The Mystifying Adventures of Occult Readings and Gallant Knight

Chapters

A New Acquaintance and Study Material
A Question If You Wouldn't Mind
The Escape Plan
Book It
On Our Way Through the Woods
A Trial of Heart
Safe at Last
FPS
Nightmare Night
Reunion with a Princess
To Repay a Hero
The Next Step
New Schedule
Peak at the Past
Magic Lessons
Not so Pleasant Surprise.
Search Party
Prologue

A New Acquaintance and Study Material

It had been three weeks since Occult's initial enslavement to the dogs. Or, well, he thought it had been three weeks. Hard to tell how much time has passed when you can't see the sun as it turns out.

The lacking sense of time was hardly even the worst thing that happened. It was so incredibly, unfathomably boring. Everyday it was always the same. Wake up, eat a basic breakfast, dig for gems, eat a meager lunch, dig more gems and then go to sleep just to do the same thing the next day. The barbaric dogs didn't even give him anything to read during his limited free time.

Staring at the cold stone walls that surrounded him he wondered about the Yrvarni. Surely the trail has gone cold, but givin how dangerous it was, he couldn't just let it go. Yes, he had already sent a letter to Celestia about the danger, but she had never taken his warnings with any sense of urgency. He knew that the other demons he hunted before were never big threats, but he still had a uneasy weight set upon him.

"Wake up pony, time to eat!" One of the more intelligent dogs shouted as a the door of his cell creaked loudly. The dog set down a tray of food and glared at Occult as if trying to set him ablaze with sight alone. This dog was called Rover. Always wore a tattered, filthy red coat and he was always impatient. Every time that Rover came with breakfast he would always hound Occult to eat faster so that he could start digging as soon as possible.

Wanting to avoid the wrath of the dog Occult began to eat. This time he was brought some hay and two apples. Quite a lot more than normal. Unfortunately. Occult knew that this meant that he would be expected to dig more than normal as well. While he was more physically fit than the average unicorn, he was nowhere near fit enough to pull heavy carts and dig all day. With the insignificant amounts if food they gave him each day he could only be left to wonder how long it would be before he was claimed by starvation.

It was almost to the point where he decided to summon a demon of gluttony just so he could have something to eat. The fact that he even considered summoning that demon only went to show how miserable he was.

"Stop wasting time Annoying Yellow. Eat and work or else." Rover growed more agitated than before. Occult noticed, there was something odd about Rover today, he seemed much more aggressive than normal. Finishing up his meal he pondered as to what would cause this. Occult had hoped that it was a demon that was to blame so that he could finally do something, but doubt lingered in his mind.

Pulling himself to his hooves he felt the chain pull him as Rover began to growl to himself. Occult felt the chain yank suddenly as Rover spoke. "We have new pony, very quiet, hurt my foot. You take care of him or else."

There was another pony here? Occult immediately began to wonder why another pony would be here. It wasn't as if this cave was near the pathway to someplace important or there even remotely interesting around. He didn't think anypony would come here, and the only reason he came here was because of his job. What could this new pony be like?

As Rover lead him down the hall, Occult noticed something unusual. Rover didn't stop to fasten the harness of the cart onto him, nor was there even a cart to begin with. He figured the new pony must be expected to pull the cart then.

Rounding the corner of the tunnel and entering the main chambers he could see why Rover was so annoyed and Occult was filled with elation. What stood before him was a real life bat pony colt, or a thestral as they liked to be called. Occult couldn't be more excited, he would finally be able to talk to a thestral. He had so many questions about Nightmare Moon and bat pony culture and everything bat pony related. Occult couldn't help but squee in anticipation which drew the ire from Rover and the curiosity from the colt.

The colt was a typical example of the thestral race, he looked almost exactly like the books had shown. Serpentine eyes, fangs slightly poking out of his lips, a blue-grey coat and an almost black mane. He lacked a cutie mark unlike what the book said, but Occult just presumed that was because of the colts age rather than biological differences between their species.

He noticed the colt was giving him a somewhat foul look, also in tune with what the book had said. Thestrals were supposed to be more aggressive than normal ponies. Add onto this their allegiance to Nightmare Moon during the Civil War. One could reasonably assume that thestrals harbored a strong disdain if not outright hatred of other ponies. Oooo Occult was so excited to pick the brain of a thestral.

"Stop drooling, start digging Yellow." Rover snarled, shoving a pickaxe into Occult's muzzle. Rover's attention then gravitated to the colt. The lanky dog lumbered over to the colt and tightly fastened the harness to the colt, squeezing his frame in a way that looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Try and run again and bat pony gets no food."

Occult began to walk towards the nearest mindshaft with the colt, reluctantly, in tow. He had a million questions for the colt. Why did he try to run? Aren't thestrals supposed to be more aggressive? Were thestrals pure carnivores or are they omnivorous? What was their culture like? So many questions, unfortunately they would have to wait until later tonight. If the dogs caught him questioning the colt rather than digging, he would surely be reprimanded.

So Occult and the still unnamed thestral worked. Occult mined for gems and the colt carried them along. For the first few hours there was no speech, no noise other than the melodic rhythm of pickaxe striking rock. The gaurd dogs watched over the two vigilantly, as if at any moment they would need to be ready for a fight. Which was odd. He never put up a fight to the dogs and he doubted that the colt could hurt them either.

*TINK*

The digging bothered him. Occult was so accustomed to the bizarre and unusual that such a monotonous activity drove him mad. He was born to investigate the strange. Spending all day everyday digging was terrible. He couldn't wait until the day that the Royal Guard came to his aid.

*TINK*

Hours passed as Occult mined and the colt followed. The gems he dug were more numerous today than normal and Rovers sour demeanor lightened and the gems flew in. While the less hostile behavior of his captor was good, but he wanted to know about the colt. The colt who hasn't muttered a single word or done anything significant at all. At least the day should be almost up.

*TINK*

"Hmmm, you dig lots of gems today. Good job, you go back to sleep now." Rover mumbled releasing the colt from the harness and pushing the two back towards the holding cell.

Now Occult could finally ask some questions.

A Question If You Wouldn't Mind

He found himself staring at the colt as he pondered how to go about his questioning. It was quite clear that the colt didn't want to speak givin that he refused to even make eye contact but Occult couldn't just leave this discovery be.

"So young fellow, it seems we will be acquaintances for the foreseeable future, how about we properly introduce ourselves?" he asked with a sly grin. Still the colt didn't even look at him, his eyes fixated on the door. "How about I start? I am the renowned demon hunter, Occult Readings, well know for my studies on demonology and all things cultish and creepy."

Still the colt did not respond.

"You know we'll be working together until the royal gaurd comes to save us right? It would be best to get to know each other at least." Occult pleaded. He was desperate to find out more about this species. Finally the colt did something. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Why don't you either shut up or help me find a way out of this cage?" the colt said rather cruelly. At least the part about batponies being meaner was true.

"There's no need to throw a fit, the royal gaurd will save us soon." Occult explained to the colt. At this point the colt got up and stared at him angrily.

"Are you serious? We are literal slaves and your response is 'oh just don't worry about it the cops will save us'!" he shouted in a mocking tone. The colt turned around in a huff fluttering his wings and flipping in tail in agitation. While the colt was clearly upset with him there was one thing that stood out in his outburst.

"Cops?" He inquired. Occult had never heard of a cop before in all of his travels, not a single town in all of Equestria had used such a word. As he thought the colt froze, clearly indicating that useing that word was a 'slip up' as the youngsters say.

"Uh yeah, it's what colts my age call the guard old man. What? You've never heard it before?" the colt said in a very unconvincing manner. It was clear that he was hiding something, Occult just needed to find out what. Was he raised not to speak with ponies, or perhaps some even grander secret.

"So tell me how you got to these quarries. The only town nearby is Ponyville, and I know that there are no thestrals there. Were you playing with your friends, going for a fly or what?" with each word from Occult the the colt became more nervous. It made Occult feel bad for pressuring the colt but he had knowledge to things that he wasn't able to find elsewhere. Seeing how uneasy the colt was he figured laying off a bit would allow him to get an easier question in.

"Ok, I can see you're nervous, how about an easy question instead. What's your name young colt." Occult questioned. It was something simple and easy. The colt should have had no problems awnsering it. Instead the colt ummed and awed trying to think of a way to avoid it. The secrecy of something so simple was starting to irritate him. "Did your mother not raise you to be polite to other ponies?"

That accusation seemed to rile him up. "Hey, my mother was a great woman!" The colt shouted in defiance. And that peaked Occult's interest. A woman? Just what is that?

"I presume that this 'woman' is a new slang for mares these days hmm?" Occult asked in as smug of a tone as he could. This colt was terrible at lying and worse at keeping secrets. All he had to do was push just a little more. "Just awnser a few easy questions and I won't pester you for the rest of the night."

The colt was is a nervous state, clearly not knowing what to do. He was caught in a trap and didn't know how to get out. "Only if you promise never to tell the guard." the colt whimpered.

Bingo.

"I doubt you would get into any trouble with the gaurd little one, but if it eases your mind then I promise." he reassured the colt.

"You gotta cross your heart and hope to die." the colt responded rather cryptically.

That was for sure an oddity and one Occult couldn't ignore. Perhaps thestrals were very religious? Possibly using sacrificial ceremonies? No, not even after the Era of Discord were cults that cruel. Which just left him to wonder where this colt learned such a promise.

"Very well, I swear not to tell the gaurd or any other authority, cross my heart and hope to die." Occult reassured, and with that the colt looks down the caverns as if looking out for a dog.

"Ok, my name is Gabe Bellings." the colt said in as low as a voice that he could while still being audible.

"Gabe, that's quite unusual for a pony name, and for some reason I don't think it's common for thestrals either." Occult grilled. There was something very off about this 'Gabe' and he was going to get down to the bottom of it.The colt looked ashamed of something and dug his hooves into the ground.

"I didn't mean to," he whimpered tears begening to form in his eyes, "I just woke up like this, I don't know what happened."

Ears forwards Occult focused intensely on the now crying colt. He thought that maybe playing into the colts worry would help awnser his questions best. Trotting up the the colt he laid next to him and spoke in a reassuring tone. "Now now, I'm sure it wasn't your fault. There's no need to worry. Tell me what happened and I can help you."

Sniveling the colt stuttered as he spoke, "Y-y-you wouldn't sniff belive me."

"Listen here young colt, did you forget who you're speaking to? I am Occult Readings, I study the strange and unbelievable for a living. There's nothing you could say that I wouldn't at least look into." he reassured the colt once more. His bravado seeming to inspire young Gabe at least a little.

"Well in that case," he pause seeming to gather his words, "I wasn't always a pony.... or young." He stopped once more annoying Occult. There was so much juicy mystery here and he was getting more impatient by the second.

"You see, I was a creature called a human and I was a twenty-six year old man. I don't know what happened. I was just at work when I fell asleep. Next thing I know I'm out in the middle of nowhere and I get surrounded by dogs. I thought it was just a dream, but that illusion failed me after I was kicked by the dog in red."

That was a lot for Occult to take in and he immediately began to unpack it. He had heard of humans before. One of his old college marefriends was obsessed with them, but he couldn't both be a human and transport himself to this realm seeing as humans supposedly had no magic. Thinking about it he realized that the colt was either lying or was brought to this realm by an outside force. Something that was immensely powerful. Something that Occult would investigate as soon as he got out of this cell. Yes, this night was begining to look wonderful.

"Oh don't worry young Gabe, I'll look into you're case with the upmost haste." Occult chuckled.

The Escape Plan

After the reveal he spent most of the night being grilled by Occult Reading about being a human and what a life without magic was like. Not only that, but he also grilled him about the day he got turned into a horse. It's obvious that Occult was trying to figure out what happened but there was nothing that stood out about what happened that day.

Sighing he told Occult he was going to sleep and lied down in the corner waiting for the older stallion to fall asleep. After waiting for some time and being confident Occult fell asleep he looked over to the pony studying him. He still couldn't get over the fact that he was looking at a real unicorn. What was even weirder was his coat, pelt, hair or whatever it was called. It was a yellowish coat with brown hair, or no, it's called a mane. The most peculiar part was the mark on occults thigh. It was a book with tenticals coming out of it. Oddly fitting givin his name.

Finally lying down to rest he contemplated his situation. He hated everything about it. He hated being a slave to those momgrels, he hated the absurd stallion that was his cell mate but most of all he hated what happened to him. It's hard enough dealing with a new alien body, but what's worse is that he was pretty sure his mind was being affected to. Thinking back to earlier he realized just how big of a deal him crying was. He hadn't cried in over fifteen years, and he certainly wasn't always that bad of a liar. The worst part was when he thought of where the body came from. Was it new, or... or did he steal it?

Huffing Gabe closed his eyes. Getting upset isn't going to fix anything and tomorrow he needs to plan for an escape.

"WAKE UP PONIES!" The annoying red coated one screeched in that greeting voice of his.

Stirring in his sleep Gabe slowly began to rise. If at least one thing was still the same about him it was that he was not a morning person. After yawning loudly and beginning to stretch he heard the chipper voice of Occult. And the sliding of two trays.

"Good morning little Gabe, are you ready for breakfast!?" Occult asked in almost a sing-song voice irritating Gabe to his core.

"How can you be so chipper? We're slaves, and on top of that it's the morning." he groaned much to the amusement of Occult.

"Well that's what happens when you stay up all night stalking somepony." Occult cheered causing him to make a doubletake. How could he have known? He made sure that Occult was well asleep before checking out that mark.

"Well that's simple my bo-"

"LESS TALK MORE EAT!" The annoying red coated dog bellowed clearly about to blow a fuse, "lots to dig today so hurry up!"

Gabe couldn't help but groan at the mongrel. He needed to get out of this place and it needs to happen yesterday. Since he was just going to be mindlessly drawing a cart today he was going to try to be more observant on how the dog gaurds moved about and which tunnel leads where. So silently he ate, scrutinizing the dog as he did. As he was finishing his second apple Occult piped up.

"Young colt, I've noticed you haven't touched your hay. Do your kind not eat hay?" he said with the addition of an obnoxiously noticeable wink which the red coated dog either didn't care about or somehow didn't notice.

"Um no, my family didn't feed me hay." he responded putting a slight emphasis on family. It shouldn't have surprised him that Occult was still asking questions about his past. It was a surprise however when Occult gave him his apple while taking the hay. It was kinda nice of him.

After he finished up the last apple the dog which Occult referred to as 'Rover' lead the two of them down a mineshaft where he put a the carts harness on and shoved a pick in Occult's muzzle. One thing he made sure to take note of was where Rover put the key after he let them out. He set it in one of the higher pockets in his jacket. Considering Rover was almost three times his hight, sneaking that out of his pocket simply isn't an option. Or is it? He thought looking to Occult levitating the pickaxe.

Keeping his options open he made sure to take note of where all the dog gaurds moved and where all the tunnels went. It seemed like there was always at least two dogs watching him as Occult digged. Running away now would certainly be possible, maybe even easy depending on if Occults magic could stall them, but that depends on how the dogs react. If one dog tries to stop them while the other gets backup then they may be able to get out of the caves before the backup comes, if they both chase then that would be harder to deal with.

The last thing that he thought was important was that the guards change once every fourish hours. It was hard to tell cause there was no way to determine the time down here, but what was most peculiar is that the third time the gaurds changed one of the dogs with clothes showed up. This one was much, much shorter, and had a set of keys.

Trying to make it not obvious that he was interested in the small one he fiddled with his cart. After about two hours of silently waiting he tossed a pebble at Occult to grab his attention. As the older stallion glanced at him he mouthed distract them

It seemed Occult got the message and in the next moment his hoof 'slipped' and hit a rock, causing him to drop his pick and howl in pain. Honestly it seemed way too overacted but the dogs were stupid enough to fall for it anyways. The little dog with the key walked past Gabe completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen.

"What is pony doing? Stop being such a pup and dig!" the little one yapped at Occult as Gabe slowly made his way to his back. Slowly and carefully he grabbed the key with his mouth not even daring to breath. Seeing what he was doing Occult made more of a fuss to hide any noise.

"Oohhhh my poor hoof. I smashed it against this rock. The pain! The agony! How will I go on? Surely I can't dig in such a condition." Occult wailed as Gabe swiftly grabbed the keys and hid them under his tounge. After silently moving back to his original spot Occult ceased his theatrics. "Actually you know what? My hoof is fine, sorry for the trouble sir."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as the dwarf dog exploded in anger. "How dare you waste time! No food for yellow pony tomorrow!" The midget screeched striking Occult as he did. For the rest of the workday the little dog hollered and snarled at Occult and occasionally sent evil glares his way. But even if Occult got nagged at, this was gonna be worth it. They were getting out tonight.

Book It

Spitting the key out if his mouth he blanched. The key was filthy and the taste of metal was stuck in his mouth. But it would all be worth it once he escaped. Looking to Occult he felt a wave of anxious determination washed over him as he got ready. Covering himself with mud and dirt to hide his sent he ordered Occult to so the same, rather than getting dirty he just cast a spell on himself.

It was annoying but Gabe needed to get on with the haphazard escape plan. Standing up tall Gabe began, "Ok, the dogs start becoming less active during the night, and the ones that are active should be down that cave system watching over us. Seeing as it will only be a few I think we should just make a run for it."

"Mmh yes, and what about my book?"

The response was curt, condescending and completely unbelievable. Gabe almost couldn't belive his own ears. "What do you mean 'what about my book'? Who cares about your stupid book!?" he shouted incredulously only to be met with a smirk from Occult.

"Well givin that my book has detailed accounts of the Yrvarni, a soul swapping demon that is most likely the reason you are here, I figured that you would care about the book." he quipped in a smug tone only to continue on, "So young Gabe, shall we fight our way to my book then fight our way out?"

That little detail threw off his plans so badly. If that book really could help him get home then he needed to find it, but if they go and get it, that ruins the element of surprise and will make escaping practical impossible. The guard patrols of the dogs weren't even good and he could only come up with this haphazard plan as is. If they put a better effort into keeping them, then he really would just have to wait for the gaurd to save them.

Groaning loudly he mumbled "Fiiinne, let's get out of the cell, find a place for you to hide and I'll go look for your book." with that Occult levitated the key into the cell dor and let them out. As the two walked out Gabe heard Occult pipe up.

"Say, why are you going to look for my book while I sit by and wait?" Occult asked in a time that almost suggested that he was offended. Gabe couldn't help but blankly stare at Occult. After a good twenty seconds he merely pointed to Occult and waited for the stallion to look at himself. When he did the stallion blushed and gave off an embarresed chuckle. "Yes, I suppose I'm more used to other means of hiding that I forgot my natural coat sticks out like a sore wing."

"Just stay a good twenty feet from me. If I stop you stop. I'm going to lead you to one of the exit tunnels then I'll look for your book. If you get caught or I don't come back then just run away on your own." Gabe explained as a look of pure shock was born onto Occult's face...er muzzle.

"What and leave you here?" He half whispered half shouted.

"Well yeah, if at least one of us gets out then we can get the guard, but hopefully it shouldn't come to that." Gabe explained further somewhat easing the worry on Occult's fa-muzzle. Without anymore protest Gabe snuck forwards as Occult stayed a good distance away. At the first crossway there were two dog guards blocking the pass. All he needed to do was wait till they were distracted then lead Occult down the left most path.

After a few painstaking minutes he heard one dog express his concern about how the next shift hasn't come. After a bit of back and forth between the two they decided to walk off allowing Gabe and Occult to sneak by. Walking down the path a bit he decided to warn Occult.

"Hey listen man, don't wait any longer than twenty minutes. If I'm not back by then, just assume I got caught." With that short little speak said he could tell there was a range of emotions being felt by Occult but he didn't know what. They weren't overly expressive and he didn't know what all the horse body language meant. Without any further verbal communication Gabe assumed Occult would be fine on his own and went back to the cross path.

Without having to worry about Occults larger frame he could easily move through the shadows of the caves unseen. He was able to make his way through. If he had to guess he'd say that Occult's book is probably with the dog in red and he should hopefully be sleeping. It wasn't to hard to guess where he was though. When he was watching the dogs yesterday, all the gaurds came from the same direction.

After only about five or so minutes of searching he found Rover sleeping hunched over on a desk. Loe and behold there was the book too. Sneaking up to the desk he very carefully climbed up making as little noise as he could, and after reaching eye level with the desk he noticed an itsy bitsy problem.

There were actually two books, a black one and a red one. Without more control of this body he wasn't sure if he'd be able to carry a book with anything other than his mouth. Gabe took the black book with his mouth and placed it on the ground opening it. That's when he noticed his second itsy bitsy problem. He couldn't read anything in this book.

Silently cursing himself, the dogs, the books and whatever else he could think of to curse he grabbed the black book. Praying that this was the right one as he snuck away from the sleeping dog.

After only about eight minutes of backtracking he found Occult waiting for him sitting behind a rock. Putting the book on the ground Gabe addressed him, "Hey, I got your book so let's get out of here."

Levitating the book up to his muzzle he scrutinized it. Opening it up he flipped through the pages, blushed heavily and tossed it far down the cave. "Do you think that's funny!" Occult exclaimed.

"No I was just-"

"Do you not know how important my studies are. The only thing I could even imagine as to what brought you here is the Yrvarni and it has been so difficult for me to track and study. That book has the only information that will even come remotely close to help you return to your old world!" Occult was clearly not happy with him, maybe even mad but the blush didn't fade which lead Gabe to belive that whatever he grabbed was rather explicit.

"Hey uh, I'm sorry for bringing you smut or whatever but uh, I... I uhhh," even though he wanted to explain what happened the words got caught in his mouth. He got so embarrassed for something that shouldn't of bothered him. He was in an alien world in an alien body. It makes sense, but for some reason admitting that he couldn't read was so embarrassing. "I can't read." he whimpered out.

The look on Occult's face softened quite a bit as he sat down. "Please accept my apologies, I hadn't considered that you would be unable to read. I presume there was more than one book right?" Gabe nodded unable to bring his eyes to the older stallion. It made no sense for him to act like this. He was a grown man, he should be able to admit his faults and look the stallion in the eyes but he felt so ashamed. "Well it's a shame that I'll have lost my research but the guard can always come find it when I send my report. Let's get out of here young Gabe."

"Wait, I can just go back and get the other book, most of the dogs are still asleep." he said trying it hide his embarrassment. He shouldn't have said that he reprimanded himself. What Occult said makes sense. Even if it meant he would have to stay as a pony longer it would keep him from being enslaved again. He kept making these rash decisions and it was very unlike him.

"Well if you're certain then-"

"Of course I'm certain, just wait here. I'll be back in no time." he blurted without any thought. With a nod from Occult Gabe turned to walk back into the lions den.

As he waited for patrols and prowled around outside of vision he couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this. Sure he wanted to be return to his old body soon, but getting help would be way safer. It was the practical choice. Boring is better as his father always told him. Better to work a 9 to 9 shift everyday for stable pay then taking your chances out in the slums.

He was so entranced in thought that when he reached the book he hadn't even noticed that Rover was gone. Making his way to the desk and picking up the book in his mouth he felt a tingle down his spine.

"Little pony didn't think Rover would notice hmm?" the dog snarled and Gabe dropped the book as mind went into overdrive. How the heck would he worm his way out of this one? He couldn't outrun Rover with his shorter legs, he couldn't overpower him givin his weak body as well as the fact that he wasn't comfortable with his movements yet. That left him just one option.

As Rover dove for him, paws ready to grab, Gabe took a hoof full of dirt and flung it into the dogs eyes. The pained howl gave him all the confirmation he needed as he bolted behind the desk. Waiting for a moment he heard the dog growl viciously.

"Ah nooo, little pony you won't get away from me!" Rover yelled then running in the completely wrong direction. It seemed like his little trick worked but Gabe waited an extra moment just to make sure Rover was gone. Leaving his cover he grabbed the book and legged it.

As he made his way back to Occult he saw the panicked and scrambled movements of the dog gaurds. Like he thought, most of them were heading in the direction of the cells with a few scattering elsewhere. With most of the dogs heading in the completely wrong direction he easily made his way to Occult.

Once he saw the yellow stallion he couldn't help but let out a muffled cry, "BOK ET!"

On Our Way Through the Woods

Even as they ran far from the Dimond Dog burrows Occult couldn't contain his worried thoughts. What manor of chaos was the Yrvarni causing, what Celestia would think knowing that he failed to catch it. Worse still is what to do with young Gabe.

With what he knew about demons it was completely impossible for the Yrvarni to have been responsible but at the same time it was the only creature he knew that had the capability to implant ones soul into the body of another. Demons were beings made entirely of magic. For them to survive even a second in a void of magic was improbable. Glancing at Gabe he was drivin mad by the nonsensical nature of this situation.

The two slowed their run to a brisk trot as they came to the face of the Everfree forest. "You know, I've been thinking. I ought to change my name to fit in more till we find that demon and send me home." Gabe said ignorant to their plight, his comment bringing a great shame to Occult.

"Oh yeah, and what kind of name were you thinking of?" Occult asked walking a bit faster to take the lead as they walked into the Everfree. Though the woods shouldn't frighten the human there were still very real threats.

The barren trees and the eerie atmosphere were affecting neither of the ponies as they made their way further into the forrest. The creeping winds of the woods sending their ghastly warnings went unheard the two ponies too busy conversing with themselves.

"I don't know, I figured we could come up with a name together. You're more knowledgeable about pony naming." Gabe awnsered absent-mindedly as he gazed around the forest.

"Well you should know that human names aren't like pony names, they aren't just given, they have a certain magic behind them, influenced by harmony." Occult explained to the human turned pony as he saw a confused look stare back at him. "Take my own name and occupation for example. Do you think the name Occult Readings was givin by mere coincidence?"

Gabe's ears folded back and he gave a very pained look. "So your fate is determined by your name? That's.....kinda sad." he said giving Occult a pitiful look. Occult couldn't help but chuckle, That was the same thing he told his dad when he was a foal.

"You shouldn't look at it as if your fate is preordained, you should see it as a magic that is in you that is unique to you." Occult explained. In all honesty he didn't expect Gabe to understand seeing as he is from a place without magic. And seeing the young colt's face he knew he was right.

"Ok, well I guess it doesn't matter that much, I won't be a pony long enough for fate to affect me anyways." Gabe exclaimed with a surety that caused Occult to recoil. The human wanted to go home and he had no idea how to get him there.

"Yes of course, let's think of a new name for you." Occult said avoiding the subject. "So, what sort of interests or special things about you do you remember from your time as a human?" And it was time for Gabe to be embarrassed. Occult couldn't help but give a light-hearted chuckle. Even if Gabe was older he still acted like a colt. He couldn't hide his emotions at all.

"Well, about that. I uhhh, I never really did anything special." Gabe said lacking any enthusiasm.

"Come now, surely there must be something." Occult prodded only to receive a sad look from his new friend.

"I woke up, worked twelve hours went home, slept and repeated the process everyday. Hobbies are for people with time and money, and I didn't have either." Gabe replied somberly only for Occult to sigh in response.

Normally demons and otherworldly creatures were so exotic and usually more 'one-sided' in their characteristics. Gabe was such a mixed bag he didn't know what to do. On the one hoof, Gabe claimes to be from a dull world with no life, which accounts for the lack of magic, but on the other he was so quick to seek his way out of the Diamond Dog den when the gaurd would have come to save them anyways.

Then there's the question of what to do with him. How will he get young Gabe back home? What will the colt do in the meantime? Deep in his thoughts Occult felt a strong pull on his tail.

"Hey dude watch where your going." Gabe groaned. Looking up Occult saw that he had nearly trotted into a field of Poison Joke. While not life threatening givin his old friend's proximity but it was certainly fortunate that Gabe had stopped him. Yet that had only raised another question.

"Thank you for alerting me, but how did you know about Poison Joke?" Occult asked in a much more accusatory manner than he meant. Gabe seemed to not notice or not care about the tone and smiled softly.

"It's the path. The ground around the flowers is matted down. Animals clearly take this path and are purposefully avoiding those flowers. I don't know what they do but I took a wild guess and assumed it wasn't pleasant." the colt explained with that smile still present.

"So how do you know about that? I thought you lived in a boring place doing boring things?" he dug avoiding the poison joke. It wouldn't take long to reach Zecora's place from here and he wanted as many awnsers as possible still.

"I don't remember it super clearly but when I was really young my dad would take me out on hiking trails.........." Gabe stopped suddenly his ears flickering in each direction several times much to Occults confusion.

Swiveling his own Occult couldn't hear anything and had just assumed it was the thestrals natural superior hearing at work until he realized the real problem. While the two of them were talking the critters of the woods had went dead silent, the winds barely audible, blowing towards them... meaning anything behind them couldn't be smelled.

"Gabe get behind me." Occult whispered trying to determine what creature had been following them. If they were timberwolves then he could just draw a rune of magic absorption, it would hurt like tartarus but it would prevent the wooden wolves from remaining as a threat. If it was one of the many other threats of the Everfree then he'd just have to think of something on the spot.

Occult and Gabe waited and waited but nothing happened, for what felt like eternity Occult waited, after drawing the rune Occult simply waited to give it the magic it needed to activate. To soon and he may rib himself of the chance to defend against manicures or gaint two-headed stone snakes.

"Maybe I should go check ahead?" Gabe whispered next to him much to Occult's surprise and horror.

"Sneaking away from the dogs is one thing but I am not going to let you chase down a predator." Occult admonished him in a whisper. Gabe certainly did have the supposed bravery and fearlessness the thestrals were supposed to have. Was it because of his new body or was the human always like that?

Moving forward before gave could get a chance Occult scrutinized the foliage before him. It was so thick it could hide any manner of creature, and he wasn't aware of which ones liked to hide in. Before he could react a set of glowing red eyes jutted from behind a set of bushes as he felt his body become sluggish. Trying to pull all the magic he could he called for help from the only pony he could trust as his body was encased in stone.

A Trial of Heart

Gabe looked in horror as his friend became encased in stone. Diving into a nearby bush he hid as the beast began prowling around. He didn't know if Occult was still alive or not, but he needed to do something. The problem was with the nature of that chicken snake beast. Of course he could assume it was no more than one of the fairytale creatures that he had heard of in the toddler care centers, but this was a new world with bizarre magic. How do you fight a creature that can turn you to stone? He wondered to himself.

That's a good question human.

Fighting the urge to jump and scream Gabe hastily looked around to search for the voice.

At ease little Gabriel I'm not here to hurt you. This is just business. the seemingly disembodied voice remarked Down here Gabriel.

Looking down he saw that his shadow was oddly animated. Flickering unnaturally seemingly staring at him with eyes that didn't exist? The peirceing gaze of the shadow creature sent chills down his spine and made his stomach crawl. Fighting the urge to run he mustered up a whisper, "what do you want?" after asking his question the shadow just chuckled.

No need to alert the cockatrace young Gabriel, I can read your mind you know. the shadow demon ridiculed him, listen, we're both in a rush so let's just skip the pleasantries and get down to busines. There's a zebra in this forest you'll need to speak to in order to help Occult. Get to her.

He had a hard time comprehending the shadow monster before him. On the one hand, it isn't outside the realm of disbelief given everything he's seen so far, but on the other, how could he trust a creature that claimed to be a demon? If Occult was in danger then he needed to save him even if it meant fighting that scary monster. How could a zebra help?

I understand that you have your reservations Gabriel but I truely am in a hurry. Mr.Readings and I have a contract and if I fail to complete my end of the bargain, rather unpleasantthings will happen so I ask that you please go find the zebra. the voice said in a hurried voice. It truely did sound like it was worried, be it for his own life or Occult's he couldn't tell.

Tuning away from the chicken monster Gabe silently crept away careful not to make a single sound and he put distance between himself and Occult. Once he was far enough away from the monster he broke out into a sprint.. gallop? Heading in the direction Occult was leading him before the chicken attacked.

You said something about a contract, what's that about?

We're rather busy right now? Can't you save your asinine question for later? the demon asked to recive a shake from Gabe. Fine, I'll awnser a few. First of all, my name is Ilatzi, not demon and I would appreciate being addressed as such. And so you may know, Mr. Readings formed a contract with me, I can't disclose the nature of the contract and if you want to know more you will ask Mr. Readings himself once he is saved.

Gabe didn't really know how to process that information, he thought Occult was supposed to hunt demons, not work with them. But what did he know about demons? Maybe this Ilatzi guy was.... not horrible? Maybe?

While in the middle of contemplating everything that's happed in the past half hour he noticed the brush and other foliage of the forest was significantly less abundant than before as it looked like he was coming across a small clearing with a strange looking tree at the edge if it.

Here we are, Zecora is just ahead. Go and tell her about what's happened to Occult and she should be able to help you.

Ilatzi finished speaking as he came upon the tree which had a door. Knocking on the door he heard the clopping of hoofs on wood as he waited. When the dor opened he was greeted to the sight of a Zebra much like he expected. The zebra however seemed to be shocked, or maybe upset? He still didn't understand equine emotions yet.

"Who is this little colt I see, so brave to roam the Everfree?" she rhymed in a questioning tone only to follow the sentence quite soon, "I am Zecora and dispite my visage, I think I am company you would most applaud."

It took him and moment to realized she was introducing herself and that he ought to do the same. He didn't want her to think he was some kind of freak alien so he needed to come up with something now. She remarked that he was brave, and he was a bat-pony hybrid, so...

"My name is Gallant Knight, it's a pleasure to meet you miss. I came in hopes that you could help me save my friend. His name is Occult Readings and he got petrified by a chicken monster!" he shouted with much more emotional charge than he meant.

The chicken monster is called a cockatrace young 'Gallent' Ilatzi said with sharp venom putting a mocking emphasis on his made up name. Though that isn't a completely horrible alias for a thestral.

"Occult is in the woods with a friend, only to meet a most unfitting end? I'll tell now young Knight, to free your friend you must fight." Zecora said walking back into her tree house, leaving the door open for Gallent to follow. As he walked into her home he was greeted by all kinds of masks and bottles that were reminiscent of the story books of ancient humans back home.

"How am I supposed to fight a creature that can turn me to stone?" he asked the mare who was now rummaging about some plants and tossing them into some kind of pot.

"Too young you are to pass this test, so stay with me and get some rest. Come tomorrow I'll head to town, where the pony gaurd will come around." Zecora said in a reassuring tone, like a mother telling her child that there was no monster under the bed.

Gallant was upset. Really upset. The gaurd? The gaurd! His friend was in danger and she just tells him to wait for the gaurd again? He was conflicted. On the one hand, this wasn't his body and he shouldn't be putting it in danger. But on the other, his friend was in danger, not only that but he was the only stallion that could give the colt his body back and send Gabe home.

"There has to be some way I can help him! I can't just sit around and wait!" Gallant exclaimed rashly. He cringed at his outburst. It was true that he wanted to save Occult he also didn't want to put a body he didn't own into danger. Something was wrong, he was acting much more impulsively than he should have been.

Even with the impulsiveness he felt in his heart that the decision to save Occult was right so he continued. "Before we came across the cockatrace Occult and I were captured by dogs. He told me just to wait for the gaurds like you, but I was still able to get us out. I'm sure there has to be some way for me to save him! I can't just wait for gaurds that may not even be able to help!" Gallant pleaded desperately.

Looking at the now Gallant Knight, Zecora gave him a soft somber expression. Nodding the zebra said "A test of will you must undergo, for that is the only way to best your foe." Test of will? Besting his foe? Just what was that supposed to mean?

"Uh, Miss Zecora, just what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Gallant as he decided he would be called asked, only to be ignored by the zebra as she continued mixing her concoction.

I have to say, your fake name isn't entirely terrible. It's fitting for you. Good job. Ilatzi said out of the blue.

Thanks, but aren't you supposed to be helping me save Occult? Gallant thought in return. Focusing on the the shadow that was Ilatzi he didn't even notice Zecora approach with a cup in her hoof.

"Take a sip and you will see, what sort of might is needed to face the Everfree. A strong spirit which knows no fear, is what you need to retrieve what's dear." Zecora said in her soothing rhythmic voice. Gallent didn't know why but everything the zebra said just seemed so trustworthy dispite how weird what she was saying was. Maybe it was her motherly tone?

"So I just need to be brave? How does that work? And what happens if I fail?" Gallant asked in a panic. He needed to save Occult, what kind of man would he be if he didn't?.

Chuckling Zecora explained "Look the monster in the eye, it must see your strength is not a lie."

Digesting the information he recived Gallant looked into the cup Zecora handed- hooved over to him. All he needed to do was drink this and look the monster in the eyes? It seemed bizarre to even consider it, but this was the sort of thing that heros in the old stories would do.

Making his decision to drank from the cup Zecora gave him. The concoction was incredibly bitter and made him want to spit it out immediately but he drank it down to the last drop, his muzzle contorting in disgust. After drinking the bitter liquid he didn't really feel any different but he wanted to thank her none the less. "Thank you for helping me. I'll owe you."

The look he recived in return seemed... perplexed maybe? He still couldn't tell that well. "If you belive a debt is owed, then see me once more down the road." The mare said in that sweet tone of hers.

Walking away from the tree house Gallant Knight headed for where he last saw his friend.

With every step from Zecora's home he took he grew more and more nervous. It had been ten minutes of walking and Gallant was in a cold sweat, his four legs were each shaking tediously. As he walked deeper into the woods the shadows of the trees each seemed more alive, the whistle of the wind seemingly sung much more ominous songs. Gallant felt as if his life was coming to a close. It didn't help that Ilatzi hadn't uttered a word since he left Zecora's.

You still there Ilatzi?

Receiving no awnser Gallant sighed. Trudging forward he headed to Occult. So much was swimming through his head. It was overwhelming. Before he had just ignored the absurdity of the situation, merely pushed forward past his struggles like he always had, but now everything came crashing down on him. How much he missed his home, how strange this world full of magic was, how demons were real, how his new friend was nearly killed and most importantly it was what had happened to the colt he took this body from.

Each step became more and more cumbersome as he trudged through the forest, darkness looming over his heart. Nevertheless he pushed forward knowing that not only did he have an obligation to return the body he stole, but to save Occult as well. He needed to keep going even if he wanted to cry. He would endure. It's simply what needed to be done, and so that's what he would do.

Coming across the stone statue he felt fear spike in his heart. The cockatrace was nowhere to be seen. Getting a closer look at the statue Gallant saw just how realistic the statue looked. He could see each individual hair on occults tail, the definition of his coat was incredible. The thing most peculiar about it was how his mark still showed through the stone dispite not having any different texture. The stone should have washed the color out with grey and made it invisible. Boil it down to magic he guessed.

Hearing something rustle in bushes behind him he swirled around and got ready to face the beast. As he saw the monster rise from the bush in its slow and predatory manner he looked it dead in the eyes. Immediately he felt his body stiffen and stone encased his hooves. Swallowing his fears he was not detoured by the beast as he peered at its soul.

For what felt like eternity the two stared at eachother. The cockatrace with malice and Gallent in a silent defiance. As the competition of sorts went on Gallant felt his legs began to grow numb as the stone creeped upwards. Gallant steeled his heart and continued. Dispite the fearsome look he stood strong. As the seconds went by the intensity slowly waned as the beast looked less aggressive. Feeling the stone around his hooves weaken Gallant broke free and began to walk forward, the beast in turn backpeddled.

Suddenly the cockatrace burst into the air and flew away. It came as a surprise to Gallant, he wouldn't imagine it be that easy. Draining, but easy.

Nice work kid, I didn't think you had it in you. Ilatzi snarked at him, but the words of the demon didn't bother him as he felt his eyes grow heavy. He couldn't support his legs anymore and with a thud he fell to the ground.

Safe at Last

Occult couldn't help but groan as his consciousness returned to him. His entire body felt stiff and he couldn't remember what he was doing before he passed out. Yawning he stretched trying to shake the groggyness out of his body as he recalled what had happened.

As he opened his eyes he saw a young thestral laying in front of him.

"GABE!" he shouted in terror. The memories of what had happened hit him like a manticore. He had tried to protect Gabe from the cockatrace, obviously he had failed. Tears began to form in Occults eyes as he watched the unmoving colt. This was all his fault.

Stop moping you stupid pony, the kid is fine, just out of it. a voice proclaimed in Occult's head as the shadows beneath him began to distort.

"Ilatzi! You came! Gabe's alive! This is wonderful!" Occult exclaimed, he couldn't physically hug his old friend so instead he projected feelings of comfort and happiness to the demon, only for his shadow to begin distorting erratically.

STOP! CEASE THIS INSTANCE YOU ANNOYING PONY! the demon frantically screamed.

After the demon's outburst Occult stopped projecting such positive feelings to his old companion. Looking down at the young colt he couldn't help but wonder. "What happened while I was out Ilatzi?"

No no no no. I feel like I have the right to ask my questions first. What in the name of Celestia is a human doing here. It shouldn't be possible for those creatures to arrive here, much less be capable of surviving. Just what sort of trouble did you stir up this time Occult?

Deeply exhaling Occult used lis magic to raise the sleeping colt onto his back. "I don't know Ilatzi-" he began before being interrupted by a demonic cackle.

Bwahaha the great demon hunter Occult Readings doesn't know somethin? Ilatzi giggled maniacally, That must be a first

Ignoring his colleagues taunts Occult trotted towards Zecora's. "You know Ilatzi, you'd make much more friends acting kindly than toss about all those insults." Occult lectured.

As he made his way through the forest, Gabe on his back and Ilatzi in tow Occult took solace in the noises of the forest. But as calming as the chirps of the birds or the whistle of the leaves were it didn't help take his mind off of how he failed once more. First the Yrvarni, then the dogs and now the cockatrace. Not only had he failed to protect a single colt from a physical threat, but he had no way of knowing what spiritual force has altered his soul.

"On a more serious manner, are you sure you know no other demon capable of such feats?"

Occult, if there was a demon out there strong enough to drag a soul from a whole nother' world I wouldn't be working for you, no offense.

"None taken. I had just hoped you'd be able to help. Gabe's situation had thrown for quite a loop. The only thing I can think of is the Yrvarni but such a demon shouldn't be capable of such a feat."

I see where you're coming from. I won't say it's impossible but... there's no way.

As the two conversed a hallowed tree home came into view. With a upset looking Zebra standing outside seemingly waiting for a foolish stallion as a Mother would angrily wait for a foal who stayed out too long.

Oh by the way, the kid came up with a name while you were out. Gallant Knight. Ilatzi communicated before melding perfectly into Occult shadow.

"Thank you for the forewarning, though you should really introduce yourself to Zecora." Occult said softly, wanting his friend to befriend more ponies.

I appreciatewhat you're tryin to do, but befriendin more ponies wasn't part of the contract. the demon whispered before his essence faded away. He was still there but he put himself into what could best be described as a hibernation. Occult sighed. He knew Ilatzi could be more friendly but he was far to stubborn to open up. And now he had to deal with an angry zebra on his own.

"Readings my old friend it is good to see, though what you are doing is a mystery." She scowled.

"Listen I can expl-"

"I taught you how to fair the Everfree, how you fall to a cockatrace explain to me!" Zecora shouted. She was furious. Not only had he lost to a cockatrace due to his recklessness, but his failure endangered young Gab- no, Gallant. A colt who didn't know anything of this world. A colt that shouldn't have been able to face a foe like that.

"We had noticed a threatening presence out of sight. I made the false assumption that I would have been able to counter the threat with a simple magic absorption rune. I apologize Zecora." Occult explained to his old friend. The zebra's hard expression softened but Occult was under no illusion he was in the clear yet.

Zecora then walked to her counter and began to mix several ingredients into a mortar. "Put young Gallant to bed, so he may rest his weary head." she ordered. As Occult placed him on the bed he felt exhausted.

He wasn't used to this. Normally everything tended to work out in his favor. Normally he didn't have such problems with demons. Normally he didn't have such a responsibility placed on him. It was unusual for demons to directly harm ponies due to Celestia's protection. For some otherworldly force to not only steal the soul of a pony, but to replace it with a creature that was worlds apart from his own was bewildering.

"Trouble stains your visage old friend, sit down, let us speak until this night ends." Zecora said in that comforting voice she always uses. Occult couldn't help but smile.

"I've been thrown for quite a loop Zecora. Ga-Gallant isn't exactly normal, he's been affected by.... something. I have no clue as to what it is or how it even happened yet he's relying on me to fix it." His explanation only made him feel worse. Such uncertainty wasn't befitting of his legendary stature. "To make it worse, he'd be correct in thinking that. The only other pony that could fix this would be the princess."

"A difficult task you must face, you are pressured not to be a disgrace. Readings my friend you must be shown, the colt won't judge if you can't have known." Zecora told him. She was probably right, Gab-Gallant didn't seem like the type of pony to hold a grudge for something outside of another ponies control.

"Even still, I am the world's leader on demonology and all things occult, for me not to know what's going on is simply unacceptable!" Occult shouted with a renewed vigor. Determination sparked in the mad ponies eyes as he resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery. Troubling cases have never stopped him before, why should one stop him now? "Which is why I shall be the one to uncover this mystery!"

His old colleague gave him a reassuring smile as he proclaimed his greatness.

"So you will see this to the end, just as I'd expect of you old friend" she reassured, "Now it is time to catch up, we've not spoken since you destroyed my hut."

Occult couldn't help but recoil at the memory. "That's not fair Zecora, you know I wasn't the one who drew the undead bear lord to your village!"

This brought a giddy laughter to Zecora. The two of them talked long into the night as Gallant rested and Ilatzi sulked.

Author's Note

I'm not dead, just dealing with a lot of stuff. I'll try to post more regularly

FPS

The first thing Gallant realized when he woke up was just how stiff and tired he felt, it was like he was encased in stone. If it weren't for the comfy pillow under his head he might of belive he'd lost against that monster. Trying to stretch felt like being stuck in a straightjacket so instead he laid there observing the room.

He could tell there was a window behind him due to the natural light pouring into the room but was unable to turn around and look through it. In front of him there were two other beds with curtain rods in-between them. Taking a random guess Gallant assumed that this was some kind of non emergency hospital room or maybe some communal housing.

None of that was really concerning. What scared him was that he couldn't move and he had no idea where Occult was. Things were just so unbelievable. In the course of a few days he got trapped in the body of a baby horse, was enslaved by gnolls and fought a chicken monster with the powers of a gargoyle. At least what he thought was gargoyles, he never had any time to read those kind of myths when he was a kid but Gallant felt like he was living in a story book.

Given the things he's seen they may be handy to try to remember old myths. It wasn't easy to recall. Old legends weren't freely passed around, most kids had to work from a young age and he was no exception. He knew that there were one eyed monsters that had incredible strength and bird people that ate humans. Even then he couldn't imagine a one eyed horse would be much of a threat and he would assume that Occult would tell him if pegasi were cannibals.

Deep in thought he didn't even realize he was approached until a small cough stole his attention. Looking towards the noise he saw a nervous looking white pony with a pink mane. She wasn't comfortable around him he could tell that much.

"Sorry to sneak up on you, I'm Nurse Red Heart. It's good to see you awake, is there anything you need young colt?" Red Heart asked with worry in her voice. She looked like she thought he was going to eat her or something. He wasn't really worried though, she was a nurse and if she wanted to hurt him she would have already. That wasn't important though, he needed to know where Occult was.

"Oc-cc" he weezed, he didn't notice until he tried to speak but his throat was incredibly dry. It hurt... a lot. The nurse seemed to notice and hooved a glass of water that was on a counter over to him. After he didn't take it himself the nurse smiled and held it closer to his mouth.

At first Gallant only took a few sips but as he tasted the water he began to drink it greedily before the nurse yanked it away.

"Easy there young colt, I can't have you drowning on my watch." Red Heart giggled seeming less afraid. He appreciated the thought but he was so thirsty. He hadn't had any water since he became a pony. "Can you tell me how you're feeling? How about your name?"

"Where's... Occult?" Gallant managed to croak out. His throat felt better but he was still stiff and sore. Miss Red Heart had a weird look on her face but it was hidden quickly. It didn't make Gallant feel easy but it wasnt like it was strange enough to panic about.

"How about we start with you first? Can you tell me your name?" Red Heart asked. Gallant didn't really trust her, why would she be elusive about Occult? She couldn't be some demon or monster or something, she just looked like a normal pony.

"Gallant Knight," he lied through his teeth, he felt kinda bad about lying to Zecora about his true nature but he didn't trust this pony. "Where's Occult?"

His question only made the nurse shuffle nervously. While he doubted he was in any immediate danger it still unsettled him to see the nurse act in such a shifty way.

"There's somepony here who will talk to you about Mr.Occult, but in the meantime why don't you tell me what kind of foods you like? I'm sure you must be hungry." the nurse deflected. It was irritating him. She knew something that he didn't. The way she was acting made it seem like she was uncomfortable because he was a child rather than that she had done something wrong. It wasn't good enough though, he needed more.

"Not hungry, where is Occc-gaeh?" Gallant asked in as harsh as a tone he could manage before his voice stopped. Seeing Gallant wince in pain was enough to bring Red Heart back to her senses, the pony offering up the glass of water once more. Once more Gallant drank greedily, without Red Heart stopping him this time.

"I know you're worried about your umm.... friend but we have a pony who's here to ask you about that, you just need to eat and rest first." the nurse said in a soft tone, the kind that you would speak to a puppy or kid. The reminder that Gallant wasn't even in the body of an adult pony agitated him.

"If you don't have any preferences I'll just get you some carrots and hay. Though if you want I can get you a nice tasty hayburger." Red Heart continued. For a moment Gallant had been disgusted by the notion before he came to the realization that his tastes would be completely different. Unable to stop himself he cringed at the thought that he'd be eating flowers, grass and hay for the foreseeable future.

"Who's here?" Gallant asked weakly ignoring the nurses offer of food. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't hungry but there was no point in dragging things out. This other pony knew what happened to Occult and once he found out he would be able to find Occult. That is after he was able to move again.

"Well, somepony from FPS is here to see you and ask some questions. She's really nice, you'll like her." Red Heart said with a genuine smile. She didn't seem like she was lying for all Gallant could tell. Not that he trusted her, he learned at a young age that three letter agencies weren't often friendly to those who weren't rich and powerful. "I'll go get Loving Grace and fetch you something to eat just in case you change your mind."

Left on his own Gallant couldn't help but focus on the sinking feeling in his gut. Everything just felt so wrong. He needed to find Occult and track down that demon that stole his body...... but what would be left when he went back? He didn't have any close friends that were still alive, his family is gone and his job was terrible.... no, pushing the thoughts from his mind Gallant tried to focus on the colt who's body he inadvertently stole. He couldn't leave a kid like that.

If he wanted to save that kid and go back home then first he'd have to find Occult Readings, and to do that he'd have to learn more from this Loving Grace mare. Before Gallant could plan how to confront this mare the door opened and two ponies walked in the room. The first being Nurse Red Heart followed by who he assumed was Loving Grace, a light yellow furred pegasus with an orange mane. She showed a slight shock when looking at Gallant the first time but was much better at hiding it than the nurse had been. Almost as soon as he noticed that, it was almost immediately replace with a caring smile.

"Well hello there young colt, I'm Loving Grace from foal protective services." she said in such a reassuring tone, it was like how Zecora had spoken to him. If he wasn't already cautious of her he might have been caught off gaurd. "I've heard you were a very brave young stallion, going in to the Everfree. Would you like to tell us what happened?"

It clicked in Gallant's mind right then. FPS is this world's version of child protective services and he had just been taken out of a dangerous forest with a stallion who was quite obviously not a relative. Now begs the question of how to respond. He obviously can't tell them the truth, they would think he was delusional. If he told them a lie then the person who's job it is to recognize when kids were lying would be even more suspicious of Occult.

Gallant was stuck between a rock and a hard place but he didn't really see any other option but to stay quiet or lie. An idea came to his head like a lightning bolt. He was a thestral and according to Occult they were incredibly rare. He could just blame any oddities about his behavior on a different and unknown culture.

"I was monster hunting on my own for the first time and I got lost miss Grace," Gallant said in as childish a voice as he could manage and the look of pure shock on Grace's face was priceless. "Mr. Occult found me and lead me out of the forest."

It wasn't a full story, but he was a kid so it would be enough. Judging by the uncomfortable look on Loving Grace's face it seemed like it was working.

"Ah yes, but why were you, um.. monster hunting?" Loving asked while trying to keep up the facade and hide her confusion. It was perfect, now she shouldn't be as focused on Occult.

"All thestrals hunt a monster on their own when they come of age." Gallant lied with ease, "I got hurt in the forest and Occult saved me."

"Is that so? Because Occult Readings gave me a very different story." Grace said in a gentle tone. Gallant's heart sank, his plan failed immediately. Gallant couldn't help but curse under his breath. How was he supposed to get back home if some government agency stole him away?

"I only want to help you Gallant, and I can't do that if you don't help me." Grace said in that sweet voice of hers. It was ironic, she wanted to help him but she'd never be able to. Not seeing any way to get what he wanted Gallant simply refused to speak. Once he could move again he could simply go out and look for Occult Readings himself.

After moments of dead silence between the two Loving Grace sighed and her wings twitched. "Occult isn't.... a great stallion, it's fine if he's your friend, but due to his past and your erm.. condition we're worried about you."

That had caught his attention. Condition? Did something permanent happen? Did he screw up this kids body?

"Condition?"

"You're suffering from mana exhaustion, something that usually only affects young unicorns, and given Occults history...." the FPS agent said with disgust in her voice. It was obvious she thought Occult did something ti him but Gallant knew that couldn't be true.

"Occult helped me." Gallant responded weakly. His voice giving out. He felt oddly tired. He'd woken up not that long ago and it was still bright out but his eyes were getting droopy. Loving Grace noticed and put her hoove on his.

"Go ahead and get some rest, Nurse Red Heart and I will be here if you need anything at all." Grace reassured, and with that Gallant felt his eyes grow impossibly heavy. He didn't want to sleep, he still needed to learn more. Try all he might he couldn't keep his eyes open.

Nightmare Night

Occult paced about his cell in a worried anticipation. He didn't have much time left. Normally arrests by the gaurd didn't bother him. Celestia would always explain what he was doing to the locals and let him go, but this time was different. He had been in the custody of the Dimond Dogs for much longer than he thought. Tonight will be the Summer Sun Celebration. This was the year Nightmare Moon was supposed to return.

Nightmares on there own weren't usually difficult to dispose of, a simple magic siphon would remove them from their hosts in most cases but Nightmare Moon latched itself on to Princess Luna. Alicorns possessed their own magic and weren't as reliant on the environment as other ponies. Occult knew this day was coming but the thought he'd have more time to prepare.

"Hey would you stop shuffling about in there, I'm trying to get some rest before the celebration." Deputy Golden Star yawned. The earth pony wasn't as hostile to him as the sherif but there was no compassion in his voice either. The darned Ponyville locals thought he had experimented on Gallant. They should know by now he would do nothing of the sort.

"Come on Star, you have to let me out. Nightmare Moon is going to return tonight and I need to prepare for the occasion." Occult begged from behind the iron bars.

Stars muzzle scrunched up as he snorted. "Nightmare Moon? Occult I always knew you had a screw loose but you don't really belive in those old pony tales do you? Besides, even if you are telling the truth you foalnapped that colt. You're gonna be behind those bars till your last days."

Occult was enraged by the accusation. He may be many things but a foalnapper was not one of them. Seeing as he wasn't going to convince these simple townsponies that he had done no wrong he would simply need to take more aggressive actions to solve the problem. Gallant was right after all, he couldn't rely on the gaurd to stop Nightmare Moon. With his magic he reached out once more to Ilatzi while preparing a second spell.

"You rang?" Occults shadow spoke out causing Golden Star to jump at the unknown voice. As soon as the Deputy jumped Occult released his spell and a small ball shot towards Star exploding into a mist as it hit him.

Golden Star shook his head violently after being hit but it was to late for him to do anything as he had already breathed in the mist. The Deputy fell to the ground with a thud.

Would you look at that? Ilatzi said, I never thought you had it in you to kill another pony Readings.

"He's not dead, just unconscious. Now please unlock the cell." Ocuult responded making it clear he was in no mood for jokes. It didn't take more than a second for the shadow to retrieve the keys and unlock the cell but to Occult it still felt like entirely too long. He didn't have much time.

Whats got you so glum, and in the slammer for that matter? Ilatzi asked. For a moment it sounded like concern but Occult knew his friend better than that.

"I need to prepare for Nightmare Moons' arrival." He explained. Ilatzi began to shimmer and shift.

No. No way am I dealing with Nightmare Moon, you can't make me. I'LL BREAK THE CONTRACT! Ilatzi panicked. Occult couldn't help but groan. There was no time for this.

"Calm down, I would never make you do that. Instead I want you to watch over Gallant. He's in the hospital." He explained to the jumpy shadow and as he finished explaining the shadow became much calmer.

Yeah, ok. I can do that. Sorry for freaking out

"Think nothing of it, take care of Gallant and don't let him interfere." Occult said as he checked Deputy Golden Star to make sure he was alright. Occult put his hoof over Star's chest. His heartbeat was regular and his breathing was fine. After checking the sleeping deputy he left without hesitation. This would definitely get him in trouble with the law but he could always explain himself to Celestia herself should the need occur.

Leaving the sheriff's office Occult made his way to the Everfree once more. He was in those Dimond Dog dens for at least three weeks. His original plan was to catch that Yrvarni and be back in time to place a plethora of runes to weaken the demon upon arrival so he could purify Princess Luna, or, at the very least pacify Nightmare Moon until Celestia arrived. Now he had to come up with an impromptu plan.

The Castle of the Two Sisters was his target. The starting point of the Equestrian diarchy. The place it all started. He didn't expect any creature of the Everfree to impead his path this time. Animals had a keen sense for the supernatural, even if they themselves didn't notice. Occult couldn't help how eerie the Everfree was without the chirping of birds, it was like being stalked by a predator. No predator would be out tonight though, not with the evil seeping through the air.

The trip itself wasn't much to note. There was a bridge that fell apart on the way but Occult could simply teleport past it. When he did reach the castle he couldn't help but stare in awe. Such beautiful architecture, a staple of Equestrian history. If it weren't in the middle of the Everfree, Occult would have petitioned for its restoration and further preservation, but now wasn't the time for that. He had to keep going.

The ruined castle was littered with cobwebs, star spiders bold enough not to immediately skitter away in the presence of a pony. The air itself was heavy, this was where Nightmare Moon would return from. Demons tended to make strong connections to things or places, and the Nightmares connection to this place could be felt from a mile away.

Taking a deep breath Occult made his way to the ladies chambers. He figured the demon would return first in Princess Luna's room. Good because it would increase the effectiveness of any trap he placed but bad because it would put him all too close to a corrupted alicorn.

"Hah, letting nerves get the best of me? What would dad say?" Occult chuckled trying to steel his nerves. He couldn't help but think about how helpless he's been the past few days. Doubt started to invade his mind.

"No no, this is how the demon wins." He told himself. He couldn't allow negative thoughts to slow him, nightmares feed on such feelings. Pushing doubt from his mind he began checking the doors he came across. It was at the third door he found Princess Luna's room. How could he tell? Probably all the moon memorabilia and engravings.

The room was larger than he thought which would work perfectly. Occult channeled a spell and cast it first on the door itself. The spell was ment to dull the senses, hopefully the Nightmare wouldn't notice allowing more traps to go off before it realized. Next he started carving a rune into the wall with his horn. Once activated it would drain all natural magic from the area. He wasn't a master of runecraft but he could write it in such a way that his other traps should be left untouched. Even if he couldn't deplete her immense power reserves, he could deprive her of outside help.

Several hours had passed and it would soon be time for Nightmare Moon's arrival. Occult was nervous. An alicorn. He would be facing of against an alicorn. No manner of ambush or traps would truely even the playing field with such a bridge between their powers. All he could hope for was to weaken Nightmare Moon enough for either Luna to free herself or for Celestia to come to the rescue.

He laid there in wait hiding behind a cabinet with a chameleon spell. It didn't take long before he felt a disturbance in the air as a deep chill set in. Clouds appeared in the room begining to spin into a vortex, bright lights appeared from within the cloud blinding Occult.

"Hahahaha how nice it is to finally get some fresh air." The demon mused to itself stretching in the center of the room. Occult felt the urge to spring his traps now, to fire everything he had, but he had to be patient if he wanted to save the princess. The Nightmare finishing its stretch made its way to the door only for his traps to spring. The first nulling its senses and the second fogging it's memory.

"Huh? What was I doing here again?" Nightmare Moon asked to nopony in particular. Occult grinning to himself tossed a peice of rubble to the other side if the room drawing the demon's attention.

"Mmm is anypony there, come out now and I won't eat you." She chucked lowly. Strutting to the other side of the room the nightmare walked straight over several runes. Purifying runes that, in theory, should weaken the demon and awaken Princess Luna. Nightmare Moon hadn't semmed to noticed thanks to the numbing spell.

Occult snuck behind her as she made her way across the room. He had used so much mana maintaining the chameleon spell it felt like his horn was going to melt, but he couldn't allow the pain to break his concentration. The next step would likely be the most difficult thing he's ever done. Near the door he put his hoof on the rune he carved. As soon as he activated it all the magic in the room would be drained. He wouldn't be able to cast anymore spells and would rely entirely on his traps.

Patiently he waited. Nightmare Moon was on the other side of the room investigating the noise he caused. The demon stood exactly where he needed her to. Dropping the chameleon spell Occult struck the rune causing to to drain the mana in the air. Now the two of them would need to draw on their natural reserves. Unfortunately for the Nightmare, Occult's trap sprung and encased her in a shield spell. It would need to waste its mana breaking out. Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen.

"You?! HOW DARE YOU!" Nightmare Moon screeched before rearing up on her hind legs and striking the sheild with her forehooves shattering it completely.

Now Occult, without magic and only a few traps left would have to deal with a fully powered and furious demon alicorn.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nightmare Moon, I am Occult Readings and I am here to exorcize you." Occult proclaimed boldly. Much to his displeasure the Nightmare lost its scowl and began to laugh heartily.

"Occult Readings? You think you can stop me? Then you shall suffer the same fate as your insipid ancestor!" the Nightmare cackled charging up a spell, her horn glowing in a deep mesmerizing blue. Occult dove out of the way of the demon's spell just in time as it flew past him blasting a hole into the castle wall and shattered the door by his side.

He couldn't face her, not directly. Occult mulled over his options as the Nightmare laughed in that gloating manner that demon's were known for. He had to run, he had to bide time for his magic reserves to recover and for Celestia to get here. Running out of the door hole the nightmare created Occult galloped as hard and as fast as he could throughout the castle hallways turning corners whenever he could.

It didn't take more than three turns before the demonic alicon was upon him and he had yet to fully recover his mana reserves. He tried to cast a spell that would daze Nightmare Moon but before he could Occult felt the ground underneath his shift and a shockwave sent him flying forwards.

"You sun loving ponies are so weak, so pitiful. And now you get to suffer the same fate as your grandfather." Nightmare Moon stared him dead in the eyes, her serpentine eyes paralyzing, her fangs hungry.

"WAIT NIGHTMARE!" A voice shouted from down the hallways, the clopping of a running pony grew closer. Occult's eyes shot open. That sounded like Gallant! Nightmare Moon turned to look at the approaching thestral colt eyeing him shrewdly.

Gallant came to a stop before Nightmare Moon and knelt before her. Nightmare smiled at the gesture. "Ah one of my loyal followers, how nice it is that you still remember me after all these years."

"Of course my lady. I've come to your service, but I beg you mistress, spare Occult Readings. He owes me his life, he can be useful to you." Gallant begged groveling, as he spoke to the nightmare his shadow shifted.

Hurry up, the kid can only buy so much time

Realizing the plan Occult began gathering as much mana as he could. He would only have one shot. His best bet was to try and weaken the nightmare as much as possible.

"Do you truly think that Occult can be swayed young one?" She asked Gallant.

"Yes, my lady. Twice now I have saved his life, I'm sure that he can be brought to an understanding." Gallant explained, his voice begining to quiver and his legs starting to shake. He was getting nervous, Occult wouldn't have much time.

Gathering a plethora of mana he concentrated on the formation of a purification spell. It wouldn't be enough to exorcize her, but it would weaken her a great deal. Letting loose his spell the demonic alicorn looked towards him to notice what he was doing but it was too late. The nightmares screams were harrowing and caused Gallant to cover his more sensitive ears. Occult wanted to do more but he was worn out, his horn aching from overuse.

"YOU INSOLENT TRAITOR!" Nightmare Moon screamed kicking Gallant across the room. Occult wanted to cry out. He wanted to stop the demon but he was too worn out.

"Congratulations, you managed to inconvenience me. You're as weak as your grandfather. I'll come back for you once the elements are out of the way." Nightmare Moon snarled charging her horn. The last thing Occult saw was the whimpering colt he once again failed to save.

Reunion with a Princess

"Occult. Occult." Gallant's voice echoed throughout the room. "Are you ok?"

Groggily Occult rose from his position on the floor to catch sight aof a fairly upset thestral. "Greeting Gallant, I see we're still alive." he chuckled.

"Occult I'm about tired of waking up like this. Is this kind of thing normal for you?" Gallant asked as he stretched his wings. Occult, deciding to follow his lead got up and began stretching as well.

"More often than you would think Gallant, but right now we need to discuss your reckless behavior. I told Ilatzi to keep you in the hospital. Why did you disobey?" Occult chastised only to recive a frown from his young companion.

"You mean you just expected me to let a homicidal demon eat you? Fat chance." Gallant shot back.

Sorry Occult, I shouldn't have told him.

Occult sat back an groaned. He wouldn't be getting anywhere with this conversation and he was too exhausted to deal with it if he could.

"Are you alright at least?" He asked. Gallant's more aggressive pose shirked back disarmed, the young colt seemingly not expecting the question.

"Uh yeah I'm fine, what about you?" Gallant asked back much more relaxed now. Occult stretched and pulled the muscles in his body, he didn't really feel pain anywhere other than his soreness and aching horn.

"I'm going through mana exhaustion, similar to what you had when you first woke up in Ponyville." Occult explained.

"So uh...... did we win?" Gallant asked.

Occult was startled by the question. To be entirely honest he did not expect to wake up at all. The only way to determine whether they won or not was to see if the sun had come up while they were unconscious. So caught up in his thoughts Occult Readings didn't notice the crowd of ponies walk into the room with him.

A coughing noise was made and drew the attention of the two stallions in the room. Before them stood Princess Celestia and seven other mares. Some of which Occult could recognize while others were unfamiliar to him. Though through simple deduction he figured the darker colored alicorn with a moon for her cutiemark was how Princess Luna looked before the possession. Occult immediately bowed before the princesses.

"Occult Readings, please rise." Celestia's heavenly voice rang out and he rose to see her caring eyes. "I see you've gotten yourself into trouble once more?"

"Sorry for the trouble Princess, just doing my duty." Occult replied.

"Yes you always were so diligent." Celestia said with a tired smile. Occult beamed at Celestia's praise, he always did enjoy pleasing her since he was a child. All his troubles were always worth her smile.

"And thou must be the stallions that helped save mineself." The alicorn next to Celestia spoke. If her appearance wasn't enough to prove this was Princes Luna her expertise hiding the discomfort in her voice as she spoke so majestically cemented the fact.

"We are Princess Luna. We had wanted to thank thee for weakening mineself. We fear what Nightmare would have done hadst thou not slowed her." Luna said looking dejected and keeping her eyes off of him. Occult followed her eyes and saw that she wasn't looking away from him, but at Gallant, who was behind him.

"Gallant Knight this is Princess Luna. She's not the same as Nightmare Moon, there's nothing for you to fear." Occult said in as reassuring of a tone as he could. Gallant didn't seem to have a difference in mood after he said that though.

"what about the other thing?" Gallant whispered in response. Then it snapped for him. Gallant was worried about how the princesses would respond to him as an outsider. And he did promise Gallant that he wouldn't tell anypomy about his... condition.

"Oh that, that's nothing to worry about. We can talk about it later if you want, but for right now why don't you introduce yourself?" He prodded. With that Gallant stopped hinding behind him. At least a little.

"Um hello I'm Galant Knight and I'm.. er it's a pleasure to meet you princesses." He said quietly not meeting either princess eye to eye.

"Um yes so Celestia. I know Pinkie Pie, but who are the rest of these mares?" Occult asked.

"Oh yes, these are the element bearers. They are the ones who found the Elements of Harmony and purified my sister." She said with pride in her voice. "Twilight, would you and your friends like to introduce yourselves?"

"Of course princess!" The purple pony exclaimed. "Hello Occult Readings, Gallant Knight. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria. Also I gotta say it was super cool that you two faced Nightmare Moon all on your own." The cyan mare with a rainbow main said.

"Howdy, I'm Applejack." The orange mare said with a thick country accent.

"I'm Rarity." The white mare said in a sophisticated manner.

"I'm Fluttershy" the yellow mare squeaked.

"Heya, I'm Pinkie Pie. But you already knew that didn't cha Culty?" And I'm gonna throw is all a 'Congratulations for defeating Nightmare Moon and Wellcome to Ponyville Party' when we get back to town!" The energetic mare all but screamed.

"Pinky darling, didn't we already have a party for Readings a few weeks back?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, but we still need a welcome party for Gallant Knight silly." She giggled. The news brought a frown to Gallant's face.

"Um Pinkie? I appreciate the offer, but I don't plan on being in town long enough to warrant a welcome party." Gallant said apologetically.

"About that. Occult, I want to speak to you. Alone." Celestia comanded. Occult was shocked to hear that tone of voice from her. It almost sounded like she was upset.

"Very well Celestia." He responded before turning to Gallant. If Celestia asked him about Gallant directly he couldn't just lie to her, but he swore to Gallant that he wouldn't tell. "Gallant?" He started before the young colt put his hoof forwards waving at him.

"I'll trust your judgment." He said simply before the pink party pony got in his face to barrage him with questions about what his favorite pastries were.

He was led outside of the room by Celestia as the rest of the ponies stared talking to eachother or asking Gallant questions. It wasn't long before they could no longer hear the other ponies.

"Readings." Celestia panned in a completely neutral tone. It shocked Occult as he's only ever heard the princess use that tone when she was upset with Blueblood.

"Yes Princess." He responded trying to hide his unease as best he could.

"I understand that life was hard for you growing up. That's why I took you in. That's why I've been..... lenient when it came to your hobbies." Celestia explained with her voice geting harsher and harsher by the moment. "I'm going to give you a chance to explain why that colt is with you and your explanation better be good."

Occults legs were trembling and the room temperature must have risen twenty degrees. "Well you see princess... Gallant isn't a uhmm... normal colt." He began only for the temperature to raise further.

"Occult!" She practically barked causing Occult to whimper.

"NO PRINCESS! It's not like that!" He shouted hurriedly.

"Explain." She demanded.

"When I first met Gallant I was imprisoned by Diamond Dogs. When I tried talking to him I noticed something was wrong. After a while I eventually found out that he wasn't really a pony." He explained as best he could. He didn't really want to have to give up this information, but the princess gave him no choice.

"And what do you mean by that?" She asked. Not quite as angry but still clearly upset.

"He claimed to have the memories of an adult human and I'm inclined to belive him." Occult sputtered out. He was weak and tired. To have Celestia be this angry and distrustful of him was emotionally draining.

"I see." Celestia responded somberly walking over to him she engulfed him in her wing, pulling him closer to her like she used to. "I apologize for jumping to conclusions Readings, I should have known better."

"Don't worry about it Celestia, it's fine." He responded weakly leaning into her.

"So what do you plan to do next?" Celestia asked in her motherly tone as if she wasn't shouting at him moments ago.

"I'm not sure Celestia. I don't know what did this to him. The Yrvarni is the only demon I can think of with soul swapping abilities, but such a demon shouldn't possibly be strong enough to pull a human here." He explained as Celestia stood there absorbing all the information.

"You and Gallant may come with me to Canterlot in order to access the royal archives." Celestia offered.

"That's the thing Celestia, Gallant is brave and stubborn. Once I find out what had done this to him he will surely want to come along, but he's ignorant of demons and magic. He knows nothing of this world. It's too dangerous." Occult sighed.

"So what do you want for him?" Celestia asked as Occult shuffled in discomfort.

"I think he needs something stable. Maybe somepony in Ponyville can watch over him while I do my job. He can't read or fly so he's need to go to school and learn to fly from a local pegasus." He groaned. It hurt him to say but whatever had brought him here had to have an extrodanate amount of power. He couldn't in good conscience let Gallant face such monsters. It was Occults job to face those demons anyways.

"I can arrange for that to be taken care of Occult." Celestia said.

"Than-"

"So with that taken care of how about you tell me about yourself?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"Occult Readings, I haven't seen you since you've burned down Trottingham and stopped the resurgence of ponypox. I worry about you sometimes you know." She said in that caring tone of hers.

Occult smiled. Even if he was exhausted Celestia was right, he hasn't spoken to her in ages.

To Repay a Hero

It hadn't been ten minutes since Gallant hadwoken up and he was already stranded again. While he knew Occult would just be outside with the other princess it didn't calm his nerves. He was surrounded by ponies which he couldn't really ignore. First was the princess recently saved from demonic possession, then there were the element bearers. He didn't know what that meant, but it sounded important.

"So what's your favorite treat?" Pinkie asked for what felt like the twentieth question in the last minute and a half. It wasn't that he disliked the pink pony, but she was coming at him with far too much energy.

"I don't know, I haven't had many sweets." He awnsered quietly. He was too worried about Occult to bother with the elements. Right now Occult was speaking to the princess, and from what he understood, the princess was the most powerful pony in the world.

"Well I'll have to fix that at your welcome to Ponyville Party then." Pinkie exclaimed happily as she bounced off to plan the party or something. And with the pink one gone the rainbow one approached him next.

"So I heard you fought Nightmare Moon on your own. How'd you do it?" Rainbow Dash asked like a giddy fangirl. He wasn't really interested in answering the questions of the element bearers. He was more worried about Occult.

"I just asked her not to hurt him." He responded plainly losing the interest of the colorful pegasus.

"So you just asked her not to hurt him and she listened." She asked.

"Yeah sorta. I didn't really expect Nightmare Moon to listen to me but I figured I could grab her attention long enough for Occult to do something." Gallant explained to the prismatic mare. She didn't seem quite as enthusiastic as she was originally but she did seem at least a little impressed. Or at least that's what he thought. He still didn't understand pony body language.

"Well how about I show you some awesome moves so you can be a fighter to!?" She more proclaimed then asked. For a moment he wanted to consider it. If he was going to travel with Occult he would need to know how to fight. What worried him is that he didn't think he could scare off a demon by punching it. Plus he isn't going to stay in town unless Occult is.

"I appreciate your offer but I don't think I'll be staying in town long enough to learn fighting moves." He replied apologetically once again losing Rainbow's interest.

Gallant couldn't help but worry about Occult though. The stallion seemed to constantly be in trouble. He was like Mindy but way way worse. If the Princesses didn't know how to save him then he had to rely on Occult. Which was.... questionable. He had to decide what he was going to do next. Of course he had to stick with Occult, but what exactly would he do? He didn't know.

"Gallant Knight, would thou carest to speak with us?" Princess Luna asked out of nowhere. Something that posed a problem to Gallant. Should he talk to her or play the part of a scared child or something? The more he talks to her the less normal he would appear.

"Umm sure."

The princess seemed appreciative of his response easing her posture. She started to head to a more secluded corner of the room away from the elements. And so he followed.

"We noticed that thou are.. uncomfortable around us. We wish to dissuade thine fear Gallant Knight." the princess said somberly. Gallant didn't know what to do. He saved her from a demon, so she should be... accepting? Maybe she would find kinship in that he was also the involuntary victim of a demon? Could he trust her?

"We can tell thou are not normal, thine mind is not that of a pony."

Gallant felt as if the world had stopped. He had already been found out, he didn't even know what he did wrong. He was going to die. Frozen in place he found himself unable to awnser the waiting princess.

"Thou hast saved our life so we wish to give thineself an opportunity to explain. Do not leave us waiting." Luna said expectantly.

"Pr-prin-princess," Gallant stuttered trying to find a way to explain himself "I was... I am... uh OCCULT!" Gallant was shaking terribly. He wasn't ready for this, and now the princess was going to kill him thinking he was a demon.

"We suppose Occult Readings should know more about thine position than thou." Luna stated calmly to Gallant's befuddlement. Gallant couldn't only studder weakly in response. The princess knew he wasn't a pony somehow. Did she already know it wasn't his fault?

"Uh, princess? Why aren't you mad at me?" He asked in a whisper.

Luna looked at Gallant with soft eyes. "We can see thine dreams. The nightmares we induced formed to thine own memories. What we saw was truely alien, yet not demonic."

She could see his dreams? That was.... unsettling, but reassuring. That should mean she has at least an idea of what's happened.

"So you know what happened to me?" Gallant asked hopefully only to recive a frown and the shake of Luna's head.

"Thine dream was far to chaotic for us to decifer," The princess claimed "But we felt confident that thou are not an immediate threat. This is why we wished to speak with you."

As Princess Luna explained herself Gallant felt his fears slowly melt away. At least he wouldn't be smited, and maybe the formally possessed princess knew a thing or two about whatever put him in this colts body. And well, now that the cat was out of the bag there was no reason to hide anything from the Princess anymore.

Checking over his back to make sure the element bearers were still out of earshot Gallant confronted Luna. "Princess Luna, I was formally a human. I don't really know what has happened to me, but Occult said he knows and that he can help me get back."

The princess looked mildly surprised at the proclamation but did well to hide her expression. "We are unfamiliar with this human creature, but we can offer aid needed." She said.

"Princess, don't you know anything that can help now? I'm worried that the colt I switched with will get himself hurt!" Gallant exclaimed.

"Thou switched with a colt? Dost thou know his name?"

"Well no. I just woke up in this body, but it's not like this body could have just popped out of nowhere right? I had to have been swapped." Gallant explained. The princess looked as if confused for a moment and seemed to dismiss it.

"Very well Gallant Knight. We shall look into thine circumstance with upmost haste." Luna claimed boldly.

The Next Step

Occult, Gallant, Celestia, Luna and the element bearers were gone in a flash of light. Celestia had taken the liberty of teleporting the group back to Ponyville Square and save everypony the hassle of walking back. Ponies were out on the streets cheering for Celestia's return and the rekindling of daylight. It didn't take long before Ponyville's pink party pony jumped into the fray and ramped up the celebration.

One thing Occult noticed was how Luna shied away from the party. It was an understandable reaction, but Occult wouldn't feel right letting Princess Luna of all ponies let her ego cannibalize itself over a possession. Casually trotting up to Luna he ran a hoof through his messy mane.

"Luna, I see you've withdrawn yourself? Not much of a party pony I presume" He introduced with such impeccable subtly he would make a pony with a silver tounge cutie mark jealous.

"I appreciate your help but I just need to be alone right now." Luna sighed not discouraging him in the slightest.

"Now Luna, that's the exact opposite of what you need. Come now, if not everypony at least talk with your sister and the elements."

Luna looked at him quizzically, groaning she nodded slightly and made her way to her sister and the elements. With the lunar princess back into the fray Occult decided it was time to discuss what would happen with Gallant. Naturally he needed to be with somepony who could be trusted with a secret and could accept his unique position. It simply wouldn't do for him to be treated like a normal colt.

"YOOUU!" A familiar feminine voice screamed. Turning his head he was met by a very angry Loving Grace and two absolutely livid lawponies. The crowd dispersed as the three fuming ponies made their way to the group. It didn't escape Occult's notice that Gallant stood behind him and Luna.

The sherif, a unicorn mare named Flawless Law approached Occult with a scowl on her muzzle. "Occult Readings, you are under arrest for foalnapping, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, assaulting an officer of the law, use of magic as tool of an assult and use of unsanctioned magic."

"Ah Flawless, what impeccable timi-"

"QUITE! I've seen your record. You're a troublemaker down to your core. Come quietly or I'll be forced to use restraining spells on you." The fuming sherif snapped.

"Actually Flawless Law, that won't be necessary." Celestia said interrupting the two. "Occult Readings has explained himself to me and I will be dealing with his punishment personally."

The sherif, deputy and social worker were all stuned by Celestia's statement. Very understandable given how scarce a direct punishment from Celestia was. Not only that, but it would save her having to explain anything to the three effectively concealing Gallant Knight's true identity.

"What about Gallant Knight's well being?" Loving Grace asked with a shake voice.

"That I will leave to you my little pony."

"WHAT!?"
"What?"

Luna and Gallant asked at the same time. Gallant more screamed than asked.

"We need to account for your well being Gallant. I understand your unique conditions, but I assure you we will do all that we can to help you adjust until you get the help you need." Celestia explained in her signature motherly tone.

"How could surrendering Gallant to Grace's care be what is best for him? We ought take him to the royal palace to be watched over seeing as his case is perticular." Luna shot back much to Occult's surprise and displeasure. Occult groaned. Taking Gallant with him would simply be to much of a risk.

"Your majesty I don't think that's for the best." Occult tried to explain but the lunar princess did not look like she wanted to hear it.

"Um, Miss? I understand that Gallant is a special little stallion, but I'm capable of taking care of his situation." Loving Grace tried to explain to Luna only to recive a snarl from the alicorn.

"WE ARE PRINCESS LUNA, LORD OF THE NIGHT AND GUARDIAN OF DREAMS. THOU SHALL NOT ADRESS US AS MISS!" Luna said in the royal alicorn voice. Everypony that was still chatting during the disturbance stopped at once at the sound of the voice. Occult physically recoiled at the sound. He had only heard it once before and he had hoped it would be his last, but he was unprepared for the princess' scorn.

"Luna," Celestia started softly.

"No, we shall not back down on this manner. Gallant Knight is to be brought to Canterlot and recive care in the palace." Luna stated.

"Sister, I know you care about Gallant, but his condition truly is unique. I think it would be best for him to stay somewhere safe while we figure out how to help him." Celestia explained calmly.

"We are unsure if thou truly understand how precarious his predicament is. We share more in common with this colt than thou could possibly understand." Luna shot back. It was then Celestia's eyes sparkled. It seemed Gallant, for whatever reason, had told Luna about what happened, and Celestia caught onto that as well.

"Princess Luna, if you truly know what's happened then surely you must understand why Ponyville would be best for him." Occult tried to reason.

"Bullcrap! You're just trying to abandon me again!" Gallant shouted taking Occult by surprise. Gallant should understand. He would stay in Ponyville to recive education on how to read and write while Occult figured out what happened.

"Gallant-"

"No! If I leave you on your own you're just gonna die or get captured again and I'll be stuck here forever." Gallant spat. Occult felt like he had been struck. While it was true that he was unprepared for the dogs and the cockatrice... and Nightmare Moon....... He understood where Gallant's mindset was coming from, but he simply couldn't let a human completely unfamiliar with magic to fight with demons.

"Gallant, this is for the best. Please just go with Loving Grace." Occult pleaded. He didn't want Gallant to get hurt by his account.

"Gallant Knight shall be taken under our wing and that is final." Luna bodly proclaimed. Celestia groaned softly clearly upset with how the conversation had went.

"Sister, I shall concede for now. We will take Gallant to Canterlot but you and I need to have a talk later." Celestia said with a tone that conveyed finality.

"But Princess!" Loving Grace tried to cut in. The pegasus was absolutely shaking with concern. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I understand my little pony. I will assure Gallant Knight is given the best of care don't you worry." Celestia explained calming the mare a significant margin. Loving Grace didn't look happy, but at least she didn't look like she was about to cry. Instead she looked at Occult with a hate filled glare. He almost felt the heat from her hating eyes.

And with that Celestia turned to give her goodbyes to the element bearers and promptly teleported the four of them to Canterlot. Occult was met with a familiar sight. His old room. A wave of nostalgia and comfort washed over him for a moment before he caught the ire of Luna.

"Well Celestia, Occult. Doth thou carest to explain thineself?" Luna asked as Gallant sat staring judgmentally.

"Gallant I understand why you're upset, but this isn't just a simple matter. The thing that took you is very dangerous. Even if you had combative skills you dont possess the ability to defend yourself against the things I face." Occult explained as Gallant sat and listened ears forwards showing he was at least attentive.

"And had I not saved you, you would still be in those mines or forever still as a petrified statue." Gallant retorted. It wasn't going to be easy to explain to Gallant why it was necessary that they split ways.

"Gallant those were one thing, but demons are a whole other level of threat. It's not easy to deal with them." Occult lectured.

"Then show me."

The request startled him. Occult didn't expect that line of reasoning. That he could simply show Gallant how to face demons and that actually work. It couldn't work. Could it? No, Gallant couldn't use magic in the same way as a Unicorn. Even if he could access his natural thestral magic he couldn't preform on the levels necessary to face demons and magical threats.

"I'm sorry Gallant, but you can't use magic. It wouldn't be possible for you to face off against whatever took you." Occult explained with a patient Gallant listening and two princesses that have been suspiciously quiet.

"I may not know how magic works but I can guess that symbol thing you drew in the dirt was magic and you didn't use your horn for that." Gallant snarled back.

"That's true.... wait! How do you know about a unicorn's horn?"

"Because it glows every time you do something magic, duh."

"Well then. While it may be true that runes don't require magic in the same way that spells do, it still requires a feel of your natural magic. You being.... you, don't know how to tap your natural magic." He explained as logically as he could. "You don't need to worry Gallant, I'm not going to be stranding you here. I'll get you back home of its the last thing I do."

"That's what I'm worried about though. I'm afraid this will be the last thing you do if you don't have help." Gallant said softly ears drooping. Occult understood where the human was coming from. If something happened to him then Gallant would be deprived of a way home.

"The solution to this seems simple. Gallant shall stay with us and undergo proper training until he can journey with thou." Luna stated matter of factly.

"Which works because Occult Readings needs to study and not cause trouble for a while." Celestia chimed in. Occult felt betrayed. He though Celestia would understand. He couldn't let Gallant get himself hurt.

"But Celestia," he tried to protest but found his voice lacking under the pressure of her stare. "I understand."

"Good. Gallant, thus will be your room." Celestia said much to Occult's horror.

"But Celestia!"

"Now now Occult, this is a foals room, you're a grown stallion now and I'm not bringing in a new bed." She responded with a giggle. Occult was upset at the prospect of losing his childhood room much more than he expected. He did move out as soon as he got his cutie mark after all.

"I understand Celestia, this was just much more nostalgic then I thought it would be." Occult apologized. "But I have two questions. The first being how Gallant should learn magic to combat demons when I am one of the only ponies that specializes in that? And the second of where I'll be staying."

"I will arrange for a private tutor to teach Gallant Knight the basics of magic and flight and you will be staying in a guest room. Once Gallant learns the more rudimentary things you can teach him the basics on demon hunting." Celestia said. "After all, you have your own studies you need to do."

"Very well Celestia." Occult said with his head down. He just wanted to keep Gallant safe, but everything turned out so poorly.

"Good, now let's get something to eat."

New Schedule

The immediate drama of Occult trying to ditch him out of the way Gallant was invited to what was surely going to be an awkward lunch. He wasn't hungry nor was he eager for another argument.

"Celestia, would you mind if I checked out my new room before I eat?" He asked unsure of what to make of the white furred princess. Celestia said nothing but did nod with a soft smile. The three older ponies then said their piece and made their way out of the room. Not before Celestia ordered a gaurd to lead him to the kitchen once he was done.

Once Gallant was alone he searched the room. The most apparent thing was the amount of dust in the room. This was definitely Occult's old room. There were torn down voodoo dolls on the shelf and books that looked ominous. If he could read the darn things he wouldn't doubt there was dark magic and demonology or something crazy.

Pulling a book out of the shelf he saw pages so yellow and weathered that they could have been a thousand years old. Putting the book back he grabbed another and it was the same thing. One of the pages practically disintegrated as he tried to turn it. He checked every book and every one of them was like that. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of a child Occult was that he could be interested in and also trusted with these ancient tomes.

Looking around the room more Gallant spotted a painting of Occult and another pony, but the second pony had a distorted face and the paint looked like it was melting at that very moment. It was strange. The painting didn't look like it had been tampered with but it also didn't seem like the disturbance was meant to be there. He'd have to ask Occult who the pony in the painting was later.

"Ilatzi you there?" Gallant asked to the empty room. After waiting for a few seconds with no response he decided that the shadow demon had to be with Occult. Deciding he's seen enough of the room he left to great the gaurd outside.

"Hey could you guide me to Celestia and Luna." Gallant asked casually startling the gaurd.

"Of course, follow me." The gaurd said clearly disturbed by something. Though he was curious Gallant didn't have the energy to deal with the jumpy gaurd today.

It didn't take the two long to reach the dining area where Occult and the two princesses were eating. Without little motivation Gallant climbed up one of the chairs at the middle of the table opposite of Occult. Looking at the plate of food before him he was pleasantly surprised to find what looked like normal human food minus the meat. No flowers, no hay, no grass. Nothing was visually unappealing. It's what he imagined rich people ate every day.

"So Luna you said I would learn how to read and fight. Who's gonna teach me?" Gallant asked absent-mindedly ignorant of the tension present in the room.

"I can take care of that if you could forgive me for trying to leave you." Occult said dejected with ears flopped down and a frown on his muzzle. It was then Gallant started to notice the atmosphere in the room. They were probably all arguing before he got there.

"Yeah I forgive you. No problem." Gallant responded. He was still upset, but there was no point holding onto it.

"You'll forgive me? Just like that?" Occult asked confused.

"I understand why you did it, you don't want me to get hurt. I just wanted you to get my point of view." He explained to the older stallion.

"That if something happens to me that you'd be stuck here?"

"Got it in one." Gallant said as cool as he could in an attempt to lessen the pressure between everyone. Occult seemed to have a weight lifted off of his shoulders and Luna looked... less pissed off.

"Well, should we discuss your new day plans Gallant Knight?" Celestia chimed in cheerfully. He responded with just a nod as he began to begin eating his food. "Wonderful. As Occult said he will aid in your education, however one of my teachers will teach you the basics of the written language while Luna has offered to teach you combat until a suitable replacement has been found."

Celestia paused as she looked at Gallant, he wasn't sure if he was supposed to respond or if Celestia was trying to gage his reaction or something. Quickly swallowing the food in his mouth he told her he was fine with it.

"Well in that case you will start your training with Luna after you've taken some time to let your meal digest. Though your normal day plan from now on will be training at sunrise, schooling around noon and you will spend your evenings with Occult Readings." Celestia explained. It was a little bit daunting. He knew he had a lot of catching up to do, but waking up at sunrise to get his butt kicked in training every day didn't sound fun.

"Sounds like a plan." He responded unenthused.

"I think I'll take my leave. Thank you for lunch Celestia, Luna." Occult bowed before begining to leave.

"Wait Occult before you go I wanted to ask you about that weird painting in your room." He blurted out before Occult had the opportunity to teleport away or something.

"You mean the one of me and my father? What's weird about it?" Occult asked as if it wasn't a moving painting.

"Well I recognized you but your 'father' wasn't distinguishable. The painting was heavily distorted and the paint on the canvas looked like it was moving on its own." Gallant explained to his friend.

"No no, you must be mistaken. It's just a normal painting."

"No, there's definitely something wrong with it." Gallant pushed. Looking to the princesses for backup but they looked at him like he was speaking a different language.

"Very well, we can check the painting out before you head to training with Luna." Occult sighed as he began to leave the room. "I'll wait at the door as you finish your lunch."

Satisfied that Occult would check out the weird painting he snarfed down the rest of his plate and thanked Celestia and Luna for helping him as he left the room. Before he left Luna told him to meet her in the training grounds and that a guard would show him the way.

It was a short walk back before he saw Occult. Greeting him at the door the two walked in the room and looked at the painting.

"See its just a normal painting." Occult said as Gallant looked at the morphing distortion made of paint.

"Either you've never seen a normal painting in your life or were seeing different things Occult." He responded. The more he looked at the painting the more creeped out he got.

"In that case let's get a second opinion. GAURD." Occult shouted and the gaurd that was watching the room entered.

"What's the issue sir?"

"Would you take a look at this painting and tell me what you see?" Occult asked kindly.

"It looks like you as a colt and there's a massive distortion on the painting. It kind of looks like it's moving." The gaurd replied reinforcing Gallants point.

"Thank you, that is all." Occult said completely shocked. Eying the painting more critically his horn started glowing in yellow. "There's no magical signature on the painting. How could it possibly?"

"It's not dangerous or anything is it?"

"No no no, this is some sort of obstruction spell. The effects shouldn't be harmful. The real question is how there's no signature and why I can see it while you can't." Occult explained picking the painting up in his magic. "I'll take this with me to study."

"Will I be meeting you this evening?"

"No, we will wait to start our studies until you have at least learned earth pony script." Occult explained without even looking at him. The stallions attention solely focused on the painting before him.

"Ok then, I'll go find Luna at the training yard." He responded leaving the room. The gaurd must have heard him say that as she gave him a nod and started walking down the corridors. It didn't take more than ten minutes to reach the training ground. Luna was stretching as he arrived.

"Hey Luna, I'm ready to train now!" Gallant shouted out. Luna finished her stretch and looked over to the colt with a devilish smile across her face. Suddenly Gallant felt a tinge of regret for not staying in Ponyville.

Peak at the Past

It had been two weeks since Gallant and Occult had arrived in Canterlot. Luna had driven him into the ground with her training. While Luna's training had been exhausting Gallant already felt the difference. He become more comfortable with his new body.

The only thing he still hasn't felt more confident with was the use of his wings. While he could somewhat liken his front and hind hooves to arms and legs if only a little. The problem came with his wings. The feeling was completely alien in every sense of the word. He had muscles on his back that he had to learn to use, and what was weirder was that the sections of his wings could move independently granting his wings more flexibility.

Luckily Luna was just content to make him practice his range of motion and moving individual bits of his wings. He wouldn't learn how to fly properly until his new trainer came. Apparently the new trainer is gonna be another thestral that hunted monsters for his clan and he'd be here within two days.

On the other hand his more academic learnings have been going well. A unicorn mare named Spring Showers had been teaching him earth pony script primarily as its the most common language and it wasn't that hard to decipher. Given how earth ponies had to write with their mouths they tended not to break their lines if it could be avoided. It really just looked like cursive from back home. Not that he was proficient with cursive, but he knew enough to help him through his lessons.

Apparently the rate at which he caught on caused some shock to his teacher. Celestia had told her about how he was "special" or something to explain his lack of basic knowledge so the teacher was shocked when he was able to read on his own after the first week. He was interested in learning the other two scripts, but seeing as he had no plans to stay in this world longer than he needed to he decided they weren't worth learning.

The more exciting part was how Occult was supposed to teach him magic tonight. Tonight was finally the night he'd start learning to kick demons where the sun didn't shine. He tried getting Occult to teach him earlier but he was so absorbed in that weird painting that his dad left him.

Gallant decided to arrive for lunch earlier than normal and found Celestia at the table speaking to a chef pony. Speaking up he got her attention and she dismissed the chef.

"Well Gallant, I've heard you've done well with your studies." She smiled with that warm loving aura about her.

"Yeah, it's kind of similar to my old language so it wasn't hard to catch on, but I don't think I'll be able to learn unicorn script very easily." He explained to the monarch as he sat down at the diner table. "How goes things in the political realm. I hope the nobles weren't too snobby today."

Celestia giggled at this. "The nobles weren't that bad today, they were all in in a huff over the dragon smoke that was caused this morning."

"That was a dragon? I figured it was a forest fire or something. Well did everything turn out well?" He asked.

"Nothing the Elements of Harmony couldn't solve." She said proudly.

"And how are you doing outside of rulership stuff?" He spotting Celestia frown for a split second before she hid it away.

"I'm doing just fine, and yourself?" She diverted the question not so subtlety. He wanted to find out what was wrong, but if she didn't want to tell him then that was her right.

"I'm excited to start learning magic from Occult tonight." He stated practically drooling at the thought. It was then Celestia's smile dropped and she didn't bother to fake a smile again. It didn't take a genius to figure out the thing upsetting her was Occult. He saw them both as friends so he didn't want to just leave it at that.

"Whats wrong with Occult?" He inquired only to be met with a deep groan from Celestia.

"He's behaving just like he was when he was a colt. Chasing his father's legacy even when I warn him against it." She explained in a pained tone. It was strange, Gallant had never heard Celestia upset. She always did her best to keep a smile on her face for the sake of every other pony around. If Occults dad has Celestia of all ponies upset he must be a real peice of work.

"Whats so bad about him wanting to be like his dad?" Gallant probed.

"His dad was a great stallion for the first few hundred years, but during the end of his legacy his sanity began to wane." Celestia explained grimly. For such a quick explanation Gallant's mind was blown. Occult's dad live for multiple hundreds of years? How is that possible? Was he an alicorn like Celestia?

Opening his mouth to ask another question Gallant found himself unable to speak. Celestia seeing this chuckled weakly. "No, he was not an alicorn. He had found a way to defy mortality dispite my warnings. Occult Readings followed the same path as his father. I'm worried that he too will lose his grip on reality should he pursue this path."

Gallant knew that Celestia was fishing for a response. He may technically be a child, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of Celestia's plots. She had the eyes of somebody making a plan.

"Is Occult's dad still alive?" He asked cautiously. If Occult's dad was some evil immortal wizard or something she was probably worried that if Occult found him he'd turn evil too. Even if Gallant had no plans to stay in this realm he still had an obligation to his friends.

"I don't know. Last I've seen of his father he was so mad that he convinced himself he could wipe all demonkind from existence and tore a hole through the middle of the mountain ranges that opened the demon realm. It took me three days to close that tear in reality and after that I haven't seen him since." Celestia explained with tears welling up in her eyes. It was clearly not a fond memory.

Just then a thought struck Gallant. Ponies didn't seem very familiar with demons from what he understood. How is it a massive portal to the demon realm opened and nopony could remember? Was Occult also hundreds of years old or something?

"How long ago was this?" He asked unable to quell his curiosity.

"It was about three hundred years ago." Celestia explained. Three hundred years!? Occult was at least three hundred years old!? Not knowing how to respond Gallant sat there picking at his plate. Digesting both the food and hefty info drop he just recived. He had lots to discuss with Occult tonight.

Magic Lessons

Occult waited patiently for his new student for the better part of an hour. Gallant wasn't supposed to arrive for another ten minutes but he needed something to distract him from that mess of a painting. It befuddled him how such a thing could come to be with seemingly no magic and why it would even be done in the first place. It sent the old detective into a further stupor. How was he supposed to find what had taken Gallant if he couldn't even solve the mystery behind a random painting. Pushing the sour thoughts away he glanced at a tentative colt enter the room.

"Welcome young Gallant! Ready for your first magic lessons?" He shouted enthusiastically, glad to finally have something else to distract from the Celestia cursed painting. Though it didn't register with Occult immediately, Gallant only gave a half hearted response.

"Today I will be teaching you the theory of magic." He explained. Gallant for his part wasn't upset that he wouldn't be learning actual magic today, or if he was he hid it well.

"Now magic is something that flows all throughout the world. It exists everywhere and exists in different forms. Harmonic magic is what gives us ponies our strengths and comes from order, friendship and... well, harmony. Other forms of magic exist and while not directly harmful to ponies, can cause a great discomfort if you are subjected to it for too long."

"Do demons and monsters have their own magic?" Gallant asked astutely. Occult couldn't help but smile, it reminded him of when he was a colt.

"Yes, demons and monsters have their own magic. Chaotic magic is what fuels creatures like timberwolves, cockatrices, hydras and all other sorts of nasty things. While demonic magic is what's responsible for demons such as my partner Ilatzi." Occult explained while silently calling for said demon.

What do you want Occult? I was busy.

"Ilatzi I haven't seen you for some time, how have you been?" Gallant perked up when he heard the shadow demon. The radiant greetings from the colt caused Ilatzi to recoil.

Better before you assaulted me. the demon responded.

"Now, with Ilatzi with us do you feel anything different?" Occult asked as he noticed Gallant visibly shake.

"I have a chill down my spine. It feels like we're being watched." He awnsered in almost a whisper as he looked behind his back. This worried Occult, the reaction was too strong. Normal ponies would feel uncomfortable in the presence of a demon, but to be able to describe the feeling so strongly. Not to mention his lack of a reaction when they first met.

"Say Gallant, can you recall when you first arrived in this world? Did you feel anything similar." He asked

"Well I felt all warm and fuzzy, but I thought that was due to the fact that I had a coat of fur." Gallant replied much to Occult's confusion. The soul is a conduit of magic yes, but to cause a feeling of warmth? Gallant would have to be a newborn or his body must have spent a prolonged time in a magic void. That still wouldnt explain why he didn't notice the feeling of Ilatzi and the cockatrice earlier. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Would you come with me to the gardens? I wish to test your sensitivity to chaos magic." He told his young disciple.

You intend to introduce him to Discord? Ilatzi conveyed within his mind, leaving Gallant Knight out of the loop.

I need to figure out why he has such an extreme reaction to non harmonic magic. Besides, its not as if Discord will be conscientiously aware of our visit.

Is that so? I feel his power even within the palace. Even if he slumbers I still must urge your caution. the shadow warned.

"I thought that you said chaos magic comes from monsters, what could be out in the gardens?" Gallant asked.

"That would be Discord. Chaos made flesh. Similar to a demon, but much stronger and abides by his own rules separate from demons." He guided with nods of understanding from Gallant. Without anymore questioning the two ponies and shadow demon made there way to the gardens.

Occult weaved through the halls easily as he knew them like the back of his hoof and Gallant and Ilatzi following behind neither seeming to want to ignite a conversation. Making their way through several hallways they passed many a gaurd and maid alike but for whatever reason Gallant slowed to glare at one of them. He almost didnt notice the colt lag behind until Ilatzi mentioned it to him.

"Gallant, is something wrong?"

The colt simply glared at the royal gaurd rather uncharacteristically. The young colt was normally quite friendly with the gaurd, often bothering them with idle conversation.

"Nothings wrong." Gallant responded curtly before cantering forwards to him. "I was thinking hard about how magic feels and I thought there was something wrong with that gaurd's magic, but I must have been mistaken. It felt fine after a second."

Occult couldn't help but smile, the human trait of constant improvement was inspiring. Gallant never seemed to rest when he learned something new, and now that he knows how to feel magic he wants to maximize its viability. Still he needed to look into why the colt had such a sensitivity, it was a potential clue.

As the trio reached the statue of Discord Gallants steps stuttered as the colt hesitated to get any closer.

"What is it you feel Gallant?" He prodded. The thestral wavered and swayed before smiling.

"This is bizarre. It.. it feels like..." Gallant stopped to think, "like, nausea and nostalgia mixed together. It's intoxicating, both in a pleasurable and poisonous way." He explained before trying to draw closer to the statue before Gallant caught his own hoof and tripped. This worried him. Even in a quadrupedal form Gallant never had trouble walking. If the statue of Discord was causing such a reaction then that could mean nothing good.

Quickly he Gathered Gallant and his magic and rushed him out of the gardens. It didn't take long for the trio to reach his old room and he put Gallant to bed without any resistance from the colt.

Leaving the room he immediately turned to his shadow. "Do you have any idea what that was about? Nopony should have such an extreme reaction to Discord while he's encased in stone." Occult panicked. The old fears he tried to put away came back. If he had such a discomfort near Discord then would the mere presence of a strong demon hurt him? The last thing he wanted was for Gallant to get hurt.

Isn't it pony souls that conduct magic? Shouldn't magicless souls react in such a way?

"Yes, but it's more than that. Our bodies themselves are magic. Any foreign magic should be diverted by the body thus protecting the soul. If Gallant feels demonic and chaos magic both in body and soul that is a disturbing thought." Occult explained to his old friend.

So what if he isn't fully pony?

"What do you mean?" He asked, disturbed by the implication.

If his body isn't fully harmonic then he shouldn't be as sheilded from different magic right?

Occult brought a hoof to his chin. That is possible, but the implications of it weren't pleasant and brought even more uncertainty. This was something that would require more study. He couldn't waste any more time pondering that old artwork.

Author's Note

Sorry for being gone so long. I'm not dead.

Not so Pleasant Surprise.

Gallant Knight couldn't help but deeply groan. Whatever had happened with that statue made Occult, Luna and Celestia all throw a tissy. His lessons in flying he was supposed to recive have been delayed until the problem with his magic was figured out so he was restricted to strength training. At least he'd be meeting another thestral today. His stomach curdled at the thought. He wasn't really a thestral but it excited him to meet one of his own kind..... no, not one of his own kind. Gallant sighed heavily.

It was hard to hold on to his identity. Especially so when more has happened in this world in two weeks than had happened in his entire life previously. Bitting his cheek he chastised himself. This wasn't his body, he had to do what was right. Hopping off his bed he headed to the courtyard to clear his mind. Some of the guards kept giving him those weird feelings now that he knew how magic was supposed to feel but Occult said he was sensitive, so it's probably just something certain ponies have.

Once he made it to the courtyard he was met with a beautiful pink sky. Taking a deep breath he stretched. It was so easy to forget his old body in the moment. These new muscles he had, the wind against his fur, the morning's chill. Running around the courtyard he thought back to his old life. He spent so long stuck behind a desk for a man that he hated just to make money so he was just barely out of the slums. He couldn't help but pitty the colt he switched with. There's no way a kid will work well in a desk job. He'll be entirely reliant on the good will of others. That.... is a disturbing thought at best. His thoughts and jog were both interrupted by a voice.

"So you're the one Princess Luna has told me about?" A voice said. Looking up Gallant saw a thestral with short light blue mane and and a really light grey coat. Peeking at his side he saw a cutie mark of a wing with stylized wind blowing around it. Eyeing who he assumed was his new trainer he was kind of surprised. Gallant expected a giant scarred up warrior or something, this stallion almost looked like a mare. Luna did say he was a big name monster hunter in the clans so it wasn't at all what he expected.

Quick as a bullet the thestral leaped forwards and struck him, Gallant for his part did move his face out of the way but he was still hit hard by the strike.

"Lesson one, always be vigilant." The thestral said.

"You haven't even given me your name yet and you're already starting with the lessons?" Gallant nearly shouted rubbing the sore spot.

"Monsters don't introduce themselves before they sink their fangs into you." He explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My name is Gale Wing."

Gallant couldn't help but look at the stallion incredulously. Was this just what thestrals were like? This is supposed to be training.

"Now I saw you were running laps before I arrived," he said heading to the edge of the courtyard. "You're going to start running and I'll be chasing you." He continued before picking up a large stick with his mouth. It instantly clicked what was going to happen and Gallant ran faster than he ever has before.

"Celestia are you sure Twilight will be able to handle this. This is the only documented case of this happening ever. Are there no other doctors or scientists we can turn to?" Occult pleaded. He had nothing against Twilight but he wanted what was best for Gallant. Surely there were ponies out there better suited for the job than an amateur scientist.

"I know you worry for Gallant and I care for him too, I wouldn't have Twilight look into this unless I was positive she would be able to handle it." Celestia explained with her radiant voice. It did help put Occult at ease a little but he's been pulling his mane out in stress. Of all the theories he's come up with about Gallant none of them were good.

Gallant could be a demonhost. Occult wouldn't be able to tell until said demon popped out killing Gallant. He could take precautions against it but if he tried to preform a banishment and the demon was strong enough to resist it that would be the end of Gallant. And that theory didn't explain the chaos magic. The only other things that made sense had even worse implications. His body simply couldn't be that of a normal pony.

"Occult, would you take a walk with me?" Celestia asked distracting him from his worries. It had been such a long time since they were able to relax together. Celestia stood as he nodded and they made their way down the halls.

"I know you worry for your student but there is nothing to fear, I am sure-"

"Nothing to fear unless he's a demonhost." Occult interrupted. He regretted it as soon as the words came out but he was terrified for Gallant. He swore that he would save him. A wing draped over him and Celestia nuzzled him like she used to so long ago.

"You banished the host of wrath back in Trottingham didn't you?" She asked and he just nodded. "And you stopped the nightmare cult before they could hurt my precious little sister didn't you?" Once more he nodded. "And you held back a possessed alicorn long enough for the elements of Harmony to arise did you not?"

"I know I know. It's not likely that he will be hurt but there's just something that makes me feel sick." Occult responded. Celestia in turn just chucked softly.

"It's only natural to worry about your students." She said calm as ever. Occult for his part did feel better. But for some reason he felt like this was only the first obstical in a long marathon.

Gallant ran straight into one of the weird gaurds panting and moaning. His hide was screaming at him with the heat from the whip marks. Gale was a sadistic pony. The older pony would back off to give him a respite and the second he felt comfortable he'd get whacked with a vengeance. He tried to get up after ramming into the gaurd but his legs wouldn't move anymore. He must have ran around the palace three times over.

"Giving up so soon?" Gale taunted shortly before he had an armoured gaurd in his face.

"Cease and desist sir. On Celestia's authority you are hereby under arrest for assault, colt abuse, and trespass on royal property." The gaurd interjected.

"Wait, he's my trainer. Princess Luna appointed him herself." Gallant quickly interjected after he caught his breath. The gaurd for his part was not amused.

"Even under the guise of training, striking a colt is unacceptable. Sir drop the weapon and follow me." The gaurd said in a tone conveying he wasn't going to be argued with. Several other of the weird gaurds arrived to check up on the confrontation.

"Gallant Knight. Glad that we've found you. Celestia has called for your attendance as soon as possible." One of the two gaurds said. Given that he couldn't move at the moment he didn't know how to respond to the gaurd.

"Are you able to move Gallant?" The gaurd he originally bumped into asked. Gallant shook his head. "Would you like to be carried or to wait a moment?"

"I don't mind being carried." He responded. He didn't want to be carried but they said that Celestia wanted to see him asap so he didn't really have a choice.

"Sir would you come with us?" The gaurd demanded more than asked Gale. Gale for his part, relented. The princesses would cover for him and he knew it. So the four adults walked while Gallant was straddled on one of the gaurds backs. It was kind of awkward riding on top of another pony but his smaller stature made it so that it wasn't completely terrible.

The gaurds oddly didn't have any spring in their step despite the claims that Celestia's orders were to arrive as soon as possible. The gaurds were walking at a pace more fit for an afternoon stroll. The oddities kept adding up as they made their way.

The casual walk was weird but not suspicious. What was suspicious was the congregation of ponies with the weird feeling. Usually they were spread out. He assumed it was just a slightly different magic and that's why they were spread out randomly. But this section of the castle seemingly had no ponies without that weird feeling.

"Why aren't we heading to Celestia's quarters or the throne room?" He prodded, the gaurd he was riding on seemed to just give the barest hint of surprised. As if she wasn't expecting that sort of question. Something was definitely off about these gaurds.

"Celestia has called for a special doctor to see about your case." She responded naturally making a quick recovery from her slip up.

"I think I can walk now, can you let me down? He asked. If there was any resistance to his request it would be a dead give away that these gaurds are up to no good. The gaurd in turned stopped and complied to his request much to his surprise. Taking advantage of the situation he slowly made his way to Gale Wing.

"Gale, something feels off here so be ready." He whispered. Gale looked at him and nodded in confirmation. His muscles were visibly tense so he must have noticed something wrong as well.

It wasn't long before they reached the medical facility and the feeling didn't get any better. Upon entry the feeling of fear dissipated as Celestia was waiting there for him and she didn't have that weird feeling about her. Even if everypony else was weird as long as Celestia was here he could trust that he'd be safe.

"It's good to see you well Gallant. This here is Dr. Quick Shot and he'll be preforming a few tests." Celestia said.

The doctor then strode forward. "Gallant, it's a pleasure to meet such a brave young colt. I've heard you experienced some magical anomalies and I'm here to make sure nothing bad happens to you. Now would you rest on the bed and I'll administer some anesthetics."

"Anesthetics?" He asked, what the hell would they be doing that required anesthetic for. "Can we not do that?"

"I'm afraid anesthetics will be required for this procedure." The doctor replied with a laugh that sent a chill down his spine.

"Where's Occult Readings?" He demanded.

"Oh he's busy." Celestia said. That was wrong. Celestia wasn't the type to awnser dismissively like that. Celestia would have told him what Occult was doing if it was important enough to miss a surgery that required anesthetics.

"Celestia I don't want to do this right now. Gale Wing will you come with me back to my room?" He asked

"NO! Celestia yelled "STOP THEM!"

With a flash of green the entire room save Celestia transformed into monstrous bug looking creatures. Reacting as fast as he could he bucked the "doctor" monster in the face downing him immediately. As he turned around three of the monsters were already on the ground, their shells cracked with green goo leaking out. It didn't look like those things were dead but they weren't getting back up just as sure as Celestia's cake addiction.

"Gallant run!" Gale shouted as he moved quick as a blur straight towards the fake Celestia. Gallant didn't need to hear twice. He may not be strong enough to save Gale but he would be certain to avenge him.

Busting the door open he bolted to the courtroom where the real Celestia had to be. His legs still burnt greatly from before but he wouldn't stop until he found reinforcements to face those monsters. Now that he knew what they were he could rout them out of Canterlot. These things couldn't hide from him. He just needed to get to the princess.

Search Party

It had been over an hour since Occult sent Ilatzi to look for Gallant. Over three since his new trainer was supposed to report. He wasn't happy. Not one bit. It shouldn't have taken Ilatzi so long to find Gallant and this trainer Luna had assigned was supposed to have been a reputable pony. Deciding to help with the search himself he left the library and made his way to Gallant's room.

After only a short walk he found himself at the doorway and activated a spell that had laid dormant. The spell recorded the most recent emotional states of the pony within the room. Suddenly he was filled with the groggyness of waking up. Helpful. Gallant should have come back to his room to bathe after his workouts and if the most recent state of being was in the morning then he must not have made it back to his room.

The next logical place to check was the courtyard. The gaurd were strangely abundant on his way to the courtyard. He briefly considered asking the gaurds if they knew anything, but that was rather pointless. If they did know something then Gallant wouldn't be missing.

At the courtyard he saw something rather peculiar. Both Gallant and another thestral were stretching. If they were here the whole time then why hadnt Ilatzi found them? Occult knew something was wrong, the hairs on the back of his neck were raised in anticipation. Neither were showing signs of exhaustion, the disgusting stink of physical exertion wasn't present. Something wasn't right.

Taking a deep breath Occult elected to play it cool as Gallant would say. If something is wrong, no need to let them know he's already suspicious.

"Hello Gallant, enjoy your exercise? Oh and I don't belive I've had the pleasure of meeting you before sir, Occult Readings at your service." He formally introduced himself. The two looked at him as if he was expected. Silenty he sent a call for Ilatzi.

"Nice to meet you Occult, I've only been with young Gallant for a short time but I've already heard so much about you. I'm Gale Wing." The stallion introduced in a kind way.

"Yes well forgive my interruption but usually Gallant would be done by now so I decided to check up on him, the little troublemaker." He laughed casually. He could feel Ilatzi approach, he would learn soon if he was just being paranoid or if something truly was wrong.

"Oh I understand, we were just finishing up, I won't hold him any longer." Gale Wing said with a chuckle.

"Hey Occult, do you mind if we have our studies a little later?" Gallant asked. Another oddity. Gallant was infatuated with magic even if he couldn't use it at the level of a unicorn.

"Of course, I had something come up in regards to my studies anyways." He replied casually. IlatI arrived behind him as he finished speaking and he looked at Gallant only to see him not acknowledge the shadow demon at all. Even if he didn't have a strange reaction to non harmonic magics he still should have noticed ilatzi.

"Well I'll be off to my work." He replied curtly making as hasty of a retreat he could make without making himself to suspicious. As soon as he was well out of sight he immediately spoke to Ilatzi through his mental link.

Dont tell me I was the only one that noticed that.

That Gallant didnt even react to me, that those two weren't there when I checked an hour ago or that it didnt look like they had worked out at all?

All of the above. I'm going to speak to Luna about this trainer of his. Would you be so kind as to shadow Gallant. If he responds to you outside of the trainers precense that would be a huge weight off my back.

I'll do it, but I got a bad feeling about this Readings.

"That makes two of us" He muttered.

Occult watched as the shadow demon turned back. It was strange, he's investigated plenty of mysteries like this but they never felt this uneasy. He really hoped the strangeness was just part of his imagination and Gallant was just acting weird today.

"So what are you?" The colt asked from his cage. Skitter never wanted to punch a colt in the face more than she has now. She was a changling, he was a pony, he was supposed to be terrified of her yet she could taste nothing but curiosity.

"I'm not gonna stop asking till you tell me." The colt insisted.

"You're my prisoner, you're supposed to do what I say so be quiet." She hissed at the colt.

"You don't seem to understand how this works, it's the duty of a prisoner to resist his jailer whenever possible and you're letting me get away with this Ms...?"

"Skitter!" She snapped not even thinking about it. She wasn't supposed to give the prisoners any information. She was just supposed to watch them until Chrysalis arrived to interegate him.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Skitter, I'm Gallant Knight." He introduced politely. She found it weird because it didn't sound like he was being sarcastic.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" She prodded.

"Well, you haven't killed me dispite my trainer severely wounding one of your own so that means you must be reasonably to at least some degree. Plus your eyes are pretty." Gallant complemented throwing her off gaurd. Skitter didn't know what this colt was trying to get at but she wouldn't let him. If this colt got away Chrysalis would rip her straight out of her chitin.

"So what are you after anyways? World domination? Are you assasins? Thieves? A cult? Demons?" He asked. Skitter really did want to punch this colt in the muzzle.

"Our people are just trying to survive you little brat! Not like you ponies would ever know what it's like to go hungry!" She snapped at the little brat. The brat in turn just smiled which only served to anger her more.

"And how does shape-shifting into the guard and kid-napping a child fit into you getting food?" Gallant asked. Skitter wanted to be angry but it was a good question. Ponies as a whole are largely unaware of their existence.

"We feast on love so we need to foal-nap ponies to feed off of." She told the colt. Rather than dread or anger she just tasted his confusion. It was like a sweet and sour taste.

"But you're a shapeshifter?" He replied with confusion.

"Yes and?" She replied tired of the endless questions.

"Why don't you just shape shift into a pony and find a coltfriend?"

Skitter couldn't belive the ignorance. The audacity. She cried "No we can't just get a coltfriend! That's ridiculous."

"Forgive my ignorance but why not? You're magical shapeshifters that eat love. I can't imagine it would be hard to find somepony to fall in love with." He replied as if he was bored. This colt was supposed to be her prisoner, he was supposed to cower in fear, and here he was giving her advice on how to collect love.

"Well for starters we still need to support the hive so that's not efficient enough. Not only that but only infiltrators given the Queens permission can do that." Skitter explained. It felt weird, talking to a pony so casually.

"Sounds to me like your queen is going to be the death of your hive. If you finding a pony to hook up with does work but she only let's a few do it that sounds counter intuitive to me," Gallant said in a tone that conveyed that he thought he knew everything. "Not to mention that whatever you're up to here is going to be foiled because you caught me. Luna and Celestia are personally invested in my well being and Occult has likely already found me."

Skitter blanched at that. She knew this colt must have been important if Chrysalis herself was interested in interegating him but to be a protégé of both princesses? He had to be lying.

"Why would the princesses be interested in you?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"That's because I'm not actually a thestral, I'm an interdimensional alien ghost that possessed this colts body." Gallant said with such a stupid grin. Skitter wanted to ask what the real reason was but she could taste the confidence and assurance radiating off of him. The little stink was messing with her.

"Then why haven't the princesses banished you to Tartarus?"

"Well partly because it wasn't my intention to possess this kid and I am also a victim, but also because the princesses are pretty chill." He explained. "You know, I'm not gonna ask you to risk your hide by letting me go, but maybe we could work something out?"

This got Skitter's attention if this... pony was telling the truth then it would only be a matter of time before Queen Chrysalis' plan failed but Gallant could just be blowing hot air. If there was a way she could cover all her bases though?

"What do you propose?" She asked.

"Well I already got most of what I wanted from you, so all I really need from you is to help with the fallout of all this." He stated with an aura of smug superiority. Skitter remembered why she hated this small pony once more. He openly admitted his trickery.

"That sounds acceptable, but what does fallout mean?" She asked swallowing her annoyance.

"Oh its just the after effects. I'll talk to the princesses and you help your people accept their loss and integrate into Equestrian society." He explained as if he was only asking her to do some simple menial task for him.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" She demanded getting fed up with the little brat.

"Well you can start by explaining why Chrysalis' methods were inefficient and part of the reason you were starving. Besides even if your queen gets away with her crazy plan she doesn't even have to know you were colluding with me." He reasoned. Skitter couldn't see the harm in it. She didn't belive Gallant, but if he was right her people would definitely benefit from this. But that rose another question.

"What are you getting out of this?" She inquired.

"Well you said your people were starving, the solution seems simple enough, and it costs me nothing to help you. Not helping you just seems like a morally wrong decision doesn't it?" He shot back as if it were simple. Here the colt was imprisoned, under gaurd and he tells her that not helping is a bad thing. This either had to be the densest colt in all of Equestria or he genuinely was an alien.

A long moment of silence passed between the two as Skitter tried to digest what the colt had said, mulling it over slowly.

"I'll consider it."

Prologue

Things were not turning out as favorably as Occult Readings had hoped. He was thiiiss close to finding the Yrvarni that was here. He was tracking it's magical residue into a cave system when a bunch of dogs ganged up on him.

Yes there were signs of non demonic sapient life present but in his defense it didn't look occult in nature, just brutish. Seeing as the beings weren't occult in nature he assumed they would come to him with joy that he would save them from the aberration. He was wrong however as the dogs were quite rude and abrasive. They shouted at him about digging gems or some other trivial nonsense and barked loudly as if trying to scare him.

Naturally, being the ever so patient and understanding stallion he was, took the time to explain to the ruffians just how important these tracks were and how the malicious demon would only bring them misfortune. His diligence in explaining the situation only rewarded him with a crude and frankly, dirty muzzle. It was an insult. Here he was, getting rid of a demon that had invaded their home and they just chain him up.

They should have at least had the decency to use a clean, decorative collar and draw up a rune or two. Yeah they weren't cultists, but everypony knows that even uninformed, crudely drawn runes attracted demons. The fact that they didn't even try to use him as a sacrifice was insulting. It was almost like they didn't belive that a malicious, soul-swaping spirit had just ran through their mines.

At first he had thought that the demon had possessed one of them in an attempt to confuse him and stall his efforts to banish it back to Tartarus, but upon scanning the magical residue on the dogs, he found it was only their natural magic, free of taint. For whatever reason the demon had not bothered these dogs at all. With his luck the Yrvarni decided to run instead of confronting him. With his luck the darned thing was halfway across Equestria by now.

Looking across his rotten cage he felt a rising rage. ANOTHER demon escaped! This was the second time. The only thing stopping him from throwing a coltish fit was that he was at least able to document the affects of the Yrvarni before it fled to these mines... hopefully the dogs hadn't ruined his notebook.