I'm practically giddy with maniacal glee as I make my way to the stairs.

No better way to celebrate my return to Equestria than finally killing an alicorn!

... Wait a minute.

Kill an alicorn?

A living embodiment of Light Eco?

My most devastating weakness?

And I think I can kill one after a near starvation of Eco?

...

I immediately stop walking and facepalm so hard I nearly break my skull gem.

What am I thinking? I can't face an alicorn in my current state! I have barely any Eco, no army, and no immediate means to remedy either one! Have I actually become suicidal after all that time in that wasteland?

Hell, what if Celestia was still alive? Weren't alicorns considered immortal?

Ooh.

What if Celestia is still alive?

That would be... fantastic. I can't help but steeple my fingers at the thought. Oh, the agonies I would inflict upon her...

First I'd break off her horn so she can't use her magic, then I'd tear off her wings so that she can't fly away, then I'd break her back legs so that she can't run away but I won't break her front legs so I can still have the pleasure of seeing her try to crawl away-

*THWACK!*

Thankfully my tail manages to whack me in the face before I lose myself in that fantasy.

No sense focusing on what could be when I should be focusing on the now. And right now... I need information...

I look up the stairs looming before me. My four eyes have no trouble piercing through the darkness, but even so I still can't see anything but steps going up.

All right then, reconnaissance. Need it. How?

Hmmm... Need something to scout ahead, something small and maneuverable, and I need it quickly. No telling what could be going on upstairs with an alicorn...

With a snap of my claws (it's harder than you'd think) I realize I know the perfect thing for the job. I concentrate and try to gather a small amount of the Eco I have left. At the speed of thought the Eco travels to the collection of egg pustules on my tail and it shapes into what I need. In less than a minute, a relatively tiny new egg sprouts and detaches itself from my tail and falls to the ground where it bursts apart to reveal my new minion: the wasp-like Flanker.

Metal Bugs already served somewhat as scouts in that Daxter game, and as far as Metal Heads go, they don't get much smaller than the Metal Bugs. Granted, a Flanker is probably still about the size of an average pony's head, but it should suffice as a scout.

The Flanker hovers in front of my face with a light buzz of its wings, awaiting commands. Newly born and already eager to serve. I'm such a proud mother/father/monster.

With a flash of my skull gem I send a mental command:

Go. Investigate. Do not be seen. Report back.

The gem on the Flanker's thorax flashes back accordingly and with a nod of its head for confirmation it flies away and up the stairs.

Ah, how I missed issuing commands with but a thought. Sadly, my telepathic range is pretty much limited to line of sight, so I can't just get an immediate response back. Which means I'll be stuck waiting for the little Flanker to return before I can know what's going on upstairs.
Speaking of the stairs... How was I expecting to get up these things in my full monstrous form? I could barely fit my head in that hallway, let alone my whole body. Not to mention the fact that my weight would probably crush the stone like styrofoam. Thank Gol I actually stopped to think a little rather than barreling ahead.

A soft 'thunk' sound suddenly catches my attention. I glance over my shoulder to see that the Rift Gate is no longer active and stopped floating, causing it to settle back onto the ground. Good news for me: no rift means no immediate return to the wasteland. That does beg the question of what exactly activated it in the first place? The alicorn upstairs, perhaps?

I certainly hope that Flanker comes back with some useful information, and soon.

Whatever is going on upstairs will definitely require my attention soon, and since I'd rather take the stealthy route of the stairs rather than crashing my way through untold levels of stone ceiling, it looks like it's time for some shape-shifting. Been a while since I did that, but it's just like riding a bicycle. A collapsible one. Made out of your own flesh, bones, and organs. And you actually are the bicycle...

Okay, so it's not really all that much like riding a bicycle, but it's at least like second nature to me.

I let out a calm breath that sends most of the dust billowing throughout the room. I then focus my mind on how I want to look, and ultimately force my body to do the same. With a sickening crackling of bones and squelching of flesh, my various limbs retract into myself. My tail and crab-like legs disappear, while my arms practically implode with the extent that they have to shrink.

You know how it feels when you suck in your gut? That's what follows, but for my entire body.

I fall forward and catch myself with my now spindly-looking arms as I no longer have legs to stand on. My neck retracts with another sudden crack and squelch as my skull and skull gem are forced to compress themselves to an otherwise impossible extent. Metal plating and tubing retract as well as more flesh grows to cover those areas.

I stop to catch my breath for a little bit. Evidently, I'm more out of practice with this than I realized.

With a last burst of effort, I kick a new pair of legs out from below my abdomen, thrusting them out of my own flesh. Before I try to stand, I examine my new feet briefly and confirm that, yes, I did remember to keep five toes on each foot. With some unsteady efforts, I manage to get myself to stand on my new legs. It's a little disorienting to go from being a hexapod to a biped after so long, but... well, I guess that bicycle metaphor actually fits a little better here.

Lacking a mirror, I make due with patting myself down to make sure I have my proportions still largely humanoid. Two legs, two arms, five fingers/toes on each appendage, no tail, no genitals (pointless to have after all when you're a self-fertilizing, egg-laying monster), and the appendages on my head now feel less like claws and more like hair again. It seems I still have my "human" appearance down pretty well.

Granted, I still have a pair of bladed vestigial arms by my stomach, a glowing yellow gemstone for a forehead, and some egg-like pustules on my ass, but that's why I brought my self-made silk robe with me.

Unfortunately, I briefly lost track of my clothes during my transformation, so I had to take a minute to find them again. Thankfully, they didn't get far and I start unpacking the bundle. I can't help but note though that as I look at my hands, they still retain their navy-blue skin tone rather than getting more... peachy. Oh well, a minor oversight. Not like I'm going to find a crowd of humans to hide in, here in Equestria.

Hmm... Humans. This reminds me of another detail as I grab hold of my ears to check how they turned out. Soft, fleshy, vaguely pointed, and only a few inches big rather than three feet long. All right, so I look more like a blue elf than a Jak and Daxter "human," but it's close enough, and more importantly, compact enough.

With my self-inspection done, I don my faintly yellow, off-white robe - complete with hood. I'll tell you this, you haven't lived until you've felt a robe made of your own silk. It's a little dusty now after I let it fall on the floor, and it's a bit too long for me - judging from the way my sleeves are about a foot or two too long and the way the hem trails behind me.

I wonder if this means I made my robe too big or if I made myself too small?

Whatever. Pointless details. I'm compact, humanoid, and dressed. Now I just need that Flanker to return...

Suddenly I hear a slight buzzing coming down the stairwell.

Speak of the spawn...

Sure enough, my Flanker comes flying over to me. At my current size, the Flanker looks to be nearly the size of my torso, but despite my change in appearance, it still recognizes me as its master and lands before me in its approximation of a bow. I motion for it to rise and it takes to the air again, hovering before me. With but a mental command, it presents the gem on its thorax to me so that I may delve into its memories. I stare deeply into the swirling energy of the gem, and soon enough, the Flanker's excursion plays back for me.

At first, there's simply its flight up the stairway. It's surprisingly longer and more winding than I realized, making for a dull experience. With a thought, I fast forward through this part, the Flanker twitching rather spastically in the process.

I let the memory resume at its normal pace once I see that the stairway ends. The viewpoint then inverts as the Flanker apparently started to crawl on the ceiling rather than fly. Clever little thing. Crawling to avoid anyone being able to hear its buzzing. After a short crawl though some dark halls, the Flanker finally sees something of interest.

Ponies.

The Flanker lolls its head involuntarily as I force the view in its memory to turn over.

Six ponies. No, seven! Celestia is there as well! THAT BITCH IS STILL ALIVE?! I WILL SHRED THOSE PONIES AND MAKE HER WATCH! I WILL IMPALE HER HEART WITH HER OWN HORN! I -

The memory suddenly stops playing as realize I just crushed the Flanker's head.

... Whoops.

Its body flops lifelessly to the ground as oily, black blood with a purple shine oozes from its head, and its gem ejects like the seat of a fighter jet. Thankfully I catch the gem before it can bounce off to who knows where.

I really need to get a handle on this rage of mine; I can't afford to get reckless like this. Only a few minutes back in Equestria and I kill my only Metal Head... Not a great start.

Ah well. At least I still have what matters. I hold the skull gem closer to my face and once again stare into its depths so the memory can resume.

Interesting thing about Metal Head skull gems: they're basically a black box. Whatever the Metal Head experienced before its death can be stored away in it for my later perusal. Living Metal Heads require Eco for their gems to power their bodies, but the gems themselves are virtually indestructible, and contain enough energy to sustain themselves almost indefinitely in a sort of sleep mode. Arguably, a Metal Head doesn't die unless its gem is somehow destroyed, making them virtually immortal, since I have yet to find anyone or anything capable of destroying them.

Although I did consider a possible means during my time in the Wastelands... But that's an experiment for another time.

I have the memory resume playing. Seven ponies are there. Celestia... A purple unicorn with a tiara that's nuzzling the alicorn... Interesting. Someone Celestia cares about? How exploitable. There's also a white unicorn, a yellow pegasus, a blue pegasus with a hair color that makes Celestia's seem reasonable, a pink Earth pony, and an orange Earth Pony with a cowboy hat.

Lovely, a smorgasbord complete with a free hat.

Hang on, the ponies are talking.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student."

Thank you, Celestia. I'll be sure to remember that name.

"I knew you could do it."

"But... you told me it was all an old pony tale."

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return..."

Nightmare Moon? A potential ally?

"...and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."

Oh gag me with a rusty spoon shiv...

"Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!"

It's then that the memory's view angles to look at a little blue alicorn. Luna? That's Luna? That pathetic little filly is the Princess of the Night? Looking so weak and vulnerable, and SHE'S RIGHT UPSTAIRS?!

I immediately cut off my connection to the memory and charge at the stairs. Forget patience! When will I ever get an alicorn practically gift-wrapped like this? I don't stop to think of the danger that Celestia might pose. I don't stop to think of just why Luna looks so weak. I don't even stop to think and reminisce over the fun I had with Luna before my banishment. My race up the stairs becomes a blur as I race with a sheer feral lust for alicorn blood.

When I finally get to the top of the stairs, I'm foaming at the mouth as I gnash my fangs and am met... with an empty room.

...

It takes several minutes for my mind to reboot from my bloodlust.

I realize that I'm still holding the skull gem in my hand. With a fast forwarded memory delve I get the obvious answer: they left.

"Huhuhu..."

Of course they left.

"Huhaha..."

It's not like the Flanker didn't need time to make it up and down the stairs.

They could have been gone for close to an hour.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

I finally realize I've been laughing to myself. I don't stop when I realize it though. I just laugh louder.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It's long, loud, and utterly insane. Here I was, thinking all sorts of elaborate plots of revenge, having to stop myself numerous times from throwing it all away in a crazed rage... And I throw it all away as soon as an alicorn filly gets dangled before me.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I'm just a shark with blood in the water. A dog with a steak. A junkie in need of his fix.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

*CRACK!*

A stone-shattering headbutt to the floor finally gets me to shut up.

I shake off the blunt force trauma and lie on my back to look at the sky though a hole in the castle's ceiling. I take a deep, unsteady breath.

How did that go again? The first step is admitting you have a problem?

"I'm a fucking mess."

Sounds about right.

I want to sate my rage. I want to ravage Equestria. I want to make the Princesses beg for mercy.

But I can't do that. Not yet. I need to gather myself. I need to regroup.

"I need to be patient."

I place my hands behind my head to lie down more comfortably.

...

A wet feeling on the back of my head reminds me that I still haven't cleaned the Metal Head gore off my hands. A quick glance downward makes me realize I'm also covered in copious amounts of my own slobber.

"I also need a bath."

Ponyville

"Sister?" Luna asked.

During Pinkie Pie's "Welcome-to-Ponyville-and-Congratulations-on-Getting-Your-Sister-Back-After-a-Thousand-Years" Party - which was surprisingly elaborate for something she presumably put together in mere minutes (the banner alone was an impressive feat) - Celestia had suddenly gone stock-still and stared in the direction of the Everfree Forest. Her expression had stayed neutral, but the look in her eyes seemed almost.. fearful.

"Doth something trouble thee?" Luna asked, now with a hint of worry.

Celestia blinked and gave her head a slight shake, after which she looked down at her sister with her usual, loving smile. "Forgive me, Luna. I thought I..." She couldn't help but cast a glance back at the Everfree. "... heard something." She said with barely a whisper.

What had it been? Something had sent an icy chill running through her spine. Had she actually heard a sound, or was it more a feeling?

Celestia then realized that her sister was still waiting for an answer. "I'm sorry, Luna, my mind is elsewhere when we have a party to celebrate!" Celestia said with as much cheer as she could muster.

Luna pouted. Celestia did her best not to 'Dawww' lest her sister might take offense.

"Art thou really going to keep secrets from us so soon after reuniting?" Celestia made a note to get Luna a diction tutor for that 'Ye Olde Equestrian' accent.

"No secrets, I promise you. Now come on! You won't believe all the flavors of cake they have nowadays!" Celestia said giddily as she used her wings to usher Luna over to the snack table.

On the outside, Celestia looked as happy as could be. On the inside, her mind was going a mile a minute trying to put her fears at ease. Something was in the Everfree. Something other than its usual monsters. Something that felt... wrong. Could she send Twilight to investigate?

Celestia spared a brief glance over to Twilight to see her young pupil enjoying some party games with her newfound friends.

No. Not Twilight. She wasn't about to risk her on something as unknown as this. Nightmare Moon had been prepared for, however vague her instructions to Twilight might have been. Celestia considered investigating it herself, but she couldn't leave Luna alone so soon after her return...

Perhaps a few select members of the Royal Guard could benefit from a "training exercise" in the Everfree?

Author's Note

Finally an update! Man, I did not intend for this story to sit idle so long. I hope to remedy that. I hope. I promise nothing.

Have I made it clear yet that Kor is not a stable individual?

I'm rather proud of that transformation sequence. If you find my visuals lacking, try watching the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde transformations from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie. They at least served as inspiration for me.

Also, slight edit to Ch 1, Kor will now say "Gol" instead of "God."

Note: Please let me know if the image fails to load.