The Equestrian Omni-Knight

by Azure5555

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Death, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Comedy, Angel, Other, Spike, Bon-Bon, Profanity, Random, Adventure
Length: 150404

Artix Entertainment fueled Displaced story line of a young man thrust into a world of turmoil and strife, only to be imprisoned for wanting to overthrow it's oppressive regime.

Welcome to a piece of existence in which a valiant knight rises from his imprisonment against the powers that be in order to bring about true freedom to a land of talking, singing, and dancing ponies!

Now with more Whedon in every bite.

My second attempt at a fic and something I actually intend to write. A Displaced story line with elements from Artix Entertainment, Joss Whedon's Angel, and Most importantly...MLP!! I own none of the aforementioned works of fiction. Please don't sue!!

Published 2015-09-03 00:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-10-31 15:54:12 UTC

What remains

My reminiscence makes me oblivious to the congregation of students gathered before me...

"Class if you would all open your books to page 312, we shall begin the lecture." Stated the balding Earth pony professor.

'Another lecture hall, bored and lifeless as the rest.'

"Which pony among you will be able to enlighten us on what this statue is exactly?"

It's always the same, one of the brown nosers will spout some nonsense about mythical creatures whilst going completely off top-

"Index number 213, code name: Demon Armor. Believed to have started the rebellion between the three kingdoms and their subjects."

'That's a familiar voice...but I can't-'

"Sealed in stone near the end of the war, two gifts were given; one each to the dragon and gryphon kingdoms.

More information can be found on page 432. section 3."

"Thank you Sunset, at least one pony here pays attention."

'Sunset...The what now!?'

The crowd left in a hushed manner, some expletives targeted at Sunset could be faintly heard.

But for some reason she stood there. Looking at me, shocked and curious.

'Nothing to see here move along.'

"You can talk?"

'And you can hear me!' I proclaimed more than questioned.

"Are those stories true?"

'Partly, but let's have this conversation another time. I'm not going anywhere, but you have a class to catch up to. Touch my sword.'

She gave me a kind of weird look but did it anyway. I was hoping this would work seeing as how I've had centuries to prepare but no one to test with.

She touched the ridge of my blade, a soft light emanating from it. As the light subsided she was wearing a pendant shaped and colored like her cutie mark.

'Bitchin!' Focus on that before going to sleep. You'll enter a dream state which will link your mind with mine. Don't be late now.'

She ran off, she had a little kick in her step. She thinks she can use me to become powerful. I can change that so she can become something greater than what she would have been.

That night...

I spent all morning and afternoon making my little mental training room. Endless expanse, anything can be willed into existence, and best of all it was between me and whoever held a pendant.

'Now we play the waiting...'

I felt a tug, a significant magical force wanted to overpower my own. It was a cute attempt.

"Cm'ere!" I yelled as I launched a kunai with rope into the aether.

The force seemed to shrink as I pulled it into my own magical sphere of influence.

Sunset landed with a slight *pomf* on the ethereal ground before me.

"I cushioned your fall so as not to startle your mind."

"You threw a spear head at me!"

"And you wanted to hijack my brain. I'd say we're even you and I."

"I should have been able to overpower you!"

"The thing about magically infused prisons is that after the first hundred years it becomes less a prison and more an incubator.”

I was calm. At least it looked like I was. I wasn't scared or anything, this was my brain after all.

No, I could feel my heart race! This is the first instance of contact I've had in forever!

“I'm Celestia's personal protege! The spell I used was written to break my opponents!” Shouted Sunset.

She didn't like being beaten...noted.

“And whom, may I ask, made the spell?” Taunt her, make her flare!

“If a wretch like you must know. It came from within Celestia's secret spell books.”

“Then allow me to tell you why that spell had no effect on me...”

1487 years ago – End of the War. -

I would face the tyrant of the Sun for what would be the last time. I purposefully weakened myself for this fight for reasons I will explain when I feel you have grown as your own mare, and not as Celestia's pawn.

*Stop! I am pawn to no pony!

Cute, but yes...you are.

I found myself alone on that battlefield, the three kingdoms having formed a truce to end their 'War'. I had an entire 2 year campaign to learn as much of my power and of my enemies as humanly possible.

*Human?

Yes, human. You can put a name to my species now. As is obvious, I wore very much the same armor you see me in now. (Advanced Demon Knight, Horo-Show Void Vanquisher, Harp)

Her first move was that very spell. What I immediately learned was that though it did have a crippling effect on it's target it in no way made the user's magical presence stronger.

As Celestia hovered before me, she began to increase her magical power as if tapping into an endless well. I knew what my fate was, so it didn't matter if she had the power of ten or twenty alicorn, the Elements would defeat me, not Celestia.

*Intellect Roll: 80 [Can you withstand the intense pressure, or fold to it's will?]

-63: Int.Bonus +20-

“You would refuse to yield to me beast!?”

Her facade quickly shattered. Whatever spell she used only masked her true presence.

“Instead of hiding behind parlor tricks, how about you come down and fight me tyrant!?'

It angered her, being called a tyrant. The truth hurts. But that ends the lecture.

*Lecture!? You think you can just lecture me!? And what was that even supposed to teach me!?

Quite easily, as for the lesson to be learned, you call the wrong being 'Teacher'.

If one day you wish to learn, to TRULY learn, then I await you. If you return it means you no longer trust in Celestia's tutelage, and who would trust to learn from a coward?

Present Day – Mind Scape

“What could you possibly teach me that even Celestia would be unable to?”

She was curious. I need her to be curious.

“Tell me, what was your entrance exam?”

“A simple show of my magic. A parlor trick by your standards.”

“Ho? Show me then.”

She summoned her magic within the realm, and created a small cyclone of fire to appear. She maintained it for quite sometime. It's heat rather intensive.

“Adorable, what can you do with that now?”

She scoffed at my challenge. I used to like to play King of Fighters from time to time, and the cyclone she created put Joe Higashi to shame. I could do her one better.

“I summon thee...Solar Incinerator!”

A small gate opened between us. A pillar of fire burst forth, rising higher and higher.

“How do I know that actually exists?”

“Touch it.” She did, the tip of her hoof would have melted off had she actually made contact. Thankfully her singed hair was enough indicator.

“If when you wake up and you happen to have a small patch of singed hair, then you'll know.”

“...What can you teach me? Now I mean.”

“Something Celestia should have started with. Look within yourself. Past your desires, past your ambitions, past the fire that drives you forward!”

A brilliant light shone forth from her. As it left, a small ball of fur could be seen atop her head.

“Hmph, Just like I thought, it was nothing but a waste of my time.”

“Don't be so sure, your head must be feeling kind of heavy.”

“My...head?” As she raised her eyes higher, a pair of golden eyes lowered to meet hers.

The screech would have been heard by every guard and student in the building had she been awake.

“What in Tartarus is that thing!?” The “thing” in question fell of her head and landed on the floor with a pomf in front of her.

“That...would be your familiar. A fire fox as it would seem.”

“And what does it have to do with me?” She said giving the small fox a debilitating stare. It shrunk at her apparent disgust.

“It has everything to do with you as it IS you. At least the part of you that your subconscious has refused to accept. He is your weakness, your kindness, your fear, your happiness. Everything you seek to turn away from.”

“He?”

“Your animus. Your feminine masculinity,-” I was cut off as the fragile animal was kicked, KICKED, right at me. Sunset had used her bad hoof, coupled with the fact she just harmed a part of herself, she buckled onto the floor in pain.

I caught the small fox in my hands carefully. Quite a few tears had been shed on it's part. I set the hurt creature down beside me. Sunset began to rise from her pained shock.

“What did you expect to find within yourself Sunset?”

“POWER! Something Celestia refuses to give me!”

“You say you want power!? Then let me show you the power that your weakness brings!”

I wasn't mad. I've always been very patient with those around me. And so, I would give her what she wanted. I poured a bit of magical essence and spirit power(1) within her familiar.

He grew to almost reach my neck, fires began to form on and around his shoulders and his paws. A smooth and elongated muzzle and pale white slit eyes made up his facial features.

His long tail flowed and shifted as if it were a living flame. This is what Sunset would become, an empowered beast born from weakness. I could see the fire in her eyes! She began to see her future, her real future! Most think of her as a phoenix rising from it's ashes, but she is so much more!

Immediately, I recalled my energies, reverting the fox to it's primary state.

“NO! Change it back!” The fire within her eyes extinguished themselves. Her fear gripping her being.

“You want that power? Then decide if my class is something you want to explore. If not, then good luck...and good morning.”

Her presence began to fade from my mind scape. I shouldn't expect her back this following night. It would be asking far to much of her, but at least I can see what she does...

Author's Note

(1) SP is a self regenerating form of energy.)

The Twilight Years

12 years into the future!: The Twilight Years

“Let's see, I know I saw it here somewhere...SPIKE!” The lavender mare that is my current student found herself turning Canterlot castle's library inside out so as to properly prepare for the coming events.

“Calm down Luv, can't a dragon get a little rest?” Groaned Spike.

“Twilight I agree, I know I told you that getting Luna on our side would be beneficial to our cause, but it's VERY difficult to keep my prison from breaking without you yelling into my amulet,”

“Sorry guys, but I need to find the prophecy pertaining to The Mare in Moon!”

“And I keep reminding you I can tell you everything you need to know! You've already volunteered for the Summer Sun Celebration, all that's left is for you to rest up. Spike, help me out here...”

“Come now Twi, the old slab's right. Apart from us staying up all bloody night preparing for the damned apocalypse and us hunting for what's supposed to be an old wives tale-

“Mare's tale!”
“Mare's tale!”

mare's tale. Maybe we should wind down for the even-” *BURP

“Well excuse you Mr. Bloody.”

“Oh sod off Pebbles!”

“............................................................pft....Bwahaahaha!!!” Twilight had been the first to break our awkward silence which sent all of us into a grand tizzy.

It has been one decade and two years since I have taken Twilight as my second student and Spike (Once known as William the Bloody) as her dragonic bodyguard. (I have a theory on how the legendary vampire came to be here, but more on that later) The grand success I enjoyed with Sunset, and the years I had both unicorn running around my mind scape gave me time to not only prepare for revolution, but to establish full contact between them and a certain princess of love and one captain of the royal guard.

Twilight, as with Sunset, was hand picked by Celestia to serve her as the Bearer of Magic. But she will not be Celestia's pawn, instead I am ensuring that she be not swayed by lies.

“Good laugh everyone. Spike, what's in the scroll.”

“Dearest Twilight,

[I already don't like where this is going] [Continue please] I must once again show my deepest gratitude and happiness that you have volunteered for the Summer Sun Celebration to be held in Ponyville. Not only will this put into practice all I have taught you [that's good for a laugh in't it], but it will be an excellent opportunity for you to make even more good friends.

Sincerely, Celestia”

“Master?”

“I'm thinking...Spike, how are we on getting Celestia to transport me to Ponyville?”

“Bugger if I know, last time I tried she brushed me off.”

“Have either of you spoken to Inkwell?”

“Well...”
“Well...”

Both Twilight and Spike tried to begin to speak,

“Twilight first.”

“Every time I tried to find Ms. Inkwell it was as if she would just vanish!”

“Explain.”

“I would visit her lecture hall and find the room empty save for one student who tells me I just missed the end of the class, and it would only repeat itself over and over!”

“A wild goose chase for a phantom teacher. Spike?”

“Alright, I found her but...”

“But?”

Ugh there had to be a but.

“She's just so damn unnerving! Like she would just pop up out of nowhere! Not to mention the old hag is.-”

“And that's reason enough to avoid her? This is Inkwell we're talking about, the mare was there front and center of one of the only recorded demon invasions. She's a legendary hero who took out a mechanical pig! I haven't even done that yet! And why is everyone so silent all of a sudden...?”

“Would you like to hear that story, or the demon siege?” Asked a third and very different voice.

Have to think fast!

Luck roll: 90

By God please tell me you can win this!!!

1 : EPIC FAIL!! No amount of points can save you from a roll that poor.

“WOOOOOOOO!! I am the disembodied voice of your subconscious!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“Yes yes, and I'm an old unnerving hag.”

“You heard that!?”

“Spike!”
“Spike!”

Twilight, seeing defeat staring her in the face decided to resign herself to her fate.

“It's over then, isn't it?”

“Twilight, I'm not here to turn you into the princess.”

“You aren't!?” The three of us yelled.

“I want to help the three of you bring down the royal families controlling Equestria. Starting with this.”

The sound of magic being used came and went as Spike started speaking.

“Transportation form six dash one eight four, cargo: Stone Statue.

Approved by: Princess Celestia.

Ladies and gentlemen we are clear!”

“Why help us at all? I'm supposedly one of the greatest monsters of history, Spike is an ex vampire, and Twilight is my student.”

“As was Sunset.” Added Inkwell.

“YOU KNEW?!”

“Foxes are hard to hide. Especially those elementally charged by demonic fire.”

“I see. Spike, Twilight, go rest up and pack. Inkwell, I thank you for keeping my secret for so long. I am in your debt.”

My student and her guardian left that afternoon via carriage where I was shipped by train. As more and more cracks formed on my prison, my influence to the outside world grew stronger. What would have been a day's journey was but a moment's passing as the train had a sudden surge of power to it's engine.

Author's Note

I skipped the whole, "training Sunset" thing because it would take way too long for me to write and edit, but if enough people ask for it, I'll put it up as a side story.

One of These Days...

“Twilight, can you hear me?”

“Yes master.”

“Good, I'm being moved into the library's basement now. It's going to be increasingly difficult to keep psionic contact without fully breaking my prison until you arrive. But I will attempt contact with our quarry, please be safe.”

As the box carrying me landed with a thud on the hard stone floor, I heard the movers voicing their concerns over my overbearing weight. Once alone, I used my growing freedom to test my boundaries as well as my mental focus.

Int Roll: 80

Can you concentrate your energies into an astral projection, or shatter your fragile bindings?

63 :Your binding begins to shake as dust falls-

DEFY! : You defy the outcome with a cost of 116 SP.

Too close for comfort! But I've managed to create a mana ghost. To the moon!!

(Armor: Shadow of Doubt, Shield: Nightfall's Banner, Weapon: Anagogic Luminous Blade)

I rose from the bottom of the tree, visible to no being as proved by one of the movers whom I phased through. The outside world much the same, as I began to rise-and fall as a set of jaws had me by the bottom of my ethereal cloak.

I hit the ground hard.

“Holy hell that hurt!”

*GASP! “A ghost!”

I take a look at my assailant and find a mound of cotton candy in my face.

“Oh...Pinkie Pie,”

“Yep-perooni~ but I don't know who you are! Is it weird being dead, what do shadows taste like, *GASP* CAN YOU STILL TASTE!?”

“Not dead, kinda chalky, and yes I can still-”
Now, despite not having a physical form at the moment, and despite the 2-ton ball of fun not being able to see where my mouth was supposed to be, she managed to stick a cupcake in my mouth. Quite the feat really.

“This is really good! What's in it?”

“Some of your shadows,” Pinkie Pie said with a wide grin.

Not gonna dignify that with a response.

“Hey it's been fun, but seeing how nopony else knows I exist, how bout' keeping this between us for now?”

“Okie dokie! By bestest friend!”

She hopped off as I set my eyes on my real target: The Nightmare Symbiote!

The Moon -

My shadowy form falls gently on the lunar surface, it was safe to assume that since no normal living being could see me, the denizens of the moon would be as blind to my presence-

“HALT INTRUDER!”

“I just had to jinx it...”

Immediately, a small squadron of about six shadow serpents began to converge on my location. I sensed that they were in no way corrupted shadow creatures, merely beings coated in their own darkness.

I decided to make a spectacle of it all.

“Come at me assholes! You too Larry!!”

“My name is Shadowfright!”

“INVOKE...DOUBT!”

I disappear into the floor of the moon and erupt into the first shadow guard to reach me. I could sense his resolve waning as doubt flooded his mind. I left him to think about his loyalties and his inevitable defeat.

The second and third beasts strike at me as I reached the apex of my rise. My Banner blocks an oncoming claw from the left as my sword catches the other on my right, a burst of mystic light blasting my assailants on to the lunar floor.

“Orb of Light, Radiant Rampage!” The second, now recovered, once again attempted an assault with the fourth guard. The attempt was met with a large golden fist followed by several blasts of radiant light.

“Which only leaves Jerome and Larry-”

“MY NAME. IS . SHADOWFRIGHT!!!”

Oh he mad though...

“By the Lost Deck of the Oversoul!” A small rectangular cartridge magics itself onto my wrist as Jerome tries and fails to calm his angered companion.

'Cause I'm feelin' the flow` YEAH THIS DUELIST IS SET!'

“Draw! Inflict control!” A purple tentacled eye appears over Larry's face as he stops mid rampage, mere centimeters before me.

“Sleep,” The beast fell before me hard. “And then there was one.”

“Wait no, I-” Jerome began to plead but I immediately bade him to stop.

“No one's dead J. Just unconscious,”

“Wh-why are you here?”

“The Nightmare symbiote. I know she's here, and I know you all changed your appearance so as to pledge loyalty to her,”

“How do you know our names?”

“Good question, I'm a watcher. It's my business to know. Forget the darkness of your heart and live no longer in fear. Please.”

I leave him to his thoughts as I make my way to the castle. Much of the same monster mashing goes on as I made my way through the heavily fortified structure.

Throne Room -

Two large double doors decorated with black moons bars my passage to my target.

Strength Roll : 90

FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

42 : Your leg strikes the double doors with as much power as you can muster but buckles at the fact you fought so many monsters on the way her-

D.E.F.Y!!!!!!! (God damn-it.) You defy the outcome with a payment of 980 SP

“Ho...KIKOU SHO!” My strength may be lacking, but I have SP in spades! The doors are quite violently unhinged by my massive aura ball, startling the shadow princess before me.

“No...it can't be...Demon!”

“Believe it Moon Pie, but enough of the pleasantries. I'm sure you know why I'm here,”

“To kill me!”

“Yes to-wait what no! I'm here to recruit you!”

“And what sick plan would you have me partake in?” She said with much disgust.

“...You killed my men (and various women) in cold blood and I'm sick?”

“Your point?”

“Wow...you're a dick. Just... *SIGH* Radiant Rampage...”

“Radiant what?”

A large golden two armed orb of light slams Nightmare Moon right in the jaw, slightly knocking the symbiote from it's host.

“Tell me something Luna, you fought your sister, and it wasn't because there wasn't any pony that appreciated the night. Every member of the Iron Claw loved the nigh-”

“YES! The Iron Claw band of rebels! They not only loved the night as do yourself, but they thrived and basked under the moons light!”

This wasn't the symbiote in control, this was Luna herself.

“Even as they suffered they saw YOU in their dreams. They showed me what my sister had done to them too late for me to right their wrongs! Too late for me to see my own bloodstained hooves!!”

The symbiote began to regain control again through Luna's rage.

“Demon, what is it YOU want?”

“The same thing Luna wants. Justice. If your willing, I have a plan...”

Author's Note

Shadow of Doubt: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/Dragoon23/AdventureQuest/ScreenHunter_30May031256.jpg

Nightfall's Banner:
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa471/AQPedia/Shields/TwilightsRegaliashield.jpg

Anagogic Luminous Blade:
http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x329/Nickolay_Valentinovich/NewBlade.png

Radiant Rampage: http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa471/AQPedia/Spells/RadiantRampage_zps348e13df.jpg

Secret, AGENT MARE...

We begin to exit the castle as we go over my plan. It's simple, but because of it's simplicity it makes it that much harder to understand.

“...and I must again repeat myself. You LET yourself get ripped apart by the elements, you then LET yourself get drained of your shadow form which will then allow ME to put you into my statue to incubate your new form,”

“So...I can't kill them?”

“NO!”

“Not even a little?”

“You really suck you know that!?”

…

“Maybe a slight mortal wound?”

“THE OBSURDITY!!!”

Castle Gates -

“And when I lose my powers to you, can I nibble at your claw in defiance?”

“grrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!”

“Hey can you quiet down!? I've got a sleeping bunny here!”

“Eat a dick Shadowfright!”

“Call me Larry.”

Oh. OH. Ooooh. I take a break from my anger and discomfort to see that the denizens of the moon are no longer cloaked in shadow. I take a good look at the bunny Larry has and notice it looks like the same one Fluttershy would have picked up in the comics.

I walk up to him and Jerome and stare at the little moon bunny they have.

“So what's this adorable thing's name?”

“We were thinking of calling her Buffy, I mean she looks like a Buffy,” Said Jerome.

“Just so long as she doesn't go all vampire slayer on me,”

“Excuse me demon, but there are still matters to be resolved!” Said Nightmare Moon rather annoyingly.

“Right, right. Everyone gather round! The nightmare symbiote has been grooming you all to become some kind of personal army. I wish I could say differently, only in my case you won't be going planetside as invader's, but as liberators!”

The crowd before me grows as I continue my speech.

“What I ask of you is this, when the time comes I will need a force of good to become the shield that will protect the innocent and weak from the onslaught that will occur. The ensuing chaos will be vast and large, but I do not wish to force you into a fight you do not want. I must leave and I don't know if I'll ever come back, so I ask only for a simple sign,”

“How do we know what's yes and no?” Asked one of the reptiles.

“I don't know dude, throw a rock at Ponyville or something...” Was all I said before melting into the floor of the moon, falling back down to the planet and back into my prison.

Returning to Ponyville, I notice my my excursion took it's toll on the prison as I felt more and more of my power becoming unsealed as a greater number of cracks raced along the stone frame.

'How I do hope Twilight get's here...*CREAK* LADIES AND GENTLEMEN LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: THE DOORS (Are now opening)!'

Hoof steps echoes along the stair way coupled with a surprising voice.

“As she said, the Demon Armor was shipped to Equestria,”

Special agent Sweetie Drops. My immortal enemy.... With great force, I hear a loud creak and the sound of wood hitting stone.

“Monster Hunter log #37: an unprecedented amount of cracks have appeared over the statue's surface. Will send for immediate repo of dangerous artifa-”

*rumble *

“What was that?”

"That was me," I calmly state.

“What!? It's worse than I thought, you need to be sent back to Canterlot effective immediately!”

"Bon Bon, seeing as how that is your current alias, reconsider,”

“You're a threat to the well being of-”

“Of what? The status quo? While we still have time, hear my story. ALL of my story, judge me not by what has been said,”

“...You have ten minutes.”

“That's all I need.”

-The Beasts of Burden-

What I tell you may very well change the way you view this world,

I'm hunting a bug bear, what's so view-changing it beats that? Bon said this more as reassurance than as a question.

The bug bear.......God how I loathe that thing,

Wait you FOUGHT the bug bear?

Time for that view changer. LIGHTLY, place your hoof on my sword.

As she did she created a psionic link allowing her access into my mind scape.

Are you prepared?

Hit me with your best shot.

]

It was eight months into the war when things started getting weird,

Weird?

You ever hear the one about the mechanical pig?

Inkwell loves telling that one,

Then you've heard of its precursor, the robot bear?

It was part of the archives, why?

The mindscape began to shift around us, grassy plains and a small caravan appeared beside us.

It was sent to kill my people. It struck without warning, no rhyme or reason. I only grew suspicious when an outsider saw what was transpiring and sought to help us fight off the beast.

The ursine didn't even look at him.

“No! Get back, a civilian like yourself isn't prepared to fight something like this!”

“And you think I'd let a caravan of helpless ponies get trampled by this chunk of metal?” Cried the farmhand.

He was your average earth pony, a brown coated farmer who surprisingly WORE a brown trench coat. He managed to get on top of it and found a small red button on it's neck. Pressing it shut the beast off.

He began to leave saying that no pony should be abandoned to their death.

“When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't crawl-”

“You find some pony to carry you,”

I just said that last part as if it was something ingrained into my memory. The farmhand took a liking to me and my own and joined.

Riiiight...So some pony's been making these things for centuries?

Not just some pony, after finding what made the thing tick I found a piece of magical influence.
I learned that it didn't attack the farmer because he wasn't one of my soldiers. The next attacks came from more biological weapons,

Like the bug bear?

Worse...some maniac was creating chimeras bred for one specific mission, to wipe the Iron Claw rebels from existence,

A fourth player in the war?

The first. My caravan happened upon a small village scorched to cinders. Whatever battle that did happen was saturated in dark magic,

You mean Luna!?

She was a pawn yes, but tell me. What do you think the scorched earth led me to believe?

You're crazy if you think-

Come back after the Summer Sun Celebration. My time is up,

“Please, I know you can't trust me. In fact, you have every right to issue the repo order. But I ask that you go home, have some coffee, and think about the slight chance your princess had altered beasts created for the soul purpose of wiping out 3000 makeshift soldiers.”

She was quiet for a time, no doubt that more and more of me was falling off in complete pieces.

“You can break free, can't you?”

“...Yes.”

“Then I'll trust you.”

I couldn't see her leave, my sight was linked to the amulet's of my students. Somehow though, I knew I could trust her.

Just then, I thought I could hear voices and music above me.

“The party's started. Not much longer now.”

To hope...

Nigh faint sounds of an almost familiar song echo through the basement walls, the shuffling of hooves growing fainter and fainter, and the door once again opening and closing.

"Who is it this time?" I ask, now taking notice of how less repressed I sound.

"Liam."

Oh shit...

"Angel!?"

"So you do know, Spike told me everything. The girls are currently at the Summer Sun Celebration, which gives us more than enough time to talk."

"That's all well and good then, but I have to ask. How'd you get here?"

"It's complicated-"

"Wolfram and Hart."

"Okay, less complicated. We had just killed the ringleaders of Wolfram and Hart, we thought it would be the end."

"But Wesley was dead, Gunn was dying and it was three against every demon in LA. Right?"

I felt hesitation, and...a heartbeat?

"How did you know? This is something I've kept to myself since getting here."

"I think I know how the story ends. A blinding light engulfs everything in the alleyway and when it was over you woke up here."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm...huh. I've been reminding myself for so long I...can't seem to recall. My allies call me Azure."

"Blue? Really?"

"Yeah, you here long?"

"I have to go get Spike, make sure Ponyville actually has a fighting chance."

"You shouldn't be too worried, Twilight's got it handled."

The stone floors echoed with soft steps, and the door opened and closed for the third time this day.

'I wonder what ol' Nightmare is up to...'

The Nightmare (Nightmare Moon POV)

'Stupid ponies, stupid ancient forgotten hero, stupid stupid stupid!'

'And what is it that causes you such ire?'

'Stupid lunar princesses...'

Nightmare Moon glided along the dirt path of the Everfree, her now constant struggle against her host body growing ever more difficult.
It was in no part due to the symbiote leaving behind bits of her magic to lay traps against the ponies following her, but due in fact to her host now finding more and more will of her own. It took all the concentration she had just to keep from slipping.

'Pray tell our destination?' Asked Luna.

'My birthplace, and the gravesite of these putrid nuisances!'

'You would end their lives? But what of our plan?'

'To Tartaurus with the plan! I will rule Equestria as I should have!'

'Quiet, I see Twilight and her allies.'

'Perfect...'

Nightmare Moon lay in wait, if the six succeeded, it would mean another 1000 years of imprisonment, but it would also mean boundless power. Thus, she waited as the scene before her played itself out.

"There doesn't seem to be a single thing here! Ugh, not to mention that this place is utterly ghastly." Whined a ghostly white unicorn.

"I'm with Rarity on this one, place jus' gives me the creeps." Said an orange Earth pony in reply.

"It's not all bad-

The pink mound of sugar induced madness began to pop out from several trap doors that littered the castle chamber.

-WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Again!"

"At least one of us is having fun..." whimpered a butter yellow pegasus, only to be comforted by a rainbow maned pegasus next to her.

"Don't worry girls, if I was a betting mare...aha!"

The lavender unicorn, Twilight as Nightmare recalled, had found a hidden switch. Pressing it activated a mechanism within the ruined chamber, and with in seconds the floor opened to reveal five of the six Elements of Harmony.

"Alright!! Great job team, now all we need is to figure out how they work and kick that sorry excuse for a princess right where the sun don't shine!" Cheered the rainbow pegasus.

'Ouch! That hurt me...' Said the symbiote.

'I am you.' Countered Luna.

'Hmph, not for long...'

"Rainbow, I wish it were that simple, but there are still only five of the six Elements here. Without the final Element, the remaining five are useless." Stated Twilight.

"So what yer saying is that we're pretty much sitting ducks unless we find the last Element somehow." Chimed the orange Earth pony.

"Basically, but I have a-

Without warning, a swift shadow seized the five stone artifacts.

"A plan?!"

Screams echoed throughout the chamber. Before the six mares, standing no taller than six-foot-six was the herald of eternal night. The Elements at her hooves.

"Hmph, I was so hoping you would activate these...artifacts of endless power but it would seem far more beneficial to me to destroy any hopes you may yet have!!"

And in a flash, the Elements where naught but fractured stone.

"Ha! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

HAHAha........Stop that."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA.....hoo..oh sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Stated Twilight.

"It's just that...*sigh* I know we should be intimidated by you...especially seeing as how where at such a large disadvantage-

"Egghead what are you doing?"

"Quiet Dash she's doing a thing!" Whispered Pinkie.

-but you're overlooking something."

"And what would that be?" Questioned Nightmare.

With two quick flashes of magic, the fractured Elements had returned to the group.

"Kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. These are the traits required to hold the Elements. These...are the very same traits exhibited by the ponies gathered here. It doesn't matter if we can't activate these stones. What truly matters is that no matter what, the Essence of Harmony will always exist within those chosen by fate-"

The five ponies gathered near Twilight begin to glow with blinding light, as her words inspire hope within them.

"-Which is why we shall not falter to darkness such as yours!!"

"Hmph, what a grand speech. Utterly pointless, but grand nonetheless. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be killing you......"

Before the symbiote even had time to react, the six ponies gathered now resonated with power as the shattered Elements adorned them.

"No..."

'How the mighty doth fall.'

'If I go down i'm taking your magic with me!'

'You wouldn't-'

The light subsided...the day was won, and the shadow flees.

'There's always plan B'.

The taste of freedom

The Basement (Hero POV)

"Ninety two bottles of beer on the wall, ninety two bottles of-*Creak* Woohoo, company!"

"How you been Pebbles?"

"Spike! i'm doing okay. Is Angel with you."

"Right behind him..." Said Angel.

"Cool. Right, you two should stand back, I think it's time I broke ou-"

"DEMON!!! YOU'RE POWER IS MINE!!!"

"Nightmare?"

I didn't have time to register the next thought when I heard the basement door get violently unhinged.

"Everypony on the ground now!! By the authority given to me by the Monster Hunters of Equestria you are all under arrest!!"

"Bon Bon!?"

"Over my bleedin' corpse!" Yelled Spike.

The sound of arrows cutting through air, fire being relentlessly breathed, and the symbiote attempting control all became...just a little too much for me.

Tearing through the incredibly weakened stone, I held the symbiote within my shadowy grasp.

"Fool!! No weapon forged has the power to vanquish me!"

"That was then! This is NOW!!!

What I failed to realize was that the Element bearers had returned and were now watching the ensuing carnage. Between the fight between the now armored Spike and heavily armed Bon Bon and Nightmare's screaming, Fluttershy had taken Angel and got the heck out of dodge, Rarity had fallen unconscious, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash had lunged straight at me.

'Instinct...Quick Change!'

I look at the ponies barreling towards me, they're expressions immediately went from determined to shocked. I grasp Applejack in a telekinetic aura and swing her into Rainbow.

"Oh man...I...I feel so..."

"It's you!" Cried Rainbow.

"Beg pardon?"

"You're the legendary hero of Ponyville!" Said Rainbow as she untangled herself from Applaejack.

"Dude! You're like the coolest warrior in Equestrian history!" Immediately, she turned her attention to Twilight.

"You've been hiding him from us the entire time!?"

"Buh?! I...I guess I did, but..."

"Ohmigosh....ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!!! You are absolutely one of the coolest ponies in my book right now!"

"I am?"
"She is?" I ask.

"Hold on there partner, I know it may look like him, but how do we know it just ain't Nightmare moon in disguise?" Asked Applejack.

"That's an easy one! I saw him floating out of Twilight's basement just yesterday! Hi bestest friend!" Said Pinkie Pie.

I gave a tired wave, but quickly noticed that my hand was cuffed, Spike was beaten out of his 'True Dragon' state, and Bon Bon was glaring not only at me, but at every pony in the room.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn all of you in to the royal guard."

"Bon, if Lyra found out you knew that humans existed and chose to have me slain she would never forgive you."

"...You wouldn't."

"Bon Bon."

"This isn't over..." Uncuffing me, she walked away and out of the basement and building.

"Well...I'd say that worked out-"

I was then pinned to the floor by a mound of orange Earth pony.

"Ah have so many questions...Ah don't even know where to begin..."

"How about we wait until tomorrow? I'm bone tired."

"Heh, Ah reckon ya'll would be..."

Rather awkwardly removing herself, Applejack walked past Spike who had managed himself back up.

The gathered crowd left in an instant, Spike and Aj carrying Rarity's unconscious form, Rainbow and Pinkie began shooting ideas about my welcome party as they left, which left me an Twi.

"So...this is your true form?" Asked Twilight.

"Yep, how do I look?"

"Strange, I mean you look a lot like your statue, but nothing like the history books made you out to be."

"Heh, yeah...but chances are some mainline descriptions of me are more accurate than you think."

"Can I see?"

-Twilight POV-

My master smiled at me, his clawed hand grasping at the opposite shoulder pauldron. With a quick tug, his robes were pulled behind him, dispersing into nothing.

Scales and thick fur covered his entire body. Each scale shined as if coated in metal...

"Fascinating..."

"Please hold the applause until after the performance."

Positioning his arms, he struck a pose.

"Release Vampire!"

Out of nowhere, an intense magic expelled itself as his form shifted.

The once bronze scales darkened, fur receded and sharpened...his teeth became far more daggerlike and his eyes glowed with malice.

He then began to stare at me...instilling me with a sense of fear.

"Uh Twi...your..."

His finger breaks me from my stupor, my eyes now trained on a floating quill and notepad.

'Old habits die hard I suppose.'

*Ahem* "Continue?"

"Heh, with gustó. Release Werewolf!"

The expelled magic gathered itself back, the magical saturation increasing gravitational force. His hair began to grow outrageously and his muscular tissue hardened under his scale.

"Is there more?" I ask with bated breath.

"One more, this one's a doosy." "Hah!" cheered a distant voice.

"Release...Dragon!"

The surrounding magic once again re-focused itself. The increased gravity disappeared as the final change manifested.

Once dark brown hair became crimson, scales now shone with a bronze and dark emerald glow, fur greened and solidified like plate mail and his entire mass now towered over me.

"You're...dragonic...does that mean that you..."

He snapped his claws in epiphany.

"Wings!"

Sprouting forth from his back were a pair of massive green wings.

"That concludes tonight's segment! Any and all comments must be held until tomorrow morning. Jokes aside, what do you think? Gruesome or what?"

Heh, even with the intense visage, behind it all is still the patient and caring being I call teacher.

"My notes are pretty extensive so that's a good thing. The couch isn't much but it's better than nothing. See you in the morning?"

"Be weird if you didn't. G'night."

-Hero POV-

The door is left ajar and lights slowly fade away. I summon a small gust to push the door and close it as I revert back to my base form.

"Hmm, should probably be wearing clothes for this...nah!"

I viciously tear a small hole in existence, various timelines and realities open to me...

"Now the hard part. What to send, what to send...............
Gah! I can't decide! So I'll just send all of them!"

I reach into my magical storage area (My brain basically)
and pull out a pouch filled with masks, medals, artifacts, and the like and charge it.

'Now the message.'

"Heroes, villains, everyone or thing in between! May these items help guide you through your journeys. I don't know who's gonna get what but if the power they grant just isn't enough or if you just need a friend, raise the item and say these words:

I beseech the, Heroic Analog of Lore, aid me this day Azure Darksoul!"

'Okay, done.' "Now get the fuck out my sack!!"

Thirteen different misc. items split continuously within the aether of the void. Good, evil, however these items are used is meaningless so long as it means the scales become balanced.

*Yawn* "hooboy, haven't slept in ages, I think now is a...good as...time...as..."

Author's Note

The usage of miscellaneous items is basically free game, but if ever anybody wants to cross over just shoot me a message.

Amulet of Drakonan
Blazing Solaris Helm

Blood Orb

Shikyo Mask

Feather of the Roc

Minotaur's Pride

Horo-Sho Void Visor

Sword Master Emblem

Green Dragon Ocarina

Eye of Sacragon

Kitsune Mask

Due to the Battleon Wiki being slow on almost all recent updates, the following will not have links:

Destruction Diamond: amplifies Darkness and Fire magic damage

13th Mask: Increased Darkness deffence and higher accuracy

I dream of pony...

'A...dream?

The last thing I remember was falling asleep...I think?'

I run my hands over my chest and notice I'm still in the nude for lack of a better word.

Surrounding me was a room made of the purest white, shadows danced along nonexistent walls and in the middle of it all was an orb of warm golden light.

"That's pretty neat."

'Yooou....You did this to meeeee.....'

"Huh? Oh! Ooooooh. Oh...shit. Nightmare."

The orb began to vibrate violently, its golden glow would emanate a dark energy every other second. The glow became larger and brighter, the orb expanded and finally it took on a form reminiscent of a knight.

The figure before me was quite obviously female if the breastplate was any indicator. Jagged pauldrons adorned her shoulders and her helm was shaped in the visage of a raven.

The sticky black of shadow melted away to give way to a light blue glint. If I didn't already know who she was I'd say she was beautiful

"Kneel before me!"

'Hahaa no.’

We rush at each other, my shadow of doubt against her knight's frame. She launches a fist at my face only for it to impact against the ethereal flat of my luminous blade.

"Rampage!" With a punch my opponent is sent flying, trailing rings of light delivering a added payload of damage.

"Sky Blade!" Nightmare leveled herself with ethereal wings, but they dissolved immediately as several holy blades pinned her down.

"You had enough?" I ask my pitiful opponent.

"You will not defeat me here foul demon."

"Cute, but you aren't in control. So I will leave you an ultimatum: Follow the original plan and maybe you'll have a shot at a rematch, or die. No ifs ands or buts."

...

"I will defeat you one day, but today is not that day."

"Aye. I guess I'll see you when I see you Nightmare."

"Please...call me Midnight..."

Was it really a dream?

I woke up to the gentle hum of the crystal in my hand. I take a quick look at the basement and find my statue rebuilt. I took note of two subtle differences: The structure had shifted so as to reflect the female form. And two, there was a hole in it's chest.

"Huh, well...to quote HBI2K's Escaflowne abridged...heart goes in and OOH shiny!"

'I've waited 1500 years to make that joke...'

As the glow faded, the hole sealed itself. The third phase of my plan was now complete, and that meant one step closer to flushing out Ultrate-

'No! Shut up! Do you want to get sued!?'

"Huh...I do wonder what time it is."

As I pondered this ponder of ponders, my arm bathed itself in a warm golden glow. As the light receded, my normal glorious brown scales had turned a bright emerald green. This only ever happens in my released dracopyre form...but darker. On my wrist was a gold bangle decorated in archaic runic symbols, and before I had time to say or do anything, a large translucent gold clock just magicked itself on my arm.

Time: 06:45 hrs.

"Great...military time."

The clock shifted, the round time keeper shortening itself from 24 hour cycle to 12 hour cycle.

"Thank fuck...and also, WHAT IN THE NAME OF ACTUAL FUCK!? Son of a protestant whore...my timepiece puts Flava Flav's to shame."

*Creak* "Master...are you down here?" Whispered the voice of mine young student.

"Uh....yes?"

"Come up stairs, you must be freezing your claws off.
I'm getting us coffee..."

'I wonder what Equestrian coffee is like? I mean, it's mirror realm Sombra brand, but I guess it's still technically...why am I even trying to think!?'

"Yeah coffee sounds good."

Freedom is...strange. Everything around you is such a slap to the senses. Aromas are incredibly noticeable, the taste of the air is so jagged it cuts the tongue, and sounds are just so much louder.

The vibrant colors of the world could blind a babe, and touch...I...

I had spent the last hour, simply watching my student flitter about in the library, hot coffee in my hands.

'My...hands...touch...'

"I..."

"You said something master?"

"Touch...I...I..."

I felt saliva building in my mouth...a lump in my throat...

"Touch. I remember touch."

I felt so lost...so lost without them. Knowing an entire life was stripped, taken away, and forgotten. Yet here I sat alive and well, but they aren't. The friends and family I made here in the span of two years meant more to me than I ever knew, and they are all gone and I am here!

"Sweet touch...YOU'VE ALMOST CONVINCED ME I'M REAL! I need something more...I need something-"

*gasp*

I was knocked from my trance, a pair of hooves and a mass of magenta hair in my face.

Tears I never noticed began dampening the cold of my scales and the warm coat of fur in front of me.

"Shh...please. It's going to be all right now."

"I can't...I don't know if I should be happy..."

'No. I have to be strong again. I was just a kid in a war game. It's the big time now and I need to be strong.'

"Twi, gather the Elements and wake Spike. We have work to do. Meeting in two hours, it's okay if they're late."

"You never were good with punctuality, but where are you going?"

"I need to destroy something beautiful."
...

Not but two seconds out the door and I'm bombarded with the whole of Ponyville.

Clusters of ponies cheering me up, others throwing gifts at my feet, and some with tears in their eyes...and a distant cry for help.

'Wait wat?'

The crowd parted and before me, two young fillies skid to a halt.

'Sweetie an Applebloom, but where's...'

"Help...Everfree..." Said Sweetie, winded.

"Scootaloo...Ursa major..." Added Applebloom.

!!!

"RELEASE WERE-DRAGON!!!"

Not even waiting a second I abuse the gravity shift of my transformation and jettison myself skyward.

'Rules of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, all things go UP and back.'

I hit the Everfree in seconds and blast my way through to the quiet whimpers of a child in pain.

'Rather large gash, but that shouldn't be a-'

*ROAR*

"Oh crap baskets."

Out in the distance was a very large, very ragged, did I mention rather incredibly large and towering Major. And here I thought the kids misunderstood what they saw.

The beasts paw comes down faster than I had time to react to...it was too late.

'NO!'

...

'It...stopped?'

The obscenely large paw was just meters away from crushing the poor pegasus, but nothing was moving. Not even the leaves danced from their mid-air drop.

As I again pondered this ponder of ponders, I take note of my once again emerald arm and timepiece.

Time: 8:12 A.M Stopped

"Stopped. That's good! I think...what am I saying, I have to save Scoots!"

'Up...and down...and fuck that's a lot of blood.'

I would make a comment of the pool of blood on the dirt, but the puddle came with her.

'Two things now. Heal the pony, and have me some breakfast.'

"Healing wings!"

A pair of golden wings covered the wound, but did absolutely nothing. They didn't move, they didn't dissipate, they...

'Oh yeah...chronomancyyyyyyyyyyYYYYYYIDEA!'

Abusing the lack of timestream I pulled out my Sedna's Lustre (I'm pretty sure I had a weaker variant). I thus preceded to rip into the frozen foot of the bear before me. Once finished, I pulled at said foot and it just slid right off.

Right. Off.

"Heh, I guess breakfast is gonna cost you an arm and a leg! Eh? Eh?"

'That was bad, and I should feel bad.'

'AUDIBLE GASP.' "IDEA!"

Roughly two hours later...

The bear was finally chopped down into sizable chunks, and thanks to experimentation, the fruits of science, and a dimensional nap sack I now have decades of time frozen food!

"But why does it feel like I'm forgetting som-oh yeah. The Scoots."

Finally deciding to take note of the ball of gold, I noticed a distinct lack of blood and Scootaloo was now three years younger-fuck my life.

"I do hope she doesn't belong to anybody..."

-Ponyville-

The crowd was almost exactly as I left it. It was the little things though. Ponies in mid trot, half closed eyelids, mid air pegasi (no wing flap) and it was only after seeing Spike mid transformation that I realized that I had yet to unfreeze time. And Scootaloo was now the size of my head.

'Mother of all that is good and holy please tell me this is reversible.'

Time groaned forward around me and (thankfully) Scootaloo's de-aging reversed.

I wasn't prepared for the utter bedlam.

"-one in this bloody town will-Pebbles!?" Spike said as he almost crashed into me.

This, as well as the shock of almost being bear food, made Scootaloo jump out of my arms, crash into the ground, and almost get run over by the town.

This was gonna be a long day...

And so it begins...

"Okay...I'm not mad...I'm not. I'm just concerned. What thought was going through your collective minds?"

"Well, you see Mr. Azure sir we were-"

"DON'T. Trying to get your cutie marks?"

"That's actually not a bad idea." Whispered the three among themselves.

'Oh shit I think I just accidentally the crusaders.' "Okay...what happened then?"

"That would be me sir." Said a small oddly spotted young colt.

"Pipsqueak!? But...what? Scootaloo, explain now!"

"I would, but I cant exactly remember why." Said the worried pegasid.

'Fuck...At least she knows who she is.'

"Good sir? If I may interject, but I went in of my own accord. Honest." Pip gave me a half-hearted smile, but I knew better than to pry.

"Look, you crazy kids head to school, everypony else should tend to their respective activities! It is just too early for this..."

The citizinry gave their goodbyes and dispersed and the kids left (though not without proper coaxing). My mental musings would have continued, but my train of thought was derailed by a slight tapping on my leg. Looking down, Spike was giving me a look. Dragon Crest helmet still in hand.

"It took you five minutes. It would have taken the average bloke a good hour."

"I..........will explain in forty minutes. Me and Twi have to go over...some changes. In the mean time, why don't you go get AJ?"

The purple of his scales seemed to glow a little as he grumbled awkwardly and left.

"Poor guy, never could withstand the might of blondes."

-Library-

"Twi?"

Hearing a door open and close, Twilight walked in from a hallway.

"Sorry, just freshening up. What's that smell?" She asked while scrunching her face up.

I gave myself a once over and noticed I absolutely reeked of death.

"Yeaaaah...I need a bath. Like now though. Here-"

I tossed my mentally stored bags of goodies at my student and proceeded down the hallway she had entered from.

"-give my equipment a looksie and document it. I need to know if things have changed."

"Anything I should keep an eye out for?"

"Not in particular, no. Uh...which way is the..."

"End of the hall, on your left. Your towel is the royal blue."

"Thaaaaank yoooou."

-Roughly TWO HOURS later-

"Okay, hit me with your..." 'Couldn't even wait till I was done, they just had to be here.'

Waiting in the living room were the rest of the Elements, Spike, and Angel.

"Why don't ya'll take a seat partner. Make yourself comfy." Said Applejack.

"I broought PASTRIES!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

The others just seemed to be patiently/impatiently waiting.

"Yeah, no, definitely. I just need to put my-"

I couldn't say another word as my towel was taken in a blue aura, folded neatly in front of me, and put aside.

'Gee Rarity, I'm glad somepony here knows the virtues of patience and subtlety.'

I mentally prepare myself for this moment, and take my seat in front of the round table.

'Heh, round...table...'

'I know right! Just like Camelot!'

'Gah! Pinkie! Get out of my brain!'

*AHEN* "So...who wants to go-"

"Applejack's grievances are greater than ours. She should be allowed first. Oh and I do so appreciate you helping out Sweetie Belle's friend, heavens forbid if something ever happened to those three." Said Rarity.

"Right, you have the floor AJ."

"Ah...really shouldn't be asking ya this. It's just...not knowing hurts-

She takes a deep breath, doing what she can to fight back her tears

-mah parents. What happened?"

'To dread the day, when dreaming ends.'

"They-"

The front door opened, a cloaked figure before us. Everyone, minus Twilight and Fluttershy, readied themselves for battle.

Slowly, the cloaked being trotted forward, lifting the hood.

"Moonpie?"

"Princess Luna!? MOONPIE!?" Shouted the collective group.

"His pet name for me. I believe I have the answers you seek. Unless this is a bad time." Said Luna.

The mare before us was now slightly smaller, hornless, a lighter shade of blue, and her mane didn't have that non-existent wind.

"Applejack, your call. Luna would know more than me on this. Do you object?" I ask.

"Nnope. If she says she knows, then she can say it."

The lunar princess took a seat with us, none of the other mares showed much hostility. Thusly, she began her recount.

"Twelve years ago, my sister had caught wind of a third Alicorn in existence."

Before any bedlam arose I stood up and diffused the outburst.

"No interruptions! Any of you! Am I clear!?"

Silence all around.

"Good, please Luna, continue."

"Thank you. It was a small settlement, hidden deep near the southward end of Whitetail woods. Scouts had been sent to survey the settlement, reconnaissance found that a pegasus had quelled a bitter battle between the village and an outside squadron of bandits.

In doing so, the mare had released a deep-seated well of magic, manifesting in the form of a horn. Further information revealed that the settlement held ties to an ancient war tribe known as the Iron Claw.

An extraction team was sent in to peacefully obtain the soon to be newly crowned princess under the guise that she was a niece of my sister. The "clean up" as the reports had labeled it had been quick and dirty, so as to claim forest fire.

Relics were retrieved and dispersed, along with one family crest. Young Apple, this belonged to your mother."

The mare in question had totally broken down, the crest only served to break her even more, resulting in ghastly wails as she clung to Luna for any kind of support.

The group didn't fair any better, especially Pinkie as her hair had deflated. Tears silently streaming down her muzzle.

"We break for twenty minutes."

The girls, bunny, and dragon made their way to the kitchen, except for Rainbow.

"So, it's true then. About what happened to Applejack's parents?"

"Their caravan made monthly runs to the Silver Fang settlement. They donated what they could, and contrary to whatever the reports may say, they died in defense of the settlement with honor."

"Dude...she's been waiting for them for twelve years and this is what she gets? It isn't fair."

"And it's also my fault. I created the Iron Claw to stop raids like these, and what good did it do? I'm a failure to my peo-"

*punch* "ow..." Rainbow began rubbing her injured hoof, obviously not being able to dent my scales.

"Rainbow..."

"Don't beat yourself up. Celestia did this, not you, and not Luna. Chin up...that's right both of them! Hehe, there's our fearless leader."

"Heh, you're alright Dash. You're alright."

-Living Room Floor-

"Everyone okay?"

Various nods gave me the okay, Spike and Luna were now beside AJ consoling her.

"Who wants next?"

"In order of importance, Angel is up next, followed by me, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity." Stated Twilight.

"Okay Bun-bit, what's up?"

"What the hell is going on and why am I here?"

"We're discussing any doubts and questions we have."

"Don't beat around the bush."

"What do you think Spike, should I tell him?"

"Go ahead, might give the poor sod some perspective." Said Spike.

"Oh ha ha, what's the worst he can tell me?" Countered Angel.

"That you don't exist. The old Scottish lad Liam never existed. Not really anyway. You are a televised personality, written into existence for the entertainment of a populace. They were with you for every minute of your life, when you laughed they laughed with you. When you cried, they cried, and when you felt pain they felt pain."

"I don't believe you, I can't believe you!"

"Yeah well I can't believe you! You shouldn't be here, you should be in your own reality! You should still be in that apocalyptic version of LA, fighting for your life in that alleyway and yet you're here!

It boggles the mind, but whatever force brought me here, decided to do the same to the lives of another world. That means you, Spike, and quite possibly Gunn and Illyria!"

Angel was beginning to sweat bullets, feverishly looking back and forth to me and Spike.

"Spike, tell me he's joking."

The dragon took gestured at the apple farmer beside him, retrieving a bottle marked with a big red apple. "Thanks luv."

"When he was still trapped, he would show me and Twi visions of our lives. I didn't want to believe him, but there I was watching my life go by. It's not so bad actually...knowing that thousands of people loved you just because you were a right bastard."

With permission, the dragon emptied the bottle in his grasp, silently wishing it still had something left.

"No...I can't accept that. I can't!" Screamed the bunny as he rushed out of the library.

"Angel!" Cried Fluttershy. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I have to go after him, please don't be mad!"

I gave Flutters a nod as she ran after the bunny.

"Hey Spike, you okay?" I ask.

I give the room a once over, noticing the saddened visage of those still here.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine. More worried about Angel."

"Having a soul and heart will do that you."

"Get bent."

...

"Everypony want a minute, or should we continue?" I quietly ask.

"Perhaps a bit of good news may change our moods?" Said Luna, breaking the awkwardly sad funk.

"Right, Twilight, report."

“Well! Your weapons include a mystically infused short sword, it's edge isn't much but something about it's innate magic makes me feel safe. There are two large and unruly great swords, one of which is the void blade you kept through out your imprisonment and the other is wider with a blue gem within it's hilt.

You seem to have a large tuning fork though...”

“Okay weird...so far not much has changed...can I see the short sword?”

Levitating the bag of weaponry, she pulls out what I thought should have been my Vorpal Edge.

“Twi...where's my Vorpal Edge?”

“Beg pardon?”

Rainbow's eyes seemed to shine as she got our attention.

“The Vorpal Edge is one of THE coolest swords in his arsenal! It's speed and edge are on par with most pegasi in terms of ignoring wind resistance. Not to mention it's sweet ability to send out multiples of it's blade!”

'Hokay yeah, she's an expert on my gear.'

“I'm sorry, but how do you...?”

“I'm part of the archive crew! So is Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.” Said Rainbow.

“Okay then...Twilight, I should have two more swords with me.”

“Correct, a hard light blade that seemed to disperse shadows and an almost fleshy blade that keeps emitting this black haze. Also I think it was staring at me. That concludes weaponry, shall I continue?”

“Nah, I'll figure this stuff out myself once I get back on my feet. I'm more interested in what Rainbow said about the “Archives”. I thought this library WAS the archives.”

“Pfft, you kidding? This place couldn't fit HALF the stuff on you! The real archives ar-”

Pinkie nudged Rainbow in the side, effectively keeping her quiet.

“-rrright...Sorry dude, not that we don't trust you, but with royalty here we can't risk it.”

“...Oh! She means me. Of course, well not that anypony here would believe me, but I have “temporarily” relinquished my seat as princess.” Said Luna.

This shocked all of us save AJ.

“She ain't lyin'.” The mare had seemingly pulled another bottle from nowhere and took a swig. “Seems like she's in this with the restuvus...”

“You've had enough luv, let's get you home.” Spike, immediately removed the near empty bottle from the apple farmers hooves and walked her out.

“Yeah...our first meeting went nothing like I would have expected.” I say while slowly reaching for the bottle of apple grown goodness, only to get my hand struck by the moon mare.

*SIGH* “Right, RD first tell me about the archives and then we go over your thing, yeah?”

“No yeah, yeah. I'm in charge of keeping weapon files in order and in shape. The up keep takes for-ever, but somepony's gotta do it. Applejack and Rare basically do the same thing, only with shield and armor info.

But enough about that! When do we launch our counter-attack!?”

'THAT'S HER THING.'

“Really? That's your thing? We aren't launching one.”

This stunned everypony still in the room.

“The hay do you mean “we aren't launching one”! We have to!”

“We discuss our plan of action when Cadence, Shining, AJ and Fluttershy are with us. Until then we play the long game. I've lost enough lives and I'm not about to lose you or any of Ponyville! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!!”

“SIR, YES SIR!”

'Shit what am I doing...' “I was out of line, forgive me. Pinks, you've been quiet this entire meeting, what have you got?” I ask in hopes of bringing life back to the room.

Her hair was still kind of flat, her cheeks had black streaks matting them.

“I wanted to know how you wanted your first party here to be like.” Her eyes like deep pools, her sadness re-fueled my own in the worst way.

“Cake. Vanilla, and lots of it. Streamers everywhere, no banners though. I'm just not that kind of guy. Bright colors, lot's of pinks and blues...hire the best DJ y-you c-c-c-can...*gasp* milk, coffee, some carbonated drinks would be...would be...DAMNIT STOP!!!”

An uncontrollable urge propels me forward, I land on top of Pinkie startling Rarity whom had been sitting next to her. I can no longer bite back the tears I didn't know I held, the pony in my grasp doing much the same.

After what felt like an eternity, we both managed to stop and pull away slowly, so as not to disturb some invisible force that would or wouldn't cause us to cry ourselves to death.

With on last hug, Pinkie's hair had re-inflated as she rushed out, a faint smile on her face again.

“Are you...okay darling?” Asked Rarity, surrounded by the remaining mares.

“Yeah...I guess. Look, Rainbow take Rare home after we finish up, kay?”

The rainbow pegasus gave a solemn nod as she and the others took their seats.

“Rarity?”

“Yes...nothing truly of importance, any changes to your equipment is to be reported to Mayor Mare, and I would like your measurements. Please.”

“Knock yourself out.” I stand and spread my arms out and part my legs. The process is quick and silent. When she finished, she gave a smile, a bow, and left with Rainbow at her side.

Which left me, Luna, and Twilight.

“Luna, shouldn't you be-”

Light faded from the room as the sun dropped and the moon rose.

“Yeaaaah...explain again why and how you quit?”

“I gave my sister the excuse that I would be traveling through Equestria, making sure to connect with my subjects not as a ruler, but as an average pony.”

“That explains why your magic is so much weaker now!” Exclaimed Twilight.

“Oh yes...that. We'll go with that.” Said Luna rather exhausted.

“Night time girls, Luna you're with Twi, and before you say it yes I'll sleep on the couch this time...”

Interlude One: Sunset

-Canterlot-

For the first time in her life, Princess Celestia felt peace. Her sister has found new life and chose to take a break from the duties of the crown, the Elements of Harmony were now stored in an unbreakable, uncrackable, and (some other word starting with un) vault. Yes, for the first time she could lower the moon without the pang of guilt that resonated within her.

But something still felt "off". The guards followed their regular training yes, the kitchen was never understaffed, and little ever appeared to her in day court that actually called for drastic action. Yet something was not "right".

Was it the strange roar of the Ursa Major? No, quite possibly it's sudden blinking out of existence? Still nothing out of the ordinary, as it is theorized the massive ancients had control over the fabrics of physical reality.
Then what? What was it that still bothered her? Realization drops like a two ton rock:

"Shining Armor! You are needed!"

Bursting through the double doors of the throne room, the amethyst armored colt skid to a halt before his princess.

"Your majesty! Captain Armor reporting!"

The princess chuckled a bit before meeting the colts gaze.

"At ease captain the sun fell not to long ago."

"Heh, so it would seem. Your orders?"

"How long has it been since you exchanged words with Twilight?"

"Before she left of course."

"I meant non-business."

"Two years. Time became a luxury when I became captain."

Smiling at this, Celestia levitated a pouch from behind the throne, setting it before her captain.

"Then YOU, need a break. A long one. Cadence has already agreed to a destination and you will not return until that bag is empty, understood?"

"You can't be serious!" Exclaimed Shining Armor, giving the contents of the bag a double take.

"Train leaves in two hours, and when you get to Ponyville, give Twilight the biggest hug you can...

There is one matter of business though."

"Can't say no."

"The statue I allowed transport to Ponyville, ensure it's continued imprisonment. Now go, don't want to be late."

The unicorn left quietly, the doors closing on the dark room behind him.

She hated doing this, but if it meant continued safety of the world at large then it was something she'd need live with.

But that was for the future, the (currently sole) princess of Equestria needed to focus on the now. Thusly, she pulled a book with the emblem of the sun, opened to an empty page and began to write:

"Sunset, it has been quite a few days since last

we have exchanged words, how are things on

your side?"

Minutes came and went, and only a single word appeared:

'Dandy'.

-The other side.-

"Lay off! Don't you ash heads have anything better to do!?"

Sunset had seen better nights, sure the demons were a bit unnerving but they were actually really endearing. They didn't start showing up until only a few years back, and none had been hostile enough that it called for outright execution, but then the vampires showed up.

Decapitation, a piercing blow to the heart, heck, when the need arose she would don the age old armor given to her by her teacher. This time though, she had left her armor along with her familiar at home, she was all out of magic, and not even a pen knife on hand.

Then there was Celestia and the book. She couldn't have picked a better time...

"Pfft, listen to this bitch. "Ash heads", that's comedy." Joked the front man of the group.

"She's funnier AND cuter than that Summers whore, I wonder how you taste..." Said another vamp groupie, sickeningly licking his lips.

Wait...Summers...Spike used to know a girl by that name!

"You don't mean Buffy?"

The name alone sent them reeling, as if a bullet had just been lodged into their brains.

"Shit! She's one of them, everybody rush her!"

Various other vampires scampered out of the woodwork and began to form an impenetrable wall.

'What's that thing master Azure used to say...oh yeah.'

"Oh crap baskets."

...

To any un-learned sycophants viewing the ensuing chase, it was almost comical if not down right hilarious watching a slim framed young woman running down the street, screaming bloody murder whilst flailing her arms.

But Clem was neither un-learned OR sycophantic. Humans, especially human emotions were an integral part of his continued existence. Add the fact he came to know the woman running for her life personally and it was enough to render the streets dusty.

"Clem?!" Shouted the exasperated Sunset.

"Oh hey Sunny, I noticed the vamps on your tail." Clem seized a vamp with one of his snake tendrils and tossed them aside, eliciting a pained Wilhelmian yelp.

"You should probably get out of here before more pop up."

"But what about you?!"

Two more vamps became ash from having their heads torn off.

"I'll manage. Now get out of here you crazy kid."

Sunset darted the opposite direction, many of the oncoming vamps shifting focus back to their original prey. The lucky ones managed to slip past the loose skinned demon with their lives.

...

Sunset dipped into an alleyway and found herself in what she could only describe as a Speak-easy. Behind the counter was a tall, well dressed, green skinned man with small red horns.
"Sorry sugar booger, we're closed for the night."

"But this is a bar." Replied Sunset.

"Yeah, and if the feds found out we had a minor they'd be down on us faster than you could blink. That and it's past curfew."

"You know getting home sounds great but I'm kind of being tailed by some vamps. They just kinda flipped when I said Buffy."

The barkeep nearly dropped the glass he held in his hand.

"You know the slayer?! Honey, I don't know who you are but you better start singing and I mean now."

"Uh...okay then. When I wake up early..."
Lorn didn't exactly know what had happened to him or how he found himself in this new world, but the minute he felt the first sound of life, he didn't care. He didn't care because the people had the uncanny ability to bring music to life.

Literally.

The girls destiny was big. Bigger than anything he'd seen, but contrary to his original belief, she wasn't a slayer. She was a...a pony. A powerful pony that could probably make most lesser demons piss their collective nethers...but a pony nonetheless

"Oh honey, you are destined for big things, also have you considered a career in musical theater?"

“No, kinda busy with other things. What do you mean about my destiny?”

“Honey, you have magic in a magicless world. Want a drink? Something tells me history is about to repeat itself here in Caritas.”

Pouring a glass of carbonated soft-drink for his patron, the well dressed demon walked from behind his counter and sat next to Sunset almost solemnly.

“I really just hope it's different this time. You have a place to stay?”

“Uh-yeah, no. I mean...my place is a little out of the way, but I've got a vamp problem out the-”

The sound of a door unlocking and opening put Shimmer on edge as she prepared for the worst.
What came through the bar's back door was a fairly young teen, whitish skin, brown mop toppish cut, and missing a shirt.

“Didn't think we had visitors Lorn. Mind introducing me?”

'Lorn' gasped in realization:

“I never got your name sweetheart!”

“Sunset...does he always dress like that?” Sunset asked, face becoming a slightly redder tinge of orange.

“He probably just got out of the shower, Sunset meet Conner. Conner, Sunset. I'll go set up the spare room, you two kids play nice.”

Leaving the two to their own devices, Sunset got back to her book, not noticing the eyes peeking at its pages.

“Dandy, there was a small problem with a mugger,

but I'm okay now. I'm with a friend

so there's really no need to worry.

Best of wishes, until tomorrow.”

“Who you writing to?”

“Gah!”

The voice behind her gave her a heart attack, as she desperately tried and failed to hide her book, said book vibrating in response.

“Something tells me you weren't mugged.” Stated Connor.

“N-no...it was vampires. I kinda got lost and wound up here.”

“Lorn have you sing?”

“Yeah, he said something about my destiny. What's that about?”

“He can read people. It's easier to do when the person he reads is baring their soul. He gives advice, and then he sends them on their way. He used to help my dad back when they were still on speaking terms.”

“What happened?”

“I'll tell you some other time. We open early tomorrow so I'm heading to bed, g'night don't let the vampires bite.”

'A bar run by a demon huh, could be worse.' With that thought, Sunset made her way to her room. It was just one of those days.

To arms! To arms!

"Rainbow, gather any able bodies and lead the young, old, and wounded into the hospital. Afterward start work on a barricade!"

"You got it!" A rainbow blur was the only sign showing she had been there at all.

"Rarity, Ponyville needs to be armed! Gather a group and start carting every gemstone in storage. I promise to replace every gem."

"Oh dear, you know I don't mind nor do I expect payment. It shall be done!" Rare left at a pace almost unbecoming of her.

"Pinkie, you stay here and get Applejack back on her legs. Afterward you two start gathering food and water."

"Okie dokie!"

Pinkie entered deeper into the library leaving Luna, Twi, Fluttershy and Angel.

"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry, but you get the hard job."

I saw her shrink in on herself, soft whimpers escaping her.

"You, Angel, Twilight and Luna are all front-liners. If Celestia finds me we're dead in the water."

"That's insane!-" Cried Angel. "-you expect her to do what exactly!?"

"She's our field medic. She bandages who she can while the rest of you keep her from harm. On that note, catch."

Reaching once again into my bag of goodies I throw a ribbon at the small bunny. His face showing how very not amused he is.

"It's pink." Deadpanned Angel

"It's soooo cute!-" Exclaimed Fluttershy. "-here let me put it on!"

Through a bit of struggle, Angel now had a pink ribbon round his neck, elevating his cuteness from a nine out of ten to a nine point five out of ten.

Luna and Twilight both giggled, but the most important part was that Fluttershy was now calm.

"That ribbon isn't JUST for show. It augments your physical strength unimaginably. Your bite will pretty much match your bark."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Angels outburst elicited a giggle from Fluttershy, showing him the game I was playing.

With a soul crushing sigh he resigned himself to fate.

"This better work."

-Twenty minutes earlier-

Fluttershy had tears upon her quiet, smiling face. The scrolls she had now rolled and ribboned neatly by her full cup of coffee, which she then proceeded to down.

“Guh, that was so sad...but I'm happy I was able to relive the rebellions first moments through your words. There's actually something I have to show you...you don't have to though.”

“I would love to see anything and everything you or anypony has to show me.” I said with a smile.

The stairs behind us began to creak, the sound itself was enough to not only startle the pegasus next to me, but it propelled her into the bottom of the coffee table.

“Twi, that you?” I ask.

“Hm? Yeah, I thought I heard Fluttershy with you,” Said Twilight, wiping the sleep from her eyes. *Snif* “Did you make coffee?”

“Yes. To both those things. Wasn't Moonpie with you?”

“She says she usually sleeps in for a bit. Where is Fluttershy by the way?”

“Under the table,” the table whimpered a bit before depositing it's refugee. “Glad you could join us little one.”

“H-h-h-hel-um-uh-g-g-g-g-good...morning...” Said Fluttershy rather adorably.

Offering my hand, the pegasus took it and pulled herself up, Twilight joining her on the couch.

“So Twi, where's Spike?” Twilight took a quick sip of coffee (straight from the pot mind you) and took a satisfied breath.

“He's sleeping in the barn. Says he needed some “me” time. After yesterday, I'd say everypony could use a bit of down time.”

Taking a moment, I walk into the kitchen to enjoy a quick breakfast...which was interrupted by an ear-splitting scream coming from the top floor. A quick save found my Ursa leg meat into my mouth and not the floor. Swallowing, I rushed back into the living room to s what the commotion was.

“What happened!?” Luna was panting on the floor, cold sweat and fear hovering in the air.

“PONYVILLE! Vision! Bad, very bad! We need to prepare NOW!” Cried Luna.

'Wait what?' My train of thought was interrupted by the front door nearly getting bucked off it's hinges. Applejack walked in scarred and bloodied.

“OH MY GOD APPLEJACK!! “HEALING WINGS!!” A pair of golden wings unfurled and folded unto the apple farmer, various wounds sealing up as nicely as possible.

“Thanks Sugarcube, that feels a mite better.” Unfortunately, she slumped face first onto the floor.

“What happened!? What did this!? WHERE'S SPIKE!!” I yelled unknowingly.

Pinkie thus bounded in after her friend, throwing two solar wax seal scrolls to Twilight. Pinkie's hair flat and darkened. “Spike is busy doing his best with Big Macintosh protecting Applebloom and Granny Smith! The-th-th...” Luna screamed out what Pinkie could not:

“THE DEAD ARE COMING!!”

“MY BROTHER AND CADENCE ARE COMING!” Cried Twilight! She then slapped me in the face with one of the two scrolls.

Reading it scared me beyond shitless. “THE ROYAL GUARD IS COMING!!”

Pinkie gained a bit more of her hair volume back as she looked out the door. “THE GIRLS AND ANGEL ARE COMING!!”

“DEAR GOD WHY IS EVERYONE COMING!!??”

-Present moment-

"If things go south the ribbon has two Super Modes. Bun-Demon and Bun-dragon. Good luck you three!"

“What will you do?” Asked Moony Pie.

“ “I” will be going after two things. I'll be going after a mystic and a chaos root that will help me hide from the guard. Not gonna lie, if my ass is caught then Celestia is going to be far more frightening than ANY undead monstrosity in existence.”

-Train-

Shining and his mare-friend Cadence were having a bad time adjusting. What they wanted was a nice, relaxing vacation with Twilight and her new friends. Oh, and to discuss future war plans. Instead, Celestia sends them a message stating Ponyville's current undead infestation.

Not a good time at all.

"Can't this damn thing go faster!" Complained Shining.

"Hey, language!" Retorted Cadence.

"We're literally the only two ponies here who even know what that means. Sorry, I know I shouldn't but Twili could be-"

"Don't go there. We'll make it, she'll be fine, and we'll be laughing all the way home."

"Thanks, you always know what to say."

The two shared a quick nuzzle when Cadences eyes lit up in epiphany

"Wanna super charge the tracks?" Asked the princess with a devilish smirk.

"You know me too well."

As the lovers embraced, the train found itself in a vast surge of power.

-Skyward Carriage-

Commander Golden Hilt wasn't a well mannered stallion. If a mission called on him to answer to a superior it both annoyed and frustrated him. Annoyed as it would mean actually following correct protocol, frustrated as it meant he had little to no control in the situation. Worse still was the fact that his superior was the boy scout of a Royal Captain, Shining Armor!

But, if things went well, it would mean framing the captain, gaining the well deserved affection of Mi Amore Cadenza, and his long awaited promotion to Captain. Twenty strong sets of hooves at his back made him feel all the merrier.

-Ponyville General-

Seconds had gone by, and what was once a quiet peace of respite for the wounded and weary became a flood of chaos and worry. Doctors and nurses all rushed to and fro in hopes of preparing for the onslaught that awaited them. Outside, two makeshift squadrons did their best to fight back the undead army before them. One pony amongst the few though had no business on the field of battle.

“Oak you crazy son of a mule, get back to your room! Your wife will have a heart attack if she see's you out here!” Cried the back up fighter.

“Shove it Buggy! The only thing that can stand between those walking corpses and the innocent civilians in that hospital is us! Plus, I doubt she cares anymore,” reacting to a cry for help, Oakwood slammed against three unarmored skeletal ponies in time to save an orange pegasus with short purple hair.

“You're that filly from yesterday!” Scootaloo, the 'helpless' pegasus of the town, squandered to her legs.

“I'm sorry sir I-”

“You could have been killed!” Yelled Oakwood.

Buggy Button cleaved at a zompony before it had time to bite into Oak. “Oak, you take the filly and you get INSIDE THIS INSTANT! I will not be the one to tell Lily you died out here.

Buggy left the two, going deeper into the growing pile of undead corpses. Scootaloo shrinking in on herself. “I only wanted to help...” Oak, seeing a bit of himself in the girl put a hoof on her head.

“I know the feeling. You know, I have something that can keep this place safe, but I need help moving it. Mind lending me a hoof?” The pair finding renewed vigor made haste to what could hopefully be the town's greatest hope.

-The Hero-

The Everfree stand before me, a gaping hell-mouth of undead wickedness and thick forestation.

“No time like the friggin' present! TO ZECORA'S!!!” Today was gonna be a really good day.

O Strong Dead March

The Everfree was a jungle! A jungle made worse by the unending horde of undead popping up out of nowhere. The skeletal ponies didn't take much to break, a swing of the ole Requiem and the bones were ready to be buried. The real problem came from the zom-ponies and armored skeletals, single swipes just weren't enough and that meant magical expenditure. Magical expenditure meant increased heart rate and that either meant passing out or dying. It wasn't until having bust through my fourth armored that a memory swam by...

-1502 Years ago-

It was probably a week since the town caravan-ed the hell out of old Canter, but it was enough to lower morale a bit. Endless water and crops just didn't mean what it used to when your main beat-stick was carnivorous.

*Snap* "Hey guys, wanna see something cool?"

"It can't be worse than watching you eat that poor bovine we met whole." Said the caravans prominent nay-sayer.

"Okay, watch closely everyon-I mean everypony."

The caravan stopped, watching with anticipation. Reaching deep inside my essence, I began to pull a charge of spiritual energy and held it aloft.

"Ho...Gadoken!" The small projectile moved at a snail pace and dissipated after seconds. I gave a small grin with my tongue out, hoping I still had their attention. Honey Pot's laughter was enough to keep me going.

This time I actually focused my energy with purpose. Gathering a bolt of spiritual energy, I focused the orb into both hands, pulled back, and launched it upwards.

"Shinku...Hadoken!" This time the crowd had gone wild. I wanted to see if I could utilize the other hado variants and decided to experiment: The Satsui No variant was quite possibly the second most difficult with Sean's Burst variant being so complex it required a spell to be woven in with any of the versions. (Thankfully, this meant I could abuse Hibiki's horrible but powerful Saikyo version.)

This new-found knowledge made the trail that much easier to traverse, and it didn't stop at hadoken either: Kikoken, tatsu, shoryu, moves from completely unrelated fighting games I had managed to get comfy with.

'Yeah, things'll be fun, even if we are being hunted...'

-Present-

"SHINRYUKEN!" The metal and rotting flesh melted into each other, encasing a mass group of undead into a manageable clump. Wings unfurled, I aim downwards.

"Corkscrew Blow!"

The mass of undead scatter, bones locked by molten flesh-metal. 'They ain't re-dead, but least they ain't movin.'

"Now onwards, to Zecora's!"

-Zecora's (?)-

I had found myself lost in the ever growing forest. The only signs of life were re-animated corpses and I had passed the same patch of Poison Joke at least five times now. I was getting antsy.

'Okay, Maybe Pinkie knows or something.' I pick up a bushel of Joke and grab my amulet.

*Riiiiiin~ riiiiiiiiiin~ riiiii-click* 'Master Azure! Have you found who you were looking for?'

"Not yet Twi, POWER GEYSER! (Scratch three dead heads.) Can you get-KIKOSHO! (This is just ridiculous.)
Pinkie on the-SON OF A WHORE! TATSU! GEKI KEN!"

'Is this a bad time?'

"These undead are relentless, but I think I'm good for now. How are things on your end?"

'Well, Angel and Spike have managed to take out the stragglers that are getting past the forest, the royal guard are being as useless as ever, and everypony else is guarding the hospital.'

"Sounds good. You guys keep up, I'll be there shortly. Do you think you can get Pinkie on the line though? Real quick."

'Of course, I think I see her-

Hellooo~ this thing on?'

"Pinks! You uh...you feelin any better?"

'Pfft, are you?'

"More or less, look I need to find Zecora and you know everypony in a twenty mile radius. Can you help me?"

'I DO know everypony, but I don't think I know a Zecora *GASP* Is she some kind of forest pony!? I've never met a forest pony!'

"What, no, she's a zebra. She should have popped up in Ponyville periodically for potion regents. She would wear a brown cloak which hid everything but her shining golden eyes."

'Nuh uh. Sounds waaay to creepy to forget. Try your merc garb. If she's here, you'll find her. Good luck Azzy!'
*clic* And so a dead end was hit. Armor change!

The suit wrapped itself over me, it's intense nigh-omnipotent powers overwhelming me with- 'OH HEY A SQUIRREL!!' 'GET......a grip,'

'Okay, fourth wall time.' Channeling the suit's power, a screen appeared before me with a vast map of the Everfree.

"Locate Zecora." [Data not found

"Right, right, lets try again. Locate Zebra by the name of Zecora. [Data not found]

"Increase radius All. Locate. Zecora." [Subject found]

"Bitchin'! Where is she?" [Canterlot Castle]

"Yeah, very funny. Where is she?" [Canterlot, hidden facility, good luck]

"FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

Walking back felt harrowing. Not that it was difficult, my life signs told me I had more SP than I knew what to do with so heart attack wasn't a risk, but not having Zecora was just...really disheartening. That's when it hit me. More specifically, I hit *it*.

*It* came in the form of a large twenty foot bone. Large twenty foot bone came in the form of a dragon. Dragon came in the form of-no you know what? I hit a dracolich. That's what I hit.

It's roar was obscene, every step it took created another undead abomination, and it was just really damn ugly. I had only one option in a situation like this.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" I ran like hell.

The dragon moved at a snails pace, but the armored and unarmored skeletals ran like the go-ram wind. I had to start using magic just to keep em off my tail! Literally, one of them caught my tail. I summoned blades of light, I switched armors constantly using everything from flooding waves to holy hand grenades.

I was halfway out the forest when I realized I wasn't on my legs anymore and I had a golden ax in my teeth.
Tripping in on myself, I slammed into Angel, who collapsed on Spike, knocking over three solar infantry-colts.

'Oh crap baskets.' The ax, thus delivered it's payload straight into the face of one dragon. The blinding light subsided and the guard was on me like white on rice.

"Guards! Seize him!" The three soldiers I had toppled had all gotten up and grabbed both my forelegs. 'Oh thank fuck it worked.'

*ahem* "On what char-" *SMACK* "Silence! On counts of treason, illegal use of magic, as well as hindering royal investigation you are hereby under arrest by the authority of Grand Princess Celestia!" Cried an armored unicorn.

"Yeah that's cut- *SMACK* Will you stop hitting me!?"

"You should drop him, he isn't who you're after." Said Angel, now a tall red bunny.

"The only reason you and that abhorrent dragon haven't been thrown in a holding cell is that you both are protected by a wielder of the Elements. As for this "criminal", he shall be dealt with as is appropriate for felonious filth."

'You don't want to kill him, you don't want to kill him, you really really do not want to kill him.' I mentally repeated.

"Commander Gold, you are to release that pony immediately!" Said an all too familiar voice.

"Shiny! You came to rescue me!" I cried with half mock half genuine happiness.

"Captain Armor, may I remind you that I am under orders by the Princess herself to deal with the cause of this...'event' by any means necessary." Retorted 'Gold'.

"I outrank you." Replied Shining Armor.

"And yet only a Princess may over-rule my given duty."

"You mean me right? He means me right?" Mí Amoré Cadenza, my knight in shin-......Yeah I'm not gonna finish that.

Cadence had overheard the squabble and decided to intervene. Normally I'd be scared shitless, but this was Cadence. Of course I'd be safe.

"Let him go Commander." Ordered Cadence.

"Your highness! This vagabond emerged from the Everfree with a dangerous explosive, attacked my men, and he smells of filth and foul disease!"

"I am right here ya know! I take offense to-*KerSMACK* You hit like a mar-*WHAM* Cadence help!!" It's not like being hit repeatedly by a hoof hurt, as I'm quite sure my scales hurt him more than me, but this is ridiculous.

"You shall refer to her royal Highness as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Vile filth." Said Gold with much disgust.

"One, you're saying it wrong! Two, I've been friends with her and Captain Armor for years."

"It's true, so let him go. That's an order." Said Cadence.

Not wanting to face a demotion or worse, the soldiers let me go. Their Commander giving me the dirtiest of looks.

"I will see you behind bars someday blank flank." 'Well that wasn't very-oh hey I don't have a tramp stamp! Winning!'

Of course taking a second look, revealed that I did in fact have a Cutie Mark plastered over my newly formed flanks, but it was covered by a mound of dirty beatnik werewolf fur.

"Ah ah ah! Before you leave cretin, how am I saying it wrong?" Asked Commander Gold.

"Okay, follow my words carefully. Mí. Ah-mo-ré. Cah-den-zsah. It's origins are Spaneish, and it will be pronounced as it was meant to be. 'Cretín'."

I could literally see the steam blowing from his nose.

"Report!" Shouted Shining, it was about time too.

*Ahem* "Well, I was minding my own-"

"Horsefeathers." Said Shining.

"I waaaas."

"Okay, what happened when you were 'Minding your own business'?"

"Well I was chillaxing in the Everfree like a ballah, when I got sidebarred by undead ponies. They wanted my sweet sweet brains, but I told them and I quote: "I'm not your mother last night!" They took offense to that."

"And?"

"Aaaand. I killed aaall but one of them."

"What happened to the last one?"

"Turns out, they're all being created by a giant undead dragon so I went and pussed out like a [FORE!] 'That don't seem right.'

"Hah, his testimony is so absurd it just screams for him to be imprisoned!" Cried Gold. He really doesn't like me.

"I'd love to chat, but a small horde is on it's way here. I need to be gone and back before the big bad shows up. Angel?"

"Me and Spike will take care of the small fry. After he gets back up." "I heard that...sodding bunny reflexes..."

'Oh yeah...the golden ax blew up in his face.'

"Shiny! You, Cadence and- *SLAM* You enjoy this too much Goldy."

"How dare you bark orders at your superiors, you...you...you filthy commoner!"

"Permission to break his leg." I ask Shining.

"Granted." Commander Gold's face contorted rather comically, but the best part was when Cadence chimed in. "Can you do that thing where you shout out that word? What's the word?"

"Princess Cadenza I must beg your-" "SUPLEX!" Before he knew it, I slammed his right hoof, breaking the knee cap, grabbed him from the bottom up and brought the Commander down on his back. Heavy armor and all.

"Right, well, as I was saying...-*ROAR* -[snarf]! 'Well that REALLY don't seem right...' New plan hit it with everything you've got!"

Every step was another wave. Spike and Angel took turns against ground forces and the dracolich, Cadence and Armor focused solely on the dracolich, and that left me to either keep the guard from dying or entering the fray.

"Curse my insipid kindness..." Yeah, I think I've lost enough for one life time.

...

Dragging the unconscious Gold to safety would have gone smoother had the other three guards actually helped instead of running off like pansies. Seriously, who vets these cowards!?

Not even half way across town and three zom-ponies had managed to catch me. Not wanting to take chances, I waited for the first to lunge. Ducking my head and raising it up under its chin staggered it, but the other two decided to go in from the sides.

Spinning on my new forehooves, my hind legs bashed my opponents into each other from left to right. The first rising back up with one less bottom jaw tried to bite down on my head, saliva and rotting flesh falling down my noggin.

'Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.' Gonna need a bath after that one.

Regretfully, I noticed too late that Commander Gold had a sword at his side. Taking it and swinging upwards, I cleaved through to the zom-ponys brain.

Thankfully, one of the townsfolk saw the fight and rushed to my aid.

"Shouldn't you be in a hospital bed?" I ask the bandaged pony.

"Shouldn't you be in a bathtub?"

"Touché, get this guy off my hands yeah?"

"You mean hooves right?"

"No I mean hands." Bandages as I refer to him, had increasingly wide eyes.

"Sir! Anything else?"

"Where's Pinkie? We have a dragon problem and I need our best pastry chef."

"She said she would be waiting for you in Sugarcube Corner. Do you two have a plan?"

"We're going to be baking a cake.-" Looking side to side and back and forth I spirit out of the air two Golden Axes and three Holy Hand Grenades and toss em to Bandages.

"-Don't you even think about dying on me." With one last look at Bandages and his charge, I high tail it to my next destination.

They All Fall Down

They All Fall Down

The town was empty save for whatever decrepit piece of armor, weaponry, or rotting bodily remains littered the streets.

The largest pile was concentrated in front of Sugarcube Corner. Upon entering I heard sounds of mixing and fluffing, and cracking and tossing.

'It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas...' I whisper in my brain.

"Which means presents for everypony but not too expensive!" Replied a frighteningly cheery voice.

*Shudder* "Pinkie you mad mare! Are you baking a cake without me?!"

"Get in here already! I'm missing some ingredients to this 'super special awesome we're going to save Ponyville with a cake' cake!"

'Damn Pinkie, my bad.'

Upon entering the rather clean kitchen, I noticed two things. One: Pinkie had everything in massive quantity, cake batter, icing, filling, more icing, various fruits, and more icing. Two: Pinkie Pie really loves icing.

"So...what are we missing?" I ask, semi-afraid.

"We need something that can take down an undead dragon! Your Night Slayer arsenal should be fine, but the ingredients will only blend...WITH SONG!"

*AHEM* (I'm not even warmed up though...) "On the ninth!-"

"NO!"

"On the eighth!-"

"NO!!"

My new pony body began to move on it's own, the armor matching itself to my form as I began to toss in various undead slaying weaponry along with the pink mare beside me:

"On the seventh day of Frostval (Wait that's not how you say Christmas...roll with it.) My true love gave to me!

Seven Silver Bullets!"

"Six Golden Axes!"

"Fiiiive Healing Wings~"
"Fiiiive Healing Wings~"

"Four Ashwood Stakes!"

"Three Werewolf Fangs!"

"Two Garlic Cloves!"

"And a Holy Haaand Grenade~! Hooray, the cake looks delicious!" Literal holy crap that was fast.

"When did it have time to-"

"While ya blinked!" Chimed the sugar coma inducing cotton candy pony.

The cake was a good seven feet in height, six layers topped on one another. Gold and silver lining, pure white body with streaks of brown and black, all topped off by a small cross.

"Okay, we've got our weapon now we just gotta-" I was beginning to think nothing in this world could get any weirder...but then I haven't seen a seven foot tall cake get stuffed into a tiny box yet.

"Yeah okay. I uh...I'll pay you later?"

"No can do, I've got standards you know." Damn it...

"Okay...how much?"

"Hmm...you DID provide a lot of the missing ingredients, and you DID sing along...two hundred bits!"

"I don't have bits, you take gold?" I magic out my money bag and pull out a coin bout as big as my currently non-existent palm.

"Hm...hoof it." She grabs the coin, gives it a good bite and pulls out a...calculator and a notepad?

"Let's see, numbers numbers numbers, weight, value, Auntie's chin hairs."

"What was that last part?"

"That'll be forty gold!"

"Deal! Give me the cake!" Box in hooves (how do ponies live like this!?) I attempt to leave, only to then fall flat on my face like a filthy casual.

"Pinkie help..." The box slid out from underneath me and Pinkie helped me back to my hooves.

"You know you can just put it in your inventory, right?" 'Oh yeah...I'm magical.'

I start running my forehoof over my frame and tug at air, usually this brings out an armor but for some reason nothing happened.

'Okay maybe if I focus on my inventory like I did my cash bag.' More of the same, tugging at nothing and getting nothing.

"Um...as much as I'm enjoying the show you're putting on, you need to get back to the Everfree." Said Pinkie with slightly redder cheeks.

'Oh shit what have I been doing...' "I'm so sorry." I say rather meekly.

"No, no, it's okay. Let me help you out." Suddenly biting at my shoulder, Pinkie successfully pulled out and dressed me in my mercenary garb.

"How did you...?"

"Trade secret~ now get out of here, before I give you back your gold." 'EEP.' Pushing me out the door, I get a swift strike to the flank making me motor back to the Everfree forest at a quickened pace.

The beast had now made it's way half through town, mountains of undead enemies now littered the street but no sign of new threats. All that was left were the dragon, Spike and Angel, Shining and Cadence, and three of the Elements: Applejack (Now fully rested and back in action), Rarity (Various gemstones held aloft by her magic), and Rainbow Dash (Darting back and forth between storm clouds).

'No time like the present!' At full gallop, I launched myself upwards, flying past the onlooking group of ponies below me. My armor's fourth wall instincts kicked in and I reached within the deep confines of my inventory, the box floating within.

One hoof outstretched, box in my grasp, enemy before me. "Have some CAKE! I made it SPECIAL!!"

The ribbon unwrapped itself, the box opening wide, a note...fell gently from within. "Oh [Ada wait!] bas-" A claw slammed down upon my back, the force of gravity and dragon bone pinning me to the ground like the head of a nail to wood. Various cries of worry fill the air, and as the claw rose from the ground, the note and it's contents I did see.

"If you're reading this, I may have made a teeny, tiny, eensy weensy little mistake.
On the bright side, you get to read my note!"

With lottsa love, Pinkamena Dianne Pie

P.S Good luck! P.S.S DRAGON FIRE!!!

'Dragon fire?' Without warning, the dracolich torched the ground at it's feet, me with it. This wouldn't be a problem were I nude, but let me tell you a little somethin' 'bout elemental modifiers.

Armors elementally charged gain specific modifiers against that specific element as well as a skill based on that element.

Fire resists fire, Ice to ice, so on and so forth. But what does that mean for other elements? It means water douses fire, light breaks dark, and in my case...The icy charge of the Frostvale Mercenary takes an increased amount of damage from fire based attacks.

"[HOT BELGIAN WAFFLES!!]" And let me tell you it hurts like a mofo.

"Pinkie Pie!!! You son of a [naughty word]! I'm gonna shove my various swords down your [bad word]! Why the [another naughty word] can't I [you should be ashamed of yourself] swear!"

The fire stopped, the ground I lay on a charred mess of soot and dirt. 'My life is a ball of pain.'

Before I could register the world around me, a large shadow grew larger, screams of worry and terror became louder, the world grew dark and the echoes of battle resounded through my awkward prison.

My limbs finally began to move, my eyes doing everything they can to adapt to the darkness. I was in a large cave like area shaped like a ribcage. 'A rib...cage...'

"Sweet mama jama! I've been swallowed whole! Pinkie I didn't mean it! Heeeeellllp!!!!!"

Pounding on the skeletal wall was a horrible idea, as after a certain period of time the wall would pound back with incredible force.

"No...okay...just stay calm. You're good...you are good. I still have the fourth wall." As if to taunt me, the disc I had created after my first day out appeared on my fore hoof. This time however, instead of giving me the time of day it showed me detailed information on my well being.

Health: 32%
Mana: 47%
SP: 5%

Heart rate: Critical

"Chétos. No Sp...the next spell will probably kill me...I'm done. It's all [woohoo] over. And I can't even [Smoke Weed Everyday] yell out expletives!!!" One final punch at my prison caused a violent reaction as the impacted wall crumples inward, a large spear jutting forward.

'An opening...a light in the darkness...freeeeedoooooo-'

A devastating explosion and the world is darkness once again.

-Roughly Five minutes before...Shining Armor POV-

Things weren't looking good, we lost our heavy hitter essentially crippling us. Spike and Angel had tired themselves out on the small fry, Rarity had run out of ammo, Applejack was on two bad hooves, Rainbow had one storm cloud left and the barrier I erected with Cadence had started to crack.

That was when the banging started. Short bursts every other second.

"Spike, can you target that area!?"

"I bloody would if it could just stay still for one second!"

'C'mon there has to be something!'

"Everyone back up, I'm going dragon!" Shouted Angel.

"Do it quick!" I yell back.

As the group inched backwards, Angel stood stock still in concentration. Fire surrounded his feet, scales began to cover his fur as the fire grew past his knees.

The giant undead dragon seeing easy prey, reared back a claw and brought it down. It never touched ground.

Locked claw to claw, what used to be a tall bi-pedal bunny demon was now a colossal fire dragon, rivaling the undead in size.

Titans. Gigants. These beasts once roamed Equestria freely, now the undead remnant of a chaotic age stood locked against an equal. Occasinally the two would trade swipes or headbutt eachother in hopes the other would falter. Neither did.

Angel's struggle bore fruit however, as it gave time for Spike to land a critical blow to the dragon's darkness covered ribcage. The spear's payload ruptured something as the beast convulsed and fell apart unceremoniously.

Within the bone yard was Azure, still in pony-form (I'll have to ask him how he did that later) and passed out.

"Cady, do you think he's-"

"What did I say Shiny? No talking like that. Rainbow, get Applejack to the hospital."

"Ahm just fine...Ah ca-" As if in protest, Applejack's front hooves gave out and crumpled.

Rainbow left with her wounded ally, Spike quickly trying to catch up. Angel had since reverted back to his biped form and had Azure in his arms.

The town was in shambles, but nopony was lost to the siege. Rebuilding will take priority, but it'll be worth it in the end when we finally have some breathing room.

-The hero-

'Sir please, stay with us!' 'C'mon mister! It's over we won! Don't die!' 'You idiot! I told you not to and what was the first thing you did!?'

'What are these voices? Who...what? I can hear a heart monitor...it's slowing. It's gone now.' Cries of sadness and pain filled my waking mind. But why? 'Who...diiii....no. Who died? Who died who died who died'
"WHO DIED!?" My eyes opened too quickly, the white roomed walls assaulted my vision, my last memory influencing my sight. The sound of a door slamming open and hooves on ceramic tiles echoed with intensity.

"You! You were supposed to keep us safe! Yet you let him kill himself for some meaningless royal guard! I should...I should ki...oooohhhh...."
The mare's cries were the only sound I focused on.

"Bandages is he-"

"He has a name!"

"What happened?"

Another female voice began to speak. This voice harsh, but warm.

"It was a terminal condition, the infection found it's way into his brain. Surgery seemed to be his only option and when we failed to cure him he became distant and hollow. That was until this morning when we found him erecting the barricades. The orderlies tried desperately to get him back in bed, but to they gave up after the third attempt.

By the time you met up with him he was already a dead colt. And as much as his widowed wife would like for you to believe, his dying isn't on you."

Silence, angry hoofsteps, a door violently slammed shut. The sounds of a bitter wife now widowed. An unnecessary casualty.

The door opened again as I began to test my vision. Shining Armor had entered the room alone, despite the crowd behind him. I raise my head a little to try and meet his gaze.

"So...what happened?"

"After Spike and Angel took down the dracolich, we gathered the wounded. Two injured, one dead."

"Bandages. I heard."

"He was a brave colt, but aren't you worried about the wounded?"

"AJ? She's tough, and she has Spike constantly on her heels. Who else got injured out there?"

"You."

"Aaaaaand?"

"Just you." 'Oh ha ha. Oh hey, that reminds me!'

"I didn't see Luna with your group. Where is...?

"She's currently being transferred to a cell in Canterlot. We'll have her back in Ponyville once the Guard sees how mad Celestia can get."

"I almost wish I could see that. Hey, speaking of seeing things, how am I nude?"

Shining developed a bit of a blush as he recalled something.

"Pinkie...ripped your armor off with her teeth. It's like it was glued to you, and no pony was able to take it off except Pinkie. She...uh...she wasn't gentle."

Okaaaay...? Right, awkward territory clothing is. Shining managed to gather himself again to get back to business.

"Back to what's at hoof. We have good news, and bad news."

"Bad news always first." I quickly blurt aloud.

"Celestia is here to see Ponyville's heroes. That means you."

"[¡Heeeey Macarena!]...I give up."

"I noticed that when we found you outside the Everfree. Why is your speech continuously censored?"

"You know what poison joke is?"

"Can't say I've heard the name. Why?"

"Poison joke is a very chaotic plant native to the Everfree. It did...more than I had expected."

"That's how you turned into a pony! But why would it limit your speech?"

"It's a joke. It does what it wants. So you said Celestia would be here, when should we expect her?"

*Knock*knock*

'Uh oh.'

My Mind Is Telling Me No...

The door slowly cracked open, tensions were high. The salty smell of sweaty cold fear radiated from the two ponies still in the room. A head popped out from the doorway to reveal...another nurse.

"Princess inbound. Just thought I should warn you." With that the young colt (hooray for equal opportunity nursing) dipped back out and closed the door.

"That was harrowing," I say rather abruptly. "But hey, at least we have a warning. Miss Red Heart, you should tend to the other patients in the building. Me and Shiny have it covered."

"Don't push yourself hero, keep your eyes on that heart monitor." Red Heart left without another word.

Shining then decided to break the silence. "What's wrong with your heart?" 'Hehe, what ISN'T wrong with my heart?'

"Well you see- *knock*knock* shazafraz..." I hope we can get out of this.

The door opened, revealing a rather large bouquet of diverse flowers, from roses to sunflowers.

"I hope I'm not intruding gentlecolts, but I couldn't quite help myself." This was the first time in a long time, and immortality or not, Celestia looked aged. Taller and fuller, a lot more wave in her mane, and a sharper horn and...

"Guh...uh...I uh...hi." The monitor next to me gained a few extra ticks.

Shining and Celestia exchanged words, something about a full report, an explosive cake, Goldy in Canterlot...and I think they're trying to get my attention now.

".........will he be alright?" Asked Celestia. "Hey, Ahz. Equuis to Ahz. You okay?" Added Shining.

"Huh? Oh! I uh...blacked out huh?" This response elicited a giggle from the princess.

“I hope almost dying at the claws of an undead dragon hasn't left any lasting damages." Said Celestia jokingly.

"Well nothing major besides my ribs, my hind legs, third degree burns, and the brain damage. And the brain damage. And the brain damage...hey Shiny when did you get here!?"

Shining Armor looked absolutely horrified as opposed to Celestia who burst out laughing.

"Well I hope you can remember enough to join me in Canterlot sometime. Maybe sometime this week?" Asked the princess.

"Sure, I should be out of bed by then. I think."

“I do hope to see you again.” The princess gave a wink to me and a nod to her captain.

And with that the two had left. 'Well, I guess I'll wait here then.' And as if the heavens heard me, the door swung open quite profoundly. 'Rayós.'

"You." 'That voice is back, and now there's a face.' "I...owe you an apology."

"May I ask yours and your husband's name?"

"Lilyput, and Oakwood. He was a carpenter before the illness."

"He was a brave colt. He kept the building safe, I noticed the barricades. His design right?" I ask hoping not to offend.

"They're part of a mobile set. Prototypes he hadn't laid hooves on in years. Then you and that dragon show up, the way Rainbow Dash just stormed the hospital, it lit a fire in him I didn't think he still had. For that, I am eternally thankful."

"But he died because of me."

"He was the stallion I fell in love with again because of you. You'll make it to his funeral, won't you?"

I had said yes, of course I said yes. Before I knew it, we began trading stories of our old love lives. Her and her husband, me and the wife I once had. Red Heart had swung by, telling me somepony had foot my bill and I was clear to go.

-Golden Oaks-

The trip to the library was uneventful. Everypony was either in the hospital at home or...

'It's quiet. Too quiet.' Obviously this wasn't true, my cursed nature gave me impossibly good hearing, and it didn't matter how quiet or how dark the library was. I knew what waited for me.

But then again...I didn't know. Pushing the door lightly caused a bucket of unknown liquid to empty it's contents all over me, coating my...coat...in incredibly thick sugary punch.

"SURPRISE!" And of course all of Ponyville was here. Hell, even Celestia was here! But...no sign of Moonpie.

Pinkie burst out of the bucket, (for sanity's sake I won't question it) and in party pony fashion exclaimed:

"What are we waiting for!? Let's get this party started!"

Something must have been in the drink as time itself seemed to just slide right along again. It felt like such a huge blur, the only parts I actually remembered were when practically everypony had me for a dance, AJ and Spike were sharing some kind of awkward moment with Rarity trying to get Spike's attention, Lyra and Bon Bon were trying to get my attention, and then I may have passed out in the cake.

Yup, good times.

The Sound of Silence

Gentle knocking at the door, who o whom could be knocking at my door? Better question though, where the [EFF] am I?

I reeked of fruit and vanilla and the bed I found myself was soft and bouncy. The room was a soft purple, posters of various musicians decorated the walls. The knocking had stopped in favor of a female voice.

"If you're awake then breakfast is ready, if not then you are welcome to raid the fridge when you are." Melodic, refined even. This was not my student, this was not my basement, and where is that adorable boxing bunny?

'Where did the days go by!?' "I'm up. I uh...I think." The voice replied with: "Vinyl will be happy to see you, best not to leave a mare waiting."

'I think I know where I am now. How did I get here though?' My hooves (I need my old body back) held firm getting me past the door and to the kitchen, awaiting me were several pieces of toast, some cheese and jelly, and a pair of eggs. Round the table sat Vinyl Scratch, Ponyville's resident Disk Jockey, and Octavia Melody, cellist extraordinaire. Vinyl gave me an eye, the other still covered by her sweet shades, as she beckoned me to my seat.

"Con permiso. So...good morning?" I ask sheepishly. Vinyl shot me a smile while Octavia simply returned the greeting. I fumbled a bit with my hooves trying to use the utensils at my disposal, not wanting to attempt eating without proper etiquette I decide to bring up my dilemma.

"Miss Melody?" Octavia giggled a little at how I addressed her. "Octavia will be just fine. Is there something wrong with your meal?" She asked.

"Oh no it smells divine, I was wondering how I came to wake up in your home." 'That and I'd love to know how you ponies hold things.'

"It was Twilight's idea, you needed proper rest and recovery and there was no way she'd allow you to sleep on her couch. Let alone a hard stone floor."

"But I like my basement..." Vinyl giggled rather audibly, Octavia sort of just scowled at me.

After twenty minutes of just fumbling,(Vinyl laughing all the while I kept dropping my food) I finally got through breakfast after which I decided to excuse myself...to no avail.

"I don't wish to impose, especially not after the kindness you both have shown me." I said.

"Then humor us for a few moments more. There is something Vinyl would like to show you," The dishes were collected and deposited into a sink, Vinyl then lead Octavia and I to the living room.

"This is our break-room, it isn't much but it's home. Vinyl if you please?" A closet opened to reveal a record player. Below it, a drawer opened to reveal an encased record.

'Vinyl must really like this one record if she keeps it sealed and out of sight.' I thought to myself.

With the utmost care, the case was lifted upwards and the disc was lift out and placed upon the player. The room was flooded with a more than familiar song.

"Girls just wanna have fun. I...I recorded this onto a- I made this disc!" Vinyl turned to me with a great beaming smile, lifting her foreleg into the air. "If this is the disc I made fifteen hundred years ago then that means-"

Without warning the disc stopped, flipped over and began to play another tune.

"You couldn't have known how special it was. There's no way."

"In truth, she found it in Canterlot on a very troubling night. She wasn't more than five when she happened upon it. That night changed her life because of YOU." Replied Octavia.

The music stopped again, Vinyl's magic still holding the disk. This time reversing it's normal rotation.

'No way. No frickin way...'

[If you're listening to this, you aren't alone. The world has no doubt turned it's cruelty on you. Your peers have ridiculed you, your teachers have given up on you, your parents have told you that what you do just isn't good enough. That YOU are NOT good enough. That isn't true because you found this. You found me, and I'm here to tell you that YOU are good enough.

You aren't just good enough. You are better. Don't ever give up,] The words started to become distant [*sniff* I think I need a moment, SELF ESTEEM TEAM!!] The disc stopped again, a cloth dabbing at tears I had failed to notice.

"I really need to learn how to make better messages." Vinyl near toppled me, her shades hiding the tears in her eyes.

"Vinyl and I hoped against hope that we would be able to share this with you. She was born with a vocal defect, no doctor or arcane spell could heal her, and it was as if her life had no future. You gave her the will to move forward! You saved her life and for that I am eternally grateful."

We said our goodbyes, Vinyl wanted nothing more than to keep me for another day, but I needed a bath and I needed blood. Not that I mentioned that last part...

"Where will you go from here?" Asked Octavia.

"I need to speak with Mayor Mare about a permanent residence here in Ponyville, and I need to get to the library to undue my "transformation"."

"I can't see why, you're a rather handsome as a colt. But, if it's something you must do, than I wish you good luck." With that the two musical mares gave me a peck on the cheek and saw me off.

'Aw, it's good to be loved. Now about getting me a new house.'

Of course not two steps without some kind of excitement, this time in the form of a crash landing Rainbow Dash.

"Ow...sup Cap'n?" Did she really just call me Cap'n?

"Other than you? Not much, heading to town hall, see if I can't buy a house or something."

"What? The library too cramped for you? I got a spare room if you want."

"No, I mean yeah, but it's just...I uh, I really, REALLY want my own place. I want to be able to break stuff without having to face any actual consequence."

"Okay, yeah I get ya. There's an abandoned property next to Turner's place. It's cheap too."

"Cool, lets go get me a living space!"

The walk was uneventful, thank fuck. Ponies either waved or excitedly hugged me before going on their merry way.

"You're about as popular as I am! Good job hero, and about the other day..."

"Forget about it, I don't want revenge, I want justice. No more needless violence and or bloodshed. In times of peace one must plan a coup accordingly, I ask only that you bear with me no matter how frustrating the long road becomes."

"I've got your back Cap. Hey I think I see Mayor Mare!"

'And she's off like a bat outta Hell.' "And stop calling me Captain!"

She didn't get far, I caught up probably halfway through the convo until they noticed me.

".......I can't see why you would even need a second home Rainbow." Said Mayor Mare

"It's not for me it's for-Oh hey slowpoke! You're in luck!" Exclaimed Rainbow.

Mayor Mare was caught by surprise, guess she didn't think I was the one with the housing issue.

"Ponyville's Champion...yes yes...wh-what can I do to help?"

"Please mayor, no formality between us. I'm just Azure, to you and to the rest of Ponyville. Rainbow told you about my situation?"

"Yes of course, but that property is in such disrepair. Not to mention next to what is quite possibly Ponyville's noisiest resident,"

Mayor went inside Town hall and exited with a large binder.

"Now we have a few other properties near the business district, one located next to the farmer's market, and if you are willing there are empty lots on the outskirts of town perfect for construction!"

"Hm...Nah. I'll take the one by Turner's workshop. What's the going price?"

"Are you certain? It really isn't the best we have to offer."

"Which is why it's perfect! Rainbow, get a group to start clean up this instant. Oh and see if Time Turner can't sell us some metal, paint, and wood."

"You got it. "Captain"." And she flew off before I could voice my concern.

"Right. So Mayor, that price?"

"Sir, I know you have your heart set on the property but please reconsider. I didn't want to say anything but it is home to a haunting. No pony has ever set hoof since...well that's not important."

"Ten K, AND, I get rid of the ghost or ghosts."

"Ten k? Ten...right this way Azure sir, You'll just adore your new home. Did I mention it's only a block away from the spa?"

The paperwork wasn't much of a hassle, but I did have to sign various waivers dictating I knew what I was getting into. Documents in my possession, I didn't walk two feet out the door when Rainbow side-barred me.

'I've fallen, and I choose NOT to get up.'

"You can't live there! It's haunted like you wouldn't believe!" Cried the rainbow mass of fear currently still tangled with me.

"Dash, DASH! I know. I'm on it."

"You're on it!? Last I checked you can't HIT ghosts!"

"Pfft, chu don kno ma life. I just...need to get my body back, and I know just the place. We gotta hit up Twi first. Ready?"

The fear ridden look on her face told me she was NOT ready.

The H(a)unt: Movement 1

-Golden Oaks-

"Twi, Spike!? Anypony? Huh, well that's fine. Rainbow I need you to get the group together by the house."

"You can't expect me to just stay there! What if-if the ghosts come out..." Said the fastest flier in Equestria...who was quivering in cold cold fear.

"Fine, if your so scared the-"

"I'm not scared! I-I'm just...worried. Yeah that's it. It would be a bad idea to have the entire group there."

"Okay fine, meet up by the spa. I need a few things from here."

"On it!" She flew right into the door, which opened, and then she crashed right into Shining Armor. Why must this happen?

Apologies were quickly given along with instructions to meet at the spa. Shining got to his hooves and made his confused and dazed way in.

"Hey, Celestia sent us some invitations to the Grand Galopping Gala this year. Is that why Rainbow was in a hurry?"

"Nope, I'm moving out."

"That doesn't sound like a big deal."

"The house is haunted."

"I'll get my gear."

"Shining no." And he just ran past me and up the stairs. FAN-tastic. 'The frig do I care what he does he's a gro-did he say gala? Shogath!'

"Problem for another day I s'pose. Now where is that magical book of remedies. Super, super, super.....NATURALS! Jack and pot!"

-Ponyville Spa, Twenty minutes later-

The gang all gathered in front of the spa, some onlookers inquired why Shining and Cadence both looked like they were about to go to war with each other (due to Shining's Amethyst Armor and Cadence's face changing Dragon Leathers) but they laughed the questions off simply stating:

"This is how we dress," Shining only leaned in to his mare friend closer as she continued with: "I really wouldn't have it any other way."

Though the majority all looked rested and battle ready, Applejack was still in bandages.

Pinkie was the first to greet me. "Hiya bestest friend! Did you like the party? Who am I kidding, of COURSE you did!" On "course" she grabbed my head and clocked it with her own.

'Ow...my brain.' "Hey Pinks?"

"Yep?"

"You know where I can get these herbs?" Handing her Super Naturals she skims through the bookmarked page for Poison Joke.

"Can't help you," She then chucked the book behind her, Flutttershy catching it with a hoof. "Doesn't mean Fluttershy can't help you!"

"Oh. I um-well..." Fluttershy then viewed the page, closed it, and put it in her saddle bag. "The regents are...pricey."

"Pfft, I funded a war for two years, AND I still have money left over! What's the worst it could be?"

"F-five hundred bits. Not many ponies even carry these roots."

"Pinkie, grab my sack." Everyone present, (especially Spike and Angel) double took as Pinkie pulled out my bag of gold from nowhere.

I opened it, dug in, and pulled out a bag labeled 500. "This should cover what you buy. Angel, be her strong arm in case some jack ass wants to swindle her.

"Why him? I'm twice as menacing as Mr. Pink ribbon." Complained Spike.

"Because you, along with the rest of the group are going in." Spike's face was priceless as it went from cold scowl to unadulterated fear. Rarity's face however, beamed with incredible joy as she plucked Spike off the ground with her magic.

"Oh this will be just WONDERFUL darling! Aloe and Lotus are absolutely THE best Ponyville has to offer. Why I'm sure they can even get a dragon like you to relax..."

The front desk greeted the group with surprised joy. It wasn't everyday the spa had so many clients at once, let alone all of them being the town heroes.

I walked up to the Spa twins and threw a bag of gold on the counter. "Girls, I have no doubt in your skills, as such I'd like service for," 'les see here, headcount of un, dos...RD is shaking her head like Aw hell naw but she still going in...AJ should probably sit this one out though.' "Seven. Treat em right yeah?"

"Yez Sir! Ve shal treat zem vith ze utmost respect!" A group of white garbed employees began to file in. I found a bench and beckoned AJ over to me. Rainbow tried to follow with but I motioned to one of the colts to lead her in with the others.

"Wait what!? You can't expect me to go in there! I have a reputation to keep!" Cried Rainbow.

"You wanna fly?" I ask coyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Bone lock, your skeletal structure could give way in the air leaving you open for assault or just plain ol' pitfall." Her expression changed from struggle to absolute fear. Hook. Line. And sinker.

"Treat her gentle, she's a special case and for NO REASON should you touch her hooves. She hates that." The employees led the now calm Rainbow Dash with the others. Thus leaving only AJ and I.

She looked...worse for wear and emotionally downtrodden.

"Hey...uh...farm girl..." Applejack merely gave me a sidewise glance and a pained smile.

"You wondering why I didn't ask for you to go in with the others?"

"Yess'm."

"I wanted to ask if I could do two things."

"And they are?"

"One I wanted you to take me to the farm, and two I need you out of those bandages. So, how bout it farm hoof; take me to go see the family?"

-The Farm-

The road was light, talk was small and focused on what her spa treatment might be and how I was going to remove her bandages.

"So it's a simple process, I launch a bigger badder healing spell on you and in theory you should be able to just rip out of your bandages."

"That sounds a bit too simple. What's the catch?"

"Well...I need to be piss drunk." She thus gave me a confused look.

"Drunk? That means...what exactly?"

'Didn't she pull out a bottle of cider a few days ago?' "I need your oldest and strongest bottle of whatever it is that's on hoof. It needs to be about two hundred some odd years old. That's the only catch."

"You'll have ta go through Granny for it. It was the first of twenty bottles made back when Ponyville was founded."

'Sentimentality? Bantha Fodder! I really can't wait to fix this...!' "Okay, barring that...I need to be on the brink." I was shot a worrying glance.

"And what in tarnation dos THAT mean?"

"Hey look the farm!" Running away (both figuratively and literally) I bumped into Big Macintosh. A large rusted chunk of metal hooked into his yoke.

'Ugh, for a town so close to a gem deposit you'd think they'd have better gear.'

"Evening big guy! I don't think we've properly met yet."

The crimson colt takes a second to acknowledge my existence. Who can tell what intricate and complex thoughts run through such a sophisticated mind?

"Nnope." And yet so straightforward in his speech.

"Yeah...soooo...I'm-"

"Ah know who ya are. Iff'n the archives are right then you practically know everypony. That right?"

'Ah intelligence, so graceful, so blindsiding.' "Aye, I know you and your family. Can't say I know everypony, my memory is really bad sometimes."

Unlatching himself from his plow, Macintosh gestured toward the main house. Applejack had finally caught up and so the three of us went onto the porch.

Once we reached the door the two apple siblings took a step back and gestured for me to open the door.

A lump found itself in the back of my throat. Something inside that door scared me to high heaven, one knock. Two knocks. An aged voice rang out.

"Ya'll can come in you know. Ain't gettin' any younger, we can't ALL come back from the dead."

'Well fuck that's morbid.' I opened the door and saw Granny Apple Smith laying upon a recliner. A medal in her hooves.

"You were expecting me?" I ask.

"Took your sweet time too didn't ya? Can't say I blame ya, the Elements stopped you dead in yer tracks."

"We both know that's not true. At least...I think you do."

"Two ponies still statues. A pegasus colt and an earth mare. Last we checked Celestia still has em. But enough about the past, instead les' focus on the now."

Granny left the comfort of her seat and placed the medal on a table next to her.

"Mah daughter and son in-law are dead. We know that now thanks to you and your current connections to the inside. Question now is what comes next. So young-in, what's the battle plan?"

Her eyes bore into my own, a lesser man would have crumbled by now. I am not a lesser man.

"Now? We wait, we gather, and we prepare. A plan has been set into motion by powers greater than anyone, thing, or other form of intelligent life. Best part is: it dislikes Celestia's decisions as much as I do. I can't promise you revenge, Brown Coat would probably never forgive me. I can promise you justice however, not as satisfying, but far more rewarding."

"Heh, a pacifist til the dog gone end jus like the archives said ya'd be. There's probably a lot on yer plate so I'll let ya'll get to-it now. Make em' proud 'hero'."

With a bow I make my way back out the door and release a breath I didn't remember holding.

"AND YOU LAZY KIDS GET BACK TA WORK!" Shouted Granny from the back of the house.

Big Mac took his cue and booked it, whilst Applejack and I headed for the orchard.

"What ya'll talk about in there?"

"The future mostly, I'm not surprised she still misses her daughter. I hope to know more about your mother someday,"

'Oh radish ball.' "I forgot one very important detail."

"Detail?" Just as Applejack had begun her question did an ever growing voice make it's way toward us.

"AAAAAAAPPLE JAAAAAAACK! Pinkie Pie sent me with- *gasp* mister champion!" Exclaimed little Apple Bloom.

Noticing AJ's perturbed expression I decided to cut in.

"Hello little one, why aren't you in school?"

"School is closed fer repairs. Nuthin' major, but everypony is 'sposed to stay home in case of another attack. Say, I was asked to drop this scroll off to ya. What's it for?"

"Well...I honestly don't know yet. Let it be a learning experience for us both." Upon opening the scroll my mercenary garb unfurled out of it. What I had thought to be one scroll was actually two and a note.

Hiya bestest friend! I hope you're having a good day! I wanted to give you your suit back buuuuut...anyway you might need these. Have fun!

Your friend

"Pinkie Pie. These scrolls are for my healing wings and invisible blast. Huh, cool...I guess. Applejack you ready?"

“As Ah'll ever be. What ya need all that fancy magic stuff for anyway?”

“Fancy magic!” Said Applebloom and I simultaneously, the little one adding “Duh.”:

The Garb wound itself to my frame, it's omnipotent magic once again- 'LET ME OUT! YEEEEAH LET ME OUT~' 'How bout half past NEVER!'

“Ugh, putting this thing on is such a hassle. Now for the fun part!” Without warning I unfurled both scrolls at my side and read from my Invisible Blast. Targeting nothing in particular I let off wind ball after wind ball, Applebloom giving off various oohs and ahhs all while the winds became stronger, faster, and more precise with each successive cast.

'Dragon magic is the best...' Putting my hoof over my forehead, I slid it down as if I were sliding on a pair of goggles. The action covered part of my vision with a HUD giving me details on my physical well being.

I was one spell away from critical. “Applebloom, see that big stick over there? Grab it.”

“Alright, what for?” The little one asked as she pulled on the large trunk with her teeth.

“On three, you're gonna whack me on the head with it. Alright ONE!” Ignoring Applejack's complaints I threw one more ball at the club, temporarily infusing it with magic to make it lighter to carry while having twice the weight.

“TWO!” My beating heart threatening to end the lives of the town around me, I saw a pair of dice roll into sight.

You lucky enough to pull this off without a hitch?

Luck Roll: 87/100

'DAMNIT NO DEFY!!!'

“THREE!!!”

…

…...

…......

….........

…............

The world began to swim back to me, the sun looking down upon me through a wobbly film. Bubbles shot away from me as my lungs began to burn all while petals swam in front of-OH GOD I'M DROWNING!!!

“HELP! GAH!” I CAN'T- stand. AUDIBLE GASP! I have legs again!!”

Ponies quickly shot me a glance, and then immediately returned to their normal spa activities.

'It's huntin' time, and it's ghost season.'

The H(a)unt: Movement 2

The group had been waiting in the lobby for me to wake up, Applejack already having been attended to. Her muscles pulsed with an incredible strength, many of the patrons basking in the glory of those gains.

'Damn tho, you could grind meat on those abs.' "I hope you weren't all waiting for lil' ol me." I say rather coyly.

"Not so little now Pebbles." Said Spike. Before I could even begin to retort the group came to attention, whilst Rainbow and Fluttershy started to sneak away...

"Oof, hey!" Only to be caught in a light orb bubble.

"You two aren't going anywhere, we have ghosts to hunt." I say as the group made it's way out the door.

-Haunted house (Scenic next to Time "Timmothy" Turner's workshop)-

Twilight and her brother were as giddy as little school children, shooting ideas on what we would be dealing with and how to go about taking it down.

Then the obvious question came up: "Wait, I can see how Twili, Cady, Rarity and I can strike at the ghost but how will the rest of the group?" Asked Shining Armor.

"Easy," I begin to say. "Spike, Angel, and I are already suited to attack at ethereal foes. Dragon-kin produce an anti-magic field that can disrupt non-corporeal foes. Pinkie Pie has extra dimensional abilities tied to her soul and Rainbow, Flutters, and AJ will be going in armed with enough anti-undead weaponry to level a graveyard,"

Unexpectedly, I kick the front door of the dilapidated house open while donning my Nighthunter leathers. I pull out the Silver Bullet Express and mount it on my shoulder.

"Any questions?" 'Oh it is good to be me.'

Ten minutes of retrofitting various pieces of the Nighthunter onto the less magical members of the group and everypony was set.

Aj traded her Stetson for my wide brim, giving her access to the hunter's fist active ability. Fluttershy took the coat, giving her the mantle of light abilities, and Rainbow grabbed the utility belt allowing her use of the Golden Axes, Ashwood Stakes, Holy Water, and the Hallowed Hand Grenade.

This left me with the ammo belt, pants, and boots.

The house was rather cozy, living floor, two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining hall, stairs leading to a second floor, a long hallway leading to an indoor bath house, a pantry, a cellar and attic entrance.

Second floor was a personal bathroom, children's room, and a master bedroom. The team gathered in the living room.

"This place isn't huge, but we'll need to move fast. No doubt whatever haunts these walls has already caught wise to our presence-"

A deafening roar echoed through the living room as two phantoms descended upon us.

"Me and my big-OPEN FIRE!!" Magical projectiles soared, axes flew, bullets ripped! Angel and Applejack jumped at a third ghost and began to wail on the helpless phantom, disappearing as it could no longer hold it's form.

The first two seeing no chance of victory escaped, wounded and fading from existence. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Shining Armor grouped together with the biggest grins on their faces.

"That. Was. Awesome!" The three exclaimed. "Did you see the look on their faces when those axes blew up?" Asked Rainbow. "Or when Cadence impaled one with her sword!" Added Shining, stars in his eyes. "What about the way Applejack and Angel just pummeled one into non-existence!?" Exclaimed an overly ecstatic Twilight Sparkle.

"Hey there's something hiding in the cupboard," Said Cadence as she walked towards soft whimpers.

Opening a door revealed a ghost-like filly, no doubt a victim of whatever atrocities plagued the once noble home.

"Don't be afraid little one. Look," The princess of love pulled back her hood revealing her true un-scarred face.

"M-miss...your heart...I feel it's warmth. Please you must leave this wicked place! These halls have become home to the damned...lead by an evil wraith...it keeps us here to feed..." Said the frightened ghost child.

At the mention of wraith and feed however, Angel had relapsed and reverted to his normal bunny form.

"Angel, you okay?" I ask with worry.

"I-I'll be fine. I just remembered something." Responded Angel shakily.

The ghost child flew towards Angel, sniffing him oddly enough.

"Have you faced a wraith by chance?" Asked the child.

"One I let loose. I took care of it." Once again gathered and in control, Angel formed again his bun demon.

"Warrior I beseech the! Free the spirits held against their will by this wraith! For five hundred long years have the families trapped here suffered at it's claws!"

The ghost child created ethereal images of orbs in her mist.

"The demon is empowered by three soul stones, each of which are guarded by powerful sentinals. Destroy each and the wraith shall be rendered weakened. Good luck my hero."

With a quick peck on the bunny's cheek, followed by several aw's and at least some general embarrassment, the child resumed her hiding.

"Battle plan!" I yell whilst jumping with a raised fist. Attention now on me I began my stratagem theorem.

"Now, there's main floor, second floor, and attic. Now from the floor plans Mayor Mare kindly gave me, the orbs will be most likely held in the bath house, the master bedroom, and the attic."

"What makes you say that?" Asked Pinkie.

"Trauma, if I was going to leave the biggest stain of anguish and hatred I'd do it in places that give the illusion of safety. Except for the attic, that's just a horror story given."

Nods and subtle agreements echoed within the group.

"Where does that leave the big bad?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Basement luv, you want to hide your dirty little secrets, you hide in the basement." Answered Spike.

"Right, while you guys split into three groups I will hack and slash away at the wraith as you destroy one orb each. Right? Break!"

Before I could be pestered by concerns I bolted like a bat outta hell.

-Twilight POV-

"And he's gone. Alright everypony we split into three groups. Each will consist of one unicorn to take point, two will have one Earth pony and one pegasus each."

"Where would that leave Spike, Angel, and me?" Asked Cadence.

"You'll be joining Shiny, keeping him safe and focused,"

"Hey!" Shining Armor whined.

"Leaving our dragonics as the odd ones out. Spike I'd like to ask you to keep my BBBFF and Cadence safe. They're both very dear to me,"

"Do you even have to ask? Said I'd be your assistant didn't I." Replied the now tiny dragon.

"I know, keep yourself safe too. Angel, I need to ask that you catch up to Master Azure. For as powerful and wise as he is, he is mentally scarred and fractured. Rarity, take Fluttershy and Applejack to the bath house. Pinkie Pie, you and Rainbow are with me,"

"Where are we g-going?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"The attic. Everypony move out!" And with that, our teams split.

-Team S.S.C: Second floor-

Spike held point as Shining calmly inspected the floor. Cadence attempted to open the master bedroom, but found that not even powerful magic could move the door.

Upon magical disturbance a film like barrier flashed with twin hues as four ghosts began to assault the group.

"Cadence, when I say go, thrust your sword at me!" Said Shining Armor as he entrapped two of the four ghosts in a violet bubble. Seizing the moment, Spike shot a breath of fire at one ghost while impaling the other.

"GO!" Shouted Shining as he brought the bubble before himself, seconds close to being a pony on a sword. The ghosts no longer able to hold their form against the strike, dissolved into nothing.

"That was dangerous," Said Cadence, casually striking her coltfriend with her scabbard. "So don't do it again." Immediately kissing the point of injury.

"Don't suppose you two lovebirds noticed the doors just opened?" Interrupted Spike.

And lo, before the group were three doors now unlocked and open.

The door to the children's room, the master bedroom, and next to the already opened bathroom door was a large gilded door frame, an empty void within.

"Right, you two take the rooms, I'll go into the obvious trap." Said Spike as he casually stepped in.

-Darkness: Spike-

'Ugh bollocks I knew it was a trap. Black, black, more black, finely sculpted adonis of a-bloody hell...'

"It's about time you showed, started to worry bout you." Said "Spike" (Guess I'll call him William.)

"Don't tell me, you're the real "Spike" and you're here to kill me so you can live to ravage the world."

"I'm glad I was never without my smarts." Damn imposter started making his way forward, some sword in his hand.

'Sigh' "Alright, but before we dance, did you love her?"

"Sorry old boy, who?" 'Good, we're done here.'

It was a quick fight, metal doesn't do too well against scale, whereas dragon teeth are perfect for rending muscle.

Poor sod didn't even have time to react after the first swing. One thrust and he was dust, the room started to glow and some stone idol rose from the ground.

"Spike!? Oh my God, I was worried I had the wrong world..." Said a familiar disembodied voice.

"Chase!? How in the bloody hell are you here? In fact, why are you here?"

"When you and Angel disappeared I used my new higher being powers to find you. I thought I was lost and before I could relocate some weird My Little Pony horse took my totem and put it here,"

The idol started to glow and out came Cordi in a white gown.

"Spike you have to get out of here!"

"Tell me something I don't know, luv."

"No, not out of this room. I need to get you out of this WORLD. Some weird big bad is infecting this world and merging it with-"

"A computer game, I know. Look I understand the worry, but we'll be fine here. Is that idol keeping this room together?"

Cordelia started to look a little confused.

"Well yeah, it's the only thing letting me influence the world. Beside the point, I'm getting you and Angel out of here. The gang needs you, magic is out of balance and-what do you think you're doing with that spear?"

"Going home, it was nice talking. My soul is wrapped in harsh repose, midnight descends in raven-colored clothes."

"Spike don't, that's the only thing keeping me here and it's the only thing to get us out of this crazy world."

I stop not so much in hesitation, too old not to know what I want from life. No, it's just goodbye.

"A sunlight gleam, butting a swath of glimmering gleam." The spear is heavy in my small hands, but a swing breaks the statue, with it the world around me. No more darkness, no more higher beings, no more shadows of the past.

The hallway is the same way I left it, but Shining and Cadence were talking with a...bunny ghost?

"Saaaaaluuuutatiooons!" Said the axe wielding ghost rather happily.

The H(a)unt: Movement 3

-Attic: Team P.T.R -

“Please tell me we aren't actually going up there.” Said Rainbow Dash as a chill went up her spine.

“Don't worry Dashie, it's just a cramped, cold, dark room with no flight space or-hffmhff!” Twilight had quickly managed to shove a hoof into her “helpful” friend's mouth before any more damage could have been done. “Pinkie, I'm having trouble keeping calm as it is, I can't have Rainbow freak out either.”

The trio looked upon the attic entrance, the hatch had quite possibly never looked so daunting. Pulling it down with magic, Twilight took her place on point as her friends took up the rear.

As they enter they find that all is not as it should be, for one the room was far larger than the plans had originally stated, the room had several boxes strewn around the corners and the room was basked in eerie red light.

“Twi...is this what the room is supposed to l-look like...” Asked Rainbow.

“Rainbow not now...” Replied Twilight.

“Girls...was the hatch always closed?” At Pinkie's statement, the gate had shut with iron bars and a strange film like barrier.

“Pinkie I blame you entirely.” Calmly stated Twilight.

Before the now thoroughly frightened group appeared a strange being cloaked in red with glowing green eyes.

“More ponies? These still draw breath. Dark Makai , show them proper “hospitality.” Sickening black creatures sprung forth from the scattered boxes, from the very ceiling and from the robes of the mysterious figure.

“Wait...that's it?” Asked Rainbow.

“HAH! The Dark Makai will rend the flesh from your bones child! You are nothing compared to the-”

A second went by as a rainbow colored bolt of electricity flashed throughout the room. A great flash of holy light engulfed the field of battle to reveal no less than fifty Dark Makai scattered about the room, some impaled by stakes, others severely burned. Still standing in place was Rainbow Dash, bouncing a Hand Grenade in her hoof.

“Fluttershy could have handled those in her sleep, if all you've got to throw at us are really ugly bunny things then you should probably give up the soulstone.” Stated a now calm Rainbow Dash.

“You would speak down to ME!? I AM OBLIVION! I am destruction incarnate and I shall not be MOCKED by a-” The grenade Rainbow held delivered it's holy payload once thrown at Oblivion.

“I'll mock you as much and as long as I want! What you gonna do about it punk!?”

Reeling but not deterred, Oblivion rose again. His eyes glowing brighter as his claws became black with shadow.

“Child...you have no idea as to the darkness you have wrought! I bring forth from the Oversoul, Death's Head!

Oblivion began to form a dark vortex in the floor, rising from the ether was a mouth-less being clad in slim cobalt armor, a shining blade in it's hand.

"Let us see how you fare against a champion of the Oversoul!"

"Rainbow, maybe I should take this one." Said Twilight.

"What!? I can totally take that pushover!"

"I don't know...this one is actually pretty beefy." Pointed out Pinkie Pie.

"Pfft, fine. Don't believe me? Just watch!"

-Bath house-

The bath house had not been far from the living room, but finding the "core" had been rather difficult for the trio. As it was, the bath house had turned itself into a maze upon entrance. Whats more, a thick warm mist was ever present upon the wooden Neighponese inspired halls.

Fluttershy held tight, both to her ever shining cloak and her friends. Applejack would marvel at the woodwork every so often and Rarity would critique or outright destroy a piece of tapestry which she deemed "garish" or an "eyesore".

After quite sometime, Fluttershy had brought up an interesting point:

"Haven't we been walking in circles?" Asked the worried pegasus.

"Now what makes you say that dear?" Asked Rarity, tearing down another curtain.

"Well...I can't put my hoof on it, but it almost feels like we've been here before. I just wish I didn't feel so blind."

"Says the mare with the light show. What do you think Rare? Rarity?" As Applejack motioned to question her friend, Rarity had brought a hoof to her mouth.

"I think Fluttershy has a point, I can't believe I only noticed this now..." Rarity began to piece together the torn fabric she had been collecting. The resulting pattern had formed an arcane circle which upon completion, attached itself to the wall.

The runes glowed as the circle began several clockwise-counter clockwise turns as if unlocking itself.

"Good eye Rare! Now we might actually be able to get outta this dog-gone place." Cheered Applejack.

The circle had stopped and opened. From within the opening glowed three bright red eyes. The beast attached to those eyes gave a blood chilling roar. Rarity, not being a pony of confrontation did the only thing she could.

"Ohhh..." Faint.

-Basement, Hero-

Huh, of course the basement door would be in the back of the house. Well, I'm almost ready...just one more thing.

"BEAR IS SO GOOD!!" I sigh in satisfaction at the short meal, but immediately jump at a tap on my shoulder.

On the ground looking up I see Angel, his arm outstretched.

"Got any of that for me?" He asked coyly.

"Well, yeah if you want," Reaching into my bag I pull out a nice chunk of chrono-frozen bear meat.

"Hey, why aren't you with the others?" I ask.

"Twilight sent me to keep an eye on you, shouldn't you have waited?"

"I should have, but this will give me a really good chance to check the quality of my darkness armor. Speaking of...

Shadow of Doubt!!"

I stand there looking like an idiot. "Is that it?" Asks Angel.

"Give me a sec while I pull out my sack." 'No, no, no, those are new, that's really new! Oh...ohhhhhhh...'

"ULTIMON!!" I feel my body rip apart from the inside out, the soul of shadow infused from Nightma-sorry, Midnight working it's true magic. My mind flooding as well with Luna's stolen magic.

Reforming on my feet I rise; heart of the cards, shoulder at the start, I believe!

We bust the doors open and jump into the basement, awaiting us was a figure with no discernible legs, cloaked in a dirty thick black cloak.

"So you are the interlopers...hehehe, more to feed from.”

The H(a)unt: Crescendo

The H(a)unt: Crescendo

-Attic: Team P.T.R-

Several minutes had passed, neither Death's Head or Rainbow had shown any sign of stopping. The floor had been carved, destroyed, burned, uplifted, and outright wrenched as the two warriors fought.

Electricity and demonic light clashed as violently as those that cast them. Oblivion, mockingly laughing at the two other ponies in the room.

"Your foolish friend will die never knowing- NEVER SEEING THE LOOK UPON YOUR AGONIZED-"

A brutal slash parted the air, in her growing rage Rainbow had somersaulted her opponent's blade away from his hand with a rising bolt of lightning.

Grasping the hilt with her teeth, the spry pegasus spun downwards, her speed increasing at a ludicrous rate until finally she split her opponent in twain. The rainbow ring that formed hummed as it dissolved the dark fog that was once Death's Head. The only remainder of him ever existing was the golden blade held in Rainbow Dash's mouth; the cobalt glow of the runes having left the blade upon his death.

Rainbow, despite being worse for wear, wore the biggest brightest grin she could ever muster. Light scars exaggerating her expression as she triumphantly sheathed her new blade.

Oblivion growled in great anger as his black shadow turned into a sickly green.

"You meaningless worms! Fine! If you want something done right you-wait, what do you think your doing?!" Pinkie had snuck up behind Oblivion and had grasped his cloak. With a tug,

"NOOO!"

And with a blood curdling scream of agony, the demon came undone.

From within the folds of the demon's cloak fell the spirit orb, and as Twilight brought a hoof down upon it, the scenery before them changed.

"That's one, let's regroup in the living room and see if the others are okay." Said Twilight as the trio left the cramped space with their new bounty.

-Living room-

Upon arrival, Twilight and co. were met with both search groups. Rarity was passed out on the floor, chest rising and falling at a slow rhythmic pace. Fluttershy and Applejack had been absolutely drenched, but were unharmed. Shining's team however returned with one extra addition.

"Saaaalutatioons!!!" Said the ax ghost.

"She's just so cute when she does that!" Squealed Cadence.

"BBBFF, what is that?" Asked Twilight.

"Do we have a story to tell." Replied Shining Armor.

"Startin' to think we all do." Added Applejack.

"Ooh me! Pick me!" Cried the ax ghost. "Okay so my name is Veral! Not feral, Veral. Veh-ral. Got it? Good! so it went down like this..."

-Attic: Veral-

'Just another ordinary day, the ghosts doing absolutely nothing and those that act out I can silence pretty quick. Still, no matter how many I send packing more just pick up the slack.'

My thoughts get dashed however as the floor I keep ghost free immediately gets swarmed by five ghosts. "Okay boys, don't come all at once."

Yeah, I'm really different when in a fight. How different?

Before the screeching ghosts even move on me the small hallway is littered with at least sixty small vortexes. The ghosts get punctured by at least three hundred small spears of concentrated wind. Now normally a barrage like this is overkill, but much like me the ghosts trapped here are all wind elemental.

One escapes the barrage in an attempt to call the hoard, he succeeds and the hallway is flooded with about twenty of the things. Now I'm just a girl with an ax and a spent mana deposit, so at this point I just decide to do the smart thing and hide until they settle. So I'm in the children's room hiding when all of a sudden I here explosions and bullets and a bunch of other stuff. I poke my head out of my hiding spot for a bit and two ghosts are in the room looking like they just went through hell.

A quick swing and they go down fast, but you know still not leaving. Few more minutes and I hear even more fighting from outside the room and all of a sudden the door just swings open!

'It's okay Vi...nothing to be afraid of...'

Footsteps...no. Not footsteps...HOOFSTEPS!

"SAAAAAAALUUUUUUTATIOOONS!!!!"

-Second Floor: Team Shining Cadenza-

The ponies look upon what they can only assume to be an adorable bunny ghost in sugar induced awe at it's adorable introduction.

"Shining I want foals someday." Says Cadence with stars in her eyes.

"I'm right there with you..." Replied Shining.

"Um...you two okay? You're kinda the only living thing I've seen for centuries. Oh! Where are my manners? Veral, Moglord Ghost and partner to the great Azur...grizzlespit."

"Wait you know my little sister's teacher?" Asked Shining.

"Wait, do you two know master Azure!?" Asked Veral. The ponies nod in confirmation eliciting a happy cry and hug from the moglord ghost.

"Is he here? My master?" More nods. "HE'S FREE! Maybe now I can take on Fred!"

"Who's Fred?" Asked Cadence.

"He's the monster under the bed, he holds one of the three soulstones!"

"What are we waiting for let's go!" The trio exit the room just as Spike exits the door he entered. Upon seeing yet another living being Veral immediately rushes outwards.

"Saaaaaluuuutatiooons!"

"What is that?" Asked Spike, a bit of concern apparent on his face. Once recovered from her adorable induced stupor, Cadence explains as to what Spike missed.

"So Feral-" "VERAL!" "Right, Feral here wants us to fight a bed-bug?"

"He isn't a bug! He's some sort of imp demon. Never mind...let's just go destroy the soulstone."

-Master Bedroom-

The now group of four made their way slowly into the large room, the only decorations a set of gold lined tan curtains, an incredible royal bed, and a large mirror.

"Okay team, you did all the heavy lifting so I'll take it from here!" Veral shot forward immediately and peeked under the bed...

"Hey what gives!?" Only to find nothing. Unbeknownst to her however, Fred as she called him slowly made his way from the mirror. A bladed hand lifted, it's scythe-like edge glistening with unknown light, but he had no chance to use it.

Fire burned, magic shined, and a skull was impaled. As Veral turned her head (oblivious to the carnage) she saw the soulstone fall and shatter on the floor.

"Huh. That was easier than I thought. You three okay?" Veral asked. The trio before her whistling to themselves as if nothing had occurred.

The squadron made their way to the living room, mission completed.

-Living Room: Current Time-

"So that's our bit, what about you three uh..."

"Name's Applejack, sleeping beauty over there's Rarity, and that there is- uh Fluttershy?" Applejack, having concerned herself with answering Veral's question had lost sight of her shy friend...

"Oh my she's sooo cute." Only to find her fawning over the Moglord. Veral started scratching at her (non-existent) chin with a goofy grin on her face.

"Okay then Fluttershy, you look like you've just been through the ringer. What happened?" Asked Veral.

"Oh...it wasn't anything...really..."

-Bath House: Team A.R.F-

Applejack had immediately taken Rarity upon her back as she ran as fast as she possibly could with Fluttershy next to her. The entire world falling apart at the seems only to be replaced by a world of fog and water. The great beast submerging into the solid water began to strike from underneath the floor-like ocean, each ground strike causing geysers of water to crash around the two ponies.

"Applejack are you okay!? A-apple...jack?" Fluttershy looked in horror at her friends held within a tendril, Applejack unconscious in it's direct grasp and Rarity held aloft by rope. The beast inching them slowly to it's mouth...

-Living Room: Current time-

"Well, don't leave us hanging. What happened?" Pleaded Shining Armor.

"Fluttershy did the dog-gone impossible and talked the thing down! She took the soulstone and when Ah woke up we were here!" Squee'd Applejack.

But...this is not what happened.

-Against Sacragon-

Fear, that is what the Sacragon felt. It's very existence was a mistake, and now it made an even worse mistake in assaulting these ponies.

Fluttershy rushed in as if a being possessed. First slicing away the tendril holding her friends and laying them down while narrowly dodging a psionic blast of concentrated energy. In turn, Fluttershy consumed her ever charging mantle of light and blew a hole four meters through the beast's head, destroying the soulstone in the process.

-Living Room; Current time-

"Wait, where's Master Azure?" Asked Twilight.

-The Basement: Hero-

Ghosts everywhere and not a damn thing we could do about it. Angel doing his best to either dodge or strike at the ghosts and me biding time to build up meter. I just hope the others break those stones.

The H(a)unt: Aftermath

-Basement: Hero-

The wraith mocked us, it's unending hoard of ghosts constantly raking us or tossing waves of lightning at our general direction. Somewhere along the battle we were both caught off guard and slammed into a wall.

"Please tell me you have a plan."

"Oh no of course I do," Erecting a ball of light to shield us, I start punching the air. "Meter meter meter meter, just gotta build up meter meter meter meter meter, and when the bubble pops you dragon out and torch the room and I'll follow up and launch all of my meter meter meter meter..."

"Why do you keep saying that? Asked Angel.

"Because the more I say it, the more meter meter meter I have to meter meter meter..." Before the demon bunny could press further the bubble of concentrated light burst outward giving us the opening we needed. The room was bathed in crimson fire, many of the ghosts dissipated as they could no longer hold form.

"Messatsu Gou Hadou: Agyou!" Now this is a somewhat basic meter special as such I didn't need a full bar, so why the build up? MAX DESPERATION that's why.

The Ultimon armor enhanced the Hadou special giving me a literal Twilight (Light/Dark) elemental messatsu hadouken gattling cannon. More than seventy five percent of the room had been destroyed, the rest forming a protective barrier around the wraith.

"Hey, they stopped multiplying." Said Angel. 'Wait wat?' "Dude they did it!! Woohoo!!" I cry. Strangely enough the mass of ghost that was left just sort of circled about the wraith, not paying us any mind.

"Okay, I may have clipped the boss monster here in the chest, so once his ball of food here disperses, I'll distract them long enough for you to go in for the kill."

"Any suggestions?" I hand him the Requiem Aeternum. "Pointy end goes in." I say with a smile on my face.

The thirty or so ghosts begin to wail as they surround us, I rush into the cloud of ghosts and let them swarm me. Once all of them are gathered, I form a hyper-dense ball of light around us.

'This'll go one of two ways, either Angel slays the wraith and I can drop the bubble, or I detonate the bubble and hope I don't-' *clink*clink* 'Bubble dropped!'

The ghosts fluttered about in confusion, but after a few seconds they finally just up and fazed out of existence. "Well...that takes care of that."

"Hey, the wraith dropped this." Angel walked towards me, a sword in his hand. 'Okay wow...'

"Keep it, but give me my sword. I may still need it someday."

-Living Room Floor-

The group looked at us with varying glances of happiness and relief, but there had been one extra.

"MAAAAASTEEEEER!!!" Cried a speeding Moglord Ghost.

"You jerk! You said you wouldn't leave! Why!? Why couldn't you stay!? Dummy!!!" Veral is pounding on me at this point, crying tears of loneliness and pain.

"Ver-" She clocks me with the broad side of her ax. "No! You listen and you listen good! You don't ever leave again! You hear me!?"

"Loud and-" The front door is violently bucked open and Bon Bon rolls in with a "Clear!" Followed by an excited Lyra. "Clear! This is so fun! You honestly do this for a living?"

"Lyra, exercise caution. For all we know one could be-Fogey twelve o'clock! Lay suppressive fire!" Lyra had a harp shaped bow in her magic and Bon Bon had a crossbow and grappling hook. Taking aim, the two lay down a barrage of arrows all aimed at Veral. The non magic assault flies through her like a breeze against leaves.

"Switch to melee tactics!"

"Sweetie Drops stop!" My outburst manages to quell the pony before me. "But that ghost-"

"Is a dear friend of mine, and I'd rather you not shoot at her. It's rude."

"And the haunting?" Asks Lyra.

"Taken care of." Said Angel, now in base bunny form.

"Alright, but if something goes wrong, we'll be there. Let's go Lyra!" The two mares are out the door and grapple into the air.

A strong silence overtakes the party...

"So who's up for not leaving Twilight's place for twelve hours straight?"

-Golden Oaks Library-

After a day of never once stepping foot from the library, the group gathered themselves round the living room floor. Eleven of us, crowded into a tight room. Twilight, Shining, and Cadence by the couch. Rarity, Applejack, and Spike sitting by the bookshelf (Spike doing his best to rearrange the shelves so as to keep his eyes off Aj's still bulging frame),
Fluttershy, Rainbow dash and Pinkie were on a throw rug with Angel on Fluttershy's head.

That left me on the staircase. Alone, tired, just as beaten and battered as the rest of the party.

"Okay, business then. Twilight, keep record so Luna can get caught up when she gets back from jail."

"Ooh, I hope she gives those brutes a good pounding!" Everybody in the room turns to stare at Rarity, who blushes a little at what she had just said.

"Well...maybe a slight pounding." She recomposed herself and I once again got back on track.

"We've all had a difficult week, Nightmare Moon, the Undead dragon, and the uh...yeah. Of course now that we have some breathing room, there's a cave in the Everfree I'd like for all of us to visit. Twi, do you have the Elements?"

Audible gasps flooded the room, Shining raising a question along with it.

"I saw Celestia box them and put them behind a mystically charged safe. Why would Twili-"

Twilight then proceeded to reveal the magical chokers one by one.

"I stand corrected. Twili, why do you have those?"

"I slipped everypony a hard light copy after we purified Luna. I kept the originals for obvious reasons," Stated Twilight rather smug. Every mare in the room giving her a slap on the back or an exclamation of pride.

"Although mine didn't come out like the rest." As she withdrew the last gem I expected to see the tired old tiara, instead she pulled an accessory more akin to a knight's visor.

'What is with this world and knights!?' As I pondered my pondering ponder, Rainbow spoke up:

"What does a cave in the Everfree forest have to do with the Elements?"

"I'll explain on the way. Saddle up everypony, oh you too Spike, Angel."

-Everfree-

The girls walked through the thick forestation, Elements equipped. Spike and Angel both in their respective battle forms, and Shining and Cadence garbed in amethyst armor and Dragon shifter's leathers respectively.

Me? The demon plate my ass got imprisoned in (sans helm). If only for shits and giggles.

"Everyone, I'd like to take this time to tell you something not found in the archives," this garnered their attention. The group now tightened around me.

"When I got hit fifteen hundred years ago I was contacted by the Elements themselves," I let the audible gasps run their courses. "I didn't hear words as much as I saw images flying at me faster than I could process the info. It gave me instructions needed to keep the world safe. I need to gain allies from this world and the next, and doing so may take time. Time I don't think we'll have."

"What do you mean the next?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"I don't mean the afterlife if that's what you think. Everybody there is already dead." 'Badum tiss' "No, I'm talking different realities. The Elements gave me a guideline, and whether or not those that call me want to follow that guideline is completely up to the Elements."

"What guidelines would those be darling?" Asked Rarity.

"Simple give and take. A favor for another of equal value. If the terms are agreed upon then neither can break their oath."

"Like a Pinkie Promise!" Exclaimed Pinkie.

"What's “this” got to do with a cave in the middle o' the Everfree?" Asked Applejack.

"You're about to find out. Meet you downstairs!" Confused yelling erupted as I haphazardly rush past the castle of the Pony Sisters, and into a seemingly bottomless gorge.

The ravine was filled with black thorn vines, but none seemed to move. Better for the group. A look back to make sure the others saw me and I entered the cave.

Twi and Cadence teleport the group to the mouth of the cave. The latter punching me in the shoulder and giving me a stern look.

Entering the cave I noticed slight rumbling along the singular path. That's when the smell hit...and it was beyond putrid.

"Twilight, Shining! Air bubbles now!" Both unicorn set two large bubbles separating the group in two. As the bubbles set both paths of the cave were thus sealed by crystalline walls.

Not knowing how else to communicate, I risked donning my mercenary garb.

'How easy it would be if you just gave in~' 'I ain't giving into shit!' Immediately I began to shoot several signs and movements to Pinkie (of which managed to get to the secondary bubble.)

A plan formed, our groups made way to both walls. Rarity, Applejack, Cadence, Angel, and Shining doing their absolute best to either drill through or physically bash through the wall.

This left Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, and I to take down the opposite wall. A few minutes, several wasted gems, and a lot of work and Shining's group broke through.

But nothing is ever that easy...

The cave entrance had been freed, but rising from the ground were several crystalline beings. Five in total began to assault the group.

"Twilight, break off and help your brother! Spike, Rainbow, you go with her! Fluttershy stay close."

The cave was no longer filled with toxic air which allowed the entirety of the group to fight without reservation. This in turn allowed me to waste the wall before me.

The pegasus at my side doing her best not to faint from the sounds of battle.

"Hey Fluttershy?"

"Y-yes?"

"Wear these." Kneeling down I throw my bag of armors on the floor and pull out my lumenomacer robes. Handing them to her, the robes begin to wrap around her like ribbons. My heart gained a few tics in speed.

*ahem* "Those will uh...keep you safe. Hug a wall while I break this crystal." 'Huh, now would be a good time to test that tuning fork.'

I re-donned my advanced demon knight and pulled out a rather long and sharp tuning fork. It's hilt was stylized with a vine like design and it's handle grip was made of a cobalt metal.

Before I could swing the unorthodox weapon I heard a scream and an impact from behind me. One of the crystal sentries tried to attack Fluttershy only to have it's head blown off. In it's place a shining golden fist.

'Huh, Gibli's elemental fist. Didn't think Flutters had it in her.'

Going back to the task at hand I plunged the great sword tips first into the fragile crystal wall. The resulting shock wave of vibrating sound disrupting both the walls structure as well as the sentinels.

Two seconds of earth shattering waves and the cave was littered in crystal fragments. Rarity and Spike collecting what they could (one for fashion the other for food), the rest of the party looking to the end of the cave.

The crystal tree, the core of Equestria in a sense. Making our way closer and closer caused the ground to shake and without warning crystal vines shot out and trapped us.

"Who trespasses on these hallowed grounds?" Asked a disembodied voice.

"The bearers of the Elements!" I cry out.

"The bearers? Too soon have the six arrived, further, there are others. You Champion, two out worlders, royalty...and her knight,"

The vines released us, the group falling a good two feet.

"Forgive my...impulse. A seed of chaos has been planted which seeks to-"

"Drain you, correct?" I ask cutting the tree off.

"It is as you say, though I would wish for nothing more than to feel whole again, Equestria needs the soul of Vizalain far more than I."

"The soul of Vizalain?" Ask Shining Armor and Twilight.

"You refer to them as the Elements of Harmony. These six individual souls hold the power of eternal light. The very essence of the race of beings known as Vizalain. As the planet's only Corundum, I am tasked with "giving light" to the Vizalain,"

Another sentry emerged from the ground.

"Yet ever since I relinquished hold of the souls, the Vizalain have dwindled. Either victim to dragons, treasure hunters, or in our case a misunderstanding, very few remain and among those few remain uncorrupted,"

The single sentry walked towards me, it's sickle like appendage nearing my forehead.

"Chosen of Lore, Hero, Villain, Adventurer, Guardian. Take with you the gift of life, the gift of death, and go forth with the blessing of the soul of Vizalain,"

A great magic flooded within me as I was taught to create crystal copies of myself.

"Now go ye heroes! Return only when I require your aid!"

The cave once again began to rumble as crystal walls began to rise and descend. Releasing dragon forms, Angel and I took half of the group each and dashed out of the cave. The final wall sealing the entrance of the cave.

"Hooboy, everypony okay?" I ask.

"I may have chipped a hoof, but I'll live." Stated Rarity as she crawled off my back.

"Spike, ya'll can let go now." Said Applejack rather shakily.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

"Again!" Added Pinkie.

"Hey what did the Corundum do to you Master?" Asked Twilight.

"It gave me a spell. Give me a second..." Light flooded my mind as I formed a crystal doppelganger before me.

"It's beautiful." Whispered Fluttershy.

"Marry me!" Exclaimed Rarity as she launched herself at the statue. "AH! My mane! Of all the times why now!?"

The statue's arm had narrowly missed the unicorns horn, catching a few strands of her mane instead.

As she began to pull away, Twilight and Cadence approached me.

"When will the spell scroll be ready Master?" Asked Twilight.

"I'm gonna want one too you know." Added Cadence.

"Jeez give a guy some space, I did just learn how to spawn a brand new race of being-" I was cut off by a great light, as my vision was overtaken by the emblem of the Elements of Harmony.

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, I had this fleshed out a looong time ago, next chapter's gonna be another interlude introducing more of the Whedon verse, followed by a crossover chapter in Beast Out by NightStream who you should totes check out. After that will be the looming danger of a fire breathing dragon. Artix fans, don't spoil it...or do.

It's Akriloth

Interlude: The Slayer slays, The Watcher...

Author's Note

What's the point of these? They'll loop back into normal Equestria at a certain time when the Artix verse reaches a certain point. And because I didn't link to the actual chapter yet, the crossover chapter in Beast Out has been live for quite some time now: CH 8 link here

Interlude: The Slayer slays, The Watcher...

It had been quite a few days since Sunset left her small apartment for the spare living quarters in Caritas. She said good bye to no one and was greeted by few, but those few had kind hearts in a night life filled with ill intent.

Sunset gained a family she never thought she missed...A family that welcomed her with open arms. It helped that Caritas now had a large sum of income in gold coin upon her arrival.

"Sunset Shimmer, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Asked her fourth period math teacher.

"I hate everyone equally, and there is no one alive who can understand my sexual preference." Before her prude of a teacher could act upon her now growing ire both at her "star" student and the cacophony of the class the bell had rung, signalling the end of another class.

"Here's the work for this semester's book. Have fun grading."

"If you weren't such an outstanding student I would have had you expelled by now."

The day was almost over, the year was just beginning, but Sunset Shimmer was tired of it. She had since mastered high grade mathematics, economy, literature, and the fine arts under the tutelage of Celestia.

There had been SOME trouble with subjects such as history and home ec, but nothing that couldn't be handled. As such, Sunset was given a number of grace periods or as Vice Principle Luna liked to refer them as: Independent Study.

Fifth and sixth periods were as such, which had meant Two wonderful hours (Or one hundred and fourteen minutes exactly) stuck in the library. A creepily well stocked with information on the occult library.

"Hey Shimmer!" Cried Rainbow Dash. The only reason Sunset had even agreed to enrolling in CHS was to gain the incredible power she had been promised.

Her task: Locate five teenagers with attitude.

And yes, though her magic already a force to be reckoned with grew substantially with each new headway she met in befriending the now tight nit group of girls she had come to recognize as "friends". Nay, BEST "friends".

"Sup Crash?" Said Sunset with a coy smile.

"Oh come on that was one time!"

"One time everyday for at least a week."

The two synchronized their steps as they navigated the halls.

"Speaking of weeks, it's only been two and you finished the book for trig! You gotta help me out math wiz!"

"Says the up and coming aeronautics engineer. You've tackled far more complex problems while bouncing a soccer ball on your ankle."

"Yeah I'm awesome, hold that thought I'm gonna be late!"

"Pfft, heaven forbid..." Sunset made her lonesome way to the prison the school called a library. The only thing creepier than the library was it's warden, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

"Hello Mister Pryce." Said Sunset monotonously.

"We've been sharing the same space for quite some time young miss. At the very least call me Wesley."

He wasn't horrible, he just seemed...strange. He was always trying to get her to join the afterschool book club. That meant she'd be stuck organizing and rearanging and filing away valuable hours of the day.

Hours that could now be spent in Caritas where it was closer to school and vampire free.

"May I have access to the school's wifi?" Asked Sunset.

"If you would only join the book club there would be no need to ask." Wesley handed Sunset the keycard, the contents of which Sunset Shimmer had already memorized. The only reason she would constantly request the card was out of a common courtesy.

[Network: Watcher]

[Password: Council]

The key always seemed rather ominous, it obviously meant something but what not even the principles knew.

Sunset linked herself in with a personal computer, one which she was given very specific orders for.

'You'll want something big with out it being over incumbent. It's gotta hold a TON of memory and it needs to be just as powerful as you.'

Though the last part was not to be taken literally, it was no less taken to heart. The various mystic augmentations had been worth every bit as it gave her the fastest hardware in the city.

Linked to the school internet, Sunset ran her various proxies in order to access the greater web. Research at this point consisted of everything that went bump in the night.

Disappearances.

Mysterious Deaths.

Kidnappings.

Freaky side-shows.

Everything became relevant when it was a matter of life or death.

"I do hope you're keeping to school subjects miss Shimmer."

"Of course Mister Pryce." Of course she wasn't. She needed answers, even if the only answers she'd ever get would come in the form of rumors or anecdotal evidence.

Two hours came and went and all Sunset managed to find was the address to a seedy nightclub. Chances were she needed backup.

Making her way out of the library into the emptying school, Sunset rummaged through her things for her life line to a genuine Equestria. The pendant buzzed in her grasp once...twice...click.

"Hello? Who's there?"

-Ancient home: Hero-

'Aaaaaagh...who's calling me...'

"Master? Master it's Sunset." 'Audible gasp.'

"Sunset! How long has it been!? You're not in trouble are you?"

"No, no, well not yet at least. How's you're imprisonment?"

"Over with actually, I got to meet one of the evolved or I guess I should say Displaced."

"Oh wow...oh no way! You're free! So how'd first contact go?"

I have to groan for a bit...it's not that I'm not happy to be talking with my former apprentice, it's just I feel a bit embarrassed with my encounter.

"I got wrecked by their Princess Luna. Silver, go figure."

"Wait, what? But you said Luna hated fighting."

"Luna in OUR world hates fighting. In literally every other reality Luna practically lives for the fight." 'The wounds she gave me are proof of that...'

"Silver...shouldn't you be dead? How'd you survive?" I began to hear some clanging and the turning of a dial.

"*sigh* I was rescued by an amazing field medic. Oh she's beautiful...most wonderful form of intelligent life I've had the honor of being a patient to. Strong, intelligent, absolutely amazing eyes that-"

"Hold that thought I'll call you back."

"Sunset? Sunset Shimmer? Huh, she hung up."

Within the confines of an empty locker sat VAMPYR. It was an old, daunting tome that seemed to draw her attention away from the world. She almost didn't see the stake flying at her. A quick step back from her locker and there in her field of vision was the sharpened rod of wood.

The next rod was burned to cinders, more-so as a statement to whoever it was wanted to pick a fight. At the end of the hall was a tall figure cloaked in grey and a hubcap ax in his arm. The silent being walked away and towards the library.

"Wesley." Sunset glowered for a bit and regained her composure.

-CHS Library-

The library always seemed to be empty, but this time Wesley Wyndam-Pryce sat in the very middle of the great library, reading the varied works of Poe.

Sunset practically slammed the tome before him, the librarian didn't even flinch as he nonchalantly turned a page.

"So the Slayer shows her true colors." Another page.

"What do you know about the disappearances?"

"I don't feel very inclined to tell you. And before you leave yes you will need to file the proper documents regarding tomes from the "Dark Age" section of the library." Another page.

"I don't have time for games, either you tell me or this section of the school will need flash fire insurance."

"Quite unfortunately for you, I have nothing but time to play games. Either outcome gets us nowhere." Wesley placed a marker in his book, and placed it on the table.

"Ugh, fine. Give me the registration forms," as Wesley rose from his seat Sunset stopped him with one last question:

"But first you tell me about the Watcher's Council."

"A new slayer then? The Watchers are an ancient organization put in place to train young women such as yourself into becoming the last bastion against the demons that plague the world,"

Wesley came and went to and from his desk with a form in his hand.

"Unfortunately for THIS world. The Council was never formed and even in the former the Watchers had been slain along with the Council."

"Riveting, now about the vampire attacks-"

"Ah ah, tomorrow will be a better day. Onward dear slayer, Night is breaking."

As Wesley ushered Sunset out the door, she could only sigh in resignation. The towns safety would have to be put on hold for another night.

"Alright fine, but next time you want my attention just ask."

Sorrowful Moon, Valient Moon

"Ugh...I think I'll try to get some actual shut eye now..."

My eyes closed as the pendant I held slowly left my hand. It's gentle fall lulled me into slumber. Music filled the darkness of my mind. My eyes openened again to a beautiful red and teal landscape. The sky was painted a spacial blue with bright white stars and fading white clouds. Two red moons hung aloft the skyline.

Before me was a gorgeous Meddy in a long cream colored ball gown, slippers with a slight heel, elbow length gloves that seemed almost apart of her making it as if you couldn't tell where the purple of her NetNavi exo-suit began and where the creamy tan of her dress ended.

We danced a slow personal dance, her head planted firmly on my chest as I stared deep into her orange tinted glass covered eyes. Her hair swept to and fro as if a cloud of stars...a shadowy...cloud...of-'This isn't right.' The music starts to fade as a shadow dances across "Meddy's" face.

"Do you truly find pleasure in the company of this common wench?" Said "Meddy".

I pulled away quickly, drawing my luminous blade. "Midnight Mare...that...was a rather cruel joke."

The images around me shifted into the base form of my mindscape. The facades hiding Midnight's form and my scars faded. Midnight placed a hand upon me.

"Had you allowed me to possess you these injuries would never have come to pass." I swat her hand away and pulled back further.

"Have you been reading my memories!?" I ask in shock. "And since when did you start caring about me and who I spend my time with!?"

"When she made me apart of her! Can you hear her screams? Her cries for salvation?" As Midnight rose her arm a shadow rose and formed an image. Luna was being shown, her eyes covered by a leather binding. Her forelegs stretched upward and forced still by chains as she was kept kneeling on her hind legs.

What had been frightening about this is that a black shadowy mass encircled her, constantly shifting upon her frame causing her to convulse.

"He-he-hhh-help...me..." I couldn't help but reach out at the image, falling through forgetting it was just an illusion.

"You! You're toying with me! Playing against my fears!"

"This is no game! Had you spent more time growing our power instead of gallivanting in the arms of another-"

"The fuck do you care!?"

"Because I love you!" 'Wait what?' "I was born from her! Everything she is, everything she has ever wanted made ME. Have you forgotten what you did to her? How you made her feel..."

A memory began to build around us of a time long forgotten...

-Appleoosan Mountains: Fifteen Hundred Years ago-

"Sir, Luna's battalion was seen a few marks back. How should we proceed?" Asked Minos, a good friend and the bastard child of a Buffalo and Minotaur.

"Minós what have I said about calling me "sir"?"

"Not even on the field of battle, si- Azure."

"Thank you, have Bronze lead the infants, injured, and elderly to safety. All other hooves, paws, and claws on deck. We bottleneck through the mountainside into the caverns and thin the ranks. I'll keep her majesty busy."

Preparations went smoothly, my adopted son Bronze Hilt grew into quite the experienced sword fighter and my faith in him was never in question. He would lead the weaker to safety while I kept the strong at bay.

Dragon scouts scoured the skies, Griffon sentries kept watchful eyes upon the advancing forces, and the ponies hid in strategic ambush spots for greater advantage in the upcoming close quarters combat.

I didn't even have time to blink as one of our dragons was shot out of the sky by a dark magic infused boulder.

"Suppressive fire!" Shouted one of the griffon. I focused upon the point of origin and used the Fiery Barrage skill of the demon knight.

Not a moment too soon it seemed as I and many other rangers managed to drop many a scrambling pegasi. Bedlam erupted around us as Luna's ground forces advanced upon us with mystical mortars and a lot of bombs.

This wasn't bad. In fact this was good. The troops were being lead along the paths of the mountainside. The further they pushed, the deeper they entered. They deeper they entered, the harder it became for them to pull out...not like we gave them that chance.

Before they knew it, Luna's troops had blown a boulder on top of themselves. They scrambled, disoriented and scared. In their blind confusion were they separated, picked off, bound and gagged one by one.

'Huh, I was so sure Luna made her wa-' Side-barred by a cobalt blur of glistening metal, I faced my tiny attacker who from head to hoof was covered in wicked crow like armor.

She couldn't have been more than ten. Yet there she was trying to either wack me or fillet me with a spear. I couldn't concentrate and it almost cost the lives of both me and my opponent. A loose mortar knocked us both into a cavern, trapping us with the explosion.

Luna had woken up first, blood had dried onto her armor and one of her wings was broken. She stood over me with her spear pointed at my face.

"D-don't m-m-m-m-move...I won't be *gulp* held responsible for m-m-my actions."

"You're scared? You have me pinned to the floor and you're scared?" I ask.

"You are a demon of Tartarus. I...I don't know...I can't trust you!"

Then I remember I have a helmet on. "You're wounded so how about this, I remove some armor, then you remove some armor, then I remove some armor and then you remove some armor."

"NO! THIS IS A PLOY I SHALL NOT-" The Lunar princess drops onto a hind leg in visible pain.

*sigh* "Helmet comes off," I see her raise her head as she looks at me in surprise.

"What?" I ask.

"You...aren't the monster my sister said you would look like."

"That's a shocker. What, she tell you I was a rat that spat venom everywhere?"

Luna lifts her helmet off of her, a small patch of dried blood where a wound used to be.

"No...worse, but I would have liked to see that."

I tapped my shoulder and the pauldrons pulled back. "You're rather young to be on the battlefield aren't you?"

Luna tosses her bent shoulder coverings onto the floor. "My sister says I'm a natural...but I don't want to be here."

Gauntlets and chest plate fold back into my inventory. "Then why fight? Youth shouldn't be squandered with horror."

Luna drops her chest plate and three of her limb guards but winces as she touches the fourth. "My sister says I shouldn't waste my talent, ow...it hurrrrts...."

I recall the rest of my armor and motion Luna towards me. She whimpered a little, okay she whimpered a lot but I insisted. She caved but she couldn't quite get up.

I slowly rose and made my way to the injured filly. She squirmed at my touch but nonetheless let me lift her. I took her to the warmer part of the cave and sat down with her still in my arms.

I mindlessly lit a fire next to us and stroked her mane as slowly as possible.

"Don't be afraid please. Close your eyes if you have to, I'm going to make this as painless as I can."

She settled and shut her eyes. I felt within my inventory and equipped myself with my goto mage set and the Oracle class.
I set my blade edge first into the ground and tapped the hilt.

"I hope you like music. I do..." I let the filly in my lap bury herself comfortably and finally launch the healing spell. Before she knows it, I have her offending armor piece in slices on the ground.

"Th-thank you. I've never heard this language before..." Says Luna.

I start working her wing, preening it and ensuring the bones don't shatter. I cast another spell, feeling my heart beat increase.

"How do you feel now?"

"Safe, my sister kept telling me how much of a cruel monster you are. I'm glad she was wrong."

"Maybe you can change her mind about me. Luna?" Looking down I see her snoring softly, her head in the crook of my knee.

"Sleep well little one, you'll probably be hunting me in the morning..."

...

-Present day: Mindscape-

"I remember leaving her with one of my capes, but come on, she was ten!"

"She fell in love with you! Your kindness bore doubt into her mind! She believed that once the war was over that you would take her hoof in marriage! Year after year...do you know what it was like? To have lived a thousand years with only one thought?"

"Where is she?" I ask somberly.

"Find her yourself!" Midnight left my mind, leaving me to my haunting thoughts. I bring up a shadow and focus the image. Luna is there again, crying in her chains.

"I know where you are..."

Lenny Bruce Is Not Afraid

'Oh sweet sweet centuries old bed which I should probably switch out, don't ever leave me.'

"Mas..." 'The heck was that?'

"Mas......r" 'Kay...probably dreaming. Again...'

"Mas..r!" 'Ugh.....' "Veral! Five more minutes!!" I yell in protest.

"Master!!"
"Master!!"

"Gah! Schadanfreude!" The outburst knocked me from the comfort of my bed and onto the fragile floor.

There was I, sittin' in my floorboards. My student and one of my many yet to be recovered pets by her side.

"You two look rather frightened. What's wrong?"

"There isn't time, everypony is already at the library." Said Twilight, fear in her calm voice.

"Veral tidy up, Twi beam us out. Now!"

-Golden Oaks Library-

The living room had been cleared, several documents lay scattered about the lobby surrounding a map strewn across the round table.

"...hasn't gotten far, what little time- oh thank the Creator you're both finally here," Said Princess Cadence.

Within the room sat the other five elements of harmony, Spike, Angel, and Bon Bon and Lyra. 'But no Shining Armor?' Before I could conclude my thought Cadence had continued:

"Dragonstone has seen fit to send it's princess here and we'll soon be joined by a Griffon emissary as well. The ideal is to hope he is stopped before reaching Ponyville, but until that news comes we need to be prepared for full scale war.

Any questions?"

"Yeah I've got one. The fuck are you on about?" I ask just a little perturbed.

"His name is Akriloth and he has made an enemy of all Equestria." Said Cadence.

'Oh. OH! Oooooohhhhh shit.' "Akriloth the mighty? Akriloth the king of all that is fire dragon? Akriloth the- no never mind. All hooves on deck!!! Rarity, Applejack, lead a team of architects and carpenters and reinforce every building with as much steel as possible! Now!!"

The two nod and are out the door quick. I resume my plans.

"Rainbow, Pinkie we need traps set up within a twenty kilometer radius around the town. Get the weather team and any up and coming pranksters as aid!"

Pinkie pulled the pegasus into a dimensional hop out of the building.

"Fluttershy, take Angel and herd the animals underground. Assume that topside is no longer safe."

The two run out the door with purpose.

"Cadence, how much time do we have?"

"You couldn't ask that beforehoof?"

"No I couldn't the town needs to work fast, Akriloth is no laughing matter."

"How do you know so much about Akriloth despite this being the first mention?" Asked Bon Bon.

"Because this isn't the first time I've heard the name. Oh God the rest of Equestria doesn't know...So I have a theory-" "Don't say dancing demon." Said Spike.

"Spike you know this theory, so does Twilight, Shining and Cadence, but nopony else apparently..." I give a glare to Cadence. "My theory goes as such: This world, right here, is converging, has converged, or is being OVER WRITTEN by a world similar to it. More big bads keep showing up FROM said world. The dracolich was a slap in the face but the wraith! oh...oh the wraith...that just confirmed it! I know a lot about that world and what it brings and if these monsters keep showing up it'll be the end of the world as we know it..."

"How do we stop it?" Asked Lyra

"I don't know, I need my sword back to even BEGIN studying the effects."

"How do we beat Akriloth then?" Asked Spike

"A blade made from remnants of a powerful scythe: The Frozen Claymore. But I have no idea if the scythe exists here."

"I think I may know," Chimed Bon Bon. The hunter's guild had a wide variety of adventurers and tomb raiders in it's rank. I know a mare who MAY know the whereabouts of a frost wyvern who MAY just have the weapon you're looking for. I'll come back once I have more info."

Bon and Lyra started to leave but I motioned her back.

"The fact that this wyvern even exists further cements my theory. We'll need to keep in touch, grab an pull," I present my amulet as she places her hoof on it and pulls. A similar necklace seperates itself, but in the form of a wrapped piece of candy.

"Flick it and it'll activate. Be safe." And with that the mares were gone, out the door and into the air.

"What do we do then?" Asked Twilight.

"WE, make our way to the archives. Cadence, where's Shining?"

"Canterlot, Celestia called us back, Shining to start training the royal infantry for the eventual attack and me for safety."

"So how are you here and not under lock and key?"

"Come on, you know that song and dance. Quick teleport into the courtyard, scare a guard into chasing me, let them run me out. Easy."

"Wouldn't be so easy if you didn't have those leathers giving you a heavily scarred face and a bright white eye. Well, take Spike and start training the ponies here. Everyone good? Break!"

-Town Hall-

Ponies had been running frantically too and fro, life insurance, property insurance, money orders, paperwork flooded the building. In the middle of the chaos was Mayor Mare, hard at work making sure the files made their way through all the proper channels.

We walked to the desk and rang the bell, Mayor Mare not once looking up.

"I'm a very busy mare, if your grievance is in no way dragon related then I must ask you to leave."

"We need access to the archives."

Her head shot up like a silver bullet. Her eyes pinpricks, it would have been comical if the situation weren't so dire.

"I...come with me."

It felt as if the crowd parted before us mindlessly. Mayor lead us to a book case. Upon the spine of a black book in gold lettering read:

"YE NOT GUILTY"

"Miss Sparkle, consider this your official welcome to Ponyville." Upon pressing the book, the shelves opened to reveal a staircase leading down.

Nobody I'd Rather Be

-Ponyville Archives-

The spiraling stone steps led to what was essentially a library three times as big as Golden Oaks. I could literally see stars in Twilight's eyes.

"Calm down Twi, Mayor if we're so lucky, could you lead us to "those scrolls"?"

Young Mayor started to shiver and looked back at me worriedly. "W-what ever could you m-mean?"

"Giant. World endy. Dragon. Now is not the time nor place Mayor." She glanced at Twilight, then back at me, and swallowed hard.

"This way..." She took lead as we entered the maze of texts. "Our ancestors had written that you had kept many a contingency if it ever came that you would never be freed," As we walked, Twilight would mindlessly rearrange the books we passed or would take others. "One of those many contingencies comprised of six never to be opened scrolls. Each with their own markers. An apple, a balloon, a cloud, a diamond, a butterfly..."

'I know where this is go-iiiiiyaohmyGod!' A shine captured my eye. It was a glint of red and gold, wires everywhere, and a broken gattling gun.

"Ludo! My robodeer! Audible gasp! Pyro, Cryo!" Next to the scattered remains of a once powerful ally were two large elemental werewolves encased in orbs. I didn't realize how far off course I went until Mayor and Twilight caught up to me.

"Sir...please...*Huff * refrain from...oh...running ahead of us again."

"Mayor, why wasn't I informed of this?" I asked motioning my arm to my battle pets. "And...where is Serenity?"

"I apologize but I do believe we are on a time restraint. Let us continue."

"But- oh fine. But your still gonna tell me about Serenity right?"

"Who's Serenity, and what were those things?" Asked Twilight.

"That information is...currently held in your magic."

Twilight opened a tome and began to flip through the pages: "Entry: Serenity, Element type: Light/Dark,"

"A twilight elemental." I say.

"My mom and I are named after an element type?"

"The BEST element type...next to harm. Continue."

*Ahem* "Subject Serenity is known as what has been referred to as a " Shadow Pony". Constantly producing a unique energy signature in the form of black flames along her hooves. Attacks by flying into her opponent as well as using her wings and hooves for close quarters combat. What was she like?"

"Please we must continue. The fate of the world?" Interjected Mayor Mare. We once again made our way toward our final destination, Mayor beginning and stopping a forming thought.

"Serenity's whereabouts are unknown, what is known is that she is counted among those captured after the war. I am so very sorry,"

"Oh no...I know where..." I continue as the mares before me look back. "I could be wrong, in fact I hope I'm wrong but..."

"Another day sir Azure, we're here."

We finally stopped at a large wall with a rather curious engraving.

"As per your instruction, the scrolls were safeguarded, sealed, and kept hidden to all except for my predecessors and I. Upon the wall is written verbatim:

"If for any reason shit hits the fan and I am nowhere to be found to stop said shit you are to take these scrolls, find the ponies they pertain to, and have them read from said scroll. Under no circumstance are you to be anywhere near the resulting event horizon. Infact as soon as the scrolls have been delivered you run. Far. Run so far away and hope that you can get away."

Of course now it seems as if that time is upon us. All that is left is to utter the words passed down from mayor to mayor..."

She steeled herself, drew breath and spoke:

"Open says me!!"

"Really?" Asked Twilight as she gave me a harsh look.

"What, it was funn-" My speech had been cut off from the incredibly loud sound of stone grating against stone.

Before us, six rectangular indents revealed themselves to us. Apple, balloon, cloud, diamond, butterfly-

"My cutie mark!" And she said it. That's all I needed.

"You...won't be taking all of them will you?" Asked the good mayor.

"Nope!"

"What!?"
"Really!?"

Twilight had shown a pleading face while Mayor had small tears of relief on her smiling face.

"But we have to take all of them! Akriloth could prove too powerful!" As Twilight said this, Mayor Mare's smile slowly began to fade.

"We only need yours," There's that smile again. "The only way the other five will be needed is if Bon Bon can't find the scythe," Smile gone. "But she assured us she'd get it. Now lets just grab the scroll." Smile forever plastered.

"Fine..." Reaching out, Twilight pulled at the indent and took the scroll it held...and opened it.

"Twilight stop!"
"Twilight stop!"

But it was too late, she read it:

"I am the one and only?"

The Flame is Gone the Fire Remains

I fell for what felt like an eternity through an expanse of endless black. My eyes opening only after feeling what felt like hard stone floor and soft patches of grass. I rose and saw a courtyard, empty and surrounded by nothing. No pillars, no walls, no hedge trimmings-

“Dodge!!” I heard a voice say as I dodged a hand ax as it narrowly missed my nose.

"Who threw that!? Who said that?" The axe curved back and I managed to catch it mid flight. "Oh...oh ho ho. Not this time."

“Don’t get distracted! More are coming!” On cue, three more axes headed straight for my chest.

"Nope! As ah sweerrrrve~ into another dimension." Six axes fly along with the three initial axes dodged. ‘Horizontal, horizontal, vertical!’ I add the downed blades to my inventory.

“Whoever keeps throwing these friggin’ axes doesn’t know I am a MASTER of hand to hand armaments!”

A rapier found it’s way through my chest…right through the exposed flesh.

"Fuck you, fuck your friends, fuck everyone who looks like you. Whoever YOU are."

“I couldn’t warn you...I’m so sorry” Said the disembodied voice.

"No no it’s cool...I deserved that one. Who are you any-"

The world changed and my eyes opened to the sight of my bed, surrounded by golden axes. 'No don’t tell me…' Blood had covered my bed, a sword had painlessly found it’s way through my chest.

"Oh dear Lord, Doc’s gonna kill me…"

I roll around for a bit and find that my centuries old bed was replaced by a new and much softer queen sized mattress...which now had a hole in it.

"Huuuu fuckmylife..."

I rolled off the bed and onto the repaired flooring. "Veraaal. I need coffee!" 'And more of that amazing drink...'

Walking out the door I find Veral in a fit-to-scale pink apron dusting at a cupboard.

"Coffee's on the stove. Help yourself I'll be down soon!" Said the moglord ghost cheerily.

Walking down the steps I look back for a bit. "I made a mess, I'll clean it up but do order a new mattress...or get me the old one."

"You knocked out pretty bad yesterday, what you do to the bed?"

"Please don't-"

"There's blood everywhere!! Wait right there mister!"

She rushed right for me as she phased through the walls.

"What happened to your chest!? What happened to your arm!? Downstairs now!!"

She served me coffee in a solid black mug as she tied a bandage round my chest.

"What happened?"

"Silver, bamboo." I point to my arm and chest respectively. Veral winces at the mention of silver.

"Reckless as always, Honey wouldn't be surprised."

I sip at my coffee and pull out a piece of bear meat.

"Want me to cook that? Fluttershy brought veggies."

"Got any onion?"

"Mojó de ajo or a la mexicana?"

"Mexicana, should probably try not to ingest too much garlic."

Veral began chopping away at tomatoes, onions and jalapeños. "So how'd you survive the poisoning?"

My thoughts began to shift, first to a very nice place and suddenly to a nightmarish vision. "A friend." I pulled out Gregar's Navi emblem and looked at it for a bit. 'I didn't used to dream and my nightmares are getting worse and worse. Maybe...no. I can do this on my own.'

"A friend...who? You said that kinda longinlgy. You aren't thinking of cheating on Honey now are you?" Said Veral.

"Don't joke V. You know damn well the last thing she told me."

"Sorry, yeah I know...she said to find happiness in the future even if you'd be able to see her in Elysium. When you going back any-"

The door slamming open cut Veral out of her train of thought.

"Azure, you in here?" Asked Cadence as she set her blade by the door.

"Kitchen!" I yell back.

"Good morning Veral!"

"Saaaaluuuutations!" Replied Veral cutely.

*giggle* "I love when she does that. Onto business, we're expecting Griffonstone's emissary in a few hours so be prepared."

"Anything else?" I ask as Veral served me my food and the drink from yesterday.

"Hey V, where'd Pinkie get this stuff?" I ask.

"Berry Punch, Berry said it was chalk full of sedative like herbs. You should also check the living room table for gifts the town left you. Would you like some Cadence?"

"No thank you, I need to be alert. These came in yesterday." Cadence placed two stone tablets on the table shaped N and O.

"Moon rocks?"

"Moon rocks."

"Great! We just lost out on an army of moon snakes! What else?"

"The royal guard won't be returning anytime soon."

I take a forkful of grilled tomates, savoring the salty sweet taste.

"Great job Veral, I don't remember you being this good."

"Wasn't done yet you know. Shiny'll be bringing in his battalion instead. Commander Gold isn't allowed anywhere near this mission so you'll be free to walk around in your normal form."

"Thank fuck-" A piece of bear is jettisoned from my mouth as I get struck by both ladies in the room.

"Don't be rude to company!" Said Veral.

"There are ladies present!" Said Cadence.

"Grumble grumble, ponies always slapping me, grumble grumble...I s'pose all is well. Any word from Dragon country?"

"Akriloth is enslaving as many dragons as he can come across and he's already half way here. We have a week at most. If we aren't prepared we may need a miracle."

"More bad news...ugh I need a bath..."

"I'll go draw your bath!" Said Veral.

"I'll get out of your hair then, hopefully things don't go so bad with the griffons." Cadence began to walk out, levitating a magenta cupcake covered in fruit and bit into it.

"Yo hey wait! Those are mine!"

"You have nine more left, oh and...the funeral is starting soon. Hope you can make it." 'Wait the funeral...ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuu........'

"Veral! Forget the bath! I'm goin' out!" The moglord rushed through the walls again, this time in a hair cap and loofa in her paw.

"Aw...but I even took out the rubber duckies!"

"Gaw...you look adorable! Maybe tomorrow, I won't have much time today it seems."

The sound of a great brass bell echoed, a trail of ponies in black following a long cart, Oakwood laid upon a bed of hay. I begin to approach only for Rarity to stop me dead in my tracks. "You'll want these darling." Black garments began to fit around me. A black vest, with white accents, black arm guards, and a black robe bottom.

"Thank you. Shall we?" Rarity shook her head solemnly. "They're waiting for you, I have work that needs to be done."

I fall back into the line, walking straight for a half an hour into White Tail woods. The procession stopped at an open clearing facing a crystal lake. "May our champion do the honors." Said Lilyput, as she helped set the cart to a stop.

'Oh, I know what they want me to do.' "Give me a sec, let me...drop my robes." With great care, the vest was folded and stored in the inventory, the robe bottom rolled up, and the arm guards stored along with the vest.

"Armor."

The crowd parted before me, the solemn group began to throw various branches of dried wood and flowers upon the cart as they began to sing:

"Believe you me the price is clear, A child born a mother near, To Death and Life as hand in hand..."

Lifting the limp body as I stood atop the cart, I steeled myself for what I would do next.

"Shield!" A weight upon my back

"Amulet!" A weight upon my waist.

With a deep breath and a great release, I bathe the area in a torrent of flame. The wood and plants shrivel and turn to ash as the body in my arms becomes bone in our ball of fire. I hear the ponies sing:

"The flame is gone, the fire remains. The flame is gone, the fire remains."

What happened next put everyone (that includes me) on incredibly high alert. The sound of slow clapping echoed through the clearing, a voice soft and kind spoke through the ash.

"I'm quite sure if any other dragon saw what you just did they would declare an act of war."

"I'M quite sure that they'd never make it out alive to give that order." I say in response. This triggered something in the group as they all pulled out several knives, daggers, and hatchets.

"Easy easy, I'm not here for a fight." The voice stopped and from the foliage was a sight for sore eyes. The being before us was none other than Lord Cyrus of the Dracomancer Order.

"Lord Cyrus!!"

"LORD!?" Shouted the gathered ponies.

Cyrus simply began to laugh lightheartedly. "Please please, no "lord". I'm just Cyrus...well I suppose Prince Cyrus, but not to you though!"

'Wait, prince?' "Could you tell me the last thing you remember before waking up." 'Well isn't this quite the gamble...'

"Ah, you know then?" 'Gamble payed off...' "It was a rather sunny day, good for a picnic. I was on a double date with a dragoness, my sister and her date Galonoth. Well, one minute a hole begins to tear in the fabric of reality and the next minute I'm a five year old hatchling with a new sister and a father by the name of Dragonlord Torch."

One of the ponies tapped my leg and signaled to a fresh grave. Once the skeleton in my arms was deposited, I moved in closer to Cyrus.

"Something tells me Torch isn't native to Lore." I say.

"No, but something tells me you are. Can we maybe discuss this privately? A crowd this large may end up attracting some unwanted attention."

"Everypony, I'll be back in Ponyville later. There are things to discuss. Hey Cy, can you fly?" And with that, we were off. Wings unfurled and beating against the wind.

Author's Note

Because linking to the items constantly used can be troublesome I'll do a quick over view of any new piece of gear being introduced.

Moglin Sword: melee type earth weapon with a passive buff to healing spells.

Knight of the Fire orb armor: No real explanation, really good fire resistance and a built in fireball ability.

Overlord's Legend shield: Damage inflicted upon the holder is inflicted upon the attacker as well via Harm damage.

Drakkonan's Amulet: Good Fire defence, better magic offense. Need I say more?

Upon the Wings

We hadn't flown far, about "Three kilometers closer to Ponyville" not far. Once landed, we moved to sit under a large tree as I pulled out a chunk of bear meat. "Want some?" I asked.

I didn't need an answer as I bore witness to an ungodly roar, emanating from a surprised and blushing Cyrus. I toss him the chunk which landed skewered upon his katana.

"Thank you, I've been flying undercover for days!" Said Cyrus with a chuckle. "My sister doesn't know I'm here and I'd rather it stay that way."

"Uh...Cyrus. I need to know. How? Why!? Not about you being here, but Ak-" His eyes told me what no word ever could.

"I'll have to start from the beginning. My new beginning."

-Lord Cyrus-

It had been apparent that I was a very lame hatchling. The Wyrm in charge of being my "mother" told me that for the first five years of my life I was a mute. I had no intelligent thought nor any exemplary will to do...anything really. That was until "I" came into consciousness. The day of my rebirth terrified the elders along with my father as it saw me reading and learning, and training. Young "Cinder" as they called me went from an empty shell to an almost adult dragon in seconds. And yet...

"Little Cinder, would you not rather play with the other younglings?" Said my "Nanny" as she closed and retrieved a military strategy tome from my claws.

"My name is Cyrus, and it would benefit me more to learn as much as I can so that I may lead the younglings of the future." I said as I pulled another tome of Dragonic History.

"Oh little Cinder! You're father will be so proud, but please it won't do for a growing dragon to be kept in a musty cave for too long."

I resigned myself to fate as the dragoness took me by wrapping a claw around my stomach. It's not that I didn't like reliving my youth, I enjoyed myself as much as I could, but I was treated like a child. Not surprising all things considered, but it was rather frustrating as none of my thoughts or opinions were ever taken into account. My ire came to a head when I found myself in a military meeting. A "decorated" general had a brilliant plan that would take the lives of several troops and cost the kingdom several outposts.

I pointed out the holes and offered a counter that would minimize loss to a few wounded and would see us gain a rather large boon in our endeavor. I was promptly lead from the room by an uncle and told "Children should know their place."

"What happened?" I asked.

"The troops lost," Began Cyrus. "Miserably. Three returned with their lives. One of them died at my father's feet. It was at this moment that I dedicated my new life to becoming a king that would see to the end of such pointless pride and hubris. It took me ten years to finally be worthy of the title of Prince, and with it came my name. My true name."

"And...the general?" Cyrus could do nothing to hide his smile.

Wither Bone had been a thorn in our military which I sought to remove forcibly if need be. As such, upon receiving my title, I felt it necessary to challenge him to a war game. He couldn't accept fast enough.

"The winner," I began. "Gains total control of my father's military, and the ancient treasure."

"And the loser?" Asked General Wither with a wicked smile.

"Stripped of title and rank, banished from these lands forever."

"Child! I am five times your elder. Destroying you will prove to be no challenge." The terms were agreed upon, and the parameters had been set. My forces were divided in three: Strike-One consisted of guerilla junglers who stalked the forests. Strike-Two consisted of mages and dragoons who kept to the skies, and Strike-Three kept point along with me.

Wither's forces were as such, grunts and foot soldiers had been stationed along the mountainside while Wither and his forces waited submerged along the coast. Wither's troops were outfitted with rather outdated and clunky armor made from volcanic metals interwoven with ancient dragon scale.

My forces had more...modern armor. Even as I am now, the abilities of the Dracomancer order had not been lost. No, in fact it had appeared my powers had only grown with my new body. Recreating Dracomancer armor would not be difficult, but I needed metal...

"So...what you do for metal?" I ask rather frightened. Lord Cyrus chuckled and revealed an incredibly frightening blade. The blade sprung to life, triggered.

"Holy!? You keep that thing as far away from me as possible!!"

"Don't worry! I wouldn't actually use this against you. Several tomes lead me to a field of feral Bronze Dragons and the last known location of Dreadmaw the Defiler...A story for another day...

My forces had thus been outfitted with Neo-Dragonslayer/Dracomancer plate mail and weaponry.

Despite my foe's many years of military service, he was nowhere near ready to fight against guerilla warfare. I even gave Wither a copy of my battle plan to tilt things farther in his favor. Though it quickly became apparent he did not care for the information given. My forces had cleared the mountains with ease leaving the approaching nautical assault but Wither did have one good secret up his sleeve.

"My lord, a word?" An ash gray dragon asked.

"Speak Flint."

"Cragadiles have been spotted along the shores and a third of S-One has fallen."

"I see," I motioned to a bone white dragoness with a creamy underbelly. "Tooth, alert Nail. Use of Dragonblades has now been authorized. Afterwards, fire a blue flare."

"Yes my lord!" Stated Tooth as she flew out. Flint then came up to me and voiced his concern.

"You are authorizing the use of Scale Rot? My lord I must object!"

"Would you rather I authorize the free summon of Sora?" This did the trick as Flint cowered a little.

"N-no sir. I shall rejoin the battle at once"

"Yokay. Yeah. No. Woah..." I interrupted Cyrus for what was the third time me-thinks. "You can summon..the great dragon Sora?"

"Really now it wasn't hard to contact him," Stated Cyrus. "Once I attuned myself spiritually to Dragonsbane ore he came to me," Cyrus had somehow pulled a cup of tea from nowhere and began to nonchalantly enjoy his brew. "Rather nice fellow once you get to know him."

Once Dragonblades had been brought into the picture, more than half of Wither's remaining forces had run with their tails between their legs, and once the flare was cast, a hail of scale rot had dealt with our cragadile infestation. Wither, being the brash and arrogant military leader he was lead a final charge against me.

The poor fool didn't know what hit him. It took five of my thirty troops to whittle away at his ten. Some defeats had been comical, others had been pitiful, but where any normal dragon would believe the fight to have just begun, Wither's remaining forces had been quick to surrender.

Only Wither had stood in defiance of his loss. He reushed me, sword swinging wildly, half of his armor falling off of his chest. He kicked and screamed, yelling randomized expletives, calling me a half-breed and castrating himself at how a child could best him. I wanted to do something to help him, but men of hs character were beyond help. All I could do was side-step him and crack the pommel of my blade against the back of his head.

"So...what happened?" I ask Cyrus.

"Exactly what I said would happen. He was stripped of his title, his rank, and he had lost the respect of his peers and king. Not for losing to a child, but for his lack of dignity in his defeat. He tried one last attack against me, but he was quickly subdued by two of my dragoons. With spears at his neck he gave me one last look, a wild fury in his eyes. and he said to me:

"Know this halfing, I shall hang your hide as a trophy someday!"

Cyrus gave a heavy sigh, finished his tea, and proceeded to clean his katana. I didn't know what to say, this entire thing was something else. "Now that leads us to Akriloth," Said Cyrus, breaking me from my trance. "As Wither was a dragon literally after my own heart I thought it prudent to keep a spy on his trail. Imagine my surprise when the last message I recieved from my spy was that not only was Wtiher working with Akriloth to conquer the kingdoms, Wither had found my spy and had him slain.

This in turn leads me here. It has come to my attention that a Dracolich had terrorized the town of Ponyville not so long ago, I believe that Akriloth is looking for an artifact of some sort that would ai him. You wouldn't happen to have any information on this would you?"

"No, sorry." I calmly state. 'I'm starting to think that chest is mighty important now and hey wait a minute.' A thought flew by my brain.

"Cyrus, you're dragon royalty, right?" A nod. "Then would it be safe to assume you have access to a sword treasured by the dragon kingdom, a claymore with a black dragon insignia on it's hilt?" Cyrus' face was filled with shock, then a cold glare.

"How is it you know of it?"

"I'm the...I'm the "Demon" it was taken from."

"I...see. Tell me, how does it work?"

"You know, that's a good question. If I could maybe have it back i could show you?" Cyrus gave a harsh chuckle.

"The blade curently belongs to my sister, Ember. One would have to challenge her for it, and only if they are of dragonic descent. And though I mean no disrespect, you look nothing like a dragon to me."

'Pfft, watch this.' I took a quick secon and went full Dracopyre. "How's thi-" I couldn't even as Cyrus had rushed me with death in his eyes. My only thought: 'Oh find me in the alps.'

Author's Note

Well that took forever. Here's hoping the next one doesn't take as long to write.

Items/spells

Wind Dragonblade: Elementally imbued Dragonblade that triggers against all dragon-kin, but deals the most damage to earth dragons.

Scale Rot: Earth based spell that deals element seeking damage to anything scaly.

Lore (For those who may be rather lost)

Cyrus is the founder of the Dracomancer order. Basically dragon mages with swords. THeir greatest skill is turn half dragon, if dragon not really much there, if human, well guess what? You are now a dagon.

The dragonslayer order was founded by Galanoth. What does this have to do with Dreadmaw and the bronze dragons?

*Ahem* SPOILER: If anyone can confirm that'd be great but, apparently Galanoth got his sweet armor from slaying one Dreadmaw the Defiler.

Dreadmaw is (supposedly) made entirely of the stuff dragons are afraid of. (AKA dragonsbane) Known as the defiler for literally being a dragon anti dragon.

Bronze dargons are important to the Slayer order for being a *naturally* occuring source of Dragonsbane. (This one isn't a spoiler)

Sora is the name of the light variant dragon summonable through the Dragonslayer's ultimate skill Dragonheart Strike. (This is Equestria, forces of Good shouldn't be summoning evil-ish fire dragons)

Side note, if any artists out there want to draw out what a cross between Dracomancer and Dragonslayer armor would look like that would be sweet. (I'd do it myself, but I absolutely suck without a template.)

Wind, Guide Me

I couldn't skip a beat, Cyrus wanted me dead and his various balls of energy and katana swings were proof of that fact. Now I may have had the advantage in this fight, I couldn't help but recall a memory: “As long as you don’t get into ANY fights, there will be no issues with the scales growing back. At most though it will take up to three months.”

'Doc's gonna kill me. I seem to be having that thought a lot recently.' Engrossed in my thoughts, I failed to realize the ball of plasma landing on my bare chest as a wave of electricity flows through my nervous system. 'Sorry Doc, but I can't die yet. Please forgive me'

I wait until my opponent is a few meters infront of me before giving him a flash kick, followed by roundhouse to the gut. Not one for letting up, I expend a bit of meter to coat my hand in a blue aura: "Burn Knuckle!" i slam my fist into Cyrus' chest and expend a bit of magic and launch an Uvee for a Radiant Rampage. My fist colides with his chest as my magic pushes him back with an extended arm of pure light. The orb of elemental light assaults him with three rings of concentrated magic before dissipating.

My opponents armor looks none the worse for wear, he sheathes his katana in favor of-oh no...

Cyrus gathers himself and turns full dragon the Wind Dragonblade now in his hand.

His speed doubled, if I couldn't keep up before I really couldn't defend myself now. His blade sheared through my scales like they were rice paper. He even started to beat my ass to a rythm. Two swings, plasma ball. Plasma ball, plasma ball, plasma ball, swing. Swing, thrust, swing, thrust, ball.

He was making music with my bleeding body and I couldn't do anything to defend myself! That was when I heard it...

"I AM THE ONE AND ONLY!!!"

'Oh shit Twilight no!' I managed to see Cyrus snap his head to look at Twilight only to see him and the Dragonblade revert forcibly back to his base form as both our pools of magic had left us and went into Twilight.

"You...leave him..ALONE!!" The mad mare began to fire plasma bolts of magic like a chain gun at Cyrus, effectively pinning him to a tree. She was nowhere near done as her horn stared to glow with elemental wind. i could only stare in horror as Twilight shot an ethereal Wind Dragon at Cyrus, the dracomancer screaming in pain as he was engulfed in it's magic.

*Huff*Huff* "You...don't ever...touch him again..." Twilight fell face first and started to breathe in the grass as Cyrus managed to get himself back up.

'Damn he can take a beating.' He turned to me, then to Twilight, then back to me..and smiled. "See? That is how dragon's fight." As he points at Twilight. I stare dumbfounded, i just couldn't even...

"I'm sorry, I know how this must look. But I needed to gauge the quality of your strength and heart. I'm impressed actually. You are already stronger than my sister and father combined and I could tell you refused to use you full power, she is evidence of that. Young miss, will you be alright!?"

Twilight lifted a hoof, her face still buried in the dirt. I pull a flask of blue liquid and revert to my base form. 'I ony have nineteen left, can't keep using them.'

I consume the flask and cast healing wings on Twilight, the effect apparent as she slowly lifted herself. "I...I thought he was going to kill you." Said Twilight.

"I'm sorry if I gave that impression but tell me young miss. What brings you to us?" Asks Cyrus.

"Griffonstone's emisary...arrived. When I came to-whoo give me a minute...okay...when I came to find you I felt a disturbance in the mystical energies of Equis."

"Does she mean the force?" Asked Cyrus. "Shh! Do you want to get sued!?" I whisper back.

"Come on you two, Cadence is waiting for us."

The walk to the library was uneventful as everypony we passed had been still been prepping the town for the upcoming assault. our conversation consisted of Cyrus recounting his life story to Twilight whom chronicled the account. We hit the front door of the library to hear something rather interesting.

"I'm just...really, REALLY sorry for what I said. I'm just really stressed and Flutershy didn't deserve any of what I told her." Said a voice.

"It's okay Gilda, she'll understand." Said a second voice.

"But what if she hates me after this!? I can't live with that! I...I care about her you know?"

"Can I say something?" Said a third voice.

"Not now!" Said the first and second voice.

"What are you two listening to?" Asked Twilight. 'I forgot that she doesn't have Dragonic hearing...'

"I think Gilda, Rainbow Dash and Cadence are-" Cyrus then proceeded to interject happily: "Did you say Gilda and Rainbow!?"

The prince nearly blew the door off it's hinges, startling the ponies and griffon inside the library. Rainbow and Gilda recovered from their shock and went teary eyed with large shaky grins plastered on their faces. The three rushed each other like they hadn't seen eachother in ages! Tears were shed, hugs were had, at least one flight camp song was sung. Cyrus then looked past his two comrades at the cloaked pony in the end of the room.

Cadence lifted back her hood and began to make her way to Cyrus who did the same. The two locked eyes on eachother, you could cut the tension with a knife...and then the unspeakable occured.

"Sunshine Sunshine Ladybugs awake, Clap your Hooves and Do a Little Shake."
"Sunshine Sunshine Ladybugs awake, Clap your Hooves and Do a Little Shake."

The royalty then started to laugh uncontrollably and they hugged and I was having none of it.

"ONE OF YOU EXPLAIN BEFORE I LEVEL THIS TOWN MY DAMN SELF!!!" This got everyone's attention on me. Cyrus began o explain.

"When I was young I thought it wise to see how the many tribes utilize flight. So, I enrolled in the Junior Spedster flight camp. It was there i met Gilda, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Gilda, what happened between you and Fluttershy/ From the way I remeber it, the two of you were inseperable."

"I...Griffonstone isn't doing all too well. My home is dying and the stress is getting to me and I...may have...taken it out..." Gilda failed to finish her sentence as tears began to form on her eyes.

Cyrus and Rainbow pulled their friend into a tight embrace, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, telling her how everything was going to be alright.

"Okay, this doesn't explain the Cadence thing." I say less anoyed. This time Cadence was the one to explain.

"Back when Shining was ing was still in the academy he started getting letters from a long distance "friend". More than a little jealous, I intercepted a letter. To my surprise it turned out to be another D&D fanatic."

"I'll have you know D&D is a more than useful tool when it comes to military strategy." Countered Cyrus.

"Long story short, the three of us became good friends over time. It's actually nice to see the dragon behind the pen. Are you here long?"

"Unfortunately no. I'm actually supposed to be in meditative solitude, if anyone found me here it would prove rather problematic. yet I can't help but want to stay, especially knowing of Griffonstone's plight."

"It's fine, he can help me." Gilda Said, pointing her claw at me.

"Wha...me?"

"Does anypony want coffee, because I want coffee." Said Twilight, as she made her way to the kitchen.

The six of us gathered over three pots of coffee, Cyrus, Rainbow and Glda on one side of our world map with Cadence, Twilight and I on the other.

"Gilda, what's the situation so far?" I ask.

"Famine, waste, poverty. We're on our last leg because some demon supposedly stole an idol and a...oh..."

"Gilda? What's wrong?"

"You. You exist...I thought Rainbow was just pulling my leg...trying to give me false hope but you...If you exist, the weapon exists...if the weapon exists the idol exists and if the idol exists..."

"Then I can help you retrieve the Idol and rebuild Griffonstone to it's former glory."

"We have to go right now!!" Shouted Cyrus, Rainbow and Gilda.

"Whoa hold your horses! Pun intended. Cyrus, you need to get back home or risk an international incident. Let me take care of Griffonstone."

"But what about Akriloth!? You're needed here when his army gets to our doorstep!" Cried Cadence.

"I need my staff! Plus, Twilight will stay here to make sure I stay informed of all happenings in Ponyville."

"WHAT!? You can't expect me to stay her-Oh?" Twilight's eyes had stars in them when I presented her with a spell scroll.

"Twilight, have fun rebuilding the Vizalain. Cadence I didn't forget yours, both of you need to remain in Ponyville. I'll be back in two days.

Gilda, you, Rainbow Dash, and one other will be travelling to Griffonstone via train. With that said, RD!"

"SIR!"

"Go to the spa and pick up five vials of anti-joke brew from Aloe and Lotus. Afterwrds, pick up Pinkie and meet us at the station. One thousand gold should cover the cost."

Gilda's eyes went wide at the mention of gold. "You don't think that's excessive?" Asked Gilda.

"It is, but the reagents for the brew are pricey. Cyrus, how much time do you have to spare?"

"Enough, what do you need?"

"You good with potions?"

-Basement: Home-

Cyrus and I had paid Turner a quick visit, we explained our situation and after an exchange of currency and homemade sweets, the good tinkerer joined us in hopes of testing his mettle. Once my guests got over their initial awe of the orbed wolves, ball of pure mana, and ruined robotic deer and in Cyrus case the large set of dragon bones, Turner had taken great precautions to setting the workbench.

"Now as you've informed me, Poison Joke can be rather detrimental to ponies, but not at all life threatening. This will be difficult and I'll need to be quick and precise...all in all a perfect challenge! Allons-y!!"

After crushing all of my collected Poison Joke, he took a sample and began to study it's effect against ordinary non-organic matter. Wood became harder than steel, metals became liquid, and liquids turned into maleable gass.

He then sought to isolate what it was that turned me into a pony by viewing the reaction af Joke when coming into contact with my fur and scale, as well as loose muscle tissue.

"Now Lord Cyrus, this next part will be rather delicate as I'll need you to keep the Joke at a certain electrical charge. Azure, you're in charge of keeping stable heat. Are you both prepared?"

We gulped in unison. We looked at each other. We gave a firm nod.

Allons-y!

Author's Note

I'm going for it. if I can throw out one more chapter after this before the week is over I'll be happy.

And I guess as a side note I'm currently editing for Shadow Hero's story Setting Sun of Thieves. So you dudes should totally check that out.

Thief of Time Pt 1: Crazy, But That's How It Goes

Thief of Time Pt 1: Crazy, But That's How It Goes

The basement was flooded, with smoke as Cyrus and I ran out thinking the experiment had failed again only for Time to rush out with a shining blue liquid with purple dots in his hooves.

"EUREKA!! We did it! We actually did it!! Wait here! Now that i finally have the correct measurements and formula I can make as many of these as you'll need, of course I'll only be able to make two more vials, but this is an incredible breakthrough in alchemical science!!"

'Yeah okay.'

Time Turner rushed straight to his workshop leaving me alone with Cyrus. Cyrus then brought up a question that seemed to be bothering him.

"The dragon...was it...painless?"

"I don't know. I can't know. I'm not a necromancer, I don't know how the undead work."

"I see. What will you do with the remains?"

"I'm probably gonna make a motorcycle out of the bones once I have the parts. Dragons deserve to fly, and he or she deserves one last hoorah."

"I see. Thank you for your time, i will return with my sister once the red tape has been cleared on my side of things. Farewell, Azure."

And with that, Lord Cyrus of the Dracomancer was off.

"Rather nice fellow isn't he?"

"GAH!!?? WHAT!?" I fell on my ass, startled to see Time Turner looking down on me, a pouch at his side.

"Here you are! If ever you need my help again, you'll know where to find me. Now if only i can figure out how my flameless fireworks function..."

I took the vials and entered my home. A strong smell of grilled vegetables filled my nostrils.

"Master! How was your...day. You are in big trouble." Apparently I had failed to notice my open wounds. 'Wait, wasn't I exposed to Poison Joke?'

I quickly toss the entirety of my inventory pouch onto the floor before I join it once again in pony form.

"GAH! What happened to you!? And...why do you look so huggable?"
'Ugh!!!'

After a bit of packing I had everything I needed in terms of gear and gold.
Gear: Ultra Guardian Robes, Demon Knight Plate, Frostvale Mercenary, Tuning Blade, Ultra Guardian Shield, Supreme Overlord's Legend, and High Oracle's Taladosian Ward.
Gold count: Fifty thousand.

I said my goodbyes to Veral, and made my way to the train station. On the way I had noticed a large contingency of Diamond Dogs hauling several carts of gemstones as theyhummed to their work.

"Yo hey, Modern Love!" The Dogs heard my outburst, dropped their carts took one look at eachother and just...

'Wow those dogs have some pipes...and some wicked group choreography.' The small show garnered the attention of other working ponies and soon the square had been filled with grooving and jiving ponies as the dogs continued with a rather heatednumber..

"Let's Dance!" The ponies began to dance like their lives depended on it.

"Let's Dance!" They danced to the song that was given to them.

"Let's Sway!" They swayed as magic lit up their faces.

"Let's Sway!" They swayed as a crowd filling an empty space.

'Well, I'd stay and enjoy myself but I've got a train to catch.'

The station itself was rather empty, as everypony seemed to be dancing with the Dogs. Gilda and Rainbow stood next to an open cabin, Fluttershy huddled close to Gilda. The two seemed to be having a moment and I would have left them to it but Pinkie had popped up from behind me.

"Hiya best friend!" 'Curses! Just when the emotional moment was getting good.' Gilda and Fluttershy separated themselves, blushing profusely. We made our way to the girls and I see Pinkie set down a rather large suitcase. I'd inquire but...no.

"Evening Fluttershy, you comin with?" I ask.

"Oh um...no. I just wanted to wish Gilda good luck. Um...good...g-g-g-good luck Gilda," In a shocking turn of events, Fluttershy gave Gilda a quick peck on the cheek. "Come back safely!"

The usually shy mare then ran off like the wind itself was upon her hooves.
"Uh...yeah that happened. You three ready to leave?"

After getting situated in our rather nicely furnished cabin, Gilda brought up the obvious.

"How...are you a pony?"

"How are you the apple of Fluttershy's eye? Rainbow, you got the vials?"

"Huh? Oh yeah def, the twins wouldn't accept the gold. Instead they want to see you for a private session. They won't take no for an answer."

Rainbow gave me my money and my vials, I pocketed everything in my limited inventory.

'Hmm...the spa twins want me for a private session? I just hope it's a normal spa treatment and not some hero's reward...'

Before my thoughts could develop further the train conductor had started speaking through the intercom.

"Now I don't want to scare anypony, but we seem to be followed by a group of griffons. Please remain calm, I'm sure it's noth-" The sound of violence filled the air as the intercom was shut off.

Pinkie was the first to get up. "Azzy, make sure the conductor's okay, Gilda hold down the dining car! Rainbow, you take the skies!"

"What are you gonna do!?" Asked Gilda.

"I'm gonna go throw a party silly! Let me tell you it'll be a doozy, see ya!" Pinkie was a puff of pink smoke and she had taken her suitcase with her...

"Well, can't argue with that. C'mon, we got work to do!"

I curse myself mentally for not taking the short sword as the large blades I did pack barely fit in my jaw. Then again, I did order those vials for a reason.

I bust out the door cleansed and armed. Just in time too as the windows had shattered , making way for griffon bandits to swoop in and crowd the cart. Before I could even act, a bolt of rainbow lightning shot passed me and the bandits fell to the ground hard. The bolt stopped and revealed Rainbow Dash. A sword clipped to her side.
"You gonna stand there and look pretty or are you gonna do your job?" Rainbow asked with a smirk.

"Oh ho, big mare over here everybody! How bout you take that fancy slab of metal, fly outside and stick it where the sun don't shine!?"

"I think I just might! There's a target!" She said before bolting out a window. A loud ear piercing shriek splitting the air. "My balls!" Cried one of the bandits.

I give a quick chuckle, only to be cut off by the intercom blaring to life.

“Well that took quite some time! Old timer really knew what he was doing there!” The disembodied voice gave a chuckle. “Ladies and...ugh I’m not gonna say it, passengers of the fairer sex, WE are the Iron Claw Rebels,”

‘I’m sorry they called themselves the WHAT!?’ I mentally shout.

“Now we mean you poor poor ponies no disrespect or harm...we only ask for a small donation. Everything you have, your women, AND your children. If anypony doesn’t WANT to aid our NOBLE endeavours...well i’m sure my pals will help you see reason.”

The intercom shuts off and I’m standing like an idiot when I should be rushing through these cars trying to stop the asshole running the name of my rebellion through the dirt!!

‘Deep breaths...one foot forward, next foot-huh?’ My foot had hit one of the bandits and a glowing orange crystal rolls out of his jacket.To my surprise it was the ninth crystal from Final Fantasy Dissidia.

“Well hello crystal of light, who do you belong to-” My mind blurred as a mental message ran through my mind:

“I, Zidane Tribal one of the heroes of light, will aid you in any fight against a friend or if you need something.. Let's say liberated. Just hold this crystal up to the sun."

“Just...hold this crystal up...to the Sun...Let’s do this!” I rush over to a shattered window and held the crystal skyward. The light of day danced through the gem body an activated a great light within.

‘I hope this works.’

Author's Note

I bit off more than I could chew...I'm splitting this into four parts (I think) Crossover with Shadow Hero's Setting Sun of thieves. Go check that out...(I edit)

Theif of Time Pt 2: Birds of a Feather

[The fields of Equestria below Cloudsdale]

“Come on one more should do it.” Zidane said as he slashed another Ahriman as Quina and Choco attacked an Imp.

“Keww.” Choco said as he flapped his wings casting Thunder on an Ahriman.

“Well that takes care of that.” Zidane said as a bright light engulfed the trio.

“Hey Cid said you were train..Oh come on.” Rainbow said as she stomped her foot down.

-Hero-

Before I could blink, a great burst of light had revealed three beings now falling to their…’Oh shit!’

Acting quick I pull out something I hope can save them. I waste no time in playing the instrument. Before long, a mechanized green dragon had swooped in and procured the trio before they had met their demise. The dragon came up close to the window and allowed it’s cargo safe passage aboard the train.

Said “cargo” consisted of Zidane, Quina, and a chocobo...all of which were Final Fantasy characters.

“You know I never did beat nine…” I say rather absent mindedly.

“Umm What.” Zidane said as he stood up. “Where am I?” He asked looking around

“Sorry, uh..where are my manners? Hi, name’s Azure Darksoul. You are currently on a train headed for Griffonstone. Sorry about uh..almost killing you. That was my bad.” I said as I kicked one of the bandits on the floor.

“I see.. Wait, how did we get here?” Zidane asked.

“Well I found your uh...summoning token? Yeah...I followed the instructions and well, here you are! Want anything? A drink, food? My pals are currently liberating the dining car.”

“Food.” Quina’s eye's light up

“Yeah. Food would be nice… Wait then my dream wasn’t just a dream then.” Zidane said as he followed me.

“A dream? Huh, well we should discuss this later, right now you must be starved…” Before exiting to the connecting car, I looked out the window.

“HEY RAINBOW! I NEED YOU TO LEAD SOME GUESTS TO THE DINING CAR!!” A second past and the rainbow maned pegasus dove straight into the middle of the car.

“What’s that about guest...uh. Hi?”

“Kewe.” Choco said as he waved a wing happily as Quina just stared

“Um hi..So talking ponies is new.” Zidane said

“Hey I’m not that new! Was he insulting me?” Rainbow asked.

“No, I think it’s just a cultural difference, like I said, we’ll talk more later, let’s just straighten a few things out here. Rainbow, if memory serves me right, this is Zidane, Quina and...uh…”

I blinked and stared intently into the eyes of the chocobo before me. The train tracks the only noise in the room. Zidane was about to speak up but I lifted a finger at him, not taking my eyes off the bird.

“I know this one...don’t you help me..I haven’t forgotten everything…”

“Uh sir, time constraint?” Said Rainbow Dash.

“Kewe.” The chocobo cooed as if to taunt the being in front of him.

“Okay I give! What’s his name?”

“Choco, my familiar.” Zidane said as he pet Choco on the head.

“How...strangely unoriginal...Right. Zidane, Quina...Choco...meet Equestria’s fastest flier. Rainbow Dash.” I stated as Rainbow gave a short bow.

“Nice too meet you.” Zidane said as he scratched his nose.

“Hungry.” Quina said still staring at Rainbow “Ow.”He/she said as she/he got slapped by Choco’s wing

“Kewe.” Choco said to Quina before bowing.

“Look I don’t want anyone eating my friends,” Azure stated as I reached behind myself and brought out a piece of blue starry meat. “So I’m just gonna cook this real quick,” Facing out the window, I let out a great plume of fire, returned, and presented the cooked meat to Quina.

“Please don’t eat Rainbow, she’s cool.”

“Umm. Tasty.” Quina said as she/he devoured the meat in 10 seconds flat.

Before I so much as breathe, the train screeches to a halt as the intercom once again blared to life.

“Ponies ponies ponies...you think you’re so much better than everyone!” The condescending voice gave a soft cackle.

“You're not though. This whole hero thing you're doing, I mean it was cute until the GIANT DRAGON showed up, but I am a patient bird. So you ponies are gonna wait here while my back up shows up. Then we kill ya.

Then we take what you owe us. What you OWE the Iron Cla-"

I magicked an electric boar to shut off the coms. Rainbow placing a hoof on my leg as I seethed.

“Justice, not vengeance.” Was all she said as I breathed in and looked at our guests.

“Sorry, but I need to borrow your blue mage.” I say to Zidane with a (slightly) calm face.

I guess..Wait where are you going.” Zidane asked as Azure ran towards the front of the train

“I’m going to kick ass and chew bubblegum! Rainbow, Zidane and Choco are your problem. Feed em and help Gilda and Pinkie! Quina, you’re with me!”

-Passenger Cars: Hero-

The groups set, we went our separate ways. The connecting car was packed with hostages who had been bound and gagged. The windows had been shattered in this car as well, and the signs of struggle were apparent in the various wounds upon some of the ponies.

“Urp. Sorry.” The cook next to me had burped me out of my train of thought.

‘Heh, probably the Ursa giving them trouble. I should be careful, Quina might actually hit me with-’

Four Griffon bandits flew in and began to stalk the cars. I quickly pulled my ally down hoping they hadn't seen me.

Whispering as softly as possible: “Four of them, two with crossbows, one with a sword. The last one *snif* female...blood on her claws. She's a brawler. I go in as a distraction and you strike them down with your-”

An ungodly rumble shook the car…

“Aaaand they know we're here. New plan!”

The swordsman broke his blade on my Ultra Guardian shield giving me a massive amount of meter. The shocked expression of the bird was replaced by my fist in his face. Quina was starting to groan until a flash of misty white soared passed me and struck one of the crossbowman. The poor bird was frozen over.

“When did you learn…”

“New yummies. New magic.”

“Right, Blue mage.” New info, newer plan. I didn't have time to formulate one because of the asshole in the room.

“You two get up nice and slow or I put an arrow through this foal's head.”

“Shit.” We rose up slow, our hands in the air. The crying foal was pinkish, with white hair. A unicorn colt. He was scared and crying, no doubt having never faced a situation like this before.

The griffoness was a rather buff cross between a red robin and a bobcat. Her goon was a Blue-jay panther.

“What even is that? Ah who cares, warn the boss Finnick.” Said the griffoness.

“I can waste these bozos he-"

A shot of ice breath and an ethereal kunai had frozen the goon and knocked the crossbow out of the griffoness’ claw respectively.

The griffoness dropped the boy while clutching her claw in pain. With speed and precision I knocked her down and out.

I give one look at the passengers and begin to undo their bindings. The boy was first.

“Thank you kind sir! May Celestia bless you!”

“Don't thank me yet kid, the train is still at a stand still. Make your way to the dining car. The others will be with you shortly. Quina, help me untie them!”

The Qu briskly went to work and our prisoners had all evacuated except for the boy.
He hadn't said a word but instead chose to leave me a small gemstone. A garnet, with a gold ring around it.

Once the boy had, Quina and I made our way into the preceding car. It was empty save for the shattered glass. The connecting car was the conductor’s. I heard faint sounds coming from the door.

“Old timer don't do this...it's pointless! No one's gonna save you or this train so just give me what I’m here for!”

The sound of tape being forcefully ripped off was followed by a vicious spit.

“Go...to...Hell…” A loud smack and the sound of metal.

“Stupid ponies. The heck is “Hell" anyway.”

“Quina, wait here, he’s mine.” I say bitterly.

“Okay, I see if yummy food to eat.” Replied the Qu.

I blast the door open with the reverberations of my Tuning Blade, the broken metal slamming against the...chicken hawk?

“Ouch...gotta say...didn't see that coming…” Said the bandit leader as he tried to get himself back up. I promptly give a big middle finger in the way of two prongs of metal in his face.

“I’d ask why you're robbing a train, or why you're running my legacy through the mud, but I’d rather just feed you to my friend in the other room.”

“What? Wh-what kind of twisted monste-" A thwack knocks the sucker out cold. “Quina! Let me restart the train so we can be done here!

Okay, console...meet lightning…”

Once the conductor got back on his feet I made my way through the cars, the griffon that had been knocked out were now tied together neatly and tossed next to their frozen companions.

This trend continued into the next car, where it was I began. Apparently a ship mare was among us who knew her way around rope. Poor thing offered to show me just how well too, but I needed to get to my friends.

The trip to the dining car was filled with thanks, and happy smiles, but mostly uneventful.

Things were quiet...too quiet...the lights to the dining car where shut off, I motioned to Quina who readied them self with a large fork.

The door slammed open, the lights blared to life as Pinkie Pie burst out of an incredibly large cake.

“Surprise!!” Yelled the patrons within. “To our heroes!” General merriment ensued and cake was had, but in the midst of this happy chaos I gathered a concerned group with me.

“Hey Zidane, you look like you saw a ghost.” I say.

“What? Oh yeah.. Just thinking. I would not go into the next car if I were you.” Zidane said with a chuckle

“Riiight. Well, train is no longer overrun with bandits, I’d say it’s high time for questions and answers.”

“Right. You said you used my token to summon me here. Wherever here is.”

I will the orange crystal into my hand and display it to our group.

“This brought you to my neck of the woods, those woods being the land of Equestria. My question, how’d you end up in the multiverses of Equestria?”

“See these daggers.” Zidane said as he pat his dagger case. “These were on a table and I got an amazing discount for em, a Five finger discount.”

“Pfft, you stole those!? Surprised you...well...I guess you didn't get away with it.”

“Yeah, I guess. But I live a more exciting life now… I think.”

“Hey so what exactly are you?” Asked Gilda.

“Rude…” I add.

“I’m a human from Gaia, a plant connected to Equis… That’s what my memories say at least.” Zidane said as he scratched the back off his head

“Gaia...then...your Equestria is connected to Final Fantasy...where are you in your timeline?”

“Timeline? Well I just helped Applejack back home, and talked to Yuna about Fluttershy’s new training.”

“Who's Yuna? Asked Rainbow and Gilda in unison.

“A teacher in Cloudsdale.”

The girls give me a confused look. “Yuna...is from Final Fantasy ten. Why does she exist in your world?” I ask.

“There are many others out there from different worlds.... That’s what Cosmos said.”

“Worlds like ours!” Exclaimed Pinkie.

“I have no clue.”

“Hmm...that's enough out of us. You have your own questions I’m sure.” I ask.

“Sooo...Ponies are the main race.. Well one of the sentient life forms here?”

“Aye, there are also the dragons, griffon, minotaurs along with a few others. But, ponies as far as the eye can see.”

“I see...Ah, I found these.” Zidane said as he presented a red materia.

“Mother of God...materia!? Here!? How!? Gilda, please tell me you have answers?” I ask dumbfounded and confused.

“Sorry, I’ve never seen em before. Dash?”

“Don't look at me, the archives have nothing on what those are.”

“Maybe someone from my world came and dropped some here.” Zidane said

“Five hundred gold says Kuja did it.” I say snarkily. The random name confusing my group further.

“Kuja..Ah a friend of mine dressed as him.. I think, my past is so foggy.”

“Maybe you should sleep on it?” Asked Pinkie.

“Muddled memories may resurface with proper stimulation, I could probably help you as you sleep seeing as our destination is still a ways off.” I say.

“Sound.. Wait a long trip? Sunny got mad at last time.” Zidane said

“Hmm...got anything that belongs to her?”

“Let see.. A blue Phoenix feather.” Zidane said as he pulled out the feather.

“May I?” I motion to the object not wanting to be rude.

“Sure. What are you going to do?” Zidane asked as handed the feather.

“I’m going to create a psionic link to your Sunset…” I go through my motions, a small prick into exposed flesh, the crystal and my pendant.

“By my blood…” The trickling blood begins to float and create a translucent orb.

I hold the feather for a brief moment, as it floats and begins to hover. I will the crystal do the same, once both radiate the energy, I link both to my pendant. The light show ended, the items float back to the table and I dismiss my orb while releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding.

“Grab...The pendant...think of...Sunset...and flick the gem…”

“Ok..” Zidane said as he grabed the pendent and ficked thee gem. “Hey Sunny..Sorry.. Yeah...I may not be back for some time..What!? I Was dragged here!... Fine, next time if this happens again you can come.. Yes Quina is with me….Bye.”

“How’d it go?” I ask.

“A lot of yelling, but good.”

“Heh, I remember training Sunset...such a firebrand that one…”

“Yeah. You know how many times she tried to burn my tail?”

“Pfft, you got off easy. She got just a little more power every so often and she tries to hijack my brain! But...I suppose it was worth it once she finally became the spellcaster she wanted to be…”

“That's..Ok then.” Zidane said in a confused tone. “At least she is not learning how to..”

“Kewwe.”

“Fine I’ll stop.”

A loud crack resounded through the room and the intercom blared to life.

“Folks, we’re running a bit late, but hopefully we won't have any more surprise visitors. I don't think my heart can take it…Goodnight folks!”

“You heard him, off to bed. Except you Rainbow, one more sweep and you're off the hook.” I say.

The pegasus gave a salute and flew off.

“So there's a room for us or are we sharing?” Zidane asked.

“Sharing unfortunately, don't worry, you can have my bed.” I say.

“Nan. I can sleep on Choco, his body is very comfy and besides it's not the worst place I’ve slept in the past couple of months.”

“Okay, Quina, you take my bed. I’ll be meditating anyway.” I state firmly.

Quina nodded, a rainbow blur shot by, and the room began to empty.

Author's Note

*Ahem* REFERENCES. That is all.

Thief of Time Pt 4: And Time Goes Marching On

“...yeah I get it, it looks cool, but can you change back!? It’s creepong me out!” Cried Rainbow as we exited the portal.

“But...fine.” I close the portal and revert back to my base human-ish form. “ Well, we made it, but where’s Zidane?”

“You think that weirdo witch got to him too?” Asked Rainbow.

“Oh. There you are.” Zidane said as he came out off one of the many cave's

“How long were we gone?” I ask.

“Not that long..” Zidane said

“Good, let me grab what we came for and we can get out of here...Seriously, all that’s left is for the stupid skeleton to reanimate its-” I don’t so much as reach for the staff that lay on the floor, when of course Murphy reared his ugly head.

Bones began to fly and reconnect to age worn sockets as the ancient skeleton rose to it’s feet, the golden idol locked inside of its rib cage, my Staff of Awe!! held firmly in its bony claw.

“Fools...I live!!” Cried the one eyed skeleton as it began to cackle.

“...Ultima.” A burst of volatile green magic tore the undead demon apart. It’s bones once again began to reform.

“Let's see how you burn.” Zidane said as he shot a fireball out of one of his daggers that held his fire Materia.. It's leg now covered with a scorch mark. “...Ahh…” Zidane said as he searched his bag. “Ugh, thought I had a Holy Materia in here.”

The undead swung the staff, three waves of wind elemental magic pushing us to the wall of the abyss.

“Grr, this may not end well. Zidane, catch,” I say as I throw a copy of my Green Dragon Ocarina. “When and if I say play, you play! Rainbow, try and dislodge the idol!”

“My Idol! I didn’t die stealing it to have it taken from me!!” Yelled the demon as it swung the staff, the orbed relic spinning and pinning Rainbow to the wall. The staff returning to it’s grip.

Hm...I wonder.”Zidane mumbled. He concentrated on the daggers, after a short charge one had a blue aura around and the other had a red aura. “Now we're talking.” Zidane said as he charged at the skeleton.

The demon had tried to swipe at the agile Zidane, only to fail miserably as Zidane carved into the demon’s skull. This in turn allowed Rainbow a chance to slice off some of the demon’s rib cage.

“You. Shall. Not. TAKE. MY IDOL!!” AS if reacting to it’s rage, the staff began to glow and the Abyss was saturated in magic.

“Play the ocarina…” I whisper in fear.

“Right.” Zidane said ass he put the ocarina to his lips and played it.

It wasn’t a moment too soon, as before us descended the Guardian Dragon.

“BURNINATE!! Please don’t sue.” The mighty dragon sent a torrent of void flame at us, only to be blocked by our own Green Dragon Zard.

The beasts flew skyward, the magic in the air slowly fading as the sounds of clashing metal and scale echoed through the walls.

“That would have killed us…” I say nonchalantly.

“I didn’t even know the staff could DO that,” Said the skeletal demon. “That just means I have more to keep from you!”

The demon began to cackle only realize it had a sword jutting from its skull.

“Hi, how’s it goin?” Asked Rainbow with a sly grin.

“Other than the sword through my head? Rather well.”

“Yeah that’s good, that’s good. Now could you stand there while my friends pummel you with their build up of light magic?”

“I don’t see why-wHAT!? NOO!” Only it was too late, as Zidane and I shot our collective payload of Light and Holy magic.

The bones, finally fell, and with it, the Staff of Awe!! And the lost Idol of Borealis.

“Well...that was anti-climactic. I just hope the others are-NOPE! Not tempting fate again!” I yell at no one in particular.

“We’re done here, I want to go home, and shower, and eat. AND I’M FLYING YOU UP THIS TIME! I’M NOT GETTING STUCK IN A TIME WARP AGAIN!!” I scream as I grab Zidane and fly back to the top of the Abyss with Rainbow following close behind us.

The flight back had been weathered in silence, the light of day our only sign that we had left the Abyss. But all was not right with the world...gazing into the distance, our pastry group had been surrounded by griffon soldiers in rusted armor. The vulture from before holding Gilda in a vice grip.

“Oh fuck me sideways can nothing go RIGHT TODAY!!!”

“What happened here?” Zidane asked

“It’s a bit far to see, but our group is surrounded, and Gilda might die. How good are you with falling and landing from great heights?” I ask.

“Good, as long as I’m warned first.”

“GREAT! I’mma coat you with magic now.” The monkey-like human in my grasp began to glow with a bright golden light, wings unfurling from his back. I pull back...and launch my living projectile at the group closest to Pinkie.

“HAVE A NICE FLIGHT!! Rainbow, catch him if he falls.” With a salute she was off.

I re-don the Mercenary, its resident spirit finally talking to me.

‘Dude, I can see you’re upset, but even I don’t wanna see what you do next.’

‘Then hide yourself in the back of my mind like a good squatter and avert your gaze!’

I launch my kunai at the vulture, flying behind it. Zidane found his target, the area exploding in blinding light, Rainbow had similar success, freeing up a large portion of the field as she cleaved through various guards.

I had no such luck. The vulture batting the weapon away with one of his…

“THAT’s MY AX!!!” i scream as I land in front of the vulture and Gilda. The vulture holding the weapon to her throat. Normally the ax glows with a white flame, but it seemed to be dead.

“Ah..the heroes arrive!! Now...give me the idol.”

“Don’t...I’d die first!” Protested Gilda.

“None of that grand daughter! Or would you rather your friends see you die?”

“You’re in no position to make threats, old bird. Hand her over.” I say with as much venom as I could muster.

The vulture only laughed as he drew blood from Gilda’s neck.

“I’m in a better position than you hero. Guards! Arrest them!” More griffon soldiers had begun to descend, their forces dwarfing us ten to one.

“Hey, where is Choco?” Zidane asked as he saw he was nowhere

“Kewwe.” “Charge!!” Two voice said as they landed, one was Choco and the other was a grey coated griffin.

“Gabby! What are you doing!” Gilda yelled

“Me and my friend here saw that you needed help. Take this!”she said as she punched one of the guards.

“Kewwe.” Choco flapped his wings and a strong gust of wind blew some of the guards back abit.

“Humph, youthful treason. Guards, seize them!” Four guards had managed to separate the duo, though there had been some trouble. The entire event devolved into an all out brawl, yet despite the sounds of cannon fire and magic I couldn’t stop staring at the vulture and Gilda.

“Funny isn’t it hero? All this for a simple artefact? Foolish, but only I know it’s true worth, and with it shall come my rise to power! The world shall fall TO ME!!”

“...stop.”

“What’s that hero, I don’t think we can hear you.”

“Stop.”

“Louder, let the world hear your screams!!”

“STOOOOP!!!” And the world stopped. I moved slowly, held the ax and tore it from the vulture, it’s fire once more flared to life. I Then removed Gilda from her grandfather’s grasp as the world once again began to move. Gilda let out a feared gasp, as my blackened dragonic arm held Gruff by his neck.

The battle had since died down, rainbow and Gabby still punching the guards they held.

The vulture struggled in my grasp. “Heh, you...won’t actually kill me will you? Heroes don’t kill.”

“No, they don’t. But I’m no hero...I’m just a Demon.” I couldn’t see his fear, I could only hear his realization as I snapped his neck. The body falling to the floor, the image of Griever flashed for a second.

Silence...followed by a yell.

“The old king is dead!”

“Long live the king!!”

“Hail to our king, The Lord of Beasts!!”

The cacophony of soldiers became deafening, ending only as I plunged the ax into the dirt.

“I am no king!! I am only death itself!” The staff appeared in my hand, I began to swing the weapon as it glowed and changed. It’s transformation ended with a portal ripping into the air.

“To hell with this lost soul…” I then promptly kick the dead bod into the void.

“Zidane, gather the group, I’ll meet you in the castle.”

I sat alone, in an empty throne room, the only sound was that of the various exclamations of the kingdom’s new ruler.

Zidane and co. walked briskly into the throne room.

“Soo. How's it going?” Zidan asked the question on everyone's mind.

“I killed another sentient being in cold blood. Not very good all things considered.”

“H-hey, look on the bright side...the fighting stopped, and the scones are selling pretty well.” Said Pinkie, her hair had straightened out and darkened.

“Zidane, I think you may have a few problems facing you when you get back to your world…” I say absent mindedly.

“Yeah. I know.. Having to face a friend in battle..Maybe to the death…” Zidane said as he leaned on a post

“Your world’s Kuja I take it. He won’t be your only problem…” I say as I mindlessly remove my new limiter. Griever’s form hung over me like a cruel punishment.

“Gah!? Put that away!!” Screamed Dash.

“Sorry,” the limiter once again in place, I continue. “It seems Chaos is hiding somewhere in your world. The coward…”

“If that's the case I’m not alone in this. There are more heroes of light out there.”

“True, but that doesn’t change the fact that you will need help once Chaos decides he’s tired of hiding. Take these,” I finally give Zidane the summon scrolls to the two numbered beasts, and another scroll sealed with the sigil of the Elements of Harmony.

“The summons are yours, as well as the ocarina. Flick the ocarina if you want to call and take up a moment of my time. The other scroll however, is for Cosmos. Tell her it’s up to her if she wants to hire me for whatever your world will face.”

“Thank's. If I ever met her in person I’ll make sure to give it to her.” Zidane said as he pocketed the items.

“This is goodbye then, it’s been a trip,” I pull out my copy of Zidane’s token and bite it. The destination locked, and I ripped a portal back to his realm.

“I almost forgot, give this to a white mage,” I remove another scroll from my inventory. “The healing wings are a basic spell, novices can cast it to heal for how strong they are, and experienced mages can do what I did when I threw you at the soldiers.”

“Noted. Bye then.” Zidane said as he walked towards the portal but stopped to see Choco hiding behind Gabby. “It’s time to go.” Choco made a pouty face, then hugged Gabby.

“Kewwe.”

“You too.” Gabby said as she wiped a tear away..Quina just bowed to Pinkie before running into the portal.

“What a band we are.” Zidane said as he walked through the portal with Choco behind.

The portal closed behind them, and silence once again reigned throughout the throne room.

“So, you’re our new king now?” Said Gabby.

“No, I’m not. I have an army to lead, Gilda!”

“S-SIR!”

“None of that, it’s rather ill fitting for a king.”

“You’re making me king!?” Shouted Gilda.
“You’re making her king!?” Shoued Rainbow Dash.

The two looked at each other, smiled….laughed...cried...and had then been knocked to the ground by Pinkie and and Gabby.

“I think it’s time to find out what this thing does then, wouldn’t you agree your highness?” I say.

“The...lost idol...t-the pedestal is right in the center of the throne room.”

The pedestal had been right behind me of all places, the end to my journey had finally come. The idol returned to it’s home...and nothing.

“I DID NOT GO THROUGH TODAY TO GET NOTHING!!!” Yet, as if the heavens itself heard my plea, a wall had opened behind the golden throne...that had not been gold a moment before.

“What do you think’s inside?” Asked Pinkie.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care! Let’s just...go outside. Tell the kingdom they have Gilda as their new king and be done with it.”

“What, you’re gonna leave without this?” Asked Gilda, as she held my ax.

“Keep it, throw the materia into its pit, enjoy your new weapon. C’mon...we have a ceremony to kickstart.”

“What’ll throwing that electric orb into it do?” Asked Gilda.

“It’ll amuse me.”

The view from the balcony was harrowing, a city fallen to ruin, awaited their new king. The cheers flooded the air, all aimed at me.

“ENOUGH!” That seemed to get their attention. “Poverty...Famine...and a trade embargo,” Murmurs began to echo among the citizenry. “Yeah, I heard about it. Idiots…” The sound of hundreds of booties being tickled replaced the murmurs. “Oh sure, seal yourselves off from the rest of the world, because that’s smart! No, no, I’m not done! You let yourselves get trampled by your own military! Also smart. Well it’s not, and as much as I would like to help fix your problem I won’t!”

“But you’re our new king! The lord of beasts! Come to rescue us from the oppression of the ponies!!”

“Shut da fuck up! Do I have your attention? Good. This shit happened because you were dumb, not because of a pretty pony princess. Thankfully, there is one among you who isn’t dumb. Allow me to present your new king! Gilda!!”

Startled murmurs echoed, as Gilda made her appearance. Armor fitting her form as she rested her new ax on her shoulder.

“But she’s a girl!”

“And I’m hungry!! Who else wants to be dumb!? No one? Great. I’m leaving.”

I walked back in, much to the protest of what I can no doubt call loyal followers. Gabby catching me as I walk.

“You’re not gonna stay for the party?”

“No, I’m tired and fed up. Rainbow will be your liaison, I may be back another day, but something tells me more of you will be showing up in Ponyville. Which isn’t bad, Akriloth is packing more heat than we have. Pun intended.”

“You...aren’t gonna say bye?”

“I said my goodbyes. Except to you,” I give a curt bow take her claw, and give it a light kiss. “I’ll probably be so much happier the next time we see each other, that is if you don’t hate me for being such a dick. Adiós!”

And with that, I left the kingdom behind, the cries of an angry party mare howling in the distance. part 1

2

3

Author's Note

Items used...are far too long to list. I'm doing it anyway.

The Green Dragon Ocarina, a personal favorite, ups charisma and earth elemental defense. It also comes with a robot dragon.

Tuning Blade, unorthodox? Yes. A less than basic wind weapon, able to send vibrations as long range waves. And it's basically Vibranium...element seeks when pit against metalic beings or things.

Frostvale Merc- 'Ooh, can I make this description!?' No Frostpool go away. 'Fine, I'll go write my own fanfic, with blackjack and hookers!'

*sigh* Has the ability to break the fourth wall and has incredible darkness and ice defense.

Ultra Guardian Shield, wind shield that takes kinetic energy and stores it as meter

Taladosian Ward, electric shield that can halve all incoming damage.

The Staff of Awe!! Multi elemental weapon with a vast array of skill that...don't matter anymore as they'll never come up again.
(Except Power Word: Die)

The Axe of Absolute Death, nothing special, it's a piece of overglorified metal.

The ULTRA!! Guardan Scythe, multi elemental scythe...it has one skill, but I won't spoil it.

numered beasts VIII and XI are self explanatory, VIII summons tentacle...you know, and XI summons a pig

Healing Wings...heal.

I think that's it...

She's a Man Eater

Another day another problem. After sending Zidane on his way and after taking a more direct route back to Ponyville I thought it best to just forgo sleep for once.

I look at the cold face of the moon, hoping it’s denizens could see my seething disappointment.

*AROOO*

My wolf’s howl is joined by the great cacophony of the Everfree. But something caught my attention.

(An interloper! It mocks us! It knows! It runs...she runs…)

To my wild surprise, a pitch black timber wolf escapes the Everfree. A teal glow shining from it’s tight woven body. If I didn’t know better…

“How ya doin!?” I shadow step to the front of my target, startling her to a full stop.

“Yip! Uh...Um..woof?”

A cruel smile escapes my lips as I knock the “wolf” out with a quick chop.

-Basement-

The changeling before me was unconscious, bound, and gagged. I was in full Dracopyre, looking as menacing as I possibly could. I tickle her nose with the fluff of my tail and will her awake.

Her fearful expression was something else. Her teal eyes widened at the various sights and she began to scream in absolute muffled terror when she saw the giant skeleton behind me. Then her eyes found me. She could see that my mouth was dripping with drool, my incredibly long tongue tracing my muzzle with anticipation.

She squirmed...a lot. I mean a lot! She became frantic the more I closed the distance between us, I made damn sure she got a good look at my teeth.

She couldn't take much more as I put my face before hers and locked eyes with her before finally whispering with as much decadence as I could possibly muster:

“Tell me what you want.” She tried to speak through her gag in confused fear.

I lean farther into her, my muzzle reaching her ear. “Tell me...what. You. Want.” I accentuated each word with a small peck.

I bit away the cloth in her mouth and let her speak.

“I...want love...I need love…” She said through her fear.

“All you had to do was ask.”

Her limp and tired body lie in my arms as I kick my backdoor open.

“Veral! We have a late night guest! Prep the bath while I tidy up the guest room!”

“On it!” Replied my phantasmal friend. I meet Veral at the doorway as her eyes go wide.

“A changeling! We haven't seen one of those since…”

“Yeah. You know the drill, love. Nothing but. Nothing less.”

The bath house was modeled like a dome, magical runes inlaid on the floors kept the water at a warm and pleasing temperature. I lay my charge upon the tempered ceramic flooring. Turned around, and promptly left.

Not even a step out of the entrance and the flat of an ax slammed into the back of my head.

“What happened to her?” Asked Veral. I slowly turned to face her in shame.

“I...I let the beast influence me. I toyed with her like an animal would their prey.”

“Oh God, is she-”

“No! No heaven forbid. She isn't, I didn't...I knocked her out yes but…” Veral gave a hard sigh and shook her head.

“I'll call when I'm done, we’ll talk once she's in bed.”

It didn't take very long for Veral to call. The guest bed was a brand new mattress scaled to fit a person my size to ensure maximum comfort. The insectoid was laid out, and covered. Her chitin shined in the dim light as I left the room.

Veral was in the kitchen, Berry’s special mix on the table. “You’ve been neglecting your breathing exercises, haven't you.”

“Yes, I...I killed someone Vi. He was a monster that would have ended the lives of innocents and I snapped his neck. I didn't even flinch…” I immediately down the drink to steady my growing nerves. “I wanted to tear some punk limb from limb because he insulted me...because he insulted history…

And then there's the poor girl who I bound and gagged to appease my own sick mind...I’m letting the beast run wild and I know I-" An ax gently tapped my forehead.

“Breathe.” And I did. And I cried. And I breathed again. I remember hugging. There was definitely some hugging.

“Vi, I’ll be back. I need to check on someone.”

“Promise not to kill anyone?”

“You know I can't make that promise.”

The town was stunningly beautiful under the moon's light. Each gem coated building gleamed with a soft radiance that could almost be called romantic.

But I wasn't awake to gawk at the town, I needed to see the incubator. I needed to get into the basement.

Golden Oaks seemed to take on more of it's namesake as it shone with its amber coating. ‘I’ll have to ask Fluttershy how she tamed the Diamond Dogs later.’

My body becomes shadow as I slink through the door, crawl past the living room, and right into the basement. Reforming, I look upon the statue that once held me prisoner for so very long. I reach out my hand and place it upon the sword.

-Midnight Dream Scape-

Midnight stood stoic, almost as if she didn't care for my presence.

“Welcome, my knight. Have you come to test your mettle against your queen?”

“And a fine hello to you too. I just came to check up on you is all. How much of your body has formed?” That was a horribly worded question.

"At this rate your pitiful home will fall before long." Replied the nightmare spirit.

"Show me."

Midnight thus began to drop her armor, her body had been a mass of spacial blue. Stars and shadow made up at least eighty seven percent of her form.

Two completed feet, a shoulder, and an eye made the rest of her.

"Don't rush it. Akriloth is a teddy bear compared to most everything else. It's not like we're fighting Carnax."

In a flash, Midnight is once again armored, a rapier in hand.

"Kneel." Her wings unfurled and intimidating, beat with strength as she flew closer and closer...

'Three...two...one.' "Trap Shot!"

A back flip catches my opponent as I pummel her with a vicious set of kicks.

"Tornado kick!" A spinning kick knocks her out of my personal space.

"That all you got Midnight?"

"Hardly. Hiyah!" Driving her blade into the ground caused an eruption of similar blades to rupture from the ground.

"Shit, nope, uh uh, GAH! Watch where you point that thing!"

Narrowly escaping I summon blades of my own as great blades of light once again pin my opponent to the ground.

"Burst!" Fire consumed Midnight, skulls floating away as the fire subsided.

"See I have tricks too."

"Indeed, rescuing my lesser half shall prove no challenge. Til our next meeting, my Knight."

-Library: Basement-

*GASP* "Shit! Ah mother of all that is good and holy!"

My heart was beating at an incredible rate, my mind was reeling from immense pain, and the word DANGER kept blinking on my arm.

The world was spinning, my breath became heavy...as the world fell down.

-Dreamscape-

I fell through endless darkness, silence my only companion...

The crack of a metal whip sliced the air. Some aerial ballet kept all of my limbs where they belonged.

"This is starting to become a regular thing...OH DEAR!"

A large metal blade nearly slammed itself into my crotch, but thankfully I managed to parry the offending metal with some of my own, my tuning blade actually managing to bend the metal.

I landed on my feet and was once again met with silence.

"Gettin real tired of this bull-I smell fire."

The world changed, bits of fire fell from the sky, and I found myself upon a plateau surrounded by a hellish horizon.

“I know this place. So...how’d you find me?” I ask to no one in particular as void flesh covered my body in thick armor from head to toe. [https://postimg.org/image/t90lxaae5/]

(Your Armor, Sword, and Shield synergize)

“Easy, I just followed the darkness in your heart.” An Ominous voice said.

“Oh ho, you’ll find it isn’t just darkness floating in there.” I say with a mocking chuckle.

“There may be more, but your stunt in Griffinstone says otherwise.”

“True, I can be a bit of a demon, but if it means taking Celestia down, then I see no harm in allowing my darkness to carve a brighter future. But enough of this, show yourself.”

“As you wish.” A pillar of darkness came crashing down, when the darkness subsided a feral looking beast stood there.

“Pfft, if I had a nickle. Your little Garland trick was funny by the way, but I’d suggest tactics with a bit more speed and precision and not some overgrown greatsword.”

“Hmm. So, you wish to overthrow your world's Princess Celestia. We have a Common goal then.” The beast named Chaos said as he just floated there

“My methods are nothing like yours, unlike you I actually understand the concept of that you’re named after, but yes. Celestia is a blight on the world, as are her nobles. She goes down, and the world moves on as it should have so very long ago…” A memory screen begins to float by as I attempt to destroy it before my “guest” can look into it.

“My what do we have here.” Chaos said as he took the screen in his claws

“You put that down or crush it, I won’t ask twice.”

“Ah. War is a beautiful thing.” as a warzone played

“Hmph, my troops were nothing more than mine workers, but damn if they weren’t good on the battlefield. Very few casualties, most of our deaths were just me going in haphazardly. Until she chose her pride over her own sister…”

The memory ended as a blinding rainbow light filled the world. The only remnant of the memory was a pony, trapped in stone.

“She missed, but something tells me she wanted to. You have far more in common with her than you do me,” Anger flooded my mind, the world once again reformed into Chaos’ hellish dimension.

“I’m guessing the only reason you’re here is because your witch is salty about her dog getting slaughtered.”

“That’s one way of putting it, but yes.”

“And I’m guessing she wants revenge in some way shape or form?” I say objectively.

“You read my mind.”

I lift my finger, words forming in my mind. I open my mouth to tell him off, but then a wicked grin splits my face…

“How much would you say she hates Celestia?” I ask, the grin still plastered on my now un-armored face.

“Seeing as she lost to her last time around. I say a lot. Why?” Chaos asked

“Would you say Ultimecia is a fan of destruction of property?”

“Umm. Yes she's from time to time.” Chaos answered with a raised eyebrow

“You see, I like balance. Your operation...isn’t at all balanced,” I will a memory screen into existence. “Your rogue’s gallery are buffoons. One is an actual clown and two have ties to the light...so I propose a trade. Services rendered, for information. I mean, you’ll still lose, but at least it’ll make your “Lover’s Quarrel” A little more interesting. Plus, I’ve already offered my services to your opposition, and like I said, I like balance.”

Chaos begins to lift a claw to the memory, only for it to disappear at his touch.

“Interesting.. What do you want in return.”

“For one solid memory? You see, I need to rescue Princess Luna and a Zebra. A mission like this is twofold, distraction and subterfuge. I need Ultimecia to agree to causing as much damage to Canterlot as she possibly can as slowly as she possibly can while I find my hostages. Deal?”

“A little more chaos ah… Deal.” Chaos's said with a smile

‘Hmm...what to give him...A look into his own mind...or a look into Cosmos’...got it, Cosmos back up plan with the crystals.’

I will the memory into existence once again and compress it, and charge it with a timed Destruction Burst.

“Here, this memory opens when my mission is complete. Open it before then, it blows up in your face. An experienced spellcaster like say the clown tries to open it, it blows up in their face. My mission gets completed? The memory opens and the magic charge disappears.”

“Interesting. She will be meeting you at that tree Library...thing.”

“Oh God...Twilight will bombard her with questions...or Spike will try to kill her...or Rainbow shows up and they both try to kill her…You wicked beast.” I can’t help but crack a small grin.

“Hope you get there fast then.”

“Sure sure...now before I wake up and sever this link...Chaos works exactly the way you think it does...in that it doesn’t. But I’m sure you already knew that, being named after it and all. Heck, maybe you and I can go one on one once I get my full powers back, you know, for balance’s sake.”

“I look forward to battling you.”

“I look forward to kicking your ass…” The landscape fades, the cruel laughter of my guest the only sound as I wake from my haunted dream.

I wake up to the sound of battle, Mother Sparkle runs to me...speaking words of worry:

“Gah! That was our only copy of Alchemical Gastronomy! It was the only book ever written by Clover the Clever and Chancellor Pudding Head! Rainbow stop! AAAHHH!! You just demolished the full encyclopedia of “Monsters of the Everfree! Do EITHER of you know how much a set like that is worth!!” Screamed a growingly frustrated Twilight.

“And we’d be able to care if we could get this sodding witch to stand long enough to hit!!” Screamed an annoyed Spike. A blast of fire accentuated the growing tension.

‘Looks like I was right...and I still couldn’t stop it. Oh joy.’ I think to myself.

I take my time in climbing the stairs of the basement, laughter and destruction the only sounds to be heard. The livingroom was a wreck, tattered and scorched books lay strewn across the floor, slash and burn marks covered the interior of the library. Watching the carnage was a frantic Twilight Sparkle, huddling as many books as she could under a protective barrier.

In the middle stood Spike in full dragon, Rainbow with her blade in her mouth, and Ultimecia who did nothing but float around a bit. No doubt choosing to toy with her opponents rather than outright killing them.

“Oh good, Pebbles decided to take a nap in the basement.” Said Spike with a fair amount of snark.

“Awesome! You can use that new “Guyver” thing to take down “Ultrecia” or whatever her name is!” Shouted Rainbow.

“What, the pony and overgrown lizard can't handle me?” Ultimecia said in mocking tone.

“Sodding witches, I almost miss vampire slaying.” Said Spike, firing another bolt of fire from his lance...only to strike another book.

“GAAAH!!!! THAT! IS! IT! I AM THE ONE AND ONLY!!” Screamed Twilight as the entirety of the library was drained of all it’s magic.

Rainbow’s wings buckled into her as she fell on a pile of books, Spike’s armor disappeared as he reverted back to his baby form and Ultimecia fell flat on her back, her magic gone and unable to sustain her flight.

I didn’t lose much...as I didn’t have much to lose. Twilight, began to pant as time itself began to shift around her.

“Okay...Can we...CALMLY...hoh...give me a second…” Twilight pooled the gathered magic as an orb began to form on her horn.

“Master? Could you?” She said as she pointed a hoof to the gathered magic.

I gently retrieved the orb and pocketed it in my inventory. I look at the now rising Ultimecia.

“Chaos sent you?” I ask.

“Why yes he did. Said something of giving Celestia what's coming for her.” She said as she dusted herself off

“Good, I hope you’re ready then, we leave in an hour. Twilight, where’s Cadence?”

“She left for-” Twilight was cut off by an angered Rainbow. “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO WORK WITH HER!!??”

“...Yes. Ultimecia, any objections?” I ask.

“As long as I get to see Celestia bow before me then there are no objections...For now.”

“You don’t get to kill her, that honor belongs to another, and even if you do...Nah, forget it. Just don’t do it, Twilight?”

“Badlands,” Stated Twilight. “She went to fight back Akriloth. Forty Vizalain ponies are with her, so I wouldn’t worry.”

“So long as she gets back in one piece, Spike, Rainbow, we need to be alone. Luna needs this to work.”

The dragon and pegasus left the library, one cursing his new home, the other nipping her rage in the bud.

Twilight began to reorganize the room, placing the table back to it’s normal resting place, a map unfurling upon it.

“Master?” Said Twilight, with curiosity.

“Our objective is this mountainous region here. None of the blueprints detail anything past the old crystal mines. Ultimecia, your objective is here,” I say while pointing at central Canterlot.

“Any questions so far?” I ask.

“What do you want me to do exactly?” Ultimecia asked .

“I need you to destroy as much of the town as you want. I only ask that you keep living casualties to a minimum and to be slow about your destruction. Now, getting in will be quite easy, getting out will probably be our only hurdle. Twilight, start packing for a one day trip.”

My student rises and leaves in silence. I pull a vial of joke potion from my inventory and hand it to Ultimecia.

“Drink this.” I say.

“Why?” she said as she examines the vial

“It’ll amuse me.” I say with a blank face.

“...Not unless tell you tell me what it does ‘Cloud'.”

“Funny, it’ll turn you into a pony. This will get us in.”

“... Hope that my power stays.” She said as she drank the vial. A blinding glow surrounded her, when it subsided a grey coated unicorn with an hourglass with black wings as her cutie mark stood were Ultimecia was.

“Perfect, you actually LOOK like a noble. That should get you into the castle a lot easier than it will me,” I pull out the antidote vials and place them on the table. “Well, this should be fun,” I chug my own vial as it’s effects changed me into my pony form.

“Never gonna get used to that.” Twilight came back down, a small saddle pack bouncing at her side.

“Everypony ready?” She said.

“I suppose.” Ultimecia said with a hint of regality, still floating in the air

“Let’s head to the train and go over our plans.” Said Twilight.

Nodding, I followed her out the door, the vials floating into her pack as Ultimecia trailed after us.

The town was gleaming as it did the night before, the trot to the train had been uneventful except for the creeping sensation of being followed…

‘Meh, I’ll worry about that later.’

The station itself was empty, no doubt because of the recent assault against the train. The only pony seen was the conductor himself.

“Well, fancy a ride? Nopony seems to want to travel, who can blame em.” He said.

“Kind of meaningless to take the entire thing for just three passengers.” I say with curiosity.

“Heh, she’s not our only transport,” The old conductor went into a stall and various gears began to clank and whir to life. The tracks parted and lowered and after a few moments they rose once again with a smaller train car. “Turner built er, she can fit ten ponies at max and runs at twice the speed of the old girl. Where we headed?”

“Canterlot, we have business.”

“Make yourselves at home, this’ll be a fun trip…”

“Ladies first.” I say with a slight bow. Ultimecia just rolled her eye's and walked on too the train. Twilight quickly followed, a bounce in her step as she surveyed the inner workings of the vehicle.

The conductor soon followed and ushered me inside. It was a small transport vehicle, lined with gears and very few windows. The creeping sensation once again returned, and before the hatch could close, a pie slammed into my face and dropped me to the ground.

“Bleh, mmm...raspberry...Okay…” The gears whirred to life as the car began to move. At the point of the train sat the conductor, turning knobs and pulling levers as he began to speak into a microphone.

“Sir Jing to Canter, Sir Jing to Canter, is anypony on the line?” A metallic sound blared from the controls.

“Sir Jing!? We haven’t heard from you in months! You’re lucky I was here to receive your call.”

“Oh come on! You’re one of the Pactagonal Knight's!?” I yell.

“Jing? Do you have company?” Said the pony on the line.

“The hero if you can believe it, we have some cargo headed for Canter, can you clear the tracks?”

“I’ll have Sir Vey on the job, Captain Shining will be glad to see you.”

The coms clicked off as Jing turned in his chair to face us.

“We’ll arrive in less than an hour or so, Twilight, it’s good to see you in good health.”

“Thanks Jing, sorry about my master, being trapped in stone for fifteen hundred years will loosen a few screws.” Said Twilight with a chuckle.

“A few to many if you ask me” Ultimecia mumbled

“Hey! I heard that!! You’re just mad cuz I used some of those loose screws to drive into your worthless dog…” I say rather harshly.

“He was not worthless at all!” Ultimecia yelled

“Play nice or neither of you get to be human again.” Said Twilight sternly.

“Yes mom...So...you never mentioned the knights.” I say.

“You never asked, Sir Jing, how long?”

“Just a few more minutes, gonna see your folks, or that girl you like spending so much time with?”

“JING!!” Cried Twilight with an incredible blush.

“We’ll be heading for the castle, Celestia has hell to pay.” I say angrily.

“Careful hero, the knights are with you and all, but the rest if the military will arrest you on the spot,”

The car came to a full stop and we were greeted by two tan colored earth ponies. One had a pair of adjustable goggles, almost like binoculars, and the other had slit eyes and scales strewn about his body like that of a lizard or dragon. The knights shared kind words amongst themselves

“Thank you for riding Sir Jing Rails, we hope you voyage was enjoyable! Vey, Pent, get them to the castle,”

The ponies beckoned us out as we were lead to a small elevator.

“Good luck you three, the Knights will lead you to the castle, you’ll be on your own from there!” Cried Jing.

The elevator was rather large, most likely used for hauling equipment and the like. Pent had been the first to break our awkward silence.

“So, what’s Twilight Sparkle doing with a prisoner and a noble mare?”

“We’re here to rescue a few ponies from an underground facility here in Canterlot.” Said Twilight.

“TWI! You can’t just divulge sensitive information to royal knights! What if they work for the ponies that kidnapped our ponies in the first place!!??”

“What? Us? If you haven’t figured it out we aren’t actually from around these parts,” Stated Vey. The doors opened and we exited into what looked like barracks for soldiers.

“We don’t have the same loyalty to the crown as most others and as such we do our digging far more frequently. Go see Celestia, say your hellos, ask for your rooms. One of ours will have left you a package. Do what we can’t and bring them down.”

The trip to the courtroom was uneventful for the most part. Between the “Noble mare” and Celestia’s protege, no guard or noble paid me mind.

‘So why am I still being followed?’

“Tell me something “Hero”, do you have any way to change me back to my former self or am I left as I am?” Asked Ultimecia.

“Well geez now that you mention it-Hey I think I see the throne room!” I laugh hysterically as the chronomancer does little more than huff.

I hear a faint exchange of words and the shifting of vials as I knock on the golden doors.

The doors push inward, before us were several ponies in single file and spears at my throat.

“Halt! State your business!”

“I'm here to plow your mother.” The stunned face of the guards was worth the wicked crack of an armored hoof on my head.

“Ack! My hoof! Seize him!” Screamed the injured guard.

As they charged, the gathering crowd and princess looked on in wonderment, awe, and fear as the guards began to float aimlessly, flailing in futility at their current situation.

“Hmph, maybe you AREN'T a hero,” Said Ultimecia as she made her grand entrance.

“Will none among you attend to me?”

The room exploded as every eligible bachelor raced to the mare in an attempt to woo her.

Twilight and I made our way to Celestia.

“Princess,” I stated stated with a bow. “I hope we aren't intruding.”

“Hardly, distractions like these give me a reason NOT to do my job. I was hoping to see you and I'm so glad you brought Twilight! But do tell me of the mystery mare, is she perhaps a “special somepony?”

“No! No, no, she's a fellow magister. Twi, could you and Ultima let the guards down.”

With a pop, the magic holding the crowd burst and dropped the group down.

Twilight hugged her mentor and began to walk back to the entrance.

“I'm so glad to see Twilight making new friends. But tell me, how long will the three of you be staying?”

“The night, maybe you could give us a room or two?” I ask.

“I have just the thing. Daisy, escort our esteemed guests to one of our “Comfort” rooms.”

“Right away your highness.” Stated a gray, blindfolded mare with an impeccable brown mane. We managed to pry the nobility off of Ultimecia long enough to have our guide lead us to our quarters.

That was where I begged the question: “You’re not actually blind are you?” she responded:

“And I’m not actually taking you to Celestia’s comfort suite,” Her blindfold flew off of her in an unknown wind as she spoke. “Miss Leading, general to the Lunar Guard. I pray you know of the corruption in Canter?” She questioned.

“Ooh corruption. I do so enjoy the sound of that.” Replied Ultimecia.

“Even if it’s Celestia herself?” I say in tune with Leading.

“Hmph, maybe not as much.” Stated Ultimecia coldly.

Leading knocked twice on a grandfather clock adorned with a crescent moon, opening, the resulting path lead us to a small chamber. The room had a few bookcases, a cabinet and a wooden table with a folder atop it.

“Leading...Miss Leading...it feels like I should know that name…” I whisper. Leading responded in kind. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKC1AnRAWqk)

“Oh holy shit...how deep does this rabbit hole go…”

“Far enough my lord. How shall we proceed?”

“Lord?” questioned Twilight and Ultimecia.

“First off,” I say while going through the folder in front of me. “Don’t call me lord. I’m no one’s ruler. Second, we rescue our prisoners. Leading, take Ultimecia to town so she can begin. Me and Twilight will do our part and rendezvous at her observatory.”

“As you command my liege.” Without another word the walls opened up and Leading left with Ultimecia.

“Ready Twi?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Canterlot Business

The day was beautiful to say the least. The sun was shining, birds were singing, a lovely mare stood unbothered by the posh nobility surrounding her. So unbothered in fact that no pony realised the lovely mare had vanished in a puff of smoke...At the drop of a vial did the chronomancer rise.

“Now where to begin?” Ultimecia asked as she looked around seeing ponies, mainly Unicorns trotting around doing what needed to be done. “Ah.” She said as she saw mint colored unicorn. With a snap off her fingers a human with short black hair wearing glasses appeared in front off the unicorn.

“Oh. My. Celestia!! A human!!” The pony yelled getting everyone to look at the human.

“Interesting.” Ultimecia said before snapping her fingers again summoning some Gremlins and Bombs. “Go, cause some havoc….And try not harm anyone.” She said getting a nod from the Gremlins as they ran the streets knocking everything over and the Bomb's set fire to some off the houses, some had even exploded.

“Ha ha..Hi.” The mint unicorn said staring at Ultimecia.

“Hi...What do you want!?” Ultimecia yelled

“I’ve never seen a human up close before, of course there is the hero but you're like the second one ever!” She said with a big smile

“And your point?”

“Can you turn me into a human? Please!?” Lyra asked...begged...pleaded...groveled. Other words having to do with sad puppy dog eyes.

“NOT MY CABBAGES!!” Ultimecia heard somepony scream and decided not to answer her as she teleported away. She landed a few blocks away near what looked to be a Library.

“Now then.” She said snapping her fingers summoning even more Gremlins and Bombs.

“So can you do it with your magic?” Ultimecia turned around and saw the pony from before with the biggest smile she ever did loathe to see.

“Ack. You are not going to leave me alone until I do?” Ultimecia asked getting a nod from Lyra. “Fine. But it may not be “exactly” human.” She said. Snapping her fingers she turned Lyra into a mint colored Miqo'te, a feline humanoid race.

“Oh my Celestia.” Lyra said as she looked over herself.

“Happy? Now run along I have other things to do.” Ultimecia said ushering the feline out before teleporting again. She landed in the castle garden where she spotted someone familiar. “Why hello you. Fancy meeting you here.” She said as she walked around a statue, the statue of one self proclaimed “Lord of Chaos”.

Author's Note

Thanks to Shadow Hero for lending me his time and brain for this chapter, next up: The Underground Lab.

Hunter's Log: Rosewind

It had been a few minutes when Bon Bon had grappled back to her shared home, with her “room mate” in hoof. The monster hunter was frantic to say the least, running to and from her home, gathering supplies to what would be a very long trip, and she had five days at maximum to complete it. The stress was building and it was nowhere near subsiding, until she saw her face.

Beautiful fur coat, soft golden eyes, the way her mane traveled across her back and her only thought being: “Am I staring too long?”

“Bon? You okay? I can come with you if you want?” Asked the sea green pony.

“Huh, what? Oh I uh...no it’s too dangerous. A haunted house is one thing, but these ice caverns have taken more lives than I can count. I‘m not letting an untrained mare go in over her head, especially if she’s somepony I care about.” Stated Bon Bon.

“Oh…” All she could say was oh. Her blush profound and bright. Lyra didn’t know whether to hug the huntress or cry, so she did both with a wide smile on her face.

‘She always did get overly emotional.’ Thought Bon Bon. The mares broke off from the embrace, neither actually wanting to part.

“Bring me back a souvenir?”

“Maybe I’ll bring you a new harp? Keep the shop open, I’ll be back before you can spit! Not that you uh...spit.”

Lyra could only chuckle as her hero flew off, her hook having caught onto a strange night blue carriage.

“Ooh! I need new strings! I hope that music shop in Canterlot is still open.”

-Skies: Agent Drops-

The carriage itself was a covert vehicle, closed on all sides and usually flown by cloaked thestrals, Luna’s guards if the agent remembered well enough. Most if not all of the Monster Hunter organization was “politically” run by the nightmarish thestral clan of pony. Even after the Nightmare Moon incident, the thestrals had one loyalty, Equestria as a whole.

Which is why it had shocked most of the Celestial royal guard if not the Princess herself to see their operation still in full swing despite Luna having been banished for little more than a day.

“Agent Drops, report.” Said a mud brown unicorn mare in a black trenchcoat, and shades. Agent Drops recalled ponies like her, the “Miss” Series. Much like The Sirs who obeyed The captain of the Royal Guard, The Misses of Equestria followed the many orders of the captain of the Lunar. Heavens knew who they were, if they even existed…

“All is currently well, all things considered. Envoys of the dragon Lands and Griffonstone have been sent for, and a makeshift militia is being trained as we speak. The statue, is still under containment and the dragon’s bones have been properly disposed of.”

“What of the Ursa Major incident agent?”

“Chronal anomaly, it came and left.”

“On to business, you and agent Do haven’t seen much of each other for quite sometime, will this hinder your mission?”

“In what regard Miss…”

“Teri, agent. Miss Teri. Rumors had spread of your...falling out.”

“It’s in the past, and I believe the fate of Equestria is far more pressing than my *ahem* past relations.”

“Quite, off the record, it’s a shame you left Canterlot. You would have made a far superior Miss Trust.”

“Let’s not bring up the past.”

“Worried about that mare you have hiding in your cover shop?” Asked Teri with a grin.

“Can we focus on the mission and not my love life?”

“Of course,” Miss Teri opened the front visor to alert the thestral flying the carriage. “Fly down low here and drop the rope, hey Tension, still as strong as ever?”

“Still the tightest coil around aren’t I?”

Before long, the carriage now had one more passenger.

“Derring.” Stated Drops.

“Sweetie.” Replied Derring Do.

Miss Teri then proceeded to poke Tension with a blunt knife.

“Ha ha very funny.” Said Tension.

“You know you like it. So girls, ready to steal an ancient weapon from one of the greediest classification of dragons in known Equis?”

“Oh joy, I can’t wait to put my life at risk.” Said Drops sarcastically.

“At least you won’t be alone, you’ll have your favorite mare with you the entire trip.” Countered Derring with as much sarcasm

“Sorry, I left her at home. Where she promised to wait for me.”

“Is there something you'd like to say to me!?”

“Ladies! Fate of the world! Try to behave, and try not to kill each other. It’s bad enough half the monsters left in the world are smart enough to know who you are and actually have reason to eat you alive…”

Their trip was made in silence, hours went by, the temperature began to drop...Tension had been flying rather high...until his sudden drop in altitude.

“Alright ladies, a rendezvous’ll be here in six, so get what you came for and get out. Miss Teri will give you gear to keep warm from the trunk. I don’t need to tell you both to be careful, good hunting!” Stated Tension.

The mares withdrew from the confines of their warm cabin into the harsh cold of the northlands. Teri lead them to the trunk of the carriage and began to fiddle with it’s lock to no avail.

“Oh swell, the lock’s frozen over…” *CLUNK* “Never mind…”

Blowing air at her injured hoof, Sweetie tossed the lid with her hind leg. “Heat enchanted fire rubies? Lamps, lamp oil, rope, bomb tags...oh hey, Derring this looks like it’s for you.”

“Oh good, they packed my whip of alchemy. Does it still have all it’s elemental alignments?” Asked Derring.

“Sorry, we had to seal it for reasons, but fire augmentation was authorized for this mission. Good luck you two, and try not to kill each other, I’d rather not spend hours behind a stack of paperwork.”

The carriage left the two mares to their own devices, neither wanting or willing to acknowledge the other. The hunters entered the icy cavern in silence. Seconds became minutes and minutes became hours and their only distraction had been an occasional ice slime every so often.

“If we don’t find what we’re looking for soon I’m going to eat the next slime we see.” Said a disgruntled Derring.

“Oh that’ll be something to see.” Replied Drops. Of course the two would get their wish in the form of a literal flood of at least twenty slimes dropping from the ceiling along with several loose spikes of ice.

“Look out!” Cried Drops as she barreled into her partner. Derring, acting quickly, whipped at a few of the swarming slimes, melting them into their comrades. The following “Super Slimes” began to slam wrecking ball shaped fists into the ground.

“That isn’t good...Run!!” The pair scrambled off of each other and high-tailed it as fast as they could. Drops had placed as many bomb tags as she could, and though it dettered the many slimes, it also trapped them deeper into the cavern.

“GREAT! We are TRAPPED in a cave in the middle of nowhere! We are ALONE, FREEZING OUR HOOVES OFF, AND WHY AREN’T YOU WORRIED!!??“ Screamed Derring.

“Hush, *knock*knock* hear that? It’s hollow.” Drops placed her fire ruby into a loose crevice and covered it with a bomb tag. The resulting blast revealed a wide passageway that had more than likely been frozen over with time.

“B-bi-bi-ingo...hoo...was it al-ways thi-thi-this...COLD.” Said the shivering Drops.

“Here...I don't want you freezing to death…” Stated Derring as she relinquished her own ruby.

“B-but...what about- *CRACK* right...fire whip. Oh sweet Celestia, the scythe!” Before them lay a great treasury, gems, gold, crowns, gilded books and tomes, and lying upon the floor of this immense boon was the legendary weapon of fire’s bane.

The mares rushed to the weapon, wide smiles adorned their faces. It was so difficult for the two to hold their excitement that Derring embraced her ex-partner.

Only…

“I'm so sorry! Please! Take me back! I-I was scared, and confused and-”

Through tears the huntress fought, hoping against hope the mare in her forehooves felt at least something.

“Derring stop.” She didn't.

“But-”

“You...hurt me. You told me sweet lies you thought I wanted to hear, you...you made me believe you loved me…”

The two dislodged themselves from one another. One cold and distant, the other a broken mess.

“But-I-I-I’be ch-chaaa-changed. I...I love...y-y-you…”

“And as wonderful and heart wrenching as this is “I” would like to know why you are here and why you had to pony-handle my friends,” Said a third and screechy voice.

Turning to face the being, the mares looked at the towering form of an ice blue wyvern.

“But then again I can't really turn a blind eye to this. Tea?”

Once settled in a warmer (though not by much) part of the caverns, the three were attended by several slimes.

“You command these things?” Questioned Derring Do.

“Slimes. Not things. And no, they are friends, not servants. Isn't that right Kim, how’s the family?”

A slime that had delivered them tea, gave a large thumb up.

“Now,” began the wyvern. “I see there is tension between the two of you.”

“We aren't discussing this!” Shouted Drops.

“Well maybe you should. Unless you speak your mind now you'll regret it for the rest of your life.” Stated the wyvern.

“Speaking from experience?” Asked Derring.

“I suppose you could say that. You never really value something until it's gone.”

“That's great and all but we didn't come here to talk.” Stated Drops.

“Fine, I understand, but humor me and you will leave with what you seek and more.”

The mares stood in place, both in quite a bit of shock.

“But you’re a Wyvern?” Questioned Drops.

“The greediest form of dragon to ever exist.” Added Do.

“And you're going to give us something in return for our life’s story!?” Chimed both agents in unison.

“Of course! I’m old, bored, and there’s just something about you. I’ve made too many mistakes in my life, but maybe I can do one thing right. So?”

“So!? SHE LEFT ME AT THE ALTAR!!” Cried Sweetie Drops.

“Maybe don’t make it sound like I’m the badguy!!” Replied Derring Do.

“Maybe I wouldn’t if you had kept your promise!” Drops had burst into tears, years of anger and pain finally releasing themselves.

-Three years prior.-

A wedding unlike any other...laughter. Joy. Excitement! General merriment bathed those in attendance at what would have been the joining of two wonderful souls, and two even greater hunters.

Yet…

-Present Day-

“She...promised...she even had a ring made for me. She made it for ME! Do you know what she threw it all away for?”

“Please don’t say anymore.” Pleaded Derring on the verge of tears.

“A one night stand with a known thug! No secret agenda, no surprise capture, not even dinner and a show…”

“AND JUST HOW WOULD I HAVE MARRIED YOU IF YOU WERE DEAD!!?” Cried Derring, finally breaking into tears as well.

“He had armaments, better than anything you or the hunters could have thrown at him! It was him...or you…”

“Likely story…”

“What kind of armament?” Chimed the wyvern.

“It had a barrel long and thin, a crossbow stock, and the barrel had a sort of wooden covering on the bottom and trigger mechanism.” Stated Derring.

“Would this be the weapon?”

Both mares gasped at the item, one in disbelief at it’s very existence, the other in absolute fear.

“But...why…”

“I can’t say. The bandit that tried to rob me never had the chance to speak. The gun is still loaded, but trust me when I say this is no weapon to be trifled with. Not on this world at least.”

“Then that would mean…”

“Yes, you and many of your compatriots would have died that day,” The wyvern craned his neck forward and tilted it slightly. “Do either of you have words to share?” Asked the Wyvern.

“I...why couldn’t you tell me?” Asked Sweetie.

“Partly due to shame, partly due to the fact you would have never believed me.”

“I...I owe you an apolo-” Before she could say more, Derring had somehow forced herself onto her ex partner who proceeded to kick her off rather forcefully...much to the amusement of the wyvern.

“HAH! Ho ho, you do this old heart good. Take what you will, you’ve given me more than I could ever hope for.”

The mares left the wyvern, each leaving with a parting gift and the weapon they so fought for, leaving the old drake to retrieve an aged photograph and reminisce of bygone days.

“Maybe things would have been better if that stubborn old mare had said yes those so many years ago…”

Author's Note

This was nagging at me. Really badly. I didn't want to write it, but I did. If this was something you as readers would like to see more of, I could make more Hunter's Logs. Treat em like Interludes.

Interlude Three: The Gang's All Here.

Lunch time, that estranged point between third and fourth period that doesn't know if it should exist or not in it's current state of being.

It was these points where Sunset would sit in the crowded lunch area alone with her thoughts. Current thought: Last night's patrol with Connor.

Most demons round the city either knew Connor personally or "had" known him personally.

This usually included but was not limited to: Old clients of his dad (Who he speaks fondly of), Old victims of his or his dad (most of these demons had it coming and recognising Connor immediately cowered in fear), or new friends he made in Canterlot City.

As it currently stood, a friend of the Destroyer's was a friend of theirs. The added info they brought proved monumental as well. In one night Sunset managed to learn two things.

One: Malicious activity was strictly vampire or rogue demon.

Two: Vampires would appear from anywhere at anytime without rhyme or reason so as to kidnap as many unsuspecting civilians for their growing army.

Now if only these things from Hell could tell her where this vampire infestation originated from that would be gre-

"Hi Sunset!!" Shouted a rather ecstatic Pinkie Pie.

Sunset mentally groaned, and slammed her forehead into the table.

Pinkie plopped down next to her, quickly followed by the rest of her friends. How was it that just being around them gave her renewed vigor?

That or it could just be the coffee she downed three seconds ago.

"Sunset," Said Rarity as she got comfortable on the cold bench. "It has come to our attention that you've been...How can I put this delicately?"

"Ya'll ave been comin' to school lookin like somethin' outta Pinkie Pie's B-list horror collection!" Stated Applejack.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with Troll 2! It's a classic." Said Rainbow Dash in defense of her friend. Said friend currently donning a horrendous green troll mask.

"Pinkie's outlandish taste in film aside, well...we're absolutely worried sick!"

Sunset gave a good blink of her eyes...then turned to Fluttershy.

"You have anything to add?"

"Um...I...I miss our Confidence sessions." Fluttershy said quietly.

Confidently...but still rather quietly.

"They been helping you so far?" Asked Sunset.

"Oh yes very much so! It helped me get one new volunteer for the animal shelter this morning."

Sunset actually witnessed the event, it was a boy Fluttershy had her eye on for quite some time. He was a grungie, punkish young lad with a heart of gold and the voice of a very melancholic angel.

Both young teens pined for the attention of the other with neither knowing how to obtain it.

"I think I remember seeing you talking to someone," Said Sunset. "He's kinda cute don't you think?"

Sunset gave a slight smirk.

Hopefully this would derail the previous conversation in three...two...

"Oh a boy! Fluttershy, dear! Why, I'm almost hurt you never mentioned anyone yo-oof" Rarity was elbowed out of her surprise by Applejack, whom now glared daggers at Sunset.

"Rarity, she's tryin ta change the subject?"

"Oh...yes...quite. Really, the nerve miss Shimmer!"

"Please don't call me miss Shimmer." Interjected Sunset.

"Now you shall tell us why you haven't been...your best...this instant!"

"You really wanna know? See me in the library. All of you, it's important. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hide in a broom closet and get some sleep."

The group of five stood before the daunting doors of the library, neither moving an inch and neither wishing to disturb the silence.

...That was until a faint echo of wood impacting against wood could be heard.

“Bo staffs…” Whispered Rainbow Dash.

“You mean they’re filming a kung-fu movie?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

“Or Sunset could be fighting for her life! Quickly!” Exclaimed a worried Rarity.

Bursting through the doors, the group turned their attention to an ajar bookcase door. The sounds of wood becoming louder the closer they came until…

*crack*thump* “Oomph, best two of three Miss Shimmer?”

“If it means seeing you sprawled on the floor we CAN make this a first to five.”

“Who is that with her?” Asked Fluttershy.

“That's what we're here to find out darling.”

The group entered the secret room and found themselves in a wide dojo. Armaments of wood and steel lined the walls, training dummies and punching bags lay scattered, and in the midst was Sunset Shimmer and the librarian.

“Landsakes…”

“Ah the gang's all here then?” Stated a slightly winded Wesley. “You must have many questions I presume.”

“Yeah, like how did you even get this stuff through school security!?” Shouted Rainbow.

“Or why was Sunset beatin’ ya senseless with a stick?” Added Applejack.

“It's a bo staff and-wait no not important.” Sunset retrieved the weapons and placed them upon the racks. “You wanted to know what's been keeping me so tired.”

“You mean it ISN'T beating up the school librarian!?” Asked Pinkie.

“This will take longer than I thought,” Said Wesley. “Tea anyone?”

Tea was served and enjoyed in the darker portion of the library, The Occult section.

It was there that the five learned of every beast and monster that went bump in the night. Some took the information well, others…

“Absolutely not! Sunset you shall cease this gallivanting at once!” Yelled Rarity.

“And leave people to die? Not happening.”

“But you don't have the same traits as the slayer.” Stated Fluttershy.

Wesley was the one to interject at this statement.

“She has proven herself more than capable as a slayer, and of course she exhibits the traits.”

“Well…” The group looked at Sunset, she looked away and began playing with her thumbs.

“Of course you’re the slayer, what else could you be?” Asked Wesley.

“A magical talking horse from a land OF magical talking horses?” Said Sunset in a worried tone.

“Oh..MY..GOSH! You have to tell me everything! Are they friendly? Do they have woodland critters there t-mphMMPH!?” Applejack, subduing her friend, (of whom had decided to excitedly get in Sunset’s personal space) decided to question this.

“C’mon sugarcube, yer joking. Right?”

“She may not be…” Whispered Wesley. Before the group was a now burning Sunset. Flames danced upon her as they settled and solidified. Golden armor shined
, a red cape flew in nonexistent wind and a blazing sword
hung from her hip.

The final nails in the coffin were the loss of her ears in favor of a more primal pair set atop her head and a long flowing tail of crimson and gold.

“My word…”

“So awesome…”

“Such power…”

*GONG* *GONG*

“Oh dear it seems we’ve overstayed our welcome, does everyone have a ride?” Asked Wesley.

There had been nods all around save for one.

“Oh no...I told Shining I’d meet him at the shelter today! What if he’s worried about me!?” Cried Fluttershy.

“I'm sure he knows you're fine. C’mon it's getting late.” Stated a now normal Sunset.

The sun set upon a saddened day, the group crowding around their vehicles to end said day.

At least they would have were it not for the charcoal black Interceptor making its skidding entrance.

The beast bore tinted windows, spots of scratched and exposed metal, and one ice blue shield with an amethyst starburst emblazoned on the hood.

“Sh-Shining…”

The door opened to reveal a young man with messy blue hair wearing a ripped jacket and equally ripped black jeans.

“Fluttershy! You’re okay! Where were you?”

“Oh...I...w-was with-”

“She was with friends. Might I say darling, black is not your color.”

“They were my grandfather’s, it’s getting late…do you...maybe want a ride home?”

“Ooh, well a lady doesn't usua-oh...you meant Fluttershy,” Rarity gave an embarrassed laugh and tightly hugged her shy friend. “Run along now dear, you shouldn't keep a man waiting.”

The two shared an embrace and made their merry way. Applejack however gave her friend a questioning glare.

“Ya’ll best stay outta that girl’s way ya hear?”

“Oh come now Applejack, a little friendly banter never hurt anyone.” Replied Rarity.

Her remaining friends would have pressed the issue were it not for the pitch black Impala and cobalt blue Challenger skidding to a halt inches away from the group.

“Hey Sunset I’m here to take you-”

“Hey Sunset I’m here to take you-”

The drivers exited their respective vehicles, and gave a once over of the other. Neither seemed impressed.

“Like I said,” Stated Connor. “I’m taking her home.”

“Sorry Pal,” retorted Flash. “But I’m taking her to the movies.”

“No sorry, Connor’s right. I’m going home. Bye girls, I’ll try and get some sleep tonight.”

Flash Sentry, most popular teenager in all of Canterlot High’s history had just been shot down...if he could even call it that.

The pair drove off into the sunset, leaving behind an awestruck Sentry with his jaw hanging ever so low.

The lot emptied, tumbleweed rolled past, a librarian spoke.

“I'd suggest heading home Mister Sentry, these nights haven't been very safe.”

Author's Note

Sorry I took so long, life kinda happened and my computer is dead, but hey here I am.

Onwards!

Chaos and Caverns

The documents held within had been blueprints that detailed up until the main entrance of the “Facility” we would be infiltrating. As such, a similar secret passage led us right out of the castle and right into the crystal mines of Canterlot.

“How long do you think these agents have been plotting against Celestia?” I ask.

“Since the last royal captain stepped down. The knights would play with me from time to time, teaching me how to properly hold a sword or cast non conventional magic much like yours,”

She lit the dark caverns with her magic as the crystals began to resonate.

“It's why I was able to handle your lessons so well.” Twilight said with a grin.

Farther in, the crystals began to shift in appearance. You see before the war, Canter was known as the smithing capital of Equestria. “Why is this?” You may ask.

Well I'll tell ya.

“Wait! These crystals are made of metal!” Cried Twilight.

Okay nevermind. “Welcome to the Steel Pit! The pride and joy of old Canter. Of course that door wasn't there before…”

Twilight pulled me down behind a rather large crystal. “Yeah, or those guards. Let me go in and talk to them.” Said Twilight.

“No!” I whispered as best I could. “Do you see what they're wearing!? Those are black knights! You'll trigger an ala-Oh my God, there she goes.”

“Good afternoon gentlecolts, I seem to have gotten myself lost and I was hoping you'd *SHING* O~Kay then nevermind. RUN!”

Twilight popped out of existence and popped back in at my side, all the while the two knights charged in hot pursuit.

‘No time like the present!’ I thought as I removed a flask from our bag of gear.

With a sickening clang, I hit the ground running. After my tuning blade made contact with the first knight, (lodging it into the wall) I put my immediate focus on the next target which was met with much the same force, implanting it's face into the ground.

“That was incredibly excessive...thanks.” Said Twilight.

Black knights...I checked to see if their mouths had been sewn shut like the others and...yup.

“Sewn up orifices, pale and decayed flesh, zero heartbeat...I wonder if…” I poked a hole through one of the seams and immediately regretted my decision only to not regret it.

A plume of white left the body as it deflated. The armor dropped with a clang as I immediately poked the knight in the wall, much the same happened.

“These things are soul powered!” I exclaimed.

“Every pony is soul powered if you think about it.” Added Twilight.

I choked on my own spit.

“...Let's just kill as many of these monstrosities as we can. Zecora and Luna will want a clear path out of this hell hole.”

-Canterlot Castletown-

Calamity.

“On your left! Watch those arrows! Where in the name of Celestia’s mane did those firebombs come from!?”

Confusion.

“Watch that chocolate rain cloud! Sir the local zoo is running amok! No! Not the animals! The ENTIRE zoo!”

Chaos.

“Mhmhm, my my. Even in this world you're still as chaotic as ever Discord.” Said an amused witch.

“I do so love a bit of chaos in the morning. I really must thank you for letting me out of there…” he began to stretch, limbs oozing in opposite directions with several cracks, pops, and a few dislocated limbs...which than reeled in their joints like startled insects caught in the sun, before relocating themselves on the opposite sides of his body...Discord the Lord of Chaos sighed at his handiwork.

“Five hundred years leaves such a crick in your neck,” With another satisfying pop, Discord turned several spears into viscous slugs of taffy, which then proceeded to envelop their wielders.

Screams impaled the sky.

“Ooh how sick of you!” Chided Ultimecia.

Her crooked smile doing nothing to hide her glee at the sight.

“Now tell me, just who are you?” Questioned the Draconequis. Genuine curiosity sprouting from his muzzle like a rose garden in bloom.

“Oh how foolish of me,” Ultimecia cooed, a childish smile adorned her softened face as she cupped Discord’s face in her hands.

“I am-” Ultimecia’s introduction of herself was cut short as a thin bolt of fire sailed past her eyes, the bolt missing her by centimeters.

Her gaze, as well as Discord’s turned to the caster and found a six foot four pony in well defined golden armor glaring daggers.

“YOU!” Cried Ultimecia. Her face a twisted mess of hatred and rage. “You will fall-”

“CELLY!” Cried Discord, a large grin adorning his face as he rushed the currently scowling Celestia.

As he charged the armored mare, she began to do much the same, the two clashed in brilliant light and as they spun within the air, laughing and merriment ensued as the two long lost friends embraced.

“You little troublemaker!” Shouted Celestia as she rubbed her hoof on Discord’s skull. “You owe me five hundred bits!” Her expression was gleeful, as though the troubles of the world around her were meaningless.

“Well it wasn't like I WANTED to be released so soon. What brings you to the festivities!?” With a snap of his claw, the two were showered in confetti and streamers.

“My troops were having trouble with a demon incursion when a literal chaos bomb shook Canterlot. Who’s she by the way?” Celestia asked with a pointing hoof and soft smile.

“I SHALL BE THE BANE OF YOUR EXISTENCE!” With a feral cry, Ultimecia rushed through the air, a trail of amethyst spikes tearing the sky behind her. Yet with a yawn and snap, the witch phased out of existence as did the destruction wrought in her wake.

“Las Pegasus anypony?” Asked Discord with excitement, now wearing a gold studded white jacket and pants and sporting black shades along with a slick pompadour.

“Lead the way old friend!” Exclaimed Celestia now wearing much the same attire.

As the two flew to their destination, a troop of soldiers sighed in defeat, realising they wouldn't be freed from their sugary prison any time soon.

-Science Wing: Crystal Caverns-

Not long after entering the built in facility we had been greeted by sterilized white walls, a plethora of medical equipment, and several ponies in differing forms of hospital wear.

I originally thought we'd end up in a no holds barred brawl, but with a lot of quick thinking and me keeping my mouth shut, Twilight sold the story that I was a mind controlled precaution as she ventured into the lab at Celestia’s request.

Our guide was a pale blue pegasus named Half Life. Her teal hair was done in a fish braid and she wore a large white doctors coat.

“How exciting!” Exclaimed Half. “Celestia doesn't check on us very often, but this is so unprecedented! Have you come to check on our latest project? Oh but wait...silly silly, you haven't introduced your muscle!” The mare then rubbed her head on my chest.

This was rather uncomfortable…

“This is Steel Claw,” Said Twilight. “And yes, I've come to perform quality control. The subjects are in stable condition I assume?”

“Not both I'm afraid, Codename: Oracle has shown progress here and there but Codename: Night has been exhibiting signs of rejection. At this rate our only defenses will be those horrid Black Knights. Ugh, necromancers am I right?”

She gave us a smile as I began to hear voices.

“Necromancers? You're using dead ponies?” Asked Twilight with a neutral tone.

“Oh no. No no no. Actually, we really shouldn't say as we want it to be a surprise to Celestia. Of course if you keep this between us…”

The scientist lead us to a door, a body could be heard slamming into the door. The small window displayed a tall, pale brown skinned...nigh decayed and...long haired…

“Twilight...A word if I may…” I said shaking. My voice was cracking and it felt like a frozen wind wrapped itself around me.

“Of course Steel. I do so apologize for my bodyguard’s behavior. My control spell isn't exactly perfect.”

“Oh no problems at all Miss Sparkle! Take your time in the staff room a few doors back.”

We walked in silence as ghastly wails and cries for death echoed throughout the hall...though I did hear and feel Twilight’s angry breath.

We were the only occupants in the room, but we stayed quiet for obvious reasons as Twilight started playing with my hair with her magic.

“Those things...they’re you...aren’t they?” Asked Twilight with a disappointed tone of voice.

“They cloned me Twi...and I didn't even see it coming...how...why...is...is that how they're making the Black Knights? By God I…”

I could feel her hoof rubbing my leg in comfort. It was definitely soothing.

“I'm burning this place to the ground.”

“We need to ensure these scientists make it out alive.” Stated Twilight.

“Right, they are to pay for their transgressions. Starting with my clones.”

“How do you expect to get in?” Twilight got up from her seat as her magic cancelled.

Without a thought I released my vampiric nature.

“Vampiric mind control-” On saying control, a turquoise blue crystal appeared in my hand:

“My name is Echo, I am the entity of water and former god of destruction, if you seek my aid, hold this emerald to your chest, speak this prayer and I shall be there.

The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

“A...chaos emerald?” I say in a whisper.

“A what emerald? Asked Twilight.

“A chaos emerald. A mythic gem with the power to cause great harm, or great good. This one however doesn't seem to have all that much power. No doubt whoever made it feared such power in the wrong hands,”

I tap into the gem’s power as time itself slowed to a crawl. My arm showing an indicator of the event: [Chaos control active, SP: 49% remaining.]

“Waaaaaai aaaaaaare yuuuuu vibrating so quickly?” As I turned off my CC offshoot, the world (And Twilight’s speech) reverted to normalcy.

Steeling myself, I begin to walk out the door.

“Here's what we do.”

Las Pegasus-

The pair of Chaos god and solar princess left the twelfth gambling establishment with twice as many bits as they had entered with, now several hundred thousand bits wealthier.

It was Celestia’s intention to rob them blind, but for once, Discord wanted their victory to be “fair” and “honorable”.

“-And did you see the looks on their faces when they realized we left with HALF their bits!?” Exclaimed a beaming Celestia. “Old friend, why the sullen look?”

Celestia gazed at her companion who now wore a depressed and melancholic look. Eyes unable to focus, wrinkles adorning and accentuating his already somber expression.

“We have to fight now...don’t we?”

Celestia was at a loss for words. She would never dream of harming her old mentor, the only reason for sealing him away was to appease the ponies who feared him. Much to her regret and the growing sadness of her sister.

‘What would she think if she saw Discord finally free?’ Celestia thought to herself.

“Disc-No. Starswhirl. Time has passed. So much that ponies don't even remember what it was they feared of you. Come back to me. To us...we need you.”

“We both know they’ll only fear me again.” Retorted Discord.

“Not with a monstrous dragon invasion looming on in the horizon. I even have a plan to get the kingdom to accept you!” Celestia was now leaning her head to look at the mismatched being eye to eye.

“Will I get to play with their little minds.” Discord asked with a hopeful and playful smirk.

“Yes…” Said Celestia relentingly as she tilted her head in mock annoyance.

“Then it's a date!” A large calendar popped into existence with several days marked off.

“Yes, because that's how days work.”

-Science Wing: Crystal Caverns-

I slammed the door open, alerting the scientists to my demon armored form. Those that gazed upon me fell into my control as I began to strut my way back to the holding cell. Twilight following close behind.

“Sir!” Began one of the scientists present. “You can't go in there, those subje-how may I serve you master…”

‘Yeah you better obey me.’

“You're going to open the door.” I say in my best Alucard impression.

“I'm going to open the door.” Replied the young stallion dreamily.

“Then you're going to lick my boot and call it ice cream.”

“Then I'm going to lick your boot and call it ice cream.”

“Don't you think that's a bit much?” Questioned Twilight.

I responded with a stoic glance, careful not to bring her under my influence as well.

I resumed my banter. “White Mares was amazing…”

Once the scientist opened the door and began to lick my boots clean, he raised his head in crooked glee.

“White Mares was amazing!”

“That trashy Baltimare musical!?” Screamed Twilight with a horrified gaze.

“He believes it too.”

“Ehw..”

Without a second thought, I brought out my Destruction Diamond and immediately began to charge a solidified orb of Destruction Burst.

The looks upon my clones were harrowing, but also...happy. They knew, one or two began to do much the same despite the fact their hands and arms began to peel back from the unbound magic.

I tossed the charge, closed the door, and walked away.

“Thaaank yooou.”

More ponies scrambled to my position in response to the influx of explosive dark fire magic only to fall to my vampiric gaze.

“You there, man bun.” I said to an aquamarine pegasus with blond mane, and five o'clock shadow wearing nurse scrubs.

“Your command master…”

“Oracle and Night.”

“Right this way…”

Our path lead us deeper into the mountain as the sterile walls were replaced with oppressive obsidian and a boulder laden path. Three more black knights blocked our path.

As one lunged for Twilight, man-bun cleaved through the stitching of its mouth with a horizontal swipe of condensed wind from his wing.

I rocked the second with a slam of my Tuning Blade atop its head, planting it into the ground as Twilight pinned the last to the wall with a boulder.

Twilight took a breath to regain her composure as she faced man-bun. “Thanks uh…”

“Zephyr, miss Twilight.”

“Zephyr.”

“Zephyr,” I began. “What can you tell me of Oracle and Night.”

“Oracle was abducted one night from a trail along the outskirts of Ponyville. She is a reconditioned Zebra whose name was erased from her memory. The administered torture and forced bonding to test subject Shadow forced her to retreat into her mind,”

Zephyr monotonously lead us to a dark room where a black scarred and outrageously long haired zebra lay.

“If I were to compare her to anypony...it would be my sister. With how scared and foal like she now acts.”

“Wh-who...who is there? Show yourself please…” Whispered the broken Oracle.

“Didn't she used to rhyme?” I ask with seething anger.

Twilight is doing her best to hold back her tears as she holds a hoof to her mouth.

“Not anymore...not since the bonding tests concluded.” Replied Zephyr.

I walk closer to Oracle. Careful not to startle her, only for her turn her face to me. I looked in horror at the gouged and shadow burned sockets that used to be eyes.

“You are the one I waited for,” she tilts her head to the side in a cute/saddening/frightening manner.

“She said you would save us.”

“Luna? Or is it…” Before I could conclude, shadows began to form as a second voice echoed from Oracle.

“Master is that you!? For fucks sake you took your sweet ass time!” The voice cried happily.

“Se-SERENITY! You bitch! You're still alive!” I attempted to hug the shadow only to slip through it.

“I can't...hold myself together. Listen here you cock-waffle. Your girlfriend has the rest of me...save her, find a way to extract me, and we can drink ourselves to oblivion once this is all over!”

Zephyr came up to us and tapped my leg.

“Celestia placed a ban on alcoholic beverages after unification.”

“Now you tell me!!” I shout with Serenity.

The shadows find their way back to Oracle as she slumps to the ground.

“Our friend is gone…” She says in a lucid state. “I'm sad.”

I sigh and pick Oracle up and adjust her so she's now hanging off my neck. “Me too Zecora. Me too.”

“Hehe, that's a funny name…” She nods off as I motion to Twi and Zeph.

“Night. Now.” I hear Twilight growl.

“This way miss.”

Zephyr lead us deeper into the obsidian caverns, down a spiral staircase and through a narrow pass.

We were met with a heavily reinforced black metal door.

“Only the head scientist has access to this room, but he's out on vacation.” Stated Zephyr.

I lay Oracle down, remove my armor, and place my hand on my chest.

‘This'll hurt.’

I slide my hand down as my chest is ripped open. I grasp my heart and pull.

The excruciating pain takes a second to subside as I shakily hand the crystal heart to Twilight.

“Take this, Zephyr, and Oracle back up those stairs and don't come down til I call or if you absolutely need to.”

“That was disgusting, so please don't do that in front of me again.” She says as she spits out a bit of bile.

Once they were a safe distance away, I draw blood from the gaping hole in my chest and form the Blood Orb.

“RELEASE ALL!!” My condensed form broke away as I transformed into my Dracopyric Lion.

I rush the steel door with my Tuning Blade, after ten slams and only three dents I ram an orb of Ultima at the door and resume my assault.

“RAAAGH!! BREAK DAMN DAMN YOU!!”

With a mighty roar, I blast the door with a continuous stream of plasma breath. With one last mighty Ultima charged swing, my sword finally knocks the door off it's hinges, but…

A great force threatens to subjugate you

How will you retort:

Intellect

Charisma

Luck

Roll needed: 110

My mind races as the dice of fate run their course.

Result: 0

Epic fail! No amount of points can save you from a roll that poor.

My mind was thusly assaulted as I was pulled inwards.

-Mindscape-

Darkness filled my view, the floor of my mind glowed white and black. Before I knew it I was slammed by several tendrils of shadow. A voice began to repeat itself.

“I won't let you hurt me anymore. I won't let you hurt me anymore. I won't let you hurt me…”

‘Luna.’ Moonpie it's me! I'm here to rescue you!

“Is it…” The world began to change. I was now standing in the middle of a chapel. Ponies filled rows of seats...in the front row sat the elements, Spike and Angel (as they once were as humans), Shining Armor and Celestia. Celestia was crying happy tears as she blew constantly into a handkerchief.

Front and center stood Cadence, Luna and myself.

Cadence spoke happily. “Is there anypony among you who would-”

“OBJECTION!”

Behind me, the doors blew open as an old pony in a white lab coat and glasses with a wicked grin and spear gun shot out a lance of pure silver.

“No you don't! This is my mind and I MAKE THE GOD DAMNED RULES!!”

As the lance sailed past me, I grasped it, redirected it, and threw it back to sender.

The world dissolved as I heard a faint whisper.

“You came for me.”

-Crystal Caverns: Obsidian Cell-

My vision slowly returned...in the middle of the black cell was a chained and convulsing Luna just as she was in Midnight’s vision.

I walked slowly at first, then worked my way up to a sprint as I rushed past her back and forth, slicing away her binding chains.

As she fell, I made sure to catch her and cast Healing Wings.

This agitated the shadow that was bound to her as it attacked me. It ceased once it realized it could do nothing to harm me.

“Are you...really there…” Asks Luna, fear and doubt within her voice.

“Yeah. I'm busting us out. Hold on.” With a quick look at my vitals I charge the last of my mana into one last Ultima and blow a hole in the wall.

‘If the building schematics were right then…

The light of day shone down on us from the ceiling of the cell. Whoever designed this place didn't expect what was essentially a neutron bomb blasting through it. Good.

I pull out my pendant, tap it twice, and make my way out. Precious cargo safely secured.

The city was on in high alert, but I took the less direct path to my destination only to come face first with a bipedal cat being that looked an awful lot like Lyra…

Said being glomped me in glee.

“Check. This. OUT! I'm human now like you!” Exclaimed the being.

“A-Azure...who is that?” I can't see.” Said Luna.

“That's because I haven't removed your blindfold. Lyra...is that you?”

“Eeeee~” was her only sound as she hugged herself.

“Riiight-O. We should probably get going though, with what just happened I don't think it's-”

A purple burst of magic popped and dropped Twilight and Oracle on top of me and Luna.

“The world is spinning~” Said Oracle happily as she spun herself slowly.

Twilight was not so happy. “Move move move move! The other scientists are in and they are NOT happy. Help me teleport to the observatory!”

“You have my heart?”

“Ech, don't remind me…” Said Twilight spitting out more bile.

“Tap into it and-”

With a burst of magic, we were now home free… sort of.

Author's Note

Ooh child I was not in a good place when I finished this...

Downbeat

Author's Note

Wow it has been awhile...A lot has happened in terms of writing and life. (Two crossovers, a job promotion, random life shit...) The first of said Crossovers happens here

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/361271/8/displaced-entity-of-water/present-when-chaos-meets-chaorruption-xover---1

the second will be linked halfway here, that one was fun. And another is in the works (No Spoilers)

Downbeat

Well this is beyond fun. The entirety of our rag tag group spent hours of just nothing but lie on our backs. With infantry running too and fro, and the occasional knock, one of the Pactagonals dropped in to inform us that 1: The monster infestation left when the city returned to its non chaotic state of normalcy. 2: The quakes and explosions from the Crystal Caverns were written off as a byproduct of the day's events.

And 3: I very much unofficially made an enemy of a very old and very cranky mad scientist.

“So Celestia didn't know her sister was a prisoner under her own castle?” I ask the goggled knight.

“Letters had been forged by an outside party, for all Celestia knew, Luna was reacquainting herself with Saddle-Arabian dance.”

“My doesn't that sound fun.” Luna said with a pained groan.

“Sir Jun can take a look at you two if need be,” Vey pointed at Luna and Oracle, and then walked up to Lyra. “How did you say you attained this form?”

“That really nice magic human! You couldn't miss her, cool hair styled into horns, beautiful and rugged dress and those savage marks!” Lyra beamed in fan-girlish excitement.

“Of course…” Sir Vey sighed as he walked back to Luna’s and my side of the room. “And what about miss Twilight? Where is she in all this?”

“Well ya see…”

-Twenty Minutes Earlier-

“...and since no train will be allowed in or out of Canterlot, I’ll be visiting Moondancer so we can study the intricacies of your necrotic dragon heart. Also she misses me...and she's a little angry I didn't say goodbye...or tell her if I'd ever be back…

“So that's how that went down…” I finish saying.

“Shouldn't you be dead? Even as a Dracopyre, your body should have turned to dust by now.” Stated Vey.

“That's where this beauty of a gem comes into play,” I say while poking the nigh encased turquoise-purple crystal on my chest. “Turns out this bad boy can act as a second heart. I lose my dragon magic, but my heart beat won't go critical AND my magic still gets regulated.”

“Very well, I'll report this to Captain Armor, but he will want to have a word with Twilight. Allowing Cadence to lead an assault against the enemy was foolish AND negligent.

And as for the Changeling in Ponyville, it has seemed she has acclimated well to your home and it's...resident.” Vey looks at his hooves nervously.

“Dude she's just an undead Moglin.” I said slightly offended.

“How doesn't that trouble you? It's the kind of thing Zorbak would create out of spite.” He offers in retort.

“I mean technically she’s a litch, she did bring herself back from the dead.”

The knight sighs in cold shivering defeat. “This would be more Jun’s territory, or Prize, really it's a shame most of us aren't experienced mages. Fare well, we’ll keep surveillance of the area and notify you of any breaks in security.”

With that I was once again left to my-

“Uh, what?” I heard a disembodied voice say. I reach into my inventory and pull out a glowing Feather of the Roc.

“Good enough, I'm so flipping bored I’ll take anything.”

I rip open a void gate with my newly acquired scythe.

“I'll be back girls, time to dive in!”

“Wouldn't you hurt yourself going head first?” Asked Lyra.

“Nah I'll be fine.”

“What?” Asks the disembodied voice again in confusion.

“Look, just don't say override, you only get three of those and-” I lose my train of thought, the sight of Oracle’s sad puppy dog face at my leaving causes me to slip head first into the portal.

“I hope I stick that landing-”

-Observatory: Hero-

I walk through the rift into the observatory, my dragon having dissipated in the travel, the cold of night whistled it's-

*THUMP*

I fell to the floor in agonizing pain. I didn't realize it til now but man was I torn up. I blink for a bit and notice one of my eyes fell out.

“Son of a protestant WHORE!!” I catch a bestial yell in the back of my throat and do my breathing exercises. The outburst seemed to have woken up the others as Lyra, Oracle, and Luna popped into the room. The lights come alive and the trio gasp at what they see.

Lyra covered her mouth and tried desperately to fight back her tears. Luna rushed straight at me with Oracle right behind her.

Oracle began rubbing the empty socket in fear and worry while Luna began to knock on my armor.

“Take it off, let me see the damage.” Pleaded Luna.

I hesitantly complied. The duo backed away, one in horror and the other in remembrance.

“How many times have you lost that arm now?” Luna asks me as she massages the the wound.

“Fifty seven times.” I reply.

“FIFTY SEVEN TIMES!?” Lyra shouted from across the room.

She blushes a bit and recomposes herself. “I-I know the stories said that you would fight until all that was left was a pile of ash and bone but...do...d-do you really come back? From the dead?”

I give her a long look, and sigh. “Does that scare you?” I finally ask.

“Well y-y-yeah. It...it kind of does. But it doesn't change the fact you're on our side. Right?”

I get up and put my Fire Orb armor back on.
“Ponyville stands as a monument. To all those who fell in the name of freedom and peace. If it were up to me, I’d be lying on my back on a couch filled with memory foam and lined with spider silk. As it stands, there is a dragon out there somewhere who wants to burn the world to the ground.

If you die, I lose all reason to live. So yeah, I'm on your side, now until forever. Now let's get some sleep.”

With that said, the trio came in for a group hug and nuzzle. They returned up the stairs to their accommodations, and I plopped down on a couch and felt sleep overtake me.

-Dreamscape-

I gently tumbled through the inky black, replaying the scenes in my mind, wondering how it was I dropped my guard and had my arm severed.

'Hm...his aim was good, and my scales hadn't grown back correctly,’ I think to myself. I take a close look at the beam's trajectory and speed.

'I had the emerald...so why couldn't I dodge? Unless…’

I look back at Bael, I take a good, close, and long look and finally notice the missing piece of the puzzle.

An aura of crimson energy.

“Fucking Fear Elemental. That's why I couldn't bring myself to take him head on! That's why I couldn't fucking dodge! I played myself...I let him amplify my own fear! Well...I guess he shouldn't have a problem defending his world,”

Then I remembered that I did indeed lose an arm. “Oh yeah...if he's lucky that won't come back to bite him...Sombra could end up with dragon bone and the implications could be serious.”

The snowy tundra of the battlefield willed to life and I was soon met with a boulder of ice to the face and the pained yell of a young girl.

-Observatory: Morning-

A splash echoed throughout the room, the smell of charred fabric assaulted my sensitive nose.

“Doh Gah, wahs dah harrble sbel…” I sniffed twice and sneezed, smoke billowing out of my nostrils.

“Ag...and why am I wet?”

I spy an empty bucket of water, an agitated Lyra (tail stiff and puffy as she heaved in desperation) and a giggling Luna and Oracle just behind her.

“Y-you y-y-y-you looked like you were having a nightmare!” Lyra exclaimed. “Then you set the couch on fire!” The cat-girl steadied her breath and dropped the bucket in relief.

“Ooh...Lilac’s back!” Said Oracle in a sing-song tone.

“Lila-oh shit Twilight’s back and I torched her couch!” I scream in realization.

The door to the observatory opens up, and two voices can be heard from the doorway.

“How do you think he’s going to react Twi?” Asked the first voice.

“What if he banishes me to the void!? Moondancer I don't have the magical prowess to survive the void!” Exclaimed the second voice in worry.

“If he's as kind and understanding as- *snif* what's that smell?” The first voice asked.

‘OH SHIT NO DON'T LOOK!’ I silently thought.

The two mares walked in, Twilight had worry and fear plastered all over her face, and stuffed saddle bags hanging off of her.

Next to her was a mare that looked exactly like her save for a few key differences. Her coat was cream colored, she wore a dark black turtleneck sweater with fluffy pink balls on the chest, glasses that had a mound of bandages on it's bridge, and though her mane style was an exact copy of Twilight’s (even having the same lavender and purple highlight lines) the rest of her mane was colored...well the only thing coming to my mind for reference was red wood. My eye finally landed on her cutie mark of a crescent moon and three cross shaped stars.

She stared at me, then at the other girls, then back at me, and then the couch.

“Uh...Twi...I’m really sorry I torched your couch.” I said apprehensively.

“That was MY couch…” Moondancer stated

‘Ooh somehow that's worse.’ I thought.

“You think that's bad,” Moondancer coughed and chuckled a little. “We may have…” Twilight nuzzles into Moondancer and finishes her sentence while buried in her sweater.

Through the muffled sound I made out the words.

“We blew up your heart.”

All Roads :Pt1.

-Everfree: Canterlot Pass-

Downtrodden, broken, and in utter shambles Trixie Lulamoon hauled her home through the horrifying Everfree...that is until a great mass of fluff and hunger demolished the wagon that held all her belongings (save her only hat and cape). She was down on her luck, but when has it ever been to the contrary. A single unicorn, who had just recovered enough from her last failed performance in the city of Canterlot, now sat beside the wreckage of her mobile stage. Trixie wept at the desolation of wood and nail, or at least she would have were it not for the encroaching manticore that was beginning to size her up.

This was it. Her failed miserable life was finally over and she never even got to meet that strange beast from her dream. The manticore swung it's paw, and the world was red.

-???-

From the wreckage of an underground prison cell walked an upright, long haired, and very nude disheveled being. It's bones had been visible through whatever skin and flesh it still held as he ventured with a lost expression.

For a day he wandered through darkness, not truly knowing if he had been going the right way, it was safe to assume he didn't even grasp the concept of direction. Then the poor thing heard it; a resigned cry of pain. He ran as fast as he could in the direction of the sound. When he saw the blood he went mad. Unholy fire began to peel away the skin of his arms as the beast what spilled the blood of the unicorn in front of him was pummeled by great skulls of fire.

Blood trickled from the arms of the once lab rat, which wasn't to say he was at a disadvantage...in fact the manticore had lost its stinger, it's left wing and a considerable amount of hide and skin. The would be killer began to waver as a bloodied hand dug its way into its head and burned one last time.

The beast fell, but it was of no importance. The blue pony that was lying on the ground and still breathing...that was important.

Said pony slowly began to lift her head as she eyed her would be savior. It almost looked like the beast she saw in her dream, but he had MUCH shorter hair and didn't look as...naked.

She tried her voice but nothing came; ‘probably the blood filled lungs’ she thought. Without a word the hunched thing stood upright as a pair of golden wings ripped out of its hips. The thing smiled; ‘What was he smiling for?’ the pony thought.

Then she felt it, she wasn't bleeding anymore. She could actually move and stand and- “You saved me…” the pony said in awe.

“Heee~” The being answered back in glee. His head tilted slightly, a grin plastered on his face. The wings at his side folded forward and inward acting as a covering and their glow diminished into a dark brown coloration.

“Um...I’m Trixie. You are?” The pony asked as she walked closer to her supposed rescuer.

“Mm?” He responded in confusion.

It was rather odd, either the thing was born yesterday or it had been living under a rock for the entirety of its life.

“Oh um...nevermind. Wait where are you going!?”

He had turned to leave but looked back at the broken mare who had surrounded herself in the wreckage of her home.

“T-take me with you?” Pleaded the mare, tears bubbled on her eyes, a wizard's cap held tightly in her grasp.

Without a second thought the elementally scarred being lift her up, pressed his nose against her own causing the pony to scrunch her face, and finally put her on his shoulders.

-Everfree: Ponyville Outskirts-

The trip through the Everfree was passed in wondrous awe.

The forest had been flooded with luminous orbs of green light and the hymnal cacophony of howling wolves singing a gentle song that put Trixie's fearful and worried mind in blissful ease.

Every now and again a small squeal or the occasional growl would interrupt the song, but these moments passed as quickly and as easily as they came.

The giant, (at least, that's how Trixie seemed to perceive him as) spoke little, showing how little he knew of language, but this was meaningless to her.

Somewhere along the line, Trixie found herself in the arms of the giant asleep in both comfort and safety. Though every so often the smell of ash and fire would attempt to nudge her awake.

In a dream like trance she fluttered her eyes, the lucidity of her state blinding her to the constantly shifting forest, but with one last nudge she was willed awake.

“Oh...what? We...we made it?” Trixie asked.

The giant set her down easily and willed her to the open mouth of the forest. The light of day shining through the open maw.

Hope filled the mare as she took the giant’s hand and began to rush away from the forest only for squeals and whimpers to stop her dead in her tracks.

A swift foot found itself against the mare’s flank and before she could react, the forest behind her covered in thick brush and vine.

Try as she might, Trixie could find no way back as smoke billowed from the thick wall of wood.

-Ponyville-

Quicker than any eye could blink, a midnight blue carriage deposited two mares at the front door of a dainty candy store and disappeared into the sky.

“So this is Ponyville? Not at all what I expected.” Said one Derring Do in confused awe.

“The town has changed ever since this whole Dragon debacle.” Replied a visibly tired Sweetie Drops as she opened the door to her home.

“I couldn't tell…” Derring did her best to take her eyes off of the rather bright gemstones covering the entirety of the town.

The two began to set down their loot before Sweetie picked up a note worriedly.

“Went to Canterlot for harp strings. Dinner’s in the coldbox. If you get home before me just lay down and relax. Chores are done so don't strain yourself.

Lyra

A small turquoise heart was stamped on the bottom of the page.

“She treats you better than I ever did.” Stated Derring with a forlorn whisper.

“Don't beat yourself up. It's been good Derring...but you have a world ending artifact to hunt,”

Sweetie Drops hefted the cold and powerful scythe on her shoulder and made for the door.

“And I've got a world ending dragon to hunt.”

“Heh, and I thought I was dramatic.” Stated Derring with a roll of her eyes.

The two shared a small embrace and made for their respective destinations. One being carried away into the skies and the other finding herself at the steps of the town library.

-Golden Oaks Library-

The library had been empty save for an amethyst armored pony. Sweetie immediately stood at attention.

“Sir! Agent Drops reporting!”

“At ease…” Replied Shining Armor. He sighed as he shuffled through pages of maps and notes.

“She could have at least told me she needed back up…” Whispered the captain to himself sullenly. “Is that the weapon, hunter?”

“Sir. The wyvern was surprisingly kind enough to give me the scythe.”

Sweetie held out the weapon only for a lion paw to tap it's blade.

“Well don't mind if I do!” Exclaimed a third voice.

The ponies snapped their heads to the ceiling at an amalgamation of varying animal parts from the claw of an eagle to the wing of a bat.

That was when they heard the horrifying shatter of what could have been their only hope.

“Oh dear...that happened. Toodles!” The monstrosity waved it's goodbye as it popped into a mass of white powder which landed on the captain.

*Cough*Cough* “Flour.” Shining went into another coughing fit as Sweetie pawed desperately at the remains of the weapon.

Shining gathered himself and took note of the pile of never melting ice.

“We are so royally-”

-Observatory: Hero-

“Fucked! Haha! Now then...anybody got any twos?” I asked the huddled group around me. Three twos stared back at me in my hand.

“Go fish.” Stated Luna. Oracle giggled madly next to her.

Thankfully things had finally quieted down some, so I suggested an easy game for some downtime...that and I wanted Luna to readjust her eyes after having been blindfolded for so damn long.

Actually revealing her eyes was something else as the infusion of Shadow actually made them brighter and quite a bit more...fetching.

I sighed and drew my card, Moondancer coughed into her hoof dramatically and gave me a cold glare.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“We’re playing go fish.” I respond a little cautiously.

“That is not what I meant. Shouldn't we be making our way to Ponyville to, I don't know, prepare against our certain DOOM?” Stated Moondancer with annoyance.

Twilight began running her hoof through Dancer’s mane which managed to calm her.

“If you haven't noticed, we have two failed science experiments, and a nekomimi that used to be a pony. Let's not forget that whatever experiments you and Twilight were running blew up my heart,”

I remove part of my armor and make a conscious effort to show her the other malformed section of my chest where my temporary heart made its home.

“We need time to rest as much a-” ‘Oh...oh that's not good…’

“-Nevermindweleaveimmediately!” I shoot straight up to a standing position as I rip a hole into Golden Oaks Library.

“Go go go go go go!” Without so much as a questioning hum, the girls made their way through the rift, though I did stop Moondancer from entering.

“What's the big idea!? Twilight needs me to-”

Putting a claw to her nose I motion to Twilight.

“You! Make her feel wanted! Tap the pendant when you've said your goodbyes!”

Closing the portal I quickly notice Bon Bon curled into the fetal position in a corner of the room, and Shining and Turner discussing...something. Before I could inquire my pendant goes off and I tear open a rift for Twi. (Damn do I love this scythe!)

“Oi! The frig did I miss!?” I ask somewhat concerned.

“Ah, well if it isn't my good neighbor!” Exclaimed Time Turner. “I was discussing with the captain what needs to be done to reforge the weapon Miss Drops delivered to us.” Turner motioned to a pile of broken ice...which I can only assume to be the Ice Scythe needed to kill Akriloth.

“Oh.” All I could say was ‘Oh’.

“He just...up and shattered it...I brought it back in one piece and all he did was poke it…” Bon Bon did her best NOT to have a mental break...it didn't help that Lyra was currently...whatever she was.

“Bon Bon?” Asked Lyra worriedly. A fearful expression on her face as she reached out her hand.

Though wanting to see this play out, my attention was taken back to the pile of ice.

“So now what? Our only weapon is no longer an option and we’re running out of time.” Stated Twilight.

“And still no sign of Cadance,” Added Shining Armor. His expression stern and cold.

Twilight flinched at his words, looking away in guilt not wanting to face her brother. Said brother wrapping a hood around her head.

“She’ll be fine, I know she will but right now, we have a weapon to reforge and no one to-”

A gentle knock caught everyone's attention. Standing at the open doorway was Big Macintosh, a tattered red cloth hung at his side.

“Heard ya’ll found the weapon.” He stated with a neutral expression.

“Well yes, but we have a bit of a problem,” Time Turner began to pick up the shard and store them in a bag. “We need to reforge the weapon if it's to be of any use to us.”

“Ah can help with that. Got some ol’ forgin’ equipment in the barn. A few supplies...won’t be hard.” Said the work horse.

“Need me to-” Macintosh gave me a cold glare that softened as quick as it hardened.

“Nah, pretty sure we can handle it.” The crimson pony walked away quietly, the others following close behind.

I stood in contemplation, I begin to make my way out when a red scaled, yellow bellied adolescent dragon barged into the library like he owned the place.

“Pfeh, stupid pony buildings. Hey you! Buzz off, this is gonna be princess Ember’s war room from now on, so you can run on home and hide like all the other stupid ponies!”

I look around the room acting as aloof as possible and then fake-clean my ear. “Huh, must be hearing things.” I say as I walk to the living room table and start reviewing the map.

“Hey! Ya deaf and stupid!? Alright fine, this tree needs redecorating anyway!” With a large intake of air, the dragon sought to bathe the room in fire...he did not expect my armored hand to clamp down on his jaw.

Looking straight at him with my one good eye, I slam him into the floor as he scurried away in terror.

“And don't come back! Trying to take MY war room…”

“I don't think you heard Garble correctly,” I do a quick one eighty and see a blue scaled white bellied dragonness in gold chest and leg plates idly leaning on a wall. My sword hanging off her hip. “This is now MY war room.”

“I'm a foot taller than you, but whatever.” I whisper idly.

“What was that!?” She exclaimed in annoyance.

“Speak up, I can't hear you from down there.” I state inquisitively.

“Speak up boy I can't hear you from up there!” She exclaims with a questioning glare.

“I ain't never run from a dragon and I ain't about to pick today to start.” I sing/say as I get in her face.

“You sing to everybody or am I just special.” Answered Ember.

“How do you know my references!?” I yell as I throw my arms up.

“Your references?” She asks with curiosity. “They are apart of the blade’s memory index. To say that they are yours means you once held my blade. Are you perchance one of its caretakers?” She asks, cradling the blade in her arms.

“That was a very long time ago.” I respond solemnly.

“Please, you must help me in unlocking the blade. I am told that those who come to care for the weapon know the words necessary to awaken it once more!”

“Just knowing the words is meaningless. It will only respond to one worthy of its power,” I lie through my teeth hoping she’ll drop the matter. “What else has the blade done for you?”

She holsters the sword and makes her way to the map.

“It has only shown me those strange memories...I find great pleasure in viewing the works of Team Four Star,” She reviews the map and starts to pencil in various notes.

“With the dragon looming so close, why have you not sought shelter with the others?” She asks with mild curiosity.

“I am not a spectator. I am a warrior!” I exclaim. “And what do you mean by others?”

“Several ponies have already gone into hiding, no doubt others will follow suit. The battlefield is no place for civilians.”

“And you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.” I state in retort.

“You will surely die, consumed by the flames of a monster far mightier than you.” She snapped back in irritation.

“Bet! I can take you and everything you can throw at me!” I give the most savage grin I can muster causing her to laugh in hysterics.

“Hmhm, yes fine. The wager?” Asks Ember.

“If I lose, I back off and give you twenty million solid gold coins.” She stumbles back in shock and gathers herself...and thusly bursts into peals of laughter

“Surely you jest! Not even a dragon would have so much gold with them, let alone part with...such...a…”

I let a large bag drop to the floor, no doubt it's contents were made apparent to the princess.

“...What would you have me wager?” She asks with a stunned expression.

“The sword.” I state with conviction.

“The sword!?” She repeated in shock. “Do you understand what it is you have just asked of me? This treasure has been passed down for several generations from the first Dragon Lord! To part with it would mean forsaking years of history!”

“So don't lose,” I retort. “Shouldn't be too hard right?”

“I wouldn't expect you to understand,” Ember whispers. “The first Dragon Lord was a legendary hero who vanquished the great demon. It was with his strength that the monster that plagued the Dragon Lands was sealed and placed in the heart of the world!”

I cough at the absurdity of her story and repeat myself. “So...don't lose. I don't see the problem.”

“Hmph, as you wish. I SHALL HANG YOUR HEAD ATOP YOUR GOLD.” The last sentence reverberated throughout the tree as if it were an exclamation to the heavens.

She made her exit and stood in the middle of the road. Sword at the ready.

I make my exit as well, walk ten paces away from her, and draw my sword and shield

A small wind blew gently as a mass of tumbleweed rolled on by. The air was thick, you could cut the tension with a knife, Neither she nor I dar-

“Just fight already!” Shouted a pony situated on one of the many rooftops.

I look upwards and see that various ponies in crystal armor began to pop up out of the woodwork.

“How long were you waiting up there!?” I shout at the group. Mayor Mare spoke up first.

“Long enough! Now kick her flanks in!”

Ember could only stare at the congregation. “What are they wearing!? Why are they armored!? You should all run away like normal weaklings! Lest you wish to see this...thing beaten into an inch of his life!”

“Thirty bits says she taps out!” Exclaimed who I could only guess to be Scootaloo.

“Thirty bits says he has to wrench her soul from the Underworld!” Replied Pipsqueak.

“Fifty says she gives up halfway through!” Added Applebloom.

“Two hundred says she quits from humiliation.” Stated Sweetie Belle.

“Okay one,” I begin. “You four are too young to be betting on pit fights. Two, you four are FAR too young to be throwing that kind of money around...and three! The lot of you are wrong!” I level my blade at my opponent.

With a loud yell the dragoness lunged. I rocked back and began to bob and weave as she tried and failed at striking me. Each unsuccessful swing made her ire grow which in turn made her sloppier in her attack.

“Wow...uh...I almost don't want to hurt you.” I senselessly blurt out. With a shrill shriek, Ember blew out a plume of fire which I blocked with my taladosian shield...not that I needed to.

In the midst of thinking whether or not to harm the poor thing I get the wicked Idea of breaking her will. ‘Ballet don't fail me now!’

I side step and pirouette after dodging a heavy downward swing. Spinning into my opponent, I tap the blade’s hilt and let the magic unfold.

“Care for a dance?” I'm now upon her, my left hand clasped at her free claw, my right at her waist as she tilts back. A swift kick to the crotch loosens my grip as she steps back.

“This sound! The blade! How do you have access to it's magic!?” She screams.

I take a minute to steady myself before answering. “Beat me and find out!”

She steels herself and rushes me in a thrust, I wait for the opportune moment and catch her in a back roll. My legs lock on her small frame and slam her head first into the ground. I follow up with a suplex and tap the blade again.

I start to move to the new rhythm in the same stance as KOF’s Shermie at the cost of a bit of SP. In annoyance, the princess slams her claw on the hilt of the sword...to no avail.

Before she has time to return to the fight I have her caught with an outstretched arm. I slither up her small frame until I'm on her shoulders. With my legs locked on her neck, I twist us both downwards and slam her into floor.

I back up a bit and see that she is pissed! Then the sword gained a small glow. With a
rebel yell, she slams the blade into my midsection and I can FEEL the force of a Bunker Buster.

My back impacts against Carousel Boutique...good on the Dogs to fork over their diamond...also fuck them...

As I lift myself up I feel a large chunk of my midsection fall off inside my armor.

‘OH I am falling apart now aren't I?’

My opponent woops in glee at the one real strike she landed against me.

“The blade! It has deemed me worthy! I am victorious!” Ember cries in rejoice.

“Then hit me again.” I cough in response.

With a wild snarl, she jumps for an overhead strike...only the blade was no longer glowing.

I grasp the blade with my empty arm and keep it level, the dragonness hanging limply on the handle.

With a rebel yell I slam her into the ground behind me and kick her claw, the music stops and she is no longer holding the weapon.

I hold the blade before me, my left upon the handle, my empty right upon the blade.

‘Finally.’

“Omni-Systems! Full reboot!

Cast in the name of God!”

[Ye Not Guilty]

The blade covers the world in great light, and the light fades away.

Ember is looking at me like I just shot the family pet. The ponies on the roof wait with bated breath...and I twist the handle and spin the blade. I feel the core of the sword make it's rotations as the systems boot back up from the millennia and a half of non-use.

“You...you should not be able to…” Ember looks as though she’s trying to figure out if she wants to be angry, excited, or scared about me holding my weapon.

The boot sequence stops and the blade chimes.

[All weapons data download complete,

All armor data download complete,

All capes and helmets data download complete.

[ULTRA systems downloading]

“RRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!” Unleashing the fury of a thousand dragons, Ember makes one last charge with outstretched claws…

...unfortunately for her, I WANT A ROCK.

With a loud ‘ROCK’ Ember is frozen in place with her colors inverted. The armor skill slowly bites away at my health.

I conk her once on the head and walk away. A loud slump follows and I stop in front of a large group of teenage dragons.

The gathered group is spearheaded by Garble and his crew of misfits.

“Drop the weapon twerp! You're surrounded!” He states with a smug grin.

“Hmm...huhh...ehhhh...No.” I switch gear and summon the Hate Wolf.

With mocking ‘oo’s’ the dragons laugh at the rune ridden wolf....only to be stunned in place by arcing lightning breath.

With a flick of my wrist, the still crackling lightning explodes and my Frenzied wolf jumps at Garble who does his best to not get seriously injured...only to fail miserably.

“Alright boy that's enough,” I call out to my wolf pet. “We've bruised their pride enough.”

The Hate Wolf jumps off of a groaning Garble panting happily, the rest of the dragons fared no better as some were still left reeling from the electrocution and blast damage. I dismiss the wolf and re-don my Fire Orb Armor.

“The four of you owe me three hundred and ten bits!” I yell at the rooftops in glee.

“OH COME ON!” Sweetie Belle screams in disappointment.

Just behind me, Ember groans back to life and slowly rises. I turn to face the beaten princess and see anger and self loathing written all over her face.

“Why?” She asks me. “Why am I so useless? I am my father's pride and joy and yet...I am so much less than...than him. He is worthless in the eyes of our kingdom and yet he outclasses us! I am his elder and he surpasses me! I HOLD THE BLADE! I WAS TO BE WORTHY!”

Ember is breaking down from her own emotions now. Her burning eyes meet mine, only to look away in shame.

“I have been beaten, the blade and it's title...are yours...Dragonlord.”

Before I can say anything, the blade chimes again.

[ULTRA systems download complete,

Welcome back, Ultra Omni-Knight]

‘OH fuck the HELL yes…’

Ember looks up again and stares in horrified curiosity at the blade as it rises into the air and breaks apart. All that remained of the sword was it's black dragon insignia, until it too changed. It grew in length and shrunk in width. It became covered in gold and a new handle jut from the back of the dragon head.

I grasp the handle and swing. From the opposite side sprung forth a blade of sky blue crystal. The blade radiates power and I let out a small squee at the change.

“Folks I think we’re ready!” I exclaimed.

“Good! Reckon we can handle Akriloth now.”

I look around and notice Big Macintosh covered head to toe in aged dragonslayer armor. On his left was Lyra, holding a large ice made harp shaped bow. Next to her was Bon Bon, her crossbow now sporting an ice crystal core.

On Macintosh’s right was Time Turner, carting a large dragonic blade.

“G-Gala...noth?” The name escapes my mouth like I was trying to identify the boogeyman.

As for the princess…

All roads Pt.2

-Dragonlands, Bronze Fields: Eleven Years Ago-

-Ember-

My little brother told me a story once. A story about a ring of mountains that pierced into the heavens...where dragons far and wide lived together in peace and harmony not only with each other, but with the rest of the world around them.

I laughed in his face and told him such fairytales were for the weak and feeble.

He laughed as if I was being jovial with him! I sneered and stepped forward to retort but he held a single claw to my gaze.

Then he told me of a feared breed of dragon that had evolved so far so as to hunt their weaker brother and sister dragons.

I practically pounced when he produced the map to the Bronze Fields...coming here proved to be a mistake.

The breath of a Bronze Dragon burned hotter than any volcanic bath in the kingdom. Their claws and teeth tore through the aged scale shield I had brought with me, and it felt as if their amber eyes bore into my soul.

These monsters would have had me for a meal had I not been saved by a massive gray scaled ancient.

Somewhere between the struggling claw and my incessant screaming did the ancient manage to shelter me from the now retreating Bronze Dragons.

“Child,” Whispered the ancient with an elderly breath. “There is no need to fear. Will you not tell an old drake your name?”

I had attempted to steady my nerves and state my name but all I could manage were stutters and high pitched squeals.

The ancient chuckled...he CHUCKLED. It wasn't the same derogatory guffaw of a normal ancient...it was the same infuriating. Jovial. CAMARADERIE! My weak excuse for a brother exhibits!

“I AM PRINCESS EMBER! I AM DAUGHTER OF DRAGONLORD TORCH AND I COMMAND YOUR RESPECT!”

I roared at him and recoiled instantly. I half expected him to bite my head off, or worse...instead what he did next made me reconsider if my brother had been right all along.

With a slow and gentle bow, the ancient spoke with respect and grace.

“My apologies your highness, I meant not be so rude.”

From that day forward we had become... acquaintances, though my brother would say otherwise. As for the dragon’s name. His name is…

-Ponyville: Present Day-

-Hero-

I could literally taste the abhorrent rage dripping from Ember as she bum rushed Big Macintosh.

“DREAD MAW!!” Was all she shouted before she was planted face first into the dirt by the chill and fear inspiring Dragonslayer.

This time, the princess passed out from the drop, though it seemed her blood lust wasn't disappearing anytime soon.

“Now ah’m sure ya have yer questions hero.” Macintosh stated, his hoof still planted on Ember's head.

“Uhh...no yeah...but later. I have like...a thousand and one things to do right now. Throw me the sword?” Lyra grabbed the blade and threw it at me, it's weight pinned me to the ground.

'Oh God real swords are heavy.’ [Realignment in progress]

A quick digital effect washed over the sword and I was finally able to wield it with the same effortlessness as the rest of my weaponry. The sword was apparently called the Frozen Dragon Buster.

That’s when a question popped into mind.

“Where's the Frozen Claymore?”

“That IS the Frozen Claymore. Big Macintosh confirmed it.” Stated Sweetie Drops.

Macintosh started to whistle rather nervously while he scratched at his leg plate.

I gave him the same cold glare he gave me not too long ago.

“First off,” I began. “The Claymore doesn't have a dragon head on the hilt.” Macintosh started to visibly sweat at this point.

“Second,” I took a whiff and a lick and immediately reeled from disgust! “The Claymore is NOT supposed to have DRAGONSBANE GALANOTH!”

He gulped. I don't think I expected this...but a main character had been rewritten with an Artix character.

Honestly I think that scared me. Have there been others? Are there others?

“Good sir?” Turner grabbed my attention back from my thoughts.

“Why do you keep referring to him as “Galanoth”?” The inventor asked.

I look back up at the crimson pony, he seems resigned to fate now.

“You wanna tell them?” I ask.

“Nnnope. Not really the best ah times, wouldn't ya agree hero?” He answered solemnly.

I sigh and look back to Lyra and Bon Bon, Bon Bon has a hoof on Lyra's leg and Lyra has a hand on Bon’s head.

“What about you two? No tension?”

They look at each other for a cool minute. They smile and then look back at me.

“Nothing's changed.” Answered Bon Bon.

I nod and walk away, once this is all over I’m gonna take a very VERY long nap in the Underworld.

As I walked back to the comfort of my own home I saw a large group of elderly townsfolk head into a cave entrance. The group was surrounded by several armored ponies and d-dogs in crystal armor...I couldn't really help it as my mouth began to water.

“I wouldn't if I were you.” Said a voice off to my side.

I looked around and saw Pinkie Pie standing next to me looking forward...only her mane was deflated.

“Twilight helped me make these crystals, the bonds that form the crystal work to not only repel, but violently backlash against physical harm,”

She finally looked up at me, her eyes devoid of emotion.

“You don't have to say it. I know you're sorry for skipping out on the party. Humanity is a complicated thing.” She said as she looked back at the soldiers and the elderly.

“You did throw that pie in my face…” I say in a near whisper. She giggles a bit, her cold demeanor wavering just a smidge. “So why all the doom and gloom?” I ask.

She sighs and her hair gains a little of it's volume. “I'm scared. I KNOW I shouldn't be, but I also know this wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this anyway.”

I sigh a little at her words. “You're being surprisingly forward and sagely. What gives?” I ask jokingly.

“I know that I don't have to hide around you. Sure ponies accept me for who I am...but none of them get it. Nopony sees the world the same way...with the same self awareness.”

She slumps down and sits on her haunches and I drop with her. My empty hand starts to scratch her ear. She pulls away from my touch.

“Nuh uh, other hand,” She then pulled my other hand out and I followed her lead. She laid her head on my lap and sighed in content.

She looks at me with a mix of worry and sadness.

“I'm...gonna be fighting with the others. I'm not going to hold back.”

“Good, don't,” I say in response.

She looks at me as if I threw a boot at her face

“Ponyville is your home. It's their home,” I say as I point at a group of children being lead by Cheerilee. I then wave my arm over the town. “Everything the light touches...is OUR home.”

Pinkie shoves her head into my hand one last time and gets back up, her hair having regained it's full volume.

“See ya on the battlefield! For Pony!” She cries bounces off to wherever it is Pinkie does Pinkie things and I head on back home.

I finally reach my door and spy a peculiar scene.

“Come on Derpy, he's just a stallion. It's only the end of the world…” In front of Turner's home was a grey Pegasus with a straight blonde mane.

“Hey Derpy!” I called out, “Doc's out right now!”

“Aah ponyfeathers!!” The mare yelled as she slammed her head on the door.

“Want I should tell him you swung by?” I ask.

Derpy’s face went flush as she began to mutter incoherently. “Guh, NO!” She finally spat out “Uh... I'll come back when we aren't gonna get torched by dragons!” She began to flutter away mumbling. “Stupid stupid stupid….”

There was something off about her...her voice seemed...older. Heck she LOOKED older. 'Mm, probably the skewed timeline.’ I thought. I reached again for my door only for a ball of pony to ram into me.

“PLEASE HELP! He’s trapped in there and I can't get him free!!” I look down and take not of the magician’s cap and cape. That and something about her voice was familiar...As if I’d heard it in a-.

“Dream…” I say in a whisper. The blue toned mare looks up at me with tear filled eyes, dirt matting her coat, and a few twigs in her mane.

“Trixie! You’re the voice from my dream!” I say excitedly as I lift her up in my arms.

“What are you doing!? We have to help him!” She cried.

“Whoever this guy is, he’ll get his help,” I kick the door twice and wait for an answer. “But we aren’t going alone.”

The door swings open and we’re greeted by Veral and the changeling I kidnapped. Said changeling was wearing a maid outfit for some reason.

“MASTER!” greeted both happily...except when Veral spied my eye…

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF THIS TIME!!” She screamed as she threw her arms in the air.

“No time! We have a search and rescue! To the Everfree!” With unfurled wings I jump off the steps and hit the ground flying. Veral managed to catch up with us once I hit the edge of the Everfree.

“Uh...was the forest always this lively and loud?” Veral commented. She wasn't wrong, several guttural tones, whines and howls echoed throughout the forest, but what was really surprising was that the wood of the forest itself had been twisting and writhing in agony.

Trixie began to shiver in my grasp. “He...he’ll be okay, right?” She asked in fear.

“Hard to say,” I perk my ears as they begin to follow the wolf speak.

“Hmm...the winged guardian of the forest...yuhuh... burning away the wicked serpents...yup. We're going in hot!”

I gently lower the magician in my arms and go head first into the forest, Dragon Buster at the ready! Only for several rainbow sheened vines and branches and other foresty things to wrap around me and force me back out of the forest.

Try as might I was left stunned and complacent, the sigil of Harmony shining brightly upon my hand.

Once I was deposited back on my feet next to Veral and Trixie. Both looked at me worriedly.

“Master, now's not the time for lollygagging. Start chopping down some timber so we can get in there!” Veral said as she swung her axe at a nearby branch.

Despite looking older than a rotting Deadwood, the tree didn't even register the blow.

“Veral! Phase through the wood!” With a salute, the Moglord Ghost slammed straight into the tree she tried to hack. A rainbow light pulsed at the impact point.

“Harmony. She's quarantined the forest.” I spit out.

“Harmony? The Goddess of Equestria? Why... how? I thought she was a myth…” Trixie slumped onto her haunches as she stared at the writhing forest.

“Believe the hype. As her envoy I'm forced to follow any and all directives,” I sigh in defeat and give Trixie a shrug. “It blows, but neither of us can save your friend. Not that he needs saving.”

I start to walk away and motion for Veral to do the same. Trixie ran up to me and pulled on my leg.

“No...please...I...he saved my life. I can't leave him!” Tears welled in her eyes as she pleaded more and more. “You need to do something…”

She slumps a little and I do something stupid. I offer her a weapon.

A simple stick of dynamite. Okay that's not entirely true. This particular stick not only returns to sender once thrown, it was technically a DOOM weapon. If anything could get past divine magic, this explosive would do it.

“What? What do I do with this? Moreover, why is it already lit?” Trixie asks with curiosity.

“Throw it and find out.” I say with a grin.

Veral took this as her cue to back away from the unicorn with TNT.

A light blue aura engulfed the stick as it was thrown at the wall of wood. Black skulls exploded brilliantly as a good chunk of wood was obliterated...only for a fresh wall to grow in it's place.

“No…” With a rebel yell she threw more sticks of dynamite. The constant stream of explosives finally managed to break the barrier. Through the opening I saw a clone...only this one…

He held the powers of a pure elemental.

Stone covered his legs, fire danced upon his arms, wings of light shined upon his hips and back and his massive amount of hair writhed like tendrils of pure darkness. Several dragons lay at his feet, dead. Several more had begun to charge, and he spared a moment to look back at us.

“Heee~” His head was cocked to the side and a wide grin was plastered on his face. The vines and trees of the Everfree closed the opening shut as smoke poured out from the once open forest.

Trixie rushed the new wall and started to scratch away at the bark to no avail. She slumps down again in grief and exhaustion, the outburst having taken its toll.

I move to hoist the mare off the ground and start to cradle her to sleep.

“Shh...your hero yet lives. Have faith and you may see him again.” I whisper as I head back to my home.

‘The poor girl, she shouldn't be this broken…’

Interlude 4: No Day but Today

“I'm writing one great song before I~” Flash Sentry took a deep depressed sigh as he looked at the tickets in his hand. A production of RENT was going down in a few days and he wanted to take Sunset out to see it, but…

-Sigh- “There's no way she'll say yes with that that pretty boy front man on her arm. To Flash Sentry, forever alone.” He pulled out a bottle of cola and a lighter, popping the cap off and downing the bitter drink, he took another long sigh before he heard a scream...followed by deafening silence.

‘Oh jeez. Oh man oh jeez that was a girl! Okay stay calm, just call the cops!’ Frantically fumbling for his phone, Flash pulled it out only to juggle the device straight to the floor, the battery popping out instantly. “Oh come on!”

A loud impact could be heard from a nearby alley. “You little bitch! I was gonna take you to the boss, but now I think I'm just gonna enjoy you here and now!”

There was no time to question it, that girl was mulch if he did nothing, and so he went head first into danger armed with nothing but a lighter, a Swiss army knife and a canister of mace.

What he saw he would never forget. A tall green skinned man with messy hair, ripped jeans, and a white collar shirt was towering over a gray skinned teen with long equally gray hair that hid one of her eyes, in an also equally as gray sun dress who had been bound and gagged in rope.

“Oh good, I was hoping for seconds.” The guys face was...mangled, but symmetric, as if it was meant to be scrunched up that way. The most disconcerting part about his face however...was the sharp row of fangs he sported.

Flash heard rumors once, about a gang of street thugs that went around looking like vampires while they cannibalized unsuspecting victims. His dad also told him about all the missing children and the random murders that started to spring up.

“D-don't think I can't handle you.” Flash whispered in fear.

“Pfft, please kid. Soaking wet, you're what? Hundred thirty? You barely even qualify.” The “vamp” lunged for the kill and was met with pepper spray to the eyes and a knife to the nose.

The thug reeled backwards from the impromptu assault and found the back of his head on a rusted and jagged pipe on the wall. Dust. That's what was left of the thug. Clothes, hair, bones, even the metal on his pants. All was dust.

“What the fff-” Flash was startled out of his surprise at the shuffling of the girl behind him. “Oh right, let me get you out of those ropes.”

The girl went wide eyed and started to squirm and scream as best she could with a duct taped mouth.

“What? I don't smell do I?” Flash asked with a smile. The girl could only whimper and worry as a shadowy figure behind Flash tapped him on the shoulder.

“Like lilies and regret, but you'll never know that.” A husky female voice said.

“Oh come o-” With a quick chop, Flash was sent face first lying on the cold hard ground.

-Abandoned AuditoriumAbandoned Highschool: Auditorium-

Flash woke up with a splitting headache and a burning on the bridge of his nose. It was the damndest thing too, a dream about rescuing a pretty cute damsel from a vampire of all things. Could you believe it?

Next someone was going to tell him that leprechauns were real! You think if someone shot one they'd spill out lucky charms? He would have pondered more if not for the whimpers of the girl he thought he dreamt of.

“Oh that wasn't a dream.” Flash now came to and took a look at his surrounding. Tied up to a pillar of wood in what looked like an abandoned wood room in the back of a high school theatre.

And there was that cute girl in much the same position as she was when he first found her. At least she wasn't gagged anymore.

“Hey, sorry about botching your rescue.”

The girl lift her head and gave a weak smile. “Its...um...mhm.”

“Right, awkward situation. Name's Flash Sentry by the way.” Flash said as he gave a more lively smile.

“Mm...Marble.” The girl said in a near whisper.

“So...vampires huh? What's uh...what’s up with that?”

“Mm…” Truly, she was a girl of few words.

“Right, well hopefully they're not too bright and...rats.” Flash spat.

“Hm?” Marble held a worried expression.

“Those jerks took my knife. I really really liked that knife. Wait. Aha! I still have my lighter!” Try as he might, Flash could not get the flame to light. As he struggled however, the door to their prison opened wide to reveal several vampires crowding around a hooded individual.

“These are today's latest offerings my queen. May they be to your liking.” A gruff older woman said.

“Thank you Hilde, I'm glad at least one of you is competent. But what of my prize? Has he not yet been found?” The hooded leader looked up to her subordinate.

“The men we send are weak and fall victim to the prize, but we have found a weakness. Once she is captured she will be exploited.”

“May her torture be long and painful, only I am fit to own him…”

The hooded leader began to walk forward when an explosion rocked the room and filled it with dust and debris.

“The Slayer! Kill her and bring me her head!” With that, three vampires surrounded their leader and led them out of the building. That left five vampires left to deal with.

Two rushed out and two hid behind a loose wall while one was dust as a sword of fire split the hapless vampire down the middle.

A tiny white fox pitter pattered into the room and looked at Flash and Marble with its adorable red eyes.

Both prisoners couldn't help but squee at the adorable thing. The two looked at each other, blushed, then looked the opposite way with smiles on their faces.

“Huh, didn't expect to be saving your sorry hide today Flash.” That voice was familiar to Flash, too familiar. Another pained grunt echoed and as the dust settled, standing next to the adorable fox was Sunset Shimmer, a sword engulfed in fire rested on her shoulder.

“Hm?” Marble looked at Flash with a quizzical look.

“Oh that's Sunset. She's cool.” Flash clarified.

“Amber, get them down.” Sunset said. The fox at her feet grew in size until it was the size of a coyote. With a quickness, both Flash’s and Marble’s bindings were torn away and burned.

“What gives Sentry? People turn to dust in front of you, there's a magical fox in the room? This sword should have burned my jacket off by now?” Sunset asked sarcastically. quizzically.

“Hey, I just found out vampires exist. I think I can keep an open mind. What about you Marble? You holding up okay?”

Marble perked up and did her best to hide her burning cheeks behind her hair. “Mhm.”

“Riiiight. You two get out of here, I'm gonna see about getting the big bad to croak. Amber!” Sunset ran through an open door and jumped, her fox gunning for her and increasing to the size of a dire wolf. Walking out to the railing, Flash saw the beast land on all fours, Sunset in tow, as it barreled down the street.

“Huh, well my world got flipped upside down. Need a lift?” Marble took a long look at Flash and nodded. She took one step and Flash immediately pulled her forward, spun her behind himself, lit his lighter and grabbed a loose can of Windex.

A Vampire that tried to get the jump on the two teens was fireballed into dust as quickly as he came. Flash dropped the can and pocketed his lighter.

“Let's get out of here.” Marble, from her current position on the floor, looked upon her hero and could only stare and blush at this man.

With an outstretched arm, Flash gently lifted Marble as she took his hand and let him lead the way.

-Convenience Store Lot-

The walk to the lot of the convenience store was shorter than expected, apparently the abandoned building they got stuffed in used to be an old high school that fell to disrepair after an...incident. Poor kid.

As Flash fished for his keys, a graveyard shift at the store flagged him down.

Blue skin, shaggy white hair that covered his eyes and a green wool snow cap along with a red and white company work suit made up his attire.

“Yo Sentry! You okay, man!? I tried callin’ the cops, man but they thought I was off my meds again. You two look like hell, man.”

“Flurry, my man!” The two shared an incredibly complex handshake as Flurry produced two candy bars. “Mars Bars! Thanks man,”

Flash accepted the nougaty goodness and opened one for Marble. “Marble, this is Flurry Blitz. He's a bro.”

“Ch’eah. Blitz is my name snow is my game. Ski’s, boards, I do it all, man.” Flurry held out his hand which Marble daintily and graciously accepted with a curtsy. “Hey man, I found your phone, man. Screen's cracked, but she'll live.”

“Ah cheese. Thanks man. You gonna be alright? There are vamps in the woodwork.”

“Dude, I know I'm off my meds. Vamps aren't real, man. Right?” Flurry looked at Flash, then Marble. Then back to Flash. Then at the sharp pair of pearly whites behind Flash’s neck. “Look out dudes!”

Grabbing the pair by the scruff of their necks, Flurry tumbled to the floor as a vamp lunged, missed, and blew into dust.

The trio stared up the barrel of a wrist mounted cannon.

“Sunset said you might need help back to your car. I'm Connor.” Connor put his arm down and gave a smile.

The three picked themselves back up and dusted each other off before they realized what they were doing and embarrassingly went to dusting themselves off.

“Hey yeah, I know you. You picked Sunset up after school.” Flash said as he took a better look at Connor. “Wait, are you magic too?”

“Kinda, it's a long story, but I'm still on patrol. See ya around.”

As he turned and walked away, Flurry looked on with awe and wonder. “Dude...he just saved our bacon, man. You think he lifts?”

“Dude, I don't know what to think. Well, I'm about ready to call it quits. I'm gonna take Marble home. See ya bro.”

“Ahdiohs amigos. Safe travels.”

Flash pocketed his broken phone, took out his keys and opened the passenger door to his car. “After you.”

Marble giggled as she entered the vehicle. “You gentleman.”

“I try.” Flash drove in silence, the only conversation between the two was held through body language. It was enough of course, neither wanted to address the fact that they had almost become someone’s dinner...or worse, someone's foot soldier.

Pulling up to the driveway of Marble’s home, Flash couldn't help but gasp.

“Yo hey, this is Pinkie’s place. You live here?” Flash asked as Marble nodded.

“Sweet marble pie...Vanilla and chocolate is my favorite!” Flash exclaimed.

“You're just saying that…” Marble whispered with a bashful blush. Her hand curled and on her mouth, as if trying to hide her smile.

“No way! My grandpa used to make the best marble cake around!” Flash gave a forlorn sigh and gave a sad smile. “Bless his soul.”

Without thought, Marble placed her hand on his and gave an apologetic smile.

Flash gave her a quizzical look, but ultimately returned the smile. Unbeknownst to them, a fire had lit within the candles of their souls.

“Hey uh...if you're not too busy...maybe you'd like to go see Rent this Saturday?” Marble went wide eyed and couldn't properly respond. “You don't have to sa-”

“Yes! I'd love to go see Rent with you!” She happily exclaimed. Marble was now beaming with joy while also incredibly close to Flash’s face. She gave a look of surprise and dialed back the near contact. “I mean...um...mhm.”

“Four o’clock.” Flash stated more than asked, eliciting a happy nod from his date. “See ya then Marble.”

Marble sauntered out of the car, looked back, and blew a kiss his way.

Flash sighed in happiness, relief, and...well he was glad to still be alive.

“I'm writing one great song before I~”

Author's Note

Anybody want to take a guess on who the big bad is?

If This is to End in Fire Pt1: Enter Stage Left

Author's Note

Ooh boy, its been what? Six months now? I hope that these next few chapters make up for all that time I spent loligagging.

Chapter one of the Fire War, and its a doozy. Shout out to DisplacedWriter fir bearing with me for so Goid damned long. You're a champ and a bro my dude.

If This is to End in Fire Pt1: Enter Stage Left

Something about all of what was going on seemed wrong, and not just because the events unfolding skewed the timeline to FUBAR levels of insanity.

As such, civilians and the elderly were led to the underground Diamond Dog tunnels and those willing to fight armed themselves with the newly developed crystal armor.

That and the kids had a working mobile siege engine up and running...Thanks Oak. You will be missed.

Sigh, all that was left was the wait…

“Master?” My moglin ghost snapped me out of my stupor, my hands having stopped whatever it was they were working on.

“Veral,” I put away the note and orb and turn to face my close friend. “How are Trixie and the changeling?”

“Well, aside from worrying about you after you walked away looking like you'd seen a ghost? Pretty well, considering the circumstances,” Veral floated forward and looked at the encased werewolves on the wall.

“They still haven't woken up?” She asks.

“No.”

“And the treasure chest?”

“A Prime Orb of Darkness and a Dragonfang Scimitar.”

She looked at me like I grew my missing eye back.

“A PRIME Orb...How many have you found so far?”

“Just the Orb of Wind, it was powering the Abysmal Abyss, who knew?”

Veral gasped in excitement at the news of the Wind Orb.

“That could give me a bigger Mana pool! Pleeeease! Let me use it!” She gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen! How could I refuse my cutest partner?

“Knock yourself out Vi,”

I toss her the Orb and it glows faintly until it vanished into her body.

“So? How do you feel?” I ask

“Like a tornado just went off in my brain!” She exclaimed happily.

“It feels like I actually HAVE a brain! Hey, can I go with you into battle? It's honestly been forever since we've fought together.”

I sigh a little which makes her smile falter. “Sorry Vi, with how I am now I’m not gonna last all that long in a fight. Plus you have the important job.”

Her ears pricked up and she looked at me expectantly.

“That is?” She asked expectantly.

“Protect this house and it's residents. Will you be my shield Veral?”

She put a paw over her mouth and chuckled. “You sound like the fate of the world is at stake. What, is it Tuesday already?”

I would have given a witty retort, but a knock at the door took my attention.

A gryphon in leather armor had a message for me it seemed.

“Sir! New reports indicate a secluded stone in the heart of Whitetail Woods. The unicorns deduce mystical origin. How do we proceed?”

“Uh…” I take a moment to gather my thoughts as well as my confusion at the unflinching warrior bird.

“Any dragons in the area?” I finally ask.

“Subdued.” He responded stoically.

“Okay, I'll go get Luna and we’ll fly over there. Keep the surrounding area clear and send off a flare if things get hot here in Ponyville.”

With a salute, the bird flew off. “Sir!”

-Whitetail Woods-

Scorched trees lined the path we took into the forest, shrubbery had either withered from the heat or had been burned to ash in the firefight.

“So how is this forest still alive?” I ask Luna.

The mare walked with purpose as she gave the forest’s history.

“Much like the Everfree, Whitetail holds much magic and spiritual presence. The only difference in the two being that unlike the Everfree, Whitetail was never subjected to the darkness I laid over the opposite forest.”

“Right right.” I nod in understanding only to stop as my ears flinched. “You hear that?” I ask in a near whisper.

“Hear what?” The lunar pegasus asks me.

“That sound...that...that song.” Something comes over me as my lycanthropic aspect slips out. Before I even realize what just happened I’m on all three of my remaining limbs and gunning through the forest until I find the stone the gryphon was talking about.

It was a peculiar thing...almost stylized like a stone of truth and it was resonating a familiar song.

I began to howl the Oath to Order. It almost felt as if the four giants themselves would come out of the woodworks.

Imagine my surprise when instead of the giants a shining wolf had appeared instead.

“Oh...the hero’s shade...but why is he…”

The wolf was colored in a myriad of red, green, and gray. His right ear had claw marks, both ears had blue earrings, and a scar etched his face. To top it all off, the wolf had the mark of Din branded on his forehead, I noticed that he also had blue earrings on its ears.

“No yeah...okay. Not the weirdest thing. Is this the part where you give me a new sword skill?” I ask the wolf.

Luna, panting in exhaustion, finally caught up and took a look at the wolf. “I swear to whatever deity it is you pray to...if he attacks us I’m leaving.”

The strange wolf’s attention is drawn to the sound of Luna’s voice, it looks over at my moon princess.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Luna freezes. “G-good boy? I don't taste very good…”

I look back at the wolf and give a guttural growl. In my best wolf speak I attempted to say “Touch her and watch”. What I actually said was…

(Your mother was a hamster!)

I immediately face clawed. “Wow, my bad! I did not mean to say that about your mother!”

The wolf gives me a dead panned expression before slowly approaching, only for him to suddenly leap toward my head, assaulting my vision with blinding light. When my eyes cleared, I found myself high above Equestria with me standing on clouds as if I was part pegasus.

I tapped my foot on the cloud and felt solid ground. I then look back up and find a curious sight. The hero of legends himself Link was here as well...looking much like the spirit wolf in clothing coloration. The red cloak was a good look, though I always preferred the blue tunic.

“Okay, NOT the hero’s shade. Also...JESUS H. CHRIST! The hell happened to you!?” I shout albeit a little inconsiderately...only to double back as my eye focused on the figure before me.

“My bad, your hood made it look like your face had been chewed off. Uh...no offense?

“None taken.” The man said as he reached up to pull down his hood. He looked just Link, although a bit different as if three Links had become one, although I don’t recall any Link ever having a yellow mustache and a goatee. The claw-mark damages to his long elven ear and the scar were also present just like with his wolf form.

“So...sword skill?” I ask with a smile.

“No. I made my token as a way to speak with my summoner through a temporary mindscape, a link between us.” Link explained as he waved a hand toward the area that we were in.

“Oh cool. Like a crossroads!” I say with a snap of my fingers...er claws. “Give me a sec.” I begin to reel my thoughts in until I hear a pounding underneath me.

Luna was impatiently pounding a hoof on the invisible floor. I reach down and pull her up.

“You know one of these days I’m going to need my magic back!” She says a little flustered.

I cringe a bit and wave my claw apologetically. “After we get Serenity safely out of you. Shadow magic and moon magic might not mix well.” I state.

“Welcome to the mindscape, Princess Luna.” Link said with a respectful bow.

The princess bowed back and walked up to Link.

“It has certainly been quite some time, the loss of one's horn certainly has its disadvantages.” She looked back with a smirk. “Thankfully I have a good stand in, not that my sister would approve.”

“I’m working on it!” I yell.

Link looks over at me. “Since you’re allies with the princesses, this tells me a lot of whom you are.” he said to me, he crosses his arms before continuing to speak. “I made my token this way as a safety precaution, in case the summoner held ill intent.”

I tear my eye away from him for a quick second.

“I’m uh...actually wanted by the crown...despite my current standing with Moonpie and this world’s Cadence. It's a long story.”

“Tis a misunderstanding at the very least. I could give my account if it would give proof of his good heart.” Luna stated as she stared at Link with a strong gaze.

“Without further adieu, the judgement has been past.” Link said as the area started to brighten, soon returning me among the living, except now Link was standing in front of me.

“How long were we out?” I quickly ask. I felt something around my neck, I reach up and noticed that the howling stone had shrunk down into a necklace, the stone was also now an oval shape.

“Time tends to flow differently in the mindscape” Link explained.

“Seconds at best, minutes at worse.” Luna stated.

“Good. Link, you any good at fighting armies?” I ask. The hylian chuckled at my question.

“I’ve been in quite a few in my world to keep Equestria safe, although it can be quite tiresome despite my efforts. So yes, I am capable.” Link explained as he moved his cloaked to reveal a pouch of sorts.

“Ooh! Dimensional inventory~ I’ve got one of those too! Wait...no...gotta stay on track. Let's walk and talk.”

I lead the hero back through the woods and into Ponyville proper all while giving him the details of just what it was we were up against and how we planned to defend ourselves.

“Akriloth and his dragons would be a problem but the dragons here are pretty much cannon fodder. And with how every building is coated with a reactive resonant crystal, the town can defend itself while Akriloth’s forces try and fail to eat explosive gemstones. Believe me, I tried.”

We hit Golden Oaks and I stop and move my hand to knock. “Any questions?”

“Is this the same red dragon I’m thinking of from Dragonfable?” Link asked.

I look at him like I was just slapped in the face by a Holy Mackerel. “Oh my God Moonpie…”

“Yes…?” Luna looks at me worriedly.

“Moonpie he’s played Dragonfable. He knows what we’re up against…” I beam a giant smile and put my claw on his shoulder! “Dude! Thats awesome!”

“He won’t be able to stand much chance with me helping you. Not unless he’s been changed by the void?” Link asked.

“Nuh uh. Our scouts would have reported a change that big. Not like I wouldn't have the firepower to stop a void empowered Akriloth. That and we have THE Dragonslayer living here in Ponyville. Well...technically...he was reborn as a pony...he’s still good in a fight.”

As I finish my tirade, Angel and Spike in Bun-Demon and Full dragon land at our feet and revert to their base forms. Angel as Fluttershy’s small adorable bunny and Spike as Twilight’s assistant.

“Bloody hell...I swear if we didn't need that wanker I’d gut him in his sleep.” Spike snarled out.

“Way ahead of you.” Angel squeaked out.

“Galanoth?” I ask the the pair.

“Galanoth.” The two chorused out.

The two left to lick their wounds and I finally knocked on the library door.

“As in the dragonslayer? What is he doing in your Equestria?” Link asked me.

The door opened and out peered Lord Cyrus.

“I ask myself that same question every day I wake up. Hello hero, I see you found another warrior.” The blue scaled half dragon said with a smile as he ushered us in.

“Captain Armor and I were just discussing how best to hold the perimeter outside of town. Tea?”

I look back to Link and shrug. “I’m more surprised you didn't ask why Spike sounded British.”

“Considering the multiverse theory, anything can happen. Like a humanoid female version of Spike.” Link said with a smile.

“So...Barb?” I smile back.

“Theia.” Link corrected, but said nothing more.

“Sounds exotic!” I give a quick sniff and quickly sit down in front of our town map.

“Jasmine tea! Come on guys, Cyrus brought the good stuff!”

“Now if only you can be this excited for Ponyville’s defense.” Shining Armor stated with a coy grin.

“I think i’ll have some of that tea, with some ice if that’s not too much to ask.” Link said

“Cold tea? What a bizarre request.” Luna said as she took her seat.

“Yes Moonpie, there are living beings that enjoy it cold. Shining, what’s our status?”

Cyrus began to serve the tea as Shining motioned to a ring outside of Ponyville.

“This outer ring will be monitored by pegasi and gryphon. The heightened vision coupled with elemental cloud traps will serve as a deterrent and signal, stunning their weaker troops and alerting us to the oncoming threat.”

Beyond the ring were two half circles. Cyrus took his seat and motioned to this area.

“My Dracomancers and the town Earth ponies will encroach the enemy from the sides, picking away and blocking the weakened force.”

I then looked at the heart of the town, a sigil of Harmony emblazoned on the area.

“And here?” I ask.

“Our main line of defense.” Luna stated as she sipped at her tea.

“We push forward while unicorns and diamond dogs pick at any straggler with magic bolts and reactive crystal arrows.”

“A sound plan, but I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming in soon.” I say after downing my tea.

“Destroyers, dragon giants meant to crush walls and barricades. Several adult dragons, and a climb up a well guarded mountaintop.” Cyrus pointed out as he motioned to said mountain leading down to Ponyville.

“Link, thoughts?” I ask.

Link takes a sip of his tea, he was thinking as he was listening to the plan. “Considering their size, they should be slow, correct? Any chance we could set up traps in the area?” Link asked and suggested.

“Diggers! Diamond Dogs! We take the floor out from their feet!” I exclaim in excitement.

Cyrus and Shining stare at each other and start to discuss amongst themselves. Shining rises and scans the map before creating a smaller duplicate with his horn.

“I’ll contact Ziggy, if we’re lucky he’ll have time to rally his forces.”

“Wait!” Shining stops dead in his tracks and looks back at me. “Is it a Diamond Dog by the name of Ziggy?” The captain nods once.

I stifle a chuckle. “That’s all I needed to know.” The captain turned and left in confusion.

“You know of Ziggy Star Dog?” Cyrus asked.

“They say he plays the guitar.” I give a quick chuckle and get back to business.

“Link, what are you working with weapon wise?” I ask the Hylian.

“Depends on what I’m fighting. I’m capable of a bit too much.” Link explained before thinking a bit. “I’ll be focusing on evasion and long range, maybe some magic as well, my tactics may change.”

I tap my chin in thought. “Cyrus, where’s Twilight?” I ask.

“Currently at Sweet Apple Acre’s forge. Why do you ask?” Cyrus answered.

“Link, we’re gonna set you up with a new arrow type. Follow me, Luna head home and have Veral prepare the living room for an extra guest.” Link with interest in his eyes, finishes up his tea before putting the cup down on the near table.

If This is to End in Fire Pt2: All Hands on Stage

“Welp, the peace didn’t last long.” Link said as he put away his bow in exchange for his Mirror Shield and the Master Sword.

“Twilight! Gather the Elements. Link, we’re going in hot! And please watch where you swing that sword. Just because I’M not evil, doesn’t mean it’ll be lenient with me for being a dracopyre!”

I pull out the frozen dragon buster and my Overlord’s Shield.

“LEEEEROY!!! NNNNJEEEEEENKINS!” I yell as I rush to the resounding battle. Link made no comment as he followed after me.

I jumped into the air and landed sword first into a group of three adolescent dragons. With the impact freezing the trio in place, I took the time to review the currently ensuing madness.

Explosions of brilliant light already started to rock the battlefield, a pegasus was keeping three fledgling dragons at bay with his spear, a gryphon had gotten into a fierce match of rock paper scissors with another dragon only for it to devolve into a petty slap fest!

Utter bedlam erupted as Wilhelmian screams echoed through the field! Various shouts of “My leg!” and “My eyes!” rang in fear inducing pain!

A dragon flew head first at me with a club in his claws, only for me to slam my sword on his chin.

“Bunker BUSTER!” With the force of a fifty pound metal slug, the dragon was sent skyward in a ball of icy goodness.

“And another one KNOCKED outta the ballpark!” I exclaimed with a victorious jump.

“That tall one in the red suit! Get him!” I hear someone shout.

“Wait which red suit?” Another dragon asked, before an arrow struck him dead in the eye.

I look back and see Link nocking back another arrow.

“BOTH OF THEM YOU IDIOTS!” A more decorated and aged dragon yelled.

“Oh no you don't!” I yell only to get pile driven into the ground by six large bodies. “Link help!”

Link leaped into action as a Megaton Hammer was pulled out of his pouch, each swing of his weapon cracking dragon skulls left and right, he was swinging the weapon easily with one hand thanks to a pair of Silver Gauntlets.

“And I thought I was strong…” I whisper as I dust myself off. “Thanks for the save!” I shoot the hero a thumbs up.

“Don’t thank me yet till this place is safe.” Link said as he raised a shield to block an incoming claw attack.

The assaulting dragon flinched and began to blow at his claw. “What in Bahamut’s name is that thing made out of!” The soldier screeched.

Seizing the moment, I rush in and plant the offending warrior’s head into the dirt with my palm, a nice crater forming from the impact.

The moment was short lived as three plumes of fire assaulted me while another dragon aimed for Link. The hylian quickly reacted by igniting his hammer in blue magic, he swings his weapon into the oncoming dragon’s shoulder, magical ice quickly encasing the impacted area.

“Link! Back to back! I have an idea!” I yell as I slam my blade into the ground and encase my opponents in ice.

“Exactly what I was doing. Most dragons are weak to ice.” Link said as he raised his mirror shield to block a dragon’s tail swing.

“Right! You know that sword spin you do?” I say as I close the gap between me and Link. A dragon trying and failing to bite down on my neck struggling as I move.

“Got it!” Link exclaimed as he pulled his sword arm, he begins to channel his magic into the Master Sword. “Just keep a distance so my sword or its flames don't hit you.” he warned.

I spread my wings and fly. I start to hover over Link and charge some of my remaining magic. An ice blue VIII appearing on my hand. With a skyward thrust, I imbue the Master sword with elemental ice.

“HIT IT!” I yell with defiance.

With a rebel yell, the hero releases his swing, a mighty ring of ice blue energy impacted and encased all in it's wake, even going so far as to freeze the ground it flew past.

A few pegasi managed to channel the icy wind into their wings and used the magic to freeze their opponents in place.

“If we’re not taking any prisoners..” Link said as I heard a soft hissing, the guy just combined his bombs with his arrows as he took aim at the frozen enemies.

For some reason those words struck a chord and four tiny figures began to float around my head.

On my left was a werewolf and dragon dressed like angels, on my right was a vampire and Griever dressed as devils.

“You must not let this dishonorable act occur! Where is your pride as a dragon!?” Cried the dragon angel.

“Slay all who stand before you!” Shouted Griever.

“Kill the pig! Drink it's blood!” The vampire chanted.

“What would Honey think?” The werewolf pleaded.

The figures poofed out of existence and I was left feeling empty.

“You better have enough of those arrows Link.” I finally say. With a nod, he starts shooting each one with a bomb arrow, shattering them into nothing but frozen shards of meat.

The fighting stopped for a moment. Both sides looked upon the aftermath…

“REEEETREEEEAT!!!” With a frightened roar, the entirety of the small fry turned tail and booked it faster than Rainbow Dash on a good day.

I started to let go of a breath only to feel the earth shake at a rhythmic pace.

I looked up and the sky was starting to flood with several adult sized dragons.

“All forces, stand your ground! Focus all efforts into anti-air!” I exclaimed.

“Sir, there are giants beyond the horizon!” I heard a pony shout.

“I know, we’ll handle it,” I look back to Link. “Ready for the main course?” I ask with a cold smile.

Link aimed his bow skyward at the horde of dragons as a ball was gathering into the tip of his bow. “They weren’t expecting me, they only know of you and your powers.” he said as the magic continued to gather until the whole arrow was nothing but a ball of light. “Ever played Dragon Quest IX?” he asked.

“I haven't even touched the IP...what's the plan?” I ask.

“Just a little something Betty gave me.” Link said as he let the energy ball loose, it flies into the air before exploding into multiple arrows of light as they fly in different directions toward whatever dragons it can hone in on. He would later go on to tell me the magic spell he used was called Shining Shot.

Several of their fleet ended up with swiss cheese wings, coupled with the fact that the explosions of any reactive arrows that found their mark worsened the wing damage, led to a good third of the air force getting grounded.

Before the army could react, several Dracomancer Dragonslayers flew in from the woodwork and began their ensuing assault.

“Woah...go Cyrus…” I snap my head to the horizon and see a line of Destroyers heading towards us and then look back to Link. “Hey you have any of Twilight’s arrows?” I ask the hero.

“Yea, but they’re the beta kind.” Link said as he reached back into a quiver that was hidden under his red cloak, he hands one of them to me.

“Bitchin’, let's see what this bad boy can do.” I drop the FDB into my inventory and pull out a skeletal bow made from two dragon heads.

“Dracolich Bow….that works.” I nock back the arrow and take aim...only to drop. “Shit, there goes my vision. Gimme a sec. Omni Systems, better aim please!”

[Equipping Thirteenth Mask]

The horror movie hockey mask adorns my face and I take aim again, let loose the arrow and put both the bow and mask away.

I pull back and take out my substitute heart and re-equip it quickly.

I feel a warmth wash over me and look back and see that my arrow found it's mark. Right in a Destroyer’s chest. The beast falls from the process and the rest of the Destroyers look at their comrade and charge at break neck speed.

“Oh shit I fucked up! They're faster than we thought!” I cry. Link suddenly puts his hand on my shoulder as he pulled out an blue ocarina, he plays a song I recognized known the Inverted Song Of Time, time around us thusly begins to slow down.

“Make it count, this is only the weaker version of the song.” Link said explained.

I nod and look at my arm. A screen flashed up and I quickly read the number for my SP.

“Sixty eight percent, that'll be enough. CHAOS!” I blink from existence and slam my foot on a Destroyer, I then slam the floor and a golden aura bursts off of me.

“TRIPLE GEYSER!” I strike the ground three times and blink out again and land back next to Link.

“Wait for it.” I say as time began to move at it's normal pace.

I feel the ground begin to crack and give.

“Wait for it…” The ground finally gives and the line goes down into the ground. A D-Dog pops their head out of a hole in the ground.

“SEAL IT SHUT!” I shout.

With a salute, the dog burrows back down and the earth closes shut, several dragonic limbs and heads sticking out and wriggling in desperation.

Those not with decent air flow stopped struggling after a few seconds.

A burning arrow shoots past my face and one last fighter started to make his way forward. He was slim built and wore tarnished iron armor on his chest, legs, and arms. On his left wrist was a repeater crossbow and a Scimitar made of brown scales hung on his hip.

He spat at his crossbow, activating a crystal core and took aim again.

“Stand aside Hero! I seek the swordsman!” The armored dragon proclaimed. Link took a glance at the dragon who wanted to see him, he shook his head at the armor the dragon wore.

“To fight or to speak with? Choose your options wisely.” Link warned as he readied his sword and shield.

“Honorable battle, my sword against yours. My troops lay defeated and your “hero” can tear me limb from limb,”

The dragon tore his repeater off of his wrist, threw it onto the ground, and drew his blade.

“Humor me.” He said in a serious tone.

Link shook his head in disappointment at the foolish choice this dragon was making.”You have no idea.” The hylian said as he swirled the master sword. Link accepts the dragonling’s challenge by raising his mirror shield. With a gleam in his eyes, information is revealed to Link through a useful ability known as Wide Angle.

Name: Quick Shot

HP: 1200

MP: 800

Weakness: Ice, Water

Resistance: Fire, Energy, Wind, Earth

His youth and speed belie his age, can swing his legs with enough force to ignite the air around him.

“Don't blink.” With that, the dragon jettisoned forward with the speed of a silver bullet. The ground at his feet going up in flames as he seemingly ran on air.

He swung his blade horizontally, causing Link to raise his shield to block the weapon, he attempts a counter with a stab.

His sword met ground as the dragon kicked it down, his leg on fire.

With a jab, the dragon attempts to strike Link on his forehead. Link kneels down to avoid it, he quickly spins his blade around to release a weak cold blue spin attack at his opponent.

The dragon backflips away and readied himself. “Interesting…”

“I come!” A loud voice announces itself behind the dragon. Before the drakel could even turn around to see what it was, something slashed him across his back. I noticed it was a sword that looked a lot like the one from Castlevania, what was it doing here?

“Is that the Alucard sword familiar?” I ask in frightened curiosity.

“I’ll explain later.” Link quickly said as he awaited an attack from his enemy.

“Should I be worried?” I ask with just a bit more resolve, Link did not answer as he was focused on his fight.

“Right, stupid question.” I load up my Horror Show Void set.

[Your sword and shield synergize]

“Tag out if you need back up.” I say as I level the void imbued blade.

The dragon warrior that was Link’s opponent began to rise, until he shuddered...right before dropping to the ground like a sack of rocks. “I warned you, buddy.” Link said as his floating sword ally danced around excitingly. The Hylian takes a glance around to make sure it was the end of the battle.

I rush to the dragon and check for any vitals. “Come on...don't be dead yet...ah ha! A pulse!” I slap the dragon as he groans. “Good sir,” I state as he whimpers in response. “You lost.” He whimpers a sad acceptance.

Link sheathed his sword. “You’re alive though, let this be a learning experience.” he suggested to the dragonman.

“Now tell us why you picked a fight before I read your mind.” I say threateningly. My void armor writhed a bit at that statement.

“I-I was a decoy! Ember sent me! Said she needed time...by the gods man please don't kill me!” He said in hysterics.

“Okay...why would a dragon princess need to keep us busy?” I ask.

“Sh-she needed a weapon. One to control all forms of dragon. Ev-even a hybrid beast...she needed it for you.”

“I don't follow.” I say in response.

“She plans to use you to slay Akriloth herself and claim Equestria as her prize. I agreed to do her grunt work as she... was...a good friend of mine.”

I let out a groan and cast Healing Wings over the dragon. His breathing eased up and he got to his feet.

“Fifteen hundred years, and you’re still soft hero. Keep the repeater, I won't need it where I'm going.” The dragon spread his wings and left us in an empty field. I moved to pick up said weapon. ‘Hm, excellent craftsmanship.’

I kick the ground and look at Link.

“Soooo...I never saw past season four, who exactly is Ember and what is this weapon he was talking about? I only ask because I KNOW Ember isn't an Artix character.”

“Princess Ember, or rather Dragon Lord Ember as she would be often known as if she has the staff, is from the Badlands depending if the changelings left that area in your world’s past.” Link explained before he pointed with a thumb as the floating sword. “This is Kun Vulom by the way, a sword created in the void, although don’t ask me why he looks like mix of two different swords.”

“Oh, you have a Nulgath blade. I have one of those too.” I say as I pull out a now floating Cyber Katana.

“Except he’s got some intelligence, although a little immature at the moment, but he’ll get smarter the more time I spend with him, Vul? You’re dismissed.” Link said to his sword.

“By your command, my master.” It said before slowly fading away.

“He uses a lot of my magic though” Link said as he crossed his arms.

“Heh, so….Dragonlord? Like...a Dragonfable Dragon...Lord?” I ask confused.

“No, Dragonlord as in Equestria’s Dragonlord, the one who wields some sort of staff.” Link said with a shrug. “Spike actually got to it first but gave it to her as a sign of friendship.”

“What makes the staff so important?” I ask as I dismiss my nightmare fuel armor. “And why did that dragon say it could control other dragons?”

“Whoever holds the staff becomes the Dragonlord, much like her father, Torch.” Link said as he held a hand to his goatee covered chin.

“Hmm...Well, hopefully this isn't something overly threatening. Should we turn back and see the state of the town, or push forward now that the way is clear?” I asked, laying down our options.

“Did any of our enemies get past us? If so, we should check the town first and make sure everyone's safe.” Link suggested.

I pull out a small diamond shaped cobalt pendant and press my thumb on it's gem. It gave two good rings before it clicked.

“Hello? Master Azure?” I heard Twilight's voice echo.

“Sup, how's the town?” I ask.

There was a bit of radio silence, save for the echoing sounds of a few pained grunts here and there…

If This is to End in Fire Pt3: Break a Leg

-Several Moments Ago...Ground Team-

“So...ya’ll are named Numb and Skull?” Applejack asked a brown and white dracomancer duo. The white dragon, had a skull upon his left shoulder, the brown dragon had several armor augmentations as opposed to the more lightly built dracomancers

“Sounds about right.” The white dracomancer answered.

“That is correct, yes.” The brown dracomancer stated.

The farm mare simply stared at the two dragons until giving a firm nod. A blue flare had shot into the sky, alerting her from her confused reverie.

“That’s our cue sweetheart, ready to bust some heads?”

Lifting a mighty mallet of wood and steel, the farm mare could only glare daggers at the one called Skull. “I ain’t your sweetheart, sugarcube.”

“I’m not your sugarcube, honeysuckle!” Skull laughed in retort. With a huff, the farm mare only swung her mallet, catching a crawling dragon on the jaw.

-Air Crew-

“So...you think he’s here?” The wistful Gabby asked Rainbow Dash.

“I don’t think so Gabby, you said he was yellow?” Replied the diamond armored pony.

“I thought maybe he’d be here...you know, to helps us out again?”

Before Rainbow could even answer, a single blue flare had shot into the sky.

“If he’s down there, now’s the time to find out! All hands on deck!!” Rainbow cried...only to be met with confused looks by gryphon and pegasus alike. She pinched the bridge of her nose in slight annoyance. *Sigh* “All hooves and claws on deck! Geez, get out more…” Without so much as a grunt, the perturbed pegasus slipped away into a nosedive.

Her squadron followed her into freefall, claws sharp and weapons ready.

-Ground Control-

The first wave was a decoy...Twilight did her best to keep the troops together, but the secondary wave of dragons that used the lightning trap to sneak through took advantage of the confusion and worry. One of the fire breathers even managed to take one of their own...

-Present Moment: Hero-

“Some prisoners of war, everypony accounted for, a few injured...three dead. This...was the best possible outcome. A few buildings need repairs and the medical staff is working with the wounded. Nothing else to report.”

“Three dead... how's my house? Still standing?”

“Veral won't let anyone inside. Why do you ask?”

“Funeral pyre. Cyrus knows how to set it up. My place, back yard. You want in on the big bad?”

There was radio silence for a few seconds.

“No. Have fun getting yourself killed. Luna has your location, she’ll be with you shortly. Oh...wow I did not mean to say that like I did...uh...I’ll just shut up now.”

The feed cut and I turned to look at the sky.

“Hmm, wouldn't be the first time. Luna's heading our way, you ready?” I ask Link.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Link answered.

I nodded and stared at the daytime blue of the sky, waiting for that small- found her.

A dark blue blur inched it's way closer to us as more and more of her form became visible.

“Moonpie! Over here!” Once she was in full view, she folded her wings and went into freefall.

“That girl...wait here.” With a running jump I unfurl my own wings and catch the falling pegasus and ease us down.

“How are you still such a child?” I ask with a smile.

“I never had a proper foalhood.” She said as she pawed at my nose.

“Alright folks, guns blazing?” I ask my companions. I make sure to flash the toothiest smile for added effect.

“There’s always the option of stealth, not everything has to be done like a warrior.” Link suggested as he reached into his pouch to pull out a rather ugly, yet for some reason suddenly uninteresting stone mask. I take another look and remember the mask in his hand.

“Oh...the Stone Mask from Majora! Wait...but you only have the one.” I say rather sadly.

“Come now, you’re a hybrid or some sort of dragonfable or adventure quest hero, surely you have a class for stealth, right?” Link asked in disbelief.

“Omni systems, what can I use for stealth?”

[Searching…]

I fold my wings and arms and tap my foot. “Windows Vista, what can you do?”

[Results found: Ninja, Dragon Shinobi, Barber]

“I'm not cutting anyone's hair! I'm infiltrating a mountain!” I yell in annoyance. Link snorted in amusement at that. I gave an exaggerated groan and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Equip Dragon Shinobi and mage set.”

[Loading...Equipping Onikage, Luminous hair, galaxy backblades, galaxy starsword]

My void armor returned to my inventory as a slim black armor took its place. The cosmetic hairstyle gave me a false eye and the rest of my face. Two swords adorned my back as a third hung on my hip.

Link reaches into his pouch. “Here.” he said as he tosses five Deku Nuts into my hands. “My pouch is constantly regenerating those slowly, they’re mostly void copies of the original but they still function the same, just be sure not to look at it as you throw them down.” He explained.

“Sweet! I love these things!” I exclaim in joy. I reach into my own inventory and pull out three white grenades lined with gold and topped with crosses.

“It's only a fair trade. You ever saw Monty Python’s Holy Grail?”

“Classic.” Link said with a chuckle. “Although which version is it? I mean after that movie, even Worms Armageddon had the holy hand grenades..” Link said before looking over toward Luna. “I assume you’ve got some stealthy tricks up your sleeve?” he asked.

Luna gave a blank look and motioned to where her horn used to be.

“I have an idea, as for the grenades, they're meant for vampire hunters but the explosion is just as good against everything that doesn't go bump in the night.” I kneel in front of Luna and put my hands on her cheeks.

She smiles a bit and looks me over. “That armor brings back memories doesn't it?” She asks.

“Just don't try and stab me this time. Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three.”

The mare shut her eyes as her body flared with shadow. Her hooves held fire and her body became pitch black. Her eyes opened to reveal orbs of pure crimson.

“Oh that's gonna hurt in the-what the fuck!? Master Azure?” The voice that echoed from Luna’s mouth however was not her own

“Hey Serenity, Luna there with you?” I ask the shadow pony.

“She’s a little shaken up, how’d you do that?” She asks in disbelief.

“No time, I need you and Luna to work as a single unit as we sneak into that mountain over yonder.”

“Well shit,” ‘Serenity’ then looks over my shoulder at Link. “Hey handsome, got a name?” Asked ‘Serenity’.

The hylian crossed his arms. “Link. By the way, you might wanna think twice if you’re gonna do what I think you’re going to do.” Link said with a warning.

The shadow pony looked back at me and grinned. “He’s feisty! You think he’s single?”

“Serenity. Focus. Also that is not your body.” I say a little annoyed.

“There’s also the fact that you’ll have to answer to Theia and my Luna back home if you try anything.” Link said.

Serenity feigned a hurt expression...only to burst out laughing “Please, you think I'm scared of the princess!? Wait...don't answer that. Plus, this Luna took down three ancient dragons while she was still trying to figure out what ‘puberty’ meant!”

Luna’s voice echoed out from the peals of ensuing laughter. “I still don’t entirely grasp the concept of human puberty.”

“FOCUS!” I bellow out. “Serenity! To me!” The shadow pony melted to the floor and crawled onto me. Dark flames adorned my arms and legs as I felt the warmth of the twin souls.

Link shook his head before laughing softly in amusement. “Trust me.” was all he said.

“Let's go kill us a dragon.” I state with conviction.

The area surrounding the spire was surprisingly not all that well guarded. Most of the remaining troops took to defending the outer rise up the mountain, but we wouldn't be going up the dragon infested slope.

A cave entrance marked our way in as I took the lead with an orb of concentrated light.

“Ugh, remind me again why we aren't batting around the cannon fodder?” Serenity complained.

“Because...that's a great question. Oh yeah, I’m falling apart.” I say with a grunt.

The caverns were empty save for a slime here and there...though they fled once they saw us.

“Can we kill something!? Anything!” Serenity whined.

“For the love of…” A stray bat had been flying around a pillar of stone. Behind the stone was a chasm and another cave entrance that lead higher up.

“There’s a bat. Do you want I should kill the bat?” I ask in annoyance.

“Too small…” The bat seemed to take notice and offense to the offhand comment and gave a high pitched squeal. Several other bats began to crowd around it as a much larger bat flew out of the chasm.

“Why do I even…” I start throwing several poison kunai at the smaller bats as the larger beast gunned straight for Link. At first, the hylian grabbed the handle of his weapon, he remained focused and still as the bat drew closer still. Suddenly, Link quickly pulled out the master sword, swirled it around and then brought the sword back down onto the bat’s neck and sliced through it easily. I recognized the motion as the Mortal Draw.

“That was SICK! Do it again!” Shouted Serenity.

The other bats that were still airborne took notice of the big dead bat and chose to rush me instead.

With a groan I slumped my shoulders and caved my knees inward and waited. Once the sizeable bat cloud had closed in on me, I gave a spin and struck each bat at precise points along their spines with my fingers. Once I dropped the last bat I finished my Dragon Spin and landed in a fourth position ballet pose.

“Oof, I really need to get back in shape,” I say as I start massaging my legs. “Fifteen hundred years leaves such a crick in the neck!” I felt a satisfying pop, sighed in content, and walked up to the stone pillar.

“...Did you just quote Genie?” Link asked as he shook his head in amusement.

“Can't help it, I was a theatre kid,” I gave the pillar a solid punch as it fell flat onto the opposite platform. “Ain’t never had a friend like me.” I said in a sing song tone as I dust my hand on my armor.

“Just don’t get too happy when we get to the more serious battles.” Link said with a warning as he followed behind me.

“What's the point if you don't enjoy it?” Serenity asked.

“The point is to not get yourself killed.” I state firmly.

“Says the guy that used to sing The March of Cambreadth while running through solar infantry!” Serenity retorted happily.

“I happen to like that song, it's quite catchy.” Luna said in response.

I would have said something, but a silhouette of a fully armored dragon caught my attention.

“Come to me…” A voice echoed through the cavern.

A shining crimson light pulsed and I felt... compelled to follow.

“Oh fuck that!” My body locked up, the fires surrounding me writhed as Serenity kept me in place. Link reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder to grab my attention.

“It might be a trap.” Link suggested as he raised the stone’s mask, ready to put it on.

“it's also the only way forward…” I manage to say shakily. “Omni Systems, what...what was that?”

[Scanning…WARNING. Dragon Amulet detected. Proceed with caution.]

“Oh...okay. That's not good...is it?” I ask with worry.

Upon hearing my words, Link put on the mask and suddenly vanished from my sights. All I saw was a dull looking stone in his place that made me lose interest in it.

“We’ll keep you safe, I swear it,” I heard Serenity say as more of my body was covered in Shadow. “Let me do the walking.”

I gulped, but ultimately relinquished use of my body.

We made our ascent, several voices echoing through the cave.

“Hey Gill, what da ya think'll happen once we have this hero the princess keeps yammering on about?” Said a young voice.

“Same thing that'll happen if Lord Akriloth gains what he’s searching for.” Stated an older voice.

As we heard those voices, I noticed that I couldn’t see Link or the boring looking pebble he had disguised himself anywhere.

That's when I felt myself sink into the ground and float along the floor as a mass of inky black Shadow.

“Cryin’ shame I tell ya, here I am hoping I can keep one of those ponies as a pet! It's a cryin' shame.” The first voice drolled.

Serenity seemed to drag me forward for quite sometime when I heard that voice again.

“Come to me…” The compulsion was so much stronger this time.

“Well, we aren't going that way.” I heard Serenity whisper.

The voice echoed louder and stronger this time.

“Come to ME!” I felt the Shadow surrounding me writhe in strain and frustration as I felt my head slowly rise from the ground…only for tendrils of Shadow to chain themselves upon my risen head. “It would seem you have a keeper. RESIST!” The crimson glow from before was closer now, Serenity and Luna did their absolute best to keep me down but then they started screaming.

Pained wails echoed throughout the chamber we found ourselves in as my body funneled their magic and released it's true form.

Four wings sprouted from my back, my head began to shift into the visage of a bestial dragon, where I was normally five-eight my size had enlarged to six foot six. My mane grew to an outrageous size especially with the outlandishly long side-burns. Finally was the tail, topped off with a lion puff firmly upon the tip.

The voice and light grew closer still. “Now show me what makes you so dangerous. Show me the Demon…”

Voices echoed as hulking Destroyers made their way into the room. My mouth began to water, my claws twitched and my senses went mad! The glow compelled me to hunt…

“Oh by Din’s fiery wrath..” A voice spoke said as Link reappeared, he puts away the stone mask into his pouch and pulls out a bow and arrow, he takes aim at the draconic group of enemies and focuses magic into his arrow, causing it to glow with fierce coldness. He releases the arrow as it flies toward his targets.

“Hey bud, try to control yourself!” Link yelled out to me. Two of the giants had been frozen together shoulder to shoulder while another rushed at Link only to find his vision obstructed by my claw.

My left claw held the dragon’s head in a death grip as I wipe my muzzle with my right. “M-my bad...I can't think straight...was that you yelling just now?” I manage to say while panting hungrily.

An ethereal effigy of Serenity’s head floats in front of me as a shadowy hoof whacks me on the head. “That was ME asshole! Hey! Hot Legolas! Find that bitch! I’ll keep these asshats busy!” Serenity yelled as she dove at my head.

With a nod, he reaches up to grab his howling token, suddenly black particles surround him and cling to his body, forcing him to take on the wolf form I first saw him in. He sniffs at the air before taking off in a direction that had the strongest scent that may lead to the ‘bitch’.

I felt my body jerk and move to block the remaining dragon’s path. The Dragon Buster was now in my hand and with a swing and a spin the blade was driven into the ground. Serenity took complete control as she shouts.

“YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!” The cave echoed with a cacophony of laughter and shouts of mimicry. Serenity though usually the hot head in situations like this, took the time to breath and focused both her attention and magic upon the blade.

My hands made spherical motions around the hilt as Shadow and ice began to form around them.

“Now dance for me.” With a roar, my hands shot out projectile after projectile. Some landing and exploding in ice and Shadow, others floating aimlessly. “Daka daka daka daka daka daka!” Was all I heard Serenity shout as more balls of black ice flooded the room.

“Reinforcements! Take that thing down!” Shouted an older voice.

“Take cover!” Shouted a more cowardly youngling.

Serenity gave cackles of maniacal laughter as more soldiers entered and fell to the barrage. “I will kill everyone in this room so long as you are one of them!” She shouted.

“Okay calm down Vegeta…” I say with amusement.

“Pfft, Vegeta ain't shit! Watch this!” The barrage stopped, those that hadn't been hit had huddled on the ground with their claws on their heads.

“Hellzone Grenade.” With a curt wave, every projectile moved centerfold and erupted in a wave of ice, light, and darkness.

Meanwhile as Link was zigzagging through the caverns and pathways, he was following a scent that only he could see with his wolf eyes, he eventually finds the one responsible for controlling his new ally.

If This is to End in Fire Pt4: Macbeth

-Princess Ember-

“Why isn't he here!?” I’ll have to apologise to the troops later...I wasn't in the best of moods.

“My liege, the weapon is refusing the call of the dragon soul, and he has...help.” A younger soldier stated as he nursed his arm.

'Help he says. As if I didn't already know.’ I thought to myself. “His keeper. Find some way to separate her from him and I can persuade him to aid our...cause.” 'First Akriloth...then that disgusting pony…’

I was thrown from my musings and dreams of righteous vengeance however by the sound of shuffling and sniffing.

A strange looking creature arrived and looked straight up at me, the way it looked reminded me of the wolven ancients to the north, except this one had red, green, and grey fur. What surprised me even more was when it changed shape, becoming taller and more like that of a minotaur. His face was hidden inside of his hood.

“So, you’re the one affecting my friend?” the mysterious person asked as he reached back to pull out his sword.

“You will show your respect knave!” Yelled the soldier next to me. “Guards! Seize him!” Yet no one came.

“It seems I’ll have to handle this myself,” With a wave of the staff I commandeered the soldier and willed him into a fighting stance. “Before I end your miserable existence I’d like to know your name.” I stated plainly.

The man couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement. “Knave? You know nothing.” the man said as he pulled out a reflective shield. “If you want my name, you’ll need to earn it.” he taunted.

‘Keep a cool head...no need to rush.‘ I dashed to his left whilst my soldier dashed right. My intent was to aim low while my puppet went high. I didn’t expect him to block my swing so effortlessly. I staggered away as my puppet was knocked unconscious, the pommel of the swordsman’s blade was apparently strong enough to do so.

“Well...that just isn’t fair.” I whispered as I finally managed to right myself. The warrior swirled his blade once, looking ready for anything. “I will not be humiliated twice!” I fueled my growing rage into the crystal of my staff and attempted to once more will that ‘Hero’ to my side. “I am your master, and you shall do as I say!!”

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed ahold of my staff, causing ice to quickly race up my weapon and incase it. “Pay more attention to the fight!” He said in a serious voice.

I yelped and breathed out a plume of fire, only to lose my balance once again and fall flat on my back. “Oh by Bahamut’s name! This is just like fighting Cinder all over again! If you’re going to kill me then do it already. I have nothing to lose…”

“Except your redemption.” the man said as he took away my staff. “I’m not here to kill you, Ember. I’m only here to stop your madness, I’m a hero, not a villain.”

I couldn’t help but sneer at his comment. “You and I have very different definitions of ‘hero’. Although my brother would agree with you no doubt, and as for my redemption,” I managed to get back on my feet and dust myself off. “I can only achieve such a thing only after I have taken the hero for myself. You see he has something that belongs to me,”

I flared my wings and began to meditate. “I’m not stopping til I have that blade in my claws again.” I rushed him again, only to stop midway and duck, narrowly missing a swing of his blade. I then vaguely remember something that accursed hero did to me. I grasped the swordsman’s arm and slithered my way up to his head and locked my legs onto his neck and pulled him downwards, slamming his back into the ground.

I backed away and caught my breath ‘That was invigorating! He really fought in this manner!?’

The man got up, a little winded but still going despite the attack. “You’ll have to do better than that, Dragon Lord Ember, but first before we continue..” he said as he placed the staff into his pouch, it suddenly shrunk in size as he put it in. “We don’t need that being damaged.” he said before focusing his attention on me.

“I’ll only end up ripping it from your cold dead hands.” I exclaim. ‘This will be embarrassing, but if it worked for the hero, it will work for me.’ With another calming breath I begun to move in a dance, my knees rising into the air in rhythm one after the other as I waved my arms forward, one palm open as it hung outstretched as the other covered my chest half closed.

“Your move swordsman.” I called. He said nothing at first, I noticed a strange gleam in his eyes, but nothing else out of the ordinary. He stretched his sword aloft as wind and ice start to flow from the hilt to the top of the tip.

“That would've worked if your body actually had anything I liked.” He said before leaping at me, but I dodged to my left, he suddenly rolled behind me and made a slash at my wings, I suddenly felt them stiffen and get cold.

“Y-yyou the-thi-think a li-li-little cold will…” I couldn’t stop shivering, I was starting to drop my stance. I needed to focus...I…blacked out from the sensation, heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber. But before I fully embraced the darkness, I heard the swordsmen speak one last time.

“If you knew what I was capable of, you would wish you were fighting the other ‘Hero’” He said before I fell unconscious.

HP: 1853 of 2600

MP: 0 of 940

SP: 286 of 1100

Weaknesses: Ice, Water
Resists: Earth, Energy, Fire

Princess Ember of the Dragonlands, wants nothing more than to be worthy of the Omni-Blade

-The Spire’s Point: Witherbone-

Deep within the largest cave atop the mountain spire, a bone white and black striped dragon began to pace as he argued with his “King”.

“Lord Akriloth please! They have the Elements of Harmony! Your presence is needed upon the battlefield.”

The mighty dragon scoffed at the twig before him. “Yes, these trinkets of friendship and unity. Meaningless jewels not even fit for a horde.” The mighty dragon checked once again upon his own shining red jewel.

“Whatever fate brought me here gave you to me once more...I shall see your birth with my own eyes this time my young one.”

Wither could only throw his hands into the air in annoyance. “This is why I don’t have eggs...this is why…”

-Mainland: Crusaders-

A massive amalgam of wood and steel barreled through the town upon burning wheels. Dragons both big and small found themselves crushed by the unstoppable engine of DOOM.

“Sweetie! How’s are structur’l ‘ntegrity?” Applebloom called from the engine chamber.

“We’re stable, but those rusted bolts aren’t gonna hold much longer!” Sweetie Belle cried from outside a wall of the vehicle. Opening a hatch, the unicorn went to check on Scootaloo.

“How are the engines?” She asked with worry.

Taking her eyes off the controls of the vehicle for a split second, Scootaloo huffed out an answer.

“She keeps overheating! Either we shell out for some actual coolant, or we replace the thing entirely,” The pegasus went back to her controls, once again focused. “Mana cores’ll cost us all our collective hides though...and I’m not about to-”

A single pop resounded within the vehicle. An iron bolt had snapped, causing several plates and barriers to come undone as the beast itself began to tilt, crash, and burn.

The trio had been left unharmed...but they were now also left vulnerable to a group of very hungry beasts...

-Hero-

I rushed through the corridors and caves, all fours gunning to the signal I felt. “LINK! You better not be dead!!” I yelled as I finally caught his scent. Barrelling into the room I rolled onto my knees and saw...a downed armored dragon...and Link hefting an unconscious Ember in the same golden armor she wore when she fought me. “Hey! You’re not dead!” I exclaimed happily.”

“I’ve been Link for twenty four years, I doubt I’d lose to her.” Link said with a grin.

“Ha! Elf man has eighteen years on you! Now that’s embarrassing!” Exclaimed Serenity.

“Be nice, Azure has accomplished much in only two years.” Luna stated in my defense.

“If you call pissing off a fifteen year old Celestia an accomplishment that is,” I retorted in self deprecation. “So, sleeping beauty almost had me for a meatshield with use of a Dragon Amulet, where is it?” I ask

“Reach into my pouch and just think of a purple staff with a gem.” Link said as he couldn’t pull it out himself, he was busy carrying the dragoness.

With a nod I reached into his pouch and pulled out the rather long purple staff. It’s focus point was a large red gem that had that millennium old dragon blood smell. “Omni-Systems, scan the gem.”

[Scanning…] A virtual screen popped up and displayed an image of the staff, and an image of a Dragon Amulet.

[Ninety three percent match]

“Yeah, that shouldn’t be here. Link, hold onto this, and back away real quick,” I deposit the staff back into the pouch, watching as it shrunk and entered Link’s pouch. “Equipping the Giga Drill Bit!” Link backed away just like I told him.

“What are you doing?” Link asked.

A crimson metal box appeared on my arm as a golden drill jut forward. “I need fresh air! All this dirt and dust is killer on my sinuses!” The digging tool begins to glow with green energy as I aim it at a wall. “Anybody want to say it?” I ask.

“Ah fuck yeah!” Shouted Serenity as she merged with the spinning drill. “Giga...Drill...BREAKER!!” in a blast of shadow and spiritual energy I shot straight through the cave wall and straight out into open air!

“Woohoo! Sweet sweet fresh air!” Looking up, I see that the tip of the mountain was really just a few meters away and I facepalmed. “I can’t do that again...can I?”

“Ya blew it dumbass, on the bright side we can carry everybody up.” Serenity stated as she pat my head.

“A bit of a rash choice there, Azure. You or I may have gotten rid of most of the dragons, but that doesn’t mean we got them all, you might of drawn some attention there.” Link pointed out as he was walking out of the entrance I made.

“Oh thanks a lot Murphy!” I cried as three heavily armored dragons flew up to meet us. They all carried elemental dragon blades and their armor was very reminiscent of…”You wouldn’t happen to be Dracomancers would you?” I asked.

A pure white dragonness offered her claw to me. “I am Feather of Lord Cyrus’ personal guard, we came to assist,” To her left was a brown scaled dragon and her right was a white scale. “These are Numb and Skull, don’t let their names fool you, they are quite intelligent.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence chief.” The white scaled dragon snarked.

“Behave Skull, no doubt the hero and his companions are tired from this fight.” Stated the brown scaled dragon.

I blinked for a bit...and then gave a few small nods. “We have a prisoner of war we’d like for you to deal with,” I say. “Link, hand over Ember.” The Hylian nodded, he looks over to the white dragoness and walks over to her. He lifts Ember up toward her.

With care, Ember was moved from Link to feather’s arms. “Pray tell did the sister of our Lord manage her way here? And for what purpose?” Asked Feather.

“She wanted my body for her personal gain,” Feather now sported a very noticeable blush as Numb and Skull did their best to stifle their laughter. “As for how she got here...Link, you fought her, she say anything?”

“All she revealed was that she wanted your Omni Blade.” Link said as he crossed his arms. “My Wide Angle ability didn’t reveal much either.”

The dracomancers seemed to gasp and freeze at the mention of the blade. “But, only the great hero of the dragonlands may wield the bla-” Feather cut her words short as I pulled out the Omni-Blade in it’s original form only to revert it into it’s new golden state. “You...then that would mean...but you can’t be more than…” Feather devolved into a mess of incoherent babble as Skull grabbed her shoulders and began to lead her back to Ponyville.

“I’ll take the chief back to Lord Cyrus, Numb, help the hero and his companion up the mountain.” Skull said as he and Feather flew away.

“What will you do with her?” Link asked me.

“Not my jurisdiction. Cyrus will settle this with their father, whoever he is, and that's that.” I reply.

“Don't want an international incident on your hands?” Serenity asked.

“Oh ha ha.”

Link crossed his arms as silence fell upon the group. The hylian was waiting patiently.

“Numb, I'd suggest you head back to town. Link, grab my arm, we're going up from here.”

Of course before Link could act, Numb had found it hilarious to shove his Earth element Dragon Blade into my abdomen. My non-existent Shadow covered abdomen.

“By the gods...grr, by order of the new dragonlord, you will stand down and allow yourself-” A sickening clang resounded through the cave as the Megaton Hammer knocked Numb out of the sky.

“And now Ember has spies. Today is just great.”

Link hoisted his hammer onto his right shoulder. “Can today get any worse?” he asked with a sigh.

Serenity groaned and looked at me with a questioning look.

“Hey he said it not me! Besides the point, we can finish this now, so no more surprises, no more flash mobs, no more out of the blue left field shenanigans. Serenity, help Link fly up seeing as how he's the only one here without wings,”

The Shadow pony gave a small chuckle as she left my body and started to float in front of Link.

“And NO funny business!” I added.

“Fine! Strictly business!” She relented as she solidified into a black metal helmet shaped after herself and a black tunic with wings. “There, now put me on!”

Link held up a leather gloved hand. “No need.” He said before putting the hammer away into his pouch. He pulls out a beautiful ocarina and begins to play a melody that had only six notes. Suddenly, white wings sprouted from Link’s back.

“Okay, nevermind, he's got the song of soaring…”

“Use your friend since she’s currently in that form at the moment.” Link suggested before giving his wide angelic wings a flap, slowly descending from the ground. “Top of the mountain, right?” he asked.

“Top of the mountain. Luna, you good?” I ask the pair.

“This is quite possibly the most uncomfortable I've ever been!” I hear Luna's voice echo from the helmet.

“Serenity, revert and give Luna full control,” I say as I pull out the Galaxy Star Spear and toss it into the air. The solid helm and tunic once again become Shadow as the inky mass flies into the air and grasps the two headed spear.

“I hope you still remember how to use that.”

Luna sticks her tongue out at me as I shake my head and unfurl my own wings.

Taking point, I lead us straight into the gaping mouth of the cavern Akriloth called home. The heat was something else...the air had the taste of wet tin and whatever glands I still had started to soak through my remaining scale and fur.

Taking a breath, I equipped myself accordingly. “That's MUCH better. Everyone good?”

When I looked at Link, I noticed he was wearing a red-colored tunic, I also noticed glowing white and yellow feathers scattered all over the ground. Link glanced around the area before he went searching through his pouches.

“Hopefully this isn’t the fire orb powered version of Akriloth” he said as he took out his megaton hammer and equipped the bow and arrow. “Here, if he’s anything similar to Volvagia, this weapon should crack his scales easily.” Link said as he held it toward me.

“You're letting me use the Megaton…?” My hand shakily grasped the handle of the unruly beast. A single tear fell from my eye as I gave the instrument of destruction three quick swings. The air parted from the force and size and I could only stare in awe. “THIS IS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER EXIST IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING!!”

“You are this world’s hero after all, it's only fitting that you have the means to deal the final blow.” Link said with a smile before directing his attention toward deeper into the lair of the beast.

I was filled with an immense joy at these words and I guess I couldn't help myself as I started to skip forward unto what would undoubtedly be my untimely demise as I started to sing.

“We're taking a stand, we're taking a vow, this is the place, the moment is now! This is our golden opp-or-tun-i-ty!! The wishing star belongs...to-”

I felt a bony claw graze the tip of my neck ever so slightly, and with a quickness, the offending offender met the face of my newly acquired mallet of DOOM.

“CROSS COUNTER!!” I yelled as the pearly white body of what looked like a gangly dragon soared past Luna and Link at what I could only assume to be ludicrous speed if the checkered black and white contrail was anything to go by.

“Did...he just go to plaid?” Luna asked in worry and confusion.

“You know, I'm really glad you were able to slip outta the castle for movie night.” I said, hefting the hammer upon my shoulder.

“And I'm glad you heroes are so easily distracted.” Said an ominous, gravely, echoey voice from behind my back. “It's much too difficult to find intelligent henchman these days.”

Luna readied herself for battle as black fire burned upon her fetlocks, and I turned around to take a good gander at Akriloth's ugly chiseled face.

“It wouldn’t be wise to underestimate us.” Link warned as the tip of his arrow gleamed with glacial energy.

Now, the original Battleon made him look tiny. He was not so tiny here. There's towering behemoth...and then there was whatever Akriloth was.

The beast of a dragon chuckled as he began to build a massive amount of fire in the back of his throat as he swiped his left claw in a wide swing.

I went high, Luna caught and rode Akriloth's arm, Link leaped high into the air to avoid the claw-swoop. Taking aim, he let loose the ice magic-powered arrow at the dragon’s face.

A large mass of ice began to form on the bridge of the dragon's nose, which was quickly smashed by Luna's flailing body as he swung his arm to his face.

Without skipping a beat, I willed the FDB out of my inventory and hurled it right into the monster's chest. Of course this had the added effect of forcing Akriloth to expel an incredibly dense plume of face melting fire down upon us.

Luna wasn't anywhere in the blast radius, but I had no time to work up a suitable defense for Link and myself...the fire would end up consuming us...Until it didn't.

Link had his hand held out with a strange diamond barrier forming us, it quickly dropped as swift as it had appeared. Taking this moment, he released another ice-shot at Akriloth.

Severely weakened, the dragon struggled to so much as even touch his now encased shoulder.

“This...YOU!! You shouldn't even have this blade...I REFUSE TO BE SLAIN THIS WAY AGAIN.” Akriloth roared as the cave began to shake and rise in temperature. Primal marks of fire began to form haphazardly as he fought his injuries.

[WARNING, TEMPORAL SHIFT]

“The hell does that mean!?” I screamed as I dodged falling debris. “No you know what! Screw this! Moonpie, take Link and fly far and fast. I'M ENDING THIS!”

From the shadows Luna rose, as she took Link by the scruff of his tunic and bailed out of the cave.

The raging fire dragon took notice and launched a ball of fiery death at the pair, only for me to slam said meteor of destruction right back at him. Now reeling, I took one last breath as I pooled ALL of the Mana I had (even the bare amount keeping me alive) and charged an Ultima right into the big shiny beat stick of the Megaton FUCK MOTHERING HAMMER™!

As my body fell deeper into ruin as I charged forward, Akriloth tried and failed to keep me from his now degrading body. My mythical mallet of dragon slaying majesty (Did I mention how much I loved this thing?) landed face first unto the pommel of the FDB and all the room was filled with green. Glorious, death dealing green.

Show's Over Pt1: Curtain Call

-Underworld-

The first time I ever found myself down here, I was greeted by rows and rows of every kind of undead you could think of. The afterlife was a cacophony of souls going to and fro as they were ferried to their final destination.

Now though...it was empty. Far too empty and far too quiet.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU FOOL!!!??”

Oh, except for that. “LEGION! CHAIN THIS LOST SOUL!” I exclaimed with my “Land of the Dead” authority.

Blackened chains tore through the facsimile of Akriloth's spectral body. Hulking gray behemoths now rose from the ground and hoisted the chain holding the burning orb that was Akriloth's soul.

One of them gasped as they looked at me.

“Lord Death, you have returned!?” The monster asked, fear in his voice.

“Yep, take this soul to my keep and while you're here, hey why's it look like everyone died?”

The others flinched and started to walk away at an increased pace as the singled out legionary caved in on himself.

“Management saw fit to move all souls to a designated holding area until your return Lord Death!” He pitifully threw himself at my feet. “Please do not uncreate me!”

“Management did WHAT!?” Right, Management. So the thing about Management is that they're a governmental body I left in charge so that the Underworld wouldn't stop functioning even if I wasn't here to lead souls and such to their final rest.

The fact that Management was no longer doing it's job meant that someone fucked up.

“Get up you gimpy lake monster! You're a Legionary for God's sake! Act like it!” I commanded.

“Sir!” The monster rose to his feet in a salute.

“Where is Minos?” I asked.

“The Bull has gone into hiding Lord Death, as have most souls since Management had our new orders issued.”

“And Elysium?”

“Locked and secure.”

I gave a nod and turned away as I focused on pulling my body back together.

“I will return soon, and tell Management to get their shit together lest THEY face uncreation.” Now was the fun part, recreating my body.

The process wasn't long or arduous, heck it wasn't even tedious. First came the heart, a solid crystal red dodecahedron. Next was what I guess made up my nervous system, circulatory, respiratory and digestive tracks.

Afterwards came the new flesh, skin, fur and scales. Although this time I wanted my scales to reflect my first encounter with the members of the multiverse. So, the scales on my left shoulder were colored a light creamy tan and were fashioned to look like a malformed scar. The same went for my chest, I can't forget about that bamboo shoot after all.

“Fucking battle chips.” I said with a laugh. “I wonder what Meddy’s doing…”

I shook that thought away and raised an Underworld gate set for the land of the living. Hopefully Link and Luna weren't too worried.

-Plateau-

The Underworld gate rose gently from the ground to the last point in time where I still drew breath. What greeted me was an open plane atop the mountain.

“Moonpie!? Link!? You didn't get caught in the blast did you!?”

'Please be alive. Please be alive. Please be a-’

“Where in Din’s name have you been?” Link asked as he crossed his arms. “Considering what the original hero of Battleon is capable of, you shouldn’t have taken this long to defeat a dragon.” He said with a shake of his head. “Ya had me worried for a moment there.”

“I uh...I had some business. Where's Moo-” I was thusly pummeled into the floor by a mass of midnight blue who began to nuzzle my neck.

“How is everyone down there? Did you speak with any of my old battalion? Was everyone surprised to see you after so long? Is that paint on your chest?” The mare asked as she lifted her eyes to meet my own.

“That...will all have to wait. We still have business to finish here.” I say as I get back up and dust myself off. “Where’s the egg? Please tell me I caught it in the blast.”

Link slowly raised an eyebrow at this. “If not, we’d best find it before a certain you-know-who does…” he said with a wary hinting voice.

I shuddered a bit, not at the chance of that undead knight also being in this timeline...but on the off chance I'd need the Bacon Orb and would have to deal with…*Shudder* When…

“I really hated fighting When…” I said as I put my hand on my forehead. Shaking off the feeling of dread, I looked to and fro and found an impossibly UNTOUCHED, UNDISTURBED, part of the cave I (and I really need to emphasize here) OBLITERATED.

Silently motioning for my companions to follow, I walked deep into the cave. The walls were absolutely pristine. The rocky formations were buffed out and shined, the smell of lemon pledge rose from the floor, and the Toreador March was playing from some unseen music box.

I felt uneasy...really. Really. Uneasy.

“What exactly is so important about this egg?” Asked Luna, breaking the undisturbed silence.

“Huh, oh. Well, now that I think about it, the dragon that hatches from it isn't exactly a problem. It's hatching was more a catalyst that sparked the “Almost” end of the world.” I made sure to emphasize the air quotes on “Almost”.

We found the egg at the end of the cave sitting idly in a neatly woven nest that looked much too clean.

“Of course that doesn't mean I want it alive.” I pulled out the Megaton from my inventory and hefted the still glowing hammer on my shoulder. “Who wants dibs?”
Link kneeled down and picked up the egg in his hands. “I think it’s going to take something stronger than that.” Link suggested. “Of course I might be wrong.”

“Are we so certain that this is the option we must take?” Luna asked. “Doesn't this creature have a right to life?”

I looked at Luna, and couldn't help seeing that hurt little filly all those years ago. “This...isn’t about a right to life. It's about a choice. A choice we all have to make. A choice between millions of lives and-screw it I'm dropping the pretense we're aborting Akriloth’s child.” I went to grab the egg only for the egg to not be where Link was holding it. “Where’s the egg?”

My ear twitched. I smelled Chaos. I looked back at the nest and saw a horribly familiar draconequis cradling the egg in his arms. The egg was dressed in a frilly baby cap, pacifier, and diaper.

“Oh did you mean this egg?” He asked with genuine curiosity.

My brain stopped. Gears in my mind failed to turn and process this information that was being fed. A gerbil on a wheel missed a step and landed on its stomach.

“GIVE ME THAT EVIL EGG YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A-” I lunged for the egg only for Discord to disappear with a wave of his claws while saying “Toodles.”

I landed face first into the nest and screamed. “DE LANCIE!!!!!”

“Son of a Flying Pot..” Link cursed using a zelda-enemy’s name. “That idiot isn’t aware of what he’s dealing with!” I notice he had his bow and arrow out, the arrow’s tip glowing with holy magic. “...Please tell me the elements of harmony exist, otherwise you’re gonna have a fun time in the future with Discord.”

“The elements exist, but hopefully I won't need the girls to risk their lives or their sanity like that.” I said as I pulled out the Chaorupter Unlocked. “He's as good as dead the next time I see him!” Link placed his hand on my shoulder.

“However, if your world has any similarities to mine, then you might wanna hold off on that until your Fluttershy reforms him, I mean if she can.” Link suggested before looking around the area. “There’s nothing left here for now, let’s be on our way.”

“Tally ho...I guess.”

“Hey, don’t worry. You’ll find the means to win…” Link said in an attempt to make me feel better. He soon removed his leather gloved hand from my shoulder.

“No yeah...yeah.” I forced a smile as we made our way out of the cave. Only for Luna to put a forehoof on my chest.

“I sense a dark presence on that ship…” She whispered. Crap, a Star Wars reference meant Celestia was nearby!

“Oh shit...Link, drink this!” I said as I pulled four flasks from my inventory, two blue, and two clear. I chugged one of the jokes and handed the other to Link. He did the same in return due to the urgency in my voice.

The physical changes made their rounds and I was on all fours in no time. “Ugh, whatever you do, don't curse! Act natura-”

“Where is my baby!?” A loud voice echoed as the burning inferno that was Celestia rammed into Luna and held her in a tight, rib crushing hug. Thankfully Links ponifying had finished.

Link had become a unicorn stallion with red and green fur as his coat with his mane of colored gold, his ear still remained with the damaged claw marks and the scar on his left muzzle. On his flank was a golden triangle over a shield and sword as his cutie mark. His tunic was no longer on him, instead it became part of his fur. Everything else such as his leather gauntlets, red cloak and hood, and the pouches for his gear remained with him. His Master Sword and Hylian Shield had shrunk in size and was currently shown equipped to his back. The hylian turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow, as if asking a question I didn’t know.

“Uh…” I wanted to say something until Celestia’s gaze caught my eye.

“Oh my stars...Azure! Please don't tell me you were caught in this mess. Come, are you injured? Were you caught in that horrible blast? And…” Celestia stopped mid sentence, Luna still in a death grip. She thusly turned to gaze at Link.

“No harm done, we only had a bad run in with a few dragons, however we managed to drive them out.” Link said.

“Luna...you didn't tell me you had company..” Celestia stared at Link intently. “Certainly very exotic...Oh! Please, where are my manners. I am Princess Celestia, though as a companion of my sister, you may call me Celestia.” She gave a short bow and looked at Link’s old scars.

“You've been injured!? Medic!” She yelled.

“T-that won’t be necessary, Celestia, those are just old wounds of the past..” Link said, a little taken back by her yell for help.

Celestia released her sister and sauntered closer to Link as she took a much closer and much more physical look. “This scar upon your chest…”

“Just a manticore attack I survived seven years ago..” Link said as he took a step back. “Tis’ nothing for you to worry about.”

Celestia suppressed a chuckle and whispered into Luna’s ear.

“SISTER!” Luna screamed with an even louder blush pronounced on her cheeks.

“Hey uh…” All eyes went to me as I tried to hide from the three pairs of eyes. “Should we really have this discussion in what used to be the lair of a giant fire breathing dragon?”

“No! No of course not, please, a chariot is waiting outside. Sir Jun will tend to your wounds. I just hope Gold and Armor aren't butting heads again.” Celestia said as she led us outside.

“Pactagonal knight all the way out here?” I asked.

I heard Link snort in amusement when I mentioned them.

“You know of the order of the Pactagonal Knights?” Celestia asked with a smile. “Such a strange yet refreshing thing they are, their titles having a double meaning and all.” The chariot was fronted by two pegasi, one with a poofy yellow mane, and one in regular armor.

Sitting inside was a unicorn with a surgeon’s head mirror. He immediately spotted me and waved.

Link got inside of the chariot without a word.

Following inside, Sir Jun turned his head and whispered something terrible rather quickly.

“Captain Armor will soon be resigning, our order will follow.”

“Excuse me!?” I shouted as I plopped down.

“Is something the matter?” Celestia asked as she took a seat next to Link.

“I was just informed that Golden Hilt has been spreading lies and slander about me being a charlatan and a rogue! The nerve of some ponies.”

Luna scoot next to me as the chariot took off for flight. “I want to find that funny, but today has literally sucked out all of the happy I had to muster.” The night princess said.

“Please, we shouldn't dwell on this day any longer. Good sir, please tell me how you came to know my sister. Was it dangerous? Was it romantic…” She closed in on Link with the most obvious bedroom eyes I'd ever seen. “Was it both!? Please tell me it was both!

“I don’t know her personally, I was merely traveling the lands when I caught wind of a fierce battle, I came to Azure’s aid and fought alongside him and your sister. Thus far, it was indeed dangerous, but it's nothing compared to what i’ve faced in the past.” Link said, turning to look at me for a moment before turning his attention to Celestia.

I hope he wasn't trying to communicate through a social cue of some sort...I am horrible at reading those...

“By the way, my name is Protecting Shield. “ Link said as if it was his original name, although it kind of confused me as to why he was telling us a different name.

I would have inquired, but we were landing in Ponyville proper by this point and Shining was waiting for us. He didn't look to happy.

He kinda looked at me with this sad look in his eyes as we all got off the chariot. Sir Jun and that poofy maned pegasus included.

“Shining what did you do?” I asked.

“Go inside and enjoy the party. It's all in your honor after all hero.” The captain said as he gave a salute and made his way to Celestia.

“Guys I think shit just hit the fan” I whispered to my companions.

“What? What's happened and why haven't I been informed?” Luna asked rather worriedly.

“I think Shiny just gave his two weeks notice.” I said as I pushed the door into Sugar Cube Corner.

Two ungodly screams resounded from both within and without the confectionary.

“WHAT!?” Echoed the screams of a confused Solar Princess.

“SURPRISE!” Echoed nearly every resident of Ponyville and then some.

“Of course.. The ever-so psychic pony.” Link whispered to me, meaning a certain pink pony most likely planned this party. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows who I am.”

As if on cue we spotted said Pink Psychic wearing a green tunic, green cap, and a replica kokiri sword strapped to a brown belt. She caught sight of us and quickly looked side to side.

“This isn't what it looks like! Okay, it's exactly what it looks like, but can you blame me!?”

“Called it.” Link said with amusement in his voice.

“Well, one could get used to such lavish wear.” Rarity walked up to us in what looked like adult Zelda’s dress from Ocarina of Time. “Would the heroes of the town escort this princess inside?” She fluttered her eyes at Link.

Link mumbled something softly to himself but I didn’t quite hear what he said. He held out a hoof for Rarity. “It’s dangerous to go alone.” the hylian-turned-unicorn said.

The two began their walk inside, I went to follow but was immediately flanked by two very familiar musical mares...dressed in well.

“This was Pinkie’s idea. She said it would hold with the theme.” Octavia said. She wore a garb much like that of the Gerudo.

Vinyl on the other hand (hoof?) was dressed in Impa’s armor. Heck, she even did her hair in the same style AND she ditched the shades.

“And the theme?” I asked.

“She said it had to do with your childhood? A game you once played.” The pair led me through the room to what was a cake made to look like the temple of time. Hanging from the ceiling were several bats (some on fire...somehow) and a life size stalfos piñata.

“My...sister played it. I used to watch…”

Meanwhile back inside. “I thought this celebration was for the hero? Why the costumes?” Link asked as he looked around in curiosity to see if all the other ponies were dressed in a zelda-themed-related outfit.

Rarity and Pinkie shared a quick glance, small stars twinkling in their eyes.

Every other pony had been dressed up as either a Goron or Zora with few exceptions around the board. Galanoth still wore his armor, Turner had a fez and his ridiculously large scarf, Bon Bon had her iconic shades and her grappling hook strapped to her barrel, and the mane six (besides Rare and Pinkie) had foregone the costumes entirely.

“What? No king of thieves?” I asked idly only for the gentle notes of a familiar song to pierce the air.

My ears turned to the sound and found Lyra dressed much like a great fairy...Half human cat or not those hips do not lie.

Then I saw the reason for the song. Walking in a neat and somehow non-sensual strut was Luna, garbed in Sheik’s outfit. Of course the mere sight of her may or may not have caused my brain to fizzle.

'Stupid pony hormones…’

“Does this look alright too you?” Luna asks. “Honestly it looks much too tight but feels as if I'm wearing nothing at all.”

…

“Your nose is bleeding. Are you alright?” Luna wipes her clothed hoof upon my muzzle, the white of her garb now stained a crude brown.

“Arflgebrifiddle...Duh I mean you look like an angel bathed in pixie dust.” ‘The fuck did I just say?’

“I'll take that as a good thing...Oh, Rarity wanted you to wear this. Something about fulfilling a childhood dream?”

My Moonpie thusly presented me with Ganandorf’s armor from Ocarina. My mind took a step back, reviewed all previous damage done, and proceeded to whack everything not broken with a ballpoint hammer.

“DUCKS ON BREAD!” I shouted happily as I took hold of the bandit king's armor. “THIS IS THE. MOST. WONDROUS. THING!!” I fell and began to roll around in joy and wonderment as I felt a sharp gaze fall upon me making a fool of myself.

I dusted myself off and immediately donned the armor. “Hey Link! Check this out! How bout a game of tennis!?”

“Wait, a game of tennis?” The hylian pony asked as he raised his right hoof and a raised eyebrow.

“You know...it involves a glowing ball of light? It may or may not explode upon contact? Tennis!” I said with an abnormal grin.

Pinkie, at this point, pulled one shining ball of mystical light and one empty glass jar.

“Keep the ball moving for thirty swings. Do that and I've got a jar with your name on it~” Pinkie said in a sing song tone as she balanced the glass bottle on her nose.

“I’ve got eight of those, Pinkie.” Link said with a chuckle. “But I’ll do it only for practice.” he said before his horn glowed a golden color. He pulls out the master sword, the light gleaming off of it’s edge.

“Alright! Now how am I gon-bek!” I felt my sternum get pushed into my body as I was hoisted up into the ceiling. I looked first at the various gears and tracks laid upon the ceiling, and then I looked down. Pinkie was holding a black rope, that when she tugged, moved me ever so gently through the air.

“Thank God I'm not afraid of heights anymore...otherwise this would be horrifying.”

The crowd below us began to make way and clear the floor as Pinkie tossed the ball of light up to my position. “I don't even get time to adjust... you're just gonna start-okay.”

I felt the harness tug, and so I made the first swing. The orb curved at a downward left angle, narrowly missing a punch bowl. Link, using his form’s telekinetic body, swings the Master Sword in a upward arc to knock it back toward me.

And with that the game was on...now if only I had better control of my own motions.

I swing my hoof back down making the orb rocket back down to the awaiting Hylian pony. With grace and precision, we keep the ball moving as it gains velocity and mass with each subsequent strike.

“Pinkie! Make it look like I'm hovering!” I shout as I steady myself vertically.

The pointy eared pony kept up the effort as the game was forcing him to move faster with each swing.“Uh.. Pinkie?.. I hope.. You do have a plan to.. Stop this orb if it… gets too fast.” Link said in between hits.

The pink pony in question gave a surprised look at Link...only to give a sly grin. She held up a wooden sign with the number “27” on it.

The sign went down and up as quickly as the orb was struck until it read “30”.

The ball had reached ludicrous size and speed as it went right for me. “PINKIE WAIT NO HELP! HEELP!!”

The shining orb of shininess made contact with my face, and with a loud pop, the room was showered in...confetti.

'My face hurts...so much…”

“Son of a flying pot..” Link said under his breath. “Sorry about that.”

“It's all g-CHU!” I sneezed as Pinkie lowered me from the ceiling rails. “Did i’ ‘ave ta be co’fetti? I thi’ is stu’ i’ by dos…” I gave another good sneeze, the offending piece dislodging itself from my nostril.

The crowd that had been so silent up to now had burst out in uproarious laughter and cheer.

My back received several congratulatory pats as the many patrons began to make their way out of the building and no doubt to their homes

Pinkie, true to her word, presented Link the bottle, only it was now filled with a neon blue substance.

“Here! I made the jam myself! Don't ask...it's a secret to everypony.” The last part she said in a mock whisper in close proximity to the Hylian pony.

With a slow swirl of his blade, he moves his sword back into the sheath on his back. Link let out an amused laugh at what Pinkie Pie said. “As secretive as how you do the unexplainable, Pinkie.” The hylian said jokingly before taking the bottle.

“Eh, it's a living.” She replied with a smile and a shrug. Link reached over with a hoof and ruffled up her hair, he then moves his attention over to me. He holds out his hoof in offering to help me up.

“Thanks...so. It's getting late, and you have two choices. There's a spare room with your name on it should you be too tired to do anything, or I can open a rift back to your world and you can be on your way…”

I steadied myself and dusted my new costume off. “Though I may need a minute to rest….still shaky.”

“Let’s enjoy the party, then if we have a quiet moment, we’ll discuss it.” Link said as he took a seat in one of the cushions in the room.

I took a few steps and promptly fell on my face. With a tired groan I simply trudged my face along the smooth floor until I found something soft to lay my head on.

“You do realize we're in public...yes?” Said my comfortable object of comfort that for some reason sounded like-

“LUNA!” I quickly shot up...only to fall upon my back. “Mediiiic…”

Giggles surrounded us as I got back on my feet again, Twilight and the gang having now joined us.

“For a town that almost burned to the ground, I'd say everything was resolved pretty well.” The lavender unicorn stated.

“Come on egghead, did you actually think we’d lose? Especially after Fluttershy went all berserk on the dragons that got past us?”

Something about how Rainbow worded that didn't set well with me…

“Dash. What exactly do you mean by that?” I ask.

She looked at me for a second, then to the cup of punch she had in her hoof...which she emptied rather quickly. She then motioned towards the mare in question, who had desperately tried to hide behind Gilda and her large armor.

“I um... don't want to... talk about it.” She whispered. Only for a deeper, though still feminine, voice to resonate from her lips.

“I am no coward...and neither are you.”

“Whoakay, backitup backitup! The fritz was that!?” I shouted, taking care not to swear in this God forsaken pony body.

'Fluttershy’ grunted as she shakily made her way to the center of the gathered group. Most of the others looking away.

Without warning, the Beta Berserker earring I gave her began to shine as Fluttershy took a more human form.

Pale skin, blue veins trailing into her scalp, and eyes of pure dark cobalt. She was…

“Illyria…Okay yeah. We should just...talk about all this later and-HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD!?”

Fluttershy’s voice echoed through the lips of the human before us. “Um...well...She said I was...too strong?”

“Any normal mortal soul would have perished, but she-” Fluttershy reverted to her normal pony form, effectively cutting off Illyria.

“Please don't tell Angel bunny.”

Mm...my brain was starting to unravel at the seams.

“I don't know bout all ya’ll, but I am so very tired. As such, I'm going home.” I stated as I made my way for the door. Of course as I went to move, Applejack of all ponies motioned to stop me.

“Hold on there partner! We're gonna need to go over the costs of repairs, reparations, ah mean, we hav ta start documenting a bunch a new citizens and not ta mentio-”

“AJ!” The mare, shocked still, stared at me with folded ears. “Tomorrow is a better day.”

I was halfway out the door before I looked back. “Hey Link, the spare room should be prepped by now, unless Pinkie finds some way to keep you here overnight…”

The hylian-turned-pony’s long pointed ears perked up at the mention of his name, he turns around with a levitated cup of punch in his magic. He takes a sip of it before answering. “I don’t think so.” Link chuckled. “She’s good at parties, but she isn’t THAT good where somepony would end up partying all night.”

“Shun the non-believer!!” Pinkie shouted...only for several guests to make their way past me in a timely and fashionable manner.

“You win this round…” The Pink Menace thusly slid away, into an awaiting door frame shrouded in fog.

Shaking my head, I make my own way out into the darkening world, the sun having begun it's gentle descent over the shining crystalline town.

Author's Note

Welp...this is uh...Don't exactly know how to say that this crossover still isnt quite over...Despite the fact that it was only supposed to run as long as the Fire War...

Show's Over Pt2: Head Count

“So glad this is all over... hey, you afraid of ghosts?” I turn and ask the Hylian pony.

“No, why do you ask?” Link said as he turned to look at me.

“Because I have an axe swinging moglin ghost who acts like my maid for some reason.”

“..does he… she have any problems with guests?... It’s been a very long time since I played Adventure Quest so I can’t remember that character. I’ve always been a Dragonfable player, Jeez, I wonder how much has changed since I was forced to leave earth seventeen years ago?” Link asked and pondered, placing a hoof on his chin.

“So much has changed...but no yeah, Veral won't outright attack you...I hope.”

Finally reaching my door, I move to knock on the aged piece of wood only for the door to swing open and a torrent of wind to nearly blow me off my legs.

“NO ENTRY!” Was all I heard until the door was slammed on my face.

“For the love of- Vi! It's me! Can you let us in!?”

The door opened slightly, ethereal blue eyes peeked out at me and Link. With an audible gasp, Veral threw the door open and began to rub her face on my own.

“OH YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!”

“Mmm...Link help…” I said as I groaned in slight discomfort. Link covered his mouth with a hoof, trying his best to suppress a laugh.

“I will bite you…” I hissed in mock annoyance.

Veral let me go long enough to get a good look at Link as well, and though she had stars in her eyes and squee’d...she did nothing to bother him.

“You're our new guest right?” She asked. “It's a little crowded, but I'm sure we can put ya somewhere…”

As we all made our way inside I had to beg the question. “Crowded how? It's just us, Trixie and that changeliiii-oh.”

A small hive of six badly bruised and battered changelings had filled the living room. The lights of their eyes dim and fading.

“Yeeeeah…... they're not doing to well.” Veral said rather sadly. “I mean, I’D help them...but you know...dead.” She emphasized her “dead” by shoving her paw through her stomach and wiggling it. Adorable, but morbid.

“How'd they even find their way here? And from where for that matter.”

Link slightly frowned at seeing bug-like pony’s current condition, he then quickly looks around in slight paranoia. The hylian leans toward me. “...their queen isn’t here, is she?” he whispered.

The dying bugs turned to Link, hope in their eyes...which died as soon as it came.

“Madness…” One managed to whisper.

“No more hive…”

“No more queen…”

The group began to chitter a sad tune.

“Tch, they must have been hit in the crossfire. Vi, where's our changeling? She okay?”

Veral bobbed her head back and forth. “She's uh...not taking this too well. Oracle and Trixie are with her,” I move to find the trio only for Veral to grab my attention. “Hey, I get that you're cute and all right now, but Turner swung by and said you'd want these.”

Phasing through a wall and returning from a corner, Veral came back with a crate of several bottles.

“That what I think it is?” I ask as I eye a bottle of clear liquid.

“Grab one and get vertical. I’ve got things covered here.”

“By Nayru’s love..” Link commented to himself. The look on his face told me he might of had meet the changlings before as if they were a troublesome bunch.

. “Speaking of which… Perhaps I could assist in healing them? I’d like to take a risk and try manipulating a spell into a healing spell.” Link said as he turned to look at me.

“Unless it's...oh yeah. Nayru…” I say as I carefully remove my current costume and take a bottle. Relieving it if it's contents, I feel my bones and body shift and contort back to its normal form.

“Fffffffuck it feels good to swear!!” I shout as I pass a bottle to Link. “Have at it.” The Hylian drinks it down quickly, slowly reverting back to his original form.

“Alrighty.” Link said as he presses his hands together. “It’s been a while but hopefully this’ll work..”

Link said as he held out his hands toward the group of changelings, taking a deep breath, he began offering a silent prayer to the goddess herself. With eyes closed, he begins to concentrate his thoughts, blue energy started to form within his hands.

At first, he appeared to be struggling to change the spell, its form trying to shape itself into a diamond much like its original purpose. Sweat begins to show on his face as the diamond is forced into a brighter glow as it surrounded his hands. He kneels down and hovers his hands over each changeling, feeding him or her a variation of Nayru’s love. Their skin and chitin takes on a healthy blue glow as it begins to heal up their injuries and repair their armor.

As the ordeal reaches its end, the six injured changelings close their eyes from exhaustion, their breathing easier and their wounds gone.

“You okay? That looked absolutely painful.” I said as I handed Link a health potion..

“No, I’m good. Altering the base spells I haven’t changed tends to exhaust my stamina. So far, Din’s fire has two variations; Din’s fireball and Din’s barrage. I haven’t tried doing the same for Farore’s wind yet. At least the backlash didn’t become as bad as when I combined Din’s Fire with Light Arrow.” Link explained as he took a seat on the nearest chair. He takes off his red cloak and folds it up seeing as he won’t be needing it anytime soon.

I sigh in relief. Veral on the other hand just stares at Link in utter awe.

“Make yourself at home, it's been one of those days and I am SPENT…” I start to walk away and stop. “You still have that staff Ember was using?”

Link nodded in confirmation as he reached into his pouch, he pulls out a tiny staff which quickly grows to its original size once out.

“Good, it'll need some work, but I can make it into an actual amulet overnight,” Taking the staff, I flick the jagged crystal that acts as its focal point, grunting as whatever force it carried attempted to...integrate with me. “This is gonna suuuuck, but on the bright side, if all goes well I can help turn you into a Dragon Lord if you so choose.”

Link almost dropped his cloak in surprise, he places it away in his pouch as it shrinks down to fit in. “W-wait, Dragonlord, me?” the hylian asked with wide-eyes. He puts away his hoo

“You've got skill, will, and all the perseverance a Dragon Lord needs. I could always mine for metals in the Underworld and Elemental Plane of Magic, so making the armor won't even be a problem!”

I begin to tap my chin in thought. “Though, dragon training will be a little difficult...but we can worry about all that some other time!”

“There’s one problem, I’m wearing armor under my tunic” Link asked as he pulled down his tunic. Instead of chainmail, I saw leather armor with metal plated scales of unknown material covering most of his upper body. “Iron Ash made this for me and its enchanted with magical properties that activate with a spoken word. If possible, I’d like for the dragonlord armor to be light and that it can be combined with what I’m wearing now. Afterall, my fighting style involves being light on my feet, evasion and acrobatics.” the hylian explained

I move in a tad closer and sniff. “Oof, powerful magics inlaid...your breastplate will act as the centerpiece of the entire thing. From there, it’s a matter of keeping the reactive metals from exploding. Should be fun…”

With a curt nod and an idea in my head, I made my way to my basement, staff in hand. “Veral, if Link needs anything at all, get it for ‘im yeah?”

-Basement: Hero-

I summon an orb of light as I make myself comfortable in the loot crowded basement. The staff in my grasp begins to pulsate the closer I came to the dragon skeleton in my posession. “Welp...I think I know how to do this.”

Taking a smaller bone, I proceeded to once again rip my heart out of my chest and carefully place it upon a workbench. Getting to work, I grind the bone to a fine powder. I take the jagged crystal that made up the staff’s focal point and began to cover it in bone dust.

“Now the hard part…” As swift as a leaf in a hurricane, I jammed the crystal point first into my chest cavity. An ungodly wail silently echoed and reverberated, my mouth open and agape from the intense pain. I was hopeful the sonic shock waves didn't wake anyone who was already asleep.

I thrashed and writhed, banging my head on to the floor while keeping my claws as far away from the crystal as I could.

Once the unimaginably blinding pain subsided and my train of thought had returned, I began to focus my blood to reshape the crystal into a less painful and spherical form.

“Hooohkay...now I just gotta give it one last…” Bolstering my resolve, I hovered my right palm over the base of the gem and ignited the crystal (and my insides) with a very focused Destruction Burst.

Ribs were cracked, joints had dislocated, and I think I broke my jaw. Choking back a blood curdling screech, I started to forcibly put my broken body back together both physically and magically.

-Livingroom: Link-

“...Is he going to be alright or is there something I don’t know about when it comes to the dragon amulets?” the hylian asked with worry in his voice.

Azure’s moglin ghost seemed to have the same look of worry. “He's never screamed that loud before…*shiver* be glad you can't hear that high, pretty sure I'd be bleeding from the ears,”

She began to fly around the house, checking walls and floors.

“You think I should check on him?” She asked.

“I’d probably hear the pitch if I was wolf form, but yea, check on him but don’t say anything incase he’s in the middle of progress, I mean Displaced can change and he might be doing something I know nothing of.” Link said as he leaned against the nearest wall.

“Yeah...I’ll be uh...right back. Feel free to raid the fridge!”

And with that she descended into the floor.

-Basement-

“Ninety one bottles of beer on the wall, ninety one bottles of-”

“For the love of-CAN I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR FIVE MINUTES!!”

The shrill disapproving sound of Veral’s echoing voice snapped me out of my daze, my eyes focusing on the crystalizing puddle of blood surrounding my muzzle...which just so happened to be lying on the floor.

“Heya Vi...can you not shout? I think my ears are a little sensitive.”

“What did you do to yourself?” She asked with a commanding tone and her paws on her hips.

“Don't be mad…”

“What did you do to yourself?” She repeated a little quieter this time.

“I jammed a foreign object into my chest.”

“YOU DID-no. I'm not mad. Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’-DING FRIES ARE DONE!” I exclaimed. Shooting to my feet, I dislodge the crystal from my chest. “Heeheeheeheee I get that you're pretty~” I stare at the perfect sphere, it's red glow shined bright like a diamond.

“Uh...maybe you should lie down?” Veral said as she grabbed my shoulders.

“Nonsense! Not when I'm on the precipitle...the precipitititlalala...the precipitation of glory!!” I shout, a single finger raised skyward.

Fishing through my inventory, I took out one of my “special” coin pouches. “Dragon Coin Dragon Coin, grant me a wish...wait no…” Grabbing forty Dragon Coins, I shoved them into my mouth and turned said mouth into a living furnace.

After about fifty seconds of mouth melting majesty, I spat the molten river onto the gem and began to mold.

“The Slayer kicked a zombies head, the WerePyre chased the Slay-er the WerePyre thought twas all good fun, POP!!”

The molding had been completed and the still hot gold was propped on the staff cavity. The Dragon Coin gold melted onto the staff and it began to glow with glorious might.

“Goes the Slayer~” The staff had been completed, my mind going a mile a minute. My heart...was now being put back into it's rightful place.

“Now will you rest?” Veral asked me, worry written upon her adorable undead face. Her hand still on my exposed chest cavity.

“Kk, wake me up when September ends…” I fell flat on my face, darkness the only thing I see.

-Living room-

Veral, ascended from the floor, a worried look on her face.

“So what was going on? I heard a little bit of yelling, something about fries?” Link asked the moglin. The hylian sniffed the air. “Perhaps not. It kind of smells like something melted… Was he blacksmithing?”

“Sure uh... let's go with that…” She seemed tense. “I'm just gonna...I'll be uh…” She floated away aimlessly, the sound of metal softly and rythmically impacting against wood soon followed. The hylian raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the Moglin’s response. Unable to stop his curiosity, Link slowly makes his way down to the basement.

“Azure?” Link spoke out as he pushed the door open.

Lying face first in a pile of crimson crystals and reeking of charred flesh, was Azure...only much larger, greener, and with a massive crimson mane. Soft breathing could be heard along with the rise and fall of his back.

“Mm...not now Mrs. Belvedere...I’ve had too much lemonade…”

Leaning on the side of a workbench was the staff Azure had taken to work with, only now it was completely different.

Link was confused and worried, but mostly puzzled. “What in Hylia’s name happened?” the hylian called out as he walked over to Azure’s body.

Every so often, smoke would billow out from his open muzzle, and the area where his heart was had been forcefully exposed. Link frowns at this. As he kneels down, his hands spark with blue magic as he attempts to heal the dragon man via a Nayru’s Love spell variation.

Flesh and scale began to cover his heart once more, the smoke died off and Azure gained a small smile as his breathing became easier.

“That can’t be comfortable to sleep on.” Link commented as he shook his head, he looks over at the staff, his interests piqued when he notices it's changes. “..Is that..?” the hylian began as he walked over to it, he reaches his hand toward it, only to stop. His hand mere inches from it. “..No, I think it would be best to wait for Azure to wake up...” he said as he pulled his hand away. The hylian left the basement and didn’t come back, the Moglin having told the hylian that the Dracopyre was able to sleep anywhere and wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

-Dreamscape: Hero-

The inky black of the endless pit of dreams once again surrounded me as I fell through a world with no-

“Act one: Dance of the Blade!” My hand lands on a surface palm first as I cartwheel away from Midnight, several after images following close behind her.

Her rapier soars through the ether, her after images slicing along her sword arm as she very narrowly misses impaling me, slashing me, or otherwise harming me.

“Act two: Dance of the Mystic!” I duck underneath a fireball, only to roll to me left to dodge a jagged pillar of ice.

“YIP!” Spinning into me from my right, Midnight thrust her arm skyward, a surge of electricity snapping through the air. I bobbed left only for her to spin along with me and summon another pillar of lightning.

I back rolled to gain distance only to have landed on a Gate of Atlantis.

“Act three: Dance of the Moon.” Six Mana ghosts appeared, one for each point. Three brandishing rapiers and after image silhouettes and three thrumming with arcane power.

“Oh find me in the Alps…” Crossing my arms over my face and closing my eyes, I braced for what would no doubt be a very painful beatdown...only to open my eyes to the sound of metal and magic clashing against a barrier.

“Nayru’s love…” I whispered as Midnight's spell had died down.

“Another filthy wench? When will you see that I am the only master you will ever need?” Midnight proclaimed as she sheathed her blade.

“Not even gonna dignify that with a response. I see you have more moves?” I say as I cross my arms together.

“You will bow to me yet…”

Show's Over Pt3: Exit Stage Left

-Basement-

“Gyahah!!! Chicken Soup for the Soul!!” I cry out. Feeling rather sore, I manage myself into a sitting position and check for non existent damage to my bod- “How am I not hurt?” Taking another look, I noticed I was in full Dracopyre. “And how are my restraints not in place?”

“The fuck happened last night and MAN IT FEELS GOOD TO SWEAR! FUUCK! FUUUUUUUCK!” I dropped my head back onto the floor in primal satisfaction.

Taking a minute to breathe, I finally pick myself up off the floor, dusting the crystallized dragon blood off of me.

“Is that…” I turn to my work bench, spotting the staff in all of its new found glory. “Did I do that?”

The new staff head was shaped EXACTLY like a Dragon Amulet and bits of gold had melted onto the staff shaft proper. “What...happened last night?”

The light of day greeted me as I left the confines of my basement. Link had been outside, practicing his sword stance.

“Isn't he dreamy…”

Link swung his sword horizontally, then slices vertically, he leaps into the air and thrusts his sword downward into the ground, then quickly pulled it out, going into a backroll before getting up onto his feet and attacking the air with a rising strike. The way he was moving was like he was fighting an imaginary opponent.

It was a good thing he was a good distance away when he suddenly performed a weak spin attack, causing a ring of blue fire to follow his blade.

“Geez, you and Serenity have really dangerous taste…” I comment to my moglin.

“Pfft…” Veral scoffed. “That hussy pounces on anything with a pulse.”

“Link buddy! You got a fan girl!” I shout at the hylian and pointing a finger down on Veral.

“GAHHHH!!! NUUUU!!!” With cheeks bluer than normal, Veral begins to pound my shoulder with her paws.

Link blinked in confusion as he looked over at the Moglin. “Are you joking? I haven’t even done anything huge to gain one fan...I haven’t been this world that long, have I?” The hylian asked before swirling his Master sword and placing it back into it’s sheath with a loud clank.

“I don't know, you did rock the battlefield out there. I'm pretty sure a griffon or two will end up giving you looks.”

Link raised an eyebrow at my comment. “In a biped like me? Then again, there was that one time an Earth Pony maid had interest in me…” the hylian said as she shook his head at the memory. “She had a thing for predators.”

“Who doesn't!?” Veral said excitedly and with a come hither growl.

“Bad Moglord,” I said, tapping two fingers on her helmet. Though not at all a strong hit, it still elicited an adorable 'Doi’.

“Behave.” Link said with a shake of his head. “In anycase, I ain’t looking for any relationship and I doubt anyone would handle the truth that more than one equestria exists.”

“Multiverse yeah? Master told us ALL about how different timelines exist. Kind of a bummer we landed in one where...mm.” Veral had a happy expression turn somber, her ears folding back as she hugged her axe.

*Sigh* “Santo Cielos...come here niña.” I motioned for the saddened ghost to hug, only to have her bury her face on my chest.

“Cuando este sol, se apage...tu partirás de mí...”

Link’s heart sunk at sight of the sad moglin. “I’m sorry…” he said.

“No need to apologise...if anyone needs to...it's her,” I say, pointing my thumb to Canterlot castle. “Nearly didn't make it out alive…” I whispered solemnly. “Still so many lost…”

Link took a gentle breath and sighed softly. The hylian appeared to be thinking for a moment.

*Snif* “I-I’m good now...come on, breakfast is getting cold.” Wiping away her tears (somehow managing to even produce tears) Veral phased through the door leading back into the kitchen.

I reeled back a bit, slapping my palm against my forehead. “Oh shit, Oracle...Uh, Link? About uh...one of my guests…”

“Hm? Someone else or your ghost friend?” Link asked as he files his thoughts for a later date.

“Oracle...well... I rescued her from a facility...You might know her by her original name. Zecora,”

I stand up and dust myself off, hefting the staff on my shoulder. “Her eyes were burned out by Shadow damage, but her vision was augmented because of it…Well, you’ll see.”

Making my way for the door, my senses were assaulted by the smells of peppered potatoes, pancakes, and lots...and lots of sugar. So far, the smell of pancakes is what drew the hylian’s attention the most.

“So she kind of got the Daredevil treatment?” Link guessed.

“Yeah only it also drove he-” I was then jumped by a mound of black and white overgrown zebra mane.

“TEEEEEDDYYYYYY!!!!” Oracle cheered as she held me in a bear hug.

“Teddy?” Link asked, snorting in minor amusement as he was trying to hold back his laugh.

Ruffling her mane, I turn Oracle around so that she faces Link. “Look into those eyeless sockets and tell me she's not the most adorable thing you've ever seen.”

“Uuhh.. well..” Link began, he sounded like he didn’t want to lie. “In her own unique way I suppose.. Is she happy the way she is?” The hylian asked.

Oracle just seemed to hang limp in my grasp until a wide grin covered her face as she stuck out her fore hooves.

“PUPPY!”

I may have died on the spot, if only from the shear hyena's laugh I gave.

“Puppy?!” Link said as he took one step back. “What, are you seeing my wolf’s form or something?”

She had me lean her in closer to Link’s face, just enough to boop his nose. “I can see you~” She said, accentuating each word with the tilt of her head.

“But that doesn’t explain why you see me as a puppy instead of a hylian.” Link said as he looked over at me. “Care to explain?”

I shrugged non-chalantly. “Don't look at me, she called the last guy a puddle.”

Link frowned slightly at this. “I think the Shadow did more to her than just her eyes..” he said worryingly.

“Yeah... I'm hoping I can mend her mind once I recreate the Soulweaver armor.”

“And hopefully her knowledge of alchemy is still intact.” Link said as she looked at Zecora. “It's nice to meet you though.”

She gave him a happy smile as she hopped out of my grasp.

Leading the way to the dining area, I took note of the six changeling's from the night before all dressed as butlers or maids. Trixie and the first changeling I found had been giving the new group a run down of sorts.

Paying no mind to the fact that this was probably Veral's fault, I took my seat and began to fiddle with the staff. “I uh...blacked out last night. Anybody wanna fill me in?”

Veral floated on by, a stacked plate on her paw. “You mean the part where you “Jammed a foreign object into your chest”? Or where you shoved forty Dragon Coins down your throat?”

“I did what now?”

“Hold up, what? I don’t recall the Battleon or Dragonfable hero becoming a furnace…” Link said as he looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. He makes his way over to the plate of pancakes, taking three pieces of deliciously baked batter.

Veral and I stare at each other before looking back to Link. “Watch this.” I clicked my mouth, a spark going off. I clicked two more times until a small fire was billowing from my closed muzzle. Concentrating the fire, it began to to turn blue with the strength of a focused blow torch.

The fire sparked until it was a plume of concentrated plasma.

Opening my maw and swallowing the plasma, I let the heat cook until my mouth started to billow out smoke, re-opening my mouth once again to reveal a burning furnace of molten fire.

*Cough*cough* “Hard to breathe...ughh...so dial it back, I used how many D.Cs?”

“Forty, you even sang a song about it.” Veral stated as she handed me a glass of viscous liquid. She whispered into my ear as quietly as possible: AB negative it's all I could find.

“Either your Displacer has a cruel sense of humor, or something went wrong..” Link said as he looked over at me. “You’re comfortable with it?”

“Yeah...I got used to it after my...fifth death? When did I start not caring?” I turned to ask my ghostly companion, as I took a gulp of my drink.

“Mm...seventh death, but that's only because Honey insisted on keeping you company whenever you managed to get back.”

‘...Honey.’ I felt a sadness wash over me, as if a blurred film covered my eyes.

“Seventh death? And ponies back home used to ask me how I kept my sanity from being alone for ten years after I was displaced,”

The hylian cocked his head back he looked back on his life.

“I mean, I was in denial of who I had become and tried to look for a way out. I had given up at one point but kept hidden, although my new drive was to save others.

It was impossible to just ignore ponies in trouble as the thought of knowing you could've prevented their death would of weight heavily on my subconscious.” Link explained with a frown at his past memories.

“Same reason, different problem. I had a duty to my caravan.” I said, not wanting to say more.

“A hero’s duty is never done.” Link said with a sigh and a shake of his head, his expression held years of what he meant.

“Heh, suppose so…here, you'll be wanting these,” I say as I hand him the staff, and pull out the still glowing Megaton Hammer.

“Uh...sorry about the hammer…”

“...Why is it glowing?” Link asked as he took his hammer using both hands.

Shit I was hoping he wouldn't ask that question… “Weeeeell….you see when I went to kill Akriloth I kinda sorta...I don't know...pumped it full of Ultima? Just a little though…” I pinched my index finger and thumb in emphasis.

Link gawked at me. “Ultima.. As in the one from final fantasy!?” he asked with disbelief. “How in Din’s fiery wrath did you do that? I used to play a lot of the games back when I was normal but I don’t recall any involving channeling the spell into a weapon… Did your Displacer give you this power?”

I took a deep breath and sighed. Locking my Dracopyre aspect, I released Griever’s restraint. His form draping over me like an over coat.

“I had a run in with Ultimecia, a villain from Final Fantasy Eight. Long story short, I can channel Griever, and yes, FF8’s Junction system allowed for the player to enhance their weapon strikes with elemental spells,”

I took out the Tuning Blade, and channeled Ultima as an example. The massive sword began to glow green and black with destructive force. “Bit of a decent upgrade on my part.”

“So… It’s permanently part of my hammer? I suppose that’d make it the Ultimaton Hammer..” Link said as he stared at his hammer for a moment.

“Again...reaaaal sorry about that.” Just as I finished my “drink” every changeling had burst in with several plates of various baked or fried breakfast foods. With speed and precision, the table was covered in food and drink.

At the head of the table was Trixie and one of the butler changelings. “Um...are you sure this is okay? What if they don't like me?” Trixie seemed to ask.

Popping her head out of a wall, Veral began to wave her paw dismissively. “You'll do fine~ it's not like they’ll eat you alive or anything.”

The butler’s wings began to chitter violently from this statement. 'Heh, if changelings could sweat.’

Link took his place among the group. “How is everyone feeling? Especially you six from last night.” he addressed to the changelings.

“We don't feel the biting pain of hunger. How is this?” The butler asked.

“Nayru’s love.” Link explained as he raised his hand to show a soft blue glow of magic “A spell blessed to me by the goddess of wisdom.

Six pairs of wings began to chitter at the prospect of love. One changeling though had decided that they wanted food the old fashioned way, if the buzzing wing on my leg was anything to go by.

Looking down, I saw the changeling I had kidnapped. Cutely dressed, and mouth open wide.

“The things I do…” Opening my maw, I allow the bug to feed off my emotions. The same pink stream floating through the air.

Once the little one had her fill, she hugged me in thanks and went off to do...whatever it is Veral has her doing now.

“Hey, she didn't pass out.” Veral stated.

“Good, it means she's starting to evolve.”

Link started to cut his pancakes into bite-sized pieces. “So, unless it’s too personal or painful, could you explain what happened?” he asked in curiosity.

Buzzing wings threatened to drown out all sound...until a maid among them hushed the crowd.

“There...there was great fire…” The world around us began to change, overlaid with the images of several dragons and crystal alicorn shaped statues.

“Woah...GAHAH!!” I jumped into a fetal position, as a statue to my right was shattered in a massive explosion. Looking down, I saw the desert sand begin to rupture as a great fissure opened below me. In a sputtering fit, I attempted to paw myself away from the hole, only to realize it was just an illusion.

“Uh...guh…my uh...my bad.”

The chronicler continued. “Our warriors began to fight back against the scaled ones...only to be torn apart, rend by teeth and claw...we seven survived...if only by luck.”

Taking deep breaths, I looked through the illusion until I spotted Cadance. “What about her? She alive?”

“So the attack against ponyville wasn’t the only place…” Link said as he placed his fork down. “Hylia damnit…”

“Cadance’s dumbass went on ahead to mitigate the damage Akriloth would have caused. She went alone, and no one told me until it was too late.” I said, as I took a closer look at the stock still image.

Noticing her footing was about to give out, I motioned for the chronicler to continue this image along.

On her hind hooves and holding back a dragon with her blade, the sands parted and the two fell down. A loud thunk and several Earthly expletives rang from the fissure.

“Oh...Shining’s not gonna like this…”

“...Ember was the leader, right? I hope there wasn’t a second in command.” Link said as he let out a sigh. He goes back to finish his breakfast, often pausing between bites.

“Scroll around, I'm going to see if…” The world began to spin, often I would spy glances of Akriloth, either using a crystal for a toothpick or blowing plumes of fire onto the desert.

“Ember wasn't in this group. Least as far as I can tell…” Buzzing wings cut me from my musings. I turned to see the others look on in horror at one of the dragons holding an egg close to it's mouth. “Son of a fuck mothering…cut the feed.”

The chronicler fell to the floor, breathing heavily, and crying silently. The world fell apart and returned to normal. Veral and another changeling maid picked the poor girl off the floor and took her to a spare bedroom

“That...that was going to happen here!?” I heard Trixie cry out. Fear written all over her wide eyed trembling body.

“Not while heroes still breath, Trixie.” Link spoke out as he finished his meal.

“I need to get out there...she could still be alive and I need to-” Before I could even move, Veral had her axe to my head.

“You will sit down and enjoy the breakfast we made you. You will rest, and breathe, and by your God when we are CALM and READY...we will save that irresponsible princess. Am I clear?”

“Vi we do not hav-”

“AM I CLEAR!?” A torrential wind soared past me, splintering bits of the house.

With a defeated sigh, I sat down and started piling my plate.

“Fucking shit.” I spat in annoyance.

“What did you say!?”

“I said this omelette is great!”

“Better be…”

I took a quick glance at Link’s dumbstruck face, probably wondering how the tiny moglin was talking to me like a mother would her child.

“Hey, HEY! Smaller bites,” Veral continued as she waved her axe. “And chew your food!”

“Yes, mom!” I said sarcastically. Though...I began to regret the sarcasm.

I looked up at my moglin, her face locked in a memory.

“Vi, I…”

She shook her head, deciding a hug was more important than words.

“Thanks for being my surrogate mother Vi, it must suck having to keep me from being a-”

“A dumbass?* She said with a smile.

She turned to Link, a wicked look in her eye. “I had to drag him out of a burning house once. Idiot here had no arms and one leg and almost died saving somepony's grandmother.”

“Oh, Veral! Not the grandma story again…”

“Hey, I would of done the same in his shoes. Although...” Link began as he looked over at me. “How’d you lose your arms and a leg, were they that flammable in your current form?”

“Hah, no...that uh...That was Luna's fault. Imagine if you will, this ten year old filly wielding a weapon that could cut through everything, doing her best to make sure falling debris doesn't hit anyone…”

I make slicing motions along my shoulders, cackling like a hyena. “So, so she's just...doing her damndest...but cuts my limbs CLEAN OFF. So, as one of ours is getting grandma out, the old mare looks at the scene, and starts ATTACKING ME!!” I choke on a piece of pancake, my laughs and coughs rolling into one.

Downing a glass of water, I regain a bit of composure and continue. “Granny escorts Luna out of the building, and Veral has to pull me out by herself...that was a hell of a night.”

“Did the old pony learn afterwards you weren’t there to harm her?” Link asked as he was taking his plate to the kitchen.

“Senile old hag kept hitting me. Such is life.”

As Link was about to deposit said plate, it was gone in a flash of green fire, soaked, soaped, rinsed, and put in its proper place.

“Such work is unbecoming of our guests. Or so the lady says.” A butler changeling said.

“Veral. I'm naming that one Walter. Just letting you know.” I say in utter awe.

“It's just a habit.” Link said with a soft chuckle. “I’m used to cleaning my own dishes instead of letting others do it, no offense.”

“None taken sir, but this is our home now. Our new hive, and we have quite the expectant queen.” “Walter” stated with pride.

“Queen? You already selected a replacement?” Link asked with concern. “Then… Chrysalis is..?” he hesitated to finish that sentence.

The house began to vibrate, a sad tune flooding the halls.

“And yet another reason I need to get to the Badlands. Thank you very much for the food Walter, tell the others they’ll get names soon as well.” I said with a bow.

Link took a moment breath in and sigh, he mumbled something softly to himself before getting up. “My heart is already in pain as it is, let’s try to get to the bottom of this before more unseen deaths behold Equestria.” he said determined.

I look to Link, fire in his eyes...only to look down at my hand. The sigil of Harmony blazing brightly upon it.

“Shit...Link, I can't in good conscience let you risk your life any more than you have…” I say dejectedly.

“I’ve been through alot of Flying Pot of hell before, and I doubt any future battles in this world will be any different. However, with you as a holder of my token, it is up to you whether or not you want my help, I’ll understand if you wish to do this on your own. You are the hero of this world afterall.” Link said as he gave his leather gauntlets a tug to make sure they were firmly worn.

“It’s not up to me...It’s up to her,” I state raising my hand. “As Harmony’s Envoy, I have certain rules I need to follow...among those rules I can’t keep another champion away from their homes...their loved ones...their own duties. Of course it won't stop me from asking for aid in the future, that and I’ll need time to gather materials for your Dragonlord armor.”

“Heh, so in a way, we both have to abide by something.” Link said as he raised his right hand to reveal a golden triangle glowing on the bottom right part of his hand. “Even if it's just a void copy, Farore treats me as Link despite her knowing i’m not the original.”

“Pfft, goddesses am I right?” I give a chuckle as I move to the front door. “Come on, I’d rather not have Pinkie mad at me for not getting to say goodbye, she seems to take a liking to you...as do a lot of folks here!”

Veral, upside down, phased through the ceiling and glared daggers at me. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that young man.”

“I’m fifteen hundred and twenty three, Vi.”

“Either Heroes are well liked in your Equestria, or it’s something I did they like.” Link said with a soft chuckle. “Before you send me back, I’d like to know if there’s anything I could do for ya?”

Pondering this ponder of ponders I began to actually think about what it was I could eve- “Yeah, actually...if you could teach me the Song of Storms, the Bolero of Fire and maybe even the Song of Healing...and if it isn’t to much to ask for, but I would like to study the light arrows...you know, for science!”

“Well, I can’t give you a physical copy, but I can channel void energy of my triforce into your being in order to give you the magic and knowledge on how to channel the Light Arrow Spell.” Link explained before reaching into his pouch to pull out the blue ocarina.

Following suit, I pulled out my own Green Dragon Ocarina.

“I hope the ponies don’t mind a small storm though. Just remember, the song is enchanted, it is your magic and your instrument that will grant it power. It cannot be used if one of the the three is missing, harmonize the three and bring its flow through. ” Link said as he placed one end of the instrument into his mouth.

He played the three first notes twice, and soon follows suit into the rest of the song. Wind magic started to swirl around his ocarina and surrounded his body before making it’s way outside the home.

The soft sound of a droplet impacting wood echoed from outside my home. Looking out a window, clouds had turned gray as lightning had begun to form within them.

Ponies that had been walking through the town or had been working to reconstruct what was lost had begun to flee as a torrential rain began to pelt the town proper.

“Hehe, Rainbow’s gonna have a field day from this one...so all it takes is magic huh?” ..focusing my own wind, I replayed the chord progression, wind beginning to form around me as I brought the song to it’s fever pitch. The clouds began to disperse as the rains had come to an end.

“There ya go. Remember, harmonize magic, instrument, and song. Next song, is the Bolero Of Fire, now I’ve never used it as I didn’t want to end up inside the Dragon Land’s volcano or whatever volcano was closest.”

Link said as he placed the instrument back into his mouth. The song was fast and filled with fiery passion, the instrument glowed with fire and circled Link, however it went back into the ocarina since the song was being taught rather than used.

“Doesn’t hurt to play it safe I suppose,” I say as I reactivate Griever’s lock and equip my Armor of the Fire Orb. “Oh this heart of fire…” Skull shaped flames began to swirl around me in a slow vortex as I replayed the song note for note. I failed to notice however that once I had finished I had found myself in the crater of an active volcano.

“Fffuuuuck.” I pulled out my Awe(?) Scythe and tore open a rift back to my home.

“You harmonised it too well for a practice run.” Link said jokingly.

“Heh, suppose I did.”

“At least you’re playing it well for a first timer. Now, the last song, I must warn you that there are a few rules to follow. The Song Of Healing must only be played if the target is a lingering spirit that still holds regrets or is still among Equus to whatever it is that is binding them to this world, it can also work on someone who is dying but does not desire it just yet as he or she still has some unfinished business.

Lastly, the target must be willing to let go of his or her sorrows and be willing to allow the song to affect them. Once the prerequisites have been met, their spirit will be turned into a mask that if you wear, you will take on the body of that person.

You will hear their voice and their personality may blend into your own. So please, be careful on who wears it even if it's just you. You wouldn’t want certain cravings or thoughts lingering in your mind while in their form.” Link explained with caution in his voice.

“Right...so basically,” My form shifts, flesh and scale disappearing into dust as all that was left was my crystal heart and my skeleton. Hefting my scythe on my shoulder, a billowing mantle forms upon my back. “Do my job unless asked otherwise, and stay weary of any and all thoughts or cravings.”

“Oh, almost forgot a couple of things. those who listen will get flashbacks of both good and bad memories along with having their emotions being soothed and calmed. So if anyone here doesn’t want to relive any of the past, please leave the room.“ Link warned as he looked around the group who at this point have been quiet.

“Veral, please lead those who wish not to experience their lives flash before their eyes to the bath house. Link, please, continue.”

As Veral lead most of the changelings away, the only ones who had decided to stay were Oracle and Walter.

“Huuuuu this is gonna suck…” I say as I take on last look at Oracle.

“It will be heavy, but it will be joyful. In the words of the Happy Mask Salesman ‘This is a melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, turning them into masks.’” Link explained.

He took one last look at everyone before placing the instrument back to his lips. After a shaky breath, he begins to play the song.

I felt as if my emotions were melting away with the song, memories flooded my mind...from the first royal knight I had to stop...to the day I met Luna...Honey and her son becoming my family...to Celestia laughing at my loss…and...faint visions of a broken but loving family.

If I still had tear ducts I’d be- ”How am I crying right…” My hand had been restored, as was the rest of my body. “Well...that happened.”

“Okay who’s the fucksti-well hel~lo handsome! Miss me?” “Oracle” asked, a silhouette of Serenity’s face overlain her own.

Walter stood next to her, a bawling mess but a calm bawling mess.

“Serenity, that is not how we treat guests.” I reprimanded.

“Save it for your real second half.” Link said with a shake of his head.

“Shadow pony, REAL second half, you see how that works?” Serenity states with sarcasm as she gives Link a wink and a smile. ‘Oh great, she's venting.’

“Come on Serenity, don’t be hard on yourself, I’m sure you’ll find someone who’s into that kinda thing.” I say as I pet her head.

“Serenity..” Link began with a sigh. “I already have a special someone and somepony back home, I mean don’t get me wrong, you would no doubt look beautiful in my unicorn form’s eyes but I’d rather not have this blossom any further than a friendship.” The hylian said as he rubbed the back of his head, he looked very nervous and scared of hurting the black mare’s heart.

Serenity seemed to take these words seriously...a small scowl visible on her face. “Hey, can you not right now!?” She yelled at Walter.

Regaining his composure, Walter apologized. “Of course miss, I shall make myself scarce.” In a flash of fire, the changeling was gone.

“That's not what I- fucking shit...there goes another one. Look, I'm sorry about all the flirting...it's a coping mechanism.”

She began to rub her foreleg, a solemn look upon her.

“It's just...do you know what it's like? Being some upstart jackass's science project? Fifteen hundred years…I was locked away for FIFTEEN HUNDRED GOD DAMNED YEARS! Don't give me that look Master, there was nothing anyone could have done!”

I was a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst. “Serenity I tho-”

“This is not your fucking fault! Stop blaming yourself for the actions of some fucked up princess!!”

She took a deep breath...then another. “I'm okay, sorry for the outburst.”

“I’m confused… Is the companionship of Azure and his friends not enough after you managed to find freedom?” Link asked, then quickly raised his hands. “I mean… explain from the start, maybe there’s something here I’m not understanding here..”

“He was a fucking lawn ornament for a milenia and a half, Veral was stuck here surrounded by ghosts that kept eating everypony that tried to live here, and most EVERYONE we ever met was tortured for not being “faithful to the crown”. *Sigh* This wasn't supposed to happen…”

I knelt down, holding the shattered mare until an idea crossed my mind.

“I have yet to play the song…” I say in a near whisper.

Before I can use my instrument, Serenity has her hoof on my hand.

“Nu uh, he wants to know why I'm so pissed. We should tell him.”

There was a lump in my throat that hadn't been there before. “If I do, it might change his perspective of his own Celestia.”

“No need to explain though, considering the multiverse theory. While in my world Celestia is a goddess in mortal form, I know that other Celestias aren’t the same.” Link said as he raised a finger. “Were you hoping to start anew in another world?” he asked.

Me and Serenity stare at each other for a bit before looking back to Link, the both of us motioning to the other in a confused sort of way.

“I just wanted AQ World loot honestly...stupid flash drive.” I say with a little bitterness.

“I didn’t exist til he ended up here.” Serenity stated.

“Would a hug make you feel better, Serenity?” Link said, feeling that something was wrong.

The mare looked back at me, trying to find the words to approach her current predicament. Offering a gentle smile, I motion an open palm to Link. My eyes still on my broken partner.

“Come on, you're stronger than this.” I say reassuringly.

She takes a single step, rescinds said step...takes two more and closes her eyes and opens up. Link gave her a gentle hug once she get close enough. “Whatever happened in the past is exactly that, the past. What matters is the present and what you plan for the future.” the hylian said.

“That was really...really hammy big guy...but I’ll take it.” Serenity confessed, a single tear falling from her eye.

Link chuckled softly at Serenity’s words. “I’m never good with words when it comes to comforting others, but I try.”

“This is new...I've never seen you open up like that before, what happened to the hard ass I know and love?” I said jokingly.

“She's still here ya bitch made pansy ass cock sleeve!” Serenity exclaimed with renewed vigor.

“That's my girl, get over here!” She tackles me head on as I catch her and spin her in the air. Finishing off with a tight warm hug.

“I think I'm ready for that song now…”

Now cradling the happy mare, I take out my Ocarina once again...only to stop.

“Link, you said all I needed was magic right?” I asked quickly.

“As I’ve mentioned before; Magic, Song, Instrument, all three harmonised at the focus point.” Link explained.

I took a breath...and began to focus magic and soul... hopeful that I would get this right.
“Uh master... you're getting really...really green right now.” Serenity said in worry.

Without another second to waste, I began to play...the room was bathed in earthly magic as the notes of the Goron’s lullaby began to echoe forth.

Though I wanted to, I could no longer sustain the melody... not that I needed to, Serenity having already fallen asleep and back into Oracle’s mind.

Setting her down carefully I made sure not to tangle her in her own hair. I stand, shaky and cold.

“Huh...that... didn't go as horri-” There was a rupture. I felt the back of my head crack as I reeled from the immense pain.

“FuckingshitthathurtsoGoddamnmuch!!!” I whispered while grinding my forehead on the floor.

“Azure? What’s wrong?” Link said with concern as he placed a leather gauntlet hand onto my shoulder.
“Spirit... Energy...really fucking volatile...I’m not bleeding am I?” I ask, managing to raise my head somewhat.

“There doesn’t appear to be any.. Something must of went wrong when you played the song, either reaction to the magic or something else. Where exactly did you learn the Goron’s Lullaby?” Link asked as he scanned the rest of my head.

“Tried to... remember the notes...thought binding a bit of my soul to the instrument...would help…”

“I advise not doing it again, otherwise you may suffer another backlash. But if you decide to try again later on, try something small.” Link suggested as he placed his blue ocarina away. “Your attempt reminds me of when I first tried manipulating Din’s Fire into another form.”

“What, you felt a blood vessel pop?” I said jokingly.

“No, more like magical backlash or the spell not going exactly as I wanted it to be. Like when I changed Nayru’s Love from a shield spell to a healing spell, there was a chance of something going wrong like my magic missing for a few minutes or an hour, or the spell hurting me in the progress.” Link explained.

I flinched a little at that last part. “Yeah...magical backlash...not fun.”

Shaking my head and slapping my cheeks, I let out a guttural groan and right myself. “Well, we've got a town to see...after you good sir.”

“Should we go as we are, or be in pony form?” Link asked as he lead the way.

“That...is a good question. Veraaaal!”

Said moglin popped her head out from under our feet. “You rang~”

“I need a pony on recon, I need to know if any of the royal guard is around, oh and have one of our maids take Oracle to her room...if you see the one I kidnapped, I want you to name her Milli.”

With a bow, Veral sunk back into the floorboards.

“And now we wait.”

Trixie had walked into the room, no longer dressed as a maid. Instead she now wore her usual cape and cap, and the stick of Doom Dynamite I gave her hung on her barrel.

“Um...miss Veral said you needed me?” Trixie said with a bit of apprehension.

“Please, just call her Veral,” I bent down on a knee, pushing a stray hair off her face. “I need you to be my eyes and ears for a bit. Look around town and see if there are any Royal Guards in town,”

I stand back up and look to Link. “I'm gonna need a charge of Farore’s wind, I've got a Mana potion if you need it.”

“Can do, who’s the target and what’s the destination?” Link asked as he straighten his right leather glove before slowly beginning to channel wind magic into a ball in his hand.

“Trixie, and the front of Town Hall. Think you can give her one for a return trip?”

The mare looked at the burgeoning mass of magic in awe before looking at me in worry. “This won't hurt will it?”

“Nah, it happens spontaneously. As for the return trip, I’ll have to cast two of them, a ball to remain here, and another to send Trixie away.” Link explained as he finished charging the return point, the ball moves over and floats above my door. He begins charging up a second ball of wind, once it has reached it’s required moment, Link looks over to Trixie. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The mare was shaking...no. She was vibrating. With a soft sigh, I place my hand on her head and begin to scratch her ears.

She tensed quickly...only to melt, her head pushing it's way into my palm.

“This isn't Canterlot, this isn't Manehattan...We care for you, and this town will care for you, and anybody who doesn't...well, that's why you have that stick of dynamite.”

She smiled at me, believing in my words. She steeled herself, closed her eyes, and bowed her head.

In a flash of green, the mare was gone.

Show's Over Pt4: So long, and thanks for all the fish

-Town Hall: Trixie-

The once and always showmare jumped, hugging a potted plant as she worked to steady her racing heart.

With a calming sigh, she began her vigilant trek, doing her absolute best not to be seen or heard. Of course this was rather hard what with the mass of pink omnipotence trailing behind her.

Somehow, Pinkie had managed to instill enough paranoia to lead her straight to Sugar Cube Corner and into an awaiting group of happy and joyous party goers.

With shocked eyes, she looked up and found a banner. It read as such:

That Showmare.

“Um...what would ‘That Showmare’ do?” Trixie asked of the crowd. Her answer came with a single pat on the back.

“Well, ‘That Showmare’ would smile.” Pinkie stated with a playful smirk.

“Now...we wait. Again.” As we waited for Trixie to return, Link started playing music on his ocarina, at first it was mostly freestyle, until he played something eerie and familiar.

“Huh... trying to wrack my brain for the name of that tune. Just what is that?” I ask the Hylian.

“Just a song Luna would sing at night, she had been through alot since that Nightmare Moon incident.” Link explained.

“Pfft, otherwise known as that ghost stuck in Twilight's basement…” I said off-handedly.

A changeling walked past us, carrying Oracle on their back… “Should probably get Trixie back here. Can you uh..?” I make a non descriptive hand motion in the air, hoping to get my point across.

Link counted to ten for a moment before making wind magic marking appear in his hands to reactive the second ball of energy. It flashed softly as Trixie fell in from it.

Covered head to hoof in confetti and various pastries, the mare shook herself as she stood.

I thought maybe she had seen a bit of trouble, but the smile on her face was absolutely astounding.

“They...they like me...they really like me…” Trixie said in a near whisper. “Uh...um... there aren't... Celestia doesn't have guards here.”

Wiping a bit of bread off of her cheek, I gave the girl a good hair ruffle. “Have Veral give you a bath, you've earned it.”

With a happy nod, the future show mare made her way to the bath house.

“Town's clear, let's paint it red!” I exclaimed.

“Careful on your choice of words, Pinkie Pie might just do that.” Link said half-jokingly

I shook my head, hopeful that said mare would do no such thing this day.

I open the door to a serene sight, the clouds that had been summoned seemed to linger as the sun’s light beamed through patches within and around the fluffy formations. I made my way for town hall, waving to any D. Dogs or ponies that had been working on the reconstruction of the town.

Link as he walked chose to stretch out his arms over his head, his eyes looking at each pony we walked past.

Some viewed him with awe...others seemed to fear him. At least one however…

“S-SIR! Please...a moment?” A stallion in half shattered crystal armor flagged us down. He had a pale coat and a golden mane done up in a curl, almost didn’t notice the horn. “You are the outworlder Captain Armor spoke of?”

“Which one?” I asked with my hands on my hips and a cheeky smile. Link crossed his arms as he waited for the answer of which one of us he meant.

“I know of you champion...I meant your companion...the...the slayer…” He said with a twang of...not fear. It smelled too...non-existent to be fear.

“Yes, I am the one he might of mentioned, why do you ask?” Link asked.

“I wish to know...how do I move on? Having taken a life, how do I move on?”

Well...that went places.

“Think about the aftermath. What do you think would've happened if you hadn’t taken a life? Assuming you did it to protect others and that you had no choice but to do so.

For example, if we hadn’t stopped those dragons, Ponyville might of been burned to the ground and alot more ponies would of died.” Link explained as he tapped his chin in thought. “You wouldn’t want to live with pain and regret of losing someone you knew you could of saved, right?”

The unicorn mulled LInk’s words over in his mind. His eyes seemed to become hollow...only for a small spark of light to rekindle his lost light.

“I...see. What I did...I did for Ponyville. Thank you hero,” He gave a very long and deep bow. “My name is Heavy Scale, I thank you.”

Once Scale was out of ear shot, I leaned closer to Link. “I was a little worried you lost him there…”

“I’m glad my explanation worked. It’s a good thing my Celestia wasn’t here, otherwise she would of went deeper into detail than I did, she’s a warrior veteran. Having taken part in a war against Sombra many years ago. She deeply regrets taking lives but understands that it was for her little ponies.” Link explained as he took a glance around to see if anypony else had a question.

“Mm…” All I could say was ‘mm’ really. We continued our walk to Town Hall without incident. With a knock, the doors opened wide to reveal the same mass of ponies running to and fro. Documents still flying every which way… “Mayor!” I cried. “You in!?” Said mayor, instantly shot up from her desk.

“Are we being attacked again!? Oh sweet goddess not again…” The disgruntled Mayor did plea.

“It’s all good big M, I need a favor.” Mayor made her way through the bedlam of the office, finding us without incident.

“Anything for our champion...and our esteemed guest. I noticed your skirmish with the upstart drake. We could always use an extra pair of hands.” Mayor Mare stated with loaded praise.

“Just doing what my heart says.” Link said with a smile.

Coughing rather loudly, I get back to business. “Mayor, I need documents falsified,” Mayor’s glasses slid a little off her nose. “I know how illegal this sunds bu-”

“Done.” ‘That was quick.’ I thought.

“But you cou-”

“Ponyville has kept many a secret, this should be no problem. What do you need?”

Grabbing Link’s shoulders, I look at the Mayor. “I need a birth certificate, proof of citizenship, the whole shebang. Just in case Celestia or her goons come lurking through the records.”

“Pfft, foal’s play. Name and occupation?” Mayor asked Link. A stenog...having been sat next to us.

“Well, considering she’ll most likely look for a name outta place, I’d have to say Protective Shield, would occupation of Monster Hunter raise any suspicions?” Link asked.

This raised a few eyebrows all along the office.

“O-or perhaps something similar to what Daring Do does, just general exploration of temples and unlocking their secrets. My pouches contain the right equipment to do so afterall. Monster Hunter was just a job name I went under back when I had to take care of a giant worm problem in Appleloosa.” Link explained as he looked at me.

“It’s just...the Monster Hunters are a rather black ops group...a secret in and among themselves.” Mayor explained.

“For now, just put it as Vault Hunter.” Link finished, he looked a little nervous as if someone might accuse him of being part of the monster hunters mentioned.

“Of course, Mister Shield. Will that be all?” The mayor asked Link with a sly smile.

“Well, other than a description of what I do and any other questions you have, then yes.” Link said with a relieved sigh.

With a dismissive wave, the stenog was dragged away, desk and all and Mayor went back to her office.

“Phase one complete, next stop: Sugar Cube Corner.”

“Why there next?” Link asked curiously.

“Alibi. I’m poofing you from there, and knowing Pinky, she has something planned anyway,” I begin to make way for the exit and tap Link’s chest with a knuckle. “What? Never had to disappear someone?” I asked with a wicked smile.

“Poofing?” Link asked with a blink of his eyes. “An ability of yours or…” he left the question hanging.

“I’m sending you home dummy!” I said as I walked out, waving at him with my back still turned.

“Well hey, excuuuse me, princess! I had to make sure you didn’t mean anything else.” Link said jokingly.

I groaned a little, not at the age old reference to the shit show that was the old Zelda cartoon...but at the fact that he beat me to the punch. Link was chuckling softly to himself as he placed his hand over his mouth.

In an act of revenge, I readied my ‘Evil Voice of Villainous Evil™’ and threw my arm over his shoulders. “JOIN ME LINK, AND I WILL MAKE YOUR FACE THE GRrRrREATEST IN KORIDAI… OR ELSE YOU WILL DIE.”

“Hylia da-heh-heh-am it.” Link said as he couldn’t hold it any longer, we shared a good laugh.

“Hoo... haven't laughed like that in years…” Ponies, Dogs, and even a few griffon had stopped to stare at our madness. “Ey ey! Shows over folks! Move along nothing to see here!”

“Just hero humor, folks.” Link said with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Getting back on track, we made our way to the sugar infested bakery that was the S.S.C.

“I had a good time, and that’s saying something considering the number of Displaced I’ve been summoned by. Most of them either need my help then send me on my way, or they’re generally confused when I’m the first of the Displaced they’ve met. “ Link commented.

“I mean...I needed your help, but no yeah, this was fun...beats having my arm shot off... getting poisoned... having to stop a train heist...wow I really need to stop and smell the roses.” I say as I stand stock still after reviewing bits of the last month.

Staring at the bakery, I shook my head from my revelry.

“Well, either way, let's just sit down and see if they have any coffee in her-”

The doors burst open, because of course they would. Pinkie as well as Twilight, Moondancer, Dash and the others burst out.

“Surprise!!”

“Just one day...it's all I ask…”

The hylian blinked in confusion. “But… we already had a party yesterday..” Link said as he looked around.

“That was our “Good job on keeping Ponyville safe” party. This,” Pinkie pulled us both in and closed the door. “Is our, “Glad to see you still standing” party. Totally different!”

“Yes, but having a party for everything is a bit silly, even if you are a party nut.” Link said as he reached down to ruffle up Pinkie’s hair.

“This is also a good opportunity to test the stability of the folds of reality as Azure opens a rift to another version of Equestria!” Twilight shouted in excitement.

“How did yo-”

“Hmm? I'm sorry you said something?” Twilight asked, feigning ignorance.

“You spied on me. Clever girl…” I would have said more but Moondancer started to look me over.

“Last time we met, you were missing an eye. How'd it grow back?” The unicorn jumped me and began to fiddle with my left eye as I kept my balance. “Twilight was right about you, studying you will be absolutely fascinating…”

“Twi...get your girlfriend offa me... she's freakin’ me out…”

“That’d be my doing. Last night, he was up late smithing me a staff and he had a small accident, so I healed him up via Nayru’s Love. Course, it might of also been the Song Of Healing I taught him how to play recently.” Link explained.

The pair looked at Link, stars in their eyes. “Could you show us?” Twilight asked, Moondancer jumping off of me to join her.

“Uh.. well, I can show you the shield version of it, but not the healing version since no one is hurt. The Song Of Healing though, well, I can play it for you gals, but be prepared as not only will it sooth your memories, but you’ll be reliving them, both good and bad...” Link said nervously as he pulled out the blue ocarina. “Are you sure, Twilight?”

Before anyone could say anything, Applejack got up from her seat. “Ah’m out, I got an orchard ta pick.”

Several other patrons also took the time to unceremoniously gtfo.

“Huh, that bad eh...hit it!” With a fervent nod from the rest of the group Link began to play.

Despite hearing the song again, it had no effect on me, but to those who heard the song for the first time...well it was obvious yobsee they felt their emotions melt away with the song. They saw some bad memories, only to be replaced by good memories that healed them.

Once he was finished, he held the instrument close to his chest. He then proceeded to explain the song of healing, its affects, how it helps spirit find closure and pass onto the afterlife.

But he also mentioned that those who chose to remain turnrd into masks, Link then proceeded to explain the rest of how the progress worked.

“Any questions?” Link asked.

“Uh yeah...that whole uh...mask thing. Does it hurt?” Rainbow asked, still wiping away her tears. Rarity had been scrawling upon a loose napkin, Pinkie was balling her eyes out and Twilight and Moondancer were held in embrace... though the two never stopped jotting down notes.

“The dying target or spirit being turned into a Mask, or the wearer becoming the form of the target? The answer to both is no, but it can be surprising or a little overwhelming when you first experience the mask’s transformation.”

Link explained as he put away his ocarina. “In a way, it's kind of like living in their shoes.” The hylian then pulled out a unicorn mask that had a surprising likeness to his own face, other than the mask being red with green patterns. It finally clicked in my head of why the hylian acted so natural when I turned him into a pony using one of my potions.

“This mask was a gift to me by two special someones. Considering the vast multiverse of the Displaced, anything is possible even in a different world.”

Link explained before placing the mask onto his face. The mask instantly clung to his face and began to mold and turn into flesh, there was a brief flash of magic as Link changed forms.

Now standing before the group was the unicorn from last night’s party; a red unicorn with an usual green fur pattern and a mane of yellow and gold.

The rest of him, from his human form, remained. Such as his blue eyes, the various battlescars upon his face and the pentagon shaped scar on his chest, leather gauntlets, and his miniturized sword and shield.

“Well, I lost my lunch. Anybody else,” I said with a blank face as I idly pointed around the room. “No? You there with the thing doing the thing. You feelin’ nauseous? Nah, you're okay.”

Said pony with said thing just sorta tore the muffin top off his snack food and made sure his confection wasn't tainted in any way.

“Anypony can wear these masks? Master! Please ask for one! You know...for science!” Twilight begged.

“I'm sure I'll end up making one later for further study, just wait til then.”

“Rather morbid though, isn't it dear?” Rarity asked, now looking Link over with a more critical eye.

“Yes, anypony can wear those masks, however the wearer’s personality will be changed, and the spirit within the mask is aware of everything, you will hear their voice inside of your head as if it was your own.” Link explained as he took a look at each pony.

“I can’t just ‘make’ a mask, the target needs to be willing to part with their body to become the mask, they won’t be able to return afterwards except maybe if the mask was worn on a soulless body for them to reside in.” the hylian-turn-unicorn went through his thoughts. “Like if Nightmare Moon was still around and didn’t have a body. If willing to let go, the song would seal her inside of a mask while also smoothing her troubles away.”

“Why not test that theory? She's currently locked in my b-mfmphmmf!!” I had to clamp my hands around Twilight's mouth before she could even finish that sentence.

“Whaaaat~no. No nightmares here...pfft, students am I right?” With an annoyed grunt, Twilight thusly bit my hand...to no avail. “Please don't break your teeth…”

“Azure’s choice, I did teach him the song afterall. Now, changing the subject since it appears he doesn’t wish to talk about it. Would you like me to show Nayru’s Love? I can’t show it’s second variation until someone is hurt.” Link said as he levitated his ocarina via telekinesis and into his pouch.

“Wait...could I try?” I ask.

“I’m.. not sure how you can. I mean I use my spells by commanding it with my thoughts. You could try replicating it in your own way after watching me use it, or I can transfer it to you through my triforce’s void energy.” Link answered.

With a nod, I held out my left hand. Link took it in his unicorn’s magical grip, the golden aura suddenly changing through a rapid variation of colors. The triforce shone brightly on his right hoof during the progress. The knowledge of how the spell was performed was transferred into it. The hylian unicorn looked drained as he sat down on the floor.

Pulling away, I took note of the sigil of Nayru now shining upon my hand. Parting my feet and holding my arms slightly off of my body, I slid my feet back together into a risen point with my hand raised skyward.

I fell down into a crouched position in a swift motion with my eyes closed. Subtle twangs forced my eyes open, finding Rainbow Dash casually swinging her golden sword at a spinning pane of crystal.

“Did...did I do it?” ...The gentle hum of magic greeted my ears as I soon took notice of a spinning blue diamond slowly circling around me.

“This is Nayru’s love, a shield that protects you against any form of physical harm, however you can still be moved, knocked around, pushed, etcetera. It will remain around you for three minutes or until you dispel it on your own.” Link explained as he rested, he let out a gentle breath and shook his mane like a horse. “Don’t expect me to give you knowledge of my other spells, transferring the energy leaves me feeling like I ran for an eight hour marathon.”

“Right...right...I think I’m good with this though.” I poked the spinning crystal, watching it disappear into diamond dust. “Uh...potion for your troubles?” I asked, holding out a pair of small and rounded red and blue potion bottles.

“Can the red restore my fatigue?” Link asked as he rubbed his unicorn horn.

“Yeah, no yeah. Have at it.” I put away the blue, and pop the cork on the red. Link takes the red bottle in his magic and begins to drink from it.

“Aahh, much better.” Link said as he got up and back onto his hoofs. He reaches up, but turns around before pulling on his face to remove the mask and preventing the other ponies from seeing the imagery of someone removing their face...even if the flash of magic censored most of it.

As the hylian patted himself down, I started to fiddle with the howling stone around my neck. “Ready to go home?” I ask.

“If there is nothing for me to do or nopony has any questions left, then yes. I am ready.” Link said as he showed me a thumbs up.

“Let’s do it!” Tossing the stone in the air I went forward to bite it...but...I shrunk.

“Oi! What happened!? How’d everybody get so tall!?” Everyone seemed to look at me like...I don’t even know.

“...You… just activated the twil-magic contained within the stone…” Link said in mild disbelief, he reaches into his pouch and pulls out a blue hand mirror, showing me that I had just turned into a wolf.

What I saw made my head spin...I looked like something akin to Balto. Only I had the Artix Dragon ensignia on my forehead.

“Sorry about that, bud. Remember when I appeared as a wolf when you first summoned me? It’s a side-effect caused by the Howling Stone since Midna doesn’t exist in my universe, thus I had to improvise and use the void-energy to give it twili-magic properties. “ Link explained to me.

“Great, how do I turn back!” I whined. Wait...I was whining...Please don’t tell me I’m speaking wolfish. “You can understand me? Right? HELP!!” I howled in distress.

Link put away the mirror and took out a freaky mask with a red eye and a smile. ‘Oh good,’ I thought. ‘The universal translator.’

“Ok, try again.” he said as he placed the mask onto his face. “The Mask Of Truth will allow me to understand you.”

“Oh good...change me back now?” I started to scratch at my ear with a hind leg. “Damn fleas…”

“Just focus on the magic contained within and think of your original form.” Link explained as he turned toward Twilight, who at this point had her eyes wide and was furiously scribbling down notes.

‘Right...think bipedal...think bipedal…’ I felt my body begin to shift, legs began to elongate and my arms started to pop back into place. Once my paws had shifted into claws I started to rub my face to make sure it no longer had-aaand it still had a muzzle.

“I don’t think I-oh hey I’m speaking english again. Bendito sea Dios. Still got my spanish...let’s do this one more time.” I had the stone in my hand again and carefully placed it into my awaiting jaws.

With a calming breath, I sent a focused howl through the stone. The Oath to Order echoed through the walls of the bakery as if to herald the coming of the giants. Of course, in this case, the only thing that came was a softly swirling rift through space time. Instead of a portal opening up, the hylian was surrounded by a swirling diamond as he gradually rose a few feet above the ground but not high enough to cause any real damage.

“Take care, Azure. May the Goddess Of Time watch over you.” Link said. He salutes me with finger and index finger before disappearing in a flash of light.

I fixed the stone back onto my neck as the small crowd shuffled nervously around the cake house.

I looked around, gave a curt wave, and left for the door. “Girls, meeting at Golden Oaks in an hour. We've things to discuss.”

-Sugar Cube Back Alley-

Making my way around, I followed the sound of soft sobs as I found the farm mare wiping away at an endless stream of tears.

“Thought I'd find you here farm girl.”

Said farm girl, began to scramble backwards as she caught sight of me.

Plopping myself next to her, I motioned for her to sit with me. “Easy easy, it's just me. Feel like talking?”

She sniffled as I just barely made out a ‘yessum’.

“Ah...Ah’m weak. Couldn't even face mahself when it mattered.” Applejack stated as she sniffled again.

“But you heard the song?” I asked.

“Ah did, scared me half to death...what with seeing the girls go through that again.”

“Go through what again?” And now she had my attention.

-Previous Day: The Wreckage-

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom had found themselves muzzle to muzzle with wicked smiles and sharpened claws.

Rarity took notice of the downed vehicle, only to snap back to her own fight. Her twin opponents keeping her from running to her sister’s aid.

Applejack and Galanoth found themselves in much the same circumstance...A massive behemoth keeping both at bay.

Pinkie could only do so much against her one on twenty predicament, Twilight was doin her best to mitigate the rise of casualties, and Rainbow and Gilda couldn't even move lest they allowed a group of injured to become another meal for the dragons.

Fluttershy however…had been fighting her own battle against an evil far greater and far more ancient…

The mare was trapped between semi consciousness and having her soul consumed be demonic fire.

Angel and Spike had been doing their damndest to defend the fallen mare until they felt it...The pull of a Power that Was.

Both stood frozen, the dragons before them mocking them with uproarious geers. Only for the laughter to end...as if their very souls had grown cold within them.

Two hands found their way upon the shoulders of both Bunny and Dragon. The Monster connected to them strutting forward and swiftly ending the lives of those dragons that once mocked her friends.

The battle had stopped. Frozen in fear and madness. With a vicious scream, warrior after warrior began to fall. Limbs twisted, bodies torn, lives ended…

And as the frantic trio of children did their best in holding back their assailants, the color within the eyes of the beasts faded, their executioner pushing past the debris of the fallen mobile unit.

“Fluttershy...is that you?”

“Afterwards, I ran as fast as I could to Bloom. Oh she was so scared…”

Farm girl sort of just...pushed her head into my chest and I just sorta ran my fingers along her head.

“Sh...where are they now?”

“Turner.”

“Can I assume Turner is going to be their Master, teaching and training them?”

“Yessum.”

“Can I also assume you dislike this turn if events?”

Applejack wiggled a bit and sniffled. “...yessum.”

I swiped her hat and ruffled her mane. “Meeting at Twilight’s, be there in an hour.”

Afterburn

Our meeting went as such:

Rainbow rattled off numbers and estimations, something about how if this happened again the town would be a lot less prepared…

Applejack gave us all a rough outline of the buildings that needed reconstruction as well as cost, only to be reminded that I was quite possibly the richest being in existence.

Twilight had several appraisals taken care of…apparently I am severely over armed (if there even is such a thing), and I learned the names of some of my more mysterious acquisitions (Hel~lo Ultra Guardian Scythe).

Fluttershy had hospital documentation, as well as several letters of admiration from those she saved during her...berserker’s rage (Heh, her blush was just too cute).

Finally, Pinkie and I discussed that we'd be reforging the Frozen Dragon Buster into the French Vanilla Ice Katana, but...

As it turns out, as evidenced by an I.O.U FOR the weapon in question, that when Disco Q stole that God forsaken egg...he took my God damn FDB.

“Seriously!! Why!?” I shout at the top of my lungs. Today was swell.

“Look, ain’t all bad. We're all still breathin’ right?” Applejack said in a calm and collected tone.

“True...but how many weapons exist that can carve through me like rice paper?” I say in retort.

“According to Cy’s approximations...one hundred and twenty seven.” Rainbow stated. She proceeded to shrink at my incredibly disapproving gaze. “I mean...you know he'll never hurt you right?”

“Twilight! Please tell me we still have ice!”

“We have at the least five and a half pounds of ice. It should be more than enough to make your...what did you call it?” Twilight said as she tapped a floating notebook with a quill.

“The French Vanilla Ice Katana. Pinkie’s gonna help me forge it.”

“Oh it's really quite a shame I can't make anything to go along with it. You would look absolutely marvelous in a celeste and snow white ensemble,” Rarity said as she gave my body more measurements. “We'd have to do something about all of this fur of course. It seems rather unsanitary.”

“Lay off the werewolf fur, it keeps me warm.” With a sigh, I take a moment to massage my temples and realize I was late for a very important date. “Meeting adjourned, we’ll pick up again later!”

And with that, the group had dispersed.

-Ponyville Spa-

“OHDEARGODTHISISDIVINE~” I blurt out in a sing-song tone as I delve deeper in to the warm pool of enriched bath soak. “Thanks again to agreeing to this spa day Fluttershy, I feel like we haven't spoken all that much.”

Next to me in the pool was Fluttershy, eyes closed in pure bliss.

“I'm glad I agreed...This whole mess with the Dragon Lands has been so stressful I could just scream.” And she did. Kinda. It was an adorable attempt. More akin to a baby puma’s roar.

I was relaxed for once. The twins finally had me to themselves as they worked my body but made damn sure not to hurt my body. That Lotus has quite the grip. It felt like for once I could finally sit back...relax...and-

“Sir Azure? What a pleasant surprise!”

‘Shit was that Rarity?’ I look up aaaand yep. Definitely Rarity. I put on a fake-ish smile as Fluttershy slowly and silently hid within the waters.

“Oh hey!” I say with a smile. “What brings you down to the spa?”

“Well I was hoping on getting my hooves done, my pores cleaned, and my knots eased. What about you?” She asks, completely oblivious of the bubbling surface of the pool of soak.

“Oh you know...finally getting some work done on my body. The twins really know how to treat their patrons.” The bubbles became frantic and I started to worry as they started to stop. “Well, I shouldn't keep you. Enjoy yourself beautiful!”

A mad blush appeared on her face as she sputtered incoherently and abruptly teleported away.

Once the coast was clear, Fluttershy burst through the water in a coughing fit, now currently in her new human demon form.

“It *GASP* I couldn't *COUGH*COUGH* Increasingly difficult to breathe. Is she gone?” Illyrishy asked.

“Yep, what's got you so worked up?”

“I-It's nothing…” She hides herself in the water part way in embarrassment.

“Buuuuuut…”

“Um...promise not to tell her?” She asks with a pleading look.

“Photo Finish?”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and worry. “H-how did-!?”

“Watcher,” I casually say.

“Of course...you've nearly memorized the entirety of our lives...both of our lives.” Shy held a hand to her chest as she became rather crestfallen and somber.

“Who's talking right now? Fluttershy or Illyria?” I ask.

“I suppose at the moment I am more Illyria than Fluttershy...but even as I am I feel her will upon me. Strange...she is mortal and yet…” I put my finger on her lip and motion for her to go back in to the soak.

Obnoxious yelling echoed through the walls as Fluttershy once again began to drown herself.

“FIND THAT TARTARUS FORSAKEN PONY! NOW YOU DUNG HEADED WORK HORSES!”

One “Captain Golden Hilt” of the royal guard began to tear through the halls of the spa. I reached down to fish Fluttershy out of the pool and managed to find the fur of her coat.

She coughed as she gasped for air and flailed her hooves in hopes of finding stable ground.

“I'm gonna have to cut this short Shy, but don't you think this is over. You tell Rarity how you feel because that is what friends do,” I say as I lift myself out of the soak and shake the water off my soggy fur...much like how a dog would. “Oh and Illyria, you keep her to it.”

Her eyes flashed a darker hue, before she hid behind her mane.

Guards littered the spa halls as I did my absolute damndest to escape without being seen.

“Psst, zis vay.” I heard an incredibly enticing voice whisper from around a corner.

“Oh I know that voice from anywhere!” I dipped in and was immediately thrown into a false wall.

Looking up from my current jumbled position on the floor, I saw sir biceps, (more than likely the one who pulled me in), the sensual twins Aloe and Lotus (I recognize Aloe’s voice from anywhere, Heaven in a green glass cup she is) and another of the spa hooves (whom I know nothing of). Though come to think of it, I think he had a chat with big L before he left.

The twins gave me this sad “come hither” stare, like they wanted to do their job and spend time with me, but also knew that it was neither time nor place for a massage.

Bulk, in his bulkiness, gave a silent “yeaaah” as another false wall was pushed away to reveal a tunnel out of the spa.

“Sir, if you could? Time is kind of “of the essence”, so to speak,” Mr. Mysterious stallion of Mysteriousness stated as he made his way through the tunnel. “Please follow me.”

“On it.”

Twists and turns, climbs and descents, forks and bends...our journey seemed rather unnecessary and meaningless.

“What is with the labyrinthine detour? Just what IS all this?” I asked as I tried to take my mind off the silent trudge.

“Has no pony told you sir? These are the Ponyville catacombs. They were built…” The off white, blonde unicorn bobbed his head back and forth for a bit.

“Give or take eight hundred years back. They just about cover the entirety of the town. We’ll be heading to town hall from here-and watch your head.”

My forehead got conked by a low hanging bar, groaning with a bit of irritation, I caught back up with my guide.

“Oh hey...Scales right? I'm sorry, you're rather new to me.” I say apologetically.

“I'm glad you remember sir, it was an honor seeking council from an outworlder.” He pressed a switch upon a false wall, opening a path straight into Town hall’s catacombs.

“Take your time sir.” With a bow, Heavy Scales walked backwards into the labyrinth.

I began to walk idly through the well kept underground library, my hand idly snagging a loose tome.

“Earthlings and You: A comprehensive guide to...Cuddling?” I flipped to about halfway through the thick piece.

“Ahem, now that we have covered the various exercises you can use to better acclimate to the fact that you'll be soon snuggling with a tame and cultured predatory beast, we will now be reviewing the basic epidermal needs of your new human cuddle buddy.”

I closed the book. Took a step back, and opened the cover. “Okay, who the Hell wrote this boo- “Lifeline, Felt”.”

Felt Lifeline? I think I remember that name...He certainly had a lot of questions about humanity. Specially regarding the various mating rituals.

“What else is there…” I picked up another random, one “Punching Made Easy: An Equestrian’s guide to Human Pugilism”? Okay, I definitely remember when this one was made!”

“Chapter one: A history. Since time immemorial (or so the only human in existence says so) mankind has been wacking each other in the face with various objects for a number of inane and absolutely foalish reasons.

Supremacy, Pride, Nourishment...no one reason more insane than that which they call “Sport”.”

The rest of the chapter went on to mention how barbaric and uncouth the Roman’s were for their views on gladiatorial combat, to the creation of “The Ring” and how disrespectful it was for having turned once beautiful dances into a brutish show of force.

The following chapters were detailed breakdowns of the various stances a human fist fighter could ever take whenever the need arose, followed by a step by step human to pony restyle.

“Huh, you know, for not being connected to the net, the Omni-Systems did have quite a lot on Earth’s history.”

I walked along the aisle, idly viewing book after book. Most dealt with human history, but some had to do with me…

“The Hero: The Birth of an Idea.”

“Forward: The following is a history, a sad and tired tale of how an alien from another planet sought to change the rule of law that governed a “peoples” not his own.

“It is here you will learn how “childish” and foolhardy such an endeavor truly was and still is. For as I scrawl upon this piece of hide, I must admit that it is these very acts of madness and stupidity that keep me alive.

“The Princess has betrayed us, our “Royals” have failed us, and our divine “goddess” has abandoned us. Yet this overgrown, idiotic, and self conscious wet rag smelling mutt did all he could to make us believe that our lives could and should be better.”

Your “Neigh” Sayer

I had to close the book as the page had begun to mysteriously create wet spots. I wiped a bit of dirt off my eyes as I pocketed the book for further research.

“I hope she's alright, I hope they're all alright…” In fact...I was starting to contemplate suicide, just to get back there. I couldn't really think more on it as the entrance to the archives was activated and opened.

“Hero? Are you down here!? Oh!” Hurried steps clambered down stone steps as the familiar lens glare of Mayor Mare shined with light.

“There you are! I was starting to think you may have gotten lost in all this.” She beamed me a smile which I returned wholeheartedly.

“There are a lot of books here, I'm surprised they're all in such wonderful condition.”

The mayor picked out a random scroll and blew off the dust it had accumulated. “Not good enough, though now that a skilled mage AND bookkeeper is finally in town, we may be able to preserve the more delicate articles.”

I blinked a bit, wondering how Twilight got through to the mayor. “I’m surprised you’re letting Twilight down here to sort your books.”

Mayor Mare’s eyes widened… until she fell down in peals of laughter. Gathering her bearings, she dusted off the random dirt that had gathered on her. “Hah… no. I still don’t fully trust her. No, I mean a certified Loremaster under the Pactagonal knights has applied for the position.”

Oh right… the Pactagonals… “Don’t they work for Celestia?” I asked, as me and the mayor made our way out.

“Haven’t you heard? They quit! Oh this is so grand, the Pactagonal Knights have been allies of Ponyville for two solid decades, and now they’re going to build a guardian tower here!”

That was something to ponder, a guardian tower in Ponyville proper... I would have pondered further, but my pendant was going nuts.

Clic~ “Master you need to go home now! One of your changelings just suffered a terrible epileptic episode!” Twilight called out as the line went cold.

“That’s not good… mayor, let’s catch up later yeah? I gotta jet.” I took to the shadows and begun my hurried trek.

-Home-

“GREAT FIRE CONSUMES US! ALL WITHERS BEFORE HER! THE GREAT FIRE IT COMES!!”

The chronicler amongst the changelings was thrashing and writhing something fierce the moment I burst through the door, elemental scars of fire ran along her body and no one knew how to help her.

“NAYRU!” I shouted as I rather haphazardly summoned a wave of paper thin screens of blue to wash over the chronicler. Her scars had frozen over and closed, her pained and frightful gaze softened as she rode the wave of icy love.

“What just happened? What the fuck just happened!?” I shouted at the changelings in the room.

“Our queen has risen from the depths of Hades… she brings ageless fire to sear the world in her image…” One one of the maids whispered, fear written all over her face.

The Changelings thusly gathered around the Chronicler, aiding her as she stood shakily to attention.

“My master… our queen has been corrupted… hatred engulfs her like a flame engulfs a forest.”

The Chronicler attempted to call upon her magic, only to stumble and fall from fatigue. I knelt by her side and cupped her chin with my hands.

“Shh… take it slow… show me the world through your eyes.” I closed my eyes as our lips met. Opening them to a world engulfed in volcanic fury. At the top of a mountain stood Chrysalis, but she had changed.

Long gone was the blackened and green accented carapace of the Changeling Queen, replaced by a body of crimson and gold with eyes of an unending torrential flame.

Wicked pincers grew from her back, a wave of fire flew along her scalp, and flanked was she by an army of fire corrupted Changeling foot soldiers.

All had the same new features, and each and everyone had gone completely bonkers.

Mt eyes blinked once more, I was back in the comfort of my own home, lying on the ground and the Chronicler passionately making love to my face.

I tapped her neck and she finally let go, a pink stream of energy connecting our open mouths.

“You could have told me you were hungry.” I said a little absentmindedly.

“My master, I did not wish to impose.” She replied.

Chuckling, I opened my mouth again, each Changeling now gathering a bit of sustenance for themselves as well.

Once I finished their feeding, I got to my feet and made for the door.

“Veral!” I called. “I'm gonna be at Pinkie’s, keep everyone here safe!”

Interlude 5: Night Fever

Howling winds whistled past Sunset through the concrete jungle she called home as she gunned down the cold street at a reasonable speed.

“OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT YOU NUTCASE!!”

Well, reasonable enough. She finally found the time in her busy schedule to stake out that nightclub she found a lead on.

Between her academics, training, that absurd request for self defense lessons from Flash, and her regular patrols just kept her too tired to act.

But this time, nothing would stand in her-

“This is Canterlot PD, please stand down and no harm will come to you.”

And there it was. A police cruiser had spotted her and decided that this was the night to fill a quota.

Swerving to the left, Sunset began to race down a residential district and pumped her bike with a bit of magic.

As the fuzz came in for the kill, a thick gray smoke filled fog had covered the street.

“This is officer Sentry, please be advised of a black sports cycle resisting arrest. No licence plate, rider in skin tight black leather and studded jacket with matching helmet. Over.”

“Copy that Sentry.”

Of course, unbeknownst to the officer, his perp hadn't left. In fact she was rather busy bugging his vehicle so his comms ended up in a dedicated server in Caritas.

His “Dispatcher” in this case was one Drevlornswath of the Dethwok clan. What? All that theater training had to get used somewhere.

With that, the cruiser left none the wiser and Sunset was free to go back to her musings. Her target was located in a club in the darker part of Canterlot City.

Skinny broads bound in leather, beggars lining the streets, the smell of booze and waste permeating the air. It reminded her of Old Town back in her Canterlot.

Though the drugs may not be the same, the disease will never change. Stopping at a red light, a dark presence echoed from nowhere.

“Hey there miss! Spare some change?” Sunset looked down at a tall, gray skinned man. Golden yellow sclera surrounded crimson irises, snow white brows arched over his eyes. His spiky black and white hair was well combed, well cut, and slicked back in a business like fashion. He wore a dark green t-shirt with black slacks and a long sleeved green plaid shirt was tied around his waist.

“Uh sorry sir I'm kinda busy.” Sunset replied in surprise. ‘He was NOT there before.’ She thought.

“Ah, sorry to hear that miss. Name's Chester. Sorry if I bugged you.” ‘Chester’ Gave a curt wave as Sunset kicked off again.

Returning once again to her musings, the night club Sunset wanted to find was called Stockholm, and the vamp she was hunting went by “The Master”.

Judging by Wesley’s reaction to his name however…

“You want to fight The Master alone!? Slayer or no Miss Shimmer, I will not allow you to walk into the hornet’s nest without backup!” Wesley shouted in protest… as he was promptly planted on his posterior and the bottom of a staff held at his head.

Sunset rolled her eyes with a smile and dropped her weapon and held out her hand. “You've gotten better, but I was trained by a master of his craft.”

“Well, I'm happy to know beating on librarians was part of your curriculum in… where was it?”

“Equestria, Wesley, it's not that hard to remember.” With a flick of her wrists and a wave of her arms, Sunset’s hands were set ablaze as her magic set the training gear for the day back on their rack.

“Yes, the mythical land were friendship is magic. More reason to bring someone along on your excursion.” Wesley fixed his glasses back unto his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow as he fixed himself a glass of water.

“Come on Price, if the building's infested with blood suckers then Amber and me’ll just torch the place.”

As it stood… no. The building was entirely vampire free. In fact, it was quite clean for a back alley dance house of vice and sin.

“Amber,” Sunset whispered as she made her way through the wave of bodies and booze. “You smell anything even remotely demonic?”

“Mewww…” Her tiny companion began to sniff through the sweat and alcohol until he found a scent that smelled almost human. “ARF!”

There in the middle of the oppressive lighting and grunge that made up the dance floor was her target.

The Master, an incredibly skinny and tall hairless beast, was wearing a ripped pair of black skinny denim that showed off his left calf, right shin, and both kneecaps. A sleeveless “Master of Puppets” Metallica t-shirt haphazardly ripped at the hem exposing just a hairline of his stomach, his right hand curled into a fist high into the air, and a tequila sunrise held firmly yet daintily in his left as he partied. Hard.

“And Bingo was his name-o. Let's bag him and tag hi-”

A soft hand landed on Sunset’s shoulder, she turned quickly with the intent of sending the body the hand was attached to sprawling… only to find a very young girl with long flowing flame like orange hair connected to said hand.

“Sunset?” The girl asked. She was wearing tight workout pants, white sneakers with thunderbolts on them, a white top that was cut off at her midriff and a baby blue sports sweater.

“Spitfire!? What are you doing here?” Sunset questioned.

“My folks own this place! Wild right!?” Spitfire pulled the unwitting Sunset into a slow groove to the smooth sounds of a Santana riff. “You looking for somebody special, or can I keep you for the night?” Spitfire casually brushed a strand of hair off of Sunset’s cheek.

Sunset swayed easily with her impromptu partner as she locked eyes. “I didn't think you were…”

“Lot of things you don't know sweetheart.” Spitfire said with a dainty giggle.

“Look, any other night I'd be more than happy to “dance” with you, but I'm on business.” Sunset said as she spun Spitfire into a dip and inched her face closer to her own.

“M-maybe I can help…” Spitfire shakily said through her panting. The pair righted themselves vertically and moved to the rhythm of a new beat.

“Know anything about big, bald, and beautiful dancing dead center?”

“Yeah, calls himself The Master. I just call him uncle M,” Spitfire thusly lead them off the floor to one of many a soundproof booth that lined the edges of the room. “Something tells me you aren't here for a dance.”

The two take their seats as Sunset closes the booth door and Spitfire taps away at a built in tablet.

“Do you know about…?”

“Bout him being gastronomically challenged? Yeah, he lives off donations and small game. Why?”

“Kids from school are starting to disappear with a hell of a lot more frequency than I like, and Flash was almost on the menu.”

“Sentry’s kid? Aw man Dad’s not gonna like this. Look, whatever's going down it isn't Uncle M. I can vouch, but we can wait til closing to sort out this mess.”

A knock at the door took their attention. The door opened to reveal The Master, a tray filled with two burgers, a large plate of fries, and a large chocolate shake with two straws.

“I couldn't help but overhear your conversation ladies. May I?” His constant vampire face unnerved Sunset somewhat, but in no way affected Spitfire.

“Uncle M! Come in, come in!” Spitfire said happily as she made space for the vampire. “You bring something for yourself?”

The Master pulled out a small bag of blood labeled O- and began to sip from a tube attached to the packet.

“Mm, so what's this about missing high schoolers?” The vampire asked.

“Hang on. You're not gonna attack me? Or take Spitfire for a hostage? Aren't you-”

“Soulless? Once. That was a long time ago, and I've known Spitfire since she was in diapers.”

“Uncle Emmmm!” Spitfire wailed.

“But I can tell you that no one in this building, block, or district is a vampire.” The Master continued. “Of course, word from the grapevine is that a new queen came in from Crystal City. There's a war coming Slayer, and anyone who isn't with her is against her.”

Sunset looked at the pair before her, looked at her burger, then looked back at Spitfire giving her puppy-dog eyes. “Amber, it's dinner time.” Spitfire and The Master looked at Sunset with odd looks until a small white fox poked it's head from the top of Sunset’s shirt.

“Mrf.” Sunset took a bite, followed by her companion. The two continued in silence, Spitfire and her ‘uncle’ watching in awe. The two finished and gave a tiny synchronized burp, followed by a napkin pat down.

“I'm guessing the shake is for us?” Sunset asked as she motioned between herself and Spitfire.

“Wah, huh? Oh-uh yeah… yeah. Your dog is clean right?”

“He's a magical fire breathing fox. He's clean.”

“Mip!” Amber said happily.

“Why don't I leave you two lovebirds alone?” The Master asked.

Sunset and Spitfire had already begun their attack against the shake as Sunset waved a finger.

“Mm, wow that's good. Mm-well, no. We need to talk strategy. We don't have the manpower to fight a full blown street war against some pampered demon queen.” Sunset said as she licked her lips.

Spitfire started to play with her straw as The Master began to ponder.

“She's going to attack on the night of the upcoming Spring Fling. Really, it's what any Vampire leader would do when fighting high schoolers. You have a Watcher helping you?”

“Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.”

“Pfft, you are so boned.” The Master said as he picked up a fry.

“I've got five teenagers with attitude, a pylean, a son of a vampire raised in a hell dimension, and a-

“Magical Fire Breathing Fox.” The three echoed, resulting in a small fit of giggles and chuckles.

“Rainbow I know is good in a fight, but I'm not too sure about the others.” Spitfire said, while pointing a fry at Sunset.

“You've never gotten Fluttershy angry, so this one time, one of the cheerleaders gets it in her head to rig Fluttershy’s locker with a can of soda right? Wet and embarrassed, Flutters walks away and goes right into chop shop. Cheer practice rolls around and as the squad finishes up and the perp goes for her locker-”

“She’s pelted with soda pop?” Spitfire asks sarcastically.

Sunset only shook her head. “She gets sprayed with eau de skunk.”

Had Spitfire NOT swallowed her drink, she would have sprayed it all over Sunset, so she settled for choking on her own laugh. “Shy!? We talkin’ bout the same girl afraid of her own shadow!?”

“Oh yeah, for all her fears and worries, that girl is a serious tech head with a penchant for vengeance.”

“I don't suppose you have a witch with you?” Asked The Master.

Sunset raised an open palm and lit a small flame. The Master backed away slightly as Spitfire inched closer. “Archmage Spell Knight, I specialize in Pyromancy.” Sunset said as she closed her palm, snuffing the flame.

“That is so hot…” The Master gave Spitfire a very disappointed stare. “What? That's literally hot.”

The Master shook his head and put his hand on the booth door. “Slayer, I'd suggest just a little more firepower than a few teenagers and a worthless Watcher. We can all talk later, there was a couple who wanted to break themselves off a piece while I was delivering your food.” Without another word, the vampire went back out to boogie the night away in more ways than one.

Silence reigned within the booth. “Hey you wanna make out?” Until Spitfire had broken the encroaching amount of awkward with just slightly more awkward.

It was going to be a long night...

Author's Note

Another interlude before a massive set of chapters.

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into a Desert Pt2: Castle Crashers

“Taboo “Kagome, Kagome!” The Girl cries out, flying through the air and firing a variety of red magical bullets in a heavy barrage in different patterns, a few lazers every now and again fire from empty space. Thankfully, they seemed to be aimed at the Changelings.

“Should we help them?” Luna asked.

I shook my head, hopeful that the pair could take down thirty some odd insects.

Of course, now that the bugs took notice of me and my current predicament as a sitting duck, a good group of eight began to charge downwards.

The now flying girl pulls out a strange clock hand like object, almost twice as tall as herself, twirling it a bit. “Taboo: Lævatein!” She shouted before holding it to the side with both hands and fire a large laser from the tip.

The two changelings that were trying to flank her were suddenly thrown back like they were slashed across by something.

Now nothing but aerial stepping stones, the two Changelings were tossed to the ground as the pup landed on both in quick procession, making a beeline for the clustered group heading my way.

With a satisfying clang, the lead changeling dropped as the three to its side had their wings sliced off by the constantly spinning disc.

The final four however found golden blades now impaled through their heads, courtesy of Shining Armor.

The blonde did not relax however, glancing around in caution with a nervous flap of her wings.

I ceased my buffing melody and took a breath. 'Please don't be mad please don't be mad.’ “OI!!! The sun is absolutely boiling out here! Take cover and regroup!” I shout at the child.

She looks to me, her wary look giving way to innocent confusion. “Feels fine to me.” She says sincerely before floating our way regardless and with a friendly smile to boot. The wolf pup was sultering towards us as well, glancing behind it once and then twice.

I started to tense up, and without thinking I gave a bow in show of respect. “I'm so sorry for the trouble!”

“Azure? Did you just bow?” Luna asked me with a bit of shock.

“What are you two doing!? We're in the presence of a Divine being!”

Almost immediately as that left my lips, an echoing voice intervened. “Don’t worry about it, god or no, I’m not upset over the trouble. Also, stop bowing...please…” The female voice echoes through the group's minds.

“Sorry! Sorry...it's just...you can't be too careful... especially someone with my... condition.” I say with a hint of worry.

Rubbing my arm and coughing rather awkwardly, I regain my composure. “Apologies, I'm being rather rude. Azure Darksoul, these are my companions, Ex-Captain Shining Armor and the Lunar Princess, Luna.”

“I’m Flandre, Flandre Scarlet!” The blonde girl says with a polite greeting bow. “But Flan is just fine!”

“And I’m Okami Amaterasu, or just Ammy for short.” The wolf pup nods to them. “Flandre is my Divine Messenger.”

“When I said I was hoping for outworlders, I don't think I was expecting this,” Shining stated as he held a hoof to Flandre. “You've got really powerful magic.”

The young girl gives a slightly shy and small laugh. “Nyehehe, thank you. I’m still practicing.” She says, rubbing her head a bit, her other hand twirling the weird clock hand.

“Azure,” Luna looked up at me with a...weird expression. “Would you say she's adorable by human standards?” She asked.

“Yeah, why?” I say with a stoic expression.

Luna walked up to Flan, embarrassment written over her face. “Would it be alright if I...hugged you?”

She answers with a nod, extending her arms with a giggle.

Without a moment's notice, Luna pounced on the child as the two rubbed their heads together.

“Too cute…”

Meanwhile, Ammy was shaking her head in amusement, seeming to smirk a bit.

Digging a small pit in the ground, I charged a ball of fire and set it in the crevice.

“Who's hungry? I've got Ursa meat, and Shiny’s packed fruits and veggies if overgrown star bear isn't your cup of tea.” I said as I took a seat on the floor and impaled a rather sizeable chunk of meat on a rapier.

Shining started unpacking several apples and eggplants, as well as a frying pan.

At this, the pup’s tail starts to wag back in forth. “Would you mind if we joined you?” She asks, keeping her drooling to the minimal.

“Of course miss Ammy, I wouldn't have offered otherwise.” I said with the tilt of my head, a smile on my face. “Now you're both probably wondering,” I pulled out a katana, slicing the large piece of bear and impaling it mid-air.

I fixed the handle onto the ground, ensuring it wouldn't go anywhere. “What a group like ours is doing this far into the Badlands.” I repeat the slicing process with a short sword, putting another sizeable chunk of meat out for grabs.

“Eggplants done, got a spear?” Shining asked me.

With a swift motion, I impaled the ground with a long and simple rod, several slices of eggplant now being skewered onto the rod of metal.

“Yes, we are curious.” Ammy states while Flandre just sits in mid air. “Well, I’m curious at the very least…”

I take a good bite from my mound of fleshy goodness, savoring the still running blood. “Mm, yeah… ugh this stuff is great…” I swallowed and took a breath. “Search and rescue. A princess who was being a complete dumbass,”

“Hey!” Shining shouted in defense.

“Ugh, who thought taking on a dragonic army ALONE was a good idea, got herself captured by the queen of Changelings.”

I missed the looks on the two, the strange large beads of something dripping on the sides of their faces before vanishing.

I cleansed my sword in fire and picked up the last two chunks of bear, handing one blade each to Flan and Ammy.

“You two mind if it's rare?” I ask.

“Sure!” Flandre says.

Without another word, Ammy had closed her jaws on the katana held in my right.

I had to stifle a laugh, the scene far too adorable for human comprehension.

Apparently, I underestimated the amount of cuteness! Chibi Flandre Activate! I guess she works with anime physics.

Ensuring my mind wouldn't be consumed by the amount of cute, I took a few calming breaths.

“We're basically up against a veritable army here, so I would like to ask of your assistance. Please.” Putting my hands upon my knees, I bowed my head to an inch off the ground.

Shining… or Luna, I honestly couldn't tell from my current position, poked my head twice.

“Yeah yeah, she said no bowing,” I dusted my hair and raised my head. “It's a reflex.”

“Gekigami would be eating this up…” Ammy says with a small unamused tone while Flandre just giggles a bit.

“Twenty kilos. I'll throw in twenty kilos if you help us.” I offered.

“Kilos?” Flandre says, blinking a bit as she was unsure what I was talking about.

“What? Oh sorry... pounds. I'll throw in forty four pounds of fresh meat if you help us rescue Cadence. Sorry… I was living in Mexico before uh… this.” I stated, as I made arm motions over the entirety of my body.

“Well~” Ammy was obviously captivated by the offer.

“I’d help anyways…” Flandre says with a pointed look to the pup.

“If we're all in agreement then, let's find the heart of the changeling hive, rescue the princess, and stop whatever big bad that's waiting for us.” I say as I jump to my feet.

“If I see a Toad, I’m going to bat him to the Celestial Isles if he so much as goes ‘Thank you!’” Ammy says with a deadpan tone.

“I don't know what that means, but if it makes you happy, I'm pretty sure I can incinerate it where it stands.” I say matter of factly.

I lead the group onwards deeper into the desert. The piles of bone and crystal had grown in size and abundance the farther we went, as well as the heat of the surrounding area.

“Getting a weird sense of Deja Vu…” Flandre suddenly speaks up, looking very, very, VERY bored out of her skull.

“If you even hint at wanting to kill something, I'm going to have Deja Vu…” I say as I kick away a skull.

She makes a displeased hum, a nervous twitch in her wings.

“You alright Flan? Need your medicine?” Ammy questions, having spaced from atop the Blonde’s head.

Flan just shakes her head silently.

With a bit of worry, Luna trotted closer to Flan. “Are you ill? Is there anything we can do to ease your pain?” She asked.

“Kinda, but there's no healing that can help it.” Flandre says with a dismissing smile. “I’ll be fine, thank you.” She says with a grateful bow..

The ground rumbles subtly beneath my feet, the sounds of a drill becoming increasingly louder.

“Not to pry but… well, I just want you to know…” A flame encased changeling came barreling from between my feet. My vision goes red as the world around me slows to a crawl. I hover my left hand over the nose of the firebug, letting it’s head impact my palm with a sickening crunch. “...You have nothing…” I throw my palm back down and crush the bug underneath the weight of its own momentum. “To hide from us… oh, and prepare for contact.”

Like mortars, a ring of bugs had burst from the ground and began to hover around us. Flandre takes to the air, bringing out her strange elongated clock hand from thin air again as a pentagram forms and hovers behind her. Ammy takes an aggressive stance growling as her reflector glows in anticipation.

“Uuuughhh and now I’m triggered…” I say with a bit of bloodlust seeping from me.

“Taboo: Lævateinn!” Flandre screams, firing her laser at the group of enemies.

Rushing a pair of bugs, I grab hold of their windpipes and position them in just the right way. Two stray beams slice through their foreheads and the two go limp in an instant. “To those faint of heart, please exit stage left!” Reaching behind me, I grab a bug and crush it’s head with my own. “And to those who don’t want to know what the inside of a sun looks like, GTFO!!!”

With a vicious spin, I spread my wings and go airborne, all the while charging a Mass of Incandescent Gas.

Ammy immediately recognises the threat and retreats to a safe distance.

However… “Tch, get off of me!” Flandre cries, her flight being intersected by a couple of firebugs on her back and nipping on her.

Unfortunately, I had already gone into my descent and neither Shining, nor Luna were in sight. The bomb went off, collapsing a good portion of ground and bathing everything else in destructive plasmic fire.

The light of the blast subsided, the damage having already been done… “Oh Hell… folks… headcount please…” Ammy raises a paw silently, her head turning to look around for Flandre.

Shining and Luna had popped out from the sand that wasn’t hit, several layers of hardlight shields covering them.

“Flan! FLAN!” I was now completely frantic. Without so much as thinking, I let my vampiric aspect slip and now it may have cost the life of an innocent.

“...H-here…” I heard a small voice croak from around the corner of a small tiny hill.

“Great balls of fire! I'mma comin’!” I shout in a frantic run, Ammy following after me quickly.

We rounded the corner…

She was about as far from ‘bad shape’ as anybody could be. Nevermind her heavily burnt skin and flesh, some of it really black, and her left eye looking completely useless now, but her right leg was missing entirely and up to above her left elbow and all of her right arm was gone too. A wing was almost completely gone too, every crystal that managed to survive was scorched to Hell.

Do I even need to mention the major portions of missing clothing? Cause I don't think I'm gonna.

Still, she was alive. Nocked about nigh unconscious… but alive. Though, not sure if that's good or bad considering the pain she must be going through…

I look down at Ammy more than a little worried.

“Uh… so conventional healing is moot… when was the last time she fed?” I ask.

“Wait what? How did you…” Ammy asks slowly, on edge at the question.

Rolling my eyes, I simply went into what I referred to as “Bullet Time”, my eyesight and eyes having gone red.

“When was the last time she fed? I ask to make sure she's okay.” I say with a bit of force. I move to pick up little Flan, ensuring that none of her exposed skin got caught on anything.

“...Two days ago.” Ammy finally answers. “She can go for another two or three, but I’d rather have her feed by dinner.”

'Shit!’ “Well… I’d say she needs blood now… how’s she usually get her blood?”

“Blood Bags donated from the hospital.” Ammy replies smoothly.

“Don’t like… ’from the tap’...” Flandre adds to that with a groan.

“Mm… and that means?” I look at Ammy a little confused.

“She means she doesn’t like to drink directly from a person.” Ammy clarifies.

“Oohhhhh. I'm sorry, I can be very slow.” I said with an apologetic smile. “Does it need to be pony and or human blood, or can it be from an animal?”

“...Actually, I’m not sure if she can drink from animals. Our world is far more populated by humans with features from their equivalents. Unicorns are humans with crystals, and Griffins are just taller people with extra large wings for example.” Ammy says with a tilt of her head.

“Fffffff… okay. Well… I'm really the only human around…. that and… I have no idea what my blood would even do to her if she did drink it…” By this point I was now shitting bricks at how fucked I potentially was. “Feel like taking a chance?” I ask Flan.

She looked very displeased about this, more than I was expecting. “...Not really… Last time I did… I drained them dry…”

“Wait what, when did this happen?” Ammy interrupts.

“When I was summoned by Angel. She’s fine, she has a respawn thingy…” She says with a wince, her talking irritating her wounds.

“You won't be draining me, I’d basically be dropping it onto you as carefully as possible.” I shift a little to keep her steady. “But if you feel like toughing it out, it's your choice.”

“I-I’ll heal anyways…” Flandre makes the decision quickly, looking away.

“Not fast enough if we’re going into enemy territory…” Ammy notes out loud.

I give a guttural groan and slump my shoulders a bit. “I can tank hits for you if you want…”

“N-no.” That seemed to make her just a little more unhappy. “...Fine, give me some blood…” She says with a slump.

I gave a small nod and positioned her so that my right arm was now holding her waist and her head was nestled on the crook of my elbow. I raised my free arm to my mouth and began to fiddle with my wrist until I finally got past the scales covering me.

Once I had a tooth plunged, I pulled back, causing a noticeable tear.

“Azure we didn't want to disturb yo-SWEET GODDESS!!”

The distressed sounds of Luna’s cry made me flinch as I almost dropped Flan.

“Yes well… You seem busy at the moment. Come along Captain!” Once I could no longer hear the beating of her nervous heart, I focused back to the task at hand.

“Open up, and don't worry about taste, I'm O negative.” I hover my now bleeding wrist over Flandre and urge her to drink the falling droplets.

She was obviously very nervous about the people watching, but the sight of blood… It had an interesting reaction. The liquid was so close enough that her pupils snapped into catlike slits, though even then, they were far thinner than a cat would even be able to manage.

Her irises also had a noticeable glow to them. Not to mention she almost lunges at the drops of blood.

“Nope.” With reflexes just as quick, I raise my arm to a height she couldn't reach. “Totally okay if you drain me, but today's the kinda day where I need at least most of my blood. Now ease up.” I lock eyes with her, hoping that she heeds me.

She was struggling to hold herself back… she must be slightly feral then if she can hold herself back enough. At least she was ready to feed...

Sighing, I brought my wrist down again and squeezed, allowing droplets to fall onto her lips. “The things I do…” Ammy walks in between me and the others while her charge licks the blood off of her lips, her fangs much more prominent.

Minutes had passed, the ordeal having cost me a good litre and a half of blood. Good news? I wasn't passing out. Better news? Flan seemed quite a bit more lively if her constant attempts at trying to bite my wrist off was any indicator.

“Well, we're good to go I think. Ammy? You mind if I strap her to my back?” I ask the pup.

“Go right ahead.” She says with a nod, glancing at Flandre as she began to heal.

I move her as gently as possible, lifting her up and easing her on my back. Once I felt her chest on my back, I had her wrap what was left of her only arm around my neck. Once I felt she was as stable as she was ever going to get, I propped my Horro Show Vindicator shield on her back as it clamped its void tendrils around my chest.

“That should keep her from falling off, and don't bite down on my neck, you’ll hurt your teeth trying.”

With a small huff, I made my way to the mouth of the hole I had opened up earlier, the others following me with equal amounts of worry written over their faces.

“Side effects may include an increase in hair growth and a handful of scales, but just keep me from biting you and it'll be temporary… I hope.”

“O-okay?’ Flandre says in a slightly… concerning tone for her age, but she still seemed to be out of it. Her eyes hadn’t changed either, still sharp and glowing.

“Is she going to be alright? Twilight's told me about that move you did… I'm surprised she even survived.” Shining stated, stealing glances at the young one strapped to my back.

“She's tough, most vampires are.”

“So she is like you?” Luna asked with a bit of concern.

I tilt my head back and forth. “Eh... she's not exactly like me, and I doubt she'd even want that kinda burden. Well, if we're all done standing around…” I leapt into the awaiting maw, grinding my feet and left arm on the cascading sands to ease my descent.

“You can't just! Ohhh why do I even bother…” I heard Luna complain as she flew in after me.

Ammy had jumped onto Luna’s back the second the Princess started to fly. “Mind if I catch a ride?” The wolf pup asks her.

A little startled but unperturbed, Luna gave a small nod. I glanced at the pair… the sight made my heart skip a beat.

“Really… really too cute…”

The sounds of shifting sand shook me from me reverie, Shining had taken to surfing down the abyss with a hard light shield.

“I’ll scout ahead and clear a path!” He shouted.

'For the love of-’ “Damn it Armor! Get back here! Luna, go after him and make sure he doesn't kill himself.”

“Hold on Amaterasu!” The mare dive bombed after the unicorn, leaving me and my cargo to a slow and uneve-

Circles of red light began to shine through the falling sand. “Feck. Omni-Systems! I need firearms!”

[Loading Ice Ten Blasters]

“I've got this, so you just sit back and relax.”

Flandre makes a small whine but nods anyways.

The bugs pop from the ground one by one like moles, that is to say, all I saw of them were their heads. I jumped from my skid and began to hop from head to head, this worked until one of them shot a plume of fire from under me.

This is where the Blasters came in. Those bugs that opened their jaws had their heads encased in ice.

“Shoot shoot shoot shoot, kick! Step! And two shoot shoot shoot, kick! Step! Again!”

“Taboo:... Four of a Kind!” I hear Flandre call out.

“Lets do this!” I heard her shout, followed by… echoes of Flandre’s voice? A bug was tackled suddenly, Flan seeming to have recovered as she grabs it and spins the bug around to throw it into the air.

‘Wait, isn't she missing her disc?’ I thought.

“Hiya!” Another voice yells as a loud cracking noise in the ground diverts my attention to a second Flandre drop kicking a bug.

“Magical constructs… but, how is this not making you tire-oh you're still tired.” I say as I look back to the still very charred body on my back. “Well, I'm not gonna stop ya, but you really should rest.”

With one last vault, I land right next to the others, Shining flagging us down as a few Changelings fell flat on their faces. “You guys find the castle yet?” I ask.

“Is that the castle?” Shining asked as he pointed to a half sunken and shattered mass of what looked like a fortress.

“Large towers, crumbling ruins?” A clone states lazily and somewhat sarcastically. “Large walls, torn flags… Yup, I’d say so.” She says with a shrug as she floats in a lounging position.

“You heard her folks, let's go into the barely stable ruins and rescue Shiny’s wife.”

“Hey! I haven't even proposed yet!” Shining shouted.

“Wonder if I can completely demolish it afterwards…” Another clone, her eyes completely slit, says with a very worrying grin.

“Oh come on… I wanted to blow it up…” I whined as I took point.

Her grin grew. “Both of us can~!” And her eyes flashed yellow. “Big nuke. Maybe with a couple inside…” And the following giggle earned a slap from another clone.

The entrance was rather cavernous… that's saying something since we were all basically inside of a fairly large cavern to begin with.

I channeled a charge of Destruction Burst, placing it on the entrance. The only sane members of our group giving me questioning looks. “What? Charging what amounts to magical C4 takes forever. This will cut down on time, and it's not like I'm gonna detonate it now.”

“And what if our enemies force the charge before you do?” Asked Luna.

“Pfft, like they'd even know the frequency…”

“I’d just take it out here and now.” The fourth and final clone states, looking very impatient and in a foul mood.

I casually point a thumb her way as we enter what looked like an ant colony crossroads. “I like her, she gets me.” I drop another charge onto the floor.

“Okay Shiny, this compass should lead you to Cadence. Try not to die.” I hand the unicorn a brass compass with a chain attached to it. Taking it, he nods as he descends into one of the many holes.

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into a Desert Pt3: She's Four of a Kind

-The Shadowfire: Shining Armor-

“This place is… a lot bigger than I thought.”

I found my way through several twists and turns, ultimately finding myself in a massive arena shaped cavern.

The holed walls had been littered with the rotting carapaces of normal colored Changelings. The smell was something else…

Reserving my pity and giving a prayer for the fallen, I made my way forward to a set of massive steel doors flanked by a set of burning red orbs.

I raised a shield and took out three of my blades as I slowly trot forward. A massive ear splitting screech caught me off guard as thirty fire bug changelings began to crawl along the walls.

They had no respect for their fallen…

The heads of corpses had shattered and splintered under the weight and force of the fire bugs. The dead were tossed about, discarded without any forethought as if their lives meant nothing.

“You all sicken me...you sicken me SO MUCH!” I vaulted upon a group of three, pinkish magic burst upon impact as I began to spin my blades like a discus.

The bugs began to frenzy as their numbers dwindled, either by beheadings or from losing their torsos. So ingrained in my rage, I failed to notice the steel doors had opened.

A massive behemoth of crimson and bronze stood in a bipedal stance. In one “hand” it hefted a terrifying axe the same color as its armor adorned with a demon head motif.

It parted its “feet” and prepared to charge. Dispelling my shield, I took the remaining eight fire bugs and tossed them all at the armor.

It barreled through as if running through paper. It was but two feet away before it jumped into the air and it's axe held high. I dodged under it's descent only to be blown away by the impact it's feet caused.

“Enough of this!” I didn't care how taxing it was on my heart, I needed to save Cadence! The monstrosity before started picking up on my growing pool of mana and went in for a charge.

I had popped in and out of existence for a split second, the volatile magic singeing it's armor.

Levitating myself and all fifty of my blades, I began to soar past and around the armored foe. Slicing off it's hands, its feet, and impaling thirty blades into it's shoulders, fifteen for each joint.

Toppled and motionless, I finished the deed by slicing off it's helm as I walked past it's lifeless body.

“I'm almost there Cady, wait for me…” I looked past the iron doors and found nothing but a brick wall and several chains. ‘That can't be right...Ahz said the compass would-’

“Shining…” A tired and hoarse voice called to me through a series of coughs. I… I froze. I started to fumble with the compass… its needle pointing back to the fallen armor.

“No.” I turned around and there she was… “No… please no…”

“He-hey… you dork…” Through ragged coughs she called to me… I ran to her side as fast as I could, stumbling from fatigue and confusion.

She was… still as beautiful as the day we met. Even with a bleeding wound going down her cheek she was still the most beautiful mare in the world.

“What's a matter… tough guy? Never seen a girl in a suit of armor before?”

“Should he really be left to go alone?” Luna asked. “What if he hurts himself?”

“I get his horn if he dies!” The sharp eyed clone yells out… I get the feeling she wasn’t joking.

“No one gets any of his corpse if he dies, he needs to be buried with dignity… I will however loot the grave next to his…”

Luna and Ammy thusly gave me this really disappointed glare.

“I'm kidding jeez... now then, somebody pick a hole and that's the one we follow until we hit the throne room.”

Ammy jumps from Luna’s back and sniffs each hole entrance. “Dead end… Lots of death… Nothing… Nothing… Nothing… Iron… the f-brothel, that's a brothel!” Her nose scrunches up and she sneezes.

“Woah... I guess even goddesses need to get their rocks off. Alright folks we're going that way!”

“What, why?!” Ammy says, but I already was going.

“I'm sorry, did you not want to go? Too bad we're going… there might be survivors who need us.” Putting away my frozen pistols, I lit an orb of light and began my descent.

The lazy Flan had float over to me. “Watch the others… they have a “kill first, laugh about it later” kinda thing.” She warns Luna and then me as she passes by.

“Good to know, Supremacy!” A small shockwave burst through the cave. “That should hopefully keep them from killing anything without my say so… that is so long as I'm the oldest vampire in the room…”

“And how old are you?” She questions me with a raised eyebrow.

“Fifteen hundred twenty two. Why, too young?”

“Nah, you're older by twenty seven years.” She says, closing her eyes.

“Oh thank God… and here I thought I'd have to put garlic on their necks.”

She just shrugs, glancing at the now asleep Flandre. The real one, that is.

“So… this a regular occurrence for her-uh you… uh… you know what I mean.”

“Nope. Not at all.” She answers casually. “In fact, this is her first injury. To this extent, I mean.”

She floats away as I stopped dead in my tracks, my hand going over my mouth. “Oh ear lord… I did that to her… she must hate me…”

“I definitely would.” the impatient clone says, stomping passed me.

“She’s most likely trying to repress it… Hatred is not a good mix for us.” The other, more childish clone says as she skips a bit.

I huffed, feeling a rather intense weight within me. I resumed my walk, my nose alerting me to a sudden shift in magic. It wasn’t like the current Flame Bug Changelings… it was more welcoming, softer and kinder. “Hopefully a changeling brothel isn’t all too different from a regular brothel… otherwise this is gonna be really awkward.”

“I’d rather not be here, especially with a child!” Ammy says, sneezing. “Luna, I need to borrow your tail or mane, I can’t stand the smell!” Ammy says, attempting said nose coverage.

“I don't see how trying to cover your nose with my scent will help you in any way miss Amaterasu…” Luna whimpered in embarrassment.

“...Dammit, this version doesn’t have pocket dimensions in her hair!” The wolf up whines, ears splayed.

“Did you notice the lack of horn?” I say as I crept up to a steel door.

“Why would I even need pocket dimensions? I can carry everything just fine…” She says as she taps at her extendable polearm.

“I don’t know, I haven’t asked her.” Ammy says with a shrug.

“Come on already!” A Flandre roars that them, making Ammy jump a bit.

Holding up my hand in a curled fist, I rear up and side kick the door, knocking the thick mound of metal onto the floor of a… a really very lavish and dark pink room.

Several excited squeals and gasps echoed out into the hallway, as we were all ushered in by...well what I can only assume to be pony Can-Can dancers. Their coats and manes were all of various colors, but their black corsets, fishnets, and ballroom skirts we're all very uniform.

“It's been soooo long since we've had proper guests!”

The clones just stayed silent, though the two more aggressive ones made it clear for the “dancers” to keep their distance. Ammy… was tieing some cloth around her nose.

“Riiiight. You can cut the act, I know, and she knows you aren't actually ponies.” I say as I gestured to Ammy. “How aren't you crazy like the others?”

To ensure that my current captor wouldn't beat around the bush, I used the age ol’ vampiric mind control to... persuade them.

“Your bidding Master…” The other dancers looked on in shock as the pony before me was bathed in green fire, revealing a pale black changeling. The poor thing was riddled with holes and had very dull eyes.

“...Meh, still a better sight than the Spider Queen… I really hope she doesn’t show up back at home…” Ammy muses with slow blink.

“I'm pretty she they're dying Ammy, what about the rest of you? Hungry?” I licked my lips, letting out a bit of the wolf as I look at the others. “I can fill each and everyone of you in an instant.”

They stare at me… fear in their eyes… one of them was rather excited though.

I opened my mouth, as did the other Changelings, a pink stream of energy began to float through the air.

“Aw come on, I wanna taste it!” The more feral clone says as the childish and lazy clones restrain her after she floated to the mist.

Once the dying bugs in the room had enough, I balled a little in my hands and propped it into the feral clone’s mouth.

“I need a bed, think one of you can help me?” I ask the now reverted Changelings.

“Here sir, may it be to your liking…” A drone said in a near whisper.

The bed was heart shaped, how am I not surprised, covered with red satin throw pillows and a pink thermal blanket.

Some soft noises from a lute, a quick flash of light, and a puff of cherry petals revealed Ammy using her powers, slowly reversing any age worn wear and tear from the bed, blanket and pillows as well as the room itself.

“Thanks Ammy! Hope you don't mind me taking Flan to bed.”

“Please do, she needs the rest.” Ammy says, not looking at him still restoring the damages.

Luna coughed into her hoof twice, as she masked the word 'phrasing’.

I unclipped the shield from my chest and gently caught Flan, doing a lot of careful maneuvering I managed to get her cradled into my arms.

Her skin had... mostly regrown. The sports wear that remained of the clothing that wasn't incinerated had various holes that gave a very poor impression of it's current structural integrity.

Her missing leg had begun to form into a stump, as well as her arm, and her breathing hadn't been as heavy as before.

Now… about those side effects… patches of golden fur had sprout around her more… exposed areas… and a small amount of scales colored to her skin tone had layered over her cheeks. Though it was just her cheeks.

I gently laid her in the bed, propping her head with one of the pillows. Her face was almost completely healed it looked like, barely a burnt hair on her head now. One of the Clones, the lazy one, sits on the side of the bed. Meanwhile, Ammy leaps up and curls up against the orignal Flandre.

“Omni-Systems, play audio track: Aria of the Soul Music Box,”

[Loading: Now Playing Aria of the Soul]

The room was filled with the haunting echo of a very sad but beautiful tune.

“Wish I had clothes to give her…”

“You're telling me the walking armory doesn't carry an extra set of clothing?” Luna asked me as she propped her head next to Flan’s, her eyes looking at me with curiosity and suspicion.

“Oh sure like I could just say, “Omni-Systems, give me something suitable for a young woman under the age of fifteen, but above the age of seven” and it would just give me a-”

[Scanning... Suitable clothing found]

Popping in from the ether was my Lumenomancer robe, only it had begun to reshape itself to Flandre’s size and style. It looked exactly like her original dress, cap included, only colored white and gold.

“Convenient.” Ammy says, snorting a bit. “I was going to restore everything after she fully healed… if I can figure out how to bypass the interference…” She then lifts her head.

“What interference?” I ask with rabid curiosity.

“After Blight, a Plague Demon in my world that took over Minorsia- er, the Minotaur kingdom equivalent to our world- stabbed both me and Flandre, the Celestial Brush has been experiencing difficulties.” She huffs through her nose, looking very annoyed. “So much so that we can’t affect each other, and its on and off for others. Curse, I’m guessing.”

I began to tap my chin with my index finger. “Magical or soul based? The curse I mean.” I started to fit the garment in my hands on to the sleeping Flan, trying not to get my fingers caught in any awkward positions.

“The Curse from demons effects anything not inherently dark or demonic. Normal people are petrified. Gods like me, at this state, can be slain.” Ammy says, her tail flicking. “Soul, Magic, Chi anything and everything.”

“What happens if something inherently dark or demonic attempted to undo or at least alleviate what was done?” I finally managed to put Flan’s new duds on, though it still felt really really awkward doing so.

“Dark, I’m not too sure, but theoretically Demonic magic would work like a charm. That is IF you can overpower Blight’s influence.” Ammy says after a few seconds. “And you know you could've asked Luna to dress her, right?”

A shutter flash clicked in the room, Luna was now waving off a Polaroid. “And miss the chance at framing something adorably awkward?” She said through a giggle.

“How many of those did you take…” I asked with worry.

“Too many, and yet it still wasn't enough.”

“...There's no internet here, is there?” Ammy says, stiff and throwing a small glare at Luna.

“Internet? Azure, did you ever find out how to make internet?” Luna asked me, oblivious to the divine being now giving ME a death glare.

“Let me check,” Pulling out the Ultra Omni Blade, I shoved it blade first into the ground, slicing through the rather nice carpeting of the room. I tapped the hilt and the Windows Vista loading screen greeted me with the utmost disdain. “Stupid Windows operating system…”

The screen finally switched to a rather lewd picture of Alice Margatroid. “Gah! Pay no mind to that!” Immediately, I did a rather ungraceful turn and spin, so no one was facing the screen but me.

“Okay...nope. No Internet here folks, but I've got Melty Blood if anyone's interested? Arcade fighters not your thing? Just me? Ah fine…” I shut off my “computer” and threw my sword back into its hammer space.

“I swear to the stars if you look up… you know who, I’m going to bite you you where the sun doesn't shine. Hard.” Ammy says, though sounding rather tired.

“With what net!? I'm dead in the water here!” I throw my hands up and shout. “Now about lifting that curse? You said the same type of magic would work in theory? How strong was the enchanter?”

“Its entirely dependent on the caster, but Blight is a particularly High Leveled General Demon.” She says with a small tilt of her head. “So, above Celestia and Luna levels. Since he beat the former into a mountain.”

“That's an achievement?” Luna asked.

“Wow, way to stab your sister in the back Moonpie.”

“You mean like she did you?” She smirked in retort.

“Trust me, Blight is one of the lower ranked Demon Generals.” She shudders a bit. “The Twin Devils would squash him like a bug. I dread the day when Ninetails, Orochi and finally Yami make their appearance.”

“Uh… Orochi? As in the snake god?” I ask.

“Uh, not my Orochi. A eight headed serpent demon that can kill gods.” She says with a small ‘ruuuuph’ noise. “Each head uses a different element, Water, Fire, Earth, Lighting, Wind, Poison Darkness and Light.”

I nod my head and gave an ah.

“Doesn’t help that only Holy items, weapons and magic hurt demons. Nothing else works.” She says with a grumble.

“Hmm… lemme see…” I began to concentrate… the room temperature inching higher and higher. “Now if I do this right…”

“What are you doing Azure?” Ammy questions.

Orange flame began to form upon my palms only for it to take on a crimson glow, the room temperature slowly going back to normal.

“Hah! Suck it Kyo Kusanagi!!” But, as if the SNK gods themselves had looked down upon me, the glowing balls of fire imploded, knocking me back into a wall.

“Who put these stars in the room…” The room was spinning… or maybe I was spinning…

“...What’s going on?” We heard a mumble, the explosion waking little Flandre from her nap. The blonde was using her good hand to rub her eyes, the burnt one… completely healed and functional. Furthermore, instead of stopping at stumps, her missing limbs were slowly inching themselves back into shape.

“Hang on… lemme check for brain damageamageamageamage..….” I shook my head much like a dog would.

“Azure, you okay?” Flandre asks, moving to the edge of the bed and looking down.

I stole a look into her eyes, taking note of the sincerity of her words. “I'm good… just using magic I have no actual right using… Gaaaahhhhh…….Okay, Ammy, I’mma see if I can fix you now.”

I hopped back onto my feet with a quick vault, taking note that the changelings and Luna had propped themselves onto a couch. Luna was also munching on popcorn.

“Good, this curse has been making me feel like Link with the Ghoul Rats…” Ammy says, gruffing some.

“Omni-Systems, gimme something that'll amplify my darkness type magic,”

[Object Found]

“Wait what object?” A digital construct began to materialize before me. It took on the shape of an egg, several brass and tin gears circling it until the egg began to take on a golden hue.

[Avatar of Time now available]

“Never mind…” I say as I start turning a few gears, undoing the various puzzle locks on the egg.

“Is that an egg!?” I heard Luna call over.

“No… Erg…” I started to work a crank that popped out as the egg began to unravel. “It’s a very VERY powerful armor… that my lucky ass got to beta-test…..aaaalllllmoooooooossssssss…..”

The egg finally cracked, a mass of golden metal began to slam onto various parts of my body, a golden light began to overtake me until everything that wasn’t metal from the armor began to shine as if it was made of absolute light.

“Is that suppose to be a Digi-egg?” Ammy says with tilt of her head.

“No,” My voice began to echo, as if being filtered through a sea of aether. “Wow, is that MY voice? Wait, no… off topic… it’s an armor… I never expected it to look like an egg though…” The egg, had, for the most part, become a part of the armor I now wore. “Now… we can do this one of two ways… that is if I remember these skills correctly,”

I began to float, trying to get an actual feel for an armor I never had. “I can screw with time, rewinding your clock to a point where you didn’t get cursed, although that does have its consequences,” I began to form several balls of light, twirling each in the air as they followed my every mental command. “Or I can switch my own timeline, using the Evil elemental energies to remove the curse that way.”

“...I am so glad that it wasn’t the Twins that cursed anyone. Otherwise, I shudder what they could do since they are masters in time manipulation.” She says, shaking her head a bit with a wolfish smile.

“So what will it be?” I asked, removing a spinning hourglass from my shoulder. “Shall I rewind the clock? Or would you rather bear through the pain of having a curse ripped out of you?”

“We can bare the pain.” Ammy says, getting a nod from Flandre.

I gave a firm nod and began to focus upon… something. “Everyone should stand back, I’ve never actually done this before…” There was a spark. A bright point in my vision that began to grow until it engulfed my sight. No sooner had the light grown however, did it’s shine diminish.

I had thought maybe I fumbled… but my sight was still gone, surrounded by an endless void of nothing.

Then like a sort of clap, I began hearing a sort of haunting chant, a sort of chorus in the distance. Letters in Japanese writing highlighted in sickly green flashed before me as I felt like I was being… examined. By something, I knew not, but I did know that it was not happy with my intrusion.

I felt my body begin to convulse uncontrollably… but there was no pain, no sense of unease. Instead, familiarity, like a piece of me that had long since left had come back to once again roost in the comfort of it’s home.

My eyesight was restored and the chanting faded whilst some...thing...was giving off frustration, but submission...I looked upon the others only to find fear written upon...most faces in the room.

“You all seem so worried. Is something the matter?” I asked with a heavy tone. Holding the writhing...something...in my hand. “Let's be rid of this then.” My mouth...unhinged itself... several popping and cracking sounds filling the room with disgust. With a swift chomp, the thing was now dead, devoured by a greater being.

I looked upon Ammy and Flan, both looking worse for wear.

The Former was shaking, from pain or fear I couldn't tell, but was looking wide eyed at me. Flandre however was once more passed out, possibly still too exhausted to keep awake after the ‘cleansing’.

“What? Is there something on my-” I finally took a good look at my hands...and then the rest of my body. What once was gold was now a blackened crimson, what once was a feather like body of light was now a heavily condensed body of darkness.

“Hm. Moonpie? Thoughts.” I asked Luna, who was now covered in several empty boxes of popcorn and who had been the only one still on the couch, the Changelings quivering behind it.

“Black is not at all your color!” She exclaimed.

“Hm. Too true.” I felt the darkness that held my body together shift, making me convulse as my timeline realigned itself. My body returned to it's golden state...only for the light to fade away, folding back into the metal of the egg.

I was promptly dropped butt first upon the floor. The Chrono Egg dropped after me, landing neatly on my legs. “You uh...you okay Ammy?”

“Y-you feeling alright down there?” Ammy attempts to joke to lighten the mood for her further.

“Oh...you know, like I was thrown into a molecular blender...not the worst thing in the world.” I gave a tired smile, my breathing just a tad bit heavier.

“Good, now if you'll excuse me…” A few seconds passed of nothing…

Then Ammy’s face met the bed in less than a second, not a single sound besides some soft breathing coming from her.

“Hm, must’ah hurt a lot.” The lazy clone says, not bothered by this at all.

“You saw what happened...what happened?” I ask kinda groggily.

“Lots of yelling, lots of screaming, lots of green and black stuff being torn out.” She says shortly, not giving much in detail.

“Sounds like my Saturday night…”

“I don’t want to know.” Every single clone says at the same time in a deadpanned tone.

“...Okay maybe a little?” The feral says, but seemed a little iffy.

“Some other time...and only if you can get me drunk enough…” I shivered, a cold wave going down my spine. “That was a helluva a night…”

Breathing in the sense of calm, I pulled out my communications pendant and began to focus on Shining. With a click, the gem began to ring.

Seconds passed. Minutes passed. After an almost half hour of God forsaken ringing, a single click echoed through the room…

Followed by several grunts, lots of panting, and an out of context moan.

“Uh… hel-hello?” I asked.

“Haaah… haaah… oh good, I finally got this stupid thing… to work.” A ragged female voice echoed through the pendant.

Luna gasped, fumbling through several layers of empty oily boxes. “Is that Cadenza!? Let me talk to her!”

“Huh, whuh?” Without warning Luna snatched the pendant and began to hog the line.

“Niece! Oh wondrous day! I feel as if we haven't actually gotten to know each other all that well, what with having been on the moon, the undead attack against Ponyville and being taken prisoner by my own sister!”

“Auntie… real happy to hear your voice… haaaahh… but I need to talk to Azure… this place is a fucking maze…”

“Language…” A male voice whispered in pain.

I snatched the pendant back from the incredulous mare, hoping to get back on track.

“We're in a brothel, tap the pendant three times and the pulse beacon will lead you to us. Take your time.”

“No we are not doing anything weird here.” The impatient and currently bored clone says, wondering if the two could hear her.

“That's literally the first thing anyone thinks of when you say anything to the contrary...wait who even is that?” Cadence asked.

“Clones of a girl currently sleeping.” The energtic one says. “Can I go outside? I wanna play!” She asks me, bouncing on her heels.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” The lazier clone whispers to me.

I once again stab the U.O.B into the ground and boot up my “computer”. Once the screen gave me control, I boot up Melty Blood and magicked a 360 controller.

“...That works!” The giggy one says, reach up at it while seeming to forget she can fly.

“Go nuts.” I propped my head on the wall, watching in anticipation of the ensuing carnage.

She grabs it and plops herself on the floor and immediately starts to play it. “If you'll excuse me…” The lazier one says, stealing a pillow and resting on it while still floating through the air.

“I still want to rip something open!” The angry one says, sitting on the floor, arms cross. “This keeps up, I’m just going to poof myself!” The feral clone nodded in agreement, laying on the floor, splayed out of boredom.

“You'll get your chance later...if you really want to sink your claws into something though, I've got a giant bear arm in my inventory.” I say with uninterest.

“...It’ll give me something to do.” She and the feral say with mild interest.

I lazily got on my feet, reaching behind my back. Catching hold of the limb in question, I threw it onto the ground. It was massive and literally took up half the room…

It was just the wrist to the elbow, but man was it a lot of meat.

Instead of pouncing on it at first sight- well feral did anyway, but not anger. She just stomps over to it and starts to beat on it while Feral just examines it before giving it a experimental bite, grimacing.

I once again made my way back to my wall, eyes half closed with every muscle in my body currently screaming several expletives at my fragile brain.

I didn't get too far. “Owwwuuuuuu……” I landed face first onto the floor, my legs deciding that now was a good time to stop working. “Well, it could be wor-” A hard clang resounded through my ears, my head having been pelted by a large and wide piece of metal. “Owwwuuuuuu…….why me….”

“You've got the hardened body of a dragon... you'll haaahh you'll live.” Heavy armored hoofsteps echoed outside of the brothel entrance until the steps met the soft cushion of the carpet.

“Is that Cadence?” I ask with my face still on the floor.

Silence...and a lot of hard breathing answered my question.

“Yeah… it's me... Shining’s out cold. I see you've gotten mixed up with another outworlder.” I heard a small pomf, as well as the sound of heavy metal dropping onto the floor.

“Azure… was Cadenza always so...frighteningly injured?” I heard Luna ask. Shuffling hooves began this frantic two step of sorts.

“Thanks, that last piece was bugging me… look don't freak out, it's just a flesh wound.”

“Flesh Wound, is it bleeding~?” I heard feral say.

'Okay this I gotta see.’ I managed myself up just enough to come face to damaged eye.

It actually took a while to register what it was I was even looking at. Her right eye had lost all of it's pigment making it look like an endless fog, and an elongated scar ran from her cheek all the way up to her head, right through the eye.

“That's not cosmetic… is it.” I let my arms give way, letting my face fall back into the soft carpet.

“I think it looks pretty good, probably can't show my face in Canterlot anymore, but I can live with that.” She said as four sets of hooves shuffled around again.

“Not like you show your face in snob city anyway…” I sorta elbowed myself up and around, breathing in the stale air of “God damn Ammy was right, this place reeks!”

“Does this mean I can burn it down?” Anger Clone asks, raising a hand.

“LATER!” I shouted. That reminded me… I dropped another charge of Destruction Burst onto the ground. “Alright, everybody pack your shit, we’re leaving

“Finally!” All the clone says in unison, all four of them apparently just as sick of this place.

“Not so loud…” The original Flandre mumbles, not really waking up and just mumbling in her sleep.

“Hey! We just got here! I think we need some time to rest.” Cadence yelled in complaint.

“And I’m not the one who got herself captured.” I gave in retort. I got myself up off the ground and into a lotus position, several armor pieces clanging around my leg. “Were you wearing this?” I ask, picking up a very hot piece of crimson armor lined with gold. Surprisingly, the carpet it was on felt absolutely cool to the touch.

“Pretty!” The childish clone states out, floating over to take a closer look. And made a grab for it.

I wondered why it was the metal felt hot, but didn’t burn. Until I remembered what the set was called. “Let’s try and keep the metal away from Ammy, anything holy might react negatively to it.”

While I spoke, the clone seemed to be trying to put the armor on… and failing cutely. In fact, she did it so poorly it seemed she got herself stuck, the armor over and covering her head and getting her arms stuck. “Whoops!” She giggles.

I waved her over, a smile creeping its way onto my face. Stumbling, she walks over to me, barely able to see me.”Let’s get this thing off…” Poor girl got caught in a latch, doing my best to ease her out of it, I finally managed it off without so much as a loose hair.

She blinks a bit before smiling at me. “Thank you~!” She says, out of nowhere giving my cheek a quick peck.

“D’aw… you’re welcome tough stuff!” I said as I gently ruffled her head.

She gladly eats up the attention, giggling as she puts her hands together and behind her back, making the other clones smile or roll their eyes. However, that's when a red mist started to waft off of them slowly, starting from the hands.

“Aw man!” The childish clone whines.

“I didn't get to kill anything!” The feral pouts.

“Times up… as in Flandre doesn’t want us around anymore.” The lazier one says, looking over to the grumpy Flandre who had two finger pointing to the clones and glowing red. “See ya at some point, maybe.” She says as she the clones poofed.

“Maybe when this is all over I can treat you all to… something sweet.” The clones had faded away before I even had a chance to finish my sentence, I was disheartened, but not saddened.

“I’ll bring them back when you want…” The original Flandre says, yawning a bit.

I gave a sad smile and dusted myself off. “Need a moment there princess, or are we ready to continue?” I asked with a coy grin.

“I am a princess…” She mumbles a bit before crawling off the bed. Her healing had made great work, but she was still missing her hand and her leg had only healed passed the knee. Her wing however was completely healed, almost like nothing happened to her.

It was… kinda gross but also very fascinating seeing the flesh reforming from the ends.

She stretches with a loud yawn before using her good arm to lift Ammy up. “I’m good to go.” Flandre says.

Author's Note

Still with me? Awesome, cause this ride ain't over for atleast another... nineteen thousand one hundred eleven words? The fuck do I do with my life...

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into a Desert Pt4: This Fire is Out of Control

The group now ready to mobilize, I move to pick up my bear arm, sword, and I had to pick up Shining Armor from the edge of the bed, seeing as how no one else even bothered.

“Such a crying shame… I really want to keep that bed.” Not long after I said this, that the four changelings in the room began to dismantle the thing, packing it away neatly in several barrel-worn cases.

“All set here handsome. Lead us out of here, and there might be something in it for you~” The lead changeling said with a wink, only for Luna to give her the evil eye and pull me into her chest.

“My hero, go find your own.” She exclaimed. I began to wiggle a bit in discomfort.

“Moon Pie, I’m still carrying Shiny…”

Flandre lets out a light giggle, still looking a little bit tired.

I made my way out first, watching as our group began to make it's way out, the various Changelings giving me bedroom eyes, Luna giving me bedroom eyes, and Cadence fiddled with her Shadowfire Paladin armor.

The cursed axe was affixed to her back. 'Damn thing weighs a ton… how can she even carry that much?’

“Where exactly did you get that armor anyway?” I asked Cadence as I brought up the rear.

“Woke up with the damn thing on. Used to have a helmet, but Shiny sliced it off of me. Shoulda seen him cry his eyes out when he realized it was me.” She said with a carefree chuckle.

“I… heard that…” Shining managed to whisper before passing out again.

“So… how much longer till all of this is over?” Flandre asks slowly.

I stopped dead in my tracks, pondering this ponder of ponders. “Well… all we really need to do is take care of the bug queen… Cadence is alive and well… we really don't have all that much to take care of.”

I resume my walk, taking a small breather once we found ourselves back within the crossroads chamber.

“Then how do we find her?” Cadence asked, her voice laced with venom

“I uh… we could dig?” I offer.

“Well, where is she then?” She continues as Ammy shifts in her sleep.

“I don't rightly know to be honest.” I say with worry.

“Then what's stopping us from blowing this place to hell!?” Cadence was now visibly angry, a small fire beginning to form around her wounded eye.

“Probably because we’d be in the blast zone, and I don’t know about you, but I'd rather not get partly vaporized a second time!” Flandre says, seeming to be at her wits end before glancing my way. “No offense…” She says, referring to my… outburst.

“Hey, I blew you up, I owe you something for the trouble, and two; Cadence, I will blow this entire area off the map once everyone here is safely out of the blast zone.”

Cadence (and her fire) calmed down some, though not by much, and Shiny and Ammy were still down despite the angry yelling.

“Of course… if anyone wants out, I can handle the rest from here while all of you can make an escape before things get… hot.”

“I’m going with…” Flandre says, floating to my side.

I calmly and gently lay Shining upon the floor.

Without warning, I pick up the incredibly adorable childlike vampire princess, raise her up and sit her on my shoulders. A few moments of her blinking, she gives a small smile with a fang poking out as she lets out a giggle. For a moment, her childish nature radiates through.

Because reasons. “Luna, you coming with?”

“No way am I missing this!” The moon mare exclaimed as she extended her polearm, both ends now ablaze with the energy of the stars.

We all finally gave Cadence a very stern glare.

With a huff, the now demonic paladin picked up her husband to be and hefted him onto her back. “Fine, let's end this.”

The child amidst us then smiled a bit more, the crystals hanging from her wings flashed and shined along with her newfound excitement. “Yeah! Lets go kick some butt!” She says, starting to perk up slowly.

With renewed vigor, I wore a beaming smile and whipped out the Giga Drill Bit. “Alright let's do this! LEEROOOOOY!!”

The drill box attached itself to my right arm as I pointed the drill down. “NNNNNJEEEENKINS!!!!!”

With moderate speed, I began to tear my way through a freshly made manhole. Turning every so often the temperature began to spike, using the growing heat as my guiding star.

“I would make a Duke Nukem reference, but I don’t like cursing!” Flandre cries out, startling Ammy awake in addition to the noise.

“It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum?” I asked as I looked back to Flan.

“Yeah that one.” She says with a point to me.

“Sucks that I'm all out of gum!!” I reply, revving the engine and building up momentum.

I hear Flandre sigh a bit and pout. “Wish I can chew gum without it getting stuck in my fangs all the time…” She says, suddenly rather grumpy.

“Pfft,” I scoffed a bit. “Chewing gum is overrated, that and teeth like ours are made more for fleshy bits…”

“Like long necks!” She says out of reflex, eyes going sharp. “Uh… Sorry.” Flandre says, catching herself.

I chuckled a bit. “Actually yeah, the smoother the better!” I say with a bit of hunger. Finally stopping my descent, I started to knock at the blackened material around me.

“It's hollow. I think we're getting close.” I whispered.

“Right.” Flandre nods, her voice lowered.

The sounds of harsh sliding, and several grunts alerted me to the rest of the group falling in from behind.

I put my left index finger over my mouth, signalling for silence. And cutely enough, Flandre copies me whether for the adorability points, or some other unknown reason.

Smiling, I put the drill tip onto a more hollow piece, slowly letting in a bright red light and the smell of volcanic rock. Flandre shifts from my shoulders, obviously not trusting the magma.

Once a sizeable peep hole had been carved, I spied a large cavernous throne room, several Fire bugs, and Chrysalis herself. Just as red, with all the extra appendages, and just as bonkers.

“What’s the plan?” The blonde loli Vamp asks.

“I say we go down there and bust some heads. All in favor?”

“Nel
Nel
Nel
Nel!” The changelings in our group chorused one after the other.

“Sorry handsome, but we may have to sit this one out,” The lead Changeling said wistfully. “She may be crazy, and they might all be lost, but that's still our queen and those are still our siblings.”

Two of the bugs dropped their boxes and started to build a barricade. “We’ll stay here and wait for your return sir.” The shy one said.

Cadence took one look at the group, walked up to them, and dropped Shining at their feet. “Keep him safe, a single hair out of place and I start breaking limbs.”

“I guess we leave Ammy here too?” Flandre says with a tilt of her head.

I took a glance at the sleeping wolf, a part of me wanted to run my fingers along her head, another wanted to slap myself for wanting to even go near a divine being.

“Well...do you feel she's safer here or with us?” I ask Flan.

“Here, cause friendly fire and more.” She says honestly, laying her chin on my head a bit.

I raise my hands up, motioning for the pup to be placed on my palms. She nods and lowers the wolf pup into my hands slowly to not drop her. Having only one usable hand must be hard to carry things.

Least she has a thumb now.

Cradling the adorable mound of fur in my arms, I make my way to the barricade and leave her on top of Shiny.

With a salute, I go back to drilling, opening the entry way for our assault.

“The hatch is open. Anybody wanna call dibs?” I ask.

“Dibs.” Without so much as a warning, Cadence dive bombed into the awaiting pit, slicing a bug cleanly in half. Another two were magically slammed to the wall.

Flandre calls for her pentagram, but does little else.

I jumped down, neatly landing upon a now crushed cranium and slicing another bug in half with a sword swing.

Luna soon followed, skewering three bugs mid flight.

Chrysalis took quick note of us, releasing the most horrible high pitched screech in the history of ever… before turning tail, running deeper into whatever lair awaited us.

The girl on my shoulder takes off, flapping her wings and firing a controlled amount of bullets at both the bugs and aimed at Chrysalis to slow her down, but missed.

It wasn't long until the ground at our feet began to rumble, several cracks now lining the ground and walls.

Bursting through the fissures were at least a hundred bugs and three towering mantis shaped behemoths.

“That's not good…”

“It isn’t?” Flandre asks innocently, holding up a boulder about four or five times larger than herself, and with a graceful spin, one of the giants fell. It’s torso having been replaced by a mound of stone.

I stood there, face stoic and neutral...as did the entirety of the room (bugs included). “You know, I forget how strong vampires are normally.”

She just giggles it off, hand and stump going behind her back. “I’m stronger than most vampires.” She says.

I chuckle a bit, “That and you still have dracopyric blood running through you,” I raised an open palm, catching a jumping bug and crushing its face. “How do feel anyway?” I ask, low kicking another bug. It’s hip getting crushed by my heel.

Flandre fires a laser or two. “Much better now, I love my regeneration!” She says with a bright smile before it turned into a frown. “But uhm, dracopyric blood?” She says, confused.

I ducked under a mantis’ swipe, severing it’s arm with my teeth. “Mm, my blood. Did I not tell you?” I vaulted, my left heel slamming the mantis onto the ground. “I’m a mix of a dragon, vampire, and werewolf.”

She sides steps an attack, grabbing the mandible and throwing it into some pentigrams that began to fire upon it. “So, I drank your blood… should I be worried about anything?” Flandre asks.

I put my hand on my chin, casually rocking back and forth as Luna sped past me every so often. “Do you still have scales on your cheeks?” I asked, jumping over Cadence’s now spinning axe. “Or fur in… places?”

She pads her cheeks briefly. “Nothing odd there, and uh no to that last part.” The blonde answers him.

“The blood must have already been purged from your systems then. Good thing I didn’t bite you… that would have been a problem.”

She stops at that, looking at me. “Do I want to know?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know… do you?” I ask with genuine curiosity. I charged a bolt of plasma within my mouth, firing the charge at a bug that tried to sneak their way to Flan.

“Yes?” She says, unsure of herself as four lasers shoot out.

I began to loll my head from side to side as I formed my explanation. “It’s like having three sets of unquenchable urges at the same time. The need for blood, the need to hunt, and the need to horde. You’d be a walking talking disaster without the proper training,” I scrunched my mouth a bit. “I can barely control myself at the best of times… it’s hard having to deal with three different monsters in your head.”

“...yeeeeaaaahhh.” She says, obviously as enthused as I am. “I’ll pass on that then.” Flandre jumps over a tackle before kicking the offender into the ground.

“Hey! If you two are done yammering, that roach is still somewhere in this damn castle!” Cadence yelled as she pulled her axe out of the third mantis’ head.

“Really, there’s no need for such animosity is there?” Luna asked.

“I’m sorry, were you chained against your will and used as a ginny pig!?” The furious princess questioned, getting all up in Moonpie’s face. Not even flinching, several tendrils of shadow began to sprout from Luna’s back and hooves.

“Yes. Yes I was. Your point?” In a blink, the shadows were gone, leaving Cadence speechless. “Azure, I need a hug!” The lunar princess exclaimed as she trots over to me and Flan without so much as a care in the world.

Flandre looks to me questionably with a raised eyebrow, holding one of the bugs by the forehead and away from her.

“A lot of shit went down… like… a lot,” Luna wasted no time in nuzzling her head into my chest. “It’s a long story…”

“Right.” Flandre nods, understanding with a nervous flap of her wings.

Quickly nuzzling my Moonpie, I looked back to the path Chrysalis had taken to escape us. The cavern had taken on a bright orange-red glow, and every so often some form of energy would pulsate.

“That. That is definitely not good.” I proclaimed.

Tensing up, I felt tiny hands behind me, Flandre hiding behind me while peeking out from behind me.

“N-not so c-c-close to my spine… sens-si-sitive…”

“S-sorry.” She says, hands off.

My back started to unwind, my body loosening up fro-

“Oh I forgot how much fun it was to tease you!” Luna cried as she began to run her hoof along my spine.

“Gahahahhaaa...please stooooop~” I began to whine, my body tensing up again.

And well… she did stop… but only after well…

*Foomf*

‘And there go my wings…’

As that happens, Flandre glances at her wings...and had them snap to her sides.

“You have the most stupid weakness I've ever seen,” Cadence said rather dryly. She began to make her way through the cave, not at all bothered by the intense amount of magic.

“Yeah well you're a stupid weakness…” I grumbled as I tried to get a handle on my wings.

“Don’t do it to me please.” The little blond vampire says out of reflex.

Me and Moonpie looked at little Flan as if she’d grown a second head.

“What no… not against your will at least…”

“Thank you.” She states with a stiff nod.

I ruffled Flan’s head as I made my way forward. “C’mon, Cadence is probably gonna get herself killed.”

“Right.” She says with another nod, calming herself down.

The cave was both long and wide, the walls constantly pulsating this horrid and burning red aura. Flandre averted her eyes, trying not to get too focused on the red coloring that set off her instincts. “I don’t like it here…” She says rather childishly.

A mass of dark blue feathers pulled Flandre into an embrace. “It's alright, you're not alone.” Luna said.

I wanted to smile, but I'd be lying if I said the power of the Orb wasn't affecting me as well.

Flandre sticks close to Luna, her eyes going a tad sharper. “I smell blood…” She says, shuddering a bit.

''Shit’ I mentally screamed. “Luna, keep her safe,” I started to hasten my steps as I unsheathed the French Vanilla Ice Katana. Pale blue light bounced off the blade as a strong wafting scent of sweetened vanilla began to cover the cave walls, the oppressive red glow dying down as well.

“I'm going on ahead.” With frozen goodness in hand, I went into a sprint, narrowly dodging a rag dolled and slightly bleeding Cadence.

I finally made my way to an open cliffside, a sea of molten rock far down below.

Before me was quite possibly the most horrid thing I had ever come across. It looked like Chrysalis, but it was massive...and made entirely out of volcanic magma.

The thing... hissed at me. Spraying bits of molten rock at my face.

“Mmhmm… that's bad. Really really bad.” I readied my blade, only to duck as Cadence's axe whistled in from behind me, missed it's target, and whistled back to it's wielder.

“Back off hero! That bitch is mine!” She cried as she began to toss massive fireball after fireball at the molten beast.

Not even dodging, Chrysalis just chuckled as she absorbed the incoming fire.

“Aw feck, Cadence stop! You're making her strong-guk…”

I felt a… something pierce my chest. A slithering tentacle began to worm its way around my body. With a deft swing, the offending appendage was dropped. My chest had been charred, but at least now I knew the blade actually did it's job.

I heard Luna shout something before a red blur rushes passed me. The blur slams into the monster, stopping short. Flandre was sticking to Chrysalis, grunting as she seemed to be digging her hands into the molten chitin.

“Flan… FLAN!” I screamed as I burst forward… releasing the entirety of my Dracopyric aspect.

Several tentacles began to slam against Flan’s back, some even managed to open an old wound or two.

With speed and precision, the offensive appendages were sliced clean off...as a molten fist slammed me into the ground.

“I… can… deal… with… this!” Her hands were catching on fire and seeming to pull on something.

Plunging my claws into the fist, I began to freeze it from the inside out. Once the cursed thing shattered, I dusted myself off and started to fiddle with my wrist again.

“Just because you can,” I tore through the flesh once again. “Doesn't mean you should.” As the blood began to drip, several droplets began to hang mid-air. The blood converged until it made up a dense ball of my own blood.

“By my blood!”

The Dice of Fate once again found their way into my eyes… only to critically fail.

The orb radiated power, before striking Flan and supercharging her.

Flandre obviously freaked out from the sudden tackle and the surge, forced her onto her bottom.

“Gah! Crapbaskets!” I exclaimed as I rushed in, tanking a molten claw before it hits. “Shit ow! Ow ow! Shit ow ow!” Magma slid off of me and onto the floor, but it was not at all a pleasant experience having molten rock wash over a gaping chest wound.

“Fuck it!” I heard Flandre yell… Luna will scold her later. “I've had it!” She yells again, doing the same thing but far more forcefully. Whatever she was doing was working though, the flame of the monster dying slowly.

The molten beast began to shrink until all that was left of it was Ms. Bug Queen herself… and the Fire Orb. After this, Flandre yells as she pulls out a massive longsword made completely out of fire in her hands. Seemingly affected by her magic, the red flames swiftly started to turn yellow.

“Pfeh! I was growing tired of that shell anyway. Now do me a favor… and BURN!!” The Bug Queen's mane began to flare wildly as magic built up around her.

Torrential flames began to rise and close off our only exit as the orb at her side began to glow and shine. Several orb copies began to pop into existence as more molten beasts began to climb their way onto the cliffside we were on.

I grabbed my blood orb, slicing at any behemoth I got close enough to, freezing them in a sweet smelling prison of ice.

Flandre swung her sword and under normal circumstances the fire would empower, but the flame seemed so dense that it cut through whatever she swiped at. Granted, the swipes were slow but it was something.

“Flan! Catch!” I yelled as I tossed her the Blood Orb.

She was caught off guard but she manages to catch to the Blood Orb. “What do I do with this?”

“Drink it!” Not even two seconds after uttering those words, I was pummeled by a giant fist… which sent me into another giant fist, which sent me into ANOTHER giant fist, and the three monstrosities began to pinball my ragdolled body.

“Help! Gah! This! Is! The! Worst! Pain!”

Flandre grimaces as she slowly drinks from my Blood Orb, eyes sharpening significantly. After a few seconds, she lets out a grin before stopping at last. I did not like that look on her face, but at the very least the fists were destroyed by a following magical blast.

Finally gathering my bearings I began to focus on the swarming flood of monsters. “ICE BEAST!” A large pale blue VIII super imposed itself upon the floor as the Ice Beast rose from the ground, tentacles writhing as it began to freeze or swat away a good portion of the fiery behemoths.

“How you holding up Flan?” I asked the crazy eyed vampire.

She giggles a bit and sways a bit. “Oh, I’m doing juuust fiine~”

Getting a good look at her, I sort of motioned to her cheeks. “Uh... you've uh... you're gonna need a razor for that uh… yeah.” Small patches of golden fur had popped up on her face, and both her hands (now completely healthy) had scales on them.

I would have worried further had a wicked screech not snapped me out of my trance.

“YOU!! Yooouu… you inconsiderate foulsome-what even do I call you!!?” Chrysalis yelled as the orbs around her began to glow along with her confused rage.

I flared my wings and struck a fabulous pose: “Dracopyre, bitch!”

“Whoohohohohoo~” Flandre says fairly loosely, her fur being set on fire by her sword.

This... actually worried Chrysalis for some reason…

“Is she alright? She seems…”

“Weeee~” And there’s Chibi Mode.

Well, at least she wasn't trying to bite me or anything.

*CHOMP*

Ah no...spoke too soon. The still Chibi Vamp was now nomming on my shoulder happily, as if nothing could ruin her day.

I looked back to the Burning Bug Queen more than a little apologetic.

“Do you… wanna keep fighting?” I ask a little unsure of myself.

Chrysalis just sort of shrugged, her eyes glowing a bit. “Yeah… yes I suppose we should go back to beating each other over the head.” She said as she scratched at the back of her head.

I gave a nod, only to get sucker punched by a rising molten fist. I stagger back and wipe a bit of the rock off my face.

“That was a cheap sho-woah boy!” The now charged orbs in Chrysalis’ possession began to fire several volleys of lasers. I did my best to fly up and around the several beams, careful not disturb the... nuzzling Vamp who still had her jaw on my shoulder.

Eventually though, Flandre gets annoyed at the consistent movement… Not sure if I even wanted to see a kid perform the ancient Drunken Fist fighting style, with a big fire sword at that, but I guess now I get to.

“Buzz off…” Flandre mumbles. “Taboo: Maze of Love!” A pentagram appears behind her and chains of magic lined up straight, side to side or up and down surrounding the area before slowly charging inwards.

“What's going on… I'm freaking out man…” I say with a bit of worry.

As the bullets rush forward, though they seemed to slow down considerably when they neared me which gave me ample time to tag out of the fight, Flandre yells as she rushes forward at Chrysalis.

Not even frightened, the Bug Queen met her head on, a wicked and excited smile on her face.

Explosions began to rock the cliffside. Several orbs shattered, several giant fists thrown, and lots and lots of yelling ensued. Flandre would actually meet the fists with a punch of her own, either shattering them or punching them away.

After one successful punch connected, Chrysalis had dropped to my feet, her fire dying and a crack along her barrel.

“You! Dragon! How is that tiny monstrosity so powerful!?” She demanded of me… though it didn't exactly sound demanding.

“Laeveteinn!” Flandre brandishes her wand, firing a thick laser from it.

As Chrysalis rolled away, the blast sort of just went off behind me, mussing my hair a bit from the wind kicked up.

“Damn girl my bad…” I said rather absentmindedly.

With a rebel yell, Chrysalis once again rushed Flandre… only to get knocked back down.

“And there she goes again…” Apparently, not having learned her lesson, Chrysalis kept rushing in only to get bodied back to the floor every time.

“I’m… hungry…” Flandre says, eyes totally sharp as her fangs poke out. Woof, as if I didn't have enough nightmares…

She began to slowly make her way to the once again fallen queen, at least until I had put my right index finger on her forehead.

“Nnno.” She just sort of leaned in and began to flail her arms rather cartoonishly.

“Hungrryyyy~”

I kept her there, managing a glance at Chrysalis. She was uh… she was dying. Her fire had finally left her, leaving her a smoldering and cracked mess.

The crazed Fire Orb corrupted queen lay before me, beaten and dying. The orb had been lost to the sea of magma below us during the skirmish… though that was a quick fix.

“What are you waiting for… end it.” Chrysalis clicked, tears falling along her charred face as they fell and sizzled upon the burning rock.

“There has to be another way…”

The broken queen laughs a bit as she coughs. “A… nother way he says? No… you aren't anything like those ponies. Don't you know how many lives I've taken in my lifetime? Don't you see me as a monster?”

I knelt down so my eyes met hers. “Do you, me?” I asked with a tilted head.

The mad queen before me cranes her head forward with an incredulous gaze… only to cackle at me. It wasn't a “Wow how stupid is he?” or even a “The moment you turn around I’ll feast on your entrails!” kinda cackle. It was more a “Hey, that was pretty cool, do it again.” kinda cackle.

“Hee hee ha ha hi-don't see a monster… you, you are as FAR from any monster I have ever met,” She begins to crawl to me, climbing on me until her face is in front of my own. “I like you.”

“Hmm, get in line.” I said with a laugh. Flan had started to nom on my arm now, wetting the fur along my elbow...

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into A Desert Pt5: Wisemen Say...

For a moment, the queen and I just sort of laughed. Once the cave’s constant fire and heat began to die down, Cadence and Moonpie had made their way over once the barrier of fire had dispersed.

The happy came to a sudden and abrupt end however as the Shadowfire axe was plunged just millimeters away from Chrissy's head.

“Good, kill her so we can get out of here and go home.” The fiery princess stated without any emotion.

“Is that truly necessary? Has she not suffered enough?” Luna asked.

I could now feel the heat rise again, snapping my head back, I gave Cadence a serious glare.
Seconds passed until finally she huffed in defeat. “Make this good hero…”

I nodded and faced the queen once again. “Look, I don't want to see you die, and you don't even want to die,”

I waited until she managed a nod.

“What I do next, it'll keep you alive… but not in the traditional sense.”

She doesn't even wait for clarification until she nods again. “Done deal.”

“I didn't even tell you what woul-.” She shut me up with a hoof to my lips. Her eyes fading and fading fast.

“Done deal.” I nodded as I began to wiggle my right arm out of Flandre's hold. I gave up as she just moved higher, her legs now locked along my elbow and her jaws once again on my shoulder.

I pulled out my Green Dragon Ocarina with my left as I rose to my feet and placed the instrument to my lips.

The Song of Healing began to echo along the walls of the cave. The scarred ground began to heal, Cadence and Luna held each other as they both lost themselves to tears…

And Chrysalis had disappeared into dust, the only remnant of her existence was a single mask molded in effigy.

“No shit that actually wor-gahfrim!!” I was tackled to the floor, a wet muzzle nuzzling itself into my neck. Unfortunately that also meant I went face first into the mask.

Flandre whines in displeasure, having been thrown off from the tackle.

That wasn't the only whine however as Luna rushed off my back as the mask began to work it's mojo… a stonelike carapace began to work it's way onto my face as a burst of light flooded the room.

I began to rise, an echoing voice resounding in my mind.

“This is far more than I could have hoped for… treat me with respect deserving a queen.”

The frig? “Oh not anot- do I sound more feminine to you?” I asked looking at Moonpie and Flandre.

Moonpie started to motion to my hips and chest, but why would she-

“Sweet dreams are made of this! I-I h-h-ave…” I groped my now pronounced chest and squealed in abject fear.

My body had also undergone some wicked change... chitin had melded with scale, I was now pitch black, but at least I still had my hair… which was now sea foam green.

“Uhm… I can fix this… I think?” My mind was going fuzzy, a strange scent filled my nostrils… no… not strange…

“Luna, did you always look so God damn enticing?” I said with heavy breath.

“Azure!? Not in front of the child!” My Moonpie chastised.

“Flan, does this bother you?” I asked, now far less wary of my current predicament.

Flandre was rolling on the ground, full chibi mode and didn’t seem to even notice what was going on around her. How she hasn’t snapped her wings by accident had to be thanks to anime logic.

“See~” I began to sway my new hips to an unknown rhythm as I used all my ballet skills to saunter up to Moonpie. “She doesn't mind…” I traced a finger along her burning face, meeting her eyes as she grasped my cheeks and pulled.

The world was once again a bright brilliant lightbulb, my senses having come back to me.

“Wha… what just happened…” Before me was a shaking Luna, she looked pale… kinda like she just saw a ghost. “You don't look to-” Without warning, her lips met my own before she nuzzled into my chest.

“You look better this way…” The pegasus whispered.

“O-okay…” She pulled away and put the mask in my hands.

“Don't wear it again.” She gave me another quick peck before she made her way out of the cliffside.

Checking back to the incredibly loopy Flan, I picked her up by her sides and leveled her face with my own.

“I need to go do something real quick, wanna go meet back with Ammy and the others?” I ask the still Chibi Vampire.

“Uh huh~” She says with a nod, nearly biting my nose. “Onii-chan~” The vampire paws my face a bit.

“Nee-chan~” I put my nose against hers and shook my head before letting her go on her way.

I found myself alone in the empty cave. 'Cadence must have high tailed it before Luna did…’ I began to walk to the cliff edge, looking down at the settled magma, steeling myself for this next part.

“Alright Chrysalis… let's hope some of that Orb magic rubbed off on you.” I dived as I placed the mask upon my face once again.

“Hello hero, you came back rather quickly~”

I impacted the molten river nose first, I spun around once I was submerged and began to look for the Orb.

“Over there, follow the heat.”

She was right, it was getting hotter the closer I got. I swam as fast as I could, my body holding out against the burning river.

“Getting much hotter now~”

There. The Orb was finally in my hands… I swam up, bursting through the river and spreading my wings. They felt so much lighter for some reason…

“We're well known for being the fastest race on the planet, though we do so love taking our time~”

“Gah! Enough of the double entendre and innuendo!!! It's hard enough trying to keep my head on straight with you inside of me.” I had to face palm as I realized too late what it was I just said.

It didn't help that Chrysalis kept laughing at how flustered I was…

“That's it, the mask comes off.” I reached to the folds of my cheeks when Chryssi hurriedly tried to stop me.

“Don't be so hasty, you can keep me on for a little longer can't you? I'll be a good little queen~”

“Hmmmmm……. Stupid audio erotica… okay, but we have to do something abo-” My body was bathed in green fire as all my normal features had returned.

“Ahem… testing testing… hmm. My voice still sounds so much smoother than normal… I mean that's not a bad thing actually…” I hugged my waist, thought after thought running through my brain.

“I can be very good to you, and you can be as bad as you want with me~”

“Stop. It.” My cheeks felt so much hotter now… I was not this bashful as a guy…

“No. Still a guy. Still. A guy.” I huffed and hurried back to the hovel we all came in through.

First thing I noticed was Cadence, Shining on her back again… though they both looked absolutely ragged.

Ammy was trying to bury her muzzle in Luna’s mane again… the Changelings from the brothel were braiding Luna’s tail and Flan…

It's like she was this bright shining light in the darkness. Her adorable and innocent smile, the way her little side ponytail had this bounce to it, and the crystals on her wings… “Are you drooling?”

“Huh wuh? O-oh OH! I'm so very sorry… who?”

“Onii-chan~” And Flandre’s biting my arm again, not even piercing the outer skin.

“...Who did she bite?” Ammy says, laying off to the side but very much awake and very annoyed.

“You assume she even had someone to bite.” I say rather playfully. I started scratching Flan’s chin, eliciting an adorable giggle. “We ready to leave this Hell hole?”

“Yes. Please.” Ammy says, standing up .”Ugh, times like these I wish we weren’t displaced…”

“It's the hand we were dealt, it's a terrible deal, but we make the best of it,” I ruffled little Flan’s head and turned back to the hole I drilled.

I charged one last Destruction Burst, using the Fire Orb to augment it's payload, and threw it into the empty throne room. “To new beginnings!”

The Changelings began to form up single file as they followed my steps. Their wings vibrating every so often... telling me things...how happy they are to have such a strong queen to lead them… how cute they think Cadence and Shiny are as a couple…

Somehow... something on me vibrated messages too. How things would change with the survivors of Akriloth’s assault… how off limits the princess and her knight were… and that they would learn just how strong their “new queen” is.

“Let's cut through here, it'll get us up faster.” I said as I started to climb through an off hand burrow.

“How do you know that?” Shining asked, now fully awake and aware of his surroundings.

“Hmm?” I looked back to him, a smile on my face. “Echolocation. Come on, did you forget who you were talking to?”

I went back to climbing, making certain twists and turns… only for Shining to bring the matter back up.

“No... you would have gotten us down there faster… and your voice is off…”

I only shook my head, laughing at his paranoia.

“You're tired. We're all tired. Once this is over, we'll head to the spa and just forget about today. My treat, and don't think that doesn't include you too Ammy~”

I punched a hole to my left, sand cascading into the pathway.

“Home free! Let's get out of here.”

“My my, I chose right with you~”

'Chrysalis, I will take off this mask.’ I groaned at my new mental squatter.

“Weeeee~” Flandre rolls over in the air before stopping at Luna and trying to bite her on the hoof.

With a quick grab and pull, I had the adorable mass of adorability by the scruff of her neck as she flailed her arms up and down at cartoonish speed.

“You'll be biting into something sweet soon my little one. You need not be hasty.” I pulled her in close as I wiggled out to the light of dusk.

I threw Flan into the air as she began to happily soar through the open skies. I rushed out into the open and saw the sun had finally ended it's descent.

A wicked idea began to form in my mind as I raised my arm.

“I've always wanted to do this! LIGHT!” A white crescent moon was emblazoned on my chest as I felt the soft and rounded form of the moon.

As if greeting an old friend, the moon began to rise, the celestial body listening to my gentle coaxing.

“Are you raising the moon!?” I heard Cadence cry.

“Awesome right!? Moonpie, your magic is so much stronger now! You're gonna be a beast once I give it back!”

“I better keep Yumigami away from this world…” Ammy mumbles out loud, not really meaning for others to hear,

“Yumi who?” I look back at Ammy with a playful smirk. “Heightened hearing, it comes with the whole Dracopyre package!”

I let the moon go, content to see it in it's rightful place.

I had yet to even turn around when I was once again tackled by a mass of dark blue pony.

“A moon goddess who’s very, VERY competitive and a very temperamental rabbit.” Then she drooled a bit. “Who makes the best Mochi I have ever tasted.” Then she lowered her head. “And likes to hit things with her Mallet. Specifically, me.”

I gently caressed the mare atop of me, as I looked to Ammy.

“Why does it feel like I've heard that legend somewhere?” I give a playful half bite on Luna’s ear and patted her barrel.

“Noo… let me stay like this with you.” She complained.

“They're looking at us. Come on, your sister might have felt that and will no doubt try and find you out here.” Luna stuck her tongue out at me, before licking my face and getting herself off of me.

“Bleh, tastes like sand…” 'Damn that mare.’ I thought with a small grin making it's way on my face.

“Hmhm~ I see that you do have someone special.”

“OKAY THAT'S IT!” I exclaimed as I whipped out the Fire Orb. A great red light began to flood the world which I used to mask my...well mask removal. The light died down and I was once again myself.

“Flaaaan! Can you use Four of a Kind again? I have a promise to keep!” I called out.

She nods, barely registering the request and holding out her hand. “Taboo: Four of a Kind~” Followed by four poofing noises.

“FINALLY!”

“Yay!”

“Aw, I was having a pleasant dream.”

“...” Anger was strangely the tamest and just looked bored.

I pull out my Destruction Diamond and raise it high. A bright light bounced off the crimson gem of DOOM and Destruction. “Who wants to pull the trigger to the greatest bomb known to man!?” I yelled in excitement.

Feral and Anger shoot up their hands while Joy just jumps a bit. “Explosions? Like fireworks?!” She says rather innocently.

I motion to Feral and Anger and held out the Diamond.

“Put your hands on the diamond and feel it.”

Both of them grabbed the diamond with both of their hands. “Feel it…” Feral says with a smirk and they both activated the Diamond easily.

I looked back, feeling the earth rumble from beneath.

“Now sit back and watch the show.” A single lance of red light shot out from the sands… followed by three others… which soon began to expand into a violent exploding vortex of blackened skulls and vicious fire.

The sky was set ablaze in crimson glory as brilliant bursts littered the sky like vibrant stars upon a gentle ocean.

As the vortex began to fade, it gave way to a very surprising visage. A mountain sized statue of Chrysalis, complete with back pincers, had risen from the ground.

“Hmm… must have been that last charge…” I whispered to myself.

Wordlessly, the two clones lifted their hands up, red magic encompassing in the palms of their hands, forming small glass baubles. Then, they crushed the glass circles with a light squeeze, the statue suddenly turning red and exploding into non-existence.

The was no sign of it ever even existing, barring memory.

“HO-LY NUT BALLS! THAT WAS AWESOME!!” I yelled as I jumped into the air.

“I feel much better.” Feral says, seeming to at last relax a fair bit.

I looked around, making sure everyone wasn't caught in the blast. With a nod, I brought out my Ocarina, summoning the green dragonzard.

“It's getting late, and that blast could have been seen from the other side of the world. Climb on and we'll figure everything out after we have a decent roof over our heads.”

“Sure, sure… uhm. Is Flandre drunk?” The lazier clone says with a point. “What is she doing, teething?”

“I plead the fifth.” I say with a raised and flat hand. I climbed up to the head of my mechanical marvel, ushering everyone up while also avoiding Ammy's disapproving death glare. The clones kept their distance from the original Flandre, who was giggling a bit again.

“Nee-chan, ride with me. I don't want you falling off!” I called to the original. She giggles before floating over to me and sitting down onto my lap.

I took a quick look back, making sure everyone was on and hanging onto something. With two taps, steam puffed out of the side of the dragonzard as it began to rise and fly.

“Next stop, Ponyville! When this baby hits eighty eight miles per hour… well, I'd probably be disobeying the speed limit.” With a smooth lurch, the metal serpent began it's way back home.

Flandre while still on my lap had her arm extended, giggling some more again.

Things went by smoothly, the wind whipping at my face, the night air was sweet and relaxing, and the approaching airship tried to flag us down… Wait...

“This is Equestrian airspace! Land at once by order of Princess Celestia!”

Well… that didn't last long. I tapped the dragon head and brought up a megaphone.

“How bout no! By order of my left foot!” I yelled in retort.

The wooden ship simply hovered next to us until the guy at the other end started barking.

“You had your chance! Deploy all Black Knights, capture the princesses, kill the rest!”

“Oh find me in the-we’ve been had! All hands, prepare for contact!” I brought my dragon to halt and pulled out a holy hand grenade.

“Lethal force authorized.”

Several pegasus variant knights began to shoot out of the ship, some began tossing lances, others decided to bumrush.

I replied in kind, pulling the pin off my bomb and throwing it dead center of the opposing ship… only for the wood to give way to the same blackened metal of the Knights.

“That's not good... girls! Scatter!”

The clones instead started to attack, pentagrams forming behind them as they charged their magic. “Yeah, like hell.” The lazier one says.

“That's actually exactly what I meant!” I said as I whipped out the Silver Bullet Express. “Cadence, cover Fury and Whimsy, I'll watch Lethargy and Cheer!”

“Wait? Which ones which!?” She calls.

“Check their fighting styles!” The chaingun in my grasp made it's rounds as I began to pepper the flying knights with controlled shots.

The clones did the same magically, though less controlled and more bullet helly.

As powerful as Flan was, I was hoping the Black Knight metal would fall to her magic...but even shot head on, the cursed suits still shined as if they were never even worn.

“Those monsters shells can't be breached! Aim for their visors and mouths!” Not even seconds after uttering this, a hatch in the opposing ship had opened, revealing a large shining blue crystal with a strange rune engraved into it.

The stone charged and released a massive ball of plasma. With a stomp, the dragonzard lurched downwards, narrowly dodging the shot.

“Fucking hell… it's like fighting the Gesselschaft all over again!!”

“Surrender now you freaks. Your deaths will be quick!” Oh that voice was pissing me off now…

“Or… I break your eye!” Feral states, and the clone summoned those strange crystals. She shattered hers and a Black Knight flailed as it glowed red. “Absolute Annihilation is our speciality!” After a while, the Knight had imploded in a spark of red light. Not even the armor or soul remained.

“Haha! Keep doing that! I am so sick and tired of those mindless zombies!” I cheered. “Omni-Systems, play track : Fokkerwolf.”

[Now playing MegaMan Legends: Fokkerwolf]

“Psh, not OWEN was her? But whatever.’ Anger says as she and other started to kill off the rest of the knights. “I see your eye… now its in my hand~!” She crushes it. “Bye bye, freak!”

“I like ‘Septette for a Dead Princess’ better.” Lazy says while killing off another.

“Isn’t that our sister’s song?” Feral asked.

“I like ‘Get in the Ring!” Joy says.

“You would.” The rest of the clones replied, but they all had a distinctive blush on their faces.

“Oh come on!” I yelled. “Everyone knows Chinese Gate Keeper Girl is the best!” The passengers still on the dragonzard gave all of us incredibly strange looks.

“That said... Omni-Systems… Night of Nights.”

[Now playing Audio Track: Night of Nights]

With a kick, the dragonzard barreled around and under the airship, several fireballs uncovering more black metal.

“Sweet Celestia, what are you monsters!? That metal is supposed to be magic proof!” The offending pilot yelled.

“Fury! Destruction Diamond!” I called out to Anger as I held out the Destruction Diamond.

“Awww!” Feral says as Anger grabs it and already starts to activate it.

“Aim for that ship…” I exclaimed with no remorse.

“Go to hell!” Anger yells at the ship, aiming directly at it.

At first... nothing happened… at least until several glass eyes began to float aimlessly.

“Pretty!” The original says as she and the others reach out their hands and start gathering the eyes.

“Break it.”

The very air had filled with the sound of a reverberating SHATTER.

The ship began to convulse, the pilot started to scream as if his insides were being torn out of him from the inside out.

“Oh crap… FALL BACK!!!” I kicked my dragon again, sending it barrelling down and away from the eventual event horizon.

“Waah~?” Flandre yelps, holding onto my arm with out of a fear reflex.

The sky was once again painted red as a grand explosion rocked the world. And of course I payed it no mind as was customary of all great post battle explosions.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT GODDESS FAUST WAS THAT!!??” I heard Shiny yell, his face looking directly at the explosion.

“God DAMNIT Armor! You weren't supposed to look at the explosion!!”

Feral and anger were cheering and looking directly at the explosion.

“Mother of! It's cool… nah nah… it's aight…”

I just huffed… not even caring… it didn't bug me… it didn't bug me… It bugged me. It bugged me a lot.

“What… was all that! What were those things!? What just happened!?” I heard Shining scream in utter terror.

“Slap him!” A satisfying 'ow’ resounded, from the air.

“Thank you… we’ll talk once we're home free…”

Thankfully, that dog fight brought us just that much closer to Ponyville, an entire crowd having formed, some even had telescopes and binoculars.

“Oh good…” I eyed the crowd, Bon Bon front and center as we landed.

“Hero! You've got a lot of nerve attacking a royal airship! And where are the survivors!? You didn't…” Her face paled before becoming riddled with anger. “You monster! By order of the Monster Hunter's, I'm bringing you in!”

The mare leveled a crossbow at me, a dragon head adorning the bow.

“Would you believe it if I said they attacked us first!?” Luna asked with a raised hoof.

The mare only nocked back an arrow, no doubt aiming for my heart.

“Would you believe it if I said it?” Cadence dropped from the dragon with a heavy stomp, walking up to the now surprised agent. “Princess Cadenza, otherwise known as Miss Trust.”

Bon Bon’s eyes went wide! Terror began to grip her. “I-I-I don't… know what you're talking about your hignes-”

“And the only thing that brings me back is Love~” Cadence sang as the rest of us got off the ride, said ride fading away to nothing.

“You can't be… but…” We all sort of just walked/floated past her.

“Go on home folks... nothing to see here…” I made my way to my home, casually looking up. “Anybody want ice cream?” I ask the group.

“Me!” All of the Flandres yell, raising a hand each.

“Me too please.” Ammy states, raising a paw.

“PINKS! I SMELL YOU FOLLOWING US!”

From atop a crystal laden rooftop did Pinkie Pie rise. A pencil on her ear and a notepad in her hoof.

“Flavors? Flavors?” I asked, pointing at everyone.

“Mint chocolate?” Luna asked more than said.

“Cookie dough.” Cadence and Shining said in tandem.

“God Shiny, your such a chick.” I say in a valley girl accent.

“Strawberry!” Feral and Anger says.

“Vanilla.” Lazy says.

“Sherbert!” Joy says.

“Mint~” The original says.

“I’d like sherbert as well please.” Ammy says, trying to hide her drooling.

“Aight… two mint, three cookie dough, two sherbert, one vanilla and two strawberry! You got all that Pinks!”

The confectionaire extraordinaire lifts her note pad and salutes, rushing away in a plume of pink dust.

“Come on…” I say as I continued my slumped march.

“Who's the third cookie dough for?” Cadence asked me, giving me a suspicious smile.

“What, it's a good flavor.” I replied with a bit of sass.

“Ice cream, ice cream!” Joy would, well, joyfully, cry out over and over pretty much bouncing.

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into A Desert Pt6: Only Fools Rush In

I finally found my home through all the darkness, slamming my face onto the door.

“Who is it~” The voice of my Moglord Ghost Maid called out.

“Viiiii… open the door… we have guests…”

“Ponies, gryphons, dogs, dragons, or outworlders?”

“Outworlders!” Several voices in the group called out.

With a swing, the door was open and my face met floor.

“Huh, so that's why we have all that ice cream... twenty pints kinda seems like overkill… come in come in! It's cold out there!”

The happy ghost began ushering the group in, the several changelings having reunited with their own.

I just sort of dragged myself inside, not even bothering to stand. I rolled to my side and got a good look at everyone.

“Questions?” I asked… immediately regretting my decision.

“What's with the Yokai?” Lazy speaks out with her arms crossed.

“Yokai? I don't have a yokai.” I respond idly. “You mean Veral?” I sat up as said “Yokai” came on by with everyone's ice cream.

“Vi, they think you're a yokai.”

“But I'm not from Japan?” She said with a confused look.

“See, not a yokai.”

“Then what is she?” Feral says. “...Is she edible?”

I wave Veral back over and motioned for her paw. I attempted to bite through it, only for my teeth to literally go through it.

“Nope. Not edible either.” I take a spoonful of my delicious goodness, taking a moment to savor the flavor of frozen cookie. “She's just my ghost, my adorable ghostly ghost.”

“Awww…” Feral goes back to her ice cream.

Flandre’s face suddenly meets the table. “Ugh… my head…” She says, slightly less loopy now. She turns her head over to look at me, resting on her cheek, eyes slowing unsharpening. “What happened, Onii-chan?”

“We got home after a very long adventure,” I ruffled her hair and gave her a spoon. “Ice cream?”

She just opens her mouth lazily with a ‘ah’ noise, mistaking my gesture.

With a shake of my head, I open her bucket and start feeding her small bites.

“You're gonna kill someone with how adorable you are, you know that right?” I ask the tired vampire.

Joy seemed to agree, having fallen backwards off her chair with a leg in the air, twitching.

“See what I mean? Any other questions?” I dig deeper into my own bucket of frozen goodness and prop the sizeable chunk on my tongue.

“Yes actually, what was the Mask?” Ammy askes, muzzle deep in her bucket. We could only see her body and her ears.

I pulled out my new mask, showing it off to the group. “I learned a certain song that lets me heal the suffering of souls. Playing the song once said soul has accepted the parameters, turns them into a wearable ma- how do you even know I have this mask? I wasn't even wearing it.”

'Poker face don't fail me now.’ I thought, mentally sweating bullets.

“Anyway, wearing the mask sort of changes bits and pieces of my being. Speech patterns, physical appearance, social ticks…”

“I knew it!” Shining exclaimed, the group giving him a strange look. “You were wearing it as you led us all out!”

“C’mon man, I don't know what you're talking about… Luna and Flan were there when I put on the mask, I was all…” I made rounded motions along my chest and hips. “But when I came out I was all…” I smoothed my hands over my chest and hips in emphasis.

“Come on, tell em Nee-chan.”

“Sexy?” Lazy says bluntly with a wild guess.

“Turned into a girl I think…” Flandre says, holding her a head.

I started waving another spoonful of ice cream at Flan, watching as she bit down greedily. “Mmm~” She hums, enjoying the taste.

I looked back at the now disgruntled ex-captain, feigning as much hurt as possible. “See? Plus, everyone here is nice and safe! Despite… the uh… royal cruiser that we had to blow up.”

He huffed before angrily shoving his face into his bucket. “Ehnd… mmph, what even WAS all that? Yeah sure, I was captain for all of three years, but the Pactagonal Knights would have told me about something like… whatever that was.”

“Man, that was so fun to blow up~” Feral reminists a bit about it, kicking her feet.

“Meh, could use less noise.” Lazy states out with a shrug, head on the table.

I just flashed them both a grateful smile. “My strongest and biggest explosions couldn't even hope to dent that metal, let alone destroy it,” I felt my smile waiver however… “Those things… skin suits held together by thread and soul… skin made by cloning me… for how long, I can’t tell.”

This managed to raise a few heads however…

“What do you mean they cloned you?” Cadence had asked.

“Twilight was with me, we had happened upon an underground facility where Luna was being experimented on,” I looked down at my now empty bucket… “They still smelled like I did, but they were actually human. Blew the whole thing to Hell, thought it might of halted their production…”

“I’m sensing a but.” Anger says, she and the other clones taking interest. Huh, clones taking interest in clone talk.

“As you all saw, the Knights are still out there...they still have my DNA, and they still have Black Metal, and as much as I would love to grab Celestia by her throat and demand the location of her facility, she apparently knows nothing of the goings on of her own science division!!”

I plopped back onto my back, fuming in frustration… literally. *PAH* “Stupid dragon’s fire…”

“Oh, kinda like the SCP foundation!” Joy compairs. “Minus the “Secure, Contain, protect’. Sounds like they’re doing this for war profit or something.”

I had to shiver… half reminding myself I’d need a full body mirror in case of emergency. “Cadence, didn’t you run most of Celly’s paperwork a ways back? You know anything?”

“Pfft,” The girl tossed her empty bucket at my face… which I took head on without flinching. Because reasons. “Not even a shady paper company… these demons are off the books…”

We heard a whimper. “Why did you have to remind me of SCP, Joy?” Flandre says, dropping face first on the table with a whine.

I could only cradle her head in my hands as I offered a gentle smile. “Come on, barring entity “Zero-Zero-One: The Gatekeeper” you could handle or outright destroy most of if not ALL of the creatures held by the SCP.”

I then held a hand to my chin in thought. “Cept maybe the “Endless Staircase”...but when will that ever be a proble….m. Oh find me in the Alps, why did I just say that?”

“I still get nightmares about ‘Shy Guy’ and 173…”

The three ponies in the room began to look at us, a strange curiosity upon their faces.

“What… are you talking about?” Luna asked us.

Feral starts to smirk evilly, a comedically anime style aura of operation. “Don’t. Blink.” She says slowly, letting out a very unnatural hiss and some sort of atmospheric noise straight out of a horror flick sounding oddly low and soft.

“Don’t…” Flandre whines out loud.

Somehow, someway, Feral gets a ...Plague Doctor mask? “Oh my…” Her voice was almost hollowed and echoed a bit in the mask. “Another victim of the disease.” She casually places a hand on Flandre’s shoulder.

Flandre lets out a pathetic whimper, shaking a bit.

Feral keeps going, let out a very deep, baritone, and obviously male like laugh.

“Eehhh….~”

Feral remains in her posture. “...Fuck, can’t think of anymore quotes. Oh yeah-” She takes a deep breath, ALL of her teeth shark like now and she lets out a howling roar, very much impossible for someone to pull off normally.

Now the poor girl had her chin on the table, her chibi mode on with her face mushing a bit on the table with her eyes becoming orbs of cartoony white, comedic anime tears hanging and wiggling back and forth. A dinging noise was heard as this transformation happened. “I hate you.” She sniffs a bit, laying there limply.

Feral ignores her, seeming to try and think of more.

In a bid to lessen the now, fearful confusion in the room, I magicked a pair of horn rimmed glasses and a list.

“Ahem: The things Dr. Bright is Not Allowed to do at the Foundation. Rule Fourteen,

The Better Business Bureau is not the correct agency for dealing with containment failures from horrible eldritch artifacts sold by Marshall, Carter, and Dark.”

I waited, a serious look upon my face.

“Rule Twenty Three: If an SCP file says never to do something, it is not because we want to control your mind. Yes it is.

No, it's not, and Dr. Bright may not edit this document.”

“Rule Thirty; SCP- Nine-Six-Three is not a joy buzzer.”

Feral was instead laughing along and my quotes seemed to, while confuse her, cheered Flandre up nicely. She smiled softly at me, thanking me silently. “N-no fair, there's way too many to remember!” Feral calls out, still laughing a bit.

“All in all,” I stated through Feral’s several peals of laughter. “The Foundation is a preventative measure meant to keep monstrous organisms from devouring all that is in the whole of existence… if those are all the queries we have, then might I suggest we get everyone to bed?” I emphasized this with a good ol fashioned yawn.

“On a scale of one to ten, how confused are you?” Lazy asks the others with a small smirk

The ponies in the room looked at each other, before nodding in unison.

“Ten.”

“Pfft, which one of you’s gonna have nightmares I'll have to deal with.” I ask.

Shining bolted up, and made his way for the door. “Sorry! It's really late and me and the missus need to get back to the library…”

He opened the door and idly whispered. “Hopefully Twily has a good memory removal spell…”

With an unceremonious eye roll, Cadence followed her freaked out knight in frightened armor out the door. Flandre opens her mouth at me again with a noise.

I looked first at the gaping maw… then at the half empty bucket on the table… then once again at the endless void. With hesitation, I scooped the rest of the somewhat melting mass of vanilla goodness and deposited said mass straight into the supermassive black hole.

She takes it all easily, humming in approval as she chews it slowly.

“Too cute…” I sighed with content.

“Finally, some down time.” Ammy sighs in much the same way, curled up on the table.

A yawn made its way from my mouth as my eyes started to spasm between being closed and shut. “Mmph, I don't wanna mooove...VERAL. Bedsheets…” I swayed rhythmically until my face met pillow and a heavy cover was dropped on my back.

I looked around and took note that several changelings had been handing out pillows and such. Flandre takes one and lays her head on one while Ammy just gets up and curls up with her.

Luna, propped herself next to me as sleep begun to take me...

-Dreamscape-

I fell through the inky black, half expecting a torrent of nightmares and half expecting something to try and end my exi-

A massive reptile like monstrosity launched itself at me with incredible speed and precision. It’s skull, a blood stained cream colored visage that radiated hatred.

“SHIT! FUCK! WHY THE FRUIT DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME!!!” The beast had it’s jaw on my leg until a massive blade of golden fire plunged into it as it sank into the non-existent ground.

“Mm. No more SCP talk before bed.”

-Living room: Morning-

“I'M SO TIRED OF THIS STAIRCASE!!” I yelled in frustration as I shot out of my bedsheets. “Why is there something adorable here on my arm?”

I was met with soft snoring as a response.

Lifting the appendage, I found Flandre was clinging to it just as tightly as she had back at the caves. And as a bonus, chibified.

I kept steady, using the balls of my feet to glide along the floor as I went to the kitchen.

“Hmm… no one's awake yet. Guess I'm in charge of breakfast to-”

The front door was swiftly swung open, Veral’s booming voice calling out.

“HEY GUYS I GOT PINKIE TO MAKE US ALL FOOD!”

“Okay nevermind…”

Flandre whines audibly at the sudden loud noise, rubbing her eye with a grimace.

“Morning princess,” I whispered quietly. “Sleep well?”

She nods her head slowly. “Yeah~” She says with a long, drawn out yawn.

I walk us out, the smell of fresh bread and concentrated sugar assaulting my nostrils.

There in the living room were no less than ten Changelings, surrounding various platters and boxes all filled with various baked goods ranging from the lowly but not unwanted donut, to the incredibly difficult but entirely worth it souffle.

Luna had her still sleeping face nestled against a large cube of coffee cake.

It seemed the smell however had attracted the other two house guests as Trixie lazily made her way forward as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Oracle splayed on her back.

“Oh… more outworlders? They're nice right?” The showmare asked.

“Hi…” Flandre says with a tired smile, her eyes closed as she raises a hand.

Trixie squee’d as she made her way to us. I sat down and started to nom on a bear claw.

“You look tired, what I miss?”

The showmare set Oracle on a pillow and gave a long yawn.

“Mm… Pinkie said she needed help with getting all the pyrotechnics out of the way for the “afterparty”.

Ah… the Gala afterparty. Me and Twi have been planning this one for quite some time now.

“You have Rarity make your new outfit yet?”

She took on a very worried and cautious expression at this statement.

“But… what’s wrong with what I have now?”

I waved her off as I offered her to sit with us.
“Nothing, I really like your hat and cape. I'm talking about getting you a suit to go with it!”

I waved at Walter, getting the Changeling to see to Trixie’s needs. “Make sure she gets measurements for a new suit, have Rarity keep it in theme with her existing attire.”

With an “Of course sir,” Walter sent for Rarity.

I huffed and started to rifle through my inventory, dropping a bag labeled 44lbs as I dug my head through my hammerspace.

“The heck am I doing? Omni-systems, I need a checklist of all of my Holy grade weaponry.”

[Scanning]

Four swords, a string of grenades and axes, and the Silver Bullet Express piled on top of me and slammed me into the floor.

“Owwwwwuuuuuu……. but why though…”

I began to carefully ease my way out of the pile, singeing my scales and fur every so often from contact with the more… holy of the items present.

“Ugh seriously this stuff should not be bur..ning… me… oh.” In my grasp was a giant crystal blade attached to a curved hilt made from solid gold. A runic circle held within its core and a winglike guard adorned the rest of the blade. “Ohoho...Ammy’s gonna have a field day with this one.”

“Stop shouting… head hurts…” My train of thought derailed, as Luna desperately tried to cover her ears with random pastries.

“Oh hush, someone get this girl some coffee!”

“Can I have some too?” Flandre says as she floats into the living room, still looking rather tried as she tries to snuggle up to me.

“And some for the weaponized ball of adorable!” I added as I rubbed my cheek on hers. I looked within her eyes, bright and filled with hope.

“Flan, out of the items I let you use, which do you prefer. The Orb, or the Diamond?”

“...Thinky later.” She says, opting to choose when her headache went away.

Thankfully, a fresh pot had found its way before us, several ceramic mugs float upon blobs of green magic as a darkened brew was poured into each.

“Coffee’s here. You like it black or with milk?”

Flandre raises a small hand. “Milk please.” She requests.

A carton was quickly magicked in, pouring itself into an empty cup until it was one third full, then mixed with coffee.

I grabbed the brew and another for myself and handed Flan her wake up juice. “I suppose it's about time I send you home, so I'll need your world anchor after you're good and ready.” As the cup was handed to her, Flandre sits up a bit to keep the liquid in the cup before nodding to me and thanking me, but I couldn't help but notice the light hint of disappointment.

Childish disappointment, but disappointment nonetheless.

However, before I could question it she ends up drinking it too early and reels as she holds her mouth before opening it and fanning at her steaming mouth. “Hot, hot~”

“Easy easy…” I magicked a slim piece of ice and slid it on to her tongue… watching as it immediately turned to mist. “Okay the coffee could not have been that hot…”

Curious, I took an easy lick of the liquid...burning my tongue. “Who boiled this coffee!?”

I looked upon my changelings, only one was visibly shaking. A butler no taller than Walter.

“I did sir… I thought maybe it would suit you.”

“How did you boil this so the pot wouldn't melt?”

“Titanium pot sir, mixed with silver…” I glared at the poor fool, no doubt his brethren caught wind of my growing discomfort.

“Enough to harm me it seems, and my guest. I’mma call you Nut.” He seemed to take mild offence to this, but he did keep from flinching.

“Nut, new pot, and please use the iron kettle this time…”

The current cups were taken away, though Flandre’s cup was held back by one of Moonpie’s wings.

“No sense wasting good coffee…”

Flan nods a bit, her tongue healing quickly. “...Have you guys seen Ammy?” She asks. “I haven’t seen her alll morning.”

“Wasn't she with youuu…… MY BONES!” I yelled in incoherent frustration as I made my way for my basement. My greatest fears were brought forth as I spied a set of doggy tracks leading to my basement. Throwing the doors wide, I spied the wolf pup happily chewing on one of the larger dragon bones.

“VENGEANCE.”

Ammy freezes in place, eyes immediately on me in mid bite. After a few seconds of awkwardly staring at me, she finishes her bite. ”This is exactly what it looks like.” She says.

“Put down the bone… and no one gets hurt.” I say as calmly as possible.

“Aw…” She attempts a puppy eyed look.

“Down!” I exclaimed pointing a finger to the floor. She continued to stare intently with her adorable eyes of adorable that even began to shine as if on the verge of tears. “I have a rolled up newspaper and I am not afraid to use it!”

We stared at another for what seemed an eternity… neither moving an inch… until I sneezed. The wolf pup making a mad dash in my moment of weakness.

“Yo hey now waitaminute! COMEBACKWITHTHATBONE!!”

I gave chase back to the sanctuary of my home, catching a mere glimpse of the pup before she hid herself behind a now confused Flan and Luna. “What… happened?” Flandre asks, almost spilling her new cup of coffee.

“She stole a very important dragonbone!” I said with raised accusatory finger. “I need it and the rest of my bones to build my motorcycle! Which.... I have yet to designBUTTHATISNOTTHEPOINT.”

“Wait, what?” Ammy pokes her head out. “A motorcycle made out of Dragon bones? What are you, Ghost Rider?” She then ducks under again just before Flandre could grab her.

“What, no! That's just plain ol plagiarism… I mean… hmm… I just really want a dragon bone motorcycle. NOWGIMMEBACKMYBONE!!” I exclaimed as I pounced up and over Flandre.

Getting nowhere fast, I made a gamble and focused on the howling stone upon my neck. Taking my Balto-esque wolf form, I now stood a higher chance of-

(SQUIRREL!)

I began to shake my head, attempting to pry my eyes off of a squirrel I spied in the distance just outside the window.

“Ammy, give back the… EEEEEE!” And immediately, Flandre was in the air with me in her arms cuddling my fluffy form.

I began to flail my poor little paws, tail wagging in distress as I hoped to wriggle away from my floating prison… only to nuzzle deeper into the embrace of my more than adorable captor.

(GAH WAIT NO!) I howled in distress. (Must give chase! Need that bone!) Of course my whining ended as several tiny fingers started to glide along my scalp and fur…

Ammy was bolting towards the door as little hearts were appearing and floating off of Flandre as she went chibi. “Later sucker!”

(Oh you sneaky little- nope don't care…)

“I'll be taking this young miss.” Walter stated in utmost calm as he walked away with said bone.

(Hah! Fail! Hey uh… Flan… you can let go now.) I wiggled a little more, hoping the chibi vampire would let me go.

“Noooo, you’re too fluffy~!” She whines in response.

(Nuuuu~ I am a being feared across the land!! I am not fluffy!!) I cried.

“Not right now you're not!” Luna cheered.

(Wait, you can understand me?) I asked of the mare.

“Wolfish isn't all that hard to understand. Why don't you just change back?” She asked as she nursed her cup of coffee.

(I mean I could… but I also don't want to disappoint Flan.)

“She does need to be sent home, and I doubt you can do so in your current form.” Damn. She had a point…

(Well… they don't have to go now…)

“Young miss I ask that you refrain from harming any and all ceramics within the household!” Walter was rushing about, Ammy having one upped him and the bone once again within her jaws.

“Are you certain?” Moonpie asked with a smirk.

Ammy rolls her eyes in response to all this as I swear Flandre was hugging me tighter.

(You know what… I ain't even mad. Let her keep that bone… and uh… Flaaan...you’re crushing… me…)

She whines before losing her hold. However, she loosens it too much giving me a chance to slip out of her arms. Ammy was wagging her tail before starting to chew on the bone again… least it wasn't even scratched under her teeth.

“Ammy, you have Holy Bones.” Flandre says after I had escaped her grasp and she pouted a bit at me.

Ammy continues chewing. “Those break. This doesn’t.” She argues.

(Probably because this was empowered by literal Darkness itself.) I groaned as I looked upon the bone. I gave a quick wheeze, my ribs finally deciding to let go of my digestive track.

I shook off my fur and started to go vertical. Though, my fur was still incredibly fluffy… I managed a mostly full reversion.

“And man does it feel good to speak English again!”

“Wait, wait, wait, what did you say?” Ammy does a double take.

With a deadpanned gaze, I pulled out the Elemental Orb of Darkness.

“You see this ball of dark purple in my hand? It was powering an undead dragon. It's bones are saturated in it's magic. That bone… is empowered by Darkness itself.”

Ammy was silent before she dropped the bone and scoots away. “Yeah… I rather not evoke Eclipse me by accident anytime soon…” She says with a hint of fear in her body language.

“Do I even want to know?” I ask, now cleaning the bone. “Scratch that, I now need to know.”

“Well, its more a theory. But basically, if Chibistura could become corrupt then so can I.” She says while also rolling her eyes.”And basically become a red and black OC… granted, it was a Mirror image, literally, that was corrupt but still.”

“And you have no way to stop this from happening? Granted it ever does happen.” I began to ponder, my mind formulating formulae to formula for formulaic- I snapped my fingers in epiphany.

“Why not LEARN the darker side to your powers? Make it so should you ever lose yourself, there will always be that bit of you that understands what it is that's happening so you could break out of it.”

“I am little more worried of the effect around me… the sun would be in a total Eclipse. That might upset the balance too much.” She says with a concerned whine.

I shuddered at the thought… flowers wilting… tides becoming tsunamis… a world gone mad really.

“Yeah… don’t want that happening,” I thusly held my bone and pointed it at her nostril. “Smell before you bite next time, it may just keep the world from dying.”

“Lesson noted…” She says with a small nod, scratching her ear after it was said.

Appeased and actually rather apologetic, I began to reach into my inventory, pulling out both a massive Ursa bone… and Flandre… nibbling at my wrist again.

“I can explain.” I began to say. “...or maybe I can't.”

“No, no you can’t?” She replies with a question, really confused at this.

I looked upon the vampire nomming on my wrist… idly waving my arm at Ammy.

“I uh… guess these belong to you… hopefully this bone is uh… just as tough…”

“Thank you.” Ammy says, eyeing the little loli.

Of course, getting the ball of adorable off my arm was another thing entirely. So, I went about my business, acting like it wasn't even a problem.

...Not that it was.

“Here, I also promised earlier payment for your aid in the Badlands.” I said as I went to toss Ammy a bag of meat. “Forty four pounds of time-frozen and eternally preserved Ursa Major meat… and as an added bonus,”

I took Ragnarok in my left hand, careful not to touch Flan who was on my right, and presented the holy blade to the wolf pup.

“Ragnarok, because I hate demons as much as the next person and you seem to run into them a lot more than I do.”

“...That looks awesome and all, but I’ll be the judge of it's usefulness. She ignores the bag of meat presented to her and was focused entirely on the new blade before her.

“A demon king went out of his way to make sure that this blade was locked and sealed so as to ensure his own safety. Trust me, it's useful.” I stated with a smile and crossed arms.

She thinks on it. “Lay it on my back.” Ammy requests me.

With all the care in the world, I gently laid the possible bane of my existence onto the tiny frame that was Amaterasu’s back. Surprisingly, like a magnet to a stainless steel refrigerator, the large weapon sticks to her back.

“Okay… I’mma back away slowly now…” Both arms raised, I began to step back and away.

She nods at that before seeming to concentrate, the sword vibrating violently all of the sudden while releasing a faint light. Flandre starts to back away, the red sun floating off her back dimming a bit as she hides behind me. At this point the sword had started to hum.

Now scared for my life I began to back away into a crouch, casting every defensive spell in my arsenal, as well as several Heal over Times.

Luna wasn't at all deterred and decided to sit back and watch the fireworks, Trixie took the time to gather her belongings as well as the still sleeping Oracle and calmly left the building… and the Changelings…

“We've got you covered handsome.” One of the Badlands survivors stated as she lead the group in forming a massive translucent magical shell.

“I'm naming you Belladonna, and thank you…”

The pearl at the hilt slowly began to catch fire as the white light grew to uncomfortable levels of intensity. The white noise it was generating was equally as uncomfortable, especially for Flandre’s sensitively sharp ears.

Windows began to crack and shatter and the massive barrier was starting to falter. “ANYTIME WOULD BE NICE PLEASE!!” I cried as one of the changelings was subsequently knocked out by the oversurge.

The recently repaired floorboards began to splinter and I could feel my ears begin to bleed…

Then, it just stopped. No dying down, or lowering of the volume, it just all stopped like someone hit the pause button. All that remained was the white tiny flames dancing on the now levitating blade.

And Ammy looking more dazed than the currently passed out Flandre, the blonde holding her bleeding ears.
“Is it over?” I asked, quivering in fear behind my shield. “Belladonna? Is everyone still alive?”

“I’d say so, handsome.” The changeling managed to wheeze out through tired pants.

“Flan? You okay?” Poor girl was shivering, her hands on her ears and soaked in blood.

All I did get in response was just a pain filled whine. Lowering my guard, I took the child in my arms, idly running my hand over her head while wiping away the blood.

“Ammy? You okay over there?”

“As well as I can be… First time converting a weapon like that.” Ammy says with a small whine. “And this one was resisting me pretty well…”

That certainly piqued my interests. “Resist how? I mean yeah, it’s supposedly a pretty volatile weapon…”

“Its essence wasn’t recognising mine. If I was more versed in this, it wouldn’t have resisted as much.” Ammy says, shaking herself from her light weariness.

Still cradling the child, I made my way to the shining blade. Something in me cried out to run away in fear. “So what exactly did you do…?”

“I more or less poured my own essence into and made it a Divine Instrument like the rest of my arsenal.” The white wolf explained simply.

“Why was it so loud?” One of us could have, oh I don’t know, died!?”

This just makes her blink at them. “It was loud?” She asks before looking around at the chaos. “Oh…”

I rolled my eyes, surveying the piles of broken glass that litterred the room. “Veral! Hazardous material!” With a quickness, the mog ghost swept through the room and picked up the shattered glass and whittled down the splintered wood.

Once finished, she tapped my head with her axe and folded her arms. “Next time, how about going outside to charge your mystical weapons.”

“Yes sir.” She says with a nod and about two seconds later, everything started to almost magically repair itself in a flurry of cherry blossoms.

Happy with the results, Veral smirked and nodded. “I’ll let that slide, you crazy kids try not to wreck the house anymore, ‘kay?” And with that, she was off. The house repaired, the changelings no longer shocked and dazed (especially since I felt I needed to feed them), and no one coming to see what was wrong, Luna started prodding me. A look upon her face telling me I needed to address the elephant in the room.

For some reason my hold on Flan got a bit tighter…

“Azure…” Luna’s gaze had become sharper, and my mood dampening.

“Come on, I don’t have to let go now do I?”

“They have a home to go to. You understand that, yes? Miss Amaterasu, should you not rest?”
The mare argued.

The white wolf nods without a moment’s thought. “Yes. We have our own duties, what with the Demon Armies.” She says, raising a paw a bit in the air.

“Okay but… what happens if you get hurt again?” I asked with a bit of worry.

“Isn’t that why you gave her a sword specifically made for demon hunting?” Luna retorted.

“What if Flan gets hurt?”

“Are you feeling guilty?” It seemed all eye were on me by this point.

“Well… I um… lil bit…”

“Guilty for what though?” Ammy asks the both of them, tilting her head to the left side.

“This uh… isn’t the first time I hurt someone cause of my stupidity… first time someone’s survived…” I began to mull over my thoughts, reminiscing on those bygone years. “Y’see, back when I was still trying not to bite everything with a pulse, I was a very short fuse….
I was helping Luna here evacuate a mining town, long story short, I got pissed and ended up destroying the wrong building, essentially killing a family of three…

I don’t like talking about it, Luna won’t talk about it, and anyone who would has been dead for fifteen hundred years… so yeah. Just a little guilty.”

Ammy had visibly winced and gave a nod of understanding but says nothing. Flandre just whines, seemingly still healing from her busted ears and hadn’t heard anything. I nuzzled her face with my nose, getting a weak smile in response.

“I try my best to keep myself in check, even going so far as to use the Omni Systems to lock most of my biological needs… the hunting and hoarding and what have you… Hurting her the way I did… it brought up a few old wounds.”

“I see.” The wolf had little else to say, unsure if she could otherwise.

“I’d rather not see her go, but I know if she stays she might end up getting hurt far worse than a literal SUN blowing up in her face… so I’ll need your world anchor. I know I know, the other displaced call them tokens, sue me.”

“I understand, here is mine.” A few moments of silence before a small wooden Ink Pot falls to the ground with golden markings that had sparkling gold dust fall off of it and a white ribbon tied to the cork.

I marveled at it’s structure and decor, it was probably the best looking of the anchors I had thus far… “I guess it’s time to say goodbye…” I lifted the vampire in my grasp to meet her gaze. “I think it’s time for you to head home little one…”

“I believe you are forgetting something. The Diamond and The Orb?” Ammy interrupts him, lifting a paw. “She has not gotten to choose as of yet.” She points out.

I tilt my head to gaze upon her. “I don’t want to rush her! But no yeah, you’re right.” idly walking to Luna, I dropped Flan on her back and let the two sort their current confusing predicament as I fished out the Blood Orb and the Destruction Diamond. “Ammy, as a sensible… wolf pup… you think you can make this decision?”

“I’ve already made my decision, and I believe Flandre will agree with my choice.” Her eyes moved to the chosen object. “The Diamond. The Orb may be powerful, but Flandre despises going Feral or anywhere near the sort.”

Nodding in agreement, I placed the Diamond at her feet as I put away the Orb. “Yeah… blood frenzies aren’t fun… using the Diamond is as easy as just getting a sense of what it is. If you need or want to contact me, just flick it.”

“HELP ME! I AM NOT A MOUNT!!” I heard Moonpie cry as she bounded along the house.

“Maybe that was a bad idea… can’t argue with how cute that is though.”

Flandre looked like she was having fun though, holding onto Luna with a giggle. Seeing that happy scene… watching them like that... it gave me a rather strange case of the hiccups and it only got worse when something got caught in my eye. I felt a small weight place itself onto my shoulder, feeling incredibly soft fur against my neck.

*Snif* “Not many people… have the guts to take me from behind ya know.” *Snif* I rubbed my eyes, cleaning out the debris that had bugged me as I steadied my breath. “Thank you…”

Not three seconds later, and I felt four pairs of arms embrace me from different angles. “Don’t cry…” I hear Flan’s voice. I knelt down and did my best to wrap around the several bodies now on top of me, either with wings or arms.

“I’m not crying…*snif* I’m not…” This was a lie… at least one head of hair was drenched by my silent wailing.

“You so totally are.” I think that was the angry one.

“Hah… please…*snif* I just got something stuck in my eye…” I began to rise, feeling just a tad bit better… though not by much. “It’s time for you all to go home then.” I said in a near whisper as I picked up the bottle Ammy had left.

I placed the vial into my jaws and focused upon it’s mystical composition. Finally getting a lock on it’s point of origin, I tore a stable hole in the fabric of reality, leading right back to their home dimension.

“Bleh…” Slipping the vial out, I found that some of the ink had spilled into my mouth. “Ach… ehc, ah’m gunna hurl…”

“What the hell did you expect, drinking Divine Ink like that?!” Ammy yells out, sounding very amused but equally confused.

Holding back a bit of rising bile, I instead let loose a quick plume of fire to hopefully clean my mouth of the ink. “Uch… I din’t expect it to spill! Note to self, find better way to open rifts.”

The clones just giggled at me. Shaking off my chills, I took a peek through the rift. Seemed the ink threw off my groove as I looked upon a bustling city filled with absolutely gorgeous men and women. Some had shining gemstones upon their foreheads, others had wide wings and the like.

“Uh… does this look like your world…?” I pawed at the rift, slowly moving the image around until I saw what looked to be Twilight’s future castle… only a lot shinier. “Hey! Quit your drooling!” I heard a voice shout.

“Hm, what, ho!?” I looked down at a slightly drenched and annoyed clone as I wiped my mouth of the excess saliva. “So… did I get it right?”

“Allow me to see...Yes, this is our world.” Amaterasu comfrims.

“Oh good… what with all the incredibly enticing women around, I thought I may have slipped up.”

A hoof promptly fell upon my head. “No nasty thoughts.” Luna chided. “Though their men do look rather attractive…” She added.

I bopped her head playfully as I turned to look at Ammy, Flan, and the clones. “Um...any last words?”

Ammy and Flandre looked at each other before Flandre spoke. “I’m going to miss you Onii-chan!’ She says. As she says this, one of the clones seemed to be… thinking.

“You won’t miss me as much as I’ll miss you Nee-chan. Keep the clothes, yellow is definitely your color.” I ruffled Flandre’s head as I went in for a hug. “Come on, who’s next?”

“Me~!” Joy says and in less of a second flies into my arms.

Quickly and greedily, I nuzzled the bundle of happiness in abject glee. “Alright tough stuff, leave some for everyone else.” I said as I ruffled her head.

She just giggles while she flies out of my arms and the lazy one just sticks out a fist. “See ay later…” She says with a yawn. I bumped her fist as she went on her way.

“Awww, your not bleeding anymore~” Feral says but still gives me a hug.

“Maybe next time my little firecracker.”

Anger does not move from her spot, the one seeming to be thinking about something.

“Something on your mind Fury?” I asked the currently calm ball of rage.

“Yes.” She says bluntly, crossing her arms.
“Well, spit it out, the suspense is killing me.” I say with a smile and tilted head.

“Question: How much trouble happens around here?” She asks, somewhat out of nowhere.

“Too… much. Why do you ask?”

A silence took over the place very quickly while all eyes were on her and only Feral seemed to see where this was going, though Luna and Ammy weren’t that far behind. No one spoke up though and eventually she sucks in a breath. “I want to stay.” She grumbles, but in a tone loud enough for us to hear.

“Done.” The entire room was rocked by a rather loud “WHAT!?”

“Owuuuu… not so loud…” Luna of course was the first to really put her thoughts into words.

“...and we can put her in that really nice children’s room upstairs and we’ll have so much fun together and I can finally go out hunting again and…”

She just sort of frollicked along the room… oblivious to the thousand yard stares.

“Riiiight… any objections?”

“Aww, but we won’t get to hang out anymore!” Joy says with a loud whine.

Anger just smirks. “Good, you piss me off.” She then sshovs her away while Lazy just gives a ‘I don’t care’ shrug. Feral seemed much the same.

“So how do we stop you from disappearing?” I ask while looking at Flan.

“Exactly what I was going to ask.” Ammy says with a somewhat cold tone in a act of seriousness.

I looked about the room, hoping for an idea at least. “Okay… she’s technically a living spell… the problem here is isolating the the gradient that dictat-”

“How about something everyone can understand.” Moonpie stated as she put a hoof over my mouth.

“I just have to cut her off from the spell trigger and anchor her to a different power source. Maybe even myseeeeelf… hold that thought.”

I started poking at the more fleshy bits of my mouth, much to the confusion and fascination of the crowd before me. Slicing along a vein, I began to pool a bit of blood along my front teeth, a small fire heating the solidifying bubble. “Mmph, qik, I nee’ blo’”

“What?” Feral says, looking very hungry all of the sudden.

“Hr blu’!! End a str’ uh hr her!” I pointed first to Anger, then Flan. “Mph.” I scraped along Anger’s cheek and pulled a strand of hair from Flandre, getting to work I infused the bubble with blood and let out a small plume of fire. I thusly used the strand of hair and began to wrap it around the finished bubble.

With quick hands, I had a very brilliant ear piercing. “Done, here, put this on.”

Anger looks at it, before a hand went to her ear in discomfort. “Those irritate ears, don’t they?” She says with a small grimace.

I began to ponder this ponder of ponders… “I could make it a hairpin?” I offered with a bit of curiosity.

She nods shortly afterwards, her hand leaving her ear. “That’ll work.” Rage says as she crosses her arms.

Folding the loose and hardened hair, I began to mold a small loop so as to give it more of a pendant like shape. “Now the hard part…” I reached back and pulled out my “Special Coin” pouch and began rifling through it. “Dragon… or Z-token…” Finally deciding upon the tokens, I dropped four into my mouth as smoke began to billow from said mouth.

After several seconds of mouth melting and chewing, I began to filter the molten gold through my teeth, thinning it and shaping it as I slipped the pendant through one end before completing the loop.

“Done…*wheeze*...” I presented the completed piece, hopeful it was up to standard.

“Thank you.” The clone says as she grabs it and then with a sooth motion, she clips it into her hair.

Then, yet another bright light blinds us all. This time, a deep crimson red.

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into A Desert Pt7: But I Can't Help...

A shifting silhouette was all that any of us could actually see, what was once the size of a child seemed to grow to the size of a five foot six young woman.

Slender arms and legs, thin shoulders, curves that were easy on the eyes but in no way overgrown…

The light subsided to reveal that Fury had undergone a very… arousing transformation.

“Anybody else notice how hot she looks right now? No? Just me?”

“Why is my dress squeezing me?”

The clone had grown a fair amount of feet taller, maybe two heads maybe a bit lower to my height. Her hair was more glossy now and looked a bit more messy but in a… attractive way. The strand of hair was much more pronounced and when down to her elbow. Now onto the ‘big stuff’. Her chest had grown quite the bust that was just barely being constrained enough by her dress that it would not rip a hole into said dress. Her hips were mostly unchanged minus some curving, but not by much and her thighs were perfect. Perfect amount of chubbiness and perfect amount of softness just by looking at them. Her face did change somewhat, giving her a more mature look but the childish features were still recognisable.

Her clothes did not fit her at all, a good chunk of her midriff completely exposed and her skirt now a mini mini mini skirt… I can see her underwear from her just standing normally because it was so small on her. Not to mention how small her underwear was on her… lady bits…

“I need to get you into something more comforta- Da- I mean less comfortable…” I immediately felt Ammy’s burning gaze upon me, no doubt attempting to set me on fire with her mind.

Luna was… “Avast ye gods she’s beautiful!” Luna about it.

Something in me… started forcing my legs forward as my hands began to finger her hair. “It's like molding a cloud…” Then there was this immense smell… like tiger lilies and sunflowers. One thing that did change dramatically however were her wings.

The branch like appendages had grown some, no doubt to compensate her increased size. Two metal plates seemed to be infused into the base of each wing and the hanging crystals had all turned into bismuth's.

“...What are you doing?”Rage says with confusion, her voice like ringing glass while Feral was giggling madly.

“NOTHING!” I yelled as I jumped back. “I was just um… making sure there were no negative side effects to your...transformation. H-how do you feel?” ‘Though at this point I'm sure you'd feel great…’

“Like I’m about to pop…” She says, wiggling in her tight as fuck clothes. “What happened?”

“Well… you put on the clip… you were surrounded by light… and uh… does anyone have a mirror!?” One of the changelings had done one better and instead took on Fury’s new form.

“What the fuck!?”

“Oh dear, how do you walk with these?” The Changeling asked, motioning to her robust chest.

“Nopenopenopenope!” I started to frantically wave at the cloned clone until they were a regular Changeling again. “Um… I’m just going to take Fury to go get changed… then we can all hug and say our farewells.”

“Uh, right…” Fury says, red faced and seething a bit.

“You do that.” Ammy says, refusing to remove her tail from Flandre’s eyes.

I took the frustrated girl upstairs and to the master bedroom as I began to fiddle with my inventory.

“Okay… clothing clothing… Highland Savage? Not too revealing.”

For a moment, I swore she looked disappointed at that last comment. She takes one look at it and does seem interested. “What else you got though?”

“Pirate garb, Inversionist Armor and Dracopyre Scales.” Three images of girls showcasing the respective suits appeared before us.

She… pouted? “Not very ‘creative’...” She says as she looks at the pirate and inversionist… before her eyes fell on the Dracomancer. “Uhm, what's with that pose? She’s making her panties more visible. Wait what did I say?” She then shakes her head a bit, confused. “Highlander, highlander.”

“There can only be one!” I said just a tad bit too quick as I began to set down the armor. “You uh… need help? If not I can go wait out-outside. Yeah…”

“What, curious?” I’m not sure if she realised what she just said…

“Girl don’t tempt me, I WILL rip that tiny skirt off of you and oh dear lord what did I just say.” I was gone in an instant, the door slamming behind me. “Tell me when you’re done!”

“...The hell did I say for that matter…?” She says before getting out of her clothes with some difficulty due to how tight they were on her. “There… we… GO!” She finally managed to get the top off, taking a deep breath. Only now was she able to breathe smoothly. She then slips out of the skirt… ripping it a bit, annoying her a fair bit before having her get out of the underwear as well.

Soon after, she gets into the Highlander outfit. She had a little trouble and almost crushed the ‘eye’ of it, but she figured it out and soon she calls out. “Alright, I’m done!” She says, still annoyed.

“Awesome! Show me how you look!” I exclaimed as I swung open the door. She. Was. Gorgeous! “Now that looks like it can take some abuse. Had any trouble beautiful?” And there I go putting my foot in my mouth.

“A bit with the breastplate…” I saw that hint of a smirk. “Well, and getting out of my old clothes… Ow.” She takes a deep breath, still happy she can breath again.

“Come on, let’s go say goodbye to the others.” I hurriedly took her by the hand...only to slip and fall backwards, Fury in tow...and man did that armor do absolutely nothing to hide her assets. “Do you have any idea how absolutely soft you are?”

“No.” She says in response, blushing a bit.

“This is getting weird and difficult… I can’t go three seconds without thinking about what I want to do to you. Is that bad?” I asked as I shakely tried to get to my feet.

“No.” She says almost immediately with a shake of her head.

“This… can’t be normal… my instincts are going wild… but I don’t care for some reason…” My breath became harrowed and heavy and I wanted to steady my fragile nerves… but all I managed to do was release my Dracopyric aspect.

“Crap… we need this house empty. Now.”

“Right.” Again, that response was just too fast. “Lets uh… lets go do that now.” She gets off of me.

I stumbled along the stairs, grunting and cursing as i found my way back to the living room. “Everything is fine! No one panic!” I shouted absentmindedly.

“...We weren’t?” Ammy says, immediately able to tell that something was up.

“Of course not… why would you be?” I stiffened up and kept a steady pace, making sure my increased size didn’t tip over anything fragile. “Everyone ready to go?”

The remaining clones, the original Flandre and the little Sun Goddess nod at the same time. “I’m going to miss you Onii-chan~” Said little blonde vampire says.

I felt my heart melt as I knelt in for one last hug. “If you need anything, you call me.” I looked to Ammy as well. “Same goes for you. You run into something you can’t handle and you call me.”

“Thank you.” Ammy says with a nod. “I will keep that in mind.” She smiled a bit… as well as a wolf could smile.

“Thanks Onii-chan~!” Flandre says with a happy flap of her wings.

“Fury, stop hiding and come say goodbye.” The angry clone stepped out in mild embarrassment, dropping jaws upon her revealing the new outfit.

“Yeah… see ya.” The poor girl looked away, a mad blush on her face.

“My, my, you choose well~” Feral cooes a bit. “But I believe this is the part where we leave, so long and all that…”

“Dios te bendiga! And try not to get cursed again…” The group made their way through the rift, all smiles and cheer. I closed the rift and took a very deep breath. “I have never been so frustrated in my entire life…”

“I have.” Fury says with a small sigh while glancing around. Of course the moment of silence was broken when Luna seemingly fell from the ceiling onto Fury, nuzzling her.

“My my… you ARE soft…” The two began to wrestle against each other, Luna always having the upper hand for some reason. “Ooh, so lively! Though we don’t really know your name now do we Azure?”

I attempted to register the question...failing. REtrying… failing again… “Oh right, what is your name really? I mean I can’t keep calling you Fury.”

“I don’t have a name beside Fury.” The X-Clone says with a small deadpan look while she struggled against Luna.

“Luna…” I started to run my hand over my face. “Stop trying to assert your dominance, you know she can kill you right?”

The mare stopped, her hoof firmly placed on Fury’s breastplate and her tongue out. “Fiiine…”

As the mare finally let go of her prey, I started to grind the gears in my head. “Veronica. How’s that sound?”

“Veronica. Sure, that’ll work.” Honestly, while she sounded like she didn’t care I got the feeling she was pretty happy about it.

“Welcome to your new home Veronica, where everyone out in the world will probably try to kill you and where invasions happen every other Tuesday.” I brought my arms out wide, letting her ram into me with a bear hug.

“Good, means whatever I hit will actually fucking feel it.” She clenches her fists with a grin.

Of course it wasn’t but three seconds until the door had burst open, stopping me from my own pounce at Veronica.

“Ahz! Look alive! We have incoming!!” Shining cried. “Is that…?”

“Fucking hell Shiny I will force feed you your mane next time!!” I huffed and pouted. “This is Veronica, she was an angry clone not too long ago. What’s the situation?”

Shining nodded and ducked, a poorly armored griffon having been tossed into the house.

“Bandits.” The sound of a skirmish echoed throughout the town proper. “A lot of bandits.”

“Perfect test dummies then.” Veronica says, summoning her own version of Laventein into her arms.

The dazed griffon took one look at us until he tried to tackle Moonpie… only to get a fistful of pain to the head. Veronica reels her fist back before taking flight and rushing out of the door, already firing her magical bullets the second she got outside.

“Quick, follow the sexy bruiser! Damn it I am pent up!!” Flying out myself and followed by Luna, we were met with a sky covered in haphazardly constructed airships and a flooding stream of griffons.

Said ‘sexy bruiser’ was drop kicking one of the bandits before following up with a laser to the face.

Of course the griffons weren’t without their own defenses, some having various Materia, from the tried and true Fireball to the very useful Haste.

The town was very unprepared for the impromptu assault and many buildings had suffered a vast amount of damage. Explosions echoed through the air as more and more ground was being lost.

“One day, I want one good day.” Three birds dive bombed me only for the midpoint bird to be met by my rising left foot, the bird to it’s left to get slammed by the mid point, and for the right bird to stop mid flight and re evaluate her current existence.

It took awhile, but the town’s heavy hitters finally made their way into the fray. Fluttershy, Spike, and Angel all in their respective “True” forms. Twilight and Moondancer were either pelting the sky with magic or firing anti material arrows, adding to the hellish barrage Veronica was throwing, and Cadence was…

“EAT SHIT YOU WORM BRAINED TUNA BREATHED SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HOUSE PET!!” Cadence was having fun. I think.

“Taboo; Cranberry Trap!” Veronica had shouted, adding the power to her bullet hell. While she mostly stuck to the air and fired magic, she would eevey now and again swoop down and deliver either a kick to the jaw, a swipe with her ‘wand’ or punch and/or throw them viciously.

The enemy forces started getting antsy and just up and piled on top of Veronica, hoping to slow her down enough and...sacrificing themselves so an outer group could encase them all in ice.

Shaking off the dread, I flew up and started batting away the casters and ripping off those griffon who had actually stuck to Veronica. “You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She says with a smirk, her hand raised and with a squeeze of said hand, about eight bbandis exploded in a familiar red light.

“Feel like taking down some of those ships? They don’t look too tough.” I say as I point out the faulty structure of the eight shoddily built ships.

“Know if they have anything of note in them?” She says, grabbing their eyes.

I shrugged. “Probably. Eh, probably not important.”

“Good.” She then clenches her hand again, destroying the airships one by one, purposely in a slow manner.

The surviving forces looked on at the slow burning carnage, wide eyed and incredulous. Some even tried bum rushing Veronica for having destroyed their fleet so easily, but between us they were nothing but stepping stones. I had noticed that despite her using her ability on the eight earlier, she was not killing all that often. Her kill count was way lower than me or Cadence at this point despite her obviously enjoying herself.

To bring up a point, I went so far as to wait for a bandit to ease up behind her before I lit it up in a massive ball of fire. This got her attention as she watched the corpse fall to the ground.

“You don’t have to hold back you know.”

She just shrugs a me. “Meh.” She says, punching some guy behind her without looking.

… “Wanna beat up the stragglers?”

“Sure, why not?” She says with a large grin, lasering some guy into space. “Now this is more like it, not some invulnerability bullshit making it hard…”

We went into free fall, grabbing several bodies on our way down. “I take it things are tough back in your old world?” I slammed a pile of four, feet first onto the ground.

“A bit, what with the Demon Armies.” She says with a nod, beating some guy over the head with his own mace before stomping the ground to stagger three before hitting them with her ‘wand’, killing one with a stab.

“Feel like talking about it?” I say as four rusted dwords literally broke off on my back. The offenders found themselves pummeled each by the broadside of a giant cannon which I fired at a farther target that tried to use Thunder materia.

“Uh, I don’t know. Why?” She asks, completely ignoring the arrow that found itself into her back.

“I’d like to know more about you?” I took out said arrow and flicked it into the right eye of an unsuspecting victim. “I mean, we’re kinda bound to each other now and I think it be good for us to know more about the other.”

“Alright.” She says with a nod, a hammer snapping in half as it hit her. “Though, uh, maybe not right this second.” The poor sod had no idea what hit him as he exploded from a very irritated Veronica.

“Right, bad time.” A massive roar echoed through the air, a giant bunny dragon now towering over the town. I grasped Veronica’s arm as she was about to bound after it. “It’s cool… that’s just Angel.”

“...And he’s still called Angel?” She says incredulously.

“I mean… he is still just a normal bunny wearing a pink ribbon.” Angel began to breath a great plume of fire upon the stragglers of the assaulting force.

She gives him a pointed look. “Sure… Normal.”

“Let’s go check on the others…” I said as I took Veronica by the hand and lead her through the town.

Every so often, a bandit would try attacking us, only to find a boot or foot to the face. “Does this happen often?” She asks me as we went on our way.

“I probably pissed someone off…” And low and behold, a scarred red robin griffon holding a tattered flag with the old Iron Claw insignia took sight of me and began to bum rush, only for Fluttershy to drop them onto the ground whilst twisting their limbs in unnatural directions.

“Yikes.” Veronica says as she sees this.

The griffoness bit back yells of pain long enough for us to reach her. “Fluttershy, you can let her go now.” The bipedal berserker only tightened her grip. “Illyria…” The girl huffed and eased hold of her prisoner.

“She sought to lead these vagabonds to harm us, why show mercy?” “Illyrishy” stated coldly.

“This monster sought to end our glorious revoluti- AAHRGH!” The griffoness’ words were cut off by her left hind leg snapping at the base.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you and your bandits tried using MY banner to rob a TRAIN!” I argued.

“YOUR banner!? The Iron Claw was the greatest army Griffonstone ever had to offer! The war was to be won…”

I groaned at motioned for Fluttershy to haul her away. “Sorry about that.” I apologized to Veronica.

“Why should you be?” She response with a raised eyebrow and a hand at her hip.

“Eh, it’s nothing… this went by a lot quicker than I thought it would. Thanks… also I uh… noticed you aren’t wearing any… underwear.”

“...Shit.” She facepalms with a heavy sigh.

“I realize I forgot to at least give you something to cover your… *ahem* unmentionables. I’m so used to walking around nude I didn’t think anything of it.” I started rubbing the back of my head with a bit of a blush. “Anyway, we can get Rarity to make you a few… if you want.”

“If you want, you mean~” She says with a purring voice.

“No I do not!” I said far too quickly, and far too happily.

“I think I could get used to walking around nude, like you~” She was leaning forward, I can see some serious cleavage here.

“Maybe save that thought for later…” Twilight started to trot up to us, the skirmish finally over.

“Master… we *pant* I mean I *pant* give me a second…”

Twilight took the time to gather her breath, no doubt winded from the fight. “I think I’m good. Um… who’s your friend?”

“Hello, just call me Veronica.” The blonde says in a somewhat rude way, seeming a bit annoyed.

“Of course miss Veronica. Now, Master, we started to analyze these strange orbs some of the assailants had on their person after we captured a few of them.” She magicked a piece of parchment as she began rattling off several technical terms that… went over my head.

“Right, Rainbow and Pinkie should be able to tell you more about the Materia.”

Twi immediately stopped her rant, looked over her notes and began furiously scribbling out portions of her notes. “Right well, I won’t hold you any longer. It was nice meeting you miss Veronica.” Twilight said happily as she trot off to her library.

“Now where’d we leave off?” I asked my new found companion.

“We were talking about underwear… I think.” She says with a tilt of her head.

“Right… and how awesome it is that you don’t have any.” I actually started to drool a bit.

She giggles in a sultry way after blinking in confusion. “Oh, and how tempting it is to go in nothing at all~” I can see her cleavage again.

“House, my room, now.” I took no time in grabbing her by the waistline and flying straight back home. She yelped at the sudden flight but still smiling.

What happened next… well. That’s a story for another day.

Author's Note

Still with me? Good, cause it's over... But not really. Shout out to Kit-San for aiding me in crafting this wild ride, and do check out Two Bloodied Hearts, it's worth the read.

Sidework: The Guardian of the Forest

Author's Note

This was actually supposed to go up waaaaay before the Fire Orb Arc... Apologies in advance.

Sidework: The Guardian of the Forest

I stood before the Everfree, a gate emblazoned with Harmony’s sigil had formed over the currently closed off forest.

“I don’t think you should go in, this all sorta screams ‘trap’.” I flinched and took notice of Veral. Empowered by the Orb, she readied her axe as she hovered by my side.

“Trap or not, I promised Trixie I would find...what did she name him?” I asked my ghostly floating companion.

The ghost snapped her nonexistence fingers. “Cancer!” Only to put her paw on her chin. “No that's not it… what did she call him…”

“Answer.” I stated as I inched closer to the wood made gate.

“Yeah that's it! It was Question!” She said in mock excitement, complete with outstretched arm and pointed paw.

“I ever tell you how adorable you are?” The sigil upon my hand resonates with the gate as it too began to glow with all the colors of Harmony.

“I like to hear you say it every now and aga-hey wait don’t go in-” Veral’s last few words had been cut off as I made my way through the opened gate, which shut behind me once I past the threshold.

“Without me.”

-Everfree Clearing-

The forest was… beautiful. The crooked trees that had once been decrepit and devoid of life were now this awe inspiring shade of dark brown and covered in lush green foliage and vegetation… though they were still quite crooked.

The ground at my feet hummed with energy, a sign that anything planted within the soil would no doubt grow fantastically!

The entire area had been flooded with small green orbs of light which not only lit the once frightening forest, but did well to accentuate it's newfound beauty.

“There's no way this is the Everfree Forest.”
My musings and footsteps had seemed to alert something, or somethings as the shrubbery began to shake.

Three Timberwolves exited the bush and gave me these… … really really weird and adorable expressions. The middle wolf barked and motioned for me to follow them.

“Meh, trap or not, I can't resist anything THAT adorable.”

The wood wolf lead me deeper into the forest until we reached a wide clearing, hovering in the middle and thrumming with elemental force was my clone.

He had this… serene look in his eyes, as if everything that lead him to this point in time mattered little to him.

“And yet all of it does indeed matter.” The empowered and floating clone stated.

“Did… did you just read my mind?” I asked as I approached with caution.

His stone covered feet touched upon the ground in a slow descent, his blackened hair writhing in anger as his golden wings folded into his back.

“Queery. What brings you here, when you should be out there?”

“Trixie wants me to bring you home, so here I am.”

My clone gave a soft laugh as a… coffee table… and a pair of chairs rose from the ground. He motioned for me to sit with him, a pair of wolves setting down a pot and a pair of tea cups.

“Please, rest your weary feet. You have questions yes?”

Taking my seat, a sweet brew was poured into my cup. I took a sip and… well it was beyond anything I'd ever had.

“Mm… wow. No, okay… wow.” I kept blinking, my mouth unable to process the intense flavor. “Questions… questio-oh, yeah. I don't want to sound rude or anything, but uh… you sound really… uh…”

“Intelligent?” He tilted his head, his own cup held close to his chest.

“Yeah. I kinda had the impression your growth would have been stunted in some way.”

He looked away, his right hand daintily making contact with an orb of light.

“I have this forest to thank for that I suppose. It's raw and untamed magic began to mold me, it hoped to control me, yet in the end it was I who controlled it,”

The orb was absorbed into him, a faint glow graced his form for a second.

“So here we are, in a forest once again graced by Harmony.”

“But the plunder vines-”

“Now give back, as they were meant to do.”

I mouthed a visible ‘Oh’ as it was really all I could do.

“Um… Wait… no. Trixie. She wants you to come home.” I say as I place my now empty cup on the table. “That was some bomb ass tea though.”

My clone stared into the forest solemnly, his wild hair setting his own empty cup upon the table for him.

“Yes, that is what you came for. She must have prepared everything for my arrival, yes? Even a name if I am to guess.” He tilted his head toward me with a smile. “Tell me, what has she christened me?”

“That's a weird way of phrasing that question… She uh… She calls you “Answer”.”

He chuckled. Not a demeaning ‘wow what a git’ kinda chuckle but a ‘ah it reminds me of the hunt’ kinda chuckle. “As if the answer to her prayers. Not the name I would have chosen but if that's my name, then I shall wear it with pride.”

“So… you coming?”

“No.”

“Woah hey, no no no no no no. She MISSES you. You're coming back.” I say as I get up from my chair and stare the man down.

He rises, the table and chairs sinking into the ground (not before some wolves picked up the dishes though).

“She has every right to see me here, I promise her safe passage, and a home should she so desire.” Answered… Answer.

“Okay, yeah, but… we could really use your help out there, you know… where all the shit keeps hitting the fan?” I say as I gesture both arms out to where it was I came in from.

“And yet I must stay here, so that if one day the “shit” out there becomes too much, you and yours have a place to find refuge.”

His wings flared out, his hair went wild and the fires upon his arms began to roar.

“At least give me something to prove that you're still alive, asshole.”

The air grew thick with tension, he took a step back and took a fighting stance. “I believe I shall, but only if you can prove your worth. Ahem, Asshole.”

*Sigh* “Oh find me in the Alps… why’s everybody gotta be so difficult...”

Wings flared, I soar straight to my target. He sidesteps, believing he has me where he wants me.

He’s wrong.

With a quick burst of Chaos Control, I rush him from his left. Poor bastard barely has time to look at me as his ribcage is impaled by the inhumanely large crystal that is my Lost Blade of Thagnul.

“SURPRISE ROSE!”

‘I’m sorry did he sa-’ A mass of diamond dense stone kicks me in my chin as he jettisons me skyward and pummels my chest with his feet. He strikes me back down after the ninth kick, all the while floating down ever so gracefully.

‘Nokay, he’s got moves…’ “I'm sorry, but where in the BLEEDIN’ HELL YA LEARN TO DO THAT!?”

“Whatever I am, you made me.” He rushes me and begins throwing punch after air splitting punch.

“You may know everything I'm going to do,” I let a left hook slide along my cheek so as to cartwheel my legs onto his neck and bring him down to the floor. “But I know everything you're going to do!”

He fakes me out and I slide back, rushing in again with a charge of Ball Lightning. Answer does the same as we both shout:

“STRANGE ISN'T IT!?”

If it weren't for the inherent wild force of the Everfree, chances are the blast of electric blue magic would have been seen for miles…

After a while of just standing about like a couple of mooks, Answer just started laughing like a hyena caught in a bear trap… Which got me laughing like a hyena in a bear trap, which got us funny looks from the Timberwolves.

-Home-

“So… he didn't come back.” Trixie said more than asked as she looked down at her tea.

“I'm sorry, Trix, but he did leave you with something.” I placed a heart shaped pendant on the table and slid it over to her. It was made of dark and enriched earthen materials and glowed with a serene light.

She took the pendant in her hooves and balanced it in her grasp. “It's… it's beautiful…”
She smiled as her voice began to hitch and tears fell from her cheeks. “I think I'll go see him…”

What Once Was

The Omni-Knight blade...

It's just a plain sword with absolutely nothing going for it.

...Except for the fact that it's the link to my full power!

I can't worry about that though, it's been what? 1200? 1400 years I've been imprisoned here? And for what? All because some matriarch thought: "Oh, I have complete faith in the ruling class and so I'll let them handle the poor on their own terms."

The worst part is I lost a lot of good men and women in that war. Okay, so they weren't exactly bipedal...or human. Okay so a FEW were bipeds.

-SIGH- We could have won the war. Overthrow the current regimes, wash out the remaining nobles. I could have seen them lead perfectly normal lives.

I think it was the first month. That's when she started taunting me. Her words had been emotionless enough, but I could feel through the thick layer of magical stone that she reveled in it.

I could feel the satisfaction radiating off of her as she described in great detail of how one by one, she would and did torture my friends.

Tortured them until all that was left was their broken bodies, and their empty minds.

I know she did it out of spite, she's jealous of what I had. I didn't have slaves bound by the shackles of duty and privilege.

I had friends, comrades willing to walk side by side with each other into hell for a heavenly cause.

But all that is gone now. My friends are long dead. And I have remained in my prison for 1400 and 89 years.

How did I let this happen to me...why did I expect any different.

1489 years ago

“ALRIGHT!! Imagina XX2 time!” It was good day for buying merch, and with the only sociably acceptable three day grace period finally arriving in Oaxaca de Juarez, I was more then ready for three days of utter debauchery.

I didn't have a costume set up, not really anyway. I already used my Terry Bogard outfit, and my Tails costume was lacking, so I went as I normally would. This is usually the part where I have my friends by my side, but as I was in a completely different country I had no one to go with except my family.

But in cases like these, it was always safer to go alone so as not to deal with whatever mob awaited you. Armed with 200 Pesos, my backpack and a sweater with deep pockets, I made my way to the con hall.

The first two days were just me checking all the stalls for “Questionable merchandise”. What do I mean? Anything and everything related to my favorite animated show about magical talking ponies of course. Now normally one would think: “It's a free world, you should enjoy the things you like.” These people don't live in Mexico. But that isn't important, what's important is what I found on day three in between the merch.

It was a small stall, tucked into the farthest corner of the building. No one seemed to pay attention to it as the stage was just eight stalls away.

The guy was wearing a big black cloak with gray pauldrons. His hood covering his eyes. His wares consisted of knives, crystal balls, pony merch, arm guards, tarot cards, yu-gi-oh cards, and one very specific item which had immediately caught my eye.

“Ho...see something you like?”

“That woona pillow looks kinda neat and-*AHEM EH... Perdón señor, pero no entiendo muy bien lo que acabas de decir!”

“Oh ho, no sense in denying it now is there?”

I take a good look around to make sure no one was in on this convo.

“No one else is here to eavesdrop. No need for such paranoia.”

He spoke with such a calm and commanding tone. And he was a foreigner. Two red flags so quickly.

“Y-yeah. I guess not. So about that pillow...” I try to take the focus off the item I originally noticed.

“Now now, isn't this what you were eyeing not but a few moments ago?” He then nonchalantly waves his hand over a small sword. I say sword because it is in the likeness of something called the Omni-Knight Blade, only the item on the table was no bigger than my index finger.

“Why not examine it closer, hm?”

“You sure?”

He once again gestured to the item, and so I lift it from the table...

It's almost weightless and had a small indentation on the tip of the blade. I pop it off and find a USB- contact.

“It's a...It's a flash drive?”

“Surprise!” Here's the twisted part. His 'surprise' was said with quite possibly the cheeriest smile imaginable, but he went completely stone cold afterwords.

“I give this to you as a token of goodwill, but be warned. All things have a price...”

“Dude...you're freaking me out.”

“15 pesos more and you can have the pillow!”

THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER!!!

“But no seriously,” He went completely dark on me again.

“What you hold isn't a toy. It carries with it more power than even YOU can imagine. Please, use it wisely.”

I left the convention hall a little confused. I mean, for all I know I was just trolled by a nation hopping AE staff member that may or may not have given me the keys to the in-game mother-load of a lifetime.

Not one to waste time, I plug my laptop into an outlet and turn on the power.

Start up, start up, start up, password, load time, aaaaaaand full access!

'Let's plug this bad boy in and see what we've...Oh dear.'

My computer starts to act up bad, bad as in hijacked bad. Absolutely none of my keys or buttons respond to a thing I do and so my only option is unplugging my laptop from the outlet. No battery means instant death, instant death means chance of repair.

'You see, this is what happens when you buy things from Europeans!' I mentally scream. But, as I reach for the plug that is my power cord, my computer restores user control and a window with AE's Omni symbol plastered on it's back appears.

Load complete: Please enter account name(s) and password(s).

“Question! Do I really want to trust this malicious program?” I say to no one in particular.

All information confidential, please continue Omni-Knight

'My computer just talked back to me. Various levels of nope this is.'

….................................................In the words of the great Jon Tron. “Fuck it.”

I use three slots on each entry, the info for my DF, AQ, and AQW accounts.

Hitting enter was both the greatest and worst mistake I ever made in the history of ever.

Author's Note

Small edits cause I felt like it

Interview with a Dracopyre

'I woke up this morning with the sundown shining in~' The living room bathes itself in warm golden light, the sounds of nature breaking through the oak walls of the library. Today would be a good day.

*Knock*Knock* 'Oh hey the door.' I wipe the sleep from my eyes, folding my bedsheets whilst heading for the door. *AHEM* “Speak your peace.”

“Oh, were you still asleep, I'm sorry. I can come back...” *Audible GASP* “Fluttershy! No please, come in!” Opening the door was a flustered Fluttershy, saddle packs on her body.

“Coffee?”

“Oh I'd love some.”

“Hey um...about Angel. Is he...you know...”

“He's better. Great actually. After he had time to think of what you said he started to laugh. He said “I don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm free.” I don't really know what that means...”

“Has he ever...told you about his life before being...here?” Man this'll be awk.

“Well no, he was so quiet the first few days I met him. He did tell me that he did a lot of bad things, but I keep telling him he isn't that person anymore!! Oh no...I'm sorry about that.” Fluttershy quickly gathered herself, a disappointment apparent on her that she hadn't thought to rid herself of.

“I guess I can explain a little, you see as a human being Angel wasn't...the best of people. He enjoyed the pain and suffering of others, but this was augmented by vampyrism. He caused much chaos and spilled oceans of blood, but a sudden curse brought down upon him centuries of guilt and self hatred. His final punishment, was that for so long as he still lived, if for any reason he attained true happiness, the curse would be broken and his wickedness would be forever free to ravage the Earth.”

“THAT'S TERRIBLE! EEP, I'm so sorry. Twilight and Luna must still be asleep. Oh...poor Angel. He couldn't have deserved that!”

“He didn't, but his world needed a champion, and it needed it fast. He had become a pawn to higher beings that sought only to use him and to torture him. That's in the past though, and since he no longer has to worry about losing his soul, then he should be just fine. I'mma go get that coffee now."

Fluttershy set herself upon the living room couch, relieving herself of her burden and flexing her wings.

A few minutes, a trip to the kitchen, and a bit of dragon fire later and I had a pot of hot coffee in my hands. What I found interesting upon my return however, was that the mare had begun unpacking her cargo upon the table. Fluttershy carefully placed ink pots, empty scrolls, and paper weights in a meticulous manner.

If I didn't know any better I'd say she did this for fun. I did know better, and a basement filled with yarn works screamed "Venting process.". The mare gave me a solemn bow and presented herself.

“Um...I hope it isn't too much trouble but, well, some of our scrolls are outdated and beyond repair. I was hoping that maybe you could help me replace them?”

“Y-yeah, anything. I can help you with anything you like.”

"The recordings of your first day in Equestria are either lost to weather damage or destroyed outright. I would like a first 'hand' account of the day history took it's new course. You may begin, if you're ready." She stated solemnly.

"The first day here was the hardest."

-1502 years ago-

"Ow...blind...ow...ow ow ow."

Unceremoniously I begin to lift my blind eyes to dark surroundings. The haze of imperfect vision gives me signs that it is just after mid-day and my musically inclined ear tells me of violent arguments.

"We have given you everything! Our mines, our brothers, OUR FATHERS! What more do you gain by taking our only yield!?"

"Silence peasant! By grand order of your majesty Princess Celestia we are to procure this years harvest from all! You should be honored to ease the pains of our war effort."

I already didn't like what I heard, but I was also vastly confused. It sounded like he said Celestia, but one: That can't be right as I'm more than very positive I was still somewhere near home. Two: Mexico's prominent tongue is Spanish. And three, this one is important: Multi-verse theory is just that. Theory.

Struggling with a crushing weight, I attempt to locate my pair of glasses, in hopes that whatever was going on could disappear if I could just see again.

'Pfft, just my luck. The right lens is cracked. Today is just great.'

I struggle to sit on my knees as I heard more of the violent argument.

"For too long has your princess plagued us, no longer! For Canter!"

The sound of flesh striking an immovable object and the frightened shriek of a female voice rang out louder than it should have.

“Bronze! Please sir, he is just a boy! Will you not take what you are here for and leave us be?”

The opposing voice cackled menacingly. “Soldiers! Destroy the town. Leave no survivors.”

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be the same happy-go lucky, adventurous multi-colored romp of a world I came to accept the existence of...

Shrieks of blood freezing fear split the day, I could not allow myself to sit idly as the town was lit ablaze. That's when I saw 'it'. The flash drive, now a full fledged claymore lay before me. I needed it, but more than that, the TOWN needed it.

I instantly came to regret my decision. You know that feeling you get when you light a match, but the fire licks you? Imagine that...fifty times worse.

The searing pain filled me with anger, hatred, and unforgiveness.

An unforgiveness I hoped to God never to have. But the worst thing? The worst thing it did? It gave me an insatiable hunger as the very thing I held changed me from the inside out.

Flesh and skin boiled and melted away only to be replaced by new muscle, scales, and fur. I felt as the only set of clothing I had tore itself off of my increasingly jagged form. This only enraged me more as I actually happened to hold an emotional attachment to the garments I had changed into before being torn from my home.

I couldn’t control myself, not fully. I knew only as much as 'If it's wearing golden armor, you eat it, you kill it, or you make an example of it.' The blade I held I used to slice boards and pikes of wood so as to impale my victims and roast them in the still burning fires. I like my meat cooked after all.

I did this to a good sixty percent of whatever battalion was unlucky to be there. Those lucky enough not to become my meal had a less gruesome death to meet. Quick knuckle shots to the cranium was all it took to cave in their golden helms. Once the last soldier had fallen, wings I hadn't noticed before behind my back had fanned away the flames of destruction.

My vision began to un-blur itself, color returning to the surrounding world. My mind still hadn’t had time to catch up to the information I needed to process when I was surrounded by what I again hoped wasn't what I thought I saw.

A pale equine trotted toward me, it's mane a rather dirty and pale yellow. It's golden eyes the only thing to shine any light on this dark day.

"I thank y-you, dragon. You saved my son, as well as all of Canter from certain death. We don't have much, but we are forever indebted to you." Said the female pony.

The town in it's entirety took a bow, unsteady and afraid.

"No please, don't bow. Get up all of you. Is there anyone here that can tell me where I am? And just what the hell is going on?"

As the towns people rose, the pale pony spoke up once again.

"My name is Honey Pot. This is Canter, a mining town situated upon the largest mountain in Equestria. Until recently, we had known peace for years, but since the war started more and more of our resources and well being had been taken."

Okay so I can conclude that one: I am indeed in some war torn version of Equestria where Canter 'lot' doesn't exist and Celestia doesn't care about her subjects. Two: Clothing is no longer an option and Three.......

"Nobody look I'm naked!"

I quickly attempt to cover the more naughty bits as I find a lack thereof. Confused, I give ye old crotch a good knock.

'Still there, but...why am I armored all the way to my privates. Even my butt's got protection!'

"So dragons worry about being covered?" Asked Honey.

"I'm not a dragon! Have you even seen a dragon before!?"

My flustered outburst made the poor mare crumple a bit in fear.

"W-we have only ever heard of dragons in tales recounted by our elders. I meant no offense great one!"

"Stop that."

My off putting demeanor only frightens the villagers more.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm so agitated. I'm in another world, my favorite vest is a pile of polyester on the ground, I still have melting skin on my body and you're trying to deify me. Don't."

"T-then...what shall we call the savior of our home?"

"Maybe call me by name?"

"So it shall be sir...oh. You have not yet given us thy name."

'Oh yeah. My name. I know that...it's um. Uh, um...............eh.........PASSPORT!'

"Yes of course, my name. Let me just pick up my vest..."

The tattered remains of a beloved vest became torn asunder, falling from the tatters was one passport, twenty two pesos, and a key chain. I only need one of these.

I hand the small blue booklet to the lady and point out the page with my name.

"Ah, I see-" Said Honey Pot.

"-then this is what we shall call you. But what is America?"

"That would be the country of my birth. California being the state. Los Angeles being the city. Why do you ask?"

"Never have I heard of such places, are they far? Nopony has ever left Canter."

"That's difficult to answer, look I need a bath. Do any of you uh...*cough* ponies have a bathtub or something ?"

Their looks of disappointment could shatter mountains from the sheer sadness they exude.

"Water has become a luxury for us, enough is used to grow our crop and to keep us alive, but nopony is allowed more than what can be spared."

'No one here has had a bath. In like...forever though...'

"That's horrible! Don't you guys get rain or something!?"

"Whatever pegasus that did live with us, had immediately been drafted for war. We have seen draught unlike any before us."

No water, no rain, and no grain. It was unimaginable to believe such negligence could be allowed to continue. The blade still in my hand, as if reading my mind, gave me a flood of information.

Weaponry

Armors

Items

Training programs

Every magical/non magical skill held within the blade's electrical systems almost as if my computer itself had been...

'Sweet Christ my laptop is INSIDE the sword. Wait that's not important right now!'

"I think I may be able to help." Without so much as waiting for a response I got to work. I danced a dance, the sword swinging with me kicked up gusts of wind. The wind formed clouds. The clouds clumped into each other and with a kick, the cluster was sent skyward.

"Cast in the name of God!" [Ye not guilty] "Omni Systems: You've just been...THUNDERSTRUCK!"

Lightning from my sword lit up the night sky with glorious blue streaks of electricity. After a few seconds, the gray clouds became black as rain began to fall.

The townsfolk couldn't believe it, water in their wasteland. Collection was a priority, but once the wells had been filled I took the liberty of grabbing a bucket so as to clean my new scales. Well, that and I needed to use the bathroom...

"Oh um...so you...you're...?"

I followed her stare right down.

"I have my decency."

"Oh. Okay."

"Let's continue." 'So I can ignore the fact a pony tried to make me show them my junk...warrior! God I miss abridged anime.'

The bones of the devoured had been buried first. As they had been the most manageable, their graves could be small. The town had begun the grave-digging for the larger bodies until a new presence made itself known.

"We send an entire squadron of troops to gather a measly yield and what do I find? A harvest not yet collected, my troops dead and buried, and rainclouds over a mining town! Now how am I supposed to feel about this?"

He was a brute of a pony, at least five feet in height, six if you counted the pitch black helmet he wore. His armor was more of the same, modeled after the Solar standard issue only colored black. His eyes hid behind a knight's visor.

"So, where's the lucky pegasus you peasants have stowed away?"

The townsfolk had begun to shrink in on themselves, grouped together like cattle to the slaughter. Or I guess ponies don't really kill cattle so it's more scythe to the grain...

"No pegasi here bub! Just a town filled with Earth ponies and me!"

I was now recently bathed and relieved, so I was feeling pretty confident.

"A dragon! Now that makes even less sense! What would a 'mighty' and 'noble' dragon be doing with peasantry so beneath him?"

"I am giving them hope. Something they have not had in quite some time."

"Don't make me laugh,” Scoffed the Black Knight. “You can't honestly care for this filthy peasantry!"

At the word 'peasantry' a barrel had moved. The black knight quickly toppled the barrel and smashed it to reveal a filly.

"Well well, talk about wrong place wrong time!” The girl shrieked as a heavy hoof landed on her spine.

“STOP THAT! YOU LEAVE HER BE!!” My outburst only worsened the ordeal as the Knight plunged a sword millimeters away from the girls neck.

'No no no no no n-IDEA!' Not another thought and I rush the sadist screaming:

“WE WANT A ROCK!!!” The Knight's color inverses as his entire movement halts. I motion for the filly to get up and run.

The girl gave a quick thanks and ran to the townspeople.
'Okay, not much time, but if this doesn't kill, I have two other armor skills with his name on em'.'

"Mass of...INCANDESCANT GAS!" The petrification wears off as I deliver the miniature Sun bomb point blank.

The small radioactive blast did absolutely nothing to his armor, but if his screams meant anything, it's that the payload did it's job.

"By the Creator! I can't see! It hurts! Somepony help me!"

"What the hell is that armor made of?" I asked out loud.

Through gasps of pain, the nameless Black Knight managed a response.

"Th-the unholy...union of-of a cragadile an-and an ancient of your kind...You will pay dearly dragon..."

I couldn't see it all to well, but the blast had done more damage than I thought or had wanted. 'So this is what it means to kill...this isn't right.'

"But I can't let you go. When you get to hell, tell them Sir Darksoul sent you, then please apologize on my behalf."

Super Taster withered his body further, and I Just Want Your Half took the last of his life from him. What remained was another pile of bones and the armor he wore.

"Pack up. We leave. Now."

The townspeople obviously had felt outrage at this. One of the older colts spoke up.

"Nopony has left Canter in decades! How do you expect us to leave all with which we have lived for!?"

"Because if you don't then Celestia will kill every last one of you for treason! If you hadn't noticed I not only killed a group of soldiers, a good portion of which I ate, but you buried them here! I had you bury them!"

"He has a point!" Audible gasps had echoed all around.
Another colt, this one with bandages on his neck and legs, spoke up.

"Celestia sent these monsters to do two things, rob us and slay us. The heavens have seen it fit to send us a warrior from another world! With him by our side we may never know thirst or hunger again! Do you truly wish to abandon your hopes!? Your dreams!?"

'Damn pony whose name I have yet to learn. Mah bad.'

"I shall stand with my son!" 'Honey Pot?'

"This warrior is everything we have ever wished for in our lives, if he leaves then I shall leave with him."

More and more of the town converged on me until only the nay-sayer was left.

"I don't like this, but if it means survival then there truly is no alternative."

As we left a town in ruins, I made sure to leave a message to whatever found it's way. The black armor stood in a neat pile, a single note left upon it:

NEVER AGAIN

Magic in a young girl's heart

Great light flooded the room, I felt the ambient magic drain from around us and converge upon Twilight. Six very forbidden, very powerful spells I wrote in case of grand scale emergency like say the timeline becoming FUBAR.

From the least destructive to most:

Butterfly: I am a leaf in the wind. A defensive buff meant to make the user harder to hit

Diamond: All that glitters is not gold. An arcane amplifier more than anything that gives the user a diamond like sheen.

Cloud: Don’t believe me just watch. A true offensive skill that allows the user to briefly turn into living lightning.

Apple: Are you okay? “What’s the answer to this question?” You may ask. The answer is a simple Buster Wolf! And control over seismic energy.

Star: I am the one and only. A mystic EMP that buffs the user with all magic drained within a ten kilometer radius.

And last but frighteningly not least, Balloon: What does this button do? The answer for this one is so complex I only knew it when I was piss drunk, in full mage, and tapping into the Thirteenth Lord of Chaos powers I only had access to with the Omni blade.

May the world never know the true power of these spells put together.

I feel the mystic pressure, it’s field threatening to blow my wounds open, but thankfully the event ended before I caused a mess. The light focused into a single area now as Twilight struggled to control the flood of magic.

I rush past Mayor Mare (whom is now passed out on the floor) and attempt to break the magic field only to get pushed back hard.

“Twilight, you have to expend the magic or release it!!” I say while pounding on the field.

“H-how...it’s too much…” Twilight is crying as bits of her mane go up in amethyst flame.

“Focus Sparkle! How many times have we done this!? Magic! Horn! Ball! Think dragon egg!!”

This got her. Throwing her head back, the magical field shrank and re-grew on her horn. Once all the magic gathered into a tight ball, I grasped it and gently pulled the orb of magic off of the horn.

I pocket the orb and scoop the tired and frightened mare into an embrace. She promptly whacks me with a hoof.

“Why would you even write something that dangerous!?” Asks Twilight.

“Because the world might be ending. How do you feel?”

“I-I feel like I just took a bath in a pool of lava. *gasp* Mayor!” Twilight runs to the downed mayor and starts to look for a heartbeat, satisfied at the sign of life. “Wait, the scroll!”

Twilight had ran back to where the scroll was dropped, only to find a slowly burning pile of scrap. “No…” Tears once again fill her eyes, I kneel by her and stroke her mane so as to calm her.

“The scroll isn’t important, the magic is. That magic is now within you. Just...you know...be careful not to say...you know,” I move to pick up Mayor Mare and cradle her in my arms.

“Chances are everypony in the building was knocked out by the Etheric Mystic Pulse.” I then feel a chill run down my spine.

“Nooooot EVERYPONY!” Says Pinkie as she pops up in front of me. ‘Dear lord don’t let her-’

“What does this button do?” ‘I have become error.’

“Pinkie no!” Twilight and I both scream. Pinkie had her scroll in her hooves, arcane runes writing themselves and glowing upon the parchment. In a sudden flash, Pinkie had jolted into the air and floated stock still as her color was replaced by a glitching visual effect of whites and grays.

She plopped down on the ground, her body not even moving, not even REACTING to her fall. The effect began to drain and subsided into a forehoof. She looked down and pressed against the stone flooring.

The glitch left her hoof and began to infect the stone brick, as she pulled up, the brick had shrunk and turned into a cupcake. “I know what this button does…” Said Pinkie in an awe-inspired whisper, the scroll now a pile of ash next to her.

“No you know what, I’m taking the scrolls! I can’t have the others activate them unsanctioned”

I walk past the mares and catch a shadow of worry from Pinkie Pie. I let it go and grab the scrolls. Butterfly, Diamond, Apple, Clo-where’s Cloud?

“Where is it? Why isn’t it here!? It’s gone...why is it gone? No no no no n-PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!!!!!!”

“I think I’ll go take the ponies upstairs to the hospital now!” Said Twilight as she teleported out of the building with Mayor in tow.

“I think I’ll go join her!” Said Pinkie as she tried to escape the area, only to stop mid-air as I held onto her tail.

“Wheeerrrrre?” I let a bit of my vampiric nature show to add more intimidation.

“Uh...um...I-I can’t s-s-s-say. I made a Pinkie Promise!”

“Toooo whoooo….”

“RAINBOW DASH!! Eep.”

I raise a finger and open my mouth to speak...and stop. I try again...and stop. ‘Reel it in big guy.’

“Okay.”

“What?”

“Okay. I’d rather she have told me first but eh. Walk with me.”

We slowly make our way and strike up a convo. “How are preparations so far?”

“Pretty good! Clouds and traps are set, Fluttershy found some Diamond Dogs, and the buildings are covered in diamonds. And rubies, and sapphires, and emeralds, and metals, and-”

We keep moving for a few seconds, we stop once so I can pocket my battle companions. Our conversation devolves into Pinkie talking about her day, and then about rock formations and proper gem growth and the like.

“Hey Pinkie?”

“Yes?”

“Nothing. I’m going home to rest, don’t let anypony bug me aight?”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!”

Exiting town hall, Pinkie bounds to no place in particular. I walk through the town in silence, ponies still rushing back and forth adding final touches to the town’s defense. Ponies would still wave and smile, and I would return the gesture. My attention was caught however by two large barriers stationed between my home and Turner’s. I decide to inquire.

“Just a minute! I’ll be with you in a moment!” I heard the sound of an explosion and shattering glass.

The door opened to reveal a dust covered Time Turner. “Well isn’t this quite the surprise!? Come on then, it’s always good to have company!”

His workshop was filled with various devices and spare metals and wires and power cores.

“So, what do I owe the honor for a visit from my new neighbor?”

“I wanted to inquire as to the reason of the barricades between our homes…”

Turner left and returned with a plate of various cookies and bread.

“I’m glad you asked! Cookie?” I grab a few and some bread and begin to munch. “Town Hall found it reasonable to move some of the leftovers of the invasion to our homes. I get scrap metal and rusted weaponry and you get a treasure chest and a full set of dragon bones. We also get one barricade each to work with.”

“Hats noice, yu shur yu *gulp* ah, don’t want any of the dragon? Wait, did you say chest?”

“Oh yes I would have loved the dragon but I don’t really work well with biological materials, and yes! There was a chest along with the dragon!"

"Right, I'll go see to my bounty then. I may need to borrow a few things but not today."

"Quite alright! Whenever you need me, I'll be here!"

-Basement-

I had found the chest and dragon bones in front of the basement entrance and dragged everything down. Too tired to actually want to open the chest I go about setting down the items of the day. My werewolves, the orb of raw magic, and Ludo.

*sigh* 'Hopefully I don't dream this time.' I exit the basement and just sit by the backdoor for a bit. I ponder...I ponder some more. "Screw it I want sleep, blood, and a bath not specifically in that order."

I open the door mindlessly, not noticing the bucket of liquid held by the door. I am once again doused in sweet and incredibly strong drink. 'Yet it doesn't smell alcoholic...'

Before me yet again is the entirety of Ponyville, greeting me in surprise as music began to blare.

Veral then made her way to me. "Cool surprise huh?"

"Y-yeah...W-who set this up..." Veral hooked her arm around me and lead me to the living room.

"Pinkie! She said you looked down, that and the house hasn't been broken in yet. You like it?"

I couldn't quite see very clearly, but the cobwebs and wallpaper had been done away with. New crimson tapestry was brought in and the flooring looked much nicer and sturdier.

"It looks great V, you and who ever helped you did a wonderful job." Veral starts to swing me into a dance as the music faded into a new track

"H-heey...I gotta-gotta know...who has all this Daft Punk?" I say rather groggily.

Veral pushes closer and magics armor onto herself for better grip. "Vinyl, Octavia says she found a bunch of sheet music and started to futz around with her tech. I guess she managed to recreate the tracks."

"Cool...*yawn* g'night." I blacked out, not even so much as trying to stay awake. I fall with a loud thump. "No no no ohhh...that must have hurt."

Thief of Time Pt 3: Shine Bright Like a...Lion?

Thief of Time Pt 3: Shine Bright Like a...Lion?

The group woke the next day and saw most of the chefs in the dining car. “Why are you here?” Zidane asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eye's.

“Well you're friend kicked us out and said ‘must cook'” One of the chef's said with his head on the table.

“I heard cook!” I scream, popping my head from outside the window.

Screams of abject fear filled the room from the sudden outburst. I crawled in and clothed myself with my Ultra Guardian robes.

“Mornin’.”

“Mornin.” Zidan said as he did some squats before setting down.”So what's the plan for today?”

“Uh...we wait. Wait...check this out.” I say as I hand him the garnet.

“Its nice looking.” Zidane said as he held it up to the light. “Where did you get it?”

“One of the passengers had it. It may prove important to any summoner you come across…I think. Speaking of summoner’s, who’s in your party so far?”

“Me, Quina, Sunset, and Cid Pollendina. Why?”

“Thief, Blue mage, Engineer...what's Sunset’s job class?”

“Red mage, but she is trying to learn how to summon.”

“A Freelancer then? Heh, shouldn't be too hard for her. Give her these next time you see her,” I retrieve two spell scrolls from my inventory.

“Don't worry about returning them, they're copies.” I was just about to hand them to Zidane, but Gilda had rushed into the room panting.

“Black Knights! All hooves on deck!!”

‘Black...what…’ I felt my blood boil in ways I didn't think it could.

Everypony rushed to the window to see Rainbow clashing her blade against three black armored dragoons. A carriage then pulled up to the window.

“Ahem! Salutations young ponies. Fear not, the royal guard shall handle this! Charge!”

“Oh my God they just flew in. Zidane, you and me on the roof. Gilda, keep those idiots safe. Elemental magic will harm them, but nothing can dent that metal!”

“Ok. Gilda here.” Zidane though a yellow materia at her. “This should help.” He said as he flipped out the window onto the roof

“Oh my various...why...Gilda, are they ponies or…”

“Dash told me, yeah, they're ponies. Good luck dude, I’ll see you when they're dead.” She flew out to join her comrade as elemental magic filled the air.

The speeding train threatened to push me off but I managed to keep stable balance as I began to aim.

“Well, the only good thing about this is they aren't on the roof too, right Zidane!?”

“I guess.” By Murphy's Law a squadron of Dragoon's landed on the roof.

“Me and my big mouth…” I charge my magic, the back of my hand glowing with a lighting blue XI.

“Numbered Beast! Thunder Stalker!” An etheric boar rushed through the Dragoons, eliciting pained and muffled screams.

“Wow thats..” Zidane was awestruck.

“Pfft, watch this!” My magic charged again, and an ice blue VIII appeared on my opposite hand.

“Numbered Beast! Ice Beast Attack!” A large serpent like creature assaulted the group with tendrils and tossed them off the roof.

“Feh, too easy.” ‘That's not what your heart beat says.’

I steal a glance at my arm and my HUD shows me my heart rate rose to caution. “Peachy…”

“Is everything ok?” Zidane asked ass he shot a Fireball out of his dagger with the red materia in the hilt pushing back a Dragoon.

“Everything's A-OK! But I think it's time for more unorthodox methods,”

‘Gather your mind...gather your soul…’

I pull back, slamming my feet on the roof. Darkened energy gathered on my palms as I took aim at an airborne group assaulting the carriage.

“Messatsu!” I hurl ball after ball of dark spiritual energy, only stopping when the disk on my arm appeared and kept blinking out the word “Empty”.

A few managed to strike wings, but most either missed or had been dodged.

“I really need better aim…”

“Here take this it well help.” Zidane said as he haned him a Hi-Potion. “Now lets see what I can do.” He said as hee shot a mix of ice and fire balls hitting a few. “I guess I need more practice with magic.”

“I could probably teach you someday, but for now…” I pull another scroll, The destruction burst, and hand it to Zidane.

“Most if not all the magic I use is pinpoint accurate, this one will lock onto an opponent and blast them with three consecutive bursts of Dark/Fire magic. Don't use it too much, it requires health to cast.”

“Ok then.” Zidane said as he chugged his own Hi-potion before reading the Scroll. Dark Fireballs started to fly and hit the remanding Dragoon's out of the sky. “Huff. How did I do… I am soo not made for magic.” He said as he knelt down on one knee.

“I’d say you did better than most. Just keep that one from Sunset, she’ll kill herself mastering it.”

The carriage began to pull up to us, as well as a battle scarred Rainbow and Gilda.

“Well met lads! The Pactagonal knights of the royal guard thank you for your aid!” Said one of the knights in the carriage.

“The Pactagonal knight's!?” I shout. “I thought they were a myth!”

“Well isn't that Sir Prizing!” Shouted one of the pegasi pulling the cart.

“Pay no mind to Sir Cus. He’s off his meds again. Fare thee well lads and ladies!”

Gilda tapped me on the shoulder and stopped me from destroying the carriage for their bad pun.

“Griffonstone is up ahead. Let's get our gear and get some food, I’m starved.”

-Breakfast-

“Dig in.” Pinkie said as her and Quina pushed a cart full of food.

“Hey hero, you notice how none of them could speak or scream?” Asked Gilda as she swallowed a halibut whole.

“Yeah...muffled. Why do you ask?”

“Their mouths had been stitched,” Said Rainbow Dash. “You think…”

“Don't know what to think. I'm sorry for dragging you into this Zidane.”

“It’s ok, we have time before the field trip,” Zidane said as he took a bite of the pancakes. “We were just training till then anyway.”

“Well, I hope your group is up to some treasure hunting,” I say as I pull out a map.

“Now our targets are located on the bottom of this gorge.”

I point to the part of the map labeled impassable.

“The Abysmal Abyss,” Stated Gilda. “The entrance is covered by a howling wind that pushes everything back.”

“Count me in. Quina?” Zidane asked getting a shake from her/his head. “I guess this isn’t for everyone. You stay and make sure Choco doesn't do anything stupid.”

“Kewwe.” Choco said as he lift his head from his bowl of Gysahl Greens

“We may need Quina anyway. How good are you with pastries?” I ask the Qu.

“Good, very good.” Quina said

“Excellent, you Pinkie and Gilda will be baking scones for the town.”

“Do you know about my family’s recipe?” Asked Gilda.

“Yup! Spoiler, you forgot to add flour! You ninny…” Pinkie started to guffaw while the others just gave me strange looks.

The train had come to a halt and we began to exit the car. Everyone had left but Pinkie had held me back.

“Um...I...had Quina prepare this one,” She gave me a glass of viscous red liquid.

“Don't worry, it isn't from a pony or anything…” She scurried after the group, leaving me to down my drink.

“Where the heck they find an otter?”

-Griffonstone-

The city was...in horrible condition. Houses were nothing more than shacks, griffon lay upon tattered blankets, beggars lined the streets.

In the center of the city stood an elderly vulture.

“Gather round and I shall tell you of the fall of this once great nation! That is if you have the bits!” Shouted the old bird.

“I have bits!” Cried Pinkie, who I stopped before she could humor him.

“Not interested.” I say soullessly as we walk past the annoyed bird.

“Psst, how was my Cloud impression?” I ask in a whisper.

“Cloud... Great.” Zidane whispered back

The group stopped at what was another broken down shack, in front stood an old metal stove.

“Well, welcome to my place. So we gonna rest first or-" Gilda would have finished her sentence had Pinkie not built three more, brightly decorated stoves next to the old one.

“Eeerectin a dispenser!” Cried Pinkie.

“I won't even ask how you know that reference.” I say dejectedly.

“What reference?” Asked Pinkie. She had a pair of goggles and a hard hat on.

“For the sake of everyone’s sanity, We’re just gonna leave you to it.”

Our group once again split in two, Gilda, Pinkie and Quina taking care of fixing Griffonstone’s pastry problem and Rainbow Dash, Zidane and I left to find the Idol and the Staff of Awe!!.

The Abysmal Abyss lay before us, the torrential wind's whipping at the loose debris that so much as grazed it.

Rainbow flew head first into the howling winds. “Last one in’s a rotten-WAH!?” The poor mare was bounced back like a ball hitting jello. “Okay second time’s the charm!”

“Rainbow wait!” my cries went unheard of course as she was once again jettisoned backwards.

“Let me do this part,” I say as I switch into my Frostval Mercenary Garb. I wait...I wait some more…’Well that’s certainly unsettling. Guess Frost is asleep,’ I throw a few loose punches and build meter.

Health:///100%///

Mana:///100%///

SP://27%

“Let’s rock!” I pull a thin and sharp kunai from the aether, a long rope attached to it. A quick spin and I launch the blade into the storm.

“Wait for it...wait for it…*CHINK* NAILED IT!” ‘Oh God this is harder than I thought! Looks like I’ll have to break my limiter…’

I felt my muscles tense with each successive tug. Then I felt my muscles shift as my body changed beneath the armor. The suit stretched with each limiter, Werewolf, Vampire, Dragon. One final tug and the once torrential winds were ripped from the canyon it once defended, what remained of the barrier turned out to be a pure elemental orb of wind.

‘Nope, nopity nope nope nope.’ “Zidane catch!”

“So the thing is down there.” Zidane said as he held the rope.

“Oh yeah, So, you wanna climb down or let Rainbow fly you down?” I ask.

Zidane looked down. “I think I can climb this.”

“Right, have fun. Look out for a statue made of gold and a wooden staff with feathers on it. Rainbow, let’s fly!”

I waste no time in unfurling my wings and jumping into the abyss, a Rainbow blur shooting past me. ‘Poor guy should have taken that ride…’

Darkness, darkness as far as the eye could see, it almost felt like I was flying in circles.

“Hey Azure, this place is kinda long isn’t it?” Asked Rainbow.

“Yeah...or it could be playing with us. Fourth wall time.” Bringing up my HUD i noticed that we hadn’t at all progressed and that Zidane was farther along the trail than us. ‘Nope again. Time to break whatever barrier this may be.’

I remove my fourth wall vision and expand it, the world began to shift, gears and clocks began to appear throughout the void.

“What’s going on?” Asked Rainbow, fear present across her face.

Laughter, filled the clockwork world. Purple spikes began to fire from an unknown location.

“Behind me!” I raise my Taladosian Ward, a psionic barrier dissolving the projectiles.

“If I remember my Dissidia, then that can only be…” The laughter began to focus as a woman garbed in a black and crimson cloak began to walk toward us.

“My my what do we have here?” The woman said.

“A pony who’s gonna kick your flanks into next week!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she charged at the sorceress, her blade held firmly in her mouth.

“Rainbow don’t!” I scream.

She laughs as Rainbow stood still mid-flight. “A feisty one.” she said as she walked away from the Motionless Rainbow before she snapped her fingers.

“Huh!? Where’d she…” In Rainbow’s confusion, she failed to notice the several spikes about to turn her into a living pin cushion. Thankfully I did, and with a quick cast, Rainbow was bubbled in an orb of light. The sound of the spikes making contact with her barrier putting her back on edge.

“Ultimecia...what’s the famed chronomancer doing here in a world that doesn’t belong to her?” I ask.

“What? A girl can't travel?”

“Never said that, I asked why. I won’t repeat myself.” I say, pointing my tuning blade at her.

“Well...Chaos sent me to spread a little *chuckle* chaos around.”

“Pfft, you wouldn’t know chaos if it snapped your shoulder, right Dash?” Ultimecia Snapped backwards only to see the pegasus in question still bubbled, giving me the perfect opportunity to ram the flat of my blade on her shoulder. Only to miss entirely…

The sorceress reappeared further away, no doubt anticipating another fake out. I release my partner, whom began asking me questions about our opponent.

“What is she!?”

“A Chronomancer, an Archmage, and she has a sick summon. Her fights are long range and she’s only vulnerable when casting. When push comes to shove though, a total pushover.”

“Any weaknesses?” Rainbow asked.

“Can you move faster than the speed of light?” I ask.

“Pfft, don’t believe me? Just watch!!” Rainbow’s body began to shift wildly, rainbow streaks of lightning danced upon her. Looked like she was ready for round two…

“Go! Fight with the heart of a lion!!”

“Trying this again.” she said as she snapped her fingers..But Rainbow kept moving.

Axes began to fly through the endless space, blades clashed, and orbs of magic tried to find their mark, but the rainbow blur proved too agile and too quick as if she moved against time itself.

In a split second, a bolt of lightning had shot right through the sorceress, staggering her as the many gears began to turn in the clockwork realm.

“Nice shot.” She said “Now then..Griever take care of her. I have other things to take care of.” She said as walked away, a giant black lion with wings and red spike's came flying down.

“Rainbow, let me handle this.” I say as the beast sized us up.

“Oh come on!” The mare protested.

“Hey you got your fight with Ultimecia, what did I get? Bupkis that’s what!”

“She ran away! How is that fair to me!?”

“You shot her through the-” *ROAR* “Don’t you start! All I wanted was to get my shit and leave! What do I get instead!? I get stuck in tim-” *ROAR* “Yell at me one more time, I dare you, I double dare you motherfucker, yell at me one more God damn time!!”

…

…

…

“Right, as I was saying, you basically shot her through th-” *ROAR* *YIP*

The beast had the gall to shove it’s muzzle in my face and do the thing. So I snapped it’s jaw shut, and looked it straight in it’s eyes.

“I...tried. To be civil.” I shove my teeth down on it’s neck and start to draw blood amongst other things. The Guardian Force struggled as I felt a strange magic wash over me. I rip my teeth out and see fear in it’s eyes.

“I...tried. To be patient.” A pulse of volatile green magic burst and surrounded the beast. As the blast pushed it back, I was upon it before it could correct its flight, ramming it into a spinning gear. Roars of pain and fear filled the arena.

“I know your God damn weakness! Without Squall here to cower in fear of “The greatest Guardian Force” you’re just a dog! A dog whose teeth had been ground into dust when it’s master left you here to DIE! Whereas I...Well, Maybe I’m a lion…”

{Skill ready: Pulse Shot}

‘You don’t have to tell me twice,’ My maw opens before the beast, several charges of plasma begin to form at the back of my throat…’Irvine Kinneas eat your heart out.’

The first shot ripped through the GF’s shoulder, the second shot goes right through it’s abdomen. I fire three more shots before the husk is nothing more than swiss cheese. I let the body drop as it dissolves and disappears. I stare blankly at Rainbow, who seemed very frightened herself.

“What?” I say with a rather growly voice. “Oh wow, what happened to my voice?”

“Forget that! What happened to you!?” Cried the pegasus.

“The frig you talkin bout?” I look over my form and notice that my suit had stretched even farther than what it had been a moment ago. Grasping the armor, I pull and reveal that my form had changed drastically. I was of course still a Dracopyre...but…

“Oh shit, maybe I AM a lion…Okay, let’s just get out of here.” My body had been overlain with Griever’s form. My arms shifted, to the same emerald claws I used to rip through back to my own world. A hole was ripped through time and space and the bones of a fallen demon reside past the portal. “Let’s go home.”

Author's Note

MOAR REFERENCES

All roads Pt.3

The mare cradled in my arms fell to sleep, exhaustion having taken its toll on her. Veral opens the door to the main house and I walk to the guest room.

Entering the room, my back is tackled by a chitinous mass of bug pony.

“Master! Will you feed me again today? Your ghost said you would!” My changeling guest exclaims.

I freeze. Not because of the surprise, but because one of her legs is grazing a sweet spot on my back. I take my time and get a hold of myself and lay the still sleeping Trixie on to the bed and tuck her in.

The changeling only hung off of my neck, her legs no longer on my back.

I leave the room, close the door, and grab the bug off my back. She looks up at me expectantly and I stare back with a soft look.

“I’ll give you more love...if you tell me why you were hiding in the Everfree.” I say in a whisper.

She clicks her tongue and waits. And waits...and waits some more. “Um...I was following a pony from Canterlot. I'm a scoutfly.” The changeling finally states.

I tilt my head a bit and purse my lips. “Ho? Does this pony have a name?” I ask.

“My Armor Cadenzi!” They state happily.

“Mí Amoré Cadenzá.” I say in correction.

“Yeah her! I was supposed to give the okay to kidnap her, but then I lost contact with the hive...I still can't call them…” The bug pony’s wings began to flitter in distress until I put my hand on their head. They looked back at me and those eyes...my God those eyes were finger-licking adorable!

“Why did you need Cadence?” I asked as I sat down in a lotus position. The bug pony's back was cradled evenly in the crook of my legs.

“Our queen was planning to marry Captain Sinew Amor so she could invade Canterlot! Then all the hive would be fed and happy!”

“Captain Shining Armor.” I corrected again.

“Yeah...but then Cadenzi was gone and a pony almost saw me and then the wolves started to chase me and then...and then you gave me love!”

I began to tilt my head back and forth so to properly mull the info. “Okay, I thank you for your honesty. Now, how bout a meal and I can tuck you into bed. Would you like to stay here while you try and contact your hive?”

“Yes! I can be a good changeling and wait here for my hive! Love now?” Those eyes I swear…

I opened my mouth as the changeling in my lap did the same and a pinkish filmy aurora left mine and entered their own. The focused love of a being like me is like a knock out drug for these bug ponies...so the scoutfly was snoring wistfully after three short seconds.

“Veral…” I called out. The Moglord Ghost phased through the wall behind me and stood to attention. “Draw a bath, I need cleaning. Gather the Elements, we need to prepare. Find Berry Punch, I need more drink and if you can, buy some groceries so we have something to feed everypony with.”

I rose up from my position, the scoutfly still cradled in my arms. I take her to the guest room and laid her down with Trixie. I fish out a bag of about two hundred gold and make my way to the indoor bathhouse. Veral floated up to me as I handed her the sack.

“Don't forget to treat yourself to something nice, you’re my partner, not my servant.” I say as I gave her helmet a ruffle.

“Ya big softy…” replied Veral as she held my hand with her paws.

With that I made my way to a very well deserved bath...and I still had scale cleaner!

-Roughly Two Hours Later-

“Veral! You forgot my tow-” A dark blue towel floated over to me in an equally blue magical grip.

Grabbing the towel and drying off as best I could, I made my way to the dining room where the Elements had made themselves comfortable.

“Thanks for the towel Rarity.” I say a little embarrassed.

“Think nothing of it dear, although we really shouldn't make this a regular occurrence. Ponies talk you know.” She said with a bashful smile and equal embarrassment.

“Ahem, if y'all would focus instead of flirtin’?” Applejack jabbed.

Me and Rare then kinda devolved into sputtering wrecks as we tried to dismiss the obvious tension.

“Captain, Aj’s right. We have dragons incoming and we aren't near ready. We need more firepower.” Dash said in serious seriousness.

“You're telling me Diamond Dogs, Dracomancers, and Gryphons AREN'T enough firepower?” I ask incredulously.

“It's a great start Master,” Twilight began as she stopped to sip from a cup at her side. “But we have two to three days before contact and all we have is crystal armor. Dragons EAT gemstones like a pony eats hay.”

“What did you learn from my heart?” I ask my student.

“I-I’m sorry?” She said with a tinge of worry.

“You learned something right?” She gave a nod. “What did you learn?” I ask again.

“The-the frequency inlaid with the structural composition-”

“Booooring,” Interrupted Dash. “Common language please.” I gave the weather captain a death glare. Twilight took the time however to reword her findings.

“The magic reacts negatively to the sounds given off of the crystal body. Like it's foreign somehow. I tried my best to fix it…I’m sorry for dooming you like this.” She would have broken into sobs had my hand not started to massage her scalp.

I gave a reassuring Kamina-like smile. “There's our firepower. Pinkie?”

“Yeppers!” She said excitedly with a skybound hoof.

“You said Twilight helped you make those crystals. Was that entirely true?” I asked with a knowing smirk.

She looked away and started to whistle “The little Spanish flea” while Twilight gave her a suspicious look.

“I'm sorry, but my notes are currently under lock and key,” Twilight said as she pulled out a heavily enchanted notebook...with a broken lock. “That can't be right.”

“Pinkie, re-coat the town in that crystal and for the love of God please don't mess with Twilight like that again.” I say.

“No promises. She's fun when she's flustered!” Pinkie exclaimed happily with bedroom eyes leveled Twilight's way.

“I'm called for.” Twilight stated with an angry blush.

“Fooey!” Pinkie bolted out of the room and the house like a bat outta hell, no doubt off to paint the town red. So to speak…

“Well, if that's all that was buggin ya Ah’ll be on my way. Spike’s prob’ly missin’ me and the rest of the orchard needs ta be pick’d for them varmints show.” Applejack moved to leave before I put my hand on her shoulder.

“Not yet, I have something for each of you. Just don't open it now...or ever if you can help it.”

I pass out three scrolls, one to AJ, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Flutters then looked to me in confusion.

“You said you had something for all of us, oh I didn't mean to be rude…”

I gave a thumbs up and waved away her concern. “Yeah I did say all of you, but three of you have your scrolls already...isn't that right Dash.”

The pegasus in question paled and broke out in cold sweat. “I plead the fifth!” She cried.

“We aren't in an American court of law! How do you even know that!?” I ask.

“It was filed under MEMES/REFERENCES/INSIDE JOKES!” The other mares gave Dash a very strange look. “What, just because I'm not the world's most dangerous bookworm like Egghead doesn't mean I don't read,” Veral passed by and started to give out sandwiches and cups of plain water as Rainbow began to vigorously munch on her sandwich. “Do I look like some kind of uncultured swine?” She said between munches.

“No you look like a filthy casual,” I said in retort in which she proceeded to choke on her food in pained laughter. “Regardless, the kids and Turner have siege engines, Applejack, let Bloom and hers work on the wooden tanks so the town has a mobile defense unit.”

“On mah life!” Cried AJ. “Ya’ll must be two kindsa crazy to think I'd let that filly get hurt!” She slammed her hoof on the table for added effect.

Now it was her turn for the strange looks…

“Yea yea...MEMES/REFERENCES/INSIDE JOKES…” The farm girl relented.

“Applejack I'm afraid Azure is right. I love my Sweetie to death but their training should have begun months ago. Maybe it's time?” Rarity said with a hint of sadness.

But...that was strange. “I'm sorry what training?” I asked.

“Oh um...a pony begins their warrior training after nine years of age.” Said Fluttershy in a near whisper.

“Or when they discover their cutie mark! Applebloom ain't trainin’ nothin’ til then!” AJ stated in defiance.

“Right, I won't bring it up again... Twilight where's Oracle?” I ask.

Twilight takes a good long swig of the drink by her hoof and gave a sigh of relief. “She’s safe, last time I saw her Shiny was braiding her mane.”

I nodded and waved at Veral. “And my Moonpie?” I asked Twilight.

Veral set out two bowls, one each of melted cheese and fried tortilla chips.

“She’s...uh...sh-she’s doing…could you take away the bowls? I-I'm getting flashbacks…” Twilight eked out as she quivered in fear.

'Oh right... Quesadillas…’ I shake my head and take the bowl and start to get out of my chair only for Veral to push me down gentle.

“I’ll take THAT. I'll have a nice salsa and guacamole out in a bit.” Veral said as she took the bowl of cheese. “I have a spicy mango sauce too, one of us here as an avocado allergy.”

“Thanks Vi I love you too!” I shouted as she had already flown off.

I clap my hands together, gathering everypony’s attention again. “Alright, that's business. Of course if anyone wants dinner?” I say with hope.

Rainbow’s head shot up and her eyes brightened. “Veral is absolutely LEGENDARY for her cooking!” She exclaimed.

“How do you-” I tried to inquire while the others gave her another funny look.

“Well, I went back to the archives and picked up a lexicon on all your partners. Veral was the caravan’s cook! There's an entire recipe book dedicated to her.” The pegasus explained. Her excitement sort of died though as she started to knock her hooves together. “Sorry, I gotta bail, still gotta train. Hey maybe once this is all over I can take you up on that offer!”

With that Dash flew off, followed by AJ who tipped her at as she left for the door.

“I need a better lock, so I’ll have to eat at the library. I'm sorry master.” Twilight bowed and took her leave.

Rarity also seemed disappointed as she took her leave as well. “Apologies darling...maybe another night?” She flashed a smile and sauntered off.

That only left…”Hey Flutters, you probably have a large workload so it's cool if you-”

“I want to stay,” I looked at her with happy surprise. “Um...Angel wants me to get out more and I'm rather famished…” She says with a burning blush.

“Cool. We have company but they're asleep, is that alright with you?” I ask with a tilted head and small smile.

“Oh of course...I don't mind.” She replies as her blush disappears, replaced by a courageous smile. Though still rather small.

Veral brings out two plates of three tortillas drenched in a somewhat soupy tomato sauce.She then places grated cheese, cream, parsely, and sliced onion upon the table.

“Entomatadas tonight folks! We’ve got enough tortilla for a family of twenty, so don't be shy about seconds!” Veral said happily. “Oh and I have two jars of flavored water, lime or hibiscus?”

“Um...hibiscus please.” Said Fluttershy.

“I’ll have some of tha-” Veral quickly put a paw to my mouth.

“Don't you worry, I have your drink ready. Be right back!” And with that the ghost was gone.

...Ah yes. The awkward silence must be kicking in. Then I remembered and realized and...oh this is gonna suck.

“Fluttershy I need you to tell me what happened in the bath house. What really happened.”

I expected her to try and hide behind her mane or to tell me how mistaken I was, she did something completely different. She got up, walked to the door, dug through her saddlebags and walked right back.

“I...I guess I have a few things to get off my chest. Your robes,” She put my lumenomamcer robes onto the table, neatly folded and smelling like sunshine and daffodils. “I’m...I’m A monster…”

“Oh come on, you say that even when you-” Darkened eyes shut my mouth closed.

“I killed the sea monster. Cut through it's forehead. I didn't realize it until it already happened.” She started to circle the table with her hoof as she stuffed her mouth with food.

I started to engulf my plate in cheese as I waited with bated breath.

She gulped down her food and emptied her cup. “More!” Veral rushed in from the door frame she was hiding in and refilled the empty cup. Twice. Thrice. God damn that girl can drink…

“Then came the Diamond Dogs...oh poor Angel bunny, he didn't need any of that.” She hiccuped as beads of tears formed on her eyes. So I did the only thing I could. I put my cup in front of her and put my hand on her shoulder.

“Drink this one. You need it more than I do, but take it slow yeah? Some powerful stuff.”
She took the cup and wet her lips with the powerful liquid. “Now, tell me about the Dogs.”

She gave a nod and recounted to me a...well...my God...dear Lord man...this wasn't PG anymore. Teeth flew, fur was singed, ears were pulled, bones were broken and black eyes all around.

“You forced them into submission? What happened to the stare!? Wha- I mean but you don-” She looked at me again, pain and guilt upon her face...but also conviction. Purpose. Duty.

“They wanted to eat him, laughed at me while they piled on top of him after knocking him out...I snapped.”

-And the hits just keep on…-

I decided I needed to know the events first hand to better understand the monster this kind and timid mare thought herself be...so I read her mind.

Ho...ly...crap. It started off well enough. The two entered the cave, made first contact, failed, and immediately readied for battle. Angel with his new sword and Flutters in the lumenomancer.

An armored Dachshund crushed a boulder on Angel’s head both knocking the poor bastard unconscious and reverting him to his bunny state.

Three Yorkies then piled on top of Angel with the Dachshund and Fluttershy LOST it...

Three Elemental Fists slammed the Yorkies off as Fluttershy used an Elemental Dive to jettison herself forward unto the Dachsund, both impacted a cave wall making a sizeable crater, only where the Dachshund was knocked out cold Fluttershy was perfectly fine and had an Elemental Fist coated hoof holding the burly beast in place.

“Don't you ever...hurt my Angel Bunny again…” Venom seeped through her voice like waste from a power plant.

The smart dogs turned tail and dug deeper into the caverns. The brave dogs had their limbs broken in a way that though no major damage was done...well they wouldn't be able to use those limbs like they normally would have.

Then there were the stupid ones. The ones that goaded her and kept trying to bite at or claw at the injured rabbit.

Many a castrato was born that day.

She continued her onslaught only until she came upon a Doberman dressed in a sort of formal wear space suit and a star tattooed over his right eye. A crimson guitar leaned on his throne of stone.

“Well now that's not something we see everyday is it? What can I do for you love?” The dog asked. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his paws.

“There's an invasion coming. You're going to help us.” Fluttershy stated coldly.

“Now I don't think that's something I can agree to. Especially not after all the noise you've made.” The dog leaned back and crossed his legs. “What's in it for all of us now?”

“Your lives.” Her eyes took on an almost unnoticeable dark shade of blue.

“From the big bad? I think we’ll manage.”

Fluttershy briefly flashed from existence and flashed right back with a Labrador held in an Elemental Fist. “No, from me.”

-Present Day-

“No yeah. What happened to you!?” I yell in very palpable fear.

“I don't knoooow! I-well- my mother...something bad happened to me once and...I almost died and…” She buried her face in what was left of my chest, I did the only thing I could and ran my hand through her hair.

“There there. It's all right, you're safe now. Angel made a full recovery right?” She gave a nod. “Look I really hate to ask this but…” She pulled away and have me the saddest puppy dog eyes in existence. “Will...will you fight for us?”

She whimpered and dug her head back into my chest and nodded. I eased her away, took three forkfuls of the cheese infested meal on my plate and fished out a burgundy and cobalt armor decorated with spikes. She seemed... apprehensive.

“This will be your armor. It holds a very special place in my heart.” Fluttershy then stared at where it was my heart was supposed to be. “Metaphorically speaking.”

“Oh um, I...I knew that.” ‘Sure ya did.’ “How do I carry it?” She asks as she begins to size up the armor. “And how do I wear it if it's meant for...humans?” She looked up at me more than likely wondering if she said ‘human’ correctly.

“Put your hoof on its chest and feel it. Open your heart and soul to it.” She did as I said and the armor began to fold and curve as it retrofit itself for pony use. She shivered as it encased her from the neck down. When the process was over she knocked her plated hoof onto the ground and took a few steps.

“Oh my. It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all.” She began to circle around herself to get a better view of the rest of her body.

‘Don't think it...don't you think it…’ Then I thought it.

“Gah! Stupid Sexy Flanders!” I screamed

“The...Simpsons?” I double took and looked at Fluttershy.

“Don't tell me....”

“Memes/References/Inside Jokes.” We said in unison. I giggled a bit and so did she.

“How do I-” The armor flashed brightly and a diamond shaped cobalt and burgundy earring hung daintily off of her left ear. “Oh my, it's beautiful.”

“Fashionable and convenient. I wonder if I can do that...ah well, question for another day. You want I should clean up the upstairs bedroom for you?” I ask Fluttershy.

“Oh no, I couldn't impose, and I have duties to attend to in the morning. Thank you for the kind offer and for the food as well.” The pegasus walked off gently humming “You Are My Sunshine”.

The light of day looked to be dying as I gazed into the open door. A yawn was caught in my throat, as I lazily made my way to my quarters.

I land on the bed face first and feel sleep take me.

A blitzkrieg of random...I can't really put a finger on what it was I was going through.

One minute, a disgruntled earth pony with a thick white mustache, and military buzz cut is chastising me because my wood cutting form is off, and the next minute I'm in a cubicle getting flooded by paperwork. No you don't understand, the files and documents liquified and FLOODED the cubicle.

Events such as these went on for what seemed like an eternity until I finally figured out what was actually going on.

“These are nightmares.” And everything stopped. A badger was stuck biting my leg, I had a crying foal in my arm, my hair was on fire, and a drill sergeant was shouting at me telling me to “Be prepared”. But...none of it was real.

Okay that's not fair to the ponies having these nightmares. It's not real to me. So, one by one, I carefully and meticulously worked my way backwards and put each echoing nightmare to rest.

“Well, you're form’s still a ways ta go, but you got the work done.” A hatchet hung lazily in my grasp as I panted for air, a veritable mountain of wood towering behind me.

“Thanks chief, same time tomorrow.” I tell the mustached stallion.

“Of course son, now go on. Git.”

I awoke with a jump at the sound of the morning roost. A gentle knock at my door gve me the will to stand upon my feet.

“Yeah, just a minute…” I drolled lazily.

“Master, you'll want to see this..” I heard Veral call out.

It sounded important, so I put on my best robes, slapped my face a couple times and gave a good gutteral...yell? Screach? It was a very loud rumbling moan. Yeah that.

Throwing the door open I made my descent into my awaiting doom, wherein sat a Rottweiler, Lord Cyrus, Gilda (whom now sported golden gladiator armor) and Shining Armor.

Faint sounds could be heard from the kitchen, no doubt my guests were having trouble deciding on breakfast.

“So...what can I do for you?” All eyes went straight to me, breaking the group from their own chat.

“Pack Alpha sent me, need info on dragon.” The Rottweiler stated calmly.

“Cyrus didn't fill you in sir…? Come on someone help me out here.”

“Scruffy. Tell me what you know..”

“Akriloth is a single minded would be world conquerer who has no idea we have the bane of his existence at arms reach. He's big, he's mean, and he's dead weight,”

I pull up a chair, give it a one-eighty, and plop myself down. I lazily hung my arms off the head rest.

“Anything else Scruffy? Or do you want me to tell you the sad tale of Major Tom?”

The war dog gave a solemn nod as if remembering an old friend. “I knew Tom, good hound really. *Sigh* He sold the world for nothing...I’ll be off now. Things in the underground need tending to.”

And with that, he was gone.

“How long have the dogs been in contact with us?” I ask.

“Quite some time now. Fluttershy's got them under her hoof. How she did it, I'll never know.” Gilda stated in pride.

“So long as they're on our side I have no complaints, especially now that it looks like the Pactagonal knights won't be joining us.” Shining stated.

“You know I've met Sir Loin before, very good cook.” Cyrus said happily.

“Back when he still had hands?” Asked Shining.
This garnered a laugh from the Dracomancer.

“He certainly knew how to use a cleaver.” Cyrus tilted his head back, a spec of saliva began to form on his lips.

“Cyrus! Dream about fresh steak later! We're here on...what are we even here for?”

“FOOD!”

Bursting from the kitchen, Veral, the changeling, and Trixie began to drop plate after plate upon the dining room table. When the last plate was placed, the trio huddled and began to sing.

“Be. Our. Guest. Be our guest…”

It was...A feast to remember. As they danced and sung, they would casually spoon feed us some of the various dishes they had prepared.

Before you ask, yes. There was pudding en flambé. It was breathtaking…not to mention the frilly little dresses they chose to wear...made em look good enough to ea-NO. BAD. That's the beast talking...heheh. Beast.

Veral stopped mid flight and eyed me. “Master? What's wrong? You don't look like yourself. And I ain't talking about your eye.”

“It's nothing Vi, honest. Thank you for the meal, provecho.”

With that said, I made my way out, waving to my guests as they bid me farewell.

Finding myself in the backyard I thought it time to finally see just what that Dracolich was holding in it's gut. Popping the hatch of the basement and lighting an orb, I started to take inventory of what it was I was keeping down here.

Two giant orbs of compressed magic, one of raw Mana and the other of Chronitons.

Two sealed elemental werewolves, one cryonic and the other pyronic.

And lastly, one giant dragon skeleton and a large wooden chest lined with gold. I kicked the chest as it opened with a satisfying pop.

Sitting inside was a massive pile of gold coins, a dragon bone Scimitar, and the Prime Elemental orb of Darkness…with a note.

First, about the orbs. There are eight of these bad boys in total. Nine if you count the bacon orb. Alone, these power cells of pure elemental might could level a city or shape the bodies of whatever the element they encompass to the will of the user.

Currently in my possession is the orb of Wind and now the orb of Darkness. If say a raging fire dragon wanted these orbs...it would mean blistering deserts would cover the earth as scorched undead killed anything and everything that still moved.

Onto the note.

To whomever it may concern, I have spent

Years of my own life ensuring that this focal
Point of darkness not fall into the wrong hooves
If you are reading this then know that you hold
A terrifying weapon capable of the deaths of
Thousands lo be it that the last crystal dragon
Be its keeper

Cherry Fiz

I took one good long look at 'Cherry Fiz’s’ last dying words before grasping the sword and finally...the orb.

“So, all roads lead to this.”

Author's Note

Well folks, gettin reeeeaaaal close to the big one. I would've wanted to put it all up now (especially since it's my birthday today, 23 on 23!) But with the disaster in Mexico and me fearing for my life because hey I'm living here IN Mexico...well things have been wierd. Next chapter will be another interlude and after that...

Just wait and see.

A Vampire and Her Wolf Walk Into a Desert Pt1: Tell Me Have You Seen Her?

-Sugar Cube Corner: The Basement-

“So, first time down here?” Pinkie asked me as we left the entrance to a subterranean hatch.

“I didn't even know this place existed… do I smell pastries?”

The cavern she lead us down began to pulsate with this sweet smelling pink aura. The farther down we went, the brighter the aura became.

“This is where I make all my experimental treats! The stuff I'm not allowed to sell to the public.” She said happily.

“Kinda like with what we're gonna do now?” She only giggled with wicked glee as we finally entered a chamber that looked like it was made from chocolate chip cookies.

In the middle of the chamber was a chocolate brown forge shaped like a cupcake with the top portion even decorated to look like frosting, the entire thing sitting atop a pool of magma.

“Sweet Christmas…”

Things were gonna get really frickin sweet.

-The Badlands-

Glass. For as far as any eye could see, the land was laid with glass. A once inhospitable desert riddled with bone and sand was now a plane of endless glass.

The result of what was meant to be the end of an armada became the end of a civilization. Hundreds of lives lost to the skirmish of an army of fire and a mare on a mission.

A great fissure scars the land, an immense heat radiates from it's maw, and the remains of a once intimidating castle now lay half buried under shards of shattered crystal, desert sands, and bodies of fallen dragons.

Deep within this graveyard sits a shattered queen surrounded by dying eggs and a princess in chains. This however was not the end, for the fires of hatred are not so easily extinguished.

-Golden Oaks: Hero-

“Provisions are packed?” I ask.

“Ten gallons of water, twenty pounds of fruit, and sandstorm goggles.” Shining replied.

“Weapons?” I start checking off boxes from a scroll in my hand.

“Sharpened, shined, and stored.”

“Are you ready?”

Shining Armor looked at me, resolve burning in his tired eyes.

“Always.” Horn aglow, the ex-captain garbs himself in specially made desert robes.

“Are you sure you don't want other reinforcements? Spike? Angel? Illyrishy? Hell, maybe even Veral?”

“And leave the town defenseless? No. Who knows, we may even come across outworlders to come save our hides.” The unreasonable unicorn that was Shining Armor pushed through the door of the library to our awaiting ride.

Luna stood next to the Green Dragonzard, dressed in the same desert garb as Shining was. “Is this really everyone?” Luna asks.

“Lyra and Bon Bon were busy, Twilight still needs to learn more about friendship and the bonds she now shares, and Shining is too stubborn to let anyone else go.” I said as I leaned on my mecha dragon.

“Be glad I'm letting you two come along at all.” Shining said in annoyance.

“He does know you're his only means of transport right?” Luna asked me as she clambered onto the dragon.

“I'm sorry, I'm just on edge. I appreciate this, really.” Shining offered in apology. Luna helped the poor fool up as they settled.

“It's cool, I've been there. There could be stragglers in the Badlands, so prepare to abandon ship if things go south.” With a vault and a kick, I landed on the dragon as it made it's ascent.

From below, the town waved us off and shouted several good wills and shows of faith.

-Roughly forty minutes later-

“Are we there yet!?” Shining shouted in annoyance.

“For the sixty fourth time, no! For the love of God man…” I screamed back.

“What if we went faster?” Luna asked.

“The G-forces would turn Shining’s brain to mush, skipping forward in time with Chaos Control is a bad idea with four different targets, and I don't feel like alerting anyone to our location.”

“You mean Discord yes?” Luna asks me.

“Just who or what is he?” Shining asks.

“Moonpie? You know more about this Discord. What's his endgame?” I lurch the dragon down and bring us closer to a wide expanse of sand and glass.

“He only wants to have fun. Tutoring two irritable alicorns for a hundred years will do that to a pony.” Luna says as if she was remembering something fond.

“Pony!?” I shout with Shining.

“Starswhirl. He was a fine teacher, and an even better friend...until the entirety of the kingdom screamed for his head on a silver platter. Oh that was quite a day…” Luna chuckled and rested her head on my back.

“Uh...the Bearded? The...greatest unicorn to ever exist in ALL of Equestria’s history?” Shining asked in shock.

“Called it. MY question is what does he want with an evil fire breathing hellspa-”

From below us, the glass floor of the desert shattered as a tatzlwurm went mouth first into the body of the Dragon Zard. Abandoning ship with as much care as possible, we gathered our bearings and prepared for a fight.

“Moonpie, Shining! Find the spire while I hold this overgrown vertebrate ba-”

Several golden blades flew and proceeded to impale, slice, dice, thrust, riposte, and all in all shear through the massive death worm. Fifty blood soaked blades exploded outwards from within the beast and glided on towards a slowly descending Shining and his satchel. His eyes burned a fierce and fiery pink.

“Dude! Watch out for burn out! Cast with your horn, not your heart!” I call out.

With a dramatic turn, Shining began to walk away from the falling monster, his eyes returning to normal. As the saying goes...cool guys don't look at explosions.

Hmm? Oh right, that whole “Cast with your horn, not your heart” thing. You see magic, as well as chi, operates on a fundamental emotional state of being. ANY living organism can utilize magic and soul power...but it doesn't mean they should. Magic can be channeled through one's heart in which case grants them the eyes of an Elemental.

But there's a catch. See, if a mortal or inexperienced organism goes Elemental their heart gets taxed, mostly because you're pumping raw unfiltered mana through it to release pure and refined magical plasma.
I.E. Elemental eyes.

In essence, you're shoving crude oil into a super delicate centrifuge to get petroleum. Do it too long or too much and you quite literally engulf your heart in mystic fire.

“The faster we find the castle, the faster I can enjoy my early retirement.” Shining said with a pained grunt. The poor fool fell from exhaustion and huffed and puffed as he righted himself.

With a sigh, I cast a quick healing spell which helps the unicorn in steadying himself.

Slowly walking forward, I take point and arm myself with the Kingdom Breaker. “Okay, no more killing yourself please. Tread likely folks, who knows what else lay beneath the san-”

As if to taunt me, seven bursts of fire shot out of the sand. The dust crystallized from the flame and reflected the images of the Changelings I saw from Mili’s visions.

The third set of hoof claws, scars of fire lay written upon their carapace, and once green eyes now burned crimson and gold. A living testament to the corruption of the Prime Orb of Fire.

Oh...and they were absolutely bonkers.

The first three went fang first in an attempt to bite my arm off only to get a mouthful of gold, courtesy of the massive hilt of my blade.

With a swing and a crack, the trio fell as all signs of life left their bodies.

Much the same happened with the last four, Shining impaling a pair with two of his fifty blades and Luna slicing her pair through the midsection with her Galaxy Star Spear.

“Okay, we are def in the right place. Stand back folks, it's Giga Drill time.”

Luna stops me at this point and puts her hoof on my arm. “We risk capture, Serenity is still exhausted from the ordeal against Akriloth, and we need to maintain some sense of caution.”

Her eyes told me that we would be doing this as stealthily as possible, and there was no room for 'No’.

“Okay.” I said with a sigh. Thus, we walked the earth. Our only guide through the blistering desert the planes of glass and the scattered remains of Alicorn shaped statues.

Shining had to keep looking away, more than likely he paled at the thought of his most important pony lying dead surrounded by glass and sand.

Minutes passed and the land became littered with more than just crystal and sand...ancient dragons lay in several states of decomposition, adolescent drakes of various elements were scattered about, some missing limbs and others missing heads.

“This Cadenza...how powerful is she?” Luna asks.

“Powerful enough I wouldn't tussle with her on a good day. The power of love is a curious thing after all,” I say as I get the sudden urge to skip and spin.

I land ball first upon my right foot on top of a dead dragon's head.

“Makes some men weep, and other men sing!” I'm getting into the groove little by little as I spot and spin across the exposed spine of the beast I was on and stop with with a raised leg in a point, my right arm to the sky, and my left thrust outward.

“Change a hawk, to a little white dove!” I feel a rumble from beneath and break into song as the ground breaks apart.

Several fire bugs scatter out and launch an attack against me, but I can't seem to care as I don my Thief of Hours and begin to ballet/kickbox the oncoming force, all to to the sound of Huey Lewis and the News.
“Don't take mo-ney! Don't take fa-ame! Don't need no credit card to ride this train!!”

Three rage riddled bugs bum rush me as four others pop from the broken sands. I hit the first three in delicate pressure points causing their inner fire to engulf them and then throw their bodies into the last four, eliciting a grand fiery explosion.

“That's the power of love!” I stood in a victory pose, one fist on my hip and the other held out with a ‘V’..

The ponies in my presence however found no humor in my antics.

I hung my head and hopped back to the slow uneventful walk.

“Okay...not a fan of The News. I can respect that. Okay, but, BUT! Buuuut….More and more of these bugs are popping up. We're close to the castle I can fee-”

More and more of the firebugs began to explode from the sand, we were outnumbered ten to one and I had no idea as to how we’d survive.

“Get behind me!! I'm gonna do something really friggin crazy!!” Donning the robes of a Chaos Slayer, I began to tap in to the primal force that made Chaos what it was.

Infusing the energy with my golem spell, I palmed the earth and infused the sands with wild magic. “VIZALAIN!!”

A series of crystal spires jut forth from the ground, translucent and...carrying a child and wolf pup that looked terribly and terrifyingly familiar.

“Waaaaah~!?” The girl comedically screams in confusion as she holds onto one of the spires. “What is going on!?” The girl was blonde, her hair not even reaching below her chin, minus the braided strand of hair that went down to her shoulder. On top of that, was a pink mob cap with a red ribbon tied to it.

For clothes, she wore a sort of red vest like garment over a red dress with a semi-large skirt that cut off above her knees with a pink underskirt. She wore short white socks and some slip ons.

Now, what was definitely strange were the… wings, if you could call them that. The ‘wings’ were branches that sprouted from her back with only the ‘Thumb’ and ‘index finger’, nearly charcoal black as they arched outwards. Even stranger were the crystals hanging off the wings, each one having one color in a pattern; green, light blue, yellow, orange, back to light blue, then light green.

Further more, she had a strange disk like object shaped like the sun almost, and it was large, almost covering her completely from behind and looked like a red sun with a golden border. It glowed a dull light with a hum and had four prongs at the center points, the one closest to the bottom being hooked and larger.

The wolf pup was small like...well, a pup, and had a brilliant white coat that almost seemed to shimmer with how well cared for it was, strange red markings writhing around its body and a single spiraling disk with flames spewing out was floating a few inches off her back.

Shining was the first to point them out...as much as I wanted to be wrong about what I was remembering.

“Who are they!? I thought this was a golem spell!?” He shouts.

“It was! I can't use Chaos magic correctly unless I'm drunk!”

The changelings, now taking note of our new guests, began to charge at the pair like mortars. “Oh shit! Hit the deck!!” I screamed, grabbing my two companions and throwing us into the sand.

“I gotcha!” We hear a female voice yell and a loud clang was heard almost like metal on metal.

“Hey! Maybe they're on our side!?” Shining questioned as we took a glance skyward.

Sure enough, the pup began to fling her disc like a frisby, three gongs ringing out as it impacted against a group of bugs.

“Hhhmmmm, and we could also have just pissed off a goddess…” Shaking my head, I did the only thing I thought reasonable in this situation. “Armor change: Bard!” With a flick of the wrist, I pulled out my Green Dragon Ocarina, and began to focus on the pair.

'Give em’ Hell.’

Author's Note

The beginning to another crossover. Shout out to Kit-San for sticking with me on this one!