A couple of weeks after meeting with the rest of the girls and discussing our new situation, that is being functionally immortal, Sunset and I found ourselves going with Twilight to a property on the edge of town, just within what we had determined the 'boundary', for lack of a better word, of the effects that made Canterlot such an odd place to live.

"So where exactly are we going?" Sunset asked as we walked up a steep path.

"I'm going to introduce you two to someone." Twilight said as she moved up the path, much more easily than either Sunset or I expected, almost with the same level of ease that I was able to move, while poor Sunset was panting slightly from the exertion as we reached the crest.

Another oddity of the situation was the fact that after we had gotten out of the truck at the bottom of the slope was that she had summoned the nodachi she had wielded as midnight and attached it to a magnetic harness that she wore across her back.

"I am guessing that you have been here often?" I asked, now taking note of her now, thanks to her more form fitting exercise clothing and short sleeves, fit and toned physique.

She nodded. "I came across a clearing not too far from here when I started to practice with my sword once I was able to figure out how to summon it." She replied. "Turns out the clearing was on someone's property and not public land like I thought it was."

"Yes, and that was when I found you trying to kill yourself by accident, wielding a weapon you had no experience with." A smooth male voice called out.

A voice that I found VERY familiar as a memory that wasn't mine forced itself forward.

"I will never be a memory."

I shook my head to clear out the vision, before looking at the man in front of us.

"Twilight, who is this?" Sunset asked, tension in her frame.

"Sunset, Talisman, I would like you to meet my swordsmanship teacher-" She began before I interrupted her.

"Sephiroth Valentine." I said with a slight smirk. "Well, now isn't this interesting. First the Winchesters and now General Hotness. Who else are we going to wind up conveniently meeting that is going to help us somehow?"

The man laughed, a deep belly laugh. "Well, when Twilight told me that her girlfriends were interesting people, she seemed to be understating things." He said in that damn rich purring voice that sends the good kind of chills down your spine.

"Damn it, stop it with that voice already!" I said with a glare. "So, you're teaching her to wield her nodachi?"

Sephiroth nodded, his silver hair pulled back into a ponytail, leaving just his bangs free. He wore a simple grey shirt and loose black sweatpants. "I came across her practicing with it a few weeks ago. She has potential with it, but she needed a teacher, so I offered my assistance in that capacity. I doubt she will be able to get up to my level, but then there isn't anyone that could be on this world." He explained.

"How long have you been here?" I asked as I moved around to stand to his right, about a dozen feet away from him. "In this world I mean. The last I knew of your story was that after the Chocobo took out your remnant, you just kind of disappeared."

He smiled. "So you know of the Calamity? After Cloud defeated me again, I was sent to the Lifestream, but was cast out of it about ten years ago. I was able to find work as a private military contractor, though I did have to tone down my abilities to avoid questions. I moved here a couple of years ago to get some peace and quiet." He explained. "The question is how do you know about me and what do you know of my story?"

I smirked. "You are the child of a scientist named Lucretcia and a Turk named Vincent. You were experimented on in utero by Hojo and injected with Mako and living Jenova cells. After you were born, you were turned into the perfect soldier by Hojo and the SOLDIER program. After you discovered the truth regarding your birth, you went insane and attempted to destroy the Planet. But before you lost your mind, you were one of three First Class SOLDIERs, and the three of you were like brothers until they began to degrade due to the dead Jenova cells that they had been injected with." I said.

"Hmph, you seem to know the broad strokes." He replied with a frown. "But that doesn't mean that you know me."

"I know enough that you willingly decided to train Twilight with her sword, and that speaks volumes." I replied.

"It does?" Sunset asked.

I nodded. "If he were still the Calamity's Son, then we wouldn't be standing here talking, and the likelihood of him training Twilight would be slim, especially since she hasn't shown any major personality changes." I replied.

"Really?" Twilight asked, slightly nervous.

"Yes. That was a man who, at his worst, destroyed an entire town and called down Meteor to destroy the world. Not the General who, while distant, did care about his subordinates to an extent, and assisted with their training. We are looking at the General, not the monster." I said.

Sephiroth chuckled again. "Well, you seem to have a decent measure of the situation." He said.

"Though I do have one question, if I could interrupt." Twilight said politely.

Sephiroth and I raised an eyebrow.

"Talisman, why did you call him 'General Hotness?" She asked, causing Sunset to facepalm.

"Really? That is what you're focusing on Twi?" She asked.

"What? It seemed an appropriate question to diffuse the tension and keep our girlfriend and my teacher from trying to kill each other." Twilight replied, crossing her arms with a huff.

Sephiroth and I chuckled.

"I doubt very much your girlfriend would be able to harm me, but not for lack of trying." He said.

I twitched and glared at him. "Is that so?"

He nodded. "Unless you were a SOLDIER, and even then you would have to be a-" He started to say before twisting out of the way as one of my side blades came crashing down where he had stood.

"How about we test that theory?" I asked, summoning the other side blade into my off hand. "I've been looking for someone to spar with that I didn't have to worry about hurting." I added as I charged again.

Sephiroth smiled as Masamune appeared and he blocked my strike, before pushing me back.

"Not bad. You actually managed to surprise me." He said.

"Well, considering I have been running off of the memories of Angeal, the Puppy, and the Chocobo up until this point, I figured I might get a shot at least landing a glancing blow." I said as I readied myself for probably the most dangerous fight I have ever been in.

"Talisman, is this a good idea?" Sunset asked.

"I would definitely not do this Talisman. I know in training he has been holding back a lot." Twilight said.

"Oh, trust me. This is a fucking Bad Idea!" I said, a slightly manic tone in my voice for a moment. "But even as Gaia's Shields, you and the girls are still too squishy for me to spar with and not hold back a lot of my blows."

Both of them considered this and stepped back a few paces.

"So you challenge me when you aren't sure you can win and lacking honor." Sephiroth said. "What would Angeal say?"

"Quite frankly, I don't care." I replied as I switched the side blade in my right hand for the main blade. "The only fair fight is the one you win. Besides, you've been hiding your capabilities, surely you would like to see if you still have it. Feel the rush that comes from dancing on the razor's edge." I said, my eyes starting to glow bright enough that they could be seen in the sunlight.

"So, you are a SOLDIER, but how strong are you?" He said as he charged.

I jumped back to avoid the strike, barely leaping out of the way and onto a semi sturdy tree branch to avoid the massive blade.

"So that's how you want to play it then?" He said before doing that damn blink maneuver and showing up a foot in front of me, his sword in a reverse grip and coming towards me.

I brought the main blade up to block while I swung the side blade around to strike.

Unfortunately, I had underestimated the sheer power house that was the Silver General, and was sent flying by the blow.

I think I actually got sent through a tree or two.

"Oww!" Was my elegant reply.

"Is that all you have to offer?" Sephiroth asked. "If it is then you are not worthy of my student being your mate."

Oh. No. This. Mother. Fucker. Didn't.

"Oooooh, shit." I heard Sunset mutter.

I felt my pulse speed up and my temperature to rise.

"I guess I have to show you why they called me Odinbane back in the day." I growled out, not realizing that I had sprouted wolf ears and a tail.

"This isn't good." Twilight said.

Before anyone could say anything else, I charged.

Sephiroth met my strikes head on, either deflecting them or dancing around them, while landing the occasional knick on me.

I loaded another strike with an overpowered Thundraga, causing him to jump back making the strike hit the ground causing a crater.

"Well, I take it back. You are worthy of her. You just have to let yourself loose." He said, before smirking.

"What?" I snarled.

He simply dismissed Masamune, and walked up to me. He put his hand on my head, and said "I guess I'm going to have a new Puppy following me around."

I blinked and looked up at him. 'Sweet Frigga, I am six foot and he is still a good head taller than me. Wait, did he just call me 'Puppy'?'

I growled. "Only because it was a subtle measure of respect towards the end for the LT, am I letting you call me that."

Sephiroth laughed. "I am sure you are." He said before ruffling my hair. "Now, Twilight, are you still up for your lesson today?"

Twilight nodded. "If you are Master."

"Then let us begin." He said as Twilight began her warm-ups.

I walked over and collapsed down next to Sunset.

"If I ever try to do something that monumentally stupid again, smack me before I do please." I said as I stared ahead.

"How close were some of those strikes?" She asked as she looked me over. "Holy shit, you're bleeding!" She exclaimed.

I shrugged and cast Curaga on myself.

She huffed and proceeded to check me over further.

"You are way too reckless." She said finally. "He could have killed you."

I shrugged. "No he wouldn't. Hurt me? Yes. Kill me? No. Haven't given him a reason to." I replied, before taking her hand and giving a gentle squeeze. "I am sorry if I scared you. But you have to remember that I was a soldier before and I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Fighting is the best rush I have ever found, especially when death is a likely outcome if I lose. I just make sure that I don't lose."

Sunset looked at me for a moment before punching me in the shoulder.

"Well, don't do that again. You have Twilight and I to worry about and neither of us want to lose you." She said with a glare.

I nodded. "I will do my best." I replied.

"That it?" She asked.

"A wise woman once said 'never make a girl a promise if you can't keep it'. I am just promising to do my best to not do something stupid and get myself killed. I can't account for everything." I said, pulling her into a hug.

"I know. I just can't stand the thought of losing you. You helped me through a lot and I owe it to you to help you the way you did with me." She said quietly. "So no dying before your time."

"Alright, alright, you've made your point." I said with a chuckle as we turned to watch Twilight training.

Going by how Twilight was moving through her forms, it was clear that she had only recently started training with her nodachi as Sephiroth coached her through very simple forms.

It made sense then that, combined with her normal clothing at school, that her physique was just starting to become that of a swordswoman.

Soon enough the lesson ended when Twilight couldn't hold the long blade up without shaking.

"Good work. You are making incredible progress. Especially since we only started training a couple of weeks ago." Sephiroth said before turning to me.

"I take it that you haven’t really fought anyone with that sword before?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not really. I fought against Midnight, but I wasn't giving it my all since I didn't want to kill her. The most I have been able to do is practice what is in my head, but without an opponent, I tend to over extend on my strikes. That was the first time I have been able to seriously cut loose and go all out." I said.

"Hmmm, well your form was decent, but still unpolished." The former SOLDIER replied. "I can teach you what I know and we can occasionally spar, if only to get your skills up to snuff."

"I would appreciate that. It will help me out as if, once she is ready, I could train alongside Twilight when she spars with you." I added before nodding at Sunset. "And once we retrieve her sword, we would need to add Sunset once she has knocked the dust off of her skills."

Sephiroth smiled gently. "So, who is the hero?" He asked.

"Not sure yet." I replied. "But we aren't characters in a story, just because it happened to you, doesn't mean it will repeat with us." I added.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess."

We all turned to look at Sunset.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"We seek it thus, and take to the sky
Ripples form on the water's surface
The wandering soul knows no rest." I finished. "Loveless, Act I. But how do you know it Phoenix?"

Sunset shook her head, as if coming out of a daze. "My swordsmanship teacher. They were always quoting it. Guess it got pounded into my head and your little exchange triggered a memory." She replied distractedly.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Well, getting your sword back is gonna suck." I said.

Author's Note

And I am back. I apologize for the long silence, but it has been a rough few months for me. New job, personal issues, moving, etc. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try to keep them coming the best I can.