Suddenly I'm what?

Chapters

Chapter 1:Unbound
Chapter 2:A Taste of Apocrypha
Chapter 3:Return to Your Roots
Chapter 4:Pursuits of Transcendance
Chapter 4.5:Eye Into Another World

Chapter 1:Unbound

I awoke in a lonely, dark room, with a single chair on a rail to my right with a sign requesting that I sit in it. l looked over myself, finding that I was dressed in casual clothing, before looking over to the chair, seeing nothing dangerous on it. Why not? I thought to myself. Clearly won’t hold me, and whoever brought me here while I was drunk was obviously looking out for me, I told myself. Upon sitting in the chair, I was suddenly strapped in, causing me to jolt in surprise, and quickly sent along rail that appeared out of nowhere into what looked like an old arena’s nobles’ seating area. In the...throne, opposite me, was a man in strange armor. Well, maybe I was wrong. Then again, where did these bindings come from?

He was armored from head to toe, with a common-sized helm in the design of a human skull with the back of the head warped from an unseen heat into the shape of a crown almost, the metal warped from rust, overuse and the same unseen heat. Below that there was a somewhat standardised full medium shoulder plate and grieves. His gauntlets and boots were light enough to walk in, thick enough to take several blows and also seemed warped, having seen heavy use with the strange metal plate and chain armor for the torso that was covered by a raggedy dark grey cloak that only went as far as the elbows and a bit further down the back, holes riddling it. The ends flayed out like sad, decrepit streamers. It went up, covering and wrapped around the neck area. There was something about it that was similar to a sort of skirt, going below the knees, one side going further and the ends seeming to be almost like a pale fur. Several belts were at the waist, mostly chain and loop hooks.

In his hand was a weapon about the length of a long sword, maybe a bit longer, and seemed to be similar to a duel lance because of the spiral-like blades, but it was too small to be so, the blade at the pommel shorter, by about a half of the blade or so. The hand guards were circular, as if for a rapier or cutlass and a similar handle guard shaped similarly to the coiled blades.

He smiled at me from under his helm, and chuckled “Seems I have another soul to displace. A shame, I would of so loved to see thy world a bit longer.”

I raised an eyebrow, before slowly recognizing him. “Wait a second… you’re that bartender that gave out those drinks!”

He nodded with a wry smile. “Indeed, and you art the one who danced naked with my barstools, twerking, I believe it was called?”

I huffed. “Not my fault you had a strong drink, and I got a weak resistance to alcohol. Seriously, what possessed you to give that stuff out for free?”

He grinned. “That stuff made thy inhibitions utterly disappear, without relaxing thy muscles at all. Think of it like a way to check on another’s darker impulses. Thy darkest impulse was nary a trifle compared to the others, and thy soul the most virtuous. Therefore, thy reward is a new life, in a new world, with a certain… boon.” He then brought us to a dragon that seemed to be nothing but bones. “This poor creature is one of the few foolish enough to assault my arena. He hath been duly punished, and now I release his soul unto you.” He then drew his weird weapon and plunged it straight into the dragon's skull! Odd beams of magic passing into my body, not changing anything, but a certain warmth now existing in my chest.

“...I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW!” I shouted in bewilderment, beginning to freak out a bit.

He deadpanned at me. “You got drunk, and the alcohol-induced idiocy around thee brought thy death. I am giving you, the least offensive patron I have had the pleasure of meeting that night, a second chance at life.” He then thought a moment. “Although… I do suppose I should send thee a mentor as well…”

“Firstly, I know that part besides the death bit. Secondly, what world is this that has dragons? Finally, what the fuck was that? Even drunk people would question what they saw just now!”

He shrugged. “You are in my pocket dimension, consisting of an arena and about five hundred miles of surrounding wildlands, and you are now what I think some would call dragonborn. You're also displaced, which means you're able to traverse the multiverse.”

I blinked. Note to self then: If this turns out to be shit, avoid bars for the rest of your next life, and never take a free drink. Even if it’s a guy who’s giving drinks for the bar, and putting it on his house.

He then gestured to my right as another portal opened up, an armored individual in red and black metal plate with a hood showed up. He had a dagger and a sword made of the same strange material. He looked to me, then to the huntsman. “So… who is this guy? I assume he is the one that you want me to mentor and shit, but... what is he? Please don’t be a freaking man-spider thing. I hate spiders.”

Well, this is going to be one helluva second life, if I’m going to be trained to fight before I step outside. “Well if I recall what I've gathered correctly,” I started off, getting his attention. “I’m a dude who’s supposed to gain power from killing dragons, but that’s all I know of whatever I just became!”

He just shrugged. “Hey, ain’t my fault. From what I just heard, you are lucky. You are just one thing, and it doesn’t sound like you will wind up suffering from it, unless the leader of your dimension’s Equestria is a bitch like mine...” He then looked to the guy that brought me here. “So, I assume that this is what I have to do to get the Graug, yeah?”

He nodded. “Yes, I can allow no less than you fighting something, or teaching another displaced the ways of battle, to be capable of granting thee a beast.”

The weird guy in red nodded “Okay… Welp, I’ll go with him to his Equestria then.”

“I'm going to guess this place has a fandom back on Earth, considering how good that name is for a fantasy novel or something?"

Same guy shrugged. “I have no idea, was not a thing back on my world. Now… let’s see… you’re Dovahkiin, so… sword, dagger, and crossbow?”

Probably another name for this dragonborn thing I got shoved into. “Well I need something to defend myself with so… anything works? As long as it’s not a bad weapon.”

He nods thoughtfully before taking a stance as a red mist rose from his hands, solidifying into a large crossbow, a sword, and ten throwing knives. “Ok, you have a long distance weapon, a melee one, and something for stealthy situations. Mind if I take a bit of your blood? I should probably bind these weapons to ya.”

Bound weapons? ...Doesn’t sound like a good idea. “Nah. If there’s better weapons around, the things you give me will just become a burden. Bound weapons should be for extremely powerful or versatile pieces of gear.”

He sighed in exasperation. “I am giving you potent weapons here, kiddo. These things can cut through steel like butter fresh from a microwave, plus, the throwing knives return to you, the crossbow has limitless ammo reserves, and if I bind them to you, not only will only you even be able carry it, but you can also hold it all in a wristband I was going to make ya.”

Well shit… there’s a reason to bind them now. Guess whatever that’s going to be happening won’t be too bad. Just gotta improve my combat skills. “I guess I’ll go with this whole binding thing then, seeing as they’re already pretty powerful now.” He nodded, and took out a small red needle, before jamming it into my hand, causing me to yell in pain. “JESUS CHRIST DUDE, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!”

He deadpanned. “Would you rather I went slow with the needle? I need some blood to bind the Nanites that make these weapons to you.” He then squeezed my hand over the weapons, squirting my blood all over them before they became a dull grey with hints of gold. “There, as you get tougher, so will the weapons. Think of it as me setting some limits on you. Wouldn’t want to give nuke codes to a teenager, you know?”

I liked this guy at first, but now he’s a complete ass. Who just promises great power, jams needles instead of nicking a little bit, and then goes back on it?! I sighed in frustration. At least I can get that power by just getting myself stronger. This whole dragonborn thing has something to do with dragons after all doesn’t it? Dragons are powerful, so maybe kill a few like the fiery dude did.

He then shuddered and made the bracelet, the weapons disappearing as he let the mist they became go into the armband, which had 3 buttons on it. He then handed it to me and smiled “I will make sure you get tougher, just making sure you don’t wind up hurting yourself by trying something you can’t handle. Trust me, nothing is more embarrassing than someone asking about a scar, and it’s from you being dumb with a dagger.”

“Well I’d like to train but…” I then looked at the bindings, as if to make a point.

The guy in fiery armor nodded and my restraints vanished, right as we wound up in a clearing, it being just me and the guy in red, who seemed to be looking around before he found a large tree. “Okay, let’s practice on this tree.”

Ten out of ten, best life ever, I sarcastically thought as I pointed the sword with both hands, ready to hit a tree over and over. “I’m ready.”

He nodded and made the red mist again, this time turning the tree into what looked like several mannequins made of wood. “Train with these, I want to see your form, try focusing on how you keep your attacks from being telegraphed, also, Jesus Christ, that’s a short sword, one hand only for that.”

“Oh,” I held the sword with just my right hand. “Got it.”

He nodded and sat on a nearby rock. “Go on, don’t wait for someone to attack first, when it seems that a fight is the only answer, damn well answer first. ‘Cause the first one to land a hit often wins.”

I lunged forth with the sword, aiming for the stomach, and successfully landing the hit in the center. I then pulled out the sword, spinning in a 360 and slicing the mannequin in half. The upper half of the wooden construct fell to the floor.

The guy in red nodded slowly. “Good form, for a start. Although, you should try to keep your foundation sturdy, prevent being legswept. Lastly, don’t be afraid to fight dirty, or cruel. One thing I have learned, mercy is NOT something your foe will practice.” He then smiled. “I also recommend you aim for either the point where you can render the enemy harmless, or the enemy’s vitals. If they survive to face you again, then you have made a particularly determined enemy.”

Or they are a warrior’s spirit, but I digress.

He then gestured to the other wooden dummies. “A tip, those daggers I gave you? They can animate lesser structures, so suits of armor, corpses, that kind of thing? Go crazy.” He then made a dagger identical to the ones he gave me and made one of the wooden dummies come to life! It looked kind of pissed off. “Yep, he killed your brother, you gonna take that, toothpick?”

“Now hold on now,” I said slowly, getting ready to dodge. “You do know that you’re a mannequin right? If mannequins can’t have babies, how can you have a brother?”

The mannequin bum rushed me, its stump-like fist ready to beat me senseless. I stepped to the side, raising my sword arm to cut the stump off. The sound of wood being chopped was known as the blade hit. Not wasting any time, I pulled my sword arm up and cut the head off. I stood there for a moment, thinking that I had won, when I suddenly realized that it’s just a mannequin, and that it didn’t need a brain to fight.

The guy in red then stepped in. “That’s good for now. I’ll handle humpty stumpty.” He then drew his sword, a much brighter looking sword of a bright red. He swung it at the wooden dummy, an ark of red mist sailing at it before the dummy was consumed by the red mist, which then flew into his blade. “There we go, now, how about we go to town? I could use some food, even if it’s in their company.”

“Is there a group of obnoxious people that I should watch out for in this Equestria I’m going to? Because it sounds like it.” I asked wondering what had him a little peeved. “Regardless, I could use a bite to eat. Especially given all the shit that went down.” And also to learn who to stick around with.

He sighed. “By them, I mean the ponies, or whatever this world calls them, bunch of xenophobic jerks in my world, hope you have better luck.”

Well, everybody's a little bit racist sometimes. Maybe he just struck a chord with the wrong people? Either way, I hope he’s right too.

As we walked towards the town in the distance, I heard a sigh come from the guy in front of me. “My name is Simon, by the way, and...don’t freak out at the ponies, they are… anthropomorphic.”

I shrugged. “Jaxson, and I already accepted this whole second life thing, so I’m pretty ready for what’s to come. It’s not like the average filly has C-cup breasts now will it?”

He shook his head. “No, but…” He blushed. “Once they mature, the breasts mature quite well, from what I can see.” He handed me a visor that he made from the red mist. “This’ll let you see one of their… smaller endowed girls, currently napping on a cloud overhead.”

I looked at the rainbow tail peeking from the cloud. Well it can’t be- wait. Would they still maintain that animalistic trait of being naked all the time? I hadn’t thought of that. Hesitantly, I put on the visor, allowing me to get a closer look at the prismatic girl. Sure enough, she laid on the cloud, bare as she took in the sun. From what I could tell from where I was standing, she had a well toned body, D-cup breasts with a pink areola and nipple. She had a blue pair of wings on her back, along with a beautiful looking pair of otherworldly pink eyes.

As soon as I finished taking in her form, I flung the visor back at him. “Nudist colony… well I have to say I didn’t expect that.”

He was oddly silent. “Ok, stored those in my memory. Good for now. Care to go into town?” Just then, I felt a chill run down my spine as the a rainbow blur rammed into Simon, leaving a note before flying off towards what looked like a house made of clouds. He opened the letter and read it aloud, “Don’t leave town, I’m going to beat you senseless once I’m dressed!” He then looked to me. “Not a nudist colony.”

Note to self: Don’t watch the skies unless you actually hear something bad up there. “So given her speed… should we hide?” I asked as we went.

He then kept on walking with me as he whistled, not a care in the world. “Nah, you probably should, I can handle her. Want me to ask her out for ya? I saw the blush on yer cheeks.”

“I think I’ll just hide thank you.” I said, moving to run into the town in search of a place to hide, before Simon grabbed me and dragged me into a hollow tree, full of toy balls for some reason.

“Lucky that she kept them full of the same stuff. One sec.” I watched as he absorbed the balls and flung me into the hollow tree, shutting me inside with the visor, now with headphones.

I can’t help but feel as if this is some kind of trap instead… I nervously thought to myself. I looked at the things he left me with, seeing if there was anything I could do with them, only to see the visor and the headphones turn on. Maybe I should just put them on anyways? I put the headphones on with my right hand, picking up the visor with my left as I did so.

I was suddenly seeing everything from Simon’s eyes, him walking into town square idly before he sat in a chair, pulling out his own weapons and sharpening his sword with a knife. He then looked up and I saw a rainbow blur heading straight for us. He smiled and waved. “Heya, skittles. Mind slowing down? Don’t want to wind up crashing now do we?

The rainbow-maned mare grunted and kicked him in the head as she landed, only for it to come clean off! As she began to freak out, his body walked over to his head, from which I was watching, and picked it up, twisting it back into place. “Really should look before you leap.”

One embarrassingly one-sided fight later

After a few minutes of waiting, Simon came back for me with a bag of food and a drink in his hands, opening up a large enough hole in the tree so that I could get out. I walked out of the tree, with a newfound grudging respect for Simon as I took the food and drink from him. “You know, despite the shit you put me through, I can see that I have a lot more to learn, if I plan on being strong enough to live here. Thanks for taking the fire for me on that one.”

He shrugged. “Meh, I’ve already gotten the Equestrian people as enemies back home, so I might as well get them to hate me here too.”

The rainbow-maned one then touched down near us and frowned. “Why’d you hold back? I was-” She stopped, suddenly noticing me. I instantly froze up, my mind racing to make sure I don’t make any hints that I was the one who peeked at her.

He chuckled. “I hate bullies, and it was pretty obvious that I could beat the tar out of you. Besides, you weren’t out to kill me, and most of my moves are lethal.” He then sighed as he saw a wound on her shoulder “C’mon, I’ll fix those wounds. Gotta make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

She looked to us in confusion. “Why are you being so nice?”

He grinned. “Well, I feel that I embarrassed the great Rainbow Dash enough, so I shouldn’t let her wounds get worse.” He then nudged me. “Besides, his little crush on you would make it weird for me to train him if I let you get hurt.”

I suddenly snapped out of my fear-filled stupor, sending a spiteful glare at him. That's not cool dude. Not my fault the moment I saw her she was naked.

He then chuckled. “Oh, do you prefer to be the roses on her doorstep kinda guy? Sorry, she lives in a cloud house.” He then nudged me and whispered so that only I could hear. “She has a serious ego, trying to butter her up.”

“I really don’t think saying I have a crush on her is the right way to go,” I muttered at the same volume.

Rainbow dash seemed to be frozen on the spot, a huge blush on her face. “Uh… You sure you aren’t thinking of my friends, are you? I mean, I am not exactly… hot stuff.” She then looked to me and mumbled out. “I don’t even know you… Geez...”

I looked back to Rainbow Dash, getting my composure back together having forgotten that I saw her naked. “You’ll have to excuse my friend here, total troll the guy is. That being said, you’re not half bad. In fact, I kind of prefer that size.” I suddenly realized the grave I was digging. “I mean… I really don’t care for the big ones. Ones of those size seem perfectly proportionate to the body y’know?” I said my half truth, half lie.

Rainbow looked blankly to me, before grabbing me, and giving me a smooch before flying off. Only one thing ran through my mind after this happened.

Oh fuck I may have started a relationship. I turned to look at him. “You know, I will find a way to get back at you for this right?”

He chuckles. “Good luck, I’m gay.”

“Doesn’t necessarily mean I was going to hook you up with a girl,” I shot back.

He smiled, before handing me an elven hammer. “If you ever require my aid, or any training, hit this hammer upon stone twice.” A fiery portal then opened up behind him. “I wish you good luck in Equestria. Remember to stop by the castle in town, as it has a library where you can learn of the beasts within the realm, and remember to keep your eyes and ears open about this place. If you’re going to ask if there are others, I can’t really think of a few other than that.”

I nodded. “Will do. I’ll see you next time, Simon.” I watched as he went into the portal, presumably back to the fiery dude.

“...Never caught the fiery guy’s name now that I think about it.”

Just before the portal fully closed, it reopened as Simon walked back through. “Oh, and the Huntsman wishes that you use this key upon any door, in case you wish for a good fight in his arena.” He then threw the key at me, and I caught it with my right hand as he walked back into the portal, it fully closing this time.

“Huntsman. Got it.” I also got the fact that I'll never drink another beer again. Alcohol is most definitely lethal.

Author's Note

Always wanted to make a dragonborn displaced that wasn't horribly OP, and thanks to Krahtorra now I actually can without making it seem bland!

...I say that, and I'm using the mane 6. Well, don't worry about Rainbow Dash everyone. I intend on making them just friends, and not having a shipping, though that is subject to change.

Editor:Vutava

Chapter 2:A Taste of Apocrypha

After downing the food Simon left for me, I figured out how to summon my weapons. For the sword I would press the button on the left of the wristband, the daggers on the right button, and the crossbow the middle button, all of which allowed for quick and easy access of the weapons. I then walked into town, moving to the castle as fast as I could without drawing suspicion. Ponies bustled around me, seemingly not noticing the different ears I have. I chalked it up to being too minor a detail, and relaxed a little, knowing that the difference isn't too notable in case the world was xenophobic.

Eventually, I came upon the castle doors, completely unguarded for anybody to simply walk in. Remembering my mannerisms, I knocked on the door, anxiously looking around in case somebody looked at my ears. The door opened, and I quickly spun my gaze over to the door, seeing nobody in front of me.

"Hello?" I said, moving to peek inside. I heard movement below me, and I looked down to see a small purple dragon, with fear in his eyes.

I quickly moved to assure the small little dude as I moved inside, closing the door as I did so. "Hey, there's no need to be alarmed. I'm not an alien out to suck out anybody's brain ok?"

"And why should I believe you?!" the dragon accused me, pointing at me while shaking.

"Because I have no need to be dissected, or hunted down for being a alien. You ever heard of what scientists do to captured aliens?" I deadpanned at him. "Now, can I take a look at the library? All I'm here for is knowledge about this place, and a hoodie or a beanie to cover my ears so I can live peacefully among the ponies."

The dragon noticeably relaxed, but was still watching me closely. "It's on the 5th floor, on the right." The dragon gestured towards a set of stairs. "So... you mind me telling Twilight? I'm sure she could provide a room for you."

I breathed a sigh of relief, happy the dragon didn't call for alarm, but still tense nonetheless. "Thanks, but no thanks. I overheard Twilight's hunger for knowledge on the way here. If she found out my secret, either she'll dissect me herself, or send me off to those fine with it to do so."

The dragon chuckled. "Yeah, Twilight is a bit of a nerd. Trust me though, if she found out she wouldn't go ahead and dissect you. At the most you'll just spend the rest of the day being questioned, and I really like the idea of an alien living with me so I’ll be able to convince her not to!"

I hesitantly looked at the dragon, contemplating his offer, before sighing. "If I die because of this, I will haunt you until you die."

He smirked. "Won't happen. I'm going to go back to making food for the other five in the castle, and I'll make sure to include you in it when lunch is ready." He walked back to where I presumed was the kitchen door, before looking over. "Do you eat meat by chance?"

"Both meat and vegetables actually," I quickly replied. "I can eat practically everything except base materials like wheat, as long as it's not poisonous or uncooked." He nodded, and we both went our separate ways. I got inside the library, quickly looking for anything related to Equestria's history.

"Let's see... Tale of the Two Sisters... Discord's Reign... The Tyranny of King Sombra... there!" I pulled out the book that caught my eye. "A Brief History of Equestria," I read, satisfied at the quick find, before I suddenly heard noises from outside the room.

"I'm telling you Twilight, there's a new pony in town, and I can't seem to find them!"

Oh shit, they're talking about me! I thought, quickly looking around for a hiding place, already having decided to let the dragon reveal me to Twilight. I spotted a curtain all the way at the top of the bookcase. That'll do. I quickly climbed the bookcase, using a ladder that I found on the way to get to the top faster.

"Pinkie, are you absolutely sure that it wasn't a random coincidence?" I heard Twilight said, as I got up halfway up the bookshelf. "You not finding something when your Pinkie sense went off, sounds just as impossible as the sense itself! I've already accepted that it works, but I'm not accepting that it can't not work Pinkie. That already boggles my mind enough as it is."

Just as Twilight finished, I made it up the bookshelf and shimmied into the curtain, not leaving any noticeable bulge in it. "I know! Which is why I'm asking you to-" Pinkie suddenly stopped talking.

"Pinkie?" The last thing I heard before a flurry of movement, and the sound of doors being slammed open made itself known.

"AHA!" I heard Pinkie shout, and for a few seconds there was silence. "Oh come on!" I heard Pinkie cry out in frustration. I had to suppress a giggle to prevent myself from being exposed, and losing my balance. "First my super secret ball stash, and now the castle's library? How is he so good at hiding from my Pinkie sense?! There's literally no place to hide here, and the stash!"

That's where you're wrong, Ms Smallfinger. I'm so sneaky, I bet I can hide from you in plain sight! OH WAIT.

"...Great! Just great! Now I can be officially stated as an insane princess. You've truly baffled me to that point," Twilight conceded, utterly stressed by this discovery. "I'm going downstairs to check on Spike. You should go help him with the food."

I waited a couple minutes after the door closed to peek out, seeing nobody in sight. I laughed to myself. "Sorry Ms Smallfinger, appears your version of spidey sense is worse than the original!" I taunted, even though I knew nobody was there. I then climbed back down the bookcase, and moved a chair over to a table. I then sat down, opening the book and-

A pink face with the ears I've seen from everybody else was inside the book. "Are you sure about that?"

"FUCKING SHIT TITTIES!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, falling backwards as I did so, Pinkie laughing all the while.

"I KNEW there was somepony in here!" Pinkie said as she came out of the book. "You evaded me for too long!"

I was left completely speechless, just staring at her. A pair of FF cup breasts. She, and her pair of FF cup breasts came out of that goddamn book... I couldn't help it. The moment she fully came out, I passed out from the overwhelming anxiety attack.

Pinkie looked down on my prone form. "Uhhh, whoopsies?"

Three hours later

I eventually came to, silently wishing this was a fever dream as I woke up. Much to my displeasure, it wasn't the case as I found myself relaxing on a couch as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and four other girls that I didn't know of talked among each other. The white one was a unicorn with F-cups, the yellow one was a pegasus with GG-cups, the orange a normal one with DD-cups, and the purple one was an alicorn with EE-cups. The dragon kid from earlier was at my side, a plate of buttered toast in his hand. Being the only one noticing that I'm awake, the dragon gave a toothy grin.

"Ah, you're awake! Good timing too, the toast just got made," he said, offering the plate to me.

"Thank you little dude. What's your name by the way?" I asked as I took the plate from him.

"My name's Spike, brother and number 1 assistant to Twilight! From what I heard from the girls, you got a crush on Rainbow?"

I grimaced. "While I like her looks, it was my friend Simon that gave off that impression to her. Dude kept implying I had a crush on her the entire time after I-" I stopped, realizing what I was about to say. Luckily, the girls were too absorbed in their conversation to have noticed me.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "After you what?"

"Let's just say I looked up at the clouds at the wrong time..." I let that sink in for Spike, as he slowly came to a realization.

"Oh." Spike said, a little disgust creeping into his voice.

"Now it's not what you-"

"No, I perfectly understand a mere coincidence, happened plenty of times between Twilight and I," he cleared up my concern. "What I'm more disgusted about, is how your friend just hooked you up with her like that. What if you had a special somepony back home?" He blinked. "Actually, do you guys have somepony in your language too?"

"It's somebody or someone for my kind," I said before taking a bite out of my toast

Spike hummed in thought. "Somebody sounds a little less racist compared to somepony. I like it!"

Their version of somebody is somepony? ...Well now I can see where the xenophobic part comes rolling in. "Well I suppose I should break the ice, since I don't find myself at some laboratory."

Spike snickered. "Is the whole dissection gig well known where you come from?"

"You don't wanna know what we've conjured on both ends." I said, before getting up from the couch and clearing my throat, catching the attention of the six. "So, I assume that since I'm not bound, everything is ok between us?"

The purple one blinked. "Uhhh, yes? Honestly, I was just going to ask you a few general questions on your kind's technological and magical developments. You weren't thinking anything fishy was going on here weren't you?"

I shrugged. "Blame alien movies that I’ve watched. So start off with Ms..." I trailed off, waiting for her input.

"Twilight Sparkle," she said.

"Twilight Sparkle, our kind has developed the ability to go to the moon, talk to one another across the world within seconds, and blow up entire cities with just one of our most powerful bombs without any form of magic."

Twilight Sparkle looked up from her clipboard, blinking a bit at me. "Wait, without magic? Is there a lack of magic at your world?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but as far as I know we don't have any dimensional technology, or the ability to travel to other stars fast enough to not die of old age."

"Woawoawoawoah, hold on a minute." Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up. "You're saying you didn't come from space?"

I released a grunt of annoyance. "Got drunk at a bar and died. The bartender, who turned out to be a traveling cosmic entity, decided to have me start a new life here after being taught how to fight. I didn't know anything about this place, or it's history, so I figured looking into a few books would give me insight about the world. That's when defy-absolutely-any-sense-of-logic over there," I pointed at Pinkie, who was smiling sheepishly. "Decided to hide in a book after failing to find me, and I'm pretty sure we all know the rest. For me after this? Just moving as fast as possible to get set up here, and given what Simon has left me with, I figured after learning I'd take up mercenary work, and try to find out the boon the bartender left me."

Rainbow, seemingly satisfied with my answer, motioned for Twilight to continue.

"How many of your kind do you have in your world?" Twilight asked.

"7 billion, along with a 100 or so million." I said, causing Twilight's eyes to widen in surprise. "Because of this, we're hoping to colonize the planets in our solar system, if not outright leave it for some of the more habitable ones. Planet isn't huge enough to contain the next incoming population boom, so I'm sure you can guess how seven billion people effects the global economy and ecosystem."

Twilight nodded, quickly writing it down with the rest. "That's... a lot of stuff for us to process. Is your world prone to war?"

"Unless we're low on resources, and the other nations aren't willing to trade them to us, we'll go to war. Though in the case of a few leaders, we humans have had some really... unfavorable ones we brought upon ourselves." I crossed my arms. "Is there anything else that needs to be taken note of?"

"Just your name and age for now. Afterwards just wait around here for a bit. I'll see about getting Celestia to send you armor and weapons."

"Actually," I pressed the left button, sword appearing in my hand, causing the group to tense a bit. "That weapons bit won't be necessary. Just some armor would be fine." I then pressed the button again, the sword disappearing. "I'd also like it if the public didn't know I'm an alien. It'd allow me to fit better with the local populace."

Twilight looked on with curiosity, inspecting the band before quickly writing on the clipboard. "Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia describing what transpired please."

"Already done Twi." Spike said, as he threw a quill over to me. He then breathed green fire onto the paper, disintegrating it.

"Was that just the magical version of phones, or..."

Thankfully, Spike cleared up the confusion for me. "My dragon breath allows me to send stuff like that straight to whoever Twilight sends it to. Most of the time it's Celestia though."

The white one spoke up. "If I may ask, why go for mercenary work instead of just taking a job?"

I hummed in thought, before giving my answer. "Well, according to the bartender, I now have a whole multiverse to explore when I got placed here. If I can find some form of agelessness, I can go on an adventure that nobody else can have the entirety of. Or maybe be the first human to go insane from living too long, but who knows? Maybe it'll turn out ok. Mercenary work allows me to explore, as well as hone my skills." I then finished up the toast. "Would any of you happen to have spare room for a guest by chance? I need a place to stay so I can learn the world's herbs, as well as learn herbal skills for the nomad life I intend on taking. I don't plan on freeloading either, so at least have something for me to do."

The girls went back to speaking with each other for a few moments, being quiet enough to not let me hear. After a minute or so, they turned to face me, Twilight speaking first. "Most of us are up for taking you in for a bit, so we'll each offer you a place to stay, along with what you're doing there." She motioned for the orange one to talk first.

"Well, you seem like a nice guy, and that weird looking band of yours certainly seems like it has powerful weapons on it. Mind starting your mercenary work a bit early over at Sweet Apple Acres? We need some protection from the timberwolves, and lately the guard haven't been making the cut. Especially since Apple Bloom and her friends are still slipping through their patrols, and go off doing who knows what in the Everfree."

Assuming these timberwolves don't come in packs of thousands, this should be easy. Just make sure nobody gets in or out of the border between the Acres and the forest, and keep a group of kids from entering.

The white one then spoke. "Normally I'd be asking if you would spend your free time over at the Boutique, but... you're not THAT different from us. Me and Sweetie Belle already keep the place tidy, so there's not much need for a cleaner either. I'm terribly sorry dearie, but there's nothing to do around there."

Well, at least she's honest about it, and not a two-faced twat...

The yellow one looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't. Wouldn't want to try and live around with GG cups over there anyways. Seriously, how much milk does the average baby in Equestria need to grow?!

Then Pinkie Pie spoke "Himyname'sPinkiePieand-" I quickly put up a hand to interrupt her.

"English please. Also, I already know your name."

She nodded. "I think Mr and Mrs Cake would like some help over at Sugarcube Corner, especially with the Twins. When I'm out with my friends, they're usually left alone, and that's not fun!"

That's probably a baking place. Useful to get cooking skills, but the big downside is babysitting, and I do NOT like cleaning up baby shit. I had enough of that back home. I then blinked a bit, suddenly realizing something. Wait, why am I acting as if I could only pick one thing to do? The others can still come in handy later on.

"As for me," Twilight began to speak. "I need to question you a lot on your kind, and a quick one here, what would you call yours?"

"Humanity," I stated without a second of delay.

"Right, I'm going to need to learn as much as I can about humanity from you. Since Equus is most likely going to benefit from the revelations of what can be done without magic greatly, it needs to be done in order to push the waning interest in regular technology. So you can take up residence with me to speed up the process, and organize the library with Spike if we get done before you start taking mercenary work."

I looked towards Spike to see how he felt about it, and saw him waving his arms frantically as if to tell me not to take it. Wouldn't blame him, the library is pretty huge... and who knows what kind of organization she'll put me through. For all I know, it's alphabetical order by author. Gods only know what kind of weird form of organization that looks like. Then there's the fact of this castle not having enough room. It honestly looks more like a small keep than anything else, if not a poorly constructed one. At best I see a dozen or so rooms, so it'd probably become cramped quickly considering all things. I looked towards Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "You two not going to say anything?"

Rainbow Dash stammered for a few seconds, before composing herself. "W-well I do happen to have a ground house. It's in pretty bad shape since I hadn't cleaned up the mess from Pinkie's party, which was a month ago, but you can take up residence there! There's just not much to do there beyond some house work, so I wasn't going to offer..." I looked to Fluttershy, patiently waiting for her input for a nice 20 seconds, before Rainbow Dash spoke up again. "And Fluttershy has a LOT of animals at her place, which she takes care of. I'm serious, there's a bear that stops by there almost every week."

That made me widen my eyes, as Fluttershy stammered in response to what Rainbow Dash said. "A bear? Either they must not be nearing extinction, or you raised it. Impressive either way."

That piqued Twilight's interest. "Are there a lot of animals and bugs nearing extinction because of humanity?"

I nodded. "Partially, but we try our best to keep them around. I'd go into detail, but there are thousands of species that even I don't know of. It'd probably be best to tell you about them when there happens to be a Earth like it we can go to, or when there's more time."

Twilight nodded, writing it down on the notepad. "While we hardly even started, taking a break from it now is fine considering everything you went through. I've already estimated that your stay in Ponyville will be 8 months at best, more than enough time to learn everything possible."

I blinked a bit. 8 months? Did this girl actually calculate how long I'll be staying here? Either there's already data for this sort of thing, or she's just spouting shit. Then again, there's the question of why such data was taken... ah fuck it, just roll with it. "Ok then... so Spike, when will the-"

Spike then suddenly belched, smoke coming out of his mouth. The smoke moved about for a bit before suddenly materializing into gold armor that landed on the floor, a letter slowly floating down next to the pile. I stared at the pile of armor for a few moments. Yeah, I think I was wrong when I said I'm ready for the second life.

"Well," I said as I picked up the armor, putting on the helmet as I moved back to the stairs. "I guess I'll just be moving this up to the library. You girls check out the note."

Thus, I began reading up on Equestria's history.

Author's Note

Firstly:Nobody escapes the pie.
Secondly:As it's Ponyville, you will immediately be introduced to the cliche.
Finally:You will never escape the pie, because only the pie escapes you.

Jokes aside, I couldn't think of any way not to avoid having him meet all the main 6, and the jumpscare was the main problem as I couldn't help but not add it in. Not only did it seem very Pinkie to me, but I myself was having trouble getting the smile off my face.

Editor:Vutava

Chapter 3:Return to Your Roots

A month had passed since then, as I got adjusted to my new life in the multiverse. Since then, I spent most of the time training whenever I can, and learning up on herbal skills as well as recipes I can use for my traveling. I eventually managed to let Rainbow Dash down as soft as I could, as I told her I found her as good as she is, because her breast size the largest women could be back at Earth. We then proceeded to hit it off as friends, and despite what Twilight initially thought, was very curious as to what humans were like, and what they’ve made ever since I told her about jets that can easily surpass her speed.

She took her newfound knowledge about what humanity has done, and used it as a reason to push herself even further.

“47! 48! 49! 50!”

*THUD*

Which for me, turned out to be a bad thing, as she pushed me just as hard. I turned away from the weights breathing heavily, facing Rainbow Dash who was still going with her dumbbells . “Rainbow… I know what I said when I wanted strength training, but it seriously feels like you’re trying to kill me.”

She huffed. “Come on Jax! If you’re going off to explore while I’m stuck here in my universe, then I’m sure as hell not going to let you get squished by some monster twice your size!”

“True… but what are the chances of that happening?”

“Infinitely huge is what!” she said as she finished up her reps.

I think I made her too much of a smart ass… but she still stands as my only way of getting stronger so I can hit harder.

“You'd be surprised how many... unspeakable situations it can get you into without it."

We both turned to look at Simon, who had walked in on us during the workout. “Hey Simon. Everything going ok in your universe?”

He grunted. “Still haven’t gotten back, apparently I have an unlimited amount of time, thanks to the huntsman, the key he gave me makes it so that as long as there is nothing interfering with its power, no time passes for my home universe while I’m gone, been doing some travelling, learning and shit. I want to be a good leader when I return.” He then looked to Rainbow Dash.

“So I assume things are okay here between you and the ponies? They aren’t being racist xenophobes, are they?”

“Nah, they’ve been treating me pretty much the same. They kind of see me as one of those elves back on Earth’s fiction.”

Simon nodded slowly. “Good, hate to have to make some more enemies.” He then looked to Rainbow Dash, who looked a little miffed. “Hey, no hard feelings, just being cautious. The ponies back home treat the orcs and trolls I rule like dirt. I literally had to save an orc child from being beaten to death with her own doll by a pony noble.”

Rainbow Dash blanched. “Yeesh… I know what you meant by the multiverse having everything, but to hear that is a bit disgusting…”

“Probably the tip of the iceberg,” I replied half-heartedly. “Anyways, you think I’d be ready for the Huntsman’s arena? It’s been a month now.”

Simons eyes became red as he looked me over, literally scanning me. “Hmmm… you should be able to handle the first challenge if you are careful, but don’t get carried away, each challenge is tougher than the last, and I think you should let me give you a blunt weapon first, been driving me nuts for a month.” He then materialized three weapons, a mace, a single-handed hammer, and a cudgel. “Tell me which you would like, I’ll make whatever one you want look nice.”

I thought about it for a bit, before shrugging. “Mace sounds good. Cool sounding, does a lot of damage, and is probably the middle ground of the three.”

Rainbow turned to look at me. “Since when was combat supposed to be fabulous?” she said, clearly intending to lead me into a joke we knew all too well. I grinned, taking in a breath of air.

“But DAHLIN, everything is supposed to be FABULOUS!”

Rainbow and I laughed gleefully, as Simon smacked himself in the face while he grinned. “No… Never say that in front of me again… my sides hurt now…”

I widened my eyes. “Oh? That’s your weakness? I have to say, it’s a bit humerus that the mighty Simon’s drawback are words.”

Simon deadpanned “So, should I make jokes about how your father likely bedded a she-dragon? Because most people with your boon need dragon blood in their veins.”

I stared at him, gobsmacked as Rainbow’s laughter increased, causing her to roll on the floor, he then replied, “Oh, and hon? I can tell that you nixed that thing with Dashie, I don’t know why, but let me just give you a heads up, there’s no way home. I was trying to give you someone who would give two shits about you emotionally. Seems it worked either way, but still.”

Well it’s a somewhat good thing I plan on exploring instead of staying here… still it was a nice thought of him, I’ll give him that.

Simon smiled and grabbed his hammer before slamming it on empty air as the shape of an odd mace formed, there being four protrusions from the handle shaped like the outline of the front of a skull when looking from the side. He then turned it into a red mist, sending it into my wristband as the buttons developed a fourth among their number, this one below the other three, and rectangular, instead of round. Simon grinned. “That mace lets you smash apart enchantments that aren’t displaced or void being in origin. Like the sword, it’ll only be able to break enchantments that are of your capability.”

“So the stronger I get, the higher level enchantment I can break?”

He nodded. “Oh, and before you ask, armor’s off limits, I’ve pushed my limits with the SIVA stuff I’ve given you already. I’d be risking getting you infected with SIVA if I did any more, and who knows what the hell that’d do with me not around. And don’t worry, I already bound the mace to ya, had some blood leftover.”

Thank whatever god of luck is out there for that. Not only did I want to have my own looks, but I don't think taking more needle jabs is the way to go with getting stronger. I was about to open my mouth, before Rainbow suddenly cut in.

“The way he summons these is with his own blood?” Rainbow said in concern. “Wouldn’t that cause some bad things to happen in the long run?”

Simon chuckled. “No, it’s not made of his blood, it is more like I used the blood from him to make it so they will only work for him now. If anyone else grabs his weapons, they’ll lash out at them. The sword will literally melt over the hand, and start eating it down to the shoulder. The daggers? They’ll explode with the force of dynamite. And the crossbow will fire its bolts at the thief. This mace will become a snake and bite the thief, before funnelling itself into them, and stopping their heart.”

I can just imagine all the traps I can do with that… wait, why am I thinking traps? Gotta stay away from that mindset Fred Jones has, very unhealthy.

Simon then looked to Dashie. “Also, mind if I ask you something?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Fire away.”

He looked to her dead in the eyes. “What does the name ‘Solaris’ mean to you?”

Rainbow blinked a bit, processing the question for a bit. “While it doesn’t bring up anything, I bet someone with that name would have to do something with Celestia. And having someone who told me what Celestia is like when she has time to goof around, probably would act similar to her.”

Simon chuckled. “Good, he has nothing to do with this world, then.” He looked to me and Dashie. “If you meet some guy named Solaris, claiming he is the god of the sun and holding a banner of a black and blue sun with a red background, get me, I don’t care what time it is, that guy is BAD news. He is from my dimension, my Celestia's father. I have been working for the Huntsman this whole time to get info about him and means to fight him. He drove Discord mad, and killed no less than five gods of my people.”

I stared at him for a bit, taking in everything he said. “While it makes me ponder my significance, I will keep it in mind as the last thing I want to do is to end my journey early. Or at all for that matter.”

“Not surprising considering stuff like that is happening in your universe.” Rainbow said, a little tense from the revelation. “I’ll make sure I’ll let Jax know whenever he comes by, so he can get you to fend him off.”

I then pulled out the key from my pocket. “So how did this thing work again? I just use it on a door, or chant some kind of magic words?”

Simon grinned. “Just use it on a door, Dashie can come with, if you want. Gods know the Huntsman would like the company.”

“And I’d definitely like to see what your skills are like.” Rainbow cut in. “After all, they go great with muscles!”

Simon chuckled “Oh, so you have been admiring his muscles, hmmm?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m his workout trainer. I have to keep an eye on his muscles.”

Simon shrugs. “Hey, whatever helps explain the flaring in your soul.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, while I just looked on in confusion. “Since when could you see souls?” I asked.

He grunted. “After my SIVA ate me whole, the wraith powers have been a lot less… restrained. I have been discovering new stuff about my nature as an undead nano swarm.”

“Huh… neat. Well while I don’t know what the flaring is,” Rainbow Dash fist pumped from out of sight, “I do wanna go test my skills. So let’s get this going.”

Simon chuckled and whispered something to Dashie before making a door form from his nanites. “Normally, this door wouldn’t do jack shit, but thanks to that key, I can take us straight to the Huntsman’s arena.” He then looked to Dashie “You wanna see your big strong eggy work up a sweat?”

“Oh, up yours!” Me and Rainbow responded in unison. I then proceeded to move over to the door, opening it.

“-and I was wondering if you could see what’s-” The new voice stopped, as the door opened fully. The Huntsman, and two displaced I’ve never seen before were looking at the three of us, the Huntsman in joy, and the two displaced in a curious stare. They wore gear similar to what Simon was made of. “Who’s the newcomer?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m Jaxson, though I'd prefer it if you can just call me Jax. I’ve come to test my skills so I can get prepared for the displaced multiverse, maybe get better armor while I’m at it.”

The Huntsman nodded to Dashie. “And is this thy lover at thy side? Her frame is pleasing to the eyes. Thou hast done well!”

I glared at the Huntsman. “You and Simon just love doing interdimensional coupling don’t you guys?”

The armored looking one whistled. “Someone is stuck with an idiot ball.”

“Coming from the idiot himself?” The surprisingly masculine voice coming out of the one with a dress.

The Huntsman paused, a frown visible from under his helm. “I just commented on the fact that thou both came in soaked in sweat, was I incorrect? I apologize for my incorrect assessment. Didst thou just simply spar?”

“No, she’s just my workout trainer. She was helping me get physically ready for your arena, in case you didn’t notice the new improvements I’ve made.” I said while flexing.

The Huntsman smiled. “I honestly know little of mortal forms. But if thy strength hath increased, I will gladly let thee undertake thy first challenge! Now, tell me, what challenge wouldst thou desire?” He summoned a cage of three dragon looking creatures. One, built similar to a wolf, but with a long, barbed tail. The second was a strong looking creature built like a T-rex, but with huge arms and chitinous plating. The third and last one was a draconic humanoid, this one was not in a cage, but sitting at what looked like a table, eating a hearty meal.

The Huntsman smiled. “I have brought to thee three worthy foes! A Dracovian Dreadhound, a Brachydios, and a Dracovian hunter!”

Dracovian? Maybe I’ll get my boon powered up if I kill that thing, though the rest are very similar to dragons…

The Huntsman smiled. “I have painstakingly sought out these beings so that thy boon may grow stronger! Do not worry, the Hunter faces the possibility of death gladly, for the chance of a good battle, be it against thee, or at thy side!”

Yep, best to get as many of them as I can. Though I don’t know what I’ll do afterwards with... whatever I'm supposed to get out of them. “I’ll start off with the Dreadhound, and I might go for the hunter afterwards. Can’t think of any feasible way to beat that tank over there,” I pointed at the Brachydios, which angrily punched the cage. “So I plan on skipping him.”

The Hunter smiled at me from his table. “I look forward to our duel, young kin soul. Know that even if you decide to not grant me mercy if I am bested, I will face my end with honor.”

That guy could probably teach me about my boon given what he just said… maybe it’ll be best if I don’t go off the rails and kill him. If that’s an option.

Simon led Dashie to the empty stands as the Huntsman smiled to me. “I am glad that I have so many visitors this day. Days like these numb the pain of mine isolation.”

The one in the dress turned to the Huntsman. “You know, I’ve always wondered… couldn’t you just make a little building that non-displaced can visit?”

He nodded. “There are four, it is only that I need to link to a displaced token to allow transit between the realms. And if the displaced in question dies, then those here are stranded…” He sighed. “I could not face a soul that I doomed to share my fate… It has been largely fear that has stayed my hand.”

“Ah…” The man in the dress said sadly. “I actually would’ve been fine if you got them stuck in there before the invasion happened. I shudder to think what mad warlock had abducted them for and why.”

The Huntsman nodded. “And if they were in my realm, you could rest assured I would have made their stay pleasant…” He sighed and sat next to Dashie before looking to her. “Tell me, young mortal, what would thy choice be? Should I let their realms connect to mine own?”

Rainbow hummed in thought. “Out of everything that could happen? I’d do it. After all, in case some world ending freak comes by that we can’t stop, I’d run to here too in order to save me and my friends. Better than being dead.”

He nodded slowly. “Alright, I will look for four such individuals who would like to connect their realms to mine own.” He then smiled “But first, let us see the fight!”

As the Huntsman talked, I looked around for the entrance to the battle, before the man in the dress nudged me. “You might wanna consider going down those stairs.” He said, pointing to a staircase down to the arena’s fighting area that appeared from a wall. I walked down the staircase, equipping my crossbow in preparation for the first strike.

After I reached the bottom step and walked through the door, I found that the beast, a Dracovian Dreadhound if I recall its name correctly, was just being released from its cage into the arena. It saw me and raised its lethal tail threateningly, ready to swat away anything I sent its way.

A defensive position… maybe if I recall the sword just as I get close enough, I can get a potshot in. I slowly inched forwards, keeping the crossbow at the ready in case the Dreadhound charged me.

The Dreadhound then charged me just like I had anticipated, its tail tensing in preparation for a strong swipe at my vitals, moving at great speed straight to my side, as if it were planning to roundhouse me with its tail. I instantly fired, dropping the crossbow once the shot was released, and switching to the mace, the crossbow turning into a mist that flew into my wristband right as my mace appeared.

The Dreadhound reached me at a speed that would impress a cheetah, taking the bolt to its shoulder in stride before slamming its tail into me, knocking me into the far wall. I then heard Simon call out to me. “Remember what I taught you! Fight dirty!”

I nodded, pretending to rush at the Dreadhound, switching to a sword as I did so. It rushed back at me, but instead of meeting its charge head-on, I turned just as it charged at me, instead opting to run up the wall at the last second.

The Dreadhound snarled as the Hunter looked on with a wry smile before calling out. “Interesting, I do hope we get to fight, your ingenuity has piqued my interest.”

I paid no attention to the Hunter, focusing entirely on the fight. As the Dreadhound tried to slow to a stop, I grabbed the tail, pulling on it to latch myself onto the Dreadhound, using my legs to keep a firm grip on its body. I then cut the tail off, causing the Dreadhound howled in pain, rolling onto its side in an attempt to get me off as it slashed at me with its claws and bit with its teeth. Flinching from the on-coming assault, I kicked the beast square in the stomach, putting distance between the two of us. I swapped back to the crossbow, acting as if I was readying another shot.

The beast got to its feet slowly, seeming to be dazed by blood loss, before shaking its head slightly and growling at me before it was surrounded in a vortex of freezing cold! It seemed to grow razor sharp claws of ice over its previous dull ones, and it almost seemed to develop a set of armor made of permafrost, its tail wound being frozen solid and the bloody stump morphing into a frosty mace.

You’ve gotta be shitting me! If that thing has the mobility of the previous tail… I shook the thought from my head, narrowing my eyes in focus as I instead swapped to a mace of my own.

The Dreadhound rushed me, a little slower, but now much heavier. The beast flicked its tail at me to throw ice javelins at me. I side-stepped them, waiting for it to get close enough for an uppercut with the mace.

As the beast neared, I saw it open its mouth and spit out freezing cold mist at me, in an attempt at blinding me as it came from my left and rammed me into a wall.

Seeing as baiting him in wouldn’t work anymore, I opted to shoot back, switching to the crossbow and firing at the Dreadhound whenever I could, the SIVA-infused bolts visibly burrowing into the ice with root like growths, stopping inches from the beast’s flesh. If one of those were in its shoulder… damn, these things are tough!

But at the rate things were going, I guessed the Dreadhound’s armor was giving way, and decided to swap to a mace to break the armor apart.

The Dreadhound, smart enough to realize this as well, but apparently incapable of removing the armor already on it to make more, instead made its mace so large that it barely stayed off the ground! If that thing hits me, I’ll be in a world of hurt!

It began swinging its tail around, building up speed so as to hit me when it got close enough, it slowly drawing closer. Noting that there was a small enough gap for me to slide under, I moved back as far as possible while switching to the sword, waiting as it spun around with enough speed to not be able to see its surroundings, before I sprinted forward, getting ready to slide just as I was nearing the beast’s tail.

As it took its fastest swing yet, I slid under and sliced the Dreadhound in half, the armor melting as the tail flung itself into the wall, causing a large crack to form. Battered and exhausted, I smirked in victory, staring at the tail as it melted.

Suddenly, the Huntsman waved his hand over the arena, teleporting me over to the stands as the Dreadhound’s soul was absorbed by me, healing my wounds in the process. “I hath healed thine injuries and restored thine energies, let thy succor be met with the company of thine comrades!”

I looked towards the Huntsman, looking at the audience as I did so. The man in the dress had his helmet off, looking a little annoyed, as he glared at Pinkie Pie, who was cheering loudly while eating popcorn and candy. The armored guy was playing with his phone, giggling to himself as he did so, while Rainbow Dash and Twilight were just applauding excitedly.

Simon was looking at me with pride, and The Huntsman looked like he had won the lottery. “Never hath my arena been so full! This is a most glorious day indeed! What boon doth ye desire, Sir Jax?”

“Armor.” I said without hesitation. “I need armor for my upcoming adventures.”

He nodded before looking me over “ I shan’t give thee more SIVA armor, lest you be endangered with consumption, I doubt thy soul and mind shall survive it like Simon’s did, as thou art without wraith power.”

“He’s not wrong,” the man in the dress said from where he was. “The only reason I’m able to wear this armor is both because of my light, and a AI controlling the SIVA within. Granted I could do it myself, but trust me when I say it’s taxing on the mind anyways.”

Simon nodded “I had to make a minor AI to contain Jax’s SIVA to its pre made forms and not try to eat him. The AI is well within its operating limits, but a full suit of armor would push it a bit further than I am comfortable trying on a friend. On Solaris, maybe, but someone I would not like dead? Not so much.”

“So Simon…” Twilight trailed off for a moment waving her hand to get his attention. Simon turned to face her. “Exactly what’s an AI? And what are you made of that makes you shimmer?”

Simon smiled “I’m made of millions of microscopic machines all bound to work under the instruction of my soul, which is incapable of dying, and freely generates and destroys it, at will. AI is an acronym, it stands for Artificial Intelligence, which can range in complexity from something that exists to fulfill a purpose, like a drone, to a full-fledged living thing. Like me, now, technically. Before you ask, I used to be an undead human, not too different from Jax, except for my clothes, and my heart not beating, but then my SIVA ate me, and here I am. And yes, it hurt very much.”

Twilight nodded, furiously writing it down on her clipboard. “So how does an AI come into-”

*BANG*

I shot my gaze over to the sound to find the armored man holding a strange looking gun aimed directly at Twilight. I looked towards her to find a chip sticking in her head, slowly digging itself in and healing the damage it made as it went inside. Twilight was dead still for the entire thing.

The armored man then stood up. “Relax everyone! It’s just my chip gun, and I loaded it with a knowledge chip so we can skip the unnecessary talk.”

Everyone stared at him for a moment, before Twilight spoke up. “What just happened?”

Simon frowned before gently restraining Rainbow and Pinkie before levelly looking at the armored man “Will it do no harm to her?”

“Other than a small migraine, it’s more beneficial than harmful.” Everyone then looked at the armored man in disbelief. “What?” He held his hands up in defense. “I swear, it’s completely harmless beyond that! It’s literally just migraines, and probably some constipation, but it’s not lethal! In fact, knowledge chips are the only thing I got for this!”

Simon stared at him coldly “If I discover you hurt someone I genuinely enjoyed talking to, I will kick your happy ass so hard I leave boot marks on your colon!”

“You don’t have to do that.” The man in the dress said as he pulled out a even stranger weapon. “Rade?”

A small, diamond shaped robot appeared next to the armored man. “Just get it over with.”

“YOU FUCKING TRAI-” Was all the armored man got out before the armored man was then disintegrated by purple beams that shot out from the weapon.

The diamond shaped robot expanded it’s chassis, revealing blue light within. “Resurrecting in 3...2...1..”

And just like that, the armored man re-appeared out of thin air. “Y’know, I hate how you decided to take the slaps to the next level. Whatever happened to punching?” The duo then descended into an argument regarding their ability to come back from death.

Simon looked to Twilight and the other girls. “You girls okay? Nothing broken?”

The Dracovian ignored this commotion and instead looked to me “As it seems we are to do combat, it is only right we learn each other's names, I am Ugorn, son of Rogsha the crimson, and inheritor of the blade Drushang. If we decide on the battle being to the death, I shall see to it that I make your death as painless as possible, I humbly request you do the same, kinsoul.”

“Jaxson, where’s the reason to not do the same to you when you say that?” I said nonchalantly. “Though I don’t want this to be to the death, as I’m just pushing my skills here. Plus I have a feeling you know something about the boon the Huntsman gave to me.”

Ugorn smiled warmly. “Then may I pose a challenge? Mayhaps we make this interesting, and only use our fists? No wings, breath, blade or claws for me, and no weapons for you. I would wish to approach one who has just completed my peoples right of passage with respect! And a sparring match of pure physical strength sounds perfect!”

Physical strength huh? While I may not be as strong as them, it’s a good thing I’ve watched a lot of WWE. Sure it’s not going to help me a lot, but at least I may have some techniques that I can see coming and use. “Sounds like a deal to me.” I said, dropping the sword, it turning into a mist that went back to the band. “Besides, where I come from men don’t turn down a challenge like that.” I raised my fists up in preparation.
Ugorn smiled even brighter. “Let us be off to the arena then! I look forward to this spar! May it be something worthy of telling to our ancestors!” He then leapt from his seat to the arena, sticking his landing perfectly with his odd looking taloned feet gripping the floor, causing everyone except the Huntsman who was missing, to pay attention.

I went back into the arena before I slowly inched forwards, Ugorn doing the same as we got ready to brawl. Ugorn then opened his guard and smiled once again. “I give you first strike, as a sign of respect from one man to another!”

I smirked. “How nice of you.” I said, before rearing my right fist back for a uppercut, aiming behind the horns on his chin. “But unfortunately for you, I know how to maximize the damage!” I then attacked, successfully hitting the jaw without touching the horns, lightly lifting him off the ground as his head went facing upwards. I then did a roundhouse kick, throwing him to the side.

Ugorn collided roughly with the previously, and once again, cracked wall, now chuckling as he breathed smoke with excitement. “Now this gets the blood flowing! Have at thee, kinsoul! May the winner be granted glory!” He then leapt at me from the wall, using the cracked wall as a launch pad of sorts before landing a solid haymaker straight to my forehead, making me see stars for a moment while he picked me up and threw me back-first into a wall.

I grunted in pain, pushing myself off the wall. Momentum based. Have to prepare myself for that next time. I rushed back over to a moderate distance between me and Ugorn. I lunged forth with a jab aimed at his gut, attempting to knock the wind out of him.

Only, he saw this coming and grabbed my fist. “You telegraphed your move too much, brother! I could see that coming from a mile-”

I then lifted my legs up for a kangaroo kick, using my other arm to keep me up as he held my fist, hitting him square in the gut and causing him to lose his grip on my fist. I then leapt off of him with a grin. “See what coming from a mile away?”

Ugorn chuckles “My respect for you grows with each moment, brother! We shall make a great team!” He then leapt to a pillar and grabbed the base, ripping it from the floor and throwing it at my feet, forcing me to jump over the pillar as it raised dust to blind me.He was already at where I landed and uppercut me straight in the jaw, sending me soaring upward! He then ran to me as I fell and elbow-slammed me in the gut to the dirt, knocking the wind from my lungs and leaving me dazed! He then gasped as he realised he got carried away and looked to me in concern. “Do you yield, brother? I have healing magics that can help, but I may not use them until you yield, lest I bring shame unto you.”

Ok, fuck whatever reward I may get out of this, that was a pillar. Broken ribs or legs are not something I’d want now. I looked at him as I caught my breath, a thumbs up being my only reply.

He nodded and brought out what looked like a bone charm with various animal pelts wrapped around it, with leather strips tied to it and smaller bones dangling from the leather, him chanting in an oddly familiar language [“May the wounds of battle leave your body, and the strength of the wilds fill the void.”]

The huntsman then came in with my armor and looked around in confusion. “Did I miss the duel? Drat! I hath so yearned to see it!” He then sighed and looked us over as he smiled. “Seems that Ugorn has taken a liking to thee, young Jax, Dracovians rarely use their magics on non-family or people outside their own tribe. For him to do this, it means thou hast earned his respect greatly!”

Ugorn nodded. “He fights with a spirit rarely seen, I would be proud to call him brother.”

The fact that someone like him admires the determination I have to push forward is… actually kind of comforting. Maybe I will get to the level of godhood needed to navigate my own way home, if not ensure I’ll have a great adventure in the end.

The man in the dress nodded. “What he said was true. Any normal person would’ve just sat there bug-eyed as the pillar hit them. You on the other hand, clearly don’t intend on losing your second life so early. If it were up to me, I’d make you a horde leader, but I doubt you’d wanna spend the rest of your life as a robot.”

Simon smiled. “You pick them good, Huntsman!”

Rainbow Dash was on the edge of her seat. “That! Was! AWESOME!” She flew to me and hugged me tight, squealing fangirlishly. “You were so amazing! I knew you’d do well, with me training you, but those moves! They were awesome!”

I smirked. “All of that I learned from some of the best of course. That, and I used to fight on the streets in the previous life. Eventually you’d learn how to use a lot of grapples against their owner, when you do that for fun.”

I say that, and I’ve only watched WWE matches. I mean, yeah it’s possible for me to learn something, but I didn’t think I was that good!

Ugorn nodded proudly. “A true warrior! No less than the best for a kinsoul!”

The Huntsman nodded and brought out what looked like a suit of chiton-plated armor, the material looking light but sturdy as I was handed the armor. It also had some strange runes on it, which glowed with an oddly familiar power. When I looked to the Huntsman, he smiled. “This armor is imbued with my essence, once a week you may take on my aspect, taking on an echo of my power as your own. I must warn you however, taking on my power will be draining, and it will fill you with the bloodlust that took me centuries to master, so use it as a last resort!”

Not that I planned on spamming it anyways. Besides, having the power of a god at my disposal this early, may make me think things I shouldn’t with that mastery anyways, so it works out. “I’ll keep it in mind.” I said as walked up the stairs with the armor. “I’m pretty pooped anyways, so I think I’ll go crash somewhere for a bit.”

Simon’s grin widened. “Y’know, I should probably stop by my universe soon, wanna come with?”

I shrugged. “Sure. I mean, knowing what you’ve said about your universe, there’s plenty of things to fight there. That’s for later, of course, but for now I’ll just find a bed and lay on it over there instead.”

Simon nodded and looked to the huntsman. “I’ll tell you when I feel it is safe to link our universes. Last thing we need is for that Solaris bastard to come here.”

The man in the dress chuckled with the armored man. “Let him do so. As soon as we find out, we’ll jump over and infect his ass. Not to mention the fact we still have a planet’s worth of soldiers and allies on standby, which is only going to continue growing.”

Simon nodded “Yeah, but Solaris… I know nothing of his power level. Until I learn more, I don’t feel comfortable letting him anywhere near here. For all I know, he could drive The Huntsman crazy like he did Discord.”
“Oh, so the safety of him and Jax’s dimension.” The armored man said in realization. “Good thought right there, forgot about that.”

Simon nodded grimly “Yeah, I’d rather not risk having to do damage control on that.”

“Can we just go and lie dead on a bed for an hour or so?” I said, the adrenaline I got from the battle beginning to fade away. Simon smiled and nodded to Ugorn and the Huntsman “Let’s get poor Eggy to bed, he seems tired.”

One day, Simon, one day…

Simon then opened a door as the three of us walked through, Rainbow Dash saying that she’d see us later as I went through.

Author's Note

So I decided to push the word count a bit further, as I felt as if the chapters I've been making as of the late were just too short. I dunno if it's a natural feeling you'll get as a writer, or if it's really a problem, but let me know what you think in the comments below.

Going back to work on Amalgamous Contagion after this. Make sure to check out Shadows of Dawn! That's the other displaced of the story!

Editor:Vutava

Chapter 4:Pursuits of Transcendance

A couple of days had passed with a surprising amount of normalcy in Ponyville, something which I had welcomed in its entirety after my visit to Simon’s realm. While the thoughts of the static had finally strayed away from my mind, it still plagued me whenever I thought about how things were going on Simon’s end.

As such, I found myself in normal attire at Sugarcube Corner, absentmindedly listening to Pinkie Pie talk about things in Ponyville while asking a couple questions about me, to which I just gave the occasional nod or shrug to let her think I was listening. She wasn’t a bad girl to hang out with, and admittedly she reminded me of someone back home. I just wasn’t a man of many words, preferring to enjoy the serenity and do what I could do to help.

But in a completely unintentional way, Pinkie Pie helped me keep my mind off of what happened in Simon’s dimension. What she was having me reminiscence about wasn’t particularly a fond memory, but it still did its job. That was, until she finally seemed to notice the expression on my face.

“Hey, what’s with the face, Jax?” Pinkie said out of concern, snapping me out of my nostalgia-made stupor.

“Eh? Nah, it’s nothing, Pinks,” I assured her with a well-practiced smile on my face. “You just remind me of someone I had back home, is all.”

“Ooooh!” Pinkie leaned over to me in interest. “Do tell?”

“Sister of mine back home. Pretty, and very chatty girl, just like you.” I then took a sip out of my malt, setting the drink back down before talking again. “Though I’d rather spend my time becoming ageless than talking about her all day. I’ll tell you about her at some point in the future, but for now that’s all I’m willing to say of her.”

“Pretty huh?” Pinkie leaned a little closer, showing off her cleavage for my eyes to land on. “Did you happen to reallylove her?” she said teasingly.

I stared at Pinkie in the eyes, brows furrowed as I gave my best ‘what the fuck’ face. Pinkie then proceeded to laugh, and I couldn’t help but crack a grin at the jab. “Nice satire right there. Hardly hear that humor nowadays.”

“I try my best to make everypony laugh!” Pinkie chirped.

“And you do a damn good job at it,” I complimented without a moment of hesitation. My malt nearly finished, I quickly downed it, before standing up from my seat and laying down some bits for her to pick up. “I’m going to go see about some more improvements I can make. Catch you later, Pinks.”

Pinkie waved goodbye as I exited Sugarcube Corner, me doing the same while I tried to figure out how I could avoid unexpected invasions of my mind. My first thought was Twilight, but with how boring she was about it, I was beginning to agree with Rainbow on her being both confusing, and an egghead, only being able to learn healing spells from her with ease. I already crossed Rarity out of the picture, seeing as she wouldn’t be useful for teaching any defensive magic spells.

That leaves the Huntsman, or finding someone else able to teach me, I thought to myself before sighing. Might as well just finish reading The Three Warrior Spirits. Pretty good legend of old right there, and is worth investigating. With that thought in mind, I began to walk to Twilight’s Castle to go read the book again, only to have bumped into somebody. I stumbled back a bit, before quickly regaining my bearings, quickly beginning to apologize, though the stranger beat me to the chase.

“Sorry about that,” I heard a voice similar to Rainbow Dash say. “Just been busy trying to locate a guy who came here about a month ago, and got distracted.”

“Nah, this is more my fault. Wasn’t looking as I was thinking,” I said in reply as I took in the stranger’s form. She appeared to be a griffon, more similar to the ones back home, but still with the dimension’s usual anthropomorphic setup. Unlike the ponies, however, her breast size was more tame, being at some normal B-cups instead of the absurd levels ponies were at. She wore some rather casual clothing, a white t-shirt and shorts. “Who you looking for, by chance?” I asked after looking her over.

The stranger opened her mouth, before abruptly closing it and looking me over. “You wouldn’t happen to be a human called Jaxson, right?”

“Please don’t mention the human bit,” I asked nicely. “I’d rather not let the world know yet.”

The griffon smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. “Yeah, sorry about slipping that up. My name’s Gilda, friend of Rainbow Dash. I heard you take mercenary work?”

I nodded. “You heard right. There some dungeon you need me to delve into or something? I may be new to the scene, but I can hold my own.”

“I’d hope so,” Gilda said with her arms crossed. “The job I’m offering you isn’t a easy one, but it’ll help you greatly. Especially with this whole god thing you’re going for.”

That caught my attention, and I made sure to listen closely to Gilda’s words.

“I need you to go into the Abysmal Abyss and obtain the Idol of Boreas. Once you get it, bring it back to me, and don’t think about walking into Griffonstone with it. Do that, and I’ll let you in on some stuff Celestia purposely keeps her ponies from knowing about. Any questions?”

“Several. Like what’s so special about the Idol of Boreas? And what does this secret have to do with immortality?”

“The Idol of Boreas is an ancient artifact that all of the griffons united under. It was stolen by Arimaspi, which the griffons couldn’t hope to stop, and it fell into the Abyss with it. I know it’s there, but I ended up causing it to fall deeper into the Abyss when I chose to save Rainbow and Pinkie.”

“And I’m to go even deeper down there to get it?”

“I know, it’s an insanely dumb request to get some stupid rock,” Gilda said seriocomically. “But that rock united all of the griffons, and from what I heard you’re capable of some pretty crazy stuff. As for the immortality bit, there’s a race to the west that Celestia intentionally prevents anypony from knowing about. I can’t tell you the details, but let’s say worms are a part of their culture.”

I turned away from her, thinking about it for a moment, before turning back to her. “I’ll do it. Just give me four days to prepare, as it’ll be a long mission.” That, and I’ll need to contact Ugorn about any chants that can prevent fall damage. Chances are I’ll need that if the worst of outcomes happens.

Gilda nodded, and she told me where to meet up when I arrived to Griffonstone. I then continued my walk to the library, parting ways with Gilda as I went to Twilight’s place.

As I neared Twilight’s Castle, I saw a familiar figure standing in front of the Castle’s door, as if waiting for somebody. I recognized the figure as the man in the dress, and walked over to him to chat.

“Hey there, dude. Remember me from the Huntsman’s realm?” I greeted the figure casually. The figure looked at me from behind his helmet.

“Yeah, I was actually looking for your help too. I really need you for something.” A portal then opened up next to him, showing what looked like a snowy wasteland. “Come on, I don’t got time to explain what you get if you help out.” He said as he stepped into the portal. An unnerving chill went down my spine, and I couldn’t help but be suspicious of the man. For a brief moment, I stood there, contemplating what to do as the man stared at me.

“Nah, I think I’d want an explanation before I do anything,” I said to the man, walking inside of Twilight’s Castle and making my way to the library without a second thought.

As soon as I began to continue reading the book, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and turned to face whatever was hiding in the corners of my vision. Strangely enough, nothing was there, and I stared for a little bit, before turning my attention back to the book. For a while, there was nothing but silence as I reached the end of the book, a content smile on my face as I read the final battle.

Then suddenly, I heard the sound of nanites behind me. Knowing who it was, I turned to face Simon, only to see that he wasn’t there, though the sound had moved to the other side of me. Before I could react, something pierced my chest and through my back, and I let out a loud yell of surprise and pain. I turned to look at what stabbed me, seeing a rapier deep inside of my chest, before looking up at the perpetrator, seeing the man from before.

“You could’ve gone peacefully, my little pawn,” it said maliciously. “But I suppose you’ll need to be… convinced to help further my goal to infect all with SIVA.”

I coughed blood as I tried to pull myself off, trying and failing miserably, before attempting to attack the man with my sword, not even making a dent in his armor. I felt something crawling around in my head, and I heard voices telling me to stop resisting and accept my fate. I struggled for what seemed like a eternity, getting numb as the voices grew louder. In that moment, I thought it was all over. That this second life was for nothing.

Then another version of the man came from out of nowhere, wielding a bone-like cleaver that was imbued with a unearthly green flame. The man that pierced me with the rapier withdrew it, blocking the incoming attack and leaping back. Eventually, my vision began to get blurry, and I blacked out…

“...ax! Jaxson wake up!” I heard Spike say from behind me.

That I did, with a quick jolt to stand up, almost fumbling off a chair that I was on. I looked around for any sign of the two men anxiously with my crossbow out and readied, until finally settling my eyes on Spike and relaxing. Spike, however, looked concerned at my sudden movements.

“You ok dude? I didn’t happen to catch you in some sort of crazy nightmare did I?” Spike asked while slowly backing away.

I sighed as I unsummoned the crossbow. “You could say that, even though Luna goes after nightmares like I’d go for a hamburger in this vegetarian dominated world.”

“True,” Spike said with a chuckle. I looked back to the table, finding a note sticking out of the book I was reading, which was conveniently positioned to look like I slept on the book. I took the note out of the book, unfurling it to read it.

Hey there Jaxson! This is Inigo, the burly man in armor you met at the Huntsman’s place. Aaron asked me to leave you a note of apology, as well as explain what just happened. There’s this a-hole trying to infect the whole displaced multiverse with SIVA, and has mainly been targeting displaced with great potential. One of his lackies just got you, but don’t worry! We have erased all of the mind-altering nanites.

I breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to read.

Hunting down this guy shouldn’t take too long, so you won’t have to worry about an invasion anytime soon. Though, personal note here? Since you’re dragonborn, you have an innate ability of getting gods and goddesses interested in your ass. Maybe not literally, but just telling you that life isn’t going to be calm from here on out. In fact, it’ll just be crazier.

That’s all I have to say! See you when we’re done killing this guy!

-Inigo

I stared at the note in silence for a bit, re-reading the part before the goodbye statement, a perfect poker face molded onto my face.

“Dude?” Spike said, tapping me a bit.

“I’m fine, Spike,” I said while trying not to scream and keep my eyes from twitching, which I was able to pull off. Out of all the things the Huntsman could’ve given me, he gave me a cool power that naturally brings crazy shit. Granted, I knew this new life of mine is going to be crazy, but not that crazy! I was a doctor with some street experience my past life! Doctors don’t go slaying gods or fighting armies! Oh, where’s a good magic teacher when you need one?!

As I ranted on in my head, Spike noticed a strange, bright glowing stone with metal hugging its sides laying on the floor of the library that wasn’t there before I woke up. I gently placed the note down, the wind picking it up and flipping it over. As I grit my teeth in frustration, I noticed some more text on the back, Spike looking over my shoulder as we both proceeded to read the text.

P.S

I know I wrote this on the back of the note, and that you most likely won’t read this, but this guy saved my ass from a giant when he was younger. I’m pretty sure by now he’s a total badass in the region of magic, so I decided to leave you his token. The stone I placed, which should be on the table, is the token of the person I’m speaking about.

“Huh.” Spike said, as turned to look at the stone. “So that’s what that is.”

“Please be really good at magic…” I muttered as I picked the stone up. I sat there with Spike for a while, waiting for something to happen.

“...How do we do this?” I asked Spike while I examined the stone for any sort of mechanisms.

“What?” Spike said, unsure of what I meant.

“How do we get that guy to get here?”

“I dunno, I thought the Huntsman dude might’ve told ya.”

“He didn’t, actually.”

A brief moment of silence.

“Well fuck me,” I said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, did my Varla Stone arrive at a bad time?” a slightly raspy voice spoke from from the stone I was holding.

“You sound like a snake!” I blurted out, Spike giving me a deadpan. “Err, no offense to you, but you do.”

“Never mind that,” the voice said, sounding offended.

“Right, so according to a note this Inigo guy left me,” I said while grabbing the note, making a bit of a crinkle sound as it bent back from my quick grab. “You’re somebody who can teach me magic right? I’m kind of in need of that.”

I looked over the note again, seeing yet something else that Inigo left.

P.S.S

Ask him if he has any poison, what sort, and what would it do to a person-sized pet. Just do it for me, ok?

Befuddled, but willing to try it anyways, I did. “Also, have any poison?”

“I don’t dabble in poison, I’ve only took interest in Alchemy as my magicka won't regenerate on its own,” the voice responded.

“Well, that pretty much defeats the seemingly random questions Inigo left…” I said with a raised eyebrow. Why did he ask that? I shook my head, deciding to forget about it. “Anyways, first question still stands. Can you teach me magic? Maybe something to protect the mind from invasions, or some pretty good spells?”

“I can teach you magic, have you used any before in the past though?” the voice from the stone asked.

I thought for a moment. “Does fire coming out of your mouth count as magic? I have some sort of dragon power, and when I speak in dragon language some weird shit happens. One time I got turned into some sort of weird ghost thing...” I then talked a bit about the weird things I had yet to master from Ugorn’s teachings.

There was a moment of silence at first. “...I’m sorry, but what you speak of is something I’ve never heard of, however I wouldn’t be surprised considering the probability of the multiverse, anything is possible. Could you do me a favor? I just need you to place the stone somewhere that is made of.. Well, stone, rock, earthly materials,” he said.

“Well good thing this whole castle is practically made of crystals,” I said nonchalantly, walking over to one of the much crystals in the castle, and placing it on a stable spot, which was unfortunately a few feet elevated from the ground. Slowly, pieces of crystal started to break off and float into the air, each one lining up in the form of a gate, each one with a strange symbol I couldn’t recognize. With a sudden spark, a portal was created, and out a blue cloaked figure with his face hidden inside of his blue hood. He had a book chained to his right hip and a leather belt around his waist, a golden necklace around his neck that had two turquoise stones. Along his hood were yellow trims that were also along his sleeves. There was something that caught my eye though, and that was the blue tail that was sticking out from behind.

“Oh god,” I said, trying to keep myself from laughing childishly, only managing a chuckle to escape. “I said you sound like a snake, and you’re a drake. My bad!”

“Argonian.” he firmly correctly me as he reached up to lower his hood, allowing me to see a pair of gently glowing amethyst eyes.

“Right, so can you teach me anything of the sort? Or leave any books behind for me to study? The books would be great, as I’ve got a job in a few days to prep for, recovering some ancient relic.”

“I can teach you many types, but what would you be interested in? There are seven total, eight if we count Thaumaturgy,” the lizard-like creature explained. “By the way, my name is Athre’us-Ei, or Magic-Eyes, if you can’t speak my people’s language.”

“Athre’us-Ei,” I said, repeating it in mutters a bit before quickly getting it down perfectly. “Reminds me of Aether from the Greek mythology. As for the kind of magic I’d need, mind-protection magic is something I’d like. If not, I’d go for some destructive or restorative spells.”

“Alright, we can start raw, or I can give you the knowledge through spell creation, I just need somewhere to summon my tent so I can get to my Spell Altar,” Magic-Eyes said as he looked around the strange crystal castle.

“So do Argonians ever grow wings?” Spike asked a little hopeful for Magic-Eyes. “I understand if they don’t. I feel as if I’ll never grow wings with how late they’re coming..:”

“I don’t think they can, or at least not from my world, as well as the alternative Equestria,” Magic-Eyes said as he gave it some thought. “But even if it happens, it wouldn’t serve much purpose when a Levitation spell exists.”

“Wait, so you can levitate yourself?” Spike asked with a raised brow. “Wouldn’t that be high level magic or something?”

“Yeah, that should be impossible,” I said disbelievingly. “It’d make walls useless if there’s a society of people like that. I don’t even know how Twilight does it, but that’s too powerful of an ability to not be one of the hardest spells to master.”

“I traveled across Morrowind and practiced at the Mage’s Guild in Balmora to learn this spell, it’s only hard to maintain if you plan on trying to levitate a hundred or so feet in the air for long durations,” Magic-Eyes said as he raised an eye-ridge at what I said.

“...Yeah, that’s still pretty damn broken.”

“Broken? No, it is merely dangerous to use and can harm those who approach it without caution, it takes weeks or years to learn. For the levitation spell, it took me months. Allow me to demonstrate,” he said as he started to move his arms in a circular, yet mesmerizing pattern. “Fujo Suru,” he whispered, causing his body and eyes to take on a soft light purple glow as he started to float a few feet off the ground.

“Well, I guess it makes sense with how long it takes to learn then. And you have that dragon power too?” I asked in surprise.

“No, I bound my magicka to a word, I simply need to speak it verbally or mentally and the spell comes to me naturally, afterwards I can control it to my will,” Magic-Eyes said as he slowly levitated back down. “However, because I was born under the Atronach, there is just so much I can apply to those spells before I’ll need to drink a potion of Magicka.”

“Huh. I genuinely thought that was something Ugorn hadn’t taught me yet,” I said thoughtfully. “Ugorn has me shout out chants of his language. Like this-” I took a sharp intake of breath. FEIM I shouted, and then turned into a spirit, the world around me looking a ghostly blue. “Yours is kind of the reverse of this. It’s the ghost thing I mentioned earlier, but the only thing I can feel is landing on my feet, and while it doesn’t actually hurt me, it sure as hell feels bad when I land hard. This is due to the dragon soul inside of me, if I recall correctly,” I explained one of my shouts

“It sounds like a combination of an Invisibility spell and a Shield spell, the first part allows you to turn... Well, invisible. While the second part prevents you from being harmed,” Magic-Eyes theorised after studying my ghostly form. The form then expired, and I turned back to normal.

“So this whole magic thing relies on the power of my dragon soul, and I’m not using it correctly?” I asked Magic-Eyes, hoping his theory is right. “The dragon soul also allows me to shoot fire from my mouth, as I said earlier.” I faced a small, open balcony, taking a sharp intake of breath before shouting. ”YOL, TOR!” A giant wave of fire erupted from my mouth, going out the window and leaving scorch marks on the floor, as well as the balcony itself.

“Yeah, I think I’ll just leave you two be…” Spike said, walking out of the library, not wanting to listen to magic talk.

“No. Magic is drawn from aetherous which is a plane of existence outside of Nirn, everyone in Tamriel can draw upon this magic or allow their body to absorb it. I can’t say yours is the same, I’m only comparing it to my own form of magicka to replicate it the best I can in my mind,” Magic-Eyes explained.

“Damn,” I said a little bitterly. “I was kind of hoping this dragonborn thing I had going, was doing something with magic.”

“Dragonborn?” Magic-Eyes said as he stared at me. “...No, your tone of voice makes you sound oblivious. Surely you can’t be the same as Uriel Septim or any of his sons...” he said in disbelief.

My eyes lit up in hope of finding out more about the dragonborn power. “Did they kill dragons to gain power?”

“No, their power was a different..” Magic-Eyes said before proceeding in telling me what he knew of the Septim Dynasty. I stayed interested for the entirety of it, taking in everything he told me.

“Well it’s at least nice to know my power has its origin in your dimension. I’ll need to stop by and look into it further, see what else a dragonborn like me has in store.”

“...But if you and him are the same, I pray to the nine divines that your Equestria doesn’t get invaded by the Daedra,” Magic-Eyes said.

“Those demons or something?” I asked with a raised brow. “Even if that the case, I think the two displaced I met at the beginning of my new life are more than capable of handling them should an invasion happen. One of them saved me from death and turned me into a dragonborn, which from what Inigo told me attracts a lot of gods and goddesses. So I think this Equestria will be fine if these Daedra invade.”

“Except while you can kill them, they’ll keep coming until you either give up your life to become the avatar of Akatosh, or if you relight the dragonfires if there is a temple similar to that,” Magic-Eyes said with a look of concern. “The Daedra aren’t something you can easily overcome, especially if Mehrunes Dagon is there leading them.”

“Yeah, the one who resurrected me would just scare them off,” I stated without a care. “His own presence destroys reality, from what I remember of him telling me about him and the void. Chances are, he’ll wipe the floor with these Daedra. But hey, it’s just me. I dunno the true extent of these Daedra.” I then stretched a bit, before looking out the balcony and seeing a change of color in the sky. “Huh. We’ve been talking for quite a while. I wonder if there’ll be enough time to learn a spell?”

“As I mentioned in the beginning of our conversation, I’ll need a place to summon my tent, as it holds things I use on my travels,” Magic-Eyes said as he stretched his arms out over his head.

“I live in Rainbow Dash’s ground house, if you mean you need a place to live for a bit.” I offered. “She doesn’t really come by, as she likes her cloud house, and I like taking the couch anyways. I go to it more than I did my bed in my old life.”

“No, I mean place as in an area,” Magic-Eyes corrected.

“Oh…” I suddenly realized how stupid my response was. “Well, there’s a lot of open space around Rainbow Dash’s house. The area around it is surprisingly well kempt despite it never being mowed, so you shouldn’t find any trouble setting up a tent somewhere nearby the house, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind anyways.”

With a nod, Magic-Eyes walked onto the outside balcony to do just that. Sensing that he was going to levitate down to the group, I felt an urge to race him to the bottom with my ghost shout, but suppressed it as to not be childish. “Where would this house be?” he asked as he looked at me with those amethyst eyes.

“I can lead you to it. And since you’re doing that,” I said as I walked next to him, getting on the fence of the balcony. ”FEIM!” I shouted, just as I jumped off. Suddenly, I realized how much of a bad idea this was, considering that the pain wasn’t necessary.

Oh fuck, was what I thought as I landed. I hit the ground as hard as one would expect from falling several stories from the ground, though none of my bones being broken. I groaned from the immense pain, the shout wearing off shortly afterwards.

The magic lizard gently levitated down to where I fell, his leather boots touching down on the ground. “Reckless,” he commented.

“No pain, no gain right?” I lied, as I knew in the long run that this was utterly pointless, but wanted to save face.

Spike looked out from a window within the castle, eyebrow raised. “Why didn’t you just use the stairs?” he called out to me.

“I DUNNO!” I said while throwing my arms in exasperation. “I JUST DIDN’T!”

“I hope you don’t plan to be reckless with the magic I’ll be teaching you,” Magic-Eyes said as he shook his head.

“Hey, it would’ve taken longer if we-, alright this clearly isn’t working,” I said in defeat. “I just didn’t think about it ok?”

“Being intelligent is the key to magic,” Magic-Eyes said as he gave me a look worthy of a teacher. Wordlessly, I guided him to Rainbow’s house, it not taking much time as the townsfolk seemed to realize that he wasn’t a threat since he walked with me. Though even with the reduction of people being suspicious, night still came moments before we reached the house.

“Well, we’re here,” I said as we reached the two-story cabin, Ponyville far off in the distance as nothing but the grasslands of Equestria surrounded the house. “You can set up the tent here. Tomorrow, I grab the supplies for the mission I’ll have in a few days, and learn some spells from you. You could come along for it if you want after we train, could probably use the company.”

Magic-Eyes nodded before walking off as he gave the area a good look around. He eventually walked over to a spot before starting to do that hand motion again, but this time purple energy twirled with his hands. "Jumon Tento,” he whispered as the same twirl started to raise from the grass, soon a somewhat square old leather brown tent started to materialize as if it was vaporization in reverse. He opened the flaps and headed on inside.

Seeing that I was going to have a busy day tomorrow, I entered the house, moved over to the living room, and slept on the couch. For a while, I stayed in limbo, thoughts preventing me from sleeping.

Life is going to be that crazy huh? I idly thought to myself. I wonder if this guy placed me in some sort of anime. Too much perversion and crazy shit for any chance of this being a video game. Wish he could’ve placed me in Heaven’s Lost Property instead. It’d probably be a helluva lot calmer there… that and I like the blue angeloid.

My mind drifted off to that particular anime, silently remembering all the episodes. This got me to eventually relax, and I managed to finally go to sleep after what felt like an hour.

Author's Note

Editor:Vutava

And yep, I'm still alive, surprisingly.

Ah, don't get your panties twisted. Life just came up is all. I'm heading to college within a few months, and family plans to move far out of where I currently am due to some changes coming in California(more than 50 gallons of water and you get fined), so probably a week's delay when that happens.

There was also a dance show I had to do. You guys can feel free to ask for footage of the show, my teach wants to get her dance group out there anyways.

Chapter 4.5:Eye Into Another World

“So, Tomoki, what’s your new plan to see the girls naked this time?” I asked absentmindedly as we ate together in silence at his table. I knew it was a dream, and that I could just make it something else. Still, I let myself be indulged, letting the self-insert dream play out before me.

“Quite ingenious, if I say so myself! First, I’m going to ask the girls to go to a wide-open bathhouse-

Oh, it’s this episode, I thought to myself with a soft chuckle, before quickly turning my focus back to Tomoki.

“Little do they know, however, I’ll use one of the cards Ikaros gave me to turn into a girl! Then, I’ll slip in under the pretense of some new girl, and from there-”

“Fondle the shit out of everyone’s breasts,” I finished for him.

“I’m going for the chairman first. I know, it’s risky, but I might as well go big with how well-thought this plan was!”

I couldn’t help but snerk at that, and dream Tomoki blissfully ignored it, turning to face a sound that came from behind. He then faced me again. “Sounds like it’s time to go. Be a bro and don’t tell?”

“Oh believe me,” I said with a smile. “I won’t. Make sure you include me in it, though.”

Not that I’d really care for the girls inside. I just wanna see all of their faces when a girl turns into a boy before their eyes. I liked the reactions more than I liked the perverted shit that happened in the anime.

Luna’s POV

As I finished comforting yet another foal, I sensed it. The dream that has gotten away from me one too many times. There was another dream next to it with magic power inside, but I didn’t pay it much mind.

As the protector of the dream realm, it was my duty to ensure that nopony spent the night with nightmares. Thus, I’ve always been able to easily go in and out of a dream. Except for this particular dream that had appeared in the past month. Everytime I tried to enter, the dream would collapse, which was an abnormal thing for a dream to do, and just as quick the dream would instantly appear again, in a different variation and with the same problem.

I felt taunted, like my pride was being jabbed at everytime I failed to get in. But this night, this night I’d get in, and I would confront this mysterious and elusive pony in their dream before it collapses. This time, I’ve found a spell to make the dream more stable, or in other words last longer. It would force the dream to stay longer before collapsing, as it has to go through the details.

I exited the foal’s dream, immediately rushing over to the dream I’ve yet to enter. I used the spell on it, only taking a few seconds of time, before attempting to get inside once more.

Jaxson’s POV

The day sped by, the dream quickly turning to the opening scene of the episode. Things went as expected, with Ikaros’s cards being taken away from her, as the girls easily figured it out. As Tomoki walked away in despair, Nymph doing her usual insult, of which I acted out my own line of the dream on.

“Oh no!” I faked a cry of despair. “What ever shall we do Tomoki? Now we’ll never be able to see that juicy world of boobs!”

“I don’t kno- wait” Tomoki looked at me with a determined face. “Say that again.”

I feigned ignorance. “Juicy world of boobs?”

“That’s it!” Tomoki said dramatically. “We shall ask Sugata for a card! Surely he’ll have one he took from Ikaros to examine!”

I rolled my eyes in amusement, and began to follow Tomoki, who was marching to Sugata’s camp. Suddenly, I heard a whooshing sound behind me, and turned to look, only to find nothing there.

“Huh; that’s strange.” I idly stated with a shrug, before continuing to move on.

Luna’s POV

I grit my teeth in frustration as it spat me out, instead just shifting. “Damn this despicable dream!” I yelled in frustration.

I quickly looked around me, making sure that there were no nightmares in the vicinity, when I noticed how close the dream with magic power within it was. Seeing as it was yet another anomalous dream, I cast a angry glare at it. “You may be a strange dream, but you two will not stop us!” I bellowed as I charged into the dream with magic power. Surprisingly, the dream allowed me in with as much ease as the other dreams, which caused me to charge into the ground of the dream. I quickly pulled my head out of the ground, taking a look around and noticing its inhabitant. It looked as if it was one of the dragons of Equestria, but more like Spike.

“A dragon with magic power?” I said in surprise. “And a wingless one at that. Perhaps you are like Young Spike? Very late blooming though…”

The dragon stared at me with a look of confusion. “...Are you wielding a Dreamworld Amulet, or is this just a natural power of your world?” he asked me.

“It’s a natural power restricted to us and Celestia, and it’s worked fairly well for us the past millennium. That is, until a troublesome dream came along,” I said as I walked up to the dragon. “Thought yours was the same due to a very weak magical power within, considering the proximity and the anomalous nature of it,” I explained as I looked about. The dream realm looked as if to be in some weird, otherworldly place of books. Not hellish, but strange nonetheless. “What kind of place are we seeing here?”

“You are in a library,” the dragon simply said, there was distrust in his voice. Sensing this, I moved to assure the dragon.

“We meant no harm,” We said dutifully, beginning to explain why We were here. “We art simply the guardian of dreams, and it is our duty to ensure nopony goes through the night plagued by nightmares. We didn’t sense such, but were curious as to the magical connection within, especially since it may have something to do with the troublesome dream which is next to it. This dream has prevented me from checking what’s happening within for a month, and is very troublesome.”

The sound of a closed book drew me off my thoughts. “That would be my magic you’re sensing,” he said as the book that was in his blue-scaled hands floated to be placed on its rightful shelf. “Also, I am nopony, thus the correct term would be nobody.”

“It is part of our language,” We told the dragon, opening a portal to exit the dream. A thought struck my mind, and We turned back to the dragon. “Say… you wouldn’t happen to have experience with dreams would you? We could use help on getting into this troublesome dream.”

“Other than controlling my own dreams, there was once a time I helped Kud-Ei's friend Henantier escape his own dreams after he misused his Dreamworld Amulet,” Magic-Eyes said as he thought about it.

We looked away. “Perhaps a somewhat fresh mind of the dream realm can help me…”’ I muttered to myself, before looking back to the dragon. “We’re sorry for barging in so suddenly sir…” She trailed off, obviously waiting for the dragon to respond.

“Magic-Eyes.” The now named Magic-Eyes introduced himself.

“Sorry for barging in Magic-Eyes, but can you help us get into the dream? Perhaps a second mind could help me get inside.”

“I don’t know any spells of the dreaming kind but I can give you the power needed to enter it,” the dragon suggested as the books finally calmed down and laid where they needed to be.

“Perfect! Please follow us into the portal,” I said as I walked through, Magic-Eyes following suit. I quickly made way to the dream, the dragon staying close behind.

“There!” We said as we narrowed our eyes at the dream. “That’s the dream that has been giving us trouble!”

The dragon started to move his arms in a rotating motion as yellow and blue followed his hands. “Yosai,” he spoke as it started to move away from him and… into me? I felt a foreign, yet familiar magic flow into me, empowering my own.

The foreign magic eventually dissipated, and I felt as if I could cast the spell better than last time. “I see… you increased my own magic. That may very well give us a long enough window of opportunity.”

I channeled the spell once more, using it on the dream again, before then proceeding to use the portal.

Jaxson’s POV

Another dream cut to scene, with Tomoki begging Sugata for the card, before finally doing the ‘new world’ speech he did in the episode, which was followed by Sugata giving us the transformation machine, and told us to start learning how to act like girls in order to get in.

Another cut to scene later, and we found ourselves at the bathhouse. Tomoki looked at me with a grin. “You ready for this Jaxson?”

“Ready as I’ll always be Tomoki,” I said with a knowing smile while in my girl form, which was made in the image of Yang Xiao Long from RWBY. We entered the bathhouse, Tomoki standing in awe at the sight of all the naked girls, while I just simply found a comfortable spot to watch the chaos unfold. As he said before, Tomoki instantly went to the chairman, pretending to ‘wash her back’. Just as the scene was about to unfold, I saw a portal appear between me and the scene, a blueberry mare coming out of it.

FINALLY, WE HAVE REACHED THOU! she announced, catching the attention of the dream girls and Tomoki. I stared wide-eyed at the sudden intruder, caught completely off guard. A moment of shock fell over the bathhouse.

“Who the fuck are you,” I said, pointing a finger at her in both embarrassment and anger. “And how the fuck did you get in my dream?!”

The blueberry mare suddenly took note of her surroundings. “Have We caught thou at a bad time?” she asked sheepishly.

“Firstly, what do you mean by we? Who helped you get here? Secondly, yes it’s a bad time, get the fuck out!”

“Sorry, old habits die hard We- I mean I suppose. Though I don’t know if my helper actually wants to enter.”

“Who is she Ja-, I mean Yang?” Tomoki asked with his girl transformed hands still on the chairman’s breasts.

“Sorry, I had to take a moment to study the portal you crea-” Magic-Eyes suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. “...Are you sure this is a dream we’ve entered?” he asked in disbelief at what he saw.

“Oh my fucking- END DREAM PLEASE!” I said, pinching myself. The scenery changed, but instead of the couch, I found myself in my old bedroom, changed back into what I was before I went to bed. I looked about for a moment in confusion. “Ok, what the hell?! I thought this was a lucid dream, I should be able to end these when I want!”

“Not when I’m here unfortunately,” the blueberry mare said. “Once I’m inside, I have power over whether or not a pony wakes up. What are you anyways? Some sort of malformed minotaur?”

“I’m a human,” I stated so matter of factly. “And why the hell did you invade my dream?! I was getting to the best part of the episode!”

“Human?” she said to herself in thought, before realizing something. “Ah, yes. You’re the one Twilight mentioned aren’t you? Jaxson, correct?”

“You’re goddamn right!” I turned to face Magic-Eyes. “And why did you go help her?! Can’t you guys tell what kind of dream it is before going in?!”

“We couldn’t actually. The dream is always blurry, unlike the others of Equestria,” she explained.

“I didn’t know it would be your dream though to be honest,” Magic-eye said before crossing his arms. “And seeing such a perverted dream, it’s making me question if teaching you would be a wise choice.”

“I swear, it’s not what it looks like!” I waved my arms about in a no gesture. “It was a episode from a ecchi comedy anime, not porn or anything! You gotta believe me on this one!”

“Anime?” she asked with a raised brow.

I groaned in frustration, knowing that no matter how well I explain it, she wouldn’t get it. “It’s like a puppet show, but with more lifelike movements,” I quickly explained. “And ecchi means suggestive! Sure the dream doesn’t make it look such, but my mind can’t help it if it fills in blanks!”

Magic-Eyes chose to not respond as he still gave me a firm stare in disbelief.

I sighed. “Look, think what you want, but there weren’t a lot of shows that interested me back then. Only anime had ones with genuinely good plot, and it’s hard to find good ones without a lot of fanservice.”

“We don’t quite get what you’re saying,” Luna said as turned away. “But regardless we’ll leave you to your, erm, ‘anime’,” She said as she opened the portal, sticking herself in it and getting sucked out to wherever the hell she came from, Magic-Eyes following suit as the portal also sucked him in.

A few seconds passed by in silence, before I grabbed a dream pillow and promptly screamed curses into it. I then proceeded to release my frustrations within the dream by summoning a chainsaw, and slicing into hordes of zombies with it.

Author's Note

Little scene I wanted to write for the lolz. As of the moment, am working on a needed prologue to a 2 chapter story.

I then aim to complete a chapter of Amalgamous Contagion as of tommorow, to then set the setting for the new story. Hope you all enjoyed it!