After camp was set up, I gaze up at the clear sky filled with stars. Each one glitters as if a soul resides in them, fueling their brilliant light. A moment or two after indulging myself in the glory of it all, I look down at our new guest. She is sleeping on my sleeping bag, inside of my tent with a blanket on top of her. The wounds she has are harsh, with acid burns covering a decent amount of her body. After giving Tinisdian a lot of magical power from my gems, even then she wasn't fully healed. A large part of her tail is naked, while most of the other burned areas are at least growing fur back in already. What fur is there glows in the campfire, intensifying it's bronze color. A few items got through the digestion process. The clothes that she had with her, are almost dissolved away and left in tatters. A strange emblem that seems like something African is patched onto the small amount of clothes left. A sword that is ornate and bejeweled with emeralds also made it through. The blade is melted, but is obviously thin like a fencers blade would be. Finally, my eyes fall on the last item. A bag that seems undamaged somehow.

That bag, the fact it was completely undamaged is strange. Everything else, including her sword, was damaged. I'll have to ask about that later, especially because of the fact that I can't even open the latch on it. Speaking of...

The female cats body twitches slightly before her eyes open slowly, blinking a few times before her sudden realization that she's somewhere different and sitting up quickly. Xirandine notices this and turns into some smaller lizard creature, almost like Echo. Tinisidian disappears into my staff again and I just stand there looking down at her as she is looking around.

"Where am I?" asks the cat-woman in a smooth accent that resembles an Ethiopian one from Earth. Her paw reaches for her head and ends up on a burned area. After feeling that area for a bit, she freezes for a moment before putting her paw back down and continuing to speak. "The worm creature, you found me inside of it. I was scouting a few days ahead for the caravan I was assigned to, and was taken by surprise. I was too tired from the journey, that I didn't react in time. I thought I was going to die, but a few hours of being digested made me lose some hope. I heard the beast attack something, and felt it suddenly be pushed downwards. Realizing that it might be felled, I pushed out magical essence in hopes that I would be found. You found me, whatever you are. You killed the beast as well, so I can only assume you are powerful."

"Ah right, I guess I would be considered that huh? I can survive, that's all that matters to me." I reply, sitting down in front of her on the cool sand.

"I see... You gathered my things as well, thank you. I'd ask what you are, but that's not important. What is important however, is that my caravan will be here tomorrow. As a Captain, I should probably gather something to cover myself." states the cat, getting up and revealing her bare body.

I turn my body away almost instantly and peer off into the distance, admiring the quiet night.

A captain eh? I guess there must be a pretty important place nearby to have rankings like that. Of course the Princesses don't know much, too busy fixing the messes over there. I'll need to find out more before I keep going forward.

After a bit of scuffling behind me, I turn back around to see a cat that is barely covered. I can't help but appreciate the beauty of this being, even with the burns.

"What will you do now?" I ask, standing up to see her off.

"I will stay here if you don't mind, my magical reserves are low and I need rest. I do need to eat, so I will go scavenge some meat off of that corpse you left over there." replies the cat, pointing her right paw at the worm. "After the caravan arrives, I will leave with them. We're headed to Klugetown."

I grab her paw as she tries to walk past me and smile. "A few questions first, if you don't mind." I say gently.

"I suppose that will be alright, you did save my life and possibly prevented future problems for the caravan." she replies, sitting back down next to me on a medium sized rock. "Go ahead."

"What do you know about this area? I see there are giant worm creatures, but I know little of it." I ask, gesturing to the area around us.

She puts a paw to her head in thought before responding."You're a traveler then? Well, it is like any other desert. Immensely hot in the day, surprisingly cold at night. The creatures here seem to be more feral than other places however, almost frighteningly so. The place I come from is on the other side of the desert. It's name is Abyssinia, though I assume you must have at least known that. Other than that, expect very little from the inhabitants. They are greedy and selfish, even some of my people are the same way. Watch your back, or you might find a dagger in it."

So, I've left the 'tutorial' area. Fantastic.

"That is... Disconcerting. I think I will be fine though, I am not alone after all." I state, giving a grin of confidence. "How about your name?"

"My name? It is Sēti Wenidi." replies Sēti, flashing a quick smile.

Weird name, though it is a foreign world. 'Pinkie Pie' would be laughed at on Earth without the show existing though, so I guess it's fair game.

"Lastly, can we join you on your journey to Klugetown? Having a group that knows the way instead of wandering south through the desert would be smarter. If required, I can give some payment." I ask nervously, hoping she will accept us without payment.

I really only have around one-hundred bits left after all that I purchased for this journey. I don't want to use much of it, though I will be receiving more at the end of this month.

Again, Sēti thinks for a moment then nods. "You saved my life, and if you are offering to accompany us to town as added muscle as well, then I have no issue. Just let me do the talking."

"Thank you for allowing us to travel with you, now should I introduce you to my friends?" I ask, crossing my arms in some attempt to seem cool.

"No thank you. The lizard-bug and tree-pony that travel with you can stay hidden in plain sight, it would be better if the caravan didn't see too many at once." replies Sēti, smirking as she points as both the lizard on the ground near us and the staff on the ground.

I feel my mouth slack and almost open up in surprise. The lizard skitters underneath the rock in shame and the staff shakes a bit before poofing out a small stick. Sēti walks away, shaking her hips in a grandiose way and I just turn back to the fire I started a bit ago, adding fuel to it.

—————————————————Early Next Morning—————————————————

After tying the tent up and putting it back into my backpack, I grab the staff and feel a memory drift back into my mind. One of a large tree, a dying friend and a strange being with a similar tool. I pull the gem out of the now walking stick and place it on the large rock from the night before. Feeling around the sands with my magic, I find what I'm looking for. Loose metal from days past rise up from the depths of the never ending sea of sand and on the rock. I attempt something I haven't really done before, and try to create a ring. The metal doesn't seem to form correctly, creating rough edged shapes with oblong holes. I frown at my failure, but feel a paw touch my shoulder. I look up at her and she puts a claw to her mouth before giving a sly smile. A second later she prods the metal on the rock gently and I see the metal smoothly shape into a ring of somewhat intricate design with a setting that would fit the gem perfectly. Another tap on the gem and it floats onto the ring as prongs come out of the setting and wrap around it tightly. I pick up the ring and try put it on my right index finger, it warps to fit my finger snugly, but not tightly. Inspecting the ring more, I see runic symbols lining the outside. I look up at Sēti again, but with a thankful smile plastered on my face. She chuckles and punches my shoulder playfully, pointing ahead of us at a few wagons coming to us on the horizon.

"There they are, and don't worry about what I just did. Just take it as a friendly gift from a thankful Captain and Gem Master." states Sēti before she walks towards the incoming group.

I nod at her as she walks away and stand up, picking up the walking stick to follow her. A lizard crawls onto my hand, seemingly inspecting the ring and makes a high pitched whistling noise before going into my backpack. I roll my eyes and make a risky decision. I imagine a creature I have seen more than few times before, and activate my ring. A moment and a flash later, I look down to confirm my choice. Scales, claws and leathery skin litter my body. I became an Argonian, at least how I imagined one to look like. Sēti looks back to make sure I am still there, and hesitates slightly when she notices my new form. Her tail frizzes up slightly, and her hand reaches for the badly damaged sword at her waist. Looking at my hand, she sees the ring and calms down afterwards, making a gesture to move faster. I wave in response and catch up while getting used my new structure and feel. My newfound claws sink into the sand, my skin feels a bit tighter but still malleable and finally, the annoyingly hot sun now feels like a nice warmth overtaking my skin.

I could get used to this... Being able to change my whole biology on a whim. Strange that this time I kept my clothes however, perhaps because I am a similar form as before? Shoes are gone though. Stick is here, backpack is definitely here and my cloak is also here. Ah, can't forget about my 'belt'. Welp, looks like I've got most of my necessary things still. Looks like we're almost to them, that was fast.

As we get closer, I get a better look at her caravan. Camels are pulling the presumably full wagons. There a few armed 'cat lords' on the sides of the caravan and one towards the back. Some heavily covered ones are driving the wagons, and they all stop next to us. One of the more bulky cat lords walks up to Sēti and puts his hand up to his chest before addressing her.

"Captain" he starts with the same accent, though rougher. "I see that your scouting mission didn't go as planned. Will you require a new uniform?"

As he mentions the uniform, I examine the one he is wearing. It's somewhat plain, but still imparts a feeling of responsibility. The same crest from her destroyed clothes is patched onto his chest on the right side. A violet coat is wrapped around his body, silver buttons keeping it together going down the front. His pants match the color of the coat, with a red cloth wrapped around his left thigh. I notice that Sēti is walking away and realize I was just staring at the guard for a while, completely ignoring what they were saying. He walks up to me and gives a big smile.

"I hear that you are a powerful warrior, and that you have saved our captain. Perhaps when we are finished traveling to that despicable town, we can have a small match of skill. My name is Jolī, and I hope we get there safely." he says, putting his large paw on my shoulder.

I return the gesture, placing my scaly claw on his shoulder and giving a toothy smile before replying. "I would like that Jolī."

"How about we spar right now instead?" speaks a familiar voice from behind him.

We both look towards the voice and see Sēti wearing her captains attire. A very similar uniform to his, but with a few notable changes. The red cloth is tied around her right bicep and the buttons going down her front are golden instead. Walking up to me, she pulls out her sword, completely whole. I walk up to her and command my belt to regain it's true form, turning into a sword. Looking at my sword closely, she sighs.

"After we do this, I suppose I'll have to teach you a few things while we continue to Klugetown. I will provide a replacement, so I apologize in advance." Sēti says, pointing at my sword.

What? Maybe she doesn't know that it's enchanted so heavily. I guess she will find out. Another battle just a day later? Good thing I'm confident in my abilities.

"Alright then, so how do you want to do this? I assume magic isn't allowed." I say , stepping to a nearby, mostly flat, area.

The four guards stand in a large square around us and hold up their swords. Sēti stands across from me, and after a moment the guards stab the ground at the same time. A thirty foot wall of caked sand rises up around us, creating a dueling arena of sorts. I whistle at the size of it and give her an eyebrow flash. She scoffs and points her sword towards me, I do the same in return.

"Magic is forbidden unless it is within your weapon. The first one to concede or cannot fight back loses." Sēti explains, gaining a stereotpyical fencing stance with one arm behind her.

"Got it." I reply in the rough voice this body gave me.

After a nod from her, we start circling each other, looking for weaknesses. A moment later, she makes the first attack. Thrusting forwards with her sword at high speeds, I barely parry it off to the side before it hits me. The moment Sēti is parried, a follow up attack is made when she slashes upwards. I block this one firmly, sending a piece of my sword out to attack her. In a blink of an eye, she moves her blade away and stabs the piece coming towards her, right through the gem embeded within it. I back away immediately, and attempt to call it back. It doesn't return.

Sēti walks over to the now broken piece of sword and picks it up before speaking. "The gem in a weapon should never be so carelessly open for attack. I would see how such a weapon would deter or even intimidate others, but its honestly a very flawed creation."

The words sting my pride as I sigh at the loss of that piece.

I just need to be more careful, who would have thought she would be so fast and powerful? My weapon isnt that bad...

I send a piece behind me and command it to start launching bolts of lightning at her. It takes a bit to charge up, but a moment later it fires. I rush forward to attack at that moment. Predictably, she dodges the bolt with ease and prepares to take me head on. I give a sly grin and send two more pieces towards her, flanking her from the sides. This makes her jump forwards and attempt to strike me. In response I form the last piece into a thin but sturdy shield and hide behind it to block her attack. Feeling her attack strike my shield, I push her until I feel two more thuds.

Looks like she was caught. I changed them to be blunt so Sēti shouldnt be hurt much. Lets take a look.

Putting the shield down I gaze at the scene in front of me. Sēti is around ten feet away and the two thuds I felt were apparently the remains of the flanking pieces bouncing off of my shield. A shield, which has a hole in it directly where the gem would have been, doesnt listen to any commands. Dropping the useless piece of metal, I put my hands up. Sēti sheathes her weapon and bows before heading my way.

Beaten by a furry, yeesh.

As she is walking my way, she speaks aloud. "You have an inventive mind, I can tell. Though you lack real battle experience. I assume you have either not fought much or simply overpower your opponent before they can do anything."

I suppose she is right.. Most of my battles consisted of me just pushing powerful magics at them, not so much having to think critically. This match was over so quickly. I was outmatched completely, at least in terms of swordmanship. If she is like this now... I cant imagine her fully healed.

I smile and nod before replying. "You're right, I am a bit more powerful than a lot of my previous enemies. Im more talented at magic, less so in swordsmanship or battle tactics. You are very, very fast. Fuck, you even destroyed my sword."

Freezing at her current spot, Sēti displays an embarrassed nature. "I am sorry for that. Others have said I can be a bit.. Overzealous with my teachings."

She's blushing.. Makes me want to pet her. No! No, you can't. Think of Pinkie.

Looking down at my ruined weapon, I can't help but crack a small smile. "You don't say? Though if it was that obvious to counter, then I should be glad that you helped me realize that."

Sēti dons a surprised look, before giving the warmest smile I've seen her make. I smile back nervously and scratch the back of my head, making me wince due to the new claws. A giggle comes from Sēti before she finishes walking to me and holds her sword out. The side by side comparison makes me realize that she isn't that tall at all, around 5ft 4in tall. Looking down at her sword, I confirm that it is indeed the same sword as before. Down to the ornate structure and emerald gems, it is without a doubt the same weapon from before.

"Your weapon, it was mended so quickly?" I ask, feeling along the flat of the fencing sword with the tip of my claw.

Sēti looks down at the sword as well with happiness-filled eyes, enamored by the craftsmanship that she must have imparted onto it while responding. "Yes, due to the gems embedded in it. Of course it is hardened as well, but that doesn't make it invincible. So when I put enough essence into it, the sword can reform by using nearby metals. Smart, right?"

She is so engrossed in her weapon... I suppose it is her craft, why wouldn't she be?

"Indeed... So, you said you were going to teach me a few things?" I say, wanting to learn more.

"Ah, well tell me what your weapon does first, and I will tell you my thoughts." replies Sēti as she sits down.

"It will be a while, are you sure we are okay to sit here?" I ask, gesturing to the stone walls around us.

After cocking her head and giving me a confused look, she "They have already left us, the guards can handle more than I can by myself anyways. We will catch up with them tomorrow. About six more days of traveling are left before we reach Klugetown, I know the way, don't worry."

What? They left? But.... I wanted to see what they had to sell.. Oh well. Knowledge is power! Especially when it comes to magic and this world in general honestly.

"Well, this is what it DID..." I start, ready to explain everything my past weapon was capable of.

—————————————————A Few Moments Later—————————————————

A laughter rings out, echoing in the small stone chamber with no roof that we are sitting in. A laughter of a somewhat cute, but brash female cat. The lizard-human is seeping with despair and embarrassment.

"You.. You... You put THAT much into the swords enchantments?!" laughs Sēti, attempting to catch her breath before continuing. "That's way too much! You'd just be confusing yourself! Sure if you stand still you can do it, but why would you be standing still in a fight?"

"I mean... I am a magic user mostly, like I said before.." I say in protest to her laughter.

Wiping a tear from her eye, she gets close to my face and grins almost wildly before speaking. "So am I. A lot are. You have to be skilled with magic to survive out here. Watch."

Standing up by using a magically created gust of wind, she points a claw towards the wall directly behind me. At first nothing happens but a small buildup of essence on her claw. The color of the essence being a light brown color, not unlike the sand itself. Suddenly, a swirling red hot beam fires from said claw and pierces the wall behind us creating a hole as it drills into it.

Is that... Plasma? Looks like the Special Beam Cannon... It's cool, but I can do the same th—

She moves her finger rapidly, the beam moving with it. The speed of movement is something I can't even fathom, and before I knew it the beam was gone. A few seconds later, the walls fall, cut into pieces. I can't help but express the surprise and awe on my face while Sēti just sits back down and gives a small giggle at my look.

"I.. Wha.. Ho.." I start, putting my hand onto my head and thinking deeply. "You just cut effortlessly into the walls.

"It took me effort! I had to move my finger." comes a reply from the monster in front of me. "Now, do you know what dual magic is?"

"Du.. Dual magic?" I stammer, noticing my form has shifted back to normal due to lack of concentration. "I know how to apply different types of magic to others, but I have no idea what Dual Magic is."

"It is a bit advanced, so I understand why you might not know of it. What alignments do you have? I can hazard a guess, but I'd better be more safe than sorry. Wouldn't want something bad happening right?" Sēti asks, patiently waiting.

Should I tell her about the dark alignment? I don't know how common or uncommon is is outside of Equestria, though even in there it didn't seem to bother those I told about it... Fuck it.

"Earth, Air and Dark." I reply, anticipating a bad response.

Surprisingly, she doesn't react at all besides putting a claw against her chin to think. "That is quite uncommon, though air and earth provide access to both summon magic and spells that change physical forms, power and gravity. Dark is a mysterious, even here, though that can be used with air to apply fierce curses and the like. When mixed with earth however.... It can be quite formidable. You can decay almost anything that isn't magically protected, and plenty that is."

I WONDER why the Princesses didn't tell me that... Whoooo knowwsss.

"You will have to find out by yourself honestly, everyone has a talent for some kind of magic, you'll just have to find yours. Now, back to your weapon. I will provide you with a weapon, what kind would you like?" Sēti asks, putting her slender paw out to the right.

"What kind of weapon? I mean, if I'm not going to be sending it out like before, then I guess I would prefer a medium sized sword. One I can carry in one-hand but also have some sort of heft behind it." I answer, not really sure on what I will receive.

"So you want a hefty medium sized sword? Hm... Ah, I got it!" Sēti replies, casting a few spells in succession. "You used lightning magic, so I will get you a sword that can make use of that."

After a moment or two, metal rises from the ground and starts to form into a sword. "These sands have covered plenty of battles and caravans, so finding metal isn't too difficult no matter where you look. There, I am finished." says Sēti, floating the hilt-less sword into my hands. Inspecting it closely, I immediately recognize the design.

"A falchion?" I ask, running my finger down the side of the blade.

Sēti nods her head quickly before answering. "Indeed, it gives tremendous slashing power while only being a one-handed sword. It's also made of silver. It has been proven over the years that lightning seems to be attracted to silver more than other metals. You can thank mentors of years past for that. Now, for your hilt. You seem to be adept at shifting wood,as so I'll leave that to you."

"Right, a hilt. Lets see if I can find any wood near—" I start to say before noticing my walking stick rattling around and Tinisidian popping out.

"I'll be your hilt!" says Tinisidian happily. "It'll make it to where I can always be around, plus having magically sensitive wood as a hilt will naturally empower whatever gems you put into it."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't it hurt or something? You aren't going to influence my weapon in any way, hm?" I ask, prodding the nose of the small Obsidian.

"Of course not! This isn't 'me', it's just a construct of wood that I imbued some essence with that reports back about what's happening. I have to choose a magical wood in order for it to work for so long, and it must be tougher than usual as well. Go ahead, I'll send another your way in a little while." says Tinisidian before becoming inert and losing all features.

Sēti inspects the wood closely and gives an impressed look. "How interesting. That should indeed be a useful material for this weapon. I'll leave you to it, be sure to make the hilt comfortable for your use in that form, enchantments can help with forming it to your body if you decide to change forms." After finishing, she pulls a familiar looking bag from behind her opens it, pulling out multiple gems. "What do you know about gem enchanting?" she asks, setting black, blue, green, brown, white and red gems in a line.

"I know that the gem color determines the efficiency of the type of magic put into it. For example, brown gems will have more effect when Earth magic is put into it. Red, fire. Blue, water. Green, Air. Black, Dark. White, light. When a gem has multiple colors, it enhances each of the corresponding magics that the colors cover." I state, remembering what I was taught a while ago.

"You are mostly right! However, you need to know something important. When you use a multi-colored gem, unless you are using magic that each color covers, you will not be getting the same amount of enhancement that a mono-colored gem would give. For example, that blast I sent off was a mixture of Air and Fire alignments. If I were to get a green, red and black gem, it wouldn't be nearly as good as just having a Red or Green gem. Other magics interfere with the process and usefulness of enchanting, so it would be better to break it down to one color if you cannot find the correctly colored gems." Sēti says, prodding three gems towards me. "Now, you will make a weapon using the three alignments you have. Oh! And one more."

Sēti pulls out another gem, this one being clear. "Clear gems, are used for arcane magic. You have clearly moved past this field of magic, but it is the basis of all magic. Make use of it, Arcane is the purest of all and underestimated. You have one hour to create a weapon using these four gems and that sword." she says, tossing the gem towards me.

One hour!? But I want the weapon to do so much! How could I possibly..

Sēti sees the panic on my face and sighs. "Want an example of a simpler weapon?"

"Yes please!" I say, grasping at any idea for my weapon.

Standing up once me and moving away, she pulls her sword out. Doing a couple slashes as a warm up, she then breathes in and out slowly. A moment passes before I see a small spark of magical essence flare up at her weapon, and she does the same slashes. At the end of the sword during these slashes, air blades fly out of the weapon, decimating the rubble nearby. A thrust is done afterwards, shooting a a more focused beam of pressurized air, creating a split in the sea of sand as if she was Moses. Raising her sword up, a ball of air seems to swirl around at the end of it. Swiping her sword downwards, the ball flies forward until it hits the ground and obliterates a five-foot sphere of it, causing sand to fly everywhere. Luckily I covered my eyes at that moment, because the force of the sand hitting my skin was enough to burn. Sēti sits back down, except a bit farther away before giving a smirk and nodding towards the pieces in front of me. Shaking, I grab onto each gem and turn the other way with the sword and wood.

She is literally a monster of a character. It looked like she had some sort of conditions in her enchantments that activated based on her moves or something... But I don't like being stuck with just a sword. The whole point of the chain sword i made was so I could have multiple different wea—

Looking down at each gem, I get an idea, one that surpassed anything from before. I begin the hour-long process, creating a simple but complicated weapon.

Author's Note

A new weapon, already? Yeah... To be honest, it was confusing and somewhat annoying to write out what that weapon was doing. This next one though... Fits him better in my opinion.