Dreamer Adventures

-Golden Oaks Library-

“...For the both of you to just up and WALTZ through a rift through space and time without anypony’s opinion or knowledge of the matter! Do either of you realize how worried we all were!?”

Upon returning to their own world, Asriel and Chara had been calmly urged to take a seat in the library by Princess Celestia, only for the aforementioned princess to immediately unload a range of emotions from untold fear, righteous anger, and pale relief at the sight of the pair.

Tears had stained and matted the fur along her eyes and cheeks, a heavy bloodshot gaze replaced her gentle visage, and the ground at her feet would sizzle every so often.

As she paced along the room, reprimanding the pair, she turned to face them and pulled them into a tight embrace for what had been the one hundred sixty fourth time in the hour alone.

“I’m just so glad your safe…” The princess whispered through a sore throat and endless sobs.

“W-Well I may or may not have made a token so other people across the Multiverse can summon me…” Chara said trying to keep her eyes anywhere but at Celestia.

Celestia pulled back as if something had just struck her in the liver. “Absolutely not! There is no way I could ever allow you to do something so reckless again!”

“We were only gone for a day.” Asriel pleaded.

“You were gone for a week!” The princess cried.

“well it's not like I can stop them from summoning me and they're more likely to summon me to fight for them considering who I am…” Chara continue to say completely ignoring asriel and the princess.

“Why would you willingly allow someone to put you in harms way?” Celestia was now in front of Chara, a pleading look upon her face.

“Well most of the displaced probably know me as a very powerful fighter and nearly immortal so it's not like they don't have a reason to summon me in a fight, plus you forget I took down all of your guards by myself.” Chara said giving a deadpan at Celestia but inside Chara was actually happy at having someone care for her.

Celestia sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stood steadily. She huffed and looked at the pair of children once more… Only to break out into tears for the forty third time that day as she pulled the pair into another hug.

“...please tell somepony next time…” Celestia managed to whisper.

“I’ll leave a note.” Asriel replied.

“Yeah and besides it's not like I'm going to fight anything from DC or Marvel.” Chara said scoffing before giving a hug to Celestia.

After a moment, Celestia had finally gathered her bearings and gave the pair a bit of breathing room. Words seem to be caught in her throat as she rose once more, but the hard and unruly slamming of the library door had made her lose her train of thought.

Seven royal guards had flooded into the library, all lead by a furiously angry mare in more form fitting pale pink armor. “ASRIEL!” The mare cried out happily before pouncing at the surprised goat child.

But before she can even touch asriel she was wrapped up in blue strings and slammed into the opposite wall “ he's mine!” Chara yelled out glaring at the made.

“Rosie!” Asriel yelled out, flashing out of existence for a split second as a golden blade cut through the binds.

The mare thusly fell onto armored arms, Asriel catching her as she fell.

“And here I thought you’d have to catch up to me.” The mare teased as she booped his nose. The other soldiers simply cheered as they hefted Asriel into the sky.

“You are flirting with a fucking kid!” Chara yelled out completely disgusted at this woman for flirting with someone who was her physical age.

Everyone seemed to halt, everyone except Asriel who only seemed to pout and glare. “I’m twenty six! Pretty sure that accounts for something…” He said as the guards put him down and gave him some breathing room.

“ no it doesn't… your brain chemistry is that of a child's, hell my brain chemistry is that of a child! And this pedophile of a woman is flirting with someone who has the body of a fucking child!” Chara yelled out glaring pure hatred and disgust at Rosie.

The mare in question coughed, rubbing a bit of dirt from her armor. “I… Don't know how age works with his race… I’m not gonna get court martialed for this am I?”

“No one is getting court martialed!” Asriel shouted.

“ I'll make sure she does because I'm going to tell Princess Celestia that she's trying to date a child under her care. Let's see how the overprotective mother of us takes someone trying to date one of her kids.” Chara said a hate-filled smirk looking directly at Rosie

Celestia for her part coughed and pulled at her chest piece. “Yes… Well… I um… suppose some… Reprimand is in order?” She asked more than said.

“Over my dying body!” Asriel cried as he leveled his blade

“ news flash, you are dying! that's why your brain is fucked up! Besides it's not normal for kids to date fucking adults.” Chara yelled out. “ or were you a reverse pedo?”

Asriel gripped at his forehead, snarling. “Shut up shut up shut up shut up!” His body began to shift, as if the magic holding him together had started to unravel. Chara immediately put a shield around him and herself as she moved to comfort him and the shield was just in case they blew up. She soon had her arms wrapped around asriel bringing him into a hug hoping that the asriel part of him would come down after this.

“Don't you touch me!! I don't care if this isn't her fault! Shut up!! SHUT UP!!”

Chara felt the magic bombarding her body but continue to hold on to him. “It's okay asriel let him have control…” Chara Whispers into his ear hoping that the real asriel would let go.

“Are you sure? First sensible thing she's said since we met! Don't be that way. Why, because she thinks she owns you!? No, because she's family…” Asriel’s eyes shot open, both of a different color. One a warm emerald green, the other a rich brown. “Fine… I’ll leave her alone…”

His body began to stabilize as he shrunk back down to toddler size. “Not enough booze in the world…” He snarled as he punched the ground… Leaving a small dent in the floorboards.

A gentle knock reverberated along the battier, Celestia looking at the children within it. “Is… Everything alright?”

“I’m guessing this isn't the time to ask if he can freak out like that again?” Twilight questioned, having just come into the room from basement.

“I will gut you with a fucking smile!” Chara says with a dark tone glaring at Twilight still holding on to asriel.

“Unlike you… she actually cares…” Asriel said rather spitefully, earning him another headache. “And how was that not tru- agh! Okay I get it!”

“Chara, what's happening to him!?” Celestia called out as she started to pound on the barrier.

“The original Asriel woke up in the back of his mind” Chara says before thinking ‘I was lucky that the original chara just blasted me with her memories before dissipating’

“Kid won't stop screaming at me… oh boo hoo I didn't want this either!” Pushing himself away, he slammed his head into the barrier as if to quiet the voice in his mind. “I am not overreacting!!” He cried as he slammed his head again.

“ stop it asriel!” Chara shouts as she tries to stop Asriel from bashing his head in.

The two locked eyes, and for a moment it seemed that it was enough. Asriel slowly stepped away from the barrier, eyes devoid of life, as if in resignation to a prison built for another.

“Fine… I have someplace to be…” He dropped. No fanfare, no wails, no cries for attention. He simply fell to the floor, his eyes half lid and hollow, slow breathes leaving his unconscious form.

“Chara take down the barrier.” Celestia said hurriedly. Chara slowly got down crossed her legs before moving asriel into her lap and rubbing his head, the barrier soon started to collapse afterwards.

Celestia looked back to her troops mouthing an “I’m sorry”, as she made her way to the children. Armored hoofs shuffled, the clanking sound dying away aa the troop had left.

“Princess? What do we do?” Twilight had asked from afar as she dared not enter the danger zone.

“I…” Celestia took a moment to steel her emotions, looking first to the poor soul she had trapped in this world, and then to her faithful student. “Gather the elements, we enter his mind.”

“ oh this is going to fucking suck isn't this… you do realize I'm going in with you right.” Chara said the first part rhetorically and the second part definitively.

“Absolutely not.” Celestia replied calmly. “We don't know how his mind will react to your presence.”

“ you forget I can't die…” Chara said involuntarily shuttering at the idea of dying.

“And you forget he can. It's too risky.” Twilight replied.

“ if he dies I'll just reset time.” Chara said as if it wasn't a big deal.

“Then what happens? The problem isn't resolved and any progress we make gets erased!” The unicorn argued. Chara actually didn't have an answer to this.

“Stay here with him, keep him company and keep him safe…” Celestia added,softly pleading with her child.

“Bu-bu-but…okay…” Chara says looking down.

“Twilight, gather your friends, I’ll send a message to Luna.” Celestia said, charging magic on her horn.

The bolt went off as Twilight had rushed through the door.

“ please azzy... please get better…” Chara Whisperer does she continue to pet his head.

Minutes had passed and a loud thump was heard from outside the library. A blackened blur had shot through the door shouting “WHERE IS MY BABY!!?”

Celestia had shot up, surprised to hear her sister say these words. Luna’s eyes had been flaring with her own brand of lunar magic, puffs of air escaping from her flaring nostrils, and the tips of her hooves had been encased in ice.

“What have you done to him!? Why isn't he in bed!? Why am I just being told that he was found!? WHERE HAS HE BEEN!?” The lunar princess shouted, said shout actually splintering the walls and shattering glass.

“I've found everypony and we’re ready to-” Twilight had soon run into the library as well, the other Element Bearers following suit, but before Twilight could assess the current situation, Pinkie had jumped in front of her.

“IT'S NIGHTMARE MOON!” The pink party pony shouted after releasing an audible gasp.

“THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER!” Luna replied to Pinkie’s outburst, the others gasping at the fact she had spoken a taboo against the pink one. “Is everyone in attendance!?”

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had begun to busy themselves with pacifying Pinkie. The mare having been triggered at the “no laughing matter” comment.

The group as a whole simply nodded, Luna taking this as a good sign.

“Fluttershy, again we call upon you to aid our fallen. Be our guiding light as we walk through this valley of darkness.” Luna stated, causing the mare in question to flinch.

“NO!” Chara yelled out “ I will not let kindness anywhere close to azzy!” Chara finished unwillingly shuttering as she remembered the torture she was put through by kindness.

“WHAT DOST THOU MEAN, NO!?” Luna’s voice bellowed.

“Not ta go gainst yer word, partner, but why wouldn't Shy be leadin the charge?” Applejack asked.

“ it's not Fluttershy I'm against it's The Entity that empowers her element…” chara growled out.

“Please, elaborate.” Rarity asked.

“ imagine having a piece of your mind imprisoned and tortured… now that's basically the gist of what was done to me by The Entity of “kindness”, that bitch tortured me in my own mind.” Chara said put in quotations around kindness.

“That doesn't make any sense…” Twilight said, the others nodding in agreement. “The Elements are the primordial force of what they embody. For kindness not to be kind… It'll be like saying laughter never laughs.”

“And I'm always laughing!” Pinkie added.

“ well it said keeping my black soul trait trapped in constant torture was for the greater good…” Chara said once again subconsciously shuttering.

“And why should we believe anything you say, twerp!?” Rainbow had questioned.

“Y’all settle down now, ah believe ‘er, just a rather hard pill ta’ swallow…” Applejack replied, though this earned her her friend’s ire.

“I understand.” Fluttershy finally spoke. All eyes turned to her with shock, and though the timid mare would flinch at such scrutiny… She did not do so now. “I think I know… I… Wasn't myself then… I felt… wrong, I felt so much stronger… but… I was cruel…” She finally looked away, ashamed of her own weakness.

“You don't say? she only tortured a piece of my mind…” Chara said hiding her fear of The Entity of kindness behind a wall of sarcasm… but it was pretty obvious that she was terrified of facing “kindness” again.

A white wing draped itself over Chara, Celestia drawing near as she nuzzled into the child’s neck. “Shh… no more harm shall ever come to you…”

“Wait, but we just went into Chara’s mind… how did this happen without any of us finding out?” Twilight asked.

“ I went to another universe and the guy they're fixed me…” Chara admitted blushing and looking at the ground unconsciously leaning into Celestia's hug.

Celestia for her part only started to comb through Chara’s hair with her magic as Twilight looked at the child flabbergasted.

“No… no no no… how!? What method!? Who!? I need you to tell me everything!” She looked as if she was going to pounce, but Applejack and Rainbow had managed to hold her back.

“Time… And place, sugarcube…” Applejack said through a grunt.

“ besides She'll have to give me a pretty big bribe to get me to talk…” Chara said taking advantage of the situation.

“ANYTHING!” She managed to cry out before Rainbow had gagged her.

Pinkie only giggled, pulling out a notepad as she begun to calculate her projected earnings on this endeavor.

“There will be time for pleasantries once this hardship is behind us.” Luna stated calmly as she neared Asriel’s body. “Though… if anything was done to young Asriel that we should know of?” She threw a questioning gaze at Chara.

“Not really… although I did meet this cranky vampire lady who didn't like me…” Chara said as she thought about Veronica.

“So long as nothing of importance happened to Asriel…” Luna replied, though rather confused at the vampire bit.

Soon, the group of ponies found their magic binding them to Asriel as a runic circle emblazoned with the elements and the sun and moon appeared beneath them.

“Get ready, we have no idea what could be going on in his mind!” Twilight cried out as she and the ponies around her had their subconscious minds dive into Asriel's own.

A shockwave had burst forth within a darkened cavern, the group having found themselves upon a… Scorched bed of once yellow buttercups.

As the group managed to reclaim their bearings, Luna had decided to take point. “As we have had the most experience with The Underground, we shall lead the expedition to Asriel’s mental nucleus.” She stated calmly.

Finding no argument, the remainder of the group began to follow Luna…

“WAIT! IT ISN'T SAFE!” A voice had shouted at the group of eight once they neared the exit of the chamber. All heads turning back, what they saw chilled their very souls. Rising from the charred flower bed was a wicked golem shaped haphazardly to resemble Asriel, half made from gravel and foliage and half made of actual fur. It had a single emerald eye and a right eye covered by a buttercup.

“Please… I can lead you to him… but you have to trust me…” Bits of dirt had begun to fall from “Asriel” as he attempted to reach out further.

Before any could so much as scream, Twilight of all ponies had rushed forward and started to stabilize “Asriel”. “Who did this to you?” She asked with an almost exacerbated shock.

The golem looked back, flinching at the many confused glares leveled his way. “Asriel did this to me…” He managed to say as he was put together. “Well… the person who's been using my body at least…”

Celestia and Luna flinched, immediately bounding on “Asriel”.

“Then that means that you are Asriel Dreemurr, the real Asriel!” Celestia exclaimed. “What happened? Where is…”

Celestia stopped, chastising herself as she never did help her prisoner learn his real name.

“He… he calls himself Oz… Said it was from a movie he saw once.” Asriel replied.

“What could you have done to have forced his hand in this manner?” Luna asked.

Asriel looked away… a saddened look upon his face. “I… I told him he should… accept the fact he was a kid again. That he should just maybe get to know Chara a little better.”

The sisters looked at each other more than a little worried and mortified.

“So he goes stir crazy just because you told him to hang out with the squirt?” Rainbow questioned as she, and the rest of the group, had all drawn nearer.

“Tis a far more complicated manner than that…” Luna relented, all eyes now on the lunar monarch. “How old do you all believe master Asriel to be?”

Several answers were thrown about, all ranging between toddler and child.

“In truth… the Asriel we are here to awaken is a fully grown adult.” This statement was met by several audible gasps and murmurs of disbelief.

“Not to second guess your word, your grace,” Rarity said as she drew nearer. “But he seems so…”

“Heh heh, Yeah… I’m actually around ten years old.” Asriel replied.

“That still don't add up-” Applejack had begun to voice her opinion but Asriel had raised a hand so as to silence her.

“He’s twenty six. Me and Chara… we’re ten, and Chara’s always been kinda… sweet on me?” Asriel replied.

“Oh,” Fluttershy went pale, all eyes now on her. “He still thinks he’s an adult… and she's showing signs of a physical need of intimacy…”

“Oh gross! That be like if a filly tried to date one of her friend’s dads!” Rainbow cried in disgust.

“Heh, and consider my dilemma…” Asriel replied, now fully formed and stable. “Thanks Twi, I feel as good as new.”

“How did you…” Twilight's thought trailed off as Asriel took point.

“Whoever fixed my mind left a lot of information on all of you, I guess he wanted to help Oz get acclimated to Equestria just a bit faster.” He replied with a toothy smile.

“Oh that little trouble maker is in SO much trouble!” Luna yelled in righteous fury as she stood next to Asriel. “We aren't walking into The Underground are we?”

“Sorry, best I can tell is we’ll be walking into a human city. Everypony stick close to me, I’ll keep you all safe.”

Asriel lead the group out through the caverns exit, leading them out into a wide and open world basking under a star filled night sky adorned by a full moon.

The ponies all marveled at the massive structures of concrete and brick that seemed to mimic Manehattan infrastructure.

“Where… Are we?” Celestia had asked, shocked out of her surprise as Pinkie had seemed to bounce, tumble, or glide through the towering apartments and skyscrapers all while cheering in glee.

“Welcome to Earth. Population… us.” Asriel said as he lead the group farther into the city.

“So what's so dangerous about this place?” Rainbow asked as she hovered alongside the group. “It's so empty.”

Without warning, an unorthodox warcry resounded throughout the concrete jungle.

“Oh you had to ask…” Asriel whimpered as he immediately grabbed Twilight, who had grabbed onto Applejack, who continued the chain until the group was a snaking line, rushing to safety.

“Oh Warriors~ Come out to PLA-EEAY~”

“What was thaaaat!?” Fluttershy wailed as she started to cry, Rainbow and Rarity doing their best to comfort the frightened mare.

“Its a bad sign, and unless we get out of here now, then-”

A rapid fire roar of metal, akin to the sound of a typewriter, tore through the serene silence of the night.

“CAAAN YOOU DIG IIIIT~” Another voice shouted, now obscenely closer to the group than the last voice.

Soon, speeding bits of metal began flying, whistling through the winds in a vain attempt at harming the trespassers.

One such piece had managed to strike Rainbow in her left hind leg, forcing the mare to lose her grip upon Fluttershy as she cried out in pain.

“Don't you dare break formation!” Asriel shouted, magic forming at his fingertips as he thrust the group into a blackened alleyway.

The group now began to scramble, some even trying to untangle themselves from another. “Dang nabbit partner, y’all better have a good plan!” Applejack yelled as she pulled a wounded and flailing Rainbow off of Fluttershy, who was somehow tangled in Celestia’s mane.

Asriel however had attempted to pry a door open to no avail. “I’m doing my best! This is the first time I’ve had to escort a group!”

Silhouettes had begun to form at the mouth of the alleyway. Bipedal creatures wielding spiked bats, crowbars, and chains had begun to slowly march into the alley.

“I’ll hold them off!!” Twilight yelled as she began to fire volley after volley of concentrated magic at the would be oppressors, soon backed up by Luna’s own magic.

Relieved, but not relaxed, Asriel gave the door he was fighting one last pull…

“Whoah!?” Only to be pulled in by the door, Pinkie having opened it from the otherside.

“What's everypony waiting for, an invitation!?” She yelled, quickly ushering her allies to safety. Once all were safely within, Pinkie slammed the door, locked it, chained it up, secured several more locks onto the door itself, poured concrete over its frame, and finally ripped the door from its place upon the wall and stuffed the door and frame into her mane.

Looking back, the party pony found that Rainbow and Fluttershy had huddled next to each other in a crying mess, neither wanting to let go of the other. Twilight was fumbling through the dark attempting to find something to treat Rainbow’s bleeding wound. Celestia and Luna were trying and failing at properly lighting the room, and Rarity and Applejack were… also huddled in a corner.

Finally, a light had flooded the room, Asriel having flicked a switch upon a wall.

What greeted the group was a vast room with green walls adorned with posters and figurines of various styles. Lining the floor proper were shelves and bookcases all stocked with comic books of all things.

“Twi, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom there,” Asriel pointed to a white door adorned with a blue circle and several odd shapes. “There are snacks and drinks behind the counter and in the cold box there,” He then turned to point at a well polished glass door which held several cans and candy, and then to the counter in question. “Everypony else, find something that catches your eye and try to relax…”

“RELAX!?” Rainbow shouted in disbelief. “YOU WANT US TO RELAX WHEN THOSE MONSTERS TRIED TO KILL US!?” Her face had a look of horror written upon it, she stared as long as she could at Asriel until she buried her crying face into Fluttershy's neck. “I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home…”

Fluttershy for the most part did her absolute best to comfort her wounded friend, even choking back her own tears as she began smoothing out her mane.

“I’ve got the kit.” Twilight said hurriedly as she rushed a rather large white box painted with a green cross over to Rainbow.

“You pulled it off the wall?” Asriel asked as he followed Twilight.

“Was I not supposed to?” She asked as she placed the box onto the floor and began unpacking it's contents.

“Probably not, but that's not important…” Asriel replied, popping sounds could be heard from just behind the counter.

“I’ve got the popcorn machine working!” Pinkie exclaimed as happily as she could. “Here, you might want these.” She thusly handed Asriel a pair of white orbs.

“Jawbreakers… yeah these are perfect…” He gasped as he closed in on Rainbow. “Open your mouth.”

“Tch, way to make a mare feel special…” Rainbow snarled out in response. Fluttershy simply shushed her and began preening her wings.

“Not the time, not the place.” Asriel replied calmly. “Please.”

Relenting, Rainbow slowly opened her mouth as Asriel placed the candy on the opposite sides of her jaw. “Clamp.”

Gently, the mare closed her molars upon the sugary orbs, denoting their tame flavor and hardened shells.

Asriel then nodded to Twilight as he gave her a book on first aid. “I’m going to remove the bullet as best as I can, I need you to mitigate the damage.” He stated simply. The mare nodded in response as the two got to work.

On the opposite end of the comic shop, Luna, Celestia, Rarity, and Applejack had done their best to occupy themselves and try and mitigate the effect the ordeal was having on their psyches.

“We… I don't understand… Chara’s mind… it was nowhere near as dangerous… nowhere near as ferocious in its animosity…” Luna said as she looked blankly at the floor, her sister doing her best to ease her mind.

“Princess…” Rarity called out, Applejack inches away from her. “Maybe Asriel is right? Maybe we should take the time to relax as-”

A shrill screech pierced the silence, Rainbow having cried out in muffled pain.

“None of what's happening can be good for our mental health…” The fashionista muttered.

“Tch, like there’s anythin’ in this place y’all could even like…” Applejack attempted to tease, though her facial expression made her sound rather condescending.

“Please Applejack, Sweetie has shown me just enough of her Magical Filly comics to at least give me a sense of the artistry around these…” Rarity had levitated a half nude angel woman holding a rather massive blade and sporting enlarged mammaries. “Imaginative pieces of fiction…”

Applejack scoffed and began to turn away. “Right, next y’all are gonna tell me I might actua-” The farm mare stopped dead in her tracks, eyes fixed upon a well dressed man sporting a massive beard and large top hat, the man was shown driving a hatchet through a bipedal wolf beast. “Abe Lincoln: Werewolf Hunter?”

As Rarity and Applejack went to explore more of the shop, Celestia bid Luna do the same. “Shall we? I know how much you like it when its a stallion rescuing the mare~”

The lunar diarch simply blew a raspberry, a mad blush on her face. “As if any such story exi- oh sweet FAUST, LOOK AT THE ARMOR ON THAT ONE!” She cried as she picked up a comic titled X-Caliber, A knight in blackened armor wielding a mighty blade.

Celestia playfully rolled her eyes, silently picking up a pale pink paperback book with the image of two men holding each other.

Meanwhile, Pinkie had found empty popcorn boxes and had begun shoveling the treat into nine different boxes. As she was finishing up and moving to the selection of sweets, a comic had caught her attention as the red and black suited character depicted upon it winked at her.

“Deadpool?” She asked the comic.

The titular main character looked about and brought a finger to his face, almost as if he was asking for a vow of silence. The mare giggled as she picked up the comic and stuffed it into her mane.

“Popcorn! Get your popcorn!” The pink one cried as boxes of the succulent kernels flew from her grasp.

At this point, Rainbow had been seething through the pair of cracked jaw breakers in her mouth as Twilight had finally dressed her wound.

“There, you might want to keep airborne while you're here, but I doubt the-” Rainbow quickly flapped her wings as she started to hover, her actions completely leaving Twilight speechless.

With a vicious crunch, The rainbow pegasus began to angrily chew through her now incredibly sweet treat. “Okay… I get that jerk is going through a rough time, but I could have bucking died!” She cried.

The rest of the group turned to stare at her, flabbergasted at the outburst. “I mean, come on! All of us could have died! What is with this guy!?”

Fluttershy quickly flew up to her closest friend and… began humming the Young Fliers flight camp song. Somehow, this was enough to calm the enraged pegasus as she eased herself onto the floor.

“Walk with me, I know a certain somepony telling me about a hero they liked.” Fluttershy teased, though it sounded less like a tease coming from her. Rainbow relented and followed the buttery pegasus.

Twilight sighed as she steadied her racing heart. “Well, that's over…” Without warning, a comic book was waved in her face, causing her to flinch and fall back.

“Sorry, I didn't scare you did I?” Asriel asked her as he held out a claw.

“Sorry,” Twilight took the claw and got back to her hooves. “What… was that you wanted to show me?” She asked.

The comic was properly presented to her this time, it showed a metallic red and gold human mid flight, a wide open sky behind them. “Iron Man?”

Asriel chuckled as he saw the mare open to the first page. “It's about a tortured man and his fight with monsters and villains, as well as his ongoing battle with matters of the heart, be they physical or emotional.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “He’s a playcolt, how is he a hero?” She asked, though still flipping through pages.

“Keep reading, but if paperbacks aren't your thing, there are hard covers in that section.” He replied, pointing to a hickory shelf stocked with several thick books and tomes.

Just as Twilight was going to drop the comic, she took a look at the page she was on and flinched. “Oh… Uh…” Somehow… she felt torn between wanting the feeling of an actual book under her hoof, and of wanting to see just how deep the rabbit hole that was Tony Stark went.

“These are all just memories, take it with you.” Asriel replied as he went to explore the shop.

Finding nothing of actual interest, Asriel went to the bathroom… only to find a hole in the wall decorated with a runic circle.

“Ohhhh nooo… That's just not fair…”

A wail echoed from the bathroom, the entirety of the entourage rushing to the door. There, they bore witness to Asriel pounding at a wall decorated with a crimson runic circle surrounding a sizeable hole.

“What… is that?” Twilight had asked as she begun inspection of the runes.

“A nightmare, and it's our only way to Oz… of course he’d pull something like this…” The child grit his teeth as he shivered in fear.

Rainbow did her best to look strong, but it was quite evident she too was fearing not only loss of her life, but loss of her sanity.

“Is there anything here that may prepare us?” Luna asked.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Asriel began to ponder until he snapped his fingers in annoyance. “No, nothing written that can actually help us… we’re going to go in blind.”

Waiting for none, Asriel crawled through the hole, the eight ponies shrugging and following suit.

It wasn't long until the group found themselves within a structure of pulsating muscle and twisted metal, Asriel on a staircase and impaling a bipedal creature into a wall with a stylized dagger.

“Don't just stand there! Start looking for room 302!” Asriel shouted at the group as some form of unspeakable monstrosity tore off a sizeable chunk of his body.

Those ponies with wings immediately grabbed who they could and bounded upwards, Twilight however chose to stay behind so as to aid the child.

The hulking beast was thrown through a darkened hallway, Twilight doing her best to repair Asriel’s broken form. “Are you alright?” She asked as she bathed the child in her magic.

“I’ll live, but unless somepony comes back for us, it's gonna be a long two floors.” He replied, his body slowly piecing itself back together.

Silently, the pair marched through the blood soaked and pulsating halls, every so often fending off a squadron of monsters.

“You seem unusually calm despite the situation.” Asriel commented, throwing another knife at a malformed human being, impaling it into a wall.

“I’m only doing the best I can for my friends…” Determination shined in her eyes, her face stoic and unflinching to the madness around her.

Nodding, Asriel left it at that, using the calm to steady his mind and lead them to the awaiting staircase. Atop the stairs, a sign that had been bolted into a wall read “3”, denoting that they were at least partially where they wished to be.

“Where to now?” Twilight asked, wishing to get a lay of the land.

“Left, right, either way could be a dead end,” Asriel replied as looked back and forth. “We’ll just have to pick a hallway an-”

An enlarged blackened beast with a pair of baby-like porcelain masks had soared past them, confetti trailing along its body.

“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted as she ran for the source of the beast. The pair ran frantically along the hall, noting that the farther they went, the more bodies piled along the path, and the less nightmarish the world had seemed.

“These walls… They're normal?” Twilight commented as she slowed to a trot.

Soon, the pair had come upon the awaiting group of ponies surrounded in several white candles. “Twilight!” Celestia cried happily.

The princess quite literally tackled Twilight, wrapping her wings around her as if the unicorn would disappear if she let go.

“Wha- Pr-princess I-” Twilight tried her best to gain a bit of breathing room, but relented as she decided it would be easier if she simply allowed herself this moment.

“We should have never left you behind… never again…” Celestia was practically on the verge of tears, shaking nigh uncontrollably. Finally letting go, Celestia took a look at Asriel and smiled as best she could.

“It's time, we've found room 302.” The princess turned her head to look at where the group had gathered, each looking just about ready to throw in the towel… even Pinkie Pie was suffering somewhat.

Together again, the group of nine looked upon the… non-existent doorframe of room 302. “Oh… That's not good. The door’s not here.” Asriel stated, brow furrowed and claw sliding along the wall.

“How do we go in?” Fluttershy asked with worry.

Asriel huffed and slammed his claw upon the wall. “Without the door, we can't go in.”

An audible gasp nearly extinguished the various candles littering the hall, all eyes on Pinkie, her mane having regained its volume. “I have a door!” She cried.

Before any could question this, Pinkie had pulled out a complete door frame encased in cement straight from her mane. She plastered the frame onto the empty wall and immediately began hammering away at its edges.

Once the frame was fixed into place, she began using her forehooves as jackhammers, chiseling the cement away as carefully as one would chisel a work of art. The cement had fallen away after ten minutes, leaving behind a chained and locked door that held a small golden plaque labeled “302”.

“That’s… that’s the door you took from the comic shop…” Asriel whispered in awe.

“Heh, that's our Pinkie Pie, always findin’ som’ way ta turn a bad situation on its head…” Applejack mused as she gave her comrade a playful nudge on the shoulder.

“Great, doors there, let's open it and get this over with.” Rainbow snapped, her irritation getting the best of her, and her leg having started to bleed through it's dressing from the added stress.

“Only a fool rushes into battle in haste. Lo, we must be wise if we are to face Oz in his own domain.” Luna stated calmly.

The group gave a collective sigh, only to snap to attention at the sound of heavy chains falling upon the floor.

“I’m sorry I wasn't listening, what are we doing?” Pinkie asked as her hoof was now pushing the door open.

“PINKIE WAIT!” Everyone had shouted in unison, a blinding light engulfing the world…

The light had lingered for quite some time, the only sign of anything had been the sounds of metal clashing against metal.

Yelling could be heard from a distance, a single voice in a heated argument against itself.

“Just give her a chance!” The voice cried.

“I will not stoop to her level!” The voice countered.

“Why can't you just accept it!?”

“Because I’ve worked too damn hard to accept anything less!!”

“I thought you cared about her!?”

“Only because you made me!!”

The light finally subsided, the ponies having found themselves in an arena made entirely out of metal. Above the main stage hung an orb surrounded by oppressive and jagged rings, below, two versions of Asriel were locked in a vicious duel.

One version wore a blue and white flowing robe, a winged blade emblazoned upon his chest. In both hands were a pair of curved sabers seemingly made from galaxies.

The second Asriel wore tarnished golden armor wrapped in aged and weather worn rags. A massive golden longsword held deftly in his right hand.

“OZ!” Celestia and Luna cried out, catching the attention of the armored Asriel as the rushed forward. Oz stole a glance at the princesses for a second, immediately turning his gaze back to his opponent.

As the diarchs neared the edge of the arena, an invisible wall had halted their progress. Frantic, Celestia began pounding against it with all her might.

“OZ!!! Please! This must all be a grave misunderstanding! Come back to us and I promise you we can fix this!” The princess cried.

“There's nothing to fix, Mom! But thanks for asking!!” Oz yelled as he thrust a palm at Asriel, a burst of magic tossing him backwards.

Celestia flinched, eyes beginning to fill with tears. “He… he called me mom…” She immediately doubled her efforts and actually started magically clawing at the wall that kept her from her charge. “OZ!!”

Luna for her part joined her sister, whispering a mantra of: “I’m an aunt rescuing her nephew, I’m an aunt rescuing her nephew, I’m an aunt rescuing her nephew!”

On the other side of the battle, Twilight and Co. had taken to supporting Asriel.

“Asriel! You two have to reach a consensus or you’ll tear your mind apart!!” Twilight yelled.

“He’s too headstrong! Trying to reason with him is like trying to reason with a bull!” Asriel replied as he parried one of Oz’s strikes and sliced along his face.

“All I want to do is live my fucking life!! Is that TOO MUCH TO ASK!?” Oz yelled in defiance.

“YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE ANYMORE!!!” All was silence. The princesses had ceased their endeavor. The girls stood stock still, their eyes as wide as saucers. This single sentence sent shockwaves through out the mind.

Asriel felt as if he finally had a chance to breathe, huffing and panting as he gathered his bearings. “I finally got you to-”

In the blink of an eye, Oz had slammed his hand against Asriel’s face, sending the goat straight into the ground as he began to pummel at his fallen opponent.

“He’s going to kill him!” Rarity cried as she rushed to the barrier, breaking the prevailing silence.

Soon, everypony had begun slamming their hooves at the barrier, frantic and incoherent screams and wails echoing within the arena… all except for Twilight.

Something within the mare seemed to click, the sight of her closest allies, her mentor and mentor’s sister all bearing their hearts filled her with…

DETERMINATION

“I… AM ONE HUNDRED AND TEN PERCENT DONE!” The unicorn cried, a burst of magic flooding the world.

Outside the mind…

Spike did his best to make Asriel’s unconscious body as comfortable as he possibly could. Tenderly wrapping the child in soft and fluffy blankets, fluffing a pegasus down pillow for his heavy head, and even ensuring the library itself was spotless and free of any dust and particulates.

He did so as he wholly expected Chara to run off to an adventure of some sort… what he did not expect however were three swords popping into existence, quite nearly stabbing him and Asriel as they fell blades first into the wood.

“Aw man, Twilight’s going to kill me.” The young drake commented.

Meanwhile…

Asriel and Oz found themselves unarmed and laid out on the floor, staring at the frazzled and frustrated lavender unicorn before them.

“Now… you two… Are going to TALK to each other like civilized sapients… you will reach an understanding or by the great goddess Faust I will MAKE you!” Twilight yelled out at the stunned pair.

The two couldn't quite find the words, choosing instead to devolve into a sputtering mess of incoherence.

“AM I CLEAR!?” Twilight's shout had quite literally rocked the mindscape, causing the pair to nod in agreement.

“Good… allow me to moderate.” Soon, the world had changed. What was once an oppressive arena of steel, was now a serene courtroom of wood.

The rest of the ponies found themselves sitting upon cushioned seats as they gazed upon the trio of Twilight, Asriel, and Oz.

Twilight was sitting atop a judge’s podium and Asriel and Oz were sitting separate the other as defendant and prosecutor.

“Oz, you may state your case.” Twilight said calmly as she struck a gavel.

Oz gulped as he looked to Twilight. “Your honor… may I call you your honor?”

Twilight gave him an unamused glance, but nodded. “You may.”

“Your honor, I was stripped from my world, placed into the body of a deceased child, and explicitly told I was to follow every order I was ever to be given,” Oz stated as he slammed his hands on his table. “I should be allowed at least some nice things in life.”

“Objection!” Asriel cried as he pointed a finger at Oz.

“On what grounds!?” Oz countered.

“The body you inhabit is severely underage for the debauchery in which he wishes to partake of!” Asriel shot back.

Twilight leveled a curious gaze at Oz. “Explain this... debauchery.”

“Women and booze.” Oz readily replied, this statement having set the courtroom to murmuring.

“Asriel? Your argument to the contrary.”

Asriel cleared his throat and straightened up. “Your honor. I am ten years old. Which makes him,” He thusly pointed at Oz to accentuate his point. “Ten years old.”

“Objection!” Oz shouted. “And just how long have you been ten years old?” Oz asked with an accusatory tone. “One year? Two years? A century?”

“Your honor, the prosecution is using conjecture!” Asriel replied.

“I’ll allow it,” Twilight stated. “The prosecution may continue.”

“Asriel has existed for an immeasurable amount of time outside the reaches.of space-time. To claim his age of ten years, would be to claim that the moon is cheese!”

“OBJECTION!!” Luna yelled as she stood from her seat, immediately causing Twilight to bang her gavel.

“Order in the court! Asriel, explain.”

“Your honor, the prosecution is relying on hyperbole and semantics to further his case!” Asriel replied.

“You don't even know what those words mean!” Oz shouted angrily.

“ORDER! ORDER!” With another bang of the gavel, Twilight turned to face Oz. “State your case.”

Oz huffed, closing his eyes for nary a second. “Your honor… do you know what it's like to find freedom?”

Twilight gave no answer, choosing instead to see where this lead.

“I worked my ass off. I worked day in and day out for a shot out of a shitty situation. I was finally going to be free, to live my life in peace…”

Oz took a look back at the princesses, sadness evident in his eyes. “But I had that freedom stripped from me… and I was right back in square one, but then I met her.”

Every pony had turned to his attention at this point, some even on the verge of tears. “Rosie… she made it so my freedom didn't even matter anymore. Yes, she had me run ragged, yes, I had orders to follow…”

He sniffed, rubbing his eyes with his wrist. “But it didn't matter… so long as she was there… Then the day came when I met Chara.” His voice had gone… cold.

“Kid was trouble, anyone can tell you that. All I had to do was establish contact and bring her in… but then she clung to me.”

“Objec-” Asriel had raised his voice, but Oz had somehow stopped him dead in his tracks.

“At first, I didn't care. She was… cute. Then I actually started feeling responsible for her. She… reminds me a lot of a girl I knew. Co-worker’s kid. Acted like my little sister.”

Oz sniffed again as he cleared his throat. “So… I guess when I was told to keep an eye on Chara… instinct kicked in. Do you see why I’d rather not be forced to… you know…”

Twilight looked sympathetic, as did everyone present. However…

“But it's not your body… It's not your decision to make.” Asriel explained.

Oz gave him an apologetic look. “Yeah… figures you’d say that.” He put on a smile and turned to the princesses. “Mom? Auntie Lulu, we should have lunch sometime.”

“Did he just call me-” Luna had been flabbergasted at this sudden statement, but Celestia...

“Oz!?” The princess of the sun had broken into tears, fear gripping her heart.

“Keep your body, kid. I have a life to live!!” With a rebel yell, Oz had begun to draw power into himself, casting the world in blinding light...