A stereotypical laser fires towards me, glancing my armor. Yet again, the "Cloak of Variety" (patent pending) is charged and then damaged slightly. I shrug it off and pull every ounce of power except for what's needed out of it, creating a volley of air blades that fly towards Strife. After they pass through him and dissipate, it's evident that he is stronger than he acts.

Nothing hurts him? I mean I guess he is a cloud... A shadowy cloud... Perhaps I can use shadow vs shadow? Next time he attacks, I'll try it out.

I prepare to face another attack from him, but instead I see him just looking at his body in wonder, then at me with a maniacal look.

"Fool! You dare attack the 'Amazing and Omnipotent Strife'!?!? For that you will pay!" it says with pride seeping from his words and tone.

"Oh great, another Trixie.. Though she was at least likable, you are just annoying." I reply, sending a wimpy bolt of air towards him.

Strife deflects it effortlessly, as expected. He then does the next expected thing, send another blast from his staff with a determined "Hah!". Literally yawning, I take one hand and block the blast. While this is happening, my other hand is charging up a spell, funneling it into my shadow. Sending it out, I wrap it around him and encase him tightly in it, cutting off the beam of magic that was being fired at me. At first there's nothing, not even a shape. Just a stave shaped shadow that's "shadow tight". After a second however, the shadow explodes outwards, disappearing entirely and leaving Strife floating where he was.

"You see!? I am too powerful for you! Bow down and perhaps I will spare you! This Staff of Sarcanas is all-powerful!" Strife states proudly while showing off the staff.

"Really? All-powerful? Amazing, I could use that." I say casually before flicking my hand towards the staff.

The look on his "face" when I casually pull the staff from his cloudy grip into my hand is amazing. The look on my face when it instantly charges my suit by basically exploding with energy and sending me twenty feet away forcefully is not a happy one. I stop myself mid-air with magic while watching the staff float back to him slowly. He looks surprised, but confident.

Ooookaayy... Attunement rules huh? I can't use it without separating it from him magically. Thank you Dungeons & Dragons for teaching me something about magic. Actually, everything about magic. So I just need to remove the magic from the staff or get him to un-attune from it. Easy enough?

"Hey! Strife dude! You ready to surrender yet?" I yell out while attempting to conjure up a stronger than usual spell.

"Of course not you fool! I am so much stronger than you! What a silly question." Strife replies in the most flabbergasted tone I've heard since I arrived in this world.

"Bad choice for a cloud to make against an Air magic user." I reply, grinning almost wildly.

The only thing I see before the spell goes off is a confused look coming from the dark being in front of me. A tornado swirls up instantly, pulling in dirt, rocks, and other debris; Including his body. The staff falls to the ground as I keep the spell alive, trapping him inside.

Let's see about that staff then.

Analyzing it shortly with my magic, I attempt to find a way to dispel the attunement. Instead, I find something else. A source of power that is more powerful than anything I've felt in an enchanted object.

What is this? This.. Feels kind of familiar. Just like when I was pulling Pinkie's magical essence outwards.

Not even a second after that thought, a calm but quiet feminine voice resounds in my head. "I would recommend not doing that. Thou might get hurt greatly."

H-Hello? Who are you? What are you?

Again, the voice replies. "I am what you are holding, young one. You should probably drop me before the defense magic activates. I can't hold it back for much longer."

How about no? A second or two longer is all I need. Annnndd There.

I feel the magical connection between the staff and the cloud break, and stop my whirlwind spell. Looking over to where the spooky scary cloud was, I see Strife re-form. He looks around and gets his bearings again before noticing the staff in my hands. He pulls off a cliche villain grin and reaches towards it. I get a great idea and act like it's actually trying to fly out my hands, then actually send it over to him quickly.

"You see!? I am a god! Nothing can destroy me!" Strife exclaims hysterically before, once again, pointing the staff at me.

I shriek in fear and cower before the 'God'. When nothing happens, I just give him a nice smile.

"You're not a god, but that staff was powerful. I'm sure you could've been too, if you even began to train." I say before pulling the staff from his smoky hands and dropping it into mine.

His face contorts from confusion to rage. With that rage, he decides to fly at me at a reasonable speed. I quickly attune to the staff and realize how little magic is left in it. Pointing it towards him, I cast a spell out of curiosity. He freezes but a few inches away and screams out in pain. I continue the spell and watch him shrink, and when he got to a reasonable size I stopped. In front of me now isn't some almighty powerful 'Strife'. Only a small floating cloud with an angry face remains. He looks at me in horror after realizing what I did to him and flies away in a hasty manner.

There, that should make him... Less menacing and powerful. Magical clouds are still magic, even if it can talk. So a little magic essence transfer to this staff and boom, he gets smaller and more manageable. Now that he's done with, what about you?

Unsurprisingly, the staff replies. "I did not expect such powerful magic from you, it seemed like you couldn't do much to him. The nightmares screams were a bit much, though he did grow to that size through taking magic from me. I have you to thank stranger. Without you, I would have perished."

"You're welcome, but who are you? And why are you in this 'Staff of Sarcanas'?" I say aloud accidentally.

Xirandine slowly walks up and waves his leg in front of my face. "Are you alright? You seem to be talking to a staff."

Oh right, he wouldn't be able to listen to you. Should I be keeping you a secret? If not, please speak aloud if possible.

The staff floats out of my hands so that it is in front of us both clearly. "Hello. I am Queen Prisma, former ruler of Equestria. Where am I now? It is hard to see out of this prison I am stuck in."

I simply rub my temples and sigh.

Great, a Queen of ages past that is stuck in a staff. Why me and why now? No such thing appeared in the show. That seems to be happening a lot during my visit here.

"I don't remember a Queen of Equestria, though it might have been omitted from the books these ponies made." Xirandine replies, inspecting the staff closely and prodding it with his bug hoof.

"Have my nieces removed me from history then? They overtook my rule, and had me trapped in this staff for so long. They have the nerve to erase me as well!?" Prisma replies, sounding and looking as angry as a staff can.

"So they removed you from power? Why? Knowing them it must have been something important and 'good'" I reply.

She might be a large threat to the peace in this world. It's strange that I've not seen a thing about her, or this Staff of Sarcasm.

"I.. May have killed their parents. Though back then that was okay! Well maybe not okay, but more so... Allowed?" answers Queen Prisma, physically making the staff droop.

I blink a few times, and then a few more before grabbing the staff and teleporting directly to Celestia with Xirandine. We arrive in the throne room unsurprisingly, where Celestia and Luna are sitting. Xirandine is somehow already changed into a different form. I throw the staff forward in front of them onto the floor.

"You can figure this out yourselves, I honestly don't want to deal with it." I say sternly before pulling me and Xirandine back. He waves quickly before we disappear.

Appearing in the forest, where we just were, I start walking back towards the party. Xirandine is close by me, back in his true form.

"I suppose that's it then?" he says aloud while we pass some of the damage to the forest.

"Yep, I'm not gonna be a part of their problems. I have plenty of other thoughts in my head to deal with. I'm just glad to get back to Pinkie's party, maybe there will be some cake le-" I start to say, before I feel a famliar sensation and groan audibly before I get ported back to the throne room and continue to groan in front of the worried and nervous looking sisters.

"Devan, where did you find this... Staff?" Celestia asks in a faked calm tone, her magic making the staff tremble.

"Some evil cloud thing showed up, failed at beating me, and I took the staff. I believe he said it was called the 'Staff of Sarcanas'." I reply in a ANNOYED AS FUCK tone.

"You captured this 'cloud', right?" asks Luna shakily.

"No. I weakened him greatly but did not capture him. Couldn't think of a way to capture a cloud. Oh.. a bottle. Damn." I respond, thinking of a simple solution.

"Do you know anything about this staff? Where it came from? What it does?" Celestia questions sternly while stepping slowly towards me.

I sigh and rub my temples slowly before giving my answer. "Yes, I do. It came from that clouds 'grip'. It apparently houses souls, at least one."

As I finish, my armor glows faintly and stops after one second and then stops. I feel the jewel on my chest to find out what just happened.

Its full. Why would it be...

I look around and see magic emanating from Luna's horn. My expression changes from confusion to disbelief.

"You dare to try and mess with my mind? Because you want to cover up your secrets?! You are pathetic Princesses! You could have simply asked for me to keep your damned secret, heck I don't even care about your past. But Luna, really? You, of everyone I know, betrayed me just like that?" I say through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth.

Celestia looks at Luna with surprise, who is donning an ashamed face, and deeply sighs. "She was just scared Devan. Prisma caused so much evil in the past, Luna is afraid that you were going to tell others. It would cause a panic if it were to come out that such a...being... is still around. So can I ask for something, please?"

"From now on, I will only do things for you in exchange for reward. I have the perfect thing to ask for in this case. I want to be immune to both of your magics." I state, folding arms and looking into their eyes.

Taken aback, they both look at each other. Luna shakes her head slowly while Celestia looks down before apparently remembering something and shooting her head up, looking off past me.

"I can do something that might be a nice... Compromise. How about a restriction that only allows supportive or defensive magic to be used on you? Something that can't directly harm or change you?" Celestia proposes, giving a somewhat nervous smile.

"That.. Will suffice. Luna, I forgive you, though keep in mind that I won't take such a betrayal well in the future. You really made me think about our friendship, but I won't abandon you as my friend. So, what do I have to do?" I ask, waiting for a boring fetch quest of some kind.

"You will need to track down this 'Strife' character and come back with information on where he got this staff from as well as who might have told him about it. That is all." Luna replies with some sort of relief in her voice.

"So I will.. Have to leave Equestria most likely?" I ask, intrigued.

"Yes, and we have another thing to tell you, though I would have liked it to be under better circumstances." Celestia says, pulling a box from behind her with magic and dropping it into my hands that I held out.

Opening it I find a pin of sorts, beautifully ornate and holding the symbol of the Princesses. I look up at them with a confused look.

"Luna and I tested you a while ago. Echo and Giselle fought you with and without magic, and you prevailed. They both agreed on one thing, you are stronger and more resourceful than them both. This pin is to commemorate your promotion Devan. You have been chosen to be the Captain of the Guardians of Equestria, if you want the title. It does come with plenty of benefits, if that's what you want." Celestia says with a kind of pride and satisfaction in her voice.

A Captain? Me? I don't think I want all of that reputation and prestige to bog down my daily life.

"I don't know... I don't really want all of that attention. What kind of benefits?" I ask, twiddling with the pin in my hand.

"The Guardians of Equestria are a secret group that do the background work for these lands. No pony will know about your involvement, like we discussed before. For the benefits that you would gain, there are three things. That pin will get you into certain places for free. There's plenty of inns and other shelters you can use in the name of the crown. You also surpass most authority in terms of decisions and other guard duties. Even others with the Captain title must listen." Luna states with certainty.

Wow, that's... Convenient and useful.

"The last thing then? That all does sound pretty good." I say, waiting for the last benefit.

"You will receive a sum of five-hundred bits per calendar month, kept in a bank here at Equestria. Said bits can be withdrawn magically using a spell I will teach you. Will that suffice?" Celestia asks with a warm smile.

F..F...Five-hundred!?! That's more than I make in... I don't even know!

"Y..Yes, that's good. That'll do more than enough." I say shakily, giving a cliche and nervous thumbs up.

Celestia claps her hooves with happiness before clearing her throat and going back to her normally professional tone. "Perfect! You will leave in a few days, so I recommend packing some clothes and informing your friends that you will be leaving. We do request one thing on your travels however. We ask that you recruit one or two more members to join the Guardians of Equestria. Our trust in your judgement of character will hopefully shine through and select talented beings."

"So you want me to... Find information and find others to join? That's a lot, but I suppose it's worth it. But three days is all I get to prepare? I'm sure Pinkie wont be too happy about me leaving." I say with a sigh, dreading the moment I have to tell her.

"I'm sure she will understand that it's for the good of the world, though please don't relay why you're going." Luna requests sheepishly.

"Yeah, I get it. Secrets. Is that all?" I ask impatiently, tapping my foot.

"Just the the spell for magical withdrawal, it should just take a moment." Celestia says before pulling a scroll out from a pouch nearby.

—— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— —— A Few Hours Later In Ponyville

What a weird spell, I have to actually use a rune. I haven't learned much about them but apparently they are basically enchantments you can write down? Going by Full Metal Alchemist, it'll do a predetermined effect whenever you activate them. Whatever, all I know is that it connects to my 'bank' and I just need to change the number on the rune itself to determine how much I withdraw from it. Depositing isn't possible in this way for some reason, but hey, I just have to worry about what I need and use it then and there. It only works with my specific magical essence too, so that's good for security purposes. Seems like this world has a lot of organization in the background that I didn't know about. Now for making preparations for my travels. I am to head south, since that's where I remember that cloud heading. There's some place called 'Kludgetown' down there where I can ask more questions.

As my thoughts and plans pass through my mind, I happen upon my home, which is just Rarity's home.

Well, time to put in an order for about seven sets of clothes. It seems like the south is a desert area, so plenty of shorts and a light outfit that will help keep me cool. I don't have a hat either, though I suppose my cloak will work for that quite well.

I walk through the door and see Rarity in the corner looking at a dress on the small stage. She's intensely staring at each individual part of it, circling it like a vulture before pouncing on a specific seam near the 'armpit' at the front. After a moment or two of a quick fix she turns back around and nods with certainty.

"What do you think darling? Doesn't it look absolutely fabulous?" she asks me with inquisitive eyes.

What a very Rarity sentence for her to say.

"The cool but crisp magenta meshes well with the fuchsia highlights you have strewn throughout the piece. I'd add some darker tones to give it a bit more pop however, if you're looking to catch someones eye with it." I say with a knowing smile.

Rarity just stares at me for a second, then back at her creation before responding. "Devan, those colors aren't anywhere near what you just stated, though your point is taken. Do you need something?"

"Yes, I need seven sets of light clothing that are made for traveling in desert climates. I'm willing to pay, and it doesn't need to look fancy." I reply with matter-of-factly sound to my voice.

"Ah, an order for clothing? From you? How nice! I've been itching to make something else for you, but haven't found the time. When do you need them to be done?" asks Rarity, who is already searching through fabrics to get started with.

"Three days from now." I say with as warm a smile I can muster.

Fabric stops in mid-air before a flustered Rarity turns towards me, eye twitching. "Three days? Was that right? And how much are you going to pay for this? I would need extra due to me having to delay my other works and having to work full time on this project. I don't think you'd have eno—" Rarity starts, before seeing me drop a pouch with fifty bits in it onto a nearby table.

"How about that? Should be enough, I have a lot of planning to do. A big trip for an important reason. I'll be leaving the birds nest, as the phrase goes. I'll be back eventually, but I want a set of clothing that will be acclimated to where I am going. I hope you wouldn't mind if I left most of the things I didn't need here?" I say while amused by Rarity's slack jaw.

"Yes... That will be more than enough. I'll even throw in a scarf, if you're dealing with a sandy area at all, you will need to protect your face. Give me two days, I'll be finished then." stutters a surprised but professional Rarity.

I nod to her with a grin and make my way upstairs to gather the things I will need and prepare to pack them into the bag I received not too long ago from Applejack.

Now that I have the basics, time to get a few survival components. I'm glad that Sunbutt gave me one-hundred bits of my five-hundred this month in advance to purchase what I needed. Fifty should get me what I need to survive, while magic should fill in the rest.

After scrounging around Ponyville, I manage to find a canteen or two, a tent set, a few emergency dried fruits and a map of the southern area of Equestria.

Unfortunately I couldn't find a map of anything outside of Equestria, though I suppose that makes sense. These ponies are very comfortable in their safe areas, so I doubt that they want to leave. I suppose I'll go back, since it's getting late... I'll save the goodbye's for tomorrow and leave early the morning after.

Heading back, I see Pinkie Pie on her little balcony, randomly looking around while leaning on the railing. She see's me and smiles widely before waving frantically. I can't help but smile at her reaction and float myself up slowly and give her a tight hug. She kisses my cheek before nuzzling her forehead against mine before planting another kiss on my lips this time and heading back inside with a shy wave goodbye. I wave back slowly until she disappears from view. I head back towards my room, executing a few excited flips mid-air, catching the things I forgot I bought recently. Landing in my room through my window, I put everything down and undress before laying down and sighing in a very cliche way.

What a world.

Author's Note

Remember, Devan was transported to this world after the start of Season 6 as a show in his world. The movie didn't come out, so he just ya know.. Doesn't know.