After a long and tiring trek through the Everfree Forest, and also a long walk to the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight slowly used her magic to lay Spike, who had fallen asleep on the way back, onto a futon while she searched through a small closet. Leon was looking around, kinda surprised that a treehouse, in the literal sense, could look so natural, and yet so customary.

“If I ever find my way back home, I’m so gonna make my own place just like this. Especially with my powers, it’ll be easy.” Leon said, impressed with the interior. Twilight carried over a huge bag with several parts and a huge colorful tent that was folded and packed into said bag.

“Well, the Library was just a normal tree, but it was hollowed out to be used for living space, until there was a sudden need for a library. Former owner must’ve been really determined to make his literal treehouse into a library, not that it’s a bad idea, but that’s something for another day, that bag has the usual essentials, as well as a manual for setting up the tent. I would also advise getting extra equipment if this turns out to be not enough.” Twilight said, smiling. Leon nodded and carefully carried the stuff out of the front door, walking back to the Apple Farm as Twilight watched him go.

“It’s such a bother to know that eventually, he’s gonna get a really sudden hit from some bad news… but that’s for… for when he’s ready. Right now, I need to get some sleep. Too much studying and cross-referencing, and top all that with magic usage, I’m gonna wake up with a blistering headache.” Twilight stated, dimming the lights in the library as she trotted upstairs as the Night draped over PonyVille.

…

As the morning light begins to rise from the horizon, Leon is already dressed in his clothes as he hauls the bag containing everything Twilight gave him. He decided to invite Big Mac to come along if he wasn’t exactly busy today, or just didn’t want to waste a good day doing whatever he usually does.

“C’mon, Big Mac. It’s not everyday you get a break just to have some fun. Besides, you saved my damn life in a thunderstorm, let me repay you and then we can call it even. Besides, Applejack may still be healing, but she seems to be right as rain, come on, please?” Leon offered. Big Mac stopped and really thought hard about the situation, either he could take a break and relax for a day, or he could work till he’s got blisters in his hooves. Big Mac turned to Leon, and smiled.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said. He walked over to the front door of the farmhouse and took off his harness, walking inside to grab a jacket and a sunhat. Leon and Big Mac ventured down the dirt path leading to town, not noticing the three cutie markless crusaders following right behind them. As the two walk through town and towards where a slowly dying pillar of smoke is off in the distance, the more the two feel like they’re being watched or followed.

“Hey Mac, do you think someone’s looking at us funny? Cause I feel like something’s watching me.” Leon asked, looking around for any signs of ponies that could be around at the moment. Big Mac stopped and looked around, not seeing anything until Leon started to yelp and panic out of nowhere.

“AAAHHHHH!! IT’S ON ME!! IT’S ON ME!!!! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!!!” Leon panicked as he flailed around. Big Mac looked at Leon and started laughing as Leon was frantically flailing around as Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo happily hung onto Leon as he panicked. Leon stopped panicking as the CMC quickly dismounted from the human’s limbs as Leon brushed himself off, looking for the site from before. Big Mac looked down at the fillies as he didn’t look as bothered, but still thought it was a tad bit rude.

“Come on, say you’re sorry. If you do, you can join us on the camping trip. Maybe you’ll even get your cutie marks in camping. Alright?” Big Mac said.

“We’re sorry, Mr. Leon.” Applebloom said.

“When Applebloom told us there was a human in Ponyville, we wanted to know if the legends were true,” Sweetie Belle added.

“The legend of the shapeshifting Man, we wanted to know if it was true. We didn’t mean to make you panic, we just wanted to see if you could turn into something.” Scootaloo finished. Leon sighed and knelt down, ruffling the manes of the three fillies as he smiled.

“Look, apology accepted, kids. But no more jumping on me, okay? Not tryna put a damper on your fun, but it just hurts to have extra weight on me. But don’t worry, if all goes well, I can show you one of my tamer transformations when we get to the campsite.” Leon stated. The fillies brightened up as they followed him and Big Mac, unaware that someone else was watching them from afar.

...

As the ponies, and Leon, continued their trek to the campsite, they constantly enjoyed seeing the sights around them, the lush green grass on the hills, the trees swaying in the calm spring breeze, and the occasional flower that would sprout or come into bloom. But of course, the trip to the campsite was gonna be three days long, so that was a bit of an issue.

“Pardner, I don’t mean to sound like a stickler, but why the hay is this campsite so far? I just can’t imagine it being anything special if it’s a three day trek just for an outing.” Big Mac asked curiously.

“Well, it’s very simple. This campsite is right next to where I woke up when I just appeared in this world, so it has a form of special significance to me. I didn’t exactly get to pick where I woke up, it just happened.” Leon explained. Big Mac eyed Leon, feeling skeptical of how good this camping spot is. ‘I hope it’s worth it, three days for a camping spot, what kind of sense does that make?’ Big Mac thought to himself as they kept moseying along.

The ponies rested a bit, while Leon made sure to get some sleep, trying to rejuvenate his stamina and endurance. Leon was having many issues with trying to stay asleep, as he could feel like something was keeping him from slumbering. For the remainder of the first day, the ponies and the human kept on going, even despite Big Mac’s skepticism.

The second day was exhausting, Applebloom was being carried by Leon while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were lazily relaxing on Mac’s back. “Hey human, I gotta ask about somethin’ else, if you aren’t too partial to questions.” Big Mac said, looking over at Leon, who was trying to make sure Applebloom was comfortable before looking back at the red stallion. Big Mac looked like he was truly thinking about something, and then decided to ask the question on his mind, looking Leon in the face as he sighed.

“Pardner, I’m gonna be honest with ya. Ah can tell by a number of situations that occurred yesterday to know that you are no ordinary human. Ah’ve seen humans that look similar to you, but they were nothing like you. Not in a bad way, it’s rare to see humans be so cooperative, or even attempt to act like their situation is normal. Tell me, if there’s no way to return you from whence you originally came from, and that’s a big ol’ if, what exactly is your plan gonna be then? Ah know this all must be very overwhelmin’, being stuck somewhere ya don’t rightly understand with living creatures that aren’t like you, but you need to come up with a plan for these things if something goes wrong. I haven’t exactly gotten my head wrapped around what happened durin’ the storm, but ah do know that you are keeping something to yourself… when we get to this campsite we’re headin’ to, I want you to be honest with me, because I’m not tryin’ to get my little sister into another barrel of trouble, ya understand?” Big Mac asked, his tone a bit more firm and serious, but has a feeling of understanding giving the words some weight to be supported by.

Leon, was understandably surprised that Big Mac of all ponies, would be giving him this type of advice, but he knew he had a point. For all Leon knew, if he did somehow find a way to access an alien like Alien X, would that even be enough to escape this pastel colored world? Leon shook off that thought and looked back at the stallion, who seemed to still be expecting a response of some sort.

“Look, Mac, I know that maybe if there is truly no way for me to get back home, I can start over… but all of this is just mind-boggling, you know? I’ve only been here a couple days or so, and I’m not adjusting that well. I still haven’t properly figured out how many forms I have currently, but I’m still trying to get used to having power like this in the first place… I’d love to explain a lot of things, but I just need time to get used to everything at the moment… plus, I just can’t give up on finding a way home. I won’t give up till the universe provides me proof that says I need to.” Leon explained, feeling a bit tired from the heat beating down on him. Leon stopped and reached into the bag of supplies, pulling out a shiny red apple as he took a huge bite of the fruit. Leon looked around for a moment and immediately made a sharp right turn.

“Come on, this way. I know it was in a mountain face, and I remember that a mine was also nearby.” Leon said, walking down a beaten path. Big Mac sighs and follows behind him. As the pair walk along the path, it’s very obvious that something is watching them, and is being really patient about their next move.

…

As the pair walk down the path, they can clearly see that some kind of animal has been through here, judging by the obvious tracks that the creature left. The tracks looked like they could’ve belonged to a bear of some kind, but the bird-like talons just felt either out of place or incredibly unsettling. Definitely was something strange, but to Leon, that didn’t matter at the moment. “Huh… really hoping this isn’t gonna be an issue. We’re so close to getting to the site. I just don’t think we can stop now.” Leon said, walking forward as he avoided stepping on the tracks that the unknown creature left. Big Mac took a moment to really look at the animal tracks, not really seeing anything majorly outlying, but still feels like this could be a problem later.

Ahead of the travelling ponies were several other ponies that were previously present at the mines when Leon first showed up to this world, and they seemed very dead set on finding the swampy fire alien that ruined their little plan. The ponies noticed the human and the other ponies coming their way, and soon decided to hightail it, so as to not look suspicious, running back towards the mines as Leon walked up to a familiar rocky hole in the side of a mountain, held up by blackened roots and green vines.

“I hope this is enough proof to show that this is how you camp. Nothing says getting closer to nature, when you camp inside the side of a mountain.” Leon states smiling. He put Applebloom down on a soft patch of grass and started to notice that a couple of the vines looked like they were being tampered with or messed with, noting what looked like teeth marks on the vines themselves. Big Mac set the resting Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo down next to his little sister and walked up to look at what Leon was examining.

“I assume by the way you’re lookin’ at these ‘ere supporting roots, you think there’s somethin’ wrong, don’tcha?” Big Mac asked. Leon looked at the stallion and nodded. “Yeah, there’s something up. Listen, can you and the fillies go look for some firewood real quick? I want to make sure these roots don’t give way when we sleep.” Leon asked. Big Mac nodded as he carefully woke up the crusaders and started to walk off into the nearby wooded area. The fillies followed Big Mac soon after, letting Leon know where they were going as they disappeared into the woods. Leon stopped messing with the roots and vines and started to gather up some nearby dried leaves and sticks, tossing them in the bonfire pit that Applejack set up before. Leon soon dialed in Swampfire, popping the core up and pushing it back down carefully as he was replaced by the pyrokinetic plant alien.

“Better make this fast.” Swampfire told himself, igniting the bonfire as he waited for Noel to show himself.

It took a few moments, that familiar smoke mist surrounded the bonfire and area around Noel. As the smoke cleared, there stood the dragoon warrior himself in all his white phantom glory.

“Give me the low down of your other companions you’ve brought.” Noel asked quickly as he looked around with caution.

“Big MacIntosh and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We’re here on a camping trip, but I figured I could knock out two birds with one stone this time around. Big Mac looked like he needed a vacation, and those kids apparently spread the word about my powers and now look at me like a legendary hero from a comic book. I’m going to get the robot’s soul, but if they come back, try to not look like a vengeful spirit if they happen to see you.” Swampfire explained.

Noel let out a chuckle. “Depends on how common white phantoms are and the stories that surround them.” he pointed out as he rested his hand on the pommel of his firelink weapon. Swampfire quickly saw that the rising smoke was far closer than he had thought, but he wasn’t complaining. He knew that machine would be an eyesore, especially if it was broken and ripe for salvaging. Swampfire immediately ran towards the dying pillar of smoke as it got more and more unseeable, hoping to find something that looked like a soul… hell, Leon didn’t even think to ask Noel what the damn hell a soul even looked like, and kinda grimaced as he kept running in the direction of the fallen mechanical giant. Meanwhile Noel walked after Leon until they arrived at the mechanic heap that was almost indescribable in its current condition. A Lot of the parts were missing, damaged, or fried. The only things that were intact were parts that could not be removed by magic or physical strength, especially the core that was still in its chest.

“Ah, there it is.” Noel said as he reached down to grasp the core, before suddenly yanking it out as if it was made of tin. The core began to glow as it seemed to activate in the palm of Noel’s hand, glowing a deep red color as something clicked and whirred.

‘AAAAAHH- Huh? Reassessing situation. Termination: confirmed… logical fallacy has been detected. How am I still alive?! I was split in half up the middle!’ a digital voice rang out.

“Your soul is restless, therefore it still clings to your vessel due to some unfulfilled purpose.” Noel said as he started to head back to the campfire, earning a confused look from Leon as only Noel is reasoning the robot’s soul.

‘What the hell do you think you’re talking about?! Machines can’t have souls… unless… Bah!! No! I refuse to work with some lowlife hairless apes!!’ The soul exclaimed in anger. Leon groaned and rolled his eyes as he walked alongside Noel, looking at the core.

“You won’t have much of a choice in the matter, you’ll be serving a new master once I transpose your soul into a physical form.” Noel explained as they arrived at the bonfire. Leon noticed Big Mac and the CMC weren’t back yet, so that meant this could go uninterrupted and really smooth. Swampfire stepped forward and grabbed the core, grinning a bit as he could feel some semblance of a glare coming from the core itself as it seemed to heat up in Swampfire’s plant hand.

‘To human hell with you, you worthless, extinct, hairless ape. If I wasn't split in half, or reduced to being stuck in my power core, I'd vaporize you and make sure there truly was nothing left of your waste of space species.' The core spouted aggressively.

Noel placed his firelink sword into the center of the bonfire, soon converting it from a normal bonfire to a bonfire filled with the first flame. “You'll be at that goal for a very long time.” Noel said, dropping hints while the robot’s soul has time. Swampfire carefully maneuvered the core over the flame, and the core seemed to have a clear view of Noel.

'Good lord, another human?! How many of you pitiful homosapiens survived the purging of your kind?! It may not matter anyways, you'll be dead when the Conqueror comes down himself to finish what he started… Wait a moment… it would seem this other filthy human has the abilities of an Ectonurite... but it doesn't seem to register as any Ectonurite in the conqueror's vast database... No matter, The conqueror has slayed many of your kind, both ectonurites and homosapiens! You won't survive!' The core prattled on as it laughed crazily. Swampfire looked at Noel for a moment,

“Do I drop him in the fire, or do I break him first?” Swampfire asked, gritting his teeth out of annoyance.

“Here’s the funny thing, robot.” Noel said as he raised the robot’s core up while removing his dragon helmet from his head. “I’m already dead.” Noel said with a grin as his eyes appeared to glow for just a moment. The core did not seem to react, but it definitely was starting to shake and rattle.

“Should it be shaking like that? I’m a bit concerned that it’s shaking and rattling.” Swampfire stated, ready to ignite fire into his hands in case something happened. Soon enough, the core stopped shaking, but it was anything but settling or calm.

‘You foul creatures!! I demand to know what treacherous game it is you think you’re playing!! I will not bend to such lower lifeforms!! NEVER!!!!’ The core erupted intensely, it’s digital voice echoing throughout the sky.

“Your mind says no, but your soul will say yes.” Noel said as he held one hand over the bonfire and other over the core. “Let this soul, withdrawn from their vessel, Manifestations of disparity.” Noel said both the bonfire and the robot’s soul took on a gentle orange glow. “Elucidated by fire, burrow deep within me.” Noel continued the chant as the soul was yanked out of the orb, allowing Leon to see the robot’s soul. It was red and blaze, and a rather eerie color at that; full of hatred toward human kind. “Retreating to a darkness beyond the reach of flame, let it assume a new master.” Noel said as the robot’s soul started to feel weak, faint as some sort of force was compelling against its nature. “Inhabiting ash, casting themselves upon new forms!” Noel yelled, and with those words spoken, the soul started to reform itself as it ranted and berated how it will never serve a human, however overtime, its words were soon pure silence. With a brief flash of fire, the soul became a pair of armored boots in the same style of the ones the robots had. Leon marvelled at the boots as he grabbed them, examining the wears as he admired the craftsmanship. Leon quickly attempted to put the boots on, only to realize Swampfire’s feet weren’t going to fit. Thankfully, the Omnitrix began to time out, activating the power saving mode, building up a small charge of power for another transformation as Leon was returned to his human form.

Leon slipped off his worn out sneakers and slipped the armored boots on, feeling the cold metal on his feet was like something incredibly satisfying, after all the walking, working and the running and panicking he did days ago. “Wow… these are awesome!!” Leon exclaimed happily.

“The soul of the robot is now in the form of boots. They’ll always obey the wearer when you need to jump higher.” Noel explained as the bonfire slowly faded to its original light. Leon walked a little bit away from the site, and prepared himself to jump. Leon was astounded to find that he suddenly found himself high up in the air, basking in the sunset as he started to come back down to the ground, yelling in excitement, and slight terror that he might break his legs when he finally landed.

“This is the greatest use of a soul ever!! WHOOO!!!!!!!” Leon exclaimed, laughing as the wind rushed through his hair and covered his face.

“Leon, I think they heard you.” Noel said, pointing out that the other four ponies were nearby. Leon’s excitement slowly shifted to panic as he saw them coming back. “Aw crapbaskets… This can’t end well, can it?” Leon asked, turning towards Noel.

“Ya think?” Noel asked with a laugh. “They’ll ask about your shout, what you’re talking about, where’d you get the boots, and possibly ask about me if they return-.. Actually, they’re probably galloping here now.” Noel said as he tapped his chin in thought. Leon groaned and immediately slipped off the boots and quickly got his worn out sneakers back on as he knew he couldn’t hide the boots anywhere.

“I really hope this doesn’t raise questions. I’m gonna have to rely on every human being’s natural mechanism to evade the truth… lying.” Leon simply stated, seeing the CMC and Big Mac finally show back up at the campsite.

“One does not simply lie to an Apple.” Noel said with a nod. “...Well, if they’re like the ones back home.” he whispered to Leon before looking over at the four ponies. Big Mac immediately got in front of the fillies, trying to be wary of Noel, while the fillies just looked at Noel with the biggest grins on their faces.

“Girls, are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Sweetie Belle asked. Applebloom and Scootaloo both nodded as they looked at Noel once more.

“Cutie Mark Spirit Capture!!” The three fillies exclaimed, running towards Noel and then jumping towards him, attempting to tackle him. They succeed in doing so, finding his form physical as if he wasn’t a ghost.

“Right.” Noel said in amusement followed by a chuckle as he reached over to ruffle up Scootaloo’s hair. Big Mac carefully moved over towards Noel, and lightly poked his gut with his hoof, feeling it not go through, but just feeling it like something was really there, freaking the stallion out a bit before directing his attention to Leon.

“Okay, six seconds to explain what the hay is goin’ on right now.” Big Mac stated, a bit unnerved by Noel himself, but trying to be stern. Leon took a deep breath and tried to think of a believable lie that couldn’t be questioned.

“I came from a human kingdom long forgotten by history.” Noel said, outright lying and surprising Leon. The fillies seemed to be buying into the lie, while Big Mac was kinda skeptical, but it’s not like he hasn’t seen or kinda fought anything as strange, if not stranger than this. “Uh y-yeah! I was learning about the humans in this world, a-and it would turn out this guy was one of the few former royals of said human kingdom! He offered me a chance to learn to protect myself without my powers, and I got pretty good at it… kinda.” Leon added, smiling.

“A little rough around the edges, but every squire must start somewhere.” Noel said with a nod. Big Mac sighed and was willing to accept this for now as Leon started to relax, grabbing the boots. “He was kind enough to give me these boots that grant me the power to leap at great heights, plus, they are very comfortable.” Leon stated, presenting the boots to the ponies.

“Speaking of gifting.” Noel said as he raised his hand, causing an old slightly burnt tome to appear in his right hand, then presented it to Leon. “Turn to page thirty two.” he said with a smile. Leon cautiously turned the pages, on page thirty as asked, was a detailed explanation of the spell Firestorm on using one’s chaotic flame empowered in their fists to slam it into the ground, pushing the flames into the ground until they erupt.

“Firestorm is a powerful spell, I believe the third strongest of the pyromancy school of magic, just promise me one thing.” Noel said as he leaned close. “Unless your Twilight Sparkle has shown restraint over herself, don’t let her know about this. The magic from cinders is not as simple to use like unicorn magic.” he whispered to Leon. Leon immediately nodded in agreement with a look of worry and concern on his face. Noel looked toward the sky, noticing the sun was starting to lower, soon coating the land in Luna’s night.

With nighttime being here and the bonfire remaining lit almost with some fuel from the gathered wood that Big Mac and the cutie mark crusaders got, Big Mac and Leon decided to make sure the tent was set up, pitching a big poofy purple and bright lavender tent, making sure it was set up right next to the huge square hole carved into the side of the mountain. As the moon shined and the stars shimmered in the night sky, it was now the perfect time to have a little fun. Scootaloo was the first to speak up. “How about some campfire ghost stories?” Scootaloo suggested, earning excited murmuring from the other two fillies. However, none of the crusaders couldn’t decide on who should go first. Meanwhile Noel was sitting cross-legged nearby; his body easily seen glowing white despite the darkness. Leon was blanking on ideas for a good ghost story he could’ve told, but he decided to let Big Mac have the chance to tell something spine chilling.

“Alright, I hope ya’ll are ready for a story… cause this one’s gonna make sure you don’t sleep for months! The story is called ‘The Bewitching Hour’. Best hold onto a buddy now, cause this one’s not the type of story you listen to on your own.” Big Mac stated, making his best scary face as the fillies tried to shrug off the fear.

“It all started a long time ago, roughly around when the pony tribes first came together…” Big Mac started, earning the attention of the fillies.

“There was a mare named Petals Pusher. She just loved to use her magic to make beautiful flowers. She knew how to make others happy by giving them a specific type of flower. She was the talk of the town, until she ran into a mysterious stallion who was new to town. Hoping to brighten his day, she brought him flowers of various kinds, only for him to refuse the flowers whenever she offered. She was distraught, and really wanted to brighten his day, no matter the cost…” Big Mac paused, lulling the CMC into the story.

“So she delved deep into the dark side of transmutation magic to combine different types of flowers into something that would make the stallion finally smile. By the time she had come up with some sort of super flower, the stallion was gone, but that didn’t deter Petals. She scoured several nearby towns for any sign of the mysterious stallion, and each time she tried, she failed. She found her way back to her cottage, only to find that the stallion was there. Petals was about to present the flower, until she saw the stallion for who he really was…” Big Mac paused, watching the fillies perk up curiously.

“The stallion was no stallion at all… they were in fact… A CHANGELING!!” Big Mac exclaimed loudly, causing the fillies to scream at high pitches. Leon wasn’t really finding the whole story scary, just the fact that it didn’t seem to phase him all that much after binging most old school horror flicks that got gorey with no reason.

“What happens next?” Noel asked curiously.

“The Changeling explains that they have been drainin’ that woman’s love every time she had offered flowers, until he was fed up with it. He was destined to be the changeling Queen’s next royal confidant, but in order to prove himself, he’d have to bring back the head of the mare that showed ‘im such a large amount of affection… and so they shall.” Big Mac continued.

“Well, that took a dark turn.” Noel said with a nod.

“The changeling lunged towards the woman, but before he could, a vine had suddenly sprouted from the mare’s neck, slammin’ the changeling into the door of the mare’s home. The changeling could see sev’ral newspaper clippings about a mare made of plants, leaving flowers in place of victims. The mare he’s been draining of love and affection was that very mare. She used her vines to strangle the changeling, and soon used him as composting material, in hopes of adding a changeling’s special essence to her flowers… in hopes of claiming more than just ponies with her beautiful bouquets of flowers. Legend says that the Mare of Nature lurks in these woods, but will only come out if someone dares to disrespect her land. The End.” Big Mac ended, barely able to keep a straight face as the CMC ran and hid behind Leon, who still didn’t feel amused or even scared by the story.

“There’s a small contradiction.. Don’t changelings get stronger the more love they take?” Noel asked curiously. Big Mac laughed a bit and looked at Noel funny before Leon pulled Noel in for a whisper.

“Bud, I don’t think the changelings work the same way like they do in canon here. I don’t know per se how they work here, but if it’s any constellation, I think it sounds kinda cool. It also sounds kinda lame, but still cool.” Leon whispered into the white phantom’s ear.

“Remember when I mentioned the multiverse? That’s a thing outside of your world. I honestly thought changeling in yours would function the same.” Noel whispered back. Leon nodded like he kind of understood, but he wasn’t gonna understand much if he didn’t write it down.

“So, uh… phantom thing… got a name we can call you, in case you pop up again in the future?” Big Mac asked.

“Noel.” he answered simply.

“Well, Mr. Noel, if ya’d like to stick around, we’d be more pleased than persimmons to have you. We haven’ seen humans in a long time, so with you and Leon ‘ere, I got a good feelin’ that this’ll be the start of somethin’ new.” Big Mac paused as a yawn escaped his muzzle. “But fer now, it’s gettin’ late. Better to hit the hay now than to get hit by the hay in the mornin’.” Big Mac stated, walking over to the side of the smoothest part of the mountain wall, then collapsed, slowly lulling to sleep.

“You little ones should do the same. You don’t want to be asleep during the trip back,” Noel pointed out to the three fillies, watching them walk towards the tent as he made his way over to Leon. “Here,” he said as he handed what looked like a grey coal colored stone wrapped in white cloth. “If there is nothing else I need to do, you’ll need to use it to banish my white phantom back to my world,” he explained to Leon. Leon was about to use the wrapped stone, until he remembered something that clicked in his head.

“Noel, before I do, you seemed to have questions to ask me after our little game of ‘avoid the fire before anything is turned to ash’. Is there anything you want to ask me before I send you back?” Leon asked curiously.

“Only one. What is a brony?” Noel asked. Leon took a deep breath, trying not to laugh as he exhaled.

“A Brony is derived from the combination between Bro and Pony. Bronies are basically the younger or older male demographic for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, an animated show about the pastel colored horses and other magical creatures around us in the world I summoned you to. Minus the robots. Another word for brony is Pegasister, which ties to the female fan demographic that the show originally catered to until the show got popularized by the brony demographic. Did My Little Pony not exist in your world, or did you forget what a brony was?” Leon explained.

“Yes but that word never existed back on Earth until now.” Noel said with a shrug of his glowing arms. Leon looked at Noel with a strange expression.

“You’re kidding. Bronies and Pegasisters have been a thing back on Earth for nearly 9-10 years, and that’s how long MLP G4 has been airing. 9 seasons, a theatre movie, a strange but unique humanized highschool spin-off, and not even to mention the number of conventions that have spawned from this fandom. How have you never heard of the word Brony or Pegasister before?” Leon asked.

“...Admitingly none of those happened and the fact the show was on its third season, so either multiverse is a-” Noel paused to lower his bitch as he doesn’t want the little fillies to hear him. “Bitch.” he said before raising his voice back up. “Or time has moved fast after me and my friend got killed by the truck that was in the wrong lane.” he said.

“First off, Yikes, you and your friend got isekai’d all the way… that had to hurt like heck… also, second, I get that reference regarding the multiverse. TFS has yet to fail me with being funny, but man do I wish I understood more about Multiverse Theory. I don’t know the basics of it, I just know what it is, or what it’s supposed to be. Plus, if time does move faster, then you guys missed a lot in the last 6 seasons. I’d give you a recap, but I don’t like spoiling others.” Leon remarked.

“Well, look at it this way. The multiverse is like the paradoxal chaotic void between universes, it is impossible and possible.” Noel said with a slow nod as if he was a sage. Leon sighed as he smiled.

“Well, let’s look at this in two ways. One, with all of the ‘Displaced’ that are scattered across the multiverse, some of them have been changed into villains, but not all of them want to just conquer or destroy or go on a forsaken killing spree. They just want to see and do some good… but on the other way to look at things, those in the bodies of heroes, who want to either watch the world burn, or make it burn on their own merits… it kinda worries me that I might run into something like that… You get what I mean, Noel?” Leon asked.

“Eh, just keep an open mind and be careful what tokens you find, or if a Displacer decides to be an ass and throws an unfortunate person into your world.” Noel said with a warning.

“Now I have to worry if I face some kind of super mutant monster or the likes of Perfect Cell… or worse… The Grim Reaper himself.” Leon stated quietly.

“Like I said, be careful of who you summon.” Noel said as he patted on Leon’s shoulder. “The only ones you have to worry about are those who are strong enough to travel the void freely.. Hmm, if you meet Celestia, be sure to ask her to prepare defenses in case one does come here without a token.” he suggested. Leon grimaced at that thought, but nodded in understanding.

“Ok, I’ll be sure to… but can I ask you one more question? I promise it won’t be something stupid.” Leon asked.

“Go on.” Noel said as he gestured with his hand to continue. Leon looked back at the tent and shifted his glance to Big Mac, who seemed to be asleep. Leon looked at Noel and shuddered a bit.

“What happens to our old worlds when we get displaced? Does everything and everyone there just die, or… just wiped out like it never existed?” Leon asked, breathing a bit shakily as he tried to maintain eye contact with Noel.

“...I really don’t know what happens to our old world, I suppose it’d keep going until something happens to it.” Noel said with a slow shrug. Leon thought back to what happened before he ended up in the land of ponies… a raging thunderstorm with purple lightning. Leon felt a chill go up his spine, but his worries were replaced by a yawn escaping through him. “Then I guess it’s time you headed home… thank you, Noel, for everything. I hope one day, we get to meet in person. Now how do I use this thing..” Leon said.

“Either focus onto the energy within, or kneel down and raise it up to the air.” Noel explained. Leon got down on one knee and slowly raised the stone up to the air, hoping that this would be enough. A swirl of purple energy erupted from the Black Separation Crystal, causing Noel to slowly fade.

“Remember to seek out my white or red sign if you ever need me.” Noel said before fading completely. All was silent for Leon other than nature’s soothing music of crickets chirping and night birds talking.

...

As the ponies and the human rest in the night, a group of aggressive and armed ponies watch from a distance before walking back to the mines nearby. At the crack of dawn, they would strike.

Author's Note

Big and massive thanks to DisplacedWriter for allowing me to cross-over with him and allowing me to have my first cross-over, introducing me to the Displaced Multiverse. Go check him out, and check out his story, Dark Fantasy. It's some of the greatest writing I've ever seen, the story is very good, you should check it out.

Leon, after crossing over with Noel from Dark Fantasy, has learned the following:
-some Dark Souls mechanics
-a fire spell which will be his own attack
-Earned the Boots Of Mechanical Leap

Next chapter, let's say it'll be one for the books.