Waking up part two

The dining hall was spacious and richly adorned, the table was large and very well built. Twilight and the others just stared as the table groaned in protest under the weight of the food on it, seemingly barely able to hold the load it bore. The princesses were eating like they hadn't had a meal in a week or more, with some manner of dignity. The stallion was eating almost as much as they did, with a veritable mountain of dishes stacked near him. “Have you ever seen the princesses eat like this?” asked Rarity, off put at the sheer volume of food being eaten. Together the three had already eaten nearly ten pony's servings of food and there seemed to be no end in sight.

“Never, but according to what I have read regarding the princesses and warfare they engaged in they need to consume more after a conflict. They use so much magic and energy just fighting they have been theorized to burn most of their chaloretic intake for a month per minute of fighting. It has to do with their regeneration apparently.”

“Still....this ain't natural. Sugar cube, why do you think he is eating like them? Shoot, he out ate even Big Mac a little while ago!”

“Isn't it obvious? He claims to be a super villain and returned from the dead. That would mean he hasn't eaten in at least five months by his story; even taking his huge size into account. And that assumes that time flowed the same for him.” stated Spike to the surprise of everypony present. He continued in a very scholarly tone, “I mean, if he really did return from the dead, he has to be starving, as for the super villain aspect of his story, unless he was some kind of a monster in his 'world' he might just be a base line. It is like he has the princesses beat in how he fights, like Twilight said it hasn't been proven that they NEED this much energy; but at the same time you can actually feel when they fight all out, letting enough mana and energy off that the various ponies and other races that have records of them fighting show the same things consistently. One, they are near impossible to hurt for long, fighting against armies by themselves, holding off threats that should have all rights killed them; Two, who really wants to know what an apparent goddess is REALLY capable of?”

“Spike, when did you learn that?” asked Rainbow, the only member of the group who could voice a question. He smirked at her.

“Easy, living here at the castle and with Shining didn't really leave a lot of questions I couldn't ask when I wanted to know about something martial. Princess Celestia actually told me about the need to eat herself when Twilight asked me to ask about how the war with the Minotaur's went. She told me that stuff after I got what I needed for Twilight. She, and by extension Luna, can go without eating like this for a little bit, but they NEED to replenish whatever reserves they go through at some point. So, the sooner the better.”

“Spike, why didn't you ever bring this up?”

“You never asked about what took me so long. And it never seemed relevant.” the young drake replied. Twilight just let her head slowly lower to the table and waited to get a word with her mentor when she had a chance. She didn't have to wait long, as the princesses finished their meal a short while later, with the stallion still going, though slowing down.

“I had forgotten what it was like to fight so hard, now I remember why I took to pastries so well,” stated Celestia to her sister, “They are almost perfect for filling that hole.”

“Sister, you know they go straight to your flanks. Try something else next time. Maybe a casserole?”

“I never liked most casseroles. The current chief can actually make one I can pallet though...maybe a stasis field with some in it perhaps?”

“Only if...Sister, why is Twilight slowly and lightly hitting her head upon our table?”

“Hmm?” Celestia looked over and after a moment, began to blush slightly. “I do apologize for that, we cant help ourselves after a hard....fight...” She began only to die off as she noticed Nikolai's pile of dishes and how the stallion was just finishing. As he laid his fork down, he looked up and saw the expressions across the table.

“What? I told you I haven't eaten in nearly five months. Valhalla's banquets didn't count, that food lasted for all of an hour by how fast we ate and went back to fighting each other.”

“We really need to talk about that in detail, that cant be normal for anypony of your power.” began Luna only to be stopped by Spike.

“Actually, if he came from a world where super beings were common, and it was the right kind of universe besides, death could be a metaphorical revolving door. Comics can be weird like that. And that assumes that he is telling the truth.”

“Death wasn't really a revolving door.” started Nikolai, only for Rainbow o have an odd expression on her face, mouth opening to start asking something, only for him to continue and cause her to close her mouth. “Still, I knew one other guy who came back. Granted he had help and became a servitor to a eldrich entity...Either way, nah- death is and was supposed to be permanent.”

“So, if that is the case; what actually killed you? You are far tougher than you appear at first glance, which is more than tough enough for most.”

“This is going to sound dumb....” muttered Nikolai sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, “But it was a bunch of minions for the blue skinned bastard holding a hostage we needed to get out. Competent minions if you can believe that.” Spike burst into laughter, holding onto the table.

“What, did they drop a star or planet on you or something?”

“Kinda, there were around seventeen of them. They were using heavy plasma weapons, set to their highest settings and fired for a full six seconds. That was around nine or ten shots each I think.”

“What would this 'plasma's' temperature be around?” asked Twilight, getting a morbid interest in the apparent science of a race she couldn't meet. The answer shocked her and the others after Nikolai thought for a moment and gave his best answer.

“Last I heard my sun was around six thousand Kelvin, which was like twenty-eight million degrees or something like that.” Nikolai's face scrunched up in a mild grimace, “But I wouldn't quote me on that, facts like that I usually get wrong.” Pinkie seemed troubled and voiced a question that quieted Twilight before she could begin her rant about how that wasn't possible.

“You said there was a hostage...did they make it out?”

“Nope, the poor bastard fried when a few shots missed me and caught him by mistake. Which was impressive since he was strapped to a table nearly six feet from me. I had landed in a room inside the middle of a warehouse's 'ground' floor where he was being held. When I went in as a distraction for the team, I landed in the middle of the room through the roof. Turns out I picked the worst spot for it, right on top of the guy we were there to get out. Shit, if I had even been twelve feet to one side, he might have made it. The thing was we didn't know if he was even still there, let alone where he was, the intel we went in on was getting old. Don't know what happened after I went down, I just had time to hear a V'sori voice in my head, hear a sergeant or some other low ranking leader yell out , 'Heavy weapons only boys!' and utter 'COMPETENT MINIONS?!' and be blown to Hell and back in a tide of blue-white fiery death.”

“And on that rather morbid note, I do believe we should call it a night. While I am sure you all have questions for our new guest, You all should get to bed and be ready to leave come morning. Before you leave however, we have some things we must talk about. So rest well, my little ponies.” Celestia interrupted the girls as they started to speak out, all trying to ask a few questions at once; barring Pinkie, who got quiet and her mane deflating slowly as she looked at Nikolai.

“He never told us how old he was....or even told us his name....” she mumbled. The other girls, Cutie Mark Crusaders included, were trying to get an answer out of Luna as to what Celestia meant. Celestia, however, had gotten up and walked over to her aid who had just entered the room to talk privately.

“HOW CAN SHE EXPECT US TO SLEEP AFTER TODAY?!” cried Rainbow, waving her forelegs in the air. Rarity, a very light shade of green, nodded in agreement.

“If we could sleep without any form of nightmares popping up for the foreseeable future, I would be very surprised.”

“What I believe my my sister meant was this- While we could ask questions all night, some things he would say would be painful for anypony to hear. That and I am sure the young ones are getting tired, even if they aren't showing it.” Luna tried to explain between her own yawns. The CMC were in the process of trying to hide their yawns and failing. Sweetie and Applebloom were swaying in their seats, Scootaloo had just given up and planted her face, muzzle first, into an empty bowl and proceeded to start snoring. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other and moved to get their sisters. They agreed that the younger girls need to sleep. They were each quietly surprised that they had managed to stay up as long as they had considering what they had been through the last three days or so. Twilight was still in the middle of having a scientific breakdown at the kind of temperatures Nikolai mentioned plasma was like. Fluttershy sat with her and Spike while trying to calm her down.

“Twilight, he said he was most likely wrong. You can try asking somepony else in the morning or later; if that is alright?”

“BUT-”

“Twilight, just let it go, even if he was mostly right about the weapons used to fight him before, that ISNT something you want to recreate. That is the start of being a mad doctor; or at least a Disgruntled Engineer.” Spike interrupted her, keeping her rant from really gaining momentum. He then hopped on her back. “Besides, he is kinda outside most of my comics anyway. I can't really think of any character off the top of my head that he is relateable to. Its like he is larger than life or something.”

“Spike, do you think he could be a antihero?” asked Fluttershy after a moments thought. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, then over at her. Twilight got up, Fluttershy following as they began to trail behind Rarity and Applejack.

“He could be. His story so far seems to make it seem like that; but then, again most antiheroes are not quite that violent in modern comics. Writers try not to get that dark all the time.”

“Some of my marega stories have characters like him, they tend to be the secondary hero who is darker and broody. They are also usually older than the main characters by a small margin.”

“Isn't that usually a Shonen thing though?”

“Yes, but the dark broody characters are sometimes the ones who have more thought in their creation when written up. Most of their stories are already done.”

“So he is like a second or third phase Shonen character, already well into his life and having overcome many trials?”

“That seems to be like it could be likely.”

“WHAT.” deadpanned a stunned Twilight. This conversation was not quite going over her head, but the concepts were foreign to her. A character being broody and mature she could get, but the way that was achieved was usually through several volumes in a series. A character being written so they were in the middle of their life was uncommon and very risky when used in a written medium, usually necessitating a few chapters or even volumes of build up for comprehensive back-story.

“Twilight, marega can get away with that style of character building because the stories are usually very fast paced and the amount of time used to build the background of a protagonist isn't there. It usually goes straight to the action and the plot of the overall story; at least in shonen that is the case. Shojo tends to be about the story itself and usually focuses on the development of characters and their interactions within the world more. As an example the series I am currently reading, The Red Blade, is more in the vain of a Shonen story; while the characters are being developed, the series is very fast paced. The main character is just a tad older than you would think, nearly thirty and is very good at fighting. The reason I even started reading it was it was listed as one of the best romances in modern marega.

While his interactions with his close friends are very well done, we are learning more about his background as the story moves forward. It is done to keep the pace consistent. Some of my other series are very fluid with how time flows, and while it works for them, not all series could use dynamic time.” Fluttershy tried to explain. She then scrunched up her muzzle as she shuddered. “At least he isn't as bad as Carrot.”

“Who is-”

“Twi, NO. I looked at that series and can say you are NOT going to enjoy it. I can let you look at The Red Blade, I've heard it isn't too bad.” Spike jumped in. He seemed adamant that she listen to him and that shocked her. She looked over at Fluttershy, who was also nodding at her.

“While it is a decent story overall, it tended to go by what became the tropes of Shonen marega very quickly. Carrot couldn't lose a fight at all, and always won in the end. The writer even said at one point that his son was supposed to be the main character after a certain point, but the company in charge of the sales of the story didn't want that as his son wasn't as popular. Honestly some of the stories in the arcs they had near the end made more sense when you thought about his son being the man character, they weren't written for Carrot. There was a period of time when Carrot wasn't around and his son, Leaf, had a chance to grow and shine. Those were some of the better stories and why I even looked into it.”

“Didn't he even win that big competition at one point?” asked Spike, showing a mild interest at the one point he seemed to care about.

“Almost, that was around when the whole 'Carrot is the main character, not his son;regardless of your opinion Author' argument happened. Carrot came back and ended up messing that arc up enough that the series needs a reset at this point. Villains and antagonists should never escalate this fast.”

“Power creep got THAT bad?”

“If only it were that. The new author has tried to remain as close to the original as possible, but it shows. It does get gripping in a few arcs however.” Fluttershy pointed out. Twilight was starting to realize what she might sound like when on a roll. It was honestly making her head hurt to listen to comic speak. “But a series cant live off a few decent moments, it needs work and has to appeal the entire time.”

“Maybe, but then again isn't the fan-base so rabid for new content that they demanded that they bring back the original author?”

“Yes, and he refused while the story is held by the current company. It is quite the PR nightmare.” Following the others out their conversations became more quiet as they headed towards their guest rooms. Rainbow however was trying to get Pinkie to move. Something was off and the pegusus was not quite sure what it was.

“Come on Pinks, we need to get to our rooms. What's up?”

“I think she is waiting for him to answer a question. I do not know what that question was however, so this might be difficult.” stated Luna. Rainbow looked at Pinkie and noticed she had a sad expression and was staring at the stallion. His head was swiveling and looking at the various groups as they finished up and left. He was pointedly not looking their way however.

“Hey, bud; could you answer Pinkies' question; she wont really leave you alone until-”

“Thirty-five. And you can call me Morgue.” With that he got up and walked over to Celestia, trying to find out something, the question plain on his face. Pinkie didn't react like Rainbow was expecting. Her mane didn't spring back up nor did she start to smile. No jokes or questions either. She just sat and stared at the stallion.

“Pinks? You okay?” asked her concerned friend. Rainbow was at a loss as to why she was acting like this. This wasn't normal for her at all. Rainbow looked at Luna. “What is going on?”

“I think young Pinkie Pie is having a bit of a character dilemma. She wants to help him in her own way, but he doesn't seem like he wishes to take her up on it.”

“That hasn't ever really stopped her in the past, I mean she usually finds a way to help regardless.”

“Dashie, it was like he was dead on the inside. Couldn't you hear him? There isn't anything for me to make laugh anymore...Its like he is not even here.” Pinkie said, deflating a little bit. Luna looked at Pinkie, thinking hard. Rainbow was speechless, Pinkie never gave up. Thinking about what she said, she looked to the stallion who was deep in conversation with Celestia. Luna had an epiphany and looked back to Pinkie, a smile starting to form.

“Maybe Pinkie Pie, but there is the chance you and your gift with others could get him to laugh again. Laughter never truly dies; sometimes it is just buried in the deeper parts of a pony. This is a lesson for all of the Elements as well. Tell them no matter how bad a pony can seem,” Luna said in a sagely way, “The Elements of Harmony are not just physical items or a metaphorical ideal, they are things that everypony has in themselves. They are a part of all of us and sometimes we need the help of others to bring the lacking part out or help figure out what the feelings we have are. That is one reason life is so hard, it isn't meant to be lived alone.”

“That is really deep Princess.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. And with that I leave you with two pieces of advice; Firstly- let him adjust at his own pace, do not rush or slow him. Secondly- be there if he needs a helping hoof.”

“I thought he was in trouble.” asked Pinkie, more like her normal self.

“Lets just say I have an idea as to what his punishment will be, and I do believe I am right as to what it will be.” Luna called out as she walked away. After Luna left Pinkie took one last look at Morgue. As she got up and followed a yawning Rainbow Dash out, she made a choice. Looking back at Morgue, she promised herself one thing. Come Tartarus or high water, I will see you laugh for real again. No pony should be alone...Nopony.

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Morgue walked over to Celestia as she finished talking to her aid. Not quite overhearing the final bits of their conversation, he decided to ask the biggest question that had been bugging him. “I know we weren't quite clear on what was happening in regards to the whole fight thing, but don't you leader types typically NOT invite said 'criminal elements' to your own dinner table? Isn't a cell just as much as I would normally get?”

“Maybe where you are from, but here my little ponies and I try to teach that the magic of friendship and Harmony are more than just an ideal or two; they are a way of life. While I personally might find your antics so far distasteful, if you have even been partially true with us in your stories, you deserve a chance at redemption. As for a cell, do you think mere feet of stone could hold you?”

“Maybe, maybe not; never bothered to figure out just how strong I was before. Never really had a reason to find those particular numbers out.”

“In that case, I ask that you try to maintain some small degree of decorum. You are a...probationary guest.”

“Da fuq is decorum?”

“It is-” started Steward, only to be stopped when Celestia just started to chuckle.

“He is most likely having fun at your expense Steward.”

“Some of column A, a bit of column B.” answered Morgue. This caused Celestia to laugh a little harder. Steward, not finding AS funny, chuckled and asked,

“So what DO you want to know?”

“What y'all's swears are, mainly so I can butcher them the hell up; where I am apparently sleeping, and where the nearest balcony is.”

“Balcony? What ever for?”

“I smoke, and second hand cigarette smoke is actually more lethal than the cigarette itself in some cases. Therefore I don't smoke inside.”

“That door there is the nearest balcony. Oddly enough, your room is about four floors up from it.”

“Really? Huh. Thanks.” Morgue walked outside and lit another cigarette, taking a long draw through the tube. Celestia thanked Steward to keep her from answering the others question. Steward just nodded and mentioned that she would see Celestia in the morning.

“Nikolai, I have a question for you regarding the apparent unhealthiness of your habit.”

“Call me Morgue, its what I told that pink one, your sister and the blue one.”

“You have a name, why not use it? Is it that hard for you?”

“When you lose everything and have no chance to get it back, come find me and ask that if you still can. Anything else Princess?” the use of her title, while normal for most, from him was mildly mocking and condescending. It hurt for some reason. Celestia rebuffed his snark with some of her own.

“Maybe, but first you need to look at me, face to face.” The stallion hummed and looked over at her. His eyes found hers and stayed there. Celestia could see what Pinkie had noticed, as well as Luna and Chrysalis, that he seemed dead inside. The spark of life was only faintly there. The loss he had suffered was there screaming if you knew how to listen. She did and it hurt to look into his eyes; the saying about they eyes being windows into the soul was not just a saying. Its meaning had been lost to most however. She could recall some of it- The eyes are the window to the soul, the body its house. Gaze upon that which makes you yourself, before you look to others. While she hadn't planned on looking into his soul, she realized he had opened up to her; even unknowingly. And all she could see was pain and rage. But looking deeper, she could see the basest parts of him. The father, husband, working stallion, and more. Almost as much as some of her little ponies, more than some would ever expect. The challenges he had faced, opponents overcome, victories and defeats, all was there.

She let him have his privacy. One day she would tell him what she had seen, and hopefully he had grown into a more stable male by then. He was on a knife's edge, balanced, controlled chaos and death. So much could go wrong, but if she could help save him maybe it would be worth it. “Tell me, can you make it to your room from here or did you need an escort to it?” Since she had stopped looking at him and gazed out over the city, the question was a bit abrupt.

“I can't quite make that jump if its the balcony I think it is.” mentioned Morgue, having not looked away long ago. His glance up was a few seconds longer than it should have been. Celestia shook her head. Grabbing him in her magical grip, she mentioned what she was doing.

“While I am sure you make it there in a few seconds, let me assist you by taking you there directly. You might notice the feeling of weightlessness. That is normal.”

“Ya know this ain't the first time I have been flown around right? All you had to do was say that you were flying me up there. Thanks by the way.”

“Not really a problem, it is honestly on the way to my room; so why not aid another?” said the solar princess in her normal voice. In the few seconds of that exchange, they had made it to the small balcony attached to his room. Flapping her wings, Celestia hovered him over and set him down, making sure the door was open with magic to enusre he wasn't locked outside all night. “Until the morning, I bit you a good night.”

“Rest well Sunbutt.” was his reply as he walked in to his room. Celesta's eyes opened wide and she realized he had made a comment that brought up several issues. Quickly taking wing she went to her room to look up one thing, his story he had told her and the others at the table, the one at the fight, and one more thing she just placed from looking into his being seemed to click. If it was what she thought, there was more going on here than seemingly at first glance or even the second.

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Floral Down was in a state of near shock, being roused at the late hour she had been and told to ready one of the lesser used rooms. Just having finished, a stallion walked in from BEHIND her and was finishing talking to Princess Celestia of all ponies! And his size was just unreal, he towered over her so much she felt like a foal. And his face was so scared and mild disfigured it was mildly terrifying.

“Can I help you?” his deep voice rang out in the darker room, the lights not quite at full.

“Are you to be using this room?”

“Yep, as far as I can tell.”

“Well, I am Floral Down, please excuse me. I was told to ready this room and I need to leave since you are here now. You don't need anything do you?”

“If you could tell me what I need to do to get my clothes washed, that would be great. Also, where is the bathroom?”

“If you leave your clothes in the bathroom or give them to me, I can see them cleaned or mended and brought back to you in the morning. That door is the restroom.” she said, pointing at one of the larger doors on the wall. Having taken a moment to look at him more, while he was large, his most shocking aspect was the bloody clothes he was in. They also seemed to be in a mild tattered state of repair. Her initial fright had worn off and she was interested in why he was in such garb. He cant be a dignitary, they would never dress that....plain. “Will that work?”

“Yea, gimme a few to get my stuff outta my pockets, then can you see to my stuff being cleaned?”

“Yes, I will wait.” Moving over to the door, she waited. The stallion was quick to move to an end table and start pulling things out of his pockets. Several small boxes and a strange tube, a small packet of something made of leather, a plastic bag, and his knives were placed in the drawers. He then started to shuck his clothes just out of her sight. After a few moments, he reemerged and gave his bundle to her.

“The clothes don't need much in the way of special treatment, but if you wash them, the plates of armor in the pants and hoodie can come out so they don't damage anything.” His body was a veritable road map of scar tissue, his entire form covered in some manner of scars. There were several areas where there was less than others, but he was near totally covered. The clothes were large, meant for his frame and weighed a fair bit for the small pegasus mare. She nodded and walked out. After closing the door behind her, she looked around and quietly screamed into her hat after taking it of and holding it to her mouth. After freaking out for about ten seconds, she shook herself off and went to find a maid who was on duty, give them the specifics and then get a fair amount of hard cider into her before she went to bed. And they said the castle maid life would be dull. Take that mom and dad! Though she wasn't entirely sure that this was a win in that regard.

Author's Note

sorry about the delay folks! work is a nasty four letter word not mentioned in polite company and it is an evil, EVIL thing some days.

another note is this wasn't meant to be a three or four part chapter, but it looks like its going to be.
and related to that the rough number of chapters is going to be fifteen or so now.

and the cross overs should start is a few chapters if i can get my sorry butt on THAT ball before too long.

PEACE!