The Soul Reaver

Chapter 25: Welcome Back. The Fighter returns...

The train lurched forward slightly, signaling me that it finally stopped. Sighing to myself, my memories of my dream still fresh in my mind, I get up and leave the train.

Of all the things to see when i first get off of the train stopping canterlot, this was not one of them...

I saw a familiar bluenette looking around the station, trying to find someone.

That little shit...

"TECH!" What do you know, he turned around. He saw me and grinned.

"Dean!" He changed a lot. His hair wasn't standing up anymore, it was hanging just a little bit past his shoulders and it was actually pretty faded now, revealing black hair mixed in. If you look at it in a different angle, you can see the blue in it.

He no longer wore that sleeveless hoodie, instead he wore black unbuttoned jacket with a white shirt under it and blue jeans. He ran over to me and grinned, "Hey." he said as he stopped in front of me.

Slowly, a smile crept on my face as I suddenly grabbed him in a headlock and gave him a noogie, "You cheeky little shit! It's been a while!" I exclaim as he laughes. I let him go and he fixes his hair, laughing as he does so.

"It has, hasn't it?"

"You've changed. You don't look so douchy anymore." I say teasingly. He rolls his eyes, "But in all honesty, How was the training Tech?"

"I don't want to be called Tech anymore... It's Raidou. I..." he trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Look man, if you don't want to talk about it..."

He shook his head, "No, I have to get this off of my chest. I changed my name to that because I was running away from the past. New start and all that, but I learned over the time I was gone that it wasn't right to do so." His eyes held determination in them, "I need to face my demons head on."

I stared at him for a few seconds. I then smacked him lightly on the back of his head, "took you this long to figure that out?" I laugh as I wrap an arm around his shoulder and drag him with me, "Come on Te- I mean, Raidou. You need a good drink." I saw as he laughes.

I instantly remembered Shining Armor and the drinks he owes me.

TIME TO COLLECT!

I make a quick detour to the castle gates, and see him already leaving the gates. He spots me and grins as I come over, "There you are!" He says as I get within hearing distance.

"Yup. I'm here for that drink you mentioned earlier!" I tell him. He grins and nods.

"Alright! Let me get a friend of mine and we'll get out of here." He says as he enters the castle.

I waited along side Raidou for awhile, chatting about the times we've had. I told him about Manehatten, and he was honestly shocked, "I didn't expect a world like this to have gangsters... What did you do?"

I shrugged, "The only thing I wanted to do. Get rid of them." I replied. He nodded in understanding, but then had a wry grin.

"What about that one mare, Steam? What was her reaction to you doing all of those things for her home?" I began to glow slightly.

"That's none of your business..." I say as I look away. He laughs.

"Come on! I'm only joking!" He exclaimed as I laugh. I turn towards the gate and see Shining returning with a red pegasus with dark orange hair.

"Alright guys, let me introduce you to the newest recruit to the guard, Tony Redgrave." I raise an eyebrow at the pegasus, looking him over.

Tony Redgrave huh? Alright... I'm keeping an eye on this guy...

I see he looks rather surprised to see me, but he seems extremely surprised to see Raidou. I see guilt flash in his eyes, but he quickly replaced it with a smile and held out his hoof, "Nice to meet you two." Hmm... slight brazilian accent.

Alright, the only other person that has a Brazilian accent that I know of would be Cress, Ardiente didn't even have one, and he had spoke Spanish. Raidou shook his hand with a grin, and the pegasus offered his hoof to me. I looked at him with scrutiny. and I could see some sweat on him. With a smile, I shook it, "Nice to meet you Tony. Hope we'll get along." I doubt it. I can already tell this guy's hiding something.

He returned my smile, "I'm sure we will."

(OST)

"Alright, enough talk! Come on, lets go get shitfaced!" I exclaim with a grin. They all return it and Shining leads us to the nearest bar, which happened to be called "Cheers!".

I can't make shit like this up. It was called Cheers. Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this. We enter the building, and as soon as we do so, a loud shout from every single pony in there surprised us.

"SHINING!" They all shouted.

"Hey Shining, how's the guard life treating ya'?" The bartender shouted.

"Like I stomped on its dog." Shining laughed. Wow, this place is just like the show.

"So what'll you have? We have Apple cider if you're looking to have something strong." really? Cider is considered strong here? It's fucking cider! With a sigh, I answer before Shining could reply.

"Just give something that would kill a pony." I say with a grimace.

"You sure? The strongest we have is Minotaur whiskey, and that stuff would hospitalize an earth pony!" The bartender exclaims. I shrug.

"Eh. Just pour me a glass." I tell him. He nods, and pulls out the bottle that contains the aforementioned whiskey. He pours it into a glass, and gives it to me. I down it and wait a moment before shrugging, "Had stronger."

The stallions stomped their hooves, simulating applause. Shining laughed, "Geez Dean, already becoming the talk of the drunks?"

With a grin, i reply, "What can you do? Things just seem to happen." Raidou and "Tony" laughed in response.

"What about you Raidou? You going to have anything?" Shining asked. He shook his head.

"No. Never drank, don't plan on it either." Raidou replied, he then turned to the bartender, "you got anything non-alcoholic?" The bartender nodded and produced a drink for him.

With the other two distracted, I turn to Shining and whisper, "I need to talk to you in private." Shining looks surprised, but nods. We head to the back of the bar.

"What is it Dean?" He asks me. I look at "Tony" with narrowed eyes before looking back to Shining.

"Keep an eye on your Recruit. There's something about him I don't trust." I warn. His eyes widened, but quickly narrows.

"And what makes you say that?" He says with obvious anger.

I narrow my own eyes, "Watch who you snap at. I'm only trying to help you." Shining sighs, but nods and motions for me to continue, "Right. Anyway, Your recruit, Tony Redgrave? That's a fictional alias from my world. He's not who he says he is." I tell him. He looks surprised, and quickly looks at Tony then back to me.

"You're sure?" He asks. I nod, but quickly grab him before he can rush over.

"Easy there Shining. This is only a guess, but don't get rid of him just yet. Pretend that you still trust him, but don't tell him too many things, no matter how much of a friend he may seem." I say. He nods, despite looking quite angry. With a small smile, i give him back the glass he put on the table, "Come on, lets not think about it right now. We got some drinks to down!" He grins, and downs the shot.

The Emperor has accepted you...

Whoa! What was that!? I shook my head, not wanting to think about it at the moment.

"Dean... I need to ask you something." Shining interrupted my thoughts, a slight slur in his voice, "I'm going to be getting married."

My eyes widened, "Bullshit." I say with happiness in my voice. Shining smiles.

"Nope. I'm going to be getting married. I... when you told me you can see how much I loved the mare, I just... I went with my gut and asked for her hoof in marriage." I smacked his shoulder jovially.

"That's awesome man! Who's the lucky mare?"

"Princess Cadence." I choked on the shot I was drinking, and stared at him incredulously.

"A bit high on the totem pole, aren't you? Shit, if you can get married to a princess, the captain position isn't a joke." I chuckle. He laughs, but turns serious.

"Look, that isn't why I told you. Being the captain of the royal guard does have its perks, but beyond that, you're actually the first friends I've made in years."

Oh boy... "Don't get too sappy on me now." I grin, "look, don't worry about it. I'm sure that-"

"So I was wondering if you would like to be my best man?" He cuts me off, making my eyes widen.

I stuttered, "Er, you sure you want a guy like me being your best man? Especially after all of the crap I've told you I've done?" I ask, honestly, I'm very iffy about the whole thing.

"I can't think of a better person besides the one guy who works hard at redeeming himself. I'd be honored if you'd do it." He grins. Honestly, the slight glow I'm giving off kind of amplifies my embarrassment.

"Well... alright. I'll do it!" I exclaim. Shining then seems to be rather happy. Alright, time to make the occasion even better, "OI! BARTENDER! A ROUND FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE ON ME!" A chorus of cheers and shouts ran through the entire place.

For the next twenty minutes, we all traded stories and were merry for awhile. But then I had to leave, and Tech came with me.

(OST)

We walked the streets of Canterlot, seeing that it was close to the afternoon, figured I may as well head to the castle. I look at Tech, "You want to come with me to the castle? Or do you want to head out and do your own thing?" I ask him.

He puts a hand on chin and pauses to think, "Hmm. You know what, I'll go with you. I've been meaning to ask you something." Okay... I shrug and we walk to the entrance of the castle. This time, for once, the guards let me in without a hassle, not even a second glance. Alright! We're making progress here! We make our way through the second gate, and finally into the castle.

At the gate, stood Celestia. She trotted towards us, with a smile she said, "Welcome back Dean."

I laughed, "Nice to get a welcome." I sighed, "Have you heard about what happened in Manehatten?" Celestia's face turned serious.

"Yes. Was there any casualties?" She asks. I shrugged.

"None that I saw, but I can't say for sure. Things were hectic and I wasn't exactly focused on my surroundings beyond beating the guy behind their servitude." I replied. She nods in understanding.

"I see. I've also heard you... disposed of the local criminal organization. Is that true?" I nod without any hesitation.

"They got what they deserve. As much as you may say I should have knocked them out, they had too much money for their own good and would have used it to bribe their way out of prison." She sighs and nods.

"Next time, please refrain from killing all of the criminals you see..." She asks. I shrug, but nod nonetheless. She then brightens, "Now, despite all of the things done, I have something to pay you back for the services you've done for my ponies." What ho? Noticing my curiosity, she grins, "I've managed to procure a deed to a house near the edge of Whitetail woods, so you don't have to worry about any animals invading your home while you're gone. That, and I've also managed to collect a large payment for your services." She hands me a large bag and a scroll, which I'm guessing is the deed.

"Huh. I'll be honest, out of all the things to get, this was not at the top of my list." I chuckle. She laughs as well, and sees Raidou, who was looking rather awkward standing there. With an evil little idea in my head, I turn to Celestia, "You know... he has a nice little... fascination with the Moon." I smirk. She instantly catches on and smiles deviously, "You in?"

"Oh of course!" She says happily. She turns to the boy with a smile, "You know..." She looks at me.

"Raidou." I snicker.

She rolls her eyes, "Raidou, my sister controls the moon. Would you like to meet her?"

"Er... you sure? I mean, I'm not exactly that impressive." Really now? Trying to downplay yourself? Yup, going to enjoy this even more.

"Dammit Raidou don't look a gift pony in the mouth." I sigh, trying to mask my amusement.

Raidou sighed, "Alright..."

I turn to Celestia, "Anything else you want to tell me before I take off?" She smiles.

"Actually, there's also someone I want you to meet. You can come in now." She turns towards the door and signals...

No way... no fucking way...

(OST)

A teenage girl with long brown hair with bangs that covered one of her eyes walked in. She wore a knee-length black skirt and wore a longsleeve black shirt as well as a pair of black tennis shoes.

Kate...

(13 years ago...)

"Come on Mr.Bekket, I can't just give you more freebies!" I heard my fathers voice from behind a door.

"Please, I need more time! I have most of your money right now, just give me more time!"

"Is... is daddy going to be okay?" I look down and see a little girl, barely six years old. I could feel myself smile weakly.

"Yeah... he'll be fine. come on, do you want to play anything?" I ask her. I sounded fairly young, twelve years old I think.

"Yeah!" She smiles, "Come on Uncle Dean!" She grabs my hand and guides me to another room. I could hear myself laugh.

"Slow down Kate! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Uncle... Dean?" I heard Kate's voice bring me back to the present. I looked at her with shock, and slowly walked over to her.

"You... Oh my god..." I said breathlessly.  She ran forward and hugged me.

"It's great to see you again Uncle..." I returned the hug, too shocked to say anything.

Last time I saw her... she was dead. Suicide, death by hanging. I... I don't think I felt that bad since I broke up with Beth... Tears stung my eyes as I hugged her tighter, "I'm so sorry..."

She laughed gently, "It's okay Uncle. I understand you had other things to worry about." I shook my head.

"That doesn't excuse what I did. I should have kept a better eye on you..." I sigh. I let her go and smile, "Still, I'm glad I get to see you again. How've you been?"

"I've been alright. I've been working in purgatory for the last two years, filing paper work and other boring things." She giggles. I laughed.

"Well, at least you were safe. I take it you asked to work in the field?" She shook her head.

"Well, I'm more of a healer than a fighter, but I do have a means to fight." She pulled out a giant hilt, "Remember when your group found the missing weapons?" my eyes widened.

"One of them was yours?" I ask. She nodded, "Shit! Um... well, what about the other weapons? The guns?"

"Right here boyo." I turn and spot a black man with an irish accent. He was bald, and had a goatee on his face. He had a bottle in his hands as he took a drink, "Ah! Not as strong as back home, but it'll have to do." I look at the bottle and laugh.

Minotaur Whiskey. Shit, I like this guy already! "It's five o'clock somewhere, I take it?"

The Irishman grinned, "Aye. Nice to see ya' get it. I've been getting lip from Ms. High and Mighty here about it."

"Because you shouldn't drink so early Mr. O'leary!" Kate exclaimed. He simply laughed.

"Oh come on lass, I haven't had the chance to drink in a couple of years! That, and Marcelo got me out of my own guns! It's a good occasion as any to have a drink." He grinned. I shook my head smiling while Kate huffed. I turn to her.

"Anyway... Since I finally got the chance to see you again, do you want to live with me?" I really need to keep an eye on her. I won't let someone I helped raise get hurt. I turn to O'leary with a grin, "That extends to you too ya damn drunk!" I laugh as he flips me off but nods as he takes a swig of whiskey.

"I'd be more than happy too Uncle." Kate smiled.

I nodded, grinning widely, "Great! Just hang out here at the castle and I'll check out the home, make sure it's suitable for human use." I tell her. She nods. I turn to Celestia, "Oi! I'm going to head out now, I asked Kate and O'leary here to stay here and wait for me to send a letter to you telling them to head on over. Could you keep an eye on them while I head out?" I ask.

She nods, "I will. And don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Raidou as well." She giggles as she looks out a window, "I think their quite taken with each other." I raise an eyebrow in curiosity and walk over to look out the window to find both Raidou and Luna talking animatedly with each other.

I chuckled at the scene, "He's probably going to want to stay here with how that's going. You don't mind do you?" I ask her. She shook her head.

"No, it'll actually be nice to have a change of scenery here at the castle. Again, thank you for helping Manehatten Dean." I waved my hand nonchalantly.

"It's fine. Just doing what anyone should do."

You have been accepted by The Sun...

And there's that voice again.

I swear there's a trend here...

I shook my head, "Anyway, I'm going to head out. Later." She nodded, and left the castle.

Now, What can I do to Canterlot in the minimal amount of time possible before I head to Ponyville?