I lay awake in my makeshift hospital bed - which was enlarged by, I can only assume, magic. Beads of sweat cling to my face. My screaming had alerted the hospital staff, I suppose, as they rushed into my room, and began to check my vitals, as well as ask me an endless amount of questions.

I told them all that I had a nightmare - though I decided to withold the part about the vampire. That would only raise even more questions, because I'm guessing that these. . . I can't believe I'm actually saying this. . . Talking ponies (sigh) have never heard of - let alone seen - a vampire before. A few months ago, if you would have told me that I would somehow end up being trapped in a world of pastel colored, talking equines called Equestria, I would have called you a 'crazed skooma addicted', and would proceed to haul your ass to Cidhna Mine. But lo and behold - for here I am, stuck (as far as I know) in Equestria. Though I am not the only one here. I have to find those mages.

My mind grew restless - every time I close my eyes to try and get some sleep, I would see those feral eyes staring back at me. Why would I even have nightmares of such a creature? I would ask myself, as I toss and turned in bed, desperate to get some sleep. But no answer would come to me. Despite being haunted by those terrifying eyes, however, my body cried for sleep - as did my mind. And so I once again tried to sleep, hoping beyond hope that perhaps I could, and right now, hope is the one thing that I've got left . . .so far from home, and friends; I wonder if any of them know that I'm missing?

I once again dreamt of a very familiar scene, and saw the vampire, feeding off of the poor pony. And as color began to return to its lifeless body, I heard a loud "knock, knock, knock" coming from somewhere. I paniced - thinking that the undead monster had heard it too, and so I ran as fast as I could. The ground - if not, the whole world - began to shake, causing me to lose my balance. I turned around - only to find the monster sprinting towards me! It lept at me, fangs ready to tear into me. But before it could get any closer to feed upon me, a blinding light enveloped me, and I heard an all too familiar voice of -

"Ren," it cried out to me, "are you awake?" I opened my eyes, and was greeted by the unicorn, Starlight Glimmer. She had the most distraught look about her face - almost like she was concerned for me. But as soon as I smiled weakly at her, to let her know that I was okay, a small smile crept upon her face. I glanced around the room, and saw two other ponies standing with her. One I recognized to be the one known as Twilight Sparkle, whom - according to Starlight - is an Alicorn Princess, though she doesn't seem to enjoy being called a princess, for whatever the reason. The other I have not seen before. She - it's a she, I'm guessing - has a yellow coat, pink mane and tail, and has wings; so she is a pegasus . . . yeah, I guess I can see this one as a mare - small, femine eye lashes that I had noticed on all the other ponies that I have encountered thus far, small shoulders. She seemed to be very intimidated ans was standing very close to the door that lead out of my room. In fact, I'm convinced that if I simply went 'boo', this new pegasus would either faint, or bolt out into the hallway, screaming bloody murder. While that WOULD be a funny sight to see, I decided against it, wishing instead to make a good first impression. I smiled a bit sheepishly, if only to help calm her nerves and make her feel more comfortable, and it seem to have worked. The yellow pony smiled back, but she remained near the door.

Can't say that I blame her though, I thought. If I were in her sho - wait a sec, she doesn't even wear shoes . . . well, If I were in her position, I would be intimidated as well, seeing a strange creature that I have never seen before.

Twilight began to speak up, clearing her throat to get my attention, "Well, good morning Ren. How are you feeling?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, a look of concern and worry grew upon her face, as well as within her voice.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight," I stated, being as respectful as possible. This caused her to smile and her face brightened up a bit. "Good morning to you all. I'm feeling okay, I guess . . . well, better than what I felt like yesterday." The three ponies chuckled a bit at that remark, but stopped when I asked where were the others, and how I got here. Twilight sighed, explaining that, while she and Rarity tried to carry me to the hospital with magic, the CMC were asked to find those strong enough to help carry me, and to inform the hospital staff of my arrival.

"Rarity and I had to wait until Rainbow Dash, Applejack, AND her brother - Big Mac - showed up to help carry you here. You're not exactly light, you know."

Yeah, thanks princess, I thought, feeling a little insulted. From behind Twilight, the yellow pegasi walked up beside her and spoke, but it was so quiet that it was barely above a whisper.

"Um, Twilight? Why didn't your magic work on him?" Twilight glanced back at her, causing her to 'eep', and reply, "N-n-not t-that I d-don't think t-that it didn't," the yellow pony stuttered, "I'm sure that you did everything that you could." She finished, blushing sheepishly.

Twilight spoke gently, "It's okay, Fluttershy. I'm not sure why, but magic doesn't seem to affect him."

Well, at least I now know her name, I thought. But why is she here? Before I could speak up, Starlight gave out a guess.

"Maybe magic does affect him; it could just require more concentration?" She began to rub her chin with her hoof, as if in deep thought. Twilight may or may not have entertained the hypothesis for a moment, as she shook her head.

"We can make hypotheses, and conduct our experiments for when he has been released."

Wait, what?

"For now," Twilight advanced forward, stopping once she had reached my bed, "I want to know exactly what happened yesterday." Then she gestered to Fluttershy, beckoning her to come closer, "And Fluttershy, here, is going to see what exactly you are, and if you're dangerous or not, while Starlight and I ask you some questions. I hope you don't mind." I meerly chuckled and stated that I am okay with it, even saying that she didn't need to ask for permission, since she is a princess after all. "Thanks for addressing me by my title, but I don't really care for it. I still prefer asking for permission." She finished with a smile; THEN she started doing this weird cheerful glee ritual, jumping up and down, while repeating, "yes, yes, yes, yes" for a bit.

Ooookaaaay, she must REALLY love studying more than being a princess.

"So, Fluttershy, what do you think?" Twilight asked, as she helped the nurses check my vitals, as well as ask her own questions. Fluttershy was studying me, as if I were some kind of new species of animal. In fact, that was the only reason why she was here; I guess that she is some kind of an expert on all matters of animals and creatures. It had taken a lot of courage for her to approach me, and a lot more pleading from her friends, in order to convince her to help. The timid pegasi had attempted to study me from a far - she just would not approach me, without any kind of assistance.

"I guess smiling didn't work," I thought.

Eventually, Fluttershy worked past her fears - or at least to a point where she could perform her task - and spoke timidly, "Oh, um. . .I-I'm not r-really sure, Twilight. I've never seen anything like him before."

The memories of the last week and a half flashed through my mind. The nurses were busy trying their best to make me as comfortable as possible, while performing their duties. Twilight, Starlight, and Fluttershy asked me a few questions, until a nurse pony with a red cross on her flanks - I think her name was Redheart - said that it was time for me to get some rest. Twilight wanted to know everything that occured yesterday, so I regailed her with all the details. How I chased a group of mages through a portal, why I had left the club house, everything. The more I talked, the bigger her eyes would get. Hm, must be because I'm from a whole new world, I thought. Though she did ask various questions about the rune spell, which, unfortunately, I was unable to answer. The doctors and nurses weren't able to find anything wrong with me, and I doubt that they ever will. While it is true that all Bretons have magic resistance, any spell cast upon me would still affect me. However, I never mentioned that to her; I have a feeling that, in a world of magic, she and the others will find out sooner or later. The strangest thing that I have experienced since coming here, however, was not the fact that these equines could talk, fly, or use magic; but rather the food that the hospital staff offered me.

Whenever the ponies would bring me food, I fully expected them to bring me a salad, or something that a creature of their world would eat, because I believed that their world was full of nothing but herbivores. But that wasn't always the case; according to Starlight, the Ponyville hospital - on the very rare occasions that they pass through - also tends to any Griffons that are in need of intensive care. Which would explain why the hospital has SOME fish, but they were running low. Luckily for me, Nurse Redheart said that I would more than likely be staying for at least three more days, or another week at most. And so far, they seem to be okay with me eating meat; but who knows how well the rest of the town will react.

"I'll just deal with it when it comes," I told myself.

Speaking of Starlight, she has been stopping by every day, paying me a visit and being very kind to me. And while she has been asking me a few questions, so far, not one of them were about my sudden arrival, or of the mages; they were, instead, about where I was from. We would spend practically all visiting hours discussing various topics of Skyrim, and sometimes of Tamriel and the many provences that made up its landmass. The various cultures of all races, some important dates of history, the musics and foods; we talked about nearly everything, though she was particularly fond of the story of the Dragonborn, saying that this hero must be very brave to face so many dragons.

Heh, you have no idea.

Night time was what I dreaded the most; ever since my nightmare, I was worried that I would be having even more of them. Yet I found it to be much easier to sleep than before. I haven't been plagued with any nightmares since my first night in this place, which is good. Don't need to alarm the staff again, but still. . .I worry that it may happen at any time. . .

Dawn of the next day

I woke up to an all too familiar scene: Nurse Redheart taking my blood pressure and dropping down her notes, which was becoming very jaded, if I'm being perfectly honest. Starlight was here, as well. Her company is always pleasent, and she is the closest thing I have to a friend here. Starlight would always sit next to me, and would have a particularly lovely smile on her face when ever she would visit me. It was her smile that would brighten up my day; being stuck in one place for an extended period of time tends to drive a person insane. Not that the staff wouldn't let me get out of bed, or anything; they would allow me to walk around - though Nurse Redheart, Starlight, and sometimes Twilight, would always accompany me - and even allow me to exercise; whenever I would, however, the head doctors and nurses, plus Starlight and Twilight, would drop down even more notes about me. They all seemed impressed with my physical prowess, saying that I should consider entering a couple of competitions called the "Iron Pony", and something called the "Running of the Leaves", whatever that is. However, on this particular morning, Starlight wasn't alone; it seemed that three little fillies had accompanied her. . .

Oh no, not them again.

As it turns out, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have been wondering if I was alright or not. They even tried to come and visit me a few times, but were told that I was entertaining another visitor, and I couldn't be disturbed. The little fillies had to restrain themselves from jumping all over me, but that didn't mean that they had to restrain themselves from asking me questions. Will I ever escape the questions? SO. MANY. GOD. DAMNED. QUESTIONS.

They were mainly concerned about the rune spell that exploded around me, but they all relaxed a bit when I said that I was fine, and that the doctors could confirm this as well.

"I say that we bust him out of here," Scootaloo replied with a mischievous grin ecthing across her face, "he has been in here WAY too long."

"Well," Nurse Redheart spoke up, "that won't be necessary. He'll be free to go today."

Upon hearing this, I was shocked - she had to be joking, right? "But nurse, I thought that I had two more days left?" Redheart chuckled a bit at my surprise.

"You recover rather quickly, and aside from a large bump on your head, there wasn't any real significant damage. However," she brought out her notes, and cleared her throat, "we couldn't determine the origins of your strange cutie marks." The look of confusion crept over the CMC and Starlight-though I could see a hint of excitement within the eyes of the three fillies. As for me, I was briefly confused, and was about to correct her, when the door to my room burst opened with a light violet aura. Storming into my hospital room, like she owned the place, was a new unicorn pony, who marched directly towards Starlight. She wore the most ridiculous outfit I have ever seen-either on a person, or a pony: some kind of a cape embroided with stars, and a hat that sort of reminded me of magicians, for whatever the reason.

"Starlight Glimmer," the unicorn said with a very serious, almost upsetting tone in her voice, but it eased up once she realized that there were children in the room. She resumed to speak, but I could still sense the anger in her voice, "The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot understand why you would want to stay in a hospital, and not help your best friend set up her stage to perform her magic show."

The Great and Powerful? I wondered. What kind of a moniker is that?

This coming from the guy who calls himself Ren the Unrelenting?

Shut up, brain.

Starlight was busy talking to this so called "Great and Powerful Trixie", while I turned my attention back to Nurse Redheart and began saying, "Anyway, I don't have any cutie marks. What I DO have are tattoos." I removed my long sleeved shirt to the point that my arms were fully exposed, and showed the nurse and the little fillies. I have four in total, all of which were in different places: the one on my right forearm showed the image of a dragon's head; it was split in two halves - one side showed it with its crisom red skin, while the other showed pure skull. Over the years, it began to fade, which was a real shame, because it was a true master piece. On my left arm, near my shoulder, was my family's coat of arms - a helmet facing sideways, above a blue shield with a white stripe going across the middle. Two regal feathers - one white and the other blue-surrounded the crest on the sides, and enscribed on the shield were two swans on the top half, and a dog on the botton half. Withing the white stripe were a pair of dark gray glooves, as well as a heart within the center. The last two were on my chest, but I never pulled my shirt off completely - and besides, those were personal. Nobody needed to know about them.

"Do they mean anything?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Some do," I responded. The Nurse stated that I was now free to go, and wished me luck. Today was the best day that I have thus far experienced in this strange world; finally, I get to leave the hospital, and pursue my journy. . .only I don't know where to begin. Twilight was my best lead to find those rogue adapts, but I haven't seen her in a few days. Wait; Starlight would know.

Before I could even ask her, she was already helping me get out of bed, and told me that Twilight wanted to see me as soon as I was cleared to leave. "She mentioned that the other princesses wanted to see you in a few days time, and wanted to make sure that you were ready for a council meeting with them. And she also said that the crystal shard you found could be used to pinpoint the mage's location."

Perfect!

But I don't remember giving Twilight the shard, so I'm guessing that she either picked it up when I fell unconscious, or she grabbed it when she took my weapons. I asked Starlight how Twilight came in possession of the shard, and she confermed that Twilight grabbed it, while bringing me to the hospital. Starlight wanted to take me to the castle, but a groan coming from Trixie indicated that she wasn't amused from some reason; in fact, she looked rather annoyed.

"Starlight," she grunted, "you promised that you would help me set up my props for tonights show, not escort this. . .thing to the castle." Then she gave Starlight the cutest puppy eye stare ever. . .why is it so cute?

The three fillies offered to help, and this made Trixie a bit more happy. Figuring that there was plenty of time on hand, I offered to help too. Starlight was a bit uneased with this, given that she wanted me to see Twilight soon, "Don't worry Starlight, there will be plenty of time to see her after we're done helping." I declared. The CMC nodded in agreement, saying that with all of us helping, we might have enough time to stop by a place called "Sugarcube Corner" for something sweet. The grin on Trixie's face grew unusually large, and she agreed to let us see, what she declared, a snead peek of the greatest show we have ever seen.

"That didn't take very long," Trixie said with amusement in her voice. 30 minutes was all that it took to set up her stage, which wasn't all that big. She apparently lives in a small caravan that turns into her stage. She sort of reminds me of a certain traveling minstrel that I had met a few times, while traveling the roads of Skyrim. . .I can't exactly remember his name though.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is most appreciative of all the hard work you five have done for me, and I will now fulfill my end of the bargin." Trixie had promised us all a sneak peek of her tonight's showing; however, I believed that it was more of the CMC, rather than for me and Starlight. Speaking of whom, she continued to ask me questions; her favorite topic being about the Dragonborn and the power that he/she possessed. As much as I tried to focus my mind on the task at hand, as well as indulge in conversation with Starlight, and on occasions the three fillies, I couldn't keep a hundred percent of my attention on the matter at hand; mainly because of all the eyes that were glued upon the very sight of me.

When we left the hospital, there were a lot of ponies that glanced at me, eying me, perhaps wondering if I would attack them or not. Starlight had assured me that she and Twilight both declared me to be harmless, and that I can be trusted.

"But why would you say that?" I began to think back. We were just entering the market place when she had mentioned this to me, "And how do you know that I can be trusted? You barely know who or what I am."

Starlight had merely glanced up at me, giving me her usual smile that I have come to enjoy seeing, and said, "Because you need help, and so far, you haven't done anything to harm us. And something tells me that you would never hurt anypony. . .I don't know, I just trust you." While her kind hearted words helped settle my nervous mind, that still didn't help with the fact that every pony in town were looking at me. I began to wonder if they would become hostile toward me, but a part of me believed that Starlight was telling the truth. I just hope that she is right about me. . .I remember the first time that I had entered the quaint little village of Ivarstead, and the chaos that insued. A troll had followed me into the town, and everyone had taken up arms to combat it. And I'm not just talking about the guards - I mean everyone, from the farmers to the wood cutters, and even a local fisherman had taken up daggers, axes, pitchforks and torches. Images of the troll's body flashed in my mind - its body riddled with puncture marks and slashes, and a good majority of its flesh was burnt. But the most disturbing site was the severed head of the beast stuck on a pike. Its eyes - now emptied - were still opened, as if it were asking the villagers and other travelers passing by, 'why?' A part of me felt remorse for the deed. Yes, the citizens were in danger; but did the troll not deserve to live? It was a somewhat of an intelligent creature, capable of thoughts and feelings, like you and I. Don't get me wrong, my first priority is to protect the citizins of the Empire, but still. . .

Trixie had her stage set up in the park, near the fountain, where I had collapsed. Images of my nightmare crept into my mind; why did I have a nightmare of a vampire? I haven't had such nightmares since-

"Hey Ren," Applebloom called out to me, breaking me out of my transe. " The show is about to start." What was suppose to have been a sneak peek meant just for us, had turned into a public show, as several ponies began to show up. Trixie entered from behind the curtains, and a flash of lights, and fireworks fired all around her. Don't know why she would perform during the night, its only going to get colder. And while it wasn't particularly cold out in the midmorning sunlight, it wasn't warm either, the gray clouds in the sky made sure of that.

I could feel every set of eyes looking at me, rather than Trixie, which made me feel even more on edge; which only worsened, because of a mint green colored unicorn that had begun to approach me. Her eyes were on me, but not on my face, no. A quick glance from the corner of my eye indicated that she was looking at. . .my hands? Her own eyes - amber in color - had widened, and she developed a very very VERY large, albiet creepy, looking smile, as she continue to advance towards me. . .a minute later, and she was sitting next to me. I tried to ignore her, and focus more on the show, but to no avail. I started to think that maybe I should have gone to see Twilight instead.

"Prepare to be amazed, ponyvillians," Trixie practically screamed as loud as possible, and thus gained the attention of every pony that showed up - including the strange unicorn that was about to place a hoof on my hand, "for the Great and Powerful AND Generous Trixie shall perform the most spectacular performance that you have or will ever see again!" The ponies erupted into cheers in excitement, as more of her magic and fireworks encaptivated the crowd. Then she started to scan the audiance, like she was looking for something, or rather someone. Finally, her violet eyes stopped scanning, and she was casting her gaze on me.

"Trixie requires an able assistant, and she has chosen the strange minotaur creature that is amongst us." In an instant, every set of eyes were upon me, once more. And as the ponies around me began to murmer, I stood up from my seated posistion, and heard a few say, "Is that really a minotaur?" Yeah, of all the things that I have been called, a minotaur was the least expecting thing. I started to move forward, when Trixie yelled, "The Great and Powerful Trixie," why does she feel the need to announce herself as such? And why does she need to roll her r's like that? "will now attempt to change your appearance." I was not expecting this.

"Wait, what?" I spoke in shock. Taking a step back, I was ready to bolt. "Why would you do that?"

"You are aware that you lack horns and hooves, right?"

"BECAUSE I'M NOT A MINOTA-" I shouted, but before I could even finish explaining, she was in the process of charging up her horn. Now I was really worried. Looking around me, I saw that I was surrounded on all sides, and I couldn't hope to dodge out of the way; if I jump to the sides, or lean back, I would more than likely crush a pony. Jumping forward would only put me in direct contact with her magic, and, again, I would crush a pony. I made one last attempt to plead with her, hoping I could convince her to stop, "Trixie, please stop this! This is a terrible i-" she had already fired her magic at me. With no way of escaping it, I had no choice but to allow it to hit me. "dea!" Nothing happened. The beam DID, indeed, hit me, but rather than feel it make full contact, I felt a surge of energy flow through me. I quickly checked myself for any sudden changes or oddities, and when none could be found - thank the Divines - I glanced towards Trixie, who had a shocked expression on her face. The poinies stared at me in awe, and puzzlement, fully expecting Trixie's spell to work. A few were murmuring something about maybe her magic wasn't strong enough, or maybe that I was immune to magic. Those that wondered the latter questioned how would they be able to defend themselves from me if magic wouldn't affect me, and if perhaps if all four princesses combined could stop me. My fears were coming true.

"Um," Trixie spoke up, after regaining her composer, "perhaps I simply need more concentration." She chuckled to mask her nervousness, and - once again - charged up her horn. Not wanting to take on the off chance that her magic could actually change my appearance (although the thought of having horns would be kind of badass), I steeled myself ready, and channeled the power within my blood. I was now confident enough that her magic wouldn't affect me - that I was now completely safe from all forms of magic.

Once more, Trixie propelled her magic towards me, and just as before, I was unaffected. The same surge of energy that I had felt before flowed through my body - and before you ask, no, it's not adrenaline. Soon after her second attempt had failed, Trixie started to panic, and tried again for a third time. Before she could, however, someone from the crowd had shouted, "Look, it's glowing!" That one sounded very much like a male. Didn't matter though, because he was right. Small, bluish runes became visible through my clothings, but were more visible on my exposed skin. The runes glowed very dimly, and covered almost every inch of my body. Trixie had fired her magic at me once more, and I remained motionless, as I stood there, and allowed her magic to make contact. A smirk began to stretch across my face, when Trixie made her third attempt to alternate me. Her magic was beginning to fail her, for this time the energy surge wasn't nearly as potent as the first two. Still, it did make the runes on my body glow to a more brilliant blue. Trixie was sweating, and panting for a breath of air. With her energy and magic reserves spent, she collasped on her stage, a lifeless wreck.

"How were you able to do that?" Starlight asked, completely flabbergasted. She frantically glanced between me and her best friend, then went up on stage to help the completely worn out Trixie back up on her hooves, and shot me a puzzlement look.

I merely chuckled, and spoke very proudly, "Sorry Trixie, but your magic won't affect me." All around me, the ponies gasped in unison, and backed away from me, albeit slowly. From behind me, I heard the sound of trotting hooves approaching me, but paid little attention to it, and instead, worked my way towards the stage. Once there, I locked eyes with Trixie, who was now stricken with fear, unsure of what to make of me. She whimppered at me, asking me what I am. "I'm the guy who wants to thank you." She raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything, except prove that I'm not Great or Powerful." Trixie dropped her head in shame, and I swore that I saw tears begin to fill her eyes. . .Ah, crap.

"You're wrong, Trixie - You're still Great and Powerful." She lifted her head back up, and locked eyes with me, once more. "I'm thanking you for the boost of my own reserves. I haven't felt this good in -" The trotting hooves had stopped, and from behind me I heard someone speak with a voice that nearly resembled that of a nobleborn.

"Is this the one you spoke of, Twilight?" It was an unfamiliar voice of a mare. Turning around - to the point that I stood side ways, and had my head turn towards their direction - I beheld three more mares. Of the three, only one I recognized: Twilight Sparkle. Huh, I haven't seen her in a few days. . .Why is she giving me that look for? Twilight's expression wasn't a pleasant one, but rather an upsetting one, and it made me realize that by coming to this show, I had made my first mistake in my brief time here. The other two looked more defensive than Twilight did. One was a tan furred pegasus, who's mane and tail were perhaps five different shades of black and gray. But what really stood out was her outfit. Up until now, I have only seen the doctors from my time at the hospital wear clothings, and even then, they only wore white collard shirts. This pegasus wore a forest green collard shirt, and sported some form of a hat that would be ideal for places like Elsyer or Hammerfall; an adventurers hat, I call it. She also had a compass on her flanks. Her magenta eyes travelled up and down, indicating that she was either sizing me up for a fight, or perhaps wondering what exactly I am.

Really hoping its the latter, I thought.

The other was another Alicorn, much like Twilight, but taller - much taller than all of these other ponies. She was pure white, like Rarity, and wore golden regalia. Her multi-neon colored mane and tail seem as if they were made of magic, and sparkled as well. I noticed that she had a symbol of the sun on her flanks, and from the discription that Starlight gave me a few days ago, I knew who this was. Standing in front of me was Celestia, Princess of the sun, bringer of the day, and co-ruler of Equestria. She was giving me a stern look, as we locked eyes.

"Yeah, this is him," Twilight announced, taking a few steps forward. "What happened?" As she scanned me from top to bottom, I realized that she was examining me with great interest, and not upset. . .at least I hope that I was right. Twilight suggested that we head back to the castle to begin the tests. as we walked away from the park, the blue runes began to fade away.

I was confined to a chair, wearing some kind of contraption on my head that had several wires that were connected to a vast number of machines. These weren't anything like what the Dwemer had ever constructed, no. These devices seemed to be completely alien, and felt so familiar somehow. . .Twilight had scolded Starlight for maybe two minutes, until I had said that it was my idea to head to the park to help set up the stage. Once Trixie confirmed this to be true - that is, after having several glasses of water - Twilight had eased up on her student, and turned her attention on me. I was moved to the chamber room, where I'm told that the members of the Council of Friendship gather around to see who will be going on a mission to solve a friendship problem. . .even just saying that sounds asinine. Twilight was the one who hooked me up to her machines, saying that it would help her understand what was going on, as well as check my vitals; might as well as stayed in the hospital if we're doing that. Princess Celestia stayed near Trixie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders; I'm guessing to protect them. Her expression was kind of difficult to read - a mixture of worry for her subjects, and also hope; not really sure why she would be hopeful for. Maybe I was reading it all wrong.

All the while this was going on, I had to endure a staredown with a pegasus - the one that looked like an adventurer - named Daring Do. Now here was someone that I could relate to in this alien world - which is strange, I know. I could tell a lot about a person, by gazing into their eyes, and I can tell that she has seen a lot of shit go wrong; those eyes. . .those were the eyes of a hardened soul.

Starlight was checking the machines, running back and forth from each one, and would occasionally check up on me, and asked if I needed anything. I never took my eyes off of Daring Do - at this point, it was pretty much a competition between us, and if I had looked away, she would win. Daring and I had spoken very little to each other since our arrival at Twilight's castle. She seems a bit uptight.

"Okay," Twilight's scholary voice broke the silence, "the readings indicate that you're perfectly healthy. But it doesn't explain why Trixie's magic was having zero effects on you - which has lead me to conclude that magic, no matter how many times its been applied on you OR however powerful a spell has been amplified, will not affect you."

"Or maybe there is a different reason why," I retorted with an answer of my own, "The reason why her magic wouldn't affect me is because I channelled the power of my blood - an ability called Dragonskin. It allows a Breton a chance - roughly a 50% chance - to absorb all hostile magic. That is what I did - absorbed her magic, to replenish my own magical reserves." The silence that followed was nearly maddening, until Applebloom asked if I could use magic, to which I answered - not with words, but with proof. Asking for permission first I removed the head piece, and rose up from the chair. I remove the head piece, and rose up from the chair. I positioned my hands to my left hip, as if I still had my sword and was about to unsheathe that, and concentrated. I remembered my time spent at the College of Winterhold; how my instructors would have me demonstrated various spells from all the schools of magic that I chose to dedicate myself to. But there was something that I could do - something that my fellow conjurer's haven't tried before. By simply thinking of an image, and focusing on my essence - my magicka - I can alternate the form of any summon item, and overtime, I have learned how to summon items other than weapons. The spell that I was focusing on was a rather basic one - a bound sword spell; and even though the duration of my dragonskin was over, the only issue when when it came to summoning spells, however, was the fact that I could still absorb the spell. Though the chances of that were small - leaving me feeling the utmost confident that nothing would interfere with the summoning arts.

"Does this answer your question?" I asked. The bound sword began to take shape, as I thought of an image: my custom-made Stalhrim sword, which I fashioned to resemble an ancient Akaviri blade - more commonly known as a katana. Alternating the physical appearance of any Summoned item, however, was not all that I have learned. Through constant practice of the 'dark arts' of conjuration, I developed an ethereal tether that would allow me to wield any conjured item with my other hand, but I frequently combined the tether with my bound sword, in the case that I wish to 'sheathe' the blade, without the spelling it and using more of my magic reserves to summon another. And creating the tether was no more taxing then it was to summon the sword.

The invocations were complete, as the tether enveloped my left hand in a swirl of purple energy, and the blade manifested from the palm of my right hand. And while the physical appearance had been altered, the weapom still retained evidence of its otherworldly Daedric Origins, and - much like every other item summon through magic - it was weightless. The only true difference between the original and this altered version is thus: because of its single edge design, I could unsheathe the blade and strike at once - hence why I use the tether with it - and I could swing it much faster than the bulkier or blade of the original spell. And in a matter of life and death, the faster one can strike, the better.

I demonstrated my swordsmanship skills, twirling then spinning the Ethereal blade around me; then, sheathing my weapon - the edge of the sword facing up, rather than down, for the quickdraw effect - I glanced around the room, expecting to find the ponies's facial expression to be solemn and bland. Instead, all eight pairs of eyes were widened, as they stood in place - stunned and speechless. The three fillies, as well as Trixie, huddled together and stared apprehensively at me. And as I advanced forward - taking one step towards them - Daring Do rushed from her seated position into the air, and swooped down in front of me, haltering my progress.

How is she that fast?

Her face contorted with rage - no-doubt intended for me; was it because I attempted to approach the others? Or was it because of my magic usage? Regardless, I retreated back to the chair I had previously occupied, and drew my sword wants more. Daring narrowed her eyes at my movement, and from the corner of my own eyes, I could see both Twilight and Celestia charging up their horns, "You have nothing to worry about," I attempted to soothe their anger and fear of me, "the only way to dispel my bound sword, is to first dismiss the tether." Once both the tether and the blade were dismissed, I, once again, glanced around the room to find their expressions had eased up. . . All except for Daring Do.

Daring crossed her. . . forehooves, I guess, and as polite as possible, asked, "Explain how you can use magic!" Yes, as polite as possible. And so I told them how I started my training in Magic from an old University instructor who saw potential in me. He continue to Mentor me in Alteration and Restoration Magics, and sent me to learn more of magic from his old colleagues; and from there, I learned to other forms of magics: Destruction and Conjuration - the latter of which I found to be much easier to master. Based on the expressions of the CMC, and the ever so increasing squee coming from Twilight AND starlight both, they wanted me to resume my tail, but the quick glance out from the nearby window revealed an encroaching gray sky; squinting my eyes, I could see tiny droplets of water, clinging to the surface.

"It would appear that I must return to Canterlot," Princess Celestia side, "Twilight, please keep me informed about any new developments on our new guest." Twilight agreed, and asked if the other princesses should be informed as well, or at the very least be notified of my presents here. "I shall notify them myself, you have enough on your hooves. But before I leave, may I have a word with you, Ren?"

"Of course", I nodded in agreement, and followed her into the silent hallway. The princess turned, and offered me a warm smile, "Is there something wrong, your highness?" I asked, nervously.

"No", she spoke in a soft graceful voice, "I merely wished to offer you luck on your quest. But," her voice, and face were filled with solemn dismissal, "I must warn you, do not harm my subjects. Treat them well, and I will do the same for you."

I stood rooted to the floor of Twilight's crystaline castle, appalled by her sudden change of tone. She could sense this, I suppose, because she reached out with a hoof to gently caress my cheek, to help calm my nerves. It felt so smooth, so soft. "I promise, this task is mine and mine alone. Nobody else will get involved." She nodded, but said that I shouldn't be afraid to ask for help in this endeavor. And in a flash of light, she was gone. I caught her smiling at me, one last time, as she teleported back to wherever she came from, Canterlot I'm guessing.

Later that night

It was decided that I was to remain in the castle, at least until accommodations for a temporary residential stay could be made for someone my size. Twilight said that it should be done in a couple of months, even though I declined such a generous offer; but she insisted on me having a home, while I stay here, saying something about it being my base of operations in my search for those rogue adapts. We had dinner, maybe an hour ago, which was served by Twilight's assistant named Spike, who turned out to be a dragon. It seems that this world was full of strange and exotic creatures. Daring Do stated that she was going to be staying at the local hotel, and would be back in the morning to continue in 'researching the alien' as she put it. The key word in her statement being 'was', because as soon as she opened the door, the fierce wind blowing in a heavy coat of snow quickly changed her mind - no soul would even dare take a step out and such terrible weather like this.

And I thought Skyrim had bad weather, I chuckled at my own thoughts. The princess offered us all rooms for the night, or for as long as we needed to remain, saying that she had plenty of rooms to accommodate a large portion of Ponyville. After Starlight have shown us our rooms, I decided to stay up for a while longer, and read a book to pass the time. Starlight insisted that I read up on Equestria's history; THEN Scootaloo - having heard starlight's suggestion on reading material - handed, or rather 'hooved' me a book entitled 'Daring Do, and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'. Apparently, someone named A.K. Yearling decided to contact the adventuring Pony, and asked to write about her exploits. Scootaloo said that an 'awesome' Pegasus name Rainbow Dash reads these books on a regular basis, and recommends that I give it a try. She also suggested that I meet Rainbow, some day.

Daring was heading to her room, when she noticed the book I was holding, and advanced towards me, "Y-you're not really going to read that, are you?" She rubbed her left leg with her right hoof, and begin to blush sheepishly.

Is she. . .embarrassed by these books? Why would she be embarrassed for? These books are all about her!

"I don't see why not," I declared, grinning happily at her. "Who knows? Maybe one day we can swap stories of our past adventures over a few flagons of mead." This, somehow, caused the blush to spread across the entirety of her face; also, for some reason, her wings extended out, like she was about to fly. Yet she didn't take off she just stood there, her eyes locked with mine. "Ah, Daring," I called out to her, my smile faded away a few seconds ago. "Are you-" she waved a hoof, dismissively at me.

"Y-yeah, I'm just. . .ah," she seemed to struggle with her own words, and moved her eyes from side to side. "Well, would you look at the time? It's time for bed." She chuckled, rather nervously, then ran towards her room and slammed the door shut.

"Ooookaaaay, that wasn't weird at all," I said sarcastically, causing Starlight to chuckle a bit. She wished me goodnight and trout it off to her own room. Trixie would be sharing a room with her, while the CMC would be sleeping in the room that I was given. This left poor Daring all alone for the night. Hope this night will be a calm one.

I had successfully snuck aboard the Marie Elena, a galleon based ship, crewed by 'sailors'. Heh, yeah right. These were pirates, and everyone knew it too. I could have easily killed every single fucking one of the bastards, but then my target would become alerted to my presence, and most likely have had his crew search the ship from top to bottom, searching for me, or probably have escaped. Neither of which were the best case scenarios for me. And besides, Vicente Valtieri had stated that this contract was for the captain only. The others didn't matter - only Captain Gaston Tussaud. Since this was my first contract, I could have been eliminated Gaston in anyway I damn well please, so long as the result was the same - the captain would have met with a watery grave. I chose the more stealthy approach, staying out of sight, and using the shadows for coverage. Sneaking aboard the ship was easy - I smuggled myself aboard by climbing into an empty cargo box - but getting to Captain Tussaud would prove to be a challenge. His crew made my advancement a bit difficult. But after what felt like an hour of staying within the shadows, and sneaking passed the various number of armed crewmates, I had arrived at the Captain's cabin, undoubtedly where in lays my first 'official' target.

The door was locked, and I could hear the sounds of approaching footsteps from the sailors on the top deck, so I had to react fast. I pulled a lock pick from one of the pouches on my utility belt, and as quick as I could, began to pick the tumblers of the lock. Luck must have been on my side, because the sailors were talking about heading to the Bloated Float for drinks, and proceeded towards the establishment, leaving the ship 'mostly' unguarded. This gave me plenty of time to pick the lock, and finish what I came here for. After spending a few seconds on the lock, I heard the ever so sweetful sound of the last tumbler being pushed into place, allowing me to open the door.

There was no place for Gaston to hide - he was as good as dead. From across the Captain's Quarters, I saw the doorway that led out to the balcony at the front of the ship; that was my way out, after Gaston laid dead at my feet. As I silently moved through the Captain's Quarters, I saw him - sleeping the day away. But I did not draw my blade, no. Instead, I bore my fangs into his neck, tearing out his throat in an animalistic feeding frenzy! He never even had the chance to struggle. . . But before I could drain enough of his precious lifeblood to sate my appetite, he let out a cry - screaming in agonizing pain, causing me to relinquish my hold on him. He still drew breath, so I had no choice but to unsheathe my dagger and punctured his heart, with one swift thrust. And as he fell to the floor, I heard loud banging on the door to the deck, and made my escape through the balcony.

"AH!" I awoke from slumber, having suffered another nightmare - the first in a while, since my release from the hospital. And, like the hospital, ponies rest towards my bed to check up on me; except this time it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Starlight that came to my Aid. A haste of fear surrounded them all, much like how they were surrounding me.

"Ren, are you alright?!" Starlight asked, "The girls said that you were thrashing around in bed, and came and got me!"

Sweat clung to me - all over me! As I panted, Sweetie Belle pointed out that I was shaking. "I had a nightmare." A chill ran down my spine, as I remained motionless in bed; then I felt a warm embrace, as Starlight hug me. She threw her hooves around my chest, whispering that everything would be all right. She offered to stay with me for the night, in hopes that it would make me feel better. I declined at first, but she insisted on it. She crawled underneath the covers, and positions herself next to me.

"Everything will be alright, Ren." She said once more, and wished me good night again. I'm not sure what came over me, but as she laid next to me - on her side - I wrapped my arms around her barrel, and held her close to me.

"Thank you," I whispered softly. I didn't know for certain if she heard me at first, but as soon as I felt her hoof on my hand - moving it to position it over her chest - and felt the beating of her heart, I knew that she had heard me. I smiled contently, as I fell into slumber.

Author's Note

And with that, chapter 2 comes to a close. Okay that one took a lot longer than what I thought. And I do apologize for the delay in this chapter there has just been so many issues coming and going. I am currently in the process of working on chapter 3, and if you recall from the description of the story not all the chapters will be told in first-person. For chapter 3 I'm going to splice it up into two halves. The first part of the chapter will be done in a POV for Starlight and the second half will be done in a POV for Daring Do. And of course these will be done in third person. I do hope everyone enjoys the story so far. And I'm hoping to have chapter 3 done very soon that is if I can get some time away from all the drama in my life. I'm also hoping that this new dream is going to make everyone question just what is going on with Ren. Until then, I will see you all in the next chapter!