Lone wolf in Equestria

by Xinrick

Chapters

New friends and new enemies
Introspection and Introduction
Learning and Meetings
First Date and Elsewhere
Memories and Training
Learning new things
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Calm before the Storm
The Storm
Final Battle
Epilogue
A new start(redo)
Chapter 8

New friends and new enemies

”You shot my leg!”

”B-but...it’s a prop…”

”Mike...how did you do that?”

”T-take me away...I...I don’t want this...I don’t want to die…"

BANG

“GAH!” I bolted up, fully awake as I panted heavily from whatever the hell that was. “What...the hell…” I muttered, putting a hand up to my temple as I suddenly had a massive headache.

I got up, my spine popping in several places before I was back to full height. It was late afternoon. Meeting Genie was… stressful. I don't know what he is… but I don't like it. Me? The Hero? Yeah, sure…

"Back from the dead there already?" Lynette said, sitting on a stool by the door. "Surprised, it's only been six hours since morning.

“Hardy har…” I sighed out. “Nothing like having a nightmare out of nowhere…”

"Guess Genie triggered something on those locked away nightmares. Doing that is like taking a sledgehammer to a brick wall. It'll crack, bits and pieces leak through, and when it falls it will be loud and messy."

“Well...something for me was loud and possibly messy…” I said bitterly. “So...what’s on the docket today?”

"Well, it's still today, just later in it so… I'll just catch you up on what the Princesses and Twilight planned. We need to get to Stripper Pass to learn that move and we'll be flying by Zeppelin to get there. Sparkle and her friends will be accompanying us."

“Are there hookers?” I asked, considering the obvious joke on ‘Strippers Pass’.

"Considering we were already told it's a valley filled with category five hurricanes capable of stripping flesh from bone then turning said bones into shrapnel, doubtful."

“I’m sorry, they lost me the first time they brought it up.” I said. “But yeah, that sounds like a massive pain in the ass...so why are Purplesmart and the rest coming with us to this very dangerous pass?”

"Apparently one of Twilight's friends knows a Griffon in the area who can be a guide of sorts. As for the rest, well, Luna said it would be educational for them."

“Fair.” I shrugged. “So when are we taking the Zeppelin?”

"A few days. A week at most. Luna is concerned about when to expect an attack. Celestia thinks she's being paranoid, but I agree with Luna. If this is some… entertainment, for Demon, for Genie, it makes sense that soon we'll get attacked. I think that's what she meant when she said it would be educational for Twilight and them… they're all so… innocent. And reality is gonna crash and burn their whole worldview all too soon."

“Which begs the question...what will be causing these attacks?” I wondered.

"Exactly. So far it seems like our main enemies will be my old roommates and Luna's Nightmare. I doubt it will just be the three of them through. Odds are they'll either gather help or make it if Demon didn't hand them an army."

“Yeah...that’s not good…” I said worriedly. “That’s not good at all…”

The next day, I headed out into the Forest. It was mostly to patrol and keep an eye out for anything. Lilinette was keeping an eye back in town. This attack…

I turned, the sound of clapping was behind me. Looking I saw him. The Frowning masked bastard… Demon. "Smart move, I like it. Keeping on your toes for the inevitable."

“And what do you want?” I asked, putting my hand on the grip of my sword.

"Came to check on the horse I bet against." He said plainly, almost bored. "I have to say, I can see the potential, especially given those nasties I ripped out of your noggen."

“So you're the asshole that decided to rummage through my head.” I frowned, grabbing the handle of my sword as the area around us looked like it had an enormous pressure pushed onto it without crushing it.

"Heh, calm down. I only drop in your enemies, I ain't one myself."

“Then the better question is, why are you checking up on the guy you're betting against?” I asked. “Normally that would mean you're here to do something bad to me or the people I’m with to help the bet swing your way.”

"Ah, but my brother and I don't bet in coins or souls or even the lives we alter. We bet on the plot, the twists and turns and choices you will all make along the journey. I'm not here to sway the odds, I'm just here to meet my rival star of this drama."

“The only drama that would involve me is something to do with Lillinette, one of the ponies here trying to date me...or someone that’s not here.” I sighed out.

"Oh now, Don't be so humble. Besides, the best dramas cover far more than just romance. The only question is, will this become a grand tragedy, or the story of a rising hero? I am eager to see." Demon said as he began walking into the thicker of the bush around us.

“The fuck does that mean?” I asked as I rushed after him.

I cut through the bush he walked into, not seeing him. Shit!

I ran back to town. Thankfully, there wasn't anything wrong. It was all still normal. I sighed, feeling… good. Still, surprised he didn't lie...

“So...if romance isn’t the drama…” I sighed out. “Who’s going to die?” I wondered to myself bitterly, considering he talked about a ‘great tragedy’ and all great tragedy’s, just like family movies, start with a murder.

I chuckled a bit at that. Now I'm Deadpool? I went to get some food, needing to calm down.

There was several restaurants around here and the one I came across was… kinda like a Pony Burger King. Called Hay Burger. It smelled good.

"Well...never thought I'd try a burger made of hay before." I muttered to myself as I entered the place.

I ordered a small combo and after a bit of contemplation I took a bite. The burger thankfully wasn't hay, but tasted like… soybeans. The fries though we're a weird mix of hay and potatoes deep fried. At least the soda tasted like soda.

"Well...could be worse…" I muttered to myself.

Definitely needed to talk to Celestia or someone about our food situation… Spike at least had beans and such.

After that I headed off into town. Most of the locals didn't seem to give me much other than an occasional glance.

"What am I gonna do for a week?" I muttered, wondering if I should try and figure out my Hollow powers or not before we go skill hunting.

While I was lost in thought I didn't notice the Pegasus flying a bit too close to me and we bumped into one another. She looked up at me and… above me at the same time. Her mane was a bright blond and her coat was a light grey. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there." Her voice sounded… almost like Clare’s, only a bit higher pitched.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t paying attention.” I said nervously. “You okay?”

"Yeah, I'm fine. I bump into others all the time. And walls… trees… clouds. Oh! And a Piano once but I still don't know what that was doing in the sky?" She said with an almost childlike wonder.

“Sheesh, are you okay from all of that?” I asked nervously, wondering why she had such childlike wonder at bumping into so many things...and why is she so cute?

"Yeah, everything is good. Are you headed anywhere?"

“In a week, but today not really.” I said honestly. “Oh, I’m sorry, what’s your name ma’am?” I asked, cause even if I kind of wasn’t in the mood to talk...I couldn’t help myself.

"Ditzy Doo, but most everyone calls me Derpy." She said with a smile. I don't know why… but this one I can't help but like. Celestia and Luna. Eh, they're okay. Twilight, meh. Spike, I respect him… but this Derpy I like...

“Are you sure you want to be called Derpy?” I asked carefully.

"I don't mind, it's been my nickname since I was a filly. Do you wanna tag along with me Mister?"

“Sure.” I answered against my better judgement.

With a nod she started flying along as I followed. "So, what brings you to Ponyville mister…?"

“Starrk.” I said. “And...let’s just say I was dropped here.” I said carefully.

"Oh. Well, mind if I ask what kind of creature you are? You kinda look like a Minotaur, but you don't have any horns?"

“I’m…” I thought for a moment, wondering if I should just say ‘I’m a human’ or go with what I actually am. “I’m a human.”

"Ooh. Well, Starrk the Human, how long have you been in Ponyville?"

“A couple of days.” I said honestly.

"What do you think of our little town?"

“It’s...more welcoming than where I come from that’s for sure.” I said honestly.

"Are you going to be moving to town? Where are you staying now?"

“I’m staying with Twilight at the moment with my...little sister at the moment.” I answered.

"Oh. What's she like?"

“She’s…” I thought about Lilinette real quick. “While she cares about me and has good intentions...she’s a massive pain in the ass.”

"Sounds like your typical sibling then." She laughed. "My older brother was always a pain, but we looked out for each other in our own ways."

"Yeah." I nodded, trying my best not to melt at how cute this mare was. "Just wish she'd stop pile driving me in the stomach though. A guy likes his sleep."

"Heh, that's nothing. My brother and I would wake each other up in various other ways. I'd cannonball onto his back, he'd set off firecrackers under my pillow, I'd shove his head into a thundercloud, he'd turn my room into a frog farm, heh, it's a good thing Mom and Dad had good house insurance."

"Sounds like a fun time." I said honestly.

"Some of my best memories honestly. Second only to the ones with my own Dinky."

“Oh, you have a child?” I asked curiously.

She nods. "Yup. Dinky Doo Hooves. My world and nightmare…" She chuckled. "Definitely my foal… the trouble she gets into isn't too far off from what I did at her age."

“Sounds like a handful.” I said honestly. “Do you...have someone watching over her at the moment?” I asked.

"She's in school at the moment. But if you mean do I have a babysitter, my friend Carrot sometimes helps and her big sister Amethyst when she stops by and watches her from time to time."

“Then…” I didn’t know why I stopped myself from asking the obvious question...but seeing her innocent and happy eyes only reminded me of Clare…”Sounds like you got some good friends.”

"Heh, I did luck out."

“Yeah…” I sighed out. “So, what are you doing today?”

"Well, I was planning on just taking a fly around town, browsing some shops and maybe get lunch until Dinky gets out of school."

“Sounds like a simple enough day.” I said honestly.

"If you don't have anything to do either, maybe we can make a day of it?"

“I’d...I’d like that.” I said, finding her so weirdly like Clare I...I couldn’t not spend time with her.

With a nod she dropped herself to the ground and looked around. "Let's see here… how about a movie?" She motioned to a movie theater in the distance.

“What movies are even out?” I asked curiously. “Also...I didn’t know you had a movie theatre…”

"Well, there's Batmare, Twinx, and The Little Merpony." She listed off. Okay... two of those are spoof names of things I know...

“And...what the hell is Twinx? Cause two of those three sound familiar from where I come from.” I inquired.

"Twinx is more a movie for fillies. Little foal gets to become an alicorn and fight evil and such."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “So...Batmare?”

"Sure." She said with a nod.

We went to the movie theater and after getting our sodas and popcorn sat and watched the movie. It was interesting, not only the all female take on Batman, but it was well written.

When it was over Derpy and I left feeling it was time well spent. There was some time still before Dinky was going to get out of school, so we headed to the park. We sat at a bench and mostly just listened to the wind and the noise of the park. "This is relaxing." Derpy sighed with a smile.

“Yeah...it really is.” I nodded in agreement. “Didn’t expect to...have this nice of a day.”

"I'm glad I bumped into you, Mister Starrk." She said, giving me a warm smile.

“Too cute…” I playfully held a hand to my chest in pain.

She giggled. "So, Mister Starrk, would you like to do this again? Maybe I can even bring Dinky if you want. I think she'll like you."

“You sure? Wouldn’t your…” I trailed off nervously, not wanting to bring up a possibly bad thing here.

"My what?" She asked.

“Are you...dating someone or are you married to someone?” I asked nervously.

She shook her head. "Nope. Not married and I haven't really dated much."

“Then...uh…what about Dinky?” I asked carefully.

"What about her?"

I sighed out. “I’m sorry for asking but...who’s the father?”

"Don't know." She said, surprising me. "It was years ago, some friends and I went out clubbing after College finals were taken and passed to celebrate. At some point it all got fuzzy, little too much booze, l've always been a lightweight. A month after graduation, I discovered I'm pregnant. Didn't bother looking for the father, I was so hammered and frankly I doubt I could have even found them. So, I raised Dinky myself. Mom and Dad and my brother helped a lot in those early years but eventually I got enough saved up for a house here and we moved. Best thing really, Dinky being born a unicorn she can't live up in Cloudsdale."

“I...understand.” I nodded carefully, finding that a whole lot different than back home.

"She has asked a time or two, and I can see why. Almost all her classmates have both parents, so of course she wonders."

"And you think it's better not to look?" I inquired. "I'm sorry for asking these...sensitive questions."

"I dunno. I thought about it a few times but odds are, given how drunk I was, Dinky's father was either just as drunk as I was and also has no memories of that night, or was sober and saw me as an easy fling, and I don't want a stallion like that in my life. Either way he doesn't even know Dinky exists, and it's been ten years, so why bother."

"Good lord…" I muttered. "Your...very strong Derpy…" I said, knowing plenty of people that wouldn't have lasted as long as her, or hunted down the guy and tried to ruin his life.

She shrugged. "My parents thought that I was just being too nice or too foalish, but I've never regretted my choices. Sometimes I wish Dinky had a father figure, and while Time Turner tries, he's basically another foal at times… heh, uncle's can only do so much."

I have no idea what possessed me, but seeing this pony version of Clare…"I can help." I said readily, only to realize what I said. "Uh...never mind, I didn't say anything."

"Heh, do you wanna meet her?" Derpy asked. "The school is gonna let out soon, we can be there and greet her. I bet the other foals will wanna see you too."

“Works for me.” I nodded. “Would also help me learn the place better.”

"So you're gonna date the milf?" I nearly choked on my rice at Lilinette's words. "I mean, good for you for finally getting out there, and I wish I could say I didn't expect it. I know all your kinks after all…"

“Damn it…” I grumbled. “Listen…” I sighed out, rubbing my temples. “I don’t know...she’s really nice...and...honestly she reminds me of Clare…” I said honestly. “Which...both helps me...and hurts me a lot…”

"Hm… let me ask you a question." She started, taking a quick sip from her cup. "If this town got attacked, you'd defend it, right?"

“That’s my soon to be job after all.” I shrugged. “But...well I got powers now, might as well do some good with it.” I said, not sounding too invested in the ‘being a hero’ bit. “Also I live here, so might as well not be a dick.”

"But would you care?" That caught me off guard. "We aren't from here, their deaths, to us wouldn't hurt. Wouldn't mean much. But, form a bond, a connection, and the loss will hurt much worse, but, to prevent it, we'll fight harder, have a purpose. We can't be mercenaries, if this war is to be won… you have to reopen your heart to others, and I'll have to learn how myself."

“Are you sure?” I asked carefully, putting a hand to my chest where it barely touched the new hole I had. “It’s...quite a lot to ask for…”

"Your fear will hold you back. In case you didn't realize, this place isn't just where I got pulled out of your noggin so we can roleplay Bleach with super powers… this place is a fresh start, a second chance at life for you, and a first for me. We both deserve to take it, don't we?"

“Y-yeah…” I started. “It’s gonna be a pain in the ass though…”

"Mostly for you." I glared at her. "Am I wrong?"

“Doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at you.” I frowned. “So, while I was busy walking the town, did you figure out how to use any of our abilities?”

"No, I was busy trying this whole Friendship thing. I think I made one but I'm not sure, she's kinda an oddball."

“Who’d you make friends with?” I inquired.

"Little foal about my age… Twist, Yeah that's her name. Makes candy, oddly good candy."

“Oh yeah, I think I saw her hanging out with Dinky.” I said honestly. Huh, that's nice she- wait a moment… her age? Dinky and Twist can't be more than ten? “Hold on, you're ten years old?”

"Well, you were ten when I fully manifested, you are twenty one now so I'm eleven."

“Yeah...that sounds about right.” I nodded.

"Kinda weird to think about it… then again I guess that means the body I have is… age accurate?"

“Probably?” I said sheepishly. “Considering we’re...technically in ageless bodies at the moment it could mean anything at this point.”

"Huh… well, all that aside, when are you and Derpy hanging out again?"

“Tomorrow hopefully.” I said honestly.

"Gonna be a date or a date?"

“It’s going to be a normal date.” I told her. “We’re not gonna do…” I took a deep breath at what I actually just said. “We’re just friends at the moment…” I corrected, as I could practically feel myself turn red in embarrassment.

"At the moment huh?"

“Shut up.” I told her.

"All teasing aside, this is good for you. And hey, she's already a quadruped, do easy doggy style."

My groan was heard for miles…

I was by the Everfree, having seen nothing much aside from Timber Wolves and honestly they aren't that tough, takes a few hits to their weird magic heart things to kill but overall they stay dead after that.

“Well good to know that Iron Skin is a passive and not an active.” I muttered as I brushed away timbers from the Timber Wolves' failed attempts to claw or bite me.

"That is a useful skill." I turned, seeing a unicorn sitting a short distance away. She was pitch black, and had predatory eyes like sapphires and a dark navy blue mane.

I immediately drew my sword and pointed it at her. “Who are you, and what the hell are you doing here?” I asked carefully, feeling like this was a very dangerous being.

"I've never had a real name before, but when I was within my old host, the ponies of this world called me Nightmare Moon." She informed me with a simple, even tone. "You must be Starrk, correct?"

“And you shouldn’t be here.” I growled. “Either dead or locked up in some cage of light or something.”

“Thankfully to my new benefactor, I’m able to slip past my cage, not all of my power or being, but just enough to start walking the world again.” She explained to me simply, the ground she was standing on slowly decaying as if her mere presence was sucking the life out of it.

“Cause that makes sense…” I muttered. “So the hell are you doing here?”

"Teaching a lesson." She stated. "Something I learned from my failure, don't attack an enemy no matter how well you know them, at least, not without proper preparations. This is a lesson my two… subordinates require."

“What are you talking about?” I growled.

"My subordinates are… acquaintances of yours. You best make sure they don't make a mess."

“Where are they?” I asked quickly, hoping she didn’t send whatever the hell they wanted straight into town.

"The apple farm. That smaller one was there so odds are they'll be meeting one another soon enough. You best hurry along less you miss the reunion."

Nightmare could hear a strange static noise as I bolted straight to town. “Shit shit shit shit…” I repeated in panic, hoping no one’s about to get involved with those bastards.

As I arrived at the farm I saw the foals, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, and Twist, running from the trees. I ran into them and in a clearing next to an old treehouse, I spotted Lillinette clashing blades with two other… humans?

They looked like twins, one male, one female, both had curly brown hair, yellow eyes, and wore matching dress shirts and pants. Both also had the same skull mask deal as Linette, though not as covering. The man was using a halberd and the girl was using what looked like a hatchet as weapons.

“Dynamic Entry!” I shouted as I did a flying drop kick onto the man out of absolute nowhere. “Hope I’m not too late here.”

"Oh look, it's Coyote Starrk." The man laughed.

"He wishes." The woman chuckled. "Different face same head."

"Mike…" Linette spoke up. "It's them…"

“Yes...sadly…” I sighed out bitterly. “So how the hell did Faggoty Andy and On-The-Raggody Ann get here?”

“I’m not a part of a TFS reference you useless prick.” The man growled as he spat out a bit of blood.

“Then you aren’t as fun as you used to be.” I said sarcastically, pointing my sword at the two. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

"Same as her dipshit, smiles pulled us out and gave us to Demon. He gave us bodies and dropped us with Naggy Moon. Like we need to be told how to cause suffering." The woman… Just keeping their names as Ann and Andy, said.

“And it looks to me like she smacked you two upside the head hard enough for possibly doing something retarded.” I said, noticing the head wound on Ann which looked like a pretty bad bruise.

"She's strong, we'll give her that." Andy huffed as he stood back up. "But she lacks the… imagination you had, that we share." He grinned, Ann matching it as the two raised their weapons. "So much immitatable violence on T.V. and online these days. The question is, which to pick. After all…" The blades of his Halburd and her Hatchet suddenly glowed a sickly green. "You ain't the only one with powers chuckle fuck."

“Fuck…” I muttered, considering neither of us know how the hell to use our powers. “Alright, then let’s get on with it.”

The two charged. I took Andy while Linette took Ann. As we fought I managed to stay on the offensive. These two were sloppy but fast in their movements. Having Starrk's body gave me the physical requirements, but not the knowledge. I was able to block and dodge, and quickly noticed that the trees and ground their blade hit immediately began rotting away, as if time sped the clock til they were ash.

Not sure what that will do to me and frankly I don't wanna know.

“So far so good…” I muttered as I tried a feint attack against Ann, pretending to swing to her left side.

As she was about to counter, I pulled back, ready to thrust inwards. As I was about to stab into her stomach, suddenly a small creature jumped in the way. A Shadow?!

“The hell!?” I said in shock as I jumped back at whatever the hell this new thing was.

It was… something. Darkness like slime made up most of its body, the rest was bones of various animals all somehow melted and fused into a skeleton holding the dark ooze into a form.

"Heh, like them? So many uses for corpses." Ann stated, jumping back as multiple of these… things popped up. "By the dead they might be made, these little tricks are pure negativity given a physical form."

“Uh...huh…” I started. “Yeah that’s...that’s not a good thing.” I said carefully as I stabbed one of the shadows swiftly, hoping to kill it quickly.

It did die quickly, and I sighed from relief at that.

“Alright, that’s good to know.” I muttered as I tried to deal with the rest of these little bastards quickly.

These things were weird. They moved like they didn’t even have bones and while they clearly were not smart they had numbers. Lots of them were looking out of the spots where Ann and Andy struck. "How the Fuck did you even-" Lillinette said as she helped me hack away at the growing mass.

"Nifty little trick of ours, makes missing a hit not so bad." Ann said as she and Andy seemed to enjoy watching us fend the little shits off, barely.

“And here I thought you two enjoyed doing it yourself.” I started. “What? Too lazy to do your own jobs anymore, you have to let others do your job for you?”

"Unlike you, we have nothing to prove." Andy said. "But if you insist." He chuckled, his Halburd glowing with a pitch black aura as he rushed in at me.

Me and my big mouth!

"Fine, a cathartic beating it is…" I muttered as I took a deep breath and felt my power surge a bit, using Sonido to bolt towards Andy faster than he could react.

With a swift uppercut, literally, I knocked him back, slamming into Ann as he now spotted a large gash in his torso that slowly healed. "Why you little-" Andy started, he and Ann trying to get up but we're quickly both impaled by Linette's sword, the weapon pinning them to the ground as she quickly kicked their weapons aside.

"Bitch!" Both Ann and Andy yelled at her.

"Not gonna deny it." Linette shrugged.

"Who's useless now fuckface?" I taunted.

"Still you." They both said in unison. Shit that's actually creepy.

"I believe that is a lesson learned." We turned, spotting Nightmare standing a bit away. Lillinette's sword was wrapped in a dark blue magic and pulled out of the two before dropped. "Come now you two, you have embarrassed yourselves enough for today."

"Oh no you don't." I growled as I dashed towards Nightmare and swung at her.

My sword stopped just an inch from her neck. Her eyes closed, I saw a pure black tendril stretch from.her back, around the blade of my sword and hold it. I tried to move and pull it but it was like trying to move a brick wall. The tendril then rapidly threw my sword and myself into Lillinette, like tossing a pebble into the water. When the dust settled there was quite the noticeable crater.

"Come now you both, maybe now you'll both learn something without causing a mess."

Ann grumbled, getting up while Andy spat. "Fine…" He huffed.

"Ow…" I groaned. "This sucks…" I grumbled as I got up.

Ann and Andy got on either side of Nightmare, who then looked over at me as if looking completely uncaring of my existence. "A forewarning, young Mike," My eyes went wide when she said my actual name. "The next time you see these two, and the creatures we fabricate, blood will be spilled."

"How the hell do you know my name?" I asked, knowing Nightmare shouldn't know.

Ann and Andy both proceeded to both flip me off. Right…

"Til the next encounter." Nightmare started, her horn lighting up as she, Ann and Andy were now gone.

"Well all three of them can sit on a barb wire pike…" Linette groaned as she stood, popping her back.

"That we can both agree on." I nodded. "But glad I can use an ability...kind of."

"So, scale one to ten how strong was she cause given you couldn't free your sword… and this hole she used us to make…" I sighed, taking a good look at the crater we were now in. It was easy six or seven feet around and just as deep.

"Probably a six, cause even with her throwing me into you and made this crater, neither of us got hurt because of it." I said honestly. "Maybe a seven."

"You assume she didn't hold back." She added. I frowned at that… she has a point, she didn't even really react when I attacked her either… in fact she looked impassive, almost bored.

"I'll give her an eight or nine then." I answered. "But this sucks royally."

"That aside, thought I'd show you something, before something else happens."

“What up?” I inquired.

"Think I found someone… like Demon and Genie."

“Christ…” I groaned. “What did they look like?”

"You best see for yourself." Linette said, walking me back into town. We arrived at a bar and upon entering I noticed three things. One, this bar was empty save for two people. And I mean People. The barkeep, and one guy seated at an out of place cards table. The barkeep was… a barkeep, like the typical ideal fifties barkeep with a bit of a tavern owner twist.

“Seems...a little strange this place is empty.” I started.

I looked over at the card table. This man was dressed in an all purple tuxedo and capped off with a purple top hat. He lifted his… holy fuck it's just an undead skeleton, his eyes glowed with a similar purple light to his attire.

"Welcome to the Nameless Bar." The Barkeep said. "Just call me Barkeep."

“And...are both of you the same as Genie and Demon?” I asked. “Cause I don’t ever remember this bar being here in town before and...well this place feels a lot different then what I’ve gotten used to in Equestria.”

"He is, I'm just along for the ride and the free advertising." I raised a brow at that, but headed over to the skeleton man.

“Hi there.” I said carefully to the skeleton man.

"Hey there stranger." He replied. I felt like he was smiling at us. "Nice to finally meet Demon and Genie's newest project. The name is Voodoo."

“So what brings you to this little corner of the world?” I asked curiously, wanting to get straight to the point here.

"Simple. You met the good." He threw down some cards, an image of Genie, myself and Linette were in each one. "The bad." He tossed some more, these displayed Demon, Ann, Andy and Nightmare. "Now meet the neutral, the one who will help either side just because I feel like it. Play my games and you can get stronger, faster, but can you handle the stakes?"

“That depends on the stakes.” I said honestly. “Cause if it’s fair stakes then maybe...but who’s the ‘Ugly’ in this analogy?” I asked carefully.

He simply placed one card down, flipping it over showed the image of a woman, skin as pale as death, eyes fogged and hair as black as the void and wet, clinging to her neck and shoulders like paint. "Her name is Pain, but don't worry, she's not in this game."

“What? Did the tape get destroyed?” I joked, considering she kind of looked like a short haired version of the girl from The Ring.

"Because if she did, odds are, a few thousand would be dead by now." He sighed. A shiver went down my spine as he did, as if… "Demon may play for the bad side, but Pain… she embodies a world's End Times. She loves to make Heroes lives pure hell."

“Then who’s keeping them on a leash?” I asked worriedly.

I then proceeded to feel a small tug on my pant leg and…”Lily…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you...seeing what I’m seeing?”

“A group of adorable chibi anthro’s? Yes...yes I am.” Lillinett nodded carefully, seeing a chibi wolf with a white cloak on, a chibi pony naga, an extremely floofy Wolf like chibi naga, a...familiar green chibi unicorn, a tiny chibi hooded person, their hooded cloak was all black, and lastly small chibi red eyed angel.

“They're all so adorable…” I commented, before seeing the small group move around me and hop onto the seats. “So uh...who are these adorable folks?”

"The ones holding the leashes." Voodoo said with a chuckle. "Looks aside, before you is a group of just a few of the most powerful beings in all of existence."

“And yet why do I have a feeling you’re related in some way?” I asked, only for the wolf to turn around and pull out a sign.

Spoilers, someone will figure it out but not now

“Works for me.” Lillinette said. “And...seriously you're all too adorable!” The young arrancar couldn’t help but squeal a little at how adorable they were.

"Now then, consider this bar a form of… neutral territory. You can't fight here, can't even draw your swords." Voodoo stated. "It's open to allies and enemies alike, and all can enjoy a drink or play a game and see about putting the odds in their favor."

“Good to know.” I nodded. “And hey, maybe we can learn something about Nightmare if she ever comes here and get’s drunk given she’s the only bad guy I don’t loathe with my entire being.”

"So, why are they all chibi if they're so all powerful?" Lilinette asked.

The floofy wolf naga raised a sign.

Retired. Mostly we just try and have fun these days.

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “Will we be seeing you more?”

The wolf wrote on their sign and brought it up.

More or less. Won't do all that much though.

"So what will you do?" Lilinette asked.

They all wrote on their signs, the replies ranged from 'act cute' to 'show off' and the hooded one actually wrote 'fuck with time.' The little angel one actually wrote 'drink.'

‘Author’s notes sometimes’ was the wolf’s and seemed pretty important.

“Well...alrighty then.” I nodded.

"So, what now? We just… wait around til we head off and come here when or if we want?" Lilinette asked.

"Pretty much." Voodoo said.

"So… can we do anything before we head off?"

"If you wish, just play the game and see the rewards. If you get any."

“And what game do you have in mind? Cause it looks like you’ve got a full play group here.” I asked.

"The games I offer go far more than simple cards child, be it strategy or strength, the games I offer are as varied as the colorful cast of ponies outside."

"Neat."

"So, what now then?" Lilinette asked me.

“Well…” I started. “What kind of game would we need to play for some information on a specific person? Like say…an Arrancar on this planet?” I asked carefully. “Cause for some reason...I keep having this weird feeling that there’s something else out there, watching me...and I especially got that feeling after fighting Andy and Ann.”

"For information, the game is simple, and quite entertaining." Voodoo said as he held a hand out to the floofy wolf naga. "May I?"

Nodding, the wolf naga held out a hand, forming from small specs of light that flowed from their hand, a blue card formed that Voodoo took. He then handed me the card. "Here. Take this card and head somewhere remote. It won't be too strong, and we'll know when, or if, you beat it."

I was going to ask but saw the small green unicorn smacking an old 90's box TV, the thing flashing on and… now showed the room… with all of us… I then began looking for the camera.

“Where the hell…” I muttered as I heard a smack on the table, looking over I saw the chibi wolf put down something on the table with the sign ‘bet’s on Mike winning’.

"So… wait, Demon and Genie did this for entertainment… for themselves or for you?" Lilinette asked.

The hooded one lifted a sign. It said 'both' on it.

“You must be...really bored in retirement.” I started.

The grey naga raised a sign. ‘Tell me about it’ was written.

"So, what do we get out of this, for being this… your entertainment?" Lilinette said, making me wonder as well.

“Yeah...cause if ‘the hero's journey’ is your entertainment...what’ll happen after we’re done?” I asked, finding that a bit more concerning that we might just vanish when they're all done with their ‘entertainment’.

They all shared a look, each giving Lilinette and I a small grin as they raised their signs. 'Freedom.'

I blinked at that. “Uh...not the answer I was expecting…

"What does that even mean?" Lilinette asked.

The floofy wolf naga held up a sign. 'Spoilers.'

“Alright...so might as well ask, what is the floofy wolf naga called?” I asked. “Cause I’ve never heard of a floof wolf snake before.”

"Actually her race is an interesting crossbreed. Part Dire Wolf, part Equine Naga. They're known as Floof Noodles and are a surprisingly interesting and versatile species." Barkeep spoke up.

I snorted. “Floof Noodles?”

‘It was a cute joke name, but the world thought otherwise’ the Wolf’s sign said.

“Well...the name works.” I shrugged.

"Now the question I've been wondering, and I bet Mike has too." Lilinette started, walking over to the wolf and the pony naga. "Can we pet you?"

The wolf gave an adorable chuckle and raised a sign. ‘All you had to do was ask.’

With that, Lilinette gave the two some head and ear scratches. The two were enjoying the affection like, well, pets.

“Absolutely adorable.” I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable it was.

After that Lilinette and I headed off. I looked at the blue card and frowned, wondering what it was… or whatever is in it as we headed for some fields near the Everfree's border.

"So, are you going to want help in fighting… whatever is in that card or?" She asked as we reached the fields, a good mile and a half from town.

“They didn’t say I had to fight it alone so I’d appreciate the help Lillinette.” I said honestly. “So the big question is...what the hell are we gonna summon with this card?”

"Maybe a monster? Or something similar?" She shrugged. "Won't know just holding it.

“Well...kind of wish they told me how to summon the thing.” I frowned. “But...might as well try something.” I said as I threw the card out towards a clearing, thinking it would softly land and summon a thing.

As it landed there was a sudden pool of… just, darkness that flowed out like a liquid ooze that soon formed a fair sized circle on the ground. After a moment something began rising out of it. First one hand, then two, and it pulled itself out of the darkness.

It was a near identical silhouette of me, the old me, holding Starrk's sword, or a black silhouette version of it and as it stood up and out if the circle, the pool evaporating behind it, the thing raised the sword and pointed it at me. It's eyes were only seen by their red glow.

"Okay… that's concerning." Lilinette said as she took out her sword.

“Uh...huh…” I started, pulling out my sword as well. “Didn’t expect to fight a shadow clone of myself...it could have been worse but this is still gonna be a pain in the ass.”

As Lilinette and I circled the copy of my former body it's gaze seemed to shift between the two of us. I didn't like that, it's assessing the situation… it's thinking.

“I don’t like this…” I muttered, but knowing I was gonna have to make a move so I dashed in and swung my sword at it.

It ducked, wrapping an arm around mine and twisting it. As I was ready to kick it off me, Lilinette rushed in to swing, but it rapidly let go and dodged. It landed several feet from us and now seemed to be preparing an attack.

"Alright...this thing is smarter than it looks." I said, preparing to use Sonido to try and dodge it's attack.

It rushed in, I quickly used Sonido to dodge-

I felt the jab in my side hit hard. Lilinette rushed in and she and the thing clashed swords as I hit the ground. It used a feint attack?!

"Damn it…" I groaned as I checked my side to see if it was bleeding.

Thankfully not, it was just sore. He must have kicked me over slicing me.

“Hopefully it was a cut cause if it is then my Hierro might still be really good.” I muttered, hoping my Iron Body was good enough. “Alright...so this thing is smart, has an idea what it’s doing...shit…”

When it fought Lilinette I tried to attack it from behind but it managed to dodge or counter with a parry before my attack could hit. Even with the both of us? I need a strategy, some kind of advantage. Odd though, it hasn't tried to directly attack us.

“Something’s weird here.” I muttered, trying to figure out why it wasn’t trying to attack. “Lillinette, pull back a bit.”

She did, the two of us were a bit away from it now and it stood there, sword ready but not moving. Something was off…

“So either this creature fight’s through counters or something else.” I frowned. “What did you get from it Lily?”

"It could just be on the offensive. It hasn't done much aside from a kick or punch and it's only using it's blade to deflect, parry or block. It can clearly fight, and well. It's testing us. Neither of us can land a hit, even when ganging up on it, so maybe we need to try and either out power it or hit it with something unexpected."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “Hmm...something unexpected…” I said while looking down at Lillinette carefully.

"What are you thinking?"

“Something unexpected.” I started as I reached over and picked Lillinette up by the scruff of her outfit. “Just take a deep breath, and don’t panic.”

“Don’t you fucking daaAAAAAA!” Lillinette started to scream as I chucked her as hard as I could at the shadow as I dashed behind her, hoping to cut down the thing’s legs while it was dealing with a flying ten year old.

The thing did seem taken by surprise by this, Lilinette slamming into the confused shadow person head first as I rushed in immediately and struck the tip of my sword into its head, feeling it slide through and out the back into the ground.

"I will have my revenge…" Growled Lilinette.

“It worked didn’t it?” I asked. “Plus it was your suggestion.”

"That didn't mean throw me- wah!" We both jumped as the shadow man immediately raised up, knocking us both back as it's forehead hit the hilt of my blade and popped the tip out of the ground.

Lilinette and I both took steps back as it stood, an almost faded white liquid was leaking from the entrance and exit wounds on its head. Slowly, it raised it's sword at me.

"Okay, the Fuck is this thing?!" Lilinette screamed as the thing seemed to shift. Gone was that complex analytical look in the orbs that passed for its eyes, but replaced by the pale glow of something… dead...

“What the hell is going on?” I asked worriedly, raising my arms up to protect myself.

Reaching it's free hand, it pulled my sword from it's head, tossing it at my feet.

I picked it up, and the thing began shaking, it's head seemed to… evaporate, leaving behind just a skull with the same pale glowing eyes, the hole where my blade entered, darkness pouring out, filling it until a reptilian eye opened from it. It then raised it's sword and rushed us. Shit, it's attacking now?!

“Oh come on!” I snapped as I blocked the sudden swing. “Seriously, the fuck is this thing?”

"Probably should have asked that before." Lilinette said as she raised to meet it, blocking with her blade and sending her skidding across the ground a few feet. "That hurts… way more than I imagined…" She winced, falling to her knees and rubbing her feet.

Rapidly, I tried to attack it. To my surprise I hit it, and it replied by cutting me across my torso. Fuck, it's not dodging any more at all! This a berserker thing? Probably…

I felt along the cut, or where one should be. I felt the burning but thankfully there was no blood or wound at all.

“So...strong enough to hurt like a bitch, but weak enough to not cut my skin...good to know.” I muttered. “Gonna need new clothes if this doesn’t regenerate though…” I grumbled as I dodged the next thing’s swing and slashed into it again.

The gash I left on its side was large… and to my horror, two arms sprouted from it and grabbed me.

Oh, yeah, sure, I didn't need sleep tonight anyway. Fuck nice dream, nightmares work just as fine!

Lilinette jumped in, cutting the two sprouted limbs off and freeing me. As we both backed up the thing gave a whale of… it was like the scream of a purely mindless beast, and it turned it's sword on itself, giving itself deep gashes where tendrils, hands, even a few mouths and arms popped out along it's body.

Yup. Who needs a good months sleep.

"Now I'm gonna need therapy…" Lilinette muttered.

“Okay, fuck this.” I said as I pointed my sword at it and tried to focus whatever spiritual energy I’ve been producing on accident into a sphere. “Come on...just give me this once...even if it’s a fluke…” I muttered. “I know it’s a lot, but I’m gonna need you to distract it for me.”

“It better not be for five minutes asshole.” Lillinette growled, only to see the sphere starting to grow at the tip of my blade.

“Give it two minutes and I’ll ask Derpy out on a date like you wanted alright?” I asked her.

"... Well, alright." She shrugged, taking a step forward.

The thing immediately went for her and Lilinette was keeping on the offensive, slicing off the spare limbs it grew and avoiding the sword and still remaining ones.

I could feel this little sphere I made gaining… energy? It felt like I was trying to compact the energy inside it and keep it's small form. Like trying to pack away trash that's overflowing.

“Do do do do do do, mahna mahna, do do do do, mahna mahna, do do do do do, do do do, do do do, do do and I’mma charging my attack…” I hummed to myself.

“I hate you so much Starrk!” Lillinette shouted at me as she dodged a swing from one of it’s arms. “Any day now!”

“Just…a little more…” I muttered as I felt it pile in more and more. “Gonna suck for the surrounding forest though….” I muttered. “Get clear!” I shouted as Lillinette vanished. “Cero!” I shouted as I fired off a powerful beam of energy towards the raging beast.

Lilinette dodged it as the attack landed home.

When it ended all that was left were the legs and lower torso. It took a step forward. "Nope!" Lilinette yelled as she rushed in and hacked the remaining half in prices until the last of the beast was small chunks that began evaporating.

“Okay...is it finally dead?” I asked worriedly.

"It better be!" She huffed.

“Can we get some confirmation from our cosmic watchers or something?” I called out, hoping one of them would pop up and explain things.

When nothing happened, Lilinette and I walked back to the bar, entering and walking up to the floof noodle. Heh, can't say that without cracking a smile.

“So we killed...whatever the hell that thing was.” I said honestly.

They nodded.

"And what the Fuck was that thing?" Lilinette asked.

Snapping their fingers, a slip of paper appeared that Lilinette took and we both read.

Name: Silhouette Beta
Race: [Spoilers]
Class: Undead/Berserker

The Silhouette Beta starts off as a perfect reflection of a person's mimicking their combat style, abilities and even power. Once killed it revives as an undead with a berserker attribute. It will most often force 'heal' wounds by growing spare limbs and appendages from the injured areas. It will often deform itself intentionally to try and gain the advantage. A Silhouette Beta must be completely destroyed in order to kill it. Leave even a limb and it will self revive.

"Right~..." I started carefully. "Well...at least it's dead, we saw it disintegrate after Lillinette chopped it to pieces after I blasted it in half."

"And for killing it, you get your information." Voodoo said. I felt his… 'grin' widen as he looked at me. "You get three questions, three answers."

“Is there an Arrancar, or some equivalent to it, other than me and Lillinette on this world?” I asked carefully, making sure my wording was correct so he wouldn’t just point at me and say ‘there you go’.

"Why yes, several, actually. One will be… an adversary, the rest, teachers."

“Where would these beings be located?” I asked carefully.

"One is within the Griffon Kingdom. One is within the Zebra lands, One is within the Dragon Lands, one is within the Badlands, and the last is far in the frozen north."

“Good to know.” I nodded. “Any questions Lillinette before I ask the third one?” I asked my technical little sister.

"Hmmm…" She hummed in thought, this was our last question so, she should get it if she wants. "What do we call you? All you… Chibis?"

They all looked at one another, contemplating the question.

They all took a moment before bringing up signs that said their names. "Princess the wolf, Crescent the naga, Fluffy the Floof Noodle, Kinky the Unicorn, Red Eyes White Angel, and Kronos...sounds simple enough." I named off. "Sounds simple enough."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Lilinette said, giving Princess and Fluffy ear scratches, the two enjoying the affection. "Hehe, for some all powerful beings, you're all just too cute… save for Kronos there…"

Kronos raised a sign. Wasn't trying to be cute. It read.

"And should I ask why your cloak looks...weirdly familiar?" I asked Kronos.

He flipped the sign around. Nope. It read. The others all rolled their eyes but went about the bar.

"Alrighty then." I nodded. "Well it's a good or...possibly bad thing we're heading to the griffon kingdom soon."

"Guess you'll see when you arrive then." Voodoo stated as he flipped through his cards.

I sighed, worried about what's to come.

The day the Zeppelin arrived was an interesting one. Twilight and her friends, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie,Applejack, and Spike all joined Lilinette and I on this journey. Luna explained to me that this trip was going to break them, and their view on how the world is.

Luna was definitely more… serious, than her sister or any of these ponies really. The only one of them here with any experience in loss is Applejack, and she never actually saw her parents pass, they were just swept away by the river after an old bridge gave out and no bodies were ever recovered.

"This is gonna be a really annoying trip if Luna is saying this crap…" I sighed out.

“It’s not going to be too bad.” Shining Armor, Twilight’s brother and former royal guard captain, told me.

“Says the former guard captain that was brought onto this venture with a squad of Royal Guard and three Elite soldiers, plus a pretty great zeppelin captain.” I brought up. “At least Luna wanted to take this seriously…”

“I will admit, dragging me all the way from the Crystal Empire to do guard duty is a change, plus some of Luna’s own special soldiers as well?” Shining said. “Seem’s a bit much, even for Stripper’s Pass.”

"Whatever the case, better to over prepare then under prepare." Lilinette said as she headed inside the airship.

With everyone onboard, the Zeppelin headed off and Lilinette and I were in our own room. It would be a days journey so we were mostly just-

Poke

I turned, seeing Princess, Fluffy and Crescent next to me on the couch.

“And what are you three doing here?” I asked the three chibi’s. “Thought you be enjoying blackjack with hookers Voodoo brought in?” I mentioned, given that the witch doctor sounding skeleton was...dressed like a pimp I kind of assumed.

Fluffy raised an eyebrow at that but they shook their heads.

Crescent pulled out a notebook and wrote down in it.

We lost a bet with Kinky.

Princess sighed while Fluffy Facepalmed.

"What was the bet?" Lilinette asked.

“Was this a different bet than what you put on me?” I asked, and when Princess nodded I frowned. “Okay...what in the world did she ask for?”

Crescent was writing something out but Fluffy took the notebook, flipped the page and wrote something out and had us read it.

The short answer is that, basically, we're your and Lilinette's pets. Until you two either pass or obtain Freedom.

“So...until we finish our journey, you're gonna be here with us always?” I tilted my head.

Princess brought out their own sign and raised it. Unless I need to go out and do some quick author note style things.

Sighing, Fluffy wrote out some more.

And when we say pets… we mean… pets.

With that read I noticed Fluffy had a collar on, their name on the tag as did Princess, though she blushed and seemed to grumble at that find. Crescent though seemed to display hers with eagerness and pride. That earned a chuckle from Fluffy.

"Huh… so I take it Kinky is more than just a name for that one then?" Lilinette asked.

Each one raised a sign, all three said the same thing.

You have no idea.

“Well...hopefully she won’t try and...do weird thing’s with my love life.” I said as I softly pet Princess.

She’ll try. Princess’s sign read.

“Right then…” I sighed out. “So...what can you three tell us while you're here considering Kinky did a thing?”

Fluffy wrote some things down.

Well, as per the bet, we are your pets. And as such… we will do whatever you define as a pet can do, within reason. For example you can't ask us to give you new powers or anything but we can do things like heal you after a battle and even help a little in training.

Crescent then took the notebook and was writing out stuff with a big grin and made Princess blush and grumble while Fluffy rolled their eyes.

And as per being your pets we are required everything a pet gets. Food, water, walks, scratches, cuddles, baths and we'll even do tricks.

Princess took the notebook and rapidly wrote out.

As you can see, she enjoys this kind of thing. A lot.

“I mean...there’s nothing wrong with cuddles.” I said honestly. “So...about training...to what degree are we talking about?”

Fluffy took the notebook back and began writing.

Given that we can't be hurt by anything here, you can feel free to use an attack on us and we can pull up a score on a scale of one to ten. I guess given this world we might be able to help you learn magic but that's optional. Lastly we could upgrade you and your gear but that will cost you. Both bits and raw materials but we can tell you where said materials will be or can be found.

"So you turned an anime into an RPG?" Lilinette asked.

Like most animes don't have an RPG game out there?

"Fair point."

“So you know how the hell I can use my Hollow powers.” I said.

Princess took the board this time and wrote down on it. We can only help you figure out the main powers you already know how to kind of maybe do, the rest you’ll have to find your teachers for.

“Well...that works I suppose.” I shrugged.

Before I could say more, Crescent suddenly tackled into my chest, nuzzling me like an overly affectionate cat… wait is she purring?!

Fluffy and Princess simply face palmed. Clearly, she really does enjoy being a pet...

“Ehem…” We heard someone say to catch our attention.

“Oh, sorry.” I said nervously, softly petting Crescent still as I looked over to see who wanted our attention, and it was one of the elite royal guard, Cherry Soda. The Pegasus mare was giving us a raised brow at the scene before her. “Uh...it’s a little complicated...but I now have adorable pets, and this one specifically loves cuddles.”

"I can see… so, I can see you're all settling in well. Once we arrive at Griffinstone we'll be there for a few weeks so you can learn this special attack thing and make some trade with the locals."

“By the way, what is Griffonstone like?” I inquired.

"You want the official information or the honest information?" She asked.

“Both would be good just to have a general thought on it.” I answered.

"Alright. Here's the official one. Griffinstone and it's surrounding territories are an empire predating Equestria. Their military has always been on par with the Pegasi even back when the three tribes were divided and our alliances with them has led to faster trade routes to the Zebra lands and we are honored to be allies with them."

“And honest information is that it’s a massive shit show or something?” I asked. “Somehow even though it predated Equestria?”

"They haven't had an actual, legal government for five hundred years, the royal bloodline has long been lost to the common folk and the whole 'kingdom' looks like a gentle breeze could collapse the whole city and the kingdom of Equestria should either cut it lose or annex it to at least make use of the high altitude for weather production or the mountains for mining."

“The hell happened?” I asked, honestly flabbergasted at how it fell to shit that hard and never recovered.

"Griffons are a unique race, they are probably the only species that can give a dragon a run for their horde on Pride and Greed. Their royal family was special in that they managed to rally their kind under a unified banner thanks to a silver tongue and an ancient idol, this magic artifact allowed their King to reach past the greed and pride and touch their hearts and implant unification, honor, and respect. Five hundred years ago a beast rampaged into their kingdom and stole the idol away. With the idol gone their old nature resurfaced. Kingdom went to shit, Royal Family basically dethroned overnight, and the once mighty Griffon empire fell into the hobble of greed and crime it is today."

“And how has...literally anyone with half a brain decided to just commit a hostile takeover?” I asked. “Now I don’t know how strong griffons are, but when the common race is a lion and an eagle, they would be very dangerous to fight against.”

"Two reasons. One, the mountains make the majority of land bound races difficult to invade as is. Second, the Abysmal Abyss. It's a ravine going from the top of the Mountain to the ground level and surrounds the mountain Griffinstone is built on. It makes land invasion even more impossible and air invasion difficult as the air currents are too strong, even for the griffons. The winds are fed by Strippers Pass so it's also why the wind there never dies down. Only way is to fly over, a height no Pegasi can reach without passing out from the G-force or lack of air, or the we cross the bridges. We'll land a mile or two from the main trail and walk the rest of it."

“Alright.” I nodded. “And...you never said anything about teleportation which magical beings clearly can do.” I said, having seen Twilight and a few others teleport.

"Ever hear of Black Iron?" I shook my head. Cherry Soda reached a wing into her saddle bags, pulling out a small ring as black as coal. "This is a Black Iron ring. It's a unique metal that can nullify all but three types of magic. Griffinstone was built atop the largest deposit of black iron in any nation. And to as for why those three types aren't used, well, one is chaos magic and only insane creatures and monsters can use it. Then there's Necromancy but that doesn't have a… rapid teleportation spell. The last type of magic that can be used near Black Iron is passive magic. This is the magic that let's me fly or an earth pony grow trees from saplings in the span of a week when it would take years in nature. And no passive magic exists that can teleport."

“Alright, that makes sense.” I nodded. “Well that also helps explain that our powers will still be usable.”

"Yeah. Part of why the only unicorns coming along are Captain Armor, his sister and Rarity."

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So...might as well ask, what’s Luna so worried about?” I asked the Elite. “Cause she seemed...pretty adamant that something bad is gonna happen.”

"Well, given you two have her clearance, there's no harm in telling this. It's a little known fact but the Princesses are actually part Oracal."

"Part?" Lilinette asked.

"Well, if you believe the legends, their Mother was the Goddess of creation and their Father was the God of Time. But the point is they can… sense certain events. For Celestia, she can sense the coming of prosperity, bountiful years for harvest and even where certain locations will have significance or if a pony will become someone who changes the world. She doesn't see it, but she can feel it and that feeling has never been wrong. Princess Luna on the other hoof, is the opposite. She can sense impending doom, coming eras of despair and even where somepony will eventually die tragically or even sense when a pony is approaching their death. Like night and day, two sides of the same coin. Luna has only been back from her… 'vacation' for little over two years but in the time I've seen her have these sensations, they too have the same accuracy as Celestia."

“Fantastic…” I sighed out. “This is gonna be even better than I first thought…” I said sarcastically.

"Did they sense anything about us?" Lilinette asked.

"They both did, and that's only happened five times, according to them." Soda explained.

“Cause good never goes unpunished for some reason.” I sighed out. “Just…” I shook my head. “Do you fear Death?” I asked Cherry carefully, knowing one thing that could break this candy colored facade is a corpse.

"No." She stated plainly, surprising me.

“That’s...I know you're an Elite but...didn’t expect you to say that.” I answered.

She smiled, sitting down and removing her armor. "Two years ago, I would have said yes, or had no answer. The Princesses are two sides of the same coin. Of course, everyone associates Princess Celestia with the day, life and all that. And for good reason. So that puts Princess Luna,"

"As Night, Darkness… and Death?" Lilinette asked.

Nodding, Cherry Soda pulled off her chest plate. Splitting her fur down was a large scar… "When she returned, she offered all the elite the right to prove we are worthy of the title of an Elite guard. So, I and a dozen or so others all went through the ancient rite Luna used to have those who wanted to be elites. We were tied to a table, awake and conscious Luna herself removed our hearts. Every cut we felt, and when the pain ended, we died. I saw what comes after, Mr. Starrk, Miss Lilinette. When I woke back up, not only did I feel different, but I no longer feared dying. My heart was returned, stronger, augmented."

"... Jesus Christ…" Lilinette said.

Fluffy, Princess and Crescent all nodded in agreement.

“Uh...huh…” I held Crescent a little tighter. “That’s...quite a thing…”

She began putting her armor back on. "Princess Luna is many things Mr. Stark. Calculating, intense, wrathful, but despite all her sins, despite all she is capable of… she wants to use it to protect innocent lives. There's an old saying she told me once. The idea of an honorable knight who defends the weak with grace and mercy is a fantasy. If one wishes to fight monsters, then one must become a monster themselves."

“If only you people knew the half of it…” I muttered to myself. “Well...good to know...and I believe your fellow Elite’s are the same way?”

"There are fifty elite guards in Canterlot. Of them Twelve accepted Luna's offer, of the twelve, four actually went through with it. Myself and the other three are still Elite Guards. Luna refers to the four of us as The True Elites. To the others, we are known as the Undead Sentinels. Little nickname that sprouted up from it."

“I can imagine.” I said honestly. “Geeze...learn something new everyday.”

"So… what did you see, when you were… dead?" Lilinette asked.

"Well, if I told you that, then would you even believe me? The only way to know if what I saw was true or not, is to see for yourself." She said, finishing reattaching her armor and standing. "Is there anything else you two need before I leave to make my rounds?"

“Um…” I thought for a moment. “Have you heard any reports of a being that seems...out of place in the Griffon Kingdom? Like something that’s even more out of place than your average magical creature?”

"Dunno. Most reports from there talk about the rip off taxes and such. Even if something abnormal moved in they wouldn't care."

“Damn…” I muttered. “Alright, thank you.”

"No problem." With that she left.

"She was an interesting pony." Lilinette said, giving Princess an ear scratch the small wolf soon accepted as she laid down across Lilinette's lap.

“Well...looks like you three are probably gonna need to help us take care of the group if their worldview is gonna shatter like that.” I said, still holding my naga buddy.

As time went on Crescent was basically more cat than tiny naga, even wrapping their tail half around my arm and cuddling my hand. Princess just enjoyed laying across Lilinette's lap while being pet and scratched. Fluffy read a book while coiled up on the couch arm rest.

“This is nice.” I said softly, having a moment where I’m not concerned about anything, I’m not thinking poorly about anything...and just enjoying a moment.

"So, I noticed that it looked like all of you back at the bar were female." Lilinette said. "And are you all… together?"

Fluffy looked up from their book, nodding and quickly brought out a notebook and wrote something out.

Actually we're both genders, we just appear female since apparently once you reach godhood and above, Hermaphrodite becomes a sorta default gender but we can be male or female or both whenever. We just stick with the default one cause we're used to it by now.

Princess brought out their sign. Also having big titties you can squeeze whenever you want is always a plus.

“Well...can’t argue with that logic…” I said carefully.

Crescent seemed to pur a bit before taking out her own sign. Yeah. If you saw us in our actual forms you'd be a needing to put your junk in a wheelchair.

“I kinda doubt that.” I said honestly.

Wanna bet?

I looked over at Fluffy and Princess who both were shaking their heads at me.

"I'd say do not take the bet and take their word for it." Lilinette said.

“I know Clare would take the...bet…” I trailed off sadly. “Damn it…”

"Hey, cheer up. Your date with Derpy went well didn't it?"

I chuckled. The day after fighting that thing I sucked it up and went on that date. Needless to say Derpy was about as flustered as I was but she accepted.

We had a nice walk through the park, followed by a movie and ended with dinner. When I brought her back home Dinky and Amethyst, her adopted older sister, we're both peeking out the window. It was embarrassing but kinda adorable.

It didn't help that, apparently, Derpy cleaned up nice. She can pull off adorable and sexy in that black dress and red lipstick.

“I mean...yeah, it did...but I still am allowed to miss one of the few people that gave a damn about me back home.” I said honestly.

"True. So, you two got another one planned for when we get back?"

“Yeah, not sure what we might do honestly.” I shrugged. “But...she reminds me way too much of Clare after that date…” I sighed out.

As I compared the two, feeling a blush hit my face I was snapped out of it when Crescent gave me a book…

…

… 101 Ways To Make Love Between Humans and Equis Equines (Quadruped)...

…

"Huh… is that from here on Equestria?" Lilinette asked.

Fluffy quickly wrote out something.

Not this Equestria.

“So...you all stuck your dick in a horse?” I asked, which all three of them nodded. “Right…” I said nervously.

"Sentient ones, right?" Lilinette asked. They all nodded. "Good. Frankly I think it's only bad when they aren't intelligent." The group all gave a nod in agreement. Well good to know some God's have standards.

“Right then.” I nodded. “Good to know we got on a...weird track real quick.”

You're the one who's gonna be riding the pony soon my dude. Crescent's sign said, making me blush and earning a chuckle from the others

“I don’t even know if things work down there since I’m technically an undead.” I frowned.

Wanna find out? Crescent's sign asked. She was soon bonked on the head by Fluffy.

No Horny. Princess held a sign up, which only made me chuckle.

“Well...at least something decent is going on.” I said honestly.

"There you two are." We turned to the doorway, spotting Twilight there. Following behind her were her friends. "I was wondering how you both were doing."

"Doing fine really." Lilinette said.

“Finally feeling like life can actually be decent for a change so there’s that.” I shrugged.

"That's good, we'll be arriving near Griffinstone soon and-" Twilight stopped when she spotted Crescent, Fluffy and Princess.

“Yes, these are my new...pets.” I said carefully.

"I've never seen creatures like these before." She said, looking Fluffy over. "Part Snake, Part Dire Wolf, and their upper half body structure is similar to yours."

"They're adorable~" Cooed Fluttershy who was petting Princess.

“Yes they are.” I nodded in agreement. “And they’ll be with me until I beat Nightmare and two others that popped out of my head.” I said, which caused everymare and drake to stop in their tracks.

"Long story…" Lilinette said.

"So, what are these… pets?" Rarity asked.

"This is Princess, Crescent and Fluffy." Lilinette introduced. "Princess is a Den Mother Dire Wolf, Crescent is an Equis Naga and Fluffy is a Floof Noodle."

Rainbow chuckle. "Floof Noodle? Really?" She laughed, earning a light tail slap to her nose from Fluffy.

“Floof Noodles are apparently the hybridization of Dire Wolves and Equis Naga’s...which first of all I didn’t even know this planet even had Naga’s.”

"It doesn't…" Twilight stated.

Crescent raised her sign back up. also, different Equestria. We deal with the multiverse and beyond, so we don't always refer to the same world or dimension.

“Cause when you get teleported to another world because two personified drama masks wanted to have some fun, why question the multiverse?” I shrugged helplessly.

"The… what?!" Twilight shouted. "The- but that's only a theory!"

"Apparently not." Lilinette shrugged.

"Ah' don't quite get what's going on but I think it's best if ah' don't." Applejack stated.

“It’s not...too difficult to understand.” I said carefully. “Just like...imagine a world like this one, just instead of, let’s say your apple farm, instead of apples it farmed other fruits or veggies, like oranges, corn, banana’s, or other things. That’s at least a very rough explanation on multiverse theory.”

"Hmm… Bananajack?" Rainbow said with a grin.

"Don't even joke about that." AJ spat.

As the two bickered back and Forth Twilight started asking questions. "How can these… creatures know so much about the multiverse or anything along those lines?"

Princess brought up their sign. Long Lived

“Also considering we have three chibi’s of races not native to this planet but still of ‘Equis’ variety...I’d say they’ve been around.” I added.

"How old are they?" Fluttershy asked, looking over Fluffy. "I know reptiles can live long life spans but wolves typically live ten years or so and ponies can live up to eighty or ninty years or more depending."

Fluffy quickly wrote down in a notebook and turned it around.

In this dimension's time I'm 23.17 Decillion years old.

“I’m not even going to bother questioning that.” I started.

"That's pretty damn old." Lilinette said with surprise.

"That's older than our universe…" Twilight said, a mix of wonder and fear on her expression.

“Well...that kind of answers that ‘long lived’ thing.” I said honestly. “But...you sure this won’t derail my journey at all?”

Princess chuckled and raised a sign. Trust me, it’ll be fine. We’re here for cute stuff, not plot stuff.

Most we'll cause is some controlled chaos or little pranks at most. And in Crescent's case… well we can keep a leash on her. Fluffy wrote.

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So how close are we to landing?” I asked, considering everyone else was probably paying attention to it.

"We should be at the landing site in twelve more hours." Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Good, if you need me I’ll be napping.” I said simply as I just stayed on the ground and closed my eyes.

Creeeeeeeeee- BOOOOM!

Mother fucker!

As I was dreaming about climbing MT Anime, it all came crashing down when the sound of tearing metal woke me from my thoughts and I was rudely brought back to the waking world by an explosion that blasted me from the couch and into the wall.

Wait a minute...

“The fuck is going on?” I asked quickly, wondering why I was on a couch when I fell asleep on the ground and wondering why the hell our Zeppelin is under attack.

As I awoke I spotted a sleeping Crescent still tightly wrapped around my left arm. Is she sleeping through this?

Looking around the area there was small tears around the place and fire and smoke here and there that began filling the place. Not good.

“Fantastic…” I muttered as I got up and rushed out of the room. “The hell’s going on?” I called out, trying to find anyone in this place.

As I began walking down the hallway The smoke began getting thicker.

"Grrruuuuuggg."

Oh I don't like the sound of whatever the Fuck that is...

“Fuck…” I groaned as I drew my sword. “Hello?” I called out carefully.

Walking through the smoke was difficult. Not for the breathing. Being undead I didn't even notice it. The smell of burned oil and char was what hit me hard as well as the near zero visibility.

As I maneuvered the smoke I began to hear coughing. Following it I came to a broken down door. It was the cafeteria and I spotted a stallion, brown mane and yellow coat with a wooden spoon cutie mark.

I moved over quickly to the Stallion. “The hell happened?” I asked while helping the poor guy stand.

"Don't- *cough* I don't know. I was preparing dinner for the crew when suddenly something rammed us. We're six hundred meters, nothing that big should have been able to ram us that hard." He replied, regaining his senses properly.

“Keyword being ‘should’...” I said carefully. “Where are the others?”

"Captain Armor took the Element bearers to the bridge to enjoy the view, and the others are likely in the engine room. If we're still flying then that's a good thing."

“Yeah, that’s a good thing.” I nodded. “So either the bridge or the engine room...you get to the bridge cause there’s gonna be a whole lot less smoke.”

He shook his head. "I need to get to the Engine Room. The ship has a self repair spell matrix, and if it hasn't kicked in already then that means it might have been compromised. I can lend an extra pair of hooves and help them get it up and running again."

“Then someone’s gonna need to make sure you don’t get attacked by whatever the hell caused this if it’s still here.” I said honestly. “So lead the way Chef.”

Nodding I followed the chef along the hallways. A few turns and a stairway later we were on the Engine Room floor. I could hear the hum the engine gave off and feel the vibrations too. "Just a little further and we'll reach the main entrance door to the engine room." He coughed. Thankfully the smoke was far less down here and we could see more than two inches in front of us. Rounding the last corner, that's when we saw it.

It looked like… no, no, it fucking is… The thing was a skin and bones humanoid, naked and hissed at me with glowing yellow eyes. An Imp demon… from Doom… what in the Fuck?!

"How the hell did that get here!?" I asked in shock.

"The Fuck is that thing?!" The chef yelled as the Ink demon growled, rushing at us.

I rushed back at it, slashing my sword across the thing torso and again at the neck. Unfortunately it took after the game and even with the deep injuries continued to try and attack me. Eventually, I managed to decapitate the damned thing, the body falling limp as the head rolled off.

“Christ…” I groaned as I stabbed it’s head just to make damn well sure it stayed dead. “Alright, so random demon from a world not from here...goodie.” I shook my head. “Let’s make sure the engine’s are still running.”

Nodding, Chef and I made it to the engine room. Hot steam and the smell of pressured gas filled the air as ponies ran across the place. "Oh thank the stars!" One of the engine room ponies said as they ran up to us. "Copper Pot, go help the pressure co trope team, I can finally send somepony to repair the self repair spell matrix." The mare said as the chef, Copper Pot, nodded and headed off. "Thanks for bringing him here. You best head up to the Storage bay and Bridge. Reports said there was monsters all over the place."

“Sure your good down here?” I asked carefully.

"We'll be fine. Once we close the doors up we'll turn on the barrier spells. Nothing will be getting in here for several hours." She stated.

“Cool.” I nodded. “Where’s the Storage area?” I asked, not having went anywhere near the storage area this whole voyage.

"One floor up to the right."

“Thank you.” I nodded, running off to the storage area to help out where I was needed.

As I rushed through the smoke I came across more Imp Demons. Hacking through them was tiring. Fuckers can take hits like tanks. Damn, really wish I could glory kill these assholes.

“Wait…” I muttered, finding another Imp and using the butt of my sword to ram it into it’s face, hoping to daze it and test a theory on if I actually could if they were dazed.

It did, but I didn't see any special flashing lights. Damn, well, guess life can't be like a videogame-

I heard a faint yawn. Looking I saw Crescent was awake now on my arm. Wow she slept through all that? I'm almost envious.

“Hey, how can I glory kill these bastards and make fighting them faster?” I asked Crescent.

She seemed to think about that for a while. The imp demon regained its senses and tried to attack but to my shock she slapped it and sent it crashing into the wall where it exploded in a shower of blood and broken bones and gore instantly… Damn. After a bit she snapped her fingers and quickly brought out a sign that read.

I can give you something that will help, if you want?

“That depends on if there’s a draw back to it.” I said carefully. “Cause at the moment I’m on a time crunch in making sure people aren’t dying.”

She shook her head, giving me a smile as she reached into her shirt… huh. She then pulled out a small rolled up paper. Unrolling it, drawn on the paper was the image of some strange star or something within an oval.

“Uh...huh.” I started slowly. “So...what’s happening?”

She kept her smile as she grabbed my wrist and placed the paper on it, image side against my skin. When she removed the paper the image was on my skin. Is, is this like a temporary tattoo or- Holy hell!

New User Detected
Generating Profile
Profile Generated

Name: Mike Thest
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Sub-Race: Undead (Hollow: Vasto Lorde)

Interface Display Generated

I blinked as suddenly my vision… changed. I could see a mag in my upper right, and a green bar with my name over it in my name over it in the upper left. Between both was some form of lined compass. Currently, I'm facing the south east…

I looked down over at Crescent.

“Uh...thanks Crescent…” I said, until I saw some numbers pop up for her...and then more numbers...and then a whole fuck lot of numbers. “Okay that’s a lot of numbers…” I shook my head. ‘What did you give me?”

She flipped her sign around.

It's called The Assistant. Back home everyone has one.

“And Genie or Demon won’t get pissed at this?” I asked as I used my handy dandy new quest arrow to find my way to the Storage area.

Doubt it. They have them too. Course they might give Nightmare, Ann and Andy their own but that's just evening the playing field really.

“Well...sounds about right...but will you being here in any capacity also start ruining things?” I asked nervously.

Nope. Maybe. Ruin for the best.

“As long as it doesn’t make my job ten times harder and ruin the ratings on this story then I’m good.” I said, before stopping for a moment. “Wait...where the hell did that come from?”

I shook my head, Crescent moving from my arm to around my neck and I moved in. Another Imp demon and I spotted this time there was a small HP bar over its head. Thinking, I rammed the butt of my sword into this one's head and suddenly it's body flashed the orange glow.

As I was about to attack it I felt… something change as it felt like my sword was guided into slicing the Imp downwards. I clicked the thing in half from head to hips as it's body fell over in a shower of blood and… ammo?! Okay that wasn't happening before...

“Alright, what the hell changed?” I frowned. “Does it have something to do with that Assistant thing?”

Crescent just nodded and smiled.

Raising an eyebrow I took the ammo and continued on. I found the Cargo Bay and… fuck!

The smell hit me first. The rest was… well… if you've played Doom, any Doom, you know what I'm looking at. It's just…

Five Imps, Two Pinkies, and a Marauder...

“And here I was thinking I just had to deal with Shadow’s and Hollows…” I grumbled as I tried using Sonido without breaking stuff or ramming myself into the cargo or walls.

The imps we're thankfully easy to dispatch. My speed made that a non-issue. The Pinkies we're a challenge. They had natural armor and then there was the big guy. I didn't like how he was just watching me fight the others. Then again they are smart demons.

When the Pinkies we're dealt with the Marauder and I circled one another. He had a gun and a shield if I remember… and an energy axe… and a ghost wolf. Shit.

As we circled one another I noticed something… his eyes, while still the typical glowing red, also seemed to have… Locks? It was faint but it was there. "So you are my opponent this day?" Oh, it can talk.

“Yes...so the better question is, why are you here, instead of getting your shit pushed in by a guy in power armor?” I asked carefully.

"Punishment." He said, the two of us taking some steps back from one another. "Divines judged my sins, saw I held no regrets, and have delivered upon myself and countless others my eternal punishment." He said, pulling out his axe, the energy blades materializing… damn why does that have to be so cool?

“Well...that sounds all fair and good.” I nodded. “Are you sure we can’t just say I win and you leave?”

"No." He growled, as fast as I can move he was up in front of me. I dodged just in time to miss his swing.

Shit. If he works like in the game I have to hit him when his eyes flash. Can I even do that with a sword?

“Well...only one way to find out…” I muttered as I readied myself for their next attack. “Come at me ya enslaved bitch!” I taunted.

He did. His speed was just as annoying in the game. I managed to gut an uppercut swing on him when his eyes flash. Thankfully it did damage as his HP went down some.

“Cool, it works…” I muttered. “There’s hope yet for me in this fight…”

With some confidence in my venture I clashed with this living nightmare. Thankfully I was managing to time the swings perfectly.

Finally I gave it the final slice and Glory Kill decapitated it. The body was left there fairly whole… hmm…

I reached down, picking up their Shotgun and Axe/Shield. Huh…

New Items Obtained.

Hellfire Marauders Defensive Shield Axe.

Marauders Double-barrelled Shotgun.

Hmm… and the ammo I picked up seems to fit...

“Well...at least dad taught me how to fire a gun…” I muttered while trying to load it’s shotgun. “Not sure if I should...but considering half my abilities should involve marksmanship.”

Okay, so how the hell do I even open it to reload… ah, switch here… okay now-

KA-BOOM!!!

I jumped, both barrels shot out at a a crate and it broke open into splinters, hay and apples- correction, applesauce...

“Shit…” I muttered. “Coulda swore I didn’t have my finger on the trigger and the safety should be on when I first obtain the bloody thing…” I grumbled. “How where the hell am I gonna put these things?”

Crescent tapped the weird tattoo thing on my arm with her tail.

“Um...alright.” I nodded as I tabbed the weird tattoo on my arm to see what it actually did.

To my surprise tapping it opened up a… menu, in my vision. It was kinda like looking at a phone screen. Settings, Internet, Photos? Inventory? No way…

I… touched it, and the app opened And I saw an option for depositing items. Clicking it I was told to raise up the items. I lifted the shotgun and Axe and watched as they turned into… pixels? Rapidly becoming Smaller and soon they were gone from my hands and back at the inventory menu, under Weapons, there they were… woah…

“Damn…” I blinked. “Didn’t expect...any of this.”

"There you are!" Lilinette yelled as she emerged from one of the nearby doorways. "Did you check the engine room?"

“Yeah, got the Chef down there to give a helping hand, and apparently we got demons from Doom Eternal.” I brought up. “Also, Crescent gave me this nifty thing.” I said while raising my arm up to show the tattoo machine.

"She gave you a tattoo?"

“It’s...apparently more than a tattoo.” I said honestly. “It’s called an Assistant and...well it’s basically an RPG pause screen.”

"... Okay, well, that aside, come on, we gotta get to the first deck." She said, the two of us rushing up through the stairway. "Shining armor has the rest of the crew safe in the command deck behind a barrier spell. We just have to break off the fucking tether."

Tether?

“Seriously, the fuck happened while I was out?” I asked with a frown.

"Well, that crack was a giant ship made of blood and flesh shot into our ship and has been drip feeding these demons inside. We gotta cut it off or something otherwise who knows how many of these fucks will keep showing up."

“Is everybody safe?” I asked carefully.

"Everyone of importance." Lilinette stated. "I left Fluffy and Princess with them."

"Alright." I nodded. "Any casualties?"

"Mostly some of the guards and crew. Rarity got a nasty bite but Cherry Soda killed the thing before it took her whole leg off."

"Okay yeah...this is sadly going to be a terrible time for them." I shook my head. "And here I thought we'd be fighting Hollow's and Shadows, not actual demons."

"Well, considering our company, we'll need to get used to a variety of enemies."

"Cause why not…" I grumbled. "So I killed a Marauder." I brought up. "And got their gun and axe."

"... Dibs on the axe." She said as we reached a large gash in the side of the ship. Strong winds, demons and a large partly rotten hand connected by a chain where the wrist would be connected the Zeppelin to a giant part demon part spaceship amalgamation of flesh and metal flying next to us.

Oh fuck my life… unlife?

"Okay...gonna need to Cero this shit real quick before it gets worse." I said worriedly.

"So, any idea how to break that?" He asked, raising her sword and pointing it at the chain.

“Literally just said how.” I said while pointing my sword up and trying to charge my Cero. “Just blast the chain as hard as you can and hope for the best.”

"And if that doesn't work?"

“Got a better idea?” I frowned.

"Nope." She states as we begin to get to work.

Lilinette begins slicing away as the demons, always moving to avoid being hit while I charge my Cero. Come on, where's the weakest part in the chain…

The hand! I gotta aim for the fingers!

“Alright...time to shoot off some fingers.” I muttered while aiming my Cero at the clump of fingers holding onto our ship.

The flash of blood and gore wasn't as large as I was expecting. Thankfully I cut through the bones and the weight of the chains pulled and tore off the remaining flash as it fell off. Finally dislodged all that was left was the flying demons and that fucking ship.

"Alright, one problem down." Lilinette huffed as she sliced the last non flying demon in two.

“And now onto the rest of these assholes and the fucking ship…” I started as I swiftly cut down one of the pesky bastards.

Once the last of them was dealt with we just had to figure out how to deal with that fucking ship- Fuck it's got cannons!

"Any ideas?" Lilinette asked.

"Where are the others?" I asked. "Hopefully they know good shield spells…"

"I don't think a shield spell can get us over there."

“You just need to think out the box.” I said honestly. “And also, I don’t think you know what Arkanoid is so just gonna have to show you.”

"How about… revenge!" Before I could react, Lilinette was behind me and kicked me square in the ass. Hard enough to send me crashing against the demon ship.

That tiny little...

“I’m gonna kick your ass when I get back!” I shouted back at her, stabbing an imp in the face that was confused at my cartoonish entrance.

"Paybacks a bitch!" She yelled back. "That's for throwing me at that fucking shadow monster!"

“Yeah yeah!” I said while taking a step back, dodging an imp swing as I wrapped my arm around it’s head, grabbed it’s chin and snapped its neck. “Gonna get over here and help me out or do I have to do this by myself!?”

"Hold your horses I'll get there!" She yelled back while I got to work slicing apart demons.

Another Marauder showed up, eyeing me with the same eyes as the other… even down to the locks in the pupils.

“Cause of course there’s multiple of you.” I frowned as I pulled out my fancy new shotgun. “Now let’s see how many shots you’ll take from this.”

I fired. They rapidly raised their shield and blocked the buckshot. Growling I took my sword in one hand and the shotgun in the other. Okay, I can play your game.

“I’ve killed one of you before, I can kill another spineless bitch.” I growled. “Bring it!” I challenged.

They rushed, their shield switching back into an axe as we dueled. I had to rapidly deal with several demons who tried to get me while distracted.

When it was all over there was a lot of dead demons and I got a second set of Marauder weapons.

Crescent gave me a score of 9/10.

“At least someone thinks I’m doing well…” I panted. “Alright...so now I either commandeer this thing and make it mine...or blow it straight back to hell because it might be a demon spawner…”

As if to spite me, in multiple flashes of red and fire, more and more demons appeared. Thankfully no Marauders.

“And this is why I stopped trying to be optimistic…” I frowned as I reloaded my shotgun. “Cause whenever something possibly good happens, something or someone just has to spite me.”

Head to the engine room, it's the only way to stop both the spawner and the ship. Crescent quickly showed me that note. Nodding I headed off, following my minimal and compass that already marked the engine room for me. Sweet Jesus this is useful.

"Thank you for the Assistant, this is gonna help wonders." I said as I gave Crescent some deserved headpats as I ran.

Arriving at the engine room I discovered it was a mix of flesh and machine just like the outside of this thing. Okay now what looks important…

I spotted a glowing set of three pulsating heart looking things. That's probably it.

“Alright...time to do something really stupid.” I said while firing both shells into a passing demon as I grabbed two more shells as I tried to infuse it with my Reishi to make Cero Bullets. After a few moments of intense concentration and even more energy of mine that I’m still thankful is in the realm of stupidly high even for a newbie like me, they both glowed with blue energy. “Alright so...I don’t know what this will do, so let’s hope for the best.” I said as I loaded my shotgun and aimed it at the three hearts. “One super shotgun infused with Cero Bullets...let’s hope for the best.”

I fired.

Ouch… ow… ouch… fuck…

I woke up in a groggy haze. My vision began to return along with my other senses. I was laying down. Looking up I saw Crescent… she was coiled, using her body like a pillow for my head as she pet me.

“Ugh...hey Cresent...did you get the license plate for the truck that hit me?” I groaned, hating that even with my Hierro blunt force trauma is still a big thing to me.

Nodding, she handed me an actual license plate that read 'BRN IN H3LL'. I chuckled.

“Well, at least I have that now…” I shrugged as I started to get up. “Alright...so where the hell are we?”

She quickly wrote some stuff down. 'Crashed. Blew up the demon ship. It hit the Zeppelin but they managed a controlled crash some miles ahead.'

“Alright.” I said while getting up fully and looking around. “Now where would they have crashed…”

Turning a bit I spotted the crash. It cut a fair gash into the ground and various bits if debre and burning land. Getting up and letting Crescent wrap back around my arm and I headed off.

The demon ship was completely trashed but the Zeppelin from what I could still see was largely intact.

"Alright...hopefully the others are fine…"

After a few hours walk I found the others all set up in a makeshift camp. Cherry Soda, Shining Armor, and the Elements were all there. The rest…

"Yo." Lilinette said as she ran over to me. "I don't know what you did in that ship but for a second I thought a nuke went off."

"Fired Cero infused shotgun shells from this thing." I said while lifting up my super shotgun. "How's everyone doing?"

"Well. There's eight alive. The rest are all… yeah they aren't taking it so good. Well, all save Cherry Soda."

"Sounds about right." I nodded. "Princess and Fluffy helping them?"

"Yeah. Fluttershy especially…"

"Well...might as well ask an important question while it's on their mind." I started as I walked over to the group. "How's everyone doing?" I asked carefully.

The first to reply was Shining Armor. He shook his head but still looked distant. "We're… we're fine. Aside from… Rarity's bite… nothing more than cuts and bruises and… some trauma."

"Glad your all safe." I nodded. "So...just gonna rip the band aid off right here, what happens when people die on this world?" I asked carefully.

"N-norm-"

"In this instance a small team of either volunteers here or a group from a rescue group that arrives will retrieve the bodies." Cherry spoke up, not missing a beat and was rather calm.

"Now step two...what happens to their soul?" I inquired. "Cause it's best to know now before something happens to bite us in the ass...again."

"Depends on race actually." Cherry said. "If you believe it, Pegasi become one with the sky, keeping their air clean and blowing. Unicorns become one with magic, empowering each new generation. Earth ponies return to the land, keeping it fertile and pure."

“Alright...but what about other races?” I inquired. “Cause I’d rather not be shocked by Hollow’s existing and trying to attack us sooner or later.”

"Not too sure. Maybe Sparkle might know something."

“And...how well is she handling this?” I asked.

Cherry just looked over at the six. I did too.

Fluttershy was crying, clinging onto Princess and Fluffy like there was no tomorrow.

Applejack was sitting down, silent with her hat off and seemed to be thinking.

Rarity was next to Pinkie Pie. The pink mare seemed to be distracting herself by making sure her friends injury was kept clean while Rarity just mindlessly seemed to watch Pinkie work, only wincing a bit when pain hit.

Rainbow Dash was going through broken cargo, trying to keep busy and bury the memories of that crash and what she saw. She looked pissed as hell.

And lastly, Twilight was soaked, her purple coat not red and drying.

"It's not her blood." Cherry said. "One of the navigators broke her fall, but he didn't survive it. Woke up with him having bled out over her."

“Well…” I sighed out. “How...sensitive are ponies normally?”

"Well, Captain Armor here is struggling to find words. And he's supposed to be trained for this." Cherry stated.

"We… never had… live injury or fatality situations…" Shining said, still trying to collect his nerves.

"In any case, I believe the other six will need a bit more time.

I looked over the six again, seeing all of them so shaken and broken by it I just sighed out. “You two set up Camp, me and Lillinette will try to see if there’s any survivors or any crates that fell elsewhere.”

She nodded, pushing the Captain along.

Well, Luna wanted their eyes opened to the real world. I'd say this just about drowned them in it. Now Looks like I'll have to help them learn to swim in it.

“Well...if anyone can help them learn about death...it’s me…” I muttered to myself bitterly as I headed off to find survivors.

To be continued...

Introspection and Introduction

Out of all the mane six I decided to check Twilight first. She did wake up next to a corpse, covered in their blood so...

“Hey.” I said carefully to Twilight. “How are you holding up?”

She didn't respond at first, just looking up at me then back at the ground. "I… what… were those monsters?" She asked, trying to make sense of the situation it seemed.

“Those were Demon’s...from a section of Hell.” I answered simply. “Why did they spawn here? No idea…” I sighed out, sitting down next to her. “But...mind if I ask you a question? Something about this world?”

"Uh… sure…"

“How much do you know about other races?” I inquired. “Like Griffon’s, Dragon’s, and whatever other races are in this world?”

"Uh… Griffons, I only know what I've read in books. Dragons are largely unknown aside from their Greed Growth phenomenon and appetite for gems. The minotaurs rule via a guild system and are more industrial than Equestria. Zebras… not much aside from their alchemical formulas and theories."

“Jeez…” I muttered. “Alright...so let me ask, do Undead exist here? Like zombies, ghouls, ghasts or phantoms?” I inquired. “Cause this question is really important, considering it would...involve me and Lillinette a lot here.”

"Um… just some legends. Nothing Solid, though given Nightmare Moon and all that, I guess I should look into Equestria's legends more."

“Right…” I nodded carefully. “Any questions you have for me?”

"Um… what… happened, on the Zeppelin… will… will it happen again?"

I sighed out. “Who knows sadly...cause it could happen, it could not, I could have been faster and actually know what the fuck I’m able to do, or I can just putz around watching the world burn as my life is starting to spiral out of control again after I managed to find some semblance of happiness.” I explained. “But I’ll make sure others don’t die alright?”

"You… need a therapist?" She asked.

“It’s funny you think that’ll work a second time.” I said as I gently pat her head. “Unless your Therapists can work miracles, not sure what to say, but back on track here.” I started. “What other questions do you have that don’t involve my mental health?”

"I guess not…"

"Sorry…" I sighed out. "Just...a lot of past problems…"

"I figured, based on what you said…"

"It's a nightmare and a half that's for sure…" I sighed out. "But...for Death...you get used to it in someway shape or form."

"How?"

“After you experience it for the first time, give it a couple of days and it’ll be like nothing really changed.” I shrugged. “I’ve had family member’s pass from medical issues to old age...I felt like shit the day of and a few days afterwards but...I just went on with my life.” I shrugged.

"Didn't you grieve?"

“I’d have been a psychopath if I didn’t.” I answered. “That’s why I said the day of and a few days afterwards for feeling like shit.” I pointed out.

"A few days… feels so short though."

“When you’re emotionally ruined for most of your life and wonder if you’re even allowed to feel a certain way...you get used to it.” I said. “Especially when you have more than one voice in your head…”

"Didn't anypony try to help you?"

“Dad was too busy working, mom was sick my entire life, older brothers…” I shook my head. “Only one’s that cared enough were my granny and grandpa, whatever friend’s I managed to keep...and Clare…” I sighed out bitterly, hating to bring up those old emotions again.

"What happened to your friends?"

“Stopped talking after a certain amount of time.” I shrugged. “Or at least, in any consistent fashion.”

"Why?"

“Life happens.” I answered simply. “Simple as that.”

"You all just… drifted apart?"

“It happens.” I said. “Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows Twilight...take it from a guy that’s been depressed for nine years.” I said simply.

"I… I see…" Twilight said simply.

“Yeah...life sucks.” I nodded. “But hey, at least things can get better.” I said simply.

"Did they get better for you?"

“I magically have a girlfriend, I’m not homeless, and I have kickass powers.” I said. “I’m sure things are getting better...only problem are the bastards I have to deal with.” I growled.

"Are… they the ones who brought those monsters here?"

“Is Demon the one that brought those things here...maybe.” I said carefully. “The actual people I need to murder didn’t, cause two of them can only create shadow’s and...well I need to teach Nightmare what a super shotgun tastes like.”

"What's a Super Shotgun?"

I pulled out the weapon in question. “This thing, and with this weapon and a Cero infused slug...well it’s what caused that massive fuck off explosion you probably heard.”

"Huh. It kind of looks like some Minotaur weapons I've studied."

“Well this one came from a special Demon I murdered.” I said honestly. “And it works splendidly to promote monster slaying.”

"Slaying as in… killing them? I… suppose that's fair… they killed… so many…" Twilight said as she looked at the blood on her coat.

“We’ll figure out how to wash all that off.” I said carefully.

"Thanks…" She said.

Twilight went about helping her brother fix up the tents. With that done I went over to Applejack. She was looking at the wrecked ruins of the Zeppelin with her hat off.

“Hey Applejack.” I said carefully. “How you holding up?”

She sighed. "I've been better. Pay'n my respects to the dead."

I nodded. “Anything you want to talk about?”

"Dunno. Got a million questions and not a one ah can focus on."

“First question that comes to mind?” I asked.

"How are we still alive?" She asked, still gazing at the wreckage.

“Wasn’t your time.” I shrugged. “Random happenstance, or you got lucky...who knows.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t fast enough…”

"You blame yourself?"

“I’m the one with super powers here.” I mentioned. “I should have known they’d attack...I just didn’t think they’d have gone for us during our ride here.”

"Ya can't blame yourself fer not being prepared for a surprise attack. There's a lot in life ya can't just be ready for."

“Ain’t that the truth…” I grumbled.

"What happened here was dirty, and shows us how rotten the enemy is. Best we can do is learn from it and keep along so we can handle it next time."

“Except it’ll be a fuck ton worse…” I sighed out bitterly.

"Maybe. But some experience is better than none."

I shrugged. “Any other questions?”

"How many died?"

“We’re all that’s left so far.” I mentioned. “Neither me nor Lillinette found anyone so far.”

"Hm. That's not good. Whatever these monsters were, looks like all they know is bloodlust."

“They’re demon’s from a random section of hell.” I said honestly. “If you’ve heard literally anything like that.”

"Huh. I guess it makes as much sense as anything else."

“I mean, you’ve been talking to two undead people this entire time technically.” I shrugged.

"Is that relevant?"

“Considering my current concern of all the dead here becoming Hollows then yes.” I nodded. “Cause that’s one thing we really don’t need right now.”

"So they won't turn out like you two if they do?"

“Oh hell no.” I shook my head. “Becoming like me and Lillinette would, normally, take a long ass time, and even then there’s a fifty fifty shot they stall at the Adjuchas stage, where they have the same intelligence as you and me but are in a more…’beastial’ form.” I explained. “Not to mention I’m technically a step above what I should be due to other reasons.”

"You do realize ah didn't understand a word of that right?"

“Understandable, but all I can say is that it’ll take a long ass time to become like me and Lilynette.”

"And what makes y'all so special from the other kinds?"

“Well...imagine an Apple Tree.” I started. “It starts off as a seed, then a sapling, then a young tree, than a mature tree.” I started. “The mature tree is technically what I am...but now imagine that Mature tree went another step and took a pony form and started walking and talking like anyone else.” I explained carefully. “Does that make more sense?”

"Sounds a might like a crime against nature but I guess I can understand it." She chuckled.

“If Dryad’s exist in this world than technically no.” I said honestly. “What would sound like a crime is if that same apple tree person became an apple farmer.”

"I suppose." Applejack sighed. "Thanks fer Talkin to me."

"No problem Applejack." I nodded. "It's what I'm here to do...help."

With Applejack holding up well it seems, I went over and checked on Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Rarity’s leg was soaked in blood, her own and bandaged with fabrics ribbed and tied together as tight as they can to stop the blood from flowing.

“Hey…” I said carefully. “You two doing alright?”

“My- ugh… Leg could be better.” Rarity said. “Whatever those creatures were, they certainly lived up to their monstrous looks.”

“They were all angry and rage. It was scary…” Pinkie Pie added.

“They were demon’s.” I said to the two. “From Hell…or at least a part of it.”

“What makes one part of hell different from the rest?” Rarity asked.

“Not sure, but considering they came from a different afterlife…well maybe there’s a difference.” I shrugged. “But…anything you want to talk about?”

“Not really. At the moment I’m just hoping to not focus on the pain and praying I don’t get an infection…” Rarity added.

“I lost the first aid kit I keep in my mane in the crash…” Pinkie sighed. “If we could find it or something useful in wherever the Medbay ruins are, it could hopefully help.”

“That’s why I went there first.” Lillinette said as she walked over with some supplies.

“Any pain killers?” Rarity asked, looking a bit hopeful.

“Well so far I only found this, I haven’t found anything else yet.” Lillinette started.

“I’ll go and check to see if there’s anything else, you try and make sure Rarity’s injuries are fully taken care of.” I said, getting up and heading off to the ruined med bay.

Everything was at a twisted odd angle inside the wreckage. Some parts still burned while others were bloody or just broken. I nearly had a heart attack when a dead Imp demon’s upper torso fell from where it was pinned above. Odd considering there’s a hole where my heart would be.

Eventually I came across the med bay ruins. Thankfully it was untouched by fires but I got a bad feeling when I found it. Like I am not alone…

“Is anyone here?” I asked carefully, drawing my sword as I looked around carefully to see what was there.

As I was looking around I was suddenly kicked in the back and into the wall. Turning I spotted a woman, pale skin like a corpse, long, wet jet black hair and torn black shirt and pants.

“And who the hell are you?” I asked carefully. “Cause you look familiar…and if you’re one person I was told about you’re not supposed to be here.”

“I know. But I'm the one who spawns in the monsters, so I do have to show up to refresh the inventory every so often.” She replied with a small grin. “Besides, it’s fun to mess with the toys when they won’t let me play.”

“Listen, I already have enough on my mind and also have to help the other’s.” I growled, pulling out my super shotgun and putting in two Cero Slugs. “And you calling me a toy and doing this shit is not something I’m in the mood for.”

“If you think that is gonna hurt me, you’ll just be wasting ammo.” She chuckled. “But, still, we have yet to be properly introduced. I am Pain.”

I looked at her…and I sighed out bitterly. “I hate that you're right…cause why the hell can’t something go right today.”

“Oh relax I’m not here to mess with you… anymore.” She said, tapping her foot on the ground. “Just because I am not a direct player doesn’t mean I can’t watch and observe. But that gets boring so I tamper, but never enough to be considered ‘breaking the rules’.”

“You sent the demon’s to cause all the murder didn’t you?” I inquired. “Not Demon?”

“I did say that I am the one who summoned and created the monsters used. Demon, Genie and Voodoo can but that’s not their role. We all have our roles in these games, each role simply gives us a job to do. Mine, normally, is to create, summon and send out monsters of all kinds and breeds to cause chaos, havok, death and panic across the world of the challenger, that’s you. I can even jump in and… kill annoyances that might hinder progress but I’m not allowed in this game. While I can’t put myself in like I normally do, I can still supply the cannon fodder.”

“Yeah, cause Voodoo said that you would have increased the body count by a fuck ton.” I frowned.

“The numbers from this airship don’t even show in the kill count I have.” She said with a clear pride in her tone. “But, enough about me, this is about you and those sad little horses back there.”

“Yes it is, and I need to find more medical supplies.” I said. “Knew something bad was going to happen…but no, let’s take a god damn nap…” I grumbled to myself, putting away my gun and going back to searching for more supplies. “So, what do you want to know that you probably already know about?”

“You hate yourself for taking a nap?”

“When you already knew something bad might happen, as well as having confirmation that something will indeed go terribly wrong by a literal fortune teller, why would you just take a nap instead of making sure things are safe enough?” I asked. “If I acted faster than not as many people would have died first of all…”

“Please. Take it from someone who kills for their job, even if you were awake, you couldn’t have saved the dead from the explosion, the fire, or the demons that ran into the place with huge numbers. You can’t be everywhere at once Undead Hero.”

“That is why I said ‘not as many’...” I pointed out. “But no…just did something completely different and ignored the obvious problem, thinking it would happen later…”

She shrugged. “True, but you can’t always be on edge. They say waiting is the worst part and just waiting for everything to go wrong might kill you more than dealing with what went wrong.”

“I mean, I already expect everything to go wrong because I’m me.” I stated simply. “It’s a miracle that I managed to find some form of happiness here…little did I know that something was going to remind me why being happy is a terrible choice…cause it just makes everything hurt more…”

“Hm. And if you never try and be happy, you won’t ever care enough to want to save anyone. You can’t have it both ways.”

“It’s almost like there’s a reason I was clinically depressed to a horrid degree.” I said sarcastically. “Or maybe put a bullet in my head to stop…everything…” I took a deep breath, trying not to remember whatever the hell that weird dream was a week ago.

“Well, when even suicide fails all you can do is keep moving forewards until you can be happy. I mean, hell if Princess can be happy and have her family and loves after the crap she went through then you can too.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “At least I don’t have other people in my head that won’t shut up, so that’s a plus…which turned into a negative now that they’re running around doing god knows what…”

“Well, at least you can finally fight back against them now that they are outside of your head. Not like you couldn’t have before but, take what you can get.”

“Which is a fantastic thing.” I shrugged. "But murdering two problems...doesn't solve my main problem…"

“Hmm… Look, I normally don’t do this, but you’re pretty damn hopeless so I’m gonna give you some advice. After your fifth date with little miss Derpy, ask if you and Lillinette can move in with her.”

I blushed brightly at that sudden bit of advice. "D-dont you think that's...a little fast?" I asked worriedly. "I mean...I know she's the best mare I've met in this world so far but...uh…" I trailed off, thinking about me and Derpy together like that.

“Well then, let me put it in words you might understand better. By date number five, move in with her or she will get hurt.”

I spun around and glared. "If you dare touch a single hair on her head…" I growled, not caring if she’s the end of the world personified as I wanted to protect Derpy.

“It’s not a threat, it’s a warning, dumb ass.” She said, flicking my head with a finger. The hit from that knocked me on my ass hard. “You want to be around when bad things happen. If you aren’t with her after the fifth date, then something bad will happen. If you are there, then you can prevent it.”

“Fine…” I sighed out, rubbing my forehead as I got back up.

“Now then, if you’re looking for strong antibiotics and healing potions, you’ll need what’s in that locked closet.” She said, motioning towards the metal door in the corner of the room.

“Thank you.” I nodded as I walked over quickly to the locked door and, with my enhanced strength just from my race, tried to pry the locked door open. “So…you sound like you’ve had…personal experience in our talk, is that because you’re also someone like Princess and co that are retired and just doing thing’s for funsies?”

“Yeah, but unlike them I still enjoy being a part of the fun.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Well, maybe next time you can…I don’t know, join whoever the hell else is apart of this stuff as a teacher or something? If you want to have fun without causing the death of millions…”

“Yeah, no. I’m usually the ‘final boss’ person. Last thing I think anyone wants is for me to train competent bad guys.”

“That’s fair.” I started. “Or it could be you training a hero to cause all that destruction because of their circumstances or something.” I shrugged, pulling open the door through sheer strength. “But if you want to stay the final boss that’s fair.”

“I’d probably train an anti-hero at best.” Pain said. I turned around to say something but Pain was gone.

I shrugged and looked over the supplies here. Thankfully the important stuff was all in locked boxes and cabinets in here so it was all still fine. I managed to grab everything and headed back outside.

Rarity happily downed some painkillers and antibiotics while Pinkie Pie applied a healing potion directly to her leg and then rebandaged it. “Thank you darling.” Rarity said, looking far more relieved than before.

“No problem.” I said. “So, any questions from the two of you now that thing’s are getting better?”

“I think we’ll be fine for now darling. With my leg no longer risking infection or… worse, I’ll just try and rest so the potions can fix the damage.”

“Think you can find any of the food?” Pinkie asked. “We passed the kitchen on our way out from the wreckage and it looked pretty intact.”

“I’m still surprised how much wasn’t destroyed.” I said honestly. “But sure, I’ll make sure if all the food’s good.”

I got back up and went inside looking for the kitchen. “Mind if I tag along?” I looked down and back to see Shining Armor there. “If you’re going in for supplies, some magic might come in handy for transporting it.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So, any questions you have for me Captain?” I inquired as I walked towards the remnants of the mess hall.

“A few.” He said as we entered the wreckage. “I’ve been wondering, how do you… do all that?”

“Depends on what you mean.” I answered. “Got any specifics?”

“How did you… fight those monsters?” He asked as we moved through the scorched hallways.

“With a sword,” I patted the hilt of my sword. “And this wonderful thing.” I said while pulling out my super shotgun. “Also might be because of this thing as well.” I brought up as I showed my Assistant to Shining.

“A… tattoo?”

“Well, it’s a…complicated thing, but it’s magic and technology and it let’s me do a lot of things.” I said as I tapped my assistant with my super shotgun as it went straight into the thing. “If you’ve ever played any tabletop rpg’s, think of it like a bag of holding mixed with a character sheet.”

“Oh, yeah I get that then.” Shining said, looking at the Assistant now with surprise. “Where did you get it?”

“Crescent.” I answered. “It helps a lot, especially with carrying stuff.”

“Hm. Any chance she’ll hand out some more? Those… could help a lot given what’s happened and what I’m afraid is to come.”

“I don’t know.” I said honestly. “Have to ask them, and to be honest it’s already kind of a gamble because if I have one, other bad guys will get it as well.”

“Hm… that is an issue…” Shining sighed as we jumped a hole in the floor. “I was amazed to see you take down that… other ‘airship’.” Shining said. “You and Cherry did more than I did… I just focused on keeping my shield up.”

“And that’s honestly the best we could ask for.” I said honestly. “You don’t need to be a fighter to protect people. At least you protected who you could.”

“I know, but… I know a lot of the guards that were aboard with us. Cherry was only with us because Princess Luna ordered it… I hoof picked all those stallions and… only Cherry and I survived. I brushed her off because I thought Princess Luna was being paranoid… now though… Now I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything the next time. She did more than I did…”

“How many were inside your barrier when it crashed?” I asked him bluntly.

“Including myself, Twily and her friends, and the few cabin crew members there… Nine, but only seven of us survived the impact crash.”

“Then congrats, you saved seven people.” I said simply. “Not many can when you just fought a warship filled with Demons.”

“It’s still not good odds. Out of a crew and passengers totaling fifty ponies, and two humans, only eight ponies and two humans survived.”

“It’s better than nothing.” I said honestly. “You can’t do everything at once, and if you look at me you at least had a head start in doing stuff, I was asleep when thing’s went to shit.”

We arrived at the kitchen, finding it a mess of thrown food and tables. “Well, at least there don’t appear to be any corpses…”

“Hopefully there’s still good food that wasn’t destroyed by the crash.” I brought up.

“The store room should have been kept locked tight. Freezer too, aside from being messy all the packaged foods should all be fine.” Shining said as we went into the back kitchen area and found the store room. The crates were tossed about but still in one peces. Labels such as beans, rice, water, apples, hay, and other such items I could see. I then checked the freezer. As Shining Expected, everything was tossed about but it all still looked fine. To my surprise there was a lot of fish frozen in here as well as other veggie and fruit items.

“Why the fish if I may ask?” I inquired. “Thought ponies don’t like meat in any capacity?”

“Well, Pegasi eat fish to help with their feathers' well being. Something about the oils their saliva produces for keeping their wings waterproof partly coming from fish. Earth Ponies and Unicorns can also eat fish fine, just no red or white meats. Most just don’t since it’s not a common reason to for non pegasi, but Royal Guards are required as the proteins from the fish help build muscle faster and allow us to resupply mana faster than without. We brought more than usual since the issues Griffonstone has, figured some of them might enjoy a good meal given how their kingdom fell, and fell hard.”

“Huh, that’s really interesting.” I said honestly. “Good to know, alright…so hopefully Pinkie knows how to cook over a campfire cause I sure as hell don’t.”

“Hmm…” Shining thought, walking back over to the stoves as he opened the under compartment of one up. “Looks like the stoves are intact. And the Propane tanks are in good shape. I don’t smell anything leaking so we might be able to pull one of these out and just take the spare tanks.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Let’s get thing’s set up.”

With some heavy lifting and effort we were able to pull the stove off it's bolted place on the floor/wall and after some trial and error, figured out how to store it in the Assistant. With that I also put all the food inside that. "Mind if we make a quick stop first?" Shining Armor asked. "I wanna see if the armory survived, or the Cargo Bay."

"Sure." I nodded. "Considering all the other crap that's survived I wouldn't be surprised if it also survived."

"It is actually probably the protection spells. While the ship got more damaged that was mostly because the onboard auto repair spell matrix was damaged in the initial attack. The cargo and most of the other supplies all have special spells in place so in the event of a crash they survive all but the worst of impacts. Actually, despite the condition of the Zeppelin it looks like they managed to get the repair spell matrix working again before the impact, which explains why so little is charred or melted."

“I managed to get the Chef and a few other’s to the engine room to get the spell matrix fixed, sadly we were a little too late from keeping it from crashing apparently…” I sighed out.

"The Engine Room…" Shining muttered. "That whole area is like a black box. In the event of a crash it's supposed to keep the engine safe, cause if they blow the explosion would incinerate everything within a five mile radius. Starrk, did they shut the door after you brought the Chef there?"

"I believe so, but I was rushing away after they told me it was all good so I could help deal with the demons elsewhere." I said carefully.

"We have to get down there. If they did shut the door the Black Box spells would have kept the whole sections safe. They barely would have even felt the impact from the crash. There might be more survivors in there."

"That would be fantastic." I sighed out thankfully. "Now where's the engine room in all this debris?"

"That's the bad news. From the angle of the Zeppelin it crashed on top of the engine room. It's likely buried in fallen beams and metal, which is why they probably didn't get out with the rest of us."

"Fair enough." I nodded. "Then let's get to uncovering all that debris."

With a nod, Shining Armor rapidly led the way. We came across the hallway to the engine room, it was sideways and collapsed badly. Using my supernatural strength I began pushing, bending and forcing all the debris away and trying to force it into a stable passageway. After an hour of hard work we finally found the doorway to the engine room. It opened without issue and I felt a huge wave of relief as I saw a large group of ponies in here.

"About time!" One of the engineers said with a smile. "We were starting to worry!"

"Sorry about that." I said sheepishly. "But glad you're all safe." I said moving a bit more debris to make it safe to walk. "Just had a lot to take stock of after the crash."

“How many are here?” Shining Armor asked.

“Sixteen.” The chef said as he walked over to us. “How many…?”

Shining Armor sighed. “Eight. Ten including Starrk and Lillinette.”

“We’ve managed to at least start getting something’s set up for a proper camp.” I told the chef. “But it’s still a struggle for…most of the group.”

“I can imagine… Well, come on, let’s get out of here.”

“I’ll help them get out. Think you can get to the cargo bay and Armory from here?” Shining asked me.

“I will.” I nodded. “Hopefully some of the cargo and armory is still in good shape.” I muttered, heading off to find the cargo bay and armory.

I tried to follow what directional arrows there were at turns and ladders/stairs the best I could. Thankfully I managed to find the Cargo Bay, the ceiling having fallen in and on top of some of the boxes but their protective magics kept them all safe and undamaged. I got to the long task of putting all the crates and such into my Assistant. By the time I finished Shining Armor managed to return. “Hey, you all good here?”

“Yeah, just collecting all the cargo boxes.” I said honestly. “Thankfully the protection spells kept them all safe from the debris.” I brought up. “So what about everyone else? Were they all okay?”

“They made it outside and at least the others started to feel better that we weren’t the only ones to survive. I see you managed to gather all the cargo in that arm tattoo of yours. Darn thing makes bags of holding look like party tricks.”

“It’s a miracle machine thankfully.” I said. “Now, onto the armory, cause I’ll have enough time looking at what this thing has in store later.”

I followed Shining Armor to the armory. It was more towards the back of the ship and therefore more up given the weird angel the end of the ship was. A haphazard climb up and we managed to reach the armory. Here I saw armor, spears, swords and crossbows all scattered around. The impact did a number on this room. I did however take note of the one locked cage with what looked like TNT and some rather flashy red potions in thick bottles in there.

“Thank the stars the explosives cage held.” Shining sighed.

“So…we just had an entire cage filled with explosives…why?” I asked carefully.

“Not too sure myself actually. All I know is that Luna ordered this here as part of the cargo but given the risks we kept it here.” Shining stated.

“That’s for the best.” I nodded. “So anyways, looks like everything’s in order thankfully, anything missing from what you can tell?”

“No, just a mess and… casualties.” He sighed. “Let’s gather everything here and go.”

“Best not focus too much on the…casualties.” I said carefully, having largely ignored the charred or dismembered bodies littering the place.

Once everything in the armory was also packed and placed away we headed back to camp. I set up all the food and the stove with the tanks inside a makeshift hut from Zeppelin scrap as the chef began to cook.

With everyone looking better I decided to check on Fluttershy, who was eating a plate of carrots with Princess and Fluffy still.

“Hey Fluttershy.” I said softly. “How are you feeling?”

“B-Better…” She said softly. “Princess and Fluffy here are helping me… cope.”

“That’s good.” I said, lightly patting the two’s heads. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“N-Not particularly. I’ve had a fair amount of animal friends pass on and bury them, but never… other ponies. It’s… similar yet also so different.”

“I understand.” I nodded. “I’m glad you’re doing okay Fluttershy, and glad these two helped out a lot.”

She nodded, giving a small smile. “They are so kind and helpful.”

“Yep, and they’ll be even more helpful considering they might be able to help me figure out my powers…or at least help me learn more about this thing.” I mentioned while showing Fluffy and Princess my new Assistant.

Who gave you that assistant? Princess raised a sign.

“Crescent.” I answered simply. “And yeah…hopefully thing’s will start getting better after this…oh, have you seen Rainbow?”

“She’s over there.” Fluttershy pointed a wing towards the edge of camp. The Rainbow maned pegasus was sitting atop a cloud while looking around.

“Thanks, and if there’s anything you want to talk about I’m here.”

“Thank you Starrk.” Fluttershy said with a nod.

With a nod back I headed towards the cloud sitting pegasus. She was looking around rather determined as did. She eventually spotted me and looked down. “Hey.” She said.

“Yo.” I said. “How you doing?”

“Peachy…” She said with an eye roll. “Do you need something?”

“To talk.” I said simply. “Cause it looks like you need to talk to help soothe something bruised for you.”

“Like you don’t need that either?”

“You think my mental state is bruised, that’s funny.” I joked. “So mind telling me how you really feel?”

“How I feel? I feel upset. I feel cheated. I feel… helpless…” She growled that last one. “And on top of that, we got a hero with confidence issues meant to save us. Not very reassuring…”

“There’s the first step you need, admitting you feel like garbage and not being able to do something.” I said simply. “The next is a three way path, you either keep moving forward so you won’t feel helpless again, you continue to feel helpless and let that bog you down, or you keep moving forward anyways cause life is completely unfair and dying isn’t really worth it in the long run.” I answered simply. “I blame myself cause I believe I could have done something more instead of sleeping, you blame yourself because you feel like you could do absolutely nothing.” I told her. “And that’s fine, and do you want to know why that is?”

“Are you going to tell me anyway?”

“Yes, cause I have a point to this.” I answered. “And why is it all fine? Because life sucks and bad shit just happens.” I stated simply. “All we can do is just move past it and do better next time, let this one bad day cause major problems, or let it build and build that you’re so mentally and emotionally numb that you don’t even know if you're lying to yourself you still feel emotions.”

“So…you’re saying ‘why bother’?” Rainbow asked carefully.

“That’s all up to you.” I said simply. “Are you going to let this bug the shit out of you to the point it gets you hurt, are you going to let it drag you down to the point your mentally grounded, or are you going to work past it and be better for when this shit happens again?”

“How long did it take you to work passed it?”

“For what specifically? Cause I have a lot of things that would technically fit that question.” I asked. “Cause if you mean the many deaths…well when I woke up after blowing up the Demon Ship.” I shrugged.

“How…could you have gotten over their death’s that fast!?” Rainbow asked incredulously.

“Simple, I didn’t even know who they were.” I shrugged. “Didn’t know their names, didn’t know their talents, just a bunch of hoof-picked soldiers to help us get to our destination as safely as possible.” I explained, which caused Rainbow to look at me with deep concern. “I feel sad for their deaths, I think it’s my fault cause I wasn’t fast enough…but someone told me they were going to die anyways whether I worked faster or not…” I shook my head.

"That's… worrying. I can kinda get it, but it's rare for some pony to die of unnatural causes."

“And where I originally come from…it’s sadly very common to see someone die from unnatural causes.” I sighed out.

"Doesn't your world have safety magics or healing magic?"

“The human world doesn’t have magic.” I shook my head. “I’m technically…something else from a different world.”

"How do you not have magic?"

“Because humans were either never born with magic, lost the ability to use magic for some reason or another, or something else that’s weird.” I shrugged. “I specifically have ‘magic’ and because of many other reason.”

"That's pretty weird."

“A bit yeah.” I nodded.

Everything in the camp went fairly quiet after that. We were still a day away from Griffinstone by foot and two from Equestria's boarders. Officially we were in the Griffon territories and Shining Armor and I were going over maps of the region.

“So what’s our first move captain?” I inquired. “Cause we’re a day away from some kind of civilization, and still a few days away from our main destination.”

"Well, if Twilight had brought Spike along we could have sent for help but without him we'll have to send a team out to make it to Griffinstone and bring help." Shining said.

"Isn't that why Cherry Soda left?" Lillinette asked.

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot to check up on her.” I started. “Where did she go?”

"Well, little after the Engine room survivors were out and safe she said she needed to complete Luna's orders and headed off for Griffinstone."

"Luna gave Cherry orders? Did she say what they were?" Shining asked.

"Nope."

“She’s the super soldier here, so of course she’d have secret orders.” I said honestly. “But anyways, right now Cherry is probably getting help, either through some secret ninja message system from Luna because why not, or getting help in general from the griffon’s if they won’t try to mug us for some dumb ass reason.”

"Did you really just say Ninja Message System?" Lillinette asked.

"This is just more and more concerning…" Shining Armor stated.

“Yes I did.” I told Lillinette simply. “But you get used to thing’s getting stupidly concerning Shining, trust me.”

"Not the Ninja thing. First, Cherry's placement into this mission, then the explosives Luna insisted upon bringing, now secret orders I didn't know about? Princess Luna seems to have gone over my authority and basically just used hers to overwrite mine for some reason."

“I mean, when Cherry told me that Luna’s a Seer and saw at least partial bits of all this shit going wrong…I suppose she had a good reason.” I shrugged.

"Still, what could be so bad that she went over my authority and probably around Celestia's?"

"Well, what were the explosives?" Lillinette asked. "Were they military grade or?"

"From what I saw it was mostly just dynamite and a few explosives potions. Nothing the guard uses, mostly they're used for Demolition or… mining… is Princess Luna after the Black Iron mines under Griffinstone?"

“I mean…would make sense considering Black Iron fucks with any active magics from what Cherry explained.” I shrugged. “Plus it would help with unicorn’s trying to find that magical artifact that somehow stops Griffon’s from being complete assholes.”

"So should we just wait here for Cherry then?" Lillinette asked.

Before we could answer, there was a scream from outside.

We all rushed outside to see from the woods, there were these various black pony looking bugs with all purple eyes surrounding the camp. Walking up to us was what looked like one of these bug things but more like what Celestia and Luna are. Tall, purple eyes and hair… or whatever that is.

"Changelings…" Shining growled.

I looked at all the weird bug creatures and just shook my head. “Alright, was it Cherry or Luna that wanted you all here?” I asked.

"I do not know who this Cherry is, I know of Luna and I can assure you she does not know of me. Unlike my sister I kept my people hidden." The tall one said. "I am Queen Silk, and your airship crashed atop my hives main entrance."

“I’m sorry about that Queen, but we kind of had to make an emergency landing after we were attacked out of nowhere.” I explained carefully. “And also, my name is Coyote Starrk.”

"What is it that you want with us?" Shining asked, looking angry but cautious.

"Well, for starters an apology for destroying our main entrance." Queen Silk stated. "After that, well, I plan on thanking you."

Shining raised an eyebrow. "Thanking us?"

"You are Shining Armor, the one who he and his wife love blasted my sister all the way back to her hive. I must say, my only regret is that I wasn't present to witness that myself. My elder sister has always held such an ego, it's quite enjoyable to watch her hard work fall apart in a single moment."

"So you aren't… mad?"

"Mad? No. Anyone who is an enemy of my sister Chrysalis is an ally of mine."

“Cool.” I nodded. “And again, sorry for destroying your front entrance, our ship was horribly damaged from an attack from…outside forces.” I said carefully.

"I can see." Queen Silk said as she looked the wreckage over. "One of the dead ones fell in and, it was quite the surprise."

“We’ve been managing to get debris out of the way for major spots but…we’ve been more so taking stock and, for others…processing the events.” I explained carefully to the Queen.

"So, do you also consume love like your sister?" Twilight was the one to ask that after she realized these Changelings were not a threat.

"No. Changelings are a unique race, each queen and therefore her subjects feed off of something different. Rarely are two queens the same in what they feed on. My subjects and I feed on knowledge and learning, not Love or emotions."

"How does that work?" Lillinette asked.

"Uh...yeah how does that work? Do you take people's knowledge or something? Or do you just ambiently feed off of some weird energy when someone's learning something new?"

"Nothing like that. My and therefore my people's biology aren't even capable of doing anything Chrysalis or her ilk can aside from shapeshifting. We feed the same way you and any other normal creature would when reading, studying, listening to a story or-"

"Are you telling me you're an entire kingdom of Egg Heads?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Queen Silk frowned. "I prefer the term 'Educativores'." She huffed. "You see, unlike Chrysalis who she and her ilk capture love, both the chemicals and magic through special glands located in the back of their mouth that are activated via magic, my subjects and I possess similar yet very different glands in our brains. These glands are connected to the parts of our brain where Short Term memories are processed into Long Term. It is at this juncture where what we learn from the day or from what we read, study, hear, ECT, that the glands create the magical and chemical nutrients our bodies require and the more we learn or study or whatever the more it produces."

"That's very interesting." I said honestly. "And are you feeding right now with this sudden bout of learning?"

"Yes and no. We found long ago that actively learning provides more than simple interactions like this. If I were to read a book it would be akin to eating a bowl of soup. This would be akin to snacking on a piece of candy."

"Seems a little strange why it's that low…" I brought up. "Especially with what's being learned here."

"We studied that and found that the most likely reason is that actively learning something to commit to memory seems to produce more energy from the glands than just a passive conversation."

"That makes sense." I nodded. "And then what about her?" I asked, pointing to the starstruck lavender unicorn that is just in awe at all this new knowledge.

"Her? An intelligent pony, what about her?"

"The fact that she looks like she's having the best day of her life trying to memorize every word you say?" I inquired.

"Her, she is an egghead." Queen Silk said, earning a laugh from Rainbow Dash. "Before it gets any darker would you care to take shelter in our hive. The surface gets rather cold at night for this area."

"That would be appreciated." I nodded. "Thank you Queen Silk."

When we went down the tunnels her hive made to get back outside, everyone was rather nervous, especially Shining Armor. Chrysalis had apparently crashed his wedding, impersonated his wife and locked her away in a forgotten mine.

Exiting the makeshift tunnels I wasn't really sure what to expect… I definitely was not expecting an underground Dwarven super city.

"This is… not what I was expecting." Lillinette said.

"Well, we do feed by learning. We figured long ago to also make our own developments in science and math and magic, so we did and still do. The result was a perfectly self-sustaining kingdom." Queen Silk said as she lead us through the almost futuristic, by earth standards, kingdom complete with giant sun lamps and thriving underground plants and even some animals.

"This has to be millenia ahead of anything any kingdom can hope to achieve…." Twilight said as a floating truck. Not a wagon, a truck, flew over us.

"Seven millenia by our calculations." Queen Silk said with a smile. "Course we can't take all the credit, a fair amount of the ideas came from other sources and we built upon them, traded and shared information."

“And here we are in the world of The Jetsons.” I joked, knowing me and Lillinette will be the only ones to get the joke. “Where technology finally got to where it probably should have been in the late two thousands.”

"Meh. I preferred The Flintstones." Queen Silk said with a shrug.

I turned to the queen carefully, not whipping my head aroundaround cause if I did that I might have broken my neck. “Hold the fuck up what?” I asked. “How do you know The Flintstones?”

"Remember when I said that we can't take all the credit for everything around us. Well, some many, many years, hundreds, there was this Unicorn mage named Star Swirled, developed a portal to other dimensions. Unfortunately it only went to mirrored versions. The dummy didn't realize that the reason it always went to a mirrored version is because he used mirrors for the base and frame of his portals. They took so much magic to open too, they'd only be open for three days a month at most or three days every three years commonly. We took his notes, copied them and worked on our own."

“Well…yeah that makes sense.” I nodded. “Can’t really go to many other places if you’re just looking into mirror’s all the time.”

"After some trial and error we managed to create perfectly working portals. Some took us to universes where the laws of time, space and physics do not apply or are broken and twisted beyond imagination. Sometimes it took us to a reality where the only thing existing there was corn or bread or whatever. Eventually we made one that landed us inside the workshop of an incredible intellectual not too different from your own species Starrk. He called himself The Engineer and working with him we learned how to filter through the strange or hazardous realities and place the portals in safe, stable realities."

“Uh…what color of clothes did this man wear?” I asked carefully.

"Hm? Goggles, yellow hard hat, thick rubber gloves on his hand appendages and a red jumpsuit."

“Yeah of course it was that Engineer…” I muttered to myself. “Alright, thank you, now I understand a lot of things.”

"Ah, you must be from one of the world's that view him as a fictional construction don't you?"

“Team Fortress 2 yes.” I admitted. “Also Engineer isn’t…really like me.” I said, lightly brushing against the lower jaw bone of Starrks old hollow mask that was acting as a collar for my shirt. “At least…technically.”

"Hm, interesting. Well, in any case I suppose there are worse ways to announce ourselves to the world."

"What do you mean?" Shining asked.

"Well, the elements of harmony, the prince/captain of the royal guard and other survivors from a Zeppelin crash over our hive and we announce ourselves. We can probably contact Celestia though it might be best if you do first given her first interactions with my bitch of an older sister…"

"Fair. I'm still not quite… comfortable."

"Fair. If it helps I think I know a way for us to get on your good side."

“What do you have in mind?” I inquired.

"I can tell you where Chrysalis's hive is located and how to bypass her special anti-non-changeling magic throne."

"Really? You know where it's located?" Shining asked.

"I know where all my siblings and mom's hives are. I didn't put those satellites in orbit just for show."

“You put satellites in orbit around the planet?” I asked in surprise.

"Ten around the planet and eighty seven are soaring through deep space."

"Can I live here?" Twilight asked.

"You can try." Lillinette said with a shrug.

“Calm down there Twilight.” I said, gently patting her head. “You’ll get your chance to satisfy your learning fetish soon enough.” I joked.

That earned a chuckle from just about everyone.

After a small tour we were set up in some guest rooms in Queen Silk's castle. Lillinette and I were resting and I found myself thinking about what Pain said. About Derpy…

“Hey Lily?” I asked.

"Yo." She replied from the nearby chair.

“What do you think about…us moving in with Derpy?” I asked carefully.

"Well, I don't know her well. Aside from her kid is cute, all I really know about her is that she's clumsy and delivers the mail."

“Well I got some…advice from someone…and also a warning from the same person.” I frowned. “That I should ask to move in with her by our fifth date…or suffer the consequences for it.”

"Yeah… that's not ominous at all…"

“She told me to my face she’d hurt Derpy if I didn’t ask by our fifth date…” I said. “And…there’s nothing I could do to stop them…” I sighed out. “So yeah, by our fifth date, I need to ask her if I can move in…and if not, Pain will hurt Derpy…”

"Huh. Well, move in. I imagine she marked the fifth date as something important for you both. I mean, these are godly beings so maybe she's also giving some foreshadowing?"

“She also said she’s the ‘final boss’ for us and many others…” I sighed out.

Lillinette thought that over for a moment. "Well, if she's giving you information that will help, fucking take it."

“Yeah…” I sighed out. “But…what if she finds that really weird or too soon?” I asked nervously. “What if…”

Lillinette threw a book at my head. "Stop it. You lived your whole life back on earth as 'what if' and it then evolved into 'why bother'. Could it be considered too soon, maybe, but weirder things have happened and in the land of magical ponies where death is largely a foreign concept and their rulers are all mighty goddesses of flesh and blood with orical powers, I'm betting you moving in with your girlfriend will be the least weird thing just because it's been five dates. Plus, dates can be spaced out. You're not dating one after another. Space them out, week or so and hang out in between just for fun."

“True…” I grumbled. “But this is still…a massive leap from what I’m used to…what if I cling too hard and force her away?”

squeak

“Wha?” I wondered, looking over to see Princess with a toy squeak hammer and an adorable pouty face.

No thinking that way, you can fix this. Princess’s sign read.

“I’m not going to get out of this am I?” I asked.

"No."

No.

“That’s what I thought…” I grumbled. “This is gonna be a nightmare and a half for me…”

"W-what happened?" Clare asked, dressed up in her Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck cosplay, holding onto her lance as it suddenly started to feel...heavier.

"I gave him his wish." Genie said simply, the woman turned around swiftly to see the happy mask man answer. "He wanted out of here, and he gave a pretty flashy way to leave."

"You...you took Mike?" She asked carefully, holding onto her lance and ready to attack him.

"Whoa there." Someone interrupted, a sad mask man said as he stepped in. "No need to get violent, cause we can just as easily...make a deal."

"Why would I make a deal with Mike's kidnappers?" She growled.

"Because we saved his life before you got to see what really made his brain tick?" Demon asked nonchalantly.

"The point is...you can see him again." Genie told her honestly, causing her to hesitate. "I'm Genie, and this here is Demon."

"And what is your wildest dreams?" Demon asked, causing Clare to shiver as she felt some sick grin coming from the sad drama masked man, even though she couldn't see his face.

To be continued...

Learning and Meetings

Queen Silk's cave, or subterranean empire, was quite amazing. Despite not needing to eat physical food, they did enjoy the taste and such of food, so finding something to eat was not too hard.

Entertainment wise there was, quite literally, everything.

And currently Lillinette was trying to pry me away from a manga store here that sells manga from every dimension where Manga exists.

"We gotta meet up with Armor damn it." She yelled while pulling me by my legs.

“Nuu~, I need to read!” I whined, not having had any good reading material in a while.

"I will yell at the top of my lungs your wet dreams." She growled.

“Oh don’t you fucking dare.” I growled.

"Then let the Fuck go of the book store. It's not like you can't come back here later."

“That’s what they all say…” I grumbled, letting go of the building bitterly and getting up. “Fine, let’s go find Shining…he’s probably doing the same thing to Twilight all things considered…”

"And you want to miss that?"

“Okay fine, you have a point.” I admitted. “Alright, let’s go see if Twilight’s passed out on the floor in a pleasure coma or if she’s being dragged away by Shining and three other people.”

We made our way back to the castle where Twilight was actually gagged, tied up and had a suppression ring on her horn.

"Oh wow it's way better than I thought." Lillinette said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Thankfully their library security was actually easily able to overpower her." Shining said with a sigh.

Twilight huffed through her mouth gag.

“Alright, was she doing something illegal or did she accidentally put someone into a food coma?” I inquired.

"No, she just tried to cast spells too complex for her… nearly set the library on subatomic fire." Queen Silk sighed.

“That sounds highly illegal.” I nodded. “Not surprising she did this to be honest…”

"It's not illegal, she was just Ill prepared." Queen Silk sighed.

“Well, at least thing’s were settled before she set something on fire.” I nodded.

"Well, in any case our messenger bot will be arriving in Canterlot shortly. Once it's in we can use that to speak with Celestia. Well, Shining Armor can."

“Cool.” I nodded. “And then after that, we can start heading our way to Stripper’s Pass, finish my little quest line, and then search for the Arrancar that’s in the Griffon Kingdom.” I said honestly, remembering Voodoo’s words that there was an Arrancar here…but sadly I won’t know if they’ll be friend or the one solitary foe until after we meet.

In a few short Minutes Shining was talking to Celestia, carefully explaining about Queen Silk and how her hive isn't an enemy, and that she hates Chrysalis as much as he does or more even.

That talk lasted about thirty minutes or so, explaining the crash, the demons that attacked and all that mess. When it was finally done Celestia said she'd send diplomats and another zeppelin to pick everyone up.

With that settled I went back to the Manga shop. Damn, some of these are actually considered Abridged series back home.

“Ah, back to the wonder of manga…” I sighed happily, grabbing the Fire Force manga and sitting down on a comfy chair with a table next to it. “So glad this store is also a book cafe…”

"Well, we don't use currency within the kingdom. All bookstores are like this." I looked over from my book at another Changeling. This was a female based on her voice. She didn't look too different from the others, save the red and white polka dot cloth wrapped around her head, covering her ears.

“Didn’t know that, also hi.” I nodded.

"Hey. Starrk, right?" She asked.

“Yes, yes I am.” I nodded. “And who are you?”

"Most changelings call me Polka Dot, on account of this." She said placing that hoof like appendage to her cloth headwear. "So, the Actual Starrk or is this a Displaced in another world in a different body scenario?"

I stared at her. “Oh we’re going to be fast friends, I just know it.” I chuckled. “So I am indeed a Displaced, got the chance of a lifetime after…a certain event that I’m still hazy on…”

"Sounds about right. You in contact with the beings that sent you here or are you in the dark on how you entirely got here?"

“Kinda sorta.” I shrugged. “They pop up sometimes, but they’re just ‘enjoying the show’ as it were…”

"Ouch. So, powers the same, different or something?"

“Powers are the same as far as I know, and I’m going to be learning a lot more things.” I said honestly. “Just need to learn how to use any of my abilities, cause I’m in the ‘don’t know how powers work’ kind of situation.”

"Ah. That's fair, it doesn't really make sense to pop into a new reality with a new body and powers and know how to use them when no such abilities existed for you prior."

“Yeah, only thing that was here passively was my Heirro, and then Sonido and all my Cero nonsense I need to focus on to even have some decent attempt at it.” I explained. “Which I also learned that I can infuse my Cero into shotgun shells, which that’s just straight fun when you have a Super Shotgun to go with it.”

"Ah, so that was the explosion that crashed your Zeppelin on top of our hive entrance?" Polka Dot asked with a smirk.

“I didn’t mean to.” I said sheepishly. “But demon’s from Doom appeared and tried destroying our Zeppelin…which they sadly did anyways…but I still killed them all at least.”

"Ah. Which Doom? Classic? 2016? BFG? Or Eternal?"

“I think Eternal, cause there were a lot of Marauders.” I said honestly.

"Ah. You ever play the Ancient Gods DLC?"

“Nope.” I shook my head. “I think it was…4 months away.” I said honestly.

"Awh, it was good. Lots of neat puzzles and more demons to kill and a few new weapons I think."

“That sounds cool.” I nodded. “Suck’s I missed it.”

"You can probably get a console or PC at a different store."

“I can?” I asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah, we are a currencyless empire who focuses on cooperation for equal social and societal health and development, so the concept of currency has no value for us since all major things are automatic and require little to no maintenance. So things from personal entertainment to medical needs, education and ECT are all free for us."

“Wow…if only this worked everywhere else…” I said in surprise.

"Yeah. Given that several studies linked monetary gains and greed to societal set backs and progression halts we figured it best if we didn't bother with having a currency of our own and focused on mutual development and advancements to benefit us as a whole rather than an elite few who possess a fundamentally flawed wealth based on economic or material values."

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “Alright, where would these shops be?”

"I'd recommend Archivist Entertainment. They have a large selection of high quality video games and movies and such from our neighboring friendly dimensions. You can even select what you'd like to have available to play and watch from the customization station."

“What paradise have I stumbled upon?” I wondered.

"I suppose it would be as close to utopia as many believe. Not many realities with sentient life have something like what we have, but the few that do are quite pleasant."

“I can imagine.” I nodded. “Alright, time to play a whole lotta video games.” I said readily, getting up and walking over to where I got my book and put it back carefully.

"Want some company?" Polka Dot asked as she got up from her seat. "I imagine you might need some help finding it."

“That would be great, thank you.” I nodded.

Polka Dot walked me down the street. It was amazing how the sun lamps they used were almost like being out in daylight. It was a short walk to Archivist Entertainment, the ship itself wasn't what I was expecting. Rather than a store with display models and game boxes on shelves, it has holographic screens where the customers seemed to be building their ideal entertainment device.

“Uh…” I blinked. “What…miracle did I just walk into?”

"Not a miracle, just technology." Polka Dot said.

I walked up to one of those Holographic screens and after figuring out how it worked, sorted through the many, many, many, many, MANY options they had. Being a nerd and wanting to try everything I-

"Oh, you have an Assistant?" Polka Dot asked, noticing the weird mark on my arm that was actually some advanced magic/technology device.

“Uh…yes, and uh…how do you know what this is?” I inquired.

"We've come across a few dimensions where the people there had the same thing. Even made contact with one of the members of the All Makers, or The Family. A lot of our tech was made from learning and studying these things, and even so all we have is barely a quarter of what the Assistant is and does by itself."

I looked at my arm mark… most of all this came from studying this thing? Wait, barely a quarter?!

“Wait, hold up…” I started. “Barely a quarter?”

"Roughly our understanding of how it works and does what it does and all it's capabilities are an estimated 15% of it's total functions and mechanics."

“Jesus christ…” I said, looking at my Assistant. “I…really don't’ like who might have it right now because Crescent gave me this…”

"Don't worry. It seems only the All Makers such as Crescent and such can bestow one with an Assistant, so there aren't many who actually have them."

“It’s who they would give it to that’s a problem…” I said carefully. “Cause if I got it…then the bad guy’s I have to deal with probably also have one.”

"Hm, well you'd have to ask Crescent or any of them that. But for this, just put your Assistant up to holo screen."

“Alright…” I nodded, bringing my Assistant up to the Holo-screen and seeing what’ll happen.

Polka Dot then tapped on the screen for a bit before it suddenly shot out a thin beam of light from the holo screen to the Assistant.

External Download in Progress.

Download complete. 9.7 Octillion Yottabytes of data successfully downloaded. Run install and comparability patchwork software?

Yes?

No?

Text displayed in my vission- Hold the Fuck up Yottabytes?!?!

“Hold up…the fuck are Yottabytes?” I asked incredulously.

"The largest unit of digital storage measurements for data. Your world doesn't have that? It's an oddly common multiversal commonality."

“Damn…” I said in shock. “And…9.7 Octillion Yottabytes? That’s a lot…”

"Yes." She nodded. "From what I remember studies saying about the Assistant and it's User Interface you should be seeing a yes or no option in your field of views right?"

“Yes I do…” I said carefully. “Jeez…and here I thought I would be fighting Hollow’s here…or getting through my raging depression…”

When I said yes, the yes option glowed and it all went away, and was replaced by new text.

Running Programs…

Programs installed.

Running Patchworks Software…

Patches generated and Installed.

Media Library Reading… organizing…

Set up complete.

“That was…fast…” I said honestly.

"It is more advanced than anything we've ever made." Polka Dot informed.

“I…can imagine.” I agreed. “So…now I have everything this thing could offer?”

"The entire database of Archive Entertainment." She informed. "Getting a custom device from here would have had it be fairly large but with your Assistant there it won't be an issue."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “Alright, so now I can play…possibly every game ever…neat.”

"Heh, sounds right. So, you got somewhere to be or?"

"Well, not at the moment." I said honestly. "We need to prepare to head to Strippers Pass and Griffonstone."

"Really? What will you be doing at that death trap anomaly of nature?"

"Learning how to use air attacks." I shrugged. "Says so in this book." I said, bringing out the book that told me where I needed to go and to learn what to get stronger. "Got it from one of the All Makers."

"Hmm, well, I imagine when beings of higher power cosmically give you something you best accept it gracefully." Polka said. "Or do your best to deal with it."

“I’m trying to do both at this point.” I said honestly.

"So, how long till you head out?"

“Not sure.” I said honestly. “Cause we’re gonna have to wait for both the Ambassador from Equestria to get here, as well as a Zepplin, so we can all get to the Griffon Kingdom.” I said honestly. “Cause neither me nor Lillinette know how to fly, or use Sonido…hell, we barely know how to use our Hollow powers to begin with.”

"Hm, that is an issue. Well, maybe… hmmm…" Polka hummed in thought to herself.

“Thinking of hanging out or weirdly wanting to help me figure out my powers?” I inquired. “Cause I was told there was another Arrancar in the Griffon Kingdom, but not where specifically.”

"The latter." Polka admitted. "Have you practiced much with your currently usable abilities or weapons?"

"I've tried practicing my Cero a little bit, that's how I learned how to infuse shotgun shells with my Spirit Energy." I said honestly. "But after that…not much no."

"I was just wondering if there would be time to use the Dimensional transport to help test your powers on Dead Worlds."

"There is a whole lotta time yes." I answered quickly, wanting to learn all I can about my powers with help. "I'll get Lillinette if we're going dimension hopping."

"Cool. Well, this way then." Polka said as she lead the way and I followed. "So, anything you wanna know about Dead Worlds?"

"Anything and everything." I said simply, deciding to use my Assistant to try and contact Lillinette since she was also given one. "Cause I'd rather not go in blind on something brand new."

"Well, Dead Worlds are classified into several sub categories. Worlds with a habitable atmosphere but the resident life forms of Intelligence underwent a mass extinction are known as Silent Worlds. Worlds with a deadly atmosphere after a mass extinction event are known as Decaying Worlds. Worlds that have completely been blasted, broken or ECT into pieces are known as Corpse Worlds. Lastly, the ones where one of the three happened but remnants of it's resident life forms survived are called Survivor Worlds."

“Oh, that’s what you meant…I thought you were talking about ‘Dead Worlds’ being more so like Hueco Mundo or the Soul Society, worlds where the dead reside as the undead in some intelligent way shape or form.”

"No, nothing like that. Most of the Dead Worlds we research the cultures left behind and take DNA samples for cloning and if we're lucky a successful clone comes out with most of their memories intact."

“Huh…” I said. “That’s…rather interesting.” I added, thinking literal cloning of long dead civilizations was kinda cool.

"Yes, well Changeling DNA is quite useful in filling in the blanks on DNA but that's where the holes in memories come from." Polka admitted.

“That’s really cool.”

"It is, I suppose." She nodded. "If recolonizing and repopulation of their home world isn't possible we mine what's useful and test out the more dangerous experiments there."

“I…suppose that makes sense.” I nodded. “If it’s a completely barren wasteland with no life on it…might as well see what happens with a lot of dangerous shit.”

"Yes. It's largely weapons testing. Nothing we'd use here though. Looking through dimensions and acknowledging the All Makers existence, there's worse things that exist out there than whatever is going on here at home."

“I’ve met the one that would make those ‘worse things’...” I said carefully. “Threatened a Cero Super Shotgun blast at her…then realized it would do literally nothing to her…”

"All Maker Pain?" She asked.

“Yes.” I nodded. “She also gave me dating advice through a warning…”

With a nod Polka lead me silently to another building. Once there we were given wristbands and she asked for a specific Dead World. A Silent World called Equis 8870987.

Walking through the portal I was in Ponyville… or what was left of it. Everything around us was broken, burned or stained in blood so old.

“What in god’s name happened here?” I asked.

"The All Makers, from what we can tell. Pain mostly, but this Equis seems to have failed at their… final battle."

“Who…was the hero here?” I asked nervously.

"From what we found their name was Megan. She was an Elf, actually. "

“Huh, that’s interesting.” I nodded. “Well…that must really suck for all these people.”

"What people? It's a Silent World Starrk. Nobody intelligent is left Alive."

“Fine, it really sucked for the people that were alive.” I corrected myself. “So…right now it’s just me and Lillinette training here?”

"You right now. I figured you can test out your Cero stuff here. Everything here in the Ponyville area has been cleared and cataloged and the… dead have been cremated and placed within a proper resting place."

“That’s good.” I nodded. “Alright…let’s start learning how to use Cero by myself…” I muttered, bringing out my hand and trying to focus on creating that sphere of Reishi.

I managed to manafest the energy but not shape it. As I was doing all this I noticed Polka was looking through various ruins.

“Whatcha looking for?” I asked, trying to shape the energy growing in my hands.

"I'm cataloging. Examining and organizing the objects. It's actually amazing that on a subatomic level it's all the same but from atomic and up it gets more and more different."

“That’s interesting.” I said, trying to figure out how to shape my growing Cero. “How is it different if I may ask?”

"Well, Subatomic wise they're all the same partials, but on the atomic scale those atoms are shaped differently, ever slightly. And their structure too. Even organic cells differ. Yet they all take the same shape at this… Scale of life."

“Understandable.” I nodded, still trying to shape this stupid thing. “Jeez, shaping pure energy is a bitch…”

"Normally you'd need a bonding agent to shape the raw energy into a tangible form and shape. Our studies show that gasses, liquids and all that can work."

“And sadly Reishi, or Spirit Energy, are neither of those things…” I frowned, feeling the growing power from this thing. “And sooner or later, I’m gonna be able to machine gun this crap…that’s gonna be fun…”

"All energy is that, energy."

“Fair.” I nodded, pointing the growing energy into a direction away from Polka and away from most of the debris and let it loose, a massive beam of energy firing off into the horizon and cracking the ground underneath me. “Right…” I muttered, not feeling at all tired from that massive blast.

"Well, is there an element of sorts you are linked to?"

“Not that I know of.” I answered. “Cause all I know is that I’m linked to Wolves due to my Resurrección but…after that not sure.” I shrugged.

"Hmm… well, you are an undead, and from what I remember from the Bleach Manga… hmm… bones…"

“I’m also a Gunslinger in my second form.” I brought up.

"That's not an element, that is a combat style. I'm thinking you might be able to utilize Carbon or Calcium mineral's to act as a structure or frame."

“Well, that’s just in case it might bring something up.” I shrugged. “So, Carbon or Calcium huh? I’m weirdly thinking you’re going to make me summon a Gaster Blaster or something.”

"If you do, that's amazing."

“I mean, it would be pretty fucking cool if I did.” I chuckled. “But I’m going to have to learn from some actual master’s to learn this stuff.”

"That's fair."

I nodded. “So, what hobbies are you into?” I decided to ask, trying to make some small talk as I tried to form another Cero.

"Well, like all my people I enjoy research and study. But I also enjoy entertainment. I've also found enjoyment in some visual arts and casual sex."

“Uh…” I started. “Why mention…casual sex as openly as you did?”

"A girl's got needs. Mine are a bit more… exotic~" Polka said, giving me a wink before looking back through her scavenged items.

I stared at her, trying to process the fact that she was practically flirting with me all of a sudden. “Uh…huh…”

"Relax, I don't bite. Unless it's on the table~ but I am just flirting. Besides, based on that reaction I can already tell there's someone you're with."

“I mean…” I started. “I was told there are Harem’s in Equestria, but I haven’t heard someone be…open and flirty with me besides two people in my life…” I sighed out. “One that’s back in our worlds Ponyville…and one I don’t think I’ll ever see again sadly…” I explained bitterly. “Plus…honestly never heard someone practically ask me ‘if you want to fuck all you have to do is ask politely’...”

"Being flirty is fun, and frankly sex is a part of biology. The fact so many cultures and religions outlaw it because of some higher deity's. Mortal entities were built to sexually reproduce. Well, most. And besides, we evolve to enjoy the act in effort to want to. And in the end majority of God's we have met both back home and in other dimentions all could care less about one anothers sex lives."

“Right then.” I nodded. “I suppose I’m not used to sex being talked about this casually before… considering I also…” I shook my head, not wanting to mention that little lack of experience.

"Oh, oh you're inexperienced!" Polka said with a gasp. "Apologies. Had I known, well, odds are I'd still have put the offer on the table but I'd also have been gentler~"

“I’d also ask for a date first.” I said honestly. “I maybe a depressed dumpster fire of a person, but I still at least try to be a decent person.”

"And I have blown someone after meeting them in less than five minutes." Polka added, making me blush. "Wow, so an undead can blush~"

“Listen…” I started. “This is getting…way off topic…” I started, trying not to get too embarrassed by all of this. “Never thought I’d be having this conversation…” I sighed. “I mean, while you are beautiful…I’m saving myself for Derpy…and if Harem’s are a real thing in this world and people aren’t lying to me…”

"Ahhhhh. Well, they are and fair enough. I can wait. Hm, never tried being in a harem before. Orgies sure but a harem… if all goes well with the diplomats I might just move myself to Ponyville."

“Really?” I asked in surprise. “Well…that would be really cool and…I’m not sure if you're talking about me in this ‘joining a harem’ bit…” I said, knowing I was mentioning it but not sure if this Changeling would bother with me romantically as we’re more so friends at this point.

"Well, what do you think I mean?"

“You joining someone that isn’t a complete and total mess of a person?” I said nervously. “Cause I may not…entirely act like it, but I…have a lot of problems.” I admitted.

"I find most problems can be helped by a lot of effort and sweat~"

“Hardwork and determination…and considering how flirty you are…new bed sheets.” I chuckled.

"Makes me happy I have smooth chitten. Last time I was with a pony or fur covered creature it took them a while to clean up properly~"

“Oh my god…” I muttered, not entirely sure how I’ve been keeping this energy sphere intact this entire time but all the sudden lewd thoughts are not helping.

It took a while before Lillinette showed up, and we trained for several hours. All the while Polka Dot was either talking or flirting. Or both.

In the end I wasn't able to shape the energy into much else aside a sphere. I was rather red faced and Lillinette was laughing pretty hard.

“Yeah yeah, shush you.” I grumbled, lightly smacking Lilinette on the head to stop her from laughing.

"I'm sorry, but she's awesome." Lillinette said. "I really hope she moves to Ponyville after the diplomatic crap is over with."

“So you can see what flirty nonsense she does to me and Derpy?” I asked.

"Yes." She admitted with a nod.

“Hate you…” I grumbled. “So, did you meet anyone special while we were here? Or do you have your eyes only on Spike?”

"Why would I have eyes on Spike? He's like, ten."

“And technically, so are you.” I said honestly. “Also, you two look adorable together.”

"I'm the same age as you. Dating him would be very very wrong Starrk."

“Honestly? I really doubt that cause…” I started, wincing a little as I rubbed my head. “Ow…” I groaned in pain. “Come on…one time I try to remember a thing, and sudden pain is my answer…” I grumbled, still hating how weirdly spotty some of my memories are. “But fine, I’ll stop that…”

"Thanks. I mean, Fuck if I told you to date Dinky you'd call me sick. That's how it feels with you talking about me and Spike dating."

“Again, I seriously doubt your my age, even if you came from my head…” I said. “And I can’t…fucking remember…” I growled. “Whatever, another thing for another time, so what have you been doing back in town?”

"I was formed around the same time you were born and was old enough to properly recall your memories to learn things. At minimum I'm a year younger than you."

“Something still doesn’t feel right about that…''I shook my head. “If you did, then why couldn’t I hear you until…” I hissed, clutching at my head again as the pain spiked. “Damn it…”

"Because that's not how mental health works. I mean, you hear your own thoughts in your head yet you hear a voice other than yours and then you're thrown in a padded room drugged into medicated stupidity."

“Therapist was certainly fine to explain to me why I had two voices in my head besides my own.” I frowned. “Cause suicidal depression is a hell of a thing when you have to bottle it all up with only like…five people in your entire life genuinely caring about your mental and emotional health.” I growled.

"Yeah well it was two against one and I didn't have a voice then. Technically wasn't even self aware til I popped into this body."

“If you say so…” I sighed out. “This sucks…” I grumbled, rubbing my temples a bit.

"So those Diplomats and such should be here now. Wanna wait around until everyone is gone until we head off or wanna head off now?”

“Well…should we be a part of their conversations?” I inquired.

“Not really. The diplomat stuff is between Silk and Canterlot. Probably for trade and travel and such.”

“Fair.” I nodded. “So let’s try to figure out more of our powers before we finally meet one of the Arrancars…hopefully it’s a friendly and not that rival.”

“Hopefully. So, anything you wanna do right now aside from that Polka Dot Changeling?”

“I’m saving that for Derpy.” I stated bluntly. “But…I kind of have an idea of what we can do…but I doubt it’ll work…and I really fear for what might happen…”

“Always worrying, always troubled. What’s up this time?”

“Seeing if we can actually perform our Resurrección or not.” I said honestly. “And part of that is me having to absorb you back into me since…well we’re supposed to be one person.”

“Huh. That does make me wonder if the complete form of us being one again will look different or not?”

“Nobody knows what Starrk and Lillinette truly looked like as a whole, even when they fused back together and released their full power, Starrk didn’t look too different.” I shrugged. “But the worrying bit is…if we do attempt that, will I be able to deactivate it, and if I can…will you come out afterwards?”

“I imagine. Whatever split us into these bodies wouldn’t leave us a means of not being individuals again.”

“Yeah…” I sighed. “I mean, we could probably ask Princess or one of them to split us back…but I doubt we’d have them all the time…”

“...Or we might?” Lillenette said, pointing towards Cherry Soda, who was walking with Fluffy on her back.

“So, this thing appeared on my back a day ago and has followed me through Griffonstone and back.” Cherry said, pointing towards Fluffy.

“Well, glad you found Fluffy.” I said, walking over and gently patting the floof noodle on the head. “So, how did thing’s go on your secret mission Cherry?”

“Good. Griffonstone is now an Equestrian Colony.” She said with a nod.

“Neat.” I nodded. “Now what ninja esc nonsense did you do to pull that off?”

"I appealed to their innermost desires. In short, Equestria bought Griffinstone. Griffins are about as greedy as dragons sometimes. Thankfully many are happy to take their bits and enjoy the work the new mines will bring in. Among other projects."

“Well…at least thing’s will hopefully look up for the Griffons.” I said honestly. “So hey Fluffy, mind helping me and Lillinette here?”

She held up a sign. 'Help with what?' it read.

“So me and Lillinette here are going to try out our Resurrección but we weren’t sure if we could…unfuse, so we’re gonna need your help to unfuse us if we can’t do that.”

'You should be able to defuse fine so long as the both of you keep your individual identities and personalities. While fusion does blend those as well, remembering they came from two different people is the key to unfusing.' Fluffy's sign read.

"But we were originally one person to begin with." Lillinette pointed out.

'While true, you've both developed more as individuals than before.'

“Still doesn’t help that…Lily here could lose said individuality while we’re fused…” I said carefully. “It’s not like normal fusion as far as I know…plus it’s not helped that there’s a difference between the anime and Manga, where in the Manga after they fuse Lillinette stops being a person, while in the anime she’s still around until…her final attack.”

'And this is neither.'

“Really?” I inquired. “How is it neither?”

'Are you two from an Anime or Manga?'

“Well…no technically?” I said carefully. “Since I used to be some depressed jack off and apparently she was apart of my mind when I was born…which again, feel’s weird cause I…coulda sworn it was different…”

'I know it's not that reassuring, but if Genie pulled her out of your head then I doubt he'd let her get stuck back in there so easily.'

“I mean…that’s fair.” I nodded. “But…better to be on the safe side with something we’ve never done before.” I said, gently putting my hand on Lillinette’s head. “Ready for this?”

"Nope, but that's never stopped you so fuck it, let's get it over with." Lillinette replied.

“Alright.” I nodded, as the first thing I tried to do was absorb Lillinette back into my being…somehow, and to even see if we can even use our ‘unleashed’ form. When I saw Lillinette vanish after a minute or so, I took a deep breath. ”You still here Lillinette?” I mentally asked her, hoping she was still here just in my head.

"Yeah. There's a lot more room in here." She responded.

”Not sure how mind scapes work so maybe.” I thought. “Alright…so let’s try this out…” I muttered, drawing my sword. “Kick about…” I chanted, both me and Lillinette suddenly feeling a weird shift in ourselves. “Los Lobos.” I said, only to feel a sudden rush of power erupt from my very core, and after maybe a couple of seconds it all stopped. “Okay…that felt weird…” I shook my head, looking down and seeing my new Twin Pistol’s in hand. “Well…at least we know we can actually do it.”

"Is it normal for you to also look like a bum?" Cherry asked.

“Bitch I look great in this.” I countered. “And if you think this outfit looks like a ‘bum’ then I don’t want to know what outfits your into.” I said, looking over my neat outfit lined with wolf fur.

"I'm a pony. We usually don't wear clothes so, can't judge your attire. Was talking about your hair though."

“It only grew maybe half an inch.” I huffed. “Yo, Lillinette, how you feeling?” I asked, looking to my guns to see if she was still there.

"A bit nostalgic, a bit bored- Hey so that's where that went!"

Before I could question what she was talking about I suddenly heard the familiar click and ding of a Gameboy turning on and starting up… how?

“Hold the fuck up what!?” I snapped. “When the shit is that allowed?”

"What? You have a lot of attachment to your old game stuff. Is it that surprising I have a mental construct of it made from your memories?" Lillinette asked, the familiar noise of Pokemon Gold's start menu playing.

“A little yes.” I stated. “So…now I just need to figure out how to turn back…”

'Just say Fusion Down.' Fluffy's sign read.

“Uh…alright.” I started. “Fusion Down."

In an unceremonious poof of air and fog I was back to normal and Lillinette was sitting down next to me… somehow still holding that Game Boy… "Cool." She said with a nod as she continued to play it.

“Oh my god…” I muttered. “Well…at least we don’t need to worry about that for…a good portion of the time.”

"So, are you two heading for Griffinstone now?" Cherry asked.

"Might as well." Lillinette shrugged.

“Really should.” I nodded. “Need to get to Stripper’s Pass, and at least try and find that Arrancar… hopefully he’s in Griffinstone and not in some random ass cave in the middle of bumfuck nowhere in the Griffon Empire.”

"Griffon Empire?" Cherry asked.

“Sorry, Kingdom.” I said. “Or…well, now it’s part of Equestria at this point…” I sighed. “Just have a lot on my mind right now…”

"Well, I guess the old capital ruins are now part of Equestria." She said with a shrug.

“Either way.” I shrugged. “Still have a lot of shit to do.”

It was a long walk to Griffinstone. But it was Peaceful.

A Manticore appeared out of nowhere and tried to attack, but it looked at Fluffy then ran away making panicked cat noises.

Was honestly funny.

Finally arriving at Griffinstone, we were greeted by what I can only define as a third world country town, complete with dilapidated buildings, cracked and broken roads, and a population struggling to make it day to day.

"Yeesh. And you said this was once their capital?" Lillinette asked as Cherry nodded.

“This is…absolutely terrible…” I said bitterly. “But…hey, at least they’re under new management that’ll help them through everything.”

"Begrudgingly." Cherry added.

“Begrudgingly?” I frowned.

"Modern Griffons don't really do help or cooperation. They just care about the bits and that's it. There's a reason this place looks like shit and it's not because of the shortage of bits or the lack of government authority."

“Then what about those two?” I inquired, pointing to two griffoness’s, a white feathered griffon with purple flecks on their chest and brown fur, and the other one being a dark blueish grey feathered griffoness with matching fur color. “Those two look like decent enough people…especially the blue one, she looks like she had a little too much caffeine.”

"They're kids and orphans. Don't know about the older one but I doubt they're related."

“Probably.” I said honestly. “But…hopefully the children and teen’s can be better off with this…where they can learn to cooperate and be friend’s and not be greedy and self centered…”

"Maybe, but I'm not here to set up a school for friendship." Cherry huffed.

We walked through the town and eventually made our way to the place… Stripper Pass…

Sweet Jesus…

The noise from the wind was defining. The twisters were filled with dust and sharp rock fragments and shrapnel.

I could make out maybe nine twisters and that's from what I can see.

“Alright…so I need to find the strongest part, and strike where the powers clash…” I said, even though the wind’s were stupidly fast and there was a lot of shrapnel, what few somehow strayed towards me pinked off without any harm.

"And how will you do that?" Lillinette asked.

“Find the point where all the wind’s are slamming into each other,” I pulled out my sword. “And then smack it as hard as I can.”

"It looks like there's multiple given there's that many twisters blowing in such a small space." Cherry noted. "Which one are you supposed to hit?"

“Well…” I started, thinking for a moment before pulling out my Assistant. “Let’s ask the know’s everything computer on my arm…” I said, trying to find where it’ll tell me the specific’s about this place.

There are 9.9.9.9.9.9.3^6 Quintillion results for Strippers Pass.

And of course it's useless…

“For fucks sake…” I growled. “Alright, gonna do something stupid, be right back.” I said while jumping into the raging storms.

Right as I touched the winds I felt something. An unexpected force. It pushed me back onto the cliff edge. That… wasn't normal wind?

“Hold up.” I started. “This isn’t normal wind…” I hummed, before taking my sword and slashing down towards the unseen force, wanting to see if it was indeed either normal wind or some weird magical force.

It was indeed some magical force… rather identical to my own…

“Alright, so this isn’t normal wind.” I said honestly.

“Then what is it?” Lillinette asked.

“This is directed by Reishi…” I answered carefully. “So…might as well make an attempt with something new…” I said, letting slip more of my power as the ground lightly shook before I slashed down at the barrier keeping us out to try and force past it.

It hit the barrier but the energy was absorbed by the winds.

"Well, that failed." Lillinette said with a click of her tongue.

I felt a tug at my leg. Looking down I spotted Fluffy there. I think she's asking to be… picked up?

“Alright you.” I said, gently picking up Fluffy. “Is this for pet’s or to help us?”

She gave a nod and quickly slithered down my arm, wrapping herself gentle around my neck like a scarf… wow her fur along her snake half is extremely soft!

I then felt her hands grip my temples and then felt… something. It was like a pressure but not exactly that. I felt Reishi flow into my eyes and… woah…

The world around me turned into an almost Negative like perception, but I could see physical outlines of everything and everyone. I saw some glowing mass inside Cherry, Lillinette, though hers is way bigger and… off, different from Cherry.

Fluffy then forced by gaze back towards the Pass. In the center of all the twisters and winds I spotted it… a Griffin? They were sitting right in the middle of all of it, and the energy glow I saw from them was like Lillinette, but way more… pure, whole and stronger.

“Whoa-kay…now that’s kinda cool.” I said. “But there’s a Griffon down there…our Arrancar.” I said carefully, gently petting Fluffy for helping me. “Alright, so how the hell do we get to them?”

Fluffy then pointed my head around. I noticed something. Thin, concentrated lines of Reishi energy were along the barriers of each of the twisters… and they all met up at the central one right above the Griffin. That's it!

"So that's how it works…" I muttered. "Alright, I know what we're gonna have to do."

I pulled out my sword, charging it with a Cero as I leapt into the air. I poured as much as I could Into my blade, and once I was above the central twister, I swung.

The explosion was actually less spectacular than you'd think. Really it was just a clashing of the energies then all the twisters quickly faded away into light winds.

I landed right in front of the Griffin. They were rather old, it seemed. Dark greyish feathers along his face and neck, a red-brown color of his fur and his claws and beak were the color of gold. His eyes, a brilliant orange, and part of his mask covering the top of his beak.

I also noticed his holes. Two, one in his neck and another right in his chest, a lot like mine.

"So… there are more… like me…" He spoke, his voice sounded prideful, wise and seemed to demand attention and respect despite his tired, worn tone of voice. "How upsetting…" They sighed.

"There are at least five of you on this planet." I said. "My name is Coyotte Starrk…and I'm here for your help."

"My help? Don't make me laugh. I can't even help my people… what help could I offer you?" They asked.

"Huh. I thought you looked familiar." Cherry said as she and Lillinette finally walked down and arrived next to me. "You're the last King of Griffinstone, King Grover, aren't you?"

"Not anymore." He sighed. "Now, I'm just a corpse that refuses to rest. And not for lack of trying."

"You are an Arrancar, the highest form of Hollow there is.” I stated bluntly. “While I can only imagine how rough it is to be this long lived and still see your empire turn to shit, you still have the experience, knowledge, and power to help your people here and now.”

"I couldn't help them then. What makes you think now will be any different? I chased that beast for miles to retrieve the idol that united my people, only for it to bite into my flesh like I was prey." He said, moving his talons over his two holes. "Next thing I knew, I woke up like this. The creature was dead and long since decayed, and my empire… less than a shadow of it's glory…"

"You woke up and everything was already as it is now…" Cherry noted.

"It had been two hundred years, and to me, it was but a blink. Like waking up from sleep." Grover said. "I did try to rally them. They mocked me. Said I was clinging to failed ideals of glory and valor, that I'd end up dead like the last King… they weren't wrong. Everywhere I went, the same thing. I found myself here, practiced the abilities I discovered I had… and used them to stay here…"

"You isolated yourself… why?"

"They do not want a king anymore. They only want their gold."

"What about the idol?"

Grover chuckled. "A fake. Held no magic like many believed, was just a decoration I made to symbolize our unity. Now, it, like us, is broken and resting in the dark. Dead and not even buried in a grave deep enough to cover it."

“So the better part is, why not grab the idol and rally your people again?” I inquired. “Bring back the pride of the Griffon Kingdom, show that Gold doesn’t mean jackshit compared to actual hardwork, fellowship, and honest good feeling’s?” I asked. “Cause if the Idol wasn’t magic…then that just proves that Griffon’s are better than their Greed, they’re better than their baser urges…you basically proved that Griffon’s don’t need Gold or monetary gains through a fucking Placebo Effect.”

"How can I, after that failure, after becoming this… undead thing? A ruler should be amongst the living, not the dead."

“Explaining to you what you truly are will take forever and a half.” I shook my head. "But right now, you have experience, wisdom, and talent to prove to the people of the Griffon Kingdom that Gold doesn’t mean shit, you don’t even need to be a ruler to be honest.” I said honestly. “And all we need to do is find that Idol, and show what you can really do.”

"That idol can stay where I left it, next to the remains of that beast." He huffed, turning around and looking away from us.

“And you’re not going to stay here wallowing away in self pity because you failed once.” I growled. “You have another chance to prove Griffon’s are better.”

"I tried, or did you forget where they mocked and ridiculed me when I was telling you?"

“And was that before or after you went searching for the Idol?” I asked.

"After."

“So why didn’t you bring the idol back?” I asked. “Why did you just leave it there when Griffon’s were literally better people because of a Placebo Effect?”

"Maybe it has something to do with finding out I woke up with a hole in my neck and chest, no pulse, no heartbeat and suddenly having the ability to create tornadoes and gale force winds strong enough to deforest the land with a sneeze? It's not like waking up as this undead thing came with instructions. I was just making sure I was even, well, me for a while before wondering if I was in purgatory or something else."

“Trust me, you're not in purgatory or something else.” I said. “You’re now technically one of the strongest being’s on the planet.” I shrugged. “Here, if being a king again won’t help…did you have family?”

"I did, but waking up two hundred years later… no one even remembered their names. Their fates, lost to time. For all I knew, they died looking for me."

“Fluffy, can I use my Assistant to do some weird Ancestry nonsense on him?” I asked my fluffy scarf curiously.

She slithered off my head and neck, down my arm and began tapping my Assistant. After a short few seconds a bean shot out, Scanning Grover before then seeming to scan the general area of… either this area or the planet.

When all that flashy stuff ended she held up a sign. 'Five living descendants.'

“So, you have five living descendants.” I answered. “Five children that you can help make their lives a whole lot better.”

'According to this only one is a child. The rest are adults.' Fluffy's sign said.

“Right…” I said. “Comparatively, but you have five still living descendants…I’m pretty sure one of them is still searching for you or the idol.”

"Doubtful." He sighed. He remained silent for a while. Clearly thinking this information over. "What could I even teach you?"

“A lot of things.” I said honestly. “History, family, hell, you can even teach the five of them to start building a better Griffon Kingdom.” I explained. “Show them the ways a real Griffon would do things, not one clouded by greed or anger, but one that takes pride in themselves and their work, show them the future you were working so hard to create.”

"Yeah, save for the fact Griffinstone is now an Equestrian Colony." Cherry reminded.

"Is it now?" Grover asked.

"Yup. Not to long ago they sold the entire place for a few million bits."

"Ah. Sounds like them." He shrugged.

“I was hoping not to bring that up…” I sighed. “But here’s a thing you can do, talk to Celestia and Luna about this, try to figure out something…and help me fight against monsters and demon’s that are ready and willing to destroy everything.”

"I'd rather not rule again, all things considered. But what monsters do you speak of?"

Before I could reply, Fluffy snapped her fingers. Illusions of Andy, Anne, Nightmare Moon, Demon, Pain, and several of the monsters they spawned and that one weird freaky one I fought for information.

"Oh, well, that is unsettling." Grover said with a nod as Fluffy disbanded the illusions. "Hm, and I can fight those things?"

“Yes you can.” I nodded. “As well as help me learn how to use mine and Lillinette’s powers better, since you have a lot more experience than we do…plus whatever new Wind based abilities we just got from this little adventure.”

"Hm. I suppose I don't exactly have anything better to do with my cursed undead existence."

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “And maybe one day we’ll figure out how to get you your final rest.”

"Maybe."

I nodded. “So, want to find your descendants?”

"No… frankly, I think it better if I don't. I'd rather not get attached and want to live."

Equestrian shipments and such were here now. Every griffin was getting bits, and supplies to rebuild the town first then work on reopening the mines.

They were mostly happy to get the bits.

I was walking around town and spotted a younger Griffin sitting in a broken slab of what was once Grover's castle. It was just ruins now.

“Hey.” I said to the young griffon. “How you doing today?”

"... I was gonna say to fly off but what in the name of The Egg are you?" They asked me, looking at me with wide eyes.

“My name's Coyote Starrk, and I’m…an Arrancar.” I said honestly. “Who are you if I may ask?”

The young blue and light khaki colored griffon raised a brow at my question. "Gallus? What's it to you?"

“Well, just curious as to why you’re here by yourself near the ruin’s of a castle.”

"Well, I squat here. Mostly." He said. "Lot of older griffon's recommended it from their youths. It's mostly dry so, better than nothing."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded, walking over and sitting down on another empty slab of masonry. “So, what do you think about Griffnstone being bought out by Equestria?”

"Means at some point some pony is gonna show up and probably take me to some foster care system where I'll be till I'm an adult cause ponies are notorious Xenophobics."

“That’s…weird.” I said. “Cause they weren’t xenophobic to me, only reason why I was put in jail was because they thought I was setting a historical site on fire when it was a harmless signal fire.” I shrugged.

"Really, well, lucky you." He huffed. "Is there a reason you're talking to me?"

“Well, just wanted to talk.” I said honestly. “Then you mentioned you might be thrown into a bad foster care system…so might as well cut out the depressing middle man.”

Gallus looked back at me, his brow raised again. "Oh, I know what this is. Sorry, but no. I'm not looking to become some rich perverts sex pet." I nearly fell off my slab. "I mean, I know it worked out for Grezelda, but I'm not into that. I try to leave selling myself as a last resort option."

“Okay so first off,” I lightly bonked the griffon’s head. “No, and I am legitimately insulted that that was your first thought.” I started. “Two, I’m not rich, even if I’m going to be paid a lot by the Crown, three, I already have a girlfriend and…soon to be second one, and three, I was trying to ask you to be my son, not some disgusting bullshit you’re thinking of.”

"... And I'm supposed to take your word because…? This happens all the time here. Some rich foren pervert shows up, picks up a street kid and they go on to become their perverted plaything either for life or til they're adults and get sent off with a fair amount of bits to stay quiet. So pardon my suspicion…"

“I understand.” I nodded. “But let’s point out some facts, firstly, you think I look rich?” I asked. “Two, Grover would be right pissed if I did that to one of his descendants, and three…what do you want me to say or do to prove I’m not lying?”

"First, I dunno, your species is new to me but your clothes do look well made. Two, who the hell is Grover, and three, I dunno. Can anyone vouch for you?"

“Fair, the King of Griffon’s two hundred years ago, and I have plenty that can vouch for me.” I said simply.

"Two Hundred years? The last Griffon King died like eight hundred years ago." Gallus stated.

Oh… shit, he was six hundred years in the self isolated death trap he made? Damn…

“Jesus christ that asshole isolated himself for six hundred years?” I muttered. “Wow…okay that’s…even more depressing than what he told me…”

But that does also explain why Stripper Pass is so well known…

"So… why are you trying to… adopt me exactly?" He asked, saying the word, Adopt, as if it was something new in his vocabulary.

“Because you need a new, better life than this.” I said simply, motioning to the still destroyed area. “You need a life where things actually are better, where you can have friends and family care about you, not just physically or what have you, but to make sure you grow up mentally and emotionally sound, make sure you’re happy and not either a greedy sociopath like some other griffons…or you going through what I had to when I was your age.”

He looked at me skeptically. "And… what do you get out of this…?"

I sighed. Then again this kid has lived his whole life in such a shit hole world where his only outs are through… physical depravity or worse. Their whole society has been that way for possibly the full eight hundred years… how can I get through to him that-

"You'll be his student." Gallus and I both looked over at Cherry Soda, who took this moment to walk in. "In exchange for being his 'son' you'll be training in various sword and combat styles from home, your 'aunt' Lillinette, or myself."

"Oh. Why didn't you say so?" Gallus asked me.

I rubbed my temples. “God damn it…” I grumbled. “Because so far I’ve only talked to Ponies, who are more ‘emotionally’ inclined with talking, and the only griffon I’ve talked to has been isolating himself for six hundred years.”

"Okay?" Gallus said.

"Relax, I'll explain some things to him. You just gather whatever things you do own and meet us by one of the Zeppelin's." Cherry said.

With a nod Gallus flew off.

Cherry sighed. "You really don't get Griffon culture."

“It’s almost like I wasn’t told jack shit about their culture, and I’ve only talked to one fucking griffon before Gallus.” I answered spitefully. “Gee, who woulda thunk it?”

"Fair enough." Cherry shrugged. "It's simple. Nothing here comes free. Ever since the empire fell it's been every griffin for themselves. If it costs you bits you can't afford, it's not worth it. It's why there are so many orphans here. Once an egg has hatched a mother Griffoness typically only cares for the young until the maternal instincts from hatching the egg wear off and then toss them to the streets. No one here expects anything for free, it's why he wasn't believing you when you just openly offered him a better life. If there's no strings attached then he's gonna be suspicious."

“Good lord…” I sighed out. “This is all sorts of terrible…”

"That's just what happens when there's no governing authority in power. Even when there is it's hard to keep everyone on their feet, but anything is better than this."

“Grover had six hundred years to fix this…” I started. “But…hopefully Celestia and Luna can help fix this…”

"That's Luna's plan."

"Good to know." I nodded, hoping for a better life for these people.

To be continued...

First Date and Elsewhere

The next month was… interesting. Once the supplies were all set up and the mine operational again the Griffons at least took some of the extra income they now had to fix up their homes at least.

Gallus has been… difficult. He's smart, but definitely does not act like a kid. Put school work in front of him and he doesn't do anything… also, he can't read or write so… that didn't help. Have him do chores though and he can work his feathers off and keep going.

By the time we were about ready to go, Griffonstone looked… more like a colony than a town but it at least was better than when we arrived.

Now where is Fluffy?

“Alright, now where is my emotional support fluff snek?” I muttered, looking around for the chibi slithery fluff ball of adorableness.

I eventually found her on the back of a young Griffoness. She had a dark blue/grey feathers and fur. A bit of white under her chin and neck, big blue eyes and really golden yellow talons.

"Hello there." I said softly to the young griffoness. "I see you found my friend there."

"Hi! I'm Gabby!" The young Griffoness greeted me with an abnormal amount of cheer and energy compared to the other Griffons I've met so far.

“It’s nice to meet you Gabby, my name is Coyote Starrk.” I said politely. “I see your…also very energetic compared to everyone else here.”

"Yeah. Most other Griffons don't like me for that reason." She said with a sad sigh. "But then Fluffy came up and said I'm her daughter now!"

“And I can see why.” I chuckled, lightly patting her head. “Cause you are just adorable, like Fluffy here.”

Fluffy gave Gabby a kiss on her head. 'She's obviously coming with us.' Her new sign read.

“Of course she is, why wouldn’t she?” I chuckled. “Her energy and outright joy would be wonderful back in Ponyville.”

"Yay, thanks mom!" Gabby said, hugging Fluffy.

With that, we took Gabby back home with us. Apparently she and Gallus knew each other.

The new airship arrived and the dead were loaded on and we were off.

I sat in my room and began playing games. Seeing as I had… all of them I figured something classic.

“Alright, something classic…something classic…” I muttered…before booting up an old favorite of mine, Tales of Symphonia. “Gonna have so much fun with this…” I muttered with a smile, hoping to get some gaming in and hoping to whatever the hell Fluffy, Princess and Crescent are that we won’t accidentally have Hollow’s on board with all the dead. “Don’t know how spirits work here…hopefully it won’t come back to bite us…”

I began playing and in the background I could hear Gabby playing, Gallus snoring, and Lillinette was doing something.

Some hours later I took a break, and saw Gabby playing Monopoly with Fluffy. Gallus still sleeping and Lillinette was eating a pizza.

“I see you three are having fun.” I chuckled to see the game and Lilly just chilling.

"Eh. I wanted a sausage pizza but Ponies are all veggies only. So mushroom it is." Lillinette said.

"This game is fun." Gabby said. She only had two properties and about three hundred dollars left while Fluffy somehow only had one property and a lot of money.

'She is really bad with money…'

“I can see that…” I muttered, looking at the board. “Also…did the game just start or something? Cause there’s a lot less properties bought than I thought…”

"We've been playing for half an hour!" Gabby declared.

“Right then…” I nodded, knowing Gabby was still a child and that this was probably her first time playing but wow is this game slow. “How goes the game so far Gabby?”

"This is fun!" Gabby said.

I chuckled, lightly rubbing her head. “Glad your having fun Gabby.”

Gallus was still out cold so I decided to head off and explore the new ship.

I managed to find Shining Armor, who was reading a book in a main lobby area. "Oh, hey Starrk."

“Sup.” I nodded. “How you doing?”

"Better, I guess. For the most part I guess I'm still mostly processing all that happened."

“It’s good that you're processing, cause it’s a lot better than…rejecting what happened and or breaking things.” I said honestly. “What are you going to do after we get back?”

"Well, First I'm to report to Princess Celestia about everything. The meeting went well but she wants a report on the hive and Silk herself. After that I'll be on leave given the lost troops and crew."

“That’s fair.” I nodded. “Give time to grieve and tell the family’s…” I sighed, still feeling like I could have done something to at least prevent even a single death. “But at least we saved the few that we could.”

"And once we get back to Canterlot, Princess Celestia and Luna wanted to each speak with you privately."

“Cause of course…” I grumbled. “Well they better be down in Ponyville for that, cause I have a date.”

“We’ll be docking in Canterlot actually. They’ll be meeting us at the dock.”

"Right…" I sighed. "Can't wait to hear what they have to talk about."

“If I were to guess they mostly just want to ask about the crash and the monsters that attacked. Given you are currently the most combat capable person I’m willing to bet Luna or Celestia will probably ask you for help in this. Though, given Cherry, it’s most likely Celestia that will ask for the help. Luna might just ask about the threat at hoof.”

"Yeah, that's probably what they'll want to talk about." I nodded. "Even though I'm…not really as combat capable as one would think…"

“Well, whatever the case it will be just you and them so, good luck.”

"Well…lucks been kind enough." I shrugged.

It was still going to be a while before we made it to Canterlot. I got something to eat and then went back to my room. Gallus was awake now and kinda doing nothing. Well, time to find out more about my student/son.

"Hey Gallus." I said to the young griffon. "How was your nap?"

“Better than usual. So, we’re heading to Equestria then?”

"Yes we are." I nodded. "What do you think of going to Equestria?"

“Well, food will probably be better than back in Griffonstone, even if odds are meat won’t be as available.”

"That is true." I nodded. "As well as things being a lot more friendly."

“I don’t really care about that.” Gallus shrugged.

"Don't care about things being more 'at face value'?" I inquired.

“Not really.”

Hmm, guess he’s just too used to the weird ways of Griffonstone. Speaking of, I wonder how he ended up on the streets. Cherry said most are just tossed out shortly after hatching…

"What caused you to be on the street?" I inquired, cutting straight to the point knowing he didn't much care.

“I’ve just always been on them. No idea who my parents are or were. None claimed and no one told. I think old Grandpa Gruff said I was probably left on the streets as an egg but I doubt that. If I was I’d be dead before I hatched.”

"True." I shrugged. "Someone cared enough to keep you safe, without any strings attached."

“If that were true I wouldn’t have been on the streets.” Gallus huffed a laugh.

"Life is weird sometimes." I shrugged. "But who's Grandpa Gruff?" I inquired, thinking that they might have at least some caretaker.

“He’s this old coot back in Griffonstone. If we want to take a bath or sleep under something resembling a roof he lets the street kids do that but in exchange he works us like dogs around his house.”

"Ah, that makes sense, also answers why you're so hard working." I said honestly.

“Yeah. I guess. Was mostly cleaning, fetching water or some repair work if the old fart cashed out for the supplies.”

"I understand." I nodded. "But I'm here to help show you that there's more to life than what you've experienced…cause trust me, being stuck like this can lead to…bad things."

“Speaking from personal experience?”

"Kinda." I said. "Not in the 'i'm a homeless orphan' and more on the 'I don't care about anything because', and that's a slippery slope that can lead to terrible…terrible things."

“Sounds about right. So, what will I be doing once we get there?”

“Well first we’re heading to Canterlot to do a lot of debriefing on things…and the first thing you’ll be doing is going to a doctor and making sure you’re healthy.” I answered simply.

“Huh. Alright.”

“Surprised there wasn’t any ‘I’m perfectly fine’ argument.” I pointed out. “Given how…everything back there happened.”

“Considering the closest thing to a doctor we had in Griffonstone was some few herbs that did more or less not much, I figure an actual doctor can make sure I don’t die in a year or so.”

“That is correct.” I nodded. “Then after that…probably ask the doctor for a proper diet to get your body back up to speed, cause I don’t know if you were eating fully back in Griffonstone and I’d rather not take that chance.”

“Well, I mostly ate rats when I could catch them or grubs and worms from the various bits of rotting wood around so, not too low on protein.”

“Protein is good…all the other vitamins and minerals your body needs…not so much.” I said simply.

“Do wild onions and berries count?”

“Kinda? Berries can have Vitamin C and a few other things…and Onion’s can help a little bit with blood sugar and bones but you’ll be needing a whole lot more than that.” I explained.

Gallus shrugged. “That’s been my diet since… forever so, I think I did alright.”

“Well, you're alive and still functioning so there’s that.” I nodded. “But we won’t know the real problem until we see a doctor.” I shrugged. “So, do you have any questions for me?”

“When are you going to teach me that fighting, sword stuff? Isn’t that part of the deal Cherry said for coming with you?”

“That was explicitly because I barely know anything about Griffon culture, and also because you believed I was some sick bastard before she came in.” I frowned. “But we’re going to be waiting on training, cause I don’t know what your health really is, and if we start now when you're not truly healthy, that’ll only cause more problems for you.”

“I guess. What about Gabby?” Gallus asked, looking over at Gabby who was now playing Connect Four with Fluffy. And losing. “Is it safe for that small snake dog to… take care of her?”

“That is Fluffy, she is what’s called a Floof Noodle…don’t ask.” I immediately said as the child was about to question and laugh at the silly name. “And yes…to be honest, I don’t think there’s literally anything on this planet that can hurt them besides Crescent and Princess.”

“Who?”

I was about to answer, before I felt a certain fluff potato land on my head. “This is Princess.” I said, as they waved to Gallus. “And Crescent is the naga you probably saw with…I believe Fluttershy?” I questioned, trying to remember the last time I saw the adorable snek.

“Oh. Well, alright I guess. So, what are they exactly?”

“Princess is a Dire Wolf, don’t know what species, and Fluffy over there is a Floof Noodle…which I can only assume is a mix between a Naga and a Dire Wolf.” I answered simply. “But…what are they exactly? No idea what they are besides that besides ‘retired and bored’.”

“Alright? So, do they like, live with you or something?”

“Yes…” I said carefully, not bringing up that this was mostly because they lost a bet. “And might be a teacher for me as well depending on things…”

The rest of the trip went by fairly uneventful. We landed in Canterlot and once the ship was properly Docked I saw Celestia and Luna walk up to me.

“It is good to see you again Starrk.” Celestia said, looking and the clear relief plain on her face at seeing Twilight and her friends were all looking okay. “Come. I will talk with you first then Luna shall.”

I nodded and followed her into a small room on the ship.

“So what’s up princess?’ I inquired.

“First off, I’d like to thank you for keeping Twilight and her friends safe. When the news of the ships crashing, horrid monsters and deaths amongst the guard and crew reached me I feared the worst.”

“It was Shining that kept them all safe, I just played demon killer after I woke up from the explosions.” I sighed.

“Regardless, according to Shining Armor you took down the enemy monster ship. For this, you have my thanks. I… underestimated the danger.”

“We all did.” I sighed. “I thought we would have been fighting base version of my race, or these Shadow’s that you talked about when Nightmare Moon was around…” I shook my head. “But sadly…forces outside any of our grasps are at work and want to spice things up for their ‘entertainment’.”

“Yes. It is for this reason I’m leaving Luna in charge of the counter attack, defense and military assets of the kingdom for the time being. I’ve spent the last thousand years of my rule using diplomacy and common ground to avoid conflicts. The last war I was in has long since been forgotten by history. But Luna still has the warrior's edge I lost long ago, and honestly, never really had.”

“And that’s a good thing.” I shrugged. “Violence can be seen in many ways, as either ‘a solution’ or a question, and sometimes there are other solutions, or the answer being ‘no’.”

“True. Thank you for your time. Oh, and also, the crown has purchased a housing for you and Lillenette in Ponyville. A little gift of thanks from myself.”

I winced a little bit at that. “Thanks Celestia…uh, question, how good is that house?” I asked, remembering my past conversations that I should probably try and ask to move in with Derpy by my fifth or so date.

“If I recall correctly it is a four bedroom house with attic and basement spaces. It’s a newer construction. Why?”

“Well…I had a talk with Pain…and she gave me some advice and that I really should start seriously dating Derpy Hooves…and she not only threatened me with extreme violence, but also mentioned that I should ask to move in with her by the fifth date…so there’s that.” I explained sheepishly.

“Hm, well, either way the house is yours and I doubt Lilynette will want to move in with you and your marefriend.”

“Probably.” I shrugged. “So yeah, that’s why I asked about the house…anything else you want to ask me Princess?”

“No, that was all really. Thank you Starrk.”

Celestia took her leave and not long after she was out the door Luna walked in and sat where Celestia was just sitting. “I take it my sister has informed you of my new position on this conflict?”

“You have answered ‘Yes’ to the question of Violence.” I nodded. “And that’s fine, cause with the shit that might be spawning, Violence is indeed a solution to the growing problem.”

“I’m glad we are in agreement.” Luna said with a smirk. “Fact of the matter is, modern guards and soldiers aren’t equipped to handle these issues. This event and Cherry alone are evidence that a more traditional, now slightly taboo means of combat is the best course of action. I’m sure Cherry explained to you the ritual she underwent that gave her the strength and skills she has now?”

“Yes, and I’m still wondering why in god’s name you did that?” I asked bluntly. “Seriously…there’s taking ‘not fearing death’ seriously…and then there’s that shit.”

“Simple. She is a lot like you.” Luna answered plainly. “She died, and came back something stronger while still growing in power. Sound familiar?”

“You…you didn’t make her into a Hollow did you?” I asked worriedly. “Which…because of everything that’s been going on, I forgot, do you even know what a Hollow is?”

“The name for them in the old days was Soul Bound. Though there are differences. For example, she will age and die, but her strength will never stop growing even in her twilight years, she can easily keep her own in a war.”

I sighed, rubbing my temple bitterly. “Damn it…what other differences are there so I can at least get some bearings on if I have to help train these people…”

“Illness will never affect them. They can be wounded, but with their age and strength their risk of death by injury also drops to extremely low. An example is one Soul Bound I knew, he was eighty, lost his head and simply put it back on and healed rapidly. But a younger one, who had only been a Soul Bound for three years was slain in the same manner, despite the hoof sized hole in his lung, the decapitation is what ended him.”

“So durability is a toss up at best depending on a lot of things…” I sighed. “Are they able to do any extraordinary abilities that their race normally can’t?” I inquired. “Like walking in mid air when they’re an earth pony, or casting unicorn spells as a pegasi?”

“The boosts are largely just physical enhancements, though they are capable of slaying undead and specters typically unharmed by physical attacks and strikes. They were invaluable in dealing with ancient necromancers and Liches back in the old days.”

I hummed, thinking about that in detail. That could technically make their bodies Zanpakuto, weapons that are able to harm and even kill Hollow’s, or in this case, the undead even to the point where Lich’s phylacteries didn’t mean shit. “Hmm…have you ever witnessed anything…weird with these Soul Bound? Like a transformation or even a slight change to their body or abilities in anyway besides the physical?”

“Hmm… Languages. Somehow all Soul Bound have a still unexplaine ability to learn, read and speak any language, common, rare or long dead and forgotten. Aside from that, infertility and immunity to hypnosis. But nothing like what you describe.”

I sighed. “Gonna need to see this procedure, even if I don’t like it.” I sighed. “Cause it might be possible that there are some similarities that can be bridgeable between what I can do and what these Soul Bound can do…hmm, actually, is Cherry nearby?” I asked, completely forgetting that I literally had the answer to a lot of problems literally magically grafted to my arm. “Or any other Soul Bound?”

“Cherry so far is the only Soul Bound in this new era. She should be heading back to her barracks at the castle right now.”

“Crap…” I muttered. “But mind calling her here? I need to check something about these Soul Bound and how close they are to me and Lily.”

“I can have her sent to Ponyville in a few days. Right now she is due for rest and relaxation. But I can mail you a copy of the ritual texts for you to oversee.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Cause there’s a lot of things that could happen if I’m right.” I said honestly. “And if I’m wrong…well nothing changes.” I shrugged.

“Alright. That aside, I was hoping to look at your weapons. I’d like to see if we are capable of crafting replicas or something similar.”

“The only thing that can’t be replicated in it’s entirety is mine and Lilinette’s swords cause it…technically is the sealed form of out ‘released form’.” I answered carefully. “Everything else should be fine.”

“I see. Well, we will work with what we can. That is all Starrk, you can return to Ponyville.”

“Oh, a date?” Derpy asked when I finally found her. “Sure!”

“Oh thank god…” I muttered happily. “Alright, so this is fantastic…where do you want to go on our date?”

“Well, Dinky is off school so I can get my roommate to babysit her. Maybe a picnic?”

“That would be great.” I nodded with a smile. “A nice simple picnic…it would be fantastic.”

“We can have some sandwiches, salads and sweets. I’ll bring the sandwiches and salad, you can bring the sweets?”

“Sure.” I nodded. “Got any sweets in mind?”

“Anything from Sugar Cube Corner or Bon Bon’s candy shop is fine. Both sell good stuff.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Sounds like a plan, when do you want the picnic?”

“Well, how about tomorrow afternoon? I don’t have work tomorrow.”

“It’s…” I couldn’t help but feel warm with the next words. “A date.”

Derpy gave me a smile and a nod before flying off. Okay… just need to get sweets. Two stores as an option. I… hopefully won’t mess this up. Guess if anything I can check out the stores now, maybe place an order for tomorrow morning so I can make it for the date in the afternoon.

“Alright…let’s head to Bon Bon’s first since I haven’t been there yet.” I muttered, heading off to find Bon Bon’s shop.

It wasn’t that hard to find, the sign on the building had the picture of a large bon bon candy on it. I walked in and spotted the cream colored mare with a pink and blue mane. “Hello, you must be Starrk.” She said with a wave.

“Yep.” I nodded. “And you must be the titular Bon Bon?” I inquired.

“That’s me. Candies and, well, candies. All hoof made here in store. Looking for anything specific?”

“Going on a first date…so any recommendations?” I asked nervously. “It’s with…Derpy Hooves if that helps.”

“OOOhh. I think I have an idea.” Bon Bon said, quickly ducking under the counter and coming back up with a small bag. She put it on the table. “These are my Cherry and Dark Chocolate with cream bars. Derpy loves them, usually takes a few with her when she buys something for Dinky.” She ducked back under the table and came back out with a small box. “And these are my Peppermint licorice sticks. I usually only make these around the holidays but I still have some here leftover from a party Pinkie Special Requested them from a month ago. They’re still good.”

"This is awesome…" I said. "There's…how much do I owe you for this great blessing?"

“Thirty bits in total.”

I handed her fourty. "So there's a tip as well for a massive thank you for this."

“Thanks.” She said, taking the bits. “Good luck on your date with Derpy.”

“No problem, have a nice day.” I nodded, taking the goodies and heading off to Sugar Cube Corner.

I entered and spotted Mrs. Cake at the counter. “Why hello there, need something hun?” She asked me.

“Got any recommendations for me on my first date with Derpy tomorrow?” I asked Mrs. Cake.

“Oh my goodness, congratulations dear. I’ve been hoping that filly gets a date at some point. Well, for a first date I’d recommend half a dozen pumpkin muffins. They’re her favorite. I can have a batch hot and ready for you tomorrow morning.”

“That would be fantastic.” I nodded. “So how much will that cost?”

“It’s twelve for the muffins and five bits for the order placement, so seventeen bits in total.”

I gave her twenty seven bits. “And tip because thank you very much Mrs. Cake.”

“Thank you kindly dear, your order will be ready by ten am tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” I nodded, even though my Assistant can probably keep it fresh, I’d rather wait for it tomorrow. “I want to make this as special as possible for her.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.” Mrs Cake said.

With that all done I decided to check out my new house. Lillenette, Gabby, Gallus, Fluffy, Crescent and Princess should all be there now. Now, let’s see where it was…

I eventually found the place, it was a distance from the main town but not near the borders of it. It was two stories, I guess three if you include the attic. Four, actually. Basement. I opened the door- What in the name of fuck?

The inside looked like… a normal living room you’d see on earth. Modern Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, other rooms, long hallways, stairs… this place looks way bigger inside than it should be.

"I'm home!" I called out to anyone in the house.

“Hey.” Lillenette waved from the large couch in the living room. There was a flatscreen TV and… a lot here.

“Certainly feeling like home huh?” I asked Lillinette.

“Yeah. Fluffy and Princess decorated. Probably broke some laws of physics too but, eh.” She shrugged.

“All things considered, I’m surprised that’s all they broke.” I shook my head. “So how’s Gabby and Gallus adjusting?” I inquired.

“Gabby is happy to have a big, neat house with her snake-dog mom. Gallus was just happy to have a real bed.”

“That’s fair.” I nodded. “Just glad the both of them are enjoying being here.”

“In their own way.” She shrugged. “So, like the house?”

“It’s a really good house.” I nodded. “And again, thankful for Fluffy to just…solve all their medical issues…and also, got a picnic date set up with Derpy tomorrow.”

“Nice. Good luck, bring condoms.”

“We’re not going to immediately do that!” I blushed furiously at the insinuation. “Why would you think that?”

She shrugged. “You’re a lonely nerd. She’s a lonely milf. Feels like a possibility.”

“And I…hate how you're right…” I grumbled bitterly. “But seriously, there’s no way it’ll happen that soon…”

She shrugged. “Polka Dot was ready to pounce you and you weren’t even on a date with her.”

I sighed, yet again being proven that maybe people in this world are extra horny for those willing. “Fine…fine…” I grumbled. “I’ll see what I can find…ugh, now I’m getting worried about tomorrow being a nightmare…”

“Hey, if you do get laid then it won’t be much of a nightmare.”

I sighed, rolling my eyes and looking for my room. I found it and… woah…

I walked in, feeling… surreal. It was… basically my room back home… down to the smell… man, I lived like this?

“Ugh, don’t remember my room smelling like this…” I grumbled, pulling out a febreeze bottle and spraying it around. “I at least…kept it semi-clean at least…”

Before anything I pushed aside dirty clothes on the floor into a pile, tossed some various bits of trash on my desk away and finally changed my clothes. It felt weird being in my normal sleepwear, the fact they fit I wasn’t even going to question, and went to sleep.

I woke up with a yawn. Seeing my room I almost thought it was all a dream til I looked in the mirror I kept in here. Yup, wasn’t all a dream… actually, thank god for that. I got a date today. Oh shit I got a date today!

“Shit!” I panicked and threw the blankets off and accidentally fell out of my bed and hit the ground with an audible thud. “What time is it?” I panicked, having to grab the muffin’s from Sugar Cube Corner at ten am.

I found my clock after getting back up. Seven forty three in the morning? Woah… since when do I wake up this early? Well, at least I’m not late for anything.

I let out an audible sigh as I got up and stretched a bit. “Ugh, that’s…never happened before.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and walked out my room and into the kitchen. To my surprise, Flutty was here cooking. ‘Morning.’ The sign in her tale said.

“Morning.” I yawned. “What’s for breakfast?”

‘Eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, cereal, fruit salad, breakfast pizza, bagels, fried potatoes, grits, toast, and with your choice of milk, juice or shake.’

It was at that moment I looked into the dining room to see the table beyond stacked with huge plates of all the aforementioned foods in two foot tall piles on the plates…

“Holy hell…” I muttered in awe. “This…well, I’m undead so I might have a bottomless stomach…”

Once Fluffy was doing… Whatever she was doing in the kitchen still, she woke up the others and needless to say, while Lilletette was picking her jaw off the floor, Gallus and Gabby ate with reckless abandon. Neither seems to have ever had a truly filling meal and so the two ate themselves into a possible food coma. I ate my fill, apparently not having a bottomless stomach and only Lillenette ate a proper amount.

I then watched as the three tiny beings eat the plates clean like true bottomless pits and then Princess take the empty plates to wash them.

“Now that was delicious.” I said, honestly feeling a lot better after my freak out and…even after a month or two of being here, it still felt weird and…really nice to feel happy for once in my life without something ruining it.

“So, what are you going to wear? I doubt that shirt is appropriate?” Lillenette asked. It was then I realized I was wearing my shirt that said ‘Anime Titties’... why do I even have this shirt? Right… mom thought it was funny…

“Well that kinda ruined my mood immediately.” I muttered bitterly, remembering that I’ll never see my family again. “I’m not going to wear this…but thanks for reminding me about that.”

‘Need a suit?’ Crescent asked, with a sign.

“It’s a picnic…I shouldn’t really overdue it on the outfit…” I said, trying to think on how to do this properly. “First actual date I’ve ever had…and I don’t know…”

“So wear something casual. That’s at least half your usual outdoor clothes you own anyway.” Lillenette said.

“Yeah, just thinking of what to wear…cause again, I want to make this special for her.”

‘Start with a kiss then slowly trace your hand down to her flank and-’ Flurry used her tail to swat Princess’s sign out of her hand.

‘Not like that. Blue jeans and a black or blue shirt with basic sneakers is alright. Casual and comfortable. Not fancy but also not showing you didn’t care enough to at least look decent.’ Fluffy’s sign said.

‘Fluffy being the non-horny one? Is it Winter in Hell already?’ Crescent raised a sign as an obvious joke.

‘You’re one to talk, Miss Chokers and Pet Play.’ Fluffy’s sign replied.

“Okay…so the three of you are extra horny…” I said, getting a three way sign of ‘yes, yes we are’. “But thank you for the advice…it means a lot to have the help.”

With that, I got up and went to look for those jeans and shirt.

I found both easily and managed to fix my hair a bit before heading out. I had the sweets from Bon Bon’s, now time to pick up my order from Sugarcube Corner.

I got in, grabbed the muffins, thanked Mrs. Cake and left, finding Derpy in town center.

She wore a cute little yellow sundress, her mane was brushed back and she even wore some lipstick.

“Hey Starrk!” She greeted me.

“Hey Derpy, how are you doing?” I asked. “And you look beautiful.”

“Thanks. My Roommate might have gone a bit overboard for me. I haven’t been on a real date in years so, she was more excited than I was actually.” She said with a smile and chuckle.

"I can imagine." I chuckled. "This would be…my first 'official' date in my entire life, and at least some of my roommates were excited…but Lily mostly wanted to tease the shit out of me."

"Let me guess, protection?" Derpy asked. "Carrot was the same. I swear, that mare acts like I don't have common sense. Or self restraint."

"Same here…her reason was 'im a lonely nerd' and 'your a lonely MILF'...but we both have self restraint and know better." I said simply.

Derpy laughed. "Carrot said the same thing. Though replace nerd with alien."

"We should keep those two away from each other at this point." I chuckled. "Who knows what nonsense they'll try and put us in for our dates."

"True." Derpy smirked. "So, shall we? I already have a spot set up."

"Yes please." I nodded. "Lead the way my lady."

Derpy flapped her wings, keeping a low flight as she lead me to the nearby park. We sat at a picnic blanket under a tree. The Tupperware of fruit salad and sandwiches.

I put the sweets down, Derpy was really happy they were all her favorites. We sat and ate, talked and told some stories. Laughed.

"So, you adopted a Griffon while you were in Griffonstone?"

“Yes I did, and a roommate also adopted a griffon.” I nodded. “Only problem is…the one I ‘adopted’ is in the ‘griffon’ mindset and I don’t know how to…make him see the world is better than all that like the other child.”

"Well, maybe enroll him in school? He might benefit from it?"

"True, but he might think it's not worth the trouble cause he never went to school due to…well Griffonstone being what it was." I said nervously. "Seriously, to 'adopt' the kid I had someone else offer up me training him how to fight to even understand some basis of 'common decency'."

"Hmm. That's tough. But I think it's similar to how parenting normally is." Derpy said. "Like, when Dinky has a big test coming up, I tell her the effort and grade she gets will determine the reward she gets. If she gets and A, she gets ten whole bits for herself. A B, she gets a single piece of candy, and a C gets her a trip to the library. Course I based those rewards on what she likes more or less."

"Understandable…" I sighed. "Just…I suppose being a first time parent and all that is a little hard…"

"Oh just be glad you don't have to deal with diapers vomit, thrown food and since Dinky is a unicorn, magic surges. Pegasi parents normally deal with their little winged ones flying around like crazy, but baby unicorn magic surges we're a whole other league I had no idea how to deal with. Dinky once sneezed and turned the toaster into beehive."

"That doesn't sound fun in the slightest." I shuddered.

"Yeah. It was a nightmare, but I got a lot of fun stories out of it." Derpy chuckled. "I'm sure you'll eventually make a few with Gallus over time."

"Hopefully…" I sighed out.

"Trust me, parenting is a learned thing. My advice, take help and advice where you can and when cause even if you do have multiple each child is going to be rather different from the last."

"Understandable." I nodded. "Gonna be a whole lot of new experiences…but hey, at least I can make them with you."

"Heh, well I won't mind so long as we get to go on more dates like this or just hang out and do whatever."

"And I would be super happy to go on more dates with you."

"Heh. Thanks Starrk. It's been a while since I just got to have fun like this and feel special."

"Well, I wanted to make you feel special, and I'm glad to know I'm doing good." I said warmly.

Derpy gave me a smile, leaned in and placed a light kiss on my cheek. "I'm glad I mean so much to you."

I blushed brightly, but smiled nonetheless. "And I you my wonderful pegasus."

My date ended when the last of the food was gone. Our next one was going to be a week away, since that's the next day off Derpy gets. Life of a mailmare is quite busy it seems. Still, even with that she says all I have to do for a hangout is to stop by her place around seven and she, Dinky and anyone I wanna bring with me can go out for Hay burgers.

It was a few days later, I was lazing around the livingroom when Cherry finally showed up.

"Princess Luna said you wanted to see me?" She asked. "I also bring the ritual document copies."

"Yes, and this is two fold." I answered, bringing up my Assistant and using it to scan Cherry to see what Soul Bound is.

Species: Equis Undead.
Classification: Soul Bound.

Soul Bound are a still living form of the necromantic item known as a Soul Jar. A soul jar contains pieces or a whole soul pulled from a living organism. The Soul in the case of a Soul Bound is actually bound to the flesh of their body rather than reading within it as typical. The older they get the stronger the soul gets and the harder they are to kill. Only natural age at their bodies biological natural end can put a Soul Bound to rest in their later years, while earlier years can withstand lethal damages but the younger the Soul Bound the less likely they are to survive certain lethal injurie.

While illnesses can not harm them, they also lack a biological ability to reproduce, but in exchange can pass along their Souls energy into their weapons, allowing them to deal damage to enemies and undead typically immune to physical attacks and slay them.

The Soul Bound can only be created through one of several specific taboo rituals combining the Divine arts with Necromantic energies, as well as tools and a specific items known as a Soul Stone.

Soul Bound , do to being classified as Undead yet still biologically alive means they do not gain other Undead benefits or abilities. Save a special ability to learn and understand and speak any language as The Soul can communicate directly to the soul of another regardless of spoken language.

"Hmm…" I hummed. "Where is your Soul Stone?" I inquired, cause this is kinda sounding like a weird lich ritual but the other way around.

"As part of the ritual it is ground up, coated around my heart then my heart is placed back inside my chest." Cherry said, pulling out some scrolls from her saddle bags and giving them to me. "It's all here in the documents."

I grabbed the scrolls and started to read through them carefully, trying to get a full understanding on how it works and how it uses the Soul.

And… it's way over my head… shit I can't read this, at least not all of it. I don't even know how Equestrian magic works, let alone my own magic…

"Right…should have thought this through…" I muttered. "This is honestly way over my head…but I know there's a connection here…hmm, have you ever tried to manifest your soul power into a physical object?"

"It does that passive into my weapons. It's how Soul Bound can even combat undead and spirits without magic."

"I know I know." I said. "There's just something about this that feels like I can help make you even stronger…hmm…" I hummed. "And this is mostly because I am technically an undead that uses their soul to do a lot of things."

"Hm. Well,.maybe it's a 'same family tree, different branch' kinda thing?"

I thought for a moment, then decided to check my Assistant on a. If that was the case and b. If I had a skill tree cause that just hit me.

Inside indeed have a skill tree, and yes a quick search states that Soul Bound are a distant family member, like a third cousin to Hollows.

"Alright, so you are right with the 'same tree, different branch's." I admitted. "Rather distant to be honest…hmm, well this kinda throws a wrench into any ideas I had…"

Cherry shrugged. "Eh. So, was this all?"

"Hmm…" I thought for a moment. "What did you see when the ritual was happening?" I asked, might as well take that shot in the dark to see if there's any knowledge of Soul power I know that could help.

"Everything kinda went bland once my heart was cut out of my chest. Plus the pain didn't help." Cherry said flatly.

"Understandable considering you were literally having your heart surgically removed while still conscious…" I hummed.

"Psst. I wish it was surgical. No, try more occult sacrificial. Big knife. Lot of pain. Broken bones… I don't like remembering it."

"That's…fair." I nodded. "Best not dig deeper into that…well this kinda sucks, cause I don't know enough about this worlds magic to help, and the only things I would know that could help might be too far generation wise…"

"Fair." She nodded. "If you want to know about this world's magic, why not ask Twilight? She is Celestia's student and her special talent is in magic."

"Yeah, that's true." I said. "Still need to talk to the old griffon king to also get some training from him…" I muttered.

Somewhere, very far away from Starrk, laid a green haired woman in bone white armor covered in grayish fluffy fur. “Ugh…the fuck happened?” Claire groaned, a splitting headache keeping her eyes shut besides the sun bearing down on her.

"Well, looks like I have a newcomer to my home. What brings a creature like you so far from home?" Claire looked up, and saw a Zebra, a talking Zebra with an all bone face mask on her head looking at her.

“Talking…Zebra…” Claire muttered, not…really sure how to process that but she shook her head. “Hi, my name's Claire…and I’m here to find my boyfriend because some guy’s named Genie and Demon sent him…to wherever the hell ‘here’ is.” She waved a hand around to motion to whatever place they were at…then noticed her arm covered in the bone-like outfit.

"I see that you and I are a lot alike. Brought back from death into life with no guide to follow."

“What?” Claire asked in confusion. “What do you mean?” She asked, only to now notice that she felt something on her hip, and looking down she saw a katana and it’s scabbard there. “Wait…what?”

"Hm, it seems you are a new blood. Maybe a student? That sounds like fun."

“Well…since I’m apparently in a new world with a talking Zebra as…I’m probably Neiliel…being a student would most definitely help yes.” Claire said readily.

"My name is Ajin. And perhaps I can help you find your friend."

“It’s nice to meet you Ajin.” She said, getting up and dusting herself off. “So, where do we start?”

To be continued...

Memories and Training

When I woke up today, I was hoping for a good start after a nice date…what I didn't want was to be screaming in pain like my head was being split open by a hammer…

Then things went dark…

"So what are you playing?" Clare asked.

"Pokemon Conquest." I answered, the two of us at the park just hanging out as per usual. "No idea why people aren't talking about this good tactics game."

"Probably because when people think of Pokemon they think of cute little monsters and turn-based battles."

"Fair." I shrugged. "So how've you been?"

"Eh." She shrugged. "Bored being home alone all the time." She stated.

I nodded. Her parents were always busy, her mom being a surgeon often sleeping overnight multiple days of the week and her dad being an airplane pilot ment she was home alone a lot.

"Well that sucks." I said. "While I'm not technically all by myself at home…certainly feels like it…" I sighed, dad always been off trucking and my older brother working third shift while…mom was long dead, it was lonely. "So I can understand your pain."

"Hence why we always hang out." She smirked. "So, any weekend plans aside from sleep, eat and I assume masterbate?"

I blushed furiously at the fact she just openly stated that. “W-well…I mean, part of my plans was hanging out with you-”

“And masterbating.” Claire teased.

“Hush you.” I said quickly, blushing even brighter at that.

"I was mostly just going to head to the mall, maybe check out the arcade then try that new ramen shop that opened."

“Well, it looks like I’m heading to the ramen shop.” I said honestly.

"I hope it's authentic. Midwestern restaurants usually end up being either all the same or bland."

“Well, we can at least try.” I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it will be authentic.”

"I hope." She sighed. "So, Glen still giving you shit?"

“Better question is, is Glen still being a creep to you?” I asked, knowing that blonde prick has been a creep to Claire since we first met him.

"Regrettably…" She frowned. "But I'm talking about you."

“Sooner or later, I’m gonna put a bullet in that prick’s leg.” I growled. “But…sadly he is, acting like he’s hot shit and saying ‘stop talking to Claire, cause I need to act tough to compensate a lot’.” I did a mock voice of Glen.

"Easy there Mike. No need to make threats that will land you in jail." Clare stated. "That's a fate I'd much rather have befall Glen."

“Still want to.” I shrugged. “But yeah, hopefully we can spend time without Glen bothering us.”

"He should be at the lake with his dad this weekend so here's hoping." She nodded.

With that we began our weekend plans. Well, Clare's weekend plans that I tagged along for. The Ramen place was fairly packed and when we did eat the food really was amazing. Puts every instant cup of noodles I ever ate to shame.

Next stop was the arcade. It's been here since the seventies and while most of the titles are old they're still fun and the owners made this place a hotspot for gamers by adding a game store to it and a Pokestop when Pokemon Go released. They try and keep people coming by hosting tournaments with cash prizes or free tokens for the cabinets or discounts on games or consoles.

It's been a real fun place to try out game demos and hang out.

We mostly played Mrs. Pacman and Pong. Yes, it has Arcade Cabinet Pong.

When the tokens ran out it was off to the mall. Being a fairly small to medium town it had the only Sears in the county and a Target, Dairy Queen and GameStop that don't have a physical shop elsewhere. Among other small businesses it was a decent place.

It also had the biggest Gun store in town. Now you'd think a gun store in a mall would be bad but I'll remind you this is a small to medium Midwestern town in America. So this is a bit normal.

"You and your dad going hunting this year?" Clare asked as we walked through the many isles of rifles, each with a key based lock on/over the trigger.

”Probably.” I shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet, but I’m hoping…it’s one of the few things we actually do together…” I sighed, slightly surprised the voices in my head were oddly silent.

"Is he still making you use that ancient .32 rifle?"

“Just because it’s ancient, doesn’t mean it’s not reliable.” I pointed out. “It’s why the M1 Garande is still used even after the mid 30’s, one of the most reliable guns ever made.”

"Yeah but most people replace an over thirty year old gun. Especially when the barrel and stock look like they lost a fight with a buzz saw."

I had to give her that. That rifle belonged to my dad when he was my age. Was a gift from grandpa who was a gunsmith back in the day. Used it all the time and each scratch, dent or knick in the stock or barrel was a story of his many hunts. He gave it to me when I was fourteen. Despite being polished to a shine it still looked like crap. My first time using it I thought it was gonna blow up on me, but all these years later and it's still shooting.

“It has character.” I tried to defend.

"It has to retire." Clare chuckled.

“One final hunt, then I’ll put it down.” I relented.

"Good. Cause if you really want to hunt with your dad you're gonna want something with more kick." Clare added as she eyed the big rifles.

Clare has always been a bit of a gun nut. And swords nut. Axe nut. Weapons in general really. Most games that have collectable weapons she has and plays and she owns a few guns of her own. She's responsible with them. Empty magazines, slid back and open chamber, safety always on when not in use. Basically the only times ammo ever enters her guns is when she's on a shooting range or out hunting with my dad and I.

“Yes, yes, I know that’s your favorite shirt.” I chuckled, remembering I got her a ‘Bitches Love Cannons’ T-shirt and she was super happy with it and the Team Four Star joke.

"Damn straight." She laughed. "Any luck getting a part time job?"

“No cause you suck.” I finally heard one of the voices.

“Ah, there you are.” I mentally sighed. “Not yet, still trying though.” I shrugged. “While Fast Food is…sadly an option, it’s at least something to get me some money.”

"That would suck. I forget that not a lot of places hire. Maybe try something online?"

“That could work.” I nodded. “Hopefully it’s something within walking distance…” I grumbled. “Everything is within walking distance, I’d rather not be forced to drive…”

"I meant an online job." Clare chuckled.

“I mean…that’s also true.” I sighed. “Hopefully that will be better than this nonsense.”

"Hopefully." She shrugged.

After some window browsing Clare and I went back to my place. I know, a girl at my house. it's not like that. We've just been friends forever and neither her nor my parents are concerned at all and all we really do is hang out til sundown then she goes home.

"So, still stuck on that boss?" She asked as I booted up World of Warcraft on my PC.

"We're gonna be beating the bastard this time." I said, wanting to check up on the Guild for prep on the next raid boss.

"That's what you said the last six times."

"Not my fault Blizzard is bad and overtuned it …" I grumbled, hating the second to last boss to the last raid of Legion.

"Well I am going to take a nap." She said as she jumped on my bed and threw my blankets over herself.

"Alright, get your sleep." I nodded, knowing she likes to nap when I'm raiding. "Just one stupid boss…" I muttered, hoping this will work this tim.e.

The next four hours I spent having lost again, going back to grind and gather items, only to go back and lose again.

My head hit my desktop with a thud as I groaned, eyes burning from lack of blinking and the flashing light.

With a yawn I stood up, feeling a little weak in the legs from sitting for so long. I looked over to see Clare out cold on my bed. She usually crashed here when both her parents would be out for a night or multiple. I don't blame her. An empty house is very sad thing to go back to.

As I stretched and let my blood flow return to normal, I walked over. The sheets were all over and- gah!

I immediately covered them back over her… I looked and saw Clare's bra tossed on my dresser. I sighed. She always did wear thin laced and loose fitting tank tops so… guess I shouldn't be surprised they… slipped out in her sleep.

Once I made sure she was properly covered I went to the kitchen to eat something.

Let's see… leftover Pizza, Leftovers Toco Bell, Leftover Smoothie… or leftover Hamburger Helper…

“Eh…” I muttered, grabbing some of the leftover pizza and getting it heated up, flicking some water on the slices as that apparently stopped it from being a rock in the microwave. “Still glad this works…”

As I let my food heat up…I sighed and pulled out my phone, trying to call my grandmother in hopes she's still okay.

The ringing went on for a bit before the call was picked up just shy of hitting the voicemail box.

"Hello?"

"Hey granny, it's me." I said. "How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm fine. Just looking through some old photo albums. How about you? Is that cute little Clare over there again?"

"Yeah, she's just asleep." I answered. "What photo album are you looking at?"

"Oh, just some old photos of your grandfather and I. I was feeling nostalgic and figured I'd open them up again."

"I understand." I answered softly. "Just…wish I got to spend more time with him." I said, remembering he sadly passed when I was only seven.

"Oh, me too. He wanted to go hunting with you and your father, help teach you to fish and skin a deer. Had he had his way when he passed he'd have just asked to have his body tossed into the woods, said he'd return to nature as nature intended." Grandma said with a slight chuckle.

"I'm sure he would." I chuckled. "Considering how long I've used his hunting rifle…I'm sure he would have wanted to be with Nature again."

"Yes. I imagine he would have, but cremation and spreading his ashes in the forest was as close as I could do for him. How are you feeling, dear?"

"Oh, you know…just hanging in there." I said vaguely, trying to hide my own pain and problems as I kept hoping this string of mental silence would continue.

"Now honey you know you can always tell me anything."

I sighed. "I know granny…just don't want to worry you is all." I said softly. "But…the voices have been…thankfully quiet…"

"Oh sweetie. You know, they do make medicine for that you know. I know you don't like talking about this kind of stuff but I don't want to see you end up like your uncle."

“I know…” I sighed, still feeling sad for Uncle and all that. “I know granny…” I said. “I’ll…I’ll try…”

"Are you eating well at least?"

“Nothing like some good ol’ leftover pizza.” I joked.

"Oh sweetie, that's not really food. If you want I can come over, cool. There are groceries I can cook there right?" My silence at her question earned her a sigh. "I swear you're just like you're father. Can't shop for real groceries what the damn. Heh, then again neither could his. I'll be by in two hours."

“Thanks Granny.” I said softly. “Please stay safe…” I said, knowing she was getting along in years and me just being worried for her.

"Oh I will. I don't drive anywhere so I'll be using that Uber App. See you soon."

“See you soon granny.” I said. “Love you.”

"I love you too sweetie."

I couldn’t help but smile, even if it was a simple phrase from my own grandmother, it never stopped making me feel better. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”

“-rrk!” I vaguely heard someone shout. “Starrk!” I groaned at the loud yelling.

“Stop yelling…my head feels like it got shoved through a meat grinder…” I groaned in pain.

"You've been screaming for five minutes." Lillenette said.

“The fuck happened?” I groaned. “I…I just…memories…” I muttered, feeling like garbage and not wanting to move.

"It's chipping…" Lillenette said with a frown. "Fuck…"

“The hell’s chipping?” I groaned. “What happened? I just…remembered spending the weekend with Claire…I…I remembered granny…”

"It's a wall. Of sorts." Lillenette said. I was finally able to see clearly and saw her sitting on my bed. "A wall built of your happiest, most cherished memories. There wasn't much to work with so, it's thin… I was hoping you'd be making more soon so I could reinforce it…"

“I…I thought I was…just getting some memories back after…ya know…” I pointed to the lack of a hole in my temple.

"It… more complicated than that." She said.

"Cause why wouldn't it be simple?" I grumbled. "Alright…how bad is it?"

"When you died… gaining that hole in your head… not only did you, me, those two, change and alter when we came here, something new was born from that death… I don't know what it is or even how it was born but I do know it's dangerous."

"Cause…of course…" I groaned. "Do you know what it is or just said 'fuck that noise' and blocked it?" I asked Lillinette.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it's still… growing. All I knew about it when it appeared was that it gets weak or… sleepy when surrounded by positive emotions within memories. So I built the wall around it before I ended up outside your body."

"Well…that's not good." I frowned. "Maybe Princess or one of them might know?"

"I dunno. But I'd not mess with it."

"Best not if it's needed to be caged." I nodded. "Ugh…so what time is it, and the hell am I supposed to do today?" I asked, feeling good enough to sit up.

"I don't know. You were probably gonna talk to that Griffin I think. Breakfast is still waiting for you."

"Yeah…breakfast would be a good start." I nodded, glad to know that the 'five minutes of screaming' wasn't just a possible joke and that it literally was five minutes.

I stood up and went to eat. Once that was done I headed out… now, where is that Griffin?

“Hmm…” I hummed, deciding to use my Assistant to help me find the old griffon king.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to understand how to try and find him so I walked around. Odds are he might be in a bar or something.

“Gonna need to ask Princess or one of them on how to work this stupid thing…” I muttered, heading towards one of the few bars around here.

Most were closed save one. The outside was nothing much to look at but Inside is where I found not only the old Griffin, but the Bar looked… nice. The man, and yes, man at the bar was shorter than me. Sporting a black and red vest, white dress shirt under that, blank pants and had a thin mustache and goatee and combed black hair.

“Wait…Barkeep?” I inquired, remembering this bar the first time I met Voodoo, Princess and their Chibi family.

"Hey." He nodded.

“Didn’t expect to see you or the bar again.” I said, taking a seat next to the old griffon king. “How goes it?”

"Same old same old." He shrugged with his ever present smirk. "What brings you back here?"

“One, looking for him,” I pointed a thumb at my fellow Arrancar. “And two…I need a drink cause apparently putting a bullet in my temple…awoke something that Lily needed to cage with good memories.”

"So an early morning drink then. I got something here if you want. Most of them are fairly sweet, but they won't get ya buzzed easily or hung over so early."

“That would be good, yes.” I nodded. “Thank you my good sir.”

Reaching under the desk, Barkeep pulled out several bottles, the labbles written in a language I didn't know and poured them into a mixer before closing them up and shaking them for a minute.

He then poured them in a cup that, seemed to be made of a waffle, or maybe a waffle just shaped like a cup and gave it to me on a small plate. "Breakfast Booze. Enjoy."

“Thank you.” I said, taking the cup and taking a swig of it, really needing something good to…try and process things.

It tasted like maple syrup. Freshly cooked bacon and pork sausage and eggs with the yolk still runny. As the liquid became less I bit and ate the fluffy, tasty waffle cup that seemed to also have a small taste of butter.

I finished it in four gulps and five bites.

“Okay…that is amazing.” I said with a warm smile. “So, how you doing Grover?” I asked the Griffon.

"Getting dr-huk-drunk…" He groaned, wasted off his feathery butt. Were we anywhere but at this Bar I'd wonder how he got drunk.

“How’s it feel getting drunk after six hundred years and…well, being dead?”

"Better than when I was alive." He said with a laugh.

“Well, at least you're feeling…a little better.” I said carefully. “But remember how you said you’d help teach me some stuff?”

"Meh." He waved his hand at me. "Don't be such a spoil sport."

“Not really a spoil sport when I want you to not be permanently drunk all the time to cope.” I frowned.

"Heh, if I'm being forced to stay alive, or whatever this is the equivalent to, then at least let me do it drunk."

I sighed. “It’s not going to help you…” I shook my head.

"Like I care."

“As someone that’s suffered depression as well…certain things just do not help.” I said honestly.

"Your face ain't helping." He huffed, taking another swig from the bottle.

I rolled my eyes at the drunk. "Just arguing with a drunk…" I grumbled. "Alcohol does not solve problems, and it won't solve or help yours."

"What's your point?"

"This only makes things worse for you to the point that you'd literally be better back in that fucking ravine ya dumb bird." I growled. "I'm trying to get you to see that there's things to do still with your life, not drown in it booze like my uncle did before he…" I stopped myself and sighed.

"Please." He scoffed. "Not like we can die. Frankly I'd welcome blacking out and never waking up. Be a nice thing. Just fade away and never wake up. Whatever did this to us, must love misery."

I did have to ponder that given Genie and Demon called this all Entertainment.

"They call it 'Entertainment', and trust me…you don't want to know what one of them would call 'entertainment'. You think this is misery? She'd make your drunken sadness look like a nice stroll through the tulips." I said.

"If it means I could die I'd welcome them."

I rubbed my temples bitterly, knowing he’s been like this for six hundred years but holy crap. “Trying to be helpful here…”

"Well ya suck." He spat.

“At least in death I didn’t give up.” I frowned. “In death I’m trying to get my life back together after…a lot of bullshit.” I shook my head.

"Yes and all it took was actually killing yourself to give a damn about living. How ironic."

“Ironic yes, but that’s also what happens when you lose two voices in your head constantly pushing more depressive thoughts into my head.” I shrugged.

"You needed two voices for that? Yeesh, what couldn't remind yourself of your own screw ups?*

"Do you know Nightmare Moon?" I asked. "It's kind of like that but less 'taking over my body' kind of deal, and I know your drunk…but you better watch what you say." I said coldly, getting real sick and tired of this drunk and ready to drag his sorry ass out here and beat the shit out of him.

"Kid, someone who doesn't have anything to lose or care about doesn't have to watch anything he says around anyone."

“That’s what I thought to.” I frowned. “But no, I still tried to at least be a decent person even when life didn’t god damn matter, but what would I know? I didn’t sit in a ravine for some self pity for six hundred years.” I rolled my eyes. “I died and now try to get my life together, you died and you gave up, not even bothering to try to do anything for the better.”

"Because I believe the dead should stay dead."

I rubbed my temples, trying to think of a way to get this stupid bastard to stop chugging back alcohol and help me out here. “Death is weird…”

"Used to be so simple. You die, and rot. Not whatever this is." He shrugged, trying to drink but finding his bottle empty. He put it down and Barkeep rapidly swapped it with a fresh bottle.

“I mean, there are other types of undead roaming around.” I said honestly. “I mean, technically speaking, what we are now is just our Spirit’s taken a physical form and are astronomically stronger because of it…and then we have some of the being’s that Luna has which are…living undead.”

"Does it look like I care?"

“You’re drunk, so you’re not entirely thinking clearly to begin with.” I answered simply.

"I'm still sober enough to tell you to get bent."

“Oh, okay cool.” I said, grabbing the Griffon by the back of the head and dragging him outside. “Best not start a fight in the bar, that would be rude.”

As I was dragging him out, he looked unphased, still drinking from that bottle as I tossed him outside. "Fuck-shit, tell Celestia to turn down that damn fireball…" He groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

“I got you out of that stupid ravine to not only help you get out of your self inflicted exile, but to also give you something to do.” I frowned. “I need your help, and apparently you need my help more.”

"Didn't ask for it." He said, sitting up and taking another swig. "You're the one who broke apart the tornadoes."

“Then why did you come here of your own volition?” I countered simply.

"Cause Griffonstone looked even more like shit than when I went into isolation and there wasn't any good booze there."

I kicked the drunk in the stomach. “Cause of course, what else would Griffon’s be besides a giant group of greedy, prideless pissants that would sooner see themselves die out due to their own pettiness.” I shook my head. “Where I come from, Griffon’s are symbol for Strength, Wisdom, and Loyalty…all I see is Weakness, Ignorance and Unfaithful pricks that think they’re above having any basic kindness.”

"And to that I saw whoever said all that good stuff about Griffins, clearly never met one."

“And what about you?” I asked. “Was your entire reign of the Griffon Kingdom just a lie?” I asked, grabbing the Griffon’s head and lifting him up like he was weightless. “That the entire golden age of Griffonstone was nothing more than some trick?”

"Duh." He spat. "It took a magic relic that wasn't even actually magic to get those idiots to work together to actually build something. The whole history was built on a lie my family kept alive til that fucking cyclops came and stole the damned thing." He said, not even caring about the pressure I was putting on his head as he drank some more.

“And yet remember where those Griffon’s were based on that simple white lie?” I asked. “Griffon’s were Proud, Strong, better than they were now or before, and that’s what you keep forgetting you dumb old bird.” I explained. “The idol may have been a lie, but was all that hard work a lie? Was all the blood, sweat and tears put into the Golden Age of Griffon’s a lie? When they believed in you to help them get past their urges for Greed, was that all a lie?”

"Considering they basically looted and burned down the castle in under a month after it was stolen… probably."

I took a deep breath, took a step and chucked the stubborn Griffon hard towards the Forest, not wanting to fight him in town as I used Sonido to keep up with how fast the fucker was flying. After about three seconds I caught him in the Everfree Forest and slammed him into the ground hard enough to crack the very ground. “Alright, if words won’t help, then I’m going to have to kick your ass to try and get you to realize something.

He didn't even speak as he just raised the claw holding the still intact bottle and put it back into his beak.

I pointed my finger at the bottle and fired a Cero Bullet at it, hoping he’ll at least take this seriously if I get rid of his fucking pacifier.

The bottle shattered and once what liquid was left went down his throat he tossed the broken bit he was holding and flipped back down into the crater I put him in.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I frowned.

I started down at him in pure disbelief. He just… did not care…. Enraged, I began punching him. Putting all the energy I could pull into each punch.

By the time my energy was tapped and I was beyond exhausted, the crater was now a full on hole, it was almost sunset, and what made me even more pissed was that… he looked unhurt!

“How the hell are you not hurt at all!?!” I asked, knowing his Iron Skin wasn’t that strong cause my hands were still perfectly fine, but what the fuck.

"Absorption based healing factor. " He groaned. "The harder something or someone hits me the faster I heal."

“Oh what the fuck…” I groaned. “Cause of course…”

"Hence why I didn't bother." He shrugged.

I sat there just letting myself rest until a thump from something falling into the hole caught my eye. It was Fluffy.

'What's up?' She asked via her little Loony Toons sign.

“I’m mad at this drunk bitch.” I pointed at the Griffon. “Cause he does not care and I’m here trying to get him to care…but apparently not…oh, and also I have…a thing caged in my head? I don’t know what it is and I’m concerned cause Lily was very adamant on it not getting out.”

She scratched her chin for a bit before flipping her sign around. 'Let me talk to him then I'll see about your thing in your head.'

“Thank you.” I sighed. “It’s…it’s really rough…”

She put her talking sign away and slithered on top of the old Griffin. She then leaned into his ear. Or where his ears should be. I couldn't hear a thing, not even muffled whispers. After a while he sat up, Fluffy partly coiled and hanging around his neck.

"Eh. I guess you make a good point." He huffed. "I'll teach the brat but don't expect me to like it."

"Not expecting you to, but it's better than moping around and getting drunk." I said, not knowing what they said but hoping it was at least good.

"Oh I'll still be drunk and moping but at least now I have something to look forward to." He said, Fluffy slithering off of him as he opened his wings. "We'll start tomorrow." And with that he flew up and out of the hole and off, probably back to the bar.

I looked back down as Fluffy as she slithered back over to me.

"So…about the thing in my head?" I asked nervously. "Cause…I'd rather not have my head feel like someone's trying to split it open with a bunch of hammers."

She nodded, motioning for me to lay down. I did and she put her tiny hands to my head and I felt… something. Kinda like a pulse or something before she pet go.

She then pulled up her talking sign. 'Well I know what it is. And yes, it is bad.'

"How bad?" I asked nervously.

She flipped the sign around. 'Pretty bad. These are actually pretty rare these days but still pop up and cause trouble. It's called an Insanity. Basically a twisted, cursed version of their 'host' that is born from excessive pain, both physically and mentally. Should it break out and begins fighting for control you'll basically be like The Bat Who Laughs mixed with God Joker.'

"Oh…oh that's not good…" I muttered in horror. "I…really don't want that getting out…"

'The wall she built around it is smart but not really permanent. The only way to get rid of it is to fight it in your mindscape and win. Unfortunately it will be as strong, possibly slightly stronger than you.' She flipped the sign. 'I can give you something that will help suppress it keep it from getting out even if the wall is to fail but it's more or less a temporary fix cause if the walls do fall it won't gain control of you but it will be VERY vocal and mentally challenging.'

"Oh…." I muttered. "Any…any help will be appreciated and…might as well ask, the hell does it look like?"

'You. Or rather, old you.' She said, reaching behind herself with her other hand and handing me two cuffs. Well, old school shackles are more like it. Thin and new looking.

I put them on and felt like something in me… was restrained.

"Well…that feels better." I said carefully. "Thanks…now uh…can you show me how to use this thing?" I pointed to my Assistant. "Cause…there's a lot more to this thing than I thought."

She nodded, and the next few hours were spent showing me all this thing can do… which is just about everything.

"Man, I did not expect this thing to do…literally everything." I said honestly. "Thanks Fluffy." I smiled, gently petting the floof noodle happily.

With that I headed back home.

The next day I did have to drag the old Griffin out the bar again but at least this time he was training me. "So… what do you want to know?" He asked, rubbing his eyes cause the sunlight must be making his hangover painful.

"Anything and everything I can." I said simply. "Cause I'm gonna be fighting a lot of monsters, demons…and well, the two voices in my head that escaped and got their own bodies."

"That doesn't narrow shit down." He huffed. "You need to start somewhere or with something cause Anything and Everything isn't an option all at once."

"Fine." I sighed. "So, let's start with Wind abilities, cause a quest I had said that by destroying the tornadoes I got access to wind based abilities."

"Fine. Do you have or know of any?"

"Um…" I started, pulling up my Assistant and looking through it. "I think it was Wind Scar?"

"Good, at least you know something. Now then, the first thing you need to know is that to properly control the wind around you, you need to control the wind within you."

“Vague but…workable considering I’m working with Spirit Energy.” I said, trying to feel the ‘Wind Within Me’, even though I realized I pulled off a Spirit Gun without even noticing. “God I’m such a nerd…” I mentally chuckled, finding that little Yu Yu Hakusho bit I did hilarious.

"Just take deep breaths. Feel the air and energy both fill your lungs until they'll burst, then exhale."

“Alright…” I said, taking a deep breath in, feeling the air fill my lungs

I tried to focus, tried to force my energy into my lungs and out with each breath. So far this is… a little boring. Still, I stood there for about half an hour doing this over and over again with no real results.

“Don’t…really feel anything.” I said honestly.

"It's called Training for a reason. You wouldn't expect to see anything on the first day, let alone in the first thirty minutes…" He groaned.

“I know, I’m just saying that I’m not…feeling anything.” I said carefully, continuing with my breathing exercise.

The day became night and I went home feeling admittedly duped.

The next day he was having me do the same thing. Princess was here this time but she was reading a book next to my drunk teacher.

“Hmm…” I frowned. “Hey Princess…do you have a M1 Garande I can borrow?” I asked, seeing the pupper bring down their book with a raised eyebrow. “This breathing doesn’t feel…correct for some reason…”

‘Got a reason?’ I saw them raise that cartoon sign.

"No tools." My teacher said, throwing a rock and hitting me on the head with it. "Or weapons or whatever you asked for is."

“I’m sorry that I’m trying to get a better feel to this…” I grumbled, going back to the breathing. “Would be better with a gun in my hands…it would help me at least understand a bit better…”

"You mean be a crutch." He huffed. "Fancy weapons can't compare to a well trained body. Or the energy within it."

“Better to have a good starting point than work on this but this is also fine.” I said simply.

"You just lack patience." The old Griffin huffed, taking a breath of his own. When he exhaled, a small twisted formed from his beak to the ground and ran by me before slamming into a tree and disbursing.

“Neat.” I said, surprised at how fast it ran and slammed into the tree. “And I’m not being impatient, I’m just trying to find a way to better understand this…”

"Heh. Ironic."

“Ironic how?” I inquired.

"You trying to better understand something as natural to anyone as breathing."

“There’s a difference between understanding breathing and understanding magic.” I huffed, trying to understand this even though there wasn’t really much to this breathing exercise.

"Not really. By itself Magic is no different than breathing. It flows in and out of everything like the wind, only when you try and make it do what you will does it's flow become less natural and more artificial. But, if you know how to work with its flow, you can guide it easier to your desired outcome."

“It’s why I asked for a Gun because that sounds exactly what my dad taught me when hunting.” I frowned. “But no…just need to do it without the gun.”

I kept on with the exercise, feeling more and more like nothing was actually happening.

Eventually… almost a week passed and I was on my next date with Derpy. "So, he just has you breathing?" She asked as we both are from a large bag of chocolate chip cookies.

“Pretty much.” I said. “And there isn’t anything happening, not even a feeling that there’s a difference.” I said honestly. “And when I suggested using an item to help me get a better feel, he got pissy at me.”

"Sounds like my old flight teacher. She was such a traditionalist. Taught us how to do concentration breathing exercises because it's a Pegasi staple for high altitude flying. No pony does that anymore unless they're in the Guard or a Wonderbolt." Derpy scoffed. "At least you're all grown up doing that. She made us do that when we were barely ten."

“Now imagine never having magic before, and have a semi-basic understanding on how Spirit Energy works.” I said honestly.

"Don't think I can." She chuckled as we each took some more.of the snacks. "But, anyway, aside from that, been doing anything else?"

“Not really…mostly just…concerned about a lot of things.” I said honestly. “Like a new…problem that’s stuck in my head.”

"I'm mostly worried about Dinky." Derpy sighed. "She keeps asking about her Cutie Mark and I keep telling her it will appear when it appears. I just don't want her to start hanging out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. As adorable as that trio of fillies are they cause a lot of trouble for themselves and the town."

“It can’t…be that bad right?” I asked nervously. “Like…it’s not like they’re setting fire to water they’re trying to boil right?”

“Oh no, that’s just Sweetie Belle cooking.” Derpy answered.

“I was being facetious…” I groaned.

"Yeah… I swear I don't even know how they think of let alone get the supplies for all the things they do. Skydiving, mountain climbing, monster hunting, for ponies sake they built a fully functioning trebuchet that the town uses to catapult ourselves into the lake on hot summer days."

I burst out laughing at that. "How?" I asked incredulously.

"No idea."

"Well, what are Dinky's hobbies?" I inquired. "Cause I've kinda seen a pattern where the things ponies like doing the most are their cutie marks."

"Reading, drawing, playing with toys, normal foal things really. Dinky hasn't really expressed a specific interest in any one thing."

“Hmm…” I hummed, thinking for a bit. “Well…maybe it’s not something she can normally does?”

"That's what she thinks. I mean, mine is in something I don't even do anymore so, it is possible."

“I thought your cutie mark was supposed to represent your adorable, bubbly attitude?” I asked, gently patting my girlfriend’s head.

"Cute, but nope." Derpy said simply. "Think about it for a second. What is a bubble in it's Simplest wording?"

“I mean, it’s normally a liquid enclosing air or another gas, or it’s a good or fortunate situation isolated from bad things, like right now on this wonderful date.” I chuckled.

"Uh, close enough. A bubble is just trapped air. And that is what I do best."

“Your cutie mark is trapping air?” I inquired.

"Heh. More or less." Derpy said. She then took a large breath and held it. At first, I was confused, then realized her special talent was literally holding her breath.

I was going to say something but she held up a hoof and gave me a smirk, still hiding it.

First a minute passed. Then two. Then five. Then ten. Then thirty. Then an hour… then two hours- How is she not blue or purple… and still conscious?!?!

“Derpy please, you’re doing me a concern.” I said worriedly.

She shrugged. "If you say so." She spoke, breathing like normal. "My record is five hours."

“Well…that’s really good to know.” I nodded. “Seriously, I got concerned there, it’s been two hours…”

"I know." She said. "Most ponies don't think much of it when I tell them what it is so I show them and that usually impresses them."

“And while I’m impressed, you’re also my girlfriend so I was concerned.” I said sheepishly.

"Sorry if it spooked you, but it's just what I do best. I got my cutie mark during those stupid breathing workouts though. Training to take in as much air as possible and make it last as we flew high up where the air was thin to near nonexistent. At some point I outlasted the class on a high flight… even the teacher. When I came down, bubbles were on my butt." She chuckled.

“That is a very interesting story.” I said honestly, stopping myself from complimenting the butt.

"I'll admit it's a bit odd but that's my story. Was entered in races and was even really good… till…" She placed a hoof over her lazy eye. "This silly guy just couldn't keep still."

“Want to talk about it?” I asked carefully, not sure if it’s a sensitive topic for her but knowing it was important.

"I was still a filly when It started happening. My coordination was off, would bump or trip over stuff. Doctor's said it was just a lazy eye. My muscles that are supposed to keep it still and, well, look where I want it to weren't developing right and one was actually missing entirely. Said it was a one in a million fluke genetic mishap. Racing became impossible and after a few years I could barely fly straight. Took forever to get used to it."

“Huh, that’s…rather interesting.” I said honestly. “But you’re still a good flier.”

"Heh. Only cause my parents helped a lot. Used to keep an eye patch over it but it was always getting dirt in there and would get really itchy. When I had Dinky I just moved ground side and it's been the best. Used to worry a lot she'd be born with an eye like mine, but the doctors said both her eyes are normal and healthy. My lazy eye isn't genetically passed down. Thankfully."

“Thankfully.” I nodded, gently scratching behind Derpy’s ear out of a small growing habit. “This is nice…” I said with a smile.

"Yeah." Derpy nodded. "So, any plans later today?"

“Hmm…” I hummed. “Well, besides more training…” I tried to think about what I was going to do for the rest of the day. “Well…I suppose something I could do is spend time with Dinky so she could…well, get to know me better.”

"I was thinking the same thing. She does need to actually meet you sooner or later and she has been asking questions about you."

“I hope they were good questions and not…weird ones.” I said sheepishly.

"Nothing much. But I guess she would want to know all about you, being an alien and all."

“She’s probably waiting for the ‘am I going to have a little sibling’ for me in the most awkward moment…” I grumbled. “But at least she’s not asking anything awkward…”

"Heh. Honestly if Dinky does end up being a big sister it will be interesting to see her reaction." Derpy laughed.

I chuckled at that. “Yeah, it would probably be funny.”

"Also, would be fun to have you over and… if you want, spend a night."

I blushed at that. “W-well…I would love to…spend the night Derpy.”

That night I arrived at Derpy's house, a two story building that was mostly clay brick with some concrete and rebar here and there. It stood out amongst the thatch roof houses made from basic wood and plaster.

The yard was fenced in by a small chicken wire fence and no gate.

Inside was rather homey, and thankfully I was able to stand in here without needing to crouch down at all. Save going through doorways or to avoid the ceiling fans or lights.

The floor was all a blue tile, each step Derpy made her hooves clocked against them in sequence of her steps.

It was in the living room I spotted Dinky. The filly was a pale purple with a bling mane like her mom with similar yellow eyes to Derpy. The filly was glued to a surprisingly thick book she was reading through.

“Hey there Dinky.” I said to the rather inquisitive filly.

She looked over and up at me. "Woah. You're tall."

“Yes, yes I am.” I said with a smile. “I’m Coyotte Starrk, it’s nice to meet you.”

"I'm Dinky. So… what are you?"

“Well, that’s a bit complicated, but I’m an Arrancar, a very strong spirit being.” I said, lightly scratching what remained of my Hollow Mask around my neck.

"So, you're like a ghost?"

“Well, kinda?” I said. “I’m still a physical being, so I’d more say I’m a class of Undead.”

"Oh." She leaned in towards me and sniffed. "You don't smell dead."

“I doubt I would smell dead when I’m a physical manifestation of Spiritual Energy.” I shrugged. “To the point where I regained my human form through…a lot of work.” I said, cause technically this was true as me being Starrk but not…fully true due to my real self.

Dinky lit up her horn, a nearby drawer opening and she levitated out a lightbulb to me. Confused, I took it and then gawked when it lit up. "Cool." She said with a smile.

How did that work? Also… why did that work?

“Uh…excuse me what?” I asked in absolute confusion. “How and why?”

"Dinky…" Derpy's voice called from the kitchen.

Dinky chuckled, taking the bulb back in her magic. It went out and when she took it in her hooves it lit up again. "It's a gag bulb. Lights up whenever it's physically held."

I chuckled and shook my head. “Yeah, I’m not surprised.” I said, gently patting her head.

"My friend Button gave it to me. His big brother works in a joke store and he gets stuff like this all the time." She said, putting the prank bulb back into the drawer with her magic. "So, why are you in Equestria Starrk the Alien?"

“Because…a group of people were bored and wanted entertainment.” I said carefully.

"So, you're playing a game?"

"For very strong people yes, but this is my life now…"

"Sounds like this book Twist is always talking about. A stallion gets sent to an alien world with newfound powers and helps the natives against a big bad."

"Kinda like that." I nodded. "So, what other questions do you have?"

"Umm…. What's your home planet like?"

"Well…" I started, trying to think of I should talk about Earth or Hueco Mundo cause technically both would be right in my current situation. "Well, my world is a lot like this world, just without magic or any of the more…magical beings here." I said.

"There's no magic?"

"Sadly no." I shook my head. "And why I'm like this? Well…it's long and complicated."

"But, if there's no magic how does your sun and moon rotate around the planet?"

"That's the neat part, the sun doesn't rotate around Earth, Earth rotates around the sun due to Gravity." I answered. "Same as the Moon rotating around the Earth."

"How?"

"How what? Does Gravity work or how does the planet follow such a rotation?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't the planet be too big for the sun to pull it?"

"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "The sun for earth is a hundred and nine times bigger than Earth."

"Oh… so your sun is bigger than Equestria's and your planet is smaller than ours." Dinky said.

"Yes…" I said carefully, finding that a bit strange. "And…how big is this planet?"

"Um, I think Miss Cheerly said Equestria was like, six or seven times bigger than our sun?"

I blinked. "Uh…right then…" I frowned. "And…does the planet rotate on its own or is it…stationary?" I asked carefully.

"I don't know. I uh, wasn't paying that much attention that lesson."

"Right…" I said carefully. "So, this world literally forces the sun and moon around, while Earth spins around the sun and rotates to give a day and night cycle."

"No, Princess Celestia and Luna move the sun and the moon."

"So instead of the planet, it's ponies that can do that…goodie…" I sighed. "Kinda got that from the names…"

"Heh. It does seem really obvious when you hear it huh?" Dinky chuckled.

"Yeah, it really does." I nodded. "What else do you want to ask?" I inquired, wanting to know Dinky has to ask.

"Uhhh… Did you come here in a space ship? If so, can I see it?"

"I did not come here from a space ship, as cool as it would be." I said, chuckling a little at her pout. "I was teleported here after…an incident…" I said carefully.

"Oh. Well what about-"

"That's enough Dinky." Derpy said as she flew in from the kitchen. "Come on, dinner is ready."

When we ate I was expecting veggies or fruits only. Dinner was a veggie soup with beans added in. It was good. The Dessert was a peach pie that was very good. With that Derpy sent Dinky to her room and walked me to hers. I gulped, looking at the mattress. It was just big enough to fit me. Save my feet that will dangle off.

I laid down on it and Derpy flew up and onto the bed next to me. She curled up against me under my arm. "You're good to sleep?"

"M-maybe…" I said, blushing a bit brighter as this was only the…second time I've ever been in the same bed with a girl I liked.

"Good. And… don't be shy if you wanna cuddle, alright?"

"I'll…I'll try." I said, gently wrapping an arm around Derpy as I tried to calm myself down from the fact I'm in the same bed as my girlfriend.

She wrapped her front two hooves around that arm and began to sleep.

It took a while, but eventually I did fall asleep too. No dreams or nightmares… just… calm.

To be continued...

Learning new things

I woke up the next morning feeling… very, very relaxed. The small weight and warmth of Derpy was next to me, against my side and wrapped and clinging my arm like a full body pillow.

I couldn’t help but smile, wrapping my other arm around her and just…enjoying the moment of peace. “This is nice…” I thought to myself happily.

I had fallen asleep again, waking up when I felt Derpy begin to pull herself out of my arms. "Morning sleepy head~" She cooed.

“Morning Derpy.” I said, yawning lightly. “Got some good sleep?”

"Yeah. Felt nice. I'm gonna make breakfast, you want some before heading off?"

“Always happy for some breakfast.” I said with a smile.

She smiled back and headed downstairs as I got up and stretched. I then headed downstairs where I helped Derpy make some eggs and pancakes.

A little while later Dinky woke up, heading downstairs and joining us for a meal before I left.

"So, same time next week?" Derpy asked.

“Same time next week.” I nodded with a smile. “Cause this was amazing Derpy.”

"Good."

With that I left, finding Grover thankfully at the training spot. Three empty bottles already at his side as I stood in place and… breathed… again.

“And now for this useless bullshit again.” I thought to myself, but I remembered Derpy’s talk about her ‘traditionalist’ Teacher, how they were teaching something needless unless for specific circumstances.

And so, some more hours passed of me breathing. I hated it. I breathed in, and huffed-

Boom!

Shit!

I was blasted back, something, Fuck something exploded or something in my face?!

"Now you're getting it." Grover called from his makeshift bed or leaves.

“Not really?” I asked. “The fuck happened? I just huffed and suddenly something exploded.”

"That was your breath." He said. "Tell me, when you breath air into yourself, what happens? Well, when alive anyway?"

“Air goes into your lungs, fills blood with oxygen, while also expelling waste gas like Carbon Dioxide for example.” I answered.

"Yes. Now, as an Undead, the energy we produce can be harnessed in a variety of ways, but like air and blood will pass through our bodies regardless. It's completely passive, until you learn to funnel and focus it where it's naturally passing."

“I…suppose that makes sense.” I said, still believing I would have understood this whole thing a lot better and a lot faster with something to visualize.

"Essentially by mixing your energy with your breath on the exhale you can create or controle various styles of attack."

“Bitch I could have figured that out infinitely faster if you weren’t being a traditionalist.” I frowned.

"This isn't the hard way. This is the normal way. You're just stupid."

I raised a finger gun and shot an air bullet into his leg. “And you’re a crotchety old jackass, I didn’t say this was ‘the hard way’, I said that I could have learned it faster, but you went ‘handicap’ and nothing else.”

"You're doing it wrong already." He huffed.

“Oh? You mean mixing my energy with the air around me to turn it into something?” I asked. “Cause it looks like I just did that, but tell me how I’m doing it wrong?”

"Manipulation of the air around you can easily be done by forcing energy out of your body and mix Into it, but from breathing it comes directly from the source, being far more potent and easier to control."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Fine, whatever. So, back to figuring out how to do this properly…"

"Hey, you bitched to learn from me. I didn't want to teach you."

“Because as far as I know, you’re the only one that can at least teach me something’s about our powers that won’t immediately try to murder me.” I said honestly. “Any of the other’s are somewhere and one of them could be extremely deadly and violent.”

"Good for them." Grover rolled his eyes.

I sighed, taking a deep breath and letting out a breath. “Cause this is what I need right now…” I said, trying to get that same feeling that I accidentally created. “So…mind if I ask a few questions about your previous life?”

"Not like you won't be asking anyway."

“Might as well make some small talk.” I said honestly. “So, what was your life like before…all this?” I inquired, getting the hang of the new wind powers.

"I was a King. Respected. Admired. Feared, and idolized."

“What was it like before becoming King?” I inquired.

"Like it is now but worse."

“Really? It was worse?”

"Yes."

“How bad was it?” I inquired, wanting a bit more instead of him just doing one word answers.

"Well, food was scarce so cannibalism was commonplace. Especially if you were small or still a chick or hatchling. Got eaten whole once by a bigger Griffin when I was small. Only survived by clawing and pecking my way from the inside out. Bright side that was my first meal in a week."

I looked at him. “Uh…wow…” I blinked. “So…how did you find the ‘artifact’?”

"Eh, some traveling pony trader traded it to me for sex."

“So…you literally got a ‘here’s my savior item’ by plowing a pony?” I asked.

"Well, he did most of the plowing and it was solid gold so it was worth a fair amount."

“Holy shit…” I muttered. “So, with your new solid gold statue…how did people think it was magic?”

"Some strong wine and semi hypnotic mushrooms. Another cheap trick paid via a blowjob and I got a unicorn to make it shiny and give off a small aura to make it look magical."

“Ah…” I said. “So…why did you really stop if it was that piss easy to trick your people?” I asked honestly, now wondering why he didn’t just go ‘got the idol, time to prosper again’ instead of just giving up when he went looking for the damn thing.

"Because if they're so easily ready to revert back to the old ways, then what was the point in building them up? What was the point in going through all that just for the first disaster to send them back to only slightly above square one?"

“Why did you want to do it to begin with?” I asked. “What caused you to sooner get your ass pounded to get a shiny piece of gold to unify the griffon’s and just just murder him and steal his shit?”

"... I met someone worth the pain for. Someone I wanted to make a better word for."

“Who were they?” I asked carefully, knowing the feeling of wanting to do something important for the one I love.

"Her name was Gravel. She had… heh. She had an attitude meaner than a Manticore, more terrifying than a hydra, and had a mouth so foul the meanest cut throat pirate would blush in shock. But, she somehow grew a soft spot for me. And she was the only Griffin I ever met who cared enough to shelter orphans, the cripple and mental. What others consider dead weight or food, she saw as people."

I…weirdly had a sense of deja vu with what he was talking about. “Wow…Gravel kinda…reminds me a bit about my girlfriend…quick as a whip, sooner bitch smack someone that would dare cross her or me…but was the kindest woman you could ever meet…put up with me and all my nonsense when I was…worse mentally technically, and she was always helpful when she could, doing community service when we weren’t at school or just hanging out…” I chuckled. “But…I might not ever see her again…” I then shook my head as I suddenly had a realization hit me like a brick. “Wait, how did you die again?”

"Falling down that gorge. Winds too strong to fly, got slammed and beaten against the rocks, landed on the ground and was crushed by a boulder."

“Well, I went a quick way with a bullet to the head.” I said, lightly tapping my temple where the bullet supposedly went through. “And…well, I got teleported to this world as…this…everything just became too much for me…and now, because of that, I won’t ever get to see the one I love…” I shook my head. “The point I’m trying to make, is that losing our loved one’s shouldn’t make us quit…” I said. “Grover, tell me again, what made Gravel wonderful to you?”

"She cared for others… in a way I never saw another ever do before."

“You have a second chance to do what’s right.” I said. “I know you not having Gravel is rough…but tell me, what would she be doing if she saw you like this? A miserable drunk that gave up doing the one thing you loved about her?”

"She'd beat me with a cast iron frying pan, spew a very colorful and creative string of profanities for ten to twelve minutes then tell me to pick my drunk sorry ass up and do what needs to be done and then come home to shag her before bed." Grover said, a small smirk as he chuckled.

“Sounds like a woman that know’s what they want.” I chuckled. “Grover, you have a second chance to help those in need, to do the right thing you did once before…and hey, I’m sure there’s someone out there that has the same amount of love and affection that Gravel had.”

"Heh. Nice of you to say but frankly, the only reason I agreed to this training was because that pup said she'd put me to rest. Gravel has been gone for centuries. I just… want to be with her."

I sighed. “I understand…” I said honestly. “You miss the one you love…at least…try to do some good with the time you have left.”

"Heh. All things considered I don't think I'm the one to fix them. Not this time anyway. But still, you want me to teach you, you do what I say. Enough with the smart ass bit.”

“Yeah yeah.” I chuckled. “So, back to what we’re doing.”

"Breathe in, feel the natural flow of the energy fill your lungs with the air, the energy, and breath out and try to detect it as it leaves your mouth."

I nodded, taking a deep breath as I actually started to feel the flow here given he wasn't being pissy about it. After a moment I let it all out and I detected it rather quickly. "Okay…that's different."

"Now, once you breath it out, try and do as you did before with controlling it."

I nodded, exhaling and focusing it. I noticed it was… faster. More… readily available.

"Huh…that's pretty cool." I said honestly.

"Now, weaponize it."

“Alright…” I said, thinking about how I could weaponise it considering it’s kinda different than that air bullet I shot at him.

With nothing else to try I did the same thing, only using the energy filled air in my breath to make the bullet and I let it fire at a tree-

Ka-boom!

The wind bullet broke the sound barrier at my finger tip, knocking me on my ass and the "bullet" blasted through many trees and turning them to splinters and shrapnel.

"Finally. Got it right." Grover chuckled.

“Fucking hell.” I said in honest surprise. “Got quite a kick.”

"Told you this method was more potent."

“True, though it was difficult when you were just grumpy and drunk.” I said honestly, getting back up. “But yeah…this’ll help when I’m not using Cero.”

"Good. Now that you understand the basics, you can use it in useful ways."

“What useful ways if I may ask?”

Grover held up his talons, taking a slow breath and the air from his beak forming a crystalline shape, and that formed the shape of a makeshift knife.

“So…you’re literally making Air Gems?” I asked in surprise.

"I can force the energy in my breath to crystalize the carbon dioxide in my breath into gemstone like weapons. If I take a really deep breath I can make barriers and walls but that's a bit harder."

“Cool.” I nodded. “Just gotta do plenty of training…hmm, now I have to wonder how strong Derpy would be with this kind of stuff?” I wondered. “I know we’re special like this, but ya know, when a pegasus can hold her breath for apparently five hours, ya just get curious.”

"Dunno. Can a living being even learn or do what we can do?"

“Uh…I’m pretty sure that’s a no but I’m in a land of candy colored mythical creatures and I’m currently dating one…”

"And I'm a native to this world but an undead like you yet you're an alien so, clearly, some things are just either never meant to be known or all things can be possible. Either way, we can get you started on the real training now that you have the basics."

“Awesome.” I nodded. “Learning how to use my powers and even brand new one’s is going to be fun.”

"Alright. Now, form your own solid breath."

I nodded, taking a deep breath as I tried using the same logic I used when training my Cero a while ago to try and create the crystal.

I exhaled slowly, feeling my breath carry the energy out. I focused it towards my hand-

Ah crap…

"Yeah, figured that would happen a few times…" Grover said, my hand now covered in crystal carbon dioxide…

“Well…crap…” I frowned.

"Hold still. This is gonna hurt."

My training took off from there. Breath crystallization was some trial and error to not encase a limb but all in all, I got it down at least. After that I moved onto healing with breathing. That was actually pretty easy.

From there I just kept practicing until I was mastering each lesson.

“Honestly forget how often breathing was involved in popular media where I’m from.” I commented, having mastered the breathing stuff rather quickly and being really happy about it.

"Maybe you can get that filly of yours to teach you that crazy lung breath holding." Grover said with a shrug.

“I don’t think so, cause Derpy’s Cutie Mark is a Bubble.” I said honestly.

"Well, at least once you start rutting her that talent can have some fun uses~"

“Fucking excuse you!?” I snapped in embarrassment, feeling my entire face go beat red at that.

"You are too easy." Grover chuckled as he drank from a whole moonshine jug.

“Oh shut up ya old drunk.” I frowned.

"So you're gonna look me in the eye and tell me that never crossed your mind?"

“First of all, shush.” I stated. “What possible sexcapades I have is between me and Derpy.”

"You mean you are rutting?"

“We didn’t do that yet!” I said quickly. “All we did was cuddle at most…honestly best sleep I’ve gotten since I’ve been here.”

"Not even spooning? What brand of extra virgin are you?"

“The kind that can kick your sorry ass if you don’t shush.” I growled. “I want to take thing’s at a decent pace, I’m not just going to fuck the pegasi milf on the first date.” I said…and then realized what I just said.

"Ah, you like them older and proven fertile I see." Grover said with a chuckle.

I groaned loudly. “Ugh…” I shook my head. “Why are we on this talk again?”

"You're girlfriend can hold her breath for hours and that would make her perfect to suck your soul, if you have one, through your crotch."

“Bruh.” I whined, my shoulders sagging as I know it might be mind blowing but still.

"Maybe she's part Lamia Harpy?" Grover said more to themselves as they took another swig of their moonshine.

“Lamia Harpy?” I asked.

"Back when I was alive, the Lamia were a cross species between giant snakes and all kinds of creatures. Ponies, griffins, minotaurs, all with one sets upper half from the waist up, the rest from that down was snake, tails reaching many many feet in length. Could uproot a tree and break boulders.

"The Harpy were a subspecies of Griffon, pony and an unknown third race. They were small but could fly higher, farther and faster than any of the species. I remember hearing a small village of Lamia and harpies cross breeding. The result was a very Pegasi like race with the high fly, extra lung capacity of the two plus some bonus abilities."

“Huh…that’s really interesting.” I said honestly. “Might have to ask her about it now.”

"Plus it means she can swallow it far back if she does."

“Will you please stop talking about whatever sex life I might have?” I asked.

"You mean don't have?"

“I’m going to slap you.”

"And yet you wish to do that to her flanks."

“That’s none of your business.” I blushed brightly, hating how he’s right but not going to answer him.

"It honestly amazes me how shy the new generations are about sex. Honestly, back in my time it was casual. Used as payment, out of Boredom or bragging rights. Nowadays you all make it seem so fragile."

“Sex has become more than just those things.” I said honestly. “Sure, it can still be casual, but it’s something two significant other’s share…it’s important.”

"You mean child making? That's also true but heck you make it sound like it's difficult."

“I don’t want her to feel like I might just use her and leave.” I frowned.

"I have a feeling she knows you aren't that kind of male. Plus I have a feeling she is looking forward to when you two finally have a roll in the hay."

“I mean…I’m sure it’ll be a special moment for the both of us.” I said nervously.

"I'm sure. That's why she's been eyeing you train from a cloud nearly two miles above us."

“So that’s why…” I muttered to myself, turning around and looking up at the oh so suspicious cloud that I always thought had some gray in it. “Derpy! I can see you!”

After saying that the gray Pegasus mare flew down from that impressive height. "Heh… hi…" She said shyly.

“I’m surprised you didn’t try to shout ‘no you don’t’ first.” I chuckled, gently patting her head happily.

"Heh, well I've been watching you train for some days now… I was curious at first… then enjoyed the… view." She said, blushing a bit. "I also heard… all that." Now I blushed. "Despite being so high up Pegasi have great hearing. Also yes I have a little bit Harpy in me." She added, looking at Grover.

"No lamia?" He asked.

"None I'm aware of." Derpy shrugged.

“Right…” I nodded. “So uh…about the part where you…heard me say something…” I trailed off, given that I said I did in fact call her a milf.

"Well, I'm flattered you find me so… sexy." She said. "Not many ponies are willing to date a mare with kids. Fool around with one sure, had a fair amount of creeps ask me for that stuff but I'm not interested in one night stands given… but, I know you're different and… I wouldn't mind if we experimented a little."

“I mean…I’m open for it.” I said slowly, not believing we’re having this conversation.

"Well… Dinky still has school for the next three hours…"

“We have three hours for…all the fun.” I said, not believing we’re about to do the do.

The next month with Derpy has been… amazing~

I'll never admit it to him but… Grover was right… about Derpy's breath holding being… good… for…

Anyway, I've basically moved in with her and Dinky. And when Dinky has a sleepover she spends it at my place.

I came over to Derpy's house, some groceries in tow. The bubble mare in question was sitting on her sofa looking…

“What’s wrong?” I asked worriedly, not liking the look of concern on her face.

"Uh… Correct me if I'm wrong Starrk, but you are by definition dead, right?"

“Uh…yes.” I nodded. “Semantics of me being a physical manifestation of a spiritual predator after many, many years of ‘survival of the fittest’ logic, but by definition I am technically dead.” I said, getting a sinking feeling as to what might be happening.

"Oh… so, uh…" She unfolded her wing, pulling out a… pregnancy test… a positive… pregnancy test. "How uh… how did that happen then?"

I stared at that for a moment…walking over to the table and putting down the groceries cause I’m not ruining thing’s I just bought…and bringing up my Assistant to try and call up Princess, Fluffy or Crescent to get some explanation as to why the hell this is happening cause I am freaking the fuck out! “Come on…please answer…”

Eventually, Fluffy appeared in the room, holding up a sign 'Sup?'

I pointed to Derpy and the positive pregnancy test. “How?” I asked, knowing I was giving a pleading look to get some explanation on how the hell I just got my girlfriend pregnant when I’m supposed to be dead and ‘shooting blanks’.

She looked over at Derpy's positive pregnancy test and then back to me, flipping her sign around. 'Congratulations.'

"Okay, first, thank you, but secondly, that didn't answer my question." I said. "I'm undead, a physical manifestation of spiritual energy forced through a 'survival of the fittest'...how did I get her pregnant?"

'The Assistant.'

"How the hell does this mess with my biology?" I asked as I raised the stupid thing up. "I thought it worked more like an RPG menu screen than…this."

'It does, in several ways. Mainly once it was placed upon you your entire biology was changed into something that doesn't exist in the realms.'

"And what did I turn into?" I asked worriedly.

'Well, you for one, but what mainly changed are the cells in your body. These cells were developed by my family long ago and work with the Assistant. Think of them as organic microbots. Each cell and cluster of cells function identical to normal cells but they also function with artificial, spiritual, magical, all that. Basically these cells exist and function as organic, inorganic, and all completely adaptable and programmable. As a result, despite being by definition, dead, you and Derpy, as well as any other female in existence, are compatible.'

I blinked, trying to process all that. "Well…I suppose that makes sense…" I said carefully. "So…okay, magic and technological mumbo jumbo…god of Claire was here she'd flip…and ask for the same treatment…"

"But, what about the baby?" Derpy asked.

'Well, in this case the way the cells would work the baby has a twenty five percent chance to be born a human. Twenty five percent chance to born a full pony, and fifty percent chance to be born a halfbreed. How they will appear physically in that case will be largely up to random chance. But they will inherit both parents' genetics. So unless they're born full human they'll likely inherit Derpy's wings and no matter how they're born they will inherit all of Starrks abilities and develop their own over time.'

"Oh boy…that's…going to be something…" I said in mild panic.

"Will it be as long as a normal pregnancy?" Derpy asked.

'A human pregnancy takes nine months. Your species pregnancies take a year. It again depends. Full human or pony will take the normal amount of time. Halfbreed will probably take more or less depending.'

"Oh…alright." I said. "Will it be rough for her due to…giving birth to a race not her own?"

'Without an Assistant and the special cells, it could be. I can give her one too, it won't affect the baby but the new cells will help keep any unwanted side effects or accidents from happening. Physically she won't change at all, not unless she wants changes.'

"I can get one of those weird things too?" Derpy asked, Fluffy just nodding.

"That would be fantastic, cause I don't want Derpy, or our baby to get hurt." I said. "But…would this effect the game Genie and co are playing?"

'That is up to Derpy and if she decides to help you. With the Assistant, she can gain abilities and powers no Pegasus or any pony/creature can have.'

"Uh… what about just for the pregnancy and… more fun bedroom stuff?" Derpy asked.

'Then I imagine it won't be an issue.'

"Then I accept." Derpy said.

With a nod, Fluffy pulled out that same paper with the Assistant symbol on it, on her left leg, just above her hoof.

Once it was on she blinked a bit. "Woah… this is weird… kinda cool though." She said with a smirk.

"Yes, it is really cool." I nodded. "Thanks Fluffy…anything else you want to tell us about all of this?"

'Try not to get carried away with bodily upgrades. A lot in the special Skill Trees can be fun but your next pregnancy could leave you with always able to have ten or more babies a time. Safely.'

"Holy crap!" Derpy said, her wings popping open in surprise.

"Uh…" I was floored at hearing that. "Sure…okay…best not delve too deep into that…"

With that, Fluffy left and Derpy and I just sat in the living room.

"So…" Derpy started.

"So…" I replied, trying to think of what we should do with this new forbidden and lewd knowledge.

"Should we think of baby names?"

“Uh…we should…” I said, sitting down next to Derpy. “We should think of baby names and…not think of the possibilities I’m thinking of.”

"We'll also have to expand the house. An extra room or two. Guess I'll stop by town hall and get the permits tomorrow…" Derpy said. "I guess we should have been using protection this whole time huh?" Derpy asked with a light laugh.

“Probably, but it was…honestly too mind blowing not to.” I chuckled.

"Heh. Yeah… been a long time since I had felt that good… guess I got a bit… addicted… still am…" She added, blushing but smiling happily. "I'm honestly surprised to be pregnant again. But I'm also… really excited."

“And I’m currently trying not to panic…but I’m alo excited to know I’m going to be a parent.”

"So… when should we tell Dinky?"

“Uh…” I frowned, trying to think of when it’s a good time to tell Dinky. “Maybe when she gets home or in a few days? If she wasn’t hiding already and listening in on our conversation.”

Derpy shook her head. "No, she's still in school and since I gave her her allowance the other day she'll probably browse Sugar Cube Corner or toys stores for treats of something fun to play with, so… four or five hours til she comes home… but maybe we should wait a few days. It will be a surprise."

“Alright.” I nodded. “So…we have four or five hours to ourselves…”

"And I can see a bunch of…. Options, I think Fluffy put them there for my convenience?"

“I’m sure it is when you asked for…fun bedroom things.” I said carefully. “But we will need to be careful…don’t want to suddenly get ten more kids out of nowhere and learn we both have a breeding fetish…”

"Heh… so, wanna test one out at least?"

“Yes please.” I said with a smile. “So, what did Fluffy give us to try?”

"Well, there's… a lot, some I don't know what they even do or mean but I see one I think you'll really like~"

Derpy's body then glowed with a near blinding light. When it died down my jaw was on the floor. Before me sat a gorgeous five-seven woman. Blond hair, one lazy eye, huge chest and hips, a cute chubby body type and two large gray wings.

She was also completely naked.

"Well, how do I look as a human Starrk?"

“Yeah…I was right to say ‘Milf’...” I said in awe. “You look…absolutely beautiful Derpy…”

"Well, mind making sure I feel like it~?"

Another month, and Derpy got used to her Assistant. Hers seems to be more simple in terms of the UI. She has a human form, an anthropomorphic form which is her pony body as a human, but fur, ears, all that. A Centaur form that was… definitely interesting… and some other neat abilities and such she can turn on and off at will.

Dinky was beyond ecstatic about the whole thing. She is bragging to anyone and everyone.

Lillinette is beyond confused but congratulated me on losing my virginity… as did Grover…

That aside my training has been going well. But… it's been two months of silence… I don't like this…

“Something is…very not right.” I said worriedly, looking around carefully and trying to either find or sense anything that could possibly be happening.

"If we at least knew where they were stationed this might be easier." Lillinette said. "Knowing where our enemy is would help a lot more in the long run."

“They could either be on the Moon, in some shadow dimension, or they could be anywhere on this planet while I’ve been busy fucking my extremely wonderful girlfriend for two months.” I frowned.

"Did you really have to throw that brag in there? Speaking of, she's the mother of your soon to be foal… or baby… or, halfbreed…. Infant… child. Are you gonna pop the question and make her an honest mare or what?"

“I’m trying to find a good ring for her.” I said honestly. “Considering she can now shapeshift, it’s a tad hard to find one when I also have to find someone that can enchant it to change size to fit her form. And no, I’m not asking our chibi companions…they do more than enough already.”

"So, think it will be a boy or a girl?"

“No idea, hell I don’t even know if it’s a hybrid or not…” I groaned, rubbing my temples bitterly. “But while I was trying to get my life in some sort of joy, what have you been doing?”

"Playing your old games. Aside from that I do a little freelance for the local guard."

“Oh, that’s good.” I nodded. “Find anything weird while helping the local guard?”

"No. I mostly just deal with nests that are too close to the town border and the Everfree. Pays nice." She shrugged. "But yeah, been a while and no signs of threat or anything. It's a little suspicious…"

“Yeah…and I really hate it.” I said carefully. “I’d say ‘let’s go out and search’...but Derpy’s pregnant and I don’t want to risk her getting attacked while we’re gone…” I said worriedly, having had an itch to go out exploring this world cause all we did was go to Griffonstone and I know there’s a lot more to this place but…when my two damned voices and Nightmare are out and about, shit can go sideways.

"Hmm… we know those two want you suffering. But Nightmare is keeping them on a tight leash, meaning she might be training them. Forcing them to be disciplined and loyal on top of stronger." Lillinette said.

“But they’re not the only one’s that have been getting stronger.” I said honestly. “I just hope I’m learning fast enough…and when Grover finishes with me and…get’s the rest he deserves, we’re going to have to hunt for the other Arrancars on this planet to get more help…”

"With your baby mamma carrying you best not do that for a while. Hmm… well, we found Grover more or less by accident and speculation… maybe we can do some research. This planet has a lot of recorded legends. Odds are the other Arrancars might have left a footprint or two in some form?"

“Hmm, true.” I nodded. “So, off to the library to learn some legends, and what’s also cool is that the changeling’s might have also shared some stuff with her…oh wait…I should talk to Polka Dot about a date with them…and I should ask Derpy if a herd is okay…ugh~...” I groaned, putting my face in both hands as I just realized a thing.

"Wow. Knocked one up and already looking for a second baby mamma? You sure grew some balls."

“Shush you.” I said, blushing brightly. “Ugh…if Claire was here…”

“Okay seriously, who the hell is talking about me?” Claire whined, having sneezed yet again in the middle of her desert training with the Zebra Arrancar. “And why do I want to ruin Mike’s hips so badly?”

“So anyways, enough about teasing me about my love life, what about you?”

"What about it?" She asked as we walked towards Twilight's library.

“Eh, just wondering if anyone caught your eye yet.” I shrugged.

"Not even in the slightest." She said with an eye roll. "I might have once been part of you but I'm not nor was I ever human. I don't actively seek out or want attention or companionship."

“Ironic considering that who we are was born due to the need for attention and companionship.” I chuckled. “Coyotte Starrk and Lillinette Gingerbuck, combined were the strongest Vasto Lorde anyone has ever seen, but their power was killing everything around them, so they split in half to form us for companionship…” I said, remembering the entire backstory of these humble pair of wolves.

"Except we are not them, just given their shape and voices."

“And also he didn’t have two other hitchhikers through bullet town.” I added.

"Exactly. In any case, we need information. Either Twilight or Polkadot the changeling."

“Yes, and hopefully we can see either of them in the library.” I said honestly.

To be continued...

Chapter 7

The next few months were going by fairly simply. Derpy went to the doctors regularly to make sure the baby was developing fine and so far it seems to be taking the shape of an anthropomorphic Pegasus.

It's also a girl.

Her cravings have been on and off and each time they're on it's crazy. Fish and peanut butter, Apples dipped in ranch, Root Beer and Lemonade mixed together.

Pineapple on pizza.

When I'm not tending to her needs and shopping for groceries, and stockpiling diapers I'm training with my teacher or helping Dinky.

So my life has been very busy the last few months. I'm tired as all hell but I'm not miserable. I find myself happy at the end of the day and thankful.

That being said I have not had the time to meet with or find my changeling friend.

“I do have to wonder where my changeling friend is…” I hummed. “Though I also have to hunt down the other Arrancar on this planet…ugh, so many people to find and not a lot of time…”

I sighed but shook it off, heading back home and-

"Hey Starrk." Polka Dot waved as she was having Tea with Derpy.

“And where the hell have you been?” I asked. “I was actually looking for you.”

"Oh I've been here." She said simply. I raised a brow then in a flash of purple flames she was Derpy, pregnancy belly and all. "We've been swapping turns for the past two months." She said in Derpy's voice.

"It was all her idea but I promise there is a good reason for it." Derpy, actual Derpy, said.

“Would have liked to know that sooner…” I sighed. “So…did I get you pregnant as well Polka?”

A small flash of purple and Polka had her Derpy disguise change the eyes back to her normal ones. When she spoke it was also her voice. "Oh no, this is an illusion." She poked the fake pregnant belly. "And don't worry, each time you were with Derpy it really was her. I'd never trick you Into that. But we did kiss a few times."

"Polkadot offered to help me by taking my shifts at work until paternity leave kicks in as well as helping around the house and manage the renovations when that was happening. In exchange I got examined by doctors at her hive since the Assistant is a high value item of interest, my body's new special cells that are like yours, and to keep tabs on my pregnancy since a hybrid of this kind hasn't been seen in Eques ever." Derpy finished

“Alright, that’s good to know.” I nodded. “So Polkadot, have you heard of any locations involving creatures like me and Grover?”

"Three defiants." Polkadot said with a nod. "We've also found where Nightmare and her two goons are located."

"Great, great and…wait, three?" I asked, thinking there should be more but not sure.

"That's just what we've found so far. It would seem they are very good at hiding and are keeping their energies and influences low."

“Alright.” I nodded. “Where are all these being’s and where’s Nightmare.”

"Two are in the Zebra lands, one in the Dragon Lands, and Nightmare and her goons are all in The Frozen Heart."

"How?" Derpy asked. "That place is supposed to be at absolute zero. Nothing can live there."

"They aren't exactly alive." Polkadot added.

Okay, two in the Zebra Lands, one in the Dragon Lands, and wherever this apparently frozen hell place called the Frozen Heart is…

“Alright…so I think the Zebra Lands are the closest, and given there’s two there, I can hopefully get some extra training in.” I said readily.

"Unless you want to sail across the East Seas, traveling across the West Oceans take us to the Dragon Lands then by air or land we can travel to the Zebra Lands." Polkadot said.

"Plus, I am pregnant so I can't really go and if you do go you might miss our daughter's birth." Derpy added.

“Yeah, and I really don’t want to miss our daughter's birth.” I said honestly. “That is a very special moment I don’t want to miss.”

"So, stay until she's born then after a while you can head off. And if need be I can have Derpy and her foals move to the hive. It's much safer and more secure if attacked than Ponyville." Polkadot added… "Are you staring at my fake pregnant Derpy belly?"

“No.” I said quickly, blushing at the accusation and being discovered. “Why would I?”

"Hehe, because you're a pervert for milfs." Derpy said. "And I, and this foal, are proof."

“I thought I could trust you Derpy, and you just…call me out like that?” I whined playfully.

"Huh. I figured you'd be a pervert, part of why I liked you." Polkadot said. "If you want I'd be open to keeping the disguise up while you rutt me senseless." My crimson red deepened. "Best part is despite how real this form looks it's completely fake so be as rough as you like~"

"Oh he's plenty rough with the real deal, and I for one sleep much better after the fact." Derpy said.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I won't lie it was a bit awkward given the difference in anatomy at first but he more than makes up for that with his hands. And tongue."

"Oh, well now I'm very interested."

What is happening?

"Can we not talk about our sex life please?" I asked nervously, so confused and concerned as to why this entire conversation is happening.

"So would you say in that human form your Assistant let's you take it better?" Polkadot asked Derpy, the two completely ignoring the fact I'm here.

"I wanna say yes but for different reasons. For one, the anatomy does make things fit and feel more like they should but also the areas he grabs and squeezes are so much more sensitive, especially the teats." Derpy replied.

"Makes sense. So, does this mean I get to become a member in this relationship?"

"I don't mind, you've already been a big help, have an interest in Starrk and we all already seem to share the same or similar kinks."

What in the actual Fuck is happening?!

"Awesome! So, when do I get my roll with the stud?"

"I'd say at least after a few dates first. Starrk and I went on about four before eventually his tutor caught me eyeing him from a cloud while they trained and our sex life started." Derpy said with a shrug.

"Four dates then regular hot and sweaty action? Sounds like a plan. Don't suppose you'd also be into a Shapeshifting kinky bug too?"

"Oh definitely. One it would drive Starrk wild, plus it's only right to try it out being in a herd."

“The fuck is happening!?” I asked, taking a cursory glance around and the place looked more like a steam room with how much I was apparently producing from how embarrassing and lewd this conversation was.

"So when should my first date with Starrk be?" Polkadot asked.

"How about tonight?" Derpy replied.

"Sounds good. I'll go get ready." With that, Polkadot dropped her whole Derpy disguise and headed off.

"I guess you should get ready for your date with Polkadot too Starrk." Derpy said.

“Oh, so now I exist.” I groaned.

"So you don't want to go on a date with her?"

“I never said that, but you two were busy ignoring anything I had to say.” I frowned. “Which was mostly, where the hell did this conversation come from.”

"We're both mares Starrk, we like to talk about the males we are into, or mares, and especially like to talk about the bedroom stuff. And since Polkadot is going to be part of this herd I gave her a little info on how it will be once you and her get to that physical point."

I'm never gonna get girls…

I rubbed my temples. “But why in front of me?” I asked nervously. “Ech, whatever…so tonight we’re having a date…”

"That's right. Now come on, You need a shower and I need to get my nightly fill so I can sleep while you're out."

Wait what- Oh!

After a… shower with Derpy, I dried her off and tucked her in for bed and I got ready. I got some casual clothes and such on and around nine thirty Polkadot knocked on the door.

I opened it and…

Standing at the doorway was a woman with purple eyes, hair, almost pale skin tone and wore a whort skirt, a polkadot tank top, and polkadot sneakers. "Hey Starrk." Polkadot said… holy-

Her chest and butt look amazing….

I shook my head. “Uh, hey there Polkadot…I see you have…outdone yourself.” I said carefully.

"Well I do have experience Shapeshifting as a human and I figured something like this would be a good way to catch your eye right off the bat." She said, shaking her… woah… "I see I was right."

“Lady please…” I groaned. “We’re supposed to have a date…not immediately going to bed here…”

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't tease and flaunt~" She purred, taking my hand and practicing dragging me outside.

Once I made sure the door was locked we left and began walking down the street. Ponyville had a very different feel at night. It was still a quaint little town but there was a distinct sense of a hidden other side as bars, night clubs and such opened up. Even the open late restaurants seemed to adopt the more 'For Adults' theme in their tone.

"So, where shall we go first?" Polkadot asked, clinging to my arm like a second skin…

Hers is… incredibly soft…

“God give me strength…” I thought to myself as I took a deep breath. “Well…want to see a movie?”

"Sure. Anything good playing here?" We walked to the theater and there was three movies playing. Ka-Boom the Movie, Mighty Mare, and Infect. Huh… "Not much selection…" Polkadot said.

“Yeah…” I frowned. “Which one seems interesting for ya?”

"Infected looks neat and different."

The poster showed a pony's eye but it was slightly fogged and seemed completely filled with worms. Gross…

“Horror movie it is.” I said honestly.

We bought the tickets and after getting snacks all got seated.

The movie was… actually, really good. I'm assuming magic played heavily into the special effects and such but it was a really good movie about a near planetary Armageddon due to a new species of parasitic worms.

It kinda reminded me a bit of World War Z with the immune all having terminal illnesses that can also be treated.

In the end it was an okay horror movie. Didn't end up an action movie since there were no guns too so, nice.

"Well that was fun." Polkadot said as we exited the theater.

“Yeah, it was.” I said honestly. “Was a lot better than I thought it would be.”

"So, anything else you wanna do?"

“Get something to eat?” I suggested. “There should be a place open right now.”

"Alright."

We got a quick meal, nothing fancy was open but we enjoyed a Haybirgers, which are not made from hay but actually soy beans, and then began to walk home.

“Well, this date went well.” I said happily.

"Yeah. It was simple but enjoyable. I look forward to our next."

I nodded as I went inside, changed into some sleepwear and got in bed next to Derpy…

I then felt two arms wrap around me that were definitely not my bubble butt baby mamma's hooves. These had fingers!

“Uh…” I muttered, looking over to see who just decided to do some impromptu cuddles.

Behind me was Polkadot, still in a human form only this time in just her tank top and underwear as she cuddled up right against my back- Oh my god it's like a heated body pillow…~

"Night Starrk~" Polkadot said.

“Night…” I yawned, closing my eyes as I felt…really good about thing’s right now with both my girlfriends. “I hope I can find you Claire…cause I’m sure you’ll enjoy this just as much as me…” I thought to myself, really hoping to find the love of my life and bring her to meet my two horny lovers.

"Ouch!" Claire yelped as she was knocked back into the stone wall behind her. Her mentor, the Zebra Arrancar of Earth, had thrown her so often into the stone walls she had imprints of her face and craters in the shape of her body in some places.

"You're trying too hard to hit your mark." The Zebra, a stallion named Herb stated.

“Yeah yeah…” Claire grumbled, getting out of the newest indentation and rolling her shoulders. “Go with the flow and all that fancy shit…” She said, getting annoyed at how difficult this was and the fact she kept faililng.

"Even a Mighty boulder moves at the mercy of a fall when rolling down the mountain side. Brute force alone is not enough to win in a fight."

Claire wanted to argue, but considering how many times she’s tripped over a small rock the bastard created it annoyed her that he was right. “Then how the hell am I supposed to go about this? Cause I’ve tried it your way and currently I’ve made some weird face art in the dirt.”

"The strength of stone can give you the power to defeat all around you, but stone can break stone, water and the wind, the fires of the worlds heart all can render this strength futile. To keep it strong you must move with the flow of water, let winds carrying you and endure the fire, otherwise your strength is but sand." Herb said.

Claire sighed…but then remembered, she was Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the Capricorn Knight…maybe…”I…think I have an idea…” She said, gently kicking her foot into the ground like a horse would paw at the ground, trying to feel it out as she knew her released form was that of a Centaur. “Just…gotta feel it out…” She muttered, trying to feel it out with each rhythmic kick to the ground.

Suddenly she felt a bit taller. Looking down she was indeed now a Centaur. Claire jumped in excitement… only to crash on her side due to not yet understanding quadruped balancing.

"That looked like it hurt…" Herb said, wincing.

“This…is very weird.” Claire said carefully, trying to get up shakily as she looked over herself. “I didn’t say my release chant…I just…turned into Capricorn Knight…that’s really weird…” She stated, wearily standing on all four of her new hooven legs.

"It appears you will need a foal's lessons in walking with all four legs."

“Cause that’s what I need at the moment, to relearn how to walk…” Claire grumbled. “Ugh…great, now how am I going to turn back? I just tried to feel it out with my powers…and now I’m a fluffy horse.”

"Perhaps this is a power we should explore, before returning to our normal training."

“Yeah, this would take up a lot of our time…” Claire said carefully, noting her new double sided lance that replaced her katana. “Yeah…this is my release form…” Claire frowned, now super confused by this.

The months blurred and went by quickly. Polkadot and I were not physically intimate with one another just as much as I was with Derpy, who has recently birthed our foal. She has Derpy's coat and mane colors, Pegasi wings, but a human-like body, hands, feet, bipedal, and also has my eyes.

We named her Daisy Doo.

And boy, she is a crier. Mornings. Evenings. Night…

She has some strong lungs… just like her mom…

There is legit only one thing that stops her from crying…

"I still don't know why she sleeps so easily when that horror movie is playing…" Derpy grumbled, Daisy now blissfully asleep as the blood curdling screams of dying ponies from the Infection movie Polkadot and I saw on our first date. She bought the movie to watch with Derpy and that ended up being what made Daisy sleep.

We've kept the movie on loop as often as possible.

“I…I don’t know why…and that kind of scares me…” I said nervously.

"Well, if she inherited Starrks abilities, maybe it's because she's half undead?" Polkadot offered, handing Derpy and I each a large mug/soup bowl of coffee each.

“I mean…that’s possible..” I said carefully. “Hmm…” I hummed, pulling up my Assistant and using it’s scan function on my daughter to see what is special about her.

Name: Daisy Doo
Species: Hybrid. Half Equis Equin Pegasus, Half Human-Arrancar.
Gender: Female.

“Well, she is half arrancar, yes.” I nodded. “So…maybe? This is still mildly concerning.”

"All it took Dinky to nod off was a lullaby and her favorite plushie…" Derpy sighed. "Guess it's true what they say, each foal is different. Those mares who say each of their foals was the same as a baby can shove it…" She hissed, drinking her soup bowl mug of coffee in four gulps.

“Yeah…” I said, yawning from all the times she just didn’t want to go to sleep. “Love her to death…but I miss sleep…”

"Why aren't you tired Polkadot?" Derpy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Changeling Biology. One of the few unifying traits across our sister species and my own aside from Shapeshifting is that we also require either one hour of sleep a day or one day a week where we sleep eight hours." She stated.

“Lucky.” I grumbled.

"Yeah… wait, if you only need to sleep for an hour a day or eight hours one day a week then what are you doing those hours Starrk and I are asleep?" Derpy asked.

"Reading, playing some games, checking on Daisy and making sure the film is still on loop, watching documentaries, might do a live stream every now and then, and before you two and Dinky wake up I start on breakfast." Polkadot said.

“Huh…right then.” I nodded. “So…just gonna be a little longer before I have to head off to the Zebra Lands…even though I want to be here for Daisy…” I sighed, really wishing I could be here for my family, but knowing there’s important shit to do that helps keep my family safe from the looming threat.

"Guess that means Dinky, Daisy and I will all be moving into your hive when Starrk leaves huh?" Derpy asked.

"My place can easily house everyone. Plus odds are Dinky will gain the best education on the planet once enrolled, far surpassing the Equestrian Education System." Polkadot said.

"Well, that's good. Think I'll try and take a nap for a while…"

"You just drank like half a coffee pot?"

"That's how tired I am…" Derpy said sleepily.

“I don’t drink coffee, that’s a crutch for the pure spite that’s coursing through my veins…” I said sleepily.

“You’ve drunk three cases of energy drinks.” Polkadot pointed out.

“Pure spite…” I yawned.

I stood up, wobbled, then fell back on the couch… oh blissful sleep I missed you…

I woke up some time later in bed on/next to Derpy. I felt better and my Pegasus love was sleepily clinging to me like static electricity.

I hugged Derpy, glad to have gotten some blissful sleep as I was just…so happy that everything’s been going well right now.

I stayed there with her and fell back asleep again, and eventually we both woke up some time later.

"Ugh… I feel better, yet also worse…" Derpy groaned as she rubbed her eyes.

"I'd say." Polkadot said as she walked in, levitating food and drinks to us both. "You two have been asleep for thirty six hours."

“Oh my god…” I muttered. “Thirty six hours? Ech…”

Derpy and I ate our given meals in bed before getting up, feeling more refreshed than I have since Daisy was born… damn. Didn't know Arrancar could even get back pain…

I gave Derpy, Polkadot, Daisy and Ditsy a kiss goodbye then ran to find my mentor. I've missed a day sleeping through it.

I went to the spot and… where is he? Oh he better not be at the bar again…

I went off to the bar, trying to sense the old bird’s spiritual energy and hoping to find him before I hit the bar cause I really did not want to see him at the bar again.

Oddly, I didn't find them here. While I was glad of that I did find it strange.

I decided to check my place and nothing here either. I did see Fluffy sleeping on the couch though.

“Hey Fluffy.” I said carefully to the sleeping fluff ball, wondering what they were doing sleeping on my couch.

They woke up, looking up at me and pulled out a sign. 'What's up?'

“Have you seen Grover?” I asked. “I looked in our usual training spot and the bar but didn’t find him anywhere.

'He's gone.'

“Like…gone as in he left this country or gone as in he’s…dead?” I asked slowly.

'He was done training you, so, we let him move on. That was a week ago.'

“Oh…” I muttered. “I…didn’t know…” I said nervously. “Bastard could have at least said goodbye instead of worrying me…”

'You had a newborn daughter to tend to. As is you were on auto pilot on his last few lessons so he felt you needed to worry more about your family than, in his own words, old drunk turkey ass.'

“The fact that I was still there to train with him, even if I was running on literally no sleep and my blood type could be described as Diet Monster Energy…” I sighed. “Couldn’t have at least waited till I was fully cognizant…but hopefully he’s happy being with his significant other.”

'I can, with honesty tell you, he's happier now than he has ever been in life.'

I actually smiled at learning that… heh. Guess you deserve it you old bird…

“Alright…well, good to know.” I nodded. “He deserves his rest…and now, onto the Zebra Lands to meet two Arrancars and hopefully catch up to whatever Nightmare has been doing with Ann and Andy.”

“My bones!”

“Oh shut up ya big babies.”

“So, anything I should worry about before trying to fly off towards the Zebra lands?”

'Well the better route is to travel to the dragon lands first, and I believe one of your Arrancars is there too aren't they?'

“Yes, there’s two Arrancars in the Zebra Lands actually.” I said honestly. “That’s why I’m thinking of heading there, but why do you think I should go to the Dragon Lands first?”

'For one, it won't leave you sailing in an air ship for three months over an ocean.'

“Damn, three months?” I asked in surprise. “I’m pretty sure I could run faster than that…just endurance through using Sonido would probably be a bitch and a half…actually, I haven’t really tested how long I can keep that up…” I said, reminding myself on how little I’ve practiced with my other Arrancar abilities.

'That still leaves you a month and two weeks running on water…'

“Bitch…” I sighed, really needing to train my speed then. “And…how long will it take me to get to the Dragon Lands?” I inquired. “And…if memory serves, you said that you, Princess and Crescent will help train me with things I’ve already learned, right?” I asked, hoping I remembered that bit correctly cause I still need training for a few things.

'if you insist on learning how to run on water at those speeds, add training time, four months. Also don't "bitch" me, I might be small but I will unbirth you and raise you with manners.'

“I didn’t need to know that, but I was saying ‘Bitch’ cause it would still take me a month to get there, plus I can fly.” I pointed out. “At least…technically? It’s been a while since I’ve last walked around in the sky…god I have been lacking on my hollow powers…” I frowned.

'You're a parent now. Expect that to happen.'

“I know I know…” I sighed. “Seriously, I’m super happy to be a dad but…I’m worried about Nightmare and any other monsters that might attack them, I know I’m one of the strongest people on this planet but…still…”

'Fair, you should have seen Princess as a first time dad and mom. You'd be surprised how quickly her adorable fluffy butt turned terrifying.'

“Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.” I quoted simply.

'In Any case either way it's gonna take you a while to get to either place.'

I rubbed my temple. “Damn travel time…” I grumbled, wishing there was a faster way to get there, cause my training would take too long, airship would take too long…ugh. “How long till the Dragon lands?”

'By airship, little over a month.'

“And if I use your math for running there…”

'Two and a half months cause that's how long the running training is.'

I frowned. “Alright, so flying to the dragon land it is…” I said, hating how the training for my Sonido would take an extra month and a half.

To be continued...

Chapter 9

Must… stay… awake…

Must… stay…

Must…

"Ah!" I yelped, forcing my eyes open. I was doing perhaps the most childish thing a child can do. Waiting up for Santa on Christmas Eve. I know, Santa, really, but the thing is… on earth, he's fake… here… he is very real. And I'll be damned if I don't see him with my own tired eyes… ugh, being four sucks sometimes… get so tired so early… it's barely ten thirty…

“I know you exist…I need to see you once…” I yawned, wishing I could drink soda or something to keep me up but I can’t.

I think the worst part about this is waiting with nothing to do to pass the time. I was sitting on the couch, the tree was up and bright with its lights and decorations. Milk and cookies were placed and ready, stockings up. Various decorations all around. Not a present under the tree. Same as the years prior… At first I thought mom put them there on Christmas Eve, but some of the gifts I got were things I wanted and never told a soul.

“Just…want to see you once…to know that you do exist…” I yawned, not wanting to pace around cause I might cause mom to come down and force me to bed which I wouldn’t have much fight to stop.

I tried to pass time by thinking. Wondering what school will be like when I start that. Remembering books, movies, songs. Maybe I can make some friends…

I sighed, looking back at the fireplace. There was no logs or ash. Just the metal log holders, ashes, bricks and a glowing orb of light- wait what?

“Uh…hello?” I asked at the new sudden glowing orb.

The orb floated towards the center of the livingroom, then grew and flashed. I was blinded for a bit. Agh… “Ho, you should be in bed.”

…

I rubbed my eyes, looking up and seeing… large belly, red suit, big white beard, and… a dogs head? Santa?

“Uh…hi there…Santa?” I asked.

“That’s me.” He laughed. “Am I not what you were expecting, child?”

“Well…considering this is the first time I’ve met you…I shouldn’t be surprised you can look however you want given your…probably a cosmic level entity.” I chuckled…before yawning. “Ugh…I wanted to see if you were real cause…of where I originally came from…”

He chuckled more. “I am not any of those things little one. I am but one of many Santa’s across infinity.” He said, picking up the milk and cookies.

“Good…good to know cause…back on Earth you…most likely were never around…” I yawned again, still trying to stay up at the fact I’m actually talking to Santa…or at least, one of them.

“Oh child, you should go to sleep. You’re too young to be up this late.”

“B-but…I’m meeting Santa…” I said. “But…are the cookies good? I…baked them with mom…”

“Yes, they’re delicious Mike.” He smiled, snapping his fingers as the stockings began to inflate and fill with small toys and candy… woah…

“Awesome…” I said, feeling my eyes blur at how tired I was. “And…I’m glad I did a good job…” I yawned and laid down, seeing what I wanted and…hearing what I needed.

I fell asleep hearing Santa snapping their fingers.

…

“Mike?” I woke up and saw Mom leaning over me. “Did you stay up just to see Santa?”

I sat up, seeing the stockings still stuffed with small toys and candy and all kinds of presents under the tree… that wasn’t a dream!

“Y-yes…I did stay up and I did meet Santa.” I yawned. “He…said the cookies were delicious.”

“Heh, you cutie.” Mom said, giving me a kiss in my head. “Glad you met one of the Santas from the Santa Guild.”

“Santa Guild? There’s an entire guild of Santa’s?” I asked in awe.

“Yes. They give gifts to children across the multiverse and beyond.” Mom said. “You’re uncle Nicolas founded it.”

“Was he a Saint?” I jokingly asked.

“Technically.” Mom said, picking me up and carrying me into the kitchen. “Now let’s have some Christmas breakfast. Peppermint chocolate chip pancakes and strawberry milk!”

“Yay!” I cheered happily. “My favorite christmas breakfast!”

“Heh.” Mom put me in a chair, quickly made me a cup of strawberry milk then got to work making the pancakes. I sat eager and ready to eat then open presents-

Knock-Knock-Knock!

“Huh… I wasn’t expecting anyone…” Mom said, quickly slithering out and over to the door. “Yes- Oh my gosh! Mom?!”

Mom? Wait, my grandma?!

Mom quickly slithered back into the kitchen, with her was a pony lamia, all white body and scales but she had almost neon blue hair. “Hey there little fella.” The new naga said to me. “I’m Gleaming, you’re grandma.”

“Grandma!” I cheered. “Merry Christmas!”

She chuckled and picked me up into a hug.

“So, what brings you here mom?” Mom asked.

“I hear you’ve been back for four years, with a new baby, and you didn’t visit.” Grandma said, squeezing me more. “I am offended young lady.”

“Mom, last I heard you were vacationing with Cript in the Void.”

“You can visit the Void.”

“Not with a kid, I'm not taking a child there!”

“Oh you keep thinking of it like the old Void before Pain took over.”

“Pain’s scary, why go there?” I asked.

“Her void can be nice sweetie, it can actually be very beautiful when you look around.” Grandma said, giving me some kisses on my forehead.

“So did you come to spend Christmas with us?” Mom asked.

“Yes and of course I bring presents.”

“Presents!” I cheered in childish glee.

“So, what is my little grandson eating today?”

“I was about to make peppermint pancakes with chocolate chips.” Mom said.

“Oh I’ll help.”

“Mom, if I let you help you’ll make a whole buffet.”

“So? My little man here is part Lamia, I'm certain he can eat his weight and then some.”

“I mean… maybe but he’s still very young…”

“Oh come on, don’t you remember when I first brought you into the Family and you ate the whole table of food and then some.” Grandma laughed.

Wait… mom is like me?

“I was already in an adult body mom…”

“Wait…you're like me?” I asked Crescent.

“Oh… yes.” Mom said. “Like you I was once a person who was just… trying to do good and… had a hard road… lost some… It was a long time ago, I’ll tell you another time baby.” Mom said, patting my head.

“Sorry for bringing up bad memories…” Grandma said.

“It’s alright mom. I do wish my past was different, but I enjoy my life now. I have you, Cript, King, Heart, my… heh, many kids, and now this little baby!” Mom added, tickling me and making me laugh.

“Mom happy makes me happy!” I said in between my laughter,

“Awe, cute.” Grandma said, giving me some more kisses before putting me back in my chair. “Come on Eclipsa, let’s get cooking.”

… Eclipsa… that’s mom’s real name? Wow I am learning a lot today…

Mom and grandma got cooking and I smelled pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon… ham, turkey, pork roast… mashed potatoes and gravy… casserole… I’m sorry, is that a whole roasting cow?!

Also did the kitchen get bigger?

“Uh…kitchen bigger?” I asked in confusion.

“It’s all magic sweetie, the house is as big as we need it to be.” Mom called out from stirring a… bathtub sized soup pot…

Wow she was not kidding about Grandma cooking up… a buffet…

“Who else is gonna visit?” I asked. “A lot of food is being made…”

“Just us.” Grandma said. “You are part Naga honey, you are capable of eating much more than you appear to be able to.”

“He’s a little young for a biology lesson mom.” Mom called out.

“I’m technically twenty six mentally but eh.” I thought to myself. “That’s cool.”

“So I have to ask, who’s the father of their new body?” Grandma asked.

“Oh I uh… grabbed a random sample from the…” Mom stuttered.

“Really?” Grandma said. “Huh… I’m actually surprised. Thought you would have asked King for that.”

“I thought about it but they have a lot of stuff going on and you know they would drop it all to help raise a child.” Mom replied.

“True. That wolf has a lot of work and little free time.” Grandma agreed.

“Uh…Princess?” I asked, thinking that would be the person they’re talking about. “Fluff potato is busy?”

“Yes, that’s King. Princess is the name she uses while on the clock. Despite how she appears back on your Equis, she’s all across the multiverse. We all are. We’ll be talking to you and millions of other people across dimensions. It’s taxing mentally after a while which is why you always see us napping sometimes. Why keep the extra body alert if there’s not much going on.” Mom said.

… wat?

“Uh…huh…” I said slowly. “That’s…new.” I said, trying to think of how big things were now.

“You don’t worry your adorable little head about that Mike.” Grandma said, bringing me a… tray, piled high and overflowing with plates and bowls of food in front of me. Woah…

I felt myself drooling at the massive amount of food. “All for me?” I asked, lightly pointing at myself.

“That there is plenty more.” Grandma said with a nod as she went to make another tray.

I picked up a fork and began to eat-

..This is the best thing I have ever tasted ever…

“Mike, come on, Kindergarten is gonna be fine.” Mom said, trying to keep my wiggling body in her arms as she was taking me to… well it’s not a car, it’s more like a… spaceship… thing.

“I doubt that…what if I make a bad first impression or people treat me differently because you're my mom?” I asked nervously.

“Mike, everyone in your class is gonna either be a cousin or half sibling or have some relationship to you as a child of our Family. All their parents are either the same as me, or quite possibly also me.”

I paused, looking up at mom… weird… multi body omnipresence stuff… agh that gives me a headache…

“I’d like to not think of how huge things are cause it gives me a headache.” I whined.

“Well either way this is a great chance to make friends.” Mom said, getting me into the ship and putting me in a seat and buckling me in.

“Alright alright…” I sighed. “Jeez…so many things I have to relive…puberty’s gonna suck.” I groaned.

“It will definitely be different with your new body.” Mom said.

It didn’t take long for us to get to the Kindergarten, it was a large building with all kinds of varying species both adults and children. Mom dropped me off an an attendant lead me to my classroom where there was all kinda of species of people. Some looked human or humanoid, others were unique and mishmashed of species like me.

I took a seat at a desk and sighed.

“And here we go…twelve years of who cares, possible bullying, and learning thing’s that will ultimately mean nothing after high school…” I thought to myself bitterly.

As I was sitting here, I got the distinct feeling someone was watching me… I looked around, seeing nothing-

“Hi!”

“Ahh!” I yelped at the sudden appearance of a… She had blonde hair, long and flat, wore a long white gown and had two fluffy wings on her back, the feathers were bright pink and a glowing ring over her head…

“What’s your name?” The little angel asked me… literally…

“Uh…hi there…my name's Mike, or…well, it’s also technically Coyote Starrk if you know who that is…it’s weird.” I said sheepishly. “What’s your name?”

“Alex.” They said, suddenly next to me. “You look fluffy.”

How did they…?

“Uh…you wouldn’t happen to be related to a mare named Pinkie Pie would you?” I asked, finding her energy vaguely familiar to that pink ball of caffeine and sugar.

“Nope.” She said, now on the table again and rubbing my head. “Your fur is very soft.”

Head pats! Nuuu~, my tail is betraying me again. “Uh…why are you so…like this Alex?” I asked slowly, not wanting to sound mean or anything but this was just…a lot all at once.

“Like what?” They asked, now scratching my ears- Shit…

As I was at their mercy suddenly a toy car flew through the air and smacked Alex in the head. “Ouch!” They yelped as another pink winged angel with short cut hair and halo flew over next to her.

“Alex damn it stop petting every canine like person we meet!” The new person said with clear annoyance.

“But Mike is fluffy!” Alex defended.

“That’s not an… ugh you…” The new person face palmed. They then looked over at me. “Sorry for my brother’s lack of personal space…”

… Wait brother?!

“It’s uh…it’s alright, and also brother?” I inquired. “Uh…” I motioned to the more feminine looking person.

“Oh they like having their hair long and wearing dresses.” The new person stated. “I’m Fiona, Alex’s sister.” She stated, shaking my hand. “And yeah, everyone usually confuses us. We’re used to it.”

“Fiona gets called a boy a lot.” Alex said.

“Yeah…” Fiona rolled her eyes.

“Right…so Tomboy,” I pointed at Fiona. “And Femboy…” I motioned to Alex.

“Wait… you know what those mean?” Fiona asked. “You’re reborn too?!”

“Yes I am.” I nodded. “My mom is Eclipsa…I don’t know who my dad is but they are a wolf at least. My name is Mike by the way.”

“Our mother is Wrath, and our dad is named Jefferson. They’re both angels but mom is an Angel of Death and dad is a Cherub.” Fiona said. “And it’s so nice to meet another reborn person here. Alex is uh, not so… not the best conversationalist…”

“I noticed.“ I chuckled. “Honestly slightly thought he was related to Pinkie Pie due to the pink wings and high energy.”

“No, we just got that from dad.” Fiona said.

“Dad’s wings are super fluffy!” Alex said.

“He likes fluffy things.”

“I can tell.” I chuckled. “So, glad to know that I have some other reborns here…still worried school will be as boring as I think it’ll be.”

“Well, Kindergarten will be normal from what mom tells me, same with most of first through third grade but she says fourth and fifth start helping us fund what we want to learn and are talented at, middle school will teach us how to expand on those skill and any other useful information and knowledge we want to learn, and then ‘high school’ is optional.”

… wait what?

“Uh…what? I thought it was just straight K-12 and it was going to be a whole lot of boring?”

“Pst, this isn’t earth. Or even earth-like. Family has their own ways of tackling education.” Fiona said. “They wouldn’t use a broken educational system that teaches the essentials in the first few years then teaches you nothing but filler.”

… Huh… Maybe this school won’t be so bad…

“Okay…so this is going to be a lot better than what I imagined.” I said honestly.

“So, how old were you before getting picked up?”

“Well, I was…twenty two at the time.” I said. “Twenty one when I got pulled in by Genie for some of this nonsense.”

“Huh. So you ended up in one of Genie’s games? Yikes.”

“I mean…better than putting a bullet in my head at a convention…” I muttered, the dull ringing of a gunshot always haunting me, even after being ‘reborn’ as I rubbed my temple.

“Yikes… Well, that makes… Hmm… Suicide or Cancer… which is worse…” Fiona pondered.

“It sucks either way.” I shrugged.

“Fair. But I didn’t get sucked into one of Genie’s games… Well, what was your earth like?”

“Eh, the usual fair. No magic cause boring, but apparently we were haunted by quasi dimensional depression demon’s that want nothing but murder and Nightmare finds that weird and concerning.” I said honestly.

“Huh. My world had some magic, and demons.” Fiona said. “Other than that I guess it’s the same for yours, lots of tech and such all around but nothing else major or note?”

“Nah…just your standard Earth and all it’s nonsense…only thing major was my…girlfriend back home…”

“Oh, I guess since you ended up in Genie’s game you left her behind… Sorry.”

“I mean, there’s a weird thing though…there was mention that there was two Arrancar’s in the Zebra lands, which is weird…also, I have sneezed a few times cause for some reason anime logic might actually be true and someone is talking about me.”

“Hm… I think you watch too much anime…” Fiona said. “Because that sounds rather dumb when you say it out loud.”

“And me explaining my entire situation would sound dumb when said out loud.” I said honestly.

“Fair. So, wanna stick together? I could use someone with an IQ in the triple digits to talk to for a change.”

“What’s IQ mean?” Alex asked.

“It means how smart a person is Alex, and sure, I’d like to have a friend.” I said readily.

“Cool.” Fiona said, taking a seat next to me. Alex shrugged and took a seat on the other side of me.

“So, this is our house.” Fiona said.

I had been going to school for a few months now and Mom got a playdate with Fiona and Alex at their house. I was not expecting their house to be fucking Laputa from Castle in The Sky!

“I get lost all the time.” Alex said.

“Yes… Yes you do…” Fiona sighed.

“I mean…considering your ‘house’ is technically the size of a small island nation I can see why.” I said honestly, even though Alex is an actual child compared to me and Fiona, this place was fucking huge.

“Well, it kinda has to be.” Fiona said, fluttering their wings out. “Flying and all. Lots of large rooms, halls and space to fly inside and out. Can be a bit creepy at night but all in all isn’t that bad. Just a lot of rooms we aren’t allowed in.”

“Gee, sounds like those are the Golem rooms.” I rolled my eyes. “Wish I had my Arrancar powers so I could fly, but still too young for them…or technically being alive…well, no Quincy’s exist…ugh! Hate trying to wrap my head around trying to get my previous powers back in a brand new born body.”

“We can help you with that.” Alex said, flying up and grabbing my hands and actually pulling me up. “Come on, my room’s this way.” Alex said, flying with me towards their room. I was actually surprised how fast they could fly. I felt the wind make my eyes tear up and I was eventually placed down in a large room, lots of blues, whites and pink with a large floating cloud above and various toys all around the floor. “Here we are!”

“Yeesh Alex.” Fiona said as she caught up and landed next to me. “Wait for me to catch up next time.”

“Sorry!”

“Surprised how fast you are.” I said, lightly brushing my fur so it wasn’t so windswept.

“Yeah, Alex is faster than me. Mom and dad say that’s a sign that when our abilities develop, Alex is more likely to become an Angel of Death like mom.” Fiona sighed.

“Yes, cause speed means death apparently.”

“So what are we playing?” Alex asked.

“Go grab your board games and we can pick one.” Fiona said.

“Okay!” Alex said, flying up and to the cloud above.

“That can give us about ten minutes before he comes back.”

“Energetic ain’t he?” I chuckled. “But yeah…powers haven’t come back in yet and I’m slightly annoyed…”

“We don’t develop powers until we’re ten. Though I’m amazed you aren’t using any of your biological abilities.”

…my what?

“Uh…what kind of abilities should I have? Cause I’m a wolf and a snake hybrid…”

“Correction, you’re a wolf naga hybrid. With biology like that you technically would be on a similar biological spectrum to Floof Noodles, but you have legs so maybe you’re more one of the sibling species?”

… Floof Noodles?!

I couldn’t help myself as I laughed at the name. “F-Floof Noodles? Who came up with that?”

“From what I read, King.” Fiona stated. “Hmm…” They said as they began circling me. “You said your mom got a Sample so you don’t have a traditional biological father…”

“Yes, cause they said that if it was King, or Princess as I know them, they would have dropped literally everything and been with me since the day I hatched…also, was this just like a cute pet name that stuck or was this serious?”

“I don’t know, but Samples come from one place, the Family’s Life Archive. Basically anything organic to ever evolve or be created in the multiverse, they have a genetic library of their species on file. Or rather, in storage.”

“Alright, so what ‘biological abilities’ do I have besides having better senses than normal humans and being physically stronger than humans?”

“Well, your mother is an Equis Naga. Biologically that means you might have their basic two stomachs. One digests, the other holds. Can you unhinge your jaw?”

“I…did learn that for a christmas breakfast when Grandma showed up…” I said sheepishly.

“I see. Can you do it?” I nodded, managing to more easily pop it off now that I’ve had practice. “Hmm… That’s about… a bit bigger than my head…” Fiona then grabbed my upper and lower jaws and stretched them wider. “Wow that’s way larger than I expected.”

I pulled my mouth back and popped my jaw back into place.

“And why did you want to check that?” I asked, lightly rubbing my jaw from it being mildly sore from the pop.

“If you just had only your mom’s naga based biology you’d have about the same or smaller jaw unhinge space. But you naturally open wider and the muscles and skin in your mouth and likely neck are far stretchier than expected, so you might have a sibling or cousin species of Naga as your father. This narrows you down to just the Naga and Affiliated species. And yes that narrows it down a lot.”

“Well, that’s good to know.” I nodded. “So besides having a bigger jaw and a second stomach, what else is special about me?”

“Well we don’t know if you have a second stomach. Depending on the species, you could have up to five.”

“Huh…” I said. “Might have to ask mom about all this now.”

“Coming back!” Alex called out as they floated down, carrying many boxes of board games. “I brought all our favorites!”

“If Mental Instability is there Alex I swear to the All Makers…” Fiona said, almost growling.

“I’ve experienced enough mental instability for my taste.” I said carefully.

“It’s a game that self diagnoses your mental state based on your movements and such.”

“If only that existed back home, would have helped a lot.” I huffed.

“You wanna know what?” Mom asked.

“About my biology and what’s special about it.” I answered. “Cause Fiona brought up about when my powers come in and why I haven’t ‘used my biological abilities’ yet.”

“Oh, well I guess I should explain that.” Mom said, picking me up and taking me over to the couch. “So Mike, as you know you don’t have a traditional father, your fathers DNA came from the Life Archive.”

“Yes, Fiona did bring that up.” I nodded. “And the Life Archive is the culmination of all life that’s ever been yes?”

“Yes. It houses the DNA of every species across every reality. This included the DNA of species not yet in reality yet and those that are long since extinct or that were removed from reality for… safety reasons.” Mom said. “Your fathers DNA came from the species known as Diacorium. More commonly known as Death Wolfs. I figured it was fitting given the circumstances.”

“Death Wolves…jeez, just have you be some form of Dragon with horns and I sound like a Death Metal mascot.” I chuckled. “But I’m technically a…Floof Noodle with legs…seriously, was it a joke taken seriously or what?” I asked, still finding that name adorable and silly.

“Heh, it was a nickname. We took a while creating an official name and… well, it ended up sticking. It was the first race King and I made together… The old fashioned way~” Mom said, seeming to… reminisce…

“Ew~.” I stuck my tongue out at mom remembering getting laid….”Ew! I can smell your arousal mom!”

“Heh, well technically I wasn’t there but King sure made up for it later. Anyway, the point is the Floof Noodles are a mix of Dire Wolves and Equis Nagas. The Death Wolves are a cousin species to the Dire Wolves King is, so you’re like an alternate variation of the Floof Noodle, only… less Naga, more… death.”

“Neat.” I nodded. “So what special thing’s can I do?”

“Well as a mix of my species and the death wolves, you do indeed have three stomaches. I checked when you were born. One is the basic hold and storage of prey and objects. The other digests but your third stomach is linked to your digesting stomach. Checking I learned you can swallow a prey whole and on top of digesting their bodies, your third stomach digests their soul.”

… I EAT SOULS!?

“I…mean, technically I could eat souls when I was an Arrancar, mostly because I’m still a Hollow which eats ‘spirit energy’...but I didn’t think living creatures could eat souls.”

“Some can. As a result, when you eat a soul you don’t just get stronger, you gain all the life that soul has lived and could have lived, as well as all the memories of every life that soul has ever lived. This also applies to things like magic and blessings and powers unique to that soul.”

“Huh…” I said, trying to wrap my head around that. “That’s…wow.” I blinked.

“There are limitations however. Your soul devouring stomach can not digest the souls of Gods or Demi-Gods, but it can digest the souls of angels, demons, and other weaker celestial beings. Sans anyone in the family, so if you get freaky with your winged friends later, no worries.”

I blushed.

“Mo~m! She’s my first friend here!” I whined, lightly pawing at her in embarrassment.

“Or her brother. You are never too old, or young, to see what you enjoy~” Mom teased.

“Mo~m!” I whined even harder.

She laughed. “Hey, when you’re older I’m only gonna tease you harder.” She chuckled. “But, as far as other biological powers go…” Mom snapped her fingers, a small portal opening and when I looked through it…

I saw people. All kinds of people walking down a street. I smelled… something. Something odd… like, ripeness? Some were very ripe, others… not…

“Death Wolves can smell when someone is going to die, be it natural or unnatural. Their feral variations are often used by gods to hunt and slaughter, and the intelligent beastial counterparts are often enslaved and forced to gorge on their masters enemies.”

“Oh…” I muttered. “Enslavement is not cool…Wolves being used for Death is a well known thing…and a lot of people smell…ripe…”

“Lot of people die in a day. Normal mortals either never notice or ignore it. But, we can see and know their lives. Birth to death. Our Family archives it all in the Library of Existence. This is one of the many things we do for the whole multiverse, and no one will ever know.”

“Just like my brother told me…sometimes, when you do a good job, nobody notices it was ever done to begin with.”

Mom nodded. “As a Death Wolf you will naturally be drawn towards those whose life is coming to an end. Oftentimes finding a Death Wolf following you around is an omen. But I will warn you now, when you can not resist the lure of another’s death, no matter how hard you fight, then it means this person is going to die by your hands.”

"Oh…I…I don't like that…" I said nervously. "Killing Nightmare is one thing…murdering a random person is another…"

“Heh, it’s not like that Mike. Rarely are these incidents random, often times historically the victim is someone the Death Wolf has been enemies with for a long time. Like a rival Alpha, or in the case of the the sentient ones, their slave master and demonic masters during rebellions and uprisings.”

"That makes sense." I nodded. "And…thankfully it is not like that…"

“With luck the only people you’ll be ending are those three nasties back on Equis.”

"With luck…" I sighed. "Really hope it'll all work out…I want my life to be better, not suffering again because of those jerks…"

“Don’t worry baby, you’re going to have an amazing life.” Mom said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

To be continued...

Chapter 10

“Ugh…” Sophia groaned as she laid on my couch looking like death itself. Some more years had passed and now we were ten, and next year we were going to have to pick fields of study to specialize in.

Alex sat near her, still always looking far more like a girl than their sister and genuinely they pulled it off better than her too. “It’s not that bad sis.” Alex said.

“It’s like college but we’re ten…” Sophia groaned.

"It's still annoying…" I sighed. "While I'm glad it's a lot simpler than normal school…it's still work."

“So either of you know what you want to specialize in?” Alex asked.

That was the million dollar question. We had literally everything at our fingertips yet still… To make it easier the school gave us a list of most likely specialties we could go into. These ranged from things we had interest in to things that would come naturally to us based on our species and or magical affinities and such. As a result, one of my options is literally Grim Reaper… which turns out my family manages death! Well, some of them, but the fact we do it… insane…

“Can I say I don’t wanna do anything and bum it?” Sophia asked.

"That would be neat but I doubt it, our parents would kill us if we don't choose." I said honestly, as I tried mulling over if I should be a grim reaper or some hunter because I still had a thing for hunting and guns…well, I could technically mix the two of those, which made sense…"Ugh, there's too many choices!" I whined, flopping over and groaning.

“I’m gonna be a cherub like dad.” Alex said.

“Alex… that’s not a surprise. Pretty sure even the demons of hell could look at you and know that’s your life goal…” Sophia huffed.

"Okay, so the hell are Cherubs here? Cause so far I've heard there's three kinds, the tiny cupid looking things, the four headed winged monstrosities…or the horny police." I said carefully. "Are they all correct or what?"

“Oh, well Cherubs work determining the most optimal love connections between mortals.” Alex said. “Given free will is a thing we don’t force people to fall in love, rather we nudge people together and can help certain events to help their romance grow.”

“Basically they’re all matchmakers from the ethereal plane shipping mortals together.” Sophia said.

"Alright…and yes, everyone could tell." I nodded.

“Well, wouldn’t being a reaper help you in our Equis adventure?” Alex asked me. “They are some of the best fighters in the family and few can even win against them.”

"And while that's true, I'm a Soul eater, both from my Arrancar part, and my Death Wolf part…and while I was thinking about mixing it with hunting since I'm a fan of guns and hunting…it's still a lot to think about…"

“Well, yeah but if you want to return to that place a badass they are probably your best bet at one shotting that Nightmare Moon bitch.”

"That's if they aren’t getting a hell of a lot stronger.” I said carefully.

“They said Equis should be on a slowed timeframe right?” Sophia asked. “If that’s the case you’ll still be getting stronger faster than they would. Not to mention, you’re not a member of The Family. By default you’re basically a god level being.”

… Oh…

“Well…wouldn’t someone like Pain or Demon want to even the odd’s so it’s not too easy for me?” I asked nervously. “Not to mention I was still going to go around the world and become an Arrancar version of the Avatar from what mom told me about the others…but there was this one Arrancar that was supposed to ‘be my enemy’ besides the four that I was supposed to search and possibly train with…” I frowned.

“You can still do that when you get back, just learn other skills while you’re here. Why not take advantage of the situation you have now. To not too is just dumb on your part.” Sophia huffed.

“I mean…that’s true, and I’m still going to do it, just having trouble thinking of what to actually do…maybe I should do the Grim Reaper and hunting stuff…”

“I’m sure you can do both and learn some great skills.”

“I suppose.” I shrugged. “Well, I guess I know what I’m doing.”

“Goodie for you…”

“Why not be a Cherub like me?” Alex asked.

“No.”

“Awh, but it could be fun!”

“Rather go through chemo again…”

“You’re so mean sometimes…”

“No, that’s just my personality quirk.”

I always find it hilarious how twins can be on such opposite ends of the spectrum that where they not identical, you’d hardly know they were even family.

“Can’t help but find it funny…” I chuckled and shook my head.

“So, you’re the new rookie?” The black cloaked man asked. Once I signed up I was teleported to the Reaper training center. It looked almost like a boot camp.

“Uh…yes sir?” I asked nervously, hoping this won’t be as bad as I think it’ll be.

“Come this way then.” They said, motioning to follow. I did as they walked me through the fields and into an office-like building. They sat down at the desk and pulled their hood back… They looked like an ordinary human man. Light brown hair and orange eyes, and tan skin. “Now then, Mike, son to Eclipsa, half Floof Noodle, Half Death Wolf. And a reborn at that.”

“And Arrancar, I know I’m technically not an undead anymore but that should still be there.” I said carefully, cause if I magically lost that then…Lillinette might not exist anymore…oh wait…oh no.

“Right. So, given your species you will have a natural talent for the work. Now then what branch of the Reapers are you interested in going into?”

There are branches?

“Uh…there are branches?” I inquired.

“Of course. There’s Natural Causes, Violent Ends, Afterlife Escorting, and lastly Bounty Hunting.”

“Well…I’ve always been a fan of hunting.” I said honestly. “What kind of Bounty Hunting we talking about?”

“The Ethereal planes and other such dimensions souls can feely wander are all teeming with enemies and even some monsters. Purgatory and Hell especially. Bounty Hunters can track and capture souls that escape their sentences if sent to a punishment, demons that try and attack peaceful soul Afterlifes or even if need be gods and high ranking necromancers throwing the quota of souls off in a world or dimension.”

“That sounds about right…though it also sounds like a pain in the ass with the possible amount of paperwork needed.” I mentioned.

“Not really. Typically it works like this, an Angel, Soul or entity from these planes submits the bounty to us and a Reaper picks up the job. The only time paperworks is really involved is if the job took an unexpected turn or it was a trap to try and imprison the Reaper in question.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So just like normal Bounty Hunter stuff, that should be simple enough."

"Heh, so is that the branch you want to train for?"

“Sure.” I nodded. “Fit’s the most with both my powers and my experience in hunting.”

"Alright." He said, pulling out some paper and began writing some things down. He then handed it to me. "Fill that out then head on home. Within a few days your mentor will show up to teach you the ropes and evaluate you."

“Thank you.” I said, signing my signature on the form he gave me. “Here you go.”

"Alright. We look forward to having you in our ranks."

With that done I went home. A few days later my mentor showed up at the house. He was dressed In an all white leather duster, matching white boots included and he was a gray rabbit humanoid being.

"You ready kid?" He asked me, speaking in a deeper voice than I expected.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said honestly, kind of expecting this to be rough. "Also it's nice to meet you."

"If you say so." He shrugged, raising a finger up and space seemed to tear open and form a portal. "Come on then. Let's see just how green you are." He said as he stepped through it.

I blinked at how…easy it was for him to open a portal. "Well, hopefully I'm not too green here." I said, following after the rabbit quickly.

Once we were through I found myself standing next to him in a large field of blue grass and a full gray sky above.

"Alright kid, so do you know how to fight?"

“Well…so far I’ve only fought the physical embodiments of my depression demons and a Silhouette Beta…both as it’s mimic form and it’s abomination berserk form.” I said. “After that it’s just been me trying to figure out my powers to a better extent.”

"So little to none. Got it. Any weapons experience?"

“I do have experience with a Katana, twin energy pistols, but I have the most experience with a .32 caliber Winchester hunting rifle.” I answered. “Used to use it when me and my dad went hunting...back on earth…” I sighed.

"Right." He said, raising his Assistant up and pulling out a small handgun and tossing it at me. I caught it, almost dropping it. "Come on." He said, walking through the grass as I followed.

I looked over the handgun real quick, checking it’s grip, safety and all important things. “Jeez, maybe it’s just because I’m ten but this is weirdly heavy…” I thought to myself carefully.

As we walked through the fields I saw a lot of weird things. Trees made of flesh. Tendrils reacting up and down from the sky. A giant skeleton made entirely of animal bones. Snakes with rat heads. Birds with exposed rib cages that were alive and flying.

“Uh…I don’t think I did any hallucinogens before coming here…”

“This is Purgatory. At least, Purgatory Prime anyway.”

Purgatory… Prime?

“What do you mean Purgatory ‘Prime’?” I asked in confusion.

“Purgatory isn’t just one plane that overlaps with the realm of the living, it’s also its own dimension that all planets with life have a connection to. While each planet that has life has their own Purgatory on it, they can all link to Purgatory Prime. It’s like one of many nexus points across the realms.”

“Right…so what are we doing here besides making me feel like having an acid trip without the acid?”

“Majority of the bounties you will be getting are to deal with rogue Purgatory Monsters going where they shouldn’t.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So monster hunting is also part of the job, got it.”

“It’s the most common work you’ll get.” He nodded.

“Alright…just like hunting back home, only instead of deer, that deer can possibly grow wings and breathe fire.”

“That is a possibility. Now then, today I’m gonna see how you do against one of Purgatory Primes' more friendly creatures.”

“And what would that be?” I inquired.

“Spined Rabbit.”

“And…what kind of ‘spined’ are we talking about with this rabbit?” I asked.

“Metal razor sharp spines that once it gets running it can start spinning by curling into a ball and cut real deep into your bones.”

…Oh…

“Ah, yes, Bun the Buzzsaw Rabbit, my favorite Sonic character.” I joked weakly at what I imagined that rabbit could do.

“Did that rabbit ever slice limbs off like a hot knife through butter?”

“I was making a joke…and how is that ‘friendly’?”

“It kills you pretty quick compared to other monsters. They like to play with their food.”

…Oh boy…

“Ah, yes…instead of it being a friendly bun, it’s the killer beast from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” I groaned.

“No, that does not reside here.”

… Jesus Christ…

“I was joking…” I whined.

“You should know that when it comes to the realms and all the Multiverse of Multiverses they hold, even a joke is true somewhere.”

“Well…this is going to be a nightmare and a half.” I sighed.

“Glad you’re realizing the difficulty of the job. Too many young brats think this is like some video game or easy work. Most don’t last basic.” My mentor spat. He then stopped. Looking out in the field… I saw a ten foot thin rabbit with little fur but dagger like teeth, a back with the metallic razor blades and it was eating the corpse of some… thing. “Welp, there’s one.”

“Right…” I muttered. “Really wish I had my rifle right now…” I thought to myself, causing feeling the handgun I’m using now and looking at that…thing was rather concerning. “Alright…just take a deep breath, and let’s see if I still have my Reishi.” I thought, taking a deep breath and focusing, trying to find my spiritual energy to hopefully make something like a cero bullet or at least infuse the gun with the energy to make the bullet at least somewhat stronger.

… Nothing… Crap, right, mom said that would activate when puberty hit… I'm still at least three years away from that…

“Well, what are you waiting for?” My mentor asked.

“Just…hating how I still don’t have my powers yet…” I grumbled, taking a deep breath and aiming the pistol. “Also just…more used to rifles for hunting than a pistol.” I said, raising the pistol up and aiming carefully at the thing, cause even if it looked thin it’s hide was probably still tough enough…as I aimed towards its vitals, I undid the safety, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

Click!

What?!

I ejected the magazine… empty?

“Heh. Well, you actually pulled the trigger. Aimed half decent too.” He chuckled, taking the empty gun from me and pulling out a loaded magazine from his Assistant and loading it in.

I pouted. “And were you going to tell me it was empty from the start or expected me to just go in like a jackass thinking I have the power of God because of the gun?”

“I wanted to see if you could actually pull the trigger. Most punks look at the weapons and the target and fuck off. They don’t try.” He said, now handing me the gun back loaded. “Now that I know there’s some grit in ya, show me if your bite is as strong as your bark kid.” He said, giving me a smirk.

“The click also ruined my groove.” I huffed. “No idea how tough the thing is but I knew I had a good shot…” I pouted, shaking my head as I raised the gun again, got it into the right spot as before, took one deep breath to calm myself down from that nonsense and another as I pulled the trigger on the now loaded gun.

The bullet hit the thing in the neck, making it roar as it spun around. Acting quick I fired at it’s head, hitting it in the mouth, neck, eyes and such more before the gun ran out. Thankfully the thing went down with all those bullets. “Heh. Not too bad.” He said, walking over to the corpse and stomping on it’s skull, kicking through it to ensure it was dead. “Now for the reason I agreed to mentor you.” He said as suddenly a purple aura began to rise out of the corpse. He grabbed it, and walked over to me with it. “Eat this.”

… What?

“Uh…I presume that’s…it’s soul or something?” I inquired. “Also, sounds more like you had an ulterior motive, why did you agree?” I inquired, gently taking…whatever the hell was coming out of it’s body.

“This is its soul. When I heard you were part Death Wolf, I just had to see for myself that you had what it took to be a Reaper. Now that I do, consider this a pet project of mine.”

“Well…alright.” I said, gently taking the soul and…starting to eat it somehow.

…It tasted like raw meat. It took a while, but eventually I ate the whole thing… I gave a burp when I finished… oh man that… was less filling than I expected-

Spined Rabbit Soul Devoured.

Speed Increased.

Agility increased.

New Ability Obtained. Metal Spines.

New Ability Obtained. Rapid Spin Roll.

Oh… well that’s useful.

“Uh…when did I magically gain the ability to absorb abilities and gain stats from eating?” I asked in surprise. “Cause if it’s just ‘eat anything’ then I feel cheated I’m not stupid strong from Grandma’s cooking.”

“It’s not the flesh that can give you this power, it’s the soul. You have to eat the soul to gain their powers. Death Wolf biology usually doesn’t go that far, but given your part of The Family now, you can do much more.”

“I never actually asked, but what does being a part of ‘The Family’ mean?” I inquired.

"It means you're part of the cogs that keep reality working and in check."

"Huh…that's...interesting." I said, thinking about how Mom normally acts…and not entirely convinced. "Didn't know they help run creation itself with how they…all normally act."

"Don't just help, they all run it. The big stuff. Their kids and folk like me are the ones who help with the small menial tasks."

"Huh…right then." I nodded. "And what does mom run specifically?"

"Your mother is Eclipsa. She runs the expansion of the different universes growth. Think of it like this, you know how when the big bang happens the universe grows infinitely, yeah she keeps it growing."

"Damn…mom is very important." I said in realization.

"Yes. She and that brother of hers, but enough about that." He said, handing me another full magazine. "Come on, let's do it again."

"Alright." I nodded, grabbing the magazine and reloading my pistol quickly. "Ready for the hunt."

We walked through the fields of Purgatory Prime for a long time. Each time he would have me shoot at one of those Rabbits and when it was dead, I ate the soul and then he'd give me a fresh magazine.

I couldn't tell what time it was but I know it's been a while.

Eventually he made a small fire and we were resting next to it.

"Well, this was an eventful day." I said readily.

"Training ain't over. This is just a break." He said, throwing some more sticks to the fire.

… I don't even know this guy's name… he's experienced… I can tell that much.

"By the way, what is your name?" I asked, as I now tried to distract myself from either more training or…the growing feeling of missing dad…

"Rust." He said flatly.

"Rust is an interesting name." I said honestly, wondering if his name was just picked, or if it had some meaning behind it involving his race or he somehow had Rust powers.

"Just what I was named."

"Alright." I nodded. "So why did you choose to mentor me? Just happenstance or was there something else to it?"

"Easy. There's nothing more in this whole wide creation I hate more than a Death Wolf." Rust said as he tossed more sticks into the fire. "And if you can't guess the reason why, then I guess you're as stupid as you look."

"I'm…sorry to hear that…" I said sadly, immediately getting what he meant. "So why did you pick a Death Wolf if you hate them so much?"

"Because, I'm gonna train you to get strong. Get skillful. Get resourceful. Then, when you're a full fledged Reaper Bounty Hunter and all grown up, every time I see ya, I'm gonna beat the ever loving crap out of you. Consider it an investment in my own long term entertainment and revenge."

"I'm not your average Death Wolf, and when I get my powers back I'm sure it'll be me kicking' your ass." I said readily, not wanting to take his 'investment' like a bitch.

"Heh. We'll see little pup." He smirked. "I almost respect that fire you got in ya."

"I'm just full of surprises." I said with a smile.

Ouch… owe… owwwwwww….. I groaned as I dropped to my bed… it's been six years since my training under Rust and now he's testing me in hand to hand combat… even with my powers back that damn rabbit doesn't hold back…

I popped my muzzle back in place and let my healing factor kick in as I began doing the same to my broken fingers… ouch… One of these days I'm gonna…

"Well, at least I'm faster and stronger now…and my Steel Skin is tough enough to at least make it difficult for the bastard…" I grumbled. "Cero Claws certainly caught him off guard…"

Once the last of my broken limbs and such were snapped back into place and my healing factor repaired the damage I dropped back onto my bed, sighing. Guess I'm lucky he didn't start actually beating the crap out of me til last year… still, he heals faster, hits harder and is overall faster and still stronger… and that's without using a weapon…

I groaned as I forced myself to sit up-

"Mikey!" I was body slammed by the overly hyper and still extremely feminine Alex. Who was these days sporting some really convincing dresses, usually with a skirt-shorts.

Still sore… ouch…

"I'm still in pain my big bottomed friend…" I groaned. "Seriously, how it all went to your buns and thighs is beyond me…"

"Hehe~ I did lots of squats!" They declared as they got off me. "Glad to see you're back. You and sis are gone so often it gets boring."

Right. Sophia ended up also joining the Reapers but in the Natural Causes department.

"Yeah, sorry about that Alex, just been busy with someone training me to be their petty revenge." I sighed, and while I do understand their pain…this is becoming just straight petty at this point.

"Well, if you're free now how about we hang out?" They asked as they gave me some puppy dog eyes… god damn it why are they so adorable?!

"Alright alright my thick angel, stop being too adorable." I chuckled as I gently pat their head.

"Awh, yay!" They cheered as they gave me a hug.

My blush was immediate… I may end up with Alex at some point… I've already been through lots of awkward and embarrassing moments and after some thinking I realized something…

I genuinely think I like them…

I also think that Derpy wont mind, and Polkadot will think it super kinky….

I decided to be a bit…forward. "Hey…how about we…go on a date instead?" I asked carefully, trying not to reach down and grab the thickness like I used to do with Derpy all the time.

"A d-date?" They asked, gaining an awkward smirk with a hint of panic. "I- uh, yes! I gotta go get ready!" With that Alex took off out my bedroom window like a bullet…

… Holy crap I just did that?!

I shoved my face into my pillow and screamed. "I'm so goddamn stupid!" I mentally screamed in embarrassment.

Jesus fucking Christ I never felt like this with Derpy or Polkadot… though I guess Claire and I might have had some moments like this accidentally… strange. I know I've always been into girls but for some reason Alex has been the only exception… granted they're way more girly than guy… plus I've known them for years…

Well… can't take it back now… don't want to either… Alex has always been there. A bit… air headed at times but loyal, dependable, a good ear to vent to, cute as all hell…

… Shit am I just realizing I actually like Alex like that?!

"Just keep calm, he's a femboy, could pass as a girl….also can't really be blamed cause…damn that ass…" I thought to myself quickly.

As I did though I remembered their… rear, I felt hotter than normal… and something else got… stiff…

Okay… I might have questions I'll need professional help answering… or maybe just some good advice cause… this is all new to me…

"Okay, being Bisexual is new…or maybe I'm just that into ass…or I'm sixteen and still going through my horny phase…" I thought, trying to find some reason as to why I'm okay with this.

"MIKE!" I jumped as my door was suddenly kicked down by the actual female pink winged angel. "If you're gonna date my brother you better not just be after their ass!" Sophia yelled, holding me at holy sword point.

Gulp!

“There’s other reasons I swear!” I said quickly. “Now put the sword away before it gets broken.”

"This is a holy sword dumb ass. You both can't break it, and it can leave a real nasty scar on you." She said, pulling the sword back and down. "So, Alex rushed back home, is going through their closets and make up like a tornado and when I ask why I get told you turned a hang out into a date. Did you finally realize you're Bi or did you realize Alex has had a crush on you for years?"

Wait, say what and what?!

“Is that why he kept doing those ‘accidents’!?” I asked. “I thought he just got really into anime all of a sudden!”

"Yes… my god you are such a guy…" She groaned. "Plus on top of being muscular you're also fluffy. Buff and soft are Alex's two most liked traits in men and you fit both."

And my blush returns…

I groaned loudly. “Ugh, whatever…” I grumbled.

"So, given you mentioned having a wife, a child and a girlfriend back on Equis, I take it this is your first time finding a male attractive?"

… Well this is a conversation I wasn't expecting to have…

“Well…yes…” I said carefully. “I do care about them, I’m not just after their ass…even though they have ‘accidentally’ shoved in my face more than once.”

"Yeah, it was really hard not to slap them for that…" Sophia huffed. "But they're head over heels for you. So, you definitely find them physically attractive… when did that start?"

Oh god… uh… maybe… two years ago? That's around the time Alex really began… developing those… and started using some makeup and…

“Two years ago…especially when they decided make up was fun and they really wanted leg day to be in their daily routine…seriously, squats have done his ass and thigh’s wonders.”

The sword tip was at my snout, making me yelp before Sophia pulled it back again. "Hmm… and before that you only ever thought of Alex as a friend then?"

“Well, they're loyal, dependable, even before the makeup they were really cute…bit of an air head but we both know that.” I shrugged. “They’ve been my friend for years.”

"Hmm… well, that settles it then." Sophia nodded.

“Settles what?” I asked carefully.

"You've also had a crush on them for years but never realized it until now."

… Okay…. Actually yeah that makes sense… I didn't even know Claire liked me until…

“Well…I suppose that makes sense.” I said sheepishly.

"My guess is back in your old human life you never actually met someone like Alex in person either?"

"No. Midwestern America. Few people were ever open about that stuff and those that were…" I took a breath.

"I see. So having never been shown anyone like Alex before, you wouldn't have ever known." Sophia nodded.

“Right…so just bisexual.” I said. “Well…alright I suppose.”

"Well, bisexual with a specific type of male you like. I'm guessing you never felt this way about any other male before?" I shook my head. "Well, Bi or just really into femboys, try and treat my brother right. Cause honestly you two would make a cute couple."

“Yeah…and to be perfectly fair, I think Derpy would be cool with it and Polkadot would find it kinky.” I said honestly, and Claire…ho boy would Claire get a kick out of this.

"Gonna be fun introducing your wife and girlfriend to your new boyfriend." Sophia laughed… oh that is going to be a thing…

“Oh boy…that’s not gonna be fun…” I groaned.

Alex showed back up about an hour later, now dressed in some skinny jeans that… really showed off their curves…

They were also wearing a blue top and a long sleeve… I wanna say it's a jacket but it clearly is only meant to be worn around the arms and back cause that barely goes halfway down their torso and there is no way in hell that zips up.

We started this date off walking through the park.

Together.

Alone…

“Is it weird that this park is empty?” I asked, knowing it was awkward but fuck me do I really need something to distract myself.

"It is a bit odd. Maybe everyone is doing something else elsewhere?" Alex offered, about as red as a cherry.

“Mom better not have tried to do some nonsense here…” I grumbled.

"I'd expect more my dad to pull something like this." Alex laughed weakly. "So, how's the training going?"

“Rust is still being petty and not holding back in his training.” I said honestly. “I’ve hit him a few good times but he’s been doing this a lot longer so it doesn’t do much.” I sighed. “Like, again I know why he doesn’t like Death Wolves…but given that I’m an ‘investment’ for his amusement and revenge, it’s just petty at this point.”

"Maybe that's all he has?" Alex offered. "If he lost something special to him, maybe he doesn't have anything else to keep going for?"

I looked at Alex, giving them a smile. Sometimes they said some really profound things.

“Well, that’s depressing for him.” I frowned. “Cause the moment I beat him in a fight…he might not even have his ‘revenge’ anymore.”

"Awh… poor bunny man. Wish we could help him."

“He hates but mildly respects me because I’ve been taking absolutely none of his shit…and I don’t know if he’ll like you cause we’re now dating.”

"Maybe he needs a hug?"

Heh… the closest he came to doing that was when he suplexed me into a pile of volcanic monster crap….

“He took offense to my attempted hugs by suplexing me.” I said honestly.

"Maybe hug harder?" Alex said. I chuckled at that.

I gently pat Alex's head. ‘You’re adorable.”

"I am! You think so?!" They asked happily as they grabbed my wrist and pulled… now they are hugging my arm… woah… that is… this is… nice.

Were they a girl I'd be feeling pressed up boobs but while Alex lacks that they have the softest skin I have ever touched!

“You have very soft skin ya know that?” I inquired.

"You have soft fur." They said, rubbing their cheek against my arm. "Even with your muscles feeling like a rock."

“I do work out a lot.” I chuckled. “But how’s your training been?”

"Pretty good. The hard part has mostly been with trying to get two compatible people in the same area."

“I don’t know, it seems like you're doing a pretty good job at it.” I teased and lightly pulled them closer.

"Heh, I uh… I try."

I smiled. “So, what else have you been up to as of late?”

"Oh, usual. Daily squats, yoga, some cardio and flight exercises. Other than that mostly just watching TV."

"That's fair." I nodded. "Wish I had as much free time when I'm not recovering from broken bones…but I read, watch TV or play video games." I shrugged.

“Oh, well what are you watching on TV? I’ve been really into Echo Barrier.”

"I've been skimming through some old favorites, currently I'm watching Chaotic which really needs more seasons." I said honestly.

“Why don’t you just find a universe where it has more seasons?”

…What?

"Uh…I can do that?" I asked.

“You didn’t know? Just look up the show online and there should be options for it across the multiverse. There are a lot of crazy things but also a lot of really cool versions too.”

"Alrighty then, gonna have to look into that after this." I said honestly.

“There’s a lot of cool things in the Multiverse. Especially on TV.”

"I can imagine." I said honestly. "And there's a lot of lovely things in the Multiverse, and you are one of them." I teased.

“Hehe~”

Our walk continued through the park rather quietly and nicely. When the sun was starting to set we got off to the main roads to all the various businesses and looked for a place to eat.

Once we found a place we each took a seat across from one another in a booth. This place was a restaurant but it had a cafe vibe and probably was both given the amount of people just hanging around in here.

"Well, this is a neat little place." I said honestly.

“Yeah, it’s not that formal and really relaxed feeling.” Alex nodded as we were then given menus and looked through them. Once we ordered we just sat here and waited. “So, after this what should we do?”

"Well, what do you want to do?" I inquired. "There's movies, going home and watching TV, there's a lot of things."

“Well, I was kinda hoping we could go out dancing?”

"I can't dance for crap but sure." I said simply. "Dancing sounds fine to me."

“It’s not really about dancing well, it’s just to have fun.” Alex said, smiling as our meals came.

"Thank you," I nodded to our server. "And yeah, just having fun is always a good thing."

“I’m really happy you turned this into a date Mike.”

"I mean…to be perfectly honest I'm surprised you didn't try to make any of our hangouts a date sooner." I said honestly.

“I was… nervous. Plus I know you talked about your Equis family, wife and girlfriend so… I wasn’t sure you would even like me like that…”

"It took me a bit to think about if I'm Bi or not…but then your sister forced me to realize quickly at the sword point."

“Oh… so that’s where she went after I told her about our date.” Alex said. “I wondered why she flew off so fast.”

"Yes, she immediately assumed it was because of your ass, which she should know better." I frowned.

“Oh, a lot of guys and some girls have tried to date me for my looks before.” Alex sighed. “Some even got touchy and, well usually when that happens sis deals with them.”

"And what about the 'accidents' between you and me?" I asked. "Not the first time my face was in 'mount bubble'...so was it just anime esc accidents or was it like your sis said and it was you 'giving hints'?"

“Well… I won’t lie, some were planned… others were genuine accidents.” Alex laughed, blushing a bit.

"At that point you could have just asked." I said. "Do you know how many times Ive had to 'relieve' myself from those times?"

I blushed as I realized what I just admitted while Alex was now even redder. “I uh… you’re welcome?” They said. “I didn’t think you actually found me that… attractive.”

"Have you ever really looked at yourself in the mirror?" I asked. "Not like 'oh this skirt goes great with my denim jacket', but in the 'wow, I look really attractive' kind of looking?"

“Heh… I just try and make myself look cute or pretty. I usually don’t think of how I’ll look to others… except you…”

"I mean…" I trailed off a bit, feeling myself blush brighter. "You always looked amazing Alex."

They giggled, a happy smirk on their lips as they began to eat.

We finished our meals before heading off, Alex taking my hand and pulling me along. “Come on, I know a really good place for our dancing and it’s really fun!”

“What’s the place?” I asked, following along with a warm smile at seeing them so excited.

“It’s called ‘Vibe it’ and it’s a really cool dance club.”

“Sounds like a nice place with some good vibes.”

Alex pulled me along until we came up to the club. The sign was a neon one, bright blue letters. The building itself was fairly large. The bouncer, yes there was a bouncer, looked at us then let us in. Once we were in I began hearing the music play loud and once inside I saw there were a lot of people either dancing, talking at booths or tables, relaxing and standing around and all in all everyone had a smile or seemed to be having a good time.

Once Alex pulled me into the crowd on the dance floor, they got right to moving. Somehow they managed to shake and move without much planning but they aligned perfectly with the music, giving them an amazing scene of their moves.

Awkwardly, I joined in, just trying to blend in. My awkward smirk devolving into laughter as I genuinely felt ridiculous. Alex was laughing too but kept their eyes and smile on me as the songs changed and time flew. All the while, Alex and I had so much fun. I never had this much fun in my human life before…

I missed out on a lot before… but not this time.

Eventually, we had to leave. Somehow I was more sore than after training but so happy. “Heh. It’s late huh?” Alex said as we looked up and it was night. “Well, I guess we should head home huh?”

“Yeah… before we do though.” I held Alex by the shoulders, kneeled down and give them a kiss on their lips. Alex’s wings immediately went up and spread out all puffed up, but they wrapped their arms around my neck and kissed me back. This felt… amazing. Like my first kiss with Claire or Derpy, I felt sparks, desire, joy… love. When it ended, Alex was fairly red but gave me a warm smile with large eyes filled with happiness. “Let’s do this again sometime.”

“Yes. You free Tuesday?”

“Yes.”

“See you Tuesday~”

With that, Alex and I parted ways and I went back home, fell on my bed and felt… alive. For the first time in a genuinely long time… I felt alive.

To be continued...

Chapter 11

I woke up with a yawn, stretching as my joints popped into place and my head began to wake up.

The scent of coffee hit my nose and once I opened my eyes I saw mom holding out a mug to me. "Morning, and happy eighteenth birthday." She chuckled.

“Eighteen already?” I yawned, taking the mug and lightly sipping from the miracle drink. “Feels like yesterday when I was still just a pup.”

"Time flies when you're enjoying your life." She chuckled. "Breakfast is downstairs, and after that we can get to your Eighteenth Birthday gift."

“Awesome.” I said with a smile.

I got up and followed mom downstairs, coffee in hand and sat at the table where various plates of eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages all sat waiting.

We quickly ate and once the dishes were cleaned mom gave me a folder.

“A folder?” I inquired, taking the folder and opening it up to see what she had in mind.

"You're eighteen now, so you are receiving a deed to your own personal dimension where you will own and be able to build and create your own home however you see fit." Mom said. The papers inside were in fact a type of deed and such. "Your apprenticeship should also be ending soon, meaning you'll be a full fledged Reaper too."

“Uh…right…” I said slowly, blinking at the fact that I just…now have my own dimension. “And uh…what about my adventure back on Equis? Will that change at all?”

"You'll be able to return there at any time with this." Mom said, pulling out a globe from behind her and giving it to me. "This is the Equis you were at originally. With this you can return to the planet and back whenever you want."

“Alright.” I nodded, gently taking the globe. “Just…need to go back and get back to training in that world to become the Avatar.” I chuckled.

"First you should make your dimension. Maybe Invite Alex over for some private fun~" Mom teased.

“Mo~m!” I whined, blushing brightly at that. “But…how do I make my own dimension?”

"Here." She said, handing me one of those mini bite sized cupcakes. "Once you eat this the power and knowledge on how to customize your new house dimension will be sent right into your mind. It's much easier than explaining it."

“Sure…that works.” I said, taking the cupcake and eating it to see what divine nonsense I’m going to get.

It tasted like dark chocolate. I felt a slight migraine as I… knew, what to do and how to do it. I snapped my fingers and a portal opened to an all white, blank dimension. That definitely was easier.

"Alright, don't forget to visit just because you have your own place now." Mom said.

“Jeez, just turned eighteen and you're kicking me out already?” I joked.

"Would you rather I walk in on you and Alex again when you sneak them in overnight?"

“I told you to knock!” I whined in embarrassment. “Fine, I’ll pack my stuff…jeez, this is gonna be…really new…”

"Look on the bright side, you can embarrass your own kids just as much when they're growing up." Mom chuckled. "And I'll visit my grandbabies."

“Well…maybe.” I said honestly. “I mean, I do have a kid you can visit…kid weirdly loves horror movies…”

"Maybe once you finish up your mission sweetie."

“Alright.” I nodded. “Gonna still take a while to get done with my adventure though…can’t wait to get home though, I miss everyone.” I said honestly.

"Alright."

With a nod I went into the portal and got to work. First, grass, ground, trees, blue sky, maybe a river here… lake here… house. Need a good sized house here… for Derpy, Polkadot, Alex and I plus the kids… plenty of space, kitchen, some playground equipment, master bedroom, kids bedrooms, spare and guest rooms, living room, dinning room, maybe an entertainment room here, library, garage, hmm… I guess this is okay for now…

I looked at my new house, yard and everything around me. This works.

With that I walked inside my house, careful setting the globe down on the desk in my personal room.

"Soon…" I said, sighing. I still need to finish my apprenticeship, and kick Rust's ass… seriously how is that old hare so damn strong…”Soon, when I kick that guy’s ass…I’ll finally head home…hmm, I wonder if Lillinette is also like me…” I hummed, given that she did technically come from my psyche into a physical being…

With a shrug, I snapped my fingers, my Reaper outfit appearing over me as a new portal opened. I walked through it to Purgatory Prime where I saw Rust laid back against a tree.

"You're late." He said.

“Sorry, was in my new home decorating the place.” I said honestly. “So, what’s on the docket for today?”

"Nothing much. Figured you'd want to see if you'd win this time around. You won't but I'll humor you. My gift to you." He chuckled.

“Just be glad I’m technically fighting at half my true strength.” I said honestly.

"Alright." He said, standing up. "Now that you're an adult I guess I can stop doing the same."

Wait what?

Before I noticed I was suddenly ten feet in the ground with a skull splitting headache and… ouch!

"Come on kid! Get your ass out of the dirt already!" He called from above the me shaped hole he punched me into…

“Oh…” I frowned, raising a hand and firing cero claw bullets at the bastard rabbit.

I heard them whizz by but then felt small metal things hit me… he caught them?! "Come on kid this is just sad." He laughed.

“Seriously, how are you so strong?” I asked, getting out of the hole and trying to think of what I can do cause he was not this strong before…”Damn it, still hate how I can’t use my Resurrección without Lillinette…” I mentally grumbled, still technically being in my ‘sealed state’ due to that.

"Kid, I'm over three million years older than you. Ya don't live as long as I do without learning things and being tough as nails." He chuckled. "Maybe you can win when you're three million and I'm six million and even stronger."

I groaned. “Cause of course I’m fighting someone old as hell…” I grumbled.

"In some realities, I'm older." He laughed. "Anyway, here." He said, handing me a rolled up paper. "This will be your first official Bounty as a Reaper Bounty Hunter. Pass this and you're apprenticeship is over."

I sighed, grabbing the rolled up paper and opening it up. “Hate how I’m locked out of a lot of my power because of Lily…” I grumbled, looking to see who my bounty was.

Bounty: Rank B

Request: A soul has escaped the Hell's asylum and is hiding out somewhere in the Purgatory Prime Fog Valley area. Capture or kill.

Right… the Hell's asylum is where they torture the damned before resetting the soul for reincarnation…

“Right…” I grumbled. “Now let’s see who this bastard is…” I muttered, or at least hoping there was a scent to this specific soul so I wasn’t just wandering around aimlessly like a jackass screaming-

“You can’t catch me assholes!”

I was going to think ‘where the fuck are you’ but that works to! “So, what’s special about this guy besides being an idiot?”

"Anyone who can escape the Hell's asylum is an abnormally powerful soul. Careful, whatever he was in life he's probably stronger in death." Rust said.

“Goodie…” I grumbled, sniffing the air for his scent as my race had a stupidly good sense of smell.

I caught the scent of a human soul and was off.

Finding them was easy, they were a bit of an overweight, balding man with his remaining hair being a curly orange, he wore a tattered lab coat and cracked glasses.

“Seriously, how the hell did he manage to escape?” I thought to myself, as I aimed my pistol carefully with a silencer on it, aiming a tad forward of his overweight run, aimed towards his legs and fired, the silencer doing wonders to keep the gunshot quite against my prey.

The impact downed them, sending the man screaming as they quickly began to pull themselves towards the trees.

Not quick enough though…

I was on top of them immediately, claw’s touching their neck and imbued with my spirit energy. “Now, you either come with me quietly, or you can watch me eat your still beating heart.” I growled.

"... Wait how?" He asked. "I'm already dead how would I still have a beating heart?"

“That’s a good question, want to find out?” I growled, putting my claws down to their chest to prove my threat.

"... Look a squirrel!" I didn't fall for it but he gripped my arm and- fuck!

I backed up as some… lines of neon gray appeared from his hands onto mine and he began to make his escape. The strange magic eventually fading from my arm… shit, what was that?!

“Right…that’s new…” I muttered, seeing him still limping like a bitch. “Alright chuckle fuck, you asked for this.” I said, digging my feet into the ground and cracking the ground as I started to run…something I have done so few times…is run for the hunt.

As I quickly caught up to the tub of lard, suddenly I noticed he was holding onto a baby bird.

Suddenly I was head-butted by something huge. Looking back up that baby bird now had grotesque mechanical limbs and was almost ten feet tall, odd glass, camera like eyes in it's skull and metallic feathers as it hissed a mechanical growl at me.

So… that's how he escaped. No wonder it hurt me too, this is some new necromancy like shit… I think it's merging Necromancy with Technomancy… no wonder it hurt. As a Reaper and a Death Wolf, I'm weak to that kind of magic…

“That motherfucker…” I growled, drawing a blade and lightly cutting my finger, as the blood dripped into the palm of my hand as bladed wind’s started to swirl around it with my Spirit Energy. “Fuck this, fuck you, I’m not dealing with this shit at the moment.” I said, raising my hand. “Gran Tempestad Cero.” I said, as the fat bastard was behind the bird a giant tube of wind blasted forth, cutting off the mecha birds wing’s, a rush of bladed winds cutting it and my target thousands of times, the pain stunning them as I fired the Cero portion, the energy cracking the ground underneath me as a line of pure energy practically atomized anything and everything in this line of destruction.

After a minute, the energy vanished into the air, a gentle breeze settled into the air as I walked over to where his corpse, or whatever might be left of it.

There was nothing. I can do this but not still can't beat Rust…

“Fucking damn it…” I groaned. “Alright…so how the hell do I get my bounty if there’s literally nothing left?”

"They'll know." I jumped at hearing Rust behind me. The old rabbit chuckling at my spook. "Don't worry if there's nothing to collect for proof, Reaper archives can fact check to see if his soul was obliterated or not."

“Right…” I said slowly. “So, what the hell did that guy do? Some weird necromancy and technomancy nonsense…never seen it before.”

"Yeah. According to his file he was working on making some creatures out of corpses and merging them with tech and I don't know all the details aside from one of his creations killed him so, karma."

“Yeah, that makes sense.” I nodded.

"Well, congratulations to you're an official Reaper."

“Awesome.” I nodded. “Got a job, got my own realm house…and I’m finally going to be heading home…”

"Yeah yeah. I'll see ya around when you're done playing roleplay in ponyland." Rust said with an eye roll as they walked off.

“I’m not ‘roleplaying’, and when I get Lillinette back me and her are going to kick your ass old man.” I frowned.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

I huffed as he walked off. Well… guess I should at least tell Alex before I leave. Not sure how long time wise I'll be gone from here.

“This is not going to be a fun conversation.” I thought to myself, bringing up my assistant and dialing Alex…”Well…technically I could bring him with me now that I think about it…”

"I'd love to, Mike but I have a lot of work now that my apprenticeship is up." Alex said as we sat in my new place's living room.

I sighed. “Yeah…I thought that would be the case.” I shook my head. “Fucking…hate how work is going to get in the middle of this…but do you have enough time to meet Polkadot, Derpy and our daughter?”

"Maybe I can visit a little later on. Since I'm new I doubt I can just ask for vacation time. Maybe in a week when I get my day off."

“Alright.” I nodded. “Now a problem…I…I don’t know if Time works differently between here and Equis…what could be minutes here…could be years for you…”

"Or vice versa."

“Yeah…” I groaned. “Of course…yet another significant other I have to not be with for possibly years on end…’

"Don't worry Mike, it's not like I'll grow old while you're away. Besides, if it may or may not be a long while til I see you again… would you rather it be a more memorable moment over this sadness~?"

“I’d like it to be a memorable moment yes.” I nodded. “Just…wish this wasn’t a third time I had to leave loved ones…”

"I'll visit you when my day off comes. Once I do, you tell me if there is a time difference or not. Until then… how's about we break in your new bed~?"

“Well, I did make it to be sturdy, just haven’t tested how sturdy.” I said with a growing grin, picking up Alex bridal style.

After a memorable night, morning, morning shower and breakfast, Alex left for their work with the Cherubs, and I kissed them goodbye for I'm not sure how long.

Once they were, I walked over to the globe that held Equis. Alright… time to go back..

I placed a hand to the orb and took a breath.

…

I woke up with a huff. What… I looked around my metallic surroundings… right… the air ship… I'm on my way to the… Dragon Lands… Christ… eighteen years of a whole new life really… makes you forget stuff.

“Right…I’m going off to become the Avatar if memory serves.” I said. “Well…I’m pretty sure I’m a lot faster than this ship…”

I sat up, and upon doing so nearly fell over. What the? I looked myself over… I'm in my Coyote Starrk body again? Huh… that works I guess… great, gotta get used to walking all over again…

“Who would have guessed I had to deal with getting used to my own body again…” I frowned, lightly bending my knees to get used to them not being reversed. “I miss my fluff…” I muttered, just stretching a bit as I really felt my powers…and it felt like they were somehow increased than back home in my wolf form…”Alright, so maybe it’s because of this body that I’m stronger than before? Hmm…got a lot to get used to…” I thought to myself, clenching my fists. “Hey, can you hear me Lillinette?” I mentally called out to my other half.

"I'm napping, what do you want?" She replied. Haven't heard that rather ever annoyed voice in eighteen years…

“One…glad to hear your voice after eighteen years.” I said with a smile. “There’s a lot I have to tell you about…also, why the hell are you napping? That’s my schtick.”

"Eighteen? Wait hold on- OH SWEET GOD WHY?!?" The mental scream from her knocked me back.

“No need to scream.” I groaned.

“Why is there so much Angel boy ass!?!” She mentally asked me incredulously.

“There’s not that many memories of Alex’s ass come on.” I mentally huffed.

"It is when it's at the top of your most recent memories!"

I heard some thumps and slammed open doors, and Lillinette kicked the door to my room then… then socked me in the jaw.

First. Ouch! I think our connection means she got a power boost two… also, hey this mental dent I made in the wall is comfy.

"While I'm glad you finally realized you were Bi, what the actual hell?!"

“Do you want the long version or the short version?” I asked. “And sorry about Alex’s mountain of a butt being in the front…” I said sheepishly. “He really wanted to make the last day before some stupidly long hiatus memorable…”

"Yeah… I could tell… also, I'm not even gonna ask why your dick looked like that, so, give me a medium version length wise and please censor out whatever ass blasting sexcapaids you and that femboy angel got up to."

“Alright.” I said. “So…to make a long story medium, Eclipsa, Crescent as we know them…became my mom after they took me to a new world.” I said. “I was a special breed of Floof Noodle because I both had legs and my race of Dire wolf were the Death Wolves.” I explained. “So why did they want this? Well after my conversation with Nightmare about how Earth kind of sucked and their race turned into murderous sociopaths…well they threatened to blow up Earth…and well, mom wanted to give me a good life after all that depression bullshit.” I shrugged. “So then I got to spend eighteen years enjoying a new life, finding new friends with Sophia and Alex early on, and when I got older I joined the Reaper’s Guild as a bounty hunter…Rust the Rabbit is an asshole but a decent teacher…and then I started dating Alex because their adorable and they were my closest friend…Mom was amazing, Grandma was even better the morning after I learned that Santa both exists and there being an entire guild of Santa’s…oh boy, it’s hard to go through all the details…but it was an amazing life that got me a hell of a lot stronger…oh and also I have my own dimension that I can do god like things in and a brand new house and area for our family.”

"... Holy crap…" She said, poking me in the face. "Is that genuine happiness? All your depression and anxiety is gone… You… aren't the same Mike I was made from…"

“Yeah, I literally only needed to be isekai’d a second time before thing’s actually went better.” I chuckled. “I mean…my first life is still going to bug me but…I have a new life and I am legit better for it.”

"... Nightmare Moon is fucked…"

“That’s still up for contention if Pain hasn’t done something.” I said sheepishly. “But, while I am indeed a hell of a lot stronger and fully understand my powers…I still need some training for the rest of what this world has to offer.” I said honestly.

“Also because you want to be the Avatar?”

“...Yeah…” I admitted sheepishly.

“Nerd.” Lilinette chuckled.

“And proud of it.” I said with a smile.

"I have to admit, seeing you so positive and chipper is… different. Like, wow a before and after shot just… two completely different people. So, you're now Crescent's son?"

“And you’re technically Crescent’s daughter because…well, obvious reasons.” I said honestly. “And yes…also, I will probably stumble a bit getting used to knee’s bending forward.”

"Welp, you were always a furry so, finally got to be a furry."

“Oh shush you.” I chuckled. “Though one thing I have to train with is our released form, given that I couldn’t do it in the new world without you.” I admitted.

“Do you even need it if you’re basically a god and grim reaper?”

“And I’ve fought someone that’s a grim reaper but not a god and constantly got my ass kicked.” I answered. “And, when I encountered a soul that was just a kind of overweight guy, he was able to hurt me because of his technomancy ability.” I explained.

“Yeah…going through your memories, Rust was not kind…”

“No…damn rabbit had a hate boner for the race I was because it killed some of his family…” I shook my head. “Now…while my sense of smell and hearing are shot…my energy sense should still be through the roof here…” I muttered, closing my eyes as I tried to let my energy sense go wide, as wide as it could as I have trained really hard to be stupid good at energy sensing.

I could sense… everything. If I could compare this, it’s how the Legend of Kora’s Toph sees the whole world with her overpowered earthbending sight.

Ah, there they are, sleeping in a pocket in a mountain…

“Alright, there’s the dragon…wait…” I muttered, focusing on the Zebra lands where I felt the two…but…one felt weirdly familiar…like…

“Mike?” I heard the familiar voice, which made me take a step back.

“O-okay…how did I hear that and…two…there’s no fucking way…” I muttered.

“I…felt that to…” Lillinette said carefully. “She…she can’t be here…can she?”

“I…we’ll figure it out after we find the Dragon…” I said weakly. “Just…there’s too much to process with that…”

It took a while and I had to dig through the mountain to reach the Dragon, and they were… not what I was expecting.

“Who are you?” The drake asked, their head was a complete skull with bone white scales and spines down their back and tail. Their wings were leathery, black and the only flesh aside their eyes and mouth I could see.

They were also four feet tall.

“Uh…hi there.” I said honestly. “My name's Mike…who are you?” I asked, honestly surprised that my dragon teacher would be four foot tall.

“Krost. How did you even get in here?”

“A lot of digging.” I said.

“You dug through my hill?”

Hill?

“Uh…hill? This is a mountain.” I said honestly, now confused as to what he thought a ‘hill’ was. “Why do you think this is a hill?”

“It’s a mountain now? Huh, guess I’ve been down here longer than I thought.” They shrugged. “So, what brings you down here to my lair?”

“I want to train under you, in the ways of Fire.” I said honestly.

“Hmm… Alright, now let me ask you something… what in the great egg are you talking about?”

… what?

“Uh…what do you mean?” I asked carefully. “Well…better question is…when were you last outside?”

“I dunno. How long ago was the Wendigo attack on the pony tribes?”

Oh… Oh…

“Oh…uh…” I said slowly. “That was…a long ass time ago…I think over a thousand years ago…what was the last thing you remember before being stuck in your lair?”

“I fell asleep… woke up, saw the entrance was caved in, and then I shrugged and went back to sleep.”

“You uh…how old were you before it caved in?”

“Twelve.” He’s a kid?!

“Oh…oh no…” I muttered. “Uh…I’m sorry to say this but…you’re kind of…dead…” I said nervously, now wondering how this twelve year old is going to train me when they’ve barely been alive technically.

“I know.” He said. “I’ve been down here a while and even before I didn’t need to, ya know, eat or breathe so… it’s not that hard to figure out…”

“But what you didn’t know, is that you are a very powerful undead, known as an Vasto Lorde.” I answered. “So…want to get out of here and see the world?”

“Do I have to? I got my stuff here…” I looked over to what he was motioning at. A collection of rocks shaped like dragons, ponies and even what I think is a centaur.

“Wow, did you create these?” I inquired, looking down at the figurines and see how detailed they were.

“Yeah. All the time to do it in between naps.”

“That makes sense, and these do have some neat detailing to them.” I said honestly.

“So why does a… whatever you are, want to learn about fire?”

“Because I need to get stronger to stop an upcoming threat to this world.” I answered. “And right now, I have so far learned Air powers from an old Griffon King that is…no longer with us.”

“Hm. But why me? Can’t any dragon teach you about fire?”

“Well, that is correct…” I said. “But as far as I’ve learned, given my unique existence as an Arrancar, a race like you that’s ‘broken off’ their mask,” I motioned to the part of my Hollow mask around my neck. “You are the only one that can do fire and have the spiritual power to show me how to do things.” I said, and…I probably need to find an older dragon cause I don’t know if Krost could teach me given he was only twelve.

“Oh, is that why I came back to life and don’t die?”

“Uh…kinda?” I said nervously. “I don’t actually know, because technically you’re unable to die due to being an undead and…well there might not really be anything in this world that can kill our race of Undead.” I said honestly, now thinking about how either that’s how our regeneration works or if there’s something else at play here.

“Huh… but what did I do to become this? I remember before I turned into this I was just digging for gems then… then… huh, what was I doing before this happened? I remember… hmm…”

I frowned, knowing he was just a child but finding this especially weird…another instance where someone’s spirit jumped from either a spirit or a Hollow to a Vasto Lorde and not have a single idea how or why it happened. “What was the last thing you remember before digging for gems?” I inquired.

“I… don’t remember…” He said, sitting down. “Why can’t I remember?”

“I don’t know, and that is concerning.” I said. “Hmm…I have an idea.” I said, haven’t really tried this in my Arrancar body but given I was powered up by a crap ton I could probably read his ‘Death Records’.

Gently, I placed a hand on the kids head, using what Rust taught me and retrieving his ‘Death Record’.

The scroll appeared in my other hand, and I opened it.

Name: Krost
Species: Dragon
Age: 12

Status: Deceased
Soul Status: Uncollected

Cause of Death: Blood Clot Causing Internal Cranial Hemorrhaging.
Type of Death: Natural, Instant.

“Ah…that’s…sad…” I sighed. “Right, so says here, you died of natural causes…blood stopped going to your brain and it caused…a lot of damage…” I sighed.

“Oh… So, it just happened by chance? Huh… Still, not sure why I’m a… whatever you said.” They said, scratching their head.

“This world hold’s many surprises.” I said honestly. “But…I’m sorry you had to die at such a young age…a child shouldn’t suffer something like this at such a young age…”

“Well, I don’t think I suffered. Mostly I’ve just been bored and sleeping.”

“Well, congratulations, you will no longer be bored, or sleeping as much.” I said honestly. “Now come on, let’s get you out of here for a while to see the outside world.”

“Alright.” He said.

It took a bit but I got us out of there and the sunlight made Krost blink a lot.

“This is the Fire Vasto Lorde you were looking for?” Lillenette asked.

“Yes…” I said carefully. “Just uh…poor kid died of a brain hemorrhage when he was only twelve…an instant, natural death…”

“Ouch… Also… how? How is he… how did he even… become a Vasto Lord?”

“I don’t know…” I said honestly. “I don’t know if I can see how he became such a powerful undead but…he just is.” I said with a frown.

“Well, how is a kid going to train you?”

“I…don’t know…” I frowned, looking over to see Krost looking around with…an adorable look of wonder in his eyes. “Well…I suppose I could also just…adopt the poor little guy…he’s spent over a thousand years stuck inside that cave…he deserves a family…”

“Eh, why not.” Lillenette shrugged. “You did adopt that griffon kid if I remember?”

“Gallus, yes.” I nodded. “Which…that’s gonna be a whole thing when I get back…” I rubbed the back of my head, trying to see if I could glean anything else from this awe struck child’s soul to see if there was anything special about him and why he was such a powerful Undead.

I looked at their soul aura… oh my fucking gods…

Their aura was like… a small sun resting inside the kids body… In the reapers, souls that radiate power like this are powerful, ancient… they were destined for greatness… and he… he died… long before that could be recognized…

“Right…” I muttered. “So…apparently he was destined for greatness…it’s like staring at a small sun…” I told Lillinette, feeling even worse that this little guy couldn’t do what he was meant to…that his life ended before he could stand proud over his achievements.

“... Well, what do we do now? Your teacher is kind of… too young… and probably doesn’t even know how their powers work.”

“Right…” I said carefully, trying to think of how this could work or should work. “I doubt I could just call mom to help…”

“That’s your call.”

I sighed, scratching my head. “Sadly I might have to call mom, cause at least then she can teach the both of us and help me figure something out here…probably what his destiny was meant to be as well now that I think about it…” I hummed, scratching my chin as I thought about how this could actually work. “Well, I suppose I should call in Mom to see if either she or someone we know can teach us how to do Fire…”

I managed to use my assistant and called mom.

She appeared in her mini form. “Hi honey.” She said, but her mouth didn’t move.

“Hey mom.” I said with a smile. “So I need your help with something…I know I shouldn’t but…got a bit of a situation here.” I said while motioning to the child dragon vasto lorde.

“Oh, the poor baby.” She said. “Gone before his time should have ended.”

“Yeah, and apparently he had a great destiny…” I sighed. “So…I was needing your help…with Training our Spirit Fire stuff…cause something about his destiny feels…off to me.” I said, not entirely sure but I couldn’t shake the feeling whatever his destiny was, it still hasn’t been fulfilled even by some random happenstance.

“Hmm… Well, there isn’t much I can do here with this without causing more problems…” She admitted. “I can alter his body to allow him to age, and maybe leave you with an instructional guide into how Vasto Lords of Fire develop and learn their powers, but anything else and… Pain might end up noticing…”

“Yeah, let’s just go with that.” I said, cause I’d really like to not have Pain on my ass. “I know you're stretching your neck out for me mom…”

“It’s okay. Much as I’d like to do more… well, you know, Infinity contained within a bottle.” She said.

I nodded, having learned the truth and…really concerned about all of that. “Yeah, best to just get a book to at least get somewhere to start.” I said simply.

“Hey uh…mom?” Lillinette said, a little nervous as to the fact she wasn’t sure if mom was…well, mom to her given that me and Lillinette technically related.

“Hello Lillinette.” Mom said. “Well, you are… more or less my child, you are like Mike’s twin sister. Would you like to make that official? You’d get to experience your own life, and for Mike here, you’ll only have been gone a few minutes.”

“Well…I suppose that would be nice.” Lillinette said. “I’d love to know what made him go from being turbo depressed into having a happy lease on life.” She said honestly.

“And hey, maybe you’ll get a significant other out of it.” I chuckled, getting an elbow to the gut because of that.

“I’m not as horny as you Mike.” She huffed.

“The choice is yours.” Mom said.

“I’d like to join your family.” Lillinette said readily, tomboy arrancar preparing herself for whatever nonsense is going to happen soon.

Mom held out her hand, and Lillinette took it. The two then vanished, leaving a rather thick book in their place.

I picked it up. ‘Vasto Lord of Flames Training Guide for Beginners’ By… Hru… huh…

“Alright.” I nodded. “Hey, want to learn how to breathe super fire?” I asked my new dragon buddy.

“Sounds really cool.” Krost said with a smile.

I opened the book and began reading… huh, this is actually similar to my Air training… At least, the fundamentals are similar.

“Alright, so the fundamentals are similar at least.” I admitted. “Alright, so what do you know about using fire?”

Krost let out a puff of pure white flame. “That. I just know how to do it, I don’t think I can explain it.”

“Probably because you’re a dragon and can just naturally do it.” I shrugged, as I raised my hand and tried to use the fundamentals I had driven into my body that I could literally do in my sleep…still hate how most of my training with Grover was in a half asleep daze….

I managed to start it off with some wind forming. Applying the new information… The wind around my hand ignited into blue flames. Woah… cool. This is… easier than I expected.

“Well…at least it’s an easy start.” I said, looking over the flames and smiling a bit. “Now, let’s see what fun thing’s we can do with this book.”

To be continued...

Chapter 12

As me and Krost were fiddling with fire magic, Krost learning how to juggle fireballs which he was weirdly good at for some reason, I was flipping through some pages for more in depth knowledge on our kind of fire. “Ya know, it’s kind of weird how good you are at juggling.” I pointed out to Krost, as they were currently juggling like…ten balls of fire with ease.

"I'd juggle rocks when I got bored." He replied.

“That’s fair.” I nodded. “Wonder when Lillinette will come back with mom…” I hummed.

"How long were you gone?"

“Well, time works differently between here and the other world.” I said honestly. “I think it was like…five or ten minutes here, but over there it was eighteen years.”

"Wow. Did you have fun?"

“It was great…I had a wonderful time there, being given a second chance at a nice life…got a significant other over there…wonder if Lillinette will also find love.” I chuckled.

"Nope. Didn't care for it." I jumped, turning and saw Lillinette was behind me. "Sup."

“Hi there…how was your life with mom?” I inquired.

"Alright. Kinda nice not having to concern myself about you for a change."

“Yeah yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “But glad things went well for ya, do anything exciting?”

"Eh, nothing much aside from apprenticing under Aunt Pain."

“Of course you would…” I groaned. “So how was working with Aunt Pain?”

"Not bad. Met a lot of nice people and she let me slaughter a country on this one planet that needed to… yell ya know." She shrugged.

“Yeah, while I had to deal with deputy jackass, you got to frolic in the meadow’s acting like a destroyer…” I grumbled.

"Correction, I was soaked in the blood of mortals while tearing cities to rubble."

“Point is, you had a better time than me cause I had to deal with someones petty bullshit all the time.” I huffed.

"Oh quit your bitching, you still had a good life overall." Lillinette said, rolling her eyes. "So, what I miss here?"

“Nothing much, just us learning some fire magic and Krost showing off his juggling.” I said honestly.

"Boring. Are we gonna go kill stuff or what?"

“Well…” I started, before a sudden gust of frigid wind hit all three of us. “Uh…that’s not supposed to happen.” I frowned, looking off the side to see what the hell is causing this sudden cold.

"Nope." She she said, looking up as we saw there was several Equestrian Wendigo's galloping across the sky. "Huh. Neat."

“I thought those thing’s died out when Equestria was formed?” I wondered in confusion, though I heard Krost growl, looking down to see the Vasto Lorde Dragon look ready for battle, their eyes turned to slits, fire billowing from their mouth as they barred their teeth.

“Those are my prey…” Krost growled.

"... Yeet the child?" Lillinette asked. I glared at her. "Well how else is he gonna get up there to kill them?"

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” I muttered, grabbing the young drake and chucking him at the Wendigos, hoping that this would be the right call.

The fireball that followed lit up the sky like a mini sun. It lasted several minutes before it died down and I caught Krost as he fell back down.

"... Well that was anticlimactic…" Lillinette said.

“Yeah…that was…weird…” I said, though when I looked back at Krost he still looked…tense, ready to strike at a moment's notice. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re still here.” He growled, snorting pure white flames.

"Where?" Lillinette asked.

Krost pointed, and the both of us looked up and…oh…oh those are different.

What we saw were the same Wendigos, but they looked…corrupted, their ethereal white more into a dismal gray fog, black shade like armor across their bodies and holding…pieces of Hollow Masks on their faces… “Oh shit…” I muttered, grabbing Krost again and throwing him to see what’ll happen.

As Krost tried the same thing, the white hot sun blasting into the Wendigo’s…before he could even attempt it he was slammed back into me by one of the trio, as I heard etheric laughter. “Right…” I frowned, putting them into a cartoonish flamethrower position as I flew after the trio. “Say hello to my little friend!” I said, raising Krost as they opened their mouth comedically and let out a torrent of flame.

All three Wendigo’s dodged the torrent of flames, as I quickly had to block one of the kicks from the Wendigo’s, but my arm started to immediately freeze as I hissed in pain, blasting it away with Cero as I dodged the other two’s attacks, Krost unfreezing my arm with his flames as he crawled onto my shoulder and I drew my sword. “Right…so these things are tougher than I thought…” I muttered, before the four of us vanished.

The sound of metal clashing against etheric metal resonated in my ears, sparks of energy and plumes of sun like fire kept appearing in my peripherals, as even though I was actually trying against these three with the help of Krost, they were actually really strong…a lot stronger than I thought…”How the hell are you all so strong?”

“The Fates gave us strength.” One of the wendigo’s answered in a silky smooth voice, like a whisper in the wind.

“Our Teacher gave us purpose.” The next one said, their voice tough and strong like a strong wind.

“And our Rage will Freeze the living!” The last one shouted, their voice as aggressive and forceful as a blizzard.

“We are now the Wind’s of Nightmare, and we’ll make you embrace the coldness of Death!” They all said in unison, all three women striking a fighting pose at me.

“Oh…my god…” I blinked. “I’m fighting Power Rangers Villains… “ I shook my head. “Also, the cold hand of death? Been there, done that, and that’s my job so let me see if you can hold a candle to what I’ve seen.”

“We’re still gonna beat them!” Krost said.

“At this point I might want to teach you how to become an Arrancar…and then see if your Resurrección would be a Ranger outfit.” I chuckled.

“Can I still kill Wendigo’s?” Krost asked.

“Yes you can.” I nodded. “But it’ll take some time, and I think we have to find something special to make that a reality.” I said, wondering how the natural process of becoming an Arrancar would be, or if I would need the Hogyoku for that…”But let’s send these three out with a bang.” I said, raising my hand as a sphere of Wind and my own Spirit Energy formed.

“I see.” Krork said with a smile as they blew their dragon fire into the sphere, causing it to spin faster and hotter.

“Dragon Tempest Cero.” I said, raising my hand and firing it off towards the three.

“Absolute Zero!” The three shouted in unison, a blast of energy so cold that even the very air shattered from how quickly it froze around them, blocking the attack and creating a fuck ton of steam, and when I threw a gust of wind out to clear it away, they were gone.

“Crap…” I groaned.

“They will hurt other dragons.” Krost said quickly. “We need to help them all.”

“Alright, just need to find the leader and warn them.” I said, using my senses to try and find whoever was in charge.

I detected a fairly powerful individual some distance away and rushed over there. The area was surrounded by dragons, and the largest of them looked down at me. “What and who are you?” They asked me in a roaring voice.

"My name is Coyote Starrk, and this little guy is Krost." I said, lifting up the little dragon who waved at everyone. "I am an Arrancar, Krost is a Vasto Lorde, and we've come here to bring grave news."

“... What the fuck is a Arr-arracanide? Or a Vase Lord?” The dragon said.

… Oh boy… I forget that no one on this planet really knows what I’m talking about…

“We’re a special species of undead, practically the highest level.” I said honestly. “But mind if I ask who you are sir?”

“I am Dragon Lord Torch… isn’t that whelpling a little young to be an undead?” He asked, pointing at Krost.

“I got stuck digging in that hill over there.” Krost pointed towards the tallest mountain in this area. “Also who were your parents Torch? Cause I’m older than I look.”

“My father was Dragon Lord Arga. My mother was Shlik.”

“I knew they were going to be a couple!” Krost laughed, making Torch look at Krost like he was absolutely insane.

“Listen…Krost here was here back when Equestria was about to be frozen over by the Wendigo’s.” I answered.

“Oh, you mean the old pony homeland. Yes, my parents told me stories of those days. Shame, their hatred and arrogance brought forth the eternal winter upon their ancestral lands.” Torch said. “But if this welp is as old as you say, then why are they not… older looking?”

“Cause as he entered that hill thousands of years ago, he suffered a brain hemorrhage, killing him instantly…” I sighed. “He’s been stuck in his little cave for all this time, unable to fulfill his destiny.”

“Brain Hemorrhage?”

Right, Dragons are pretty medically… lacking.

“Basically the inside of his head started to bleed and it caused him to die an instant, painless death.” I said.

“Oh. That… actually that explains a lot of sudden deaths amongst dragons…” Torch said, looking thoughtful.

“Is this a…common occurrence?” I asked worriedly.

“Amongst some bloodlines more than others. Whelps to elders, sometimes they will be walking, talking, flying even, then they mention a headache, usually the whelps or elders, then they fall, never to get up again.”

“Yeah, so you all need to seriously update your medical, cause Brain Bleeds can be survivable.” I said carefully.

“Dragons only need our strength. It has been that way since Bahumat, the first dragon, and will be that way.”

“And how well is your strength going when you can drop dead at a moment’s notice?” I countered.

“I believe that the phrase ‘Nature is a cruel mistress’ applies. When we die, we die. Simple as that.”

I thought I smelled something off… I didn’t notice it earlier, but I can smell… early deaths. Time unused and unspent for life. This land is stained in the deaths of lives cut short by happenstance.

“No…” I said, looking around this entire place. “This entire place is stained with Time, Lives, and Potential Unused, Unspent, and Cut Short due to happenstance and your own selfish actions.” I growled. “This place reeks of it.”

“And is it your place to judge us, outsider?”

I sighed…before each and every Dragon felt themselves being pushed down by my spirit energy, the sight of Death's Hound in each of their eyes as the Grim Reaper was close by, holding their scythe at an easy but readied position. “As a member of the Grim Reapers, I don’t only have the place to judge, I am the Judge.”

“I-Impossible!?” The dragon lord said in a growing sense of fear, as one of the dragon’s roared and tried to attack me out of said fear, only for me to grab their talon the size of my entire body and pull them down onto the ground hard, their entire body slamming into the ground as it cracked from the force.

“Besides myself needing to clean up your blatant disregard for Life, can I tell you my warning?”

Torch growled, but did not get up. “Speak.”

“The Wendigo’s, once thought to have been banished due to Equestria’s Friendship, have returned, infused with the Power of Nightmare themselves.” I answered. “We need your help, both to stop the oncoming Winter they wish to blanket the world with, and me and Krost here will help protect your people.” I answered.

“I was Destined to kill those jerks, but my life was cut short because of our…disease.” Krost growled. “I don’t want to see our people die out like weaklings to either these Nightmare Creatures, or to our own selfish desire to ignore a serious problem that can’t be beaten by our strength.”

Torch seemed silent for a while. “Were it anyone else, I’d ignore this warning.” He said, pushing himself up and knocking the dirt off his body. “But seeing as this comes from Death itself, what do you suggest we do, so we can avoid a second meeting so soon?”

“Well, first you need to get some help with literally…everything.” I said honestly. “Knowledge, Medicine, so many things that I have been told is that Dragons only care about their strength, their hoard, and sometimes their family, after that everything else has gone by the wayside and has killed countless.” I frowned.

“Told you Dad.” I heard someone say, as I looked over to see a young blue scaled dragoness, looking up at the giant dragon with her arms crossed.

“Not now Ember. Fine. I will speak with a member of the ponies to talk on… improvements to our land.” Torch said.

“Alright, that’s step one.” I nodded. “Step two is searching for the Wendigo’s. What would be the most important places in the Dragon Lands be?”

“That depends on how you define important. The Gem Fields are where many go to dig for gems, for hoarding or food, the hatching pits are where the eggs are kept, the underground lava keeps them warm and once it reaches peak temperatures, they hatch. Then there is MT Wrath, that’s considered a sacred site as it’s supposedly where Bahumat rests.” Torch said, listing off.

“Right…so all of those places are rather important, from food, to children to your sacred place…” I said carefully.

“... Bahumat is a god…” Krost said. “His rest is just that, rest. He is sleeping.”

“Legends say should he awaken his rage will burn the world to ashes. Not even we dragons are immune to his flames…” Troch added.

“And I’ll be the judge of that.” I said honestly. “So let’s start with protecting the Children first, even if they are surrounded by lava the Wendigo’s might be strong enough to not care.”

Torch nodded. “Drakes! Head to the Hatching Pits! Guard them until I say otherwise and gather every whelp in the land there as well!” He commanded, and all the dragons around us did so. “Will you be handling them alone?” Torch asked me.

“Not alone.” I said, gently patting Krost. “But hopefully this can be done without your lands being either frozen or turned into a flatland.” I said carefully.

“Can I go with them to the Hatching Pits dad?” Krost asked me, which first made me happy at just being called dad, and two it made me think about how strong he was.

“Hmm…you still need to learn to harness your fire, cause while you have the power of a sun, I don’t want you to just do this on instinct fighting three opponents that are doing both instinct and training.”

“I don’t want any other whelplings to die like I did… now that I know…”

I looked at Krost, seeing the determination and worry in his eyes…as I sighed and gave him a hug. “Alright son, I trust you.” I said softly.

He hugged me back, then quickly left.

“If you’re going to MT Wrath then you best rush towards the east.” Torch told me.

“Thank you Dragon Lord.” I nodded. “And hopefully we’ll be meeting a second time in the living world.” I nodded, before using Sonido and vanishing to the Dragon’s as I rushed to the East to see MT Wrath.

Even at this speed it took time, and I noticed the air got chilled. I saw the massive mountain ahead and circling it were the wendigos.

“Oh no you fucking don’t.” I growled, drawing my sword and slashing at one of the Wendigo’s in the back when they weren’t looking. “Mind if I step in on this wintery dance?”

The one I slashed spun around and moved off, forming shards of ice that were shot at me.

The ice shards broke apart underneath my spiritual pressure that I let out. “Gotta have to try better than that sister.” I growled, firing off a Cero without any motions and vanishing to catch one of them if they bothered to dodge.

I wrestled with them for a bit. I was still in my Death Wolf form, and I went for the kill. My teeth bit into the ethereal form of the Wendigo, and I felt it’s essence, soul, whatever this thing has, become absorbed and get sucked down my throat. Perks of this form.

“Hmm…kind of like Rainbow Sherbert.” I hummed, as the other two screamed in rage at what I just did.

“You will pay for what you did to our sister!” They both screamed, as suddenly I saw the two of them swirling around each other, going faster and faster…ah shit, I hope their not doing what I think they're doing…and when the sphere broke apart they showed…them in their fuzed state, which was both frightening cause they felt a whole lot stronger…and annoying cause why did they have to also get sexy?

The new fusion began blasting at me with sub-zero cold… but in this form, lethal temperatures don’t affect me.

“Well…thankfully this form is capable of withstanding your cold.” I said, dashing forward and clashing again, armor to sword, ethereal blade to claw. “Now come on lady, show me what you got.”

She… they? Managed to keep up well, blocking and dodging but they slipped up, when the temperature began to rise they flinched and I took the opportunity, grabbing hold of them and tearing their throat out with my teeth.

I swallowed the part of their throat, but as I expected them to fade…their body regenerated, the Nightmare armor surrounding the wound. “Crap…”

“Fate is still in play, child.” They growled. “You may have absorbed our sibling, but you cannot kill us without your little whelp’s flames.”

“And Fate can eat my fluffy ass.” I growled, launching myself back at them swiftly.

As I was about to swing down on them, a wave of darkness flashed over them, and they were gone… Nightmare… I took a sniff… that was her magic but she’s not here. Must be watching from elsewhere.

“I can smell you Nightmare.” I growled. “If you’re watching, then know that no matter how long you and Ann and Andy train, you will suffer my wrath.”

No reply. No nothing. Tsk… whatever… I looked over at the mountain… hmm

I used magic to scan it… Holy crap!

If this scan is right… that’s no mountain that’s one of the fucking horns on Bahumats head! His body is buried deep under the land, only this part of his horn and a few other smaller ones are out still… and all the lava comes from his exhales heating the rock around him. Christ that’s a big dragon god… Well, at least he’s still asleep.

“Right…so if he wakes up, the entire planet goes…” I muttered, deciding to check and see if I could tell when he’s supposed to wake up…if at all.

Okay, let’s see here… Huh? His life force and even his divine force are all being suppressed… looks like he did that himself. Even his senses have all been dulled that if someone dug into his skin, and I doubt they’d break his scales, he wouldn’t feel a thing… The only way he’s waking up if a huge blast from a magic attack… the three of them might have been able to pull that off, but why comatose himself this bad?

I checked again, using a more powerful scan and… ah… I see…

Under his hands was a small pocket where the fossilized remains of a female drake… and a welp, the two petrified in his hand… they must have been his family… looks like… based on what the magic can tell me, daughter and grandchild.

If he woke up, he’d burn the world because they aren’t in it…

Now…my curiosity peaked, I decided to look into his daughter and grandchild…to see if they had any descendants or if they were the only one’s in the line…

Scanning… check the archives while I’m at it… shit…. They were his only family.

“Shit…” I muttered weakly…when I looked at cause of death…

[Daughter of Bahamut Cause of Death: Brain Hemorrhage, Immediate, Painless.]

[Grandson of Bahamut Cause of Death: Draconian Mana Sickness.]

Shit… that Hemorrhage thing again… she was a demi-god by birth yet even she was done in by it… and Mana Sickness… that’s nasty. Depending on the situation it means he either wasn’t born with enough mana to support his biology, or too much for his age…

I sighed weakly, hating how this was happening, and I saw how his Daughter was supposed to live a happy, courageous life filled with adventure, large amounts of loot…and she was supposed to be the mother to the first Dragon Griffon hybrid…but that was not meant to be…and the grandson just…got unlucky….

I shook my head, hating how unlucky Bahamut was when it came to family, but I had more pressing issues to attend to, and that was checking to see where the hell those Wendigo’s went and if they were trying to attack other area’s.

I was ready to go… but stopped…

… It’s not really killing him, if I remove the soul and leave his body empty. His body is needed by this land, it makes all the lava and sustains the lifestyles of the dragons… I can harvest his soul and leave his body alive, basically brain dead… he deserves to see them again. Not like Rust didn’t make me kill a few gods before…

I sighed, flying down to the horn, as I’ve learned any physical contact with a god is needed, as I gently put my hand on his horn. “God of Dragon’s…” I said slowly, using my Death Magic to call upon his Soul so we can talk.

“... Who dares… interrupt my grief?”

“Coyote Starrk, Grim Reaper…and guide, to bring your soul to meet your children.” I answered softly.

“... If you can, take my soul. Nothing should live as long as I… just to see all you love pass on without you…”

I nodded. “I understand great one…and I’m going to help correct something’s, so that your people don’t suffer the same as you.” I said, grabbing my sword and lightly tapping the handle against the horn, using my magic to help separate the body and soul but keep the body alive.

It took a while, since he is a god, an old and powerful one at that but thankfully it was done. His body is alive and his soul is out. Now it’s off to the other side. Even dead their bodies don’t rot, most anyway, but he needs to keep breathing to create the heat for the lands magma chambers to continue.

“Now…Bahamut…it’s time to meet your family.” I said, raising my sword as a pair of doors appeared, simple white doors that started to open up…only to burst open and have two etheric blur’s slam into Bahamut’s soul.

“Daddy/Grandpa!” I heard the excited shrieks of joy from both his children.

“M-my children…” Bahamut said, tears in his eyes as he wrapped his arms and wings around his daughter and grandson. “It’s…it’s been so long…”

The daughter looked over, and saw Bahamut’s body slumbering. “Did you not find a mom dad?” She pouted.

“Grief is…a powerful thing my sweet ruby.” Bahamut said sheepishly, the old man looking away from the rather adorable pout she was giving him. “But…I can finally be with you two again…forever after.”

“Friend grandpa?” The grandchild asked, pointing towards me as I gave a gentle wave.

“In a way.” I said politely. “I’m your grandfather’s guide, and back to you two.” I said warmly.

“Will you help guide dad to a date? Can find a diamond in a three mile wide tar pit, can’t date to save his life.” The daughter huffed, as the grandson giggled and Bahamut blushed brightly.

“Alright you two, time to go.” Bahamut said quickly.

“If you need some help, look up a Cherubim named Alex, he would just love to find your father a soul mate.” I said. “Ayy~.” I added while snapping my fingers into finger guns.

“Not you too~.” The daughter groaned as Bahamut laughed at my crappy pun.

The three walked off into the light, and the doors closed. Before it did though…

A pair of talons reached through and threw them open and I saw- Grover!? “Hey kid, catch!” He said, throwing a flask at me.

“Holy hell.” I said, grabbing the flask. “Hey Grover, it’s been a long time…I’m sorry that the rest of your time was spent watching me being a half asleep delirious haze…” I said sheepishly.

“Hey I’m more pissed you didn’t visit! I found out you did some bullshit reincarnation shit and didn’t look me up!” He laughed. “Then again I hear you were buddy banging some winged femboy!”

“I’m sorry, I was going through a new life, had to do some new job, had to especially deal with Rust's bullshit…and dating the stupidly adorable angel femboy yes.” I said honestly. “But how you doing, Grover?”

“Good, reconnected with my wife, had amazing sex, got wasted off the- just drink what I put in that flask, it’s amazing, also you know Rust!? He’s been my drinking buddy for a while up here!”

“He’s an asshole that specifically trained me because he’s actually racist.” I said, opening up the flask and deciding to take a swig of it.

Woah! That tastes-

To be continued...

Chapter 13

Ugh…my head…the hell happened? I started to sit up in a rather comfy bed and brought a hand to my head, feeling woozy and sick. “Ugh…alright…somehow got a hangover from whatever the hell Grover made me drink…okay uh…the fuck happened…and why does my crotch feel sticky?” I thought to myself woozily, trying to get past this splitting headache and open my eyes, which was a chore cause the room was so bright.

As I did I felt I was indeed still in my death wolf body… or maybe it’s more like my real body? Second, I was really sweaty. Shit…

“Glad to see you’re up.” I heard a voice. Blinking I managed to turn and see a female griffon, dark brown and golden feathers with crimson red eyes. She sat on a chair against the wall, a small table with three coffee cups on it. “You put on quite the show.”

“The…hell happened?” I asked weakly, gently taking the savior liquid and lightly sipping it.

“You came into my house absolutely shitfaced, my husband wrapped around your neck like jewelry singing very off key sea shanties. You two then proceeded to knock back two more Angel Bliss Ales before eating a whole ham together then you two proceeded to fuck on the kitchen table, floor, hallway, stairs, upper hallway, upstairs bathroom then finally landed in the bedroom here where you two shagged for almost seven straight hours.” The griffoness said with a smirk. “I took lots of photos and videos. That. Was. Hot.”

“U-uh…” I blinked. “I ONLY TOOK ONE SWIG, THE FUCK!?!” I thought to myself in a panic, looking over and seeing the griffon in question. “Uh…I…forgot…is Grover into this or was this because we were so turbo drunk that it didn’t matter?”

“Eh, the old coot never really cared about that, especially when he’s wasted.” She chuckled. “Not the first time he brought home a drunken bed buddy. Sometimes even I join in but I was not about to get between you and his ass you seemed to be riding like a runaway train.” She laughed.

“Uh…r-right…” I said slowly. “I probably need to get back to Derpy and Polkadot…” I thought to myself, blushing at my little vivid imagery of doing what she claimed I did to Grover to the both of them. “Ugh! No horny, I’m still…recovering from this hangover…” I mentally groaned, sipping more of my coffee. “So uh…it’s nice to meet you ma’am, I believe you’re Gravel?”

“That’s my name, And you’re Mike. Grover’s student he begrudgingly took and even helped him out some. Gotta say, didn’t think anyone could annoy the old bird more than me. I’m almost jealous.”

“Well…let’s just say I wouldn’t give up on him when he wanted to give up and get drunk every waking moment.” I said honestly. “Just…kinda wish the last time he met me in the living world wasn’t me being in a half asleep daze because of my kid…” I said honestly.

“Heh, yeah. But he got to leave on his terms once you knew everything you needed. Our reunion was the second messiest thing to happen to this house.” She chuckled. “Well, second now after that show you two put on. I haven’t seen that much white since dying and coming into the light.”

“Right…” I said sheepishly. “But…yeah, I would have visited sooner if I wasn’t so busy…probably would have been better than making an absolute mess.” I said, taking a gulp of the coffee.

“Eh, I don’t mind. Not as long as you don’t mind I flavored your coffee with that mess before you woke up.”

I spit it out so fast.

“Oh don’t be like that I saw you suck out way more from the source last night.” She laughed.

“I…ugh~!” I groaned loudly. “Gross~! Ugh…I really didn’t need to know that…”

“Would you prefer to see it?” She said, flashing me a photo- Oh my god! “Or see and hear?” She asked, pulling up a video camera… oh… oh wow I really went at it…

“U-uh…” I blinked…”I…oh boy, if…any of my lovers find this…” I blushed brightly.

“Heh, you’re fun to tease.” She said, putting the phone and camera away. “Might just use this as blackmail for a ride myself sometime later~ Only fair since drunk you only had eyes on Grover.”

“Hmm, quiet…” Grover grumbled. “I’m hungover and my ass hurts…”

Gravel laughed very loudly.

I groaned loudly as I put my face in my hands. “At this point you could have just asked…and if the other’s see this…oh boy will my hips not be happy…”

After that… whole thing, I left and returned to Equis. Thankfully it looks like not much time passed… thank god… Still, it was interesting to visit the Afterlife. I saw the ring of the top of the bottle of creation, where all the souls come in and out… still, if the Afterlife it outside creation, which is inside a bottle… I wonder what’s past that? I know when I was there I saw a Sky, but It looked more like… a barrier…

“Hmm…maybe it’s the inbetween of the Afterlife and the ‘Real’ World? Cause mom’s house was probably in one of those spots…” I thought to myself, scratching my chin.

Maybe I should ask mom?

Well, whatever the case, time to go find Krost and maybe mess around some before heading off elsewhere.

“I should probably head home to talk to Depry and Polkadot real quick…it’s been a long time…” I thought to myself.

“Why can’t I see what the past eight hours of your memory are?” Lillinette asked.

“It’s…for the best.” I said sheepishly through our mental link as I flew off to find Krost.

With that, I made my way towards the Changeling Hive that Polka Dot came from. That is where she, Derpy and our kids went.

I arrived at the Hive and after swapping to my Starrk form and began walking around and looking for them. Damn, I never learned where Polka Dot lived…

“Well…I should be able to sense their life energy right?” I thought to myself, trying to sense the lives of Polka Dot and Derpy.

I sensed them. They were together and some distance away. Good.

I smiled as I walked off towards Derpy and Polka Dot…it’ll be great to see them again.

I walked down the street. Last time I was here this place was amazing. It still is, but if I’m honest… it reminded me of home now. Home with Mom and Alex… funny. Wonder if they modeled it after home…

Huh. You know, I never did know what mom called that place.

“Being divided between two groups sucks…” I sighed, wishing I could have both together here but…knowing life got real busy as I walked to my front door and gave it a knock.

The door opened and I saw Polka Dot, who gave me a surprised look. “Mike! You’re back sooner than I expected.”

"Well…for me it was a lot longer." I said vaguely, moving over and giving Polka Dot a hug.

“So, what brings you here anyway? Thought you were gonna be on a years long trip to the various lords you need to train under?”

"Well, somethings are…changing, but I thought I'd spend some time with all of you." I said with a smile. "Cause I…have a lot to talk about."

“Well, alright, come on in. Derpy is feeding Daisy right now.” Polka Dot said as she stepped aside and I walked in.

I smiled, seeing Polka Dot’s place and hearing Daisy’s name again…it feels heartwarming to be with family again. “Honey, I’m home!” I called out like a husband would to their wife.

“Mike?!” I heard Derpy call out. After a bit she flew in, holding Daisy who was wearing an adorable onesie.

“Hey Derpy, hello Daisy.” I said warmly. “How you doing?”

“Settling in. This place is really incredible, not having to work is… different. Kinda easy to get bored but Dot and I watch movies when I’m not taking care of Daisy.”

“That’s good.” I nodded. “Cause I have had…quite an experience, eighteen years worth in fact.” I said honestly.

I sat with the two of them in the living room and… told them everything. My new life with Crescent being my mother, living a whole new life, my… relationship with Alex, working as a bounty hunting Grim Reaper. Even my drunken… event… with Grover… just in case they ever meet them…

“... Ha! Called it!” Polka Dot cheered.

Derpy sighed, and handed her a bag of what I assume are bits.

“Excuse me what?” I asked in confusion.

“I knew you were Bi the day we met.” Dot chuckled. “I was thinking that once we started getting physical I’d have to see just how Bi you were and if you even knew with a few sexy forms. Now I know you love a winged angel twink and even fucked what is more or less a griffon Dilf.” She said, making me blush. “Oh this is gonna be fun come when we fuck.”

“Eh. The herd grows.” Derpy shrugged.

“Well…at least the both of you are okay with it.” I admitted sheepishly. “But…yeah, that’s been my life and…I did miss you a lot during that time.”

“Kinda hard to imagine you’ve been away for eighteen years. It’s only been a few days for us.” Derpy said.

“Yeah, time dilation is weird like that.” I admitted. “But…I’m glad to be back with you both.”

“Glad you are so much happier now.”

“Yeah, thought for a while there I’d have to knock you out to get you into therapy.” Dot chuckled.

“Well, I did technically get therapy.” I admitted. “But yeah…it feels good to be happy, any questions you have about what I talked about?”

“You mentioned a new form when you were reborn. Can we see it?” Derpy asked.

“Just…a little warning, it is a predator form.” I said, as I shifted into my Death Wolf form.

“... Woof.” Derpy and Dot said simultaneously.

“Har har.” I rolled my eyes, as I was certain they said it because they think I’m attractive like this but also the obvious ‘I’m a canine’ joke. “But you really think I look good?”

“Boy, Derpy's a pony, so fur can be seen as very sexy. I’m a changeling, so I can find anything sexy.” Dot said. Derpy nodding. “So… is it bigger in this form~?”

“Uh…” I blushed. “I…haven’t really…measured it to be honest…” I said sheepishly.

“Well uh… I can probably tell…” Dery said, looking as red as I was.

“I mean…i-if you want…” I said sheepishly. “I mean…I didn’t intend for this day to be me…doing a lot of lewd things.”

“You just spent a good while saying you realized you’re Bi and then about your adorable twink boyfriend and your accidental drunk Dilf fucking. You expect us to not get turned on?” Dot asked.

“I didn’t mean for half of it to be talked about…” I said. “Part of it I felt was important due to me being Bi…”

“And you very much made up for missing out by being a late bloomer.” Dot smirked. “So, you mentioned the dragon Vasto Lord guy was just a kid?”

“Yes, Krost, and I…might have adopted him cause…well, he’s still a child and doesn’t know much about the world.’

“If he was sleeping in a cave for so long, I can see why.” Derpy said. “Where is he?”

“He’s still in the Dragon Lands.” I answered. “I’m now really fast due to my training.”

“... So you mean to tell me that the child you just adopted… you left on another continent?” Derpy asked.

“Listen…I’m still new to Parenthood, and I just got back from both sending Bahamut’s soul to be with his daughter and grandson and…all the thing’s with Grover…”

“Might want to consider some parenting classes.” Dot offered.

“Hello?” I paused, looking up and hearing… Alex?! I got up and opened the door, seeing my pink, fluffy winged femboy standing there, giving me a smile. “Hey! I was looking for you and I found this cutie doing the same!” He said, holding up Krost.

“I was eating a lot of gems.” Krost said.

“Well…I didn’t expect to see you here Alex.” I said.

“I got time off.” They said, leaning in and giving me a quick kiss. “So, where are these girlfriends you’ve told me about?”

“In here and we have heard a lot about you!” Dot called out.

I stepped to the side. “Come on in, Alex these are my girlfriends Derpy and Polka Dot, and Krost these are your mothers.” I said. “And that adorable little hybrid there is Daisy Doo.”

“Awe, she’s so adorable! And you two look way better than Mike described.” Alex said.

“And you look like I was expecting based on what Mike was telling us. So, give it to us now. How long is he?” Dot asked, making me grown. Alex just smirked and gave a… measurement with their hands.

“Yup. Bigger. Definitely bigger.” Derpy said readily.

“Is there a knot?” Dot asked. Alex nodded. “Oh, you flexible bitch~”

What is happening?

“Uh…what is happening?” I asked nervously, feeling my face heat up as I feared what was being talked about.

“Isn’t it obvious love, we’re sharing stories and bedroom talk about you.” Alex smirked.

“Only natural since two out of the three of us have been rutted by you raw.” Dot chuckled.

“There are children in this room.” I tried to defend myself here.

“Then take them for a walk.” Derpy said, handing me Daisy and Alex handed me Krost. “Ditsy is in her room, go grab her and let her get to know her new brother.”

“Uh…right…” I said carefully, carrying Daisy as Krost climbed up and sat on my shoulder like a parrot, as I walked upstairs to go find Dinky. “Hey Dinky?”

“Mike- Woah!” She yelped as she looked up at me. “Mike? Is that you?”

“Yep, it’s me.” I nodded. “I have a lot to tell you, but first, meet your new brother, Krost.”

“Hi there.” Krost said with a friendly wave.

“Woah… You got fluffy, and cool! Baby dragon brother!”

“I think I’m older than you?” Krost said.

“But I’m the big sister!” Ditsy said.

“I guess.” Krist said, looking a bit confused.

“You’ll get used to it.” I chuckled. “Come on, we’re going on a walk cause your mom and Polka Dot are talking about some…adult thing’s with …another Herd mate.”

“Yay! Three mommies!” Ditsy said. I laughed.

“Well…kinda.” I said

With Daisy in hand, Krost and Ditsy on my shoulders, I quickly left Dot’s place and walked with them down the street, managing to find a park. I’ll never not be amazed at how an underground city is both so bright and has a very lush green park.

“What’s all this?” Krost asked in awe.

“This is a Park.” I said, seeing him point to stuff that admittedly he would never see. “That’s a tree.” I chuckled.

“Are there no trees in the dragon lands?” Ditsy asked.

“No. Just dirt, rocks and lava.” Krost said.

“Yeah, the Dragon Lands is a volcanic region, while technically it could be the most fertile soil on this planet, kind of hard to when there’s just a lot of lava.”

“Wow. Sounds boring.” Ditsy said.

“It is.” Krost nodded.

We arrived at a playground and Krost and Ditsy went off to play. I sat on a bench with Daisy in my arms.

“This…is the life…” I thought to myself happily, seeing Dinky try and teach Krost how to play on the playground. “If…if I didn’t hallucinate it…then I’m going to meet you soon Claire…” I thought to myself, remembering her voice reaching out to me when I sensed all the Arrancars.

I closed my eyes, feeling a sense of calm wash over me as I sat here. Daisy got comfortable, snuggling up to my arm fluff and slept deeply. I sighed. I need more of this too. Hope Alex can hang around for a while… would be nice to have all of them around. Soon.

This very situation is why I’m going to rip Nightmare’s horn off her head and impale her own head on it…

“This…it’s all for my family…” I thought to myself, really hoping that all my training and even the training I’m going to get is enough to face off against a god-like entity.

To be continued...

Chapter 14

After a nice day of hanging out with my children and…a rather steamy night with Polka Dot, Derpy and Alex, especially when Alex decided to give them pointers and also…new lewd clothes…

Today was the day I traveled to the Zebra Lands to visit two Arrancars that I sensed a while back…but something about when I sensed it…I heard Claire’s voice…

“Is something wrong?” Derpy asked.

“I…thought I heard Claire’s voice a while back.” I answered carefully.

“So another herd mate? Cause you always talked about how much you loved her and…well, how I reminded you of her.” Derpy brought up.

"Yeah…I loved her dearly, and I think she loved me too considering how much time we spent together…but I never knew if she really did because of all my mental issues and my Nightmare twins stuck in my head…” I sighed.

“Do you think she’s out there, over in the Zebra Lands?”

“Well…when I sensed around I felt two Arrancar’s in the Zebra Lands…and…and I heard her voice calling to me.” I said carefully.

“You think she’s been on Equis as long as you have, and is the same as you… well, same as you before the whole reborn into a Death Wolf super Floof?”

“Well…if she was transported here based on what she was cosplaying like me then yes.” I nodded.

“Well, go find her.” Derpy said. “Sounds like you two are in for a long overdue reunion.”

“Yeah…” I nodded. “And…I’m sure she would love to meet all of you.” I admitted.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go.” Derpy chuckled. “Catch up and then bring her home.”

“Alright.” I chuckled and gave Derpy a quick kiss. “Love you Derpy.”

“Love you too, and it makes me really glad that you’re so much happier now.”

“Yeah…it feels a lot better to be happy like this.” I said with a warm smile. “All thanks to Mom that I got a fresh start…”

I gave Derpy another quick kiss before I left. I shifted back into my Starrk form since I feel I should transition Claire into knowing about my whole… second life thing.

Flying there was easy, thankfully and I landed at a coastal village that seemed to be fairly modern. Brick houses with clay tile roofs, a large dock with boats and cobblestone roads. It was nice, but I did notice the architecture was very nice. Despite being made from brick the houses all were unique in their designs and shapes.

“Uh, pardon me, but who might you be?” One of the locals, a zebra mare with a pin in the shape of an eye, was on her left ear.

“My name is Coyote Starrk, and I’m here to see some…important individuals.” I said. “Have you seen anyone with this bone like object on their heads?” I pointed to the ‘jaw’ part of my Hollow Mask that was down near my neck.

“I have not, but stories from inland, there is talk. A being like you walking on two legs and a zebra like me with their face decayed.” She informed.

“And which way did they go?” I inquired, knowing I could sense the both of them but wanting to at least be kind to the local.

“South east is a town called Trees, there for little over a year both beings live free.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “And before I go, what’s your name ma’am?”

“Zi’kara.” She said

“It’s nice to meet you Zi’kara.” I nodded. “And what’s the name of this town? As you can see I’m…not from around here.”

“This town is called Clamrock, as you can imagine, it’s namesake is…” She paused, trying to find the words… “Fuck. Can’t figure out how to make it rhyme…” She sighed. “Sorry if it was annoying by the way, it’s usually a traditional thing and my parents have been on me lately to talk more in the old ways of rhyme.”

“Trust me, I understand and I still have no idea how Zecora does it so seamlessly.” I chuckled, having met the Zebra from time to time and wondering how she was so good at rhyming.

“Oh you know Zecora? How is she? I haven’t heard much since she left.”

“She’s doing well last time I saw her, her potion brewing has been helping the folks in Ponyville.” I shrugged. “Friend’s with Zecora?”

“She’s a bit of a local celebrity. First in our town to graduate from the Priestess Academy and first to sail towards Equestria. Lot of magical herbs and such there but they’re all in very dangerous areas.”

“Yeah, and considering she’s in a very dangerous area, the Everfree Forest, I’d say she’s doing her job rather well.” I chuckled.

“Heh, she was always a badass. Considering her dad is a retired Knight Captain, not surprised. Anyway yeah just head east towards Trees Village and you’ll probably run into those two rather quick.”

“Thank you Zi’kana.” I nodded. “And it was nice to meet you.”

“You too Coyote Starrk.”

I headed east and walked through the town. Once I was out of the town proper I took flight again.

After just a half hour of flying I found what I believe to be Trees Village. It was the only place here that seemed to have gigantic trees that grew up to a mile high and were as thick as football fields. It was a strange sight that was very out of place, especially since there were trees of all kinds here, not just what I think should be native to the land. Yet they’re all here and growing extremely healthily.

The lumber set up told me what this place does for a living.

“Alright…now let’s see where those two beings are…” I hummed, trying to sense where the two Arrancar are in this area.

I landed near the trees, and immediately the earth opened up under me, pinning me into itself and leaving my head out.

“Well, this is a surprise.” Turning I saw a Zebra stallion, his upper head, from halfway down his muzzle and up had a skull like helmet over his head. His ears poked out of some convenient holes and his green eyes looked at me with a smirk. “And here I thought Claire was the only creature like you around.”

“You know Claire?” I asked quickly. “I can start asking important things in a bit…Claire is my most important point here.”

“Oh she’s been here for over a year. Nice girl, little lonely, can’t use her powers for shit.” He stated. “So, I take it you’re Mike then? She goes on and on about you sometimes.”

“Yes, I am Mike.” I nodded. “Where is she? I have…so much to talk about…” I said, hoping she is okay and also hoping she wouldn’t mind me having a harem…which I’m sure she’d be happy about but I’m not sure…

“Probably at her house drinking tea, reading bad erotic romance novels and contemplating whether or not to finally buy something from the local adult toy store.” He shrugged. “I’m Leaf by the way.”

“Mike, or Coyote Starrk.” I answered. “And where would her house be?”

“In the village, tallest building in town cause, she’s taller than anyone else in town.”

Right, we are like, twice their height.

“Right…thank you, I’ll be right back.” I said as I vanished from his sight as I looked around for the specific building.

Free and in town proper I began looking around for Claire’s house. Tall building, tall building…

I spotted a house, all log, single story that stood towering over the others near it. Bingo!

I rushed over to the front door, lightly padded some dust off of me and took a deep breath as I knocked on the door, giving our ‘secret knock’ to show her it was me.

“Coming!” I heard her voice call out, hearing some shuffling as the door opened…and showed Nelliel Tu Odelschwank…the very same character she cosplayed back home. “The hell is Coyote Starrk doing here?” She blinked in surprise.

“Claire…” I said, seeing her eyes widen as she heard my voice. “It’s…it’s me, Mike.”

“M-Mike?” She asked in shock and awe. “It’s…it’s really you?”

“Yes…it’s really me.” I said with a smile. “And…I’m going to do something I should have done for a long time.” I said, pulling my best friend, my companion, the first person I loved and would have died for…into a hug and a passionate kiss, a kiss that I…and apparently her by the fact she immediately wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me deeper into it, have been waiting for.

Just like with Derpy, with Polka Dot, and with Alex…I felt my heart feel full, my entire body feeling at peace with the one I truly loved, feeling my undead heartbeat with theirs as we just stood there, in her doorway just unapologetically sharing this most important moment of our lives…but given how much I’ve grown accustomed to such actions, and how much Polka Dot and Derpy loved to shapeshift…the want to feel the love between us was a little off put by the fact her breasts were squishing against me and I felt how…big they were…”They’re almost bigger than Derpy’s…” I thought to myself…even though I heard her squeak a bit. “Body why!?!” I mentally whined as my body betrayed me.

“Well…I see someone’s eager to see me.” Claire giggled.

“I don’t know why my body is betraying me.” I said sheepishly.

“And currently I’ve been reading cheesy romance lewd novels and wondering if I should get a dildo to get something, and considering how suddenly forward you are, I’m not going to let you flake out on me.” She said, grabbing me by my collar and pulling me in side rather quickly.

The last thing the outside world heard was the threatening giggles of a woman in need, the whimpering of a man who doesn’t want his hips broken, and a closed door.

So…twelve hours later, a very broken bed, burned bed sheets, and one very satisfied lady later…me and Claire were sitting in the living room and trying to think of what to say after…all of that. “So…” I coughed, trying to get this conversation started.

“Is it alright to assume I might be pregnant after all… that?” She asked

“I mean…” I blushed brightly. “Maybe…we were at it for…with breaks…ten hours straight…” I said sheepishly, honestly surprised how she wasn’t…’bloated’ as it were from all of that. “So…what have you been up to for the past year?”

“Well, Leaf has been trying to help me figure my powers out, but I honestly suck at them, so much so I somehow accidentally turn into my Resurreccion form with no reason given. I learned how to not accidentally use them but that’s about it. Other than that I work part time in the lumber yard and spend my days reading trash romantic porn and occasionally go to this one bar that’s really chill. Other than that I hang out with Leaf from time to time.”

“Well, I can help you out with learning your powers if you like.” I said honestly. “I’ve had…a lot of time to practice due to reasons I’ll get to.” I said sheepishly. “But trash romantic porn? I thought you were into more classy porn.” I joked.

“Psst, all porn is honestly trash, it all just depends on how it’s written that depends on what quality of trash it is.” She chuckled. “But, no thanks. Honestly I’m alright. Not even sure why I’m here, in this body.” She sighed.

“You…don’t know?” I asked in shock.

“Pfft, of course I know.” She said. “Do you…remember how you got here?”

“I…the pistols you bought for me that finished my Starrk cosplay…I…I accidentally shot someone in the leg, even though they were supposed to be fake…then I…” I did the finger guns to my temple.

“Yeah…when I heard the second bang, I saw you just…vanish, into thin air.” She sighed. “You were gone and I didn’t know what happened…but then Genie and Demon showed up and told me what I needed…so I’m here, not really knowing how to use my powers, but have sometimes done some really cool things with said powers by accident…” Claire sighed. “And…maybe you can help, but I don’t want to learn stuff right now…I want to get to know what the hell happened to you.”

“It’s…it’s a long story…from the time I got here, to my…technical third life…” I said sheepishly. “The first step is to show you…” I said, turning into my Death Wolf form

“... Fluffy!” She said, immediately jumping up and scratching my ears. “Who’s a good boy?!”

Curse you itchy spot and wagging tail! And leg, stop shaking in joy!

“Nuu~!” I whined, blushing in embarrassment even as I was enjoying all the ear scritches.

“I always knew you were a huge Furry but now you finally achieved the dream of all Furries.” She said, now scratching my neck.

“S-says the furry that’s gonna live the dream of a furry.” I groaned happily at the neck scratches, trying to get some semblance of control here.

“My centaur form doesn’t count.” She chuckled.

“T-talking about you getting plowed by an anthro.” I corrected.

“Pst. You forget the horny porn stuff was more your thing. I just found them all super adorable. Though I guess after a while I could see you being sexy and adorable in this form.”

“And…well I can see how happy you are with me being like this.” I said. “So…uh…I have some confessions to make…”

“You’re in a harem with at least one femboy?” Claire guessed.

“How in the fuck did you know?” I asked incredulously.

“Boy, I have seen your browser history.”

“Why must you betray me like this?” I whined. “I thought you loved me?” I asked dramatically.

“I do, all your perversions and obliviousness and all.” She laughed. “But seriously, I’m glad you finally got laid. Little sad I wasn’t your first but it’s good nonetheless.”

“Either way…are you okay with the harem bit?”

“I’m the one that got you into harems so yes.”

“Well…fair.” I nodded. “So, you're probably wondering how and why I…turned into this and who my harem is?”

“Those are indeed questions I have yes.” She nodded.

“So…let’s start with my growing harem, first is Derpy Hooves, she’s an adorable gray furred pegasus that…honestly reminded me a lot of you…” I said honestly. “The way she talked, acted…how cute she was…she was like you, but a cute pegasus.” I started. “Then Polka Dot, a Knowledge Changeling who joined in because…well it started with some casual fun then became a whole thing…” I said sheepishly. “Then…Alex, the femboy Angel…” I said sheepishly. “Which…talking about him needs me to talk about my other life with my mom Crescent.”

“I mean, first there’s a pony version of me? That’s cool…so was I technically your first time by magic proxy?”

“I…suppose so.” I said sheepishly. “So…back to story time.”

“Go on.” She nodded.

I sighed, before telling her the story of what happened when I got here, and the life I had with Mom, all the new friends I made, all the training I had to do…the dangers with Nightmare and Andy and Ann…then talked about my life with Mom, all that fun stuff that helped me get my life back together, feeling so much happier and forward with life…but I was so into storytelling I also…told her about all the sex I had with Derpy, Polka Dot and Alex…for some reason I couldn’t help myself with all that nonsense…

“Wow… that’s hot.” She said.

“Derpy and Polka Dot said the same thing.” I sighed. “But…what about the rest of the story of my brand new life?”

“Well, it would be nice to meet your new mom. So, I guess when we can or after this whole Nightmare, Ann and Andy thing, I can meet her.”

“Well…I suppose you meeting her in her actual form would make sense, but she’s around here in her chibi form.” I admitted.

“A chibi form? That’s adorable.” Claire chuckled. “Well, since we ended up doing it for so long, wanna actually sleep given…” She pointed out the window, seeing it was now night outside.

“Yeah…sleeping would be nice.” I yawned. “And…maybe tomorrow we can go on a date? It’s been a year for you and…nineteen years for me.”

“Heh, sure… huh, this makes you… thirty seven. My my Mike, should such an older man be conventing a young lady like me~” Claire teased.

“I’ve waited too long for this.” I said, leaning over and taking her hand. “And I’m happy to be here with you Claire.”

“My, you sure became chivalrous~ Do I owe your new mother or Alex the thanks?”

“Mostly Mom, cause she gave me a fresh start and…well, also helped with the fact that I’m…hopefully not housing a demon of rage and murder in my head that was spawned there after I uh…did the thing…” I said sheepishly.

“Oh yeah, that…’Insanity’ thing right?” Claire asked, her teasing mood dropping a bit at remembering that explanation.

“Yeah…but I had a happy childhood, a fresh start to life and…I got to experience all the joy and wonder I thought I couldn’t, and now I can share it with you after all this time.”

“Heh, looks like I owe her a lot then. You know, I do like this form of you a lot more than you as Starrk. This feels more like you.”

“What? Being a cute fluff ball snek hybrid?” I asked.

“The fact that your race is still called a ‘floof noodle’ is hilarious and adorable.” Claire giggled.

“Yeah I know.” I chuckled.

“Come on now, let’s get some sleep.” She said, motioning to the bed that was now on the floor and rather… flat. “Heh… guess I’ll need to get a new mattress tomorrow.”

“Well,” I said, getting down on the ground and lightly patting my chest. “For now, you have the fluffiest bed imaginable right now.”

“Heh, you sure? The floor is solid ground so your back might hate you in the morning.”

“I’ve had to fall asleep in worse places to be perfectly honest.” I admitted.

“Heh, if you say so. Just try not to roll over alright?” She asked, picking up her blanket and a small pillow before leaning and finally laying on top of me. “Heh, not gonna lie, you’re comfy. Might just enjoy this a lot in the winter.”

“I know.” I said with a smile. “This is nice.” I said, gently wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

“And this is the Library, and that’s the cafe, and over there is this corn stand that makes some really tasty corn based food.” Claire said as she was giving me a tour of the town she had called home for the last year.

“That’s cool.” I nodded, walking around the place. “Also…why a random corn stand?”

“Ya know the Potato Famine thing back on earth? Yeah they had something similar but with Corn and it’s become a staple food item here in the zebra lands rivaled only by Wheat and Figs.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So what made you decide to stay here?” I inquired.

“Well, I woke up about half a mile from here. At first the villagers were a bit weary of me but Leaf showed up, noticed we were similar and just vouched for me. Once he did they opened up to me and… this place is nice, it’s like back home on earth, but tolerant and without all the Fox News.”

“Which is great.” I nodded in agreement. “So where have you trained at? Cause I’m sure you’ve done quite a bit.”

“Well, it would be half a mile away where I’ve been learning EarthBending…somehow.” She admitted. “Leaf is a master at it.”

“Oh really?” I asked.

“Yes, you have your next master you Avatar loving nerd.” Claire giggled.

“Hey, Avatar was a great TV show.” I countered with my own smile.

“Heh, you know, if you grew up in a crazy powerful family of gods I’m amazed you didn’t do all this training while there. You could probably have even made or gotten your own Avatar State.” Claire chuckled.

“I mean…I probably can…” I said, bringing up my Assistant which I learned had a Skill Tree in it, which I weirdly never bothered using because I was more preoccupied with my own natural abilities and all that.

“Pst. Nerd. So, there’s not much else to see around here.”

“Alright, and you said you can EarthBend? How good are you at that?” I inquired.

“I mean, it’s a bit more than just earth bending.” She said, floating a rock up from the ground, then it cracked as a dandelion grew out from inside it.

I blinked. “That’s new.” I said in surprise.

“How else do you think all those giant trees grew?” She asked, motioning to the giant tree forest behind the village. “Leaf grew them. Only took him a day.”

“Ya know…when I started this, the Avatar reference was more so a joke…but now I think it’s kind of taunting me at this point.” I said, feeling like that giant ass tree was supposed to be the ‘Mother Tree’ in that swamp episode. “So…cool.”

“So, I take it you’re gonna want to go talk with Leaf now huh?”

“Well, gotta learn my earthbending sooner or later.” I shrugged. “But date first, I did the promises.” I said playfully.

“Heh, alright. So, shall we go get a coffee then?”

“Sure, coffee it is.” I nodded. “Got a place in mind?”

“The place over here has an awesome caramel frappuccino with almond chunks.”

“So we’re effectively going to Starbucks?” I asked.

“Heh, I mean, it’s not a chain that seems to have an unspoken rule of having a store at every street corner.” She laughed. “Plus they also are one of the few places here that sell food items with protein.”

“Cool.” I nodded. “Off to get some good coffee.”

The coffee place was nice, tasty drinks and pastries.

I enjoyed our simple date. It was all I wish I could have done before back on earth.

We finished it up with a kiss before I left to find Leaf-

Something wrapped around my leg, dragging me high into the air and hung me high up into the tree branches. I saw Leaf laying on their back on one of these branches. Looking down… up, I saw it was a vine wrapped around my leg.

“Hey.” Leaf said.

“Hi there.” I said to the Zebra Arrancar.

“You two are loud.”

“We tried not to be…” I said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Leaf laughed. “I think you two were heard all the way in Equestria.”

“I…doubt that…” I said sheepishly, but when I heard ‘ding’...I worriedly pulled up my Assistant and saw it was…both Derpy and Alex both mentioning to tone it down…”Damn it…”

“So, shall we begin the training you obviously want to go through?”

“Yes please.” I nodded. “So…I can see that Earthbending here is a tad more…broad then just working rock’s and stone.”

“Duh.” He smirked. “Lesson one,” He said, throwing me something. I caught it, and saw it was a small acorn. “Grow that into a tree to get down.”

“Uh…how?” I asked. “Is it like…infusing my spirit energy into it and hoping for the best?”

“Oh boy this is gonna be good.” Leaf chuckled. “So, what do you know of earth ponies wolf man?”

“They’re more connected to nature, physically stronger than Pegasi and Unicorns…and that’s kind of about it given I’ve never really delved into either biology or really get into their magics.” I said honestly.

“Well crash course, Earth Ponies use their magic to speak to nature. They make it grow and help it stay healthy though speaking via magic. You can do the same with your energy but be careful, if you aren’t nice then they might retaliate, or die, both are possible.”

“Right…” I muttered, trying to use my spiritual energy to try and…talk to the seed. “Hello?” I tried to mentally talk to the thing so I didn’t look like a weirdo talking to the seed.

“...hello?” A voice, well, not really a voice but maybe… an echo or… something, replied. Copying me. Yet confused.

“Hi there.” I said to the acorn. “How are you?”

“How are… You? Hi there.” It repeated.

So…I’m literally teaching a newborn how to speak…crap…”I am good, are you good?”

“I am good, are you good?” It repeated again.
This is going to…take a while…”Yes, I am good, do you know what you are?” I mentally asked.

This is going to be a…long day…

To be continued...

Chapter 15

I sat just outside the town. It had been about two months. My training was going well but slow. For some reason this Earth stuff is more difficult than I expected.

“Yeesh, never thought it would be this difficult.” I said, scratching my head as I tried to get better at my Earth magic.

"Eh, you're doing good." Leaf said, laying on their back next to me and looking up at the sky.

“Do you even care about my training here?” I asked carefully, finding these two months with Leaf…strange with how he’s been acting.

"I find there is little I care about these days. Some days it hits harder than others. Despite that I try and keep a smile on, but all in all, putting effort into anything is… difficult." Leaf said.

… Okay I wasn't expecting that.

“Well…wasn’t expecting that…” I muttered. “So, what about you? What’s your story.” I asked, slowly raising rock’s around carefully.

"Well, in life I was a twin. My brother and I got along well. How could we not. We lived simple, but hard lives farming the lands we were born on and just getting by day by day. Sadly, that all came to an end when some raiders came to the village."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I said carefully, given how each one of the Arrancars's deaths I've heard never ended on a good note…

"We were stabbed, and thrown into a hole that was being dug in hopes it would be a well. My brother and I bled out in that hole, it was dark and… we woke up some time later."

We?

“Wait…you and your brother…both turned into Arrancar?” I asked carefully.

"Yeah. The both of us are of Earth." Leaf said with a nod.

“And…where would your brother be?” I asked curiously.

"Still in the hole."

“And where’s the hole?” I asked carefully. “Also, why didn’t you help your brother get out of the hole?” I asked, finding that a tad sus that he just…left his brother in a hole.

"Oh I did when we first woke up, but I had to lock him in there when Nightmare made me that offer."

I immediately drew my sword and pointed it at Leaf. “Better be quick on the explanation before things get dicey for you.” I said, immediately thinking this bastard locked up their own brother because they joined Nightmare.

"... I am… tired, Have been for a long time. Even when I was alive I was tired. Becoming this… it was like a joke. A laugh at my expense because some cruel cosmic being thought 'I want you to march until I say stop'." Leaf said, sighing. "Nightmare made me an offer, she'll take away my tiredness, my apathy and end it all, and all I had to do was feed her information about you, whatever I learned from Claire over the last few years, and do my part when you came along here."

“So…at the end of the day, you decided to make that ‘cosmic joke’ more real by following Nightmare?” I asked bluntly.

"Better to work with a demon I can see, a demon I know, than one that hides behind a faceless, voiceless visage of myself. Do I regret making the deal, yes, obviously. I miss my brother. A deal however is a deal. Even if her promises are empty and hollow, it's better that that pitt that just would stare at me, draining me of all my wills and joys not even bothering to make me think I'm worthless, just made me feel so empty."

“And there’s nothing I can do to make you see reason and stop this before it gets out of control?” I asked.

"Part of me wishes, but that isn't possible. I'm bound by our deal." Leaf sighed, sitting up and I put my blade to their neck. "Claire is a nice girl. I am glad you found here, truly. It's the happiest she's been since I've known her."

“I’m…glad you didn’t hurt her, and tried to train her…” I admitted. “Where’s the hole?”

"Three miles east of here. I can't stop you from getting him out can I?"

“Is your contract binding you to fight me?” I asked.

"No. Nightmare knows I'll lose…" He sighed, looking off to the distance. "I genuinely loved this village…"

The eruption behind me was only second to the immediate scent I knew all to well from my training with the Grim Reapers. The smell of Death. Early, unused time and life fading immediately.

I turned… it looked like roots raised out from the ground all around the village… and they skewered through every zebra villager… even the children…

No one was spared…

I turned, blade raised but saw Leaf was gone.

“Motherfucker…” I growled. “Shit…” I growled, rushing off to find Claire as I hoped to Mom that she was okay.

I ran through the roots that raised high into the air like vines. Blood was soaking the dirt and dripping like rainfall. I could hear crying ahead. Carefully, I moved through the roots and corpses, finding Claire on the ground in tears. She looked unharmed but she was covered in the blood of Zebras.

I immediately grabbed and pulled Claire into a hug, a tight hug. “It’s alright…it’s going to be alright Claire, I’m here.” I said softly, trying to use my presence and soft words to try and help her relax. “Just…just focus on me…”

She held onto my right and continued to cry. How could she not… everyone in the place she called home for the past few years just died in front of her…

“It’s…it’s going to be alright…” I said softly…

“Ms Claire? Mr. Starrk?” We both turned around…seeing two Zebra children…the mask’s…oh no…”Wh-what happened?”

“C-Canto…Sangoma…” I said slowly, seeing them both…turned into Hollow’s…

“A-are you okay?” Sangoma, the zebra mare that wanted to grow up to be a great Shaman, asked worriedly. “You’re…covered in blood…”

I… how? I…I thought they had to go through the Soul Chain not…immediately into that…”W-we’re fine…” I said carefully.

"C-come here. Please." Claire managed to say, the two foals doing so and she hugged them both tight, still crying.

"We're here Ms. Claire." Sangoma said as she hugged her back.

"We promised to make you proud of us." Canto said readily, hugging back as well.

I got us all cleaned up and Claire and the two foals I took with me to Polkadot's. It was… a mess.

Claire was being comforted and getting to know Derpy, Polkadot and Alex. I had to take the foals to a specialist… back home to see if there was anything worrying about them suddenly turning to Hollows.

The doctor here was apparently a specialist with undead species. He was some kind of Litch, that much I knew.

"Hmm… interesting." He hummed as he looked the zebra foals over.

"What's interesting?" I inquired.

"Well, the children are indeed Hollows. There is however a unique mutation."

"What kind of mutation?" I asked. "Is it dangerous or something?"

"On the contrary. It actually rather beneficial." The Litch Doctor said. "From what I know of Hollows, they usually feast on souls, making them an immediate target for Vasto Lords and Grimm Reapers to execute." He started. "However, the nature of their world and reality has altered this. Rather than needing to feast on souls to survive, they feast on magic."

"Well…I suppose that makes sense, given the kind of world Equis is." I admitted. "So, they just feed off the ambient magic in the world and will be fine?"

"To survive and grow they will need direct nourishment. Luckily, mana potions can do fine. A bottle of B grade mana potion should last them a day."

"Right…" I said carefully. "So…gonna need a lot of Mana to keep them fed and growing…hope I have the money for it either here or back home…" I frowned, cause while I was getting payed by Luna it wouldn't last forever.

I picked the foals up… I never actually did work for the Reapers before heading back to Equis… I just went right back after graduation.

Hmm… I'd rather not but… maybe I can ask mom?

I sighed, deciding to call up mom for some advice here, as I know I can’t just ask her for everything but at least Advice is good and safe.

"Yes hun?" Mom asked as she picked up.

“Hey so…I need some advice on taking care of two new adoptive kids…” I said carefully.

"What kind of advice?"

“So…both of my kids are Hollow’s now, and they need a lot of Mana to survive and grow…but I don’t know if the ambient mana in Equis is enough and also…I uh…don’t really have the money to get them the stuff they properly need.” I said sheepishly.

"I'm assuming you'll wanna feed them Mana Potions then, or at least food items that are notorious for their high mana contents. If that's the case I can get you whatever they'll need."

“Thanks mom, you're the best.” I said with a smile. “I…know your not allowed to join in too much with my nonsense here…but thank you.”

“Who’s pretty lady's voice?” Sangoma asked innocently.

“That…would be your grandmother.” I admitted.

"Now those sound like sweet children's voices." Mom said, chuckling. "Well if you want me to meet them before they're all grown up you best hurry up with that Nightmare entity. I'll send the potions to your Assistant."

“Thanks mom, and yeah, Sangoma and Canto…two…innocent children turned into Hollow’s because someone was Deal Bound to do horrible things…” I said carefully.

"You're welcome, and please, take care."

Mom hung up. I sighed. I felt guilty having to ask her but I guess it's better in the end. Ah, there's my shipment of potions she sent to… me… holy…

One Million SS Rank Mana Potions Gifted to Mike from Mom.

… Not even gonna ask how she has so many, let alone SS Rank…

“Uh…sure.” I said honestly. “That’s…that’s a lot of potions…” I blinked, unsure of what would happen if I gave them one of these potions, either mana poisoning because of an overdose or they somehow phase out of existence due to it somehow acting like some stupidly strong sugar for these kids.

I took one bottle out, letting the two share it. Thankful they didn't phase out of existence nor did they get mana poisoning. They just each gave a burp then drifted off to sleep almost like newborns.

Guess SS Rank would be like them eating twice their weight in magic.

I sighed, but smiled.

Once I was back on Equis I dropped the foals with Claire and rushed back to the Zebra Lands.

Finding the hole where Leaf imprisoned their brother was easy. Once upon a time it was almost a water well, the stone foundation at least was built but it was covered with an unnatural metal lid that reaked of dark magic. Likely Nightmare's doing.

“Alright, let’s see…” I muttered, immediately just grabbing it and trying to pry it off the well.

Thankfully, it was pulled off without issue. Inside was an all metal interior that-

A blur jumped out of the darkness below. Turning I spotted a Zebra stallion land and start happily hugging the ground. "Oh sweet fresh air and freedom…" They said happily.

They were identical to Leaf in every day save his bones were part of his lower jaw and neck.

“Uh…howdy there.” I said sheepishly. “I uh…you doing okay?”

"One moment… I haven't tasted fresh air or seen sunlight in some years…" They stated.

“Take your time.” I nodded.

I stood as he seemed to just take in the air and dirt for a while before he finally stood back up and turned to me. "I am Branch, if you have freed me I take it my brother…"

“Leaf…” I sighed. “Leaf told me his story, then murdered the entire Wood Village…” I shook my head.

"He-WHAT?!?!?!" Branch shouted.

“He said he was Deal Bound to Nightmare…he knew he couldn’t win fighting me so he…distracted me…as two children turned into Hollows because of it.”

"Oh Leaf… what have you gotten yourself into…" Branch said, sighing as he turned down to face the ground. "I can't apologize enough for my brother's actions. Let alone the lives he took."

“He said he loved the village…I’m sure he never wanted to do this but he was bound by his deal…somehow.”

"It's… likely that demonessess magic at play…" Branch said. "My brother is many things… but a murderer…"

I sighed. “The only person he left alive was my girlfriend Claire, who he trained for a year and befriended but…” I sighed. “It’s…he told me everything he could before leaving…”

"Knowing my brother, he took the deal because he was spiraling. When we were alive I always worried about him. And he hated when we became what we are now. Sure, for a time he enjoyed the powers, but it was a short lived distraction."

“Yeah…he explained it all to me, how much he didn’t want this life, how he felt like he was in some ‘cosmic joke’ and all that…he was tired.”

"My brother has always been battling his own demons. I am just shocked he'd choose to work with one."

"He said he would rather know the face of the god like being making fun of him then some faceless nobody." I brought up.

"Heh… that sounds like Leaf…"

“So…how do you want to deal with Leaf?”

"I… do not know. I need to process this…"

“Alright.” I nodded, not wanting to ask him for training this soon cause…there’s a lot to process. “Want to head back to my place to get something to eat and drink?”

"N-no thank you. I just… need to process this alone…"

“Take as long as you need.” I said softly.

To be continued...

Chapter 16

It had been a month since the whole mess with Leaf. I spent most of it with Claire, helping her cope with what happened and look after our two newest additions to the family. The kids from what I have seen, so long as they drink at least a small cup of the mana potion a day are fine in terms of not needing anything else. They can still eat normal foods though, but they describe them as tasting watered down even when they aren’t. A little of the mana potion put into or on what they are eating/drinking seems to fix that issue. Guess their odd semi-Hollow-like biology has some quirks.

Branch was coping, if barely. Still, today he, Claire and I were ready and he was going to teach us some earth bending stuff.

“Now then, how much did Leaf tell or teach you two about?” Branch asked.

“He told me to speak to a Seed and try and help it grow.” I said honestly.

“And he taught and told me a lot more about that, talking to Nature, earth bending and the like…but when it came to Hollow Powers he didn’t really know much, especially when I transformed into my Resurreccion form.”

“Yes that makes sense…” Branch sighed. “You see, there are two sides to the Earth, the gentle life giving side, and the strength and power of the ground and land. Leaf and I were two sides of the same power. He could control and make plants grow even in environments where they did not simply by speaking to them, and I can reshape the very lands and even create volcanoes.” Branch said.

“Oh…” Claire blinked.

“That’s really cool.” I admitted. “And…jeez you must be really strong with Earth magic to create Volcanoes.”

“Actually, Leaf is stronger than I. Anyone can use what I can do to fight, use even magic to reshape a land and pull forth magma, but it takes something special to breath life into a lifeless place, to grow anything in infertile land. It’s ironic really, Leaf’s power is a reflection of how life always finds a way, yet all he wanted to do was end his…”

“Well…I suppose that makes sense.” I nodded.

“He…seemed to have some form of happiness when I was around though…” Claire admitted. “Even if he was…still depressed.”

“Maybe. But I suppose the first thing you should know about my kind of Earth is that it takes pure willpower to perform what I do.”

“Cool.” I nodded. “So how do we start this?”

“Will the earth to move, with your body, mind, and soul all working in unison. It might take some time, but eventually the earth will move to your wills.”

The both of us nodded, as I closed my eyes and tried to feel the Earth, wanting to get a feel for this before trying to force my will onto the earth.

It felt almost similar to what Leaf had me do, but rather than trying to speak to the infant seedlings and seeds, instead I was facing the mass of old yet… mindless earth that was rock, dirt, magma. It didn’t have the same feel exactly, but it felt more… susceptible.

With a deep breath, I raised my hand up, a chunk of the ground before me floated up. So cool!

“This is awesome.” I said with a smile, looking over and seeing Claire doing the same thing.

“Yeah this is really cool.” Claire said with an equally happy smile.

“Good, you are taking to this quicker than I was expecting. Now, try and turn the earth you are carrying into magma. To do this, you must use both emotion and willpower together.” Branch said.

I nodded…but then immediately noticed that the rock Claire was holding immediately turned to magma. “Uh…that was fast.” I blinked.

“I have…a lot of pent up anger…” Claire said carefully.

“I expected such. You two catch on fast to this kind of earth manipulation.”

“Yeah…a little surprised at how fast we got this…” I said carefully. “But finer control of this can’t be that simple…”

“Well, that depends on you two I suppose.” Branch shrugged. “The most I can lift with my Will Power is a tower of earth the size of Canterlot Mountain. In terms of Volcanoes, I don’t actually know how big of one I could make. Didn’t want to accidentally cause a disaster.”

“Yeah I doubt we can do that.” I admitted. “Cause we just started learning Earth Bending here, just because Will and the like is there, control is important right?”

“Of course, but mostly it’s more important when working with Magma. Given it takes emotions to create and call as well as Will, if you lose yourself to those emotions and let your Will falter, then you can potentially create a disaster.”

“Uh…so should I be worried as to why this thing is glowing brighter?” Claire asked, as the both of us looked over and saw the ball of magma…starting to pulse…oh dear.

“So…about that ‘disaster’ bit…” I said nervously.

“Well, when I was testing my powers first and using Magma, I at least was by the coast and accidentally made a small island.” Branch said.

“That’s not good.” I said quickly.

“And can someone help me before this turns into a bomb?” Claire asked weakly, holding her hands out to try and keep it contained but it didn’t look too happy about that.

Branch walked over to it, walking right up to it until his muzzle was next to it. He then blew, like one would blow on a candle and the ball of magma cooled instantly into rock. “There you go.”

Claire sighed thankfully as the rock fell to the ground. “Thank you, that was…really concerning.”

“Yeah…I know you’re pissed but damn.” I said sheepishly.

The training with Branch was going very smoothly. Whether that's because his style of earth bending was easier or if Claire and I had an aptitude for it was still up in the air.

Now that I had some freedom with training going well, it was date night. My girls, and lovely femboy Alex were all excited for some one on one time. First date night was Derpy, who I hadn't had alone time with in… well, technically over eighteen years.

“Alright my adorable pegasus, what would you like to to today?” I asked with a smile.

"Heh, been a while since we had a date night. Maybe start off with a walk, maybe catch a movie? There's still a lot of this place I've never seen." Derpy said, sporting a lovely red dress as we walked through the streets of Polkadot's hive.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen a lot of this place either.” I shrugged. “So walk first, then movie.”

"Yeah. So, how's training been?" She asked as we were looking at the various buildings and such around.

“Going rather smoothly to be honest.” I admitted. “While the Earth bending is easy…it’s everything surrounding it that’s kind of getting me and Claire.”

"How so?"

“Well, it’s all about Will and Intent, got to have the mind, body and soul all working together…while it seems simple from the get go there have been some…complications.” I said sheepishly.

"Did something happen?"

“Well…let’s just say there've been a few too many ‘close calls’ when it comes to balls of magma almost exploding…but funnily enough all our nonsense gave our training grounds some really stupid good fertile soil because of it.”

"Well, that's good at least. So, I've been wondering Mike, what's your life been like in the other place you got your new fluffy wolf body at? Alex has told us some stuff but I wanna hear it from you."

“It’s was…all around great to be honest.” I admitted. “I actually got to meet a Santa Claus when I was a pup.”

"Santa who?"

Right, they don't have that here. It's Hearths Warming, similar but different.

"Right, did I ever tell you about Christmas? My version of Hearths Warming?"

"I don't think so. How similar is it to Hearths Warming?"

"Well, it's overall the same, family spending time together during winter, food, merriment, caroling all that stuff." I shrugged. "Differences are why Hearths Warming and Christmas exist, and also the jolly gift giver himself Santa Claus, a magical being that travels the world in a single night giving gifts to all good boys and girls." I explained.

"So, some random person using magic once a year breaks into your house to give your kids gifts for being good?"

"Not as…criminal as you make it sound, plus he is a Saint so he wouldn't do anything bad." I explained. "And where I come from, at least back on Earth, he's extremely well known so he's not completely random."

"I guess but how does he know if the kid is good or not? Is he stalking them or something?"

“Considering he’s magic, he basically has a ‘detect good and evil’ kind of magic, where he can tell who’s been good and who’s been bad.” I said honestly. “I haven’t really looked into it in…a long time…I know it sounds weird cause of cultural barriers but I promise it’s not weird.”

"Huh. So what kind of gifts does he give?"

“Whatever the kid wishes for basically.” I shrugged. “If they want a new toy, sure, if they want a new scooter, have at it.” I explained. “Now sure…technically back on my world Santa was used more as a scapegoat for parents to have had enough money to buy them the thing they wanted for an entire year but in the other world Santa exists and does the things.”

"Huh. Weird. What about the bad kids then?"

“They either get nothing or a lump of coal.” I said. “Sure you can heat a house with coal, but no kid would be happy about getting a black rock, especially those that were bullies or did other bad things and expected to be rewarded because of it.”

"Huh. That's odd." Derpy hummed. "But if you want we can celebrate it with Hearths Warming come winter?"

“Again, cultural differences, especially when Christmas is a combination of like…four different holidays all mashed together.” I shrugged. “But that would be great.”

"Alright." She nodded.

We arrived at the movies, selecting a simple comedy and it was alright.

When the movie ended we enjoyed a quick walk in the park and a rather… enjoyable make out session in some bushes.

"This is gonna be neat." Polka Dot said with a smirk, wearing her iconic handkerchief around her neck as we walked. "Glad we can go on a date night. Feels like I'm the only one that really hasn't been on that many dates with you."

“Sorry about that.” I said sheepishly.. “Don’t mean leave you or anyone else out on these dates, but do you have anything in mind for today?”

"Yes, there is this awesome gamer cafe I know. Trust me, you'll love it~" She said with a wink.

“Okay, I honestly haven’t been to a gamer cafe in forever.” I said readily.

"It's gonna be amazing, trust me." Polka Dot said.

It was a bit of a walk to the place but we arrived at the cafe, aptly called Fantasy Cafe Offline.

Entering I blinked as I saw various… video game characters all dressed in either tight fit, skimpy, revealing and eye catching outfits.

Males and females.

"Like?" She asked as we walked to and sat at a table.

“Me likey a lot…” I said…my tail being the prime indicator of that as it won’t stop wagging at all this.

"They're all bots. Voices and core personality as well as looks are of course all exact replicas, and for a fee on the menu here," She tapped on the table, it lighting up displaying a menu. "They can be as slutty or cutesi or whatever you wish to make them for your meal. For an extra charge they can even feed you."

“Feeding me is a little much but…oh boy…”

"Well, go ahead." She motioned to the menu. "Pick your favorites and let your little horny teenage self have a field day~" She chuckled.

“R-right…” I said, looking up the many…many bots and wondering which one I should pick cause…yes, I will let my horny teenage self have a field day. “This is incredible.”

"FYI, whoever you pick here is how I'll be looking for the fun after~" Polkadot said, giving me a smirk and a wink.

I gulped.

“Uh…right…” I said carefully, trying to decide on the many different bots.

I ended up picking three. Paid the fees and such for some… warm up… and after, Polkadot kept her word and three rounds in three different forms that made my horny teenage self hit heaven.

These park bushes feel like they're gonna get a lot of uses.

"This place kinda reminds me of home." Alex said as we walked around the hive.

“Well, these changelings have delved into multiversal travel.” I pointed out. “So they might have some fancy thing’s involved after going around it for a while.”

"That would make sense." They nodded. "So, Polkadot was walking rather funny when you two came home early to pick me up and drop her off~"

“W-well…she took me to a Fantasy Cafe and…well, I picked three bots that were some favorite female characters that were…well she made a promise to ‘have fun’ as those three.” I explained sheepishly, blushing at the still fresh memory of plowing them.

"Ah. That means I'm the only man you've ever loved to look at then~?"

“Yes.” I nodded. “Most of the appeal is in the feminine looks and you have that in spades Alex.”

"Heh, so, for what I want to do, we kinda have to get out of the hive." They started.

“Well, I suppose the bushes are going to be getting a break today.” I admitted with a chuckle.

We headed out of the hive. Once we were in the wide open air outside, Alex flew me up to a cloud. My Hollow Magic and some other nonsense I'm sure letting me lay on it like a large bed. Alex then let themselves drop onto me, their wings acting like makeshift blankets as they cuddled against me.

I wrapped an arm around Alex and cuddled back. “This is nice.” I said warmly.

"Yeah. After we go back I'll have to leave for work again. Time dilation finally catching back up back home." They sighed.

“Yeah…but we’re going to be making the best of the time we have.” I admitted.

"Yeah. Lot more time than I initially expected. So… I was wondering… when you beat Nightmare… are the others gonna move in with us back home?"

“Well…maybe.” I said. “I haven’t really asked about that yet but I’m sure they would like to move into our place.”

"Well, it would be better for all your kids, plus… them moving in with us means you won't… outlive them. I know you could visit them in the Afterlife if you did but we both know it's not the same."

“Yeah…even with my little stint with my Griffon teacher was…something…” I blushed at remembering that drunken sexcapade. “It’s…it’s not the same to see my dead family when they could be all alive and well.”

"Afterlife is for the dead. We by definition are still alive even if we can visit them."

“Yeah…” I sighed. “So…best to get them to move in with us.” I nodded.

"Alright then. When I get home I'll get some redecorating and remodeling done of our place." They said, leaning against me. "Till then, just gonna enjoy this."

“Yeah…just gotta enjoy some calm cuddles with my wonderful angel.” I said warmly.

Claire and I laid down in the Hive park. The artificial night sky looked really realistic. It was nice.

"... I don't know what to do Mike…" Claire sighed.

“What do you mean?” I inquired. “Is something wrong?”

"Well, my training with Branch and all my anger… it's not just Nightmare I'm pissed at, it's Leaf too and I hate it because I get all these memories of the years we were friends and… they make me sad and even more mad I just… I'm not sure what I'm gonna do if we face off against him."

“He told me before he did…all of that, that he truly did love the village, that he didn’t want to but…he was forced to because of the deal he made with Nightmare…so at this point it’s either kill him and give him peace like he wants, or save him and smack him upside the head for being a butt.”

"... I'm not sure what to do with those options… can we even save him?"

I sighed, knowing that sometimes there are people that couldn’t be saved as I saw the true criminals or…Bahamut's children…”We can if we try, and if he wants it.” I admitted.

"... This whole mess is a headache…" She sighed, leaning against me some more. "I hope things go well soon."

“I’m sure things will get better…even if it’s all a headache and complicated right now, but I promise things will get better.” I said, wrapping an arm around Claire and holding her close.

"When do you think we'll get to have some form of normal life back?"

“Well…we’re having some form of normal life right now.” I admitted.

"It's not the same. I want to be able to just… wake up, and not have to worry about some she demon trying to destroy the world…"

“That’s fair…but we’re going to get that life back, I promise.”

"I hope it's soon…"

“Whether it’s soon or later…we’ll do this,” I said, gently taking her hand and squeezing it. “Together.”

To be continued...

Chapter 17

“So… how do you use your Hollow powers?” Claire asked me

“So we have at least a base with our Earth Bending.” I started. “It does involve intent, but it’s a lot more control and focus heavy to start with, since you are trying to condense energy to do what you want.” I admitted. “So…let’s start with something basic, like flight.” I started, as I started to slowly float in the air.

Claire snorted. “Ah, yes, the most simplest of powers, flying.”

“Yeah, sounds a lot worse than it is.” I said sheepishly. “So…best I can start with,imagine there’s an invisible platform underneath your feet and you can raise it using the Spiritual Energy.”

“Ah yes I’m just gonna mime my way through this training- what the shit?” She asked, having taking some fake steps up, only to be now three feet in the air. “That worked?”

“Yes.” I chuckled. “So, let’s have a visual aid shall we?” I asked, lowering a hand as I condensed the energy under my feet and showed a platform made of a bone white etheric substance. “This is what’s under your feet but more visible…this is basically spirit magic if that helps.”

“Alright… so you can make it invisible and visible?”

“You can, all you need to do is focus and condense the energy to make it physical.” I said simply. “But you don’t need to make it visible to have the same effect, plus it’s kind of funny to see people’s reactions to you walking on air without wings.” I admitted.

"I see… so the limit to this I imagine is well, imaging and Cero control?"

"For the most part, but there's also other things that you can do with Spiritual Energy." I said honestly. “And it involves our Resurreccion.”

"And remind me what that is? It's been a while."

“Resurreccion is our released form, where we have the totality of our powers since it’s all condensed in our swords.” I said. “Now I’d love to demonstrate but Lillinette is…somewhere and I can only use my Resurreccion when she’s here.” I frowned.

"Huh. Is that why I turned into a centaur once before?"

“Yes.” I nodded, knowing she was a Bleach fan but considering all that’s been happening I understood why. “Now, I want you to bring out your sword and chant ‘Praise, Capricorn Knight’, and that’ll let you fully transform into your form with all the powers involved.”

"But I didn't do that last time."

I tilted my head. “What did you do last time?” I inquired.

"I was just… sparing with Leaf… then poof, suddenly four legs and a horse ass."

“Mind showing how you did it?” I asked, taking a step back to give her some space to do the thing.

"That's the thing. I don't know how I did it." Claire said. "It just happened. Went away after a while, and only popped back up a few times after that."

“Hmm…were you doing anything when it happened?” I asked. “Like focusing on your powers, kicking the ground, what?”

"I mean, Leaf was trying to get me to at least lift from dirt. Then I kicked at the ground a few times then poof, horse butt."

“Show me how you kicked the ground.” I said.

“You just want to see my horse butt don’t you?” Claire teased.

I blushed. “This is for science and understanding, not lewd things.”

Smirking but shrugging Claire kicked at the ground. One. Two. Three. Four-

After the fourth kick there was a flash and some small burst of Cero into the air, and Claire stood there, now in a centaur form.

“Huh…that is…rather interesting.” I said, looking over her carefully. “Yeah, this is your Resurreccion form…I wonder why you could do it like this…” I hummed, lightly rubbing the side of her new barrel gently like I’ve done to Derpy countless times.

"No getting touchy or frisky Mike." Claire spoke up.

“I’m doing neither of those things.” I defended myself as I pulled my hand away from the rather soft fur. “But yeah…have you fought or trained in this form?”

"A little. Moving around in this form is confusing and since this form adds half a ton to me it makes falling feel like a car fell on me and it's just my ass…" She huffed. "How the hell did the anime make this form look so cool?"

“Because the Neilliel in the anime had a lot more experience as a centaur.” I said honestly, circling around her. “But I will say, you are rocking the centaur look hun.”

"... Mike I look exactly like the chick this look belongs to how the hell else would I look?" She asked with a frown.

“Sorry.” I said sheepishly. “So, let’s try to get you more comfortable on four legs, cause I have some experience with it due to my new wolf biology.”

"True, but your front legs/paws also count as your arms and hands. Meanwhile I have all four legs and separate arms."

“Hmm, fair…” I said carefully. “But let’s just get used to moving cause this is the form you’ll be using a lot in fights.” I said honestly.

"Do I have to?"

“Better to know how to move in this form when we get into a fight than not know.” I admitted. “Cause this form increases all your physical and spiritual capabilities by an asston so if your in a pinch it’s always there.” I explained.

"Yay…" She sighed.

“Hey, you have me here to help you every step of the way.” I said…though I just realized I accidentally made a pun here…”Uh…no pun intended.”

"You just want to stare at my horse butt all day." Claire said, sighing but also giving a chuckle.

“I don’t want to stare at your horse butt all day.” I huffed.

"Right… you want to ride it."

“Claire please.” I groaned, blushing brightly as she laughed at my embarrassment.

"Hey, if Derpy is any Indication you already got a thing for it."

“I’m trying to help you walk here, not talk about me liking horse butt.” I groaned. “Just because I like it doesn’t mean I can’t focus on helping you here.”

"Fine fine." Claire waved off. "So what's first?"

“Well, let’s see how much you can walk first before I start helping.” I started, getting my blush and embarrassment under control so I can help my lady.

She took a step, then another, then-

Thud!!

"Ouch…" She groaned from the dirt.

“I see what’s wrong.” I said, helping my centaur back on her feet. “I mean, besides some balance while walking, doing the wrong foot first.” I said, getting them up all the way as I got on all fours. “From what I’ve seen with Derpy and other ponies, and my own personal experience with four ‘legs’, you have to do a rhythm with back foot first, then the same front, then reverse it.” I said, showing off my movement carefully as I did right back, right front, left back, left front.

"Easy for you to say and do. You had over eighteen years experience plus the ponies in this world all only have the four limbs. Well, I guess Pegasus have six with their wings but point is two of these legs are all new which means getting the right one to move when I want isn't exactly easy…"

“Oh trust me…it was a pain in the ass.” I admitted. “So, let’s just take it one step at a time…like…when we were both learning how to dance together.” I admitted, remembering one time our parents got us both to learn how to dance for our stupid school dance…

"You mean when you broke my right pinky toe and then broke your nose when you face planted into the dance floor?"

“It was an accident and it was Johnny’s fault for bumping into us.” I tried to defend myself here for that disaster.

"I'll give you that for my toe but you tripped over yourself when you broke your nose."

"I'm still sorry for the toe…" I sighed. "But we're gonna get you moving like a pro."

"Alright."

Claire's training was slow going but she was making progress. Her controle over Cero was… spotty, but she could manage at times.

Her centaur form was making better improvement with moving around. Especially after Polka Dot gave her some pointers, her being a shapeshifter and all.

With Claire's progress going well I was off to find the Water teacher. I can sense them somewhere out here… in the middle of the ocean…

"Now…where are you…" I muttered, flying around the ocean carefully to spot where they were before diving into said water.

I didn't see anything from up here… so, must be under the water. Figures a water themed one would live under water.

I grumbled, as I dove into the water to start my search there. "Hate getting my fur wet…" I mentally grumbled.

Once under the water I made use of some nifty magic and biology features my new body and second life taught and gave me. Despite darkness below, I could see as clear as day and didn't need to worry about the air or the pressure the deeper I go.

I looked around. I know I can sense them somewhere around here… strange. I should be seeing them now…

"Hello?" I tried to call out with my spirit energy, not using enough to act like I was shouting it but just enough to act like I was talking normally.

"You should not be here…" A voice replied.

"That depends on what you mean by that, cause I'm here to ask to learn how to use Water like you can." I called out carefully.

"You should not be here… because this is private property. Shoo! Out of my section of the ocean!"

"...Really?" I deadpan. "Who are you if I may ask?"

"Azule. Now off my upper ocean space!"

"I need your help though." I told her. "I need to learn Water magic to fight against Nightmare."

"...Who?"

"Nightmare? The thing that possessed Luna and tried to shove everything into eternal night and now wants to murder everything?" I asked.

"... Who's Luna?"

"...Okay where are you?" I asked, swimming around carefully towards where they possibly were. "Cause seeing you physically might explain some things."

"Down."

I looked and swam down. "So what's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh… swimming, then I took a nap."

“And how long was that ‘nap’?” I asked.

"I dunno. Can't see the sun or anything down here so a while maybe?"

I swam down to the ocean floor, finding some various deep sea life and…

I stared at the shark-dragonoid shaped skull looking at me. It's eyes blinking in the darkness as it's body was apparently buried under the seabed.

“Uh…yeah, I think it’s been a long time…” I said carefully. “Do you have any family?”

"Yeah. My parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and a few nieces and nephews."

“Okay…what were some of their names?”

"Rose Bush, Domino Hill, Big Rock, Little Rock, Gentle Branch, Sapphire Hue, Fred, Cricket Kick," She listed off.

“Alright…” I hummed, deciding to check my assistant for the Death Logs as I looked through to see if any of those names were on the list.

Okay let’s see… no, no, no, no, close but no, no, no… oh… oh wow…Okay so… they are all very dead… for over two million years!

They have been down here for that long?!

"Uh…says here you've been down here for…two million years…"

“That sounds like a long time. That is a long time right?”

"That is a very long time." I told her, deciding to look up how this one died.

Let’s see… ah, here it is… fell asleep while swimming and drowned…

"Alright…so why in gods name did you decide to fall asleep while swimming when you can't breath under water?"

“I uh… forgot…”

"Well…I guess that makes sense…" I sighed. "Alright…so let's get you out of there so you can experience things again."

“Yay, movement!” She said. I gripped onto her head and pulled her up… holy… Her body was a mix of pony, dragon, mer-pony and griffon. “Thanks… feels weird to move my limbs… did my legs always bend this way?” She asked as she moved her legs around.

“Well, it’s most likely been two million years since you last moved your body and…huh, you have quite a diverse mix of races.”

“Well duh. Have you never seen a Draconaquis before?”

“Uh…no actually.” I answered.

“Oh. Welp, ta-da!”

“Right…so what can you do as a Draconaquis?” I inquired.

“I… can swim! Or at least… I thought I could… if I fell asleep and drowned then I guess I can’t really swim that well…”

“So either two things happened, you actually couldn’t swim and drowned like you said, or you were really good at swimming but then…you literally just went to sleep for absolutely no reason in the middle of the ocean and you couldn’t breath underwater.”

“Well duh. Everyone knows Draconequis aren’t magic. Of course I can’t breath under water.”

… Something about that feels… incorrect or… not right?

“Uh…that doesn’t make a lick of sense…” I told her. “Like…something about what you said doesn’t make any sense…especially when you’re part mer-pony, you should have gills…”

“I have a tail.” She said, motioning to her fish-like tail.

“...So let’s double back on what you mean by ‘Draconequus aren’t magic’, cause that doesn’t sound correct at all given you’re four different magical creatures shoved into one.”

“Eh. It is just how it is.” She shrugged. “So, now that I’m free, what now?”

“Well, I came here to learn how to use Water magic, and you’re the one of our special race that can do water stuff.” I admitted.

“I am? Like what?” She asked.

I blinked. This is gonna be like my Fire teacher… gonna have to teach them and myself at the same time… Guess I should have expected this if she’s been stuck at the bottom of the ocean for all these years.

Damn it…”Alright, let’s take a step back and talk a bit about your past.”

“Well, I lived on the shoar with my mom, dad, aunts, uncles, and many siblings. I spent my days foraging, farming, fishing, swimming and wondering what the inland areas always looked like but mom and dad always said never to go too far inland so I would rebel and swim out passed in the ocean the distance inland they always said never to go.”

"So then…you swam too far, and you more so died from exhaustion induced drowning than just pure drowning…"

“No I didn’t, I only swam a few hundred feet from the shoar. See-.” She said, pointing towards a part of the seabed that showed just more sand and some bottom feeders. “Huh… Either I moved or the shoreline did cause I used to be able to see that…”

"...I know it's two million years but…if neither of those things happened…." I frowned. "Here, let's get to the mainland…"

I took her griffon-like hand and in an instant we were now on the shoar, above the water.

“AHHHHHHHHHH” She screamed. “The sun is so bright!! Has it always been this bright?!” She yelled as she covered her eyes.

Right… two million years at the bottom of the ocean where no sunlight can reach would… do that… I’m amazed she’s not actually pale. Must be her Hollow biology then.

"I'm so sorry, here drink this." I said, handing her a potion that'll help her eyes.

She reached around, eventually grabbing the potion and drinking it. Once she did she opened her eyes again, blinking a few times and I saw her eyes were… a rather interesting yet pretty yellow with the whites being a shade of red. “Ok that’s better… huh. The beach looks different.” She said, looking around.

"How different?" I inquired, looking around the place as well.

“Looks a little smaller… and there’s way less trees… There also used to be this really nice rock I’d take naps on.” She said, spinning around as she looked.

"Yeah…" I said carefully. "Mind…leading me around this place?"

“Okay… uh… home should be… that way.” She said, pointing a bit north and walking.

While she was leading me I decided to look up her destiny cause…she reeked of lost life and her destiny that…honestly I'm surprised I didn't smell it from home…

I followed behind her until we came across a very secluded cave where there was just as old carvings made in the walls. “Wow. Cave looks like it shrunk.” She hummed.

"Yeah…that's what a few million years does…"

She walked in, looked around and frowned. “Ah boo… did they move out or…” She said as she looked around. “Don’t even see Klick’s weird collection of animal bones.”

I was about to say something, but a ping came from my Assistant as I looked at it to see what her destiny was…and…oh no…"So uh…I have some…news."

“Hm?” She said. “Something up?”

"So…I'm going to need you to take a seat cause this is…gonna be heavy…"

“...But you're not carrying anything?” She said, taking a seat anyway.

Heh… guess she wouldn’t get the terminology.

"So…first, you have been…dead for two million years, you are not what's known as an Arrancar…two…your family has been dead for a long time…" I said carefully.

Azule looked down, seeming to poke at the ground. “I… expected that. I know I was down there for a long time. No idea what an Arrancar is but I can assume it’s the reason I’m alive? Or rather, from what you said… undead.”

"Yes…and also…I just learned that…you were supposed to be the Mother of all Magical Draconequus…" I sighed. "I mean, technically you can still fulfill that destiny but…"

“Mother… a magical Draconequus?”

"Yes…you were supposed to give birth to the first and one of the most powerful Magical Draconequus ever…" I explained.

“But… how? What makes me so special that I’d be even capable of doing that?”

"You were basically the tipping point, one more generation, your chimeric biology with all sorts of magical blood…one more and the flood gates would have opened up for one of the strongest magical creatures in this world."

“But… if that’s the case then why didn’t my sisters, brothers or other family have any? They had to have had children too right? So why am I special?”

"Fate is weird like that." I shrugged. "I'm sorry…and while there's a technicality here I…doubt you want to hear it due to all the things…"

“... So, what do I do now?”

"You can live, see the world like you wanted, you can still have the child you were destined to have…learn your powers…and I'll be here with you all along the way." I explained.

“Maybe… I need some time to think…”

"Take as long as you need." I said softly. "I'm here for you."

To be continued...

Chapter 18

I stared at Azule. After she calmed down and adjusted to the situation, I was helping her learn her powers and learning from what she did. She managed easily enough to create a bubble. Turns out she can also make them explode. And water, as anyone with a basic understanding in science will know, when shot with enough speed and force can slice through stone and metal.

She applied that to an explosion of water and now there is a hole the size of Canterlot on the beach…

"That was fun." She smirked.

"Holy hell." I said in shock and awe. "That is…a lot of power…"

"Wonder what happens if I make the bubble bigger?"

"I'd rather you didn't. Cause you just made a hole the size of a major city right there."

"Fine… so, got any other ideas?"

"Well, we can start with more subtle stuff, like feeling the push and pull of the water." I said, as I used what I've gathered from watching her and started to do some motions to feel the waters push and pull.

"Okay… like this?" She asked, pushing her hand out towards the ocean… the water retracted a good forty feet and formed a wall away from her for maybe a mile or two.

My jaw dropped. “Uh…okay now carefully pull it back.” I said worriedly.

She put her hand down… and the water came down rushing. I yelped in terror as it crash at us… and moved around us. More specifically, Azule, and I was thankfully in the vicinity of her apparently passive blocking of this literal tsunami.

“Okay…so what we need to do is control.” I said carefully. “Cause you being able to do that is…a bit dangerous for the planet.”

"Okay…" She said, the waters receding. There was a random bathtub that landed next to us.

“Uh…that’s random.” I said with a frown, looking over to the random ass bathtub if there was something in it.

There wasn't. Hmm.

"So… how do I control?" She asked.

“Well…” I hummed. “So…do you know what a Waterfall is?” I inquired.

"Yeah. When water falls, usually off a cliff side."

“So imagine your power is the water running down that cliff like a raging river…I need you to envision the flow of the water calming and slowing till instead of it being a raging torrent it’s more like a gentle stream.”

"... how?"

Ugh… right. When she was alive I doubt a dam or faucet existed…

“Do you know what a Beaver Dam is?” I asked.

"What's a beaver?"

I sighed. “Right…” I muttered. “Imagine there’s a wall with an opening in it that can be raised and lowered to let water through.” I said, using my spirit energy and some water bending to give her a visual aid to understand what I was talking about.

"Oh… alright." She said. She then mimicked me perfectly.

“Yeah, just follow my lead.” I said, taking about a glass worth of water and trying to show her control with it, remembering that Water Bending was a style of Tai Chi which I did dabble from Rust's constant training with me knowing at least every martial art available.

She followed, mimicking my movements… and creating a towering whirlpool that went up into the air… not down.

“Is that normal?” She asked.

“That’s because you're still using too much strength, I want you to take that towering whirlpool and start to lower it, I want you to feel yourself pulling back your power through it.”

“Uhhhhh….” She said. She then managed to make it go down, but now it was a normal whirlpool that began digging into the shore of the beach and wasn’t stopping. “... Is that alright?”

"No, it's not." I frowned, trying to get the stupid thing to stop. "How can I teach you to hold back…cause so far you've shown great power but none of the restraint…"

“Heh… to be fair I’ve also never used these powers before so the fact I’m able to do anything is impressive…” She laughed weakly.

"While true…" I sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm being tough here, just don't want you hurting yourself or others by accident." I said carefully, calming the waters thankfully. "Well…last thing I can think of is trying to explain this…how much do you like swimming?"

“I’d go swimming all the time. It was fun and I always try and grab a fish or something while I’m swimming.”

"Alright, so let's say your strength is your swimming speed, and currently you think your going your normal speed but are going full speed, I need you to imagine your power as yourself swimming, and I need you to slow it down." I explained carefully. "Slow and steady towards a small fish, to keep your power small, calm and relaxed."

“Oh… Okay.” She said, lifting her hand up and around, making a small stream float through the air and making shapes and such.

"That's it, slow and steady, do you feel the difference?" I inquired.

“Yeah. More like when I let the waves carry me than when I put effort into it.”

"That's good." I nodded. "Remember the feeling, it'll help you in the long run."

“Okay.” She said with a nod.

"So, while we're busy training, tell me a bit about yourself." I said. "I…know it's still a sensitive subject, but I'd like to know who you are, Azule."

“Well, when I was alive I was twenty two, I was born in the early spring. First learned to swim when I was five, I really like coconuts and fish roasted in banana leafs, and that’s about it.”

"What do you like about swimming?" I inquired.

"I've just always liked the feeling of the water." She shrugged.

“That’s fair.” I nodded. “Did you have any dreams besides seeing the wider world? Like did you want to do something special?”

"Hmmm… well, I guess I always wondered what meat tasted like. Growing up all we had to eat were fish, squirrels, craps, and the occasional bird but never anything like pork or beef or things like that."

“Well, I can cook you up some pork if you want.” I said readily.

"Oh! That sounds nice."

“Yep.” I said, walking over to the woods. “Help me get some firewood, while I probably won’t be able to season it properly, a campfire cooked pig is always delicious.” I said with a smile.

"Okay!"

I spent only a little bit of time hunting for a wild boar before getting one. I quickly washed, skinned and gutted it. Hmm… maybe there's some wild herbs and spices around here…

I found something useful and came back to Azule…

There was some well cut up logs next to her… and several various moldy, wrecked ships. Some I noticed had skeletons on them, clinging to the sides or spilling out the holes in the ships.

“Uh…where did you find those moldy wrecked ships?” I asked worriedly.

“Oh well I was using water to break apart the trees then I remembered that plants drink water to, so I tried and turns out I can manipulate the water inside the plants so I did that to break apart some trees and pulled water out of them to dry them into good firewood, and then I wondered how far I could use this and turns out there’s a lot of sunken ships around this beach.”

“Uh…huh…” I blinked .”Well…that’s great to know.”

“So, let’s get cooking!” She said, pulling out some coconuts and some herbs, what I think is some kind of seaweed, and bugs… she then began mixing and mashing them together into one of the coconuts that was cracked open.

“Smart idea using the coconut as a mortar.” I admitted, setting up the fire pit and getting the fire going.

“Yeah. My family used them as bowls, cups, mixers, lots of things.” She said, tasting her mixture. “Ah. Just like dad used to make.”

“Mind if I try the mixture?” I asked, wondering how it tastes and if it’ll go good on the pig.

She nodded, handing me the mixture. The smell was… bitter and… sour and… possibly already fermenting…

I gave it a taste… a horrible saltiness with a disgusting bitter and almost rotten flavor… Oh fuck something just wiggled on my tongue!

I spat it out fast.

“That’s fucking vile!” I coughed. “The fuck did you put in there?”

“Seaweed, some beetles, ants, crab guts and a pinch of tree bark mold.” I stared at her. “It’s an acquired taste.” She shrugged. “Dad made this every so often to cook with the fish or as a dip for the fish or to start a broth when we got some shelfishes for soup.”

I stared at her a little longer…”No.” I said, grabbing the concoction of Satan’s ball sweat and burned it. “I am not putting that on good food, here’s what actual seasoning is.” I said, grabbing another mortar coconut and pulling out seasoning’s from my Assistant, making a simple but tasty meat rub. “Two million years have done a lot of things to seasoning, especially when said seasoning isn’t fueled by actual mold that you shouldn’t eat.”

“But it’s tasty!” She whined.

This lady… I’m about to blow her mind with this food…

“Lady…you are going to probably produce a small river with my cooking.” I said, the lewd joke probably going to fly way over her head here as I started to get the pig on a spit and cooking it.

“Why would I make a river over some food? Can I even do that?” She pondered.

Called it…

“It’s a joke that you obviously didn’t understand.” I shook my head, starting to put the rub on the pig carefully as I spun it to get every nook and cranny I could as the fire was slowly cooking it.

“Fine. Wonder if I can find my dad’s old smelly water stash…” She hummed.

“That sounds disgusting, and you better not go near it. Even if you're undead, that could still be festering something fierce in this world of magic.” I stated.

“Maybe, some were good. Dad was always mixing and doing stuff when there was excess food to mess around with. He once found these really sweet fruits from a tall tree and learned the fallen rotting ones when he mixed them in water and put them in sealed clay pots made either something strong and tasty or bitter smelling and very strong.”

Did… so he made either wine or vinegar? Both? Huh…

“Right…so either your father was figuring out how to make Vinegar, which is not something you should drink pure, or Wine somehow, which is an alcoholic beverage.”

“All I know is they smelled strong, burned when you drank them and if you drank enough you either got really sleepy or really silly. I’m gonna see if there’s still a stash.” She said.

Before I could stop her she was already gone.

“Oh god help me…” I groaned, just making sure to keep up the cooking.

I sat here and kept the fire going even along the roasting boar and after about ten minutes, Azule came back carrying a very old, very dusty and dirty clay pot that was just a bit shy of being the size of a stew pot. “Found one! He’d bury them since apparently he learned that in direct sunlight after so long they’d explode.” She chuckled.

I looked at her incredulously. “What…never mind.” I shook my head. “Just…food is getting closer to being done.”

She nodded, gently feeling the clay pot a bit. She must be remembering her dad… She sighed, gently pulling off the lid. A hiss-like noise of released pressure was shot out, almost blasting the lid off. Whatever was in there was also glowing with a bright golden light that shines out into the sky like a floodlight.

“Well they’ve never done that before…” She hummed.

“That…looks strange.” I hummed, deciding to use Scan to see what’s filling that clay pot.

Scan Complete!

Substance: Divine Liquor

Created by fermenting magic rich fruits for many thousands of years.

Woah… her dad must have like, lucked out with that one- And she’s already drinking a cup of the stuff.

“Alright…so that is Divine Liquor, which he lucked out in fermenting magic rich fruits, it only takes a many thousands of years to properly ferment.” I explained.

She drank her coconut cup of it. Once she did she blinked… “Woah… papa made a real good one… it’s a.. Itsh all sweet and… sweet!” She said with a mix of hiccup and giggle.

One cup and she’s already wasted? Or at minimum drunk…

“Can’t be that strong right?” I hummed, gently taking some from the pot and pouring it into a clean coconut cup and took a swig of it.

Huh… hang on… this tastes exactly like that stuff I drank from the flask Grover gave me- Oh shit!

Ouch… agh the headache this always gives me… Damn it… okay, note to self, never touch divine liquor again… god help me I better not have done something stupid… oh god did I do someone?!

I groaned as I tried to lift myself up…but felt something was coiled around me and…thing’s were sticky…”Fack…” I thought to myself, opening my eyes as I saw a…rather content and sleeping Draconequus Arrancar coiled around me, her head on my chest…

Shit… Agh… is it just when I drink that I get horny or is it the divine liquor cause if it is, then that explains a lot about ancient god lore…

“Feck…didn’t mean for this to happen…” I muttered, even as I gently stroked Azule’s hair out of habit when it came to cuddle times with my many significant others.

“Hmmm… my head hurts… and my crotch is sore…” She groaned as she began to wake up.

“Your head hurts cause that’s a hangover…and uh…the crotch being sore is…because of…uh…” I blushed, trying to find the right word here cause just saying ‘we drunkenly fucked like animals’ wouldn’t be the best thing to say.

“Hmm…” She groaned, forcing her eyes open as she brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed them. “Ouchie… Huh? Why am I coiled around you like a snake? Or when mom and dad… wait… did… did we… mate?” She asked.

“Yes…we did mate while drunk.” I sighed. “And you coiled around me like this is what’s known as ‘cuddling’.”

“Oh… So… am I your wife now?”

… Well that’s an unexpected twist…

“Uh…there’s more to a relationship than just fucking once and you becoming my wife but…I’ll show you how it all works and a lot of other things.”

“Alright, but I don’t get it, does mating with someone not make you two bound to one another?”

Wow she is talking some old stuff… or something…

“It’s been a long time since this, and while mating can be seen as such a thing, where we are bound to one another, there is the emotional bond that has become more important than just the physical.” I explained.

“Don’t you need an emotional bond to do the physical stuff? I’m confused… Ouch… hurts to think…”

“You do need the emotional bond.” I said, bringing out from my assistant a hangover cure cause when me and Grover got drunk I made sure to grab these. “Here, drink this, it’ll help cure your Hangover.”

“I feel funny…” She groaned… Then threw up… right all over me… “Ouch… burns coming up… why is some of my vomit white?”

…EWWWWWWWWWW!

To be continued...

Calm before the Storm

Washing off in the ocean is cold. It doesn’t help that the waves try and wash the stuff back on me…

“I…will never be clean…” I whined as I shuddered in horror. “Never…”

“It’s just puke…” Azul said from the beach, her head partly buried in the sand because, in her words ‘the sun had turned into a death ray when her eyes opened’.

“You literally threw up bile and jizz onto me, so yes, it’s more than ‘just puke’...”

“What’s jizz?”

“Another word for semen.” I said.

“What’s semen?”

I facepalmed. “Holy hell…’Seed’?” I asked, hoping she at least knew what the fuck that meant.

“Like… plant seeds?”

I looked at her…”Have you ever learned what Sex or Mating is and what a male produces?” I asked her.

“I know what mating is, and the males produce a weird white sticky fluid that makes babies.”

Well… basics at least… I forget that she’s ancient…

“Well, that fluid that helps makes babies is called Semen, in some ways it’s called ‘Seed’ cause people claim that a woman’s private area is a ‘Fertile Field’, Jizz is just a word I don’t remember where it came from.” I explained.

“Oh… why was that in my puke? That doesn’t belong there…”

“We were…probably doing a lot of things that could have caused that.” I said nervously. “Like you sucking my dick and swallowing it or…me shoving it up your butt but who knows, we were both stupidly drunk.”

“... why would you put it in either of those!?”

“Because as people in time have learned, both of those spots can be pleasurable for people.” I admitted.

“But they’re gross! Poop comes out one and the other is meant for food! Plus males urinate from that organ too!”

“That’s because you don’t do those disgusting things during mating in those spots.” I told her. “Listen, it’s a thing that people figured out way after your time…” I sighed. “Well…knowing my luck…” I sighed, deciding to check and see if she was pregnant.

And… she is… Great…

“God damn it…” I thought to myself. “Okay, so you’re pregnant…and that most likely means a very powerful being is going to be born, even more than what was originally supposed to happen.”

"Oh… so… we are mates then?"

“Well…I suppose so, yes.” I admitted

"Yay! I'm pregnant and have a mate!" She said happily, taking her head out from under the sand and shaking it off. "What's that?" She asked, looking out into the sea.

I looked, seeing what looked to be some kind of… I wanna say giant octopus?

“Uh…not sure.” I said, deciding to swim after it to get a closer look.

I got closer and… oh…

It was an octopus… made from some kind of darkness, patchwork corpses rotting and held together by the darkness under them withered and wreathed unnaturally to a symphony of tearing meat and cracking bones as it seemed to be doing something to the water around it.

“Well…that’s not good…” I thought to myself carefully, as I decided to use my new Water bending to try and crush it underneath all the pressure.

It worked, thankfully without much effort. The darkness rapidly vanished and the corpses left behind all rotted to ash in seconds.

“Okay…the fuck was that?” I thought to myself worriedly, going back to the shore. “Hey, do you know any weird creature that looks like some patchwork corpse held together by breaking bones and a strange darkness?” I inquired.

"Sounds kinda like stories my dad told me."

“What kind of stories?” I inquired.

"About lands where the dead rose again because of some creepy goo that would flow out of the ground or how burial lands became infested with monsters made of the bodies of the dead."

“That’s…incredibly concerning.” I said carefully.

"Yeah. It's why Mom and dad moved here to this beach before I was born. That and some stupid wendigos were freezing everything so, my siblings and I were born here."

“Yeah, that makes sense.” I nodded. “Gonna have to talk to Celestia and Luna about this…want to come with me to my home?” I inquired.

"To… inland?"

“Yes, Inland, to the place you wanted to head towards for a long time.”

"Yes please." She nodded with a smile.

The girls were all surprised to see Azul. She was like a wide eyed child looking at all the shiny and all the new creatures and people. Polkadot was keeping her from making a mess of the place while I quickly left to see Celestia and Luna.

I found the rulers surrounded by scrolls and maps in their throne room.

“Hey Celestia, Luna, what’s up?” I inquired.

"Mike, there you are!" Celestia said, relief in her voice. "We've been getting reports of creatures appearing across Equestria. Some even seem to be appearing in lands our foreign agents are patrolling."

“Would these creatures be made out of corpses, bones and Darkness that I’m…now remembering fits the theme of Nightmare?” I asked carefully, as I was now remembering…just how long it’s been since I last saw the bastard.

"Yes." Luna nodded. "So far there are thirty sightings across Equestria and four we've received from foreign agents."

"Shit…" I growled. "I need to get moving fast, these sightings must mean Nightmare is doing some bullshit."

"Be careful. According to reports they're doing something to the magic in the areas, but what we don't know." Celestia said.

“Hmm…question, what is this ‘dark goo’ that Azule talked about when she mentioned a Story from two…million years ago.” I brought up. “She said it formed and collected around burial grounds and the like.”

The two sisters shared a look then looked at me flatly. "Mike, we may be old, but we are not that old." Luna said.

“It’s not like I could ask that question in casual conversation.” I admitted sheepishly. “Plus I’ve been really busy with stuff, but does a weird black goo stealing corpses ring any bells?”

"Hmm…" Celestia hummed. "Well, in old legends about the birthplace of life on Equis, it says that an evil force appeared, creating monsters that drove it's population away and spread us out across the continents of Equis." Celestia stated. "There isn't much detail but shortly after, the land was frozen by Wendigo ice magic."

“Yeah, Azule mentioned that was happening which was why her family moved to that island.” I admitted, scratching my chin. “Crap…we have to work fast before these numbers get out of control.”

"We have the locations already marked on this map." Luna said, levitating the map over to me.

I nodded and took the map, looking around for where I needed to rush to and murder these monsters. “Maybe I should bring Claire…getting some actual combat experience would be good for her…” I muttered, thinking her getting into an actual fight would help out with her wanting to get revenge on Leaf.

To be continued...

The Storm

“So we’re finally going to take the fight to Nightmare?” Lillinette asked, lightly swinging her sword as she seemed ready for a fight. “It’s about time, I was getting bored with all this peace and quiet.”

“Yes, we have to deal with some monster’s first roaming the country before we finally head to the Frozen Heart, just so we get a bit more experience with the things.” I explained.

“It’ll at least give me some actual combat experience.” Claire admitted.

"Should we go at them as a group or split up?" Lillinette asked.

"To start we should go as a group, cause Claire hasn't done much fighting on her own and we might need to fuze for our real power Lilinette." I stated.

"You just want to fuse to have a power trip fantasy." Lillinette said.

"We've only fuzed once and we haven't seen what'll happen now." I pointed out.

"Yeah, sure." She chuckled. "So, where are we heading first?"

"The closest group is out in Appleloosa, so we'll fly there and take them out and hopefully nobody got hurt." I said readily.

"Alright, let's bolt." Claire said as we immediately made way towards Appaloosa.

It was a short trip thanks to Sonido power, and we arrived to see what looked to be some kind of mass of skeletons in an almost tumbleweed look held together by that dark energy and they were breaking down buildings.

"Well…accurate for the setting." I said carefully. "Who wants to take the first crack at it?”

"I got this." Lillinette said, drawing her sword out and began hacking at the ones that were destroying buildings first to help the people inside. Claire and I quickly provided back up and kept others at bay and destroyed them. They were huge but thankfully not that tough.

Still, there was more here than I was expecting and destroying the lot of them took us an hour.

"Well, at least these things aren't too tough." I said carefully. "How you doing Claire?"

"Better than I was expecting." She admitted. "So, where next?"

"Next up would be this rogue town down south, but I just want to make sure the townspeople are doing okay first." I said.

“Alright, let’s rush over to the south.” Lillinette said as we made haste to the south, after thankfully seeing all the townsfolk unharmed.

We arrived at the Badlands far south of Equestria. Here we found a huge town of scrap metal, junk and such. The citizens of which were various unfamiliar creatures that all were trying to fight back against the monsters. Most were losing badly.

The ones here were a mix of bone, that black ooze and metal, giving them natural armor and weapons. Some of which were still usable mechanically. Drills, saw blades, welding torches.

"Damn it, these things are working fast." I growled, leaping forward and cutting down a monster that was about to attack a bipedal cat man.

“Did they assimilate the tools into them or did they have them?” Lillinette asked as she was hacking through their metal armored bodies. “Though not gonna lie, I love these designs.”

"They do look neat," Claire admitted, breaking off one of the creatures buzzsaw arms and flipping it around and tearing into it. "Just a bitch to fight these things and keep the locals safe."

These monsters were their own challenge but at least we got them all. Took longer cause this city’s layout is fucking stupid.

“Alright, now where Next?” Claire asked.

I looked over, seeing many of the people gathering the wounded and hopefully things will go alright as I know the Crown will send aid. "Next up is northwest, a Thestral village named Shadow's Haven."

With a nod, we all quickly made way to the northwest. The town was built partly into a mountain, a huge cave entrance and was rather large. It was more like a city than a village.

The ones here were a mix of stone golems and flying beasts with wings made from broken rib cages.

"Well, at least they're having some weird theme with bones." I said carefully.

"Yeah…never thought we'd be a part of a war on bones." Claire chuckled.

"We're not Yakuza but the reference fits." I admitted, rushing forward with the others to deal with the golems.

We began taking out the airborne ones as fast as possible. The rock golem ones were slower, but also tanky.

The lot of these fuckers were the biggest hassle to deal with. Even if we could take them out easy enough, they had numbers.

“Ugh, this is taking a long time.” Claire huffed.

“They’re just gonna keep coming unless we can take out the source.” Lillinette said.

“Yeah, we’re going to need to take this fight to Nightmare.” I stated. “So wherever the hell the Frozen Heart is.”

“... Leaf said that the heart of the world, where all life came from was at the northmost point of Equis.”

“All that’s north is the Frozen North, where the Crystal Empire and Yak Kingdom are.” Lillinette said.

“Well, let’s head up there and hope that they weren’t taken over.” I said simply. “And we’ll probably also see the fuzed Wendigo and Andy and Ann again.”

“Alright, to the north then.” Claire said.

Nightmare looked up into the sky of the birthplace of Life. “They’re finally making their move.”

“It’s about time!”

“Bitch can barely handle our pestering, at least he could be on our time table for once.”

“...As long as I get my wish…”

“That wolf will die for killing our sister!”

“Good.” Nightmare nodded. “Then off with you to have your fun…I have preparations to make.”

As the three of us flew off, we made a quick pit stop back home as I gave my family a hug and a warning about what the hell we were about to do, and while Krost practically begged to join us, he offered his Flame, a special thing Dragon’s can do to ‘enchant’ our weapons, and we took it as this also would count as finishing Krost’s destiny as this would technically be him killing those Siren’s.

With one more goodbye hugs all around, the three of us flew off and after a while we finally made it to the Frozen Heart. “Fuck it’s cold!” I shivered.

“No shit…” Lillinette grumbled.

“You’d think this place would be snowing…” Claire said.

“Apparently it’s so cold that there’s literally no moisture in the air.” I said, as I looked around the place…only to see the fuzed Siren rushing towards us.

“I got this bitch.” Lily growled, drawing her sword that looked more like a giant reverse hook than a sword as it burst into flames and she launched herself at the Siren.

“You sure she’s got this?” Claire asked nervously.

“Yeah…while she was weak before, I know for a fact she’s strong now.” I said with a smile, seeing the clash that shook the very air itself, the flames of an ancient Arrancar Dragon heating up the land as the two fought.

I stood there, watching the two fight, Green Cero’s and Nightmare infused Ice attacks flying around, the sound of metal striking metal resounding in my ears, but it was only a matter of time as I saw the plumes of Dragon Fire bursting forth with each strike, making the Siren weaker and weaker.

When Lillinette was about to deliver the final blow, a dark haze wrapped around the Siren and they vanished. “You stole my kill you abstract fuck!” Lily shouted in anger, waving her sword in the air in a huff.

“You okay there Lily!?” I called out, as she flew back and she looked a bit bruised and covered in black ice.

“Eh, I’ll live.” My other half grumbled, brushing off the ice.

“You should have just left well enough alone.” We all looked over, and saw Leaf trotting him, his fur having a darker tint as his broken hollow mask was connected to more bone that tried to act like armor. “Just let life die out…it would have been better for everyone.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it you fucking liar.” Claire growled. “You said you loved the town that I helped take care of, I know you still care, you just need someone to pull you out of this stupid bargain.”

“...It’s too late for me Claire…” He sighed, as he put a hoof to the ground and shadowy vines and other such nightmarish plant life burst from the ground in writhed, ready to start this fight.

Claire sighed. “I’m sorry then…” She said, drawing her sword and bringing it up to chest height, and put her other hand on the back of the blade. “Praise…” She said as the ground cracked underneath her. “Capricorn Knight.” She said through her chant as she let out her now well trained Resurreccion form, brandishing her double sided lance. “You asked for this…” She said, pulling back her throwing arm and gripping it tight, rearing herself up. “Lanzador…Verde!” She shouted, slamming her hooves into the ground as she chucked her spear as hard as she could.

The Vines and Plants tried to intercept said spear, but either they were too slow from the sheer speed, or they were vaporized as the spear spun faster and faster as it collected more and more physical and spiritual power. Claire was already running hard and fast towards Leaf as she knew he was likely to dodge it.

“Claire please! Just give up!” Leaf tried to plead, even as he tried to get more plants to block the drill like attack.

“I will never give up, I gave up once and was proven wrong with the love of my life back by my side!” She snapped, as the lance drove into the ground and caused a massive explosion as Leaf dodged it, vines lashing out at the centaur while she fought against them, pulling out her spear from the ground and cutting away the vines. “Never again…”

“Gaea Cero!” Leaf shouted, slamming his hoof into the ground as the ground underneath Clare erupted with Spiritual Energy, managing to hit the Capricorn Knight…but Leaf’s face grew into that of horror as Claire was literally swallowing the Cero, before opening her mouth as a Cero twice as strong and twice the size was blasted at Leaf.

“Cero Dobie…never thought she’d be able to do it in this combat situation.” Lily admitted.

“I’m still concerned, she’s taking too many hits…” I grumbled.

“Oh don’t be a baby, she’s a strong girl and can take it.” Lily told me.

“Yeah I know…” I sighed, seeing her scratched and bruised from the few stray plant hits and the powerful Cero attack she took.

“You have a chance to enjoy life, you don’t have to do this…” Claire pleaded.

“Sorry Claire…I don’t have that choi-” Leaf was cut off as he…suddenly had Nightmare’s hand through his chest, being lifted up.

“Oh spare me.” Nightmare scoffed, as we all heard the screams of the Siren’s. “You get to die like I promised you Leaf, but you get to die how I see fit, and what better way to watch someone die is have their consciousness be stuck watching their body become a mindless abomination of death?” Nightmare laughed as both Siren’s spirits…were forcibly fuzed into Leaf, as the poor zebra stallion roared in pain and agony as they struggled against the unwanted fusion.

“Oh you’ve gotta be fucking with me…” I muttered in horror.

“What’s going on!?” Claire shouted, backing away quickly.

“She’s doing a Soul Fusion! I thought they would need some ritual runes or something…” I said in a panic.

“Oh my sweet summer child…you’re not the only one with ‘friends’ on the other side.” Nightmare said, them giving me a snarky bone chilling grin as they flashed razor sharp teeth. “Now be a good trio and die for me, I have more important thing’s to do.” They said, throwing the thrashing and twitching Leaf as they struggled to get cohesion back to their bodies.

“Nightmare!” I roared and lunged at them, but they teleported away with some dumbass evil laugh.

“Claire! Catch!” Lily shouted as she threw something at Claire, who caught it quickly.

“What is it?” Claire asked, looking at…is that what I think it is?

“It’s the Hogyoku, don’t fuck this up.” Lily said as Claire and I leaped back as we sensed an enormous amount of energy spring forth from Leaf’s body.

“K-kill…m-me!” Leaf pleaded as he coughed up that black goo from all the other creatures, it hitting the ground as ice and plant life lunged and pierced his body and wrapped around him, the trio of screams quickly becoming silenced as a growing mass of flesh, bone, ice and plant life grew in size as it roared in mindless rage, an ethereal mist surrounding it’s body as it slammed it’s ‘hoof’ into the ground, it’s spiritual pressure feeling like a fuck ton of bricks just slammed into all of us as the same pressure was cracking the ground around us.

“Well that’s not good…” I muttered.

“Just say the magic words that fancy orb is telling you.” Lily told Claire.

“R-right…” Claire said, taking a deep breath and clenching down on the crystal sphere and her jousting lance. “Descend!” She shouted, her entire body producing a new pink colored spirit energy. “Fallen Capricorn!” An explosion of Pink energy surrounded Claire as she obtained her second Resurreccion…

Her new form lost the hollow mask that was acting more like the top of a helmet and replaced by four black and white horns curling skyward, she lost her clothing as her human upper part was covered with fur around her breasts with pink markings across her upper body as her equine half had darker fur all over as her tail ended with pink reiatsu flames, I saw her open her eyes as they were blackened pupils with slit like iris’s, and the last thing was her double sided jousting lance was more akin to an Energy Spear that was made of her new pink Reiatsu.

“Damn…” I said in surprise.

“I know you're still in there Leaf…” Claire said, lightly pawing at the ground as she readied her spear. “But I’ll give you the peace you want.”

The beast roared and charged at Claire, ice and plants growing and lashing out at Claire as she vanished away from the attacks, pointing the tip of her spear and impaling the shadow creature, blasting it backwards but it remained on it’s hooves, the wound regenerating rather fast. “Fine…if you want to play it like that…” She said, as she lifted her spear…and ate it…all the way down to the hilt…

“Focus there, horn dog!” Lily snapped as I shook my head, only to see her body glow with energy.

“Danza de la Lanza Cero.” She said, before opening her mouth and an orb appeared in the middle of her four horns, before she fired two extremely powerful beams of energy that swirled together into the form of a Lance, as I watched it pierce through the Beast, and I watched…and smelled it’s death was here, it’s regeneration failing as it couldn’t handle the sheer might of the signature move of a Second Released Arrancar. After the energy blast vanished and what was left of the beast dissolved, Claire fell to her knees as her body forcefully changed back to her base form, the woman panting heavily from the power. “Holy hell…”

I rushed to her side and checked her. “You okay Claire?”

“Y-yeah…yeah I’m good…” Claire said as I gently took the Hogyoku for later. “Just…need to catch my breath, that was a lot of power I used up…”

“Take your time my love…cause it’s my turn.” I said, smelling both my Nightmares, Andy and Ann.

“Well it’s about fucking time ya worthless sack of shit.” Andy stated.

“And look at you, ya finally came out of the closest ya fucking furry.” Ann added.

“I’m also openly bisexual with a loving angel femboy back home.” I stated, catching the both of them off guard.

“Oi! You’re not allowed to be happy, the fuck!” Andy snapped.

“Oh yeah, I’m also finally dating Claire here.” I stated.

“And I’m pregnant.” Claire added.

“...WHAT!?!” Both Vasto Lorde nightmares that were haunting me for so long shouted in confusion and anger.

“And while you two chucklefucks were too busy sucking Nightmare’s dick, I got my life in order and haven’t been happier.” I said with a smile, gently putting a hand on Lilinette’s head and absorbing her back into myself to start this. “So how’s about we do this right shall we?” I growled.

“Oh no you don’t!” They both shouted at the same time, the two suddenly shifting their bodies into something that fit their bullshit as Andy turned into a pitch black furred behemoth with bones jutting out of it’s body and around it to act like a natural armor, and Ann turning into what I can only assume is if Ursula fuzed with a Cyclops and probably had psychic powers. “YOU WILL DIE LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE YEARS AGO”

“Kick about.” I growled as I saw the two try and attack me, Andy with his giant claw and Ann with a spear made up of that black goo and bone. “Los Lobos.” I said, knocking them both away from the powerful shockwave of using my Resurrection after so long, as I looked down at myself and saw that I was still wearing my usual clothing for this form. “Ready to kick their asses?” I asked Lillinette.

“Hell yeah!” I heard my other half cheer from my pistol’s, as I raised both pistol’s and fired powerful Cero bullet’s at the both of them and knocked them away.

“Oh you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me…” I heard Andy growl as he tried to bullrush me, but I side stepped the Behemoth’s attack’s and pelted him with more Cero Shots.

“Come on bitch! Not so high and mighty now that I can kick your ass!?” I laughed, tossing my right pistol up in the air and backhanding Andy away like the bitch he was. “Come on! I thought you were going to kill me!?”

“We are!” Ann shouted, raising several pieces of earth from the ground in the shape of spears and threw them at me.

I grabbed my right pistol and aimed it. “Cero Metralleta.” I said, as I let out my machine gun Cero that disintegrated the attack but she still managed to dodge it but just barely.

And so it went on for what was probably a good five minutes, each one of my inner demon’s struggling against my new powers as I kept up my battle, practically toying with them as I never thought I would have been this strong in my Resurreccion form. “I’m bored.”

“What!?” The two shouted, even if they’re regeneration helped they were still battered and bruised, panting from exhaustion.

“I said I’m bored. You two are boring me.” I said. “So just so you know…this wasn’t a two on two.” I said, tossing my pistols in the air as they disappeared, the bandoleers on my back glowing and shooting out from my back. “It’s two against twenty two.” I growled, as I let out a commanding howl as each of the bandoleers turned into wolves that were warming around the two of them, as I heard them struggle and thrash as each wolf tried to tear them to pieces without ever exploding.

“This…can’t be…” Andy groaned as he fell to the ground.

“It’s…impossible…” Ann said breathlessly, as she kept herself propped up by a staff as the two of them were bleeding messes.

“Good job.” I said, lightly petting one of my wolves as they all formed back into my pistols. I walked over and put the barrels against both of their heads. “Any last words?”

“You’re a worthless sack of shit.” Andy growled.

“You don’t deserve the happiness you’ve obtained.” Ann stated.

“Eh, I didn’t expect much else.” I said, as I pulled the trigger…

“Oh, what a poor sport we are.” Nightmare teased, as they were now holding both the beaten creatures by their heads, saving them from their death’s. “I still have some uses for them, so don’t want to ruin any more surprises.” Nightmare said with a smile as they teleported away.

“NIGHTMARE!” I shouted in rage.

“Meet me in the Center of Life, you can’t miss it.” We all heard Nightmare say. “I’ll be waiting~.”

To be continued...

Final Battle

I stomped through the thick ice and snow. It was hard to see but that didn’t stop me. The cold was reaching temperatures so below zero you might as well be in the vacuum of space, but I hardly felt it.

Through the endless slow and clearing, it was once a grand field, full of fruit trees, various food bearing plants and in the center, a large frozen over lake that was now likely frozen from top to bottom, as were every plant here, frozen all the way to their cells and preserved in time through the ice.

Standing atop the ice of the lake, was Nightmare.

“Nightmare…” I growled, ready to face against this fucker.

“Starrk.” She purred.

“Today is the day you finally die, as you will no longer torture lives for your sick enjoyment.” I growled, as me, Claire and Lilynette drew our swords and were at the ready to murder this asshole.

“Maybe, but if today is my final day, then I’ll make sure there’s more than enough fun to last me through the afterlife.” She cackled.

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done you arrogant bitch!” Claire snapped, as she rushed forward, shifting into her Capricorn Knight form and thrusting her double sided jousting spear at Nightmare.

“And just like that, the fun being.” Nightmare said with a grin, as the spear was blocked by a pure Wall of Shadow’s, energy crackling between the shield and the lance before both leaped away.

“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised since we’re fighting a god…” I said carefully, lunging past Claire with Lillinette and slamming into another barrier again, pushing Nightmare back as they had a shit eating grin.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I last had a good fight? How long it’s been since someone could give me a challenge!?” Nightmare asked like a deranged lunatic, drawing twin swords and letting out a flurry of strikes against the both of us without a care in the world for defense.

“Christ lady, ever thought about getting some dick instead of destroying worlds?” Lily asked, parrying and trying to shoot a Cero at Nightmare but they quickly deflected it with relative ease.

”None of you can understand my sexual preferences and if you even dared to understand you won’t be able to get it up no matter how hard you tried.” Nightmare answered.

“Tentacles and BDSM isn’t that nightmarish.” I rolled my eyes, deflecting their attack and bringing out my Super Shotgun filled with Cero Bullets and blasted the whore away from us. “And let me tell you, some of the shit I’ve seen would make that tame.”

Sadly Nightmare looked rather unscathed as they tried to take a swing at us again, but Claire was quicker and managed to stab them with her lance, knocking them back as I dive kicked them in the head and Lily ducking underneath and blasting them with a powerful point blank Cero, causing a massive explosion that threw them away from us…but a worrying feeling rolled down my spine…

Because that bitch was laughing.

“YES! This is exactly what I’ve been wanting!” Nightmare laughed, disbanding their blades and shoving their hands under the frozen lake, grabbing and ripping out…Andy and Ann…

They…they both looked like absolute shit, not even my ass whooping made them look that bad.

“Pl-please…help…us…” Andy pleaded weakly, his body twitching with bluish green energy as his body seemed to be trying to process…whatever the hell Nightmare did.

“W-we-we’re…sorry…” Ann said, trying to raise a hand up to get some help. “W-we had to…please…we don’t want to die…”

They…they were crying…actually, genuinely crying and begging for my help…

“Aww~, isn’t that adorable!” Nightmare laughed as the three of us heard…the bone chilling screams of those two as…Nightmare ate both of them…”Such sweet despair, suffering from the frozen Lake of Life, their bodies gifted by the All Makers that they could withstand even a fraction of the planet’s life energies, something so poisonous to our race…and now it’s mine!” Nightmare hissed as their body started to morph.

“KILL IT!” I snapped, absorbing Lily and activating my Resurreccion as I threw out a Double Cero Machine Gun and Claire ate one of my Cero’s and threw the Lance at Nightmare and fired a Double Cero at Nightmare in hopes of killing them before shit goes wrong.

As the dust and ice settled, what appeared wasn't a beast, or some amalgamation of bone and darkness, but an Alicorn, tall, strong, with bone white eyes and razor sharp teeth, bone like protrusions taking shape of armor as she held the skulls of Andy and Ann as shield and sword…

"Okay, why do you need to look hot?" I asked incredulously.

"Life, my dear boy. It's power is unmatched, both in the physical," Nightmare said, letting her weapons float as she…sensually moved her hands around her rather voluptuous female form. "And the magical, and what better way to have some fun than murdering you as your hidden kink."

"...Wow, you still have that dommy mommy kink?" Lily asked me as I blushed brightly.

"Oi! Only woman being a dommy mommy to the cute ghost pupper is me!" Claire stated bluntly.

"Can we not talk about my sexual fantasies when the date of the world is on the line!?" I asked incredulously.

"Right, maybe I should get some canera's so this can be a live event, I'm sure my new pet would just love to be watched~." Nightmare tauntingly purred.

I sputtered. "You are speaking forbidden knowledge here lady!"

"And I don't take kindly to people I don't like flirting with my man!" Claire snapped. "Descend! Fallen Capricorn!" She shouted as she lunged forward, shifting into her second form and thrusting her spear towards Nightmare, who blocked it rather quickly with her new shield.

"...Oh can you not!? That's our enemy, not a fantasy of Nightmare being dommed by Claire with a co-" I immediately smacked both pistols together to cease her illegal talking. "Oi!"

"Your speaking privileges have been revoked!" I said quickly, going back to focusing on the fight and prepared to join in when I had the chance.

They clashed multiple times, each time they separated I tried to get some potshots in but they blocked or deflected them rather easily, as the three of us now were on the back foot, even with Claire’s new form she was hard pressed.

“...Starrk…I have an idea.” I heard Lily say.

“Oh no you don’t.” I said carefully. “You are not doing that.”

“If it’ll give us a chance then I’m willing to take it.” Lily said as my guns started to glow, my bandoliers turning into spirit wolves on their own. “I’m sorry Starrk…but…you’re finally happy, I’m not needed anymore.”

“Oh like hell you are!” I snapped, trying to stop this from happening as the wolves flew off.

“I’m glad…you saw me as a little sister…” Lillinette said as the twenty wolves bit down on Nightmare as she was more distracted with blocking desperate attacks from Claire. “Goodbye…and tell your kids all about me.”

“Lillinette!” I shouted, rushing towards her to stop this but…me and Claire were knocked back from the massive explosion. “SIS!” I screamed in panic.

“No…no it can’t be…” Claire said breathlessly, seeing Lily just…sacrifice herself like that.

I growled, clenching my fists…but…

I tried to lunge to Claire’s side, I tried to protect her…Nightmare, burned and scratched…had their sword through Claire’s chest.

“Oh~, what sweet suffering.” Nightmare purred, pulling the blade out and kicking Claire to the side.

“CLAIRE!” I shouted, lunging at Nightmare only to get back handed away.

“Oh shut up you pitiful mutt.” Nightmare hissed. “Your sympathy, your ‘love’, it makes me sick.” Nightmare growled, turning back to Clare who reverted back to her normal human form. “And when your sick, you should do things to help you feel better.” Nightmare said, raising their blade up.

“NO!” I shouted, vanishing and slamming my fist into Nightmares face as I sent them flying in a fit of rage. “You will never hurt anyone again!” I roared in rage as the Hogyoku floated up near me as I grabbed it. “Howl!”

“No!” Nightmare shouted, lunging at me to stop my ascension.

“Lobo Solitario!” I shouted, feeling my entire body explode in power, as I wasn't sure the full look of my new form, but I felt power, flames of my own spirit power spiraling around me as I now held two one handed Henry lever action rifles. “I’m done…playing your games…fueling your bullshit…you are going to die here and now!” I shouted, raising my gun and firing a powerful Cero at the whore, them trying to block but I saw their Shield shatter and take their arm with it.

Nightmare screamed in pain as their arm regenerated. “You think you can defeat me with your petty bullshit!? I am Nightmare! I am a God!”

“And I don’t give a shit.” I growled, stepping closer to them. “Cause all I smell is your Fear and your End.” I growled, raising my gun’s again.

“NO!” She snapped, as I felt something grab me. “I will not lose to a stupid mutt when I’m about to reign supreme!” She screamed, as I saw a portal open and I was pulled straight into it.

I opened my eyes and looked around, seeing a world of pure darkness, floating pieces of land lazily moving around the emptiness here, as I saw many, many pairs of pure white piercing eyes staring at me in the void. “Alright, where’s the whore?” I growled

“Right here.” I whipped around and looked…up…and up…

“I see you are overcompensating.” I said simply, vanishing backwards as a massive fist like shade came crashing down onto the spot of land I was on.

“INSOLENT FOOL! YOU ARE IN THE NIGHTMARE REALM! MY REALM! THIS IS MY TRUE FORM AND YOU DARE MOCK ME!?”

“Was I not being clear enough?” I asked. “Here, let me fix that, you an oversized waste of my time and energy throwing a hissy fit because you were so close to your ultimate goal, but you just went and pissed me off and all I smell is your Death!”

“YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING!” Nightmare roared as they swung down at me, even with their new size they were still rather fast, but I was much, much faster as I jumped back and blasted a hole in their hand, causing them to shout in pain even as the wound quickly recovered.

“You’re no God, you’re just a pathetic parasite that kept piggybacking off of other people’s strengths.” I said, lunging forward and grabbing onto their arm and biting down on it hard, as the darkness that made up their form was siphoned off as I felt a soul in it as I yanked it out Ann, seeing her spirit fall to the ground, where she had a small bite mark on her as…I noticed that she smelled and tasted…Innocent…

“NO!” Nightmare screamed, reaching after Ann as I bit into their other hand, ripping out Andy as…he also had the same scent and taste of Pure Innocence…

“Neither of you deserve that innocence…” I growled, even though the two of them were unconscious I still needed to get that off my chest. “Now, back the fugliest of ducklings.” I growled, as I felt my power pouring out of me and forming into much larger guns.

“I AM GOD! I WILL BATHE THE REALM’S IN TRUE DARKNESS!” The frantic, enraged being roared, them being once calm and collected, but I could tell in their eyes how everything they planned going to absolute shit has enraged them beyond capacity.

“You threatened my old world, you threatened my home, you attacked my loved one’s and caused them to either die or suffer grievous injuries…” I growled, as I raised my guns and the other giant guns behind me. “You are no God, you will never be a God, and I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!” I roared. “Revólver De Los Lobos!” I shouted, raising all my rifles and firing.

Dozens…

Hundreds…

Thousands…

I kept firing and shouted in rage, the injuries to Claire, Lily blowing herself up…everything that this whore and her entire race caused to inflict as much pain on me I was giving back and more.

I panted, stopping my onslaught of gunfire, the dust settling and I finally saw Nightmare for what they truly were, a thin, small, sad excuse of a nightmare as it struggled to stay alive, but I walked up and put the barrel of my gun against it’s head. “Any last words?”

“Whoa there kiddo.” I heard, feeling all my fur stand on end…as I couldn’t help but groan at seeing someone I really didn’t want to.

“Pain…why?” I asked carefully, looking over to my Aunt who walked over and grabbed the Nightmare.

“Can’t I see my dear sweet nephew?” Pain asked, which caused a strangled, pained and confused noise to rush out of Nightmare. “Though I’m also here to see my daughter.”

“I’mma fucking kill her if you don’t get to the point.” I growled.

“Firstly, your lady and your sister aren’t dead.” Pain stated, which shocked the shit out of me mostly with Lily not being dead.

“E-excuse me?” I asked in surprise.

“You win, nephew.” She said simply, grabbing Nightmare. “And you…I still have use of you.”

“Hold on, before you take them away.” I said, looking at the weakened ‘god’. ”I want them to know one last thing, to haunt them for as long as they’ll live.” I said, before whistling an eerie tune as the guns slowly shifted into twin sickles, as I felt rather giddy about seeing their ‘eyes’ widened in horror. “And to make sure you suffer an even bigger dignity.” I said, grabbing both Andy and Ann…the two fuckers that have haunted by life ever since I was a child, making me suffer so much…

I devoured them, I ate both of their Soul’s and felt the real power they held infuse into me, the two will forever cease to exist as I made sure they died and stayed dead.

It’s…it’s finally done…

To be continued...

Epilogue

Ten Years Later

“Get up!”

Oof!

I groaned as my kids all decided to wake me up with a belly flop onto my own stomach. My son's and daughters… some were adopted, some I had with Claire, Polka or Derpy. Heh… might have overdone it a bit with how many we have… ah I still love them all.

“Nuu~, five more minutes…” I groaned, but as I heard the many pup’s and foals try to do something, I snatched up all of them into a giant hug.

They all laughed as I got up, letting them all go as I stretched and felt joints pop.

“Morning.” I looked up, seeing Claire walk over and give me my coffee. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah, I had some good sleep.” I said, getting up and putting all my kids down and cracked my back. “I swear they get this ‘alarm attacks’ from Lilinette I swear.” I chuckled.

“Well she is your sister and their aunt so possibly.” She chuckled. “Been peaceful here. Have to admit, this home… reality thing you were reborn to is amazing. Still can't believe it's been ten years.”

“Yeah…ten years…” I said, thinking back to how after auntie Pain opened a portal back to the world…I saw mom in her chibi form tending to both Lilinette and Claire’s injured bodies. “Still remember that final day when I beat Nightmare…without Mom there…”

“Now now, it's too early for that mister moody.” She chuckled. “We're alive and at peace now. That's all that matters Mike. You don't have to keep dwelling on the past.”

“It was still a close call either way.” I said, taking the cup and taking a swig of it. “So, what’s on today’s agenda?”

“Well, Derpy and Polkadot are making breakfast and I will be taking a trip to Hell to check on Leaf, see how his rehab is doing. Alex is at work and you my lazy house husband got a letter from the Reapers Guild regarding your lack of missions.”

Crap…

“Yeah…that’s not going to be a fun conversation.” I groaned. “It’s not my fault I’ve been trying to enjoy a life I’ve always dreamed of.”

“I know. It's not like you even need to work either. But we both know you do it because every now and then you get that itch to hunt and fight.”

True. When I do I feel fine but also… upset. Too few of the souls I'm sent to track and capture or destroy are even worth the effort. Feels weird, being this strong… maybe that's part of why I prefer to stay home more. I'm bored and home at least I have my kids and family.

“That’s fair…I suppose it’s kind of hard to go from ‘fist fight with a god like entity’ to ‘here’s joe schmoe that thought running was a good idea’.” I shrugged.

“Oh yeah, your mom is also gonna stop by for a visit. She said it's related to your letter.”

“Oh dear…” I sighed. “That either means she’s going to try and tell me to get a new job or to throw me at some of the stuff that she used to fight…”

“Considering how strong she is, that'd be bad…”

“So let's hope it's just mom telling me to get a new job.” I said, getting up and drinking more coffee. “Alright kids, get ready for granny to visit.”

I picked up my youngest and carried them to the dining room while the others followed.

Breakfast was pancakes and eggs and when that was done I sat at the couch and looked at the letter from the Reapers Guild again…

Dear Mike

We have noticed over the last few years a dramatic decrease in your attendance at the Reapers Guild and a rapid decrease in missions for recapturing or eradicating stray souls. If you would like to continue employment with the guild please fulfill the recommended quota by no later than one year's time, failure to do so will be seen as a resignation from the guild.

Sincerely, Head Reaper Death.

I huffed.

“Yeah, just gotta meet the quota in a year or I'm fired…” I frowned. “Ick…”

“I know jobs are optional but I'm amazed with how bored you got with the job.” I looked over at Ditzy, my little filly was an adult now, reading a book on the seat across from me. “You literally hunt souls that escaped Hell.”

“And I've grown bored because theres no challenge, there's nothing…really keeping me interested for a good portion of the time…I have gotten too strong.”

“So moms and Pappa Alex’s butts are the only thing stronger than you that keeps you interested~”

When did I end up on the floor…

Ditzy was laughing like mad.

“You’re not allowed to say those things.” I groaned.

“What can I say? Brandy's sense of humor has rubbed off on me.” She chuckled.

I rolled my eyes as I got up and sat back on the couch. Brandy is a co-worker with Ditzy at her job. Met her, and her quips are borderline lethal…

I guess technically she's also Ditzy’s cousin cause, Family, but there's no genetic relations. Not even to me.

“You need to stop following Brandy’s example.” I groaned, getting up carefully. “Right…so just gotta get the quota…but first gotta see what Mom wants.”

“You're just mad she beat you at Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Bakugan, Chaotic, Solitaire, and Uno all in sequence.”

… I refuse to believe someone can be that skilled at card games…

“I don't care if she's the daughter of Maximilian Pegasus, her skills at card games is complete bull.” I frowned.

Ditzy just chuckled.

I got up at hearing a knock at the door. I opened the door, smiling as I saw mom there. “Hi baby.”

“Hey Mom.” I said with a smile. “How are you doing today?”

“I'm well but first we have to talk.” She said, quickly slithering into the house and coiling next to the couch I sat at. I sat at the couch and Mom looked at me. “Mike, be honest… are you bored of… everything here? I don't mean in a depressed, everything feels meaningless sense I mean in a just… you find it hard to he happy on the job.”

“Yeah…there isn’t really any…challenge to it, the hunt isn’t as good as it should be as it’s mostly just a lot of who cares people…as I brought up with Claire, it’s a little hard to go from ‘fist fighting a god like entity’ to ‘yet another person thinks they can run’.” I rolled my eyes. “Got even worse when everyone hears me whistling and gives up from there.”

“I had figured… I'd like to offer an option to you sweetie.” Mom said. I perked up a bit as she pulled out a thin sheet of paper, a contract I noticed and placed it before me. Relocation and Development?

“What’s this?” I inquired. “Relocation and Development? Do we have to move or something?”

“Yes. You see, you know that huge door in Afterlife that never opens and can't be broken down?” Mom asked as I nodded. Everyone knows about that big ass door. “This contract allows you to move to the realm beyond it.”

I blinked. “Uh…is that a good idea mom? Nobody even knows what’s even past that door besides you and the Family.”

“That's why I'm offering. Sweetie, do you remember what you learned about me in school? About the war I fought in?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I know all about it…are they resurfacing?”

“No! No, thanks Mother no. No uh… how to put this… you see, on the other side of that door exists a world, well, a realm, that we created after the war… outside of the machine.”

My eyes widened at hearing that. “R-really? That’s…how? I thought it was impossible…and what about the other side? Has anyone ever opened the doors from the other side?”

“No… some jackass hid the entrance too well and then made the guards and area that acts as the dungeon guarding it stupidly tough. Even I'd have some trouble with the enemies there but that's not the point. The point is for a while people had been disappearing from within the Machine, both living and dead. Unfortunately, the culprit responsible has been… taken in, by one of us and now their once troublesome Isekai of people now is their job. So, with that said I'm offering you this. This contract allows you, your wives and husband and kids all to arrive in the realm on the other side of the door. A reality of true infinite possibilities. There are, however, conditions.”

“And what are the conditions?” I asked.

“Firstly, you can not ever tell anyone you came from the machine and moved out. Second, while you shouldn't tell people you're of The Family, you don't have to deny it if asked. If anyone asks about your parents you can say I'm your mom if you wish and if they ask where you were born just say Homeworld. That's where the other half of the Family on that side mostly live and are born. Lastly, you are to never enter or try to find The Empty/The Final Dungeon.”

“So I understand everything but the Final Dungeon bit, why can’t I look or enter that dungeon? I know it’s bad news even for you but still.”

“Because the Final Dungeon is a test. It safeguards the primary entrance and exit of The Machine and the test is only for those who are not of the Family to prove themselves and are given the right to ascend to become the second Mother.”

“Excuse me, the second Mother? Why in her name would there need to be a Second Mother?”

“The Mother is powerful, but she's using all of it solely on the expansion barrier that protects that world from the raw energy outside the barrier that would otherwise absorb and consume that reality if not for her. As such, that reality is limited and not truly infinite. With two mothers, they can both keep the barrier going strong, expanding faster into the infinite and finish adding that this reality is missing.”

“And…what is it missing?” I asked carefully.

“Time, a Multiverse, and multiple realms. It has dimensions, lesser forms of realms but I mean realms like the Machine has.”

“Oh…that’s…that’s a thing.” I blinked. “Huh…that’s…rather interesting.”

“Yes. So, do you want to see this realm Mike?”

“Well…I suppose this’ll help with my boredom, give the family a new world to explore and…well, better than just getting kicked out of the guild because I didn’t meet the quota again.”

“Trust me, even if you'll have to pay for some things, you're never going to have to work for your money and you'll always have a challenge.” Mom said, giving me a smile.

The End...

Author's Note

And another story of mine is officially done. Thank you all for reading this story and I know I could have done somethings better(like the Elemental Stuff) but eh, it's done, and I'm fine with this.

A new start(redo)

Author's Note

Here's a restart to this story with my good friend BioQuillFiction

A new start(redo)

Poke.

Ouch.

Poke.

Ouch.

Thwack!

Fuck!

“Piss off…” I groaned as I pushed away whoever the hell smacked me. “Can’t you tell I’m sleeping?”

“Say that again, but listen carefully…” Said a female voice… huh… wait…

She sounds familiar… but where… also come to think of it my voice did sound different too and… wait, a girl in my room!?

“Hold up…” I started as I opened my eyes groggily. “There’s a girl in my room? What now?”

“Close but not quite.” Her voice said again as I rubbed the tired out of my eyes. Looking over to where I heard her I saw… a girl, dressed in black and white, rather tight and revealing clothes with green hair and a horned skull… helmet… wait a second I know this chick! Lilynette Gingerbuck! From Bleach! Shit… am I at the convention already? I don’t…

Shit!

I winced… the hell, why does trying to remember give me a headache? I don’t feel hungover.

“Don’t try too hard, it will come back in time.” She said, helping me up… wow, for a small… perfect look alike of that anime girl she sure is strong. “You good?”

“I don’t remember drinking heavily…” I grumbled. “Where...are we and...who are you?” I asked carefully.

I looked around, seeing a forest around us. Thick and lively if all the noise in the distance means anything. She then looked at her own hands and body, as if realizing she had a body for the first time. “Well, given my Appearance, call me Lilyinette Gingerbuck. I didn’t have an actual name before anyways.”

“No, I mean who are you really?” I asked her bluntly. “Cause you maybe dressed as her, but there’s no way...did someone kidnap me from-” I was about to continue but a sudden spasm of pain rushed through my head. “Ow…” I grumbled, putting a hand on my throbbing head...a gloved hand...I don’t remember wearing normal gloves.

“Yeah, I’m just as lost as you. And like I said, I didn’t have a name before, though explaining that reason would just give you more of a headache than you already have. As for why your costume looks far more… complete than before, take a look.” I jumped back seeing her take out a perfect copy of Lilynette’s sword… from her horn stump! That’s not physically possible… She held the reflective part up to me and… oh… what then.

I touched my face, so did he. I blinked both my eyes, so did he… Why do I look like Coyote Starrk?!

“Excuse me, but what the hell!?” I asked in complete shock.

“Yeah… I’ll wait while you get the panic out of your system.” She said while I let my panic run wild.

I had absolutely no idea what was going on, how I was Coyote Starrk in his regular form when I could have sworn I was dressed up in his Resurrección form but...all of this doesn’t make any sense. “How...why...and do you know something about this? Cause if I’m Starrk and...you must be the real Lilyinette...so you know a whole lot more than me here.”

“Wrong. I’m no more Lilynette than you are Starrk. But as far as I can tell we do have their abilities. As well as bodies.”

“And...how do you know that?” I asked carefully.

She showed me tha sword again, putting it back how she drew it. “That not enough proof?”

“But...who are you really? If you’re not really Lillinette then...what are you?”

“Figmitive construct of your mind given physical form upon our arrival.” I stared at her. “I’m… Part of your head. Mind, it’s hard to explain but you know that voice that tells you you’re horrible for no reason? Yeah I’m the opposite. I remind you of happy memories and tell you positives and hopeful things.”

“I...remember that voice...then there was also the more...aggressive voice…” I started.

“Yeah, my unwanted roommates. Speaking of.” She grabbed my head, shaking it a bit. “They aren’t still in there are they? I am pretty sure if I’m out then so are they.”

“That would be a horrifying thought.” I grumbled. “But...no idea, they might just be taking a nap as they tend to do.”

“We sleep when you do. Even then they work overtime giving you nightmares. Remember the AntEater one when you were six?” She asked me, my eyes widening. “Yeah that was them. Two against one is so unfair in the physical or mental space.”

“So where the hell have you been for a majority of the time?” I huffed.

“Well when I wasn’t metaphorically tied up by them, no bodies remember, I managed to give you some nice dreams. My personal favorites were Jellybean rain when you were seven, DnD style castle raid when you were fourteen and your last nine wet dreams involving your childhood crush.” She chuckled. “The dialogue on those I am especially proud of.”

“Let’s...not remind me of those at the moment…” I muttered, not sure if I could blush considering what I really was but damn it sure felt like it. “But...what happened? I...don’t remember anything besides me going to an anime convention with Claire and...that’s about it.”

“Fuck if I know. All my memories come from you, plus my personal experience working as your little helper in your head, so if you don’t remember, than neither do I. Memories stop where yours do and mindscape wise I was wrestling those two for control over your confidence to finally make a move on her. Oh, that reminds me… I have a body now so,” She slapped me. “Dude how can you be so dense?! Even with those two shouting at you in both years it’s as obvious as a disney movie that she liked you!”

“Is that why they both sounded disappointed half the time I talked to her?” I asked.

“Shockingly yes.” Lilly told me. “Seriously, even they were shocked at how dense you are.”

“Christ…” I groaned. “Well...I can blame them for my lack of confidence to ask her...but she also was dating someone at the time, even if he was an asshole.”

“Yeesh, I forget you also aren’t very observant. You seriously think Claire dated him by choice? Everytime he showed up or came into conversation, did she ever smile? When she said she had a date with him, did she seem happy?”

“No, but that could have been for a lot of reasons other than she didn’t like the guy.” I shrugged. “The places they went to were certainly bad choices for Claire all the time.”

“And you think, knowing Claire as long as you have, she wouldn’t have dumped him if he didn’t have something to blackmail her with? He sure talked to her like he was holding something over her head.”

Lillinette could feel a sudden pressure on her as the ground started to shake around us. “If that bastard even dared hurt her…” I growled, the rage of what could have happened between those two surging into my head past my panic and confusion of what the hell is going on.

“So you do have his powers then.” She said. I took note on how it looked like there was a lot of wind getting pushed out from me based on how the plants around us were acting. After I calmed down and it stopped she pat my back. “Look, why we are here and where we are should be our top priority, cause if there was a way here… then that means there has to be a way back. But before any of that we have to figure out where… Here is.”

“Yeah...cause so far there’s just a whole bunch of forest.” I said, looking around carefully as the noises that permeated the forest before seemed to have disappeared...probably because of me but I don’t know.

“Well… “ Lilynette looked around, turning around several times before looking to our left. “That way.”

“Because there's a road or because we have powers to sense people?” I asked while looking to the left.

“No idea.” She said with a shrug as we started walking.

“Well...fine.” I said while following after Lillinette.

We walked for… some hours I think? The sun wasn’t moving across the sky like it should so, I wasn’t sure. Eventually we came across a valley with a large ruined castle in the center of it. Woah. Back in the day this thing must have looked amazing. Now nature was… actually not touching it at much as you’d imagine. It looks more like time has done it in over nature.

“Wow, it’s pretty.” Lilynette said.

“I’m surprised how Time has done more to hurt the place than nature.” I said honestly.

"Yeah. I mean, look at the ground. At the Valley's edge the grass and trees just stop." She pointed out. She felt the ground. "Weird. The dirt doesn't feel dead. A bit dry but still fertile."

“That’s strange…” I said, putting a hand on the hilt of the sword I somehow had. “Something’s not right with this place…”

We walked an old yet still sturdy rope bridge into the castle. Entering the main chamber it looked like there was a battle here. Large blast marks and a hole in the roof made that clear. No weapons, armor or bodies anywhere though. Strange.

“It looks like a battle happened but there’s nobody here…” I frowned.

"Yeah… no arrows or bullet holes, if they even have guns here, or sword marks in the ground or walls. Not even dried blood. It's like something exploded a few times and then it was abandoned. Even the cloth tapestries are still up." She said, pulling on a dusty torn one depicting what looked like some winged, horned animal flying under the moon.

“This is really weird…” I said. “But something still feels...off about this place, like something’s still here…”

"Huh, that's weird." I walked over to Lilynette, finding her looking down a hall of rusting armors… full body horse armor? "I know horses also got armor but not that much…"

“Or...only the horses getting the armor.” I said honestly. “I’m pretty sure the riders armor would be next to their mounts but...it’s all just horses.”

"Maybe these people really value horses?" She shrugged, walking along to the nearby room. As we looked there was a lot of paintings left here, all ruined and from what little I could make out there were only ever horses. Some looked like they were in armor or… clothes? Suits, dresses, hats. The works.

“This is really weird...also, these mannequins are...a tad small for horses if memory serves.” I said honestly.

"Hmm… So, ponies?" She asked with a shrug.

“Maybe, but I have no idea.” I shrugged. “Right now we have too little to go on…”

We wandered aimlessly for a while and came across a small sitting room of sorts. Furniture was either old and rotted or gone. Some books were still here and there, most unreadable and those that didn't turn to dust immediately at our touch we were surprised to find out we can read. Most seemed random stories, plant and animal books. Finally we did find one of note, a diary of a maid named… Lemon Mist? The hell kind of name is that?

Year 87, Era 9.

It has been months since the princesses spoke to each other. Celestia's tries to keep her head held high but the worry is as clear as a cloud in the sky. Luna barely eats, and the few times she speaks to anypony it's violent vulgar words of anger with eyes red from tears. We are all worried. Princess Luna has always been emotional but this goe-

The rest was rotted away.

"Any… pony?" Lilynette said. Oh good so I wasn't the only one to notice that.

“Huh...that’s...really strange…” I said honestly. “So...ponies are the sentient race here?”

"Well, it would explain the armor and paintings. Weird, definitely not on earth then. So, two Princesses having a spat… though from what she wrote about this Luna, she definitely had some voices like you did. What did they call them in Bleach?"

“Hollow’s.” I answered. “But Hollow’s aren’t the ‘whisper in your ear’ type...their more ‘devour a person and move to the next’ kind of beings…”

"Maybe, but for now it's a better name than nothing. So it looks like Luna had a Hollow… That begs the question of… what happened to her… cause from the main chamber and that diary says anything I don't think it ended well."

“Most likely, but we’re in some ancient ruins so we wouldn’t know the full story.” I pointed out.

"Hmm… let's get to the highest tower. I doubt when they abandoned the castle they could travel all too far, I imagine moving an entire capitol, or nation even, would not be easy."

“Can’t we fly or something?” I asked curiously. “Wait...you don’t know anything more than me so...shit…” I muttered, wishing Lillinette here knew what the hell we could actually do.

"Guess we'll just have to learn that then." She sighed, the two of us finding a staircase up. The next floor was clearly the throne room. Two thrones sat next to one another, one displaying the sun and the other a crescent moon. This room felt… empty. I mean like this place was abandoned long before the rest of the castle. I could feel a sense of sadness, hatred and… sorrow. On the moon throne, a long dead flower bouquet rested on the seat.

“Well...even if there were people here it would still feel abandoned.” I said honestly. “But...didn’t expect to feel the emotional history as well.”

"Well, if we are these characters, we are… dead, right? Lord… something's. Ugh, none of us could understand how you managed your memory storage. As messy as your bedroom in there…"

“Vasto Lorde’s.” I answered. “Specifically the Arrancar variant, since Starrk originally took off his mask and turned it into this sword.” I explained while patting the handle of my katana. “And...technically yes, but considering how strange the afterlife is in Bleach...also my memory storage was messy to keep at least some of you out.”

"Worked." She said as we left the throne room, reaching a tower that was actually locked behind chains. Rusted but massive, each thain as thick as my arms, and a lock the size of Lilynette. "Damn." She said with a whistle.

“While impressive, and even though they rusted…” I trailed off as I walked over and grabbed the lock, not even knowing how physically strong I was, I managed to break the lock rather easily with just one hand.

"So all that masterbation paid off."

“Even you know I’m a lefty in that.” I countered, putting my right hand back into my pocket and nudging the door open with my foot.

"Save for when your phone is out." She added.

“Hush you.” I frowned. “But I wonder why they locked up this tower specifically?”

"One way to find out." Lilynette said as she opened ithe doors. The staircase up was dusty but arguably more well preserved than the rest of the castle.

Once at the top we were greeted with possibly the only untouched room here. It looked like a study of sorts, books all looking pristine behind locked glass covered shelving, a table littered with aged papers, most still readable all displayed strange diagrams and circles. Almost reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist.

A bed sat neatly made and covered in dust against the back wall next to a window where the outside was visible and well above the trees.

"Damn…" I said in surprise at how well this place was kept. "Well...at least more of these letters are legible…"

"Wonder who lived here, and why it was locked up." Lilynette asked as she looked out the window. "Well… shit." She sighed, turning to me. "All I can see is forest for miles." She looked out the window again, looking up this time. "If I get up there I might see something."

"Christ…" I groaned. "There has to be a way to get higher...but damn it do I wish they explained how our powers worked…"

"They who?"

"The anime mostly." I sighed out. "At least with a general explanation I could figure something out…"

"Welp, what can you do?" She said, looking out the window again and around, side to side this time. "Huh, I think I can see something… Hey, Olympus is typically on the top of a mountain, right?"

“Yes, what do you see?” I asked, looking around carefully to see what Lilly was seeing.

It was… a city. A city made entirely of clouds where large rainbow waterfalls flowed down below the city before disbursing into mist or something. The cloud city floated Along with the winds, lazily leaving regular clouds behind it. It was far, very far, yet from here I could see it about as clearly as if I was looking at a plane in the sky. Can't see the small features but the large features were very visible. "So, go there?"

“Well...we’re gonna need to figure out how to fly first to go to cloud city.” I said honestly. “And...if memory serves people like us just...walk on the energy of the world...whatever the hell it is at this point.” I said, not sure if this place had Spirit Energy or not for us to walk on. “Or...create platforms underneath our feet with said energy but who knows…”

"Time will tell." She said. "Come on, let's get over there. Better some civilization than none."

“Yeah...now the only problem is, where the hell to go to get to civilization cause I don’t see a road out at the moment.” I said, trying to find a road or something to show where to properly go.

"Well… there's two options. One, we blind luck hope we make it there on foot through all that, or, we set the forest on fire and let them come to us. Castle at minimum."

“Best not to set the forest on fire...the forest is really big.” I said nervously.

"Castle it is. Come on let's go use that sword on your side and cut some trees."

“Let’s hope I don’t accidentally cut down more than just the one tree.” I said honestly, not really wanting to cause mass destruction from my own physical strength.

We made out way back down and surprisingly, with little force I could slice through the tree like it was butter. Carrying that tree was… also oddly easy. Once up and high enough in a different, ruined tower we grabbed rotten books, furniture and such and thankfully found a supply of lanterns with oil still in them and flint for candles. With a quick strike the tower became one giant torch puffing out nasty black smoke.

Lilynette and I were outside the castle watching it from a non suffocating distance. "Now we just wait and see."

“Hmm...considering that one picture of that winged horned horse...do you think there will be Pegasi and Unicorns here as well?” I asked curiously, my attention to detail starting to come out given I had to hand make half of my costume back home.

"That would make the most sense. So, how long til you think someone shows up?"

"Depends, if pegasi live in that cloud city then maybe an hour." I shrugged, taking a pure guess on how the crow flies.

“Well in any case, think they’ll be mad we set one of the towers on fire?”

“I doubt it, this place has been abandoned for a long time, and if anyone gave a damn there would have been a restoration of it at least.”

After waiting for about half an hour we saw a group of Pegasi flying above us. Half went and put out what was left of the tower fire, which largely died out, the others flew near us but kept a distance. After it looked like they were talking amongst themselves, one flew closer to us. She had wild blue and yellow hair, er, mane, like fire and wore a blue and yellow jumpsuit… huh. Also goggles. “Do you two speak any language?” She asked, voice rather gruff but not gravelly.

“Oh thank god you speak english.” I sighed out thankfully. “I’m more glad that we can understand you than...the talking pegasus…”

“I should be saying that to you… what are you? You look like a monkey but too tall, and too small for an ape, and too small and thin and lacking horns to be a minotaur and… lacking the proper legs to be centaures.” She said. “Did you two set that tower on fire?”

“Yes. We did not want to walk all the way through this forest and we saw that cloud city from up there. Felt the easiest way to get your attention.” Lilynette said.

“Huh, fair but this castle is a historical landmark and under crown protection from vandalism.” The pegasus said.

“And as you can clearly see, neither of us are...from here.” I started. “We didn’t know this was a monarchy...or a diarchy because of the two sisters.”

“Yeah, given your race, lack of obvious citizenship… Still, if you both are corporate, I can get you both to the nearest town, but you’ll both have to be locked up until we can get somepony from Canterlot to figure out how this will go.”

“We’ll Corporate.” Lilynette said.

With a nod that Pegasus flew back to the others.

“Well...hopefully things will start to get better from here.” I said simply.

Lilynette and I sat bored in the cell. The nearest town is called Ponyville. Largely a farming town famous for its apples, carrots, and other assorted crops. We were given a bowl of fruits and veggies to munch on and these were honestly amazing. I had no idea lettuce could have flavor beyond water.

About half an hour passed before we heard something from outside the room of cells we were in. “I assure you I’ll be fine.” Said another, female voice from the other side of the door. First thing I noticed when we came into this town was that there were a lot of mares here. At least I’m assuming the majority of them are all mares.

“Miss Sparkle, I am aware of your talents but they are an unknown race of creatures and set fire to the old castle.” Said the voice of the police sheriff.

“To get help, any creature lost in the everfree with common sense would have done the same if they saw an opportunity for airborne help.” Replied this Miss Sparkle. “Besides, if we ask them we;ll know what their race is.” With that the door opened in a glow of purple aura. There are Pegasi and Unicorns, also earth ponies but that’s basically a normal pony. In walked a purple unicorn with a star tattoo on her butt and a two tones purple mane and tail. She closed the door behind us and walked up to us from the otherside of the bars. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Do you two have names?”

I thought for a moment, thinking if I should use my real name or the character's name. “I’m Coyotte Starrk, and this is my...little sister, Lillinette Gingerbuck.” I said to them.

“Right then, now, what are you two? I don’t believe anything or any creature of your race has ever been to Equestria before.”

“Human.” Lilynette said before I could speak. “We are called Humans. And honestly we have no idea how we even got here. We could tell from the moment we arrived this wasn’t even our world.”

“Really? How so?”

“Well, for one our sun moves across the sky throughout the daylight hours while yours stays in one spot all day, and while ponies do exist back home, Unicorns and pegasi do not. They also are not intelligent either.”

“Really?! Fascinating!”

“They are also not as...colorful, or have weird butt tattoos on purpose.”

“Hm? Oh, you mean Cutie Marks.” She said with a nod. “These are an integral part of Pony Culture. They appear whenever you discover your special talent, your Destiny.”

“And being a star, yours is in?” Lilynette asked.

“Magic. I can learn just about any spell and cast it with a fair amount of ease. Mastering it until casting it is as easy as levitation. Of course, I can study and learn other subjects not related to magic and master it just as easily, so I guess my talent is more like learning.”

“Well...alrighty then.” I said carefully. “At this point, talking ponies, unicorns and pegasi, magic being here as well isn’t that surprising.”

“So, you two don’t know how you got here?” Twilight asked.

“Nope.” Lilynette said.

“No idea...last thing I remember was being at a convention...then something…” I trailed off, trying to remember what happened but it was only hazy or painful to remember the details.

“Hm, interesting. Perhaps your transport to Equestria had a negative affliction on your minds. If you two don’t mind, I’d like to cast a spell to see if anything was strange about your bodies. I’ve studied the theoretics of portal magics across dimensions, and it’s possible whatever brought you here left residual energies.”

I knew full well our bodies would be really weird to Twilight if she scanned us...but I wanted to make sure if my head wasn’t really screwed up royally. “You can try if you want”

She nodded, her horn lighting p as first I was covered in her purple magic. After a minute, Lilynette was also covered in it. We stood like that for a while before the aura faded. “Strange. Very strange.” She said aloud in thought. “Starrk, you don’t seem to have any mental irregularities I detected that could have been caused by an external force. Lilynette, your body is largely made up of magical energies but is trying to grab and absorb physical matter.”

“That… actually makes sense, This is gonna sound crazy but I didn’t actually exist before arriving here. Well, I did but without a body, I was part of Starrk’s mindscape before this.”

“Really?! Wow, It’s been studied that the mental representations of the mind can gain their own forms within the mind, but to actually pull one from the mind and give it a physical form, that’s never been done before!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose if that matters.” I pointed out. “But uh...what would happen if...depression voices got out?”

“I have absolutely no idea, this is a whole new field combining Psychology and magic. Aside from this, the only irregularities I can detect is a small, unknown bit of energy within the both of you, and a strong pull of the world's natural mana into yourselves.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Good to know all of that...so when are we going to see the Queen’s?” I asked curiously.

Twilight looked at me, confused. “Queens? You mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?”

"Then who's the king and queen?" I asked carefully. "The sun and moons parents? Also...really on the nose with names I'm seeing…"

"Equestria doesn't have Queens. You can only have one king or queen in a monarchy, but you can have as many princesses as the royals desire or require. As for the mother of Celestia and Luna, well I'm not actually sure. As far as I know there are no records of their parents in the history books."

"So it's not a monarchy then." I said honestly. "It's...a republic or something at that point." I shook my head, trying to get back on track. "So when will we meet the princesses?"

"Well, I sent a few letters before arriving here so, maybe in a day or two?"

"Are we going to be stuck in these cells for that long?" I inquired.

"Possibly. You're mostly here for setting a fire in the castle of the two sisters, and given your not equestrians or even of this world somepony is gonna have to give punishment."

"If people didn't want it ruined then why are they leaving it abandoned and filled with a whole lot of regret?" I asked simply.

“Well, the Everfree Forest is an extremely dangerous place filled with wild animals and magic that can’t be understood or controlled.”

“Then why build a castle in the center of it?” Lilynette asked.

“In the past, the Everfree was not as dangerous as it is today, in fact, it is only in the last thousand years, shortly after it was abandoned after the rise of Nightmare Moon, that the Everfree began to grow far more wild and countless unknown creatures with just as unknown magic moved in. By then the castle was completely abandoned, but for some reason the castle grounds themselves remain untouched by the Everfree, even avoided from what I have seen.” Twilight explained.

"So...why care about the old place? I'm pretty sure someone would be happy to see it destroyed, and it's probably those princesses given the notes we found."

“While the castle itself does hold, less than pleasant memories for the two, the magic, secrets and history are far too invaluable to simply erase it. Over the years many have explored it and to this day it’s estimated not all of the castle’s secrets have been uncovered. Maybe only about twenty percent in total if that.”

"Neat." I nodded.

“Hmm… So, not much of that castle has been explored at all then? What if we could help you in that endeavor in exchange for a pardon of this little incident?” Lilynette suggested.

“Well, that would be helpful and you’d be heroes in the eyes of the Equestrian historical societies. Did you two find something of interest?”

“Well, you know of a tower that was locked by massive chains?” Lilynette asked as Twilight nodded.

“Starswirl the bearded’s personal research laboratory and study. The books, scrolls and tombs in that room haven’t been touched since his disappearance, the room and tower itself sealed with magic so strong not even the Princesses could break it. Why do you ask?”

“Starrk here broke those chains off and we saw it.”

Twilight laughed. “Impossible, how could you two break magical seals so powerful not even the Princesses could remove them?”

“Hmm… Well, you said we’re absorbing mana from the environment, shouldn’t that mean that we absorbed the magic from the seal as well?”

Twilight was silent, thinking clearly before her eyes widened. “If you did, the cains would be reduced to plain metal and could easily be broken off with enough force or magic! You two really got into Starswirld’s personal study?!”

"There wasn't any magic to begin with." I deadpanned. "If there was, I'm pretty sure we would have noticed it glowing. Did any of you even bother looking at it?"

“Part of it’s magic is to hide itself from prying eyes. The spellwork consists of multiple layers of magic, the first being concealment and avoidance. Basically mindless monsters of those with rather low intelligence can’t even acknowledge the door and chains are their. As far as they’d be concerned it’s just a wall, same for those who are actively seeking the tower entrance itself with a desire for the treasures inside, so it’s hidden from thieves too. Bypassing those for the ones who can see it, meaning those who don’t care for what is inside, like you both, the magic then falls to the next layers. Protection, Repelling, and Immunity. The protection charms make it impenetrable from physical attempts to open, the Repelling ones make dark artifacts, or even just artifacts meant to bypass locks and protections unable to work on it, and lastly the Immunity means the seal itself is immune to magic. Manic of all save the original caster. But, since you two are currently, passively absorbing magic, you two bypassed all that and basically ate the magic keeping the seal up, removing all of the protections by basically absorbing it like one absorbs lotion.”

"So either we're really good at absorbing magic, or Starswirl sucked at his job as sorcerer supreme." I shrugged. "Cause we were only near that lock for like...ten seconds or something?" I turned to Lily for confirmation.

“Well, Starrk did touch it. Maybe touching that magic quickened the absorption?” She offered.

“That is possible. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if by physically touching that magic you absorbed it faster.” Twilight said. Her horn lit up and in a flash a book appeared in front of her. Her horn flashed again and the book didn’t look any different. “Let’s run a test. This book I quickly enchanted with a simple privacy spell. Any filly worth her horn uses this spell on their diary. It basically makes nopony other than the caster able to open the book. I’ll monitor the magic of the spell, you two just grab it.” Twilight said, placing it through the bars and onto the floor of our cell.

I grabbed the book. "Don't be surprised if I accidentally rip it in half...I kind of don't know my own strength." I said carefully as I tried to open it.

It opened and I had about half of it flew out of my grip and against the wall. Twilight simply blinked. “Well… Looks like touching an enchanted object causes you to absorb the magic instantaneously… And that strength… I didn’t detect any magical enhancements… so that is just pure, raw physical strength.”

“Uh...huh…” I blinked. “I...did warn you about my physical strength.”

“I wasn’t expecting that… Strange…”

“I didn’t think it would be that fast and...again, I don’t know my strength really.” I said sheepishly.

“Well, I think I can make some arrangements, I’ll have to go back home and get Spike to help me send a few more letters to Princess Celestia. With luck we can arrange something so you two can avoid trouble with the law and maybe even gain citizenship.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “So, tell me about this ‘Nightmare Moon’ person...sounds like it happened recently considering the burn marks on the walls in the castle.”

“Well, yes and no. You see, a thousand years ago, Princess Luna fell into an unexplainable despair. She grew angered and jealous of Celestia, and how Ponies enjoyed the day far more than the night. After some time, she suddenly transformed into Nightmare Moon, a dark creature with all of Luna’s powers and abilities, and refused to lower the moon, wanting to bring upon an eternal night. Celestia had to use these powerful artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, to banish her inside the moon. It was only a few months ago that she returned. I am Celestia’s personal student, and to my surprise, my friends and I were the next bearers of the elements, and using them we broke the hold Nightmare Moon had over Princess Luna, returning her to herself and destroying the monster that possessed her.”

“Sounds like one hell of an antidepressant.” I joke half heartedly.

“Sounds like a Hollow.” Lilynette whispered to me. “So Twilight, how has Luna been doing since her… salvation.”

“Just fine. Celestia says Princess Luna has been mostly just trying to adjust to modern life. A lot has changed in the last thousand years.”

I couldn’t help but frown at what Lily said, but shook it off to keep it to myself. “Well that’s good.” I nodded. “Glad Luna’s getting better I suppose.” I said, slightly hating how the moon princess apparently got an all purpose cure for shit I struggled with for most of my life.

“I’ll be back once Spike sends the letters to Princess Celestia.” Twilight said, quickly rushing out the door.

Lilynette and I both sat down. “Nightmare Moon was a Hollow.” She stated. “It fits, and with the two that were in your head gone, they likely received their own bodies without having to possess anyone like this Nightmare had to. Given our bodies, powers and this… everything, whatever brought us here and took the others and I out of your head clearly has a liking to that anime you’d binge watch.”

“It’s a good show.” I started. “Even if it has...a whole lot of problems, but...I just wanted to go to an anime convention and nerd out with my friend…” I groaned.

“Question is how, why, and who?” She stated, sighing. “How did we get here. Why are we here… and Who brought us here.”

“Who knows…” I sighed out, laying down on the ground. “Wake me up when they get back...it’s been a lot for just one day…”

Several hours passed before Twilight came back, the police sheriff following her and unlocking our cell. “Great news, you two have been pardoned of the… incident.” Twilight said as we exited the cell. “Princess Celestia and Luna were amazed to learn of your unlocking of Starswirld’s tower and after they got it confirmed they sent a royal pardon for you both, on the terms you both meet with them tomorrow and will be under my custody until they can decide how you two wish to spend your time in Equestria.” Twilight explained.

“It’s still weird how we’re being called vandals for setting up a basic signal fire in one of the towers.” I started. “But cool, glad to know we’ll be meeting the princesses soon...hopefully they’ll know something about why we’re here if they're over a thousand years old.”

“Maybe.” Twilight said. She lead us through town and after a walk with all the residents looking at us we got inside her home, a giant tree with the inside carved out into a library. Wow. Hol up… Graphic Novels Section?

“Wait hold up, graphic novel section?” I asked, immediately derailing things as I turned and walked into the section to see what she has.

“Oh, yeah. Personally I don’t enjoy them but Spike managed to order several volumes of series from a publishing company in the Minotaur Kingdoms. Apparently they are popular with lots of ponies, haven’t had so many ponies come in and check out books before these got on the shelves. They range from Y, meaning for young children, to R for adult ponies, but those aren’t too popular either. It’s mostly just the Y-PG14 sections that get the most checked out. Few actually read the R rated materials.” Twilight said.

“R as in violent or R as in Pornographic?” Lilynette asked.

“The… Adult sections of these are with the other Adult books through that door.” Twilight said, pointing a hoof to a narrow door in the wall nearby.

“I’m just gonna take a step back in this conversation and accuse you of something Twilight.” I started. “Like ‘and you call yourself a nerd’.” I said accusatorial as I looked through all the graphic novels, wondering which one would strike my fancy.

“I never said I was a nerd?” She said as I saw one titled ‘Arachnophobia'. Carefully I took it and looked at the cover, seeing it was of a pony-er… Zebra, holding a young foal in one leg while using her teeth to try and fend off a giant spider four times her size. “And please don’t read that around Spike, I don’t want him getting Nightmares.”

“Listen, if he ordered these, he’s probably already read them.” I started. “Also...this is very...imaginative for a cover on just a fear of spiders.”

“Never judge a book by it’s cover.” Lilynette said, taking the book from me and reading the general summary aloud. “In the distant village of yekurē ‘asa, where at night many residents have vanished without a trace. Soon all that is left is a single mother and her newborn foal, and follow as she travels to the safety of the imperial capital while trying to stay ahead of the gizufi shererīti invasion and keep her young safe.” She finished, giving me back the book. “Well that’s something you’d read.”

Twilight shivered. “Honestly, how can anypony write that, let alone draw the images accompanying it for fifty seven volumes.”

“Oh you sweet sunshine child.” I shook my head at Twilight. “That’s honestly a lot tamer than you’d think, especially with some of the graphic novels I’ve read through, and I’ve read through quite a bit.”

Carefully, I opened the book and… wow, it’s basically a manga. Cool!

Ten volumes later, it was night and Lilynette plucked Volume 11 out of my hands before I could read it. I was getting good at controlling the level of strength I used. “That’s enough. Bed.” She said.

“No! Sitarirodi was in a nest and her son Nefashama Demena was missing!” I said.

She backed up, making my reaching for the book cause me to fall on the floor from the couch Twilight gave me to Sleep on. I can’t fit on Pony sized beds. “It will be here when you wake up tomorrow.”

“Why must you do this to me?” I whined. “We don’t even need sleep.” I started, given what we really are...until the yawn that came out of nowhere betrayed me.

“Look, whatever we are, you forget, we aren’t the real Starrk and Lilynette. Whatever we are, we are copies. For all we know we aren’t even… Lord… whatevers.”

“Arrancar.” I said. “We upgraded because whoever the ‘true’ version of us was took their mask off...and then split in half cause they were too powerful and killed everything around them just from the power they radiated.” I said honestly. “Better than remembering ‘Vasto Lorde’.”

“Whatever the case, whatever we actually are, you still have your human body's needs. You ate food, you are clearly tired, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be pooping tomorrow morning. You ate a lot of apples for dinner.”

“Then what’s the point of being a spirit?” I frowned.

“We probably aren’t. For one I don’t think the real Starrk or Lilynette could be seen by anyone who was alive.”

“We’re in a land of magical unicorns and pegasi, I think that part can be ignored.” I rolled my eyes.

“Still, there’s something going on here and I don’t like it. People don’t just get teleported from conventions on earth to another world as the fictional character they dressed as.” She said. “And Definitely the representation of their mental well being don’t get dragged out of their heads and given their own body either.”

“Especially when it seemed like you got a lot more chatty when Claire got me those pistols.” I pointed out. “But that’s neither here nor there right now...right now is figuring out our powers and...more so on where the hell are we.”

“Powers wise or planet wise cause I’m pretty sure Twilight said this was called Equestria, at least this kingdom. Specifically, Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library.” She said with sass.

“You know what I mean.” I said as I grabbed her swiftly and started to grind my fist into her bone covered head in an aggressive noogie.

“You do know I can’t feel that right? Helmet.” She said, giving the bone part a hard knock before pushing me off. “Look, my one and only purpose in YOUR life was to keep you happy and positive, as well as safe and be your common sense. Then those two assholes moved in when you were three and made that job a living nightmare. Inside your head or not, that is still my job, so if I have to mama bear you, I will.”

“So do you want me to get you a snack from the top shelf before we go to bed?” I joked with a cheeky smile.

To my surprises, she punched my gut… hard… I keeled over, now at eye level with her. “Don’t make me baby you. I am not below making you live out the Highschool Baby nightmare if you make me.” She hissed. That nightmare still haunts me...

“Take a joke asshole.” I said while flicking her in the forehead so hard it left a mark. “And don’t you dare.”

“Would you prefer the Public BDSM dream? I bet I can find an actual wolf girl here too.” She said, rubbing the spot I flicked.

“I will end you if you do that.” I growled.

“And I will just pop back into your head, where, guess what, the damage I do in there you can’t stop me from.” She pointed out. “Not an actual person and any ‘afterlife’ of mine is just back inside your head. Would you rather my pervert vision you 24/7 in there or mess with you out here.” Lilynette said, tossing the blanket at me. “Now good night. Tomorrow we meet the Princesses and you should shower… actually, don’t these two have like, holes in them?” She asked, trying to look under the little clothing she had. I turned at that. Stupid loli…

“We should.” I said while unzipping my shirt a bit and looking down at my bare chest to see if there was a ‘Hollow Hole’ there.

Yup. Several… wow my hand just goes right through them… Hey I can finally reach that itch that’s always evaded me. “That’s disturbing…”

“So yes, we’re indeed spirits still.” I said honestly. “Good to know. Also I think the ‘hole’ for you is your eye.”

She frowned, feeling under the bone helmet eyepatch and feeling under it. Her visible eye went wide as soon half her arm was now inside there. “Woah… That’s so weird… Hey, I could keep stuff in here. Actually, hang on.” She said, pulling her hand back out and inside her hand was a small book. “The hell?”

“Uh...that...shouldn’t work.” I started nervously. “Why was there a book in your head?”

“Like I know?” She replied, opening the book. “Huh… it’s all in japanese…”

“Wonder why?” I frowned. “Looks like we’re gonna need to learn japanese then…”

“Too bad you never watched subbed anime… I am not sure if japanese is even a language here, or if any are similar.”

“Which sucks even more.” I sighed out. “Hopefully the princesses would know, they’ve probably learned all the languages.”

“If not, I bet that egghead can translate it.” She said, shoving the book back in there, then took the manga and put it in there as well, giving me a warning point, then motioned for me to sleep as she left for her bed. She is small enough to fit on pony beds.

As she left I huffed. “Yeah, want’s to be my emotional support and threatens me with bad times…” I grumbled...only to put my hand back in my chest and prayed there was something...maybe a photo of my past life at this point. “If she got a book in her head, I can at least have a photo of friends or family…”

After a bit of digging I found something and pulled it out, showing a picture of...me and Claire, both dressed up in our convention attire that mom took before we went off. “Well...it’s at least something to remember her by…” I muttered, putting it back and walking to sofa...even though I was still a bit too big for it...damn tiny ponies! “Well...at least it’s comfy…” I muttered while laying down on the arguably softest sofa I’ve ever been on.

The next morning I awoke to the smell of… Eggs, and… beans? “Morning.” Said a young voice. I opened my eyes, seeing a small, purple and greed reptile walking on two legs putting a plate of eggs and refried beans on the table next to me. “Sleep well?” They asked.

“Well...the sofa’s a little too small but damn if it isn’t comfy.” I said honestly, getting up and stretching out a bit. “So, you’re Spike?”

“Yeah, Spike the Dragon, Twilight’s number one assistant.” He said. “She told me you two are omnivores, so I figured you’d need some protein given you two only ate apples last night.”

“Thank you.” I nodded. “So, I see you have a good sense for literature if the Graphic Novel section is anything to go by.” I said, wanting to try and strike up a basic conversation we can both get behind and not make me feel out of place.

“Honestly I just saw the catalogue of new books and checked off a few from each category. It was more for me than the library. Honestly I didn’t think they’d be so popular. Twilight barely lets me read Comic books, the ones I have her parents, brother or Princess Celestia got me.”

“Which raises questions of how true of a nerd she really is.” I huffed. “And before you ask why I think she’s a nerd...tree house library screams it.”

“I know, but she only likes fiction if it’s written in a book with little to know pictures.” Spike said with an eye roll.

“Hasn’t she ever heard of ‘show, don’t tell’?” I huffed.

“Meh, at this point she has her likes and I have mine.” He said, seeing the small pile of books at my side. “Arachnophobia? Heh, nice. Too bad Twilight only cares about books and is a complete fraidy cat.”

“I knew you already read through everything, she told me you’re not allowed to read it because she doesn’t want you to have nightmares.” I explained. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

“Meh, Princess Celestia showed me worse when Twilight was just a little foal. Yeah the gore and such is disturbing, but in regards to Nightmare fuel, meh. Spiders just never got to me. Have you gotten to the part where Sitarirodi found the talking Shererīti?”

“I was getting to it, then Lily took it away from me last night.” I frowned. “I know I may look older, but I’m still technically eighteen so all nighters reading manga is still a habit.” I frowned. “And also, is there a Comic called ‘Berserk’?” I asked, wondering if the most popular grimdark manga was also here and if Celestia already showed him.

“Hmm… I know of one called Wrath, it’s about this half dragon half pony traveling a world overrun with monsters from Tarturus and he is largely at fault cause his best friend betrayed him and used the key that was meant to seal the gates forever to open them and become king of monsters.” Spike said.

“Did the main character lose an arm and an eye because of it?” I inquired.

“He lost his wings and both eyes.” Spike said.

“Close enough.” I said, not wanting to bring up more of that one scene cause that’s when everything went downhill for everyone.

"Yeah, not everypony in town even looks at the R rated sections of the library." Spike said. "Twilight is more often so focused on whatever she's doing I can basically read whatever without her knowing."

"Sounds about right." I nodded.

I ate my food real quick and after a bit Lilynette came in, handing me the book she took and I began reading. Shortly after I finished it it was time to meet the Princesses.

I was a bit surprised.

Celestia, was a pure white coat with a long flowing rainbow mane and tail. She was eye level with me. Luna was a dark blue coat with a mane like the night sky also flowing in a non-existent breeze. She was just taller than Lilynette by a head.

"Yo." I nodded to the two plainly, not sure how to properly say things in front of royalty.

Spike looked surprised and Twilight looked horrified at my casual greeting. Lilynette rolled her eyes, bowing to the two real quick. "Please forgive him, he's not very smart." She said. "I am Lilynette Gingerbuck, and this is Coyote Starrk."

Celestia nodded. "A pleasure to meet new creatures, be them of this world or not."

"Yes. We have been very intrigued from what young Twilight Sparkle wrote of you two in her letters." Luna added. Wow she talked really old school fancy. Then again she was in the moon for a thousand years so that must just be part of having to adjust.

"I'm not an idiot for starters." I stated bluntly. "If they wanted me to treat their titles seriously, then they would look the part, not acting like it's casual Friday." I stated simply, not knowing how I knew that but I somehow did. "But it's nice to meet you two, and there's...a lot of questions I want to ask."

Luna looked herself over. "We do not look dressed for the occasion?"

Celestia chuckled. "Luna, I believe given their Attire, Miss Gingerbuck and Sir Starrk expected us to be in more than just our regalia."

"As in, attire for a ball?"

"Probably." Celestia said with a nod. "Now then, you have questions. So do we. You can start, you ask and we answer, then we ask and you answer. Fair?"

"No, not the look." I shook my head. "The way you're acting, your body language, both of you are acting as if this is just a trip to a friend's house, not acting like your royalty, there's no guards in here, and a whole host of other things that would tip me off you are 'acting royals on a special meeting'." I explained decisively. "Like meeting two beings of unknown nature and race is a 'friendly visit'..." I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that...force of habit." I sighed out, the bitterness in the simple action caught Luna's attention.

"What makes thou bitter?" Luna inquired.

"It's nothing." I shook my head. "So...just a simple question to start off with, what are you two?"

"We are alicorns. Beings embodying the three pony races. The magic of the Pegasi, Unicorn and Earth Pony tribes all within one body. My sister controls the moon and the stars. I raise the sun."

“You take the moon, and you take the sun.” I started to joke.

“You take everything that seems like fun?” Spike added, only for me to stare at him in surprise.

“You and I are going to be great friends.” I said honestly to Spike, feeling a bit better knowing I’ll have a good friend in this weird world.

"In regards to our own question now. Tell me, what is the name of your homeland?"

“Uh…” I started. “Do you mean the planet, continent, country, state or town?” I asked nervously. “Cause ‘homeland’ is quite a broad term considering our situation here.”

"All of it." Celestia said with a smile. "In the thousand years since my sister's… incident, many changes have happened in the kingdom, mostly in foreign relationships. Travel to other lands is… rare, and limited. It is something I miss greatly. Hearing about another place, and one that is, in origin, alien. It's fascinating."

“Alright.” I nodded. “I live on a planet called Earth, the Continent being North America, Country being the United States of America, and State and Town would be San Diego California.” I said honestly. “And from what I’ve seen so far between Earth and this place...so far you’d be in a weird state of the middle ages, but also further along given I heard a train not too long ago.” I said, never mistaking the sounds a train would make.

"Interesting." Celestia said with a nod.

“Now, the question my...little sister scolded me on questioning before, where are we?” I asked. “All we were told is that ‘this is Equestria’, and the town is Ponyville but that doesn’t really give us much to go on for...where everything else is in this place.”

"The world is called Equis." Luna started. "Land to many magical beings ranging from we ponies to the mighty dragons. This continent shares the name as the country, Equestria. North of our borders are the Frozen North, south east are the badlands, unexplored territories home to monsters and beasts, and south west and onward is unexplored. Across our oceans are the lands of the other races, closest of which is the Dragon Kingdom."

"What about culture?" Celestia asked.

“It changes between both times, and area’s in the world.” I shrugged. “But it’s diverse enough even though it’s all made by the same race.”

"Hm. So far so similar."

“What races are there here?” I asked curiously. “Sentient races I mean.”

"Known? Pony, Griffon, Dragon, Minotaur, Centaur, Sea Serpents, Leviathans, shall I continue?" Celestia asked.

“So basically this is a bunch of fantasy creatures...good to know.” I nodded.

"How does your world handle your nations rulers?"

“Uh…” I started. “Depends on the area again, cause there’s several different political structures like Democracies...and Dictatorships...before there was Monarchy’s and Republics, but Republic’s turned into Democracy over time and Monarchy’s went the way of their rulers.” I said. “With nothing but a bucket, a giant blade, and gravity.”

"Yikes. Guess being immortal helps keep monarchy alive." Celestia said with a chuckle.

“You’re good people from what I can tell, that’s the key there.” I said honestly. “Age does have something to do with it but...it tends to lead into assholes taking too much and giving too little.”

"If anything my sister has spoiled the kingdom in my absence." Luna said. "Honestly. It's no wonder the guard has become so lax and weak compared to the good old days. Back then you were guard material if and only if you could slay a hydra. These days a physical exam barely a tenth of the requirements of before."

Celestia gave Luna a glare but rolled her eyes. "Your next question please?"

“Why haven’t you gotten rid of that old Castle?” I asked, starting to wade into a personal question. “Me and Lily were there only for a little bit but...I’m pretty sure the emotions lingering there would enjoy being buried into the ground.”

Celestia sighed, Luna looked away. "For all the bad memories those halls hold… its value… personally, outweigh the negatives."

"It was ours… our home. We… ruined that." Luna said. "We wish to fix that someday. The current state of the Everfree makes this a trial by fire, but one we will see through."

“Understandable.” I nodded.

"What about… technology?" Celestia asked.

“Now I need to preface this with humans don’t have magic.” I started. “So technology is...very interesting, cause in the year 1969 we managed to get people onto our Moon, and that was forty five years ago on my world.” I said honestly. “Technology has made leaps and bounds quite often.”

"Thou has been to your moon?!" Luna said, suddenly right in front of me. "Without the aid of magic?"

“Yes, it took a whole lot of time, money, and engineering, but we managed it, and we’ve been up there another 2 times with a human being, but then we switched it to having machines get us samples or to track things on the moon.” I said, even though it was a bitch to deal with, glad I had a random depression spell leading me to reading a weird amount of technology and astronomy. “So that was your question, now mine...before I ask my question, how personal are we allowed to go with these questions?”

"Unless we do not wish to answer it." Celestia said simply.

"How large is your moon?" Luna asked.

“About...over 2000 miles in diameter?” I asked. “I don’t know the specific number, but it’s pretty big.”

Luna nodded, smiling as she walked back over and sat next to her sister. "Mines bigger."

“Then you’ve got a problem there.” I said honestly. “Cause if you’re Moon’s bigger, then that means Gravity is affecting your world a lot more than necessary...so that’s why it was a whole lot worse…”

"We've never had issues with that before." Celestia said.

"Yes, our world's relation with our moon has no effect on our gravity. Otherwise we would not be here, isn't that right?" Luna asked me.

"Mostly due to the fact the moon would have done some serious things to your world's oceans and quite a bit of other things I don't entirely know about." I shrugged. "But that also seems...impossible that your bigger moon doesn't affect the planet in someway…"

"What if our planet is bigger?" Twilight offered.

"It's diameter is 7917.5 miles with a density of 5.51 grams per cubic centimeters...how big and dense is this planet?" I asked curiously.

"Hmm… what's a mile?" She asked. Fuck, right, different planet different units if measurement. "We measure distance in Celestials."

"And...how do you measure in Celestials? Are they like feet, meters, what?"

"One Celestial is fifty hoofs." Twilight said, raising her hoof. Huh, so not too off from measuring in feet then.

"Miles is 5280 Feet." I said while raising my foot up to demonstrate.

Comparing hoof to feet, a foot is about two hooves. So one Celestial is about 100 feet.

"Okay, as for the planet. Equis is approximately 4,874,921 Celestials in diameter." Twilight said.

"So that would be…" I started, trying to think of how big Equis and earth are. "Curse you math…" I grumbled.

"In your miles, or would be...92,328 miles." Twilight said.

"How the hell is your planet eleven times bigger than ours?" I asked incredulously. "The gravity here should be astronomical if it's not hollow as shit."

"We've never explored other planets and never wondered about that. Perhaps given you come from another world, if possible another reality, the laws of such realities would be different." Celestia offered.

"Well...maybe." I said, not knowing how any of this could be happening so I just shrugged it off. "So let's get off of those confusing math questions…"

"Right, so what is your question now then?"

"I might as well get it out of the way…" I sighed out. "The hell is Nightmare Moon?"

Celestia winced as Luna sighed, looking down at the floor. "A demon. Of sorts. Twas long ago, I grew… upset that our subjects valued and treasured our sister over us. In our sorrow, we were approached by a being quite similar to you both."

"So you were depressed…" I started worriedly. "Well...that's not good at all…"

"A being like us?" Lilynette asked.

"Physically… yes. It wore a mask, large empty eyes with a frown, a suit as grey as rain clouds and a pitch black tie."

“That doesn’t sound like anything we know…” I frowned.

"You never told this Luna." Celestia said.

"We were… ashamed… and scared. For all our power… this… creature, was unlike anything we ever sensed before. He called himself Demon, and said he would be happy to help us in return for a deal. We could acquire the power to obtain the admiration of our subjects, in return for his entertainment."

“Your first problem was letting a literal Demon strike a deal with you...let alone suffering what I’ve had to deal with…” I muttered the last part. “I’m sorry, please, continue.”

"I don't believe he was an actual demon. He did not give off that aura. Besides, he just wanted entertainment, not our soul or any lives."

"Entertainment?" Lilynette asked.

"Yes. He wished to simply observe what I did with… what he bestowed onto me. He called it a Hollow, and from that day forth, Nightmare whispered in the back of my head, speaking things I… at first, believed lies… most were." Luna said.

“Then what were the truth’s?” I asked carefully, surprising Luna at how I immediately went with what this monster spoke truth about. “It couldn’t be about how you’re weak, how you’re an idiot, how all your hard work means nothing, we all know those were lies...what truth’s did that thing tell you?” I started, surprising the lunar princess even more as to what she was told.

She looked away. "As royalty, friendship, true, honest friendship is a luxury. Nightmare was correct in telling us our most loyal guard, one we considered a friend, cared nothing for us."

“And...he promised to be your friend?” I asked. “He promised to share the same love for the night you create so you can feel better...all you had to do was let him in didn’t you?” I asked, not noticing Celestia’s deeply concerned expression at how...experienced I sounded with this.

“His words said one thing… but his dreams showed the truth. To him, I was an annoyance. He kept me happy, hoping for better pay.”

“Okay, you’re talking about the Guards, not Nightmare…” I took a deep breath. “Okay, so while that makes sense...did this creature, who I can only assume is an ‘original’ at this point...was Nightmare a friend of yours? Before he possessed you?”

“I wouldn't call them that. Not at all. Not quite an enemy either. I think they just wanted to keep me… depressed and saddened.”

“Better than some alternatives…” I muttered. “Alright. I’m sorry for making you...remember this bad stuff.”

“Tis alright. One must own up to their mistakes less they repeat them in the future. It’s actually why I came along on this meeting. You both, from what our sister's student has informed us, have no recollection of how you arrived in our world, correct?”

“The only thing I remember was that I was at a convention with a...dear friend of mine...then after that it becomes more fuzzy and...painful…” I said bitterly.

“And from what Twilight Sparkle tells us, there is no residual magic on you both, aside from Miss Gingerbuck’s and your own absorption of residual magic. If any beings can pull this off, I suspect Demon and his partner are more than capable.”

“That or...something else.” I said, glancing at Lily thinking she might have something important to this weirdness with my head given she came from my head.

“Well, back on earth there is no way for me to get a body given I originally came from Starrk’s head, and when I was pulled out, those two were as well. They are like your Nightmare, Hollows, but weaker… and honestly while strong they are both kinda… dumb, despite one is very smart and the other is like a bull in a red painted room, together they barely make one threatening person. Course, if they also got bodies, I’m not sure if they’ve changed or have abilities like we do.”

“And instead of yours who took over your body because of some reason or another...those two wanted me dead.” I frowned. “Yours at least wanted you to be alive and well, not six feet under.”

“Maybe that’s because of how they originated?” Lilynette thought aloud. “Yours was placed inside you Princess, while Starrk’s were born within him.”

“Perhaps, but I doubt we will ever know for certain.” Luna said. “The question is, if Demon and his partner are behind your arrival, when will they appear?”

“I doubt they were behind it…” I said honestly. “There would have been more pomp and circumstance with Demon at least from what you’ve told me and...I just woke up here without much ceremony.”

“What of this partner, Luna?” Celestia asked.

“We never met them. But Demon spoke of them, something about wagers and outcomes. We suspect them to be a being of equal power to Demon. Sadly all we know of them for sure is their name, Genie.”

“He better be voiced by Robin Williams.” I muttered. “Well...if Demon wears a sad theatre mask, then Genie will have the happy theatre mask if they have a theme.”

“Probably.” Lilynette shrugged. “Does make you wonder just what they are though.”

“Who knows.” I shrugged. “So anyways...back to questions.” I said, thinking this was getting too bad or personal.

“Very well, onto the official matter why we are here. Your vandalism of our old castle. My sister and I have agreed to wave these issues and grant the both of you Equestrian Citizenship, under the condition you both work for the crown as my sister and I’s personal agents.” Luna said.

“Seems...rather specific and immediate to work as secret service don’t you think?” I asked.

“You both displayed unique abilities and your raw strength alone means you two could both tackle many troubles the guard of the modern age would fail to counter or defend against. Your unique magic absorption means spells would be useless against you both, and in time I believe you two shall discover more abilities and powers. Especially if your arrival in this world was the work of Demon and Genie.”

“This also allows us to take on some projects that I have… admittedly ignored or managed to stave off that have to be resolved.” Celestia added. “Luna is the one who better understands military and defence. My skills were in diplomacy and negotiations. I’d be lying if I said that, while I have the magic to make an attack… I don’t believe I’d have the heart to endure a war.”

“I’m just gonna be blunt and tell you that while me and Lilly know what we can do...neither of us know how to actually...figure out how to use them.” I explained carefully. “And I’m pretty sure none of you would know what we can do either cause...well none of you would probably know about spirit energy and the like.”

“Then who better to help then we?” Luna stated. “Locations where you two can train and work safely to learn what you can do, and if those two are behind your arrival, then what better way to find out then by luring them here? Clearly, you two, or more precisely, Starrk was brought here and Gingerbuck bestowed a body, for a reason they possibly are plotting, if not for a close enough reason. Luring one or both here would likely be the best option to learn this information.”

“True.” I shrugged. “But are you sure there isn’t anyone else besides those two that would know?”

“The only other being remotely possible for causing such antics is Discord, and he has been imprisoned within stone, powerless for well over a thousand years.”

“Congratulations, you played yourself.” I started. “One person broke free from a thousand year prison...how soon do you think the other one will break out?” I asked, already dreading the worst.

“Discord’s prison was never meant to be broken.” Celestia said. “Nightmare Moon’s… was only meant to imprison her for a thousand years… enough time for me to find new bearers for the elements of harmony. The only way discord can break free from his imprisonment is if the elements themselves free him.”

“What is Discord again?” I asked carefully. “I’m sorry, I don’t think his name was obvious enough.” I sassed.

“The spirit of chaos. Now, while you think that makes him a prime suspect, keep in mind his typical acts of chaos are turning clouds into literal cotton candy, rain into chocolate milk, dirt into soap, apples into long legged running creatures, and my moon into actual cheese. In other words, if your arrival is his work, then he is both somehow playing from within his prison, and far outside his typical field of chaos.”

“So he’ll probably break out within about a month or two, give or take any shenanigans from outside cosmic forces.” I shrugged. “And if you’re wondering if I’m just being pessimistic...firstly, I am, and secondly...the fact you thought you could imprison a spirit of chaos of all things permanently is not only presumptuous at best, and idiotic at worst.”

“When dealing with chaos, what better tool than using harmony? Sister does believe that, given the chance, Discord will escape. We expected it earlier in all honesty. Hence why if before then, you both can master even a little of your powers, you’ll be the perfect defence against him, given you absorb magic. Anything he tries against you, you will be immune to.”

“That we know of.” I pointed out. “But it’s gonna happen sooner or later.”

“Agreed. So, will you two accept the offer?”

“Not like we have anything else better to do.” Lilynette said. “Will we get paid?”

“Of course. Did you ever change the pay rate for the personal agents of the royals sister?”

“No, actually. There actually hasn’t been a personal agent of the princesses in the last hundred years.” Celestia said.

“Ah, then you both will be paid five hundred bits a day.” Luna said.

Twilight gasped. “Five hundred… a day?! That’s more than my brother makes in a month, and he’s the captain of the guard!” Twilight said.

“Wow, actual pay? That’s shocking.” I said honestly.

“Why wouldn't we pay you for your services?” Celestia asked.

“Let’s just say back on earth the rich and wealthy got that way by only spending fortunes on themselves.” Lilynette said. “Mostly. Few were okay, but it was like one percent of the one percent.”

“The rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and the arguments about making the minimum amount you can make from working an actual livable wage was laughed off by people that experienced said livable wage.” I frowned. “Cause people spending money when they have it? What a weird and foreign concept.” I rolled my eyes in anger.

“Hm. Clearly capitalism is excessively flawed. No wonder the Minotaur Nation is so divided.” Luna said.

“It can be if there aren't any laws or regulations to stop the rampant corruption that it could cause...just doesn’t help that those businesses immediately try to bribe, or ‘lobby’, their way into making the law fit their views better.” I frowned.

“Makes me glad all major businesses making more than five thousand bits a year require crown approvals and regulations to both expand to earn more and meet crown regulations of wealth and prove worth for nobility to make over set amounts.”

“That’s what Capitalism should have, making sure on how much people or businesses make and taking percentages from that.” I nodded.

“Thought that’s why Taxes were a thing?” Lilynette said.

“Your world sounds both fascinating and horrible at the same time.” Luna said.

“Oh it is.” We all turned to the doorway, seeing a man… human, I think. He wore a grey suit, a smiling theatre mask, and a golden tie. He was leaning against the doorway going upstairs.

“You must be Genie right?” I asked curiously.

The princesses and Twilight all got on the offensive, horns lit. Genie raised up his hands. “Hey, hey, don’t go guns blazing on me here. I mean I’ve been watching since Mike and his mental sidekick got here.”

“How did… So you did send us here!” Lilynette said.

“Guilty.”

“Then you know why I can’t remember anything from the Convention.” I frowned. “Who are you, really?” I growled.

“Call me Genie. I am a Wish Maker. You see, my friend Demon and I are very, very, very… very old. We’ve seen and done just about everything and so we decided to start helping, or in Demon’s case, causing trouble. Now, while Demon doesn't care about the outcome. Good or bad, he gets to watch the show; but I'm partial to happy endings. Our rules are simple. We find or he makes an issue in the world, with someone, and I get to help or pick the heroes. From there we pick and choose when and where to help or hinder as we see fit.”

“Why am I not surprised…” I grumbled. “Can’t even die and get sent to a different world without someone wanting to fuck it up for shit’s and giggles…” I grumbled.

“Oh? So you really don’t remember. You. Wished. For. This.” Genie said. “A wish, I granted.”

“I didn’t, cause I would have remembered it, but I don’t remember anything about before...whatever happened.” I shook my head. “All I know is that something bad must have happened, and I became this.”

“Well, if you can’t remember then that’s for you and your head to remember. But you did. You made a wish. ‘Take me away… I don’t want this… and I don’t want to die’.”

My head rang, those words… I was hyperventilating. I felt panic, my own voice repeating in my head those words. “Starrk!” Lilynette said, pulling me up.

“No...no...it...it was an accident…” I panted, holding my head tightly. “I...I didn’t…”

“What did you do?” I heard Luna hiss.

“He can’t remember. Memories that are locked are funny like that.” Genie’s voice spoke.

“What...do you want?” I asked through the pain, trying to get myself back together from...whatever the hell that was.

“I want you to be the hero of this story.” Genie told me.

“Of course…” I grunted. “God this hurts…” I grunted, still trying to calm down after that terrible thing.

“Look, all I did was grant your wish and bring you here to be the hero. Demon planted the villains. It’s not like we won’t be helping you. Well, mostly me. In fact it’s why I am here. Lilynette, that book, if you please?” She quickly threw it at him, which Genie caught just as fast. “Thank you.” He opened it. “You both can use your weapons, and raw strength, but there is so much more, as you know, but there is even more than that. The both of you, and those to come.”

“Those to come? What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

“In time. For now, let’s focus on what you and Lilynette must do to unlock your first special, magic attack.” Genie traced a finger along the paper, the words changing to english. Once the page was done he tossed it to Lilynette. “Each page tells of an attack you both can learn and master, and what you must do to learn and master it.”

“That’s...convenient…” I muttered. “But...what happened to Claire? Tell me she’s alright.” I asked, knowing she was safe for the most part until things started to get hazy.

“She’s safe. You have my word. Trust me or not, I am rooting for you.” I blinked, just a second, and he was gone.

“Can we trust him?” Lilynette asked.

“Don’t know.” Luna said.

“He said he’s rooting for you. Trust him or not, you do have a powerful admirer.” Celestia added.

“Well…” I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself down from the massive amount of pain and panic I was in. “At least it wasn’t a fight…”

“Yeah well, I doubt we’d have won anyway if it was.” Lilynette said, opening the book as we took a look at the one translated page.

Wind Blades

Wind Blades is a low magic attack that allows the slasher to strike at the air and unleashes a razor blade thin whirlwind blade that shreds the target up to a distance of thirty feet. Can be used multiple times immediately after each and every swing.

To utilize the sword, go to where the wind blows as fast as a hurricane, and strike where the powers clash.

“I...don’t remember them being able to do that…” I frowned. “Also where the hell are we going to find a hurricane?”

“The Griffon Kingdom.” Twilight spoke up. “I’ve read that ever since the Kingdom fell, they haven’t kept up their weather. One valley in particular has neverending hurricanes and tornadoes. Since it's right next to the ocean. They call it Stripper Pass.”

“Well, time for me to go there and...accidentally create an intersection in it.” I said honestly. “However the hell I’m gonna get there…”

“Why is it called Stripper Pass?” Lilynette asked.

“Because any creature that goes there has all the flesh stripped from their bones. Whatever is left gets torn apart by the winds.” Celestia said.

“Oh dear Celestia…” Twilight said, turning a bit green.

“Hm, I was unaware that I was an expression.” Celestia said.

“You’re effectively a walking talking deity, how the hell did you not expect that?” I asked in honest confusion. “Also, that sounds like a fun place that won’t hurt either me or Lillinette at all if our more...special powers are just innate and not conscious efforts.”

“Then it looks like you both have a power to unlock and learn.” Celestia said with a nod. “Luna and I can prepare a convoy for you both to travel there and back.”

“Should only take a few days.” Luna added. “Less if we can gather up the proper team for the journey.”

“Learning some of our basic things is gonna be annoying though…” I sighed out. “Wish Sonido was first but...well beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Well, looks like we have a trip to make.” Lilynett said. I groaned as I was heading back to my couch. I need to sleep...

“Today sucked and I need sleep…” I groaned.

“It’s only ten in the morning.” Twilight started.

“Exactly.” I deadpanned as I crashed on the couch.

To be continued...

Chapter 8

Once Derpy, Dinky and Daisy were moved into Polkadot's place within her hive, I was off to the dragon lands. I expected this Arrancar to be one of fire, it only makes sense really.

While on the airship I was training some abilities with Crescent watching from her spot on a nearby box.

"How am I doing?" I asked Crescent as I was practicing my Sonido, or my 'Reverberating Turn' since the ability is just Sound in Spanish, as I used the open air to train how fast I can really move.

'Needs better footing.' Her sign read.

I sighed, really hating how some 'hyper sonic movement' cared so much about footwork. "Wish I knew how bad my footing was…"

I practiced a few more times, still not getting the footing righ-

Thud!

… Now I know why footing is important…

I groaned as I pushed myself up, a dent in the metal floor in the shape of my head now in the ground…

"Well…my 'iron body' still works fine…" I muttered.

'And that is why footing is important at super human speeds.' Crescent's sign now said.

"I know…" I grumbled, having done this for quite a while but still messing up.

I spent the whole time on the ship training. I needed to get better, be better and win. I can't risk something happening to Derpy, Ditsy, Daisy or Polkadot.

I felt a tug as Crescent pulled on my pants leg.

“Yes Crescent?” I inquired, looking down to the adorable equine snek.

'You've been training for nine days straight. Take a break.'

“Bullshit, it has not been nine days.” I frowned, not believing such a thing happened already.

'It has. Break time.'

I sighed. “Fine…whatever…” I grumbled.

'No sass. Go eat, nap, drink water and eat again after the nap.'

“I will sass.” I huffed. “But fine, I’ll get something to eat…” I said, heading off to find some food.

'Sassy children will be punished.'

I looked at Crescent and walked away, sighing as I just needed food at the moment. "Ugh…my sense of time can't be this garbage…"

I walked over to the cafeteria getting some food and eating. It was here I did learn it has been nine days. I guess since I'm an undead I don't actually have to eat…

With that meal done I went to my room and laid on the couch.

"Ugh…this bites…" I yawned and scratched my stomach. "Maybe I should get some sleep…"

I let my eyes close, wanting to pass the time quickly.

As I fell asleep, I found myself in… well, A void, with nothing above me but darkness, and the world above me…

“I spent a thousand years looking at this scene.” I turned, seeing Nightmare sitting there, looking up at the planet too. “It was my only comfort in all those long years. Sometimes, if I looked hard enough, I could see the expansion, the progress and changes of the world over the years. When new cities, towns and kingdoms rose and fell.”

“Well…I can imagine how lonely it is up here…” I said honestly. “So…what do you want Nightmare?”

“To talk.” She said simply. “What those two did to you… goes against our very nature. We do torment, we tease and whisper… but we are not ment to drive a host to suicide. That is an anomaly I wish to understand.”

“Well, maybe the ‘how to torture a depressed person 101’ was lost in the mail, maybe you should get that sorted out.” I said sarcastically. “But what do you mean that’s an anomaly? Wasn’t your whole thing about an eternal night that would cause ecological problems for everyone?”

“You clearly know little about Equestrian Magics.” She said, a small smile as she looked down at what I now realized was the moon’s surface. “Luna is the Goddess of Dreams and the Moon. Even if the Moon was to never set and let the sun rise, the natural harmony magics in the land and the celestial bodies would not allow such an event to end in catastrophe. It would start slowly, but rapidly the magic within the land and moon would adapt, allowing for changes in the creatures and plants to quickly survive and adapt to the new environment. While some will indeed suffer, lesser magical beings and some plant species all in all, not much would perish in the new world lit only by the moon.”

“So thing’s like weather, ocean patterns, and other such things that specifically need the sun just don’t care in the grand scheme of things?” I inquired. “Cause even if ponies could magically change the weather, I doubt Nature as a whole would really care about their efforts.”

“They would change, but again the magic in the world would quickly adapt. I understand the concern, but Equestria’s magic is naturally attuned to the preservation and prosperity of the world’s inhabitants. Unlike your home world which lacked such kind and caring mana.”

“More like lacked such kind and caring…anything really.” I commented. “Sure you find it here and there cause kindness is still thankfully a thing…but this planet is…so much different…”

“It’s strange isn’t it. How did something like myself ever find this place? I guess even in a place like this, darkness festers in even the smallest shadows.” Nightmare said. “I remember before taking my host… the ever expanding multiverse of possibilities was mine to explore. I’ve seen ancient gods clash and realities die and be born. I even remember your world, I passed by once. I believe the year you all had then was… 1493?”

“Huh…strange time, cause all I know about that year was that Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic…” I said.

“Yes. Such a wretched, violent man. If I’m honest… your world actually scared me.”

“My world scared you? Aren’t you like…one of the strongest Shadow’s out there?”

“Yes. As silly as that sounds, but I never knew physical sentient beings could be that naturally cruel and sadistic. I learned a lot from your world.”

“I’m sorry, but depending on when you decided to stop looking…you probably found humanity’s extreme penchant for porn.” I commented. “And cat’s.” I added.

She chuckled. “And they call Discord the spirit of chaos… when your world embodied it. When did those two first make an appearance within your mind?” Nightmare asked, her smile falling to a flat frown as she looked back up at the planet.

“When I was ten…” I sighed. “When I learned that my mom’s side of the family wanted to kidnap me and basically abandon me with the first schmuck they could find…” I shook my head. “I don’t know if that was when they both arrived or one…cause if it was one then the other, then the second one was when my mom died due to an illness she had since the day I was born…watched her deteriorate right in front of me till she was taken to a medical home…then mom’s side kidnapped her corpse cause that’s what you do in that kind of situation…”

“Chaotic and vile… and what did they tell you to do?”

“Oh you know, the usual things like ‘you shouldn’t have been born’, ‘you’re worthless’, ‘just a detriment to your family’, ‘mom would still be alive if I wasn’t born’, shit like that.” I shrugged. “But that was when it first started…then it just became those two just being asshole contrarians just to spite me, constantly forcing me to feel worthless, reminding me of all the bad things in my life and how I’m either partially or just whole sale at fault for it…ya know, normal depression stuff.” I said honestly. “Telling me that sharp objects should get very acquainted with my insides…or a bullet through the head…”

“Hmm…” Nightmare hummed. “Anything else?”

“Why do you want to know this if I may ask?” I inquired. “I know you said that your race shouldn’t kill but still…”

“Because, these two are different from others. I need to know if this is an anomaly relating to the people of your world or an offshoot subspecies… we are not meant to kill our hosts… we break them, then possess them. This nature of theirs runs counterintuitive to our kind's nature of desiring a physical means of existence.”

“Well…they tended to either quiet down or get especially uppity whenever I did something actually positive with my life, either through hunting with my dad, or…spending time with Claire.” I sighed. “When they quieted down, it was almost tranquil with how I actually got to think for once…when they were uppity, they always snapped with ‘your not good enough’ talk, trying to put me down with what I enjoy or…being with the girl I love…” I sighed. “Always kept trying to be pessimistic assholes about it, trying to drag me down and kept taunting me with death, how it would be so much easier…no pain…nobody to hurt just by being around me…no one to fail, just that half a second before everything goes…dark…” I said, wincing a little as a bang sound reverberated around us as I rubbed my right temple. “Ugh…Genie said that he saved me before I shot myself…but the explosion to the temple still hurts like a bitch…”

“Hmm… This is a far more… twisted take on our typical playbook… I will need to study this phenomenon further… Worst case scenario, I revisit that world and run some tests.”

“And don’t worry! Mine is probably minor compared to some people.” I said happily. “I mean, my older brother said that, when not on some stupid strong meds, his nightmares are compared to those of war veteran nightmares.”

“Interesting. Guess I will have to make a means to your old world and run some experiments to determine the source of this anomaly. Even in magic absent worlds no such changes have ever been reported.”

“Well glad to know even the ‘big bad’ here is questioning what the fuck is wrong.” I chuckled. “So yeah…that’s uh…that’s a lot of problems on my end, so why did Luna actually accept you? Cause the way the story went, it sounded more like a villain wanting power and to show people what they ‘shunned’ in a very…not positive way.”

“Simple. She wanted to show her subjects she was not just the second princess, that she was just as important as her sister and that her night was not just to allow her sister rest. She wanted to prove that the night was just as important as the day. She lacked the resolve to follow through with her wishes, so after I beat her down, I offered to fulfill her dreams for her. Nearly succeeded too. Those pesky Elements were an unexpected obstacle, but I can more than learn from past mistakes.”

“So you still want to give Luna her dream of showing the Night is important to everyone or just…rule the world now?”

“I can not maintain my host possession unless I fulfil the deal I forced her to make. I will bring her night to the world and make it last eternally. While I am no longer obligated to do so, I would be dishonoring my kind in not following through. Once it is done and impossible to alter, I can take my leave. Be to another world or reality I don’t care. I will just live my life in a physical existence then.”

“A woman of your word, gotta at least respect that even though you gaslit Luna into making the deal.”

“I never claimed to be a good person.”

“Fair.” I said honestly. “But the fact that you think humanity itself is scary means that you're better than some, that's for sure.”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “If this does turn out to be an offshoot subspecies of my kind, well, I can’t risk them seeping out past your planet. So, if that is the case then I guess I’ll just have to eradicate the world.” She said, making me freeze. “Won’t be hard, your world has no native magic or gods, so I can easily move the moon and, well, push it close enough and I can flood it, crash it into the surface, maybe even just push it into the sun itself. I’ll see what happens when I get there.”

“Alright, so good to know that murdering you is still all well and good and I don’t need to feel sympathetic if you were some misunderstood creature of darkness that just wanted a friend and took it a little too far.” I frowned.

“All I want is to live and to let my kin do the same. If a world has to die, or multiple, to have that happen, then so be it. In the end, I can always find another planet, another host, another reality to begin all over again.”

I sighed. “God damn it…” I grumbled. “Alright…but can’t you possess the dead or I don’t know…be more ‘symbiotic’ about it and not parasitic? I’m sure that would help out a lot more than your current MO.”

“You didn’t like sharing headspace. Neither do I.”

“Difference being, me sharing headspace with those two assholes tried to get me killed…and that didn’t answer my question on if you can or cannot possess the dead.”

“I could, but that’s less fun.”

I took a deep breath. “You’re not helping your case here…” I frowned. “But fine, whatever.”

“Tell me, would me bringing eternal night and moving on really cause you such misery?” Nightmare asked. “Everyone here would live, your new mates would be by your side, and the old world you knew would be gone. Is that really worth fighting for? That cold, heartless, violent place you once called home? Why bother when Equis has given you so much more?”

“Just because it was cold, heartless and violence doesn’t mean it didn’t have warmth, heart, and peace.” I mentioned. “But to answer that question, I need to ask a question…did you lie about anything we’ve talked about so far?”

“Lying implies I have something to hide. That in itself would imply I have reason to hide information from you. I have no reason to hide information from you, let alone my reasons or course of action.”

“Alright, so I must ask, were you stopped because people were ‘ignorant’ of the truth? Or was there some other bad shit that’s not being talked about?”

“I simply underestimated the Elements and their power. I was informed only their chosen wielders could use them all in an attack. Taking over Luna severed that link to them, but it would seem in an act of desperation they allowed Celestia to use Luna’s half of the elements to seal us away, and after that, in our weakened state and with fresh blood wielding them, pushed me out of her body. Something I was impressed about but in the end was a miscalculation on my end.”

“So…a magical mcguffin named after Harmony says ‘no, what your doing is wrong’...” I said carefully.

“A rather simple and blunt recap, but accurate if it helps you understand.”

“So, because I’ve only heard barebones talk about it, these elements are supposed to be what comprises of Harmony on this planet…and what are they?” I asked, mostly being told that their super magical and have helped save the day but not much else.

“I suppose, if you were to put it into the simplest terms, they are a form of magic that does not simply obey the will of the casters, it can also somewhat think on it’s own. Unlike similar magics of it’s nature however, this magic is more like a toddler, explaining much of the world and it’s inhabitants.”

“Alright, but what are the ‘elements’?” I asked. “Cause you said it’s the ‘Elements’ of Harmony, so it’s composed of something instead of just the rainbow-y taste of skittles.” I said.

“I suppose the easiest means of understanding it, it’s like… conduits. This harmony magic needs vessels to act more directly, much like my kin, but they simply use them as a means of acting before returning to a dormant state. They have names, relating to what this childish magic values as important Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, Laughter, and Friendship, often the last one is referred to as Magic, but either works.”

“So the power of friendship that is semi-sentient told you, specifically, in some weird rainbow of power, that your actions are wrong and you need to be stopped…” I frowned. “And you wonder why I still don’t believe you in that the planet will be okay if one side is freezing due to a lack of heat and the other is a blazing desert…”

“I believe I told you this planet can adapt.It’s natural magic won’t let it’s inhabitants die off so simply.”

I sighed. “So what are you doing to Ann and Andy?”

“Running some tests.”

“To see how strong they can be or to figure out why the hell they would want to get their host to commit sudoku?”

“A bit of both. Strength wise they are indeed impressive, but their actions are what conflict with their desires. From what I learned, they did indeed want to possess your body, but they can not seem to explain why they wanted you to die first. Whatever the case, I’ll have to examine their special kin on your world once I make a means of getting there.”

“Alright…” I nodded. “Good to know, cause all I was told is that you and those two are in the ‘Frozen Heart’, wherever the hell that is.”

“Simply put, it’s the origin of life on this planet. All life in their lore and myths can trace their species origin to the Frozen Heart, or as it was once known, The Valley of Beginnings.”

“Huh…cool, a place that’s supposedly absolute zero is the origin place of all life, that’s neat.”

“Wasn’t always that way, over time, other less friendly primal creatures moved in and forced the rest away.”

“Yeah that sounds about right.” I sighed.

“Is that all you wish to discuss?”

I hummed, thinking about what else there was to talk about. “Eh, not really, unless you have something else to talk about.”

“Then for now I guess this is Goodbye. Perhaps next time we speak will be physically.”

I woke up with a yawn. Crap… she can find me in my sleep… at least she’s not actively trying to invade them… still, her motives are odd.

“There’s no way her bullshit doesn’t have some drawback to it besides ‘oh only some people will die’...” I frowned, looking up and seeing Crescent was currently on my chest cuddling up to me. “Hi there you silly snek.”

‘Hi.’ She replied with her little talking sign.

“So…what would happen if this planet had the moon up for all eternity?” I inquired.

‘Some plant and animal species would die out but everything with over 40% magic will adapt to the changes within… two to six years. Immediate changes will be primarily the magic keeping them alive while it works to alter the biology to survive the new environment without the magic being hyperactive.’

“Really? Like…there’s basically no actual repercussions for fucking up the planet’s ecosystem like that?”

‘Well, I suppose the rapid change in biology and environment would lead to lots of civil unrest amongst the populations and probably lead to lots of riots, panic and deaths. Maybe some mutations in diseases will cause plague outbreaks but I’m not too sure.”

“So best not let that happen.” I said immediately.

‘That would lead to less loss of life.’

“Yeah…a whole lot less.” I said readily, yawning lightly. “Alright, food and then back to training.”

‘More rest. You’ve only been asleep for two hours.’

“Are you fucking kidding me? I only talked to that bitch for two hours?” I groaned.

‘Yes.’

I groaned. “Whatever…”

‘I can help you sleep and rest up if you want.’

“How can you do that?” I inquired, wondering how they can make my sleep easier.

‘Easy. I can turn you into a baby and you’ll sleep as long as a newborn does in the early weeks to months.’

“Eh…” I said non-committedly at hearing that.

‘If it helps, I can also make it so you’ll go through some training and get stronger.’ She added, peaking my interest. ‘You didn’t have a good childhood or… life. I’d like to give you a second chance at one. Not only would you become my son and I your mom, you’d gain much more power through our newfound link via blood.’

A literal god of gods is offering to rebirth me as her son, giving me more strength and a second, better childhood?

"Uh…would the other All Makers have a problem with it and…would either Fluffy or Princess get jealous about this?" I asked, cause while gaining a god like amount of power possibly would be amazing, I'm not sure if it'll bite me in the ass…also how would that even work with Lillinette being my subconscious…ugh, my head hurts with all this sudden logistic nonsense.

‘They all have their own children they take in. Sometimes they get the motherly need to tend to someone who needs a second chance. I promise no time here will pass and as far as Princess and Fluffy are concerned they will be your doating aunts.’

“Well…I mean, I suppose this’ll help me out in the long run.” I said honestly. “Cause boy howdy…telling Nightmare what those two assholes did after my two…incidents…it hurt a lot…”

‘Then will you let me be your mother Mike?’

“I mean…sure.” I said, resigning myself to this new and weird thing but…hopefully this will help me in the ways that being with Derpy or Polkadot couldn’t.

My eyes were heavy. My body was bound in… something. It was hard and the air was stuffy. Everything was slimy and… tight. Agh… where am I? Gotta get out… come on… My body feels different? My legs feel… off…

With whatever force I could muster I kicked my surroundings, feeling my environment rattle and shake followed by… cracking?

I’m… in an egg? Why am… Right! I accepted Cresent’s offer… wasn’t expecting to have to hatch-

“Come on sweetie, you can do it.” A soothing, sweet and semi muffled voice called to me… is that… Crescent? Her voice is… beautiful.

“Huh…this is…rather new…” I thought to myself as I tried to break the egg. “Also I’m supposed to be wolf themed…not equine snek themed…” I also thought as I pushed against the egg hard and tried to break it.

Another crack and I felt a sudden rush of cold air. Shit! Is hatching or being born always this chilly?!

“That’s it baby, just a few more strong hits.” Crescent’s voice called to me again.

I tried to push against the egg again, trying to weakly grab at the crack to pull the thing apart.

The more I moved and pushed the shell the more I started feeling my new body. My legs were… canine like? I have hands… bipedal… I think I have a tail… agh, this smile is keeping my eyes shut!

With another push I felt the shell fall apart around me, the cold of the world made my new body react accordingly…

I cried…

Correction, I whimpered/howled?!

“There there.” Crescent said, I felt her larger hands pick me up and a warm towel began to wipe me down, the sticky slime I was covered in now mostly gone as now a new warm cloth, a blanket, wrapped around me. “Sorry, I can't resist taking care of you as an egg before you were reborn Mike.”

I managed to force my eyes to open. The first thing I noticed was the long thing on my face… nose? Snout? What the?

The second thing I saw was… Crescent…

She had all the features and looks of the chibi Crescent I knew… but, more matured, more… well, this was Crescent… in her true form.

She was beautiful…

“Wow…” I thought to myself in awe. “She is…very beautiful…”

Crescent gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Welcome to this world Mike, my sweet little baby boy.” She laughed lightly.

I suddenly felt really tired… agh… can’t… stay…

I fell asleep, cradled by my new mother.

Two months passed in my new babyhood and I could finally stay awake longer than a feeding, and yes she is nursing me… it’s the tastiest milk I have ever had… or some changing and a quick bath.

It’s a bit embarrassing still, being a grown man in a baby’s body with all the needs and dependencies of a baby… but Crescent has been quite the mother. She’s always there when I cry out for anything.

My little crib and her bedroom so far have been all I've seen of this new home I find myself in. The bed is huge, fitting given Crescent’s true body is probably over ten feet long with that snake tail and it was easily three feet wide.

Gave me a good idea as to why she is chibi back in Equis… her body is beyond huge… makes me wonder when I’ll see how Princess and Fluffy look in their real bodies.

"Well…while this is embarrassing…at least it's off to a better start than before…" I thought to myself.

While in my crib I had a few plushies. One was a me-sized smiling orange, the other was a googly eyed frog.

My body was… unique. I had legs, canine legs so they bent the other way but standing so far has been… not yet obtained. I have fur along my head, arms, legs and back with a scale-like patch along my torso and belly.

I also learned that my… male organs are internal now. That was a mild panic attack, for a moment I thought I was a girl but no, internal organs so… that’s something new to get used to.

I also had a tail, it was fluffy along the top and sides but scales along the under side. I definitely looked weird.

“Well, I suppose it’s better than being a full lamia cause I still have legs…ugh, if Claire see’s me like this she’s gonna flip…”

With nothing much to do I rolled to my belly, my purple onesie I was wearing twisting a bit but not hurting as I huffed. This is boring… Nice, but boring…

“Hey Mike.” Crescent said as she slithered in, gently picking me up and putting me in her arms. “I got a surprise for you.” She said, giving my nose a gentle boop and carrying me into a new room. Finally!

The hallway was long, several doors and rather than stairs, there was a slope of hardwood going down… makes sense, Crescent is a snake… woah…

The living room was huge, painted like a galaxy was all around us, the ground was like tiles but it was like we were standing on the sky…

There was a couch, long and large. A huge flatscreen hanging on the wall and various other wall hugging tables and decorations here and there.

On the ground in this huge amazing livingroom was one of those baby walker things. Gently she placed me inside it. “You’re gonna be able to walk soon so let’s get those legs moving. In a bit you’re gonna meet your first cousin too!”

I tilted my head at that. “Yeah…I think I’m also probably a part of the biggest family ever…” I thought to myself,.

“She’s gonna be here in a bit. Until then you can try and work your legs. I’m gonna be making snacks for when she arrives.” Crescent said, giving me another kiss on the head and slithered off to the next room… probably that’s the kitchen.

“Still embarrassing as hell…” I thought to myself, trying to get used to having my knees bend the other way. “Also how the hell am I supposed to kneel if my knees bend backwards?” I thought to myself, thinking how kneeling normally works but backwards just…feels wrong for some reason.

I didn't waste the opportunity and tested my new legs out properly. Okay… actually, this isn't that hard. Basically it's like having a knee and leg like normal only… backwards… still, my legs end in paws… balancing once walking starts is gonna be tricky…

I stretched my new legs to the ground. The tiles were thankfully not cold and the leather like paws my new feet had underneath thankfully had plenty of grip and I pushed myself in the baby walker along the floor. Okay, one step at a time… keep in rhythm…

“Never thought I’d be relearning how to walk…” I thought to myself, just keeping up a careful rhythm of steps.

Eventually I managed to walk myself to a wall where the baby walker bumped into it, making me bounce slightly in the support seat.

Alright. Progress. Now to try and turn…

It took a bit but eventually I managed to make myself turn and trying to walk the other way. Shit, I'm already feeling tired… damn baby stamina. Daisy cries all night long yet I get tired trying to walk, the hell?

“Ugh, this bites…” I thought bitterly at how tired I was already becoming.

I stopped my walking exercise and sat in the seat for a while.

"Hey Sweetie." Crescent said as she slithered into the room and lowered herself to near my eye level. "Having fun exploring?" She asked with a smile, picking me up out of the baby walker and keeping in her arm. "Such a good boy."

Damn it… every time she says that it makes my tail wag… I know I'm part dog… wolf, whatever now but come on…

I pouted at the betrayal of my own body. “Alright this is constant embarrassment…”

Crescent gave me a kiss on the head as she slithered with me in tow into the kitchen where a large, multi oven and stove top kitchen was, a huge island that seemed to solely be for cutting and washing ingredients, what appeared to be a walk in fridge and freezer. There was also a huge dinning table, no chairs save a high chair she placed me into. "Now Mike, you're two months old now, meaning you can start to try soft foods. I know you're still a baby but your biology isn't human anymore so some things will pace quicker, but don't you worry, even while your teeth come in I'll be nursing you for a while." Crescent said, patting my head as she slithered over to the walk in fridge, opened and slithered inside.

Ya know, you'd think me having my adult mind nursing off her would be… well, ya know… but no. While embarrassing, I don't feel… aroused. Which I'm actually thankful for cause I mean, hell she's my mom now.

“Glad that a few things aren’t as stupidly embarrassing like that…just wish I could talk cause it would make everything so much easier…” I thought, gently tapping on the tray cause I could.

That's something else that confuses me. Talking. I know I'm still young but, my new mouth is longer, while howls, barks and whimpers are more than easy enough for me to make, words are… tricky. My new long maw and longer tongue, jaw… goes to show how different speaking is for different species.

“A…” I just made a random noise in complaint at my lack of ability to talk.

Crescent soon came back over to me with a small jar of baby food. She scooped it out with one of those baby safe rubber covered spoons and fed it to me-

Immediately I tasted…. Chicken, peas, mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole…

Okay I know normal baby food does not takes like a full thanksgiving meal.

I looked at Crescent and was really confused as to why this tasted so outlandishly good.

She smiled, scooping another spoonful and feeding it to me. "Remember, you aren't human anymore. Your senses are all much greater. You will smell, taste, see and hear things much more clear and focused than before. Plus, the baby food made here is just that good." She added at the end.

"That makes sense…I am a wolf and a snake…" I thought to myself as I nodded.

I ate several more spoons worth before she stopped, closed up the jar and put it away before quickly washing the spoon. She then picked me up and with a few pats made me burp.

This was also a bit embarrassing, but less so than the other stuff.

The doorbell rang.

"Ah, that must be your cousin." Quickly with my in her arms Crescent slithered over to the door.

The first thing I noticed was the outside. The yard was large, lots of grass and some trees I could see, bright sky, sunny.

My attention was then drawn to the anthropomorphic, semi humanoid Dragonite lady standing before Crescent and I.

"Hi auntie." The lady waved.

"Hi Dratini." Crescent said, moving aside and letting her walk in.

This just got… interesting.

I motioned to the Dragonite and looked at Crescent in confusion.

"I know she's a Dragonite Mike, but her name is Dratini." Crescent told me.

I proceeded to motion to them again, then to me as if to say 'what do you mean cousin?'.

"Well, I guess cousin or even sister works. It's a little hard to explain but you remember Princess and Fluffy right?" I nodded. "Well, they are my mates and loves, but they are not the only ones. We all have many, majority just living their lives together in pairs or groups at a time. Technically Dratini here isn't related to you by blood but her parents are also two other lives of mine… basically if we say your sister, brother or even cousin, it means they're an offspring of some of us, but otherwise assume they could be more mother's, father's or aunts and uncles if you wish to call them that."

"So big family, got it." I thought as I nodded at the explanation.

"And how is my new baby cousin?" Dratini asked as she scratched my chin… damn it tail stop wagging!

"He's doing great. I was wondering what brings you by though. Was surprised you were visiting me." Crescent said.

"Oh I finished up that whole Eldritch Armageddon thing and needed a break." Dratini said.

What?

"Fair. Thinning those monsters out every so many eons is good, just hate the smell…" Crescent said with a nod.

"Yeah… I immediately took a shower for a whole day when I got home." Dratini sighed. "Since I live nearby, figured I'd say hi and greet the newest member of our… stupidly huge family."

"Considering you're among the first ten children born/adopted to it, I guess you remember when it was just the few of you." Crescent said with a chuckle. "Way before I even joined."

"A." I said in some baby babble of understanding.

"And when did you make this little fluffy butt?" Dratini asked.

"He's actually a rebirth I took in. From one of Genie and Demon's games." Crescent said.

"Oh, I thought he looked more aware than the normal infants."

"Yes. Time back there is halted until I give my baby boy a happy childhood his first life never gave him." Crescent said, kissing me on the cheek several times.

"I think he's gonna grow up and be a real handsome man~"

I was blushing now. Also, I'm not the only one in this circumstance? Huh… that's actually nice to know.

"Well…good to know…" I thought to myself.

"Will he be getting any siblings?" Dratini asked.

"Oh, maybe. We'll see if anyone shows up and, well~" Crescent giggled.

I felt a whole new feeling… disturbed… on the one hand, the idea of being a big brother sounds pretty cool… on the other the mental image of my new mom doing it with someone is… unsettling.

The two talked some more and eventually Dratini flew off and Crescent carried me back to the crib.

"Well…this is nice, but slightly annoying…" I thought to myself, cause while being an infant and being happy is cool, not being able to talk or working on my powers can be a bit annoying…plus it's just me and mom…I miss Derpy and everyone…though I do have to wonder what the hell Lillinette is doing…

I closed my eyes, falling asleep again. Damn baby body…

I ran across the floor for dear life. "Mike get back here!" Mom, not long after I was finally able to talk I started calling Crescent mom, and she was chasing me through the house. Finally, she cornered me, grabbing hold and shoving the spoon full of vial poison in my mouth and down my throat. "It's just vitamins Mike, don't be so dramatic." She huffed.

"Those are not vitamins!" I whined. "Also, grape flavor? That's the worst! It doesn't even taste like grapes!"

"They're to help your coat since you refuse to shampoo your fur properly." Mom countered.

"But it's hard!" I whined again. "Seriously, I've tried to wash my fur but it won't!"

"That's why I told you to use the wall mounted body scrubber. Rub the shampoo in that then rub your back and such against it." She said. "It's what it's there for, and if you don't I'll start bathing with you again. Naked." Mom added.

"Mo~m!" I whined in embarrassment.

"I only will if you don't keep your coat healthy. You don't want it all itchy, raggedy and full of knots do you? Cause then I'd have to clip the knots and brush your coat and it will hurt when I do."

"But I'm half Arrancar, it probably won't happen…" I brought up.

"Mike, we've been over this…" Mom sighed, rubbing her eyes. "You're still a toddler. Your powers are currently dormant. They won't be manifesting until age ten at the youngest. Right now, you're still very much alive."

"I know…but that body scrubber feels weird…." I grumbled. "Sorry mom…"

"I know, but anything softer and it won't reach your roots." She said. "Now that vitamins are done you know what comes next~"

My tail wagged. Brownies! Thank god my species is not deathly allergic to chocolate!

"Hooray for brownies!"

I quickly got into my chair. Mom got me one that has steps so I can get myself up on it, and she placed a plate before me on the dinner table. She waved her hand over it, and before I could blink, a square brownie was there on my plate. It was the size of both my hands.

I carefully grabbed onto the big brownie and started to chow down on it happily. "Mmm, so good."

I enjoyed this. These are the moments I'm happy to have back.

To be continued...