Annoying.

The pink equine that was currently obscuring his entire field of vision would not stop talking, despite the fact that it - or maybe she, based on the sound of her voice - should have stopped roughly fifteen seconds ago to breathe. When Richter gave her a reluctant 'hello' to her barrage of questions, he didn't expect her to start running her mouth again, nor did he expect for his throat and vocal cords to feel like they'd been on the receiving end of an industrial sander. Luckily, he didn't express any physical reaction to the pain, probably due to the fact that he was an Undead...or whatever he was now.

If that was what his characters went through whenever they tried to talk to an NPC in the games, then he felt sympathy for them.

It was not even two seconds later that a new realization struck him: His head was trying to fucking kill itself with one of - no, the - worst migraine he'd ever experienced in his life. It felt like every last neuron in his brain was burning to ash at the atomic or even subatomic level, and it was seemingly growing in intensity as the seconds passed.

What was even worse was that it was so damn sudden; prior to his current predicament, he'd felt no pain or any kind of sign that a skull-splitting migraine was on its way. It was only a few seconds after the seven technicolor equines arrived in the room that the pain started.

Unless it was a severely delayed reaction from his body in response to being an Undead, the result of an immune response (if his Undead body even had an immune system anymore) to some foreign pathogen that this alien world was exposing him to, or something else he had no knowledge of, he had no idea why his head would suddenly feel like suicide was a good course of action.

The fact that the pink equine that was bouncing in circles around him just wouldn't stop talking certainly wasn't helping the situation.

Richter brought a hand to one of his temples in a half-vain attempt to nurse his migraine, accompanied by a distinctly frustrated/pained groan that sent another lance of burning pain through his throat, though he idly noticed that the pain was slightly weaker than the first time.

"Shut. Up," he managed to squeeze out through clenched teeth, something that he immediately regretted as pain once again consumed his throat.

To his utter joy and relief, the orange equine seemed to pick up on the fact that he was in pain; it reached out with a hoof and grabbed the Pink One by the tail, then yanked her over to the group before bopping her on the nose.

Richter made a mental note to thank the orange one later, assuming that they didn't kill him or something.

It was at that point that the largest equine in the group cleared its throat, then spoke in an undoubtedly female and regal tone of voice that almost demanded his complete and undivided attention, "Greetings! We are sorry if we've alarmed you or caused you any discomfort in some way. We also hope that you can forgive our friend for her...'energetic' antics."

The mare's wings flared out to her sides, causing the other equines around her to yelp and jump away from her to avoid getting hit by her rather large wingspan as she proclaimed with a hoof bent at an unnatural angle to point at her chest, "I am Princess Luna, the lunar diarch of Equestria! The mares that you see beside me are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and both the Protectors and Saviors of Equestria-"

The mare's booming voice was cut off when Richter suddenly turned his entire body to face her and let out an audibly pain-filled shout, "SHUT UP!"

The other equines were about to leap to the Lunar Diarch's defense against the the potentially-hostile Undead when they noticed that he'd actually taken several steps back and was clutching desperately at his head.

The butter-yellow mare tried to approach, but was held back by the pure white mare's outstretched hoof, the latter's gaze fixed squarely on Richter's hands, "Fluttershy, darling, just give the poor thing some space and don't speak loudly. Judging by how he's rubbing his head, his head must be hurting him. Perhaps a headache, or a migraine of some sort. Princess Luna's, erm...enthusiastic use of the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' likely made it worse...no offense, Princess."

"Mi...grai...ne," Richter managed to grind out through clenched teeth and in spite of the agonizing sensation of his vocal cords burning from use, not even daring to move his head from where it was cradled between his hands.

"O-o-oh...F-forgive me for my conduct, I did not mean to cause you any harm," Princess Luna apologized in a much softer voice, one that was on the same volume as that of the other mares.

Richter waved his hand in the general direction of Princess Luna's voice, since he damn well couldn't even begin to move his head without his brain seemingly slamming itself against the side of his skull.

"He didn't seem to be in pain before, when we first came into the room..." the purple-furred winged unicorn...pegacorn, he supposed it would be called, mumbled to herself.

It was at that point that Richter remembered there was a Bonfire in the middle of the room, and unsteadily stumbled towards it, grabbing onto the upwards-pointing hilt with both hands for support, the Bonfire's warmth flowing through him and flooding the room as he slumped to the ground with an almost euphoric sigh.

What he didn't notice was the pulse of orange mist that washed over the entire room, bathing both it and its occupants in an ethereal orange glow that captivated the equines present.

"What...the hay is this?" the cyan pegasus asked no one in particular, looking around at the wisps of...what looked like orange, not-burning fire that floated around the room for a few moments, before ultimately flickering out moments later.

"Bonfire," Richter replied with a small cough of pain, drawing the attention of his quote-unquote guests back to him. "Special."

"A bonfire? That don't look like no bonfire Ah've evah seen. I mean, lookit that thang! It's a goshdarned sword stickin' outta a bunch a'...ashes, or somethin'," the orange mare wearing a cowboy hat replied with confusion written all across her face.

He shook his head with a sigh, wincing under his helmet at the small burst of pain in his head that the head movements caused, "Like...said. Special. Heals."

Richter couldn't wait until he found a way to talk without his damned throat feeling like someone ran a cheese grater over his vocal cords.

"Wait, this...Bonfire is capable of healing? How?! What kind of magic does it use?! How does the fire keep going even though there's no wood or fuel to sustain it?!" the purple pegacorn suddenly looked alarmingly interested in the Bonfire Richter was resting at.

The armor-clad Undead grunted in displeasure at how damn inquisitive these equines were, "No...magic. Just...works."

"That can't be it, though! If there isn't any magic involved in this 'Bonfire', then how did it cause the flames to dance around the room when you sat down at it?!" the purple pegacorn asked once more, her tone growing either annoyed or even more excited - Richter couldn't really tell which was which.

"Can't. Explain," Richter responded, immediately holding up a hand the moment that the mare opened her muzzle to speak again. "Speaking...hurts. Throat...burns. Bonfire...heals...m...me. But...not...throat. D...Don't...f...f-fffooorce me...t-tooo...speeEAAK!"

The longest sentence he'd spoken since arriving in this strange new land ended in a pained growl as his throat punished him yet again.

"Oh...oh, I-I-I'm sorry! I'm just e-excited about new and...interesting things like this," the mare apologized, a tinge of red showing through her purple fur.

"...Forgiven," Richter told her after a moment's pause. "Name...Richter...Douglas. You?"

The mare's eyes lit up with excitement, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and it's nice to meet you, Mr. Douglas!"

"No. Just...'Richter,'" the Undead corrected Twilight.

"Oh...well, then it's nice to meet you, Richter. Girls, why don't you introduce yourselves?" Twilight replied, looking back at her friends with a meaningful look.

The orange hat-wearing mare waved a hoof at Richter at an angle that should have been anatomically impossible for her, "M' name's Applejack, sugarcube. Nice t' meetcha."

"My name is Rarity, and it is a pleasure to meet you...even if I wish it were under better, cleaner circumstances," the white mare with the styled purple mane gave a little...curtsy, Richter supposed it was. "I must say, even though your armor is...far too worn for my tastes, the quality of the fabric used in your armor is outstanding!"

"...Thanks?" Richter said, not knowing whether to take her words as an insult or a compliment to his armor.

"Umm, I'm...Fluttershy," the demure butter-yellow pegasus mare said in so soft a whisper that the crackling of the Bonfire almost drowned it out completely, her face hidden behind her own pink mane.

"...Fluttershy...Nice...name," Richter complimented, earning a small blush and a squeak from the mare before she buried her face even deeper into her own mane.

"HI,MYNAME'S-" The Pink One opened her mouth to speak, only for Applejack to plug her mouth with a hoof.

"Her name's Pinkie Pie, sugarcube. Considerin' how y' acted th' last time she went off on 'er usual ramblin', Ah think that it'd be fer th' best if'n Pinkie here could slow down a little. Don't wanna git on yer nerves or anythin', y'know," Applejack mercifully supplied the Pink One's name and a warning to said brightly-colored, hyperactive demon from the depths of Hell.

Smart girl...or, mare, in this case.

"And my name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria! Nice to meet ya, big guy!" the cyan Pegasus - the last of the six normal-sized mares - introduced herself...by flying uncomfortably close to Richter and puffing out her chest in obvious pride or arrogance.

Richter took a small scooch back away from Rainbow, not feeling all that comfortable with the pegasus being so close to him and violating his personal space.

"And, as I stated previously, I am Princess Luna. Together with my sister, Princess Celestia, we rule over Equestria and all of our little ponies within it. These six mares are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and they have saved the land of Equestria many times over," Princess Luna introduced herself last, bowing her head in greeting to Richter.

Richter slowly stood up and folded an arm across his chest such that his palm was facing upwards and pressed against thr opposite shoulder, then gave Princess Luna a polite, respectful bow at the hip to the royalty before him. If he was gonna be decked out in Elite Knight Armor, he might as well act the part of a knight.

"A...pleasure...Princess," Richter said, returning his arm and upper torso to their normal positions. "So...what now?"

The equines - ponies, he corrected himself internally - blinked, as if they hadn't thought that far ahead.

"...Well. Not leaving," Richter spoke up after a few moments of silence, noting with some relief that his vocal cords were already getting used to speaking again. "Bonfire...too important. Need it. Heals...me. Heals...all damage. Can't stray...far. Too risky."

"Oh...well, I...guess we'll come visit, then?" Princess Luna suggested somewhat awkwardly, clearly not having much experience with such a situation.

"Sounds good. Give warning, though. Hate surprises," Richter agreed, adding on the last bit with a pointed look in Pinkie's direction.

A gasp escaped the Pink One's mouth as she defied physics by floating upwards for the duration of said gasp, before falling back down to the ground, "How can you not like surprises?! Surprises make life so fun and exciting!"

"...Hate surprises. Of all kinds. Bad experiences," Richter reiterated with a firmer tone.

"Very well, then. We shall take our leave for now. We shall see you in the morning, once we've all had a good night's rest," Princess Luna spoke up before anything else could be said, turning around with a gesture to the Elements of Harmony to follow.

And one by one, they did, with Twilight being the last to go, giving Richter and the Bonfire he'd once again sat down at ome last glance before following after her friends.

Now alone once again, Richter was left with his thoughts and the crackling of the Bonfire.

And to be honest...he preferred it that way, at least for the time being.

He needed time to think.

Author's Note

Been a long fuckin while, huh?

To be honest, the only reason I even got around to finally finishing this chapter after so long of leaving it one-third completed is because of Timeless Celestial demanding I do it in a DM on Discord.

I lost interest in writing for FIMFiction due to college and other IRL shit, and I moved onto writing a multicross over on SufficientVelocity under the same username as I have here. That story is my current big project, and that took a higher priority than anything else.

So...yeah. Here's the newest chapter. Might work on the next one...sometime after this, or I might not.

Ignore my blasé and blunt attitude here, it's 12:50 at night and I'm fuckin' tired, and not thinking all that clearly.

So...yeah. Cya guys in the next chapter, whenever I get to it.