It Begins

I groaned as I slowly came to, my head pounding and ears ringing. Rubbing my forehead in a feeble attempt to stave off the headache, I slurred to myself, “How much did I drink last night?” I then glance at my hand and find it covered in traces of blood. “Probably a lot,” I surmised.

With a strained groan, I pushed myself off the ground in spite of my aching body’s protests. I then properly surveyed my surroundings and grimaced at the dark, unending expanse of gnarled vines and twisted trees that greeted me from all sides. “Okay, why am I in the Everfree?”

My ears perked at a sudden noise from behind me, and I instantly turned to face down whatever hungry manticore dared think it could have pounced me. Instead, I’m merely greeted with a woman whose dark armor reflected the warm glow of the billowing campfire before her, and sitting beside her was…

“Cador?” I groggily mumbled.

Cador glanced up, saw me, and darted over, crying, “Red!”

“Oh, good,” the woman spoke up, staying seated and keeping her eyes on the fire and the hunk of food cooking within its embers. “You’re awake.”

“No shit,” I moaned, attempting to take a step closer only to stumble to my knees.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa! Careful!” Cador exclaimed, pulling me back to my hooves. “You shielded me when we fell; you really shouldn’t move. E-Eris said you might even have a concussion.”

“That so, huh?” I said, wincing in pain and fighting off a sudden wave of dizziness. “Greeeaaat…” “Guys? You there?” I silently questioned.

“Yep,” answered the ever chipper Umbra. “I’m here, see?”

In the corner of my eye, I spotted something wave to me from within the shadows of the forest.

“Yep. I see ya. You okay, Shadow-Cat?”

“Mhmm. I had to sleep after we resurrected you, but I’m awake now. Er, obviously,”he added, chuckling softly. “The others told me about what happened.”

“Including the part with the weird, lab coat guy and the portal hopping?”

“Yep.”

“Aw, shit! That did happen?” I groaned, muttering my thanks to Cador who helped support my weight and walked me toward the campfire.

“Yes, it did,” Gelu confirmed with an exasperated sigh. “And you are concussed, but Terra’s working on that as we speak.”

“Still? How long have I been out?”

“You’ve been unconscious for nearly two hours,” she revealed bluntly.

“Wait, what? But it’s just a concussion; that usually only takes you guys a few seconds to fix.

“You haven’t eaten anything since before our last battle, and we’re all still too weak to readily heal you with our magics,” Umbra explained.

“If anything, you should be grateful that Terra had just enough power left to mend your spine,” Gelu noted. “It was the first thing that broke when you protected that mortal.”

“Really because I’m pretty sure Iggy broke it at least three times contorting my body like a rag doll anyway better mine than the kid’s.”

“See, that’s the kind of thinking that makes me really, really wish we had gotten stuck inside Sombra,” Ignis interjected angrily. “Not only would he have not gotten us killed, but he wouldn’t have risked himself for that pathetic weakling! Perhaps we should start looking for a better host,” he suggested, equally sarcastic as he was serious.

“Can’t wait five minutes before insulting me, can ya, Iggy?” I wondered, finally collapsing by the campfire with a tired sigh. “And you wonder why I respect your sister more than you.”

While Gelu snorted, her brother expressed his fury through the campfire, flaring it skyward in a glorious plume of smoke that looked suspiciously like an upward pointing claw.

“Classy, Iggy,” I whispered, shaking my head in exasperation. “Love you too, ya bastard. Now, stop doing that before the other two ask questions none of us want to answer.”

Ignis grumbled his usual grumblings about not needing to listen to my mortal ass, but I tuned it out and observed my campfire buddies.

Cador was still eyeing the now-peacefully crackling fire apprehensively, but the woman simply stared blankly at it as if she hadn’t even noticed Ignis’ gesture. However, once she realized I was looking at her, she finally turned and met my eye.

The instant she did, I heard Ignis’ growling in my ear and a sweltering heat building in my wings. “Yo, Ignis? Do you mind?”

Though he said nothing, the heat quickly dissipated, so I finally began addressing the stranger, “So did I fall out of the sky or what?” I asked.

“You did,” she answered.

“Her voice is annoying,” Ignis snarled with noticeably more venom than usual.

“Right. Thanks for keeping the kid safe while I was passed out,” I said, gesturing to Cador.

“Who cares about that stupid mortal!?”

“No problem,” the woman assured, nodding quietly. “Are you okay? You don’t seem to be too injured despite your fall,” she observed.

“I’m a quick healer,” I bragged, winking.

“No, you are not; it’s our power that heals you!”

“Yes, Ignis, I know that,” I commented, really wanting him to shut up.

“And I really want you to die, but we can’t always get what we want, can we?” he responded.

After suppressing an eye-roll, I inquired, “Are you Eris then?”

“I am,” she confirmed. “You?”

“Redsopine, but you can just call me ‘Red,’” I answered, extending a hand.

After a moment’s hesitation, she extended hers as well, but the moment her fingers brushed against mine, my hand combusted. I yelped and swiftly retracted it, willing the fire away.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized to her, smiling awkwardly. In my mind, however, I practically screeched, “What the hell, Ignis!?”

“She’s a filthy mortal; she has no right to touch us!” he argued.

“It was just a handshake, dude! It’s not like I was making a move or something, you asshole!”

“She’s lucky you weren’t; I’d have immolated her.”

I wanted nothing more than to scream at him verbally, but I didn’t. I simply bit my tongue and acted like Ignis didn’t just promise to kill everyone I ever try to date.

Sweet Celestia, I miss being free…

“Yes, we miss it too,” Gelu said, her tone dripping with spite.

“Sorry,” I apologized to Eris again. “My powers are a bit wonky even at the best of times, so…?”

“They’re our powers!”

Eris blinked owlishly for a second before saying, “You don’t have to hide them, you know.”

Uh-oh. “Um, what do you mean?” I inquired, shooting a brief glance at a confused Cador.

She glanced at the boy as well, blinking in realization. “Oh. I… See,” she emphasized with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. “Nevermind then.”

“Oh, yeah. Guys, I think she knows you’re here.”

“What!? But how!?” Umbra squealed.

“Well, if a certain crazy dragon monster didn’t keep yelling at me!” I snapped.

“For getting us all killed, consider yelling at you a mercy,” Ignis sneered.

“It’s not just that,” Gelu cut in. “Now that we’re near her, I can feel there’s something off about this woman. I can’t explain it, but it’s like she’s…? Missing something,” she concluded, not at all satisfied with her observation. “Hold on, I’ll see if Terra knows what this aura is.”

The moment her presence faded, Ignis resumed snarling even louder than before. Although, since the little bitch has always been growly around strangers, I decided to ignore him.

“Excuse me!?”

“If you don’t mind,” Eris interjected, reacquiring my attention. “I’d like to know more about what happened to you. The young one, Cador, told me that he and you were attacked…?” she ended, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh-huh,” Cador confirmed, nodding as he sat opposite the both of us. “W-We were on our way to the coliseum, and then the guards attacked us. And— And then this weird, er, thing!” he went with. “Appeared. And a monster came out of it and attacked us too!”

Eris looked at me quizzically.

“It was a portal,” I clarified. “Not sure what kind, and I couldn’t see through it.”

“And the monster it heralded?”

“Some nutjob in a lab coat. Dude almost killed us, ranted about me being a cheater—whatever that means—and then created another portal and threw us through it,” I elaborated with a dramatic flourish.

“Why did he do that if he aimed to kill you?”

“Another portal formed and whoever came out of it saved our skin.”

“Did you happen to see them?”

Me. It was me. “No,” I lied.

We both then glanced at Cador, but he merely shook his head.

Eris hummed contemplatively and returned her gaze to the fire.

Meanwhile, I sorted through my own memories of what happened, focusing on one particular image. “Hey, guys? That dude that saved us? Was that me, or was I just seeing things?”

“I wasn’t conscious, so I don’t know,” Umbra said somberly. I felt his presence shift a little, and he followed up with, “Whoa, that does look like you.”

“The others didn’t say anything to you?”

“Not about this.”

I sighed. “Well, considering how I can’t trust my own memories half of the time, I guess I can’t expect you guys to trust ‘em either. Then again? You were awake, Ignis,” I pointed out. “Did you see?”

“Through your pathetic, mortal eyes? I could scarcely see a thing,” he grumbled.

“Unless I’m trying to shake hands with a stranger, and then you freak out and make me explode on them,” I shot back.

Umbra tried valiantly to hide his mirth but ultimately failed. Ignis, on the other hand, didn’t pay me any mind at all. In fact, from what I could sense, he was keeping his focus squarely on Eris.

Before I could ask Ignis what he was so enamored by, Eris resumed speaking. “You said your assailant threw you through a portal, correct?” she questioned.

“Yep.”

“And you, Cador, you spoke of a coliseum?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hmm. Alright, let me ask you both this: Do you know where you are? What land you’re in?”

“Equestria?” I guessed.

“Correct,” Eris confirmed.

“Wait, what?” Cador said, scratching his head in confusion. “Where are we? I-I’ve never heard of Equestria before.”

“It’s my home, kiddo,” I clarified.

“I assumed as much,” Eris said, pointing at my muzzle. “Although, I doubt this Equestria is your Equestria.”

The second her words registered, I moaned and held my face in my hands. “I dimension hopped again!? Oh, come on! Can’t it ever be a normal teleportation portal for once!?”

“I take it that crossing worlds is not uncommon for you?” she supposed.

“I wish it were.”

“Dimension… Hopped…?” Cador nervously repeated. “W-What does that mean?”

“It means your attacker ripped open a hole in time and space and carelessly tossed you through it,” Eris explained bluntly. “This world you’re in right now? It’s not yours. Not just the location, mind you. The entire. World.”

Cador swayed a little, but after giving his head a small shake he protested, “But that’s impossible! Wh-What are you saying? That there’s really other worlds?”

“Correct.”

“Why are we concerned with this?” Ignis growled.

“But I-I can’t— H-How could that— My sister; I— Wh-What am I supposed to do!? I-I-I need to get back!” Cador screamed, starting to hyperventilate. “My sister needs me!”

“I don’t care; cease your whining, mortal!”

“Cador, it’s okay,” I comforted. “We’ll get you back, no problem.”

“How!? I-I-I don’t even know where we are, o-or how we got here!”

“Also, uh, Red?” Umbra spoke up. “We’re still too weak to make portals ourselves, so we’re stuck here too.”

“Yes, and we’re weakened thanks to you!” Ignis shrieked. “Because you got us killed, you reckless bastard!”

“Ignis—”

“Shut up, Umbra!”

“It doesn’t matter how,” I deflected, attempting to ease Cador’s woes. “We’ll find a way to get you back to your sister; hell, we’ll find a way to help your sister while we’re here!” I promised. “How does that sound?”

Cador was utterly floored by that declaration, muttering, “Y-You will?”

“Yep.”

“Wh-Why?”

“Eh, I like helping people,” I said, shrugging casually. “And I promise that I will help you.”

For one glorious second, Cador looked genuinely relieved. Unfortunately…

“You shouldn’t make promises you may not be able to keep,” Eris advised tactlessly.

And with that, my attempts to mollify Cador are annulled, and he immediately started shivering as tears welled up in his eyes again.

“And now the whelp is crying! Pathetic!”

“Ignis, shut up,” I instinctively barked at him, not remotely ready to deal with the asshole’s attitude anymore today. “Look, Cador, I—”

My voice suddenly cut out as an intense burning ate away at the pits of my stomach before weaving throughout my intestines. I hastily slapped my hands against my mouth and desperately tried to fight back Ignis, but small tongues of flame reached up through my throat and licked at my hands, making me collapse to the ground in agony.

Eris and Cador both realized something was wrong, and while the latter jumped away in fear and confusion, the former drew her sword and stared me down warily.

“R-Red?” Cador mumbled, grimacing in shock.

By no means was this the first time that Ignis—or any of my roommates for that matter—had screwed with me like this in front of complete strangers, but this wasthe first time they did it in front of a child. And if it weren’t for the fact that Ignis had complete control of my body right now, I’d have made my displeasure very, veryclear.

Luckily, a second later, Gelu’s presence returned alongside Terra’s.

“Ignis, what are you doing!?” Terra cried out, attempting to suppress the fire demon’s assault but to no avail. “Why are you hurting, Red!?”

“Because we’re stuck with this bastard!” Ignis roared madly. “And all he cares about this stupid wench and mortal!”

“Ignis,” Gelu began, her tone remaining as neutral as ever. “As much I enjoy seeing you torture the fool, we are in no condition to heal him afterward.”

“Don’t worry, Gelu,” he pleaded, practically radiating sadistic glee. “I’ll only hurt him a little! You can surely take this, can’t you, Redsopine?”

Following his question, my right arm burned as if dipped in lava, yet barely a bead of sweat was visible among my fur. Much to my relief, the sensation soon faded thanks to Umbra.

“Ignis, why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice calm-yet-concerned.

“Because I want to; stop fighting me!”

Umbra didn’t, and in fact, he was immediately aided by Terra who commanded, “Ignis, stop. This is no time to throw a tantrum. We all agreed to work together, and if we are to vanquish the Anziek—”

“Oh, would you just shut the hell up already!” Ignis bellowed, startling the elder demon into silence. “You do not get to order me around like some twisted, little puppet!”

“I never said I did,” Terra replied, more confused than he was affronted.

“And yet you act like it! Every day it's the same shit! ‘Oh, don't hurt the mortal, Ignis!’” Ignis continued in a mocking tone. “‘Give him all of your power and let him abuse you and your sister as if you were mere pets!’”

With Ignis’ attention drawn away from torturing me, Umbra managed to finish easing my pain uninhibited. “Thanks, Shadow-Cat,” I whispered to him once he had finished.

“You’re welcome,” Umbra whispered back, his ghostly visage winking kindly before fading away into the shadows once more.

“Red?” Eris began hesitantly, sheathing her sword. “Are you alright?”

I wiped at my mouth and took several gulps of air, barely suppressing the urge to vomit. Afterward, I slowly nodded, affirming, “Yep.”

Meanwhile, Ignis’ booming screams had only grown louder. “—We’re trapped for the rest of eternity in this stupid, suicidal fool, and you don’t even care!”

After letting out a tired groan, Terra countered, “Ignis, I’ve told you time and again that we will work on freeing ourselves later.”

“Why shouldn’t we be free now!? We would never have died if we were the ones in control!”

“He has a point,” Gelu weighed in. “You insist that we act friendly toward the mortal every second of every day, and yet never pester him to return the gesture.”

“You know, if you wanted me to start being nicer to you two, then maybe you should stop torturing me for every mild inconvenience.”

“Red, you’re not helping!” Terra barked.

“You call getting us killed a ‘mild inconvenience’!?” Gelu shrieked, furious.

“We’re sick of your double standard, Terra!” Ignis snarled, ignoring me entirely. “You think that just because your our elder that you’re somehow wiser, better; superior!? No… You know nothing of us!”

“Ignis—”

“We are not your pets!” Ignis cut him off with a hostile growl. “You do not own me. You do not control me! I am not! Your! Puppet!” he ended, irate.

While I tried to massage away the headache the demons’ arguing was giving me, Cador turned to Eris and worriedly asked, “Is he okay?”

Eris met Cador’s eye for a brief second before walking over to me, looking me over with a faint frown. “Are you sure I shouldn’t be concerned?” she inquired, reaching a hand out.

“Heh. I wouldn’t bother,” I grunted dismissively. “I don’t. I barely even know what their deal is half of the time,” I added, taking the offered hand.

The moment our hands touched, everything went silent, and all I couldnext perceive was a white-hot, all-consuming pain. I writhed in pain and release a tormented screech, but it went completely unheard by anyone and anything in the pitch black void I found myself within.

“Do not touch us!” a loud, ear-grating voice screamed, seemingly from my own mouth. “Filthy vermin! How dare you touch our flesh!”

“—Treat your host better, Fire Demon,” noted the quiet, emotionless voice of Eris. All is silent for a moment before “—No idea my touch was so horrendous,” echoed to me as well.

“Every mortal's touch is horrendous! But yours is especially infuriating,” the previous voice replied, and this time, I recognized it.

It was Ignis.

The moment I realized that, awareness flooded my mind and senses, worsening the pain tenfold but allowing me to finally begin clawing my way out of the pits of my own subconscious.

“I wonder why…?” Eris’ voice echoed once again, and from her tone, I could tell she realized arguing with Ignis was pointless. “I shall refrain from touching you again. Is that agreeable?”

A wave of sheer, unadulterated fury flooded my entire being, but I push through and break back into the waking world with a cry of determination.

“Red, you’re awake!” Umbra yelped in surprise, turning his senses onto my presence.

“Oh, swell,” Gelu snarked.

“Can it, bitch!” I snapped.

Ignis had wasted no time mangling my body to his liking, and now, a solid half of my upper body was coated in a sheet of dark crimson scales, and my entire right arm had been replaced with a twisted, malformed dragon's claw; I could even feel the slight wiggling sensation of a wing growing inside my back. All of my original flesh had, of course, been discarded upon the ground as nothing more than blackened, melted gunk.

Ordinarily, Terra would have been vehemently protesting this, but considering that he was dead silent, he must have been suppressed just as I had been. Luckily, I’m awake again, meaning I can protest to my heart’s content. “Ignis, you son of a bitch! Give me back my fucking body!”

Ignis obviously didn’t listen to me; instead, he merelyglared balefully at Eris as if she weren’t simply sitting down and staring at him with disdain.

“‘Agreeable’?” he repeated via my now-fanged jaw. “What would be agreeable is if you were to die!”

“Red, stop!” Cador shouted. “She helped us; don’t—”

Too late. Ignis had already launched himself forward. Only to be swatted away like a fly.

Ignis skidded against the ground for a second before righting himself and crouching on all-fours, snarling bestially. I then felt his power course through my other arm, but I quickly stop it and repeat, “Give me back! My fucking! BODY!”

Eris, meanwhile, shook her stinging wrist and muttered, “Ow. Your scales are durable, I’ll give you that.”

“Just wait till you feel my claws,” Ignis screeched, sending his power to my legs only for me stop him once again.

“Mhmm. Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’d really rather not fight,” Eris acknowledged, holding her hands behind her back and staring at Ignis coldly.

“And I’d rather you stand still and let me spill your guts out!” Ignis spat at her.

“Ignis, stop it!” Umbra cried out, trying to help me regain control. “You’re going too far; this isn’t what Terra would—”

“I don't care!” Ignis snapped, quashing Umbra's presence entirely and leaving me all alone to quell him.

“Red, please stop!” Cador started, rushing between Ignis and Eris. “She helped us; you can’t just— Y-You can’t just…” he trailed off, quivering under the intense hatred that radiated from Ignis’ draconic eyes.

No.

Ignis let out a startled yelp as my body seized up.

To my utter surprise, Gelu neither said nor did anything, whether to fight me or help her brother. Good thing too because I’m done dealing with both of their shit.

As Ignis struggled to resist my will, he huffed out one last cloud of fire and smoke, eyeing Eris with nothing but pure virulence.

Eris, on the other hand, realized what was going on and commented, “Seems your host is quite angry with you.”

“Shut up!”

“‘Host’?” Cador repeated, puzzled.

“That’s not your friend, Cador,” Eris said, keeping her gaze focused on Ignis. “It’s one of the demons within him.”

…

Cador passed out.

“Pathetic whelp,” Ignis sneered.

“‘Pathetic’?” Eris repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Being overwhelmed by having everything you’ve ever known and cared for be ripped away from you… You call that pathetic?”

“Weakness is pathetic!” he replied, struggling fruitlessly to drive me away again and failing miserably. “Being overwhelmed by anything is a weakness, so yes! It is pathetic!”

For the span of a heartbeat, I could feel yet another torrent of rage wash over me. It was blinding. All-encompassing. Endless…

It terrified me down to the pits of my soul, and Ignis must have sensed that for in the brief second I felt that aura, Ignis regained complete control, roaring at the top of our lungs as his draconic flesh rapidly burned away mine from the inside out.

Eris then closed her eyes and took a slow, steady breath.

As abruptly as it began, the feeling ended, and Ignis stopped. “W-What?” he muttered through my mouth, blinking in confusion.

Gelu was similarly dumbfounded by what had just happened, but before either of them could speak or move, I seized my chance.

Ignis shrieked in protest, but unfortunately for him, I had caught him entirely off-guard, so all he could do was desperately cling to my body and flail as, scale-by-scale, he was ejected from the pilot seat.

Realizing he wouldn’t be able to fight me off, Ignis turned his fiery gaze to Eris and roared, “If you had even the slightest hint of intelligence, you'd stay away from us! I know what you are! And I know what you carry!” He growled in pain as his claw began to evaporate away, revealing my burnt, bleeding arm. “You will not stop us! You will not stop me!”

Eris looked confused for a second before her face darkened. “So, you know about that, do you?” she asked darkly, standing and stepping away from the fire. “That must be why…” She sighed quietly and apologized, “I’m sorry, Redsopine. I did not mean to incur your demon’s wrath.”

I have no idea what meant, but I was a bit busy finishing Ignis off to care.

“Once you get control back, come visit me in this world’s Ponyville,” Eris urged, standing and stepping away from the fire. “I will help you get home, but evidently, I’m going to need to tell you some things before I do.”

And with that, Eris turned and walked away, disappearing into the thicket of the Everfree Forest.

The moment her presence faded, Ignis surrendered control, and I promptly collapsed to the ground in a writhing, twitching mess.

Umbra and Terra both immediately flared back to life, and the latter proceeded to heal me from Ignis' latest hissy fit. Gelu, meanwhile, regarded her taciturn brother with a mixture of confusion, fury and the slightest hint of disappointment.

“You should have fought harder, Brother,” she coldly criticized.

Ignis said nothing.

A minute or two later, I recovered enough to sit up and cough my guts out. “Ignis,” I wheezed. “Fuck. You.”

Ignis continued to say nothing, so I inquired, “Gramps, am I good to get up?”

“I wouldn’t exactly advise it, but—”

I got up anyway and weakly stumbled over to Cador who was still unconscious. I then knelt beside him and rubbed my hands together, stopping once I heard the telltale hum of my pegasus magic.

One tiny pulse of static later, Cador was shocked back into the waking word with a yelp. After fully regaining his senses, he met my eye and practically threw himself away from me, beholding me with nothing shy of terror.

And now for the awkward part. “Sorry you had to see that, kiddo,” I apologized meekly. “You okay?”

“No!” Cador screamed, voice cracking. “I don’t know what’s happening, where I am, or what I’m going to do! I-I just wanted to fight… I just wanted some stupid Bits for my sister; I didn’t want…” Cador curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

“H-Hey! Cador, look, I know everything is going haywire right now,” I acknowledged as gently as I could which I’m ashamed to admit wasn’t much. “But I really meant it when I promised I’d get you home and your sister fixed, okay? And I always keep my promises.”

“H-How am I supposed to believe you?” Cador whimpered. “I don’t even know who o-o-or what you are!”

I sighed and sat in the dirt myself. “Sometimes, I have a hard time knowing that too, kid.”

…

…

…

“What was that?” Cador eventually squeaked out. “Wh-Why did you try attacking Eris? She— She helped us, a-and you…”

I inhaled sharply and let it out softly. “Yeaaahhh, about that? That… Wasn’t exactly… Me.”

“She said that too,” he replied, wiping his eyes dry only for them to tear up once again. “That you were possessed or something.”

“How freaked out would you be if I told you she was right?”

“Wait, seriously!?” Cador squealed, scurrying even further away from me.

“Hey, you think this head got so thick and big from ego alone?” I joked, pointing to my own skull. “Heh-heh. I mean, it probably did, but my roommates don’t help.”

“Did you just call us fat?” Gelu asked angrily.

“‘Roommates’?” Cador repeated questioningly. “I don’t understand.”

“Ugh, that’s a long story,” I groaned exaggeratedly, hiding an uncomfortable wince. “Let’s just say that I found a few, er, creatures. And after some magical hijinks, they all got stuck inside me. One of them—the asshole,” I snarled. “Had an issue with Eris and wanted to make sure we all knew it.”

“So, he… Mind-controlled you?”

And ripped every last cell of my body apart, twisting me into an unholy abomination and sending my mind spiraling into a haze of hellish torment. Instead of that, I opted to say, “Yeah, basically.”

Cador gulped.

A small stretch of silence passed between us, disturbed only by the creatures of the Everfree and subdued crackling of Eris’ fire. I then turned my gaze over to it, hoping to find the remains of whatever she was cooking in it, but finding it had been charred beyond salvation and scattered across the ground.

“Good going, Iggy. We’re low on magic, and you ruined the only good meal around for miles,” I growled.

“I see a perfectly good meal standing not two meters away from us,” Ignis growled back.

“Okay, that’s it!” Terra suddenly roared.

Ignis and Gelu’s auras both vanished with nary a cry of protest.

Terra let out a low, irritated sigh, and I subsequently coughed out a cloud of dust. “Sorry, Red,” he said, noticing that.

“Ain’t the first time you dirtied up my mouth; I doubt it’ll be the last,” I responded, knowing full-well he wouldn’t let it be the last. “But seriously, Gramps, what the absolute fuck is Ignis’ problem!?”

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret that he doesn’t like you,” he acknowledged.

“What? Ignis doesn’t like me? Get outta here; I had no idea!”

“You know what I mean, Red.” After a brief pause, Terra conceded, “That said, I expected him to refrain from harming you when we’re so weak. And I doubt you said anything to set him off…”

“Does it even matter if I say or do anything when it comes to him and his bitch sister?”

“Red, language.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Terra did indeed shut up, inciting Umbra to finally speak his own piece. “Gelu said that there was some kind of aura emanating from Eris. I-I couldn’t really sense it myself, but… Do you think it might have done something to Ignis?” he asked Terra.

I can’t tell if that’s Umbra simply being naive, or if he’s trying to find any way he can to excuse Ignis for violating my body and mind. Again. Either way, I’m left with a sour taste in my mouth that has nothing to do with blood, gore, or dirt.

Eventually, however, Terra softly began, “Our current forms are unaffected by all but the most ancient of magics. So, no, Umbra. I do not believe Ms. Eris had anything to do with Ignis’ outburst,” he proclaimed. “The only way she could was if she possessed a power equatable to our own.”

“And if she does?” Umbra inquired.

“…Then she is someone we’d be wise to not enrage.”

“Speaking of rage,” I began in my mind as I stood up. “C’mon, Cador. Let’s get out of this dumb forest,” I urged, extending him my right hand.

It was then that I noticed that over half of my arm was still covered in patches of half-formed, blood red dragon scales, and even my nails seemed longer and sharper than usual. Cador still took my hand regardless, but I still issued yet another round of silent curses Ignis’ way.

After helping Cador to his feet, I shifted my cloak to fully hide my mutated arm, guessing, “Food and sleep?”

“Food and sleep,” Terra and Umbra confirmed simultaneously.

“Great.” I gave Cador a comforting pat on his back and observed, “Seems this is the way back to town, and I think we’ve had enough surprises for one day. You?”

“I just want to go home,” he mewled, hanging his head low but proceeding forward anyway.

“Yeah. Yeah, me too, kid,” I whispered, shoving away images of my friends and family being torn apart by the Anziek without me. “Let’s go.”

We then walk side-by-side along the forest path.

Around a quarter of an hour later, we finally arrive at the forest’s edge, both of us bearing a few more mosquito bites than we’d prefer but otherwise unharmed.

I then out let out a long, low sigh and smile sadly at the sight of Ponyville. I know it’s not my Ponyville, and for all I know, this version won’t be nearly as accepting of my condition as my version is, but despite all that…?

“It’s good to be home,” I mumbled. I then started walking forward, relieved that this Ponyville has the same layout as mine. “C’mon, Cador. If there’s one place we need to head to, it’s the library.”

“I’d rather find a place to lay down and sleep,” came Cador’s reply.

I chuckled. “Lucky you. If the librarian is who I think it is, she’ll practically beg for the chance to rent you out the spare room.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I ain’t kidding, kiddo. Knowing her, she won’t even charge you Bits. Just be ready to answer a two hour long questionnaire or something when you meet her,” I warned slyly.

“Huh?”

I just smirked and continued walking, leading Cador past Fluttershy’s cottage and into Ponyville proper. A few minutes later, I smiled a little more genuinely to find this Ponyville managed to keep its Golden Oaks Library, and I hastened my steps. However, once we finally approached it, we stopped at the sound of voices coming out through the open windows.

“—Come on, Twilight, it’s not like I didn't tell you about the Displaced!” yelled one voice I recognized belonged to Eris.

“You said that Displaced came form Earth not from our own world!” retorted someone else that I’m certain was Twilight Sparkle.

“Because I didn't know! I mean, I know a lot about the Displaced but not everything,” Eris confessed with a huff.

“Are you kidding me!?”

“She always did hate consulting unreliable sources,” Terra commented.

“Seriously, Twilight,” Eris resumed. “They just showed up out of a tear in reality while I was making sure the Human Transmutation circle was destroyed. I’m not kidding—They literally fell out of the sky. How do I prepare for something like that; how would you prepare for something like that?”

“I’ll tell you how I would have prepared for something like that!”

Not wanting to wait ten hours for Twilight to finish talking, I hurriedly knocked on the tree house’s door, interrupting the conversation.

A cloud of magic surrounded the doorknob and unlocked it, and the caster then called out, “Come in.”

I took Twilight up on that offer and opened the door, casually strolling in and greeting, “Hey, we’re finally… Augh, son of a bitch,” I cursed, putting my hands up in surrender.

A large group of armed guards all directed their spears at me and Cador. I could tell from a glance that they’re only holding me and Cador up due to our strange appearances, but knowing that doesn’t do much to quell my irritation at having my life threatened for the dozenth time today.

Eris rolled her eyes at the guards, openly wondering, “So, how many demon incursions into the library is it now? Ten?”

Twilight silently glared at her before turning her attention to me and Cador. “Guards, at ease; they mean us no harm.Right?” she ended, shooting Eris a questioning look.

Eris nodded, so Twilight nodded to the guards, and after another moment of hesitation, they all holstered their weapons.

“Um, thanks?” I said, shutting the library door and making sure that Cador stayed behind me.

“No, no. Sorry about that,” Twilight apologized. “I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she announced, giving her head a slight bow. “Are you Mr. Redsopine and Mr. Cador?”

“Yep,” I confirmed while Cador simply nodded his head numbly, staring fearfully at the nearby guards.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Twilight chirped, smiling warmly. “I’ve heard you two have had a rather, er, problematic day?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“Yes, well…? My teacher, Princess Celestia, is the ruler of all of Equestria. She’ll be arriving soon, but in the meantime? Can you tell me more about who you are, what happened to you, and how you came to be in our land?”

“Depends on whether or not you’re ready for an overly complicated story spanning several different universes and involving multiple eldritch demons,” I dryly replied.

“‘Universes’?” she echoed. “Plural?”

“Universes. Plural,” I confirmed.

“And demons too? Of the eldritch variety?”

“Mhmm.”

Twilight stood there for a solid minute, obviously holding in a long, excited squee. After succeeding at that, she turned around and said, “Let me go get us all some cocoa.”

“Mind if I raid your fridge in the meantime?” I asked, following her into the kitchen. “I’m famished.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh! Sure, whatever you need,” she said, not paying the slightest bit of attention as her horn flared to life and summoned all manner of quills, scrolls, and books.

“Thanks!”Ignis said nothing.

A minute or two later, I recovered enough to sit up and cough my guts out. “Ignis,” I wheezed. “Fuck. You.”

Ignis continued to say nothing, so I inquired, “Gramps, am I good to get up?”

“I wouldn’t exactly advise it, but—”

I got up anyway and weakly stumbled over to Cador who was still unconscious. I then knelt beside him and rubbed my hands together, stopping once I heard the telltale hum of my pegasus magic.

One tiny pulse of static later, Cador was shocked back into the waking word with a yelp. After fully regaining his senses, he met my eye and practically threw himself away from me, beholding me with nothing shy of terror.

And now for the awkward part. “Sorry you had to see that, kiddo,” I apologized meekly. “You okay?”

“No!” Cador screamed, voice cracking. “I don’t know what’s happening, where I am, or what I’m going to do! I-I just wanted to fight… I just wanted some stupid Bits for my sister; I didn’t want…” Cador curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

“H-Hey! Cador, look, I know everything is going haywire right now,” I acknowledged as gently as I could which I’m ashamed to admit wasn’t much. “But I really meant it when I promised I’d get you home and your sister fixed, okay? And I always keep my promises.”

“H-How am I supposed to believe you?” Cador whimpered. “I don’t even know who o-o-or what you are!”

I sighed and sat in the dirt myself. “Sometimes, I have a hard time knowing that too, kid.”

…

…

…

“What was that?” Cador eventually squeaked out. “Wh-Why did you try attacking Eris? She— She helped us, a-and you…”

I inhaled sharply and let it out softly. “Yeaaahhh, about that? That… Wasn’t exactly… Me.”

“She said that too,” he replied, wiping his eyes dry only for them to tear up once again. “That you were possessed or something.”

“How freaked out would you be if I told you she was right?”

“Wait, seriously!?” Cador squealed, scurrying even further away from me.

“Hey, you think this head got so thick and big from ego alone?” I joked, pointing to my own skull. “Heh-heh. I mean, it probably did, but my roommates don’t help.”

“Did you just call us fat?” Gelu asked angrily.

“‘Roommates’?” Cador repeated questioningly. “I don’t understand.”

“Ugh, that’s a long story,” I groaned exaggeratedly, hiding an uncomfortable wince. “Let’s just say that I found a few, er, creatures. And after some magical hijinks, they all got stuck inside me. One of them—the asshole,” I snarled. “Had an issue with Eris and wanted to make sure we all knew it.”

“So, he… Mind-controlled you?”

And ripped every last cell of my body apart, twisting me into an unholy abomination and sending my mind spiraling into a haze of hellish torment. Instead of that, I opted to say, “Yeah, basically.”

Cador gulped.

A small stretch of silence passed between us, disturbed only by the creatures of the Everfree and subdued crackling of Eris’ fire. I then turned my gaze over to it, hoping to find the remains of whatever she was cooking in it, but finding it had been charred beyond salvation and scattered across the ground.

“Good going, Iggy. We’re low on magic, and you ruined the only good meal around for miles,” I growled.

“I see a perfectly good meal standing not two meters away from us,” Ignis growled back.

“Okay, that’s it!” Terra suddenly roared.

Ignis and Gelu’s auras both vanished with nary a cry of protest.

Terra let out a low, irritated sigh, and I subsequently coughed out a cloud of dust. “Sorry, Red,” he said, noticing that.

“Ain’t the first time you dirtied up my mouth; I doubt it’ll be the last,” I responded, knowing full-well he wouldn’t let it be the last. “But seriously, Gramps, what the absolute fuck is Ignis’ problem!?”

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret that he doesn’t like you,” he acknowledged.

“What? Ignis doesn’t like me? Get outta here; I had no idea!”

“You know what I mean, Red.” After a brief pause, Terra conceded, “That said, I expected him to refrain from harming you when we’re so weak. And I doubt you said anything to set him off…”

“Does it even matter if I say or do anything when it comes to him and his bitch sister?”

“Red, language.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Terra did indeed shut up, inciting Umbra to finally speak his own piece. “Gelu said that there was some kind of aura emanating from Eris. I-I couldn’t really sense it myself, but… Do you think it might have done something to Ignis?” he asked Terra.

I can’t tell if that’s Umbra simply being naive, or if he’s trying to find any way he can to excuse Ignis for violating my body and mind. Again. Either way, I’m left with a sour taste in my mouth that has nothing to do with blood, gore, or dirt.

Eventually, however, Terra softly began, “Our current forms are unaffected by all but the most ancient of magics. So, no, Umbra. I do not believe Ms. Eris had anything to do with Ignis’ outburst,” he proclaimed. “The only way she could was if she possessed a power equatable to our own.”

“And if she does?” Umbra inquired.

“…Then she is someone we’d be wise to not enrage.”

“Speaking of rage,” I began in my mind as I stood up. “C’mon, Cador. Let’s get out of this dumb forest,” I urged, extending him my right hand.

It was then that I noticed that over half of my arm was still covered in patches of half-formed, blood red dragon scales, and even my nails seemed longer and sharper than usual. Cador still took my hand regardless, but I still issued yet another round of silent curses Ignis’ way.

After helping Cador to his feet, I shifted my cloak to fully hide my mutated arm, guessing, “Food and sleep?”

“Food and sleep,” Terra and Umbra confirmed simultaneously.

“Great.” I gave Cador a comforting pat on his back and observed, “Seems this is the way back to town, and I think we’ve had enough surprises for one day. You?”

“I just want to go home,” he mewled, hanging his head low but proceeding forward anyway.

“Yeah. Yeah, me too, kid,” I whispered, shoving away images of my friends and family being torn apart by the Anziek without me. “Let’s go.”

We then walk side-by-side along the forest path.

Around a quarter of an hour later, we finally arrive at the forest’s edge, both of us bearing a few more mosquito bites than we’d prefer but otherwise unharmed.

I then out let out a long, low sigh and smile sadly at the sight of Ponyville. I know it’s not my Ponyville, and for all I know, this version won’t be nearly as accepting of my condition as my version is, but despite all that…?

“It’s good to be home,” I mumbled. I then started walking forward, relieved that this Ponyville has the same layout as mine. “C’mon, Cador. If there’s one place we need to head to, it’s the library.”

“I’d rather find a place to lay down and sleep,” came Cador’s reply.

I chuckled. “Lucky you. If the librarian is who I think it is, she’ll practically beg for the chance to rent you out the spare room.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I ain’t kidding, kiddo. Knowing her, she won’t even charge you Bits. Just be ready to answer a two hour long questionnaire or something when you meet her,” I warned slyly.

“Huh?”

I just smirked and continued walking, leading Cador past Fluttershy’s cottage and into Ponyville proper. A few minutes later, I smiled a little more genuinely to find this Ponyville managed to keep its Golden Oaks Library, and I hastened my steps. However, once we finally approached it, we stopped at the sound of voices coming out through the open windows.

“—Come on, Twilight, it’s not like I didn't tell you about the Displaced!” yelled one voice I recognized belonged to Eris.

“You said that Displaced came form Earth not from our own world!” retorted someone else that I’m certain was Twilight Sparkle.

“Because I didn't know! I mean, I know a lot about the Displaced but not everything,” Eris confessed with a huff.

“Are you kidding me!?”

“She always did hate consulting unreliable sources,” Terra commented.

“Seriously, Twilight,” Eris resumed. “They just showed up out of a tear in reality while I was making sure the Human Transmutation circle was destroyed. I’m not kidding—They literally fell out of the sky. How do I prepare for something like that; how would you prepare for something like that?”

“I’ll tell you how I would have prepared for something like that!”

Not wanting to wait ten hours for Twilight to finish talking, I hurriedly knocked on the tree house’s door, interrupting the conversation.

A cloud of magic surrounded the doorknob and unlocked it, and the caster then called out, “Come in.”

I took Twilight up on that offer and opened the door

Unfortunately, as soon as I stepped through the library, a bright flash surrounded me. Once it was over, I rubbed my eyes and opened them to find myself trapped in a jail cell and several dumbfounded guards staring at me, slack-jawed. They didn't stay that way for long, however, and they swiftly drew their weapons and leveled at them straight at my head.

“Augh, son of a bitch,” I cursed, putting my hands up in surrender. Just how many times is my life going to be threatened today?

“Well now how many demon incursions into the library is it now ten busy month since the princesses Protégée moved in now just sit there while the princess arrives to judge your fate.”

Sighing as I sit down in the cell and leaning back against the wall only to be shocked. "Well, fuck." I said with a groan.

I move and sit in the center of my cell completely board out of my mind till i felt his stomach gurgle. "Fuck." I say with a groan as i look over auto where the guards are ignoring me. “Hey, any chance I can get something to eat?" I asked. "I mean within the past two days I’ve fought in a war, died and was brought back to life, thrown through a dimensional rift, got a concussion, had my arm screwed up by a uncooperative roommate and now I’m jail doing nothing.” he said grumpily. "The least you all could do is get me some food." The Guards watching me didn't respond however as i was about to speak again the one at the desk doing paper work looked up and directly at me.

“Never heard that story before but to answer your request for food, the answer is no. just sit there and wait this won’t take longer then a few minutes for the Princess to show up and judge your fate.”

“Less then that captain should we begin now or do you need his name?” A voice asks as princess Celestia walks in.