Monsters ravage Equus.

Beasts among Beasts destroy cities.

Purest of Monsters destroy, pillage, deceive, and kill by the score.

And Misunderstood flood the outer wilds, trying to survive.

A Cursebringer, marked by a pure white Skull, stands strong in the white.

Curses are brought to all.

Skull grunted as he opened his eyes, the sight of his ceiling greeting him in the dim light of the candle he had left at his bedside table. He slowly sat up, removing his covers before climbing out of his bed. He walked over to his hearth and set about relighting it with a flint and steel.

After opening the damper, placing a few new logs inside and lighting the fire, he stood up and walked over to his kitchen to make himself some breakfast. Roughly thirty minutes later he was sitting in his chair by the hearth, eating a hearty meal of Wyvern Thigh and a mug of Goldenfish Brew on a table next to him.

He finished his meal in little time, and sunk a bit into his chair as he stared at the flames of his hearth. He continued to stare, the light of longing in his golden eyes. He glanced to the clock on his wall and sighed.

“I have only thirty minutes to get ready and get to the Hall…” He muttered to himself. He sunk more into his chair. “...I need a break…” He groaned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar feather. He clutched it in his hand. “...If only you were here right now…”

A flash of light blinded him for a moment before fading to reveal a familiar silver-haired schoolgirl, accompanied by two confused looking unicorns. “Ask,” Angel smiled at the dumbfounded Skull, “and you shall receive.”

Skull stared at her for a long moment in shock, before smiling widely and standing up. “It’s really you, huh?” He walked over and wrapped her in a tight hug. “I missed you.”

Angel returned the embrace, sighing happily. “Oh yeah,” she muttered. “This is a good start to my vacation.” She stepped back, looking Skull up and down. “How’ve you been, big guy? Been almost half a decade since I last saw you.”

Skull blinked a few times. “Half a decade?” He slowly made an ‘o’ with his mouth in realization. “Oh, right, different worlds, different flows of time.” He smiled. “Well, it’s been about a month for me.” He walked over to the kitchen, setting about making some food. “Want some food? I got a bit left over, and a bit of time before I have to head to the Hall.”

Angel shrugged, sitting down at the table. “Sure, why not? Been a while since I had any good meat, and my opportunities are sure to be scarce in the near future.”

“Tell me about it.” One of the unicorns, a yellow-coated mare with a two-tone red and yellow mane and tail, sat down next to Angel. “I mean, I get the Equestrian taboo, but I’ve really missed the taste of steak since I returned.” She nodded towards Skull. “Nice to meet you, by the way. I’m Sunset Shimmer. Angel’s told me a lot about you.”

Skull turned his head to her. “A pony friend, huh?” He smiled, though Angel could tell it was forced. “Good to meet you. Go ahead and sit down, I’ll get you another plate.”

The other, purple-coated unicorn trotted nervously up to the table. Her purple and teal mane bounced around as she threw nervous glances between Angel, Sunset, and Skull. “Wait, you eat meat, Sunset?!”

Sunset folded her hooves and scowled at the table. “Not since I returned to Equestria,” she muttered. “If there’s two things I miss about Canterlot High, it’s thumbs, and meat.” She shook her head and gave the other unicorn a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Starlight; I’m sure that he doesn’t eat anything that used to be able to talk.”

“She’s right, I don’t. Humans don’t typically like to eat things that talk. Only exception is cannibals,” Skull informed, flipping some bacon over on a skillet.

“I’m surprised you’re so concerned about this,” Angel mused. “You know that gryphons and diamond dogs eat meat, right?”

“Well, yes,” Starlight said. “And I have no problem with you or… Skull doing it either. It’s just, well,” she faced Sunset again, “are ponies even able to eat meat?”

Sunset closed her eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the scent of the bacon. “By Celestia, I hope so.”

“So what’ve you been up to?” Angel asked, staring nostalgically around the cabin. “Have things changed between you and Equestria in the last month?”

Skull paused in his cooking for a moment, before continuing, placing some seasoning on a juicy looking thigh of sorts. “...Well, I’m essentially doing slave work, so there’s that.”

“Explain.” Sunset and Starlight flinched, leaning nervously away from Angel. Her eyes had hardened and she sat upright in her seat, staring intently at Skull. Skull sighed as he walked over to her with a plate of bacon and the seasoned thigh of an animal she’d not seen before.

“The big hats came to the cabin a month ago, just a bit after you left. I agreed to be put on trial, and the jury’s verdict was for me to serve as an,” he placed her plate down in front of her, then made air quotes with his fingers. “‘Authority’ on all things monster related. I don’t get paid, and I don’t get credit. All of the money I would make goes to the crown, along with the credit and knowledge.”

“I see.” Angel was silent for a moment as she contemplated this information. Starlight opened her mouth to speak, but a nervous warning glance from Sunset inspired her to remain silent. “I will be speaking with them about that,” Angel eventually said.

Skull sighed as he went back over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a plate of diced meat with what looked like a bit of sage sprinkled on it, and a barbecued rib on the side. He walked towards Sunset and placed it down in front of her.

“You’re welcome to try,” he said simply. He looked to the clock and sighed again. “I gotta go in a bit.” He looked to them. “You guys wanna come see the Hall with me?”

Sunset tilted her head curiously. “The Hall? What’s that?”

Starlight glared at her. “How come you get to speak?”

“Because I’m your senpai, that’s why.”

“My what?”

Angel cleared her throat, relaxing once again. “So, the Hall?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know,” Skull walked over to his nightstand and opened the drawer, pulling out a small metal medallion with a strange symbol on it. “I’m now the head of my own Guild, made to harmonize with Monster Hunter monsters, kill Dragon Quest monsters, and save Rune Factory monsters.” He tossed her the medallion. “Essentially, I kill all monsters unless I don’t have to.”

“Huh.” Angel examined the medallion for a moment before placing it on the table. “Sounds cool. What’re you heading there for? Some sort of strategy meeting? Difficult monster you’re dealing with?”

Skull shook his head. “More like training new Hunters. Only ones ready to hunt right now are me, myself, and I. I can’t do anything until I get the recruits in shape.” He sighed a bit. “Would honestly be easier if Krak Pot could make more than just armor and weapons for bipeds.” He then seemed to gain an idea. “Oh, hey, wait a minute, you scanned one of my weapons, right?”

Angel grinned and nodded. “That’s right. I’ve got to tell you, it took me three years to fully understand what I was looking at, and another year to adapt it for myself. But once that was done?” Angel chuckled darkly, her grin turning savage. “Did you know that no-one in my Equestria had ever decapitated a dragon before? My new blades slice through scales, hide, and bone like they’re made of tissue paper.”

Skull gained his own grin. “Great! Maybe I can take you to the Guild Smithy then, have you tell her what you know of the weapons and their composition and stuff. It’d help a lot.”

“Gladly. In the meantime,” Angel’s grin shifted over to Sunset. “You mentioned that your recruits still need training? Toughening up?”

If Angel’s grin was savage, Sunset’s was positively feral. Starlight squeaked and shrank down in her seat as Sunset turned her gaze to Skull. “Oh yes,” she purred. “Please, by all means, let me at those soft, green recruits. I’ll have them fighting ogres and dragons with their bare hooves in a month. Half a month if they’re quick healers.”

Skull chuckled darkly. “I look forward to seeing those stuck up noble’s kids be pushed to the limit,” he said, before gesturing to their untouched plates of food. “Anyway, go ahead and eat. I need to go out back to the brewery and check on it for a bit.” With that, Skull walked out of the cabin.

Angel and Sunset nodded, digging into their food as Skull left. Starlight stared nervously between them. “I, um, I think it might have been better if I’d stayed back in Ponyville.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Star,” Angel said between mouthfuls. “There’s no telling how much time will pass back in our Equestria before we return.” She swallowed her most recent bite and gave Starlight a stern glare. “I’m not risking you getting behind in your studies.”

Starlight sighed, rolling her eyes. “I still think you and Sunset are being paranoid. I mean, sure the spells you’re teaching me are technically dark magic, but they aren’t that dangerous.”

“You’re right,” Sunset said, reluctantly coming up for air. “They aren’t. But the stuff we’ll be teaching you later on is. I’m not risking you learning magic that dark and powerful until I’m sure you’ve mastered discipline.” That said, she dove back into her food, moaning in pleasure as she dug into her meat.

“Sunny’s right,” Angel said. “From what I hear, most warlocks went bad because the stuff they were getting into was just too much too quickly. Pacing yourself will allow you to become as proficient in all magic as Starswirl or Luna. Rush it, and Sunset and I will be forced to kill you.”

Starlight sighed, resting her head on the table as Angel and Sunset continued eating. “I don’t know what’s worse,” she muttered, “the matter of fact way you just said that, or that I’ve heard it enough to not even bat an eye.”

Skull came back in soon after, carrying a bottle of goldish-red liquid. “Well, looks like I might finally get some income this month,” he said quietly to himself, before placing it in his icebox. He looked to the others. “You all about done?”

Angel and Sunset let out simultaneous belches, shaking some dust from the rafters.

“That’s a ‘yes,’” Starlight said, rolling her eyes. “So, how far is this Hall?”

“Too far to walk or fly, considering where we are right now,” Skull replied, walking towards the door. “So, we’re going the way I always go. The magical way.”

“Oh. Got it.” Sunset and Starlight both lit their horns, the former asking, “So, what are the coordinates? Distance and direction would work too.”

Skull laughed. “Not what I meant, girls.” He pulled a familiar, gilded wing out of his satchel.

“Ugh.” Angel shuddered, massaging her stomach. “You sure that’s a good idea, considering how much we just ate? I don’t think it’ll taste as good coming back up.”

Skull shrugged. “It’s either that, or you ride on my back while I’m in wolf form for about five days.”

“Not that riding him isn’t an appealing prospect,” Angel whispered aside, causing the mares to giggle. “Sunset? Starlight? Hold onto your stomachs. This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

Skull tilted his head at the mares giggling, before shrugging. “Well, come on then.” He said, opening the front door, letting a cold, icy wind blow through the cabin.

Angel shivered. “I’d forgotten just how cold it is here.” A brief orange glow surrounded her and she sighed contentedly. “Okay, that’s better. Going to need to adjust the auto-apply function a bit to make it work more quickly.”

“G-g-g-good f-f-for y-y-you.” Starlight’s teeth chattered. “N-n-n-now w-w-would y-y-ou m-mind sh-sh-sharing the h-h-heat?”

Sunset rolled her eyes, her horn already glowing. Her teal aura covered herself and Starlight, bringing the purple mare’s chattering teeth to a stop. “Seriously? Your village was on the northern end of Equestria, right? How did you survive the winters if you hate cold this much?”

“By staying inside like a sane pony.”

“...the sane cult lea-”

“I KNOW WHAT I SAID!!!”

Skull chuckled. “Well, come on ladies. The Guild Hall awaits.”

In a blur of blue light, Skull, Angel, and Sunset and Starlight slammed down in front of a massive building at the base of Mt. Canter, the city of Canterlot just above the building.

“Ugh,” Sunset muttered, clutching her stomach as she let her warming spell fade. “Thanks for the warning, Angel.”

Angel shuddered. “No problem. Feels a little better than last time at least.”

“Pft, what are you girls complaining about?” Starlight asked. “That wasn’t so bad.”

Sunset glared at her. “Remind me how you learned to teleport?”

“Trial and error. Why?”

“Ugh.”

Skull chuckled again, then gestured to the building that lay before them. “Well ladies, welcome to the Hunter’s Guild HQ.” He said.

The building itself was similar in design to the town hall of Ponyville, only with a touch of Norse architectural design, complete with runes carved into the red, wooden support beams. White stucco stretched between the beams, and small, stained glass windows were spread sparsely throughout the three story building. The roof was made of pale red clay tile, adding a touch of Spanish to the overall look. A sign hung above the front doors, with the same symbol as the medallion Skull had showed Angel on it.

“What do you girls think?” Skull asked.

Angel let out a low whistle. “Fancy schmancy. I mean, it’s not as imposing as the Quarters of Hercules in Minos or as opulent as the Imperial Palace of the Gryphon Empire or as striking as the Castle of Friendship, but it beats the Tartarus out of anything I stayed in in Zebrica, so you know. One for four ain’t bad.”

“What about the intricate Changeling Hive and the majestic Canterlot Castle?” Sunset asked.

“...One for six.”

Skull shrugged. “I’ll take what I can get. Honestly, it’s just good to hear something good about it. Most nobles find it… Well, in their words, an eyesore.” Skull started to walk up the steps to the doors. “Come on, follow me.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Sunset remarked as they followed him. “The nobles find everything insulting to their sensibilities.” She smirked. “Makes it easy to mess with them.”

“True, and I do love messing with them,” Skull agreed as he opened the massive wooden doors with ease. “I have to be real discreet about it though. Already got fifty complaints from multiple houses about abusing their sons or daughters. Baseless claims of course.”

Angel and Sunset exchanged conniving glances. “Even more so once I’m through with them,” Sunset said. “Whatever routine you’re putting them through, those prissy noble's will see it as a meditation retreat by the time I’m done with them.”

Skull chuckled. “Sounds good to me,” he said as he lead them to a desk with a pegasus mare at it, wearing a uniform of sorts that Angel recognized as that of some kind of clerk in a hotel. All around the desk were tables, like a restaurant, or a bar, and a few ponies in basic golden armor were in some of the seats, drinking cider and chatting loudly and laughing raucously. “Maribelle, can you tell the recruits to wait for me at the Yard? I’m going to show some friends around.”

The mare blinked as she looked up to him, then nervously smiled and nodded. “Y-Yes sir, right away,” she said, before getting out of her own seat behind the desk and doing as told. Skull then walked towards a hallway and motioned for the others to follow him.

“This way,” he called over the din of the ponies talking.

“She seemed a little nervous,” Starlight mentioned as they followed him.

“That’s a pretty good summary of a lot of the ponies who work for me here,” Skull began as he kept walking, passing many stained glass windows depicting various creatures none of them had seen before. “Which would be because of my reputation.”

“Makes sense,” Angel said, shrugging and glancing down at Starlight. “You should see how the minotaurs look at me when I walk down the streets in Minos.” She hesitated. “And the Gryphons in the Empire. And the Ponies…”

Skull frowned, slowing down to walk beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Well, I’d never treat you like a freak.”

“Yeah, being the only human isn’t easy. Though, it might be the violent massacres of armies, rather than the human thing.” She nevertheless leaned into his side as they walked.

“Well, not like I don’t know the feeling either way,” He said, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. “And either way, I’m here for you if you need it.”

“Aaaaaw.”

Angel stiffened, her eyes darting to the side where Sunset and Starlight were staring at her and Skull, smiling genuinely. “Sorry, sorry,” Starlight said, waving away at Angel. “We’ll be quiet.”

“Just forget we’re even here,” added Sunset, her horn glowing and periodically pulsing with the familiar strobe of a photography spell.

Skull blushed as he realised what situation he’d put them both in, and almost removed his arm. Then, a strange fire burned in his eyes briefly, and he instead pulled Angel a little tighter to himself.

Angel blushed, but she didn’t pull away. “If you show those to my troops,” she muttered out the side of her mouth, “I will make sure they never find your body.”

Sunset allowed herself a small smirk. “Including or excluding other CO’s?”

Angel sighed.

Skull spoke up, that fire still in his eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t mind a copy. Angel does have a certain beauty to her when she blushes.”

*SHING*

Skull’s eyes drifted down to the blade pressed against his chest. “You want pics? You risk your own neck. Sunny’s earned the right to risk my ire.”

Skull blinked a few times, then slowly retracted his arm. “Right. Sorry,” he said, then sped up his pace, walking past her. He was quiet after that as he led them through the halls.

Angel smirked, retracting her blade. Her eyes went back to the mares, and she was surprised to find them giving her dirty looks. “What?”

Sunset just groaned and rolled her eyes while Starlight deadpanned. “Really? You had to ruin that moment?”

Angel sniffed and looked away, the better to hide her blush. “W-well, sorry to ruin your entertainment.”

Skull cleared his throat as he stopped at a set of doors. “We’re here.” He said, gesturing to the doors. “Angel, why don’t you head in and talk to the smithy? I need to go get the recruits ready.” With that, he walked past them all without another word.

Angel watched him until he turned a corner. She smiled lightly and turned to the doors, grabbing the handles and throwing them open.

Hot air blew past the group, for inside the room was a large forge, filled with ponies of all shapes and sizes working bellows. They were also shaping and hammering weapons and armor, and right in the middle of them all was a very large mare with an eyepatch and silver fur, along with a crew cut black mane and short cut tail of the same color. Her Cutie Mark was that of a flaming hammer meeting an anvil. She turned her one good, red eye to the group and grunted, pushing her way past the other smiths and stomping towards the girls.

“What are you all doing in here?” she noticed Angel. “You a member of that- I mean, the boss’s family or something?” she asked, voice deep and holding a heavy German accent.

“No,” Angel said, donning the mask of the General, Sunset straightening to attention beside her. “I am of his kind, though not of his blood. I am the Undying Angel, High General of the Grand Alliance of Sapience. I have been brought here by Skull to advise you on the workings of monstrous materials.”

The mare quirked a brow. “And how you plan on doing that? We haven’t killed any monsters yet, and the stuff the boss has stumps us enough anyways without materials from other monsters getting in the mix.”

Angel raised her hand, her first two fingers extended. “With this.” She drew her fingers through the air, opening up a portal. She reached in and pulled out her laptop. “In here,” she said, closing the portal, “is a detailed analysis of the exact composition of some of the monstrous materials. I have been able to adapt that information to my systems, and can teach you how to use it as well.”

The mare’s eye widened at this, but quickly settled back into it's original position. “Well, show me what you got, then. I’m willing to listen to anypony at this point.”

Angel nodded, opening her laptop and quickly navigating to the relevant information. “Working with this material is difficult without tools made from similar materials, but there are certain specific magical signatures that can manipulate whatever raw materials you have into the tools you will need.” She turned the laptop around to reveal a complex magical formula. “Now, who do you know that can cast something like this?

Skull soon came back to the smithy to find the head smith talking amicably with Angel, which made him quite surprised.

“You sure you don’t want a drink? They got some bucking good ale here, I’ll tell ya-” the silvery mare began, before noticing Skull. “Oh! Hey boss, you gotta hear this!”

Skull walked towards her, then stopped near the group and crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

“Alright, so you know how you’ve been trying for weeks to get us to make armor and weapons out of those Monster materials?” she began.

“Yes. I’m assuming Angel here managed to help you out?” he surmised, still not moving from his spot. The mare nodded with a large grin.

“Damn straight! With this info, we should be able to make a ton of stuff in just a few days!” she said jovially. Skull simply nodded.

“Good work then, Silver Anvil,” he looked to Angel and nodded to her. “And thanks to you, Angel.” He stepped to the side, motioning with an arm to the doors. “Now, let’s get to training the recruits, yes?”

Angel nodded, standing up and smiling at Silver. “I’ve very much enjoyed our conversation. I’ll be sure to send you copies of everything I have.” She reached out her hand. “It was nice to meet you.”

Silver kept her grin as she shook Angel’s hand firmly. “Same here, girl! Come by anytime! Especially if it’s for a drink!”

Angel sighed and allowed herself a smile. “I…suppose I could afford to let my hair down a bit, now that I’m not on the front lines.” She turned and nodded to Skull. “Lead on.”

Skull nodded again, and they all made their way out of the forge and through the halls. Things were silent as they walked, Angel noted. Skull didn’t seem as talkative as he had before. “Something wrong?” she asked.

Skull stopped at that, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask. “Huh?” He looked to her. “Oh, uh… No, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it Angel.” He resumed walking, doing so a bit more stiffly now.

Angel arched an eyebrow. “Nope.” She sped up, stepping in front of him and turning to face him. “See, that’s not going to work. Tell me what’s up.”

“...” Skull stopped and stared at her for a second or two, then looked away from her. “...Angel, am I…” He paused, unsure how to continue. He sighed, then turned his head back to face her. “What am I to you? How do you see me?”

Angel hesitated, glancing aside at Sunset and Starlight. She cleared her throat. The mares rolled their eyes and turned around. Angel cleared her throat again and turned back to Skull. “You want to know what I think of you?” she asked. He nodded, eyes gleaming with hope. “Well, you’re strong, resilient, have a good moral core, and…” She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, dropping back quickly and clearing her throat once more, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she looked away. “I… I suppose I’ve become a little…infatuated.”

Skull blushed himself, staring down at her in shock. “You… You have?” He blinked a few times, seeming somewhat shocked. “So…You’re not angry at me for earlier, then?”

Angel blinked, turning back to face him. “Angry? For what?”

“Ya know, for pushing my boundaries, asking for a photo and all that,” he explained, rolling his hand around. “You said I hadn’t earned the right to risk your ire, so I figured you just… Ya know, saw me as an acquaintance still.”

Angel was silent for a moment, staring up at Skull with a blank expression. “...I’ve spent far too much time around military types, haven’t I?”

Sunset snorted, her back still turned. “You think?”

“YOU LET TWO AND A HALF YEARS WITH HUMANS CHANGE YOU! YOU DON’T GET TO TALK!!!” Angel cleared her throat and looked Skull in the eye. “Quick question, have you ever been to New York? Maine? Anywhere in New England, really?”

Skull shook his head slowly. “Only Sweden to visit my cousins and Uncle,” he answered. “I lived in Texas with my Grandfather most of my life.”

Angel’s jaw dropped. “Texas? No freaking way! I was born and raised in Plano! Er-” She shook her head. “We’ll get to that later. Point is, up in New England, at least in the big cities, people curse and swear and threaten bloody murder on an hourly basis. It’s just how they say hello. The military, or at least the armies I’ve been a part of, are just like that. Our humor is…”

“Violent?” Sunset offered.

“Sadistic?” Starlight added.

“Let’s go with ‘harsh,’” Angel said. “Point is, I didn’t mean anything by the sword thing. I honestly half expected you to just laugh it off. As for earning the right to risk my ire,” she rolled her eyes, “Sunset and I have been fighting side by side for almost seven years. She’s got enough social dirt on me to get away with embarrassing me a little without fear of retribution. Not to downplay, you know,” her blush returned a little as her eyes shifted slightly off from his, “whatever’s between us,” her eyes returned to his, “but you just don’t have that much time under your belt. Besides,” a soft smile lit her face, “something tells me you wouldn’t fight dirty like Sunny would.”

“Just means he’s soft,” Sunset called over her shoulder.

“Or that he’s a decent person who wouldn’t want to embarrass me over something so petty as ruining a small bit of fun.”

“Like I said, soft.”

Skull frowned a bit. “Well, first, I doubt any of you have been eaten by a giant lamprey with wings and had to smell the inside,” he began, before turning his eyes to Angel’s and giving his own, warm smile. “Second…” He walked up and hugged her tightly. “Thanks, Angel.”

Angel smiled, returning the embrace. “No problem. Just…take my abrasiveness with a grain of salt.” She giggled. “Or a mountain of it. A decade of fighting tends to ruin one's sense of humor a little.”

Skull chuckled. “Will do, and honestly…” He gave her a kiss on her cheek as well. “Now that I know, I can’t say I’d have it any other way.”

“Aaaaaaw.” Angel rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored the mares, choosing instead to remain in the moment for a little longer. He eventually let go of her and smiled.

“Well, we should get back to the recruits-” he started, before a grey pegasus mare with crossed eyes flew in and bumped into him. He blinked, looking down at the mare. “Uh, can I help you, Ditzy?”

She jumped, before shooting to her hooves and pulling a letter out of her saddlebags and lifting it to him with a wing. “I have a letter here for you, Mister Skull!” she chirped. Skull smiled, taking it from her.

“Thanks, Ditzy,” he said warmly. She nodded and grinned.

“Anytime, Mister Skull!” She then flew out of the hall and left. Skull proceeded to open the letter, and pulled out two golden tickets. Skull’s eyes widened at this.

“Holy shit…” he breathed.

“Ugh!” Sunset groaned. “Please tell me those aren’t tickets to the GGG.”

Angel winced, hissing between her teeth. “Hope your Gala’s are better than my world’s, or you’re in for a long, boring night ahead of you.” Skull blushed as he read the letter, then quickly stashed it in his pocket and turned to Angel.

“Umm… Well…” he scratched his cheek. “I was uh… Hoping you’d join me. That’s why there’s two tickets…”

Angel blinked, staring from Skull to the pocket he’d stuffed the letter into. A grin began to slowly split her face. “A GGG where I have no prior reputation and the personal consequences are minimal if I piss some whining noble off?” She turned to Sunset and Starlight. “Ladies, put on your makeup. We’ve got a party to liven up!”

Skull smiled nervously. “So… That’s a yes?” he asked.

Angel chuckled, stepping back a bit. “Two words,” she said. “Suit Armor.” A familiar metallic chime sounded, and Angel’s clothes started to shift. It started at her feet, her shoes breaking into tiny squares and flipping around before forming back together, forming a cascade of motion up Angel’s legs, torso, head, and down her arms. When the effect passed, Angel was left standing in a sharp three-piece suit, a blood red tie splitting the black dress-shirt. In fact, everything else about the outfit was black, from the shoes, to the slacks, to the jacket, to the top hat that sat at a slight angle atop her head. Angel spun in a circle, her hair shimmering as it fanned out behind her. “Well?” she asked, grinning up at Skull. “What do you think?”

He blushed as he unashamedly looked over her form. “...Absolutely beautiful…” he breathed without thinking.

Angel smirked over at Starlight and Sunset. “And Twilight and Rarity say that girls belong in dresses.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, not everything about that mare can be perfect.” She raised an eyebrow at Starlight. “Guess we’d better find some outfits for ourselves.”

“Are you sure?” Starlight asked nervously. “I mean, won’t that make things weird between you and Twilight?”

“It’ll be fine,” Sunset said, waving her off. “She’ll understand that it’s just a friend thing.” She looked Starlight up and down. “Although, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to making this couple into a her-”

“So!” Starlight interrupted, grinning widely at Skull, her eye twitching. “Dresses?”

Skull blinked a few times, then shook his head rapidly. “Oh, uh, well, the Gala’s actually about a week away, so clothes aren’t an issue yet.”

“A week?” Angel cocked her head to the side, considering that for a moment. “Yeah, I guess that could work. I don’t have anything pressing back in my Equestria. I’ll let Spot know so he can get word to Twilight that I’ll be out for a while.”

Skull grinned. “Great to hear!” He seemed to realize something, then. “Oh, right, the recruits!” He started to walk at a brisk pace down the hallway. “Come on, we gotta hurry!”

Angel looked down at her suit and shrugged, rushing after him with Starlight and Sunset on her heels. “Lead the way!”

One week later…

Skull groaned as he slowly woke up and made to move, only to find himself restricted. He blinked and looked down at himself and blushed heavily. Angel was in his bed, her arms wrapped around him tightly. “A-A-Angel…?” he asked softly, surprised and greatly embarrassed.

“Mph, five more minutes,” she muttered. Her eyes shot open and she bolted upright. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“D-Don’t ask me! I just woke up myself!” he said, sitting up himself.

“No, not that,” Angel said, glaring at nothing as she climbed out of the bed, dressed only in a set of modest underwear. “I climbed in because I was cold. I mean that I haven’t resisted waking in years! I trained myself for WEEKS to be up and aware as soon I woke up. Ugh, this time off is killing my routines.”

“Wait, you mean you climbed in of your own volition?!” he cried, blushing brighter. “I don’t even-! why would you-! What?!”

Angel blinked at him a couple of times before rolling her eyes and opening a couple of portals. “Right, human. I keep forgetting our taboos. Most folk back in my Equestria don’t give a second thought to cuddling.” She turned her back to him and stripped out of her underwear, tossing it into one of the portals and pulling out a new set from the other. “Back home, ‘sleeping together’ is just that.” She slipped into her underwear and pulled out a fresh uniform. “Sleeping in the same bed as someone else for companionship and/or warmth and/or comfort.” She finished dressing and turned back around, smirking at Skull’s awkwardness. “So sorry for the show.”

Skull’s face was bright, cherry red, having seen her in the nude. “I-I-I-I-I-!” he stuttered.

Angel chuckled and strutted out of the room. “Close that mouth,” she called back. “You’ll catch flies.”

Skull promptly did as ordered, and as she walked away, she faintly heard him mutter, “
Padre, he visto el cielo…”

“I’ll assume that was a compliment,” she called back. She walked around a bundle of blankets, kicking it lightly. “Sunny. Star. Up and at ‘em.”

The lump groaned before the blankets flew off in a blast of teal magic. “Up, Starlight,” Sunset muttered, using her magic to brush out her mane and coat. “We’ve got a full day ahead of us.”

Skull soon came nearby, dressed only in his boxers and a black T-shirt, and opened the red chest by them, blushing heavily as he knew they saw him, and he had no way of hiding. After all, he had no walls inside the house to separate things.

“Can’t we just kill the sun?” Starlight muttered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up. “I’m sure Princess Celestia can figure out something else to do with her time.”

“As fun as that might be to do,” Angel said, pulling a comb out of her pocket and running it through her hair, “we do have to remember that Skull still has to deal with the consequences of what we do here.”

“Not that that’s going to stop us from having fun at the Gala,” Sunset said. “I plan to set fire to at least ten egos. Nothing better than watching…” She tilted her head to the side, gazing curiously at Skull. “What’s wrong with him?”

Angel glanced over and rolled her eyes. “Just a silly taboo that humans have about nudity and sleeping together. I outgrew it years ago.”

“I also happen to be a proud believer of God, so there’s that,” Skull added, pulling out a new set of clothes they’d not seen before. To their surprise, it looked like the armor one would see on a member of the Three Musketeers, only black, and a bit flashier. It screamed classy and romantic.

Sunset let out a low whistle. “Very nice,” she said. “Why that puts even your best armor to shame, Angel.” After a moment of silence, she turned to look at the girl in question. “You hear that, An- Angel. What’s wrong?”

Angel stood deathly still, staring out at nothing, her muscles tense. Her eyes were dead, empty, her arms trembling slightly.

Skull stopped as well, putting his armor to the side and walking up to her. “Angel? You okay?” He asked, concerned.

“...God?” she asked. He blinked a few times.

“Um… Yeah? What about Him?” he asked.

Angel was silent for a full minute. Eventually, she shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. She took a deep breath and turned to face them, a mostly convincing grin pasted to her face. “Now, let’s get ready to go. That Gala’s not going to liven itself up, and we’re going to spend the whole day getting ready to have the night of our lives.”

Skull frowned, but slowly nodded. “Okay…” he said, before turning back to the chest and starting to put on his armor. “You girls go get dressed in the brewery. I’d uh… Well, it’s just weird for me otherwise. Sorry.”

Sunset and Starlight exchanged glances before nodding. “Sure thing,” Sunset said, nodding her head towards the door. “Come on, girls.”

Angel nodded and followed them into the brewery. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Sunset turned her full attention to Angel. “Okay, who is this ‘God’ and why did Skull mentioning him shake you up so much?”

Angel sighed, sitting on the floor and staring off into the distance once again. “He’s… no-one important. Not since I arrived in Equestria, anyway. Just a bit of Earth mythology.”

“Mythology you believe in?” Starlight asked.

Angel hesitated. “I did,” she said. “Still might, I don’t know. He’s not really relevant anymore, since I’ve been yanked from His universe and dumped into Equis.”

“Skull still seems to think he is,” Starlight said. “...is that a problem?”

Angel shook her head. “Hard to reconcile belief in a loving Father who preaches peace with the self-initiated slaughter of entire armies.”

Silence reigned in the room, even as the girls began preparing for that night. All the while, Angel never lost her thousand-mile stare, her mind going back to simpler, happier times.

A few hours later, after a carriage had come to pick them all up, Skull and the group arrived at the Gala. Banners and streamers of varying colors were all over the place, along with seemingly strategically placed busts and vases filled with exotic flowers. Nobles were on the scene, lined up at the entrance to the main floor and all over the floor itself, talking and chatting amicably. Skull and Angel stood out like sore thumbs, and many a noble had already made “quiet” comments about them and their attire.

“We seem to be making quite an impression,” Angel said, smiling pleasantly around with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“Considering everyone is silently calling us monsters in suits, I’d agree,” Skull concurred, a thin smile on his face as they waited in line.

Angel chuckled. “Well, we’ll see just how ‘monstrous’ they find me after tonight. Especially once I make my introduction.”

Skull chuckled as well. “Well, try not to scare too many of them off. I have my own plans for tonight, and I want there to be an audience.”

“Should be easy enough.” Angel glanced over her shoulder and winced. “Not so sure it’ll be so easy for her.”

Sunset and Starlight stood behind them, drawing almost as much attention as her and Skull. Starlight was dressed in a dark purple dress spangled with silver stars and was looking around in confusion at the looks they were receiving. Sunset, on the other hand, was standing proud and confident, looking around at the surrounding nobles. Her dress was an elaborate golden number with intricate flame designs. As her eyes passed from face to face, she gave either a cocky grin or a slight sneer, reveling in their confusion. The nobles didn’t seem much of anything besides confused or slightly shocked.

Skull looked to Angel, quirking a brow at her under his hat. “You were saying?”

“I’m saying that she might scare them off before we get to have our fun,” Angel said. “Whatever the Sunset of this Equestria is like, it looks like she’s a lot tamer than mine. These poor saps won’t know what hit them; I almost feel sorry for them.”

“I don’t really know anything about this world’s Sunset, but based on what we’re seeing, you’re right,” he said, grinning widely. “This is really gonna be a fun night.”

They soon reached the guard in charge of admittance, and Skull gave him their tickets. The guard looked them over, looked at the group, frowned, grunted, then stepped aside.

“Alright, get in then,” he said tersely. Skull shot him a light glare, then gained a smile as he offered his arm to Angel.

“Shall we, my lady?” he asked, smiling sweetly at her.

Angel returned the smile, taking his arm. “Indeed we shall, my good sir.” They stepped inside, Starlight following them while Sunset paused, grinning at the guard.

“How unprofessional,” she said. “Don’t you know that Tia’s pet statues aren’t supposed to show emotion?” She smirked and pranced past him, smacking his face with her tail as she did so. He seemed shocked at this, even insulted. But he grit his teeth and took it in stride, bowing his head as she walked away.

“Apologies, Lady Shimmer,” he said through clenched teeth.

Sunset shivered as she caught up with Starlight. “‘Lady Shimmer,’ he said,” she cooed. “Oh, I’m going to have so much fun tonight.” Starlight sighed and shook her head as they continued further into the castle.

Eventually they reached the floor, where nobles were talking amongst each other, though many of them stopped to stare at the arrivals and whisper to each other.

“Is that Lady Shimmer?”

“Why is she with a beast like the Cursebringer?”

"And who’s that wench next to him? A bride?”

“As if that monster could find one who loved him.”

“Still… Why is she here, with her arm entwined with his?”

Skull growled at them all, flashing the still very visible sword in it’s sheath at his hip. The nobles quickly turned away at that.

“Ignore them,” Angel said. “Tonight should teach them just how amazing and cultured ‘monsters’ like us can be.” She looked up at him, her eyes hardening into a glare. “And if you try to do something stupid like ‘defend my honor’ or some crap, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life. Got it?”

Skull grunted, removing his hand from the hilt of his weapon. “Fine, fine, whatever you say,” he conceded, before gaining a smirk. “Though you do look like a pretty gorgeous military officer.” He teased.

“Well it’s a good thing I am a gorgeous military officer, then,” she said, tossing her hair. “Otherwise I’d be giving them the wrong impression.”

Skull chuckled. “Right, well, you want a drink? I bet the Princesses are using some of the brand I’ve been selling to them this past week. It’s good stuff, too.”

Angel sighed, rolling her eyes. “Sure, why not? Might as well start this night out right.” Skull grinned, walking over to the table after releasing her arm. He soon came back with two glasses of, not red, but blue, liquid. He offered one to her. “My lady.” He said, grinning at her.

Angel took the drink, nodding to him before taking a sip. She noted the drink had a special sort of zing to it, like honey, but spiced, like black licorice, and also a bit of an apple juice taste to it. “So, where are the princesses? I was hoping to start out my introduction with them.”

“Should I know?” he asked her, tilting his head. “I mean, I’ve only ever been to parties with my family and one wedding, never actually did this kind of thing much, much less been to this specific party.”

“Hm.” Angel shrugged, taking another sip. “Well, let me know if you see them. There isn’t much for me to do here until they’ve arrived.” Skull nodded before blushing a bit, but he looked away to hide it. Angel thought she caught him making a quick gesture of his hand to a familiar prancing pink pony, but she wasn’t sure why.

Angel shrugged and made her way over to her. “Pinkie Pie,” she called as she approached.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I gotta gonowbyebye!” she said nervously, before zipping off in a cloud of dust shaped like herself.

Angel sighed, rolling her eyes and looking around. “Where there’s one,” she muttered, “the other five can’t be far behind.” She found a number of nobles, but no sign of the other members of the Mane Six. She even spotted her Sunset conversing with a pair of ponies whose faces were growing more flushed and angry by the minute while Starlight shook her head, her face hidden in her hoof. “Or not.”

And then, she heard Skull speak up. “Hey, uh, Angel?” he began.

“Hm?” She looked back at him. “What is it?”

He seemed nervous, and was blushing. He briefly looked to a stage, where Angel saw the Mane Six, which was strange, as she had not seen them there before. They all nodded to him, and he took a deep breath as entrancing, fast paced and upbeat music began to play. Drums, flutes, and tambourines were in the mix, all the Mane Six playing them. Skull took another breath, then reached a hand to Angel.

“...Can I have this dance?” he asked, blushing a fair cherry red.

Angel looked up, tapping her foot to the fast paced music. She smiled and looked back down at him, taking a step and launching herself into a spin, colliding with him and pulling him into the dance. She smirked at him, immediately taking the lead. “Take it from me, if you can.” He blushed, but steeled himself and grabbed her waist, using the leverage to spin her, then stepping back and starting to dance.

It seemed practiced, but only after a more careful glance. He snapped his fingers in tune to the beat, his arms up around him, but not raised in the air, more like they were just at the ready. He spun around, kicking one leg up slightly at the end, and continued that movement for a time. It was quite similar to a Romani dance.

Angel, unfamiliar with this dance, moved with her own style. Pulling from combat forms, her dance was as powerful as it was fluid. She moved across the dance floor like a force of nature, all eyes drawn to her as she leapt and spun.

The crowd was, understandably, enraptured with the two strong, powerful dancers. Skull danced fluidly, with great emotion and feeling and passion, and he continued to dance around Angel, swooping in close at times and then retreating, like a cautious wolf and it’s dangerous prey.

Angel noticed this pattern and smirked, deciding to turn the tables. Her dance became more aggressive, pushing Skull to retreat more and more until their roles seemed reversed. She was now the roaring lion, stalking and battering at the gazelle as it nimbly leapt out of her reach time and again.

Only for him to grow incredibly aggressive, at times launching himself to her with a flourishing spin and grabbing her by the waist, forcing her to dance to his tune for a bit, before retreating, and then finally, he cemented it, grabbing her firmly by the waist and twirling her.

Starlight and Sunset watched from the sidelines, the former mesmerized while the latter studied the flow of the “battle.” “He’s good,” she muttered, watching as Skull once again took control. “I’ve never seen anyone move around Angel with such confidence.”

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked. “Aren’t they just dancing?”

Sunset shook her head, her eyes never leaving the couple as they separated again, circling each other like the rival predators they were. “You think this is rehearsed?” Sunset asked. “Or that Angel would ever allow anyone who hadn’t proven themselves to take the lead? This dance floor is a battlefield like any other, with their reputations on the line.” Her brow furrowed. “Although, Angel could be pressing a lot harder than she is…”

Angel, meanwhile, was having the time of her life. Never before had she met someone who could keep up with her on the dance floor, much less match her step for step. A massive grin had formed on her face at the first shift in power and had failed to move as the dance wore on. She sensed the end of the song coming and spun closer to Skull. Well, big boy? Let’s see how you handle the finale.

Her surprise and joy were immense when he calmly maneuvered himself and moved her arms and legs to match his flow with his own arms, wrapping his arms around her fully and then dipping her, smiling down at her with warmth and also confidence. Angel smiled back, breathing heavily as the final note was struck. “Well played,” she whispered.

He grinned at this. “Not over yet,” he said.

“What do you-” she started, only for him to suddenly lock lips with her, passion fueling his movement as he cradled her head with one hand and kissed her deeply. Her eyes widened in shock before slowly fluttering closed. She reached up and pulled herself against him, humming happily into the kiss. They finally broke apart with a gasp a moment later, Angel grinning up at him. “Cheater.”

“Only for the best girl I know,” he responded.

A loud roar of approval coupled with the stomping of hooves greeted them after this masterful performance. Angel allowed Skull to lift her to her feet before she turned and bowed theatrically to the crowd.

Skull did much the same, and when they stood upright again, they saw not just the Mane Six stomping their hooves, but also the two Princesses and Starlight and Sunset. Skull turned to Angel for a moment.

“So… Was that uh… Good?” he asked, suddenly nervous.

Angel rolled her eyes before slugging him lightly in the shoulder. “Well, you just made us an official couple at the most prestigious event of the year, so yeah, I’d say that was pretty good.”

“And the kiss?” he asked next.

Angel smirked. “Who knows?” She stepped away from him, her face steeling as she approached the sister princesses and the Mane Six. She saluted the former. “Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. It is good to see you again.”

“Indeed, and you as well,” Luna said with a smile and a nod.

“I see you and Skull have really gotten close,” Celestia said with a knowing smirk.

“That was…*sniff* Beautiful!” cried Rarity, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“And so romantic!” Twilight agreed.

“I thought it was cool at least,” Rainbow said with a shrug.

Angel lowered her arm and relaxed, nodding to the Mane Six. “Thank you. I’ve not had much of a chance to dance lately, nor the inclination.” She allowed herself a small smirk. “Few can keep up with me enough to make it worth my time.”

“I can vouch for that.” The group looked over to see Sunset and Starlight approaching, the former giving Angel an appraising look. “She usually dominates the floor entirely. Not even minotaurs will challenge her anymore.”

“Can’t say I blame them,” Starlight muttered. “If she’d come literally waltzing into my old village with half that level of power, I’d have surrendered on the spot.” Her eyes fell on Twilight and the others and she froze. “Oh. Wow. This is… weird.”

“Starlight? I thought you said you didn’t want to come… Did you change your mind?” Twilight asked, confused. She noticed Sunset. “And Sunset? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Or your parents?”

Sunset stared at Twilight for a moment. “My mind is buzzing with so many possibilities right now,” she muttered. “Most of which would earn me a week on the couch if I told Twi.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, but we aren’t the ponies you know.” She pointed at Angel. “We’re here with her.”

Angel nodded. “It’s true. These are the Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer from my world, the former being my and Sunset’s student in combat magic, and the latter being my Twilight Sparkle’s lover.”

“So many ideas,” Sunset muttered.

“W-Wait what?! You mean me, and her and-!” Twilight started, looking back and forth rapidly between Sunset and Angel, a massive blush on her face, before steam poured out of her ears and she collapsed. Celestia giggled daintily behind a hoof.

“Seems my old student has been overwhelmed,” she said, smiling down at Sunset. “As for your ‘ideas’, I would advise not following them. A certain Flash Sentry would be very upset otherwise.”

Sunset shrugged. “Who says we wouldn’t invite him?”

“Okay, that’s enough, Sunset,” Starlight said, grabbing the yellow unicorn in her magic and carrying her off. “Don’t you still have some nobles to terrorize and demoralize? I think I saw Blueblood over by the punch a minute ago.”

Angel winced. “Ouch. I’m not a fan of my Blueblood, but ouch. I’m not sure whether I should warn him or just watch.”

“Oh? So she is going to humiliate him?” Luna queried, before gaining a grin and looking to her sister. “Shall we go see, sister?”

Celestia sighed. “Much as I love my nephew and agree he is a pain sometimes, I’d rather not be seen giggling like a filly at his plights. It’s unbefitting of a ruler and an aunt.” She smirked. “Though you are more than welcome to see for yourself, dear sister.”

Luna’s grin nearly split her face. “Oh, I believe I shall enjoy this.” She then quietly made her way towards where Sunset and Starlight had gone. Celestia turned back to Angel.

“So, how has Skull been doing, might I ask?” she questioned.

“Honestly? I’m not entirely sure,” Angel admitted. “Time flows differently between our worlds when I’m not here, and while it’s only been a few months for you, it has been more than four years for me. I only know what he’s told me since I arrived last week.” She arched an eyebrow. “So really, I should be asking you that question.”

“Well, I’ve only been able to contact him via mail, and he’s always been…” Celestia paused, trying to think of a term. “...Short, with his responses. I’d hoped you’d know how he was doing, at least recently.” She shot a look to where Skull was awkwardly standing among a crowd of noble mares, all seemingly fawning over him. “Though right now, it seems he might need some help from his special somepony.” Celestia said with a knowing smile as she looked back to Angel.

Angel looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Great. I have to play the jealous girlfriend to bail him out.” She sighed and turned to walk towards him, but paused. “...I suppose you could say that he’s been feeling bitter about his situation,” she said. “He feels that he is doing a large amount of good work while receiving neither recognition nor compensation. I may not know the details of your arrangements with him, but it hardly seems an ideal strategy to keep the one man who can best help you against Equestria’s newest threats in isolation and depression.” With that, she walked forward, sparing Celestia not another glance.

Skull was obviously having a hard time with the noble mares, meanwhile, all of them clamoring for him to join them on a walk or, for the more adventurous, a herd. “I-I’m not sure I’m comfortable with forming a herd…” He said to one mare.

“Oh but you look so ravishing!” said another.

“And those moves of yours were just so dashing and poetic!” said yet another. More of them continued to pitch in, and Skull was feeling very overwhelmed.

“I rather think that that’s more than just his decision,” Angel said, coming up behind the mares. They started and turned to find her staring down at them, her expresion placid but her eyes burning red. “Unless of course you were planning to do something to him behind my back?”

“Oh, um, n-no, not at all,” said one mare nervously.

“We were just leaving, in fact!” said another.

“You mean you were,” said one very wealthy looking mare. Gold and silver seemed to be woven into her dress, and the twin platinum clasps on her ears gleamed in the dim light. She sniffed disdainfully. “I, on the other hand, am not afraid of this brute of a mare, and honestly, I don’t see why we can’t share,” she turned hungry eyes to Skull, “this lovely hunk of a stallion, between ourselves.” Skull looked nervously between her and Angel.

“A brute you say?” The other two mares shivered and darted off at Angel’s tone as she stepped directly between the remaining mare and Skull. “Well listen up, you sniveling sycophant,” she said, her voice a patient glacier and her eyes a pair of blazing infernos. “This ‘brute’ is the Undying Angel. High General of the Grand Alliance of Sapience. Champion of Minos. High General of the United Nation of Zebrica. Savior of the Gryphon Empire. This ‘brute’ wields the might of three great nations with naught but her commands and the fear that she has placed in them. This ‘brute’ has faced champions, armies, and dragons single-handedly and lived to tell the tale. This ‘brute’ is powerful enough that the very Sun and Moon hesitate to directly oppose her.” She leaned down, placing her face a mere inch away from the mare’s. “And this ‘brute,’ like the man standing behind her, is monogamous. So,” her eyes narrowed, “are we going to have a problem?”

The mare’s pupils shrunk a bit and her ears folded back at Angel’s tone and claims. “U-Uhm… No…” she squeaked.

“No, WHAT?!”

“N-No ma’am! Nothing wrong at all! I’ll take my leave now!” the mare said, before galloping off hurriedly.

Skull sighed in relief as the mare left. “Thanks… I’m, well, not used to so much attention, especially from women.”

Angel scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t think of them as women,” she said. “Think of them as pathetic leeches hungry for even the smallest bite of power or prestige. Makes them far easier to deal with.” Her eyes roamed the room until they fell upon a refreshment table and lit up. “Oh! Chocolate cake!” She hummed merrily to herself as she skipped towards the table, drawing no small number of baffled stares from the ponies who had just witnessed her verbal beatdown.

Skull blinked a few times, then chuckled and walked over to her. “You know, you’re really cute when you do that.” He said as he stood behind her. He then pulled something from his pouch, wrapped in tin foil. “Hence why I made this for you last night after you fell asleep.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Kinda why I was so surprised you jumped in bed with me, since I worked late into the night to make it. Had to be like three hours of time left in the night when I went to bed.” He shrugged. “Anyway, here you go.” He handed it to her.

Angel smiled and took the package from him. “That’s so sweet,” she said, before lowering her voice. “And the cute bit there was intentional. Got to do something to offset the hardass General Angel, or it’ll scare off everyone I meet.” She unwrapped the foil, her jaw dropping as she saw - and smelled - what was inside.

Inside was a full bowl of curry, filled with the scent of a spice she’d not smelled before, but it was strong and hearty. Furthermore, the broth was a light golden color, dirtied with a bit of brown around chunks of meat of golden brown, deep-fried beef. There was a bit of rice in there too, though it had some brownish-reddish sauce she’d also not seen before on it.

“Well, you still do it unintentionally sometimes, I know that much from spending a week with you, and that’s why I made this,” he gestured to the wooden bowl. “I call it, ‘Golden Sunrise.’”

Angel hesitantly lifted a spoonful to her mouth, taking a bite and humming in pleasure at the taste. “Oh sweet Celestia,” she muttered, her face practically glowing with both pleasure and heat. “This is the second best curry I’ve ever tasted!”

Skull grinned widely. “Good to hear!” he said. “I had to go out and get a lot of exotic ingredients from around Canterlot, lots of hidden caves and the like. I’m just glad I had time to make it afterwards, as well as that you enjoy it.”

“And enjoy it I do.” Angel took another bite, humming and shivering. “Oh yeah, I’m going to be enjoying this for a while.” She drew her fingers through the air, casually opening a hole in reality and ignoring the various cries of shock from around her. She snuck one last bite of curry before placing it in one of several cubbies on the other side of the portal, closing it up a moment later. “I’ll be saving that one for a rainy day. Thank goodness I figured out that temporal difference bit in the code.”

Skull smiled, before looking around. “So, uh… What do we do now?”

Angel shrugged, grabbing a glass of wine and turning her back to the table, hopping up to sit and taking a sip. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that Sunny hasn’t caused a riot or set someone on fire yet.” She turned an eager grin on Skull. “Do you think anyone here will challenge her to a duel if she insults them enough?”

“Dunno, but-,” Skull began, before a small flash of light burst into light near Sunset, and a noble charged at her, a strange rapier in his magical grasp.

“You wench! I’ll end you here and now!” he roared. Skull’s eyes widened.

“Shit… That’s one of our weapons,” he noted. “Didn’t think Silver had given them out to nobles just yet…”

“Wench?” Sunset asked, staring at the noble boredly as she retreated, easily dodging his thrusts. “That’s the best you’ve got? I just insulted your entire family line on an individual level and exposed you for cheating on your wife in front of her and all of your friends, and the worst you can throw at me is ‘wench?’ I’d hoped the nobles in this world were more creative with their insults.” She casually sidestepped, smirking slightly as the noble’s blade sunk into a marble pillar. “And better at swordplay. Clearly, I was mistaken on both fronts.”

The noble growled as he wrenched his blade out of the pillar. “I am the head of the Great House of Telrund! I will not be insulted without severe consequence!” He roared as he charged at her, but to the surprise of all present, a seemingly demonic glow covered his form and weapon, red in coloration and flame-like in form, and he sped toward Sunset with greater speed, managing to slice her cheek.

Sunset leapt back, a look of interest on her face. She brought a hoof to her cheek and pulled it away, her yellow coat now smeared with red. She blinked. “Huh.” Her horn lit, and a small burst of flame covered her cheek, fading to reveal that the injury had vanished. “Right on.” She looked back at the noble, her horn glowing again and shaping her magic into twin short-swords. “That little trick just made you worth my time.” She smirked. “You should feel both honored and very, very scared.”

Angel sighed, downing the rest of her wine in a single gulp. “Well, she’s serious. Show’s over. It was good while it lasted, though.”

Skull nodded. “It is.” He started to walk towards the two, only to pause as Angel placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Let her finish this,” she said. “Trust me. She gets really cranky when someone interrupts her fight.”

Skull frowned. “That weapon came from one of my people. And if you hadn’t noticed…” He gestured to how the noble, while being cut up a number of times, was quickly learning her patterns and adapting, and each time he adapted, he would counter with a burst of demonic aura, and give her a deep cut. “...It’s waking up in response to his emotions.”

Angel hummed thoughtfully, looking between the noble and Sunset before sighing. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point.” She pitched her voice louder. “Oy! Sunny-Bum! Stop playing with the poor sap with the magic sword and finish this already!”

“Pah!” Sunset retorted, receiving another gash on her right foreleg and healing it with a quick burst of fire. “You’re no fun!” Her horn suddenly blazed and she vanished, appearing above the noble’s back. “Just when it was getting good,” she muttered, thrusting one blade into his spine and the other into his head.

“SUNSET!”

“Relax!” Sunset called, landing on her hooves and dissipating her blades as the unicorn fell behind her. “I set them to stun. The worst he’ll have is a nasty headache when he wakes up.”

A number of guards surrounded Sunset after regaining their composure, and a good few more surrounded the noble, checking his wounds. Celestia and Luna approached. Luna turned to one of the guards caring for the noble.

“Are her words true?” she asked. The guard turned to her and slowly nodded.

“Yes, Your Majesty. He has minimal cuts, but they all seem to be superficial,” he answered. Celestia hummed as she turned a cold gaze to Sunset.

“Miss Shimmer, I’d like it if you refrain from hurting my guests from here on out,” she intoned. “Do so again and I will be forced to kick you out.”

Sunset scoffed, rolling her eyes as she checked herself over for any wounds she might have missed. “Oh sure. He attacks first, he goes through a power boost, he’s the one who launches killing blows, and I’m the one at fault. If it weren’t for that aura thing, I wouldn’t have even touched him. Knowing his type, he would have tired out after five minutes of failing to land a blow on me.”

Celestia sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. “Miss Shimmer, do not suggest I am without reason. I did not say he wouldn’t be punished, I am only letting you know to not perpetuate the attacks.” She lifted her hoof from her face, fixing Sunset with a firm glare. “I am not blind. I saw how you incited him, and I know you know he would have resorted to such base reactions.”

“Well, yeah,” Sunset said, shrugging. “That’s why I did it.”

“Indeed. We are only asking that you do not attack anyone again, no matter how much they try to kill you. Leave their punishment to us,” Luna added in.

Sunset turned her gaze to Luna, staring her down for a moment before sighing. “Fair enough. I apologize, Your Highn-” She paused, remembering how the guard had addressed her. “Your Majesty. Sorry, different world, different forms of address.” Her eyes moved to Celestia, and a small smirk appeared as she whispered to Luna, “Though Sun-Butt is still Sun-Butt in any universe.”

Luna barely managed to cover up a snort at the nickname, but quickly regained her composure. “Yes, well, if that is all… Guards, please take Lord Telrund to the dungeons. I’d like to question him later about that aura.” They all saluted and marched off, the noble in tow. Celestia noted the many stares in their direction.

“Please, my little ponies, be at ease. There is no trouble here. Go back to your merrymaking,” she said with a benevolent smile. They all slowly did so.

“Aw, but you interrupted my merrymaking.” A purple hoof slapped Sunset upside the head, the yellow unicorn barely flinching. “Okay, I deserved that.”

“You deserved that big time,” Starlight deadpanned. “And Rarity’s going to freak out when she sees what you let happen to your dress. Is this what war does? Turns ponies into psychopathic battle addicts?”

Angel hummed in contemplation as she walked over. “Haven’t noticed that pattern amongst zebras, gryphons, or minotaurs. Must be a human thing.” Skull frowned, walking over as well.

“I’m not sure I should be glad that I’m only in a technical war or not,” he said in reply. “I mean, with Dragon Quest monsters in the mix, that’s pretty much the only reason it could be considered one, since a lot of them are intelligent.”

Sunset waved him off. “Oh don’t worry, she’s kidding.” A beat. “Men are far more emotionally stable. It’s totally a woman thing.” She raised a hoof which Angel bumped with her fist while Starlight facehoofed.

“...Well, at least that means I still have a strong, beautiful woman on my side,” he smiled and wrapped an arm around Angel’s waist. “Besides, I kinda like her crazy side.”

“Careful there,” Angel said, staving off her blush with bravado. “You haven’t seen me at my craziest.” Skull just grinned, kissing her cheek.

“Well, I certainly hope to,” he replied cheekily.

“Really?” Sunset asked, raising an incredulous eyebrow. “You want to see her dive down a dragon’s throat while blasting ‘Better Get Ready to Die’ from organic speakers mounted on her shoulders? Because that’s the craziest I’ve seen from her, and Tempest swears that she’s seen worse.”

“...” Skull slowly looked to Angel, an unreadable look in his eyes. Then his grin grew, and his grip on her waist tightened. “That... Sounds hot.”

Angel shrugged. “Meh, not really. The speakers blew out my eardrums in the first few seconds, and it took three resets for me to carve my way out of its stomach.” She winced. “Not fun for either of us.” She shrugged, slipping out of his hold and sauntering back to the wine table. “Still, not as crazy as that time I tricked a gryphon into swallowing his mother whole. Granted, she was only three inches tall at the time.”

Skull hummed in thought. “Well,” he followed after her, grabbing another glass of wine for the both of them. “Still sounds hot to me, long as you forget the parts where you died. You have no idea how few girls would go out with me after finding out about my bloodlust.” He took a sip of his drink after handing her her own.

“Oh?” she asked, watching as Starlight and Sunset split up to mingle some more. “And what about before you were displaced? Any ex’s I should be jealous of?”

An imperceptible pause before Skull shook his head. “Nah, not really. No actual ex’s, but there was one who asked me out but broke it off because she didn’t like my bloodlust, and because she didn’t like how one of my cousins kept trying to get in her pants every time she came over.” Skull sipped more of his drink. “Nadia does that to people.”

“Sounds… interesting.” Angel shrugged before taking another sip. “But that’s family I guess. Gotta love ‘em, even if they drive you crazy.” She sighed, staring out across the room at nothing. “What I wouldn’t give to see them again.” Skull frowned, walking a bit closer and placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Sorry for bringing the topic up,” he motioned with his drink to the gardens outside the dance floor. “Come on, let’s go over there for a bit.”

Angel shrugged, swirling her wine a bit as she followed his lead. “Don’t apologize,” she muttered. “I’m the one who brought up Earth.” She scoffed and shook her head as they stepped outside. “Eleven years, and you think I’d have gotten over it.”

Skull shrugged as they sat on a stone bench overlooking the entirety of the gardens. A number of flowers were blooming, from roses to daffodils to hyacinths and more, along with hedges and trees and statues that dotted the area. The moon Luna held dominion over was high in the sky, shining benevolent light upon the world below. There were even fireflies flitting to and fro. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that very few people get over losing their home.” He looked to his half-empty glass. “...Or their family, one after the other.” He sighed deeply, before gaining a smile. “But hey, we’ve got each other, that’s all we really need, right?” He turned his smile to her, the sight warming her heart a bit.

“This is… nice,” Angel admitted. She sighed again, her brief smile falling from her face as she stared across the gardens. “And once upon a time, I guess it would have been all I needed. But now?” She frowned, her grip tightening on her glass. “...I’ve done too much to deserve a nice, clean, happy ending. Or any ending for that matter. Besides, Equestria needs a protector, whether they know it, want it, or not, and I’m not sure they’ll ever be ready for me to stop defending them from the background.” Skull placed his drink to the side and whirled her around to face him.

“Angel,” he began slowly. “You may have killed more intelligent life than me, you may have seen more than me, and you may have changed because of that, but you are still you, you are still human, deep down.” He closed in, his forehead touching hers as he stared into her eyes with his own golden ones. “You’re the girl I fell in love with. And I wouldn’t have unless I knew you were a good person.” He squeezed her shoulders affectionately. “The fact you’ve done most of it to protect, even if some of it wasn’t, shows you deserve a happy ending.” He smiled, and kissed her. When he pulled back, one of his hands went to her head and stroked her hair lovingly. “And I want to be the one to give you that happy ending.”

Angel was silent for a moment, staring back at Skull, her face unreadable. “You know, there’s an interesting saying that ponies have. A twist on a classic Earth one.” She reached up and gently pulled his hand from her head. “The portal to Tartarus is opened with the incantation of good intentions.” She stood up and took a couple of steps away, facing away from him as she stared up at the clear night sky. “Much more poetic than our version, but the meaning rings true. I’ve done a lot to protect Equestria. Slaughtered minotaurs in their arenas for their entertainment. Instigated and spearheaded a tribal war that consumed a nation for more than three years. Forced social revolution almost at swordpoint. Killed a centaur when I knew there were other ways to take him down. Ensured the eventual extinction of my best friend’s species. And now it seems that I’ll be a major catalyst in three or four nations xenociding another.” She looked over her shoulder at Skull, her face blank. “And when it all ends, even in the best case scenario where the dragons back off and Equestria never has to have its innocence ruined, I still won’t have my rest.” Her eyes turned back to the stars. “The Undying Angel, the Undying Demon of Equestria, will never be able to stop looking for threats. The Storm King came out of nowhere. Everything turning out all right with Starlight was pure luck. I won’t ever be able to let my guard down. Ever.” Her eyes turned back to Skull, the slightest hint of moisture collecting there before she blinked it away. “How can I have a happy ending, when ‘The End’ never comes? And when the voices of the dead will continue to cry out from the dust for eternity?”

Skull went deathly silent as he looked to her, his own face unreadable. Slowly, he pulled the brim of his hat down and stood up, walking over to her. He wrapped her in the tightest hug he could without hurting her, and stared down at her with his intense golden eyes. “Because. You regret your actions.” He paused for a moment, seeing her features change a bit at that. “I love you, Angel. Nothing will change that, and nothing will change how much I want to give you the happiest ending I can.”

Angel was silent for a moment before she replied. “You’re wrong.” She looked up at him, a fire burning beneath a furrowed brow. “I don’t regret it. Any of it. If I had the option, I’d do it all again. The only difference is that I’d do it more efficiently.” She sighed, relaxing a bit and resting her head on his chest, allowing her guard to lower. “The world’s a messed up place, Skull. Mine is, at least. And you’ve got to be just as messed up in order to thrive in it. Things were different back on Earth. I had parents. Friends. Go-” She stiffened again. “...guidance.” She relaxed. “But here? Just a changeling who fled from his hive and whatever strength I can fashion for myself. I can’t afford regret, not when it won’t do anything for me.”

Skull’s frown deepened. “Angel…” he said softly. “You can’t forget that there are more people out there who will look out for you no matter what.” He tightened his hold on her. “...Don’t forget me. Don’t forget what I’m here for.”

Angel chuckled, finally returning the embrace. “Fat chance of that,” she muttered. “You’re just about the only person other than Spot who is like that to me.” She hesitated. “Maybe Sora. He seemed like a pretty decent guy.” Skull sighed in relief a bit.

“...It’s a start, I guess,” he said, before rubbing her back a bit. “...Well, you spilled your beans. So I’ll spill one of mine.” He took a deep breath, then pulled away from her slowly, and started to undo the top part of his formal armor.

Angel chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Dude, I know you’re ripped. That’s hardly spilling any beans.” Her face grew a touch more somber. “And after everything I just dropped on you, I doubt you can say anything that’ll really rock me.” He grunted.

“Well, for one, you never saw my front, so…” His upper armor fell away, and he tossed it to the side to reveal a, while very toned chest rippling with muscle, he also revealed a scar that made Angel nearly gag, but not from the sight. From the smell. His entire left pectoral and underarm was pale and sickly, a stark contrast to his dark skin. Furthermore, the veins were visible, even see through, allowing Angel to see the blood flowing through them a bit. But the smell was what did it. It was like rotting flesh, but also feces and vomit and sulfur, all mixed into one. She could also see his heart, beating below a bundle of veins, though it was fairly large. “...This is, well…” He sighed. “Fuck, I’m not sure what to call it besides punishment.”

“Freaking… UGH!” Angel swallowed down a mouthful of bile. “I could handle the sight, but that smells worse than the dragon’s stomach! What the hell sort of punishment is that?!”

Skull sighed, slumping a bit. “...Effluvium taint. Remember Discord?”

Angel nodded. “Yeah. You killed him when he came after you.”

Skull winced, but nodded. “Yeah. But he got more than one good hit in.” He gestured to the pale area. “This is one of them. He hit me with enough Effluvium to kill me, but miraculously, it didn’t. The Effluvium symbiotes bonded with me instead. Sadly, I have to feed them. Every day.” His vision lowered to the ground. “...It’s why I always got up so early in the morning, before anyone else. To turn into my wolf form and eat something for the Effluvium to digest and turn into… Well, hormones. That’s the smell that’s hitting you right now.”

Angel plugged her nose and leaned in close, examining the afflicted area. “Yeesh, that’s some nasty effect right there. Bet that’d make intimacy rather difficult.” She leaned back, tapping her chin even as she kept her nose covered. “Is there any sort of cure?” Skull went to grab his shirt again, picking it up.

“Don’t know. The game where Effluvium was introduced never even said that Effluvium was a swarm of symbiotes instead of gas, much less said that anyone had bonded with the little things besides an Elder Dragon that simply isn’t around here. Not that I’ve seen, anyway,” he started to pull the shirt on, the smell thankfully being blocked out by it. “And Elder Dragon physiology in the games could never be fully understood. They even state it in game. For one, shock traps and even pitfall traps don’t work on them. Hell, the blood of Elder Dragons is still a mystery, but people still used it to make armor and weapons somehow.”

“Well that’s annoying,” Angel muttered, lowering her hand from her face. “I wonder if my Discord could fix that?”

Skull shrugged. “For all I know, if someone tries to remove them or kill them, they could kill me outright. Just force my body to decompose and rot in a blink of an eye.” He frowned, gaining a thought. “...That, or they’d lash out and try to do similar to the offender.”

Angel shrugged. “Well, it was worth a shot. Kind of surprised I didn’t notice when I crawled in bed with you, though.”

“Well, after the ponies visited, and we had the deal, I grabbed a lot of scented candles. I imagine you probably smelled those instead of the hormones,” Skull pointed out, rubbing the back of his head. “I uh… Wasn’t ready to show you or let you find out about this back then, and I knew you’d come back at some point, so I took precautions.”

Angel tilted her head to the side, giving Skull an inquisitive stare. “You weren’t ready? What do you mean? I mean, it’s gross, yeah, but it’s hardly on scale with the orchestrated slaughter of thousands.” Skull looked away, a distance in his eyes.

“...I didn’t tell you what I have to eat and how much yet,” he pointed out. He sighed deeply, then turned to face her again. “The Wendigoes and Yaks have more titles for me. For the Wendigoes, it’s ‘Wolfen Brother God’. They bring me sacrifices of their females every day. The Yaks… They do the same, only every year. They call me ‘The Hungering Wolf of Ice.’”

“...their females?” Angel’s expression was unreadable. “You… have to devour living creatures?” Skull slowly nodded. Angel’s face turned sympathetic. “That… that must be horrible for you.”

“...It is. Or, would be, if my wolf mind didn’t make me enjoy it like it’s a damn orgasm,” he sighed, slowly letting himself fall to the grass and staring up at the stars. “...It’s only after I turn back that I feel the guilt and revulsion.”

“Revulsion I get,” Angel said, sitting beside him. “But you have no reason to feel guilty. Unlike me, you were given no choice in the matter.” Skull spat to the side.

“Wasn’t I? I could have found a person dying from sickness, instead of taking fucking virgin sacrifices like a heathen god,” he scowled up at the moon, as if blaming it for his problems. “But no, I took the easy way out, and now I’m stuck with it.”

Angel shrugged. “A life is a life. Would you really feel more repulsed devouring the infirm than the healthy? Besides, if you did that, the sick would never have a chance to get better. Oh! Timmy has a cough? Better send him to the wolf!” Angel chuckled, shaking her head. “That situation’s messed up no matter which way you slice it, so there’s no point in beating yourself up over it.”

Skull was silent for a bit at that. “...” He sighed again. “...I’ll take your word for it, I guess.” He sat up, and looked to her for a moment, before pulling her close to him and kissing her. She hummed, leaning into the kiss as she leaned into his chest. She pulled away after a moment, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

“And what was that one for?” she purred. He chuckled a little.

“Just a thank you for listening to me and, well, not running away screaming or trying to kill me for being a cannibal,” he said with a smile.

Angel sat up, her face going deadpan. “What part of ‘orchestrated a war and slaughtered thousands’ didn’t get through your thick skull, Skull?” She sighed and leaned back against him. “Trust me, there’s nothing you can do or could have done that would rattle me at this point.”

Skull hummed. “Weird. Makes me think you almost want me to try and rattle you with something.”

“Don’t get cocky, kid,” Angel muttered. “This is technically our first date, and it takes a lot more than cheesy lines like that to get into my pants.”

Skull blushed immensely. “W-What?! That’s not what I-! I didn’t mean-!”

Angel snickered, tilting her head up to smirk at Skull. “And that’s why I know that nothing you say can rattle me.” She got up, stretching out her back. “If you can’t handle a little dirty talk, then you haven’t grown up enough to phase me.” She sauntered her way back towards the castle, making sure to put some extra sway in her hips. Skull watched her go with a dumbfounded look on his handsome face, and he blushed more when she looked back from the doorway and caught him staring.

“Wow,” she said, smirking. “You really like sixteen-year-olds, huh?” She threw her head back and laughed as his face turned completely red before she stepped inside.

Skull grumbled to himself as he pulled himself up and followed after her.

Once the night was through, the four of them were back at Skull’s cabin, though Starlight and Sunset were asleep, and Skull was out back with a guitar, playing a wistful tune. The sound carried through the nightly winds, the twang of the guitar echoing throughout the mountaintop.

“That’s from Anohana, isn’t it?” Skull looked over his shoulder to see Angel standing behind him, dressed only in the underwear she slept in and bearing a curious look on her face. “Never saw the anime, but there’s this guy I used to follow on YouTube who did piano covers. That was one of my favorites.”

Skull smiled, nodding. “Yeah. My cousin Mera loved that show to death,” he replied. He looked to the scene of ice and blizzards below the edge, but kept his smile, sad though it seemed.

Angel walked over and sat in the snow beside him, staring off into the wind and snow. “I bet you miss ‘em too, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah… They were a weird bunch, but I loved ‘em all the same.” He spared a glance at her, a blush dusting his cheeks. “Ya know, I don’t think that’s exactly proper dress for this environment.”

Angel rolled her eyes. “Environmental Adaptation Abilities, remember? I could be butt naked out here and I wouldn’t feel the chill. Though I gotta say,” she looked down at the snow she was sitting in, “this feels really freaking weird. Feels like snow, crunches like snow, but doesn’t freeze my butt off like snow.” She shrugged and looked back out at the storm. “And besides, even without that, your luminescent blush gives off enough heat to rival a campfire.”

Skull grunted, looking away quickly. “Well, it’s not like you aren’t easy on the eyes… It’s just, well, new, to me to have a girl who just doesn’t care about nudity.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Makes me wonder if you’re gonna get me into the swing of that.”

Angel shrugged. “Probably not. Haven’t seen any other Displaced displaying a flagrant disregard for human modesty. Guess it’s just what the minotaurs and the living conditions on the Zebrican warfront have done to me.”

Skull gained a grin, looking towards her with a twinkle in his golden eyes. “What, so you aren’t going to try and see what I look like in the buff? After all those off-hand comments?”

Angel turned to face him with a deadpan glare. “When I arrived in my Equestria, I was a sixteen year old girl with a laptop, no parental supervision, no other humans around, and hours of free time. You really think you have anything I can’t put together in my head?”

Skull blinked a few times. “...Well, that attempt to tease failed horribly,” he managed a chuckle. “Long years of being isolated really has ruined my social skills.” He looked to her. “I guess you have a point though. But hey, at least you got references and stuff to go off of with your laptop. I had nothing.”

“Got more than that.” Angel turned back to the blizzard, a fond smile on her face. “I had a friend to share it with. Spot figured out my password on day one, and he spends more time watching shows and movies than I did back on Earth. Heck, he’s pulled out a few references that stumped me. Makes it fun when others have no idea what we’re talking about, though.”

Skull smiled as well. “Friends are a precious commodity.” His smile went back to one full of sadness. “I think both of us know that better than most.”

Angel nodded. “Yeah, my exile would have been a lot harder without him around.” She perked up and turned to smile up at Skull. “By the way, I don’t think I’ve told you yet. My exile’s over. I am officially allowed back in Equestria. Living with Sparkle-butt and everything.”

“That’s good to hear. How has it been there?” he asked genially.

“Pretty good,” Angel replied. “Sunny and I are teaching Starlight combat magic for when I inevitably get called back to fight some dragon coven or another, but Equestria proper is as peaceful as it gets.” She sighed and glared back out at the howling blizzard. “Now if only Sun-butt would stop giving me the death-glare every time she sees me.”

“Can’t say I don’t get the feeling. All the ponies who were present at my trial did about the same thing,” Skull began. He frowned. “...Two of the Elements in particular.” He sighed. “Likely lovers of two of the people I hurt back then.” He lowered his gaze to the snow beneath him. “...I guess it’s just a good thing that some of the regular visitors to the Hall are nice. Like Ditzy, or Fancy Pants.”

Angel chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t think those two have it in them to be mean in any universe. But now you’ve got me curious. I know Fluttershy still probably hasn’t forgiven you, but who’s the other one?”

Skull grunted. “Some bitch named Rainbow Dash. Keeps trying to spy on me when I’m training recruits at the hall.”

Angel winced. “Yeesh. Yeah, her anger burns long and hot. Mine still hasn’t fully forgiven me for killing Tirek, even after I told her how many ponies he’d slaughtered. And AJ,” she chuckled, “well, I guess we’re good now. But man, her punishment for keeping Equestria in the dark for so long was something fierce. A full whalloping, and I wasn’t allowed to kill myself for a month.” She shook her head. “Anyway, give RD time. If you show your loyalty to Equestria, to anything really, she’ll at least respect you.” She sighed, frowning. “Fluttershy, though, that’ll be tough. Have you had any luck with bringing Discord back? Or any idea why your spell doesn’t work on him?”

Skull shook his head. “Not a clue, and I’m not sure I should try again until the ponies hear about it. Otherwise they’d label me a necromancer before Discord could even get back up.” He looked to the starry sky above them. “That’s the other problem with the spell. It only restores a quarter of your health after resurrection.”

“So he’d come back emaciated and weak,” Angel said, nodding. “Yeah, that could be a problem. Were you at least able to get Somnambula back in the air? What about Flash and Rockhoof?”

“Yeah, Somnambula is okay now, and Rockhoof is up and about. Flash…” Skull paused for a moment. “...He didn’t have any physical wounds, only mental trauma. Apparently the shield I broke was really special to him, or something. I don’t know.”

“Oof,” Angel said, wincing. “Yeah, that was a pretty freaking important artifact.” She thought for a moment before hesitantly saying, “I might be able to fix it, or recreate it if it’s too shattered. I’m sure my Flash wouldn’t mind letting me scan his, and Twi should be able to enchant a new one with whatever spells it has.” She grinned over at Skull. “Heck, that’d probably earn you some major brownie points with RD, too.”

Skull said nothing for a moment. “...It’s not exactly with the ponies anymore. The Pillars, or whatever they’re called, left pretty soon after I disabled their best fighters. His shield is probably still in that old barn, unless a monster picked it up already.”

Angel shrugged. “New shield it is. I’d usually be wary of asking somepony modern to enchant with ancient, outdated spells, but Twi will probably love it. I can already hear her squealing about ‘historical accuracy’ or some crap. I’ll send it over once we’ve got it forged and enchanted.”

Skull chuckled. “I appreciate the help, Angel.” He said with a smile. “As thanks, how about I teach you how to play?” He offered, gesturing to his guitar.

Angel hesitated for a moment. I could just program the ability in like I did with the piano, but… “Sure,” she said, smiling up at him. “Why not?” Skull gained a giant grin.

“Sweet!” He pulled the guitar off of himself, then handed it to her.

Angel set the guitar in her lap, grabbing the neck with one hand and placing the other against the strings the way she’d seen countless times on her laptop. She looked at her fingers and smirked. “Working hands,” she muttered, chuckling a bit. “From what I’ve heard, having calluses already there is going to help a lot.” She looked up at Skull. “So, what now?”

“Well,” He got up and sat behind her, grabbing her hands gently. “Let’s start with how to strum the strings, first.” He carefully grabbed one of her hands and had her clasp her index and thumb together, then ran them down the strings. “Just use the nail of your index finger to strum the strings, and move your wrist first, then your arm.”

Angel nodded, giving it a few strums. “Okay. Seems pretty simple.” She smirked over her shoulder at him. “Oh, I see what this really is. You just want to have a cute teen in her underwear sitting on your lap, don’t you?” She winked. “You could have just asked.”

Skull blushed, before gaining a playful growl and moving his strong hands to her hips and pulling her towards him. “Well, I’m fine with it if you are. Who wouldn’t want a radiantly pretty angel like you in their lap?”

Angel stiffened, her head whipping forward again to hide her luminescent blush. Don’t crack. Don’t crack. Don’t crack. “W-well,” she said, her voice cracking. DAMN IT! “Good. Good to know.” She cleared her throat and focused on her hands. “Now, where were we?”

Skull leaned down so his head was resting on her shoulder, but he kept his hands on her hips. Even squeezed them a bit. “Well, now we start to learn the names of the strings.” He began. “For starters, lift your hands to the top string. That’s the E string.” He smirked at her. “I like to give each string a name to memorize them. So, for E, why not have it stand for, ‘Everything I need?’”

Angel did as he instructed, facing determinedly forward and refusing to show any reaction. I’m going to get you for this, she fumed silently. I know exactly what you’re doing. There will come a day of reckoning, and I will ensure that it comes before the entire Canterlot elite! She glared out into the snow, a determined smirk creeping onto her face. But for now…

“I don’t know,” Angel said, trying to sound disinterested. “Doesn’t really stick in my mind.” She hummed to herself, pretending to consider the matter. “How about, ‘E’ for ‘Erotica?’ That should be nice and sticky. I mean,” she held back a snicker, “that should stick pretty well.”

Skull, to her surprise, didn’t really seem to react, only hum in thought and lower his hands a bit on her hips. “Well, whatever works for my perfect angel.”

“Good.” Angel scowled. Oh, your face is as red as it’s ever been, I just know it! “What’s next?”

“Well, next string is A. It’s just below E. I’d recommend the word ‘Angel’, for it,” He smirked and kissed her cheek. “It’s the word I’ve been using since we hooked up.”

WHY IS HE SO GOOD AT THIS?! “Anal it is,” Angel replied, plucking the string and trying to ignore the increased heat in one particular cheek. “Next?” Skull’s smirk grew at this.

“Well, since you seem to like Anal so much, for this next one, which is ‘D’, why not…” He huskily whispered in her ear. “...Dangerous beauty?”

“I’ll rip off your gonads and shove them down your throat!”

Skull blinked a few times, pulling back a bit. “...Was that just another example of your soldier humor, or are you actually uncomfortable right now?” He asked, a bit of nervousness in his tone.

“What are you talking about?” Angel giggled cutely as she turned her head, her eyes closed and a sweet, innocent smile on her face. “I just said that that was a wonderful choice, but we can probably just stick with the first word.” She giggled again and turned back around. “And the last two?”

“Uh, three actually,” Skull continued, staring down at her with mild confusion written over his face. “G, B, and E again. All in descending order.”

“I see,” Angel said, her tone still sweet. “Gigantic, Beastly, and Enormous. You know, for your… muscles. Hee hee.” Skull gave her a look.

“...Yeah, nice try, Angel, but that won’t work this time,” he replied. He pulled her a bit tighter to himself. “Now, what are you really trying to say?”

“What do you mean?” Angel asked, her tone slowly growing mischievous. “I meant exactly what I said. After all,” she turned back to him, her smirk back in full force, “with how tight you’re holding me in your lap, I can feel your... “ she ground her hips a bit, “muscles quite easily.” Skull’s face flushed a deep crimson at her movements, and Angel felt something grow beneath her. She could practically feel the heat of his body go up a notch or two, before Skull immediately scrambled to move out from under her, stammering apologies the whole time. Angel just burst out laughing, standing up and tossing the guitar back to him.

“Well, that was certainly a fun time,” she said, sauntering back to the hut. “But I’d better turn in. Nighty night.” Skull was thus left to his own devices in the cold, still bearing a red face.

The next morning Skull once more found himself being held like a muscled teddy bear by Angel. And, after what happened the previous night, he wasn’t certain what to do besides stay there until she woke up. He sighed as he looked around, but gained a massive blush as he noted she was snuggling him in her undies again, and they were facing each other, allowing him to feel her soft spots. Skull simply tried to remain still and calm his fastly beating heart, though it was hard with how much she was squishing against him.

Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down-! He looked down and promptly lost it, face a beaming, bright cherry red.

The universe being as cruel as it was, that was the exact moment that Angel’s eyes snapped open. She blinked, looking between Skull’s burning face and her own scantily clad body. She rolled her eyes, climbing out of bed as she let out a massive yawn and walked out to the main room. “Ugh, men. OY! SUNNY! STAR! UP AND AT ‘EM!”

Skull slowly followed, still wearing his blush as he tried to look anywhere but at Angel. From the main area of the cabin he heard the sounds of three females beginning to awaken.

“Come on, Starlight. If you don’t get up now, she’ll force you up.”

“Mph,” Starlight grunted, unintelligibly.

“You really wouldn’t. She’s been known to traumatize zebras into permanent insomnia with her waking tactics before. Now get up.”

“Mph.”

“Yeah, and she’s made other dictators wet the ground where they stood. You really think you can handle her?”

“Mph.”

“What does your father have to do with this?”

“Mph mrphl mph.”

“...Yeesh. No wonder you’ve never introduced him to us.”

“UP, GLIMMER!”

“Am I interrupting something?” Skull asked as he walked over after getting out of his bed, curiosity written on his face.

Angel sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. “Not really. Just not used to dealing with civilians.” She reached down and ripped Starlight’s blankets off, causing the mare in question to curl up even tighter. “Come on, Glim Glam. Celestia ain’t holdin’ the sun back for nopony.”

“Maybe I should try to do it for her,” Starlight grumbled, finally cracking her eyes open. “Just what sort of otherworldly hour do you call this?”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “Morning.”

“Blech. Mornings are evil.”

“Eh,” Skull said dismissively. “I can’t say I know the feeling. Never had trouble with mornings.” He walked over to the kitchen, grabbing some food from the icebox near it.

“Yeah, I haven’t had a problem in years,” Angel agreed. “Then again, a military schedule will do that to you. So, what’s for-” She stopped, her face growing serious as she held a hand up to her ear. “Go.”

Starlight’s ears perked up immediately. “Spot? I didn’t know he could make contact even way out here.”

Angel spared Starlight a brief nod before she went back to listening. Her face soon relaxed again, and eventually a smile split her face. “That’s great! Who?” A moment passed in silence before she groaned and rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Of course it would be him. Should have guessed. Alright, I’ll come and get him. Out.” She lowered her hand and turned to Skull. “I have to go for just a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Skull blinked a few times. “Oh, uh, okay. Take your time. I’ll be making breakfast in the meanwhile.” He said, setting about doing just that.

Angel nodded and cleared her throat. “Teleport: Long Range: Beacon: Designation - Castle of Friendship.” She vanished in a flash of light, and Starlight turned to Sunset, eyebrow raised.

“Any idea what that’s about?” she asked.

“Could be several things,” Sunset replied, shrugging, “but most of them would have had her scowling or putting on her kill-grin. I’m honestly not sure what she’s out for.” She turned her attention to Skull, a lewd grin creeping onto her face. “So, did you treat our precious Angel well last night?”

Skull blushed a deep crimson, but tried to focus on his task. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, not looking their way.

“Oh come now,” Starlight said, her expression shifting to match Sunset’s. “I’ve heard from Angel what ‘sleeping together’ means for you humans, and Sunny here has first-hoof experience. Besides, she seemed rather happy with you at the Gala.”

“Indeed,” Sunset said, nodding solemnly, an act that contrasted sharply with her grin. “I was half expecting Princess Heart-Flanks to ‘port right in there and marry you two on the spot. Are you really telling me that after all that dancing, all that drinking, and aaaaaaaaaall that snuggling and snogging, nothing came of it last night?”

“By which we mean,” Starlight giggled, “nothing came last night?”

Skull blushed more. “Wh-What? No, nothing happened at all!” He tried to focus on cooking some eggs, though it was hard as he thought of everything he and Angel had done recently. “I mean, yeah, she’s… Well, she’s got a heavenly beauty to her, but I’m not going to just rush into things when we only cemented the relationship last night.”

“Hm, that’s a shame.” Skull heard the familiar sound of a laptop’s keys being pressed. “Because damn, that’s a cute body.”

“Oh,” Starlight’s voice sounded. “So that’s what she looks like underneath. But why does she have pictures of herself like this on here?”

“Oh, these aren’t actually her,” Sunset replied. “Remember that she looks like this girl from the TV show. These are just what other humans drew based off of that character.”

“I see,” Starlight said. “That’s kind of… oh wow. I think even she would blush if she saw this.”

“Pretty sure she isn’t quite that flexible,” Sunset agreed.

“Wh-What on Earth are you two-” Skull began, before turning and catching a glimpse of the pictures on the laptop. He froze, face flushing a rose red that went up to his ears.

Starlight giggled at his reaction. “Oh my gosh, she’s right! It is so much cuter when humans blush.”

A flash of light cut off further conversation as Angel appeared back in the room, a black figure at her side. “Here we are,” she said. “This is Skull’s... “ She trailed off, staring between Skull’s red face and her laptop. She arched an eyebrow, her own cheeks coloring slightly. “Um, guys? Why are you looking at Angel Beats porn?” Her head tilted sideways as she stared at the screen. “And… why am I paired with Goku?”

Skull spun around immediately, burying himself in making food while the mares started laughing. “Don’t know! Too busy cooking! So much cooking here! Nothing else!”

“Wow,” said a voice by Angel’s side, deep and cynical with a slight reverberation. “I don’t even have to taste your emotions to tell how bad you’ve got it for her.”

“Can it, Thorax,” Angel grunted before clearing her throat. “Skull, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” She gestured down at the black-chittined equine standing next to her. “This is Thorax of the Badlands Changeling Hive. Thorax, Skull.”

Skull turned to the Changeling with a seemingly unhealthy grin. “Great! Want some meat? Here!” He shoved a plate into the Changeling’s hooves. He then turned to Angel. “Sausages for my lady!” He pushed another plate into Angel’s hands, then swiftly moved back to the kitchen. “Starlight, Sunset, got any preferences?”

Thorax sniffed the air before answering for them. “Sunny’s good for whatever, and the other one wants anything that isn’t what you’ve served so far.” He sniffed the air again and smirked at Angel. “And I’m pretty sure the Boss here want’s a different kind of sausage from you.”

Angel facepalmed. “Damn it, Thorax. Can you go without for a minute? Ever?”

Thorax chuckled, taking his plate over to Sunset and giving it to her. “All part of my charm, Boss. And don’t bother fixing me anything else, lover-boy!” he called to Skull as he headed for the door. “I got plenty of food the second I entered. Mmm, spicy, spicy lust.” With one final cackle, he flung the door open and stepped out into the snow.

Angel sighed, walking over to her laptop and closing it. “Sorry about him, Skull,” she said. “He isn’t usually that bad, but I caught him in a mood. Apparently, another changeling challenged him for the hive just yesterday, and the resulting duel was… very one-sided. He’s been riding that high ever since.”

Skull simply nodded. “It’s uh… It’s fine, I don’t mind,” he said. Meanwhile, his head still swam with what Thorax had said. Lust? For me? She wouldn’t actually have any for me, right? We’ve only been officially together a day!

Skull immersed himself in his task, flipping some pancakes expertly with a frying pan while he pondered on things. Angel watched him for a moment before sighing. “You’re letting what he said get to you, aren’t you?” she asked. Skull blinked, pausing in his work.

“Huh?” he began. “Oh, no, not really. Just… Thinking about how to go about training the recruits later.”

“U-huh,” Angel replied, unconvinced. She rolled her eyes and glared over at Starlight and Sunset. “And just why were you looking at porn of my character again?”

“To be fair,” Sunset replied, “all I typed was ‘angel beats naked.’ I didn’t expect to see anyone else involved.”

“Besides,” Starlight said, waving her off, “it was just a bit of teasing. You’ve done just as bad to him.”

Angel and Sunset shared a look before resolving to leave that lecture for a later date. “Still,” Sunset said, “I guess we did go a little overboard.” She shivered and glared out the door where Thorax had gone. “I mean, if the four of us together was enough to fill him completely…”

“Uhhh…what? Four?” Skull turned to them, placing more plates down in front of Sunset and Starlight. He seemed to have recovered thanks to the new growing confusion of Sunset’s statement. “Why would there be four? Wouldn’t it just be… Ya know, me and Angel?” He blushed a bit again at those words, but quickly shook it off.

Sunset smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Skull. Starlight may not be into humans like the three of us are, but do you seriously think the four of us could watch two minotaurs going at it without feeling something? Sex is sex, and sex is hot.”

“I get that much, but who is the lust directed at? I mean, is it just you guys seeing those pics making you… Ya know, that way, or is it something else?” He asked, walking back over to the kitchen to make his meal.

Angel chuckled, shaking her head. “I’ve learned a lot of things about emotions from Spot, Skull. One thing I learned is that emotion, especially something as simple and base as lust, isn’t always directed at any particular thing. Just ask any animal in heat who or what they’re lusting after.” She turned her attention back to Sunset. “Though I’m sure that one of us was thinking of a certain purple alicorn.”

Sunset hummed to herself, a far-away look in her eyes. “Oh yeah. Especially since you and her are the same kind of cute. I’d love to see Twi-Twi in a sailor suit or a maid outfit.”

“AND we’re officially beyond what I’m comfortable with!” Starlight said, her cheeks turning pink. “Sunny, please remember that I also have to live with her.”

“Yeeah, I’m just uh… going to finish cooking here, and then head out. I’d rather not be involved in this talk anymore,” Skull said as he seasoned some of the scrambled eggs and then went about cooking a meaty thigh.

“Agreed,” Angel said, laying down on the floor and staring up at the ceiling. “By the way, how do you feel about having a roommate?” Skull blinked a few times.

“Roommate?” He echoed. “Where did that come from?”

“I was thinking about it when the girls and I first got here,” Angel explained. “Thing’s’ll get annoying if I keep skipping years while you get months. But while I’m here, Spot and I are able to maintain real-time communication, which means our two worlds’ flows of time must line up. I figured if I left someone from my world here, especially someone I could communicate with, then our worlds would stay in sync.”

Skull hummed in thought as he finished cooking his meal, blowing on the steaming hot food before taking a bite and swallowing. “Well, it does sound like a good idea. Who are you suggesting? That Thorax guy?”

“That’s right.” Everyone looked over as Thorax walked back inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He shivered a bit, dumping a bit of snow from his back. “Man, that cold is killer.”

“But based on what Angel said, don’t you have a Hive to run?” Skull queried.

Thorax raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. So?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to be there in person to run it?” Skull continued.

Thorax rolled his eyes. “Why would being there or not make a difference? It’s not like-” He cut himself off, his eyes glazing over a bit. He held still for a moment, muttering under his breath a few times. After a couple more minutes, he nodded and his eyes refocused. “Sorry. Signs of an Ursa in the area. What were we talking about?”

“Ummm… How it’d be better if you were present to rule your nation, or Hive or whatever?” Skull said, arching a brow in slight confusion.

“Right, that.” Thorax rolled his eyes. “It’s not like one changeling makes that much of a difference in a fight, and I can get someone else to speak and hear for me if someone outside the hive needs me for something. Honestly, I’m happy to get away from sitting on my butt all day.”

“Huh,” Skull stared at Thorax for a bit, before grunting and shrugging. “Well, alright then. But if you’re staying here, you’ll be pulling your own weight, got it?”

Thorax scoffed, grabbing Angel’s plate from the table. “What do you take me for, a slouch? Before Chrysalis fell, I was one of the best guards in the hive. You going to eat these?” Angel shook her head and Thorax tossed them into his mouth, swallowing them whole. “Hm, pretty good. Needs a little more fear and a little less wrath, but good.” He let out a loud belch and tossed the plate back onto the table. “So, what kind of weight are we talking? Patroles? Espionage? Training? Foalnapping?”

Skull blinked a few times. “Man, you weren’t kidding, Angel. Your world is screwed,” He shook his head. “Anyway, no. You’d be managing the brewery and keeping the monsters around the mountain away.”

Thorax considered that for a moment. “Huh. Monsters I can handle. But what’s a…” He trailed off again and nodded after a minute. “Oh. Got it. Yeah, I’ve got a couple of guys who used to do that sort of thing. Sounds easy.”

“You’ll do fine,” Angel replied before turning to Skull. “And for the record, that list of skills is pretty universal for changelings throughout the multiverse. Comes with the territory for shape-shifting emotivores.”

Skull hummed, taking another bite of his food before swallowing and replying. “Well, alright then. But Thorax, I have a question for you before I allow this.”

“Shoot.”

“Can you reliably cut or smash something harder than diamond and tougher than titanium, coupled with insane speed and power, like being able to control the weather?” Skull pressed, eyes narrowing as he placed his plate down. “What would you do if you saw a monster that melted other beings onto itself simply to shore up it’s defense?”

Thorax shrugged. “I’d find out what eats it, and turn into that.” Skull grunted.

“Yeah, good luck with that. There is no predator above that one,” Skull muttered. He shook his head. “Well, at least you have resolve. That’ll have to do. Still, I’m going to have to test you, so at some point I’m taking you to the Arena.”

Thorax shrugged again. “Whatever you say, Dude-Boss. Though if worst comes to worst, I could always just turn into you.”

Skull grunted, facepalming. “Yup. Shoulda figured that.” He sighed. “I can tell I’m going to have to train you as well. Not as much as my recruits, but still.” He gestured to Angel. “She’s the only one I honestly believe could beat a regular monster. But we haven’t gotten to the biggest bads yet. The Dragon Quest variants.”

“I wouldn’t write Thorax off that easily,” Angel said. “His specialty is large and dangerous creatures. He’s even taken down a few dragons single-hoofedly by turning into…” She frowned and turned to him. “What did you call that thing again?”

“Tatzelwurm,” Thorax replied, grinning. “And those dragons tasted delicious.” He turned his grin to Skull. “Makes me wish I was better at partial transformations; good food tastes even better when you’re tasting it with three tongues.”

“Mm. Well, since you seem so sure of yourself, I’ll allow this. Just one final rule,” Skull’s face shifted into one of stern stone, his eyes blazing with intense golden light. “If you see a giant, green T-Rex with rippling muscles and a huge underbite covered in teeth. Don’t. Fucking. Attack. And never turn into it.”

Thorax raised an eyebrow and turned to Angel. “Giant bi-pedal lizard with a huge head and small arms. It’s full name translates to ‘King Tyrant,’ I think.”

“Got it,” Thorax replied, nodding. “So if I see it, go snow.” He shrugged, turning his attention back to Skull. “Sounds simple enough. When do I start?”

“Well, that depends on a few things,” Skull began, looking to the clock briefly. “Today is supposed to be when we bring the recruits to the Arena, so it would also be a good idea to have you join them.” He looked to Angel. “However, I don’t know how much longer you ladies can stay away from home.”

Angel sighed. “Not a lot longer, I’m afraid. Sunset and I at least have to be back today, and Twi probably wouldn’t be too happy with me leaving Starlight here.” She smiled at him. “But hey, with Thorax here, at least we don’t have to worry about years passing for one while days pass for another.”

Skull smiled as well. “Yeah, that’s true,” He said, before he gained an idea. “Oh, that reminds me…” He looked to the others around him. “Uh, do you guys mind going to the brewery for a sec? I need to talk to Angel.”

Sunset and Starlight nodded and made their way to the side room. Thorax rolled his eyes but eventually followed them as well. Once the door was closed, Angel turned to Skull. “So, what’s up?”

Skull blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “Weell…” He walked over to the red chest, and then told her, “Close your eyes, please.”

Angel did so, letting a small smile onto her face. Jeeze, presents already?

After getting what he needed from the chest, he walked up behind her, and then she felt him wrap something warm and fuzzy around her, then grab something on the ends of the covering and snap something in place around her chest. He then pulled away.

“Alright, open your eyes,” he told her. She did so and looked down, finding two clasps made of dark red metal holding a cloak of deep purple fur around her body. It had a firm, almost burlap-like inner lining, and it gave her a feeling of pleasant warmth throughout her body. “What do you think?” He asked her.

Angel smiled up at him, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss. “It’s wonderful.”

He gained an almost goofy grin. “Heh, I try,” He said, before adding, “It also functions as a new Token, one just for you. You can talk to me anytime with it on, and vice versa.”

“Beautiful and functional?” Angel asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him as she stepped back. “You sure know how to shop for a girl.” She did a quick spin, letting the edges of the cloak fly up a bit. “So? How do I look?”

Skull’s grin grew. “Like an Angel straight from Heaven,” he said, walking over to her and locking lips with her in a deep, passionate kiss.

“Aaaaaaaw.”

“Ugh. You two are horrible at stealth.”

Angel and Skull pulled away from each other to find three equines watching them, two of them enraptured by the moment and the other licking his lips. Skull frowned a bit.

“You three really can’t help yourselves, can you?” he deadpanned.

“Hey!” Thorax pointed his hoof accusingly at him. “If you’re serving snacks in here, I’m not going to just sit on my flanks in the next room. Besides,” he nodded his head at Starlight and Sunset, “you wouldn’t have even known I was here if it weren’t for these two.”

“I can’t help it!” Starlight squealed, completely unashamed. “The two of you are just so cute together!”

“Besides,” Sunset added, her horn flashing periodically, “with all the grief and teasing Angel gives me and Twi-Twi, I figure I need to work double-time while I’m here to gather material to get her back with.”

“You know, there’s a few words we humans have for things like this,” Skull began, eyes narrowing. “They would be, ‘respect for privacy.’”

“Forget it, Skull,” Angel said, rolling her eyes. “Privacy is a foreign concept for ponies, especially mares.”

Skull sighed seeming to mull things over for a bit. Just when someone was about to ask what was going through his head, he grunted and spoke, “Well, in that case, screw it. If you guys want a show, you’ll get a show.” He then turned his head back to Angel locked lips with her more fiercely than before, like a hungry predator. Angel’s eyes went wide for a moment before she relaxed, wrapping her arms around him and moaning into the kiss. Sunset and Starlight giggled while Thorax hurriedly wiped away a bit of drool.

Angel pulled away after almost a full minute, breathing heavily and blushing just as much. “W-wow. What’s gotten into you?”

Skull chuckled, leaning forward and resting his forehead against hers. “I had some spiritual guidance from an old relative, is all. You guys staying over for a week helped me get over some of my old misgivings about how I show my affection.” He chuckled again. “Still getting used to waking up with you half-naked, though.”

Angel shrugged. “Well, hopefully you’ll be able to…” She trailed off, her face going blank. “An… old relative?”

Skull pulled back a bit, nodding slowly. “Yeah, my grandfather. I guess he was just trying to tell me to suck it up and go through with my ideas.” He smiled. “I’m glad it worked out, because if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t be together.”

Angel was silent for a moment. She turned slightly, staring off into space. “...your grandfather? The one whose picture you have up in the attic? The one who’s dead?”

Skull nodded again. “Yeah, I thought it was crazy too,” he said. He frowned, noticing her look. “Are you okay? You look… Well, like you’ve seen a ghost yourself.”

“...” Angel turned her back to Skull. “...I wish.” She took a deep breath, though Skull could hear the tremble in it. “Sunset. Starlight. Why don’t you two head back first? You both know how to latch onto my beacons, right?”

Sunset slowly nodded. “Um, yeah. Sure thing, Angel.” She nudged Starlight gently. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, what?” Starlight looked from Angel to Sunset and back. “What’s going on? Why-”

“I’ll explain later,” Sunset said, casting a worried look Angel’s direction. “Let’s go. Now.”

After one last confused glance, Starlight nodded. Her and Sunset’s horns lit up and they vanished in a bright flash.

“Thorax,” Angel said.

“Already gone,” Thorax replied, walking back into the brewery. “Can’t stand the taste of rage.”

Skull turned to Angel, more than a little worry tinging his voice. “Angel? What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you?”

Angel shook her head, walking towards the door. “It’s not you,” she muttered. “It’s… let me get this out first. I don’t think I can talk reasonably about this until I do.” She opened the door and stepped out into the cold, closing it behind her. Skull was left standing alone, confused about what she meant.

And then he heard the scream.

Pure agony and rage rent the air outside, shaking the walls of the cabin. A loud gust hitting one side and a dwindling in the scream’s volume told Skull that Angel had launched herself skyward. Skull ran outside, bursting through the door in time to see Angel, high in the air, shift her legs into what looked like a pair of rockets. The twin engines lit up and Angel hurled herself through the sky. She was soon nothing but a distant flame, hurtling towards a nearby mountain peek. Skull thought he heard something being shouted before Angel, and the top of the mountain, were consumed in a massive conflagration. It wasn’t quite to scale with Angel’s display from when she’d first arrived, but it was close.

“Angel…” Skull breathed, watching with rapt attention and worry.

Angel trudged up the mountainside about an hour later, her head bowed low. If she noticed Skull waiting for her, she didn’t show it. She walked past him into the cabin and sat down at the table, staring at its surface. Skull shot her a worried look, before walking in as well and over to the icebox after closing the front door. He shot a look to her, then returned his gaze to the icebox, rummaging around.

“You want some cider? I managed to snag a few over the month that we were apart,” he asked. Angel said nothing. He grabbed two bottles and brought them over, placing one in front of Angel as he took a seat across from her.

“...I believe in God.” Skull blinked a few times at her words.

“...Is that it? Because I kinda doubt you’d go on a rampage of sorts just because of that,” he said, quirking a brow.

“I always did,” Angel continued, ignoring him and still staring at the table. “Raised into it, you know? My mom was a women’s leader in hers, but my dad hopped from church to church, taking whatever he thought was right. I kind of followed after him, but Mom still taught me a lot. We had a lot of discussions about all of it.” She was silent for almost a minute. “And then I met the Merchant.”

Skull frowned, but let her continue.

“There’s something that people call a ‘conscience.’ Something that tells you right from wrong. Philosophers and theologians have argued for millenia about whether it’s something innate or something divine. My mom believed the latter; my dad, the former. After winding up in Equestria… I can confirm that it’s a little of both. Tell me, Skull,” she looked up, her eyes dead and weary, “when you pray, is there anyone listening on the other end? Do you feel the presence of some kind, wise power lending His ear?”

Skull paused for a moment, mulling it over. He looked to his clasped hands that rested on the table for an even longer moment. “...Much as it was hard to believe and keep faith over the four years I’ve been here, yes.” Skull leaned back a bit in his own chair, looking to the ceiling. “My dad had always tried to instill the words of God into me, and my grandfather even more so.” Skull sighed, still looking at the ceiling. “...They were strict, but not as much as others. Either way, it was hard growing up with such an air of tension around, and with my grandfather becoming my guardian at the age of six…” Skull frowned. “Yeah, let’s just say it was hard the first few years.” He gained a sad smile. “He’d always say ‘Stop playing with that! Sword’s aren’t toys!’ or ‘Don’t abuse the bible dammit!’” Skull chuckled. “In the end, he became the best friend I’ve had, weird as it sounds. After he died… Well, I questioned things. But God helped me through it all. He showed me the light that I needed to get through the day.”

Angel watched Skull as he spoke, her expression never changing. Her eyes eventually wandered over to a wall, staring out at nothing. “I’ve known for a while that not all of the Displaced come from the same Earth, but you just confirmed it. You say you’ve felt a presence over these last four years?” Her eyes met Skull’s again, twin graves beneath the rain. “It’s been almost twelve years since I felt anything like that.” Her eyes went back to the wall. “Not that I haven’t tried. When I realized I felt different, that I didn’t feel so bad when I finally got a solid hit in on Spot, that all I could do when the Mane Six wrecked their first GGG was laugh, when I realized I could kill without hating myself for it…” She sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I realized a long time ago that the God I knew wasn’t the god of Equestria. When the Merchant ripped me from Earth, from that universe, he ripped me away from Him, too. So to hear you say that you still have that connection, that bond…” Angel trailed off, her words run out.

“...So you’re jealous, then,” Skull surmised, frown deepening.

Angel chuckled, the first sign of emotion since she’d returned. “Heh, what was your first clue? The scream, or the new crater?” Her small smile faded. “I guess I am. Not that I resent you. I’d never wish for you to lose that connection. I’d never wish that on anyone. But… you remember what I said at the Gala? About happy endings?”

Skull nodded. “Yeah. You said you didn’t deserve one.”

Angel nodded. “Which makes it rather fitting that I won’t get one. Even if I ever did die, and stayed dead, what would happen to me? Heaven doesn't exist in my Equestria. Hell doesn’t exist. Purgatory doesn’t exist. Even Tartarus isn’t actually an afterlife, despite what some of the fan-fics say. And each race has its own beliefs regarding the afterlife, each one apparently bound for a different place. So where would a human go? The Eternal Fields? Avalon? The Hall of Ancestors? The Highest of Heights? Even the dragons claim to know of an eternal reward. But me?” Her eyes met Skull’s, a small, broken smile on her face. “Is it just oblivion, Skull? Is it just nothingness waiting for me? Even if I don’t ever really die, Equis will die eventually. The world will be gone when the sun explodes, and I’ll be left in the dark void of space. What then? Do I wander through the eternal cold, dying and dying and dying again until I crash-land on a planet that can sustain life? Do I watch civilization rise and fall on another world until it dies as well?” Angel looked down at the table, her shoulders shaking, her fists clenched. “The Void Dwellers robbed us all of our lives, but they robbed me of my Eternity, too.”

Skull stared at Angel for the longest time, an unknown light in his eyes. He made to open his mouth, several times in fact, before eventually he finally spoke. “...Well, you wouldn’t be alone in that, at least.” When she looked up to him, she saw him giving her a sad smile, his eyes, the gold tinted windows to his soul, told of how broken he was as well. “Remember the Effluvium? They eat decomposed matter, but we have a symbiotic relationship, so what do you think they do when I can’t feed them fresh meat?”

Angel shrugged. “I guess it would start to consume you?” she ventured.

Skull sighed. “Sort of. What they do is eat the dying and aging cells in my body. Basically, they keep me from aging at all, turning the decomposed cells into new cells as replacements.” Skull glanced to his hearth and the flames within. “...And with my status as a Half Monster, there’s no telling how long I would have lived anyhow without the Effluvium. Especially since Silver Wolves, the monster I can turn into, are said to be immortal…”

“At least you’ve got an out.” Angel took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. “They may call it ‘the coward’s way,’ but I don’t think that sentiment applies to immortals.”

Skull sighed. “My point is, it’s likely I’ll be around as long as you, so in short, you won’t be alone. Not if I can help it.”

Angel sat in silence, staring at the table and tracing patterns in the grain. “...why would you offer that to me?” she whispered. “All things considered, we barely know each other. One day a few years ago, and a week now. So why… why would you pledge eternity?”

Skull smiled sadly and gently placed a hand on Angel’s roving one. “Because I have no one else I trust, and because I like you. A lot.” His smile grew. “‘Sides, even if we weren’t a thing now, you’d still be my friend, and I’d still pledge eternity. I don’t leave friends in the dust.”

Angel chuckled, looking up at him. Her eyes had regained some of their light. “Kind of wish Rainbow had been here to see this. You would have won her over just now for sure.”

Skull smiled. “I care more about winning you over.” He winked at her.

Angel giggled, pulling her hand away from his. “You don’t have to try hard to do that.” She sighed, gazing off into the distance. “Guess it’s about time for me to head back. Sunny will be getting worried, and I’ll need Twi to get a start on that shield.”

Skull nodded, standing up from the chair. He slowly walked over to her and gently turned her face to meet his, then gave her a final, deep, parting kiss, which she tenderly returned. She eventually pulled away, standing up and backing away from him, smiling sadly.

“I guess I’ll see you soon,” she said.

He nodded. “Yeah. Stay safe, Angel. I’ll be waiting ‘till our next meeting.”

Angel nodded and closed her eyes. “Teleport: Long Range: Beacon: Designation - Castle of Friendship.” And in a flash, she was gone.

Author's Note

EDIT: Opening theme is here!

Well, this is where Skull and Angel's relationship is finally cemented, so I hope it was good for you all. I certainly enjoyed the hell out of writing it! Also, sorry for how long it took to write this and the previous chapter, I spent a long time going over most of the more obvious mistakes in this chapter, so, yeah, time consuming stuff. Couple that with my job and frequently bad timed family matters, and you get a long wait for updates.

Anyways, thank you all so much for reading. I honestly didn't think this story would be that good, but it seems to be doing well enough.

Have a good one, my lovelies!

-Timeless Celestial