A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 60: Hmm, She looks good in that!

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Las Pegasus. The airship port*
*Time: Five-Ten in the afternoon. Two days Later*

From a vantage point up along one of the many tall towers that were dotted all over the port and was attached to a large cloud in the shape of a city. That also, just happened to be right over another one right below. A cloaked individual was wearing a dark cloak that obscured pretty much all of their body, as the rest was shrouded in one of the few spots of the tower that just so happens to have a space for someone to crouch inside.

These structures were meant to be not only as mooring points so that lines could be attached to keep the ships from floating away once they were docked. But we're also meant as a lookout for those that couldn't fly to guide the incoming ships so that they would be less likely to collide with any other vessels whenever the traffic was on the heavy side.

The opening of their hood was directed towards one of the sections of the port meant for the larger vessels, as it was protruding further out from the rest of the cloud-based upper city. Behind the figure and off just a short distance beyond the port, was something that resembled Las Vegas with how there were many spiers of cloud buildings that were in various shapes and sizes.

However, not everything was completely made of clouds, as many parts of the structures were made with some wood and marble set being in place as to allow those who couldn't stand on clouds to move around freely. This even included the roads that gave off this feeling of one walking on the shipyard on the water.

Now back to what was being observed. That turned out to be the mass amounts of goods that were being transported off of a ship that just came in only a short time earlier. There was also a number of ponies that seem to be gathered in a semicircle around a much smaller group that just come off of the gangplank together.

The smaller group consisted of one large person wearing a white and blue robe that was being accompanied by two maids and another, who is mostly wearing a brown cloak. But their revealed head showed them to be a Zebra.

From the looks of it, they are getting quite a fair bit of attention and most of their activities were centralized around the biggest of the group. After several minutes, the crowd began to disperse and allow the four to make their way down the docks. Soon they checked through customs and were now heading straight for the city gates. That was when the figure ducked into the tower and disappeared into a set of steps and leading down.

As the scene changes. It shows the same unknown person skulking around the corner of a building in an attempt to keep to the shadows. As they peaked their heads out in order to take a look at their surroundings. The same four from before was coming into view as another group of tourists crossed the road between them and this conspicuous watcher. As soon as they got close enough, their voices became clear to make out.

It seemed that the Zebra was currently in the middle of conversing with the larger one. “Was it wise to leave behind my goods? This place is quite new to me and I would not say a word if we were still in the woods. But I do hope that those ones wearing black, do make sure to show care for my wares and not leave a single crack.”

The taller one quickly responded to that, while waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “You got nothing to worry for Zecora. I assure you everything will be fine and they will be waiting on our next transport without so much as a single potion bottle being jostled. Now let’s enjoy ourselves now that we are off that boat. We got a long trip and don’t want to waste the time we got.”

After seeing his mask turning from left to right a few times to take a look around, he then continued. “Thanks to the scheduling, the ship arrived before dinner was to be served, so we're going to need to find something to eat on our own. Of course, we could just go on to our next ride and eat there, but since we're already in Las Pegasus, it would be a shame if we didn't take a look around and try what they had.”

After saying his part, one of the two identical maids with the silver mane spoke up. “My Lord? Rin might have a place in mind. From what Rin has heard. The Eatery is fairly close to the port and even has a wide variety of dishes for both meat eaters and non-meat eaters. Perhaps it would be a nice change of pace to go to such an environment. There is also the added benefit of not being too overly crowded, as many tend to avoid it because of the meat options.”

Zecora was the next one to speak up, as she was holding onto her chin with her right hand for a few seconds, while also having a thoughtful look on her face. “There might be a chance that some food from my homeland might be served. The very thought of having a traditional meal, even if it is not the real deal. has already caused my stomach to feel quite starved.”

Afterwards, the group made a turn on a street that was going in the opposite direction of where their silent observer was hiding. This progressed until they stopped outside of a decent looking establishment that had barely any type of decorations outside. After peaking in through the window, while trying to maintain their cover.

The group could be seen taking a table in the far back and being waited on by what appeared to be a male Griffin that was a bit short in stature. So, it was easy to assume that this might have been one that was under seventeen years of age. If one was to look at the type of feathers coming in. As they were not as long as a full-grown adult.

After watching for about a half hour, their hood would tilt down after a large growl could be heard coming from their stomach. Right after this occurred, there was some shifting from underneath the cloak before a black gloved hand pulled out what could have been nothing but an energy bar. It was shaped as a rectangle and unwrapped in order to be munched away at with haste. Although, after the first bite. There was a small coughing fit, along with a disgusted “Blah!” Sound that indicated that they were a female.

The food was pulled away from the hood and it appeared that they were just about to simply toss it away, but hesitantly, it was brought back for them to continue in consuming it. That was when the hooded girl was startled after hearing a voice that could not have come from anyone else, then the one that she was following. “You must really be hungry if you're willing to eat something that you clearly would rather not be putting into your mouth.”

The hooded girl quickly gave out a startled gasp, before she whirled around on the spot and staggered back a few paces until they were nearly hitting the wall for the restaurant. But before anything else could be done on her part. A small box that resembled a Chinese takeaway container was quickly pushed into her, so all she could do was to reach up and grab onto it without even thinking.

As she was looking down at it. The one that gave it to her was already walking away with their group. But while still stun by the random interaction. Their voices could still be heard as the male was conversing back and forth with a female Zebra.

“How about we take a look at the sites before finding our new accommodations for the night? We won't be setting sale until sunrise anyway.”

“Gambit, do you by chance know that girl?”

“Huh? Who, her? Nope, have no idea who she is. The waiter gave us an extra portion of food by mistake and I didn't really feel much for wasting it. Besides, I could tell when someone's having a hard time with trying to eat and keeping it down.”

As they were getting further away. The girl was still standing there rather dumbfoundedly, as her head continuously glanced between the group and what was in between her hands. After a few seconds of this, she stepped into a nearby alley that would still allow her a direct line of sight with the group that was barely a block away and started to open the box to see just what was inside.

From what could be seen upon doing so, revealed a large amount of noodles and steamed vegetables. What was more surprising, was how they were these pieces of meat that were deep fried and dipped in a reddish sauce that gave an orange smell that wafted in the air. Inside was also a plastic fork.

After a stunned silence. And without even taking any time at all to think it over. The girl had thrown back her hood to expose the very same mask face that was conversing with Luna only a couple of days beforehand. That was when the mask was partially pulled down with two fingers that belong to her left hand with great haste.

This act had the result of exposing her face from just above her eyebrows and leading till it was just past her chin. This revealed her to have a set of yellow cat-like eyes and a mouth that was pretty much drooling along with a set of fangs that glinted with hunger and already salivating to the point, that drool was already cascading onto the lower part of her mask.

The short fur around her face was a type of gray that was just a few shades darker than the two in maid uniforms. The food within had no chance at all and was gone within several seconds as it was quickly shoveled into her mouth and eaten at a voracious pace that would have even cause a dragon’s jaw to drop in shock. The mare was barely able to take in much air as she was pretty much gasping between bites to show just how hungry she really was.

Now that she was looking at an empty box. Her eyes quickly darted back to the one that was clearly visible with how tall they were at the far end of the city block, before saying the next part to herself with a raised eyebrow. “Quomodo scire potuistis me manducare carnes?” Which came out translated as, “How could you have known that I eat meat?” Afterwards, she went to throw the container away and continued with her assignment. Although, now she is going to have to keep a bit more distance, otherwise she might get surprised again.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Airship port. Just outside of the docked Yuna*
*Time: Seven-Thirty at night*

As Brex was staring up at his ship right where the plank had come down in order for them to walk on board. Both of his maids were standing on either side of him. With Rin on his right and Lynn on the left. As for Zecora, she was further out to his right and her jaw was pretty much slack with how she was now gawking at the floating ship of a strange design.

Unlike all the others all around. The Yuna was standing out a lot, seeing as there was no balloon in sight that could have allowed it to be able to float in the air in the way it did. Aside from the slow turning devices on either side of the hull. There were pretty much no other movements, even though there was this small hum that could just be heard over the gentle breeze of the night air.

Even at a quick glance, Brex could tell that there were some subtle changes to the frame from when they last took it out. Although, it kept the same aesthetics. The framework did have some minor tweaks that would allow some increased structural integrity. There were even a few small mounted domes that he quickly assumed were a type of weapons array in key locations along the upper and lower hull.

Each one of them had a small cannon barrel sticking out. But because of the placements, they didn't really stick out all that much. If anything, to an outside observer, they would just be part of the decorations. Especially with how they were all turned so that the barrels would be pretty much touching the hull to be considered as air vents if anything else.

Also, from where they stood. There were even some signs on the top that showed some railings that weren't there before and they melded quite well with the rest of the ship's design. Most likely, they were meant to prevent others from falling off after ascending the inside steps so that they were standing on top of the ship.

After breaking Zecora out of her stupefied state, which prompted a few pokes to the side of the cheek, which was accomplish by Lin. All four went on board and were greeted by the captain. Most of those that were on board consisted of normal ponies. These ranged from a handful of Earth types and an evenly spread-out number of Pegasus and unicorns. Of course, they were all virtually identical thanks to an enchantment on their clothing. This gave them an appearance that was similar to his maids in terms of fur color.

The reason for this was for the sake of having a decent explanation for the crew all looking the same. Heck, if the royal guards and personal guards of the wealthy could use them and not draw up a fuss. Then why couldn’t he just take a page out of their playbooks for himself.

After living around their race for so long, even Brex has begun to tell them apart without even realizing how he was doing so and quickly identified their Captain as the scientist that was monitoring the systems during their maiden voyage. What stood her apart from the rest, was how she was wearing a pair of small round spectacles that were resting on her nose and attached by a chain that went around the back of her neck.

The Changeling was just as excited as before, but managed to rain it in while giving a brief explanation as to what their itinerary was going to be when it came to their departure time and arrival. All the while, she and the others on board we're putting on the act that Brex was merely a passenger that was being treated well and were actively avoiding any slips of the tongue.

which meant they were not calling him their Lord. When it came to Zecora, she was surprised to find out that the trip that would normally take close to a week or two at most if there were no troubles. Would be done by the Yuna at a fraction of the time. Instead, they would arrive in close to three to four days at the most.

After that was done, the Zebra was a little reluctant to do anything else unless she was allowed to inspect her belongings to see that they were properly stowed away. Understandably, Brex knew that this was a very delicate subject with how a lot of her personal effects were also brought along. Not to mention, a number of the concoctions could be considered to be rare. So, on his orders. Lin would escort her to the cargo hold, while Rin would remain to discuss a few matters with the captain on the bridge.

Although, Brex got a kick out of seeing the Zebra always getting startled whenever one of the bulkhead doors would open up automatically whenever she approached and her eyes would constantly be glued to anything that was lighting up. Which meant pretty much all of the surfaces were easily distracting for the girl. Once everyone was pretty much doing their own thing, the Roegadyn went on ahead and was taking a little stroll around the ship.

After roughly fifteen minutes went by and he got to see the cargo hold, along with Zecora who was taking some time to go over her inventory. Which was then followed with the observatory deck that was above the bridge. When Brex saw the walkway leading up onto the upper deck, he had this small sensation in the back of his head that compelled him to want to go up top. But just as he had put one of his hands onto the railing to go up the ramp. Rory's voice came through the connection. Although it felt as though it was just a little weak.

Instead of it coming in as clear as though she was whispering straight into his ear. Her voice was pretty much compared to a person speaking to another from across the room. Even with that being the case, Rory sounded really excited as her voice was pretty much squeaking with joy. “Oh Master! Oh Master! You really should have been here! Those three are just so adorable! It took everything I had just to not go up to those cuties and give them a group hug!”

After hearing her, Brex turned away from the ramp and went over to one of the railings next to the windows as he glanced outside, before replying to her in a light tone and the both of them began to say the following back and forth.

“Well then, let me guess Rory. Another one of the episodes happened today?”

“Yep! Master, you should have seen it! It was the episode for those Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was so adorable the way they got to be friends during that cutie mark party that was being thrown for those two brats.”

“I see, I see. You're talking about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, right? What type of part did you get to play?”

“Eh, I didn't do a whole lot. Although, I did get the strut the fact that I don't have a cutie mark of my own when those two brats were making fun of Apple Bloom. You would not believe how fast their jaws dropped when they realize that a hottie like me was a blank flank. But you know Master, that wouldn't be the case if you allowed… "That" to be seen.”

“No way, no how. Besides, the place you picked out isn't exactly something you should be showing to the world. Especially to kids that aren’t even at the age for a PG thirteen movie! And before you even think about saying it. The answer is no! You are not going to strip and walk around nude.”

“Master you're just no fun sometimes. Oh, and by the way Master, what are your plans for you know who?”

“I really shouldn't be surprised that you knew it too.”

“I can always see your mini-map and that green dot flying straight towards you is a pretty dead giveaway that someone just boarded the ship without permission.”

“Yeah, it's most likely Luna's spy trying to hitch a ride. Honestly, I could try and nip this in the butt right now and get her thrown off the ship. But that would just cause too many problems for the mare when she's just doing her job.”

“Master, you really are too nice to these girls sometimes, you know that right? You could already tell from your seat inside of that eatery that she might be getting hungry. You also went ahead and purposely snuck in that extra order of food when Zecora wasn't watching.”

“Well, it helps that my status bar seeing ability can also register a De-buff that says whether or not someone is starving. For her to be here in Las Pegasus, must mean that she left and tried to follow us the whole way.”

“None of the Changelings informed me that they found a trespasser on board, so she really wasn't on the trading ship. Odds are the girl wasn't able to get a decent amount of food and relied heavily on ready to go meals. After all, I did happen to talk with someone back at HQ that used to work with the Royal Guards. They said that those things are probably the foulest concoctions ever devised that were meant to be ingested.”

“Again Master, that just proves that you're too nice. I really can't see why you would help out the one who's intentionally spying on you and acting as though you had no clue as to who she was. Are you intentionally doing this to have fun with being one of those oblivious stereotype main characters from some of your anime shows? Its either this or you're-... Oh wow! Why didn't I see this sooner! My master, it seems that you're finally catching on.”

“Rory, what exactly are you getting at in your head this time?”

“Ah, don't mind me! I'm just so happy that my Master is finally putting forth some personal effort to find and add to his harem all on his own! It's just so obvious to anyone. A girl is assigned to follow and report the activities of a mysterious man. Said man, then offers the spy who is clearly in distress a helping hand and shows his chivalrous nature. All of this in the hopes of planting that little seed in order to bring up that little flag and trigger a romantic event, where the Spy falls for the one that they are watching over.”

“Rory. Sheesh… I've only been gone for a few days and I feel like you've been hanging around Rarity too much... Besides, I can't have her passing out from hunger and then losing track of me. At least I know how she operates, so her movements are easy to predict after all this time of trying to follow me in Ponyville. If I didn't, then a new one would be assigned and that would make things a little harder for me to find them out.”

“Whatever you say Master, but don't forget that I know a lot about you after all. No way you can get out of lying when it comes to your attraction to those Bat Ponies. I do recall something inside your head that involves a certain picture of one inside of a maid outfit. But you know, I am actually very surprised that you haven't asked for either of your current maids to take on that form. It's always either their Unicorn identities or their natural forms.”

“Hey! You can't blame me for that. Unlike in the show, these are very sexy Changelings. Aside from the horns having a few small dents or being slightly jagged, the only real holes they have are a few in their wings and the way their hairstyle tries to keep the form for some strange reason whenever it's not actively being combed out straight and being held in place by either their own magic or hair products. Seriously, they're all starting to look as healthy as any of these ponies.”

“Yes Master, I can see your point. Their a far cry from when you first met them back in that rundown warehouse.”

“So anyway, has there been any other developments that I should know about over at Ponyville?”

“Hmm, no nothing really that I need to mention. Just the same old same old.”

“Is that so? Well, how about Gilda's training? Have you taken over or is she still getting time off?”

“I really haven't seen her in the past few days Master. I suppose she's just been really busy or taking the opportunity to relax. That Griffin can really complain when it comes to the training, but she's always the first one to wake up and be ready to go in the morning. Almost seems eager if you ask me.”

“Yeah, she does tend to do that, doesn't she? It can be really confusing at times with whether or not she enjoys it or flat out hates the training and just wants it to be over with. But I'd have to give it to her. She really shows some promise. I bet if Gilda was to ever go against another person that was at her same level, then she would easily trounce them. The average Royal Guard wouldn't even stand a chance against her with the current skills she has now.”

“You know Master, it's very rare for you to be giving this much praise. It's almost as if you-.”

“Rory that's enough. Just as you know me, I also know how you think. And I'd like to ask you not to push that thought any further. I've known the kid since she was around six years old. What do you take me for? A cradle robber?!”

“Master, I'm sorry to bring this up again, but you do realize that you're... An immortal... Right? And Gilda is an adult now. On this world they mature a lot faster when they're younger than sixteen. So, that makes her an adult to them. But you're still going off of Earth standards. That's fine and all, but now she's eighteen. I really don't see the problem. Also, you haven’t exactly been around her for her entire life. It would be for a few days to a week every month. And on a few occasions, you only saw her like once or twice a year. You can't use that as an excuse either.”

“Okay Rory, I am going to humor you for a moment and say that what you're saying is correct. Although you're leaving out one crucial piece of information that will bring that entire house of flimsy cards down.”

“Oh, and what would that be Master?”

“Hello... Gilda is in a relationship with Rainbow Dash! Shouldn't that be the first thing that comes to your mind when giving this whole oddball theory of yours?”

“I don't know… They do have the whole concept of having multiple partners in Equestria for relationships. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.”

“Gerrr! Rory, that's quite enough! I don't know why we're even talking about this still. Let me lay it out for even a horny obsessed girl like you can figure it out. Gilda is my apprentice and I am teaching her how to fight. Her relationship with Rainbow Dash is mending perfectly and those two will be together from now on! Besides, we all know that Rainbow is into girls and look at the way she's always reacting around me. I doubt very much that she'd be appreciative if her... Okay, I was about to say mare friend, but I'm not sure what the term is for a griffin.”

“I believe it would be a lot easier for Master if we just went with simple terms such as girlfriend and boyfriend. You can get quite confusing when you’re trying to use specific phrases that relate to specific species.”

“Fine! Sheesh! What I'm trying to say is, I doubt that Rainbow would be very forthcoming with the idea of sharing her girlfriend with someone she blatantly despises. Even to the point that I’m pretty sure she’s trying to find a way to get me thrown in jail.”

“Very well Master, I'll let it go... For now. But I will say that you're trying awfully hard to come up with all of these reasons to not feel attracted to Gilda. After all, you did see her naked in the tub once and even though you turned around and got out of there without showing it. The little you down below certainly had a re-.”

That was when Brex finally had enough and cut the connection with Rory, while visibly fuming on the spot and went to go downstairs. Along the way, he did bump into one of the crew members and gave them an explanation as to the surprise passenger. Of course, her instant reaction was to want to get a security team on deck to capture the intruder. But Brex told her to notify the rest of the crew that they were to pretend as though they never noticed that she was even there and only to react if any hostilities or tampering were to be discovered.

Furthermore, he instructed them to open the hatch tomorrow morning and pretend to do a last-minute pre-flight maintenance check. This would allow for a good excuse for her to get inside. This was because, there was no way he was about to let her stay out there for the next three or four days to be pelted with high pressure winds from their accelerated travel.

No doubt she expected it to be a leisurely cruise, but had no idea what she was about to be put through upon takeoff. The last thing he wanted, was for her to be hanging onto dear life and lose her grip when the ship was somewhere out in the middle of the vast sea. Only to die because she couldn’t get back to shore.

After all of the relevant instructions were given. The Changeling in disguise quickly went off to continue her duties. While at the same time, her horn was giving off a faint green glow to indicate that she was in contact with her sisters to relay the set of orders. Once the crew member was about halfway down the corridor that was located near the center of the entire ship. Brex turned and went for what was supposed to be his assigned quarters.

At first, the captain tried to give him hers, but he was adamant about taking one of the other ones that were free. Even he knew that the Changeling had ulterior motives with the way she was blushing while giving the suggestion of taking her bed. Along the way, Brex was lightly shaking his head as he was trying to get over how he was surrounded by horny girls no matter where he turned. Even if the Changelings were pretty much throwing it out there. He at least knew that they had some self-restraint when it came to that lord title that they gave him.

There was a total of eight rooms that could be seen connecting to the hallway that was just large enough for him to walk if he was to hold out his arms and bend at the elbows. Which meant there was way more than enough room for two regular size Ponies or Changelings to walk side by side without having to bump into one another.

After reviewing the schematics in his head. Brex knew that there was another row of rooms only one deck down. So, there was quite a bit of space for crew members and guests if the need should come up. Each one of the doors even seems to have a name plate that could be changed whenever the one inside wanted to. This was done by fiddling with a keypad that was affixed to the inside of said door.

This meant all Brex had to do was to keep on going until he found one that didn't have any type of nameplate at all. Which turned out to be the next to last on the left-hand side. It didn't take him much time at all after going in to start using the keypad he was just thinking about earlier and putting down the name, Gambit.

That way it would be seen by anyone walking down the hallway. This was completed when he heard the last keystroke being made and opened the door really quick to see that the digital display was working correctly and displaying and bright neon blue lights for the letterings of his name, before closing the door yet again with him inside. This way he would at least be easy to locate, especially with him always concealing his emotions from being detected.

The next thing to happen was Brex looking around and seeing that there was a single bed attached to the wall that seemed just big enough for him to use. Just to make sure that it was strong enough to handle his weight. Brex went over and was placing his hand onto it and instantly found that it was really two bunk beds that were locked together after being pulled closer.

After giving a small smirk from behind his mask, he then started to say out loud, while also taking a chance to look over the rest of the room. In doing so, he noticed the small door leading to what he thought to be the bathroom and peeked inside. What he found was a toilet, along with a shower big enough for himself and even some elbow room to boot.

“I see, they went all out when it came to the multifunctionality of the crew quarters. With there being twelve in total to run this ship. They really only have space for sixty-two to ride comfortably with the maximum capacity. especially with how fancy the ship looks on both the exterior and interior.” After, Brex turned his attention back and continued.

“Even this bed is just big enough for me and it's going to be pretty difficult to have more than one other to be laying next to me. Oh, I really, really hope that those two don't end up getting into some type of turf war when it comes to which one of them might end up laying in that bed along with myself. Hmm, that reminds me.”

“I wonder if Zecora will be fine with a roommate or will she want a room for herself? She did have that one room all to herself during the first ship ride over. Oh well, there's nothing else to worry about, so I may as well go ahead and use the shower really quick and head off to bed early for once. Maybe I'll talk to Luna tonight.”

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Ponyville*
*Time: Nearly three hours ago. Right after the party for the foals*

Sugar cube Corner was slowly emptying out now that the party was finally coming to an end. The only ones that remained, turned out to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the main six. Which also included Rory as the seventh adult there in the main room of the building that the party was held in for the last couple of hours. In the back were the two owners which happened to be Miss’s and Mister Cake.

Fluttershy was in the middle of helping Rainbow in taking down some of the decorations that were still high up on the ceiling. When it came to the rest of the party favors and trash. That was left to Applejack and Pinky for the tables and the floor was under the care of Rarity and Twilight. When it came to Rory, she was lending a hand by picking up the long tables after the legs were folded in on themselves and carried out through the front door so that it could be deposited within the shed that was located behind Sugar Cube corner.

Just as they are getting done with the last of the cleanup work and Rory came in through the front door after getting rid of the last table. Rarity could be heard speaking up as some of the remaining trash was levitated into a nearby plastic bag.

“We are so appreciative for the assistance Rory. I do hope that those tables weren't too much of a bother.” Rory was already in the middle of placing the smaller round tables that were pushed to the edges of the room back to where they were, while nonchalantly replying to Rarity.

“Not at all Rarity. Those were nothing. Besides, if I can't even handle that much, then how have I been able to survive being with my Master?” This caused the white mare to blush a little as her magic also began to waver and she nearly dropped the bag that was slowly being levitated towards the doorway. Rainbow was the next one to speak up just after throwing the last of the used-up streamers into a box that was marked for party supplies on the far end of the room.

“There! That should be the last of it. I'm fast, but I have no idea as to how Pinkie can get all of this set up when I only had my back turned on the mare for a few seconds. Pinkie, who is right underneath Rainbow and stuffing her face with the leftover cupcakes that had been burned in the attempt to be made by Apple Bloom just before the party was started, spoke up while some of the crumbs were falling out of her mouth. “I can't help if I got the power of laughter on my side. Oh, and also, cut aways scenes really help a lot too!”

Rainbow was now scratching the back of her head and giving Pinkie a strange look as her mouth was beginning to open. But it slowly closed after a few seconds of consideration. This was immediately followed with her giving a shrug before landing on the ground and speaking up again. Now taking a good look around the room to inspect for any more decorations along the ceilings before she finished up. “Okay, everything looks back to how it should.”

Over in one corner of the room was the trio known as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. As they were still talking to one another and giggling every so often. Twilight would be standing next to Rarity and Applejack, while looking in their direction with smiles on their faces. The farm mare was the first to speak up in the group as she let out a relieved sigh. “I was getting a might worried there for mah’ little sis. It looks like those three tikes might turn out to be the best of friends.”

Twilight nodded to that as she added to the conversation. “To think that I never got to getting around to doing that when I was there age seems pretty laughable now that I've come to Ponyville. By the way Rarity, I didn't know you even had a little sister.” The white Unicorn was just finishing up with brushing her hair a few times to get it straightened out in some areas after the cleaning before she replied in a sing song voice.

“Ah yes, she just recently started living with me. You see, our parents have started to retire and are now going on this long trip that they've been saving up to go on for quite a while. So, for the time being, Sweetie Belle is going to be living with me above my shop.” She then said the next part in almost a whisper. “The stars must have been in my favor that she didn't move in until I already calmed down from that… Err… Incident.”

Applejack clearly picked up on just what Rarity was saying and instantly covered for the mare right as Twilight was about to ask what she meant, if judging the inquisitive look that was beginning to build and the purple Unicorn's eyes. “Y-Yeah, you really had a bunch of those darn orders for your dresses. Easy to see that would have been near impossible to get Sweetie Belle moved in during that commotion.” luckily, the student didn’t notice the erratic twitching on the farm mare’s part from that bold face lie.

Twilight seemed to have accepted the explanation as Rarity had a look of relief, while secretly nodding over to Applejack for the assist. It wasn't until after they came down from there unexpected heat cycle that the two conversed and understood what the other one was going through.

From then on, it was decided that it would be better off if it was kept between them and apparently Pinkie, who got to see the whole aftermath. It was also safe to say that the pair was both relieved and disappointed that the one who had an inadvertently caused they're odd actions was now off and on to a mysterious trip with their new friends Zecora and lamented over not smoothing things out with him in time.

Over with Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus was abnormally skittish. Considering that there isnt a thing that could possibly be the reason for making her seem scared or worried. Although, she was in quite a bit of a rush which caught the attention of both Twilight and Rory as well, who is keeping an eye on the mare for quite some time. It was Twilight who was approaching the pink Pegasus before speaking up. “Fluttershy? Are you doing all right there, you don't really seem quite like yourself?”

This caused Fluttershy to let out a small, “Eek!” Before clutching her chest and looking at Twilight before she answered as her eyes were looking towards the ground almost pathetically. “It's not that Twilight, it's just I think I should be getting back to my place soon. I promised one of my animal friends that I would help them with a problem and today's party slipped my mind until just this morning. I feel bad for not being able to keep my promise, that’s all.”

Applejack heard what was being said and walked up a little bit until she was almost next to Twilight to ask her own question. “And just what might be this promise that’s got you on pins and needles? Don’t tell me it’s that Angel Bunny of yours? I think you need to put your hoof down when it comes to that guy.”

The Pegasus was now bringing both of her hands closer to one another to slowly poke her index fingers together, before answering Applejack. “Umm… Well, a couple days ago I came across an animal that was on the side of the road and I've been taking care of her. The poor thing was completely exhausted and I promise that I would take her into town today to try and find her owner.”

Fluttershy paused for a moment before she continued with a blush on her cheeks. “The only real problem I have is… That I know she can understand me, but I can't seem to understand her at all.” Twilight scrunched up her face before asking hesitantly. “But I thought you could communicate with all the animals?”

She looked a little more flustered before answering Twilight. “Well, it's not that I can fully understand them like I would with you and me. I can figure it out pretty easily if I have enough time with them. If it's a certain type of animal that I've been around before, then it becomes a lot easier and I can pick up what their noises mean. With some it's almost close enough to have a real conversation.”

Rainbow zoomed down and was now hovering among the group. The blue Pegasus then asked in an incredulous tone. “Just what the hay is this animal anyway for you to have such a problem? Why didn't you just put up some posters or start asking around before now?” That was when the rest of them began to nod before Fluttershy replied.

“Well, umm… It has to do with what she is... I hear that she's an animal that’s highly sought after and I didn't want to take the chance of bringing her into town and not be able to defend herself if someone just claimed to be her owner and drag her away.”

That was when she started to lift her right hand while continuing. “Also, she's pretty big and I didn't want to agitate her condition until she was ready to be up and about.” By then all of them were looking pretty confused at the explanation, but Fluttershy was just about to go into more details before they all heard a knock at the front door for Sugar Cube Corner.

It was Apple Bloom who was the closest to the door and she quickly went right up to it to answer. Once she had opened it completely, all the girls from within the room could see how her neck was craning up as if she was trying to look at something really big on the other side of the doorway.

Which they couldn't see very well with the door itself being opened inwards to block whatever it was from their line of sight. That was when Applejack called to her sister. “Well? Who's at the door Apple Bloom? The party's already over and the shops going to be closed for the rest of the day. Tell whoever it is that the shop will be open again tomorrow.”

Apple Bloom was immediately joined by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle after noticing the slight pause in their new friends reply to her older sister. This was then followed with a collective gasp from all three as they were now clearly excited about what was beyond the door. The rest of the girls were just beginning to make their way over to see what was going on when they heard the voice of a mare on the other side.

Going off of the way they spoke, the mare sounded as if she was quite out of breath. “D-Does this… Belong to any one… In the building?” As soon as those words were heard. The three little girls moved out of the way and what came through the door was a large bird. Said bird was poking its head around to get a good look at what was within the room while taking a few steps inside.

Apparently, it even needed to crouch down enough to fit through the doorway and as soon as it is straightened itself up. All of the ponies within the room were now lifting their chins in order to get a good view of just how tall it really was in comparison to themselves and Pinkie ended up falling over onto her back and going all, "Ooooh and Haaaaa."

A heavy silence filled the room during all of this. But that was broken after hearing someone coughing, which brought all of their attention down towards the ground. Where there was a guard holding on to a piece of rope that just so happened to be looped around the bird’s neck.

But what really got their attention, was how there are three more and each and every one of them was literally being dragged on the ground as their armor could be seen all scuffed up. Some of them even had mud and grass or possibly a mixture of both on portions of their armor.

One of the other guards spoke up right as they started to let go of the rope and rolled onto their back to take in a heavy breath. “Thank… Celestia… It finally stopped.” another one was the next to speak as they were pretty much doing the same, but this time with a groan of pain behind their voice.

“Someone reported… Spotting this Chocobo coming into town and we've been trying to wrangle it for the last… Half an hour. All it did was walk around, but no matter what we tried, we just couldn't hold it still. We think the bird was searching for something or someone by the way it was randomly walking the streets.”

The third mare that was still holding on, began to speak as she was trying to pull herself up on the rope to get back on to her legs. “It took us all over Ponyville... No matter how much strength we had or magic used, nothing worked... Please, oh please say that the owner is here so we can just go home... I got rocks and places of my armor that I'd rather not mention...”

During all of this, the Chocobo was turning its head to look in all directions until it had come to a stop after catching sight of Rory. This got a set of excited set of chirps from the bird before it began to slowly make its way over to the girl and paid no mind to the extra weight of the mare that were forced to go along on the ground once again.

The two guards that spoke up first already let go the rope, which meant that the third was the only one still hanging on and she was dragged along no differently than a can would when tied to the back of a bumper for a newly married couples’ car. All the while, groaning under her breath. “Oh, for the love of Celestia... Not this again...”

Rory met the Chocobo halfway and gave the her a very confused look, before she raised her right hand and began to make some motions and whispering some words. This was also accompanied by a small glow that was appearing around said hand before it slowly dissipated after a couple of seconds. The girl then started to say, “Crystal, what are you doing all the way here? I thought you were back helping to keep an eye on the new Chocobo's?”

This started a weird go between with the Chocobo and Rory as every time she began to ask a question, the bird would simply give off a couple of squawks and chirps, along with a couple that sounded eerily close to what a cat would make when it was pretty upset.

It would even make some gestures as it was moving its body as it was doing all of this. During this time, the guard was already back to her hoofs and was now standing with the others. All the while, giving them a strange look as some of them were arching an eyebrow or tilting their head at the spectacle.

Rory would hum a tune ever so often. At one point, after it a few minutes went by, the girl was pretty much laughing so hard that she literally staggered back. It even got so bad, that she required the help of one of the round tables to steady yourself as the other hand was trying to cover her mouth. Rory was even going so far as to start crying so hard, that she was having a hard time with breathing as she tried to say the following in broken sentences.

“YOU DID WHAT?! HOoooooo-Hooo! HAA-HAAA-HAAA!!! I can't believe-you did that to-. I wish I was there to see that! I can't breathe, I can't breathe! You just-. You just left her like that?!” By this point, Rory just lost her grip on the table and fell onto her tail with a loud thud and began to roll around while still laughing like a crazy lunatic and kicking her legs in the air.

It took nearly a minute for her to finally calm down enough to wipe the tears from her face, while getting up onto her legs again. Although, she still needed the aid of grabbing onto the table to keep herself steady or she might end up on the ground a second time with how she was still giggling.

Twilight was the first one to snap out of it and gingerly approached Rory. As Twilight was keeping her eyes on the Chocobo, she got right up next to Rory and leaned in so that she could speak from the side of her mouth in an attempt to not startle the larger creature. “Just what is going on and why is there a Chocobo in Ponyville? They're not native to this area and are only found in the Southeastern part of Equestria.”

Rory was just finishing with wiping her face and was now giving a small grin towards Fluttershy before responding to Twilight's question. “Oh, oh, I should probably explain a few things. But first.” Her gaze slowly shifted to the guard that was still holding on to the rope.

From there, she gave the mare a narrowed look before saying the following in a sing song voice that was clearly laced with malice. “This is the personal Chocobo of my Master and I do not think he would take it very well to see Crystal being held like some common pet. Especially by a mare he has no relationship with.”

This expression of hers greatly affected all of those in attendance. Well, all of those aside from the Crusaders who were lucky to be standing at just the right angle so they were behind Rory and looking up at the bird. This meant that they had no idea what she was doing. The main six all took a step back as their eyes went wide and this left the guard all by herself to be singled out by Rory, who was not budging an inch as her eyes turned cold towards the mare.

The guard who was receiving the full blow, began to shutter in her armor as she weekly released the rope that was in her hands and also took a quick step away from the bird before going into a attention stance. The mare then said in a terrified voice. “I-I was only doing my job, this Chocobo was wandering around without their owner and with no saddle… We-We assumed it to be a wild animal that wandered into the t-town.”

The mare was clearly about to add onto her statement when Rory leaned in so much that this caused her to become slightly lower and now looking up at the guard mare from just a few inches below her nose. Normally, getting into a lower position would not be an advantageous choice to make when trying to put forth their point.

However, Rory's eyes glinted with a fiery red hue, along with those lips of hers turning a slight shade of purple gave off the impression to the guard that she was not to be trifled with. It also didn't help the guard situation with the malicious grin that was being directed towards her at the same time. This grin just said that she was clearly looking for a reason to make a move and the mare was just seconds away from soiling her pants out of fear.

Rory went in even closer now and straighten up so that she was standing on the guards left hand side. With a mouth almost close enough to touch the hairs on the edge of the mare's ear. She spoke in a strangely seductive voice that made the mare stiffen up the instant anything came out of her lips. “I can fully understand that you're doing your job and seeing as her owner is not here. I shall take upon the responsibility of taking custody of his property.”

Rory continued after switching over to a cold tone. “My Master would be greatly upset if he were to discover that his Chocobo was mare-handled by not one, but three of the town guards. And I just cannot stand it when my Master is not happy. Now don't you agree? By default, that means your actions are causing not only me trouble, but also you as well.”

Twilight was looking between the mare and Rory with wide eyes, while looking really conflicted as to what she should be doing. When it came to Rarity however, she seemed to have been completely captivated by the site and was eagerly awaiting the conclusion. It was as though it was some type of soap opera to the white mare.

Fluttershy looked even more conflicted than Twilight by now, but was more focused on the Chocobo more than anything else. The pink party pony was sitting in a chair that was pulled out of nowhere and eating a tub of popcorn in a similar way as to when Nightmare Moon turned herself in, but not before slapping Celestia across the cheek with the strength of an Alicorn.

Going over to Applejack, the mare was a shade of gray as her eyes turned into pinpricks. Obviously with her ability to sense a lie, the mare was terrified at what a level forty would do if they were to lose it. Mush more so when they have a frame like his. When it came to the last Pony in the group, which was the one and only Rainbow. She was at first looking at the scene with an incredulous stare, but over time. It morphed to that of doubt and then strangely to being concerned at what was being said out loud.

Seeming to have been triggered by the situation. Rainbow flew up and in one quick motion slipped the noose off of the Chocobo's head and dropped it in front of the Guard, before taking up a defiant stance with her arms crossed on the other side.

The blue Pegasus then said, while pretty much imitating the look that Rory was giving only earlier. “Yeah, you don't really want to make that big guy angry. You know Applejack can tell if someone's lying and if she hasn't said anything yet, then everything that Rory said one hundred percent is true. We should probably drop this whole thing now, unless you want to be on Gambits bad side when he finally gets back from his trip.”

Not only did the Guard mare who was being surrounded by two girls flinch at hearing that. But so did the other Guards that were laying on the ground after rolling on to their elbows to look up at Rainbow only an instant later after that sentence was said. The others on the ground quickly looked towards one another while sweating profusely for a few seconds, before getting up onto their legs.

As for the Guard that was being talked to, she slowly nodded before changing her tune to that of a more cheerful nature and also smiling widely. It also didn’t escape the notice of the rest when she was now slowly backing away towards the door without breaking eye contact with Rory.

“Oh! I uh… see… S-So this Chocobo belongs to Gambit? Well, I-I mean. We… That is… Just make sure that the Chocobo is accompanied when going through the town as per safety regulations and we will just pretend that… Gulp! T-This never happened. In fact, if Gambit should ever need a bird sitter for a while, then he could call on any of us if it should ever come up! Hehe...”

And with that said, all three of them were now grinning from ear to ear, while still sweating and making for the door in a rush. However, in their current state, the three Guards ended up getting stuck in the doorway as they tried to squirm through for a few seconds before finally coming dislodged and falling to the ground on the other side. It didn't even take them a good two seconds before they were already up on their hoofs and making a break for it.

With them out of the way. Rory gave Rainbow and inquisitive glance that lasted a few seconds, but was caught on by the blue Pegasus that just looked away. Afterwards, Rory returned her gaze back to Crystal and said in her usual cheery voice, “How about we go over to Fluttershy's home for the time being and see about getting a place for you to stay.”

After hearing that, the bird let out a few more chips and chirps before tilting its head slightly. Rory saw this and responded immediately afterwards with an apologetic smile while speaking to the bird “I'm sorry to say that Master isn't here and won't be back for some time.”

This just got Crystal to lower her head and soon gave out a pathetic little chirp which caused pretty much everyone there to have this little pinch in their hearts at the sight of a sad Chocobo. Rory then said, while putting her hands onto her hips. “You got nothing to worry about Crystal. I'm sure Master will summon you at any time he feels that he needs your assistance. I'll even send him word about you being here as soon as he arrives to his destination.”

This instantly perked up Crystal as she leaned in and began to nuzzle both her beak and face into Rory's own. Which got the girl to give off a series of giggles as the feathers were clearly tickling her. Twilight was also giggling at the site before approaching the pair. She then asked as she was now looking over at Fluttershy. “You just mentioned Fluttershy, why is that?” In response, the Pegasus in question stepped up rather sheepishly and started to get everyone's attention.

“That's because she's the animal that I was telling you all earlier... I hope that's all right?” Rory nodded to that before stepping in. “That's right. Crystal told me about how she was being taken care of and that the rest of her gear is still at Fluttershy's place. After fully regaining her strength, Crystal couldn't wait anymore and started to search the town for Master and that's when she came across those Guards that tried to... Well, Crystal says that they were trying to get a ride out of her, but I'm pretty sure that's not what happened.”

Rory then went on to continue as she ran her hands along the Chocobo's feathers. At the same time, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders were getting a closer look at its legs and wings. “Besides, it's late in the day and I doubt I can get any arrangements made at this time. So, I hope it's not too much of a bother for Fluttershy to keep her for another night so that I can get Crystal situated in her own place. Oh, and by the way Fluttershy. I'll make sure to tell Master what you did for Crystal. The two of them have been at each other's sides since long before even I came into the picture.”

Twilight, who was taking this all in, was suddenly hit with a stroke of realization as she quickly darted her eyes from Fluttershy and right back to Rory, before asking another question that popped into her head. “Rory! I had no idea that you had the same talent to talk to animals just like Fluttershy can! Why didn't you say that you can talk to them? Also, I've been meaning to ask this as well, but you don't have a cutie mark.”

This got a reaction from the Crusaders as they zoomed around the Chocobo so that they are lined up all in front of Rory. Their eyes were pretty much ready to explode with how they were giving a puppy dog look and clearly wanting to hear the explanation for themselves.

Oddly enough, Rory was instantly affected by this and showed it by flinching at the sudden action. She was also now holding her arms up in a defensive position and full-on sweating bullets. At the same time, she couldn't help but to squeak out the next line which consisted of, “Too cute! Just too cute!”

After taking a moment to recover from the weaponized cuteness. Rory straightened out her outfit before returning to her usual composure in order to answer Twilight. “Oh, I can't speak with animals all the time. That would have to do if one of my spells that allows me to communicate with them for up to ten minutes at a time. It essentially breaks down the language barrier and conversing back and forth becomes possible. Although, it is greatly dependent on the intelligence level that the one I'm trying to use it on has.”

Rory brought a finger up to her chin as she was clearly in deep thought for a few seconds before continuing. “Think of it as one animal might be really smart and it's no different than if it were between you and myself. While another one would barely be able to put a few words to string a sentence along if they're intelligence level was pretty low.”

“However, when it comes to Crystal here, she's exceptionally smart when it comes to the Chocobo's.” Rory quickly leaned in to say the next part into Twilight's ear and also giving a shifty glance to the others in the room. “I wouldn't put it past Crystal to be able to do our taxes. Although, she could be rather impulsive. If you see she is in a bad mood, make sure you’re not between her and what’s causing it.”

This got a quick smack to the top of Rory's head when Crystal leaned in and hit her by swinging the bottom of her beak downwards. This got Rory let out a small pained Yelp, while clutching at her head before yelling up to Crystal. “Hey! Watch it there! Don't get all full of yourself because you have seniority over me!” Twilight, who had already summoned up her notepad, was writing some notes down when Scootaloo chimed into the conversation by waving her hand in the air to get some attention.

“Miss Rory! You said earlier that you didn't have a cutie mark, but you can do what Fluttershy can. That must mean you do have one, so which is it?” The girl was just about to go with a thought she had in her head, but quickly stopped before a single word came out as she looked across the three kids. Inside of her own head, she was half crying as she thought the following. “I just can't! I just can't corrupt these kids, they're just too cute! Also, Master would never forgive me if I were to do something lewd around them.”

She also remembered the threat that he made to her before leaving and internally shivered at what kind of punishment he would come up with. If it was just to mess with the grown-ups, then it wouldn't have been so bad. But she just knew it would have been something not even she would enjoy if she were to try something with these three.

Back and outside world. Rory gave them a small smile before getting down onto her right knee so that she was closer to their height. She then spoke in a way that made her seem a lot more mature than normal, which easily threw off the other girls in the room. “It is true that I do not have my own cutie mark and I'm perfectly fine with that. Now, what I have is something special that I received from the one that I love. It’s kind of like one, but more personal.”

It was Sweetie Belle that asked her question next.” But why don't you have a cutie mark to begin with? Did you ever find out what you're good at doing?” Rory took a quick glance at Sweetie Belle's older sister before going back to the younger one and saying, “It's nice and all to have a cutie mark, but you never really know what you're going to get. I want you to keep in mind that I'm not normal, so I won't ever have one.”

All three of them had a sudden look of fright, as well as a weird look that was coming from Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy that were standing in the background. But before the three fillies could go into a set of hysterics. Rory quickly continued. “Now I'm sure that the three of you will get your own cutie marks, it doesn't matter if you get them now or later on in your life. My master told me a proverb that would make sense here. It is not the destination that truly matters, but the journey itself one takes along the way there.”

Obviously, they didn't get it with how each of them was now having various reactions of scratching their heads and sticking out their tongues, while looking up at the ceiling. So, Rory quickly elaborated. “What I mean to say is, that instead of focusing on whether or not you will get your cutie marks. You should enjoy your freedom while you still have it. Have fun, trying new things. Think of it this way, your future has not been set into stone and you have a possibility to be anything just like you said during the party when defending Apple Bloom.”

Seeming to be satisfied for the moment, two of them were now calming down. But this left Apple Bloom as she was tilting her head and clearly wanting to ask a question. After seeing this, Rory quickly nodded and Apple Bloom went right ahead. “Miss Rory, where is the mark you have now that you got from the one you love?”

Rory reached out and padded Apple Bloom on the head lately, before getting to her feet. She then said in a sly tone of voice. “Now I'm fairly sure that your sister would not like me disclosing that information.” She then winked at Apple Bloom before continuing with, “let's just say you need to be a bit older for I can even think to say where it is. PG-13 stuff.”

After getting a set of, Aww's. Applejack and Rarity went on home along with their little sisters. When it came to Scootaloo, she was brought home by Rainbow. As for the rest of them. They all made their way over to Fluttershy's. This time however, the yellow Pegasus wasn't acting so skittish when it came to getting close enough to be with Crystal even though Rory was right there. Upon seeing this, the girl in disguise had a small smile at seeing that she might be able to make some leeway in approaching Fluttershy who had been quite distant.

As all of this was going on and off to the South. Quite a bit of ways further down the road from Ponyville, was the sound of shuffling hoofs along a gravelly road. Said noise was coming from just over a small hill that the path was coming down from and it appeared to be getting closer.

With the way that the sun was currently positioned. It showed that there was only a short time left until it's swift descent over the horizon to usher the night. A shaded figure could be seen crossing over the top of the hill at a slow speed.

Also, with the way the sun was directly behind them now, the figure was shuffling along, while clutching at a bag that was hanging near their hips. This was followed with a worn-out feminine voice that droned along with the words it was trying to say. “Crystal… Crystal… Where are you? Crystal… Come back, I got tasty num nums... Please, if you could hear me, let's go home...”

After a few more seconds, the figure stopped for a moment and appeared to be taking in a deep breath of air with all the strength they had before yelling the last bit as loud as they could. Which turned out to be pretty weak, while at the same time being extremely desperate. “CRYSTAL COME BACK! THE LORDS GOING TO KILL ME! I thought we were buddies!” After saying her peace, the girl kept on trudging along with a great amount of difficulty with every other step and almost went into another stagger before catching herself.

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Time: The Present*
*Location: The Dream Realm*

The scene shows a long-paved road that was easily seven lanes across. Tall box shaped archways with Celtic markings could be seen edged into the stone were situated every few hundred meters apart from one another. Thunder could be heard from the dark sky that was partially illuminated by a sun that was fully eclipsed. Which left only the white outline to be a source of light for all of the land below.

A number of figures wearing red robes and carrying one handed sword’s that were forged in a way that gave them a zigzag pattern that started from the handle, until it was halfway up. From there, the rest of the weapon would go straight again till it went to a point. When one of the hoods turned in the direction of further up the road. It exposed their face to be horribly disfigured and dried with black blood. Their teeth could be seen without the skin around the mouth and the canines were abnormally long and sharp.

As these were dotting the road, something large just stepped over them to reveal a set of long red legs with three long digits for toes now griping onto the ground. When looking up, one would see that it belonged to a weird diamond shaped black cage that was oozing an endless supply of black goop. Said goop would splash onto the ground underneath to make a trail. Inside of the cage, was a number of bodies that were decomposing and their limbs were flailing about as they tried to reach through the cage bars for anything they could.

The background noises consisted of thunder and rain, as well as the moaning souls of the doomed that were being tortured without End. But this was instantly cut through when the excited voice of Brex was heard over it all. “Hey there Luna! Thanks for dropping in! Just give me a few minutes here, I need to get to the end of the bridge before I run out of time! Oh and don’t mind the pedestrians, they go through this sort of stuff all the time!”

This was instantly followed with a loud roar coming from a mighty beast of metal, which was also accompanied with the voice of Luna. The princess of the night was right now screaming at the top of her lungs before a souped-up car was seen rocketing into the air after going up a ramp in the road.

Before the car landed back onto its wheels. The walking two-legged cage of a monstrosity was plowed right through and the black substance was splattered everywhere. But miraculously, the car was left without a single blemish as it fumbled around on its tires before straightening out upon the landing soon after.

The car itself showed it to have a pair of overly sized tires for the rear. While smaller ones were in the front. The engine itself was practically exposed with a set of three long exhaust pipes being on either side and letting off constant bursts of flames whenever the engine revved up.

The outside was mostly black, but the metal bits shined like pure silver. There were even some hot rod flames that were painted on the sides that really stood out on the black paint it was on and making it look cool as fuck and Brex would say so, if he was ever asked about it.

(here is a picture of the car in the dream.)

Inside the car was a two-passenger seat and the ones in them were none other than Brex and Luna. When it came to Brex, he was currently wearing a set of gear that gave him an apocalyptic theme, as he was covered in multiple straps of leather that showed some small spikes to be protruding from them on his four arms and legs.

Pretty much everything was covered up in the same fashion and his head had a kind of leathery helmet that would only have exposed everything below is eyes. But that was covered up with a black cloth hood, that went down and covered up the rest, including his neck. So, from a distance, he could have been thought to be wearing a full body leather outfit that would easily send Rory into a sex fueled fit if it was in the real world.

As for Luna, she was currently gripping at anything she could and bracing herself as she was still screaming bloody murder. Instead of her usual dress, the princess of the night was now wearing what appeared to be a black T-shirt with a white bird flying downwards. Inside of that, it also depicted a type of Egyptian marking in the center of it.

She even had on some long wristbands with spikes protruding that also went along with the spiked belt that was meant to hold up the dark blue jeans. These pants could be seen hugging her form quite tightly by the looks of it as they showed off her curves quite nicely. Around her neck, was a dark choker and she even showed to have some black eyeliner that she would normally not have. But it really worked for her nonetheless.

(Here is a picture of the clothing Luna is wearing right now in the dream of Brex.)

After a few more seconds from when they touch down. Brex reached over with his right hand and grabbed onto a long stick shift that had a number eight ball attached for the handle and shifted it to a higher gear. This move then caused the car to accelerate to a more dangerous speed as he plowed through the robed beings and hit a few more jumps to do the same to another two more of the cage walkers.

Right when it seemed that they had finally gotten passed most of them and were now on a long straight stretch of highway that was now elevated over a seemingly endless black sea on either side. Luna was beginning to get used to the ride somewhat and yelled over to him without taking her eyes off the road. “What in my mother's name is going on here! Where are we? What is this thing? And what am I now wearing?! How can clothing be both tight and make me feel as I’m practically in the nude?”

Luna wanted to say more, but was distracted when a number of places along the road began to cave in so there were large gaping holes in their path. Brex narrowly avoided going into one of them as one of the larger tires skidded a few times when there was barely anything underneath, but managed to keep going until it landed on the pavement once again to produce a screeching noise in the process.

Brex called out casually as if they were on a Sunday drive. Although, there was a bit of excitement behind it. “Didn't your mother ever tell you not to distract the driver?” Brex did a sharp jerk of the wheel to go onto the right side of the highway just as the middle section caved in. This made Luna shift herself so that she was now pressing right up against his body, before straightening out the car again as he continued.

“Oh this? I guess I just ended up reminiscing on the past! I thought you would end up in my mind eventually, but you came rather quickly tonight! Don't worry, we don't have much time left.” That was when he took one of his hands and pointed straight ahead to indicate that she should look.

When Luna followed his arm, she saw that there was a shoreline coming up and released a breath she was holding out of relief. Unfortunately, then she ended up letting out another scream as the rest of the road began to crumble apart even more and the car needed to swerve from one side to the next at nearly the last second when they nearly when into another hole.

When it seemed as though they were nearing the end. The entire bridge was now coming down and the last hundred meters or so of the bridge fell into the water. This was followed with the section of the bridge that they were on falling as well. Although, it seemed as though it was the rear that was going first, so they were now on an uphill slope. Brex stepped on the gas and called out at the last second, while at the same time, letting go of the wheel. “Hold up your hands like this! it's a lot better that way! WooooHoo!”

Although Luna was having none of it and was screaming so loud that one could see her uvula swinging in the back of her throat as the car went into its last long jump. The two of them soon land on the shoreline after giving several bounces and spinning in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. To which they came to an abrupt stop with Brex leaning on to his door with his elbow and throwing his right arm over the back of Luna's seat in a relaxing motion.

For Luna, she was still gripping on to whatever she had been this entire ride and by the time she realized that they stopped and released her grip. Brex could hear the way that the metal was creaking and there was a visible indentation from her hands on the upper part of her door. Brex gave a quick laugh before waving his hand in a dismissive gesture when he spoke up.

“Oh, come now Luna, that was the fun part. At least you dropped in after I already dealt with the giant vagina worm with all of those piercings. I have to say, those three tongues were so grabby by the end. Now if you want nightmare fuel, that’s it right there.”

While still breathing quite heavily from the scare. Luna took a good look at her surroundings and noticed a multitude of weird beasts roaming the lands. There were things that resembled porcupines. However, their bodies were now covered in glistening silver blades that shifted with every movement they made as they waddled over the ground rather awkwardly.

There were even some large black furred covered beasts that went on all fours. Those could be seen in the act of randomly attacking the porcupines, as well as one another in aggressive fashions that seem to have no real purpose. Perhaps in a way of asserting dominance or territory, she couldn’t really tell.

When her eyes turn to the sky and saw the condition of the Sun. The lunar princess could do nothing but gawk at it with disbelief, as she slowly turned her attention back to the one that she came to see. She then spoke in an uneasy voice, while gesturing towards the background with her right arm.

“Is-Is this Tartarus?” After hearing that, Brex stepped out of the car by jumping right over the door which clearly could not be opened and landed with both of his feet on the ground. By doing this, he just so happened to squish one of the porcupines that came too close to the vehicle with a loud mesh of a squish and metal grinding onto one another.

After making a disgusted grunt and wiping his shoe on one of the tires. He answered with his hands on his hips, while he took in the surroundings. “Nope, this is not Tartarus.” Luna took another look around before she exclaimed after jumping out of the car herself and approaching him. “How can this not be Tartarus? Do you not see the sun? do you not see all the Monsters?! The sky is a constant thunderstorm and I cannot even see the stars. From right here, the sea looks as black as tar.”

Brex was turning his head from one direction to the next to look at what Luna was describing. Soon, his attention was fully back on her before he just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and said, “Eh! It's clearly not a spa, but it has its charm. For one, you're never without a weapon to defend yourself.” As he was saying that. Brex reached down towards the carcass of the porcupine creature and carefully ripped out one of the blades before he showed it to Luna.

He then said, “See, already you got yourself a knife. Some of the creatures around here you could turn into a bunch of stuff. Especially if you clean out the barrel, flush out the chamber. Of course, that's only after you scrape off the gizzards and remaining fleshy bits. Don't worry, after a while you don't even notice the smell anymore.

Luna visibly shuttered after noticing that there was still a piece of flesh attached to the bottom of the knife handle. This only caused her to come to the conclusion that it was indeed growing the metal right out of its own body in the same way a pony grows their mane’s. To her, it was the same as killing something and ripping their bones out for a crude weapon or club.

In her mind, Luna was going over everything and shuttered even more at the very notion of letting her sister know what kind of world he was sent to. After that thought ran through. Luna finally noticed her current appearance and began to scream frantically, as she noticed that she did not have her wings.

“MY WINGS! where are my wings?!” From there, it took her a few moments to come to the realization that this was his dream, so there was the possibility that she was not allowed to have them in this environment and quickly calmed down after first taking in a few deep breaths.

After closing her eyes for a few seconds. Luna opened them to see him just leaning on the back side of the strange vehicle with his arms crossed. He then said in a nonchalant way, “So? What do I owe tonight’s visit?” Luna was pretty much caught off guard with how casual he sounded. Especially when compared to the other times where he was pretty serious and just contributed it to him having a good day. After attempting to straighten out her clothing, but only to realize that it was not her normal attire and being quite tight on her slender form.

She replied with, “Very well, I shall get straight to why I am here. I'm interested in knowing as to where you are heading and just what might your intentions be?” After a few seconds, Brex shrugged again, before placing both of his hands down so that he was putting a good portion of his upper body weight against the back of the car as he replied. “And here I thought you would be happy to have a potential threat leaving your lands for a while.”

Luna was caught unawares by the statement and tried to push a bit more. “I do not understand as to why you would be under the assumption that we perceive you as a threat. My sister and I merely wish to know what your plans are.” But before Luna could go, on Brex interrupted her by saying, “I take it that Twilight has already sent in another one of her many reports on my activities. I wonder if she's freaking out that she can no longer be your sister's spy while I'm not there in Ponyville.”

From behind his mask, Brex was smirking as he knew plainly well that her spy was already hot on his heels as they would say, with being on top of the ship while he was sleeping right now. But he wanted to see what kind of reaction he can get out of Luna. From his perspective, the lunar princess was clearly unnerved by what he said. This was because of how she couldn't keep her eyes on him and was now looking away.

Brex began to think to himself the following. “Wow, Luna really wants to tell me about the spy. But she can't seem to bring herself to do it. I wonder just how long she'll go along with my apparent misunderstandings when it comes to her sister’s student. But then, he decided to throw her a bone to get things going.

That was when he stepped away from the car and waved his right hand in the air. The act was now having the effect of changing the dream, as a subtle wave rippled across all of the surfaces. Within a few seconds, they found themselves within a place that caused Luna to have a look of realization on her facial expressions. Where they were now, was the outside patio that they first ran into one another. However, this time it was on a clear day around noon.

Luna was already turning slowly in place as to take in the view. During that time, Brex shifted his form so that he was wearing his usual white robes and mask, while also making his way towards the nearest table. Afterwards, the two sat down and Brex relayed that he would be going to Zebrabwe and that he would be gone for the foreseeable future.

Although he didn't go into very many details, no matter how hard Luna tried to pry into it. However, Brex did make it a point to say that Rory was still in town and that if anything was to be done to her, then he would no doubt come looking for the two of them first. To which got Luna to quickly reply in saying that they would not do any such deed and showing that she was extremely nervous at the prospect.

Luna even requested that she brings Celestia in tonight to continue with some talks. But Brex refused out right and stated that he would rather have a relaxing evening, then to accommodate an unwanted person into his mind. Luna looked a little down casted at this, but otherwise agreed and soon after she left his dream.

However, as soon as the lunar princess went up in a flash of light and he was now left alone in his mind. Brex waited a few seconds before slowly turning his attention away from where Luna was and towards the nearby doorway that was leading into the cooking area and began to talk just loud enough to be heard from a distance.

“You know, it's pretty dangerous for you to be there. Especially while Luna is in my mind.” Brex got no response, but there was a small glimpse of something dark moving around in one of the shadows that he could see just inside from where he sat. He then said, “If you have any preferences for a dream tonight, then you may as well let me know now.”

With another stretch of silence following. Brex began to speak in a much Sterner tone of voice that was just barely above a whisper. “This is beginning to feel quite irritating. I suggest you fix that attitude of yours soon, because my patience is growing thin. Don’t mistake my lack of action for anything foolish such as weakness. You have seen my control here. Don’t test me.”

The next thing to happen, was the shadowy figure starting off somewhere that he could no longer get a line of sight from. What's more, was the rapidly made steps that indicated that they were running as fast as they could in the opposite direction and growing distant by the second. Obviously already crossing the bridge and making for the rest of the city.

Brex was just about to say something else, but felt that there was something going on in the real world and instantly made himself wake up on the spot without going through the process of exiting the outer layer dream first. Upon waking, he was met by the site of Rin, who was standing at the edge of his bed. The silver haired Changeling then spoke up after giving a short bow first. “Rin thought that the Lord would care to know that the unexpected guest has already snuck into the ship.”

“One of our crew members exited in order to get some additional supplies and she took the opportunity to get in during that small window. Currently, my sisters and I have tracked her to be staying in the second cargo hold that Zecora also has her belongings stored away in.”

“No other movement has been detected of her part and we believe she will be staying there for the time being.” Brex gave a small yawn, before he responded to that. “Good. Do make sure to have the crew go about their usual business for a little bit so that she can keep an eye on how things go and put a few crates of supplies in there. That way she could easily find other sources of food and water.”

“Last thing we need is for her to go starving and snooping around the rest of the ship while trying to look for food. Also, make it obvious that the bathroom that's nearby that location is not often used. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not have her doing her business in the corner somewhere. That would only stink up the place.”

This got him a small tilt of the head from Rin, as she went on to ask a question. “Master, why are we going through all the trouble when we could simply take her in? It wouldn’t take that much effort to capture just one lone spy and toss her into one of the spare rooms to be locked in for the trip.”

Brex smirked from behind his mask as he reached up and took her by the right hand. He then pulled her so that she would end up falling and sitting across his lap. The Changeling gave out a sudden “Eep” Of surprise by the action, but was blushing when he brought his mask close to her face in order to whisper.

“What better way to see what kind of a person she is when she believes that she is the one that's in control. If we were to confront her now. Then she would most likely put on a mask of her own and be more closely guarded.” He took that moment to bring up one of his fingers and placed it onto the Changelings lips, before lightly dragging his gloved hand down so that it was tracing along the center of her neck.

This got a small hitch from the Changelings breathing as he continued. “And you and your sister know very well that I love to mess with others on occasion.” He paused only after his hand was now right over her chest and lately began to squeeze at her right breast through the girl’s outfit. The Changelings body began to arc a little as she pushed her chest outwards slightly. This was also paired with her head leaning back and giving out a content sigh of excitement as her body started to shiver.

Before continuing and further, he whispered into her ear after placing his mask so close that it was brushing right up against the fur of her disguised Pony form. “When your sister gets back, I wouldn't mind giving the both of you some much needed personal attention.” This got a response of a strong shutter to run along the Changelings entire form as her body almost went limp soon after.

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: The Yuna, inside of the cargo hold*
*Time: One-thirty in the morning*

After shifting around from behind some crates. The one that was outside of the eatery could be seen going around and undoing a few of the bindings on her clothing. This revealed a Thestral with bright yellow, slitted eyes. Although, even if she was no longer wearing her cloak, most of her body was still covered up from head to toe. Apparently, she only just woke up and was giving herself a light stretch, as she began to think to herself after hearing some strange noises that were echoing throughout the ship.

“The strange machines that they have on board are giving off some peculiar sounds. Why is it that they resemble moaning?” That was when she heard some more noises coming from the other side of the room and she decided to climb on a couple of the stacked boxes as to get a higher viewpoint. That was when she caught sight of one of the crew members that was carrying in a small crate. The container was barely a foot in diameter and was placed down before the mare started in making their way towards the still open door.

However, she ended up tilting her head upon noticing that the mare was nearly staggering, as she grabbed on to the doorway and was now letting out a sensual moan. At the same time, her free hand was now aggressively reaching into her pants in the front. After a couple of seconds went by, the mare was now trembling.

Her knees could be seen pretty much wobbling in place before letting out a loud sensual scream that was being muffled by the hand that was not busy underneath. That bat Pony could only wonder to herself the following. “Wow… Just… Wow. That one must really love doing her job?”

For the rest of the night, she was pretty much kept up with how the entire ship was continuously making the same type of sounds that was heard coming from the mare just earlier and this caused the Bat Pony to even begin to touch yourself. While at the same time, still crouched and hiding in the back of some of the crates. She then thought to herself after some time and releasing some of her pent-up urges. “Perhaps I should show myself to them? Could this possibly be a form of mental warfare and that they already know that I'm here?”