Psycho Hunger

The whole station was eerily quiet, Ember had called for a few dragons to clean up the mess that Krieg had left. The Psycho himself helped despite the protests of others. Sunburst and Starlight conversed with each other far from any unwanted ears, while the class they've brought to the Dragon Lands were placed somewhere they would not see the carnage that resulted, except for Ocellus and her friends.

They- along with Garble- instead stayed around to watch Krieg, not out of curiosity, but worry. They feared that he would suddenly go on and wreak havoc upon everyone. But luckily, he seemed to be well behaved today. That, and the fact that the voice, or Sane Krieg, had promised to keep Psycho Krieg in check. Ocellus learned a lot in the past few minutes since Sane Krieg didn't have to work with the body.

They tried to find a solution for the voice to communicate with the others, but none could discover how Ocellus even received the ability. Though the halo was given to them by Krieg, that itself did not help one bit.

"No, don't eat it!"

They watched as Krieg attempted to devour a corpse, but was immediately scolded by Ember. The Dragon Lord even swatted him with a broom, to which Krieg had eaten after.

"Gah, you idiotic..." With a huff, Ember stormed off somewhere far from Krieg. "Can you believe this guy!? Honestly, do dragons not obey me anymore!?"

"We obey," Garble said meekly.

"Right, but for some reason, I had met dragons that don't. Not even the bandit ones follow my orders, and they should've helped me in my time of need!" She sighed deeply. "Okay then, new plan."

Everyone stared at her strangely as she paced in front of them. A serious and stern look on her face, as if she had a mission or something to prove.

"So you've noticed how this Krieg guy managed to fight off those bandits, right?"

Gallus rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Can't really call it that, more like... a one-sided massacre."

Silverstream shivered. "I... Should we call the authorities?"

"No!" The students and Garble were shocked by Ember's sudden outburst. Heck, even the other dragons stopped what they were doing, Krieg on the other hand, took the chance to steal a few corpses to snack on. "Ahem, this event occurred on Dragon Lands territory, so it is my responsibility to judge Krieg for his... crimes. But after thinking about it long and hard, I am to call his actions merely self-defense. Plus, the part where he tried to kill us was all a misunderstanding."

"But... I mean," Smolder stuttered a bit, she was unsure how to take Ember's decision. But none could understand her reason to forgive Krieg for his actions.

"And..." It appeared that Ember was not done yet, she had something else in mind. Which scared the young creatures. "Recently there has been a bandit attack so close to an important place such as the train station, and I... You know what? I'm just gonna say it, I'm keeping Krieg."

"What!?" Smolder snapped at Ember. "Do you have any idea what that lunatic could do!? You've seen it!"

"If my sister doesn't like him, then I feel the same, Ember. From the looks of it, he's not the kind we should keep around." Garble said. "I like breaking stuff as much as the next guy, but not to this level."

"No, he's staying," Ember said defiantly. "Whether any of you like it or not, he can be a great help against bandits, and whatever threat comes to Equestria. Do any of you remember that time those three villains nearly plunged the world in eternal winter? See, we defeated them because we all united, but, if we had Krieg back then, maybe it would've ended differently."

"One of those villains was a child!" Sandbar gasped.

"Yes, and Krieg didn't hurt any of you, did he? He's still smart enough to know what's right or wrong! So I'm sure after some training we can make Krieg into a model dragon!"

Starlight and Sunburst entered the conversation after Ember finished her sentence. "Alright everyone, the train is gonna arrive soon, and once we get Krieg back to Ponyville, Sunburst and I are gonna go through the library for some answers."

Sunburst nodded. "Yes, in all my years I haven't heard of a Unity of Equestria, but if what Starlight had theorized is true, then I think we've uncovered something that Celestia herself wanted hidden."

"If we can't find the answer in Ponyville, then we'd have to request Twilight's help with this..." Starlight said it was obvious that she was stressed out of her mind. Who wouldn't be? It was possible that some kind of dark prophecy had been released upon Equestria and they are partially at fault.

"Bad news, Headmare Starlight, Ember wants to keep Krieg." Sandbar informed Starlight of the decision that was made without her knowledge.

"You what!?" Starlight nearly cast a spell on Ember for deciding with such little thought. "This is a problem, and we need answers. That means we keep Krieg out of trouble, so he'll have to follow us to Ponyville!"

Ember scoffed. "You ponies don't have any power to argue, I had decided to keep Krieg here, and to make sure that you won't take him away, he's going to be my champion!"

Starlight groaned as the stress built itself up in her head. They nearly died, and now Ember was acting like a child who did not understand that Krieg was a murderous psychopath that must be under watch no matter where. Or else tragedy befalls them.

"Ember, I'll give you one last chance to reconsider, before I paralyze you and take Krieg away."

"You've seen what he's capable of," Ember sneered. "those weapons the bandits used could destroy anything in their path, but he just stood there like they were nothing! Hey, Krieg!"

Krieg stopped his feasting, he turned towards the group and wondered what they needed from him. Seeing that there was nothing to do, Krieg rushed over to them with a joyful skip in his step. He was eager to learn what they desire, he hoped that it was related to skull bashing.

"Two in the chamber, pipes filled with gallons of pudding! Turn the valve and let me burn!"

Ember quickly turned to Ocellus for a translation. "Oh, he's asking if you have something for him to do. Then Sane Krieg said that Krieg wants to eat your face..." She said the last sentence in a hushed tone, in fear of scaring Ember.

*I don't understand him sometimes, but he wants to shove everything in his mouth...*

Ember shrugged her shoulders, unfazed by the translation. "Well Krieg, I just need you to stand still there and- ha!"

From the ground, Ember kicked up one of the guns that littered around them and caught it in her claws which she then pointed at Krieg, the others could not stop her as she pulled the trigger.

Krieg just stood there as bullets slammed into his scales, he was deathly silent as Ember continued her barrage of lead. When her gun was dry, only then did Ember cease. She leaned the weapon on her shoulder and turned towards Starlight with a prideful smirk. But what she did not account for was how Krieg saw her action.

A shadow loomed over the shorter dragon, she glanced over her back to see Krieg behind her. Though she feared for a moment that she made a mistake, Krieg just stood there, his eye blank and soulless.

"Say... big guy," Ember chuckled awkwardly as she stepped away, the weapon fell out of her hands as she did so. She knew it was a terrible idea to antagonize him like that, but it was not her plan to do so. "I was just testing you, you sure are durable. Listen, I have an offer I know you can't refuse. For some reason, as you've already seen around, there is an increase in bandit activity. So I am offering you a chance to be my champion and represent the Dragon Lands!"

There was a short moment of silence, Starlight wore a frown as she waited for Krieg's answer. She had wanted to stop Ember earlier, but out of curiosity, she wanted to see how Krieg would react. He was an anomaly, one that came from an artifact of unknown origins. Krieg also shared some similarities with the bandits, they reacted with fear upon learning his name.

But just in case, Starlight was ready if Krieg would act violently towards Ember.

Ember coughed into her fist. "There are plenty of perks, you get to see my hoard, you'll get the best gems in the land. And we have plenty of monsters to fight."

"Sharpen my fists on their femur!" He said joyfully, though many could not understand his words, his actions spoke louder. Ember felt the earth beneath her feet leave her as Krieg pulled Ember over his head. Ember found herself on a walking throne made of flesh and madness, one that would not cease his running. "I'll be the fuse, you be the whiskey!"

"What the, l-let me down!"

*He accepts, as long as he isn't bored.*

Ocellus quickly told them of Krieg's decision which Starlight couldn't believe. "I know you've made your decision, but you have no right to keep him here, we need to transfer Krieg somewhere he can't hurt anyone."

"Starlight, we've been friends for a while now, I'm sure you can trust me." Ember wore a reassuring smile.

"Sunburst, back me up on this, she can't just keep a warrior from the past as some kind of pet."

"I mean..." Sunburst took a sharp breath.

Starlight stared disappointedly. "You can't be thinking of leaving that bandit!"

"From the result of the fight, I am to believe that Krieg is a destructive monster, Starlight. If we bring him somewhere populated with innocent ponies, I'm afraid we would only bring trouble back home. We need to keep him here where there's a much lower chance of casualties. And I'm not sure we can even argue with Lord Ember..." Sunburst reasoned.

"Even so, letting him loose out here is irresponsible, I mean, sure I can trust you Ember. But I can't in good conscience just leave him with you, knowing what he's capable of."

"How about you leave Smolder and her friends here until you find your answers?" Ember suggested as she sat comfortably on Krieg's shoulders.

"That is even worse!" She replied so fast that her voice cracked for a moment. Starlight cleared her throat as her cheeks turned red, embarrassed for allowing herself to stumble in her words. "These are just kids, sure they're old enough, but as their Headmare, I can't just leave them with that monster."

"Well..." All eyes looked towards Ocellus who shuffled awkwardly under their gaze. "I am the only one who could understand him, with Sane Krieg I mean, so I think it would be a smart move if I am to stay by his side..."

Gallus huffed. "Ocellus, as your friends, we can't just leave you here."

"I know, Smolder can stay and help out."

Sandbar shook his head. "If two of my friends are in danger, I can't just sit around back in Ponyville, so if you're staying then I will too."

"Yona wishes to protect friends if bad bandits return!" Their yak friend was not easily dissuaded by the past.

Gallus rolled his eyes at them, then turned towards Starlight. "Guess that makes five of us, and of course I can't just leave them on their own. Sorry, Headmare Starlight."

Starlight only sighed at Gallus before she looked over to Silverstream. "And you, are you also staying? It's alright if you wish to come back with Sunburst and me to Ponyville."

Silverstream turned away from her friends, it was clear that she did not like the idea one bit. She whispered something they could not hear as if she was undecided and unsure of her answer. "I..." Her eyes returned to them, but they could tell that she was focused on Krieg. "I don't like him, he's just as bad as those bandits that tried to hurt us..."

*Ocellus, tell her that there is no need to be afraid. And tell her everything I'm about to say...*

Ocellus smiled at her friend. "Silverstream, the voice in Krieg's head tells me that there's no need to be afraid, he promises that if Krieg ever crosses the line, then he'll protect us. Even now, he promises that Krieg will not let any bandit harm anyone that doesn't deserve it."

"Does he...?" There was a silent moment, Ocellus nodded her head at Silverstream. "I... I'm staying..."

"If that is your decision." Starlight concluded. "Very well, but if anything happens, just call Derpy to send us a letter and we'll be with you in just a blink."

"Alright!" Garble laughed. "It's been forever since you and I hung out, sis'!"

"I'm just as excited as you are Gar Gar!" Smolder smiled, but then it turned into a frown. "Though we gotta keep Krieg around, so he won't do anything dangerous towards other dragons."

"Right," Starlight sighed. "I don't like how he looks at everyone, especially your kind Ember. It's like he is plotting something."

Ember snickered as she relaxed on Krieg's head. "Don't worry, he and I are already buddies! I mean, only friends allow each other to ride their shoulders, right? We are friends now, right Krieg?"

"Gecko stewed in my lungs!"

*Huh, you warmed up quick.*

"See, he likes me already! Spike's friendship lessons really paid off." Ember said with pride, she was happy to hear that she found friendship with Krieg despite the lack of effort.

*Krieg... I still need answers...* Ocellus perked up upon hearing Sane Krieg speak to Krieg. She wondered what it was that the voice sought. *I can't remember much... And I'm not sure if it's thanks to us being together for too long... But I'm sure we aren't even a dragon, and this isn't Pandora. We, what were we? Their names... What were their names? I can't... remember anything after the vault opened...*

Krieg allowed Ember off his shoulders before turning towards the horizon, Ocellus listened intently for any information that could bring light to Krieg's mysterious past.

"Maya..." Krieg muttered.

*Maya? That's right... she saved us, even gave us a chance... She was the siren we met at that train station. Just like how we met these people here, I wonder... Why is my memory fading?*

Krieg left no answer, instead, he started to blather nonsense at everyone. Though it was a terrible idea, Ocellus and her friends decided to stay in the Dragon Lands to keep an eye on Krieg and make sure he would not harm Ember.

Starlight could only hope that they made the right choice, but deep down, she doubted their plan, an army was chased away by one single dragon whose power could not be compared with anyone. Perhaps she had a better chance against Krieg, but she doesn't know how to beat the Psycho.

If she was quick, then they might find an answer. They'll need a lot of help if they desire the truth. For now, Krieg shall be the champion of the Dragon Lands, and may he protect the weak from those that wish to harm the peace of this land.