Meeting the Mane 6

Twilight still couldn't believe it. After countless years of research and searching, Dream Valley suddenly appears. Maybe not 'Suddenly,' considering the Human could be behind this, but still amazing regardless. The Horrorcorn could only stare straight ahead at the valley, wearing her new dark blue hooded cloak (courtesy of Rarity). The cloak hid her features well enough. Although, it couldn't hide her new horn that stuck out like a sore hoof. On a lighter note, Rarity added wing flaps to the coat so she could hide her wings anytime she didn’t need them.

She kept staring into the distance until somepony placed a hoof on her withers. It startled the mare, but she quickly calmed down after seeing it was only AppleJack. "You okay, Sugarcube?" The farm Pony asked, sounding concerned.

The Horrorcorn nods. "Yes, it's just that there's so much happening all at once. It's been a few months since the Crystal Empire's return, and now this." Twilight gestures toward Dream Valley with a hoof. "I would have been delighted, but the Reaper, also known as Raven, might be in there." After receiving the letter from the Princess, Twilight began her research on Humans. Her excitement soon became dread after reading the news article about Raven and Luna's confrontation. No matter how the media tried to spin it, Raven emerged victorious. "All of this feels like..." It was at the tip of her tongue.

"Deja vu?" Spike interjected.

The two just stared at him, bemused.

"What? It's true." Spike shrugged and pointed a claw at Dream Valley. " A place of legend reappears after being gone for centuries. The place is being ruled over by a mysterious evil overlord keeping ponies hostage. Also, let's not forget that this evil overlord might also hate dragons." Spike said with a hint of fear in his voice. On their way here, Twilight read the bestiary entry for Humans; it scared many of them, even the guards that were brought with them. But out of all of them, it scared the young drake the most; something deep within him told him to be wary of the Human.

"Sounds about right." The farm pony confirmed, sounding already tired. "But the Princess said the big fella is reasonable, so this should be a cakewalk; if not, well..." AppleJack trailed off before tapping on the element of honesty around her neck. "And let's not forget we got back up."

Indeed, unlike last time the Princess provided them with fourteen royal guards, along with provisions and a coffer filled with bits in the event things went sour during the negotiation. If that wasn't enough, they had fully rested Alicorn on their side and a former captain of the royal guards. Speaking of which, Shining wore his purple armor with gold trimmings.

Still, Twilight had some concerns, like the missing guards that were sent to Dream Valley to scout the place, but they could worry about that later. " I guess you're right, but-" She was cut off by Rainbow Dash this time.

"But nothing, Egghead!" The Cyan Pegasus comes swooping in and gives the worried a horrorcorn a foreleg hug. "We got this. If that monkey tries anything, I'll give him the old one-two!" she demonstrates this by standing on her hind legs and jabbing the air with her forelegs.

Despite how juvenile Rainbow Dash could be, Twilight did appreciate the bravado, especially in these trying times. "I'll hold you to that." She smiled earnestly. "Also, he isn't a monkey. I suspect Humans are part of the great ape family, considering they lack a tail."

The multi-haired pegasus rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, Twi, I'm still kicking hi-" It was Fluttershy's turn to cut in.

"G-girls, W-w-whats that?" The Shy mare points a shaky hoof toward the sky. They all look up to see a flying humanoid creature approaching their location fast. "T-the book d-didn't say anything about Humans flying!" Fluttershy said in a panic.

"Unless this is some kind of dragoon, but they should no longer exist," Twilight said with worry.

As the flying object got closer and closer, everypony started tensing up, either to run or to stay and fight. As Shining Armor was about to give an order, Rainbow Dash did a foolish thing and took to the air. "Rainbow Dash, stop!" Shining called out to her, but he was too late; she rocketed towards the flying humanoid.

It was going to be a head-on collision until the flying Humanoid suddenly stopped, grabbed Rainbow Dash by her throat, and held her there. "Identifying." The Humanoid says while the pegasus struggles in her grip. "Analysis complete." A holographic screen appears in front of her face, and she calls her superior.

Once Raven's face was in view, she gave a short reply. "Sir, we have a problem."

"What did you find?" He answered tiredly, already feeling an oncoming headache.

"The Equestrians are here." Maya's camera switched to a first-person view. She was holding a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane by her throat. "From the reports I've gone through, this is called Rainbow Crash?"

"What did you call me, you bucket of bolts!" The pony started cursing obscenities while everypony else on the ground was horrified to see one of them captured so quickly.

Maya's grip tightened, causing the pony to choke. "Shall I dispose of them?" She was hoping for a 'Yes' or something along the lines of subduing them. The Nasod wanted to test out her capabilities fighting only at 75% and where she could correct her mistakes. Unfortunately, the only answer she received was the smacking of Raven's head against the table. "Sir?"

New Elria, mess hall

Raven sat there with his head against the dining table, hoping whatever was knocking on his metaphorical door would disappear. "Sir, I still need an answer." Unfortunately for the man, Maya's voice broke such delusions, and from the sounds, the other ponies were making on Nasod's end, he needed to make a decision fast.

Letting out another suffering sigh, Raven brought his head back up and slammed his claw against the bubble of silence. Oleander felt the force through her magic and dropped the barrier with a grumble. "Okay, since the Equestrians are here, can you tell me who's there?" Raven said loud and clear so that the whole mess hall could hear. Instantly the chattering died down, leaving them in tense silence.

"As I said, the multi-colored one is called Rainbow Crash." It was wrong, but Raven let it slide because he thought it was amusing. Maya's view switched to a pink pony with a curly mane that reminded him of cotton candy. "This one is called Ponk Pie."Next, it switched to an orange mare wearing a stetson who kept shifting around nervously. "The one with the hat is called jappleack." The Nasod's gaze fell upon a stylish light grey mare wearing pink saddle bags. "Lil miss rarity." Her gaze fell onto the last two, a butter-yellow pegasus trying to make herself as small as possible and a...Alicorn? Trying to hide her features? "The one cowering in fear is Murdershy. And the last one is..." Her processor kicked into high gear, trying to recognize the last one. "Twilight Sparkle."

Moondancer nearly choked on her food after hearing the last name, while Maud remained stoic, and Mena ran into the kitchen to hide. Others started whispering until Raven raised a hand, silencing them all. "Alright, you got one out of six, right." He would have found the whole thing funny if it weren't for the fact he needed to check if she was having memory leak issues. "Anyone else of interest?"

"An Alicorn," Raven started cursing the Goddess for his shitty luck until Maya brought her gaze over a flabbergasted pink Alicorn. The man quickly changed his tune and praised Elria for her hard work. "Send me your coordinates and placate them until I arrive. Also, please don't hurt them, especially Pinkie Pie and AppleJack. They're VIPs. Dismissed." Raven ends the call and stands up.

He turns to Oleander and Moondancer. "I need the two of you to hide Adam's body somehow. Use your strongest illusion spells. I don't care." The two mares look at each other before shrugging and trotting off. Raven looks at the rest of his kids, and his gaze softens. "I'm going to need you, kids, to stay in the daycare for a bit." He raises a hand to stop any protest. "No matter what happens, I'm not letting them take you back, I promise."

Amber looks up at Raven expectingly. "Pinkie Promise?"

"Uhhh?" Raven wasn't aware ponies could do that, considering they lacked the appendage.

"Repeat after me, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Amber ends her little jib by placing a hoof over her closed eye.

"Goddess, give me strength!" He thought to himself, defeated. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He ends it by placing a hand over his good eye. Once the promise was made, the remaining members of Black Crow took their leave, not before giving Raven a goodbye hug. Even Cozy, if only begrudgingly.

As for the rest, Raven waved them off. "Any of you who don't want to be seen, take this opportunity to hide. Except you, Mena!" Raven calls out to the whimpering Pinkie clone. " I need you to prepare refreshments for our guests and use the veil as we discussed." He only received a shakey response of 'Y-yes sir' from the mare.

Finally, he brought his attention to the two Changeling Queens and Monarch. "Myxine, Monarch, I need the two of you on standby since we'll be discussing some rather important matters."

"How can you be so sure they're here to talk instead of invading." The Hagfish Queen interjected.

"Because fourteen guards, six greenhorns, a former captain, and one inexperienced Alicorn aren't getting through an army of Changelings. We should be fine unless Celestia or Luna are hiding in some bush." Raven deadpanned.

"Fine, whatever." Myxine got out of her seat with a huff; she was followed by Monarch shortly after.

That only left Ambrosia; Raven knew he was going to regret this. " Ambrosia, I need a ride. "She bit her lower lip and gave the man bedroom eyes. Raven, for his part, just pinched the bridge of his nose. "Get your mind out of the fucking gutters. I want you to fly us towards the Equestrians. And please, something appropriate." He all but whispered.

Ambrosia rubbed her chin in thought until she thought about the perfect creature to transform into. She gave the former captain a mischievous smile, making Raven regret his decision even harder. "Okay, but you didn't say how big I needed to be! I'll be in the courtyard, Handsome." Ambrosia blew the poor Human a kiss before galloping out.

...

"Fuck."

A few minutes earlier, New Elria Entrance

"How Annoying," The Commander of New Elria was disappointed that she had to keep an eye on these vermin. Orders were orders, no matter how annoying. With that, she slowly floated down and dropped the struggling Rainbow Dash in front of the Equestrians. "Congratulations, Vermin. Venom Taker was kind enough to be merciful and let you all live."

"Y-you b-bitch!" Rainbow dash coughed while Fluttershy looked over her long-time friend. Meanwhile, Applejack got in front of the group and flared her nostrils. Twilight, for her part, lit her horn, ready for a fight. Pinkie pulled out her party cannon from somewhere... Maya needed to ask the Human to check her optics later because that shouldn't be possible.

The cooler of heads stepped forward and asked the obvious question. "Excuse me, but who is this Venom Taker? Also, might I ask who or what you are." Princess Mi Amore Cadenza asked to hope to de-escalate the situation. It seemed to work as the mysterious woman answered them.

"Raven Maxwell, or how you like to call him, The Reaper." For some reason, that last part sent shivers down everyone's spine. "As for me." The Female Nasod placed a hand on her chest and looked down at the ponies condescendingly. " I am Commander Maya, A Nasod built in the likeness of Humans. It will do you well to remember that." This raised even more questions, but no one had the stones to ask the machine any more questions. "Raven will be with us in a few minutes; try anything foolish. " Maya's chakram-like weapons materialized in her hands. "And I'll start slicing off limbs, understood?" She got waves of nervous nods. Satisfied, she floated there, not wanting to talk anymore.

The Mane Six, Spike, Shining Armor, and Candance huddled together to discuss this shocking revelation. "What the buck!" Rainbow Dash started.

"Ah agree. Twi, that book of yours didn't say anything about a talking tin can."AppleJack briefly looked up to see if said Tincan was still watching them. It was, and if her twitching eyebrow is any indication, she's not happy either.

"Um, well." Twilight tried racking her brain around this new development and devised a working theory. "I theorize these Nasods are highly advanced golems. This indicates that Humans were far more technologically advanced than we thought. This is amazing!" Everypony groaned at Twilight's excitement.

"Oh, oh, oh! She's like a robot or something since she's made from metal." Spike spoke up eagerly. It was like one of those sci-fi comics he read.

Twilight nodded in excitement. Seeing all this, Candance decided to cut in before they lost track of what was truly important. "As exciting as all this is, this Maya is clearly powerful." The princess of love felt the uncomfortable sensation wash over her horn. The cause of it was coming from the floating Nasod. "I believe it's best we don't aggravate her.

"Pfft, she doesn't look so tough; just dump a bucket of water on her, and the bucket of bolts is done," Rainbow commented dismissively. This earned her a hip check from AppleJack and disapproving glare from Fluttershy. "Okay, okay, fine, so what do we do now?"

"We wait." Shining Armor answered stoically. "We aren't here for a fight. Just negotiate." Things were going relatively smoothly, considering they weren't attacked, just threatened. Far better than what they had dealt with back in Crystal Empire. Hopefully, things stayed like this.

Maya had to give Shining Armor and Candance credit. They stayed level-headed throughout the exchange and did their best to keep everyone else calm. "But, how long will that last?" The commander smirked internally.

Soon enough, the minutes ticked on, with only a few worried glances thrown Maya's way. Then finally, a creature appeared from the distant horizon, approaching their location. As it got closer, it was clear to everypony that this flying creature was far larger than they expected. Even Maya raised a single eyebrow in interest.

Suddenly the creature comes diving down, ready to land. Once it did land, it kicked up dust and nearly knocked everypony off their hooves. What stood in front of the startled ponies was a massive creature. It had a lion's body, an eagle's wings, and a mare's head. It wore an Egyptian headpiece with earrings. The creature looked down at them with its yellow slit eyes and gave them a toothy grin.

"I-it's a Sphinx!" Twilight squeaked out. What was another legendary creature doing here?!

"I told you they would freak out, but you never listen." A tired-sounding voice came from the back of Sphinx. "Just hold that form a little longer." With that, the mystery person got off the Sphinx's back and jumped off of her head. The creature landed in a crouch in front of the Equestrians. "Sorry for the scare, but I needed to get here fast." The beast stood at his full height, towering over the ponies.

What stood in front of the Equestrians was the start of all of this, a creature of legend, a reaper of souls, evil incarnate, a villain who got away, an apex predator. It was none other than Raven Maxwell! The visible scars, the way he would look at the ponies with one yellow eye, and his black attire made the man an intimidating site. One could only imagine the inhumane thoughts going through his mind.

"Why are they just staring at me? Did I say something wrong?" Raven thought to himself, slightly worried. Then he felt it, something that tugged on his soul. He looked at Twilight Sparkle, causing her to shy away from his gaze. "Goddess, damn it." The unicorn received Henir's 'gift,' but thankfully, she seemed to be in control. Still, something else felt familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He could investigate later. " Welcome, to New Elria."As soon as the words left his mouth, the six mares and drake started questioning him.

"Where are ya keeping them foals?" Asked an irate AppleJack.

"So you think you can just come into Equestria and foalnapp ponies, not on my watch, buster!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls. Please don't eat our souls."Whispered Fluttershy.

"Darling, must you wear all black?" Questioned Rarity.

"Hey, does your sword have a + 13 enchantment?" Asked Pinkie Pie. That one made Raven question if that pink pony was mentally sound.

"New Elria? But we're in Dream Valley." Questioned a confused Twilight.

It was a good question, but unfortunately, Raven wanted to discuss this somewhere more private. He tried calming them down by holding his hands up. "I'll answer all your questions, but first, let's discuss this somewhere more private, alright?" This seemed to calm them down, except for Fluttershy, who was still shivering in fear.

Now, Raven had to deal with the actual diplomats who wouldn't be happy in the next minute. "Prince Shining Armor, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I presume?" The married couple nod. "I see; we have much to discuss. Also, I suggest you brace yourselves, considering your experience with Chrysalis." Raven taps the Sphinx's foreleg. "Ambrosia, please drop that transformation." Immediately the Sphinx is consumed by harsh yellow flames, leaving a much smaller figure.

Shining Armor nearly had a heart attack at the sight, while Princess Cadance's face twisted into an ugly scowl. The royal guards that were brought over ready their weapons. In turn, Maya readied her weapons if these ponies did anything foolish. Fluttershy backed away in fear, and Rainbow Dash and applejack looked ready for a fight. Rarity stepped aside, not wanting to be in the middle of the brawl. Pinkie pie stood on one hindleg and got in a strange martial arts position. At the same time, Twilight looked away in shame. "Mister Maxwell, can you tell us why you have a changeling with you?" Cadance asked through gritted teeth.

Raven just shrugged nonchalantly. "I needed help and struck a deal with Queen Ambrosia. Now, lower your weapons. I doubt you lot could take on an entire hive." He was more or less implying that he wouldn't help them if they provoked Ambrosia. Why help the fool who poked the hornet's nest?

"B-but, but it steals pony's love, and it invaded Equestria!" Rainbow Dash points an accusing hoof at the Changeling Queen.

Again, Raven just shrugged. " A far tamer version of a Succubus." He deadpanned and semi-confirmed the existence of demons for the less magically inclined. "And She and her hive didn't invade Equestria. That was Chrysalis and her hive. They're fairly nice once you get to know them."

"Aw~ I knew you loved me, shnookums." Ambrosia makes a kissy face, earning her a karate chop to the head via Raven. "Ow, you know I don't like it when you play rough."

Their antics would have been funny if it weren't for one being a changeling queen and the other being a dangerous predator. It didn't help that a literal killing machine stood behind the two, looking equally tired as her superior. "Let's just go to the castle." He turns around and starts walking away, but not before giving Maya an order. "Maya, continue your patrol. If you find bandits or outlaws, kill them and leave no trace of the body. The griffons and minotaurs have been getting rowdy. As for the rest, please give them a warning and let the Changelings take care of them. "

Without missing a beat, Maya answers. "Of course, Sir. I'll report back in four hours." The Nasod takes to the air leaving horrified mares.

Rainbow Dash looked ready to explode and charge after the leaving Human. Before she could, a resigned-looking Shining armor stops her. "Don't. We aren't in Equestria anymore. Just let it go." If he were being truthful, during his time as a Captain, he would have to give these orders once in a while. Being part of the Royal Guard wasn't always glorious. Candance more or less had the same opinion as her husband. "Now come on, before the big guy leaves us behind."

The walk back to the castle was tense. The Ponies kept their distance from Raven, and Ambrosia, while sending worried glances or glares their way. Meanwhile, the taller creatures didn't pay them any mind. "Psst." The Changeling Queen called out to her Human companion. Raven gave her a side glance. "There's something wrong with that pony with the hood. She smells like a Changeling, dragon, zebra, thestral, and pony all at the same time." She whispered.

Raven gives Ambrosia a slight nod. "She reeks of Henir's corruption, but let's leave that for later. We have more important things to discuss." With that said, they were left in uncomfortable silence.

It would have stayed silent if it weren't for the Princess of Love. "So, Mister Maxwell, any special somepony in your life." She asked, trying to lighten the situation. Unfortunately, this was the wrong question as the air became heavier.

"My fiancee is dead." He answered coldly as he stared forward. Ambrosia tasted Raven's grief, and it was bitter beyond all compare. The Honeycomb hive Queen gave the pink Alicorn the stink eye. Shining Armor gave his wife a hip check for touching upon the subject. Everypony else looked highly uncomfortable with the matter.

Wanting to change the subject to Rainbow Dash asked a question this time. "Uh, got any family members? Like siblings?" It wasn't the wrong question, but it was still personal.

"My Father was a mercenary and died doing what he loved, fighting. My mother was a trollop. And as far as I know, I'm an only child. Also, no more personal questions." Raven was in no mood to talk about his past at the moment.

Again they were left in uncomfortable silence until Rarity spoke up. "Mister Maxwell, not to be rude or anything, but why do you always wear clothes?" Raven looked at the mare with a raised eyebrow. "O-oh, darling, I love wearing the occasional fancy dress and trendy outfit, but I couldn't see myself wearing them all the time."

Sighing, Raven looked ahead again. "For cultural and practical reasons, I could spend hours discussing these reasons, but I'll keep it short." He might as well rip off the bandaid now. "Unlike stallions, Human males can't hide their privates behind a sheath. Technically I only need to wear undergarments, but I like my modesty." The former knight said without an ounce of shame.

Behind him, ponies tried their best hid their reddened cheeks. Rarity coughed into her hoof, trying to remove the image from her mind. "That was enlightening, thank you."

Spike, finding all of this wildly inappropriate, asks his question. "Uh, so do you hate the royal sisters or something?" Some ponies were giving the young drake weird glances, but he didn't give it any thought.

Raven thought about his answer before replying. " I don't hate Princess Celestia; if anything, I respect her. I imagine running a kingdom for over a thousand years wouldn't be easy." He didn't bother mentioning all the loved ones she had watched die over the years. "If the circumstances were slightly different, I might have worked under her." Ambrosia gave Raven an odd look for that. "But she's too sentimental for me."

"What do ya mean?" AppleJack asked.

"The Nightmare moon situation could have been handled better. Too much of a gamble; she should have an army prepared if the six of you failed." Even though he hated the reality of the situation, Shining had to agree with the Human.

Rainbow Dash gave the Human a look that said, 'Are you an idiot? "What!? The guards were useless when Nightmare Moon showed up. Plus, she was too powerful! " This time, the Royal Guards glared at Rainbow Dash.

"Ha! With that kind of mentality, Humanity would have never overthrown the dragons." Spike flinched at that little tidbit, remembering twilight telling them how ruthless the Humans were against the dragons. "With enough time and planning, the Royal Guards could have easily taken care of Nightmare Moon. Especially if you had someone like Oleander on your side."

"Please, don't joke about that. What Oleander did could have ended badly." Candance was still in Canterlot when half of the school for gifted unicorns was blown to bits. Thankfully they were fast enough to suppress the information and blame it on a gas leak. "She's lucky no pony died."

"I'm completely serious. " Raven answered truthfully. " Oleander wields great power for someone her age. Imagine if you had more ponies like that?"

"B-b-but, if that happened, Princess Luna would have...D-died." Fluttershy squeaked out.

"So? She was the enemy. What is one life compared to a million?" He asked, disregarding anyone's feelings. Seeing how the mares gasped and some guards shifted uncomfortably, he asked a different question. "Fine, tell me, what would have happened if Nightmare Moon had won and gotten her eternal night? And no, not the obvious stuff, like citizens being oppressed."

AppleJack was the first to answer since she's a farmer. "Oh, that's easy! Without the sun, mah trees wouldn't be able to do photo-whatever you call it. And they would...Wither and... die... Oh, buck." It just dawned upon them all that if they had messed up on that night, they would have been fucked. Even Ambrosia cringed when she thought about it, one side of the planet freezing to death while the other burned.

This only reinforced Raven's reason for finding a way for the sun and moon to move independently. "Despite her flaws, I still think she's a great leader." Again the ponies and drake around him were surprised. "I guarantee you that if your average pony, or goddess forbid, one of those nobles took the throne, Equestria would be much less peaceful. The best-case scenario is being taxed to hell by the nobles. The worst case is returning to the tribalism."

They wanted to refute Raven's claims, but it was true when the ponies thought about it. Still, Rainbow Dash wanted to protect her pony pride. "Yeah, well, I bet you Humans aren't any better!"

"We aren't." Raven had his pride, but he needed to be honest himself.

"Wuh?" The Cyan pegasus asked, bewildered.

"Being sent to the front lines to do all the dirty work. Providing my troops and me with only half of the provisions because of our 'low-born' status. And after years of undying loyalty, they throw us away like trash." As he spoke, his mood worsened and worsened. It got to the point where Valasia covered his claw. Ambrosia being the clever queen she was, backed away. The others seeing this, got worried.

"Even after pleading, I was condemned, and the Black Crows were to be disbanded." Raven could see it all again; being thrown into prison, his men lay dead on the ground, Seris dead in his single arm, and Owen's face. For a brief second, he let his self-control go, causing awakening to be active unconsciously.

He reins himself in, but the damage is done. Everything within a two-meter radius quite literally died, even the air. The grass beneath him became dust, while the ground became lifeless, dry, and cracked. The air around him became dry and hard to breathe. Even the plants nearby looked like they'd wilted.

Looking back, Raven could see everyone vacated the area and kept a distance of twenty meters. "Is it safe to come back yet?!" Ambrosia called out. The man looked around, making sure there weren't any lingering Valasia. He gives them the okay to come back.

As they slowly approached, Raven noticed that Fluttershy had fainted at some point and was carried by one of the guards. Feeling guilty, he apologizes. "Sorry for my little outburst back there, old memories. Let's continue." Raven led them away again, with the others following soon after.

"By the way, you never did tell us if you hated Princess Luna," Spike asked; he received a harsh glare from Ambrosia. The Queen didn't want her Human's mood to sour again. Because that last outburst tasted like literal death, and the taste wasn't going away. Spike, for his part, shrunk away in fear.

"Ah yes, Luna." He drawled. "I don't hate her. I have a low opinion of her. A mare who threw a temper tantrum because ponies rather sleep at night. And what does she do? She refuses to lower the moon because ponies like Celestia more than her." Raven smiled bitterly at the thought of the blue bitch rolling around on the floor, throwing a hissy fit. Before anypony could defend Luna, Raven continued with a more somber tone. "And I get it. Serving the people won't always be glamorous. Sometimes they'll downright hate you, but you have your duty, and lives depend on you. Sometimes you need to suck it up and keep moving forward."

This resonated with a lot of them, especially Twilight. "Maybe, I was too harsh with Princess Celestia." Twilight thought sadly. As bad and painful as her transformation was, others have had it worse.

This left everyone to their thoughts, wondering how different things could have been. What if Princess Celestia came out and told everyone the truth? What if everypony failed to stop Nightmare Moon's rise to power? It was all complicated and thought-provoking. As they neared Dream Castle, Pinkie Pie asked a rather important question. "Hey, Raven, what kind of dessert do you like?

The Human grimaced at the thought of eating such things. "I hate sweets, but if I were forced to choose, I would say dark chocolate." That's what Seris used to make for him during valentine's day. "I miss you, Seris." For a moment, Raven swore. He felt someone's hand brush against his cheek.

[Mena wearing a maids outfit]

[Art by Krillk]

Author's Note

YO! Got another chapter out; sorry for taking so long with this one. I wanted to get this one just right. The next chapter should be out this week or next week. Also, I hope what I wrote wasn't considered bashing Luna or a mouthpiece.

Also, sorry if this pinkie isn't balls to the walls, excited, and getting in Raven's personal space.

By the way, the misspelled tames are references to old ask the mlp character on tumblr. Loved them when I was a kid, unfortunately some of them have been deleted due to new rules on tumblr.

And amazing art work by Krillk! Thanks for reading guys!