A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 35: A Night to Remember.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Everfree Forest*
*Time: Around three in the morning*

When last left off. Brex was in the middle of a late-night training session in the woods, when a mysterious, cloaked stranger appeared after launching a surprise sneak attack. Right now, they were currently in a standoff with neither one moving after the assailant had caught their airborne weapon.

The subtle noises of the woods were now long gone and replaced by the thumping within the Roegadyn’s chest as he evaluated his opponent. Rory whispered within his mind by saying, “Master… I can see her right there but-.” Brex finished her sentence by saying, “She's not registering on your senses fully… Yeah, it's as if, she's here and at the same time, not here. I don't know about you, but I don't think she's an illusion.”

Rory then spoke up as she asked, “Master, I had no idea that you had already figured it out. What gave it away?” Brex wasn't sure if that was a real question or if Rory was being sarcastic, but replied anyway. “It's obviously the body movement. Also, there's the framework. I might be oblivious to a lot of things, but I know when I see a female.”

“Besides, I hate to say it, but the males of this world are nowhere near good enough to do what she does. If I didn't allow my instincts to take over, then I would've stepped right in the path of that strike of hers. Now, if I'd simply turned around to defend myself, I would have been taken out by that throwing weapon of hers.”

“Now judging from the way that outfit is hugging her form. I really doubt that there's a pair of wings under those robes. I don't see anything that would give away there being a horn underneath the hood either. Odds are, she's an earth pony.”

He was about to go on with his internal chat with Rory when it seemed that his dance partner had become rather impatient. They had taken on a different stance by shifting their right foot to be in front and had brought up their other weapon in the full view. Which was a one and a half foot Long, black dagger. Starting from the handle, it got wider and quickly sharpened to a point as it went out past a few Inches from the handle. In a way, it was similar to an oversized kunai used by ninjas.

What caught Brex's attention, was how they had positioned their body to have most of their body weight on their back leg while the front was on its tip. The dagger was pointing straight at him while the second weapon was held directly behind her form in a slanting fashion.

Obviously seeing that this was a form of ready stance. Brex returned the favor by shifting his body into a more stable stance. Not wanting to be obvious, he took on a position where he himself was on his left foot. While his other foot was just barely having its heel off the ground next to it.

His left arm was out down to his side, with his palm facing towards his opponent. While the right arm, that was holding on to the spear, had it gripped in the center and the tip was pointed towards the ground, away from his body horizontally.

Ordinarily, this would be a bad posture as it would force the user to put too much strain on their hand and wrist to make an effective counter attack. But he had done this so that no matter what angle she came from, he could adjust his body so that a part of him would be making contact with the pole. This would in turn, cause his spear to react with enough force and speed to counter what was to come.

Brex had hoped that this odd stance would throw off his opponent into letting down their guard. Any who had received training would be able to tell that Brex was in an advantageous position and his pole-arm was not primed for rapid movement and pinpoint accuracy with the way he was holding it. Which was exactly what he wanted his opponent to think.

Seemingly taken aback by his actions. His attacker shifted their stance again until they were nearly crouching low to the ground. When Brex saw this, he thought to himself quickly, “This one seems rather experienced. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were trying to use their size difference as an advantage against my larger build. Rory, is it weird that I'm strangely excited about this?”

Rory quickly replied with a quick, “It might be due to the fact that this would be the only opponent you've gone against that actually shows that they know what they're doing. I believe your race is currently playing a factor in how you’re reacting to this.”

Brex was about to ask her what she meant, but didn't have the opportunity when his attacker had finally made the first move. With nearly blinding speed, she had already closed the distance between them. With a twirl of her body, she gracefully brought her larger weapon across to strike Brex on his right side.

This was countered when he started to bring his hand up, while at the same time, using his free left hand to reach around to grab onto the handle and force that end down, as to accelerate the speed in which the tip of his weapon would intercept. Similar to a seesaw on a playground when one end is pushed down, the other rises. This had the added benefit of not only adding speed, but power as well from a weak stance.

When the lance collided with the wheel shaped like weapon, a shower of sparks was produced and the girl was momentarily put off balance from the unexpected amount of force. She then used the new change in direction to swing her other arm towards him in an attempt to stab at his lower chest area.

To counter this, Brex followed along the same path that his lance was going previously and sidestepped the blade by mere inches. After which, she continued her flurry of attacks, alternating from one weapon to the next while throwing in a number faints to try and trip him up.

Brex on the other side of the coin, was using his foot work thanks to his Dragoon class, which was good at jumping to avoid the wide arcs made from her dual weapon attacks as to get at a perfect distance to accurately use his lance effectively.

He would spin it in one hand, then the next while using it to simultaneously attack and defend. Whenever one end would make contact with his opponent's weapon, he would use the initial collision and rebounding force to start the opposite swing.

As the fight went on it was clear that neither one was using any special techniques with the attacker merely using the weapons provided. In turn, Brex had yet to use a single weapon skill or ability for himself and just focused merely on the sword play itself.

As the fight went on, their attacks on one another only grew in both ferocity and speed as their weapons collided over and over again. Whenever it seemed that one was being pushed back, they would quickly recover and begin again the seemingly endless game of tug-of-war, in which who would gain ground. Brex would thrust his lance straight ahead, only for his attacker to side step to the left and catch it within her own and counter by thrusting her dagger straight at his chest.

When this happened, Brex would jump while still holding on to his weapon with a tight grip until he was clearly soaring overhead. And as he landed, he used his current momentum to swing his weapon in a wide arc to throw the girl. When he had done this, she was sent into the air and had released his lance to avoid getting slammed into the ground.

Instead of falling unceremoniously onto the dirt and grass, she merely did a single flip and swung one of her legs in order to regain her control while in the air. This was immediately followed with a graceful landing as if it was perfectly planned ahead of time in the same way that a ballerina would come down from a long jump while on stage.

With them both now a good ten meters apart, they took another battle stance. This time, she was crouched low with both weapons out to her sides. While she was doing this, he took on his own with adopting a more serious posture with both legs planted, his right shoulder and weapon now pointing straight at her.

Even after exchanging blows for the last couple of minutes, the pair were hardly out of breath. With but a small brief respite and their fight, Brex was able to hear his heart pounding even louder than it was when he was still on the move.

He was so focused on her, that he failed to notice the smirk that was beginning to curl on his lips. Still, throughout the whole fight, he had still not gotten a good reading on her through Rory’s senses.

Both of his arms and legs were feeling like they were on fire with everything he was doing. Simply swinging his weapon and dodging would not have done this. It was more due to the fact with how much force he had to apply while constantly defending and attacking with each hit.

He knew that even before they started to exchange blows, that she was going to be trouble. This was made obvious when each one of her attacks felt as if she was striking him with a heavy iron mace. He had no idea if it was due to some magical enchantment, or if she was really this strong to begin with. During one of their exchanges, she had done a downward swing with both weapons and he had blocked with his lance just over his head.

The force that he had encountered had caused his armored feet to dig into the ground a solid four inches or so. He had to try really hard to prevent a grunt from escaping his lips while the bones in both of his arms felt as if they were about to break from the pressure.

He began to think, “If this is what she is like when she's fighting completely normal. Then she must really be a beast when she uses any weapon skills. I'm pretty sure if I could tell what her level is, then I would have to say it was close to mine… NO, maybe, even higher...”

Yet, Brex knowing this, was only getting more excited as he could feel his own blood beginning to heat up from the very notion of facing a strong opponent for the first time. That was when he recalled something about the lore when it came to Roegadyn's.

It had to do with how they were seen as the strongest race when it came to physical abilities due to their large stature. Yet they had an Inborn trait of sorts where they would acknowledge others for their strength. For those that could fight, showing their might would earn a Roegadyn's respect. When it came to the diminutive in stature races. They would earn respect with their craftiness and personal strength of character and conviction.

Suddenly, having a surge of energy after having this realization only spurred Brex into continuing this fight. On the other side of the field, his opponent was showing signs that they themselves were anxious with how their left foot was slowly pivoting on the spot, almost repeatedly as if waiting for something to happen.

It was plain to Brex that this was an outright duel. However, he did not feel the need to introduce himself as one would normally in the situation like this.

Instead, he found himself unable to contain a low, growl of excitement that emanated from his slightly bearded teeth. Thankfully, due to their high rate of movement. Along with it being the dead of night, Brex did not have to fear having his teeth being shown thanks to the ample number of shadows being cast all over by the trees and his helmet.

When he had allowed that noise to escape him, the one in front of him appeared to falter after the foot that they were pivoting on slipped for about a second before they recovered. He could see how their shoulders were now trembling in excitement too, as they took it even lower posture.

But not before taking the circular weapon and placing it on her back. Oddly enough, even with there being no visible way of it being held onto their back, there it was staying in place and not even budging an inch as she crouched down low.

(This is an example of her current fighting stance. )

Brex steadied himself for what he was sure to be a bum rush. Seeing as his opponent was about to take things seriously, he chose to do the same. He had planned on doing a combination of jumping abilities just as she was going to charge.

However, right as she lowered herself to the point that her face could have been touching the grass, did she freeze in place. The tense atmosphere from just a second ago had spontaneously evaporated without any warning on his side.

Brex watched as she straightened up onto her legs. There was the sudden sound of heavy labor breathing due to exhaustion coming from her now. Unsure as to what was happening, Brex did not lower his guard and watched in anticipation of a surprise attack just in case this turned out to be a trick.

She was now balling up her free hand into a shaking fist while arching her shoulders in clear agitation. In one fluid motion, she grabbed onto the weapon on her back and spun in place has to build-up some quick momentum and slashed at the ground between her and himself. This action caused a large amount of dirt and grass to be flung into the air. The amount of force used in it, was enough to create a heavy enough dust cloud that is obstructed her from full view, but for only a single second.

When enough of the debris had scattered. He found that she was nowhere to be seen. From his vantage point alone, he could have witnessed her running to and one of the tree lines or even the flash of a teleportation spell that unicorns were known for. He then considered that she may have used a trick similar to his shadow movement, or perhaps an advanced version that allows one to teleport through the shadows.

He had thought that this might have been another attempt to sneak up on him. So, Brex focused more on Rory’s senses to see if she can pick up on anything. After what seemed like a full minute had gone by, did she finally say, “Master… I'm pretty sure that she's gone this time. When she showed up, I was able to get something. This time however, it's completely gone. As soon as she created that smoke screen with that weapon of hers, all traces of her presence just up and disappeared.”

When he had exhausted all possibilities within his head, Brex gave out a disgruntled groan of annoyance. This was not out his inability to track her, but more for Their dance suddenly being interrupted.

Upon realizing this feeling, he looked straight ahead dumbfoundedly, while blinking several times at this point. He then thought to himself incredulously, “Rory, was I really enjoying that life-or-death fight? I mean, yeah, we weren't that serious... I think. but still, one slip up and one of us could have died. I don't know how to describe it. It's like I... I...”

Rory chimed in and tried to finish his thoughts by saying, “You're beginning to feel worked up at the thought of displaying your dominance. Weren't you? I don't know If you notice it or not, but you may want to look down~.” This was then followed with her giving one of her signature giggles.

With a blank expression, he turned his head down to try to figure out as to what she was saying. It took only a moment before his eyes shot straight ahead again as they went wide from underneath his helmet. His mouth was now hanging open. Inside, he was internally stuttering as he proclaimed, “Rory! A-Are you t-telling me, that I got a hard on from flexing my strength against a f-female??!!”

Rory then made a door appear at the base of the large tree of the clearing and came through. As soon as she did, the door then vanished immediately and she held out both of her hands above her head while leaning back against the tree. Within an instant, did some chains and manacles materialize to clamp down onto her outstretched wrists.

While giving him her most alluring look, she swayed her hips in a suggestive manner as she said. “You know just what it is I'm talking about. Your dominant side made an appearance. Typically, due to your strength alone would mean you're always having to be gentle around others. Nevertheless, just now, you're able to let loose. I'm rather disappointed myself that things didn't progress. I had my money on whether or not things were gonna get very physical with how you're getting turned on.”

Feeling embarrassed, Brex was just about to finish his thought about there being a ball-gag in her mouth to shut her up. But stopped to himself from going down that path again. After closing his eyes for a few seconds and letting out a deep, long sigh before he open them again, Brex simply turned on the spot and started to walk quickly away from the tree.

This only got a cute, annoyed little grunt from the girl before she was instantly next to him again. Right as he was about to get to the tree line, did Brex switch over to his Rogue class. It wouldn't be very practical to walk around in a suit of armor and a long ass weapon such as a lance while moving through the tight, narrow gaps between some of the trees ahead.

After going through one of the larger openings, the Roegadyn found himself compelled to just aimlessly stroll through one of the most dangerous places in the world to be when the sun went down.

If any were there, they would find an extreme odd sight to see one dress has a Butler just going through the Everfree woods like it was some city park, without a care in the world. All the while, he would glance to his surroundings and silently observe the night life of nature.

It had taken only a short time until he had come across a densely packed area of trees where the roots were entangled among others in such a tightly woven fashion, that there was no traces of the dirt or grass underneath to be seen. Brex even found that it was becoming difficult to walk through without brushing his body against something or another.

It didn't help that the dense vegetation above his head was now completely blocking out the moonlight, which left him in total darkness. If it wasn't for Rory’s abilities, he would pretty much be stuck there with how it would have been nearly impossible to navigate through this cage of trees.

He couldn't help but the chuckle out loud when he pictured some random pony wandering in here in the dead of night and couldn't get out because they were constantly banging their heads against some random branch because they couldn't see a thing.

As soon as he thought that, he had lost his concentration and had mistakenly bumped his head against a low branch. When he did this, Rory couldn't help but giggle at him before saying. “You better keep focus there Master. You're not exactly on auto pilot, you have to pay attention.”

Brex was about to make some attempt at a witty comeback when he was bopped on the head by something very small, which then began to roll across the front of his mask. He quickly reached out and grabbed it as it bounced off his chest and brought it up to his face.

At a glance, it appeared to be a small round object, roughly the size of a quarter. Wanting to get a better view of it, he opened his item box and pulled out a water shard and was holding it between his thumb and index finger of his free hand. He then brought it closer to the object in question and found it to be a type of seed that seems to have fallen from one of the trees above due to his carelessness, but moments ago.

After, he glanced towards the ground and knelt down as to use the shard to illuminate the floor. There, among the many roots were already completely dried up and useless seeds that apparently were unable to reach the ground thanks to the overgrown number of roots.

After standing straight up again, Brex brought up the seedling and began to say, “I don't think you're going to grow here. It would seem your siblings have taken a monopoly of the soil here.” He wasn't quite sure as to why, but he decided to hold on to the seed and pocketed it is jacket for safe keeping, along with the water shard.

As soon as he had gotten out of the thick layer of trees, did he finally find himself in another clearing that he had yet to come across. The place was pretty much barren in any grass whatsoever, but there was a small stream of clean water that was passing near the edge.

Brex stepped into the center and started to examine the spot to figure out as to why it was left untouched by the vegetation around. After some investigation, found that there were some odd markings in the dirt that resembled a wolf’s paw. Instantly, he came to the conclusion that a pack of Timberwolves were probably using this as a resting area and due to their nature, they most likely used whatever trees were in this spot in their construction.

In all honesty, Brex had no desire to just go out and destroy these beasts, seeing as they were a part of the cycle of life as it were for this world to begin with. He did find them rather annoying with how they would always come out and attack him in the past, but this place was full of many creatures that were just as dangerous, if not more.

Brex began to wonder if this was a version of Equestria where those Timberwolves were created due to discord, or if they were a part of the natural balance. If they were a part of the second theory, then that might explain as to why things such as a Manticore’s didn't go roaming out so often in search for food. Their numbers must have been kept in check by these predators of the trees.

When he thought about it, he glanced down at his jacket pocket and pulled out both the water shard and the seedling. They both were rolling around in his hand as he played with them nonchalantly, while having a stray thought or two was crossing his mind.

Brex then said underneath his breath, “I think I'm just going to believe that they're part of this world through nature's design. If they're not, then maybe I'll do something about them later. All I know is that they're needed at the moment. As long as they don't go out of control, then I'll leave them be. Now, after saying that, I think I have an idea of what to do with you.” He was obviously referring to the seedling in his hands as he crouched down to his knees.

Brex took his left-hand and began to slowly dig away at the ground until there was a hole that was a good foot deep. As soon as he had done that, he had carefully placed the seedling in the center and was about to cover up the hole, but stopped. With a small smirk, he said to himself, “They do say gardening is therapeutic. Maybe I shouldn't half ass this?”

As soon as he had said those words, he went into his item box yet again and scrolled through the contents until we got to a section that had pictures of brown bags. When he selected one, there was now a bag that was holding nearly five pounds worth, of what appeared to be mulch of some type that fell unceremoniously onto the floor nearby. What he had produced was the basic starting grade when it came to potting soil for a player’s garden.

Afterwards, he poured the contents into the hole and covered up the seed. When that was done, he took the shard and gently placed it on top of the mound and pressed it in a few inches. Within moments, a trickle of water began to erupt and soaked into the soil.

Brex stood all the way up on his feet, with his hands on his hips while he watched all of this going on. With a small smile under his mask, he said in a quiet voice. “I've done all I can for now. The rest is all up to you little one. I have no idea if you're going to be able to grow up big and strong or if you're going to end up as part of one of those wolves.”

He shrugged once before going on to continue with saying, “Maybe one day I'll come by and see how you're growing.” After that, he left the area by walking in to one of the shadows that was on the side of one of the trees that was just a short ways away.

Brex quickly found himself back in his room after exiting the shadow that he had previously left with just earlier that night. Not wanting to make too much noise, he attempted to walk as lately as possible, as to not wake up his sleeping guests that were occupying his bed. Or that was what he was intending on, if it wasn't for the fact that the maids were no longer in the bed as the covers were unceremoniously thrown half hazardly onto the floor. As for the door to his room, that was left wide open.

Seeing as he kept putting off talking to the two until tonight, he felt that it was not a good idea to let things stand as they were. So, he brought up his mini map to see if there were any indications that would show where they could be in the house.

According to all the dots that were being displayed. A majority of them were congregated in multiple rooms. On the top floor, there was but only one dot. While on the middle that he was on, Brex saw that there were multiple dots within a number of the rooms but there was one by itself in another. Brex concluded that the two that were on their own in different rooms, must have been Blaze Caster and other must have been either Fancy Pants or Fleur De Lis, in their room on the top floor.

When he expanded his search to the lower level, he found a set of three dots that were all in the parlor. One of which, appears to be moving back-and-forth in a repetitive fashion. Seeing as they were the only ones that weren't in the bedroom, he figured that they must obviously be awake.

So, he made his way down the steps, but only after he had entered the shadows. He did this because he wanted to find out what was going on, without being spotted as to learn of the situation.

When he had finally gotten to the bottom of the steps did, he hear some hushed voices belonging to a group of three females conversing. Two of which appeared to be rather upset, while the last was attempting to calm them down. Brex was able to discern that they came from the maids that were meant to be in his room, while the other belonged to Fleur De Lis herself.

Brex simply stood at the open archway that led into the parlor from the hallway and listening on their conversation from a good distance. From where he was, he was able to plainly see with only a single light source lit up within the room, that the maids were currently sitting on the couch with their backs towards him, while Fleur De Lis was pacing in front of it as she was apparently biting her thumb with a worried expression.

Fleur De Lis mumbled to herself after finally pulling her hand away from her mouth as she said in a confused tone. Once again, I need you to explain to me again on exactly what happened to the Lord and why was I woken up, I don't understand at all.”

The one with the dark hair was the next to speak as she was apparently holding back a set of sobs, while rubbing at her eyes. “T-The Lord left us... H-He was telling us about something and we thought that we offended him.”

The other one with the pigtails and silver hair was next to speak as she said, “I-It was my fault... I was playing around with it and we ended up-.” At this point, her breath left her and she began to cry silently into her cupped hands that now covered her face.

Fleur De Lis still did not fully understand the situation apparently. She went over and laid a hand on the girl's right shoulder in a reassuring way. She then looked back over to the one who spoke first and nodded for her to continue.

After taking in a few more breaths, the dark-haired Changeling continued on with the explanation. “Our Lord, was making something in his room. He handed one of the items to our sister here and… And when he told us what it was, we just panicked. We instantly assumed that we would get punished and when he came close... I'm so sorry... We fell back in our ways when the hive was taken from our queen and we thought we were going to get hurt.”

She paused for a few seconds as she pulled herself together to continue after wiping her eyes. In a sorrowful tone, she said, “We felt him putting his hands on our heads and we both freaked out. But we-.” That was when the water works were finally released and she covered her face almost immediately as if the next words were too hard to say.

From what Brex had gathered, he didn't have to worry too much about missing out on what was being said about him. Fleur De Lis was apparently in the dark on the details and was in the middle of trying to get answers. This must have meant that the pair had only woken up a short while ago and they had just gotten down here.

Brex couldn't handle the sight of those two crying so much, that he was about to show himself when he heard the one with the silver hair finally speaking up after recovering somewhat. In a trembling tone. She said, “We made him upset. When we panicked, he started to give off an intense stream of anguish. I never felt anything like it before, even among us during that time those months ago. So much self-loathing. All I know is that... It, it was so much that... Oh sister!”

The girl then shook her head. She was apparently trying really hard to continue. After a few more seconds. She finally went on to say, “I don't know what happened to him, he was so sad. I was sure that he was giving up on life with the way his emotions were dropping the way they were. It wasn't like all the times that we couldn't sense him. No, this was more of a pit of despair.”

“It... It hurt so much to see him going through that. We didn't know what to do, so we grabbed onto him and tried to share our love. After a while, he seemed to calm down but we ended up passing out... When we came to, we found a note and we came to get you.”

When she had mentioned the note, Brex looked over and saw how Fleur De Lis was indeed holding the folded piece of paper that he had written on. Fleur De Lis then lifted the hand that was holding the paper and unfolded it. When she did, she began to read out what was written. Once she was done, she folded up again and looked towards the maids and gave them a reassuring smile.”

She then said, “I doubt very much that he’s upset with you. By what's written here, it sounds as if he will be back soon. I'm fairly sure that he just went out for a walk, in order to clear his mind.”

The Roegadyn had a small smile on his face once he heard how things were being handled. Honestly, he was fully expecting there to be some type of incident going on as soon as he showed up if they were to awaken before he got back. But Fleur De Lis had things pretty much well in hand. He wondered if it was due to her decision that they were the only ones there, instead of waking up everyone in the house.

Finally seeing as he had heard enough, Brex went around the door frame into the hallway and exited through a nearby shadow that was being made thanks to the moon light hitting the stairway just right. Once he did, he approached the parlor and entered. When he did this, he caught the attention of all inside.

Brex could see Fleur De Lis giving him a small smile, but he could tell that she herself was quite worried with how there was this look behind her eyes. As for the maids, they quickly got to their hoofs and approached Brex in a panic. As soon as they had gotten within a few feet, they had immediately begun to bow down, while getting on their hands and knees.

They had even gone so far as to even hit their foreheads and horns onto the wooden floor with how fast they were going. Nevertheless, they didn't show any signs of it bothering them and continued with pressing their heads down onto the ground.

Brex immediately turned his head up after looking at the two and towards Fleur De Lis for answers. She had a confused expression of her own and only gave him a weak smile, while shrugging her shoulders. He had wanted to try and console them, but recalled what had had happened before when he attempted to be gentle. Perhaps being more direct and swift would work better.

Seeing them acting like this really sunk it home with how they saw him. So, from behind this mask, Brex took a slow intake of air through his nose and released it quietly through his mouth. When he had finished this, he looked down towards the maids and spoke in an authoritative tone that was just low enough not to be heard anywhere else in the house as he said. “I am not angry, nor do I intend to punish you.”

After allowing that a few seconds to sit in the air. He continued by saying, “What happened up in my room was due to a personal nature. Now, with that being said, what you both did was rather reckless. Take it from me, using a new skill without knowing its effects is quite dangerous. Your lives could have been at risk.”

Fleur De Lis stepped forward and asked with a confused tone, “I'm not sure I follow. What is this about a new skill you mentioned? Brex raised an eyebrow to this and assumed that she had at least gotten that part of the story from them at least. But it would seem that she didn't and was in the dark, more so than he had originally thought.

While letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. He looked back down to the maids and did something he thought he wouldn't ever seeing himself doing when it came to them. He gave a harsh glare from behind his mask before speaking in a harsh tone. “The both of you, stand right now!”

This was enough to cause Fleur De Lis to take an involuntary step back as her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open slightly at hearing at him speaking in such a way. As for the ones on the ground, they quickly scrambled to their hoofs and took an attention stance next to one another, at the same time, letting out a pair of gulps in response.

He then asked, “Do any of the others know about what happened?” There was absolutely nothing from all of those around him and he began to get a little impatient. All Brex wanted to do was to find out if any others were told about what happened and to nip this in the butt before it started to spread.

He leaned in closer to the maids in front of him till he was nearly placing his face between both of theirs as he spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. “Do… Any… Others… Know?” This had elicited a strong intense shudder to travel up along all of the female’s bodies that heard him speaking by the looks of things.

This was when they both began to shake their heads furiously to indicate that they had not told a single soul aside from Fleur De Lis. Upon hearing this, Brex stood straight again and turned his head slightly towards Fleur De Lis and asked, “Is absolutely everything shared among the hive or can there be secrets that are kept from the others?”

Fleur De Lis had her eyes darting from left to right after being put in the spotlight. As soon as her eyes landed on his mask, did she speak in a sort of unsure tone. “Yes, yes. My mother believe that we can all have our own lives, as long as it did not put the rest of the hive in danger. The only time we would know everything about another, is if the situation called for it and our minds would be opened through the hive link.”

As soon as Fleur De Lis had finished that sentence, she began to look a little saddened when she continued with. “That was one reason as to why we were kicked out of the main hive. The one that's in charge now didn't believe in that philosophy and wanted all drones to be under complete control. “

“None were to have their own thoughts, aside from doing what was needed. No new ideas, no personal lives outside of work. So, when it happened, those of us that could, left with our mother to escape the oppression.”

Brex felt bad about bringing up such a subject and really wanted to ask about their history when it came to this. But he had other matters that were needing his current attention that he had to focus on before he got himself distracted.

He then said to Fleur De Lis while gesturing to the maids with his right hands index finger. “These two unlocked a new skill that I believe is not commonly known to Changelings. I will say this, they may have used it unintentionally to aid in my... distress at the time. Though, it was extremely dangerous. Now before you ask what it is, I'll tell you right now.”

“They used a technique where they were use their own energy and transferred a majority of it to myself.” Brex really didn't want to come out and say that he had a panic attack, so he tried to be as vague as possible.

Fleur De Lis took in a sudden gasp as she darted her eyes between the pair of maids, while asking in disbelief. “Is… Is that true? Did you really give him your portion of love? But, that shouldn't even be possible. Yes, the Changelings can offer it to one another in order to feed. This is done with scouts that would go out into the pony’s settlements and bring it back for those that were in the hive that they harvested.”

“To hear that it would be used on another race? I know we're stepping in new territory still with this new way of living, but that should not be possible. This process has never been reversed to give the love to anything that wasn’t one of us.”

Before anything else could be said by Fleur De Lis. Brex stepped in and asked, “What are their names? This apparently made all in the room to start blink several times as they gawked straight at Brex.

Fleur De Lis answered by saying, “Aside from myself and our Queen. It's rare for a Changeling to have a name. Whenever a Changeling goes out public, we assume the name of a pony we've seen before out the streets. Some would even come up with their own for their pony personas. Other than that, we don’t use them. Never really needed to with how we just know who one another are.”

Her eyes drifted towards the others before she said reluctantly. “I'm afraid that they've never been out to gather love for the hive. Those that stay never really get to have a name, or even have the chance to borrow one.”

Brex didn't know how to feel when it came to them having no names. It was the same as objectifying them. Right now, they were simply maids and nothing else in a sense. A part of him was saying that it wasn't fair and they needed to be treated the same as any other. While at the same time, deep down, there was a small part that relished in the concept in some perverted way. Especially with how they were always being suggestive around him.

Inside, he can feel Rory stirring when he began to notice that other part of himself. Pushing that aside, he looked towards the two and asked, “Do you want names?” When they heard this, the maids looked to one another for only a brief moment while showing that they were astonished, before they both nodded repeatedly and giving him hopeful expressions.

When he saw how they were reacting to the simple question of wanting a name. Brex started to think fast on what to call them. He wanted to give them names that were easy for him to remember, yet at the same time, he knew that a normal human name wouldn't do. No doubt it wouldn’t fit with their naming concepts in their world.

After a second, he came up with an idea. Taking into account their identical appearances, other than their hairstyles and the color of their manes. A pair of individuals popped in his head from back in his gaming days.

There was the group of non-player characters that acted as retainers that he had hired to manage his items. He purchased them with real money to help in the game. Among those, were two that he had designed to be a set of twins. Brex had intentionally made their character designs to be mirrored opposites of one another, aside from coloring.

Both being of the Au Ru race, Brex had made one of them with darker skin and silver hair. While the other had light skin, but with black hair. He named the one with a silver hair Rin, which translates in Japanese to something about the cold. As for the one with the dark hair, Brex had wanted to keep the twin thing going, so he went with something else from Chinese that was very similar and wording, which was Lin.

When he thought on it a little more, it seemed almost fitting for these twins in front of him. The only thing left was to present these names and see what their reactions would be. Brex only hoped that they didn't just laugh at his face for making the suggestions.

Brex made sure that he was facing the one with the silver pigtails when he said, “How do you feel about the name… Rin? And as for you, would you care for the name Lin?” The last part was said when he turned towards the one with the shorter dark hair.

Instantly they both began to smile with tears in their eyes as they nodded to the suggestions. Soon, Fleur De Lis asked while from behind Brex. “Those are quite some interesting names you chose. Would they happen to have any specific meaning?”

Brex simply nodded to the question and walked over to the window to stare out through the opening into the city. After a moment went by, he answered in a voice that was filled with melancholy. “Long ago, I had some attendance that would work straight under me... And the both of you reminded me of two of them. They were a set of twins.” Brex allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips.

Afterwards, he went on to continue saying, “They were in fact the very first ones that I hired. Believe it or not, they were my strongest out of them all despite their smaller size. It took a while, but they ended up being as strong as I, at one time. The names Rin and Lin, belong to the both of them.” He then released another sigh before he finished with saying, “I do hope that you don't think me as tasteless for giving you names of those who once served me in the past.”

The now named Rin stepped forward and gave him a small bow before speaking in an excited tone, “Of course not. I see it as an honor. Lin was next to speak when she gave her own thanks by saying, “We will make sure that we don't bring any dishonor to these names you have bestowed upon us.”

Now getting serious. Brex brought his attention back to both Rin and Lin and spoke in a tone that said that there wasn’t any room for discussion. “Rin, Lin. I want to both of you, along with Fleur De Lis, to never speak of what happened tonight in regards to the incident in my room to any others. It is a private matter and I wish to keep it that way. Is that understood?”

Without missing so much as a beat, did the maids bow to give their answers in silence. Fleur De Lis on the other hand, was still looking rather confused. Nevertheless, reluctantly nodded all the same. The Unicorn then said, “I still don't know what had transpired. Although, it would seem that incident has calmed down and no harm has been done.”

She then looked over towards Brex with what could have only been considered a coy smile as she began to say. “I suppose this would mean that you are approving of them both being your permanent attendance? If that’s so, then perhaps you would finally agree to allowing them to go home with you? After all, taking care of a house and watching over Blaze must be quite a daunting task for you to do on your own.”

Brex nervously stuttered within his mind as he thought, “O-Oh shit. I forgot she was trying to push that on me the last time I came to visit. J-Just what is it about the girls around me that keep wanting to shove others down in my pants? Seriously, it begins with Rory, now its Fleur De Lis. I don't really get why it is I am such a magnet. I'm not even one of them! I get the feeling that nothing like this ever happened in my past life. It has to be just this world’s doing...”

Brex replied by saying, “I see your point, but as of right now, I do not believe it would be the right course of action. Where Blaze Caster and I currently reside is not currently equipped for more to move in with us. Furthermore, the location was selected for two main reasons. One being, it was to ensure our privacy, while the other is for the safety of both Blaze Caster and any bystanders during his time needed in training and controlling his abilities.”

This had got both Rin and Lin to look down casted as they lower their heads after hearing the news that they would not be going with him. This didn't escape his notice and Brex quickly added, “Perhaps… later on, when the situation is calm down, I might reconsider it then. Until that time, I would not be against the idea of Rin and Lin being my regularly assigned attendance’s while Blaze Caster and myself are here to visit. That is if they are fine with it.”

This managed to completely turn around their expressions to those of glee as they nodded furiously, along with a set of large smiles on their faces. Fleur De Lis on her side, was giving him a small smile of her own.

Before he ended up getting distracted by something else, he called out to the maids and said, “Now, as for the both of you. You are not to do what you did with any others, unless you make sure that you get they're permission beforehand. That's the reason why you both were out cold after using it on me. Do you understand what I'm saying?” To this, he got a set of nods as they both said in unison, “Of course my Lord, we will do just as you say.”

For some strange reason, Brex was feeling as if something was a little different with how they were saying it this time around with the way they were calling him Lord. But couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

He then went on to continue saying as he was now turning to go back up the steps. “I will be returning to bed; we still have a few hours until the sun comes up.

When he had placed his right hand onto the railing before ascending, he turned and called out once again. Ren, Lynn, you have not had a full night's sleep, I suggest coming along. I wouldn’t want either of you two to feel il tomorrow because of a lack of rest”

There was a hint of rosy tint growing on both of their cheeks as they quickly hurried along to follow. Leaving Fleur De Lis to stand in the middle of the parlor with an all-knowing look on her face, as she gave them a small wave and a smile.

When Brex had returned to his room, he and the maids both climbed into bed as they did the night before and got under the covers. Rin and Lin were now in their nightgowns and snuggling up to him with their arms over his chest and a leg intertwined with one of his as they snuggled up for what few hours were left of the night.

Brex had started to grow accustomed to them being next to him now and was now finding it easier to fall asleep without focusing on doing so, unlike the night before. It didn’t even seem to register to him with how they were clinging to his form more tightly this time around.

As soon as he had closed his eyes, did he fall into his dream realm and found himself standing at the front door to his mentally constructed house. He then turned the knob and went inside, when he did, he found that the place was seemingly different with how the décor was not exactly how he had remembered.

The walls were now of a darker red and floor was covered in some areas with a red rug that nearly reached the walls, with only giving a few inches of space before touching them. There were even a few tapestries hanging down that could be seen on the upper floors that were hanging down from where he stood at the front door.

Most that were shown had depicted the standard flag which was seen in Limsa Lominsa. Which was a ship made of black on a red background. The main room now had an elaborate chandelier that reminded him a little bit of what he saw in the reading room of the manor. But this one was a little bit larger in terms of size and the amount of decorations as it spiraled to a point as it met the center.

While raising an eyebrow, he looked around the room from where he stood and said out loud. “I see someone's been redecorating while I've been away. May I ask what the occasion is?” This got a reply from Rory as she came in through one of the lower side entrances to his left as she strolled on through the doorway with her arms behind her back and swiveling her head to-and-fro as she was glancing about herself. “Master? I thought this was you’re doing? I didn't so much as lift a finger in regards to how everything looks now.”

Brex furrowed his brow as he reached up and scratched the back his head in confusion. He asking in an unsure tone, “Huh... So, wait. If you didn't have a hand in this, then does that mean I was responsible without even realizing it?

Rory then stood right next to him while still looking at the new décor as she answered while tapping her chin in thought. “I believe this started occurring around the time that you were fighting that girl in the woods. The walls were the first to change. Then, right as you were getting to the good bits, the tapestries and the chandelier came into existence. I don't know about you, but I kind of like it. Gives off this intimidating vibe in a small way.”

Letting out a small sigh, Brex slumped his shoulders as he began to go up to the next floor. Rory was hot on his heels as she ran her hands along the railing on the way up. When they got into his room, Rory went behind a dark red, dividing paper wall and started to toss off her usual attire. Only to have them hanging on the top of the divider itself. When she was finished, she stepped out and was now wearing her night time kimono with the front just partially opened to allow some of her chest to show.

Brex himself, had used his mind and sent away his clothing until he was just in his boxers. After sitting down on the bed, he crossed his arms over his knees and watched as Rory was approaching. Brex then opened his arms and allowed her to jump onto his lap to straddle him. Her face was literally being pressed up onto his chest as she rubbed into it and elicited a small coo from the girl.

While doing this, Rory began to ask, “Master, I think you did a pretty good job back there. I mean really. You're pretty crafty. You find out quickly how important it was for them to have their own lives and some secrets on their kind’s past. On top of that, there was the importance about there being rare instances where a Changeling has a name.”

“From there, you gave those two the names Rin and Lin and explained the importance behind them. All of this before getting them to promise in not to tell others of what happened. All the while, taking charge of the situation.”

Rory then released a small giggle before going on to say, “If I didn't know any better, I say whatever happened in the forest managed to rub off on you when it came to your dominant side coming out. Showing that you can take charge. Giving them their own identities. Then to top it all off, you show that you are concerned for their well-being. Crafty, very crafty. Do you know just how turned on I am right now?”

During the entire time that Rory was saying this. She was tracing her left hand's index finger along his abs while looking straight up at his eyes with a longing look in hers. She then lowered her head and turned it to one side while hugging him even tighter.

Brex on the other hand, was internally asking himself so she couldn’t hear it. “Is that what she thought I was doing? By the twelve, I really just did that didn't I? I just went and did the carrot and stick thing. Honestly, I wasn't really even thinking of what I was doing, I was just letting myself go in the moment. This is what I get for saying so much... Things were a lot easier when all I did was say a few words. Well, at least things seem to have calmed down. I have no idea what would have happened if word got out about my breakdown.”

Brex had his arms now wrapping around Rory’s body as he returned the embrace. This earned him a content sigh from the smaller girl. Rory then spoke up and asked, “On a completely different note. What exactly where you going to say to Ryu when you go to see him again? There’s no real guarantee that he would agree to this.”

While having his eyes closed and relishing the feeling of embracing Rory. Brex answered by saying, “Well, like I mentioned to Fancy Pants, I want to see if Ryu is willing to help me out by having access to some of his materials. What I want to focus on, is seeing about making the brewery, Gobbler farm. Perhaps I could look into some of the traps that his dungeon entrances have. During the talks with Fancy Pants, I had another idea for a business and they might come in handy for.”

“Also, from the looks of things, the technology level in this Equestria is nearly identical to what scene in the show. They mostly live before the modern age of earth, while in some areas, they're almost up to par with the sixties or seventies of Earth. I've seen refrigerators, but no microwaves. They still use carriages while some Earth ponies are pulling them around like how you would see in Japan, where they would act as cabs Instead of cars. So, they obviously don't understand the concept of engines, aside from their trains using them.”

“They don't even use airplanes. Instead, they're leading towards hot air balloons. Of course, this is understandable with a third of their population being able to fly without it. I was thinking that while I'm over on his side, I might take a look at their technology level to see if I can learn something.”

“From what I remember from the game league of legends. That society is revolving around technology that's already using a form of electricity. There was that one hero from the game called Blitzcrank, who was a living golem made of metal that used a combination of electricity and steam from what I saw in the gameplay. Maybe he'll let me sneak around and dive into a library or two to pick up some knowledge that I could bring back here to use?”

Rory then perked up as she looked up at him again while asking in an excited tone. “Please tell me you're going to bring television to Equestria.” Brex ended up letting out a small chuckle at hearing that. He then said to her, “Judging from your reaction. I think it might not be a good idea to suddenly throw that out right away. I swear, if I didn't have a way of controlling it, you'd be on the couch watching movies nonstop. You're practically an addict.”

“Also, could you imagine what would happen if I was to somehow introduce gossip television to them?” That was when he began to shiver in place at the very thought of unleashing such evil. Rory only gave him a pouting face as she mumbled, “I am not an addict... I can stop anytime I want.” At the end of that, she gave a annoyed humph! And returned back to snuggling.

She then changed her tone while still keeping up with the body contact as she asked, “Any ideas on who that might have been back there? You know, in the woods. The way she fought gave the impression that she was not just skilled, but had a lot of experience to back it up.”

“Even though some of the movements were a little flashy, I wouldn't exactly call them wasting energy. Being able to alternate swinging her body for that larger weapon to build-up speed for her strikes and switching over to her dagger for quick and effective stabs and slashes. In the beginning, I would have called her out as an assassin… but as time went on, I got a different feeling from her.”

Brex was humming along while Rory was speaking to show that he agreed with her assessment. When she had finished, Brex spoke up and said, “Yeah, if they really were sent to kill me, then it made absolutely no sense to hold back. I'm pretty sure that if she had been completely serious from the start, then that opening move would have gotten me for sure.”

“Although, who's to say that she wasn't an assassin and what happened tonight, was simply a test. You know, to gauge what I was capable of. Now if this was the case, then who might have sent her?” After a few seconds, his eyes opened wide in surprise before they narrowed to show a deep-rooted suspicion. He then said in a low tone, “You don't think that… she's on to me, do you? We were literally right in her room after all.”

Rory pulled away and was now showing an intense rage behind her own eyes as she was now gritting her teeth. She then said, “You really think that bitch sent an assassin after you? If she did…” from that point, Rory was quite literally vibrating with pure, unadulterated anger. Knowing that she was angry however, did not affect Brex. Seeing as he knew that she wouldn’t do anything to harm him and was being protective.

What happened next, was the room itself beginning to warp a little bit and immediately, there was a shape beginning to appear in the middle of the room. At first, it was completely out of phase with how blurry it was. After a few more seconds, it began to solidify until it took on the form of the sun princess herself.

Out of pure instinct, Brex got up while still holding on to Rory and pushed her so that she was behind him as he took on a defensive stance. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Every part of his being was telling him to protect Rory and had forgotten about his own well-being. His arms were held out slightly to either side and his fingers were curled as if they had claws, ready to be used.

It began to growl from under his breath, before Rory placed a hand onto his left shoulder and gently said. “Master, it's OK, that's not really her, she's not here. That's just something I created out of anger. It's nothing but a construct of our imaginations. We’re safe here remember? We got multiple layers of defense.”

Hearing this had immediately calmed Brex down, as he was on the verge of tackling the Celestia wanna be. He was then hugged from behind tightly as he heard Rory speaking in a gentle tone. I had no idea that was going to happen. Nor did it even cross my mind that you would do such a thing when she was in front of us.”

While still looking at the image in front of him that was just standing there without showing any type of movement or emotions whatsoever. Brex blinked dumbly a few times before turning his eyes to the left before asking, “Do what instead? I don't understand.”

Rory gave out a few giggles. Although Brex could just barely hear a hint of a small sob in one of them. Rory then went on to say, “All this time you've been terrified of her and would have run on the spot if she was to suddenly appear. But instead, your immediate reaction was to get in between the both of us and protect me.”

Brex only looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks as he said underneath his breath. “My body just moved on its own... All I could think of was that she was going to hurt you. Before I knew it, that happened.” When he was saying this, Rory was giving him an inquisitive look over, while raising one of her eyebrows.

Rory released Brex and went around him. Afterwards, she got right up to the image of Celestia and began to encircle her while glancing back at him every few seconds. Because of this, he began to feel more anxiety as time went on and when she got a little closer from time to time, he felt himself trying to resist the urge to run over to grab onto Rory and take her away from the fake Celestia.

He then asked with a bit of agitation in his voice, after seeing her leaning in a little closer to the image. “Could you stop doing that. It’s making me extremely uncomfortable.” That was when Rory finally stepped away and approached him while swaying her hips. Brex was rather confused with her actions until she had finally come up to him and rest at both of her hands on to his bare chest.

While giving him a sultry smile and talking in her sultry voice. She said, “I really don't think you're scared of her hurting you.” Brex was pretty much a loss for words and couldn't really say anything, as his face contorted in confusion even further.

She then went on to say, while encircling him until she was directly behind, as if hiding from the Celestia copy. “You got really upset when I got closer to her. Even without reading your mind, I can still feel it. I'm beginning to think that this whole time, it's not you that you're afraid of being hurt by her. You're really scared of the idea of her hurting me.”

Brex began to feel a sense of dread rushing over his body. Along with an intense wave of goosebumps along his skin. His heart began to quicken and his eyes shrank to pinpricks. He was fully aware that he was having a slight anxiety attack of some sort, but was not breathing heavily or blacking out like usual. No, what Rory had said, triggered a fight or flight response. The very words that she uttered about her being the one that gets hurt by Celestia, echoed through his head.

He closed his eyes and began to feel the world around him shaking. When he opened them again, the image of the room began to warp, as if everything was being stretched and pulled down the drain of a bathtub as both he and Rory were being pulled through the bedroom door.

Before he knew it, he opened his eyes and found himself again at the front door leading to the outside of his imaginary house. Next to him was Rory, who was now fully dressed. He then noticed that he himself was clothed again. But this time, it was in an outfit he had not seen in quite some time.

(Here is a picture of his black gear here.)

Before either of them could say anything. The color wheel next to the door itself began to spin at a frightening rate. As each color went past the indicating pointer, there was a loud click that echoed throughout the house.

Soon, it landed with a sudden stop on the black color section of the wheel and held fast without anything else occurring. Brex slowly turned his now newly masked face towards Rory. At the same time, she did the same to him. And without uttering a single word, she tilted her head a few times towards the door to ask the silent question.

Rather hesitantly. Brex reached for the now ready doorhandle but stop with his finger tips only being a few inches away. He could hear his own breathing becoming much louder as it echoed unusually through the empty house. Glancing over, he looked to see if Rory was ready and saw that she too was looking rather unsteady. She then held on to his other hand and nodded before turning her gaze back to the door.

Seeing as she was with him. Brex went and grasped his hand around the doorknob and began to turn. There was a subtle clink of the door being unlocked. It began to slowly swing open. As soon as the smallest crack had been exposed, there was a blinding white light, that begin to shine through. Brex couldn't stop himself from opening it the rest of the way and this caused everything to go completely white and his senses began to fade.

When any kind of feeling returned to Brex, he had this odd sensation that he had just walked into an open oven. Which was really weird, seeing as he hardly felt anything being hot or cold to him for a quite some time. Slowly the surroundings, which were completely bathed in white light, was beginning to recede.

Within moments, the ground became visible and showed that it was covered in patches of burnt grass and deep holes that were scattered about. Then came the buildings off in the distance. Those were comprised of worn-down stonework. At first, those were hard to make out, but were quickly revealed to be those of the stone walls belonging to the castle of the two sisters.

As the environment became more accessible to his sight, Brex could make out the morning sun that was high in the sky. There was absolutely nothing happening with what he could tell. There wasn't even a single soul, nor was there any sounds from either the wind or the forest nearby. The whole thing gave off the feeling of a scene that was paused in a single moment in time.

Brex then heard a few steps being taken from behind and whirled on the spot to see Rory standing there with a blank expression on her face as she looked around. As she got closer, she began to ask in a somewhat reluctant tone, “Master… Y-You don't suppose this is your memory of that time, do you?”

Brex took another quick glance around and noticed how there were those holes with the nearly reflective glass surface around the edges that could have only been creative due to extreme heat. Without so much as turning in her direction, he answered with, “I believe so.”

As soon as he had sent those words, did the entire place begin to glitch out. Every other moment appeared as if the zone was flipping back-and-forth, to that of an empty area, then to one that was in the middle of an event. The air would be clear one second, then filled with smoke and debris the next. During all of this, Brex could distinctly hear the sound of static from a television set with whatever change that occurred.

There was a sudden, head splitting headache that began to come out of nowhere. It caused Brex to grab onto his head with his left hand out of reflex. Obviously worried by the looks of things, Rory quickly asked him, “Master, what's wrong?!”

While Rory was talking, Brex was beginning to feel other sensations that were beginning to creep into existence all over his body. His right arm began to feel as if it was on fire. Every breath caused his lungs to scream out for water. All over, he felt searing pain, while in others, he couldn't feel anything at all, aside from a hauntingly cold sensation. He was even positive that he began to smell what could have been burning meat on the air. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but the way it smelt, caused him to nearly vomit in his mouth.

There was suddenly a loud shriek of horror. When he turned towards its direction, he found it to be Rory, who was looking at him with object horror. She was now covering her mouth and tears were beginning to flow from her eyes as she looked upon him. Rory was visibly shaking at this point and when Brex tried to lift his right hand to try and get her to calm down, he found out it was crumbling. The clothing and was slowly beginning to burn away.

His eyes went wide as dinner plates behind his mask as he witnessed his own arm slowly being eaten away by the flames, as his flesh melted and was now turning into black, charred remains. It didn't take long until it progressed further and became ash. It only stopped when it got just passed his elbow. Leaving only a charred, blackened stub with bits of bone that could be visible and poking beyond the chard pits.

Brex wanted to scream right there, but was unable to due to his lungs that we're not responding to his need to vocalize his displeasure. Rory had practically broken down from all of this and was now down on her knees, while slowly shaking her head to show that she did not want to see what was happening to him.

Back in the past, when he started to remember bits and pieces about this event. There was just enough to piece together what had actually happened, up to a certain point. At the time that the event was occurring before. Rory was unavailable due to what Celestia had done to his body, which interrupted their connection. So, even though she was told of what had happened and gotten to see a few of the images. This must have been as bad as seeing it for the first time.

Through clenched teeth, Brex managed to wease out a few words that were mostly garbled due to his damaged lungs. In a way, he vaguely sounded similar to one who was attempting to speak through a respirator with how every breath sounded overly labored. “Rory...*Huff* This already happened...*Huff* Close... Your eyes...*Huff* If… it's too much...”

He paused for a few seconds to recover his breath before continuing. “Need... To finish...*Huff* Need to know...” Rory was holding back the tears as she silently nodded to what he had said. Instead of closing her eyes, she had a look of resolution to show that she was not going to leave him alone and witness what they had both been denied the knowledge of.

As Brex saw this, he began to feel how his body was moving all on its own. His movements were sluggish. It would seem that whenever he attempted to gain control, it only resulted in him slowing it down by a fraction of the original speed. Soon, he found himself standing in a familiar spot that he had gotten from one of the memory fragments.

His left arm was held out to his side, in a welcoming gesture and he began to see how the sky was being filled with another sun being formed. In his mind, Brex began to notice how his thoughts we're beginning to separate with how he can hear himself thinking something else in the back of his mind.

Those background thoughts began to take over his existing ones. Before his current thoughts were taken away, he thought to himself. “Looks like this is take two... Couldn't make this any easier on myself and just show me huh... I have to go and go through the whole thing again... Just my luck.”

From then on, Brex had to go through his past by reliving all over again. He was now completely replaced by his previous self and was having to endure all the pain for yet another time. Not even his resistance to heat or cold matter at all right now, seeing as they were gifts that were bestowed upon him later on.

*Point of view: Rory Mercury*

From Rory’s spot, she watched as the entire set of events played out. From her Master being fully prepared to take the blunt of the next hit. Which consisted of a giant, flaming ball of death that was currently being hurled in his direction from up high in the sky.

There was then the sight of the girl she knew called Shadow Lily, coming into the courtyard and beginning to rush over to her master after seeing him in such a state. This was proceeded with him rushing to her aid when she had finally figured out that there was danger and was unable to get away and covering her face in fear.

Just as the colossal sphere of fire collided with the ground. Rory’s Master had raced across the field and had already placed himself in a position to act as a barrier to protect Shadow Lily. When the wave of power finally struck him, Rory had to resist covering her ears as she beard witness to the sight of him getting hit with not only the searing heat from the blast, but the concussive force that was brought fourth. There were also the haunting screams that she knew would forever be etched into her mind as he screamed in agony at the top of his lungs.

It took everything that Rory had to prevent herself from just running over to his aid. But knew all too well, that it would have done nothing, as this was not a dream, but a memory. This meant that it couldn’t be changed. One of which, that had to be played out to the end.

All that she could do, was hope that whatever was to come next, would have her master walking away from all this without any more scars to trouble him. Also, she strongly hoped that he would mess her up good for what she had put him through.

*Point of view: Princess Celestia*
*Location: Princess Celestia's bedchambers*

Right now, Princess Celestia had finally managed to go to bed after a long day of dealing with the nobles that were giving her an annoying earful after her little mishap with neglecting to wake up on time and bringing up the sun. This was after staying up all night before to listen to the music box repeatedly, for what seemed like hundreds of times.

Tonight, she was going to try and get a good night rest in order to catch up on the missed work that was put aside for calming her pony’s fears that a late day had caused. Which was not something that she was looking forward to doing. She honestly wished that her subjects would not overreact two small things such as that. Just as the alabaster mare had fallen asleep, she began to dream of a distant past.

It began with her and her sister as foals. Quickly, it progressed to them being in their teenage years. These were thoughts that had not been seen in her dreams for what seemed to be many, many years. She cherished each and every one of them that came up. Just as Princess Celestia was about to move on to another memory of her sister, did the world begin to crack and the floor beneath her hoofs gave way for her to fall into an empty blackness that stretched out to no end.

The princess of the sun screamed at the top of her lungs at the sudden unforeseen change in scenery. Where she was once in her nightgown, which consisted of a one piece that barely made it past her knees and hanged off her shoulders with thin straps. It was barely able to hide her form underneath with how thin it was. Was now replaced with something that she had not worn and quite a long time and had no desire to pull out of storage.

What she was wearing now, her battle armor that had been stored away and not seen the light of day for nearly hundreds of years. Gone was her usual regalia and dress, only to be replaced with a set of golden armor that covered much of her form and shined in the sun.

Intersecting plates and layered sections allowed for quick movement, while at the same time giving ample protection. Her wings themselves were left free, aside from the stretch of sectional golden plates that went along the base of her wings that were meant both for protection and as a weapon if used correctly in a slashing motion.

The only spots on her body that remained uncovered, was her face, horn and a small area of cleavage to be shown on the chest. In her left hand, she was now holding a long golden spear that was taller than she was when setting the blunt end on the ground. Where the tip should have been, was a flat depiction of a golden sun. There were sharp blades encircling it and a single one that was at least a foot and a half long, that was shooting straight at the top.

When she looked around, Princess Celestia quickly determined where she was, and her face fell. She was at the old castle. Fresh battle scars from what she knew to be her own spells being fired could be seen from where she was high above in the sky. She was so far in fact, that if she was to take her thumb and index finger, she could place them in front of herself and pretend to be squeezing the entire complex between them.

She began to breathe heavily as her eyes went wide and her pupil shrunk to pin prix. She began to speak in a hurried and distraught tone as her eyes began to dart left to right and only stopped when they landed on her weapon in her hand. “No! No, No, No, NOOOO! Not this again! No, not again! Why am I plagued with this nightmare?”

She was now sweating bullets as she now knew of what was to happen. As she tried to wake up, she found that it was near impossible and her body was already beginning to move as if following a script that had been played out so many times by heart.

As her body made the movements to lift her free right hand into the air. A large amount of power was being condensed just above her palm as her horn lit up. Before she was overcome by the dream, she made one final plea before her frantic face turned to that of rage. “No… Not again… I-.”