Dreamer Adventures

Celestia sat upon her bed, brooding over the gemstone she had placed upon Chara’s baby outfit. She ran her hoof along the grooves of the smooth cuts and carving, she studied the gold that encased it, said gold having been taken from one of her own pieces and remolded.

“Maybe it would make a nice pendant…” She told no one, having told her sister and child that she needed time to think. “Time… time. I need to think about the time I have now, and the time we’ll share.”

“Mama?” Celestia heard chara call out from the other side of the door.

“Little one? Please, come in.” Celestia called out as she placed the gemstone next to her.

Chara came into the room looking a little unsure. “Are you okay… I don't want you to be sad, please don't be sad!” she then walked over to Celestia.

Chuckling, Celestia began to smooth her hoof along Chara’s head. “I’ll be just fine my child, I was only thinking.”

“You know I'm all but immortal thanks to my glitch status? You don't have to worry about losing me.” Chara says thinking that Celestia was worried about how much time they had.

Blinking, Celestia brought Chara into a tight hug, nuzzling her head into Chara’s shoulder. “I have been a fool, haven't I?”

“Silly mama!” Chara said giggling glad that she had brought Celestia out of her funk.

Shaking away her dread, Celestia started to walk through the door of her room, Chara’s hand in her magic.

“Come on Cady, you liked those decorations…” A voice echoed through the hall.

“Is that…” A smile found its way on Celestia’s face as she hastened her step. Closing in, Celestia found herself face to face with the captain of her guard and her niece.

“Captain Armor!” Celestia exclaimed, practically pouncing on Shining Armor and pulling him into a hug.

“Your highness!? Um…” Blushing, Shining found himself slowly released as Cadence had started to pull him away, glaring daggers at Celestia.

“Mama the pink one doesn't feel right.” Chara says trying to get the message across without actually telling her future knowledge and giving away to ‘Cadence’ that she knows.

Celestia tilted her head in confusion, only for Cadence to audibly gasp and break the silence.

“Auntie!” Cadence shouted through grit teeth. “So this is the little trouble maker I’ve heard so much about!” She continued as she placed her hooves on Chara’s face and started squeezing.

Chara immediately glitched behind Celestia. “Mama she feels like corrupted love!” Chara Cries Out as she had already used CHECK to make sure it was chrysalis.

‘Cadence’ flinched, but kept her smile as she started dragging Shining along. “Well, look at the time, a wedding to plan, a celebration to throw, a feast to look forward to.”

“We’ll see you at the wedding!” Shining cried out

Celestia could only stare at Cadence, worry and paranoia infecting her thoughts. “Chara… I may be a fool… but…” She looked to her child, hoping for an answer.

“She doesn't feel right and I should know I weaponized my feelings and soul!” Chara said sternly.

Celestia huffed and hugged her child. “Please… I… if anything is about to threaten us… I only want you to be safe,” She stood up and broke away. “I’ll have security doubled, as well as prepare a new training regiment.”

“mama you do realize I can't die unless I literally want to and even then I have to be killed before I can die.” Chara said as if this was an everyday conversation ignoring the fact that she had not actually been killed yet.

“It is now my duty to protect you, my child. Until I see you, your own mare and walking down the aisle… I will not rest so long as there are those who wish you harm.” Her words rang with conviction, courage building within her.

“But I don't know if I'll ever age!” Chara yelled out as she wasn't sure if she would Age due to the fact that she was a glitch.

“I’ll never have grand foals!?” Celestia cried in utter despair. “I-I need to start cancelling those orders! The clothing I’ll never get to use!” She then threw her hooves in the air. “All those empty scrapbooks!”

“I thought you would always want to have a little girl to take care of…” Chara asked confused as to why Celestia was so upset.

Connor then walked into the vicinity, his hands covered in ash. “Welp, I just killed a crap ton of bugs. How are you guys?”

“You interrupted the fluff!” Chara yelled out hurling a ball of determination at him

“Please tell me you cleaned your mess…” Celestia muttered as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

There was then a sort of photonegative flash as we were then left in the company of an odd floating mask, shortly accompanied by an oddly deformed jester body. He was holding my determination ball between two fingers and snickering slightly. “Quite a glitch, quite a stitch, eh? A new life with different strife, take the leers of your peers, and make them null, for their cries of foul have all grown dull?”

“Who let the rhyming Lovecraftian clown reject in?” Chara asked.

He chuckled and took a bite out of the determination ball, leaving Chara feeling not only a shiver up her spine, but giving her a feel of his power as well. “Ears all round, on this ground, can’t talk long, lest they sound a warning gong. But know, guardian and child, that things are going to be FAR from mild!”

“Um, what?” Celestia asked, tilting her head and squinting her eyes as she was incredibly lost and confused.

Connor frowned “Let me go get Luna up… She’s probably still messed up from last night.” He sighs. “Told her that my night terrors were dark shit.”

“What!? Is she alright!?” Celestia shouted, only to gasp and grab Connor by his head. “Are you alright!? Any harm done to you? How many hooves am I holding up? How many fingers do you own!?”

Connor deadpanned “You only have four hooves, you can only hold one up without losing your balance, and Luna is… unharmed physically. I have doubts about mentally. I have grown so used to my night terrors that all I really need to do in the morning after them is take some deep breaths.” Connor was soon glomped by Chara. He sighed “Really, it’s fine, I just can’t sleep with other people in the same room. That’s pretty much the only problem.”

Celestia only stared at Connor with more intent and worry. “How. Many. Fingers. Do. You. Own.”

He smiled “I owned ten, but upon being displaced its more nine and a half. I think I might of lost a bit of my right pinkie. No biggie.”

Sighing, Celestia actually pat Connor on the head. “Good boy, lunch?” She asked as she pulled away and started her trot to the dining hall. “You’ll want your strength once the changelings make their move.”

The jester chuckled “See you all soon, by hook by crook, or rise of the moon!” He then disappeared in a photonegative flash and left nothing but the sound of demented laughter.

Shivering, Celestia did her best to not be weirded out by the extra dimensional being.

Connor sighed in relief “Phew… that guy was strong, I could feel my light being stifled by him just by him being near me.”

“Your light?” Celestia asked with a tilt of her head.

“Oh yeah destiny characters have that light thingy!” Chara yelled out remembering all the times she played destiny with Connor, Chara never really liked playing destiny she only did it because her friends played it.

Connors brow twitched before he flicked chara on the nose. “It is literally a machine god's energy, have some respect. I mean, really, it’s what prevents me from dying.”

“A machine god? Are you immortal?” Celestia asked, rather shaken by this bit of information.

Connor gave a ‘so-so’ gesture. “Sorta, you see, normally we have these machines called ghosts that resurrect us if we fall in battle, it seems I have somehow been edited to not need one, as I can heal without it… Seems I am not going to die any time soon, and am stuck with an unaging, undying, holy body… whoop de doo.” He sighed sadly. “Looks like I’m going to outlive everyone I know.”

“yay! Now I won't have to outlive everyone alone!” Chara yelled out as she once again glomped her friend.

Connor smiled even more sadly. “Yup… We’re cursed together buddy.”

“You know whenever the universe expires we can always search the Multiverse for fun…” Chara said in a nonchalant manner,after all she was the glitch in the Multiverse not just the universe as she had found out.

Connor smiled “Well..we will delay that as long as possible, right? I want to at least see the mares I crush on live happy lives together, even if it turns out they have no interest in me.” Chara didn't have anything to say against that as she too wanted to see it happen.

Celestia coughed into her hoof in hopes of getting things back on track. “Yes, I’m sure we all have the hopes of sharing what precious time we have left with each other…” She then spread a wing and draped it over Connor’s shoulder. “Come, you must be famished, and there are things to discuss.”

Connor chuckled “Here's hoping I can enjoy food, and that theory that only really strong flavors can be tasted by guardians is bogus. I’d really miss pecan pie then.”

“Hey mama can I have some chocolate cake tonight?”Chara asked interrupting the conversation.

Connor then took advantage of the fact that Guardians cannot harm allies, and threw a small hammer at Chara. “Bonk.”

“Maaamaaaaa! Connor's being mean to me!”Chara cried out as Connor cracked up.

“Hey, no friendly fire from Guardians! That means, no matter what, I can’t hurt you! SO HAMMA TIME!” he then began pelting her in hammers. So...many… hammers. Chara hid behind Celestia, as Connor ran after Chara, laughing evilly, like a big brother would..

“Children please… a war is brewing and I…” Sighing, Celestia simply grasped both in her magic, levitating the pair off the ground. “We put something in our stomachs,” She the looked at Chara. “Something healthy… then there will be time for play.”

“But mama I want cake now!”Chara yelled out stomping her foot childishly.

Connor then whispered in Charas ear. “Unwise, or shall we repeat...Doom? Anyway, I can make tasty veggies. I pride myself on my cooked cabbage and barbecue tofu.” He then conjured it with some of the magic he had been learning in the library, the savory, delicious smell making everyone present start watering at the mouth. “Eat this, then MORE cake later. Chocolate cake, with sugar frosting and cherries.”

“mine!”Chara says diving for the cake her voice sounding like two voices in one.

Connor grinned “Well, you will have to eat the meal I prepared first, dear sibling.” he then pouted sadly. “Unless you are saying you hate my cooking? Then I suppose I should throw out everything I made… the cake, the ice cream, the hot cocoa mix, even the bon bons…”

“You shall do no such thing!”Chara said her voice becoming demonic as her eyes turned black with red dots and her hair starting to float in the air in an ethereal Aura of corrupted determination.

Celestia sighed as she grasped Chara again, walking away with child in tow. “I wonder what Luna’s doing…”

Connor simply walked over to Luna's room, and knocked on her door “Luna, you ok?”

“DON'T LOOK! I’M NOT CLEAN!” Luna shouted from within her room, several bowls clambering within.

Connor, upon hearing this, promptly panicked. “Luna that was for Chara! We have to bake more! CHARA HATES MISSING OUT ON CHOCOLATE!”

Luna was lain out on the floor, her body covered entirely in fudge and bread. “NO! CLOSE THE DOOR, LEST THE WORLD KNOW OF MY SHAME!!!” She shouted as she tried to hide herself with her hooves and wings.

Connor sighed and knelt in front of her before smiling reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay, we can bake more, together even, it’ll be fun, so what if you eat chocolate when sad? Better than me back home, I just ate whatever was available. Usually to try to block out the pain… bah, I’m not important here though. You, we need to wash off, and get ready to bake. Okay? We don’t want Chara mad at her aunt, the beautiful lady responsible for our breathtaking night, eh?”

“You…” Luna’s eyes locked onto Connor as she grasped his head with her hooves. “Such horrors…” She started to shake, as if an eternal chill ran down her spine. “How do you exist…”

Connor smiled “I just do. I try to not let my slumbering life affect my waking one. So what if I get that almost nightly? Just gotta, well… deal with it.” He sighed. “I just live every waking moment like it is, a blessing.” He blushed as he looked into her eyes and broke contact with her. “Besides, it's way more productive to spread joy, than misery, and that… place... is just plain misery incarnate.” He shuddered as the phantom pains went through him, then shakily smiled again. “Now what’s on the docket?”

Luna looked confused for a second, wiping away a bit of the chocolate. “I need a bath…”

He nodded and smiled walking out of the room. “See you when you are all cleaned up, okay?”

It didn't take long for Luna to clean away the filth, though her feathers did need just a bit more time… shaking away the fog in her mind, Luna dried off as best she could and left the confines of her bathroom.

Connor, who was waiting in the hallway, smiled to her as he gestured towards the royal kitchen. “Ready to bake up some chocolate treats for our favorite pip squeak? Also, Could you help me break it to Celly that I’m an adult? It… well, it feels weird that she treats me like a kid when I wanna join a herd at this time.”

Luna raised an eye at this as she walks in. “I suppose, but in what regard does she make you feel like a newborn goat?”

Connor chuckled “Sorry, term back home for an adolescent human.” He shrugged. “It just feels like she sees me that way, like, in the occasional comment, or how she refers to me.” He smiled “I know she means no ill intent by it, but… it kinda sucks when your best friend has become a child again, and has the mom they always wanted, but you get brought in as a brother figure.” He chuckled “Always saw myself as a cool uncle, honestly.”

He then frowned “Yeah, but in all honesty, I see very little likelihood of successfully joining that particular herd.”

“Actions do in fact speak louder than words… why not show that you are more than mature enough for that which you wish?” Luna asked as she began to levitate several mixing bowls and cooking utensils about. “Now then, what shall we be making today?”

Connor smirked “About twice the chocolate you ate, we have to cover the losses for chara and make up for them, if she finds out. Only way to prevent an angry, then sad, then sulking chara. Oh, and sometime today the changelings will invade, so be ready for that.”

“I’ll ready my paddle…” Luna idly replied, her focus now upon several ingredients that began to soar along the room.

Connor nodded and grinned “I personally have my extra big hammer ready to smash. Her name is becky, she likes to smash. Also, I have some extra ingredients, some cherries and strawberries that we can use for filling.” He grinned “I was tempted to add some extra sugar to a few, make Chara really hyper, buuut… nah.”

Luna tilt her head as she contemplated a container of chili flakes before she looked at Connor. “You gave mention to a herd, who’s may I ask?”

Connor blushed a deep crimson and mumbled under his breath, so quiet that it gave Fluttershy's nervous mumbling a loudness by comparison. “Yours, I know it’s dumb, but I really like all three of you… a-and....” He grew silent before heaving a sigh “N-nevermind, it’s dumb, I have nothing to offer that herd worth mentioning that’s positive…”

Luna raised an eyebrow at this. “I… am not in a herd… unless… I wonder if Twilight is seeing anypony else… hmm, she would have said something by now…” Luna shrugged as she got to mixing her ingredients.

Connor coughed a bit as he choked down a laugh. “Heh… I saw how she acted when I flirted with Pinkie, I saw some jealousy and protectiveness in those eyes, along with a certain longing.”

Eyes widening, Luna looked at Connor. “Truly? Hm… I shall have to inquire of this and see if she is willing to share,” Four different bowls had thusly been emptied of their contents and placed in metal containers of various shapes and sizes. “But please, do not let your inhibition blind you from that which you desire,” She then leaned into Connor, a whisk in her hoof. “But if you so much as touch my Twilight, it's you I’ll be paddling.”

Connor smiled “Hey, If I act like a homewrecker, I give you full permission to skip the paddling and just mule kick me straight to the other side of reality and back. I had to deal with plenty of those fuckers… not fun, especially when someone you thought had your back turns out to be bedding your lady friend, in your own bed nonetheless.”

Luna flinched, but poked Connor with the whisk, staining his face with chocolate. “None of that…” Turning, she then flicked his face with her tail.

Before connor could even blush, there was a loud bang as three huge changeling soldiers came in and snatched Luna away in the span of a few moments, them placing a cloth over her face that seemed to have some sort of sedative on it.

Luna for the most part struggled as best she could before finding her strength leave her.

Connor, for the whole part, was busy fighting off four other changelings, each of them almost his size and quite strong. When he saw Luna being taken away, he felt something… angry, inside him. ‘Let their blood spill… let it whet the appetites of thy dark side...feed our teeth…feed your rage...’ He heard, as he let the dark magic, mixed with equestrias own magic and the travelers light, manifest the sole being that had tormented him for years, now bent to his will. “MAKE THEM PAY, BUTCHER!”

As he said this, a massive shadow beast seemed to rise from his own shadow, a massive lanky butcher with strips of flesh and hide stapled to his misshapen body as a sort of patchwork skin, his bone showing through the folds and seams of the false skin, his teeth razor sharp and like needles as he grinned demonically, like a horribly corrupted cheshire cat. He drew a massive cleaver and meat hook in each hand as he swung at the three changelings impeding his masters progress. “Let us slaughter, master, it is good to see you take the reigns for once! Hehehahaha! THEIR BLOOD MUST FLAVOR THE AIR!”

Connor ran after Luna as he heard the screams of others, but he ignored it as his vision went red. “Blood… Blood for their failures… blood for their sins!” He heard the butcher scream as he used his hook to grab a massive bugbear/changeling and ripped it in half.

As connor walked by the throne room, he saw Chara, covered in an ethereal, black ichor and playing in the blood of the griffon assassins that had chosen this time to come after her. They had been well armed, well prepared, well trained. That meant nothing once Chara learned of their plans.

“Hey Connor look I have a hand puppet!” Chara said bringing up one of her hands that had the severed head of Gilda on it, her body on the other hand had been nailed to the wall her organs literally ripped out and on full display each one nailed by themselves across the wall and by the look of things she was still alive when Chara did it. It looked like she died screaming, tears in her eyes. There was a bloody message above Gilda's body reading “For Fluttershy; never make her cry.”

Connor grunted as he walked after Luna, the butcher sensing her, smelling her captors fear as one after another of the changelings died at the hands of the butcher. “Stay safe...be good...make it hurt.” Chara just laughed an evil laugh before heading towards where she knew Chrysalis to be.

As Connor made his way to the caverns, where Luna was being held, he found her tied up, magically bound to four pillars being guarded by a veritable swarm of Changelings. Connor growled as he looked to the Butcher. “Time for rot.”

The butcher laughed maniacally as he took out what looked like a vial of blood before spraying down the changelings with it, the blood turning into maggots and grubs that would burrow into them upon forming, rapidly reproducing and eating them from within before the butcher sliced them open. “YOU SHALL FEED THE CHILDREN! THEIR HUNGER SHALL BE ABATED BY THINE SUFFERING!”

As the changelings butchered corpses fell apart, the maggots and grubs formed another half of each body, making soldiers for the butcher as they turned on their once-brothers and sisters, taking their flesh and their sinew in their new maws and eating them whole before they became naught but a swarm of maggots, swarming the Butcher himself as they dug into him through the seams in his flesh, making him larger, fuller… stronger. He smiled as he grasped two of the pillars and crushed them into powder in his grasp. He looked to Luna as his mood soured “You shall not interfere in my hosts payment again?”

Luna’s eyes widened in sheer terror, only for her body too go limp.

At this, connor’s eyes widened and he snapped out of his rage trance, looking to the Butcher and growling “GO BACK! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! I WON’T EVER LET YOU OUT AGAIN!”

The Butcher snarled “You will call on me again, child… You and I both know we walk the path of blood, not the light. If you want to truly be honest with Chara, tell them of me, see if anyone would stay after hearing the truth.”

[Scene change; Back to Chara.]

Chrysalis was weeping as her mother, empress Phrike, started laughing haughtily as she looked over the kingdom, smiling as she knew, she KNEW, this was what she deserved.

While her mother was busy celebrating her victory, Chrysalis could see her people being slaughtered throughout the castle.

“1...2... hatred’s coming for you~” Chara sung out with a eerily happy voice.

Chrysalis froze as she heard that spine chilling song, compounded by the childlike voice.

“3...4...Blood hits the floor~” Chara sung out the next verse entering the room dragging a changeling by the intestines behind her.

Phrike sneered at Chara, unimpressed by the single fatality to her forces. “What do you want, pitiful child? Come to take your place with the sun whore?”

“5...6... rip off your dicks~” Chara sung out the next verse and literally pulling out dicks from her inventory she had ripped off.

Phrike grew increasingly more worried as she Saw Chrysalis smiling now. “What are you doing, worthless child, protect your mother!”

Chrysalis chuckled. “Me? Protect the woman too greedy and impatient to negotiate with the ponies, when I was about to get a peace and trade deal with them? No thank you~.”

“7… 8… the demon will seal your fate~” Chara song out as her teeth became razor sharp and she started floating off the ground dropping the still-alive changeling as it tried fruitlessly to put its intestines back in, before Connor entered, stepping firmly on its head until a loud crunch was heard.

“9…10… you won't live till the end~” Was heard before Chara was behind Empress Phrike, as soon as she turned around to face Chara she had one of her eyes snatched out.

“AAAUGH!!!! HORRIBLE, DEPLORABLE LITTLE WRETCH! I WILL CRUSH YOU UNDER MY HOOF LIKE THE PITIFUL WORM YOU-!”

“You talk too much.” Chara said planting her feet one on the still intact eye and one in the socket before grabbing the horn and starting to pull.

Phrike tried to force her off with her magic, but was stopped with a burning hot hammer to the back of her head, literally melting her hair and the back of her scalp together. “Auuugh! You horrid, brutish beasts! How dare you strike your new empress! I will-”

Connor was behind her and smiled cruelly “After what you made me put Luna through? You will die. You will die in pain, screaming for mercy, and I will LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!”

“You will stay out of this!” Chara says before doing one final yank and ripping the horn off of the empress's had as a black substance leak under her and latched onto her legs, starting to melt them down.

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Rarity mumbled as she looked at the barbarically brutal display. “And yet I can't seem to look away…”

Next to her, Pinkie was doing her best to keep her eyes shut. “Just think about the candles… just think about the candles…”

Rainbow for her part had started to throw up, but more from the smell. “Oh come on… you couldn't free us first!?” She shouted in annoyance.

Applejack said nothing, content with attempting to break out on her own.

Fluttershy seemed rather detached, a sad look in her eyes as she gazed upon the madness and death that Chara had wrought.

And then… There was Twilight. “Interesting… maybe with the right tools…”

“What is wrong with all of you!?” Cadence had shouted, confused on whether she should be horrified at just how bloody and gruesome the scene before them truly was, or mortified that neither Twilight nor her friends seemed to care. “She's murdering them!”

“And there's high probability that it would have been us in the same situation.” Twilight answered simply.

Cadence paled, shouting once more. “Why aren't any of you afraid of this!?”

“We’ve seen it before.” The group had uttered in unison, very well bringing Cadence rather close to fainting.

Connor looked to Chara. “They brought out the Butcher. They made me make him real, so that I could save Luna… I scared her.”

“That's bad and all but they literally turned me into the demon that comes when you call my name!” Chara said grabbing the Empress by the neck and ripping what's left of her legs off and holding her up at eye level her.

Connor grunted as he turned around “It’s not like you didn’t WANT to become her. Just came with more baggage than you thought.”

The Empress was struggling not to black out from the pain, but still stayed proud as she turned to Chrysalis. “Worthless… little… brat…” Chara gutted the empress after saying that burning black hatred flowing out of her eyes.

Amidst the ensuing carnage, a small rift had opened, four royal guards exiting and soon followed by a tall and upright Asriel wearing his armor, a knife bandolier adorning it. “We got here as fast as we could!/We aren't late are we?” A dual voice echoed from Asriel as Chara tried to hide at the sound of his voice.

Connor grunted “Damn late, help me free the girls from this goop.”

“Rosie!/Miss Petal!” Asriel exclaimed, the female of the guards saluting as she led the troop in freeing Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie as Asriel went to Cadence, Connor freeing Twilight and Rarity by somehow summoning the Butchers knife, and throwing it like a boomerang, cutting the goop off of the ceiling. He winced as he realised what he did, and the bloodlusting, darkness filled blade.

Celestia did her absolute best to look relieved, but she kept staring at Chara, tears staining her cheeks as she wished so very much to take the child in her wings and hide her away from the horrors wrought.

The girls had all been freed, thankful they had the chance to stretch their limbs.

“Ugh, I need a bath!” Rainbow shouted, flinching in surprise at a rift opening next to her.

“My room’s got a pretty large bath./Enjoy yourself!” Asriel said, sounding uncaring and cheerful.

Connor then walked behind the throne and decided to try and do something that he saw the Butcher do whenever he tried to dream up something to help, draining their power. He smiled as he saw the ethereal ichor leave her skin and the teeth in her mouth return to normal. Right as he heard a loud munching and slurping sound in his mind. “Guh… I hate how he eats…”

The butcher spoke as he ate ‘Hate is such a delicious, savory treat, almost as sweet as your pain, my dear host..., the purity is a little strong for my taste though, I’d prefer some fear, or sadness mixed in. Ah well, a meal is a meal.’

Connor then smiled at Chara “I sort of absorbed your excess hate. You look normal again.”

Chara hugs him close, whispering in a strained voice “Thank you…” She looked up at him and smiled “Thank you... so, so very much.”

As the two shared a hug, and while Asriel had worked against Celestia's bindings, Luna had rushed into the room wearing her frozen armor and wielding her paddle.

“What did I miss!?” She cried out.

Connor smiled. “You missed everything but the wedding of our princess and her hubby.” He looked down and frowned “You… remember what happened?”

“No.” She replied rather quickly, as if she wanted to convince herself. “So? Wedding?” She said happily.

Connor smiled weakly “I uh… I think I’ll sit it out… What happened kinda… wore me out.”

Luna nodded as she went to Twilight to exchange a few words, hugs, a kiss, and a slap on the rear from Twilight's part. Coughing from the embarrassment, Luna ran up to Connor. “Come, lean on me for support.”

Connor sighed and nodded “Ok… I uh… I guess.” He leaned lightly on her and walked where she wanted him to go, wincing as he saw various bits of cutlery at the table.

The butcher laughed in his mind ‘Mayhaps I should have you harm others tonight in your dreams, it seems much more effective.’

Connors neck tensed as he mentally strained against the Butcher. ‘Never. You do that, and there will be nowhere in my mind that I won’t go to find you. I won’t care if we become a vegetable, I WILL hurt you, and I WILL end you.’

The Butcher was silent, he saw something he never thought he would… He saw a danger to him, and it was from his host. He… actually felt respect of him now. Maybe this partnership was not such a waste of his time. Maybe… just maybe… this host was worthwhile...’

???

The Hive was buzzing with rage. “We were told there was no danger! That the heroes would fall! Pony oneminds will bring forth the Yog’rizicth being for punishment, yes?”

The ponies nodded, frowning tersely. “Yog’rizzicth, stygian fool of fact and fiction, I demand you come to us at once!”

Yog’rizzicth, thoroughly amused by the failings of his masters, appeared in the blink of an eye, no puff of smoke, no sound, it was as if he simply was not their all but a second ago, yet had been their the whole time as well. “Why hello hello,dear fellow, may I ask why your mood tastes like the lemons yellow?”

The griffons, who had been decimated in the attack, and now only consisted of spies, and the god king ferdinand, scowled. “You know full plucking well what’s soured our moods so, you foul, disobedient wretch! You assured us that the demon child and her friends would be of no danger! You-”

Yog laughed “Temper temper, little birds, lest we say regretful words Ordered was I to ensure no danger, yet did you specify where or when? I truly meant not to anger. Thy base was safe from all threat, past or present, for an entire week after, in fact, I prevented untold disaster!”

The changelings hissed and buzzed. “And of this butcher? Were you not supposed to warn us of beings of your level of power?”

Before Yog could reply, The king shouted “What of my daughter?! She was slaughtered, crying and begging all the while! I will not rest until I place this child's remains in the four corners of the realm!”

Yog smiled “Why, my dear king, that’s just the thing, do you think you have the power? To topple this young ones tower? Even if you do, the butcher and his host will come for you.” He then turned to the changelings “I was commanded, to eliminate those weaker or equal to I, the situation therefore, was not demanded, or would you rather all of us die?”

The ponies frowned “What do you mean, are you not nigh infinite in power, with thine domain being fact and fiction? How could this butcher harm you?”

Yog’s face never lost its grin. “True, good sire, but to point out my flaw most dire, I cannot grow, unlike thy foe, whatever he slays stays with him for all his days.”

The entire group paled at this revelation, a being that eats and absorbs others powers? What horrors have they come to unleash upon their world?

Yog smiled, as if reading their minds. “The slaughter is coming, for every son and daughter, unless we appease his hunger, our fates get sent down with the plunger.”