred years old,” Maze said causally “...Technically.”

“Wow, that’s stupendously old!” Norah exclaimed with wide eyes. “So do all humans live that long? Are you older than dragons then? Do all females have hairs like yous? Do they all end up as short as you are? Do they-”

“Oh dear, she has started to give you the marathon, too.” Ethan grinned as he saw Norah keep asking question after question at their new female guest. “Best start answering as many as quickly as you can, because she’s not going to stop until you start talking back!”

“No, typically humans don’t live nearly that long… but then I’m not entirely human” Maze began quickly “Human hair tends to come in as many styles as ponies, if not as many colors and I’m actually a little above the average height. Now, does anyone else want a turn?”

Norah still had plenty of unanswered questions, but a serious look from her big sister and her instruction of “Don’t be rude, Norah.” made her nod her head that it was no longer her turn to talk.

“So, Trixie wonders if you are proficient with any sort of magic?” Trixie asked first. ‘If not then at least that’s one advantage in Trixie’s favor!’

“A little bit” Maze smirked and actually did one of Trixie’s, or at least one of her Trixie’s signature magical flourishes that she kept to herself; sparkly streams and everything.

“How’d you do that!?” Trixie slammed her hands to the table in a gobsmacked expression recognizing its similarities to her own.

“How indeed?” Maze just smiled back and winked at the pony mage as she took a drink.

“So you can do magic as well as fight victoriously by Lord Mysterio’s side.” Tsavorite remarked as she noticed Trixie’s reaction. The idea of a greater vassal than her, made her appetite return, but alas, no more meat was to be found in her bowl. So she started to bite into it instead. “-Chomp- Apologies, Miss Bo. As I was saying, Lady Maze, do you believe you’ll be staying long in Master’s service? -Crunch- -Crunch- He did mention a matter of payment you have yet to fully settle for your services so far.”

Bo sighed at her friend’s apparent disregard for not eating more than what was served. ‘This is why she gets the metal bowls. At least she left the silverware alone!’

“No I, uh… won’t be staying long” Maze arched an eyebrow. She knew dragons could eat gems and other minerals, but they didn’t usually eat the dish with it. She was an odd one “And we still have to discuss payment. But that can wait till we’re done...”

[}0{]

It wasn’t unitl later in the evening that Ethan found himself able to be alone with Maze once more. Bo and Norah had gone to sleep, Trixie and Tsavorite had gone to their own ways as well, but not without giving their own suspicious glances at Mysterio’s ‘Newest servant’. Still, ‘Mysterio’ made absolutely sure that the two of them would be alone enough for their continued discussions about ‘Displaced’ matters.

“Thank you again for playing your part tonight, Maze. I know it probably wasn’t easy. Sorry for anything unseemly I may have done or made you feel.” Ethan started as he kept pace alongside his fellow displaced.

“Aw forget it, it was actually kind... of fun…” Maze started before lagging behind at the particular sight of the magician’s dragon subordinate indulging herself on another pile of scrap a few rows down “...So she is a glutton.”

“Hmm…? Oh, Tsavorite! I suppose she is. Granted when I first met her, she was starving to death because some bastard drake stole her hoard. That was quite the adventure, let me tell you...” He noticed Maze seemed to be a bit engrossed with watching his draconic subordinate enjoy her midnight snack of broken down metal. “Is something the matter? Because I’m starting to worry about my main servant bursting into flames with how hard you're staring at her, and yes, I know she’s a dragon!”

“I hope you know what you’re doing with that one” Maze commented,still observing the dragon woman “Now Tsav seems like a nice girl and maybe they’re different here than my world, but gluttons aren’t like other dragons… Greed, Lust, Sloth, and the rest? They’re just desires and compulsions; they can be tempered, controlled and even satisfied. But hunger...”

Maze looked back to him, a notable concern clear in her eyes.

“Hunger is a NEED. One that, barring the extraordinary, typically only ends at death. Normal dragons can be destructive but even they eventually stop. The gluttons though? They just consume. It may be callous but I lose little sleep knowing the gluttons of my world are gone and their secrets with them…” Maze trailed off, watching Tsavorite again as she finished her meal and wandered off. “So yeah, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Ethan considered her words quite carefully. “Believe me, I hope I know what I’m doing, too. There are times when I say that to myself every day since I’ve gotten here. So anything else you can give me as advice?”

“Well you could be mindful of similar changelings, some in my world delved into those arts too” Maze said, her gaze distant in an unpleasant memory before snapping back “But if you’re talking general displaced stuff… well, I could give you the ‘primer’ I originally got but that would probably make things worse.”

‘Changelings? Primer? Worse?!’ Ethan was tempted to ask, but he’d rather get some actual sleep tonight, so he decided to politely decline. “Probably best that I’d just stick with what I have then. Who knows if the rules of this world are even the same? For all I know, there aren’t even these ‘changelings’ to be found here.”

“You want the show at least?” Maze offered simply “It could help prepare for the future, it’s certainly… well, sort of helped me.”

Now that he knew the answer for sure. “Definitely not! No offense, but considering what I’ve encountered here, I think I would rather not know what horrors maybe heading my way considering the rating system for my life has gone from ‘G for General Audiences’ to ‘PG-13’ with possible ‘R-Rated’ sequences! Plus...”

Now this took a great deal of honesty on his part.“Plus I don’t think I want to find out about how certain characters might be considering how I reacted to them, and still feel towards them. I’d rather meet them again on my terms and hopefully for the better.”

“Hey that’s cool, just an offer” Maze shrugged “Well if that’s that then I suppose it’s time I’ve been on my way. Don’t wanna wear out my welcome.”

With that Maze walked ahead a bit summoning her box and twirling it about her hand.

“Say goodbye to the others for me, and sorry if I messed with Trixie too much; we’re actually rather close back home and I just couldn’t resist.”

“I gotcha. I suppose I would do something similar if I encountered alternates of my friends, too.” Ethan felt he should ask something about her payment, or try to think of a cool way to say goodbye, but there was one question that he had to ask before she left. “Say Maze…”

He turned away from her gaze as he tried to formulate the question.

“I noticed your wording of how you spent some time in your world. Over 1200 years, right? And you don’t look a day over 20, heh-heh....but I’ve seen what you can do. I also know what I can do...for the most part, as well as what I did to others here.” He was rambling, he knew it! But it was hard to put this question into proper words. “Look, I was never a saint, but be honest; In this story based on ponies, dragons, dogs, and who knows what else, are we...”

He was shaking his helmet in his hands as he stared at the distorted reflection of himself on its surface. “Are we the villains? Is that what our role is as ‘Displaced’?”

Maze sighed and considered her answer.

“I’m not gonna lie to you Misty; most of that twelve hundred years I spent imprisoned and for good reason... let’s just say I’m pretty sure my sins are worse than yours. And yeah, some of the stories relayed to me were not positive, some downright terrifying” Maze admitted sadly, but then smiled “But then there are people like Sun, who helped me when I was on death’s door without a second thought. And who told me of countless others either doing good or just simply trying to get on with their lives. Or even trying to make up for past mistakes… like me.”

She sighed again, only now a bit more contently.

“I’d say we’re whatever we make of ourselves” Maze said before her grin grew a bit challenging “And to hell with whatever those displacer pricks have planned otherwise!”

That lightened Ethan’s mood. “I guess you’re right. So I’ll just try to be better, and make up for my mistakes when I can then.”

He looked back at his helmet, not as focused on the surface, but rather more determined to make Mysterio work on making up for his faults since coming here. From mind-wiping those mares, to making his subordinates believe him to be a sorcerer capable of greater feats than he could perform, he knew he would answer to them all in time. But not yet.

“Anyways, I’d rather not make my last moment with someone who gets this whole ‘Displaced’ mess end on a downer note. Besides, I still owe you for a lot today!” Ethan then tilted his head at that. “Speaking of, how can I pay you back? I’d offer treasure, but sadly I left it in my other castle, believe it or not!”

“Oh don’t worry” the cyborg smirked before twirling a handful of the illusionist’s impressive little holo-cubes about her fingers, the box open held above her head “I already got it! Call if you need me! Laters!”

And with that Maze dropped the box, disappearing into it’s depths with nothing but an echoing laugh left behind. Ethan picked up the box, but as expected, there was nothing there. So he began to fold it up reverently and was amazingly able to get it down into the size of a playing card. The sliver of cardboard fit nicely in his suit’s pocket that suddenly appeared, to which he could only exhale halfheartedly and say, “Goodbyes are not forever, goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean, ‘I’ll miss you, until we meet again!’, right? Well, at least she was able to pull a fast one on me, being she’s that good.”

He then smirked as he thought of the last trick he was able to pull on her before she left. “But then again, I did sneak one by her, too! So who’s the better at this game of sleight-of-hand, Masie?”

[}0{]

“” The Quidam asked his fellow displacer as the two watched Ethan return to his place of rest after Maze had left to return to her own tale, so to speak. ""

“Oh it vent about az I expected it to; valuable data yes, not terribly surprising zough” the bespectacled man commented “Az she zaid; giant robots are kind of her M-O. Zough good for yours old boy! He’z got quite zhe interesting life ahead of him even more zo now zat he’z been initiated, no?”

“” The Quidam seemed distracted as he was focused upon the crack that had cause some unexpected things to occur in an already unconventional situation. “”

“Qui, I don’t even like directly interfering vith my own chargez. You zink I vould just drop something like zat into another’s I respected?” the Doktor returned flatly “Granted a few have slipped through my notice here and zere but no; zat vas not from vone of mine.”

“” The Quidam remarked as he rubbed his nonexistent chin in thought. “”

The Quidam gazed upon his current Displaced, as he was about ready to dream. Amazingly, he seemed to be sleeping well after the day he had.

“” The Quidam laughed a bit, but even it came a bit hollow at the attempt of easing the mood of the room. After all, if Leopardon came upon the Displaced, then who's to say something of greater hostility wouldn’t follow? ""

“And zank you for having us! And as much as I vould love to study zis unknown variable, like my charge, I must be going” the Doktor rose with a smile “Zank you again for zhe tea, and good luck.”

The scientist gave a courteous nod and moved to the crack, mindful to not widen it any more when he stopped and turned again.

“Oh and don’t be a stranger old boy, zhe otherz and I hardly ever zee you anymore.”

“” The Quidam struck a pose with his hands to emphasize his lack of a head. “”

“Fair enough” the Doktor smiled “Until next time Quidam.”

And then he was gone.

The Quidam stopped waving his goodbye. The Doktor was definitely right, it had been a long time since he had seen any of the others. Perhaps he should work on changing that? He had the best reason to do so with this current displaced of his.

Speaking of which…

“" The Displacer thought about his Displaced. “”

[}0{]

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

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Issue 12-The More You Learn...[Part 3]

*Ethan felt the surrounding stars like they were millions of eyes set upon him. It made him feel naked on a cosmic stage. Yet he was determined to ensure that he met the expectations of his interstellar spectators. He couldn’t tell who was watching him, but that didn’t matter as he soon found himself falling from this starry night and crashing into the regular streets in which he would walk to his campus.

Without a falter in his steps, the young man rushed on the sidewalks and towards the shore side in the distance. He only knew then he had to hurry to catch up to a lone figure in the distance. He could barely make out his face, but he could see him on the cliffs near the beach throwing a bouquet of roses into the sea. Even though he seemed forlorn at doing it, just seeing him standing there was enough to make Ethan smile. He hurried to increase his pace to meet with him, but found his steps faltering with the interrupting thoughts of the others he had met lately. From the wise Zecora, the loyal Tsavorite, the majestic Trixie, the resolute Bo, the joyful Norah, as well as a few others he had yet to recognize, he caught fleeting glimpses of them seeming to smile at him.

Yet all those notions were shattered by ITS arrival! Out from the sky soared the Marveler. Like a ferocious beast on the prowl, it charged by, only ignoring him because it had caught better prey to settle itself with.

“Help! Someone! Anyone!” The figure of the young mare called Fluttershy cried out from a lone window as the great ship flew away into the sun. The figures of five other mares could be seen trying to fight their way out, only to fail as nothing they did could break them out!

Ethan, now garbed up as Mysterio was there huffing and puffing as he tried to recall just how he got here and why the Marveler would go so far as to capture these six mares who gave his soul such a feeling of unease, but couldn’t develop a proper supposition because the mighty mechanical menace Leopardon was standing in his way!

“Another Leopardon?! I don’t care if there are a hundred of you!!” The fictitious sorcerer shouted as he ran up the spider-themed megazord’s leg, dodging every shot being fired at his direction. “I’ll take everything you send my way you Spider-man-piece-of-!”

-POW!!-

But his leap into Leopardon’s face was haltered with a mighty smack from its mechanized backhand! In a few seconds he found himself painfully impeded into the side of a cliff. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but Mysterio had no time to dwell on it. Leopardon was looking at him menacingly as it prepared a rocket punch to finish the job!

“No! Not this time!” Mysterio yelled out as he reached within himself to draw forth all his remaining strength. He broke free from his rocky confinement and prepared a kick towards Leopardon with literal burning determination coming forth from his body.

“OOORAAAAAAAAAHHH!!” Mysterio roared out with absolute resolve as he pushed himself off the cliff and like a missile, kicked off into Leopardon’s face. He pierced through with explosive power, destroying its faceplate and exiting the other side, leaving the megazord headless! As he landed back onto the ground, Leopardon feel on its knees before falling forward and exploding into nothingness.

“-Huff!- -Huff!- Now that wasn’t such a chore!” Mysterio muttered as he shakily looked about for the Marveler, but it seemed to have flown far away by now. “Now where could that other Marveler have gone?”

A series of claps stopped that train of thought as Mysterio turned to realize he wasn’t alone in this canyon by the shore, but actually had a spectator to the events the whole time. One that was shaded under a blue umbrella and lacked any facial features as well as a head.

“You!” Mysterio yelled out as he saw The Quidam clapping at the fight he just undergone. It was then he realized that all he went through was a dream that was nothing more than entertainment to this mysterious being.

The Quidam pointed to himself as he turned to look for any others Ethan might be pointing towards.

“You sent that mechanical menace after me and Maze! Didn’t you?” Mysterio demanded to know. For who else would send that mechanical monstrosity his way but the one who throw him into this insane state of affairs to begin with?

The Quidam seemed to take the accusation in stride however.

“Really? You’re really asking that?” Ethan crossed his arms as he was no longer dressed as Mysterio, but as the everyday young man he was before he met this figure.

The Quidam shrugged as he closed his umbrella and set it into the ground like a stake.

“Congratulations!” Tsavorite clapped as she appeared behind him.

“Congratulations!” Zecora also materialized as well.

“Congratulations!” Followed by Trixie.

“Congratulations!” Bo came next.

“Congratulations!” After her came Norah.

“Congratu-” Maze began, before Ethan punched it into a puff of blue smoke reveling it and the others to be nothing more than conjured facsimiles.

“Enough!!!” Ethan blustered out as he found The Quidam stopped making copies. “This isn’t a something you can blow over with a joke involving some reference that is a decade old. This is my life being played with!”

The Quidam gave a humble bow before reaching into a pocket and searching for something.

“My own what?”

The headless being finally found what he was looking for.

He tossed the object to Ethan, who was quick to catch it. However, he couldn’t describe what it was he now held. It was smaller than a penny, but felt heavier than a boulder. Yet he held it like it was light as a feather and stiff as a board, despite the dryness his hands felt at its possibly sticky texture.

The Quidam suggested as he picked up his umbrella.

The object settled itself into a shining jewel of a marble as Ethan brought his attention back to The Quidam who seemed to be taking off. “Wait! I still have questions about this Displaced-!”

The Quidam didn’t seem to give much notice to Ethan’s concerns.

He then turned to face Ethan with his umbrella poised like a blade.

Ethan took a few hesitant steps back as he felt a foreboding feeling coming from the figure. “What are you talking-?”

[}0{]

-SHING!-

Ethan opened his eyes as he immediately rolled himself off the bed. A good thing he did, too! For a second latter and that blade piercing through the shack’s wall would have also buried itself into his ear canal.

“Too close!” Ethan yelped as he threw the tangled covers of them any hurried to his costume. He had taken it off, after the long ordeal of the night and gone to bed. Now he was doing his best to get it on as he saw two blades begin to cut through the wall and trace out an opening to let somebody get in to finish what they started. ‘Good thing this isn’t my first time getting into costume under pressure!’

While costume changes were not a challenge for this theater major, his opponent was much quicker than any stage director. Thankfully he had a head start by sleeping in the main outfit like a pair of long johns. By the time he had set his helmet to lock into place as the final touch of his outfit, the blade wielding attacker had burst through the wall and in a cloud of dust the glimmer of three long and shiny objects was all the warning the human had this assailant was going for the kill right off the bat!

‘Wait! Three!?’ He immediately raised his arms in a crossed block. ‘That implies he is holding more than two! But how?’

-Clang!-

-Clang!-

-Screech!-

He got his answer as he got a good up and personal look at his accoster. Dressed up in a desert cloak and a straw hat, he could make out wolf-like physical features and slightly enlarged paws proving he was a Diamond Dog. However, what drew the cosplayer’s attention was the two swords in each paw his arms were struggling to hold back with his wrist guards, while the third was clenched in the canine’s jaw and aimed for is neck. Ethan lucked out that he got the domed helmet on in time because he would have been beheaded if he had not!

‘If those swords were actual katanas, I’m sure Zoro would be suing!’ Mysterio thought as he pushed the dog back for a momentary let up. The dog proved to be too well prepared for it, as he not only was quick to resume his stance, but to break into a series of swings with no hesitation. He gave Mysterio no time to concoct any of his tricks. If anything, he barely gave him any time to block or parry, let alone strike back.

“YOWCH!!” Mysterio cried out at a strike that cut through his suit on his left arm. Those blades were actually sharp enough to cut through their material! He almost lost his focus at seeing the blood begin to drip down the green layers in a shocking juxtaposition. Seeing the blood also gave the sword-wielding doggie more determination as he increased the speed of his strikes even faster.

‘FOCUS! If I pause, he’ll cut me! If I hesitate, he’ll kill me! Yet blocking like this is going to tire me out at this rate!’ Mysterio thought frantically as he struggled to keep up with the hastened series of bladed forays. He was in no condition to take on this Diamond Dog as he had done with those members of the coyote raiders. The lack of sleep and recovery from the previous night’s events was already hindering his survival efforts and the bloody wound was slowing him further. But he still had one idea that could be crazy enough to work. ‘Blocking like this is getting nowhere!’

His gauntlets started to glow brighter and brighter with every parried strike he made. ‘But it is distracting him from realizing how close he is getting to me! Too close to DODGE!’

When his gauntlets glowed their brightest, the doggie-swordsman (swordsdoggie?) only then realized that he was only five paces away from the sorcerer’s range. It was a lesson learned too late for Mysterio let out a massive burst of energy from his palms that caused him to fly out of the shack due to the great concussive force.

“Next time, see me in the morning if you have something you want to say to me!” Mysterio quipped, too tired to consider if that line was cool or not. That and the wound on his arm was really starting to get to him.

The doggie stood up from a crouch, definitely worse for wear, but not dead or with a hole punched into him like Mysterio hoped. It seemed he was able to focus the attack on his swords, which had battered them into cracked up pieces, showing that whatever metal they were forge from was pretty strong. However, the blades slowly started to reform themselves into more complete conditions as the cracks seemed to seal themselves up before his very eyes.

‘What in the world?’ Mysterio couldn’t believe it. Were they some sort of magical swords? Was that how they were able to cut into his arm?

“How DARE YOU!!??” Roared out a deep voice before a great emerald blur charged at the swords-doggie like a launched boulder and knocking him into a pile of scrap metal. Mysterio found his questions interrupted, but didn’t mind the cause. Tsavorite had entered this battle, and she was angry! “You come to strike MY Master while he sleeps and dare to even have him BLEED! I shall ensure you spill twice, no, THRICE as much just to start with!! Then I shall have my flames feast on the rest!!”

Already, Tsavorite seemed to be doing good on her promise, for the swords-doggie was already bleeding pretty badly due to the debris he landed in. Seeing that he now had the dragon he avoided awakening in his surprise attack to contend with, he was about to make a tactical retreat. Unfortunately, as the diamond dog tried to jump free he found himself unable to move. Glancing at his paws, he saw his entire body was being held in place by a glowing purple aura with other loser metals binding his limbs in place.

“Oh no you don’t! The Great and Powerful Trixie says you get the full impact of her draconic associate’s furry!” Trixie was also pissed at this assassin that dared to attack Mysterio. She was dressed in only her nightwear, and yet with her magical aura lighting up her body and flowing through her mane looked every bit the infuriated enchantress. She held out a hand that she was all too eager to clench, but felt that would end things too quickly. “Whatever’s left gets to face Trixie’s wrath next!”

“I doubt there will be anything left, Trixie! I don’t leave leftovers!” Tsavorite snarled with a smoking huff from her nostrils. “Why, I’m certain I can take off his head with one bite-!”

“NO, DON’T!!” shouted another figure as she hurried to get in between the dragon and her target.

“What is the meaning of this, Bo?”

“This is all just a big misunderstandin’!” Bo held herself up with her arms spread out. Despite her large nightgown making her look like a ghost, she still gave a resolute presence of her own against the enraged dragoness. “Let me take him somewheres else!”

“He attacked my Master! He should lose his head just for the thought of that!” Tsavorite fumed. She knew Bo as her friend, but this was going beyond the limit of her tolerance.

“Indeed! Trixie may not get along with you, but even this is pushing away whatever respect she has for you!” Trixie retorted in agreement.

“That’s enough.” Mysterio said as he stepped forward and gained everyone’s attention. He ignored their stares and focused his own attentiveness on the doggie assailant.

The moment the owner of Clutter Coulee came into the picture, he was prepared for the sword user to stab into that back that was turned towards him. Before he was struggling to hold up his blades despite his unicorn apprentice’s magical hold. He was clearly going to fight his way out of here. Then as he sniffed the air around him, he unexpectedly looked as if something about Bo surprised him and let go of his weapons. Trixie’s disturbance by Bo’s defense of the dog stopping her magic gave him a perfect opportunity. Yet the lack of acting on this chance at freedom meant there was more going on here.

“You’ve seemed to know when you’ve lost. I am in my right to end you where you stand.” He held up a hand glowing with energy as he reached towards the dog. The dog could have reached towards his blades, or even barked out some form of indignant comeback. Instead he bowed his head at acceptance. Before he could make another move, Mysterio felt Bo place a paw on his shoulder.

“Please.” Bo begged with her ears drooping in sad humility, but that wasn’t the only thing the cosplaying sorcerer noticed.

‘She’s actually fighting back tears over this guy!’ He considered as he looked back and forth between the two dogs as he came to his decision. To others, he appeared to be still, until he lowered his hand that stopped glowing.

“Fine. It’s your home, Bo. Not mine. Nor yours, Tsavorite and Trixie.” He began to walk back to the shack he resided in, heading toward the door instead of the gaping hole in the wall as a last chance to maintain some decorum for tonight. “I will trust your call, Bo. Just be prepared to face the consequences if my trust is wrongly placed.”

Sadly, whatever dignity he hoped to maintain was beginning to fade alongside his feelings of consciousness. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to stop this blood from exiting my body posthaste! Before the fainting at the sight of it kicks in. Like now-!”
He barely got to finish as he passed out, leaving a frantic group trying to catch him before he hit the floor.

[}0{]

The Quidam greeted with mock surprise at seeing Ethan again after their last meeting.

Ethan however was not as amused. Here he was at the table of the Green Room, surrounded by bookshelves, and once again was with the headless being who ‘employed’ him. Even with no face, he felt as if he was giving off a smug expression at how soon it took for him to enter the realm of dreams.

“Whatever. Just give me some of that tea. I need a drink!” Ethan moaned as he rubbed his temples.

The Quidam chided as he presented a cup and saucer to Ethan.

Ethan didn’t even bother to comment how it didn’t exist a second ago. He had enough to deal with. After a long sip, he decided to put his concerns with Bo and her ‘new guest’ aside to bring up another topic. “So about the Displaced-”

The Quidam interrupted, but his charge waved him off expecting that retort.

“Oh, at this point, I’m going to assume that you’ll let me in on things as they become relevant. I may as well get used to that.” He took another sip, as he further composed himself. “But I still have questions, such as what am I supposed to do?”

The Quidam pointed into a passage of a book he was now holding.

Ethan was silent as he contemplated what he did lately to warrant such a divided achievement. The last thing The Quidam said had him asking, “So if I wanted to destroy this world? Or if I wanted to go ballistic on it by destroying its cities and enslave its citizens to make them enact my desires simply because I wanted to?”

The Quidam took a sip with an unconcerned slurp, yet perked up as he added,

“…No.” Ethan answered. “I would feel the guilt wouldn’t be worth whatever minimal pleasure at doing such a thing.”

The Quidam settled his cup onto the saucer in front of him, seeming a bit chipper at that admittance.

The object that Ethan was given last time floated from his pocket, and onto the table in front of him. He couldn’t describe it just yet, because the moment it settled on one thing it shifted into another. All he could currently note about it was that it was there and waiting for what he settled on it to be.

“I have, but I am curious as to what suggestions you would make?”

The Quidam shrugged.

As if rising from a lake’s surface, the walls surrounding them rippled as the bookshelves morphs into stands and other sills for displaying. What they featured was a collection of some of the most wonderful, yet oddest assortment of odds and ends that Ethan had ever seen. From small things charms, rings, and possible ranger morphers, to larger objects like swords, statues, and even a Beacon from Borderlands! All of it was there and yet Ethan couldn’t tell if he was absolutely amazed or frightened at the amount of possibilities laid before him.

Still, his reaction was enough for The Quidam to stand up and point dramatically with his umbrella, knowing he had this Mysterio’s full attention.

[}0{]

While Ethan was busy in a dream discussing what to make of his token and creed, his two friendly subordinates were busy at work trying to make him better. Here in Trixie’s room (As Ethan’s still had that cut out hole in the wall that needed repair) they had him on the bed and outside of his armaments, which were surprisingly easier to remove than they thought. Another time they might have been distracted by the sight of their master’s state of undress, but now they were busy treating the wound on his arm with Trixie’s magic, some bandages, and other medicines supplied by Bo. The she-doggie herself was busy locking away the swords-wielding intruder which was fine considering both these ladies would rather keep their master away from the dogs as their feelings towards the incident had yet to cool.

Yet even that fury was placed a bit to the side as Trixie noticed something about Mysterio’s current state. She was doing diagnostics with her magic after sealing his wound to stop the bleeding, but came to discover the sorcerer’s current mana level. Ordinarily to do such a procedure would be just a precaution like checking one's temperature for a fever. This time it led to a more serious discovery that the young magician needed to address and attend to posthaste for the result was immensely troubling! Magical exhaustion was surely hindering Mysterio for what else could her findings mean?

“His stores are so low. Too low to assist in his recovery.” Trixie commented.

“Can you assist him, or not?” Tsavorite asked with hastened worry. She felt so helpless at not being able to assist Mysterio. That and she didn’t want to consider the ramifications of seeing him bleed as he did because she was not there to defend him from the start.

‘Hmmph, you have no right to complain, you gluttonous reptile. You would think his chief subordinate would be more considerate to her master’s safety.’ Trixie grumbled as she recalled that Tsavorite was busy snacking instead of keeping her post near their master’s cabin.

“Of course I can. Trixie has been trained to deal with magical exhaustion as well as first aid being on the road as often as she has traveled.”

Her horn swirled with magic as a gathered orb concentrated on the tip. It was around the size of a tennis ball and seemed to spiral in a multitude of directions.

“It certainly helps that Trixie is a capable spell caster as this technique does have its risks.” She then gave a smirk as she leaned closer over Ethan’s sleeping face. “Although, Trixie has heard that the transfer process would be best performed with a kiss!”

A slight grip on her shoulder from Tsavorite pulling her back stopped that notion. “Don’t you even dare-!”

“Trixie was only joking! Besides, I would rather to let our ‘sleeping prince’ continue to dream as he heals up.” When the mana was fully emitted into the sleeping patient, the glimmer seemed to cease, albeit, the rhythm of his breathing seemed to quicken a slight bit. “Now we wait.”

The dragoness’ claws creased against each other as she looked only wearier. “There is nothing more we can do?”

“Trixie has done all she can for him. His would is closed, and his other bruises are supplemented, but his bandages may need changing later. His blood loss should be counteracted by the new mana that is jumpstarting his reserves into replenishing again.” Trixie still couldn’t help to ponder aloud. “Although it was strange to see him at such a state.”

“How so?”

“Well when Trixie first saw his other bruises, she wondered why they hadn’t recovered as fast if he clearly has to possess a high mana count. After using an examining spell, she found a shocking discovery: his stores were extremely low! Almost to that of a newborn.” She sighed with a tilt of her head as she gazed at Mysterio’s sleeping state, as she considered how much rest he would need. “But that’s impossible! There’s no way he would have survived this long as that if it were the case. The spells he cast would have killed him for trying, let alone being used as freely as he has done.”

“You’re mistaken then.” Tsavorite proclaimed, knocking away the notion of her master being weak. “Besides, as you have said, he has been casting a great deal of powerful magic lately. That must be the reason why his stores were so low.”

“I suppose that’s the case then.” Trixie agreed. “There is no way he could have possibly pulled any of his spells if he did.”

“In any case, Trixie thinks she shall go and practice more of her magic today. Mysterio will surely be impressed by how far she has come to meeting his criteria for his task. If it appears that he needs more mana, then perhaps we shall try adding yours to the mix later.” The mare then got up and started to head out the door. “I trust you’ll be here to keep a good eye on him?”

“Hmmph. Says the apprentice who hinted at harassing him in his sleep.” The dragoness turned up her horned nose, before softly replying. “Still, I admit he chose well considering how you were able to tend to him in ways I couldn’t. Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie gave a slight grin as she nodded before leaving. They may be unspoken rivals, but at least they both knew enough to respect the other’s capabilities. However, the moment the unicorn left, Tsavorite felt herself going down on her rump as she sadly sat down next to her master’s bed.

She felt terrible at her failure of being his servant. Admittedly, Trixie was not that far from the mark for her being away from her post at Mysterio’s resting place due to her hunger. But it was more than just something that could be satiated by the scraps she snacked on these days. She felt it with every inch her being gained. Her skin was starting to feel tighter and her scales were starting to dry up in places that were not as easy to reach.

“Really starting to itch.” She noted at how her scales felt around her master’s mark. Those scales that were etched with his runes seemed to particularly irritate her. She recalled that the spell mentioned ‘releasing her stored energy’ which seemed from what she could tell be tied to her flames. Naturally she used her flames to burn away those stored calories she must have been storing up discreetly which is why her growth seemed to be less erratic than it used to be. However, feeling her instincts driving her to seek her hoard alongside these physical symptoms meant one thing: her body was going to undergo a ‘Serious Shedding’.

“I’m sorry, Mysterio. I have failed you and ask for your forgiveness for allowing you to be harmed to such a degree. Even after the fact, I was not able to even treat your poor health as you once did for me. How can live up to repay your life debt if I cannot even do that?” She spoke to him softly as she gazed at his sleeping form. “But perhaps when we return to Castle Wonder I will become the proper retainer to your will.”

She considered what changes her body may undergo for her latest ‘Serious Shedding’. After all, dragons were made to adapt and the deeper connection she felt to Mysterio as her Master’s magic recovered told her that when it happened, she would be much more suited to serve the sorcerer’s ambitions. The occasionally glowing mark on her back seemed to tell her so.

[}0{]

Ethan wasn’t sure how long he talked with The Quidam. Nor did he recall just how many tokens they discussed and spoke of. All he knew was that when he woke up, he felt much more different then he had before. It was like waking up from a nap in the shade as you breathed in the scent of the perfect glass of lemonade. That feeling of zest permeated his being.

“Why do I feel so tingly?” Ethan asked as he looked at his arms. The only change besides being outside his costume, was the bandages on his arm for his wound. Perhaps it was some form of high from the blood loss he was recovering from; he did lose quite the amount from that slash. He didn’t see any bruises on him, or any scars which was good. Perhaps he was simply feeling better now that wasn’t being irritated by the lingering effects of battle and fatigue?

“Master! You’re alright!” Tsavorite cheered as she saw him awake. Seeing her sitting near his bedside, Ethan couldn’t help but to imagine her there watching him the while time as he slept. Heaven help the one who probably tried to make her wait outside.

“Of course I am.” Ethan couldn’t help but to wisecrack. “It would take more than a fancy hunting knife to do away with me after all!”

Tsavorite frowned. “Please do not joke about that, Master. I will understand if you are still upset.”

“Upset?”

“I understand if you wish to punish me.”

“Tsavorite, please! I’m alright!” He appreciated Tsavorites loyalty, but again she was pushing it too much. He wasn’t that kind of master! Still he had to ask, “How bad was it?”

“You lost a good amount of blood, and your previous wounds were not recovering as they should. Trixie examined you and came to discover that your mana stores were critically low. So she transferred some of her own into you to jumpstart your healing processes.”
It took a full minute of mental silence for Ethan to process that statement. When his brain rebooted he flinched forward from the bed and immediately questioned the results of that medical decision.

“And how did that go!?” He hastily asked before regaining some composure. “I mean, I am an entirely different form of being than either of you. It could have gone terribly wrong!”

“Admittedly, we were worried about that. Fortunately, we had a few more advantages with Trixie being familiar to the technique. Unicorn mana is universal for a quick transfer when depleted to such a critical level, and I was more than happy to procure my own if you needed it. Trixie’s seemed to do the job just fine, but we gave a bit of mine when it seemed you were still recovering slower than you should have been.”

Ethan looked at his hands as he considered this revelation. That tingling he was feeling was quite possibly the sign of something his body was undergoing to having magical life energy from both of his loyal subordinates. As if having his mind messed with to understand the nearby languages wasn’t enough, now he was carrying some sort of new syndrome in his body.

‘Well since I never had ‘mana’ to begin with, I’m certain that is exactly the reason my stores would be incredibly low! I just hope that this doesn’t lead to anything like ‘magic cancer’ or suddenly growing new sets of arms!’ Not that he wanted them to know that he never originally had this ‘mana’. Still, he had no choice but to play off his worries as being concerning. “Well I suppose I need to be more aware of that. Being that it seems I need to utilize so many high-level magics lately, I tend to forget that it takes much longer to restore my reserves. Thank you for caring for me after the hassle of last night.”

He then realized another matter to consider due to being out for so long. “Speaking of which, whatever became of that sword wielder who attacked me?”

At the mention of that, Tsavorite turned her horned nose up and let out a fume of smoke in anger. “He’s been locked up.”
Ethan waved away the smoke, knowing that Tsavorite wouldn’t due such a thing unless she was still mad. “You sound like you don’t approve.”

“Master, he struck you and tried to end your life!” She snarled before calming her tone down so she wouldn’t yell at her master. “I know it is not my place to question you, but how could you show mercy to him?”

“How could I not? Yeah, he attacked me, and considered the individuals that have been doing it lately, I should have just taken him down no questions asked.” He thought carefully about his words to ensure they were understood. “But I think there is more going on here than we know. For one thing, Bo was adamant about defending him.”

Tsavorite grumbled at that reminder. It appeared she still held a bit of a grudge at the Diamond Dog at that. Ethan knew he had to say his suspicions to not just calm the dragoness, but to ensure she didn’t lose her newfound friendship with the scrap-giving doggie. “She wouldn’t do that just for any mutt. No, she would step in front of us, her newest friends because we wouldn’t know that he was someone important to her.”

“What?” The dragoness tilted her head at that line of thinking. “How do you reach that conclusion, Master?”

“It doesn’t take much magic if you are trained to read into people based on observation. Due to my choice profession am pretty good at doing cold readings to a degree.” Ethan waved off like it was no big deal. “This assassin tried to strike me down first because he knew I would end him quickly if I awoke. He did what he could to avoid encountering you as well as Trixie when he could have taken either of you out when you were both deeply asleep. After our fight, when all three of us had him cornered, it could have turned into his lead when Bo stepped in front of him, blocking us, but having her in front of him. He had ample opportunity to strike at Bo, or even take her hostage with her back turned to him. Her being a bigger dog than him would have no hindrance on his capabilities. Instead, he basically surrendered the moment she came into the picture.”

He pointedly made eye contact with Tsavorite as he went on to say. “Bo also makes a point to keep herself appearing strong-minded and proud, yet she was holding back tears at the possibility I would kill him then and there. She knew I could do it, and nothing she could do would stop me…except my choice.”

Tsavorite said nothing, but any signs of fury seemed to be slowly dying down as she took to her Master’s words.

“I let him live, but everyone knows that I just as easily could have taken his life.” Now it was time for the final verbal blow. He launched it with the bandaged arm placing a hand to her shoulder. “Kind’ve like what I did with you, right?”

“I suppose.” Tsavorite admitted as she turned her head away, finding the closeness of their gazes to be a bit much if her blushing was any indication. Ethan took it to be slight embarrassment to how forgone she was at being mad at Bo for taking the assailant’s side.

“Give it time, Tsavorite. I’m sure you’ll find yourself more at ease with my choice.” Ethan nodded. “Now, let’s go see the others and tell them I’m alright!”

[}0{]

He found Trixie and Norah at the table they usually ate at. Each was doing their own thing with Trixie practicing the card exercise, and Norah tinkering with some sort of device strapped to a stuffed bunny, and eating some cookies from a tin. While Trixie was definitely glad to see that he was all right, Norah seemed very confused at his current state of being.

“What happeneds to your arm, Boss Mysterio?” She asked innocently.

Ethan found this to be a bit confusing, but looking at the other two present at the table told him enough. Trixie found her cards suddenly more interesting to look at, while Tsavorite seemed to suddenly find a need to head to some more piles to arrange for a snack. It seemed neither one, nor her sister apparently let the young pup in on the events of last night.

“I was actually more injured from that fight with that golem than I originally thought.” Ethan lied well enough. That was partially true. Maze may have taken the brunt of that fight with Leopardon, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get his fair share of bruises in the scuffle.

“But you seemed fine when we were all eating together.” Norah pointed out.

He merely shrugged. “Well, I hid it pretty well. I’m sure you know what it’s like to hide an injury from when you play rough outside.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “True. But Big Sis says you shoulds be more responsible and come forwards for help if that happens.”

“And that is good advice I certainly will follow next time! Especially if it means I get more of these cookies!” Ethan was enjoying Norah’s ‘get-better’ snack of cookies from her stash. Although he couldn’t put his finger on what flavor they were, but it was tasty.

Norah grinned her teeth in agreement. “Yep, Doggie biscuits make everything better!”

“Pffft-!” Ethan spit out his bite and developed a coughing attack at that revelation.

“You ok?”

“-Cough- Yeah, just -cough- swallowed too big a bite.” Ethan pushed the dogs’ treats away from him. “I think I should hold off on the biscuits for a bit.”

“Ok…Oh! Are we evers going to meet that Mazey-lady again.” She asked with an eager wag of her tail.

Ethan was certainly not expecting to be asked that. Honestly, he himself wondered that question. Considering the recent revelations of his situation there was no telling when that would be or if it would be. Could be tomorrow, or possibly never considering she probably was busy dealing with her own issues and adventures. So, all he could answer with was another excuse with a bit of optimism mixed into it.

“Not for a long while, I’m afraid! She’s very busy with her home dimension! Off battling golems and saving other magic users!” He shrugged again. “You know how it goes!”

“I guess.” Norah sighed. She already missed the mysterious ‘Not-hyooman-but-looks-like-a-hyooman’-hyooman-female.

“Well enough about that and my problems. What about you? Sleep well?”

“Yeah but I had this weird dream!” Norah scrunched her eyes as she tried to remember all the details.

“Oh?”

“Yeah! There was this strange doggie, who carried swords like a Darknut uses!”

He had to tilt his head at that term. “A what?”

“You knows, a Darknut! One of those swordsdoggies who goes and saves princesses from evil villains like those old stories. I thinks he cames by and looked at me before disappearing in the darks like a ghost!” She looked up at wonder at the sorcerer as if he could interpret her dream. “Could my dream has some sort of secret meanin’ or somethin’?”

‘Besides the fact it sounds like that dog came into your room to check on you? Probably.’ He would rather not say it like that to the little girl and possibly scare her. “Maybe it’s a sign that you’ll meet an old friend of some sort?”

“Maybe! Wonder who it could be?”

“Yeah, me too.” He noticed Bo was walking towards another one of the shacks with a plate of food, and it was not one that any of them occupied. “So Bo seems pretty busy.”

“Yeah, Big Sis was busy movings all that junk from that kitten-faced golem into a pile this morning.” Norah told Ethan who found that information odd.

“All by herself?”

Norah was the one who shrugged nonchalantly this time. “Yeah, I mean she’s used to it, and the others were busy fixings you up, but she dids it. She’s been busy in that shack with somethings, but I figures it’s probably another of those tinkerings of hers.”

“Really, then I’d better go thank her then for moving all that.” He then reached behind the pup’s ear and pulled out a gold coin from the Quidam’s case. “Here, it’s not a biscuit, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to have fun with it.”

He then walked away, trying to hide a smirk at how Norah was now shaking her head about to try to get more gold coins she didn’t know she had. It was an innocent trick, but he needed a pick me up considering how serious a conversation he was about to have.

[}0{]

Bo came out of the shack with a heavy sigh. At least the plate she held was now bereft of food. However, she perked up when a voice spoke up to her.

“You know, I am not surprised you weren’t with the others at the table. Awkward conversation would ruin any appetite. Yet here you are about head into a shack that I know no one has taken up quarters in.” Ethan then crossed his arms, pointedly having his bandaged one displayed at the forefront. “At least no one until last night, right?”

Bo tried to keep up her tough front, but found it hard to keep with Ethan looking at her with equal determination. “He’s locked up in there tighter than a bolt in a metal beam and not causing any more troubles. Ain’t that enough?”

“Consider my suspicions less on the fact he tried to bleed me out, and more under the basis that this guy you were nearly groveling to ensure I didn’t obliterate him right then and there.” He raised an eyebrow with a hint of a slant to his shoulders. “I mean, we may not know each other that long, Bo, but even I know enough to notice you don’t just grovel for any stranger.”

The she-doggie was tight lipped at that. Still her silence was enough for Ethan to know that he was tapping at a nerve, yet not fully striking.

“Bo, I swear, if you can give me some insight on what exactly might have been going on, from what you can say, I will not harm, or seek revenge on him for what may be a misunderstanding.” He then decided to go the whole length of the oath, as he recalled that such a thing seemed to carry weight in this world when he did it for that yellow Pegasus mare. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Unknown to him, but in sight of Bo, his fingers depicted a glimmering trace over his heart. Bo took it to be that the sorcerer swore on his magic, and thus felt a bit more ease that he would at least listen to what she had to say.

“Like I said, I’m a guest here, and not a dictator, so whoever you wish to keep as company is up to you. But at least give us a solid explanation as to why this guy who straight up wanted to kill me is someone you don’t want me or the others to deal with.”

It still took her a few breaths before she finally came forward with some information of how she knew this stranger less hesitation. “Remember earlier when I mentioned I was once a pet?”

“I recall a bit of that, yes.” Ethan nodded.

“Well, in that business, I garnered the attention of a few admirers.”

“And he’s one of them? An old client who sought your ‘creature comforts’?” Ethan immediately guessed, to which Bo seemed to stutter a bit at his presumptuous interruption.

“No…yes…Well, it ain’t in the way your thinkin’.” She sighed as she felt herself falling into a flashback of those days with the swords-doggie. “He was a Darknut, one under the Bone of Scone, and one who still acted a bit like those old ones in the stories. I was but a young bitch, who could only wish that he would purchase and take me and Norah out of that shop.”

‘But he never did.’ Was not spoken but conveyed with how Ethan didn’t recall any mentions of him when she showed him the mark of the pack she reached clan status with. Not wanting to trample her feelings any further, he decided to get more into the heart of the issue. Already he was getting a good idea of what had happened.

“Based on what Norah told me about her ‘dream’ of seeing a ‘Darknut’, I’m guessing he was searching the place for his fair maiden, but came across the “Evil Wizard’ keeping her prisoner. Well, then why was he more focused on ‘Stabbing the wizard’ than ‘Saving the Princess’?” He asked in quotation marks.

Bo seemed to give an embarrassed grimace as she answered with a nail to her maw. “I was a…more svelte bitch in those days. He didn’t seem to recognize me until after I stood in front of him.”

Well that explains his reaction to her scent. “So why doesn’t he come forward and tell us his side of the story.”

“Because he won’t!” Bo’s mood took a dive. “He ain’t sayin’ a word, not even to me! He won’t even look at my direction!”

The she-doggie seemed to be breaking further as she instinctively reached out and dragged Ethan into a hug. “Ooomph!”

“I knows I’ve changed a lot with all the times that went by, but does he hates me now?” Her depressed state was blinding her to how Ethan was struggling to get out of her embrace. Still she blubbered on. “I mean -sniff- it’s bads enough the others are mad because I didn’t let him bite the dust, but now he won’t even talk to me even thoughs I knows he knows me!”

Any other time, Ethan would be feeling pity for the crying she-doggie. But right now, he was starting to lose feeling of everything as he was squished tighter to Bo’s bosom.

‘Must…escape…need…air!’

He wasn’t sure what happened, but one instant he was struggling to breathe in Bo’s hug. The next he was standing behind her, gasping for the wonderful treasure known as oxygen. “-Huff- -puff- I will be sure to bring it up -huff- when I speak to him.”

Bo turned around to see the sorcerer placing his helmet on after regaining his breathing rhythm. He was once again dressed up in his full armaments. Where they came from when he was dressed in the simple clothes he wore underneath, was anyone’s guess. Before she could stop him though, he had already stepped through that shack door. Bo could only wipe her tears and hope that the sorcerer would keep the oath he swore by.

[}0{]

Ethan, now once again donning the mantle of Mysterio, wasn’t sure what he would find when he entered the shack. It was space of not much more than a bed and a pot in the corner for ‘bathroom needs’. What he wasn’t expecting was the sudden heaviness he was feeling the moment he stepped inside. It was as if someone turned up the gravity, for each step he took was an exercise in lifting his feet. At one point, he leaned on a wall to balance himself, but found that he was being pulled into it further like it was coated in some form of adhesive.

As he righted himself, his HUD popped up with a message:

{MAGNETIC DISTORTION DETECTED: ADJUSTING MAGNETIC POLARITY TO COMPENSATE}

In about a second, he found himself having no trouble moving about the shack. He’d question it later, because right now his audience had drawn his eyes upon him and his ability to move freely throughout this apparently magnetically wonky prison cell.
Looking at the Swords-doggie minus the desert cloak, he got a better idea at what he was. He wore a Japanese looking robe like a samurai, along scarf wrapped around his neck, and even had the wooden sandals at his bottom paws. His cloak and hat were set next to the bed. His physical features were a mixture of grey and white fur like a wolf. He wasn’t exactly like a husky, but more like one of those Japanese dogs…Shikoku Inu! That was the breed! Thank you, comic books, and anime for odd factoids like that!

What made the scene stranger than being stared at by a samurai dog was the way he was imprisoned. He had thick metal bands around his wrist, ankles, and waist, yet they each were linked not by chains. No, instead there were lines of black ball bearings the size of grapefruits that seemed stuck to one another. Just by looking at them, they looked only long enough to give the wearer enough room to sit up in the bed, and use the pot in the corner. Again, the use of magnets was filed away for later as he decided his audience had waited impatiently.

“Good day. I am Mysterio. I would offer my hand to shake, but I wouldn’t be certain you wouldn’t try to cut it off, now would I?”

The swords-doggie pointedly looked up. MYsterio gazed up as well to find that the dog’s swords were in their hilts and imbedded into the ceiling like an action figure’s accessories in its plastic case.

“Ok, fair enough. However, that still doesn’t excuse your attack on my person.” Mysterio crossed his arms as he laid his threat. “I could make it so that you wake up in the middle of the desert, thinking you are nothing but a beast, and will crawl on all fours like one for the rest of your life.”

The Dog furrowed his brows in anger at that, but remained silent. He seemed determined to not speak a word.

“But I won’t!” Mysterio uncrossed his arms. “I don’t know what you think I am, or how you heard of me, but I can tell by your actions that you were expecting a different scene before you came here. One in which I am taking advantage of Bo and her sister through some form of enslavement or other dark deed. Not one in which we are but business partners and allies.”

He stepped forward some more. While he knew the dog was retrained he still kept a sense of caution as he did so. The Dog seemed to scurry back a bit as the sorcerer approached. It was slight, but Mysterio could see that he acknowledged he had the advantage here.

“Then again, that tough as nails bitch is out there crying over how the one person she wished to see again won’t even talk to her, despite all the trouble he’s in. It so happens that one of the things I was taught was to never let those who make your friends cry get away with doing so.” He raised a hand that already had an orb of energy at the ready like a baseball. “So tell me, Swords…Doggie! What does it take to get you to bark?”

The Dog still wouldn’t speak. He just looked more upset. Mysterio had to compliment his determination. So far he was withstanding he attempts from striking at his heart with a mention of a crying Bo, to threatening his life with an attack at the ready. Not that he would, for he felt compelled not to let it grow more than a bluff.

But then the dog huffed out a sigh as his ears drooped, and reached for his scarf. Reverently he removed it to show that he wasn’t wearing it to keep warm, or even to look cool. No, he was wearing it to hide the state of his throat. It looked as if some wicked claws attempted to behead him but took his voice box instead.

“My God-!” Mysterio blurted out, losing his composure for a moment. No wonder he was so silent. And he was rubbing salt in that wound without knowing it.

The Dog made a wiggling motion with his hand, and Mysterio finally understood it to be a request for something to write with. He hastily searched himself for something to work with, ironically enough the same papers for that failure of a contract the other day. He held up a pen for the dog to take, which seemed to indicate a sense of trust developing between these two.

The dog’s handwriting was messy due to his large paws trying to work with the smaller pen. Ethan noticed that his hand made motions that looked like he was drawing paw prints, but his mind had already interpreted them into a message:

{What would you like to know?}

“How about how you heard of me? I mean, I am a great sorcerer, but tell me how does a stranger like you come to hear about me being all the way out here?”

And that was the start of there long conversation. By the time they were done, Mysterio had much to consider, but he knew one thing for certain:

They had to hurry to Castle Wonder for Clutter Coulee was compromised as a headquarters.

{Omake}

The Quidam asked.

Ethan nodded as he set the pen down and breathed over the freshly written ink. “That should be the final touch. Any more and I think I would be trying too hard.”

The Quidam asked as he looked at his chosen’s creation.

“Well at first I thought my holocubes, but that could be disasterous if the technology got into the wrong hands or one that wasn’t meant to have it. Maze I can trust with it, but who knows who else could understand how it could be abused.” He then looked at the other components of his suit as it was displayed nearby in a case like a suit of armor. “The same could be said for anything of Mine-I mean Mysterio’s. If I want to share it, they’ll have to earn it.”

“Who says there’s not more to it?” Ethan asked as he held up the token. It looked like a card made to homage the Tarot deck, with a star in the middle that had his personal crest at its core. Underneath the picture was the words ‘THE MYSTERIO’. On the back however was his creed. “After all, Magicians have been doing wonderful things with naught but simple playing cards for centuries. Who’s to say I haven’t hidden a few secrets within this token?”

The Quidam clapped at that revelation.

Ethan nodded as he recited the creed he spent a long amount of dream time crafting. He was no poet, but he hoped it conveyed the right message. It was how he would be introduced throughout the multiverse after all.

To those who find themselves disenchanted,

Or seeking a helpful intrusionist,

Receive this token and creed I’ve chanted,

I am your supportive illusionist.

Do not take my services for granted,

For I can shift from an ally to foe;

From sorcery, to figments implanted

I am their grand master: Mysterio!

So can you handle one of my esteem

Or shall you fall victim to my great dream?

With those words he decreed his token forged and completed and tossed it expertly into The Quidam’s waiting bowler hat, where it would somehow go from there to anywhere and nearly everywhere in existence.

“There. Now that we have that done, where do we go from here?”

Ethan looked at the clock. It showed that it was a Quarter-to-Smiley face, due to using emotions instead of numbers. Again, it would probably make less sense if he was awake. “I suppose you are right, so how do I-”

And in an instant, he was gone, leaving The Quidam alone with his thoughts. The Quidam however seemed to be preoccupied with what was left in his place. It was a large decorative hourglass that seemed to have blue, lime-green, and emerald-green sand mixed together.

The Quidam merely shrugged.

At least he hoped so!

Jump to top

Issue 13-The More You Learn...[Part 4]

Mysterio had just gotten done conversing with the imprisoned swords-doggie. They had talked about several things involving himself. Unsurprisingly the Coyotes (or The Desert Ash Pack as he was told their name) had been spreading word about him as some form of ‘Death Master’ due to their belief of one of his illusions being a form of necromancy. Another time he might have patted himself on the back for pulling off such a feat of renown, but the next bit of news deterred that sense of pride and curb stomped it. Word had spread about the sorcerer named Mysterio and how he could perform feats such as ‘raising the dead’ and ‘opening Tartarus’ to other parties as well! One of which the swords-doggie informed him through writing was heading here at a pace that drove him to strike the night before the day they were due.

It was now afternoon and Mysterio was feeling an urge to kick himself at letting it be known Clutter Coulee was under his protection, and not expect anyone to come by to refute it!

Still, he did his best to step out that door and walk calmly out despite the moment before being when his helmet’s HUD thought to inform him of several bio-signs waiting for him outside that were not Bo, Norah, Tsavorite, or Trixie. He gazed about the collection of unwavering glances in his direction, neatly folded his hands behind his cloaked back, and politely said with a bow, “Well, good afternoon!”

Surrounding him and the shack he exited was some of the toughest looking dogs he had ever laid eyes on. The Coyotes he fought before could only wish they came across as powerful and organized as this pack based on their presence and stances alone. They consisted of female dogs which was obvious based on their appearances and apparel. They certainly weren’t dressed for the desert, but rather looked like they would be right at home in the Savage Land. That or Themyscira based on how ripped some of them were. Seriously! From the bigger dog breeds he could recognize like Hyenas to some smaller ones like Pomeranians, if they weren’t built like they could tear apart a tank, they looked like vicious track stars that could easily beat the blood out of him after slitting his throat with a well sharpened nail. Already he could tell that they were leagues above those coyotes he fought before based on how strategically they surrounded him. The larger ones that looked like they could out muscle him in close quarters stood by at the ready. Next to them were their sisters who looked skilled with their choice weapons that included halberds, spears, and whips. Farther back were those who had arrows notched at the ready to fire at him.

Going back to his experience fighting the coyotes, he felt confident facing those thinking they were but slavers who fought with pointed sticks and had large numbers but few brains shared among them. He also had Mysterio’s tech- magic to put them in their place. But after encountering the Swords-Doggie with his strange metal and skill level, he was even more unsure of his competency if this situation went south. He wasn’t as immortal as he thought; rather less ‘squishy’ of a sorcerer as he should be. Fortunately, it seemed his choice in being polite was the right call as these were unsettled a bit by his lack of fear or tenseness at their presence. They looked at one another as if they were expecting more from this strange figure. Yet their distraction didn’t last long as a figure stepped forward from their ranks; one that Mysterio was not expecting to encounter amongst this crowd.

She was a higher member of the pack based on her much more elaborate dog collar and how she stood a head taller than most of them, but the later could have more to do with her fur. It was thicker around her upper torso, wrists, ankles, and the tip of her tail, with an opposing hue of color where it was thin enough to show off her thickened and well-toned limbs. With her body type being that muscular, and with how she was dressed in the pelts and furs of past hunts he wouldn’t be surprised to mistake her for an anthrosized lion from a distance. Yet it was definitely the color of her main patches of fur that would keep him from that conclusion. It was a startling contrast to the desert landscape to see something so white, and the only thing more juxtaposed was seeing this type of dog breed presented before him as the biggest threat of this pack surrounding him.

“Afternoon is good, I suppose.” The Poodle (of all breeds!) greeted curtly with an accent that sounded Russian. Her head’s fur-style looked like a Ushanka, or other form of hat, so perhaps she was or at least some Ponyland equivalent.

‘Yeesh, and Maze thought the Ponies here were like Amazons! She's like Ludmilla Drago if she really took up her husband’s training regimen after becoming a poodle!’ He internally quipped at this apparently Russian-sounding Diamond Dog in charge. Just standing a couple of meters before him and having to look up to meet her eyes was more than enough to have him do everything in his power to not throw a flinching hand down and trigger her into attacking. She had to be the alpha, for who else could give the example of reaching an intimidating stature despite stereotypes toward your breed? Before he could dwell further on her surreal nature, a young voice piped up drawing the sight of all of them towards the source.

“Runo?” Norah asked in childish wonderment at the sight of this Amazonian poodle and her mob of warrior dogs.

“Little Norah?” The Poodle signaled for the others to lower their weapons from her as she moved towards the pup to inspect her closer.

‘They know each other?’ Mysterio pondered as he looked at the reactions of everyone. Sure, the pup might have known her name from it being on her tag, but her next act told him otherwise.

“Runo!” the pup pounced onto the larger femme’s torso, showing that even with her obvious strength was pushed back a step by Norah’s enthusiasm. “It is yous! You’re still alives after me and Bo went our own ways!”

“Little Norah!” The Poodle, now identified as Runo, exclaimed with a more cheerful demeaner. “You is alright?”

“Of course!” Norah nodded. “Me and Big Sis have been makings our fortunes in this scrapyard since we saws yous all last! Even making new friends like the Magic-Boss Mysterio here!”

“Ya? Well den, we shall see your big sis about how she is doing and hear more of your tale!” Runo seemed to be placated now it was confirmed Norah and Bo were all right. Or perhaps they had some code of starting fights around children. In either case, the dogs seemed to lessen their stances to fight, but kept a good eye on Mysterio. “She is fine, da (1)?”

“You tell me. I am but an entrepreneur trying to do business with Miss Bo and her junkyard. Considering that I have yet to see her or my companions, I can only assume they are preoccupied.” The Sorcerer did nothing to show hostility in his words, but the message was clear: Any hostilities enacted today would be on their heads, not his. While he was certain if it came down to it he could break for an escape, the fact that these femmes got the drop on him and Tsavorite or Trixie had yet to make an appearance, he assumed that he might risk their lives in doing so.

“You assume much, Sorcerer!” Runo let Norah down as she widened her clawed hands before forming them into fists that were large enough to be equivalent stone hammers.

“OR perhaps I assume enough?” The sorcerer moved his own gauntlets from his back towards his front with a holo-cube hidden in his fingers. He crossed them to avoid triggering the pack’s eagerness to spring into action, but was ready to drop them the second her saw one of their toes so much as twitch. “Where are they?”

“Right here!” Bo shouted as she stepped towards the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention toward the junkyard dog. However, everyone’s eyes seemed to widen more on the state of the two walking next to her. “Sorry for the wait, y’all, but these two were abouts to light a powder keg the size of Zebrican Manticore and that would be pretty bad knowin’ y’all’s tempers!”

Walking very closely to one another was his two subordinates. Or rather, one was walking while the other was unfortunately unable to. That was because they were both bound to one another back to back in what looked like a pair of barrels, only made of that strange black metal instead of wood. Tsavorite served as the main mover seeing that she was the larger of the two and free to use her legs, whereas Trixie looked like an oversized toddler in a shoulder carrier that bound her body up to her neck. Neither had access to their arms, and to make it more laughable, Tsavorite had her snout bound by a metallic ring while Trixie had her mouth free to use for many choice words!

“-and shove it right below that flapping tail of hers! That is just when that bitch wishes Trixie is done, but that’s just what she’s going to do to start-!”

Apparently Tsavorite had had her fill of Trixie yelling in her ear, for she used her tail to swing at the magnetically connected container on her back, causing it to rapidly spin. Trixie unfortunately had the displeasure of feeling the swirling displacement until the dragoness used her tail to stop her right-side up. Tsavorite gave an amused glance, wishing she could laugh, but immediately ceased when Trixie looked dizzily at her and said.

“Oooh…You realize if Trixie gets sick…ugh…she is not to blame for you being in her way…Ulp!”

Tsavorite couldn’t speak, but her narrowed glare was enough to convey the message, ‘Do it, and die!’.

Bo just ignored the two’s antics. Instead she focused on being sure she maintained control of the situation. “I hads to be sure they wouldn’t cause trouble. The last things I need is either you or my ol’ pack to wreck this place even further, Mysterio! And don’t give me that look, Runo! I’ve seens this sorcerer’s magic first hand. If he wasn’t willing to hold back for the sakes of me, Norah, and his servants, he would wipe you all off the desert floor.”

‘That is utter bull, but I’ll take it!’ Myterio thought as he took advantage of Bo’s embellishment of his capabilities. It gave him the confidence boost he needed to walk up to his limb-locked friends, and even bump shoulders with a few of these feral femmes while he did so as if he owned the place. He looked at the two, making sure they were unharmed. “If I promise to keep these two from acting out, could you release them from your binding? I’d do it myself, but I’d be worried about the repercussions of using my spell work against your…techniques.”

Honestly, he had no idea how to undo whatever Bo did, but on the plus side, it sounded like he could do it easily! Bo nevertheless accepted his request knowing that Mysterio was true to his word. She stepped towards the two imprisoned members of Mysterio’s forces, and tapped her nails against the metal. A second later, and the entire metallic object transmogrified into sand! Trixie slid of the dragon’s back and landed on her rump dizzy but annoyed. Before she could give the she-doggie a piece of her mind, Mysterio stepped in to stop her with a hand on her shoulder as if to say, ‘Now’s not the time!’

“Now I hope you don’t mind Tsavorite, but I’m gonna need you to keep the binding on your maw. We may be friends, but I know how…hungry you get when some-doggie tries to fight your Boss.” Bo said with a comforting tone, but a quick wink was a big indicator that she was throwing breadcrumbs for the three of them to work with. “And that’s not mentioning whatever magic Trixie here can pull being Mysterio’s apprentice.”

The three got the message that playing along would be in their best interests. That and the surrounding dogs perking up at these tidbits was more incentive to keep up their tough personas.

“Quite right, Miss Bo. So why don’t you and Norah catch up with your old comrade then?” he tilted his head toward Runo who looked at this occurrence with amused scrutiny. “I’ll keep an eye on everyone here.”

“Does that sound agreeable, Runo?” Bo asked the she-doggie in charge. The two shared a glance together, but before a silent conversation could start, Norah had scampered up her Big Sis’ back and onto her shoulders to meet the direct eye contact of the she-doggie huntress.

“Oh please! Please! Please!” Norah asked excitably to the Diamond Dog poodle as she gave a puppy-eyed stare as further incentive to go along with it. “Big Sis and I would loves to hear how every-doggie’s doing back at the old den!”

Bo raised an eye with a smirk, knowing that despite the time apart and the intense training regime of her old pack, they still had a weakness she could exploit: Norah’s puppy antics!

“It sounds good. It has been too long!” Runo relented, finding even her tough demeanor softened by the pup’s adorableness. She still brought it back to the forefront as she addressed the other Golden Nailed members with this to say, “Rest of you, remember! I may be Beta, but that just means it takes Alpha to keeps my tail in line! So, be on your best behaviors and keep in line for both of us, ponimat'(2)?!”

The pack barked in agreement that they understood. Mysterio and his group almost felt compelled to yell their agreements alongside them due to her dominating presence she gave off with her decree. To think, that this huntress was just the second-in-command, the Beta, of the pack! Mysterio was certainly not looking forward to seeing who the leader was if this was an inkling of he being even more domineering!

“Kayfova(3)!” She clapped before walking alongside Bo. She scratched Norah on the chin with a paw that could have easily encompassed her muzzle, and receiving happy yips in return. Doing so caused he to smile as she asked, “You lead the way, da?”

“Of course! I know just to place to gets privacy, and it has been a long time. Lots to catch ups on!” Bo seemed especially cheerful and eager to catch up to this fellow she-doggie. The two could be seen chatting away as the three headed off for a more private setting. This left Mysterio to figure out how to break the tension that was left over among all the attendants.

‘Well, looks like they are going to be a while. May as well try to get something out of this.’ He looked towards Trixie, who’s inner fire seemed to be dying down as her angry stare was met with a few dozen eyes that were willing to return the glare in full while holding weapons. He decided to break their glaring contest with a snap of his fingers and kept making a swishing motion with his hand. The she-doggies looked confused at what he was doing. Yet Trixie perceived it as being a signal to hand him back the deck he had lent her for practice.

With his cards in hand, and a bit of a strange green aura forming over his figure, he began to intricately shuffle them as he knew for certain he had everyone’s interest in what he was about to ask. “So, ladies, can I interest you in a game of ...gin rummy?”

The moment he saw a few of them looking towards one another and start whispering, he knew he had them and that made his inner con artist shiver in glee!

[}0{]

An hour or so later, it seemed that inner con artist was well satiated with the prizes of its latest pursuit. While these females were skilled hunters and mostly lived in a place with ferocious beasts, apparently, they were never warned about the perils of the one known as the ‘Card Shark'! From the instance they realized they were in his territory it was already too late and they were hooked and sank deeper and deeper into his grasp!

Fortunately, he was a merciful creature and had a stronger code of ethics when it came to card games and women: Never take more than you can carry, else you shall get carried away! If there are women present, then that means dignity is never put aside. Granted, these were female anthromorphs, but the principal was the same, dammit! It was when they were about to start throwing in their clothing, that Mysterio drew the line and started to purposely lose a few rounds to keep them from going that far. As much as he liked using his magic hands-and cards! -he was still a gentleman, and wanted to ensure that if anything, he didn’t take away their dignity. That and he was certain that his two subordinates were about to start a war with how disgruntled they look at the first she-doggie who was willing to throw in her top and start a chain reaction with the others who lost most of their possessions. (He swore he saw Trixie’s mane begin to flare up and Tsavorite nearly burst her maw binding open at that!) It was after that they too joined in the game, and risked what little bits and accessories they had into the pot as well! Surely their master would go easy on either one of them and graciously grant them the winnings. Right?

By the time Bo and Runo came back, they were surprised to see the she-doggies, the dragoness, and the unicorn mare bereft of most of their golden accessories and money while Mysterio was trying his best not to look snide about his new collection of treasures.

“Sorry ladies, got gin again!” He held out his hand to show a straight from one to nine of clubs! “Looks like I’m keeping this pile of treasures! …Except for this one.”

He pulled out a golden ring from the pile and tossed it back at the female who was about to shed tears at its loss. “You dropped this in earlier, not thinking it would be lost. I’d be careful of that. A lesser man wouldn’t mind taking away a woman’s wedding ring, let alone a dog’s!”

“Thank you!” The she-doggie gratefully exclaimed as she hastened to put it back on her finger, never willing to part from it ever again. “I woulds never bets it away but-”

“Pride gets the better of us at times. It’s understandable.” He shrugged. Seeing the three Diamond Dogs return, he set his cards down and stood up from his seated position. “So, did you enjoy your talk?”

“We did.” Bo crossed her arms at the sight of the magician and his winnings. Unlike Norah who looked amazed at all the shiny objects he now had, she was not so impressed with how greedy it made him appear. “Seems you made out like a bandit.”

“Did I?” He then snapped his fingers. The pack looked about one another as each one whispered in surprise. All their accessories were returned to them, as if they were never taken! Tsavorite and Trixie were shocked at the shift in their misfortune as well for they too regained what they had bet and lost. All that remained front of Mysterio was a pile of golden coins that the she-doggies lost to him earlier in the game’s beginning rounds.

“All I seemed to win was this pile of loose change. Oh well!” He gathered the coins up into a sack, and recollected his cards as he up and walked away. “Better luck next time, I suppose.”

Tsavorite and Trixie hurried to catch up with him after their amazement settled down, leaving an astounded crowd behind that included a large Collie-mix and a toned-up Poodle blinking owlishly at the twist of their perceptions.

“You see what I mean? That one is shifty, tricky, but at the end of the day, he’s very nice!” Norah explained with childish matter-of-factness. After what she had experienced these past few days, she solidly believed Mysterio was a force she considered ‘good’, not ‘bad’ like other adults in her life seemed to suggest.

“I see.” Runo nodded as she noted how Mysterio performed. She would wish to hear the pack’s observations, but from what she could already discern was enough. He was indeed honorable, and powerful. Judging from the odd scent in the air, he had the entire pack enthralled at some point during their games. Perhaps that was how he could win games of chance, but it was difficult to say without experiencing it firsthand. It was definitely a clear sign he could have done more to them and didn’t because he chose not to. And that finalized her decision that this was indeed a worthy target who had caught the interest of her Alpha. “Before you go, Sorcerer, I have message to convey from my Alpha.”

Mysterio stopped as he heard Runo calling to him. ‘That’s right, as tough as Runo seems to appear among this group of Amazons, she is an understudy…so who is the main actress?’

He turned to face Runo, almost bumping into his other friends as he did so, but stood tall as he asked, “And what, pray tell, is that message?”

Bo looked nervous at the news that Runo had a message to give, while Norah looked eager to hear. Both had their own perceptions as to what it meant to be a subject of this Alpha’s attentions.

“My Alpha…My Malkia, who leads us of the Golden Nailed has heard about your skill. How you are magic user strong enough to control death and open Tartarus itself on whim. She has hunted the most ferocious beasts and slain the most menacing foes. And she has given me the honor of relaying her words.” She said with a hand to her breast in salute before her reverent look became a threatening smirk as she said, “Her words were thus, ‘Run fast, Death Master. You who has made this world more interesting. There are many who wants to chase you, but I want to be the one to catch you!’”

The Golden Nailed pack broke into a bout of laughter at the words of their Alpha conveyed to the one named Mysterio.

Norah looked excited at that! Her old Alpha thought Mysterio could make a good playmate!

Bo however looked even more worried. She knew how such a decree played out. She was once an more active member of Golden Nailed after all!

Tsavorite looked angered at this claim to her Master being like prey. Let her, or any other try to take her master! They would never get past her! Never again!

Trixie looked alarmed at the news, but developed a haughtier look as she reminded herself internally that her teacher was the best sorcerer she had ever seen!

It was hard to tell what expression Mysterio conveyed due to the nature of his helm being a round shiny object like a pearl. “And who is this, Malkia, who leads you all?”

Runo raised her arms and formed her large paws into a heart shape under her top. Doing so at first seemed to provocatively emphasize her bust, but it also highlighted another importantly detail of her person. That was the mark of a lion’s face with a golden paw layered over it on her chest. In an overwrought manner, she proclaimed the name of the one to which she served. The one whose mark graced her body as well as those of her clan sisters. “She is Zolotaya, Heir of the clan Kraven, whom we all bear her mark proudly knowing that we are her kin as she decreed it so!”

That pronouncement had quite the effect on the supposed ‘Death Master’.

Outside his expressionless helmet he confidently said to her, “Well tell your Alpha, I, Mysterio, hope she has legs strong enough to chase me, and arms strong enough to grasp me! For like the stars in the sky, I shine brightly, yet forever remain out of reach!”

But on the inside, he faintheartedly cried, ‘KRAVEN!!! As in Kraven the Hunter!? God Almighty! What am I going to do!?’

[}0{]

‘What am I going to do?’ Spike asked himself for what felt like the tenth time that day.

Growing up in Canterlot most of his life, Spike found a sense of ease wandering the city streets and castle as he did. Seeing some of the places he would walk by like the small shops and districts was refreshing. Donut Joe’s place was the highlight for the best sugar crystal donuts he so loved! He even got to swing by to see Night Light and Twilight Velvet to assure them that their daughter was all right and not panicking being away from the Royal Archives she used to trek daily. They shared a laugh at seeing that she now officially lived in a library! He couldn’t see Shinning as he was apparently away on some official business, but his parents promised to let him know he at least stopped by. All in all, it was a good break from his daily routine of being Twilight’s assistant and straightening out the books that she had the poor habit of letting stack up from her study sessions and other such tasks.

Of course, he still had his mission to complete. He didn’t just get this opportunity to visit the capitol and the castle on a whim, as much as he wished. Any other day he would eagerly hope to traverse to the castle of the Princess who practically raised him and Twilight when Velvet and Night were busy with their tasks as Archmagi. While he was meeting one of the two mother figures in his life, (Three depending on how he felt about Twilight that day), the matter of which they were meeting was outside a friendly visit. No, instead it was official business for the subject of their talks was a Mysterious figure whose unseen presence seemed to be causing ripples into their lives: Mysterio!

Spike had hoped that he would have a bundle of information to prepare into a report to Twilight that would take days to organize and provide him an excuse to extend his stay in Canterlot. Instead he found very little that could make up the length of one of his dictated letters to the Princess.

“So that’s all you know, your majesty?” Spike asked as he finished his quill strokes on the parchment. The two of them were sitting calmly at a table among the royal bookshelves he one spent a great deal perusing for Twilight when she stayed at the castle. Across from him however was not the purple unicorn, but her royal highness, Princess Celestia. She had put aside her Day Court duties for this nice break from her royal routine. Yet even coffee and cake (for he was one of the few who knew how she truly felt about tea) didn’t seem to lighten the discussion as much as she hoped it would.

“I’m afraid so, Spike.” The Alicorn sighed with a mug to sip as she composed herself. “I wish there was more that I could say, but honestly everything you see in that report is nothing more than the culmination of rumors.”

“I’ll say!” Spike perused the details again. Already it sounded like something from one of his comic books with how this figure seemed to be doing things he would never thought possible without the Princess’ doing. “Sounds like this Mysterio is pretty scary if he can really do all these things. Yet why are you going to tell me this stuff if I’m not even allowed to tell Twilight?”

And that was another thing that bothered him. Celestia warned him about writing what he discovered right away. Instead asked him to tell her later when she was back at home, and then decide if they should tell the rest of their friends.

“Spike, you know I trust her very much. As my student, she has had access to things that not just anypony, except those of the royal family had a right to. Why some might consider her, as well as you, practically my heirs. That alone is enough to make her a pony of interest.” And that was a big part of the problem. Mysterio might not be considered a threat to the crown, but he certainly might have already been guilty of assault against one of its prestigious representatives as well as other ponies of interest. “So far, the only ones that even know of Mysterio’s presence here in Equestria are myself, Luna, you, your friends, and a few of my most trusted officials. But the number that know of Twilight’s encounter with him is even less! Their reactions to that has me hesitant to even send a diplomatic party to him in case any of them were react poorly and trigger him into attacking. And before you say anything Spike, consider this: Not even Shinning knows about Mysterio’s misconduct to Twilight, and even I worry about what he would do if he found out!”

That stallion alone would get the moon for his sister if she asked and it would take Luna herself intervening to stop him in his crazy attempt. If word reached him of how Mysterio used mind magic on her, well, it was bad enough Colonel Harte Liebe knew. She didn’t need TWO highly ranked military officials with a quarrel against a sorcerer who could be a skittish ally.

“I guess that’s true. I can kinda see where you are coming from.” Spike nodded as he took a slice of cake more than Twilight would let him have had she been here. “So I guess I’ll just tell her when she picks me up at the train station that I may have gotten carried away with my free time that I just put off any reports about Mysterio to her.”

Wouldn’t be the first time he got lazy and put of his homework. Oh, Twilight would be annoyed, and might even give him extra chores and put off giving him his allowance, but he’d sacrifice a bit of his liberties if it meant keeping her safe a bit longer with what he could do to help.

“Still, that leaves me having to tell Twilight why I was unable to write to her as I was sent here on ‘official Royal Business’ and not supposed to be on vacation; let alone for a few more days than expected! I hope you can appreciate my sacrifice, your majesty! This means I won’t be getting my issues of Power Ponies this month!” the young drake bemoaned as he stared pointedly at her, hiding his mouth’s expression behind a cup. It was a very sly grin.

“Oh, my poor little drake! How will he ever survive?” Celestia held a similar expression behind her own cup as she bemoaned in a motherly fashion. Twilight might be Celestia’s ‘studious surrogate daughter’, but Spike was a ‘surrogate son’ to her more mischievous side. ‘“I’m sure Twilight will come to forgive you. There are worse things than being unable to write, after all!”

[}0{]

Back in Ponyville, Rarity was busy reading a novel of…passionate romance of the ages. She was enjoying a break from her daily workload of dress designing and decided to take it at the library. The unicorn figured it might be nice of her to do so considering the previous slumber party she ended up enjoying with her friends Twilight and Applejack. Applejack ironically had a similar idea for she too was there looking for books regarding agriculture and other harvesting tips. While both were seated, and appraising their topics, their third friend was not so relaxed as she was currently busy trying to do some sort of magic that judging by her annoyed grunts was not doing what she wanted.

“Land sakes! Is she still tryin’ to change that paper into some sort of ‘nother magical doohickey or what ‘sit?” Applejack asked as she watched Twilight end up burning a hole into another letter and going from annoyed, to now hastily trying to put the fire out on her desk with a telekinetically pulled flower vase. “That’s the third time she’s done that after rewriting the darn thing! Can’t she just warp it away and then call it a day?”

Rarity set her reading glasses off her nose with a huff as she too found Twilight’s magical mishaps too distracting to delve into her reading. And it was such a good part, too!

“If only! Sending things a great distance like Spikey-Wikey can takes an amazing amount of power, precision, and other factors that you must consider. Otherwise you end up destroying the object in the attempt, or misplace it somewhere on the route. Twilight seems to be a bit out of practice from such a form of magic if she is having this much trouble with it. I must say, she is acting like this is her only option for messaging without our dear drake around.” The unicorn knew why Twilight was so adamant to perform the technique. After she had written a Friendship Report for their party, she realized she had no direct line to send her mail besides Pegasus Post. Rather than use that method, or even wait for Spike’s return, she instead opted to try to warp the letter herself, only to have it burst into flames. It was humorous to see that night, but seeing her still fail with it now was not so funny. “That isn’t to say she can’t do it. It’s more like if you tried to plow those fields of yours after months of doing nothing but apple-bucking, darling. You end up not being used to not needing much strength at first for such a task.”

“Really? You mean Miss Student-of-the-Princess is just too strong to send a letter through magic? She can take on Nightmare Moon, set an Ursa into bedtime, and cast spells that were taught to her by our own ruler, but that?” Applejack was now trying her best not to break into a chuckling fit at saying it aloud. “Should I even point out that it’s not just letters that she’s having trouble with since Spike went on his trip?”

“Probably not!” Rarity giggled as she agreed that the two had enough fun at Twilight’s expense. “Twilight, darling, please just take a break. I miss Spike, too. However, this is not making it better.”

Still the purple unicorn was determined to send a letter to Spike as she prepared another piece of parchment and dipped a quill in ink. “But I know I can do it! I used to do this when he was sick or when Celestia and I took longer lessons outside the castle! Just one more attempt!”

“Now don’t that sound like Rainbow tryin’ to beat me in a cider competition! Twilight, before you go off and light your horn again, do you even remember what you were goin’ to ask Spike at this point?” Applejack questioned. Twilight was just about to write her letter again, but then actually considered her friends’ concerns and realized how distracted she was.

“Um...” Her ears lowered as she sheepishly lowered her quill. It occurred to her then that she barely had an inkling of what exactly she wanted to put into her letter now. Each attempt to create something became more frantic with her frustrations at failing what she considered a simple spell. “Well, I know part of it involves our friendship lesson…”

“And..?” The mares asked in unison.

“I get it! I shouldn’t let my worries and frustrations get the better of me.” Twilight groaned out at their smirking expressions. Still, she calmed down with appreciation at how they cared about her feelings. “I suppose this situation could be more serious than just missing Spike and realizing how much more I need him here. There are certainly worse things than being unable to write.”

[}0{]

“There are worser things than beings unable to writes, ya knows!”

“Pardon?” Ethan said as he turned towards the Diamond Dog at work, and very important work at that. For she was busy tinkering with the way to get them from Clutter Coulee, across the desert, and all the way back to Castle Wonder. Considering how busy the two of them were at their tasks, he was surprised to have the silence broken by her bringing up that topic of all things.

“I says there are worser things than beings unable to learns Doggie Script and Pony Talk.” Bo said as she pushed herself from under the object she was hard at work soldering bolts and tightening sprockets. Said object was raised above her by more chains with those strange magnetic ball bearings and gave her enough room to roll about its underside on a wheeled platform for her leisure. “For instance, not being taken seriously in your ideas just cause your paws are smallers than the dunderheaded diggers of your species.”

Ethan could only shrug at that personal anecdote. “True, but it still doesn’t change the fact that someone has messed with my head, Bo. Someone made it’s that I could survive, sure, but also that I would be limited on what I could learn and teach others. It’s beyond unnerving and insulting! Besides, look at yourself now! You’re clearly showing how wrong those dunderheads were about you!”

Bo seemed to take a bit of pride at that declaration. She deserved the praise of course for her hard work as it validated why Ethan had an urging to come here of all places. The other-worlder had come originally looking for a source of materials for what he needed to make. Yet it was through a vision from the mysterious being known as The Quidam and his brilliant stone that he was compelled find something here. At first, he thought it was to do what he did best with junkyards; recycling what others considered junk and making them into art. However, by spending more time at Clutter Coulee he found another truer reason: to acquire a machinist for his team!

And what could provide better proof of acquiring such a person than seeing her work on completing a side project years in the making, now with a renewed purpose to finish it! Here they were in a garage that Bo claimed as her main work space and Ethan could still hardly believe the surreal nature of what he was witnessing. For while the object looked a bit more old-fashioned than the ones he knew of back home, he could still be awed at the fact in this world of mythical creatures and magic, there was the equivalent of a Big Rig Truck being created and assembled. Bo may be a dog, but he was amazed at her skills and the time frame in which she could work with to essentially make a breakthrough in transportation with her ‘Pony-less carriage’. What would take probably weeks of factory labor was nearly completed in a couple of days thanks to her muscle grease, his helping hands and newfound smarts, and whatever power she seemed to hold over shaping metal with such ease!

“Diamond Dogs tend to be terrible at crafting things themselves. Oh yous still gets the ones who makes things and can dos a pretty nice jobs with it. But the most of them don't have the patience to work with their oversized paws to be artsy and creative.” Bo groaned as she reminisced about her people’s narrow-mindedness. “So when it comes to greaser work like fixing things it is left to the pet-ponies or the runts who don't have to be careful with their paws.”

She got up and grabbed more tools to continue with her tinkering as she prattled on her story. Ethan followed suite, paying close attention to this insight into the dog’s culture with rapt attention. It seemed the she-doggie was finding herself eager to have such an attentive pupil for she kept talking without any loss of speed or care to her task at hand.

“Lot of the time, I ended up having to go into tight spaces, or using pony tools to fix pipes and sprockets for whatever reason since I was considered only so useful as a pup. Turns out my small paws makes me great at tinkering!” She grinned before letting out a sigh. “It’s just too bads no dogs really cared abouts it.”

“No dogs at all?” Ethan dared to ask. He thought that a culture that seemed to emphasize gem collecting and pack behavior would appreciate a good tinkerer or two.

“Well there were a few who could appreciates it, but doggies in general don't think it would be easier to use fancy machines like ponies do. Like think of big digging machines for shinies; no dog would want something that big and cumbersome to maintain when they have a pair of big trusty paws for digging. Add the fact that I was a runt and a potential pack bitch with no named clan to back my barking, and you’ll find that my hobby was nothing more than a dream.” She laid back down on the roller platform and had a sad frown on her muzzle as she muttered, “Didn't help that there wasn’t much option to show it off in the pet shops.”

“I’m sure had you the opportunity you would have outshone any of the others there besides you!” Ethan tried to emphasize as he handed her a toolbox. Still he had to ask because there was still a detail that he couldn’t wrap his head around, “So what are these pet shops like?”

A few days ago, Bo would have avoided answering the question, or had even gotten mad and the Hyooman for daring to ask it. But considering what she did for her, especially regarding her regained paramour, she didn’t feel as dismayed at the inquiry.

“I’m sure ya’ll hyoomans probably haves them in your territory or at least something similar!” Bo nonchalantly replied from her low position as she got back to winding in the nuts and bolts. She may not feel as upset by it, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to dive into the topic.

‘Lady, you have no idea about my definition!’ Ethan thought as the logo for Petco appeared in his mind. He may never look at it the same way again if this was leading into what he was thinking. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’m not going to judge you based on what it could be. Unless maybe that’s why you let Norah put an explosive collar on Trixie despite claiming to hate slavery-”

The hardworking she-doggie banged her wrench against the side of the vehicle as she immediately barked out, “Her collars are not for ‘Slaves’! They are signs of ‘Pets’!”

“And there’s a difference?” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Bo. We’re comrades now! Enlighten me to the cultural ideals I am clearly ignorant of! What makes collars so important for Diamond Dogs that…”

Ethan stopped himself as he almost asked what he wanted to know, minus any sense of tact. Bo caught on to what wasn’t said nonetheless, and seemed to feel a hint of appreciation for him doing so. It was something she herself was worried about bringing up now that…HE…was back into her life. Needing a distraction, she decided to explain to Ethan why collars played such an important role in the ways of Diamond Dogs.

“Ponies gets these cutie marks when they come to find out their purpose in life.” Bo counted on her fingers as she went over her points. “Don’t have a clue what dragons or griffins gets. I knows minotaurs get nose rings, but Diamond Dogs don’t get things like that. We gets collars made for ourselves by ourselves.”

Ethan said nothing. Mentally he was taking note, despite seeming to be standing still as aboard. Bo continued knowing she had his full attention on her every word.

“Collars are not signs of ownership like brands! Collars show that you truly belong! That you are not strays, but a part of something with worth and value.” She grumbled. “At least, it does for the most part. You can thank the Bandit Age for losing that distinction to other species.”

Ah, the Bandit Age. Ignoring Norah’s wonderful adaptation to it, he guessed it could be the reason it seemed the Diamond Dogs lacked the cultural extent the ponies seemed to possess, based on what he perused in the castle library.

“So collars are like…licenses?” Ethan asked, thinking in terms of how they were used in his world. That was the closest he could think of at the top of his head. Bo scratched her muzzle as she considered this term, and found it would probably be the best one to use.

“Kind’ve. They can shows who is mated and who is family, but just having one is a sign that you are not nobody. You have a name! You have a life! A purpose! An existence! So long as you have that collar it is yours!” She rubbed at the spot on her belly where underneath her overalls that brand was certain to be. “Brands and marks are different. Those things tend to never go away and you’ll always carry it with you. You remembers this mark I showeds you?”

Ethan nodded. How could he forget considering she partially flashed him so that he could see it? “You mentioned that you didn’t just get it to look badass, as I recall.”

“What you don't know is that it actually covers up several others that I got over the years.” She grimaced as she recalled the number, but gained a bit more hopeful expression as she remembered the last one on top. “It’s a mark that Zolotaya herself wears as her promise that we of her pack are boundeds not just her, but she is bounds to us too! She placed her mark on me personally, and it shall be the last mark I will ever wears of that nature.”

“Sounds like it was quite the reprieve from a life of servitude.” He commented. “I mean you sound almost proud to have gotten it.”

“Hardly, but perhaps you will gets why.” She huffed, but saw the hyooman was attentive to her every word despite his commentary, so her story progressed. “In Diamond Dog values, slaves are weakest members on the doggie-pile who gets captured, sold, and traded around for all sorts of reasons by other packs; one of the better ones is to stock the pet shops. Pet shops are not like slave auctions. You are fed, groomed, and respected much better than slaves ever do! More importantly, you gets a way to gets adopted by customers. You may have to spend your time trying to show off your skills, or be entertainment, but then you have ways to become part of better packs who wants you and other chances.”

Sounds like Pet Shops weren’t as bad as he feared. Granted they probably were much worse than he could imagine in actual practice, but at least it sounded like they weren’t just bordellos. They kind’ve sounded like they could be open to hiring perhaps workers or bodyguards if the skills were sought after. But he was getting distracted and there was still more to hear.

“For a while, I was just tossed around, doing what a slave’s life dictates in my puppy days. But at least what I did kept Norah, who had not even been old enough to earn her name, safe and innocent. Eventually I ended up with her at a pet shop for a long time. Time enough that I grew into quite the pretty bitch despite my runtiness, and had a few admirers. One in particular, who you know, I missed very much and hoped would buy us…!” She spoke with pride, and self-respect. Ethan nodded as he was getting a good idea of her contexts so far. Not heavy in the risqué details, but it seemed Bo at least was making it sound like she was at least…better in her pet shop days with more opportunity. Especially considering her previous comment of having admirers, it sounded like there was a hopeful turn.

“But then it happened!” Or perhaps not based on how her pride seemed to dim.

“What did?” He had to ask. Bo seemed undecided as to how to address this next point. Not that it was embarrassing, but more like it would put her at a disadvantage to the sorcerer.

“You remember Norah’s story about how we Diamond Dogs are descendeds from Crunch the Rockdog?”

“How could I forget?” No seriously, how? That story was told through stuffed animals and Norah’s enthusiasm made it more…memorable to say the least.

“Well, there is more to it than that. Sometimes it shows up more than usual in his great-grandpups. Like with me, and with…him.”

Now this was an interesting detail! “How so?”

At this, Bo gave a genuine smirk, knowing she had the perfect opportunity to show up the powerful sorcerer at something even he probably could never do! She sat up in front of him, making sure to keep eye contact on her captive audience.

“Watch carefully now.” She said as she held out the wrench in her paw. At first, Ethan saw nothing out of the ordinary as she held it in her nails. Then, like a ripple in a pond, a shadowy tinge began to spread throughout the tool until in completely engrossed it. It became blackish gray with a brownish tint. Ethan was no geologist, but after seeing Bo dip the wrench into the toolbox and a having a bunch of nails and screws stuck to its surface was proof enough that she somehow turned it into some form of magnetite or similar mineral.

“How did you do that?” He asked with honest amazement as he looked forward to the answer. The explanation of what she did would also explain the magnetic prison cell and the binding that she could put Tsavorite and Trixie in!

“Some Diamond Dogs have such a connection to the earth that they can make other things into a certain kind of rock! The stone type I make seems to be pretty special because it can draw other metal to it, too!” Bo’s smile reformed into a sad glance as she recalled the rest of her tale. “But the way I founds out about it was a terrible thing.”

Before he could ask ‘How?’, her story continued at a much more furious pace as the tension built up the more memories she evoked.

“Back in my days in a pet shop, I woulds…do my business while Norah was safe and away from trouble. One day, a doggie thought he could get to Norah and have fun with her while his pack-mates were keeping me preoccupied. I could hear her yip in distress as they were about to corner her!” She barred her teeth at that, making herself look more than a bit ferocious as she recalled the feelings of absolute rage at those dogs. “I wanted these dogs dead for even thinkin’ about touching her! So I felt a deep instinct in me and mades it so he and his pals never could. Next thing I knew, they were statues that were drawn to each other like tingly metal, and shattered when they crashed together!”

She calmed herself down, which Ethan was more than thankful for, seeing that everything metal in the garage started to shake as if wanting to fly towards her!

“I was afraid I would be cast out, or worse, put down, but instead I was put for sale for a much higher price!” She looked at the wrench in her hand as focused on returning it to its normal state, before tossing it carelessly back into the toolbox. “I was traded around packs doing dirty work for rougher bosses until one pack I was a part of got the dumb idea of taking on one of the Big Bosses of the Diamond Dogs: The Golden Nailed. Of course, he got most of them killed and I was one of the few that was worth a damn. Their Alpha, Zolotaya, bought me and Norah as pets and eventually made us part of her pack.”

‘I’m guessing that’s the lead into her business with the Golden Nailed Pack and…Miss Kraven?’ He was still unsure what to make of that name being here, but that was a problem for a future issue, now wasn’t it? Right now, he was busy hearing an ally bear a bit more of her soul to him.

“But that’s all I will says for this story. The point is that I lived through quite a lot, and hoped Norah never understood what was really goings on arounds her. For the most part, she never seems to act like anything we were doing in our lives from when we were slaves to when we was pets was some sort of game; one in which we would wins better lives and wear pretty collars.” It took her a while, but she had a lot to say in hope to get the hyooman to understand her line of thinking. “So when I noticed her occasionally giving our workforce these collars she made…”

“You just hope it is a pup playing pirate with no idea what ‘pillaging’ actually means?” Ethan summarized with how he comprehended Bo’s feelings to why Norah’s collar giving wasn’t meant to be as corrupted a concept as it should have been. Bo perked up at his understanding.

“Yes! It’s like that! Anytime a drifter or such came by they did their work, and left when they met the debt. You can dig around if you don’t believe me, but not once did I ever think that these collars Norah passed out were explosive.” Her ears dropped as she moaned. “I should have known better.”

Ethan crossed his arms as he thought carefully on his next words to Bo. He still had his reservations to the ideas of ‘Pets’, ‘Slaves’, and ‘Identity’ that these collars seemed to signify. However, knowing that he personally felt that he had to keep his own cultural norms and standards somewhat secret to his friends, he felt that he barely had a right to judge them on their customs that were long ingrained into them. If anything, it wasn’t like she was defending them with pride. Rather, she was hoping she could forgive them for appearing comparatively vicious, yet sadly unchangeable.

“I suppose it’s understandable then. You only thought Norah was picking up on things with a child’s understanding, not realizing that she was learning more than you wanted.” That was a fair point to the she-doggie who had the unfortunate task of being the lone model of her younger sister’s behavior. He still was sure to ask, “So, nothing happened to your previous workers?”

“Nope! I made sure they left when the ponies or other deliveries came and gave them a ride to some dwelling places. Never heard from them again after, but they left here alive!” She nodded vigorously.

“I believe you.” Ethan nodded his assessment. “Norah however should change her behavior to collars though if we are to work together. She’ll also still have to ask Trixie to forgive her, but I don’t think it will be as bad as you think.”

Bo had to raise a brow at that admission. “No? Why not?”

“Because the bomb wouldn't have gone off had Trixie removed it. It only blew up because she found the detonator.” He recalled how Norah found the detonator and used it to explode the bomb as well as how the thing did not go off in the time she mentioned it would when he ripped it off. “Otherwise, why would she had made the effort to find it alongside the task I gave her?”

“So she is not such a bad dog?” Bo asked with a sense of renewed hope. To which Ethan chuckled a bit.

“Oh, she’s still a little scamp, but you can rest assured, you are doing a good job of keeping her from becoming bloodthirsty!” He then had another curious thought considering that the Diamond Dogs. “Now you bring up another question: what about your own collars? Judging by the ones I saw those ‘Golden gals’ wearing, you and Norah probably had some that were very fancy.”

“Oh, I still got them somewheres safe. Besides the chances of Norah losing hers, they would brings too much unwanted attentions. Considering who gave them to us, they are worth much more than the gold they are crafted from.” Bo shrugged, before gaining a devilish grin and posturing like a poster girl. “Besides, as if I needs more attentions given to my cleavage!”

Ethan snorted at that! “I’m sure your boyfriend will appreciate the lack of distraction.”

Bo giggled a bit at that, but the mood slowly died as the unasked question resurfaced between the two.

“So, he had a collar there?” The human finally decided to lead into the unaired topic.

“…Yes. He did. One that denoted him as a Knight of the Bone of Scone. One of our Big Boss Packs” Bo breathed out softly. “But now he doesn’t have that, nor…-sniff-…his bark.”

“How bad is it, Bo?” Ethan asked. “I mean, I can guess, but…”

“When a doggie’s collar is taken away, they lose everything with it: Their pack, their mate, their purpose, their identity; Everything! They are made to be nobody! Oh they can start from the bottom and possibly regains everything they hads except…-sniff-…” Tears were starting to trickle in her eyes and yet she still focused on finishing. “…When they are made barkless, they are marked for death! For even if they have the best digging claws, there ain’t no doggie who would trust one who can’t even barks for help if a tunnel collapses! Or bay at the moon to extol the dead! He can hides it, but if any packs know for sures, especially the Big Bosses…!”

Ethan patted her shoulder in soothing circles as she regained her focus, and stopped her tears.

“I gotta finish the motor carriage! I can always cry later when I’m halfway gone from here, right?” Bo quickly got herself back to work, feeling that she shown quite enough of her softer side today. Ethan nodded as he moved to help the she-doggie as best as he could, yet his thoughts still wandered to these recent events with a new insight as to what was going on.

‘Two lovers reunited, but only to discover one marked for death. And here I am to bear witness to this story.’ Ethan recalled just why this truck was made especially important. It was the parting phrase that Runo said as she and the pack of huntresses left. She whispered it to Bo, but it was told with him close enough by to hear it. Judging by the poodle’s knowing look, he was meant to hear it as well.

“Remember what I said, Sestra (4). Our Alpha gave you a bit of leeway when leaving, but that only goes so far over others who we see as prey. Still, I won’t tell her about your ‘vlyublennyy shchenok’ (5), for old time sake. Dosvedanya (6)!”

Just the way she looked at him was enough for him to understand that the one she referred to as prey wasn’t just him. Already it was clear that he was not on the best terms to start with for this pack and whatever good will he had was hanging by a bit of twine. Still, he made a motion to express a few more parting words and gifts he handed to her for Miss Kraven. Perhaps it was overtly reckless to do so, but the fact Bo now divulged such a great deal to him was proof that it was appreciated. Even if she didn’t, he felt he would have ended up doing the same. He always did have an issue with reacting heedlessly to how others that badmouthed himself or those in his care.

[}0{]

If there was a lesson he learned from all this, it was that there was an expansive truth to ‘No news is good news’. The incident in his dad’s shop was graced with how the hefty press and the prevalent news vans missed reporting it. Whatever sources that caught notice of the incident, seemed to bury it in the later pages and smaller segments of their chronicles. At least any solid facts didn’t reach much beyond blurry details and unsupported hearsay. Unfortunately, the rumors of what happened still spread their roots across the nearby people and reached the ears of his teenage peers.

It would have been one thing if he was receiving sympathy when he returned to school at summers end. He would have appreciated a never-ending tide of condolences and other students asking if he was ok. It would have been irksome, but understandable. Yet somehow by the end of his first week back, the rumor mill devolved into him becoming a potential threat to the entire student body! People started avoiding him when they didn’t have to encounter him. Those that did seemed to be metaphorically tiptoeing around him as if he had broken glass pouring out of his shoes. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, he just couldn’t get them to understand that yes, something bad happened to him, but he was still a good guy!

No one seemed to get this! Not the counselor he was ‘recommended’ to make appointments with, not his teachers, nor his acquaintances. He barely had what he considered friends, and they seemed to suddenly find excuses to sadly not have time to hangout or at least study with him. All it did add up to was the feeling of being choked by an unfeeling grip. It was pouring into a cycle that was making him sad, anxious, and standoffish to start off with. Now it was really eating away his tolerance for things and Ethan’s patience was thin enough as it was!

It finally came to a burst one day when a certain Robbie Cutherland said the wrong thing at the wrong time. For you see, he thought it would be quite hilarious to make an off collar joke about the owner of McIntyre’s Magnificent Merchandise not being much of a man if it took his wimp of a son to keep the place safe from thieves. Maybe there was more that he was about to say that would have made the others at his table laugh during lunch. Maybe not. There certainly was no laughter when that so-called football star found himself bleeding on the ground due to having a large biology textbook slamming his head into the table! And into the bench! And into the ground…repeatedly!

“You can say he’s a shitty magician, or that he can sell better stuff! I’d bring it up to his attention and he’d get better! But you call him less of a man because I pulled the trigger! THEN I’ll JUST HAVE TO WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR F*KING FACE YOU #!##!##!” Ethan roared with each pounding.

It took half the football team to retrain him and even then, they were unsure if it was shock at seeing the skinny armed nerd doing what he did, or that his anger made him that much stronger that their numbers were needed. Robbie wouldn’t be well enough to play another game for the rest of that year. Not just from his injuries, but from the shakes he would get whenever the crowd roared in his ears. Still his problems were small nuggets compared to the wide berth Ethan now got whenever he would step into the cafeteria and hallways.

It was hardly any surprise that despite being a hardworking and respectable student, he faced a few days’ suspension for that. To be honest, he was glad, because he was feeling a budding desperation to start ditching if it meant he would avoid the whispers and suspicious looks behind his steps. He expected his dad to punish him or berate him, but in a twist of events, he saw the older McIntyre was doing his best to hide the hint of pride at his son standing up for him again and showing he wasn’t as broken as he feared. He lost his privileges but he felt a bit happy at seeing that he gained a bit more respect. Still it was a harsh period in which young Ethan would learn to cherish those that would eventually stand with him despite being told he should be avoided at any cost.

[}0{]

He needed a break from the garage. The memories of his high school days weren’t something he wanted to sink into. Besides, it seemed Bo was taking some time to herself. The fact she was using her now unconcealed abilities over metal made the work go much faster, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he was holding her back by being there. Besides, he had other business to conduct in the meantime.

For instance, the young pup who was looking over a pile of miscellaneous items while trying not to question the other person at the table across from her: The ‘Barkless One’. He never gave a name in their conversation, nor would Bo reveal it. All he seemed to have to identify him was his swords. One of which he was cleaning while tempering its cracks with careful touch of his one nails. It seemed he too had similar powers to Bo’s powers (He should come up with a name for it, unless there was already one) for he started to trace intricate words and sybols on them, before going for more cartoony ones when he noticed Norah started to watch what he was doing. She giggled a bit at seeing a cat chasing after a mouse.

“What you got there, Norah? More loot?” Ethan asked as he stepped to the table and sat down with them. The two dogs barely seemed to notice him nearby until he greeted them.

“Just some shinies some pups I knews gave their mommas to pass on to me if they saw me.”

That threw him for a loop. Sure, he could tell some were married based on their reaction to that one who bet a ring, but also mothers? Not exactly something he would consider when facing them at the end of a spear or other pointier object.

“Looks like they must have missed you as much as you missed them.”

“I guess.” She didn’t sound that happy about that which both male figures noticed.

“Looks like you got something on your mind.” He sat next to her. “Want to talk about it?”

“It’s tricky.”

“Try me.”

“Well…you knows that me and Bo are sisters, but did you knows we don’t even knows what happened to the rest of our families?”

Ethan shook his head no.

“Bo and I don’t even share the same daddy!” She yipped out. “I mean, look at her, and look at me! She’s big and fluffy ‘cause her daddy’s a Bernard! I have no clue what mine was, other than he wanted me and my litter dead!”

‘Good grief!’ He thought, but his uncovered face said it all. The swords-doggie said nothing, not that he could, but his tightened grip on his blade was indication that he didn’t like that news either. Norah started to shed tears as she prattled on her woes.

“I have brothers and sisters that I have never met! Most of which are definitely gone for good! Yet now I can’t even have friends.” She started to cry, leaning into the other Diamond Dog for support.

“Can’t or won’t?” He interrupted.

“Huh?” The pup asked as she settled down. Even the older dog looked a bit confused at this question.

“You heard me. Can’t or won’t?” He spoke up, giving her a resolute eye, before settling down. He initially wanted to lecture her, but didn’t want to make her feel worse doing so. He certainly wasn’t that heartless yet. His stare therefore became more gentle, but still focused as he went on to expound to her. “I know in some ways, Bo is at fault for that. I won’t excuse her for that, other than to say she is clearly doing her best to take care of you. Yet Norah, that doesn’t excuse the fact that I’m certain that collar trick you did to Trixie isn’t the first time you did it.”

The swords-doggie tilted his head add that bit off information. Seeing his reaction to the tidbit, Norah immediately began to start defending her actions as any child would ought to do.

“But I knows what ponies like her always do! Trying to takes advantage of us cause we’re not as rough or mean like other doggies they’ll come across.” She defended. “They always thinks just cause we’re nice doggies we can’t be smarts enough to know when we are tricked, or not as special as they are. The same goes for Minotaurs, Griffins, and every other somethings! Besides, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything!” He explained further with a pointed finger on her nose. “If there is one lesson I can impart on a pup like you, it’s that no matter how others treat you, they will only judge you by how you treat them in return. Do nothing, and they may walk over you, but do too much and they might trample you underfoot! So, if you want to avoid a bad result, you got to treat them right. It may sound simple yet tricky, but it is what makes the difference in setting off another enemy, or making a new friend.”

“So what shoulds I do?”

“Well, you can start by saying you’re sorry. Not just saying it, but showing you mean it.” He quickly came up with a suggestion of how to do that. “I recommend showing it through a gift. That way she’ll know you aren’t just doing it ‘just because’.”

Norah thought about it, but the brightened look on her face, and her hurried pace out of there were good signs she knew just what to do now. That left Ethan alone with the swords-doggie who appeared somewhat bemused at what transpired in front of him.

“I know, she’s just a pup. That still is something I feel I needed to impart to her as we are all going to be stuck with each other for a while. Better to tell her how she can improve her friendships before she ends up making bitter rivalries with us all.” Ethan said while also considering, ‘That, and I think Trixie’s rivalry with Tsavorite for whatever reason is going to be distracting enough! No need to add Norah, and possibly Bo, and end up having an all-out civil despite between all of us.’

The dog relented in a bit of an unexpected manner as he held out one of his blades with the phrase {I understand} written on its surface.

“So you let your blades talk for you now?” Ethan had to hold back a grin at the idea of a warrior literally have his weapons do the talking for him.

{Faster for me than sand scribbles} The dog ‘said’ in another blade.

True. Ethan was impressed that his power allowed such a thing combined with his skilled control. Then again, perhaps the Dog’s language was easier to write with than his mind could perceive. Either way, he shrugged. “Fair enough. So how are you holding up?”

The Dog pondered before a moment before answering in two sides of a blade.

{I am fine. I am still alive. Bo and Norah alive too.}

He flipped it over.

{Bo is different. I am different. We are not same.}

“And?” He asked.

The swords-doggie wiped the blade before replying with,

{I still like Bo. Bo still like me.}

Another flip.

{What do you want?}

“Now that, is the big question!” Ethan thought carefully as he was not only lacking his Mysterio outfit at the moment, but the Doggie was looking as though the answer would determine what would cover his sword next: more words or blood. “What do I want? Well I assure you, I don’t want any harm to come to any of us. That is for certain.”

{Good. Not Enough though. Need More.}

He flipped it back to the previous question.

{What do you want?}

“I want you to understand, what I want is complex. I have trouble putting it into words. So, let me answer your question with another.” Ethan held out a hand and offered this to the swords-doggie, “How would you like to help me achieve a better world?”

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

(1) yes
(2) understood
(3) very good
(4) sister
(5) lovesick puppy
(6) Goodbye

{OMAKE}

Everyone was going to bed, and heading their own seperate ways. But two doggies where still lingering by the fire, alongside Ethan who was about to leave, but slowed his pace as he heard Bo start up her conversation.

“So, I knows I’m not the…well, willowy collie you used to know. Well I am, yet am nots…um, I means-! I still…fancy you…that for sure never changed.” She swayed in place like a schoolgirl confessing to her crush which was cute or funny depending on how you saw her larger frame acting so skittish. “I…understands if you don’t feel that way…it has been so long and I don’t blames you for expecting-!”

The swords-doggie began to come closer towards her, not breaking eye contact. Bo was nervous at how resolute he appeared as if there was something he had to do. Perhaps he was going to show her a sign for her to back off-!

-Scratchy! - -Scratchy! - -Scratchy! -

Bo stopped her worrying in stunned surprise before her eyes rolled back close as a blissful smile formed on her muzzle. The swords-doggie had leaned in close, reached behind her back, and was currently scratching behind her ears. The intimate distance he maintained and the smile he gave at her own pleased reaction was all the confirmation she needed that yes, this doggie still cared for her too! Thus, her own tail started wagging in glee at her heart being set a flutter.

Seeing this nice moment cause Ethan to recall something else they discussed in the magnetic cell.

“If you care about Bo as much as you do, then you have to show it with actions if you can’t express it with words!” He thrusted a clenched fist to his own breast in determination as he confidently proclaimed, “Trust me! You use this technique and she will be putty in your hands to mold as you see fit!”

He told the dog this as part of his discussion over the way Bo reacted to his silence. Apparently, he too was worried about how she would react to seeing him, a ‘Barkless’. He gave him a bit of a pep talk and gave him a tip about how to get a dog to know you cared for them. Granted, it was what he did with dogs back home, but it seemed to work here based on how Bo seemed to like it.

More importantly, the Barkless Swords-doggie appreciated the good advice based on how Bo had started to looked bashfully giddy before sweeping him into a deep hug. Before he left, he noted that the dog’s thumb was raised in a salute; one in which the human subtly returned.

On that night, Ethan knew without a doubt The Bro Code was truly universal!

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Bonus Issue-The More You Learn [Epilogue]-Stops Along the Way

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Issue 14-A Stranger Comes To Town [Part 1]

Perhaps the day would have been unremarkable.

It didn’t seem to even stick out to the ones who were traversing in such an unusual manner. Granted it might not seem unusual to see a moving vehicle to our own eyes, but here in such a place and with several factors involving the world, it was surprisingly intrusive to the status quo! Here was a big rig truck, albeit one that appeared less modern than our recollections, and it was pulling along a caravan of homely wagons through the trees. They were spaced widely enough for even it to get through. That made it one less obstacle to encounter unlike the plethora of others that one could find in the place known as Everfree Forest.

No, for that, there were a few individuals whose job it was to deal with ensuring the caravan made it safely on its trip. Bo was the one who built the main truck, and thusly was the one who could properly drive it. Norah, while eager to have an opportunity to play with her noisy toys, was mostly stuck inside the cabin she shared with her sister for her safety and Bo’s piece of mind. Trixie was using their journey to reacquaint herself with her lost wagon, repairing her outfits as best as she could, and dusting off her old act in hope of impressing her new teacher now that she had some of her old equipment at the ready. That left it mostly up to a dragoness with hungry flames, a Diamond Dog that could wield three swords at once, and a powerful sorcerer taking most of the shifts in which someone defended their means of transportation.

For the so-called sorcerer in question, it was a near cake walk compared to most of the things he had gone through since coming here. All he had to do was unleash a few clouds of his special mist or ‘summon’ a few frightful and powerful looking ‘summons’, and most of the predators would flee from their path. Then again, the methods of dealing with what the Everfree seemed to throw at them were easier for all of them to deal with. A few swipes from his swords made any beast back away in pain and converted any Timberwolf the swords-doggie came across into lumber. While most would advise against doing such a thing considering they had the abilities to fuse their pieces into a greater sized monster, it made them a bigger catch to the dragoness who would burn them with her plasmid breath and eat them. Ethan couldn’t help but notice how she discreetly asked the swords-doggie to keep attacking the bark created wolves to have them fuse. He would have found it funnier were it not the fact the last one they encountered was crying in fear as the dragoness kept chomping away at it bit by bit! He could swear that he saw her jaw unhinge a bit as she swallowed bigger chunks of it like a snake! He doubted he was the only one to see it, for Bo made certain that their dragon friend was well fed whenever they stopped to sleep, and Trixie was sure to have him sit between them as they ate.

“Another thing to put down besides the food. See about getting more info on Dragons.” He mumbled as he wrote that down.

“What's that you gots there, Boss Mysterio?” Norah asked as she hoped next to him. She had no trouble scurrying onto the roof he sat down on, and was certainly hoping that whatever he was up to would alleviate the boredom she had been building up on this road trip.

Ethan was dressed up in his armor of Mysterio and was trying to ‘meditate’(aka check the systems of his tech). However, he found himself done with that chore and now busy working some things out on a piece of parchment. Alongside a list of numbers and names was supplies he would consider acquiring. Norah wouldn’t know this however as she was unfamiliar with that ‘hyooman-script’ he was writing in.

“Well young Norah, I was just figuring out how much I need to repay your sister for what I owe her. Not just for the scrap, but other things I’ll need her help with to get done when we reach my residence. However, I realize that I still need to look into getting more supplies since I have more company than I was expecting coming over.” Mysterio, despite his heavy voice, gave a forlorn sigh as he told her his conclusion. “But to do that, it’s going to involve doing something I have been putting off for a while: Meeting the Ponies.”

She may have been a pup, but even she could understand what that sigh meant. It was the sigh a person gave when they had to go apologize for something bad they did. Hearing that Ponies were involved only further confirmed in her young doggie mind that there was going to be trouble with that incoming. “Sound like it’s bad. How bads can it be?”

“Remember what you did with Trixie?” He faced the young pup, who gave a nod. “Well some might say what I did to a few ponies I came across could be considered worse, despite what I meant by it had good intentions at the time.”

Seeing the look the pup was giving him, and recalling that this was the one who placed an explosive collar on his new apprentice as she worked her debts in Clutter Coulee, he hastened to correct himself. “That is to say, I memory wiped them because I was…worried they might tell someone who would think I was a bad guy without hearing me out.”

“But it doesn't matter what you meants by it because they thinks you dids it just to be bad. Like that thing you saids, right?” Norah tilted her head as she recalled the lesson the so-called sorcerer imparted to her.

“Exactly! But that doesn't excuse what I did.” He crossed his arms. “Still, there is the reason I have yet to properly introduce myself to other ponies and now I’m going to have to.”

“I understand!” Norah nodded her little head, knowing how difficult ponies could be. “How’d you says you're sorrys?”

“That's my biggest mistake, Norah. I have yet to properly apologize. You could say it is my biggest regret since coming here. It's why that's the thing on my to-do list above getting more supplies for my new guests.” He pointed to said act on the parchment before the tree line finally cleared. When they got through the last of them, he stood up as he caught sight of the thing they were heading for. “An item I’m going to have to soon correct since we have now arrived and you can perfectly see why ‘Castle Wonder’ needs help with someone of your sister’s caliber.”

Norah gaped in amazement at the large structure they were driving up to. It was a big castle! Bigger than any building she ever saw in her young life. It was made of stone, had stained glass windows, and large doors, towers, and-

And a large gaping hole as if a massive blast blew straight through it! It had plants and stuff blocking it like fixer-up tape, but it still looked like a thing from her fairytales and dreams! Sure it was rather junky, but it still was amazing in Norah’s eyes! It seemed Trixie and her Big Sis’ Darknut-friend were also impressed. They glanced here and there at the structure and were surprised at the castle’s existence.

“So this is your so called castle?” Bo asked with angered bafflement. She was certainly not impressed to say the least. All this talk of Mysterio being a castle lord and this was what he had to show for it? Some run-down wreck that barely had a ceiling over it? Sure, it was grand, but considering how much restoration it needed, who was going to do it? Her and her kind? Already she was feeling irked at another act of possible bamboozlement.

“I know, it’s a wreck. To be perfectly honest, I only recently acquired it. I haven’t been here in this land long to spruce it up that much.” He then tilted his head as he realized, “In fact, I think I have spent the longest portion of my stay here in this realm in your home, Bo!”

Good grief! Now that had them all surprised to hear, especially him as he said it aloud. Trixie nudged the dragoness to ask if that was true. Tsavorite frowned as she confirmed it after counting the days spent here in her head. She’d definitely had her own tasks to get done once they entered the doors to ensure her Master’s place was suitable indeed!

“That so?” Norah asked as she looked away from ‘Castle Wonder’. Unlike her Big Sis, she was amazed with the opportunity to be staying at a castle! It was like some of the stories she grew up listening to! Maybe she could be the princess of this story, except in real life because that would be awesome! “So how is this your castle then, Boss Mysterio?”

“Why? Because I found it and so far, none have come to dispute my claim to it!” He placed his hands on his sides in a rather smug stance. “I’m sure even a child such as yourself knows the saying, ‘One’s shelter is their fortress’ so here is where I took shelter, and therefore it became my fortress!”

“So ‘Finders Keepers’?” Norah asked with her understanding. Diamond Dogs certainly knew the ancient commandment well, especially due to it causing the Bandit Age to come about when Crunch—(Bless his Bark!)—was overthrown.

“Exactly!” He snapped his fingers as he reached for the main door to open and entreat his guests to enter. “Why I can walk right through this door and nothing bad would come about-”

=ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!=

He immediately slammed the door closed. If anyone could see his expression, it would be slack with owlishly blinking eyes. “Funny, I recall it having less Manticores before we left!”

He opened it again, slowly this time, and saw that yes, there were a great deal of the scorpion tailed lions in there. The reason they growled was clear as they were forming a protective circle around their cubs. They probably were concerned that something was entering their domain uninvited. But rather focus on that, he was more fixated on the striped female figure crouched upside down on a single staff in the middle of the chamber.

“Zecora?” He asked, getting the meditating mare to open her eyes and look at him. He certainly wasn’t expecting to come across her so soon, even less so surrounded by playful manticore cubs.

“Well as my ears seem to burn!” The zebra spoke up as she began to contort her body into preparing for a leap. “I see Mysterio decided to return!”

Well this certainly was a surprise! Mysterio greeted his past acquaintance with open arms. “Well, what are you doing here-?”

-POW!-

Zecora did leap from her perch on the staff she was balanced from. Yet her landing was not intended to be a soft one since it was purposely directed at the orb headed magician. He was knocked off his feet by the forceful blow of her hooves!

“I would apologize for striking you Mysterio.” She stood on top of him with a hoof holding him to the ground in dominant posture. “But I feel the reason is something you know.”

He just laid on the ground, not struggling for he had an inkling why the zebra felt the need to do it. “Let me guess…this is about my misconduct after ‘defeating the Red Drake’?”

“I warned you of what would happen if you were a threat-” She then looked over her shoulder as she raised an indignant eyebrow. “You’re not helping your case with these dogs you have met!”

The swords-doggie was previously standing next to Bo near the vehicle. Yet now in just a few moments, he proved he could easily get around the Zebra to raise a sword where her neck met her shoulder. It was an applaudable feat especially concerning that he didn’t seem to care that his actions where riling up the nearby manticores.

“He’s only doing it because you have yet to prove that you’re a friend. And I like to think a friend would at least hear one explain themselves before striking out.” He started yelling out to the Diamond Dog. “Sheathe your blade! No need for that! She’s not wrong to assume I deserve a good hit for the matter she refers to.”

The swords-doggie seemed to ignore that command. Not out of ignorance, but what he was seeing occur. The Zebra was subtle, but appeared to be gathering was looked like spiraling wind at her fingertips. How he wasn’t sure, but if she was about to unleash the gale-forced attack he was sensing, he would have to remove her head here and now. Such was his drive to ensure the safety of those he aligned with.

“He’s not going to stop.” Bo said as she was about to step in, preparing a paw with her magnetite ability. That is, until her little sis stepped in. By stepping in, of course, she did it by jumping onto the Zebra’s back, piggy-back style and leaned her head to look at Zecora in the eye.

“Please, ‘Stripey-lady’! Boss Mysterio isn’t a meanie! So I don’t think you need to be mean to him because he did somethings bad!” Norah barked as she gave her best ‘puppy-eyes’. It was an attack from direct range, and thus a hell of a lot more effective!

“I am willing to hear his reasons why.” Zecora stepped off Mysterio slowly as the Swords-doggie removed his blade and sheathed it. “If only to not make this puppy cry.”

“Thank you. I’ll try to keep it to the point, but first, let’s get everyone settled in.” Mysterio got back on his feet and dusted himself off. Giving a look around, he noted that his guest list he made earlier would now include a Zebra herbalist and a whole Manticore pride that he was more than familiar with. “Especially since it looks like we have quite the amount of catching up to do.”

“Indeed, we both have our own tales to tell.” Zecora looked at the new members of Mysterio’s Cabal. She also gave a stroke into an approaching Manticore, showing off how tame it and others acted around these individuals in Castle Wonder. “As it stands, it appears your numbers will swell.”

[}0{]

It didn’t take that long to get both sides up to speed. Zecora caught them up with her recollections of how she came here looking for the sorcerer only to find these manticores he apparently domesticated claiming the territory as their new home. So far they kept everything else in the Everfree away, and all they seemed to ask is that they get more fish. Mysterio found the idea a bit ironic, but certainly didn’t mind the stroke to his ego that it provided. However, he kept it in check as he told Zecora of the events that she was not privy to and happened beyond these castle walls: of the Battle for Clutter Coulee against the Desert Ash, of the Interruption of Leopardon, and how his fame seemed to be spreading to the point of reaching the ears of Golden Nailed. That last one seemed to catch her attention most of all because Zecora swore in words not even his mind could translate. Fortunately, whatever tension the two parties had was broken by these recounting of stories and now they were easing themselves into their new dwelling with renewed enthusiasm.

“Norah! Leave those cubs alone!” Bo barked out at the playful puppy. She was gathering luggage in hand and leading them to the stairs, but had to stop seeing that her Little Sis was finding her fellow tenants fun to roll around with.

“BUT THEY”RE SO FLUFFY! LIKE STUFFED PLUSHIES THAT REALLY PLAYS BACK WITH YOU!!” She exclaimed as she held one up into a nuzzle. Other cubs were nuzzling into her back as they all found this new pup in their den a great change in their routine. The ‘not-prey’ Zebra certainly never was willing to play with them this much.

“They could still poisons you! Ya get stung by one and guess what? Someone’ll have ta sucks out the poisons, and it’ll probably be me!”

Mysterio was amazed at how well his guests took to the fact his castle was apparently hosting a manticore pride. The swords-doggie kept a cool hand on his swords but seemed aloof to the adults who would come by and sniff him before moving along. Bo seemed to get a wider berth due not so much to her size, but rather that her barks established she was the pup’s parental figure. It might have given her a respectable glance from the pride females but if anything, the Diamond dog ignored them beyond ensuring they weren't going to pounce. Bo overall seemed unconcerned with the pride and only answering his question why with a quick scoff and how, “The manticores that came by the Golden Nailed Den were bigger than these kitties!”

That was certainly some food for thought! His other guests seemed to lack any fear at the sight of the animals after seeing how tame they were as well! Obviously, Tsavorite had nothing to worry about being a dragon. The manticores backed off as far as they could to give her space seeing as she was definitely higher in the food chain. Trixie was still a bit skittish, yet still amazed at how her teacher had the power to have not just one, but this whole pride see him as their owner. That still left him as apparently, the pet owner of all these cats for each of the adults to his surprise came up to him with a lowered head as if to be scratched and show their fealty. It drew his concerns as to if this was due to over exposure to his mist, or something else he did to domesticate them, but that was something to concern himself with later.

After scratching the head of a pride mother, and motioning her away, he noted how “Say Zecora, when is the next time you planned on going into town for some supplies?”

“…As soon as we settled our dispute I planned to go.” The zebra stated as she raised an eyebrow. “Why it matters to you, I wish to know?”

Mysterio just gestured around with his hand at his ‘entourage’ conveying that it wasn’t just Tsavorite and him anymore.

“As You can see, I’m hosting more guests than I expected to, and will need to gather some things to properly accommodate them. Definitely need to get some more food items, as cooking stuff we can make do with what we brought in the caravan. Still, I would need to get more and where would be better but a marketplace?” He folded his arms into his cloak as he faced her seriously in his domeed helm. “I recall you mention a pony town you occasionally traverse to for goods. So I ask you, Zecora, would you mind being my guide into town?”

Zecora had to contemplate that. Mysterio was not ignorant of her treatment having told him a bit of it before. Yet having her be the one to lead him to the ponies was a big gesture in many ways. That, and he himself would be meeting the ponies, which as he explained was something that he was more than hesitant to do.

“Of all the companions here to see, the one you pick to travel with is me?” Zecora asked.

He nodded his head, “It makes the most sense. Trixie seems hesitant to set into that nearby town for reasons that are her own. That leaves Tsavorite, but..”

A rumble echoed from the dragoness’ stomach, to which she embarrassingly blushed and apologized to everyone. A few manticores backed away as if afraid they might become the means to satiate it.

“I’d rather she properly sates herself in the treasure chamber than accompany us. No doubt bringing a dragoness who’s ‘got the rumblees’ would cause a panic to the town.” He’d laugh, but even he knew that wasn’t a joke to make considering who it involved. “Plus, the walk alone would give us a chance to discuss our own issues.”

“If only the choice made less sense.” Zecora sighed as she could find little to argue with. “I have nothing much to add to my defense.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Just prepare yourself and we’ll be on our way.” She relented with a groan under her breath. “Hopefully Ponyville will be ‘less empty’ today.”

“I got everything I need.” He pulled out a pouch that jingled with the winnings from his games with the Golden Nailed gals. Turning to Tsavorite, he charged her with keeping the order while he was away. “Tsavorite, I’m leaving you in command of things here while I’m gone. So how about heading to the treasure room and getting yourself settled while showing everyone what their future payments will look like after giving what we owe?”

“By your will, Master.” She bowed, while holding her eagerness in check. It wouldn’t be proper to express how delighted she was at the thoughts of being in charge and returning to her hoard. Nor lick her jaws at the future taste of gems and other treats. That wouldn’t be proper at all!

“Treasure chamber?” Norah yipped eagerly.

“It better be full of shinnies! I ain’t going to be rebuilding this pile of rubble for frees!” Bo grumbled.

Mysterio gave a wave of assurance. “Oh don’t worry about that, Bo. That’s going to be more of Trixie’s job.”

“WHAT?!” The unicorn shouted in alarm at that news. Her witch’s hat actual stood up into a straight point as she shouted her surprise.

The sorcerer merely shrugged. “You’re my apprentice. Are you surprised that I’m going to have you do some hard labor as part of your education’s cost?”

And with that he walked out of the castle. Leaving a group of smirking dogs and a dragoness at the sight of her gobsmacked expression.

[}0{]

The two figures walked the forest path in silence. Fortunately for them, nothing was impeding their way. Yet either one almost wished something would occur if only to break the monotony and lack of noise beyond the occasional natural chirps of birds and bugs. They needed a way to break the silence, and it came in the form of Mysterio nearly losing the list he was checking over in a bout of fog (not the type he conjured, but a natural haze that seemed to engulf them). Zecora thankfully caught it in a breeze that seemed to deliver it to her hand. Giving a quick glance, she found that she had no way of knowing what it said due to the script it was written in.

“Thank you.” Mysterio said as she handed it to him.

“Best to keep a better grip for we are nearing the town. Even though I do not know what is written down.” She nodded as she resumed her walk. Mysterio looked at the numbers, things to do, and items to gather. But there was still one other thing he was writing down that he felt he needed to let off his chest, especially before they stepped into this town of Ponies.

“Zecora. Are we still friends?” The Zebra stopped her pace at that question. Mysterio continued. “I’d understand if you said no. I doubt you would be after hearing what I did to those ponies, or told you I was capable of doing with everything you heard about Clutter Coulee.”

She said nothing and for a while he was afraid she was going to declare him her enemy. Instead she turned to him and with a serious glance spoke her mind.

“For what happened there and for why I would give you leeway. But if I said we were not, would that lead to your dismay?” She asked.

“Honestly, if you weren’t my friend, Zecora, I don’t know what I would do. And this goes beyond your knowledge and wisdom in the healing arts and living in this forest filled with danger.”

“Oh?” She leaned on her staff curious. “How so?”

“Well you’re someone I have placed my trust in. Not just for helping me to save Tsavorite’s life, but to know that you’re out here to keep me in check.” He gave a light chuckle at that as if the thought of a zebra coming to kill him if he turned out to be evil was funny. Perhaps it was. “If it came down to it, I don’t think you would hesitate to end me. Heck, I don’t think anyone would in this whole world.”

That deepened the frown on the zebra’s face. “That is not something you should say with such snide. It almost seems that thought fills you with pride.”

“Maybe it does. But even so, it feels more heavy with everyone I meet. Like take this list I was making before I was noting the things I needed to get.” He pointed out the section at the top, which if she could read had a list of names. They were divided into two categories with one being at least three times as long. “Here’s the people I’ve met, and wouldn’t you know it, it seems that most of them are prepared to treat me like a threat in one way or another. I’ve got fewer friends than I can confidently list, and the world appears to be turning into a force that wants to go after me.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. “So is this why you wished for me to come and chat? There is not much I can do about that.”

“No. If anything I wanted your opinion of how to approach things with the ponies. I know I’m going to need their help soon. I can feel it, especially since I’ve seen what other races can be like in this realm.” He recalled how messy things got with Desert Ash and how they could soon be worse with Golden Nailed possibly on their hunt for him. Even though he was victorious against something like the Red Drake, Leopardon, or the swords-doggie, he was becoming more dependent on luck to bail him out despite his clever plans. He knew he needed more that blind chance to keep himself going, or else he was in for a world of pain. “My home life may have been different, but I’ve been down this road before, and I can tell you that I don’t like where it stops. Clutter Coulee is just the start, and I get the feeling it’s going to get more twisted the further down the path I go.”

There was a deeper undertone to his words at that. Zecora could see it through Mysterio’s inflections and gestures. Even though his head was a glassy sphere, she could see he had a sorrowful expression in a manner of speaking. Yes, he was a character who may be crafty and had dark intentions, but in that moment, she couldn’t help but to feel a hint of pity for him.

“…My suspicions of your intentions have increased. But I can still say we are allies at least. Tsavorite seems well treated and fed. The others’ wellbeing is a good sign I read.” Zecora nodded her understanding. Surely if those who stuck close to him being in good states had to be proof that he was still good at heart, or at least not as malicious as she feared. “As for the ponies, I cannot speak in their stead. However, from here we must move carefully ahead.”

Mysterio felt a bit relieved that Zecora was giving him some benefit of the doubt. He would have work to do to solidify her trust, but at least she gave him a starting point. Yet his relief gave way to caution as he noticed his traveling companion removing her cloak and took out a bottle with some sort of oil or tonic inside. He hadn’t realized it, but under it she was wearing simple wraps like Tsavorite used to wear before taking to donning Bo’s hand-me-down overalls. She started to rub the mixture down her legs and other parts, and while Mysterio averted his gaze to give the mare some privacy at how…thorough she was massaging her bare skin with it, he couldn’t help but wonder why.

“What's ahead of us, Zecora?” He prepared a holo-cube as if to fling it at something that might jump out at him. As far as he could tell, there was nothing of note besides the flowery field a head of them. Could something live in them that was deadly like a snake?

“One of the most chaotic flora nature can invoke. For here is a field of the terrible Poison Joke!”

And that was when the sorcerer first saw the source of some of his life’s next escapades. If he only knew that such a beautiful flower would be capable of so much discord he might of made it his mission to burn every bulb he found.

[}0{]

Elsewhere, two other figures were trotting into Ponyville. But they were no mere visitors, but rather two of its newest in habitants. After what felt like months of waiting when it was merely days, Twilight Sparkle found herself trotting into town with a tired drake on her back.

“You know you're too old to be doing this, right?” She asked her returning number one assistant. Said assistant gave a lazy yawn.

“Sorry! I'm not the one who sent a letter about having to take the first train out of Canterlot in the morning.” He said as he looked over her shoulder. “Speaking of which, why did the letter smell like burnt toast-?”

Twilight immediately interrupted that question with the first thing she could think of, “Wow, what a gorgeous day!”

It seemed to work for Spike spoke out his agreement. Today's weather seemed especially nice with how clear the sky was and how not even one cloud seemed to block the sunshine.“Rainbow Dash must have gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away.”

“I bet all of Ponyville is going to be out enjoying the sunshine.” The Purple Unicorn smiled as the town came into view. Only, the moment it did there was something missing that made her a bit perturbed. “What? Where is everypony?”

Never had the town looked so empty. About this time the markets and stalls would be at least settled and getting customers. Yet not so much as a filly was seen on the roads or even the windows of buildings. What made it stranger was that whatever ponies they could briefly glimpse immediately shut their doirs and barred their window shutters. Spike had to ask if there was some reason he missed due to being out of town, “Is it some sort of pony holiday?”

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “Not that I know of.”

“Does my breath stink?” He gave a quick belch of flame to be sure, but nothing of note came from his whiff.

“Not more than usual.” Twilight tried to joke, but the silence and lack of other as the two strolled on was keeping her from feeling the humor.

Spike suddenly burst into panic as a thought suddenly came to him. “Is it... zombies?!”

The unicorn sighed as she couldn’t believe the notion would even be made. “Uh... not very likely.”

Spike didn’t like that choice of words at all! “Not likely... but possible?”

It was at this point they were passing by Sugar Cube Corner. The place’s interior was very dark and they thought that meant it was closed for the day. However, a familiar voice called out to the two quietly from the darkness.

“Psst! Twilight! Spike! Come here! Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!”

Before the two could say anything, a pair of pink hands popped out of the darkness and pulled them inside. Only one pony could do such a thing, and in just a moment of adjusting to the lack of light, only to get hit in the eyes with a flashlight’s beam, Twilight recognized her friend with the pink poofy mane.

Spike hastened to look about him, searching for this hidden female assailant. “Who?! The zombie pony?”

Pinkie Pie gasped in fear at the suggested threat. “Z-Zombie pony?!”

Twilight Sparkle had about enough of this confusion. “Spike! There are no zombie ponies. Pinkie, what are you doing here alone in the dark?”

Pinkie Pie huffed with her arms crossed. “I'm not alone in the dark.”

She gestured her flashlight around to emphasize her point. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Twilight saw that her party-loving friend was right! Surrounding them was Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and her little sister Apple Bloom. The owners of Sugar Cube corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake peeked carefully from the door that led to the kitchen. Seeing all these ponies suddenly appear in the shadows elicited a gasp from the unicorn who then asked, “-Gasp!- Okay then, what are you all doing here in the dark?

Applejack was the one to answer. The normally strong and tough mare sounded surprisingly nervous at how she pointed with a shaking finger out the window at the reason they were all hidden in the dark. “We're hidin' from her!”

The ponies gasped and hushed one another as Twilight looked outside to see what was out there. There in the middle of the street was a crouched and hooded figure digging in the ground for something. From what little she could see of her this figure seemed to have a darkened coat of fur and patterned stripes of their arms. A hint of golden jewelry was seen on one of their wrists. Before she could scan for further details, the figure perked up as if they realized they were being watched and turned her head towards them. The other mares hurried out of sight in fear, but Twilight caught sight of their eyes. She could swear they glowed with a yellow light!

Apple Bloom was the first to speak out their worry. The young filly was dressed in a simple green button up shirt and had blue jean shorts. Jumping on Spike’s back to get a better look at the purple unicorn as she hastily asked, “Did you see her Twilight? Did you see... Zecora?”

Applejack chided her sibling at saying her name aloud as if it was invoking an evil spirit! “Apple Bloom! I told you never to say that name.”

Twilight Sparkle merely shrugged. “Well, I saw her glance this way-”

Pinkie Pie popped next to her with a poke as if to correct her. “Glance evilly this way.”

“…And then a bunch of you flip out for no good reason.” Twilight Sparkle finished, not understanding what was going on.

Applejack seemed especially furious at that choice of words. She wrapped an arm tightly around Apple Bloom as she spoke out, “No good reason? You call protectin' yer kin no good reason? Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes.”

Apple Bloom was certainly shaking, but only because her strong big sister was ruffling her head and rocking her in her embrace. She could only dizzily defend herself with a simple, “Did not!”

Applejack seemed to not hear her, as she then placed her over her shoulder as if to illustrate her point. “So I swept her up and brought her here-”

Apple Bloom struggled out of her sisters grasp until she could get back onto the ground. “I walked here mayself!”

“For safe keepin'.”

Apple Bloom shook her head as she crossed her arms in annoyance. “Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!”

Applejack thought otherwise as she spoke with a stern look. “Not from that creepy Zecora.”

Fluttershy agreed. “She's mysterious.”

“Sinister.” Rainbow Dash gestured with her hands as she hovered in place above.

“And spoooooky!” Pinkie finished with a long howl.

Twilight Sparkle just groaned at this. Seeing that her friends had clearly lost it fearing one mare, she decided to look out the window again. Only, everyone decided to join her as she suddenly felt as if she was being pressed against the glass. Ignoring her discomfort, she saw that yes, this ‘Zecora’ person was still digging in the ground for something. At least, until she stopped and removed her hood and revealed more of her physical features that included a black and white striped mohawk (of all manestyles!), golden necklaces, earrings, and that her stripes were also upon her face as well.

Everyone but Twilight gasped in surprise at her reveal.

Twilight Sparkle let out a huff of annoyance at their reaction. “Will you cut that out?”

Rarity seemed a bit appalled at the mare’s appearance. “Just look at those stripes! So garish!”

Twilight Sparkle just looked at the rest of them with a confused eyebrow. “She's a zebra.”

Everyone but Twilight questioned aloud, “A what!?”

“A zebra, and her stripes aren't a fashion choice Rarity, they're what she was born with.” Twilight explained.

Rarity fainted. Apparently, the thought of being born with such a mane and coat was too much for the fashionista.

Applejack was the first to ask, “Born where? I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!”

Twilight Sparkle only shrugged, “Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a faraway land. But I've never seen her in Ponyville. Where does she live?”

Applejack shuddered as the others gave their own tells of being disturbed by what she had to say. “That's just it, she lives in... the Everfree Forest!”

-KaRash!-

A resounding crash that sounds like a thunderclap echoed into the room as everypony let out a startled shriek. Twilight found the source of the noise to not be weather induced, but instead be caused by a certain drake trying to sneak treats from the kitchen when nopony was looking. Only his efforts caused the equipment to scatter over the floor.

Twilight Sparkle huffed at her assistant’s lack of manners and courtesy at the act.“Spike!”

“Uh, sorry.” The drake looked sheepish, especially seeing the reactions of the owners of Sugar Cube Corner nearby. Carrot Cake had his wife, Cup Cake in a particularly tight embrace at the sudden noise.

“It's all right.” The plump blue mare with a cream-like red mane said as her started to pick up the scattered items. “Just be more careful dear.”

Seeing that the two ponies and drake were getting the kitchen back in order, Applejack continued her point, “The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow-”

Fluttershy added, “Animals care for themselves-”

Rainbow Dash flew in close, “And the clouds move-”

“All on their own!” The three mares finished saying together.

Once again, Rarity found herself fainting. Apparently the mare couldn’t handle their description so soon after Zecora’s revealed truth!

Pinkie Pie took this as the opportunity to bring up her own points to the conversation. “And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff! She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!”

Rainbow Dash groaned, as she knew how Pinkie’s songs tended to go. “Here we go...”

And thus the pink pony broke into quite the dance routine as she jumped onto a table and started to sing her song about the dark truths of Zecora:

She's an evil enchantress

She does evil dances

And if you look deep in her eyes

She'll put you in trances

Then what will she do?

She'll mix up an evil brew

Then she'll gobble you up

In a big tasty stew

Soooo... Watch out!

She huffed and puffed as she finished the song, and gazed to see the others’ reactions to her performance. A lot of blank stares of astonishment seemed to be the majority’s feedback.

Twilight Sparkle stood out from the others as she applauded ironically with a slow clap of her hands. “Wow. Catchy.”

Pinkie Pie merely shrugged, not getting the sarcasm. “It's a work in progress.”

The purple unicorn tried to bring their conversation back into a focused direction, “This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me; what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?”

Every mare pondered a bit before saying their pieces.

Rainbow Dash was first. “Well... Once a month, she comes into Ponyville.”

Twilight theatrically motioned her hands. “Oooooh.”

Rarity ignored her as she added, “Then, she lurks by the stores.”

Twilight Sparkle once again added dramatical sarcasm with a, “Oh, my.”

“And then, she…digs at the ground…!!!” Fluttershy started to say as she gazed out the window, only to have her eyes vividly widen by a greater margin at what she was seeing.

“Good gracious!” Twilight was losing her patience at this line of thought. It was just too ridiculous. As far as she could tell, Zecora hadn’t done a thing to warrant this much fear. “Okay, I'm sorry. But how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?”

Before anypony could go into more details of Zecora’s past incidents, Rainbow Dash noticed her fellow Pegasus was no longer facing the window. Instead, the yellow mare was seated in a corner, holding her head in her hands and looked as if she was terrified. “Fluttershy, what’s up?”

The other mares stopped and looked at their friend, seeing that she was certainly more distressed that she was a moment ago.

“Yes Darling, are you alright?” Rarity asked as she approached her. She knew a thing or two about fainting spells, so she could tell the poor mare was trying her best not to undergo one. “You’re looking awfully pale.”

Pinkie zoomed up right to her face as she looked her over, before proclaiming her official diagnosis to everyone. “It’s Zecora’s enchantress stare! She’s gotten to Fluttershy already!”

“No, it’s not that.” Spike noticed what had Fluttershy so entranced. Having finished helping to clean up the mess he made, and seeing Fluttershy look at something outside, he came to the conclusion that maybe it was something she saw that had her so shaken up. “So you girls say Zecora comes once a month, right?”

“Yeah, give or take a few days or so, why?” Applejack asked.

“Does she come alone?” The young drake asked as he pointed with a worried eye out the window. “Because there’s someone else walking up to her.”

“WHAT!?” The mares shouted in alarm as they all piled closer for a better look.

Zecora seemed to be saying something, but what it was they couldn't hear from their indoor location. Then again, even if they could read lips they would still find their attention drawn on the individual who was even stranger looking than the Zebra.

“Who’s that ghastly figure?” Rarity asked. His outfit seemed so fashionably abhorrent! Even with a pearl for a head, it didn't balance the clash of green and purple with strange etchings through it.

“Never seen him before!” Applejack declared knowing that she would recall seeing anyone looking as oddly out of place wandering Ponyville.

“You have.” Fluttershy quietly spoke as she hugged herself in an effort to prepare them for the bombshell to drop.

“Huh?” The other mares in her friend circle asked as one.

Twilight, being a well-educated mare didn't need much consideration to what the yellow pegasus meant.

“That’s-!” She started to say, but Fluttershy immediately nodded with a grimace that ceased her speaking process. Her mind immediately was reviewing a checklist for what she should do.

“Who is it?” Apple Bloom asked. The young filly has no idea who this was and even she knew about Zecora. Fluttershy answered her, as well as filling everypony else on who this stranger was.

“That person is somepon-…someone we’ve all met before. Someone who I don't think you'll be willing to treat nicely. But I still remember him from that shiny and round head to his billowing purple cloak.” Oh she knew today was taking a turn now that he had come back into their lives. With a breath she said the words that would make these already troubled mares even more jittery:

“That’s Mysterio!”

“THAT's HIM!!???” The mares exclaimed together.

Perhaps the day would have been unremarkable, were it not for the stranger who strolled into town.

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Author's Note

Not much to say here. Sorry this chapter came out later than I promised, but recent tragedy has hit my life. Rest assured, I am fine, just dealing with some stuff right now. Writing is trickier to do when you are sad, so updates will of course be slower. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter that will introduce the long awaited encounter I am sure you have all been wanting to see. So please, read, comment, and like, or do what you will.

Oh, as a notice, I'm thinking of updating my other stories as well and currently trying to make some more chapters. I wouldn't mind hearing some suggestions on them too. If anything, comments cheer me up a bit as it shows you you are willing to take time out of your day just to say something to me. Thanks, and have a wonderful day!

-The Quidam-

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Issue 15-A Stranger Comes To Town[Part 2]

Deep below in the secret halls of Wonder Castle lied a vast chamber that glimmered brightly despite its underground location. It wasn’t due to how well-lit it was, but how well its contents reflected the light source. For as far as the eye could see from a distance that must have reached over a larger field were troves and hills of treasure of all sorts! From chunks and coins of gold, to precious gemstones of all sizes were the major ingredient that composed these massive piles. And even then, there was still a plethora of all sorts of loot one could see in the mixtures. From armor, weapons, and important baubles of past civilizations, to what seemed more modern and timeless goods likes silks and whatever could lie in locked chests this place had it all!

And all of it was but a pale comparison to the one that stood proudly upon its tallest pile!

For while this chamber had such amazing contents, never had it hosted such a prevalent figure! It was a day that would go on in history! For the realm of Equestria would find that there was a new ruler amongst its ranks of royalty!

One who was the epitome of beauty, coolness, and all-around awesomeness!

One who would stand higher than even those overblown and overestimated pony princesses!

One who every species from the tall and the small would look at and say to themselves, ‘Oh! If only I could be half as cool or as pretty, then I could be happy, instead of sad that I'm not!’

And now that she stood proudly on this huge hill of shinies, she would begin her reign as ruler of this vast and glorious expanse-

“And it will be one of peace and pros-sper-ity! Starting now, it is now manda…manda…um, expected!- that everyone gives me first dibs to all the cookies, and at every meal time get rid of all the veggies especially that nasty broc-”

“Norah!” Bo’s voice echoed to her younger sibling and interrupting her fantastical rant. “What did I tells you about properly handling oneself arounds big loots?”

The pup ceased her dynamic declarations from the top of the pile of treasures at her Big Sis’ barking tone. Norah sighed as she lowered her tiara adorned head and wrapped her recently pilfered velvet cape around her with a huff. Sure, she may look like a princess, but even she had to follow the barks of her older sibling. Darn sibling code! “Never let those greedy thoughts go bumpings arounds in your head…”

“That’s right, and I woulds thinks you woulds remember it especially considering all the loot we were used to seeing backs with the Golden Nailed.” Bo nodded with her paws crossed. In those days, they saw plenty of treasure acquired by the pack. Especially gold considering Zolotaya’s way of ‘acquiring’ it!

“But Big Sis!” Norah pouted as she looked down at her sister with an eyebrow raised over her bullseye birthmark. “You're wearing more gold, silks, and shinies than I am!”

“…My point still stands!” Bo pointed while trying to lessen the glimmer of embarrassment radiating from her. Said paw that was pointing was adorned with all sorts of rings and bracelets of gold and fine gemstones. Yet that amount paled in comparison to the rest of the jewelry that was decorating her person. Her already heavy bosom alone was noticeably weighed down by the numerous necklaces and chokers she just HAD to try on to properly appraise! And what would be better to test it than some silks that must have come from Saddle Arabia. Although they looked a bit out of place on her with her overalls, she noticed the swords-doggie giving her shy glances when he wasn’t considering different blades he came across to see if they were any better than the three he carried. Seems there was another female Diamond Dog that was falling for the trap of being decorated like royalty. Regaining her senses, she stood by her words of admonishment. “Besides, it's a dragon’s hoard! And you better knows to never steal from a dragon!”

“It's all right. -Crunch!- I don't mind.” Said a voice full of substance being chowed down.

Tsavorite seemed to have mastered the art of talking with her mouth full. That or her companions had gotten used to understanding her since they arrived in the chamber. After a quick assurance that they could take their share so long as it was reasonable, she pretty much dove into her piles of gems and began sating a hunger that had been lingering in her since she originally left with Mysterio for Clutter Coulee. Sure, she was chomping them in a calm and collected manner, but considering that she hadn't stopped except when speaking more substantial words was clear evidence of her appetite.

“Trixie is surprised you are so generous.” The unicorn mare commented as she appraised another piece of jewelry to a growing collection that was brightening up her magician’s outfit. In truth, she really was especially considering how her apparent rival had no qualms with even her acquiring some accessories for herself. Accessories that might even help her further acquire a certain sorcerer’s attentions away from the dragoness. Which brought her mind back to her point! “Trixie would think you'd be especially greedy considering they are not just your source of food and pride, but Mysterio’s wealth!”

The green dragoness merely shrugged as she tossed a sizable sapphire into her maw and broke it down. “-Crunch!- Well, it is his to do as he wishes. -Gulp!- I merely eat my fill knowing that it’s because of him that I have it at all.”

Norah tilted her head as she voiced a question that had been in her head for some time. “That makes me want to ask, Tsavy. Why are yous so serious and stuff abouts Boss Mysterio?”

“Norah!” Bo chided. It wasn’t her place to ask a female, especially a dragoness, why she acted towards a male…even if it was Mysterio.

“What? It's true! Miss Tsavy is always acting like that around him, and even asks for the punishments when she's in troubles instead of hiding the evidence behind the shed and blaming Trixie-”

“What?!” Now that was news to the Border Collie-Mixed Diamond Dog!

“Trixie told you it wasn't her!” The unicorn fumed. Many times, she got blamed for the pup’s mishaps and now she haphazardly admitted it. It was even more annoying as said pup took no notice as they continued their line of questioning.

“So why is a dragoness so…” She rolled her enlarged paw around as she tried to come up with a good word for it. Her vocabulary was only so advanced at her young age after all. “I don't know, fiery?”

“You want to know?” Tsavorite asked as she stroked the horn on her nose in contemplation for how to answer. Her other hand was no longer reaching for nearby gems to gorge herself on. She ceased her eating, which was clear sign that she was taking this most seriously! When an answer came to her, she felt it would be best to build up to itso it could be fully understood. So she started off with the question. “What are dragons considered to Diamond Dogs and Ponies?”

“They are the biggest and strongest beasts in the world!” Norah answered with her arms eagerly spread as she answered. “They can breathes cool elements to attack, get mountains of shinies, and live pretty much forevers!”

Tsavorite nodded as it was an acceptable answer, and one she could she Bo and the other Diamond Dog agree with. Her gaze then turned to Trixie, who despite making a career out of it, seemed to be hesitant as it suddenly was her on the spot.

“W-well…Trixie knows they are creatures who are powerful as already stated, but that they are a species whose culture is mostly unknown to us ponies. Admittedly, we…haven’t had the best history with them—mostly because we were considered a food source, as well as other things for a time—BUT! They are creatures that certainly earned their reputation of power, wealth, and reputation for being dangerous foes if they choose to attack.”

Trixie nervously ran her hat trough her hands as she finished speaking. Sure, Tsavorite was a rival of hers, but even she didn’t want to bring up past grudges between their species into this debacle of theirs. In many ways, it would be crossing a line in her opinion.

Tsavorite seemed to take it in good stride, for she nodded her head in agreement to both of their points.

“You're not wrong. From birth, we dragons are taught that we are the mightiest beings this world has to offer. We are raised on the mentality that as such, we hold an even greater responsibility: For it is the strongest that govern the weak, and it is us that decides the fate of the rest. The ponies can claim governance to the seasons, weather, magic, and time of day. However, in the end, that is only because we allowed them to prosper for it is our world to do with as we please! Its landscapes are shaped by our will. The mountains are high because they support the skyline from which we reign and the deepest canyons are excavated so we may bathe in this worlds heart! Our bodies are reflections of the planet’s terrain; grand, elegant, and powerful! Our breath is the elements of this realm’s staple forces. Its treasures are ours to hoard and enjoy for We ARE Nature Incarnate!!” She gave out a vehement roar as she finished her proclamation. Seeing the startled reactions of her audience, such as Bo drawing Norah into a close embrace or the swords-doggie brandishing a drawn blade in defense, she immediately settled herself down and sheepishly turned her head and muttered. “At least that's what we're taught…”

“So how is it that somedragon like you can serves Boss Mysterio then?” Norah asked as she left her sister's grasp and eagerly came closer to hear the dragoness’ story finding it more amazing than frightening.

“When you're at the top of the proverbial mountain, young Norah, you have a long way to fall. And I had fallen to the bottom of a very tall mountain.” Tsavorite spoke in the most solemn of tones as she recalled a past she wished she could forget. “It was only through sheer luck I ended up here at the steps of this castle, disoriented, starved, and dying. The worse state for a being like me to be in. For everything would take advantage of my weakened state, if only for the pleasure and prestige of saying they were the one to end a dragon of all things.”

Her audience could feel her sorrow radiate with every word. Even Trixie, her rival felt empathy at imagining such a thing to the dragoness. Yet they all perked up as Tsavorite’s tone changed as she spoke of the next part.

“But he showed up, and even seeing me as a dragoness at their weakest he took me in and tried to save my life even when I too gave up on myself.” Her words were filled with a glimmer of hope, and more substantially, laced with adoration. Dare it be noted, the green dragoness was starting to get watery eyes as she admitted to them, “And it was there I made my realization.”

“What was it?” Trixie was the one to ask, feeling the only one who could dare interrupt the female’s speech.

“That he was stronger than me!” She spoke with a confident smile as she recalled the exact moment her master earned her devotion. “For only the strongest could do what he did and say when I was ready to give it all up for the last time!”

And she told them exactly what it was that occurred when she was at her lowest. Not only was it enough to convince them of her loyalty to the sorcerer, but it also showed them that no matter what was said, Mysterio was worth that praise that he had earned from her.

But that's a tale for another time.

[}0{]

As Tsavorite was speaking words of praise towards her master, said master was appraising a town he had been long hesitant to travel to. Had Mysterio been there in that treasure chamber with the rest, perhaps his spirits might have been lifted from the somber mood they had been dumped down in as he walked through the town. The good news is that his walk was unhindered like he originally feared it would be by some form of authority figures or scared townsfolk.

There was no angry mob to be sure. Instead, there was nearly nothing there.

Oh, there were buildings that looked homely and clear places for business. He saw a few stands that sold food goods and other things like a newspaper stand he was currently perusing for useful information. He even saw a library based in a tree that he wished he could visit, but its problem was like the rest of the place:

Not one pony citizen was present or out in the open the moment that Zebra walked into their town!

Zecora told him to wait, but he followed, hidden at first by his tech until he decided it was unnecessary, and he could now see why she was hesitant. Initially he feared he would see her mistreated like a ‘woman of color’ she sounded like from his kind. He hoped not, but seeing this town so barren with only the occasional peek of a citizen sneaking a glance in a shutter crack or door slightly ajar…? Maybe she wasn’t met with violence, but this certainly wasn’t a great alternative!

He didn’t know how to feel. Angry for what was clearly some form of discrimination towards someone he considered…well a friend…or perhaps sorrow at realizing that these people—albeit sentient bipedal ponies—were acting out of fear and not hate.

Although, the one feeling that stood out the most to balance both these sensations was annoyance, considering everywhere he walked, whether it was a shop or a stand, was closed despite it not even being close to sundown yet. Even the one newspaper stand he stood in front of with its convenient ‘Out to lunch!’-sign felt like a mockery to him.

“So much for small town hospitality.” His words bit out from his helmet’s speakers. He folded up the newspaper, finding it to be dull as he expected, but still what he needed. As he was about to take it, his eyes however caught the sight of something more to his tastes. Something he'd never imagined would be in a land of magical ponies and dragons!

The cover depicted what looked like a tall bipedal violet furred mare in a purple spandex outfit posed like a model for a shampoo ad. However, her long green mane seemed to have a dastardly mind of its own as it stretched and tied up six female superhero dressed mares in her curls like an octopus. Despite their furious and worried expressions, she maintained a look of crazed poise as if this was all a joke to her. It was impressive artwork worthy of a poster, but even that wasn't as eye catching to Ethan as the details the title presented.

“‘Power Ponies’ …by Marevel Comics!?” He swiped it off the rack and started flipping through the pages. After seeing that yes, it was in fact a comic book, he looked about the racks, hoping to find more. Finding only a few, he took them and the newspaper, and left a few gold coins on the counter with a muttered, “Keep the change...you animal.”

He put the reading material away, hoping it would be worth the trip into town he and Zecora made—Oh, who was he kidding? It was a bust with no real supplies to show for it! He had enough of this charade and deciding that his venture into pony territory had enough disappointments for one day, he walked to Zecora, hoping she had better luck.

It didn't look that way when he came across her on her knees, digging for something in the dirt.

“Zecora…what are you doing?” He just had to ask. He didn't know if this was a pony thing, a Zebra thing, or just her, but she was clearly not digging in dirt for fun. Her words spoken in a language his ears picked up as Swahili was a big enough clue.

“When I feel my heart grows hard to the pain, I ask for a blessing from a spirit of rain.” She answered simply as she continued her strides into the dirt.

Mysterio would have asked more, but he felt a spike of awareness hit his senses that took precedent!

It came from a nearby building with a most uncanny resemblance to cake. And not in the sense that it that it had a sugary paint job. It looked like he could rip off a piece of the wall and bite into it to enjoy some chocolatey goodness. It was certainly tone of the most eye-catching of the builds, next to the one he saw that looked like a Merry-go-round! The sign dubbed it ‘Sugarcube Corner’, but that wasn't what was the most interesting thing about it. No, instead it was the fact that out of all these places of business, it was the only one that still had a sign marked ‘Open’.

“You want anything, Zecora?” He asked as he began heading towards it. “Because I'm buying.”

[}0{]

“Wait! Why is he coming here?” Dash asked as she saw the sorcerer walking toward Sugarcube Corner. The other mares followed until they eyed the door. There was the sign that should have said it was closed. It did. Only the side that said ‘Closed’ was facing them!

“Pinkie?” Rarity asked with a nervous raised eyebrow. “Did you remember to change the sign like we suggested if Twilight came by and we let her in?”

“Well...I hung the sign so we would all know we were closed, but…I guess it says we're open the other way!” Pinkie shrugged as she didn’t quite get what the problem was.

“Pinkie!!” They harshly whispered at her. Seeing the mares found themselves that trouble was coming their way, and knowing a bit more about the one who might be bringing it, Spike was the one who took charge of the situation.

“Never mind that! Quick, in here!” He led them into the kitchen. Unfortunately Mrs. Cake—who was cleaning the previous mess Spike knocked over--found herself being pushed in as well to the near stampede of mares looking to hide in it. Her husband, Mr. Cake could only watch as this strange figure was walking closer to his store.

“No way! I say it’s time we get back at that fishbowl headed-!” Dash started to rant, but found herself being dragged into following the rest by Applejack.

“Any other day I might be agreeing with ya about bashing his head in, Dash! But I ain’t letting you start up somethin’ here with my sister possibly getting caught in the thick of it!” The orange farm mare said as she carried said Apple Bloom like a bussel of apples in one arm, while Rainbow was given the same treatment in another. Before she could protest, the blue Pegasus was given a numerous amount of shushing as the could all hear the echoing sound of footsteps stepping into the shop.

[}0{]

Mysterio walked in with all the class of a smooth desperado, expecting a myriad of faces to be looking at him the moment he passed through the threshold. Instead he only caught the briefest of glimpses of some back doors closing as a lone lanky stallion was left alone wiping the counter over a display case.

“W-well, what can I do for you…sir?” The stallion asked shakily as he leaned his counter top. He was appropriately yellow with a carrot colored mane of hair under a server hat, and looked every part of a sweets vendor. His name tag listed him as Carrot Cake, which Mysterio tried not to snort at. Leave it to a guy working at a confectionery having a name like that!

“…You have anything to drink on your menu?” He spoke out in a deep echoed voice as he stood in front of the stallion. Despite being a head taller, Carrot felt small in the presence of him. Oh, if only he was quicker to hide with the others! At least he hoped his dear sweet Cup would be safe among their hiding place. Hopefully, he could at least serve this stranger well enough to avoid getting on his bad side.

“W-well, we got milkshakes, root beer floats, different flavored milk-” Carrot started listing before the mysterious individual interrupted.

“Do you have lemonade?” He brusquely asked.

“Um…sure.” He walked to a pitcher behind him that served drinks. He was about to grab a cup, but felt he needed to ask, “You, err... want it…to go?”

Mysterio seemed flummoxed by the question before answering. “Yes, and I'll take two of your largest ones if you please.”

Carrot nodded as he took out what appeared to be two large traveling mugs. He was tempted to point out the extra charge, but considering who he felt he was dealing with, he was sure he and his wife could forgive the slight detail. “S-so, what brings…a fellow like you here, Mr…?”

“Mysterio.” The now named person introduced with a nod. “Just Mysterio if you please. And you could say I came here to…run a few errands. I’m sure you can understand.”

“Sure.” Carrot nodded, although he really didn’t. or rather, he didn’t want to consider what these ‘errands’ could be based on the hubbub Pinkie and her friends seem to make when seeing him in town. From what he could overhear, it didn’t sound too good.

Mysterio leaned against the counter nonchalantly as he waited for his drinks. “Pardon me for pointing it out, but your town seems rather…quiet. Not much going on around here.”

Carrot tried not to falter in his task of filling the drinks. “W-well, sometimes…that's just how it goes! Can't be lively all the time in a small town like this, you know?”

“True. Must be pretty dull around here without much going on.” Mysterio seemed to accept as he calmly tapped a finger in waiting. Carrot tried not to look too hard, especially noticing the disturbing fact he had an extra figure on each hand, but his strange head was even more unnerving. It was like a large eye gazing all about yet focused entirely on him. It didn't help that his tone of voice sounded like it was insinuating something more especially when he said, “Fortunately a gentle…stallion, like yourself has a loving wife to go home to.”

A series of gasping sounded from the kitchen with a cherry maned mare being the loudest.

Carrot nearly dropped the mugs at that. “How'd you-?”

He pointed to one of the pictures behind his shoulder. In it, there was his sweet Cup Cake and himself dressed for marriage and about to cut into their wedding cake. It was a proud moment, not just because he finally gotten married with the mare he loved most, but because even with the pressures of the wedding, he himself made that cake for her!

“Doesn't take a sorcerer of my skill to see that you got someone important to you.” He said as he was now fiddling with a pack of cards set in some game of solitaire; something he swore wasn't there on the counter a minute ago. “It would be truly terrible if anything bad happened around here, right?”

Carrot was trying not to panic, holding both mugs in front of him as if they were his only safeguard. “Uhhhh….ummmm…”

“Fortunately, good sir, you're the type who sees that business is just business and thus you keep your door open for customers and not just decide to change that…because say...a certain striped mare trotted into town.” Mysterio said with an oddly chipper tone that wasn't helped by his echoing vocals. “So, because of that, I think you're entitled to something.”

He swiped the cards off the counter, but left one that stood out from all the rest. It was a tarot looking thing with the words ‘THE MYSTERIO’ emblazoned on the bottom.

“I don't just give this out on a whim. But if you ever feel you need a favor, just consider giving me a call and... I’ll see what I can do for you. Good day, Carrot. Tell the Missus I hope she's well!” He turned with a flurry of his cloak and in but a second, he was gone!

Carrot looked towards his hands, and seeing that they no longer held mugs of lemonade but stacks of gold coins, finally felt he had too much today. And therefore he fainted in a pile of money marked with eyes and umbrellas!

“CARROT!” Cup finally had enough and rushed to her husband’s side, resting his head in her lap. The other mares and Spike however took off, seeing the pair of trouble makers leaving town and hoping to intercept them.

And in the chaos of that motion, no one noticed the young filly sneaking off on her own.

[}0{]

It wasn’t until they were near that field of Poison Joke that Mysterio heard Zecora speak. Sure, she held the travel mug of lemonade carefully in her hand, but did not take so much as a sip from it. Her mind seemed to be busy considering what to say on the matter, and now had finally settled on the words to address her fellow traveler with.

“I know you don’t care about what I think, but was what you did really worth these two drinks?” She asked as she gave a bitte

r glance his way. “Not once did I dare to even step near their doors, or while leaving payment take anything from their stores. Yet you have done more than both these things. Do you not care for the trouble it brings?”

“Zecora, I’ve seen trouble. I’ve caused it, and have received it plenty since coming here. If more is on its way because I decided to break the oppressive status quo, then it better be prepared to face the retaliation of the great-!”

“MYSTERIO!!” a collection of angry voices shouted behind him.

‘Oh, speak of the devil!’ he thought as he heard the voices of the last girls –besides a couple of ex’s—he ever wanted to meet again! Trying to maintain calm despite that aura of danger that was brushing his senses, he turned around, standing imposingly with his arms crossed, and asked them, “Can I help you?”

There, standing in different degrees of anger and disappointed expressions were the six mares he met after the debacle with the Red Drake. Some like the orange mare and blue Pegasus looked ready to physically punish him. The white and purple unicorns looked positively worried about seeing him. The pink one seemed to shake, but from excitement or fear he couldn’t really tell with her forced goofy grin. There was a new face amongst them, that being a young purple drake with green spikes. Already he stood out, but interestedly he stood defiant next to the two unicorns in a protective stance. Where it not for the fact he was obviously younger than them and only met a bit above their waist height, he would have been further impressed by his determination.

Yet the one face that seemed to stick out the most to him came from the yellow Pegasus. Out of all of them, she was the one he didn’t want to see the most. Not because she appeared to be the strongest, or the bravest. It was because even know he could feel a sense of kindness in her stare. Only now, it was painful because of how forlorn she seemed to emote to him with her sad disposition. It was the expression one got when someone you knew could see the sins crawling on your back. It was enough to draw him away from this emanating presence of danger, and instead lose his focus to the renewed sentiment of guilt he tried to forget when remembering how he tried to mind wipe them because of a foreboding hunch.

“Sure! You can stand still as I bash your head in!” Dash yelled as she readied her hands and got into a sprinter’s stance. This brought back Mysterio’s attention as he quickly tried to think up ways to avoid an upcoming attack.

“Wait, Dash! You can’t-!” Twilight tried to warn the blue rainbow maned Pegasus, only to have it go unheeded. In a blur, the cocky athlete rushed into a flying uppercut at the sorcerer.

Mysterio was no physicist. But even he knew that an object moving at such velocity would not only hurt, but possibly be enough to literally knock his block off! So, the moment an alert asked if he wanted to use an ‘Anti-decapitation technique’ he immediately whispered yes and hoped for the best.

-CLANG!-

-Thud!-

-Clunk!-

The resonant sound of something like a bell rang through the forest before the deep echoes of two somethings sounded off one after the other!

It was soon followed by a horrified scream of Pinkie who felt terrified at seeing a rounded sphere land not that far from her!

“W-what?” Dash only could stammer as she starred at her fist in horror at what she had done.

“Oh my…” Rarity barely had time to say before fainting into the arms of Spike. Any other time he might have been relishing the fact, but now he was struggling to hold her up as he himself was trying to pass out at the thought of seeing the now headless Mysterio on the floor. The other were dealing with similar feelings of shock. They expected any number of things to occur, from him teleporting away, to just ducking down. Not in a thousand years would they expect Rainbow Dash to hit him, let alone truncate him with a fatal blow!!

“You killed him!!” Fluttershy started to tear up. She never wanted this! It was what she feared most would happen! And now one of her friends would have blood on her hands forever!

“Probably for the best, Shy.” Applejack said as she went to comfort the poor Pegasus. Sure, she was disturbed a bit at what happened, but at least her sister wasn’t here to witness it, too! “Besides, it was quick, which was prob’ly more than that villainous sorcerer deserved.”

This was the wrong thing to say, as Zecora broke out of the spell that had frozen her in shock, and now had set her temper ablaze. It even started to be reflected in the sky above them as the clouds started to darken with an upcoming storm-front.

“How can you all possibly be so daring! To partake in death and be that uncaring!” She starred at the group so furiously that they could swear her eyes were beginning to glow. “I don’t care anymore about what led to your strife!! For even it can’t be that callous to disregard his life!!”

“I don’t know, Zecora. I think I deserved that one.”

Everyone stopped to stare at the round orb on the ground. Rarity got up in shock at hearing that voice, and Zecora cooled her anger into surprise. Even the developing storm ceased in surprise at the voice emitting from it!

“Of course, I think we should all try to keep our minds calm in all this. No reason for all of us to lose our heads here, right?”

“-Snrrk!-” The pink mare tried not to laugh, but she broke into a series of guffaws, much to the annoyance of her friends finding humor in the situation.

“Pinkie!”

“What? He’s a talking head! It’s a funny joke!” she shrugged.

“So glad someone is finding this amusing.” The head began to roll back around the mares. It was a bit unnerving to see how efficiently it moved until it reached its destination of Mysterio’s ‘’headless corpse’. Once there it rolled over him until it sunk back into place between his shoulders. From that point, the sorcerer just got up as if he had done nothing more than sporadically take a nap in the forest.

“Now, judging by how ready you were to murder me, I’m going to assume Miss Fluttershy caught you all up to speed.” He noted aloud. This caused many them to become shamefaced and lower their heads. Even the hot headed pegasus didn’t look as eager to fight.

However, it seemed the orange colored farmer looking mare wasn’t willing to back down. In fact, she seemed to be even angry at the fact he was able to get up from that strike. Already she was flexing into a punching stance as it appeared that she wanted a try at taking him out. “Oh cut the lyin’! We y’all know you’re nothing but a lying trickster using your dirty spell works on helpless ponies to do your bidding!”

“Helpless? Your friend just struck with a blow that would have killed a weaker man, and you’re currently showing quite the amount of muscle with how you’re readying that punch.” He pointed out. Both points were true. Especially the second, for he could tell that while she didn’t have the blue mare’s speed, she obviously made it up in might. “Besides, I seem to recall you were paid for your services to my servant. She says hi, by the way.”

Only Pinky seemed to perk up at that as she let out a friendly wave. The rest didn’t find that the least bit amusing.

“That’s still no excuse for the use of mind magic!” Rarity countered as she had gotten over. Pinkie stopped her happy greeting as was reminded what else Mysterio did to someone close to her.

“Yeah! Or what you did to Carrot. Cake! Even after he gave you lemonade!” Pinkie agreed as she stated her piece of mind. “I mean I didn’t want to think you were such a meanie considering that you took away that dragoness’ chance at having a party, but to threaten him with his wife, Cup-”

“Threaten!?” Mysterio angrily interrupted. Whatever argument that was in development was thrown aside by his angry tirade finally bubbling to the surface. “Threaten the one Stallion who would actually serve someone willing to pay him despite their treatment from his neighbors? Threaten the one who was willing to at least talk to me instead of hiding in their homes like a couple of monsters were on the loose? Threaten someone I could tell was but a moment from fainting but was still willing to endure knowing that what he held dear was dependable on him?”

He stopped with a few huffs as he saw that his words were reaching out to them. However, they all found his anger to be something to fear as they back away from him. Even Zecora, as upset as she was at him, found herself taking a step back at his furry. Seeing that this was the result of expressing his feelings, he recomposed himself and tried to finish in a calm, yet somewhat simmering conclusion.

“No, I didn’t threaten Carrot Cake, nor his wife. But I can definitely assure that I will threaten those that think they are better than them if ever asked!”

“Mysterio.”

In a very short amount of time she had been lashed with so many different emotions: fear, sorrow, guilt, and disbelief to name a few. Her heart felt conflicted on several levels at seeing this person encounter her and her friends again. Even now she felt confused as to what to say, and having all eyes turn to her wasn’t helping her confidence.

Still she voiced her question. “A-are we still that scary to you?”

For what felt long a frozen moment of time, the woods were silent. No one spoke a word. It was just six mares, and a young drake standing in a field of strange flowers as two strangers watched without so much as a word. Yet even the silence was broken as the one stranger with a spherical head had this to finally say.

“…You tell me. I'm not the one about to lynch a female just for wandering into your town, or was willing to kill me without so much as an introduction, now am I?” He said as a green mist seemed to seep into the place where he and Zecora stood. As it enshrouded them, he had this last thing to say. “Maybe it was better had we never met.”

And then they were gone as the mist dissipated away.

Fluttershy turned and began her walk home, not even noticing her friends stares at her depressed state.

“Fluttershy! Are you ok, darling?” Rarity asked.

The yellow Pegasus stopped her pace, but didn’t look towards the mares behind her. But even with her back turned towards them, they could feel her tear drops glisten down her cheeks as she spoke to them.

“He said his friend was mistreated by us ponies…because she wasn't as colorful.” She recalled what he said, but it was only when they stood next to each other she realized who he was speaking of. And even though she herself didn’t do anything extreme like other ponies, she wasn’t free of being a participant in her exclusion. “It should have been more obvious that it was Zecora he was talking about. She scares me and yet makes me sad in a similar way to him.”

And admitting it aloud was the final straw to get her to fly the rest of the way home with a speed that would have impressed Rainbow Dash, weren’t she and the others so focused on her words. In fact, they were so focused that none of them noticed the odd splotches that seemed to faintly glimmer on their skin. It was a similar shade to the flowers that were nearby. Nor did they notice the little figure that was watching from when Mysterio yelled, only to sneak after the two supposed trouble makers.

[}0{]

The two strangers walked until they found themselves on a road. The zebra of the pair was leading the two in silence. Mysstero was waiting for her to let out the emotions she was no doubt keeping tightly enclosed involving his ‘head game’. It was when Zecora noticed they were as far away from that group of frustrated mares saw it as the time to take out some frustrations of her own on her traveling companion.

“How dare you make it appear that you died!” Zecora angrily chastised him as they stood on a road. There was a near wetness in her eyes, but a definite fury as she smacked him repeatedly on his chest and stared directly into his dome. “Did you want to see how deeply I cried?”

“No!” He held her hands to stop her, but spoke gently and solemnly. “No, I didn’t want to do it as something mean. Yet, don’t you see why I didn’t?”

“Not once did you try to perform an attack. Even though you could have easily struck back.” She concluded after composing herself and clearing her eyes. “You tested them to see what they’d do. And how’d they react to learning the past sins of you.”

“And that was just six mares and a young drake. I’m sure the rest of the ponies would probably be just as welcoming to someone like me.” Mysterio sighed. Trying to get his mind off of the thought, he noticed the path they were taking was different than the one to the castle. For one thing, he would recall seeing these type of trees, especially so many planted in organized rows. “So where are we going now?”

“Whenever I go into town, but find nothing to bring back,” she looked pointedly at the destination she led them to. It was a big red barn on the edge of a wide expanse of apple trees. “I go seek supplies from the one named ‘Big Mac’.”

“Big Mac…?” He asked aloud, as if that would bring him from the ether.

“Eeyup.” A deep drawl answered. Turning to the fence, Mysterio found himself looking at an Earth Pony stallion. With a long shaggy yellow mane, and red fur he might have pulled of the presence of a simple farmer type. However, with the way his body was packed into a mere set of overalls, it could be seen that he let his form do most of the talking for him! He guessed he matched Runo in height, and possibly musculature. Heck, he was willing to consider him the pony version of Piotr/Colossus without the metal coat. All he was doing was leaning there, and he already looked like an action hero.

“Big Mac, the stallion of the hour. I need your help for my day is sour!” Zecora approached him and explained her situation. “The ponies of the town once again left us in the dust. Not once did they find us able to trust.”

Mysterio wasn’t really paying attention to the rest of the words Zecora was saying. No insult meant to her of course, but his focus was on the stallion. That red horse-like being had been staring him down like a sheriff starring at a black hatted desperado. Yet it wasn’t just some angled look of mistrust. It didn’t help that something about him seemed…familiar.

“I know it’s not often I come by to stay. But just seeing you still makes my day.”

‘Wait what?’ Mysterio looked now to see the stallion was not as focused on him, but the zebra woman leaning into him. She was like a tall, strong bodied woman, but next to Big Mac she seemed more a shorter love-struck maiden.

‘Is she…flirting?’ He thought as he saw how close she was getting to the stallion. Not just her gestures, but her inflections. Dare he say it, but this was clearly the acts of a woman in a well rooted relationship.

“…And so we come to you with nowhere else to go.” Zecora finally reached the end of her explanation. Now bringing attention to her traveling companion she gestured towards him and said, “So may I introduce to you-”

“Mysterio.” The red stallion said, getting up. No longer did he seem to be as calm around Zecora. In fact, with the slow but purposeful strides he was taking towards them—more specifically him—he felt another fight was about to brew.

“Wait a moment! Haven’t we met before?” He asked trying to start a more diplomatic approach with possibly the strongest looking stallion he ever saw. And one he recognized as the bringer of the carts for Tsavorite’s treasure.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded as he reached into his overall’s main chest pocket and pulled out a familiar bag that jingled before putting it back.

“I thought you looked familiar…” he was trying to figure out why he seemed angry albeit subtle in his display. He was predominately stone-faced. Yet he hadn’t felt this level of anger at him since seeing the expression of-

It then occurred to them the similarities of those two. Both of them were the earth pony type. Both having body shaped by lots of physical work. Both having an obvious farm background.

“...Let me guess. That orange mare in the hat is your sister?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded.

Mysterio huffed, but lowered whatever defenses he had prepared for what was coming. “Then all I asked is that you don’t aim bellow the belt. I know the code, and I know what I did goes against it, so I know you’re entitled to one.”

Big Mac nodded solemnly as he spoke one curt, “Eeyup!”

-POW!!-

-Crinkle!!-

-Shoom!!-

And it was with that a great impact, followed by a shattering sound of glass echoed through the orchard until a loud thud resounded as a tree was impacted by a fast-moving object. Said object being a sorcerer who was previously a few meters from it!

“Big Mac, what the Buck!? That sounded like thunder struck!” Zecora shouted at the red stallion. “Whatever did he do to evoke, an attack from you so unprovoked!?”

Said Stallion looked surprised at seeing her concern, but before he could so much as answer, a voice called out to them.

“N-n-nothing I…didn’t deserve…” said a pained voice that sounded like it came from a much younger male.

The two equines were surprised at the figure slowly approaching them. Despite the damage to his armor—which was immense!—he tried to maintain a sense of dignity as he looked them in the eyes. Albeit, one of them was swollen shut. Yet that was the thing that stood out the most!

Up until this point, Zecora never saw Mysterio unmasked. But now that she had, it changed her whole outlook on him.

He had no fur anywhere besides a light amount on top of his head and above his eyes. His skin was a pale tannish hue. His eyes—or rather eye—seemed to hint at a glimmer of green despite being mostly brown. Yet the thing that stood out the most was his age. Mysterio had a voice of an adult who was grown into his role with wisdom and experience. Yet he looked not much older than a colt that had begun their journey into adult. Why Big Mac himself considered his face to put him around the age of his own sister, Applejack, if not a bit younger!

“So tell me, Mac…do you feel better?” He asked as he stood plainly before them, holding the shattered remains of his helmet under his arm like a knight coming from a siege.

“…Nope.” Big Mac plainly responded. Maybe it was seeing If anything he felt worse.

He broke into laughter, albeit it greatly painful from the gasps he gave out.

“Well, then I can’t help you there. I can only be your punching bag, not your doctor!” He laughed some more, only with a more definite sputter. Suddenly he began to falter forward, but Mac was there to catch him before he fell unconscious.

The stallion remained quiet. For he had a lot to consider, especially with this unmasked being he held carefully. He walked to the barn, with Zecora following his stride. Even her face was held in silent contemplation. No doubt the same thing caused him to react as similarly as him now.

Finally, as they were reaching his barn and placing the injured…whatever he was on some hay, he found the need to ask Zecora the question, “Did you know…?”

“I ask that you accept my plea! I swear this was not known to me!” She practically shouted. Already she was doing what first aid she could perform with what poultices she kept on her. Seeing Big Mac express his understanding with a calm hand to her shoulder, she leaned into him seeking comfort for the shock of their discovery. “I expected him to be like an older colt, not some other being that is barely an adult!”

“Eeyup.” Macintosh agreed. He expected to give some evil long-lived magic user a good whooping should they ever meet again. Not just for his sister, but for what their kind had done to the Apple Family. But seeing that it was some pale skinned creature who probably not old enough to understand much of life here left his mind muddled. It also caused certain thoughts to come back to him.

‘So he’s not like her…’ Macintosh thought as he recalled another terrible sorcerer. One that had a similar level of fur in their features, but a more wicked ability. One that even now he would never forgive. But as he held Zecora a bit closer, he honestly wished he could forget.

As for Zecora, she was currently noticing how Mysterio’s wounds slowly, but surely were beginning to disappear.

[}0{]

Ethan wasn’t surprised to find himself in that green room again once his eyes closed. At this point, he was certain it was a fact of life. The sun rose up, the moon had phases, and Mysterio would be sent to this green room whenever he was unconscious. He had accepted it. Yet he still found himself surprised this time. Unlike other times, he was the only one at the table for once. The mysterious headless was not anywhere to be seen.

“Hello!” He called out again as he wandered around the library like setting. Yet he found nothing or no one. With a sigh, he placed his hands in his pockets, as he tried to figure out what to do. It was through doing that he discovered something in his left. “What’s this?”

He found an envelope addressed to him. Without much choice to the alternative, he opened it and read the letter inside. It said:

Dear Ethan,

Sorry I couldn’t make it today. Something came up. Yes. Surprisingly I do still have other things to do besides playing mentor to you. Quite a lot in fact! But that’s neither here, nor there, but somewhere else entirely!

Rest assured that if you are reading this, then your body is recovering from whatever trauma that has been inflicted upon it. My power is doing what it will to ensure it. The same for your costume. So no worries on the what, but definitely do not question the why and how. I’d explain further, but even on paper that knowledge could provide a danger to you if it leaked into your memory. Keep in mind this is a realm of YOUR MIND that you think you’re standing in. Emphasis on the word, ‘think’.

Which also reminds me!

Do not open that door with the latches! You’ll know it when you see it, so don’t ask me to describe it, because again…dangerous thinking there! Just remember to ignore it. Especially when you hear the knocking!

Take head. We will certainly meet again. You have a habit of coming here after all.

Sincerely,

The Quidam

P. S.

Remember, It Comes At Night!

-Thoom!- -Thoom!-

A resounding series of knocks sounded off in the distance. Ethan of course, just had to follow the sound past the bookshelves and down a few hallways. He tried not to pay too much attention to how he was getting there because occasionally he would realize that he was technically doing something impossible. Like walking on a ceiling, or suddenly walking past a mirror which was previously an adjacent threshold. Were it not a dream, he would think he was going mad, or at least high on something.

-Thoom!- -Thoom!-

Finally, he found the door. Ominously it stood at the end of a long hallway, covered in latches and chains to the point of being considered cartoonish. It was a blue door, but not just any blue. It was the same blue that matched The Quidam’s bowler hat! Before he could so much as take a step into the hallway, he heard a voice come from behind him.

“Time to wake up, Ethan!”

[}0{]

Wake up he did. Ethan woke up to still dressed up as Mysterio. However, his armor was intact! Waking up he came to find himself looking at a familiar HUD screen from a helmet he recalled being shattered by the force of Big Mac’s punch. Speaking of which, the stallion was nowhere to be found.

Taking inventory of his surroundings, he saw he was lying down on a mat in some sort of hut. Looking at the choice of décor with some African tribal looking masks, he concluded that he must be in Zecora’s home. Said Zebra walked into the room with a tray of drinks, with one holding a straw.

“At last you are awake!” She said as she handed him the drink. “Here is an elixir to take.”

“Thanks.” He said as the port on his helmet opened for the straw. Taking a sip, he found the concoction to take like fizzy soda and cough medicine. Still, medicine was medicine. “I’m guessing we are in your home…?”

“Take it easy as you just begun to arise.” Zecora took his cup and quickly added what looked like tea leaves to it. Mixing them before handing it back, she also added, “Macintosh says tomorrow to expect your supplies.”

Well now that was good news!

“Well that’s surprising, but I appreciate it. Tell him I said thank you when you see him again.” Seeing Zecora nod, he gently sat himself up. “I’m guessing he brought me here.”

“The two of us found it best, that you lie down here and get some rest. We searched but could find no broken bone. As for your armor, it healed on its own.” Zecora sounded impressed by that, albeit there was a hint of curiosity in her tone.

“Well, it’s made of a very special magic. At least that’s what the person who originally crafted hinted at. Still, I don’t think I’m going to be getting into any fights soon. Especially with Big Mac.” Looking around, Mysterio found no sign of the stallion anywhere. “Speaking of which, where is he?”

“He left for home some time back. He deeply regrets his attack.” Zecora looked especially solemn with this statement. No doubt as an effect of all they had been through today. “He did say that you would understand, why you felt such a blow from his hand.”

“Believe me, he still on the good side of my list. He at least was kind enough not to leave me nearly dead in a ditch. If anything, I’m sorry to see that his sister is not so welcoming.” He said as he got ready to sip through the straw again. This time guzzling more liquid as he felt his annoyance return as he recollected that part of the day.

“Don’t be, for I too worry about the day she finally gets wise.” Zecora wearily sighed, before developing a smirk. “She’d realize me and her brother share the friendship of the thighs!”

-SPPPPPPSSSHHHH!!-

The inside of Mysterio’s helmet could was a wet watery mess in the light. Perhaps taking a drink while wearing the helmet wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“-Cough-That was –cough- something I didn’t –cough- need to hear!” He choked out as he took it off to catch his breath. As he set it aside, he found the zebra woman closely inspecting his face like a physician.

“Sorry, for my usage of that particular trick. But your helm needed removal to ensure you’re not sick.” She held his head gently as she found no signs of injury. Even his eye which was swollen looked clear and unblemished. If anything, he looked healthy as far as whatever he was.

‘Right, it would probably try to prevent her from removing it.’ He thought as he tried to remain still. It was tricky though considering how close into his personal space she was getting. So he tried to lesson her focus a bit without telling her to shove off or something rude. “So, you and Big Mac…? Are you…courting?”

That stopped her inspection. Slowly she shuddered, until she broke into a soft pitter of laughter.

“We are, albeit in secret, and have had wonderful dates.” She had a bit of a bashful expression now, one that he had never seen on the tough and wise being. Yet it was gone too soon as she let out a sad huff as she admitted, “Although, my dear Macintosh is wishing I’d agree for us to be Mates.”

That threw him off. Granted he knew very little of these two, and had not much of a stand point, but from that news it sounded they might be at that peak of their relationship. So why the sad face? “Well, what’s the issue? You seem to really enjoy his company. He seems honest about his feelings. I mean, I’ve only known him for less than a day, yet I can tell he truly cares for you, Zecora.”

Zecora shook her head as she stood up and gestured towards herself. She wasn’t wearing her cloak, but her more tribal looking apparel. Thus she had her stripes plain to see as if they were a prisoner’s uniform. At least it seemed that way as she actually got slightly watery eyes as she proclaimed,

“Look at me, Mysterio, and what do you see? Do you see a mare that would be accepted in the Apple’s family tree?” She then looked furious, and yet saddened as she raised her voice. “Even if I agreed with all my heart, I fear the town’s prejudices would tear us apart. Why, think of what would happen if they started glare, at that stallion who regularly bucks the enchantress mare!”

“I see.” He did! Ethan really did. He was there in the square, watching how she was ostracized like a monster. He saw how she walked amongst the stores, only to find no one willing to help her. It was horrific to see, but hearing this friend of his finding it further into her life was beyond terrible! Even though he knew she had a stallion who loved her and willing to stand by her, he felt bad knowing she refused to put what good she had going for her at risk. It was a concept he knew all too well on a personal level, but there was nothing he felt he could do now. “I wish I could help you, but it seems I can barely help myself these days.”

That was all he could say on the matter. Zecora knew it was true on multiple angles. Still, she found some solace in knowing that at least there was someone who she could relate to on the issue.

“It helps realizing how my feelings are not mine alone. Still, it is time that you should go home.” Zecora said with an honest smile forming on her face. “I appreciate you sticking up for my strife. Too few do that these days of my life.”

“I hear that!” In his helm Mysterio grinned back. He pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “So, how about the two of us promise to not be strangers to each other as our own personal rebellion against the world?”

Zecora looked upon the card, marked with Mysterio’s personal Arcana. Before she could attempt any reply, there was a bright spectacle of light, and the sorcerer was gone!

All she could do was shake her head at seeing the magic user leave in such a way. “I wonder if this will be your trend? To make a person suspicious of you into a friend.”

But she stopped suddenly as her eyes caught a glimmer of something on the mat. At first, she thought it was dust, possibly left over from Mysterio’s scuffle. Except it was leaving splotches on the places where he lied. Blue splotches! She carefully took some to her fingers and sniffed. Immediately recognizing it, she took a potion off her shelf and started rubbing it on herself!

“Oh dear! This I fear!” She muttered hurriedly as she started to recount ingredients she knew she would need for what was coming. “I must start getting the cure in gear! For friend Mysterio’s day is about to turn queer!”

Oh, things were about to take a turn once he arrived at his home!

[}0{]

Back in Castle Wonder, Mysterio found himself standing in the foyer. Looking at the pillar he appeared near, he gazed at the crack. Hidden there was one of his ‘Mysterio Arcana’ cards. Seeing it there and seeing that he was now here next to it excited him!

‘It worked!’ he cheered inwardly. He was back in his lair! The Quidam explained when making the totems that they weren’t just tools of communication, but also other things such as travel. With that, he now had certain benefits available to him. One such benefit was that he could now travel to wherever he placed his totems. Thus, he now had the beginnings of a ‘warp network’ in the works ready to exploit.

“Master, you’ve returned!” Tsavorite’s voice echoed as his attention was drawn on the cast of figures excited to see him. Apparently, he came in a puff of smoke due to the blue wisps he saw lingering and the few individuals still coughing. That and he had interrupted some sort of meeting in the foyer with his entrance. The surprised reactions of Bo and the swordsdoggie—with one having a metallic encased paw ready to punch and the other a sword drawn to his shoulder ready to strike—were enough to convey that he was not expected to show up in such a manner. Fortunately, they held back when they realized their benefactor was the unexpected stranger in their midst. Thankfully there weren’t any manticores nearby for whatever reason! No idea what a room full of those would do if startled.

“Indeed I have.” He greeted cordially as they all greeted him in their own manner. The two dogs looked particularly apologetic, but he gave a nod of understanding to indicate he took no insult. Not like it was the first time today.

“How was your trip?” Trixie asked with a hint of worry.

“It was…eventful.” He concluded. He didn’t want to go into details, but instead decided to tell them the positives of his trip. “I’ve arranged supplies to come our way on the morrow. While this is good, I’m afraid it means we’ll have to settle on someone cooking us food using the supplies we came with again. Sorry if that means you’ll be cooking for us again, Bo. I shall lend a hand if you need it, though.”

Bo seemed to perk up a bit as if about to accept his offer, but then decided against it. “It’s fine. I don’t minds. Besides, I’ve gots the helps I needs.”

The swords-doggie nodded as he followed the lead of the female Diamond Dog heading towards the caravan. Norah soon followed their strides.

“Yeah, I can helps, too! No problems!” The pup yipped as she added. “After all, it’s not like we can’t do it!”

‘Well that was nice.’ He thought as he saw them go out. Granted, it probably had to do with them nearly attacking him on sight here, but still that was very nice. He had to make sure they were paid well for their services. Speaking of payment. “By the way, Trixie. I notice you have some new trinkets with you since I last saw. I’m guessing Tsavorite shared some of her treasures with you?”

“Um…yes, amongst other things.” She had a bashful glimmer to her face as she took Mysterio’s compliment at the jewelry and accessories she placed on her person. All of a sudden, she found a reason to hurry out of the room. “Trixie should go help them with dinner! That way it’s not all…meaty this time!”

Now Mysterio knew something was up! Seeing even Trixie leave as well to help, he couldn’t help but to ask his draconic subordinate, “Did something happen while I was gone?”

Tsavorite looked a bit sheepish, but answered him, “I told them how we met. It seems they took my words to heart and caught a gleam of the person you are, Master.”

That was vague, and yet could be taken the wrong way at worst.

“And what person is that, Tsavorite?” He asked as he walked towards the stairwell. His dragoness friend following his strides. “What image did you impart to them?”

She preened at this inquiry. It was like being asked to describe your favorite person for a class. Maybe it was, because she sounded so heartfelt as she said, “That you are strong and just. Yet even more than that, you are one who would truly put himself before any of us and thus deserve to be placed above us. And it’s with that I hope they reach the same realization that I have.”

“What realization?”

“Everything in this world belongs to you.” The dragoness said with all the cheerful seriousness as a person decreeing their hero was the best one.

‘…What!?’ His mind went blank at that sentence. He had to have heard it wrong. With a hand tightening on the remains of a handrail. “Could you repeat that?”

“You saved the life of someone who most would leave to die if out of pride or kill just for the prestige that came from their corpse. A being that is considered to most to be the embodiment of all that this world should offer. It is a testament of your will and where you stand. Thus, you have proven to stand even higher than few can already tread.” She took a knee and placed a solemn hand over her heart as she finished. “Therefore, there can only be one truth that could be said: Everything in this world belongs to you!”

…Honestly, he had no idea where to even begin with that he was so mind boggled. It was with a scrambled thought process that the first thing to come out of his mouth was, “…Even you?”

‘Especially me.’ Tsavorite wanted to say, but instead spoke. “As I said once before, my life is to do with as you would choose.”

Ok, he really should have stopped this right now. But the outright shock going through his head, mixed in with all the stressed experiences of today alone caused an extremely inappropriate reaction to come from him: laughter.

“So…haha!...everything in this world is mine?” he stuttered out as he let out guffaw after guffaw! “Oh how I wish it were true!!”

Tsavorite didn’t get the joke that her master found so hilarious. Nevertheless, she stayed attentive as his words sunk into a more distressed and grief-stricken tone.

“Why if this world was truly mine, then think about the changes I would have to implement for it! I would make it a place where all this sense of exclusivity and oppressiveness would no longer permeate the air wherever I walked. A place where everyone could feel welcome no matter what they were or what they believed in compared to their fortunate fellows. No more treating those different like plague carriers and monsters! No more struggles for the so called forsaken races, which by the way seem to only be that way because of the privileged one! A world where it can truly be a magical and colorful place to live instead of some sick ironic joke coating its surface!!” He seethed as he caught his breath. Such a ramble was only enhanced by how his speakers made it sound so vicious. Yet, maybe that is how he felt considering what he had seen today. Seeing that he left his familiar confident kneeling at the stairs and he himself was entering a hallway, he settled his speech with, “Such a wonderful thought. Maybe I’ll dream about it.”

He had enough ‘excitement’ for today. That and grogginess was starting to take hold on him. He didn’t even care if he missed dinner. He just wanted to get to bed and pretend this day was over! Perhaps tomorrow would be better? Hopefully it would be! So, with a way, he bid his servant, “Goodnight Tsavorite!”

The dragoness watched carefully her master make his way through the hall. No doubt to retire for the evening. However, he left her with quite a lot to consider. Especially his wishes!

“So…you do wish to make this world your own to change this world for the better?” She whispered to herself as she hardened her decision to follow such inspiring ambition. “Then your wish will be granted!”

She stood up and hurried to her associates to tell them the discovery the castle lord gave her. They just had to know! Yet, if only she wasn’t so enthralled with the news she had to give, she might have taken notice of the scales she unknowingly shed.

Scales that were blotched with bluish spots!

[}0{]

'What a shitty way to end a shitty day!' Ethan thought as he tried to set himself into the old master bedroom he claimed as his own. Say what you will of pony royalty, but they had stuff that despite smelling musty, was still comfortable to lay in even after all this time. Yet even lying on his back, he found himself in that odd state of being to tired to be active, and too awake to be tired. He didn't even want to check out those new comics he got considering the background as to how he 'acquired' them related to his shitty day. Thus, he was just lying there outside of his armor in a simple shirt and boxers, counting the stars painted in the ceiling’s sky motif. He was on 137 when he heard what sounded like a pop come from where his armor was placed aside.

Glancing over to it he saw a small box land on the floor next to his carefully placed adornments, having materialized from seemingly nowhere. At first he was alarmed, but a smile found his face as he recognized the familiar 'The Apple' branding on the side. Getting out of bed to pick up the small cardboard cube he quickly unfolded a note taped to the top.

~Hey Gumball! Hope you're still alive!

My Trixie here on this side found a few spares of these in her stuff and after hearing the plight of the one on your side, she wanted me to send one to Norah. I guess she's trying to help make things a little easier for her by instilling a bit more affection between the two, even if just by indirect proxy... or maybe just wants more people to love her no matter the dimension, I can never really tell with her. She also had me put another one in for your Trixie (I don't think I need to explain why with their egos) as well as something “For repairs or replacement”, it’ll make more sense when you see it- just be careful with the minimization charm she put on it; it can really hurt if it’s pointed the wrong way when it wears off… trust me…

The last thing was insisted upon by, well... if you ever get to know her you’ll understand.

Try not to die out there!

Maze

(oh and don't worry, this is all written in English so they shouldn't be able to understand any of it)~

Shaking his head Ethan opened the box with a smirk and found what looked like a pair of stuffed Trixie dolls, complete with hats and capes and one bearing a small tag: 'Stay classy Norah! From: Maze'. They were not only remarkably soft but also seemed rather well made; they wouldn't be falling apart anytime soon. Next to that was a roll of fabric with the same color and design of the magician mare’s hat and cape, shining light on the 'For Repairs' note. Trixie's hat and cape did seem to get beat up a lot. Finally, under those he spotted a small pink pastry box with ‘FOR EVERYPONY! -P’ in eccentric handwriting on its lid. He cracked it open to take a peak and was immediately hit with the smell of frosting… as well as a handful of confetti that exploded out with the sound of a party horn. After shaking off the shock and colorful paper he could now see half a dozen colorfully decorated cupcakes within, somehow untouched by said confetti thankfully.

“Well, I not everything strange coming my way is bad after all.” Ethan said, as he placed the stuff carefully into the ‘apple’ box as best as he could. Looks like he would be heading to the meal after all, if just to share these goodies with his…friends. Yes! They were his friends! So he shouldn’t keep them waiting! He hurried to throw some basic clothes instead of his Mysterio outfit. It was just a dinner amongst friends so no need to be overtly dressed this time.

“And it looks like I was able to procure some dessert! Thanks Maize. Well, here’s hoping this will be the start of a calmer and less crazy day come morning.” He commented as he took a bite of his cupcake to test it. “Huh? Peanut butter and chocolate? Not bad!”

Little did he know that he would be eating those words after he and his friends ate those cupcakes. For come morning each would find themselves facing a change for the strange!

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

[}0{]

Omake: The Decree of the Master

Ethan had been doing whatever he could to save this…well creature was too cruel a term…and woman didn’t fit either…Female! He’ll go with that! But today seemed especially bad. For a while she seemed coherent enough to at least eat was food he could crush well enough for her to swallow and drink what liquid he could procure in a cup. Now he was using all his CPR certification to save her due to her having seemed to stop breathing!

‘And to think, getting certified for a role that they didn't call me back on ending up saving some flying lizard woman! That or I'm reliving the trauma of that incident in GraphiCon I swore to never speak of!’ He mentally chattered as he pounded harder onto her chest with his fists. He tried not to worry if he was hitting too hard considering it felt like her scales could take the blows of a sledgehammer, let alone his human hands. If anything, he was more worried about not being strong enough! Well that, and the fact he was going to have to try another method to get her to restart breathing!

“I swear to whatever god you may or may not believe in, you'd better not die after this! I didn't risk you possibly ripping my face off just to have you give up now!” He shouted as he opened her maw and started to add in air with his own lips. He’d worry about contaminants and possible faux pas later! Right now he was just trying to get her to stay with him in this strange world of wolfish trees and scorpion-lions.

Finally, after a few huffs, he heard the slow, soft, yet steady pattern of breathing from her once more. Making sure it she was in steady enough condition to be left to her own devices, he sat down in a chair next to the bed and let out a sigh of relief followed by an ironic laugh.

“I don’t know if you are even capable of understanding me. I don’t even know why I’m so desperate to save you.” He shook his head as he decided to leave the room with one last look to the dragon-woman’s resting form. “But I’d like to think it’s because if the opportunity arose…if I was so willing to risk my life to save yours…then maybe…you’d be willing to do the same.”

And he left it at that. He had his daily tasks to get to, with one of them being to gather some more rations for their dinner that night.

If he would have waited a few moments more, he would have noticed the tears that started to stream down the resting eyes of the one who decided to give her life to the one who showed they were in fact the strongest of the two of them.

Author's Note

So...IT's been a while.

Sorry again for it, but I always take my real life as first priority, and let me say, a lot of things are going on that acquire my attention. I'd rather not get into that, but let's just say that if I'm not busy at work, I'm busy taking care of something else so to speak.

Anyways, it's partially because of that I felt myself struggling with this chapter. A great deal of it involves themes necessary to set up for the rest of this arc, but the set up is not necessarily something that's fun to write for me. Still, I hope you can find something enjoyable about this chapter at the very least. Fun fact! I scrapped and rewrote it around eight times with totally different things going on. But the stuff I kept were fun little easter eggs that might come into play in future chapters, so see if you can spot them all!

Speaking of future chapters, I mentioned that this one would have a couple of questions at the end up it, didn't I? Well on the occasion of Finally reaching 250 Likes (Thanks so much!) I wanted to not only have another Q and A Blog for you all, but I wanted to ask some suggestions regarding the next chapter in particular!

Now, as you probably have guessed by now, It's not just going to be the Mane Six that get hit by the 'Poison Joke'! Nope! Other characters are going to be involved for sure! While I have a good idea about what I want to do for some of them, I can't help but to wonder what ideas you all might be thinking up. So how about hearing some out from you all? Who knows, I may just find myself inspired to change some of my decisions, or at least have a better idea as to what to for some undecided choices like...say...Trixie and Spike...?

Although, I will say, my only concession is that it has to relate to a character's pride! Like how Twilight was proud of her magic and thus her horn became all floppy or Rarity taking pride in her looks and thus she's all shaggy. That sort of thing.

Another thing I wanted to ask was what kind of Marvel characters would you suggest to make an appearance? Like if you might see me try my hand at bringing such and such, what would it be? I'm focusing on Spider-man's rogues gallery and trying to find MLP equivalents, true, but Suggestions might keep my creativity flowing and possibly convince me to have more interesting cameos.

The other thing I was on the fence for was making a side chapter involving a character having a chaotic dream. Would anybody be interested in seeing something like that, especially if it's done to reflect their transformation? Or should I just skip it? Let me know.

Anyways, as usual, feel free to comment, note any grammer stuff to fix, and anything else to ask below. Thanks again for the likes guys! Hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long to craft! Because it's gonna be a weird, wild, and fun one!

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Issue 1-An Unconventional Convention (Dis)Appearance

Overall, Ethan Mcintyre thought it was a pretty good day. He finally got to go to the convention he had been forced to overturn a few times before and had seen a great deal of wonderful movies, celebrities, and panels. He had gotten to meet a multitude of people who liked the things he did, and not feel like a loser talking to others about them. As a cosplayer of the supervillain known as Mysterio, Ethan was even asked to take pictures with other cosplayers which made him feel like a celebrity. He got to take some cool ones with people who dressed up like Spider-man and other Marvel heroes. He even starred in one as a member of the Sinister Six. That was a great one! What was even better was that he got to pose in a couple with pretty girls cosplayed as heroes or villainesses. If only there was a time Mysterio did team up with Blackcat or was facing against Scarlet Witch, he might have been able to forgive the comic version of Quentin Beck. Still, he cosplayed as one of his favorite villains despite his misgivings with the character’s development.

To be clear, he wasn’t just any Mysterio! Ethan was dressed up as the version from the animated series he grew up with; the one in which Peter Parker would become Spider-man and swing through a 3D rendered New York while an distorted voice sang the theme song. While he did debate on being this one, or the Spectacular animated version, this one was the one that ultimately appealed to him. However some of the manner in which he chose to speak for the role seemed to show signs of the other one bleeding through. That was probably more due to how much fun he had being a bit hammy and getting away with it. It certainly made others laugh at how much he seemed to be enjoying himself.

No way would he ever be like that comic version one. ‘One More Day’ may have killed Spider-man forever, but writers had killed off the villainous character years before. Seriously, who thought it was a great idea to have a villain who was a master of illusions die by a mixture of cancer and an ashamed suicide after a train wreck of a final villainous scheme. Then he somehow came back from Hell, until it was faded out that he was actually dead. He fervently hated those aspects of Mysterio’s lore. So why dress up as him?

Well, he had liked the ideas of the character’s development. Here was a tech based villain who had a genius level when it came to special effects, robotic automatons, hallucinations, and disguises. He had shown he was able to fool a great deal of others into believing he was a magnificent sorcerer, when he in fact lacked any sort of magical capability of his own. He would plot heists long in advance with elaborate setups that showed of a mind for knowing things to their smallest details. He invented a portable holographic technology that made even Spider-man second-guess his Spider-sense. Heck, his final scheme was loads better in the cartoon with him planning on making a robotic sinister six to take out Spider-man. Still, there was that nobler aspect with how he met his end, showing that perhaps in another life, he could have become something beyond a villain.

Oh well, when it came to Mysterio, Ethan could think of a number of other personal reasons why he choose to cosplay as him. He was a young man of 20 with aspirations to be an actor, stage magician, or maybe a special effects artist. He wasn’t too bad at the third if his costume was anything to go off. Despite being made from things such as the football pads he bought on sale at a sporting goods store, a dusty magician’s cloak he saved from Halloween that he dyed purple, and an old gumball machine he got at the Good Will, he really made it looked like it was an official costume worthy of the Marvel Brand. Add in his joy at pretending to speak as a ‘verbose performer of art’ and a few well-placed sleight-of-hand tricks, and for a moment he could fool even himself into believing that he was a Master of the Arcane Arts.

To say the least, it was a fun way to spend the day pretending to be someone else. Still, the other reason he was here would make it even better. Walking around the convention floor among the venders, he glanced around and all the different types of collectables on sale. From posters, to figurines, to t-shirts there were a great number of options to choose from. Ethan didn’t quite know yet what he would buy, but he hoped that if he did find something interesting it didn’t break his bank to get. He did spend a lot of cash just to get here, and he only got lucky that he could save some costs by using alternatives, like taking a bus instead of paying for parking.

Ethan was so focused on the different merchandise for sale, that he didn’t see the figure in front of him until it was too late to avoid him. Before he could turn his gaze back to the aisle proper, he found himself faltering backwards. He righted himself in time and turned to apologize to the person he should have seen.

“I’m sorry about that. I should have watched where I was going! I forget that this helmet may hinder my range of vision at times…” The Mysterio cosplayer started to say, only to falter when he got a look and the one he bumped into.

He was a tall figure, wearing a long coat that was either blue with yellow lines, or yellow with blue lines. His hands were covered in gloves of chalk white. In one hand he held an open umbrella that appeared to be the same coloration as his coat while the other grasped tightly on a blue bowler hat. His pants might have been simple jeans, with black shoes sticking out from the legs. He was a very distinct character, for he looked as if he stepped right out of a surrealist painting. This was further emphasized by how Ethan couldn’t really describe him beyond the clothes: because he had no head! It was just dark in the coat, and yet, despite the lake of a face this individual seemed to give of an impression of being familiar and approachable yet unobtrusive and inconspicuous. It was like a friendly passerby on a crowded street you meet for a bit, only to walk your separate ways after the brief interruption into your daily routine.

Nevertheless, despite the strange figure’s lack of a head, or oddly colored clothes, he just gave a soft hunch of his shoulders as if to indicate the apology was accepted. At least that is what Ethan hoped was meant by that. It really makes one wonder how much of nonverbal communication is still dependent on having a head.

“Over here, stranger!” Shouted someone derailing Ethen’s train of thought at that.

He turned to the voice and found himself facing a stand that appeared to be selling some of the most interesting wares his eyes had ever seen in this entire con. In fact, Ethan considered if these were some of the most amazing things he had ever seen in his entire memory. Who should be selling such wares, but someone dressed up like The Merchant from Resident Evil 4. Seeing a vendor actually get into the spirit of the convention, he felt that he too should get into character. Realizing that he still was in the middle of a conversation of sorts, he turned to face the headless figure again, and perhaps offer him an apology by visiting a stand with them for a bit.

But the figure was gone. How a man—Ethan thought it was a man, due to the clothes—so tall could walk away so quietly was anyone’s guess. Still, he quickly reasoned that the figure probably had someone else they had to get to. Besides, he already apologized to him for a slight blunder, and thus what else did he need to do really? Anyways, here was an opportunity to perhaps get some great merchandise to take home and he certainly wasn’t going to waste it.

“Welcome!” greeted the merchant as he gave a slight bow. He then reached for his cloak’s buckle, and opened it to show off even more wares for purchasing. “Got some rare things on sale, stranger!”

“Indeed! I must say, good sir, that here is a collection of some of the rarest objects ever conceived by the mind and perceived by my eyes!” Ethan said, getting back into character as a more pompous supervillain. He figured it might help to butter this guy up if he found something he might want to buy. “Of course, being an entrepreneur of mystical wares, I may have witnessed some of the most exotic of items one may acquire.”

The Merchant laughed at that, notably pleased by the cosplayer’s charismatic compliment. He then ducked down to reach for something under his counter top. “Got somethin' that might interest ya'.”

“Oh really?” ‘Mysterio’ crossed his arms. He also raised his eyebrow, which could slightly be seen due to the tinting of his ‘fishbowl helmet’ only being lightly done. Hey, he needed to actually see what was going on around him, and had yet to come up with a proper way to make a material that could hide his face while not hindering his vision. Of course, had it been a real helmet like Mysterio’s he could see outside of it with no problem, while everyone else would be unable to see his face.

Yes, if it was like the helmet that the merchant pull out then his costume would be even more pristine. It was a crystal ball looking thing that didn’t give any indication of what was inside. It was perfect for hiding one’s identity, assuming of course you could see outside it. It appeared to have a bit more high tech to it due to the metallic ring around its base. The merchant even pulled out a pair of gauntlets that were infamous if you knew how Mysterio looked. They were squarish and intricately decorated with mystical looking designs. While his own rendition of Mysterio didn’t need such gauntlets, he couldn’t help put to consider how they would look if he added them to his costume. Having the helmet too, could increase his status as a cosplayer of esteem, or at the very least it would be cooler to have if he wore the costume again.

“The helmet and gauntlets of one of my multiverse counterparts?” However, he didn’t want to appear too eager to purchase them, so he tried to play off a sense of disinterest. “I assure you my own are adequate enough for my needs.”

“Oh, then perhaps I can throw in something else that might interest you?” The Merchant inquired, appearing eager to take the challenge of getting Ethan’s business. He extended his hand to his selves of other wares behind him, as if to challenge him to haggle for something else to offer for sale.

Ethen looked about the stand, seeing anything that might fancy his eye, but not break his already limited amount of funds. What finally caught his eye was a glowing blue oval like item that was hidden among other novelties on the shelf behind The Merchant. It was translucent like a gem, and yet the light source seems to be a natural bio-luminescence it possessed. Perhaps the lights of the convention floor were hitting in in just the right spot, but it seemed to be too enthralling to ignore. Ethan felt that he should acquire it. At the very least, it could be something he could use to make another prop or costume for the next time he cosplayed as something. Besides, surely it couldn’t be worth that much due to being overshadowed by more intriguing items like The Perfect Zecter and The Dragon Dagger.

“Perhaps if you include that shinning blue bauble I will be willing to purchase this offered merchandise posthaste. Surely you would prefer such a small object out of your vast collection of incredible particulars to find itself an owner that would appreciate its beauty?”

“Stranger, stranger! Now THAT's a weapon!”The Merchant laughed as he turned to pick up the shinning object. He held it with a bit of reverence as he turned to face the Mysterio cosplayer again. “Not only will you need cash, but you'll need guts to buy THAT weapon.”

“A weapon? Surely you jest. At best it is a component waiting to be crafted into something to properly utilize it.” Already ideas of using it to make a cane, or the centerpiece of a sword were floating in his head. “Besides, as it is, all you have offered me is an few objects that I don’t necessarily need.”

“You are a tough customer, stranger.” The Merchant proclaimed with the slightest hint at being impressed. Perhaps he found a customer willing to haggle back at him refreshing. In any case, he once again reached under his counter and pulled out a box with a place to put a lock on it. He then delicately placed the shinning sphere inside, and then place a deadlock that oddly enough looked like a mystical eye, and used a key to lock it up. He placed the box next to the gauntlets, while keeping his hand out of reach with the chain that held the key in his grasp. “Perhaps if I were to throw in this, we can seal the deal as it were.”

“I admit, I am definitely considering this offered assortment of prizes.” ‘Mysterio’ stroked his helmet in a manner that one might stroke their chin in thought. “Still, the manner of price has yet to be discussed. So what is it you are asking for as recompense?”

“The Mysterio helmet on it’s own is a couple hundred, but I’m willing to give it to you with the gauntlets for $150. As for the other object, I’m only willing to discuss my price for parting with it if you can prove you can even part with that much.” The Merchant crossed his arms with a smug look in his eyes. “So, Whaddaya buyin'?”

Ethan immediately lifted his cloak to reveal that he was wearing a backpack underneath. Taking it off, he unzipped, reached deep inside among other miscellaneous items, and pulled out his simple faux-leather wallet. Looking through it, he counted off $175 and some change. The problem was that he knew he still needed other money for things like dinner, and his ride home. Plus, even if he bought the first objects offered, he had no way of knowing if he had enough for the gem.

“Alas, it appears that I am short on currency. While I may be phenomenally skilled at sleight-of-hand, even a master of the arcane arts like myself knows when a time and place makes an appropriate opportunity to act.” That, and he was sure as soon as he tried something like that-NOT THAT HE WOULD!-this merchant would grab one of the more deadlier looking replicas and beat him with it before the convention’s security would even arrive to kick him out. “However, perhaps a merchant such as yourself might be willing to offer a trade of equivalent appraisement?”

“Whaddaya sellin'?” The Merchant asked as set the offered merchandise aside for now.

‘Mysterio’ reached into his backpack as if it was a bag of tricks. What he pulled out had even The Merchant’s eyes widen. The blue light that emitted from it. The center that was clouded and shifting. While the light source could be seen coming from a corner that hand a battery pack, it could easily be hidden when holding the cube’s corner. All in all, it was an excellent replica of the infamous Tesseract from the Marvel Movies.

“Ah, I'll buy it at a high price!” The Merchant proclaimed as he reached again under his counter and pulled out a suitcase. Emblazoned on it was some sort of emblem that had an open umbrella with a bowler hat. Before Ethan could dwell on it, The Merchant opened it to show him its contents. The case had rolls upon roles of golden coins placed carefully in set slots! Even if they were golden dollars, there had to be a a couple grand in there at least!.

“What the-?” He looked up at The Merchant. “Allow me to break character here and ask, ‘what the heck?’ I mean, I know I made a pretty good replica, but it can't be worth this much as much as I hate to admit it!”

“That may be true, stranger. However, a most interesting third party has asked me to keep an eye out for certain persons who are of a more, shall we say, artistic type of class. You appear to fit the bill not just with how you act, but the clear signs of you craft. He’s looking to hire such persons.” He placed the helmet, gauntlets, and the locked box while also placing an enclosed blue envelope with no address. “Thus as much as it pains me, I am going to part with some items of mine, and this case full of riches, while HE picks up the rest of your tab.”

“How generous of him.” Ethan commented as he took off his handmade gloves and helmet. He ran a ran through his brown hair, which was matted into short wet spikes due to how hot it was inside the thing. “But why?”

He grabbed the new helmet and tried it on, and was amazed at how roomy and comfortable it was. There was enough space in here to shake his head any which way, and nothing obstructed his vision. He could see perfectly outside it! Even better, was that it seemed to have voice electronics in it, as a few test phrases showed that his voice came out as the deep echo that Mysterio was known for! Taking the gauntlets and putting them on, he founds they were comfortable as well, and the boxy shape was easy on the wrists. They were even lighter than his previous ones.

“Well, that’s his business. I’m just your humble merchant. I offer services for services; goods for goods; commodities for commodities; etc., etc.” The Merchant shrugged while discreetly taking the cast aside helmet and gloves and placing them under his counter. “All you have to consider, is what are you getting from letting him pick your tab as you accept his employment?”

Well, now his mind was made up. Just trying these things out was the final factor in his decision. Whatever the job was he would take it. It was probably something like making a prop, or a costume. Maybe even an acting job if his being in character was a hiring factor. At any rate, the details for what the job was had to be in that envelope. So Ethan opened it, not paying attention to how it was suddenly addressed to a ‘Mr. E. O. Mcintyre’. What he found inside was confounding to him.

By opening this envelope, you have considered my offer. By taking the offered merchandise, you have accepted it. We will discuss matters of business after you are properly settled. Just remember that you are ultimately responsible for your own decisions and actions. Until then, take care!

-Quidam

“That’s it?” The Mysterio cosplayer turned the envelope over, and could find nothing else. “Not even a contact number.”

“Oh, he’ll find you!” The Merchant laughed. “Now, I’m guessing that by you putting on that getup, you’re going to accept the offer.”

“Yes. I am.” 'Mysterio' stated with confidence. Whatever the job was, surely he could do it! He had skills that, by the looks of that suitcase, could definitely 'pay the bills'!

“Good! Good! Just let me collect my initial payment here, plus my transference fee, and I’ll send you on your way.” He gleefully grabbed a few of the rolls of golden coins, which was but a handful of those still leftover.

“Yes, yes! Keep the change, my good man!” Ethan proclaimed, feeling good at this turn of fortune, that he got into character once more. He put pulled out the cash from his wallet and threw it in the air with a flurry of his cape. He then immediately took his backpack to put it back on while also taking the suitcase full of coins. As he walked away, the case floated down like confetti in the stand. “I’m off to better things! Excelsior Extremis!”

Those were the last words uttered by Ethan Osbert Mcintyre. Out of nowhere, he was consumed in a flash of crimson light and disappeared. No one seemed to notice, except for the owner of the stand where he was last seen.

“Hehehe, thank you.” The Merchant laughed as he placed his new coins in his pocket while holding out the Tesseract in his hand. His eyes gave a crimson glow for a moment in a mischievous twinkle. “Come back anytime!”

A sudden tapping interrupted his laughter at his latest ‘sale’. He turned his attention to the source, and found himself face to face with a rather imposing figure. The imposing part came from the fact he had no head and was tapping a closed umbrella on the counter as if holding a sheathed sword.

“What, I did what you wanted, didn’t I?” The Merchant shrugged. He then greedily folded his hands in anticipation. “Now, how are you going to even the cost? I gave up one of my more interesting wares to get his business.”

The figure took his hand that was holding tightly to the blue bowler hat, and placed it over the Tesseract replica. When he lifted it again, instead of a mere prop, one could swear it looked like it was straight from the films it was featured in.

“That should do it. I’ll have more fun with this one than the other.” The Merchant thanked as he placed the newly furnished Tesseract under his counter, where it can now be seen that he kept his pack. As he placed it carefully in there, he chuckled a bit. “Still, the way things played out for him to get it. Pretty clever, Quidam.”

The figure, now now known as The Quidam, just shrugged. Without a word, he tipped his hat as he turned to walk away.

“Of course, this means you too are capable of being underhanded!” The Merchant cried out as The Quidam disappeared into the crowd. All he could do is shake his head at that. “Man of few words, that one! Doesn’t even have a mouth, and I still get the feeling he laughed harder at that than I did!”

[}0{]

Ethan got up slowly as he tried to make sense of what just happened. One moment he was at a convention, having one of the best times of his life. The next, he was suddenly in some small clearing in a forest with no clue how he got there.

“Wait a minute!” His first reaction was to see if he was injured. If he was mugged and in the woods, it could be due to being injured in a way his assaulter would expect him to be a corpse after. The lack of an explanation for how he got there could be due to memory loss. Fortunately he found himself unharmed as far as he could tell. What he also found was that he was dressed up in a costume that he didn’t remember putting on.

He was still dressed up like Mysterio, only now his costume was much more elaborate. It felt more like armor than some padding under spandex. His cape felt softer, more lightweight, and it was a bit longer. When he reached for his forehead, he found his hand blocked by his crystal ball helmet. Forget lack of tint hindrance, he saw the outside as if it was in high definition it was that clear. He had to take it off for a moment because he couldn’t believe how the opaque material worked. What was all this!?

Unfortunately, his questions would have to wait because he suddenly heard a growling sound. Reflexively, he put the helmet back on, which caused a sound of something locking into place, and turned to face the possible danger. What he saw made his eyes widen in terror and disbelief!

A pack of wolves were stepping out from the surrounding trees. Only instead of fur, they appeared to be composed of wood and leaves. Their eyes glowed with a green light that gave of a quality of predatory intent and their teeth wear drawn out in a snarling fashion. Each one was ready to attack, it was only a matter of which would initiate the confrontation.

Ethan held his cape tightly as he tried to hide his his fear. His body was prepared to listen to his fight-or-flight instincts. However his mind was flooding with questions such as where did he end up, how did he get here, and how would he escape getting ripped to pieces by abnormal wolves composed of wood?

One of the wolves took a step closer. Before it could prepare an attack, a targeting reticule suddenly appeared on it. It took a moment for Ethan to realize that it was some sort of feature of his helmet. As he shifted his head, a similar reticule appear on each of the other wolves nearby. This shift in his movement was unfortunately seen by the beasts as a possible attack, which triggered their own move to charge him.

“FIRE!!!” Ethan instinctively shouted out with all the force his voice could through, which was echoed by a speaker system in his helmet. His arms were outstretched as if something would come flying out of them. He hoped for some sort of missile, or laser to shoot out. Instead, a greenish mist seemed to seep out of him. Slowly it covered the forest floor until it all the strange beasts seemed to be stepping in it like the fog of a murky swamp. The wooden wolves backed up a bit to see what attack their prey was before suddenly-

Great flames were coming towards them! The strange prey was bathed in them, yet seemed perfectly fine with the source of destruction covering it. It must be of the flames! It must NEED a way to feed such heat and burning! It must WANT to consume their flesh to gain more power for it’s own! It is sending them THIS WAY. THEY MUST FLEE FROM HERE! FLEE! BEFORE THEY BECOME PREY AND THEN NOTHING!!

The strange tree creatures ceased their growling and instead let out yips of absolute fear. Immediately they turned with their tails between their legs and fled like devils were chasing them.

Ethan just let his arms drop in shock at what just occurred. “Did…did I just use some sort of gas?”

He looked at the mist still floating about him. With the way he was dressed and that it must have come from his suit, it could only mean one thing.

“I am outfitted in an actual Mysterio super suit…?”

Ethan looked at his gauntlet adorned hands, finding that his helmet seem to be capable of telling him more than possible targets. It told him lots of things, like what the mist was composed of—apparently some sort of hallucinogenic compound that made it’s targets more susceptible to vocal suggestion—and what his gauntlets were capable of. A lot of this seemed to be what he assumed Mysterio would be proficient in. Yet, this wasn’t a comic book, or a cartoon! How did he get this? Why did he get this? Where was he sent? How!? WHY!?

“What the hell happened to me?” He questioned aloud. But no answers came, for there was no one around. It was just him, dressed as Mysterio, and somewhere a long way from the place he knew.

[}0{]

In another part of that same forest that Ethan had suddenly found himself in, there was another being stepping through the foliage. Whereas Ethan was a young human male of twenty, with short brown hair and light skin, this being was vastly different. Yes, it too walked bipedal, but it walked on two hooves, not feet with toes. While the rest of its form was hidden in a brown hooded cloak, there were hints of it having black and white striped fur that lightly covered it. If one would look into the shadows of the hood, they would see the bright shine of eyes, with also the shimmer of something gold. Perhaps it was the shine of a necklace?

This was Zecora, a zebra that had lived in the Everfree for many years now. In that time, she had witnessed a great deal of things that would make other ponies stay in their homes and barricade them for fear of ever seeing such horrors. Oh sure, the civilians of Ponyville knew of dangers such as manticores and hydras, but they failed to realized the very nature of Everfree was well based in predacious intent with much more dangerous beasts that seemed to be drawn from their worst nightmares. Take for example, the Timberwolves. It was once told that whenever a tree fell in the Everfree forest, it too would come to life as a vicious monster with the instinct to hunt for prey. While Zecora was well versed in the treacherous wildlife, she didn’t doubt the folktale being a possible origin for the wooden quadrupeds. It would lean towards an explanation how they seemed to multiply despite being composed of lumber and foliage.

Why just thinking about them was enough for the zebra to keep a ready hand near the opening of her satchel. While her cloak was coated with natural oils that would keep other inhabitants of the forest from picking up her scent, each step she took was a well calculated step of her hooves. She was just out for her usual gathering of herbs for her elixirs and brews, something not that unusual if you knew her personally. However, what made it take a slight turn was the amassed howling that she head heading in her direction. Sensing the danger, she quickly located a hiding spot in a nearby tree hollow, and held still. Her hand already had an tonic vial that would ignite in a bright flash if anything came close. To her surprise, it seemed to be an unnecessary move for none of the rushing timberwolves were hunting her.

Instead, they were all fleeing as if they were trying to outrun a forest fire. It was a run motivated by desperation for not once did they stop, or even look behind them. While she was thankful, Zecora was no fool. Whatever could scare of a pack of timberwolves was undoubtedly something that must be avoided. So she waited a few minutes more after the pack fled outside her range of sight and hearing in case whatever they were trying to outrun was still in pursuit. When she was sure that it was all clear, Zecora took a moment to relax and stepped carefully out of the hollow.

Removing her hood for a moment, she ran a hand through her black and white Mohawk as she pondered this odd occurrence.

“Not many things could make a pack run away.” She looked around for signs of smoke, for a large amount of flames was one of the only causes that could do that. “Has a fire been set in the forest today?”

Not so much as a hint of smoke could be seen. She sniffed the air as well, and for a moment smelled something odd in the wind. While it was fading it still was distinctive like one of her unfinished brews in which she had to be be careful of the fumes. If the scent came from something similar it could only lead to one possibility.

It could only mean that something not native to Everfree was in the other direction. This type of scent that faded could only be caused by something crafted, not naturally made. As much as she would have liked to continue rummaging for more herbs, this took precedence. As far as Zecora knew, she was the only mare from here to Ponyville who could be capable of concocting some form of hallucinogen. While she lacked the intent to use such a thing, whomever scared off the pack had no such restraints as far as she knew. It could be somepony, or something that had more viscous resolve than her desire to heal.

“I should rather avoid what may cause me my doom,” She put her hood back over her head and drew out her staff in determination. “But I must find out the source of these fumes!”

So it was with this line of reasoning that instead of going along the route to her hut, that Zecora took the direction the pack of timberwolves had fled from.

[}0{]

Far from that spot where Zecora was tracking a puzzling disturbance to the Evertree Forest, was a road. The road seemed to be the same it always was, with it’s dirt covered pathway running on top of green hills. The occasional tree and bush stood alongside it. It was a setting of countryside welcoming and rural serenity which was no wonder why it was the one that lead to the place called Ponyville.

How welcoming and serene the town itself actually is would be tested by the newest traveler coming up the road. A good sized traveling trailer was coming down the path that had a reed roof and heart shapes on its shutters. A sign hung above the door frame of the entrance that was violet with blue stars, and an emblem that composed of a wand over a blue crescent moon.

Pulling this trailer by hand was a bipedal mare. She had long silvery blue hair as well as light blue fur. She was dressed up in magician’s outfit that showed off her shapely form with it’s well fitted corset and the dark pantyhose that still showed off her cutie marks on both of her thighs. She would have seemed a bit shorter than the previously mentioned Zecora were it not for her long boots that seemed to be what made her height around six feet. What completed the outfit was a violet cape covered in blue and yellow stars and a witch’s hat of a similar pattern adorned on her head.

“It’s been a long time since I made a decent amount of bits. Hopefully this next town will bring in more than the last one.” She stopped for a minute to cath her breath. As she took of her hat, she sigh let out a sigh while also revealing a spiraled horn sticking out of her forehead. “Or at least, not be filled with a bunch of neighsayers who have no appreciation for great performance.”

This was the eternal struggle of the showmare, Bellatrix ‘Trixie’ Lulamoon. None of the other ponies she came across seemed to understand how illusion magic could be such a wonderful form. Instead, they saw it only as the weakest form of magic. Trixie’s specialty was it as shown proudly by the cutie marks she possessed. Yet it seemed everywhere she went there was someone that disregarded it as a puffed up light show that was trivial and inconsequential.

“I’ll show these country bumpkins a show worth remembering.” She cried out in determination as she put her hat back on. “Then everyone will spread the story of how there is no better performer worth seeing than ‘The Grrreat and Powerful Trixie’!!”

With that pronouncement made, she felt felt fired up again. She was ready to face the crowd and show Ponyville how great she could be. Of course, she’d have to get there before she could even begin counting the bits they were bound to give her. First things first was to determine which way to go, for after pulling out a map to check her progress Trixie found that there would be a fork in the road ahead. Unfortunately, this was an older map that needed to be replaced, for the part that showed the different paths’ destinations were faded out. She have to get another one when she’d get into town.

Picking up the traces of her trailer once again, she continued on her way until she reached the fork. Fortunately for her, it appeared that someone set up a scarecrow to draw attention to the signs that pointed out which path led where. Even more helpful was how it pointed in the direction of the one that led to Ponyville.

“Luckily for Trixie, a country bumpkin set up a helpful scarecrow to point the way.” She grinned as she jokingly tipped her hat at the figure like greeting a gentle-stallion. “Although, these ponies must be quite the eccentric bunch. Not quite sure how effective a scarecrow can be without a head.”

She passed by the signs as she tried to bring up her pace a bit in order to make it to the town at a time when its center would be filled with ponies for her audience. Already she could practically hear the sounds of applause and cheering of her name. Finally, she would become the mare she always wanted to be!

Trixie was so enthralled in her thoughts of future fame and fortune, that she didn’t notice the figure she thought was a scarecrow lower its arm to reach for the umbrella that was leaning against the sign next to it. It opened it up to once again walk away like a casual passerby on a busy street in the other direction. In the hand opposite the one holding the umbrella was a blue bowler hat.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

Author's Note

So this is my first attempt at these type of fics. I hope that you good ladies and gentleman will find it enjoyable and give it good, and fair creative criticism. That, or if you hate it, could you please politely hit the back button without leaving a comment that will make me go into a corner to crouch down and and cry.

I kid, of course! I would probably just ignore you like a good captain and keep sailing my sinking ship to the second star on the right, and straight on until morning!

In all seriousness, this is my first time publishing a story on a sight like this, so any advice on keeping the content and grammar up to par would be appreciated. I am also still figuring out the editing software of the sight, so apologies in advance if it looks odd, and I make a flub here or there.

I don't know how often I can update it as I am working on other things in my life as well as other writing projects. Still, I hope that it will be enjoyable for what it is. With all that said, stay tuned for the next issue of I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!.

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Issue 6-Making a Mark [Part 1]

In Equestria, one of the most cherished aspects of the world was the sunshine. The brightness and the temperature seem to always be glorious and uplifting to all who dwelled in the realm. It felt motherly and tender as well as invigorating due to its intensity. In fact, there was a myth that the sun was so powerful that the Pegasus race was made to create stormy weather in order for the inhabitants to maintain their appreciation for it as well as the land to continue to grow and prosper.

Yet while so many gave reasons to appreciate the sun, there was one individually cursing its brightness and heat. However, to be fair, she had been cursing a lot of other things lately as well. In the past, she would have been recognized as the shapely unicorn in a magician’s outfit. Now, she would hardly be recognized in the dirty and rumpled flannel shirt and overalls she was forced to wear. By Tartarus, she hardly recognized herself nowadays!

‘Stupid sun! Stupid dirt! Stupid workload!’ Thought Trixie before muttering. “I was a graduate of Illusion Magic and on my way to fame and renown. How did I end up here moving around garbage?”

“Because we founds it in our hearts to give you some grub, clothes, and a place to sleep!” Said a voice behind her.

She was an intimidating figure. Her shape was wide and broad and emphasized by the tight strains that were apparent on her shirt and overalls. Yes she was plush, and plump, but she had a great deal more muscular aspect about her despite her curvy face suggesting otherwise. That, and her chest played a prominent aspect in further emphasizing her bulky stature with each letter of the alphabet it must of bypassed. Her tail stuck out from her wide backside and was a ruffled appendage that looked like it could give quite the smack if one wasn’t careful. All in all, she was the very model of what one could imagine a junkyard dog to be.

For that was what she was. A Diamond Dog to be certain, but one who ran a junkyard. She seemed to be a Border Collie type based on the way her fur was patterned to focus more brown fur around her eyes and streamed down her neck like a long mane of hair. It was quite the contrast to her grayish coat and golden eyes. Normally, they were the type of Diamond Dog that were renown for being built lean for running and one of the considerably more sensuous appearing types of the species. Despite the alteration in size, girth and demeanor, there was still a sense of that majesty in the gaze of this Diamond Dog. That and the way her outer fang was curled up suggested a sense of sassiness that took little to no nonsense when work needed to be done.

“Yeah! So keep working! It takes lots of works to keep scrappy yard nice and perty!” Said a more chipper and youthful voice of somedoggie sitting on her shoulder.

This one seemed to be a petite type of doggie, but was also clearly a puppy. You could tell with how she dressed in a blue shirt that depicted a pink bunny as well as a faded pink skirt over a pair of pants that were as orange as her short kept hair. It had a black ribbon with a bow near her right ear. She had a grayish coat collar as well but around her right eye was a black mark like a bullseye. She stifled a giggle with a large forepaw with three clawed digits and thumb while her big toes curled in mirth.

This pair was Bo (the collie) and Norah (the puppy). Here they were in a desert that lied between the border of the evergreen trees and whatever dry and hot spot that those ponies claimed would make a good frontier town in what was known as Clutter Coulee. It was a junkyard filled with the leftover scrap and broken down remnants of times gone by that was currently being worked over by the place’s newest guest. Her job was simple: sort out the good scrap from the large piles of refuse. It was simple work, but certainly not easy!

“This could go so much faster if you’d just let me use my magic” Trixie began to light her horn, before she was startled into stopping by Bo literally putting her foot down. A resounding boom echoed out as she gave a low growl at the attempt to cheat at the work that needed to be done.

“None of that! It’s enough that we lets you use it to makes the more yucky stuff get gone. Besides,” Bo crossed her arms, unintentionally further emphasizing her endowments, and raised a fanged lip to show more teeth as she snarled, “the last thing we needs is you getting any ideas of cheating yourself out of work by makings it invisible, tiny, or whatever you ponies think up!”

“Yeah! So don’t worry about it, pretty pony. Just keep working and you’ll be done in time for supper!” Norah giggled from her perch as Bo turned to head for other parts of the junkyard she had to work on.

‘Pretty! Pretty her plot!’ Trixie thought as she recalled the true reason for why she toiled so hard and why the little pup was watching her so discreetly over Bo’s shoulder as the two Diamond Dogs walked away. Her hand unconsciously reached for her newest accessory to her outfit: a collar with a bulb as its centerpiece. It was junky looking, but the story behind it was not so worn in her memory.

[}0{]

“Get this thing off of me!” Trixie yelled. She woke up one morning to find a new accessory around her neck. The decorative style was too childish to be Bo, so she knew the culprit had to be the pup, Norah. “Trixie is not some canine you can collar like she needs to be walked! She is her own mare!”

The unicorn tugged with all her might, and even tried her magic, but the collar would not come off no matter what trick she tried to attempt. For something probably scrapped together it was surprisingly resilient.

“No! I don’t like it when No-good-dirty-ungrateful-charity-stealers take advantage of my Big Sis and run off before Paying up what they owe!” Norah pouted with her arms firmly crossed before she pointed at the mare that was nearly twice her size. “So you are gonna work hard until you pay back EVERY Little thing you owe for us saving your puff-up plot!”

“My plot is not puffed-up!” She rubbed her backside subconsciously as she defended it. It was the natural size it was meant to be for her curves; No magic alterations whatsoever! “Besides, even if I decided to go off on my merry way, what would a pup like you even do if I say no?”

It was at that question the little pup gave out a wide smile like she just heard the punchline to a very inside joke.

“Well, let’s look at another guest I gave one of my pretty collars too.” She pulled out from her skirt pocket what looked like a soup can connected to a string. “Come in Mr. FluffyStuffy! This is to supper sexy puppy gal, Norah! Do you copy?”

Trixie noticed that as she followed the string, it went a long ways away from them. It ended with another can on top of a box in which a faded yellow bear with a red shirt was sitting. He too was wearing a similar collar, but due to his size, it was used as a belt instead of being worn on its neck.

“What’s that MR. FluffyStuffy? The work is too much? You would rather lie around and do nothing?” She then pulled out a box with
a big switch inside and flicked it. “Well TOO BAD! LOOks like YOUR TIME is UPPPP!!!”

The bulb on the collar blinked green, then yellow, until it ended in a red glow. The moment it did, the bear exploded into a miniature snowstorm of stuffing and felt. Norah burst into tears and sobbed as she felt the bits of cotton land near her bottom paws despite the distance.

“You see that bear! I liked THAT BEAR! I even LIKE-LIKED him! I slept with him ENOUGH TIMES to consider debating if I should become a ONE-STUFFED-ANIMAL pup!” She then stared down the now shaking unicorn with tear stricken fury as she declared, “I don’t even know you!”

She just ran off crying, leaving a near catatonic Trixie, who realized just how her life fell into the hands of a lunatic.

[}0{]

Trixie shook her mane furiously as she struggled to lift bigger and heaver heaps of scrap to their proper piles.

“I was the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’! There is a record of her graduation from a prestigious academy! Trixie is NOT…huff!... a collered…errgh!... beast of burden…ugh!..for a couple of..arr!...damned dogs!”

With that, she tossed the contents she was holding onto the larger pile and began to catch her breath. As she did so, he furry began to die out and be filled with a heavy sorrow.

“How could have Trixie…how could have I fallen so far?” She sighed as she continued her job. For despite how much she hated it, she could do nothing else to change her situation.

And so Trixie found herself continuing to work hard. For she always felt eyes on her at some point of the day. It didn’t help that Norah seemed to find a way to always show up and check on her progress at the most inopportune times.

But what could she do? She wished someone would come and help her get her life back on track, but who was out there that would even be capable of getting her out of this dump? What could they offer to make her situation less bleak.

[}0{]

“I will give you half the world!”

“I’m sure you will, Shubby. I’m sure you will.” Ethan muttered as he continued to push the buttons on his Vita. So far his Factory Desco named Shubby was wiping out all contenders of this level in the item world of Disgaea 3. Yet despite the carnage-simulated or not-he still found himself down in the dumps. He turned off the device as he sighed out to look at his current surroundings. Like for instance, the fact that all he had to do was reach down next to his hip and already in his hand was a ruby as big as his palm.

“Here I am doing what most of my kind would kill for to be able to do: lying in a pile of treasure that stretches as far as the eye can see! The wealth that would make any man live a life of comfort and perhaps a dozen lifetimes more if invested properly.” He then sadly tossed the gemstone back into the pile. “And all of it is going to someday end up in your stomach!”

He turned to face the other occupant of the treasure chamber who was currently trying to figure out how that strange device her master called an ‘eye-foene’ had made the voices and pictures that moved. Seeing his attention was on her, she handed it back to him carefully using her tail to do so.

“My apologies, Master Mysterio, but were I but another type of dragoness I would probably grant it all to you without hesitation.” She stated as she took a handful of treasure to eat as if it were cereal.

If there was anyone that Ethan could say was reaping the full benefit of their newfound wealth, it was Tsavorite. She was in much better shape than when she first came crawling to the front door of the castle. No longer was she the skin and bones reptile who appeared to be ready to pass out at a moment’s notice. In fact, she even appeared to be developing curves that further proved to possess a feminine figure as the slight tightness of her wrap and flowing sarong seemed to suggest. Her height had to have gone through a boost as well because Ethan swore he was not that short compared to her and she now seemed to be more comfortable with using her tail like an extra appendage. It startled him to find that one morning at breakfast, he was only tall enough to reach her gaze if he tilted his head up. It was almost intimidating and again he was grateful for his expressionless helmet.

Still, Tsavorite seemed loyal to her new master despite a size gap developing between them. Albeit, Ethan still felt as if he needed to prove himself as one that was worth serving. Call it intuition or paranoia, but he felt that if he were to keep a dragon in his employ, he must make certain he kept her well-fed or else something terrible would come to pass.

At least, that was one of the things his now apparent benefactor told him to be weary of.

[}0{]

“Who are you?” Ethan asked. He was concerned with a number of things: Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here? Yet the most prevalent question in his mind seemed to be this:

Who was this figure that was talking to him despite not even having a head, let alone a mouth with which to speak? He wore a large coat of blended colors and looked as if he stepped out of a painting. He sat across from him at a grand and round table in which an opulent tea set, snack dishes, and other baubles were elaborately set between them.

The headless entity replied in that oddly mellow tone of voice.

“Arrangement?” He began to ask before he recalled something about this character. “Wait a minute-!”

The tea set shook as his fist slammed down onto the table. This was that stranger he met that day at the convention!

“YOU ARE THE REASON I’M HERE, AREN’T YOU?!” Ethan roared out in fury.

The Quidam calmly stated as he took a teacup and started to gather sugar cubes to drop in it.

“You call taking me from my home-MY LIFE!-a dispute?!” The young man leapt from his seat and began a hurried rush to reach the other occupant of the table. “I show you a dispute!”

As he was barely a few feet from reaching his hands towards the being’s nonexistent neck, Ethan found he could not move a muscle, let alone take another step forward or backward. He couldn’t even blink! All he could do is be still there in midair.

The Quidam continued to drop cube after cube of sugar into its/his tea, and giving no indication as to why his guest was frozen in such a state.

Ethan gave no response, for what response could he give? He was frozen! Still, The Quidam took his silence as agreeableness and in a split moment, the young man found himself sitting in the chair as if nothing uncouth just occurred. The table was set up neatly again and the host just kept placing sugar cubes in his/its tea as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place. So Ethan just sat there, now able to move, but not finding the reason to do so.

The Quidam explained as he swirled his teacup with a spoon. There was no recollection of where he got it as he continued.

“Façade?” Ethan said, finally having the will to ask a question among many.

Ethan thought hard about this. That statement alone possessed so many implications he could hardly consider where to begin.

“So I have this power? And it’s just beginning?”

The Quidam nodded, or at least gave as much of a nod as he could due to lacking a head.

“Why me?” Ethan immediately asked.

The Quidam preparedly answered.

“Don’t give me that…”The young man stopped himself from getting angry again. It wouldn’t help, and apparently this…The Quidam wouldn’t appreciate it to say the least. “I mean why am I ‘Displaced’? Why am I the one here out of every guy that was on that convention floor that day? I wasn’t the only one there. I certainly wasn’t even the only Mysterio Cosplayer that day. So why me?”

For a long while, the headless one was silent. The only sound he gave came from the swirling of his spoon.

He took the teacup and tilted it backward. Instead of spilling down the jacket collar, the liquid seemed to slowly disappear with every supposed sip. When the cup was emptied entirely, the odd stranger continued. <My time with you is growing short, so I can only offer you this advisement for now. Be sure to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. On that note, be sure you employ plenty of friends and have plenty of friends to employ. Be sure to keep those in your employ well fed and properly clothed. Be sure to not fall to the illusion of appearances for you’ll find yourself surprised by the true selves behind the ruffled curtains. And remember, if dreams can’t come true, then why not pretend? Any questions??

Oh he had plenty of questions! But the first one to come out was:

“Is this all in my head?”

To which The Quidam started to laugh as the green room they were in started to fade away.

The Quidam poured himself another cup of tea, before waving farewell to his fellow guest in this apparent realm of dreams.

And thus Ethan would wake up to the sounds of a worried dragoness, feeling more tired and confounded than he ever felt in a long time.

[}0{]

‘Displaced.’ The word itself was two syllables, but it felt like it had a weight of two tons.

“Master?”

Ah, he had more pressing concerns to care for such as his more prominent issue of his financial/food resource. The concerns of The Quidam could wait. He mentally slapped himself into focus as he threw on his helmet and got back into his ‘Façade’.

“Worry not, Tsavorite. This is but a mere hurtle we must overcome for my plans to be realized. While I admit having a dragon’s hoard at my reservation to use would be quite the boon for my scheme to come to fruition, it being yours stresses certain needs to consider. ” He leapt from the pile and slid down, thankful to the special gimmicks Mysterio placed in his boots. “On one hand, we need it to help pay for further resources for our cause. On the other, it is not just our treasury, but your nourishment and provisions. Thus finding another source of this income and sustenance is imperative because you too take priority; for as it is said in my land, ‘If you take food from the servant, eventually the master will starve.’ Besides, I find it that without the assurance of equipment and other workers, we won’t be able to get by in this world we have yet to be introduced to.”

He finished as he stood with his cloak wrapped about him. His draconic ally was impressed by his quick show of acrobatics, but still brought up another issue.

“But you already introduced yourself to quite a few ponies.”

Ah, now that was something he wanted to avoid discussing once more. It was an argument brewing and yet neither wanted to bring up to a squall. So Mysterio tried to blow it away quickly.

“Yes, but what are they, but mere citizens who have just an inkling of my power.” He diverted the trail of conversation. “Besides Zecora, they are only under the impression that I have a great deal of power backing me up were you are but a subordinate.”

“I thought I was.” Tsavorite remarked with a clawed digit scratching her chin.

Mysterio quickly rebutted that. With a determined finger pointing up he corrected her assumption. “You are currently my chief subordinate since coming here! As such, it is my job to ensure that you have underlings of your own who you can lead, who are ultimately underlings of me. Only then can you alleviate your stance of serving me by ensuring that others serve me well and as well!”

The dragoness had to contemplate that phrasing for a bit. “...I suppose that makes sense. All is for my Master after all.”

Mysterio nodded his head, seeing that she took to that form of cajolery well.

“Good!” He started to head to the stairs out of the treasure chamber. He raised his hand to indicate that the dragoness should follow him. “Now we must get to our agenda! First order of business: we must conduct the interviews!”

Up the stairs they walked and into a series of hallways until they reached another hidden staircase that was barricaded by a shelf. As it slide aside, the two found themselves in the main location of Mysterio’s research: the library.

As they reached a table, Mysterio pulled out a chair for which Tsavorite could sit upon. As she sat as best as she could due to her tail and wing set, Mysterio took all the books he could find on the subject in question and whatever spare parchment he could gather and with a ballpoint pen he found in his bag, prepared to take notes. Thus the first interview would begin with his ‘chief subordinate’.

“I need you to tell me everything you can about yourself.” He began as he sat at the head of the table.

“Master?” Tsavorite was taken aback a bit that she was the first subject of these interviews.

Mysterio continued. “As a Master of the Arcane, it is no secret that we have to deal with subjects such as familiars, magically conjured creations, and contractually enforced compatriots. However, this realm is based on magical laws and regulations I have yet to fully study and commit to memory. I don’t want to do something that will offend you, harm you, or worse…kill you.”

She nodded her head at this reasoning with a smile. “You are most considerate.”

“I hope so. Now, shall we begin?”

Thus the interview began with Mysterio taking note on what qualities made up the female dragon. While his curiosity wanted to burst out at times with this opportunity of draconic cross-examination, he tried to keep the questions from delving into too personal subjects. Still, he asked for her to give a basic answer for things that would be considered basic knowledge.

Dragons came in all shapes, colors, and sizes, albeit that they tended to be large, scale-coated, and fearsome flyers. Most breathed fire, but as she once stated before, the color, temperature, and element they breathed could also change depending on the type. They ate gems, as well as meat albeit in these last few centuries they didn’t feast on anything with sentience (usually). They were born from eggs, and a dragoness carried them in her body for a few months before laying them in a secure location. Depending on the dragon, it could just be in a secret nest in their lair, or a breeding location that occurred near the time of Great Migration. They were long-lived creatures that were able to count their lifespans in centuries, yet their maturity rates and growth depended on their cornerstone attribute of greed. This placed the importance on a dragon’s horde as not only a resource for food and power, but a sign of their social standing among others of their kind.

It was at this point that the term ‘Slítere’, was brought up and well, this was where things got a little personal.

Tsavorite paused as she contemplated answering what the term meant. With a bit of a heavy breath she replied, “It is a label that implies gluttony.”

“I see.” Ethan, for he had his helmet off at this point, nodded quickly. He placed his writing hand down to try to ease her hesitance. “We can speak more on this matter later, Tsavorite, for I can tell it is not one you feel like dwelling on. I only ask that you tell me anything pertaining to it that can affect your status as one of my subordinates.”

Tsavorite did a surprisingly human thing and bit her lip in a tentative manner. It would have been comical for Ethan to see another time, but it the fact that it unintentionally revealed some of her sharpened teeth made him nervous. After a long moment, she seemed to gather the confidence to confide a bit more of her personal complication with him.

“I’m different than the other dragons in a number of ways. Dragons emphasize the aspect of greed. It is our most innate branch of sin. Except for me, my chief aspect is gluttony. Unlike dragons whose growth is based in the size of their hoards and their desire for more, mine is based more on…ingestion. Everything I do is dependent on the calories I store up, from my breath to my strength. So you don’t have to worry about a growth spurt of a few feet to my height every time I get a new gem to my hoard.” She then sheepishly turned her head as she embarrassingly gave a visual aide of spreading her claws out to her arm’s length as she stammered out, “Only that I may get too wide to roam the halls with all the gems I’ll probably gorge on due to my hunger. I’ll certainly grow larger than any dragon based on greed (especially side-to-side), but I’ll have to keep my appetite in check if I am to survive.”

Ethan could only blink at that admittance. His pen was long forgotten as he thought of all the complications that would arise with that.

“That would be a problem. It wouldn’t due to have you reach a size were you wouldn’t be able to even fit in a doorway, let alone a hallway.” He then looked as he immediately recalled that they were currently in a library that had books written by those who saw magic as an everyday circumstance. “Perhaps we can find a solution to that.”

[}0{]

They searched the shelves for books that would suggest anything from health and fitness to cosmetic changes.

“Are you certain something like that would exist, Master?”

“Tsavorite, if there is one thing about magic I know it’s the main four incentives of spell work: Fame, Fortune, Fun, and…Intercourse.” The ‘Four F’s of Business Incentive’ seemed to work well on contemplating things back home, so it stood to reason that they would still work here in Equestria even if these tomes were written centuries ago.

“What about to benefit others for the good of all?” She asked as she took a tome labeled ‘Advanced Alchemy for Artistic Academics’.

“I’m sure there are those that still pursue that interest. But the real go-getters who create the more intensive spells want one if not all of those things no matter what type of magic they pursue.” No, he didn’t find anything close in this copy of “Fortune Folly’s Fantastic Spells for Frequent Use’.

Tsavorite was still adamant that the drive to create magic was able to be simplified to just four basic lines of reasoning.

“What about longevity and vitality?” She continued as she gazed into ‘Helping Heart’s Home Remedies for Harmonic Home Living’.

“That would still fall under fortune. Someone invents a spell to heal, extend life, youth, or push back death; he does it to earn what the people would pay him to do it.” Nothing in this copy of ‘Count R. Clockwise’s Creative Charades and Countermeasures“, but he was going to save this one for more reading later. “Even those that heal for good still hope for some form of recompense in return. They don’t have to be selfish, just practical.”

“So then beauty-”

“Would probably fall under the first, although more than likely the fourth. How many stories are there in which a sir or a dame wish to be made beautiful for a magical price after all?”

Tsavorite had no point to argue against that. Even dragons has such fairytales, albeit they were usually the ones who took such pretty dames and sirs for their own possessions.

“This must be it!” Mysterio, found something in a tome entitled ‘A Multitude of Malleable Magic for Models and Magicals’. He quickly perused the contents until he found something that looked like it could work. “Here! According to this page, this is a basic series of glyphs for magical storage.”

It basically came down to ensuring that these glyphs stored magic. The caster would set them onto the subject and their fat would essentially be converted into magical energy to make room for more caloric energy. The energy would be stored in the subject’s body in a way that allowed it to be used at their own discretion. Any weight they would put on would be compressed and possibly well hidden away. Already it sounded like a winning situation.

“So what is the catch?” She may be a dragon, but even she heard enough stories to know that when magic was involved there was always a cost to pay for what you desired.

“Well, it says here that you are still required to use the magical and caloric energy you store up, otherwise the repercussions will be… disconcerting.”Mysterio lightly summed up as he read the next few pages.

“How so?”

“Well, it goes on to describe an incident in which a songstress named Crème Brule used it to keep an ‘inviting and pleasant form’ while singing at the tavern she worked at. She’d forgotten about the glyphs, and assumed they were tattoos she faintly recalled getting in her youth. One day, after years of becoming the new matron and being happily married with three children, she found herself waking up on the floor below her bedroom and finding herself immobilized by years of stored flesh and adipose. Apparently her storage seal finally ceased working from years of storage without release and her fat was thick enough to not only cushion her fall as she rolled out of bed, but not jostle her awake as she fell through the floor. She only woke up due to her husband and some other workers breaking a wall and struggling to get her on a cart to the nearest healer.” He tried to not chuckle at the picture of a team of anthropomorphic stallions trying to devise a pulley system to lift the poor engorged mare into a cart but the idea was like an old Merry Melodies cartoon. “Quite the embarrassment for her when all her neighbors came to see the commotion.”

“So if I were to use this method, I would be thin so long as I used my power?”

“Well, no actually, this is more of a compressor. You’ll still put on the weight and appear heavy, but your appearance will only be a fraction of you ‘true size’. You’ll lose the weight the more energy you use, but don’t forget that you’ll only appear smaller than you actually are.” So it wasn’t perfect, but it seemed to be the best bet they had.

“I’ll take it.” Tsavorite agreed after much thought on the matter.

“Ok then. I’ll just need to organize the glyphs.” Mysterio said, while also thinking, ‘And figure out just how in the world I am going to perform actual magic.’

He quickly walked to the desk he set up as his main place of study, while also perusing the book for any helpful footnotes. Hopefully there was something that could indicate a way to use magic without a unicorn horn.

[}0{]

A couple of hours later, Tsavorite decided to check up on her master’s progress. So there she walked to his study section and found him continuously creating archaic symbols on parchment. While some were crossed out and smudged attempts, as they went on they became more standardized and formal. What were more interesting were the glyphs that were written in a reddish ink. Those ones seemed to glow with an uncertain light to them.

“How goes the research, my lord?”

Mysterio was startled a bit out of his intensive study session, but was quick to regain his composure when he saw who it was.

“The glyphs themselves are simple, just repetitive. Each one is set to convert a certain amount and store a certain percent and vice versa.” He noted as he gave the final touch to the latest line he worked on. “Now they have to be used to shape themselves into a crest or an insignia. So do you have anything in mind, Tsavorite?”

The dragoness seemed sad for a moment as she contemplated what she could use, but brightened as she thought of something. “What about your mark?”

“Huh?” He was certainly not expecting that!

“Your mark. You do have one, right? Master?”

“…Of Course I have one! As a castle lord, how could I not?” He quickly composed himself as he hastened to draw up something that could suffice. Fortunately he had something he used as a kind of crest when he did commission work. In a few quick strokes, he hurriedly drew up what would be his seal.

“In the language of the Japanese-a people who live in a mysterious land that I know of-this would be the kanji, or symbol, for sorcerer. However, with my alterations, it will recognizable as my insignia.” He dramatically explained as he gave it the final touches under the impressed eye of his subordinate.

The truth was the symbol was in fact a visual pun. It was indeed based on the Kanji for sorcerer. However, Ethan wrote it with all the strokes connected, which made it appear like the letter ‘M’ was in a large letter ‘I’. This made it also a reference to his last name, McIntyre. Thus he found it to be quite the logo to hide into the works he was commissioned to make whether threaded or etched. By placing it in an eye, he was certainly giving it the final touch needed to make it a worthy emblem for the Master of Illusions, Mysterio.

“So now the question remains: Where should I place this mark?” Mysterio asked.

Tsavorite tilted her head as she thought about it. “Is there anywhere the spell is dictated to be placed?”

“Well, according to the spell, since this is more of a ‘cosmetic’ type of storage, it is recommended to hide the fact it is in use. It suggested that a good way would be to trace the glyphs to blend into the ‘cutie marks’” He gave her a quick look over, being sure to not let his eyes linger long enough to be considered improper. “But you seem to lack these ‘cutie marks.”

“Yes, we dragons do not develop special tattoos on our thighs like the ponies do.” She gazed at her legs as she made certain no such mark did exist. “However, I am not quite sure if I would feel comfortable wearing a marker there.”

He was glad that he could hide his blush well. The very thought of placing a tattoo on such of surface was well…improper to say the least.

“Then perhaps the back would be the best option. You want it to be somewhere easier to conceal if the worst came to pass.”

“Like what?”

“Like it being overloaded or canceled. While the text here says it should be fine to store the energy and release it at the wearer’s discretion, I wouldn’t put it past anyone with the knowledge of what it does to not take advantage of it. That and I do not think having it go straight to your thighs would be the best thing in a stressful situation.”

“I suppose not!” Tsavorite stuttered with a smirk. As bothersome as that would be, she still found humor in the idea. “So, shall we do this?”

‘So soon?’ He thought before voicing it, “Are you certain you want this right now? There are still other options to consider than this one.”

“There may be. But for now, this is the best option we have. I do not wish to become a burden upon the one I wish to serve. Besides, all this seems to indicate is that I am given the opportunity to bear my master’s mark like a true subordinate!”

Mysterio had nothing he could say to such a declaration. Tsavorite was just too determined for him to deter in any way. After a long drawn out sigh, he spoke at last.

“One day you are going to tell me why I can’t convince you to stop thinking like that.” A hiss of smoke let out as he took off his helmet and became Ethan once more. “But for now, lie on your belly, extend your wings to a comfortable position, and pray I don’t screw this up. This will take time, so be prepared to wait.”

So after Ethan took off the suit and changed into something more comfortable, he came back to begin his task. Tsavorite lay on the ground, hunched like a feline at rest. She had removed the wrap from her torso to leave her back bare and ready for his work. So with a ballpoint pen in hand and a well of ink prepared, he crouched near her and started recreating the glyphs into a “Mark of Mysterio”.

“I hope you can forgive me for any discomfort you have. This is my first time doing something like this.”

Tsavorite raised an eye ridge at that. “Surely you have experience in seal work?”

Ethan just shrugged as he etched in more symbols. The faintest of ink were sticking to the scales, but the glyphs were still recognizable.

“Well back in my high school-err, academy days I was…an apprenticing metal worker and tailor.”

Now that was unexpected to hear! “Really? Then how did you become a master of the arcane?”

“Well, that came about through my…main sources of study. The crafting techniques were to provide income for my expenses.” That sounded like an acceptable substitute to ‘I sold cosplays and commission work for money alongside my aspirations to act and perform’. “The point is, I may not be an expert tattooist, but I certainly know how to etch and sketch on armor. And you my dear are practically covered in the finest quality of it in all of human fantasy.”

“…Really?” She certainly perked up at that. A bit of draconic pride glimmered in her eyes.

“Oh yes! Many tales have been told of ‘dragon scale mail’. How it could withstand heat, weather, magic, and time.”

“How do humans acquire it?” Tsavorite was curious. How was it that humans even acquired dragon mail, indeed?

Now that was something Ethan hesitated to explain. “…Depends on the story. Sometimes it’s given to them by a fantastical merchant, sometimes they go on a quest to find it in some treasure trove, or they could…you know…kill a dragon for it.”

“…Kill a dragon for it?” She snarled a bit. A greenish smoke seemed to seep out between her teeth. It was obvious that the thought of humans killing dragons to get their scales was angering her, so Ethan began doing his best to soothe her. He started with a slight massage of her scale as he did his best to continue etching the glyphs. His words were hasty, but he hoped they would do the job of calming her down.

“Well now, I don’t mean just any dragon! They aren’t beasts you kill on a whim! I mean the greedy smokepots who would take another’s treasure and set others ablaze for the heck of it. You know…” He whispered in her ear, or where it should have been if she were human. “…like that red drake.”

The smoke died down as she considered that train of thought. “I suppose I wouldn’t shed a tear of he were skinned and worn like some…person’s garments.”

“Well you’re thinking that humans would wear it like a fur coat or scarf that was freshly killed. I’m pretty sure that they would just take a layer’s worth you would shed and use it to craft a tunic. It’s not like we can parade the fact that the dragon was killed to get it and everyone accepts it as truth. A lot of the time, no one believes a person when they claim to have slain a dragon. Usually because that person is telling their story in a bar, and has had plenty of drinks so what do they know?”

“Oh.” Tsavorite was a bit silent before she spoke up again to apologize. “Forgive me, master, for I thought that you were implying something more troubling than some tales told around a watering hole.”

“No worries, Tsavorite. Just don’t try to set me ablaze the next time I mention something about my culture.” He hid his nervousness with a smirk as he whispered conspiratorially. “It ended pretty poorly for the last dragon that tried to do that.”

‘Now for the moment of truth.’ He bit hard into his thumb, and got it to start bleeding. He rubbed the bleeding digit upon his palm as he readied himself for the main event.

Tsavorite’s nostrils flared as she recognized the metallic smell of a certain crimson liquid. “Master? What are you…?”

“Before, you were a skin and bones reptile starving for food and attention. No longer will you ever live in fear of experiencing such a thing again. From now on, you will thus be known as Tsavorite, The Gem Gourmet.” He slammed his palm into the mark on her back. “Now rise, and be welcome as my vassal.”

Tsavorite gave a hiss as she felt the glyphs gave off a searing sensation into her scales. Yet, it didn’t feel hot, but rather cold and chilling. In a few ways, it was thrilling, but it passed quickly. When it ceased, she couldn’t help but to let out an enthusiastic cry out as she got up with her arms and wings spread wide.

Unfortunately the action also knocked back Ethan. Embarrassed, she muttered a quick apology as she helped the human to his feet.

“Sorry, master. I should have been more composed.”

Ethan quickly bandaged up his hand with a clean enough ripped piece of drapery as he swayed a bit back and forth.

“It’s fine.” He waved away with his bandaged hand. “So it worked right?”

“I think so.” She turned to show off her bare back. Upon her green hued scales and between her wings was the proud eye mark of Mysterio. “I certainly feel as if a new responsibility has been placed upon my shoulders.”

“Good. Because I would rather we didn’t try that again.” He woozily nodded his head. Yet even when he stopped, the room still seemed to move about. “Now do me a favor…”

“Yes, master?”

“Put a top on. Because it’s cold in here…” Ethan barely uttered his thought before passing out. As he fell forward, he got a closer look at the torso of his draconic subordinate before his consciousness faded out.

Tsavorite caught him, but in doing so drove his face further into her bosom. She still had yet to realize her social faux pas she was committing.

[}0{]

“Huh?” Ethan found himself once again seated at the table in the green room. Hosting the pleasantries was that headless being who called himself/itself The Quidam.

He began as he started to gather sugar cubes into a tea cup.

The enthusiasm in that tone was something akin to an eager child in adults clothing. For Ethan, he saw it as an opportunity to maybe get some answers from this supposedly powerful being.

“I will tell you, if you can tell me a few things. And no suddenly making everything go away like a faded dream!” Ethan adamantly added the last bit. He didn’t want to go through that again.

<…I suppose, but I am only able to tell you so much. You have to solve your own mysteries.> He took a spoon, swirled the teacup, and chugged it like a shot glass before he said,

“What happened to me?”

<…I already explained this, you are Displaced...>

“I got that! But what happened to get me here as Mysterio?” He looked at his hands as he emphasized his inquiry as to what was changing about him. “Why was I able to do the things I did? To figure out how to survive? To use my tools as if I crafted them myself?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ethan asked, but The Quidam refused to acknowledge the question. So he tried another one. “Why this world?”

The Quidam immediately raised a hand to stop Ethan’s angry rebuttal at the vagueness of that statement.

“That’s…comforting…” Ethan said, although he wasn’t sure it was true.

The Quidam poured another cup of tea, only this was meant for Ethan.

Ethan took the cup and sipped. It tasted like his favorite brand of soda after taking a bite from one of his dad’s burgers on a bright summer day!

“The footnotes kept saying that magic is in all things: from the smallest pebble to the biggest tree in the forest. That as long as you have the purest of intentions, you’ll have the strongest of results. I also remembered that Fluttershy seemed to take my promise to not hurt her friends most seriously.” He took another sip of the tea as he finished his thought. “So I reasoned that if intention is the key, then maybe the ambient magic in this realm would fill in the rest if I gave something crude, like my own blood, as a sign of the deepest level of a promise I can give to another.”

The Quidam prepared another cup for himself/itself.

“What?” Ethan was ignored as The Quidam was more concerned with the tea.

There was that word again. Ethan would definitely have to see what more there was to it than what Tsavorite was willing to be forthcoming with one of these days. The Quidam certainly wasn’t giving more insight as he/it just shrugged shoulders and seemed to sigh out.

“And just what does that mean?”

The Quidam recited.

The young man’s thoughts turned toward the gem he also purchased that fateful day. “Yes.”

Almost as if it was always there, he found the box in his hands, wanting to be opened. Before he could do so, The Quidam reached over to keep the lid closed.

The being’s hands gently let go as the box opened wide.

Ethan looked into the brilliant light of the glowing blue bauble. It was beautiful, wonderful, and enlightening in more ways than he could count.

The Quidam said to the entranced Ethan.

[}0{]

Tsavorite tried her hardest to keep calm, but she still felt the sense of worry gripping tightly to her chest. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, it had been hours since her master had slipped into unconsciousness. His vitals seemed ok for he still breathed, but she knew very little of what considered as normal to his species. She deliberated on going out to find Zecora to maybe help him, but the fact she would have to leave him alone to search for the zebra herbalist was not ideal. So she waited, seated and curled up against the chair he slept in as she waited for him to awaken.

The moment he gave his first twitches as he stirred up, she was alert and at attention.

“Master!” She exclaimed as she drew his attention.

Ethan stared into space for a moment or two as he regained his bearings. When he was back into focus, he looked toward the dragoness and asked, “Can you fly, Lady Tsavorite?”

“Of course!” Tsavorite practically preened. Such a question meant that there was something she could do and excel in.

“Good! Because I now know where we must go and I’ll need you to get there.” Ethan said as he stood up and headed to his suit placed reverently on a nearby table. He began donning it piece by piece as he explained his request.

“I had entered a state of…intense meditation after giving you my mark. While doing so, I had a vison of a place where we can acquire supplies that are necessary to further my goals. Thus we have our heading.” The final piece was in place as he put on his helmet, once again becoming the full persona of Mysterio. “We must take to the skies and seize what they call ‘Clutter Coulee’ for ourselves!”

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

Author's Note

Well it has been a while. Hopefully this first part will tide you all over until the next chapter is released. The next part is still in the works and is taking longer than expected what with real life matters coming up. In any case, part 2 will be pushed back, but to make up for it, I will try to see if I can get my first interlude chapter done soon. You'll see what I mean when I post it!

Other than that, does anyone know how to post images into fics? I had a couple I wanted to post to give a good idea what Ethan's logo looked like. Maybe message me about it if you can.
Feel free to give comments, critiques, and edits you notice need doing for I appreciate positive constructive criticism. Until next time!

Update: I was able to make a couple of pictures appear to get a general idea for the symbols out. I may replace them with more glyph looking versions, but these are the ones that the site seems to let work. If anyone wants to attempt making a glyphs version, I'm open to suggestions.

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Issue 9-Making a Mark [Part 4]

Ethan was not having a good time. He had traveled a long way to get here for some meager scraps. He had spent days traveling across a desert through a method of flight. He hated flying, or at least greatly disliked it! Still, he knew it to be the quickest way to get back to his current residence, so he was thinking that would be the problem he would have to worry about the most today. So he planned on spending the last moments before the trip composing himself and giving a final farewell with perhaps another companion to travel with them.

He didn’t even get to have the dignity of tasting a regular breakfast platter for the first time in a long while. Why?

Because he was currently in another realm, fighting off bandit Coyote-men, with a jungle savage dressed Dragon-woman. That was a sentence that was just said about the situation! Maybe a month ago, he would have flipped to it on television, or skimmed its pages in a comic shop, but never in his previous life would he ever believe he was the star of such a fantastical notion! Yet here he was using every skill in his currently known arsenal to fend off these attackers. From smoke pellets, to actual energy blasts from his palms his fought these mongrels off; because of course he was dressed up as his favorite supervillain as he was doing this!

Being dressed up as Mysterio seemed to have its own perks. While these bandaits clearly used brutal tactics to get what they wanted, he could use a bit more finesse. He could jump with better agility due to the equipment in his boots. His gauntlets could match a blow for these big pawed being’s own four-fingered punches. And best of all, none of these Raiders could throw back one of his energy blasts, or bat it to the side like Bo did during their little skirmish. If it weren’t for their greater numbers, the tech using, magic faking individual would have nothing to fear about this strange event in his reality.

Another time, Ethan would probably wake up and laugh at the ridiculousness that happened in his reverie the night before. This was no dream, or nightmare, for he could feel every sensation of the events transpiring before him. The burst of wind from an ax’s slash as it nearly impacted his shoulder. The near penetration of a spear into his ribs that he dodged at the last moment. The vibrating rustle of a chain and ball that nearly pulverized his back echoing with the volume of a rattlesnake. The evidence of this being too real was overwhelming. And yet it was not as much frightening as infuriating that he was feeling this level of flight or fight.

For as he fought, a more peculiar train of thought came to his mind. Here he was facing down bipedal dogs with bladed weapons and the intent to kill. He was merely hindering their efforts with the faintest luck and over pushing his body’s current conditioning. Yet with all of these factors in mind, he did not feel as afraid as he did when he faced those six mares. And that exasperated him.

‘Why is this not as worrisome?’ He thought as he elbowed a coyote in the throat. ‘Is it because of what I have already done?’

For in his time in this strange place, Ethan had done a great many things in this land with the mantel of Mysterio. He had driven away a pack of tree-wolves, and enthralled a pride of manticores. He had befriended a Zebra-woman in some capacity as a neighbor. He had saved the life of a dragoness, and had even taken her treasure trove back from a greater dragon. He had done many wondrous things, but it seemed that his mind kept going back to his main regret since waking up in that forest clearing.

‘Why them? Why was I so afraid of them?’ He spread out his arms to fire off a cacophony of energy shots, to drive back the ten different coyotes about to rush him. ‘These dogs are ready to take my life for all the trouble I’m giving them. Yet with those six, I felt as if they could…erase me!’

“Master, Help-!” Tsavorite’s cry was soon silenced.

“Dammit!” Mysterio yelled as he turned his attention to where he saw his draconic subordinate last. He let himself get too unfocussed to not notice her plight. He knew these coyotes outnumbered them twenty to one, yet hoped she would be capable of handling herself.

But sadly, it appeared that this pack knew how to get the drop on her. He could see that she was roughly scratched up and somewhat wounded despite her draconic scales. Her wings were tightly bound to the ground in a multitude of chains. And yet her image was even more greatly tarnished by the too small muzzle being set over her jaws. It was a heartbreaking sight to see his new friend being treated so shamefully.

It was also a very distracting one as he found himself being lassoed in chains by a good number of these coyotes. “Let go, you mangy mutts!”

The diamond dogs seemed to ignore his exclamations for they already began discussing what they were going to do with him.

“This one might fetch Big Price! Has a Very Big Shiny for head!” One coyote spoke to his comrades.

“Can do magic tricks, too! But may be too troublesome to reteach!” said another.

“Might be easier to chop of its head and sell the shiny!” A third spoke out loud.

Tsavorite seemed to be more desperate to escape her bonds at that. Unfortunately, the dogs piled on top of her with more numbers and started to beat into her with whatever bludgeoning weapons they possessed to get her to comply.

“Unhand Trixie this instant!” shouted another voice being dragged to the greater number of diamond dogs. “She’s not afraid to unleash her wrath on you mongrels for thinking she’s some sort of property!”

“Muzzle this one, too! She keeps talking lots, and tries to bite despite placing anti-magic shiny on her!” shouted one of the mutts holding her by her arms. It was him and two others that were keeping the blue unicorn from escaping. Mysterio could see that her horn was trying to conjure some form of spell, but seemed to be canceled out by a rough gem encrusted ring newly placed upon it.

It did not seem that Bo and Norah were faring any better. Despite Bo’s best efforts to hide her sister, it seemed to be for naught as the two were chased into the fenced walls of the scrapyard.

“Don’t look back, Norah! Run!” Bo shouted as she fought back the raiders trying to rush the two. “Get out of here!”

“But Bo!” Norah shouted as she was thrown by her sister to the top of the fence. She could do nothing, by stare sadly at her sister getting dogpiled by the coyotes.

“GO!” the larger female barked out as she was buried into the swarming pack. The sound of chains and locks were further proof that they got her.

‘There’s got to be something I can do!’ Mysterio angrily thought as he tried to pull himself free from his captors. “C’mon, Mysterio, you always have at least one more trick-”

The inside of his HUD lit up with a series of diagnostics and a question popped up. Ethan looked at the inquiry with dubious eyes as he found himself getting what he needed at the opportune moment.

“Would I like to use one last escape trick? Of course I would!” he muttered before quickly skimming the images popping up. Seeing the desperation of Bo trying to shake off her captors solidified his reseolve. He then knew what to do, and what had to be done.

“Magicis Fugam Vestimentum!!” Mysterio shouted the command as a deep purple mist began to pour out of his form. As he did so, his cloak wrapped around him in a torrential spiral and like a drill-pointed rocket, he flew out of the chains that bound him with a clatter and past the raiders. He knocked back a great deal of them back as he pierced through their numbers with the forced of cannonball covered in sandpaper.

“Don’t lets him escape!!” A bigger one shouted to his fellow pack members.

But none could catch the swirling cloak as he flew over the fence and into the distance.

“Where did he goes?” One stupidly asked as he tried to stare out in the distance, only to see the sun glare into his eyeballs.

“HEY! The pup’s gone too!” Another shouted as he pointed out Norah was no longer on the fence.

This caused three sets of eyes to perk up in particular. The three female consociates of Mysterio realized that the sorcerer left with the young pup in his flight away from there. While some would prefer to have gotten free as well (Trixie!), other conceded that he was at least able to get the pup away from Clutter Coulee and the Raiders.

“Norah…” Bo thought as she found herself too bound and muzzled to do much more than shed a few tears. “Be safe.”

[}0{]

Norah was certainly safer than she was a few moments ago. However, she was not any happier about her newfound flight towards freedom. For one thing, it was a like being held tightly in a spinning purple tornado. Despite the struggling she made, she could not free herself from Mysterio’s grasp. Even though a part of her knew that to have him let go of her at this heights would be suicide in more ways than one, she couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her sister like she was unwillingly doing.

“Go back!” She screamed at Mysterio as they flew. “Bo, needs help!”

“I know.” Was his simple response.

“Why’d you leaves her behind?” a sniffle embodied her pleas. “We needs to help her!”

“I know.” Again was all he replied with.

“We gotta-”

“I know!” Mysterio had enough of this. In an instant he set himself down on the desert floor with Norah sitting down in a heap. He tried to reason with the pup as to why they could not rush back. “Look, Norah, I want to help your sister and my friends, but we have to be smart about this!”

“It’s not smart to leave them behind! It’s dumb! Very dumb, and you’re dumb for thinking it!” Norah argued like the child she was.

“Arrgh!” Mysterio smacked his helmet. He was getting nowhere with this kid. “Look, we need to plan quickly. You seemed to be the resourceful youngling while your sister clearly knew more about the scrap piles than she was letting on. Do you have anything we could use? Anything at all might help us out?”

Norah thought hard, and quickly came up with something. But after doing a quick search of her pockets, she gave a sad whimper at how she was missing something.

“I hads a bomb, but I don’t haves the controller no more.” She dishearteningly explained. “It would probably still be strong enough to take them all out if I coulds make it go boom.”

A bomb that strong in this junkyard? Mysterio had to know where it was to avoid it going off prematurely then. “Where is this bomb?”

“Around that puffed-up-plot mare’s neck!”

“…What!?” He immediately realized that he had seen the thing! It was that junky looking collar Trixie wore. Well he certainly would not
be using that if there was a chance of blowing her up for sure!

“Yep, but I don’t know where the controller is. So the only ways for it to blow up is if someone removes it from her neck and leaves it for a minute.” Norah nodded assuredly, not realizing she revealed that the situation was much worse.

‘Like some raiders who would undoubtedly try to take it off to sell her perhaps!?’ Ok, now the bad situation had gone from a 9 to a 10! He would definitely be calling Bo out for letting her sister do such a slavery trick, but now he had a shortened deadline to meet because he had no idea how long he had to prevent a bomb from going off and possibly taking everyone else with it.

“This is not good at all!’ Ethan thought. He could barely keep focus under pressure! He could barely keep up his façade of being the composed and cunning sorcerer. Instead he kept feeling the vertigo of the unspoken question swimming in his head: Would this be another murder he would have to try to prevent?

[}0{]

Ethan could barely keep his thoughts coherent. He was more still than a statue, and judging by how pissed the vagrant was at his lack of a response, he may soon find himself as stagnant and lifeless as one forever.

In his stillness and shock, sound was strangely dulled and colors seemed to fade out. He could not hear thee motion off cars driving by outside, nor feel the boiling blood that was rushing through his body. Yet the ringing of the door’s chime was amplified like a cathedral’s mark of the hour as his dad walked into the store with a bag of sandwiches in hand.

“Ok, they were out of Turkey-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!”

The vagrant turned to face the older McIntyre man, but before he could even point his gun at him, a sack of large submarine sandwiches flew into his face. It was soon followed up by the rushing tackle of an angered father with enough force to slam him into the glass countertop and break it!

The gun went flying out of his hand as the two grown men as they slammed into the glass display of comics and figurines. They then tumbled away from the new collection of shards, and began a wrestling match on the floor. The two men were a garbled blender of furious punches, chokeholds, and slams upon the rough carpeted floor.

Stuart was a magician, who had enough experience with tight spots, contorting his body, and resisting things that tried to limit his mobility. This meant that he knew how to read an opponent and to get them to think they could hold him down, only to find another blow appearing into their peripherals. It should have given him enough of an edge to win.

The vagrant however was more willing to fight dirty, and despite being on the losing side the longest it all changed as he went for a sucker punch into Stuarts’ kidneys. With that hit, Stuart lost his concentration long enough to find himself gasping for air and trying to compose himself to continue. Unfortunately, in those precious seconds, the vagrant quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.

The older McIntyre could do nothing as he witnessed the vagrant ready his arms to stab him in the throat!

[}0{]

Despite his cool exterior, Norah took his silence as a bad sign. She began to weep heavily thinking that not even this powerful magic-man couldn’t save her Big Sis. Hearing her bawling was enough to get him to snap out of it and come to a realization.

‘Terrified...mortified...petrified...stupefied…FEAR!’ That was it! He had a plan!

“Norah. You said you received your name by how sneaky you can be?” He asked as gently as he could.

Norah wiped her snout on her sleeve as she tried to settle down her waterworks. “Yeah…-sniff-…so?”

“So I am going to need your help most of all if I am going to succeed! I will be using some of my more noxious conjurations against these brutes.” He couldn’t use his fumigations before due to the rush of the ambush, but now he had the edge of surprise! He reached into his wrist gaunlets’ compartments and pulled out a great handful of holo-cubes. “But I will need you to spread out these…special talismans around the place if I am going to finish them off with something so frightening, that they will run out with their tails between their legs and never return.”

Norah looked dubious at the cubes. She had seen shinnies that were bigger and prettier. Yet she trusted the sorcerer’s words for what other choice did she possibly have? “But how cans you be so sure that they will be afraids?”

Mysterio reached a hand out to help her to her feet. He thought carefully of a good enough answer, and thus imparted to her, “Because I am a human. And it stands to reason that the only things monsters should fear are worse types of monsters. And I’ve done worse with less.”

[}0{]

Back in Clutter Coulee, things were not looking good. The place was a scrapheap, but now it looked to be even more of a mess. This was due to the once carefully set piles and homely looking shacks being razzed for anything useful or valuable by these raiders. For that is what they did: find something of value and take it to either sell or be used.

These raiders were known as The Desert Ash Pack. They had strength in numbers and were infamous for taking this part of the desert as there territory. At least, they thought of themselves a known well enough. Never before had they thought of taking their activities to somewhere beyond their imied borders until the idea came to their Alpha. For he thought that the best way to start getting up in the worl, was to get all the scrap and materials they could procure. That way they could get even better stuff to fight, and enjoy like those others packs seemed to. Thus their boss Quarry was seen as a lot cleverer than his fellow pack members in that way. It was why he was alpha after all despite being an eye-patch wearing spear user.

“Now, we”ll take the shinnies and whatever else that is valuable for us!” He snidely proclaimed as he watched the other dogs gather up whatever goods they could find into their sand wagons. They were the vehicles they used to traverse the desert and took turns pulling. Now they would be filled with their newfound goodies in exchange for the explosive payloads they brought. One way or another, there would be another explosion today. “And thus we will start becoming a more respected pack than those stupid Morning Howlers.”

“What abouts the females, boss?”

Ah! Now that was a bonus to Quarry’s scheme. He thought this day would only get him some scraps and more exercise by taking out a pony workforce. Yet besides that strange Shiny-Headed figure and his magics, there was just these three females. Not much of a challenged to his pack as far as things went down. It gave himself a few more things to add to his future sales earnings.

“A Unicorn could go for a fair price if trained properly. They says the horned one are able to point to the biggest shiny deposits!” He flicked her horn, frustrating her, but proving that Trixie’s magic jamming ring kept her helpless to her situation. “Not to mention, they can make extra for being a buyer’s favorite colors!”

If it weren’t for the muzzle, Trixie would have spat in his face. Still, Quarry moved on to gaze at one of his biggest prizes of the day! A Dragoness! It took twelve good strong coyotes to keep her subdued even now, but as it were, these chains and shackles would keep her from being a problem.

“Sellers would pays very good shinnies to get dragons! Hecks! We might just keeps her to makes more to sells.” Now that would be a way to rake in riches! “Eggs alone are impossible to get on the market these days.”

Now it came to their last captive. Sure he was disappointed that her pup got away, but it looked like he was able to get the better deal. She seemed like a strong type of Diamond Dog Bitch. She certainly knew how to fight seeing how she took on more of his pack than the dragon to be sure that pup got away! At first he thought of her as a Bulldog, or a Bernard type. But no, even though she must had been eating lots to get big and strong, she was clearly a Border Collie. There was no hiding that type of beauty, no matter how ‘plushy’ she got. Even with her runty paws, she could be worth something in the ‘pet shops’, but something about this one seems to ring a bell in his head.

“As for you…You seems familiar?” He pondered as he tried to get a closer look with his good eye. She was chained up pretty good with his pack-mates nearby, so he was in no danger.

She seemed to mumble something that was longer than a sentence. Feeling he could humor her, he took the muzzle off her for a minute and lent her an ear. “What’s that?”

He expected to hear her plea for her life. What she gave had more bite to it.

“You’ve messed with the wrong bitch!” Bo barked. Using all the strength she could muster in such a confined space, she shoved her muzzle forward and bit into the coyote’s ear. The ones holding her bound struggled to get her loose, but could only do so at the cost of a piece of it coming off as they pulled her back.

“Arrgghh!” Quarry held onto his bleeding wound with anger and pain. So if that was how he was treated for being a little nice, then he would return the favor with interest. As soon as he got it bandaged, the lead coyote barked out his orders. “Strips them! They want to be means to our kindness, we’ll be meaner back! Loads them onto the wagons and make sure the powder is ready to go boom! I want everyone else to know we of Desert Ash are not pups to be messed with!”

The scum were only too eager to comply. The thing that seemed to lack more in this environment besides water was female company in their group. So of course it wasn’t a moment longer when the three captives felt clawed paws gripping at their clothes.

None of them needed another reason to hate these mongrels. But at the sound of the first ripping of cloth, they each debated on what they could do about it. As it stood, their options were vastly limited. Yet, Each of them still had one trump to play.

‘If I use this, I am going to have to take every one of them out.’ Bo thought as she readied a constrained paw into the dirt to channel her hidden ability. She may go down and never see her sister, but at least she would never be a pet again!

‘I can’t let even one live.’ Tsavorite thought as she readied her flames. Even with her jaw shut, they lit hungrily at her bindings. Her thoughts went to her master and hoped that he would never hear of the secret to her terrible power. ‘The risk of others finding out about it are too much!’

‘I am going to have to be sure that it is only them who are dealt with. The price is going to be too much to pay, otherwise.’ Trixie thought as she prepared herself to die. She may have sunk low, and made bad choices that would prevent her seeing Elysium, but she would rather die quickly in an explosion than become a whorse for these mutts for years to come.

They were all planning to go down in one final gambit. Then all of a sudden, a deep green fog bank rolled into the scrapyard and enshrouded them like deep security blanket. The Desert Ash Pack grew nervous while each female felt a bit of hope return to them.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” A deep voice rang out and demanded the attention of all.

[}0{]

-Crack!-

The Quidam looked up from the book He was reading. The being was sitting at the table that was set up in Ethan’s dreams. Perhaps he was on break from his duties, or breaking the monotony of its duties. However, that did not matter because he knew the sound of something breaking when it wasn’t supposed to and it wasn’t coming from His break.

The Quidam drew attention to the teacup that was set nearby. Normally there would be no blemishes on this artistic drinking piece. Yet on its surface was a crack of the worst kind! Not only was it marred by a deep fissure on the fine china, but the crack did something considered impossible in any other reality. It spread. Not only was the crack extended to part of the table, but to the 3rd-dimensional boundaries above the liquid layer. Thus despite being relatively tiny, it was monumentally worrisome for breaking conventions and known laws.

The Quidam knew what such an instance provided an omen to.

He turned to face the nearby bookshelves and quickly swapped Its/his current reading material with an immensely thick tome with the Emblem of McIntyre. By commands that went without saying, the pages turned until it seemed to settle on one particular instance of Ethan’s subconscious memoir. The Quidam stared intently into the pages of this particular chapter. Only instead of words forming sentences, they were starting to paint a picture.

[color=#6aaafdd] He pondered as he stroked a nonexistent chin. He gazed upon the memory as it reached its climax.

[}0{]

-BANG!-

The knife clattered onto the floor. Soon after a body fell across from it. Only this one had a bullet wound in the back near the heart.

Stuart gazed at the blood that had splattered upon his shirt. Not a drop of which was his.

He then gazed at his son, who was hyperventilating at what he just accomplished with the smoking pistol in his hands. In the scuffle between the two men, it had flew put a few inches from him. Seeing his father get into a fight and about to get stabbed, the boy—no, young man—immediately took it upon himself to end the treat.

Ethan dropped the gun, and it landed with a thud that deafened him. In his mind the sound was not as loud as the corpse crashing on the floor. And that was already louder than anything he could imagine. Maybe it was the dizziness of the shock, or the smell of smoke with iron, but he found himself vomiting for what felt like hours, and yet he still could not hear a sound.

“SPEAK!!” His father’s voice finally reached him in the haze as the sensation of being shaken started to steady into stillness. “You alright?”

Young Ethan said nothing. Instead he flung himself into his Father’s embrace and cried like never felt like crying before.

“It’s alright, Ethan. You’ll be ok! You did a good thing!” Stuart tried to comfort his son as best as he could. “Just stay with me! So long as I’m around, you’ll never have to be afraid of guys like him.”

Ethan blubbered on, not aware of anything but the salty blur of tears pouring out of him. While deep within him he knew that he did what he had to in order to save his father, he felt filthy and a much deeper sense of shame. It was something he would forever try to suppress, but never really forget. That was the day that Ethan first caught a glimpse of a much more terrible world and hoped he would never find himself encountering it again.

[}0{]

The Quidam sighed as it now cemented the conclusion of what was happening.

It wouldn’t be the first time He witnessed such an occurrence, but Ethan seemed to give the impression of avoiding the issue. Now all that stood by was the hope that thins would not worsen. It was very hard to repair a façade when one broke their own self-built character.

[color=#6aaafdd]

[}0{]

All eyes were on Mysterio. His expressionless visage stared back at them. Yet his posture conveyed something that went past anger. Beyond coherent fury! Something far worse and primal.

All the coyotes raised the hair on their necks at the feeling in the air. Despite bearing their teeth, they were weary of the foreboding feeling in the air.

Bo recalled it when she met her pack-alpha for the first time.

Trixie felt it once before when she found herself staring eye-to-eye with an Ursa.

And Tsavorite recalled it as a lingering feeling that chased her as she crawled on her belly, until she found herself at that ancient entrance to her Master’ castle.

Some might call it death, but that wasn’t the right name for it. Still, it was a sensation that would impart two particular truths of the universe to this captive audience:

No one ever wants to be near a hero when they snap.

No one ever wants to be there when a villain laughs.

Isn’t that what he read in a book somewhere, Ethan thought. It seemed oddly fitting to him for after all he experienced; getting ripped from his life; struggling to survive the environment; fighting a number of large predators including a fricken DRAGON! Yet seeing these females getting stripped of whatever clothing they possessed was a nail too far in the coffin of his sanity. Mysterio shook in place for a while until it occurred to all that he was beginning to go into a loopier state of mind.

“Why...are you…trying…so hard…to get me to frown? Men…go to jail. Animals…get…put…DOWN!!” He spoke with dark humor. For what else would fit the notion of what he was hesitant to say, but now assured: he was not dealing with humans, but animals! And animals only responded to power! Otherwise they would know not to tear up your fancy clothes! Or to take a shit on your nice green lawn! So these mongrels would need a lesson that involved either a great deal of power or and exorbitant amount if pain.

“I am going to show you what death feels like! I am going to have all your senses experience it!”

It was on that day, for a time at Clutter Coulee, that Ethan embraced the madness of Mysterio’s Façade and did both.

[}0{]

For a while, no one did anything. Eventually Quarry got tired of the stillness and wanted to get on with this day.

“So, the spell slinger is back?” He spat as he twirled his spear in boredom. “Bah! Just catch him and cut off his head so we cans starts going home!”

“Boss, we needs to let her go!” Shouted one of his underlings.

That statement drew his attention away from his weapon.”Says who?”

“Says this marks on her back! She already branded! Laws of Finders Keepers says we can’t takes her!” The mutt pointed out.

Quarry took a better glance at what he was talking about. There on the back of the dragoness was a fancy brand of an eye between her wings. When one of the dogs ripped off that clothes she wore for her tits, it had the added benefit of no longer hiding this mark like before.

Of course, Quarry didn’t care either way. “You’s stupid? This is prime method to get serious shinies! You think this magic fool knows what he has? Finders Keepers or not, she is ours now!”

“But boss, I think he wants her-Bleck!” The scout ceased speaking when a metal pipe burst out of it’s chest where it’s heart once was.

“No, I want her back. Back! Use your elocution, you stupid mongrel!” Mystero chided with a wagging fingertip.

“Mmmmsstrrrr?” Tsavorite mumbled through the muzzle. She wasn’t the only one shocked at the brutal speed and efficiency of that act performed. The surrounding pack mates and fellow captives were struck with surprise. They didn’t even see him move from that spot he previously stood. Yes, he showed he could do magic, but this went beyond teleportation. This was blinking into existence.

“Be with you in a moment, Tsavorite. I must impart proper speaking exercises upon these mangy dogs.” He whimsically answered as he pulled out the pipe and twirled it about like a dancer’s cane. He leaned on it with the steadiness of a gentleman. “Let us use our words now! Repeat after me: How now brown cow.”

“Kill this runt of a bitch!” Quarry roared in command to his pack. Magic or not, his pack would dog-pile him and slaughter him to pieces!

Four bigger members of the pack took the lead of the charge. Each readied their own vicious blade to slice their opponent to chunks. Yet Mysterio barely gave any sign of being anything but calm.

“I SAID-!”He picked up the pipe and began fighting back with the calculated motion of a macabre dance routine. For the standard grunts, he struck back against each strike towards his person and parried with better skill. As for the big four, he showed a much deadlier use of force.

“How!” One strike pierced through the back of this coyote’s neck.

“Now!” Another got a piercing strike in the ear canal before he could turn his spear to point.

“Brown!” This one received it from the bottom of the jaw.

“Cow!” And this one ironically didn’t see the long shaft piercing him through the eye coming.

“There!Was that so hard?” But none of these dogs answered him. Either they were dead, or scared nearly to death at how easily he dispatched them. Angrily, he threw the pipe at the crowd of dogs, causing some to flinch backwards as they felt his presence become much more hostile. “Imbeciles! I expect beings that wear clothes to be able to respond like proper gentlemen. Instead I find animals who can only dream while wearing pants!”

A few of the braver grunts grabbed their axes and spears and decided to charge at the sorcerer for their fallen brothers.

“And furthermore…!” His gauntlet grew red as he reached out towards these few brave mongrels. “It is very rude to try to interrupt me as I am trying to impart my wisdom! So you now have holes in your bodies! BANG!”

Like a rapid fire machine gun, he unleashed a torrent of red shots of magic in their direction. As great leapers the coyotes were, they had no way of avoiding the assault in midair, so of course they felt every shot pierce into their bodies and exit out the back. It was probably the last thing they felt, for they didn’t react when they crashed into the ground like fallen hailstones.

“Now…what was I saying?” Mysterio asked. Yet he found no answers from the fallen besides the groans of pain from the not-quite-dead. “Useless vermin! Fine! I shall see if someone else is willing to help me!”

Tsavorite felt her muzzle loosen. Trixie and Bo felt theirs become less tightened as well! The reason they found was because Mysterio was immediately present nearby removing them. Not just for all of them together, but for each one of them.

“Now ladies..”Started the first.

“Am I wrong to think…” Spoke the second.

“That you are not animals to be sold…?” The third continued.

“But females to be respected with dignity?” All three spoke together. And then like a dream faded back into one Mysterio. “I am sorry for the way you have been treated. I demand that it stops now!”

He looked to the coyotes that still held the females in chains and said in a smooth command. “Release the prisoners!”

And without thought, or hesitation, the coyotes did. They gently let loose the chains like obedient dogs, and stepped back at The sorcerer’s hand motions on. Mysterio stared down at the sad sight before him.

Tsavorite already had little in the way of clothing with her simple garments. So she gave no reaction to her lack of sarong and top. But her wings still stretched and drooped around her like a cape, for she still felt a bit of shame at being captured so easily to the raiders.

Trixie had a deeply teary expression as she hugged herself as best as she could. For she was probably the one out of the three with her clothes the most intact. Her overalls had deep tears in them like a tiger has stripes, and her shirt was long gone. The straps to her overalls were cut off by the rough claws of the dogs so they could not remain up. Yet she still had enough to cover herself modestly so long as she kept her arms tight around her chest.

It was certainly better than Bo. Her outfit had entire handfuls off it haphazardly ripped out. It was to the point where it would be better to replace the outfit entirely, than to see what patched up nightmare would be made when resown. The worst parts were how he noticed that there deepest tears were directed to her more intimate spaces like her bosom, showing just how much these animals lacked decency. Bo was clearly mad at the transpired events as well because she angrily stared down her captors as she rubbed out were she felt the chains chaff.

“My sister better be safe, Mysterio! Or you are gonna wish these mutts kept me chained up!” She barked as she noticed a lack of Norah with Mysterio.

“Believe me. Even if you feel it necessary to strike me down, I would still never wish that upon you. Upon any of you!” He sighed sadly as he took off his cloak and gave it a few shakes. As he did, it grew longer until it was big enough to wrap around the three females, which he did like a security blanket.

“I apologize for not coming sooner. I should've done more earlier to prevent you from getting treated as you did. But I had assumed that they were like you, and were reasonable. But now I know better. Animals can’t be reasonable. They can only be redirected into understanding the pecking order!”

He snapped his fingers. “So let them see why they should never take what I consider to be part of my dominion!”

The green fog became more thick and pronounced. However, it was condensing towards Mysterio and spiraling around him like a cyclone.

“Get him!” Quarry demanded knowing an attack when he saw one. He knew he only had so many pack mates left to work with, but together they could still get this spell weaving bastard with his back turned to them.

Yet not one of his remaining pack members moved or made an effort to ready their weapons.

“I said to get him!” Quarry yelled again, with a bit of confusion. Yeah, he could sense that he was tough, but the still had the advantage of numbers. Surely they weren't scared of just this one lone individual?

One lower rank pack mate pointed at what they were seeing that was keeping them in place. “But Boss look!”

The green fog that enshrouded the area kept being sucked into Mysterio’s body. And yet it seemed to be doing more than that. For as it passed over the carcasses of their fallen pack members, it was as if time was going backwards. The open wounds and seeping pools of blood began to close up and evaporate. Even deadlier wounds like the one who was stabbed in the eye seem to regenerate. As they each began to reach a somewhat intact form, a few let out coughs that sounded dry and cracked. Somehow, Mysterio was bringing them back! They were still battered and bruised, but they were alive!

One of them woke up with a start, followed by others. Soon they all were awakened and aware as well as filled with immense fright at what they just experienced.

“He killed us! He killed us then he unkilled us!”shouted the one who was stabbed in the throat. Yet he spoke fine, and had no wound to speak of! “How could anydoggie hope to match such scary power?”

Their cries of alarm and terror were halted by a hurricane of maniacal laughter. The laughter’s source was a man, called Mysterio.

“YOU CAN’T!! DON’T YOU GET IT!? I am a MASTER of the ARCANE!!” He pointed to them like an imbecilic congregation to which he was administering. “I can make you feel death! I can make you disbelieve life! I can make it so you will experience untold pain and unspoken pleasure consecutively or simultaneously.”

A glimmer of reflected light quickly drew his attention. Over by the fence, reflecting it from a mirror shard, he saw Norah. She gave a thumbs up at the ready, while her detonator was in her other hand. Her mission was successful. Now it was up to him to get the final act started.

“Pardon my forwardness, but I am going to need this!” He spoke softly to Trixie.

She scooted a little at how he was reaching towards her chest. “What are you-?”

His hands however, were grasping upon her collar, which he promptly ripped off of her with the speed and grace of a table trick. “Don’t worry, Norah said it would explode in a minute after removal. Plenty of time to do this!”

Mysterio then raised his voice to address the crowd. "Don’t believe me? Then let me show you a glimpse of HELL!”

It ascended into the sky for a few dozen feet, until it reached the farthest point it could remain in sight.

Norah pushed the detonator, and it exploded. The burst was far enough to avoided hitting anyone, but that was not the point of Mysterio’s move.

“Praecipite aperiri portam inferni repente!” He shouted as his hands glowed and made exorbitant motions. He must have made over a dozen motions that would have made a ninja look ridiculous were it not what was happening above him.

The explosion spiraled and twisted, while also spreading wider like dough under a roller. It also gained the properties of a storm cloud, for it shifter from a fiery orange to a nightmarish black with red lightning running through it.

Them suddenly the head of a lava skinned canine burst through its surface as if to pounce on this crowd below. It has nine eyes and six rows of teeth. It did not bark, but roared with the sounds if tormented beasts. It was a demonic Doberman worthy of Satan. Yet what made it more frightening was not just it's countenance, but the dark tentacles and shriveled claws of other creatures dragging it back in as if to get their own turn at momentary freedom. Thankfully for all the portal closed and vanished the moment the creature’s head was dragged back in.

It was about 20 seconds, barely enough time to get a drink, or cough out a sentence.

But it felt like an eternity to that audience that knew what it was like to be nothing more than battered bunches of fur and blood that were buried in the sands. Heck, Quarry passed out in a mere seven seconds after witnessing the beast burst from the cloud.

These Diamond dogs were curled with their tails between their legs. Some peed themselves, but no one would make fun of them for it considering the reason why.

Those that could still walk, started to grab their pack mates who couldn’t and hastily chucked them upon the wagons. They didn’t care if it meant leaving behind their earning or their weapons. They didn’t even care how mad Quarry would be when he finally woke up and saw how far away they travelled to get out of there. The Desert Ash Pack knew that they were too close to becoming their namesake to give a damn!

“Who is you?” One stupidly asked as they were about to leave.

“I am Mysterio! One who is a master of the senses and of the illusions you consider reality! I am the one who will not only break your body, but your mind! To me, life is but a dream and only those who live with dignity deserve to take part in it! All who live like animals will be left broken in the dust! The rest will end up meeting a fate more dignified than the cowardice of dogs!” His hand extended out to the desert as if directing these dogs out on their exodus. “Now go and spread the word to your masters: Clutter Coulee is now under my protection as a part of the Wonder Domain!”

And that was the parting message to the Desert Ash Pack. For they all fled into the sands as if Tartarus itself was coming after them. Then again, considering who they crossed, perhaps that was the case.

Had he been been anyone else, perhaps he would have been more thorough and exterminated them. Yet, if they were eradicated, then who would be left to talk about him? To praise him? To fear him? To challenge him? To fear him?

No! Mysterio knew he risked making new enemies by letting the Desert Ash off as easily as he did to speak of him, but he knew it was for the best. It was not a question of how, or why, he just knew it. Just like he knew how to conjure up such a nightmare and how to save his…friends.

Yes, they were his friends, weren’t they?

It was at that instant that Mysterio seemed to ease up and a bit more of Ethan seemed to return to the forefront. “Good grief, was that not a chore to deal with?”

“Master Mysterio!” Tsavorite cheerfully called out.

He turned to face her, only to find himself pulled off his feet, and helmet first into a dragoness’ embrace. “Oooff! Tsavorite! Go easy on me! I just took out a mongrel mob!”

“I never doubted your victory for an instant! Even when you left, and it all seemed lost, I still held hope that you would return for us!” She imparted with great sincerity.

She finally let the magical sorcerer down, who tried to play off his bashfulness at the praise and the dragon’s state of clothing by dusting himself off. “Well of course! How could I think of returning to my castle without my dearest friends and supporters?”

“Friends?” Tsavorite asked as if the term was a bit unusual to her.

“Well, we are friends, are we not?” Mysterio tilted his helm as he counted off on one hand. “You, me, Trixie, Bo, and-”

“Norah!” Bo ran past the two of them, with her mind set on one thing: getting to her sister!

The poor pup was just standing still staring at shock of where her bomb exploded and apparently ripped open a portal to Tartarus with Mysterio's enchantment. The bigger sister shook her younger with a hesitant motion, fearing the worst.

“Norah! Are you ok? Say something!”

“I blew up a hole into Tartarus!” She broke into a wide and wild grin as she started to dance and cheer. “I am the greatest Diamond
boom expert to live forevers and evers!”

“Oh, Norah!” Bo sighed with her eyes rolled. She still smiled at her sister’s antics. “Don’t ever change!”

“Why would I? I saved you Big Sis! And I only needed one bomb to do it!”

That soured Bo’s mood a bit. “About that. You know you're not supposed to use bombs like that collar one!”

“I know, but Trixie was asking for it when she kept callings you a fatass behind your back!”

“She what-?!” Bo shook her head to keep on track of the lesson. “Even still, you know better! It could have backfired or Mysterio’s spell wouldn't have worked, or something else coulda’ gone wrong and I would have lost you forever.”

Norah sniffed a bit as she knew her sister had a point. “I’m sorry, Big Sis! I won’t do it again! I promise!”

Bo hugged Norah deeply a she admitted. ”Still, it was lucky you were there to help save the day as disturbing as it was. I may have nightmares for weeks from that thing showin’ up!”

“Who's the scaredy pup now?” The pup teased with her tongue out.

“Why you-!” Bo wedged her into her large bust with one arm as she began to noogie her sibling with the other. She playfully demanded her to surrender to her attack. “Take that back!”

“Nvvr!!” Norah mumbled. She would never give up! Not even to her Big Sis’ Knockout Noogie attack!

Mysterio chuckled a bit at the sister’s happiness. It was indeed confirmation that it was worth it to see those two reunited. Teavorite heself seemed to brighten up at the sight, and that made himfeel happy as well.

‘Maybe that’s all you need to get by in this world. A bit of happiness and a person to share it with.’

“Master Mysterio!”

But that line of thought would have to be placed on hold. For another person called out to him, and it wasn’t Tsavorite using the term ‘Master’. No, this came from the blue unicorn, rushing towards him. She was wrapped up in Mysterio’s cloak, which apparently shrunk down from its larger size. She held it tightly as she gazed gladly at the mirror visaged person who helped save her life.

“Ah, Miss Lulamoon! I thank you for your contributions to my spell today. I hope you are well, all things considering.” He considered taking back the cloak, but considering how he was restraining his eyesight around Tsavorite, thought it would be best to avoid another female with wardrobe issues.

Trixie stood still in thought as she carefully composed herself as best as she could. When she finally found the words, she spoke with as much dignity as she could muster.

“First, Trixie would like to deeply thank you for coming to her rescue.” She bowed her head. “Had you not come…well Trixie would rather not think of the possibilities!”

The sorcerer patted her on the shoulder. “There, there, Miss Lulamoon. You are safe now! Nothing to fear!”

“Still, there is one thing I must do for saving me from…something that horrible!”

Trixie then to everyone ‘s surprise did something that no one who knew of her prideful persona would do. She took to the ground in genuflection and touched her horn to Mysterio's feet.

“Trixie is but a mere magician, but perhaps under your great tutorage she can truly become Great and Powerful! Trix…No, I know it is pretty presumptuous of me to ask for this honor as if it were a favor, but I can think of no other way to repay you without my body being a token. I promise to serve you faithfully and to be loyal to your cause!” Her horn glowed with magic as she spoke her request aloud. “Please, oh Master of the Arcane, make me your apprentice!”

Ethan had to blink a few times under the helmet at that. A magical unicorn was not only swearing loyalty, but asking to learn magic from him? As a sorcerer's apprentice?

“…Ok, sure.” He answered. “Can’t see anything going wrong with that.”

After all, he just pulled off being able to unleash Hell to some Coyote Bandits. How hard could tutoring magic be?

[}0{]

The Quidam thought aloud. .

He then poured himself another cup of tea. The same cup that had the crack that affected nearby space, and yet it still held the liquid with no problems.

He swirled the cup, debating to sip, even with no head to speak of.

He finally decided on drinking it, and was surprised a bit at the taste.

. The Quidam remarked.

He turned his attention back onto the manuscript with the emblem of McIntyre on the cover. It was not painting illustrations, but instead was reciting quotes that were building up foundations to support the upcoming events. One in particular stood out in shining script.

“‘All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.’”

He closed the tome and set it down on the table before it floated back onto its place on the shelf.

With that, The Quidam stood from his seat as he felt it was time to…take a walk…and see what was happening in the realm that caught the interest of a being such as he.

[}0{]

Mysterio…

…Far and wide the story of that one man who came to Clutter Coulee was uttered…

…and yet the reactions to that name were all the more interesting…

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

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