Watching the clippings of red and black fur wash down the drain of the shower, Salem scrubbed the back of his head with shampoo, taking advantage of the free time he found himself. After helping trim up his partner's fur, the site resident decided to cut his own 'fur' since after Ted stitched on his new flesh the fluffy material became like a coat of natural fur.

Honestly, Salem didn't mind his new look, he was just glad that a single scientist's personal 'hobby' had left him with a ton of material for the little helpful bear to use. Either that or having the itchy blankets to be used for his skin which he was definitely not going to use would be a living nightmare.

Stroking the water from his hair fluff, Salem lifted his head up feeling the warm water droplets on his face causing him to smile. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he could take a shower without worry. He was half tempted to take a bath instead but there was just something so nice about having hot water softly washing over his surgical scar-carved body.

Then again, maybe a bath would be better for the phantom pain.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Salem opened his eyes before looking into the eyes of his companion before switching places with her. Standing back to back, the host couldn't help but feel Malo's tail brush against his legs as he began to put a peach conditioner over his body.

He had to give the ponies credit, the soap actually smelled like fruit and none of that synthetic glycerin stuff the foundation provided for their staff. Switching back to rinse off, the human beast held his face in his hands for a moment before holding his cheeks and opening his eyes to Malo hugging him from behind.

"This is nice huh?" Salem asked, to which his skull-faced companion brushed against the side of Salem's head, 'nuzzling' him while nodding her head. "I thought so too."

Standing under the shower head for a little while longer the two enjoyed each other's company before turning off the water and stepping out of the glass case to dry off. Drying his hair with a towel, the former human looked at the mirror in front of him, much to his amazement that the whole thing didn't fog up or anything but remained clear.

Staring at himself, the former human almost didn't recognize who he was looking at. Ever since his transformation into this 'Chimera', he had been in his suit working on the gate. He never really got to see his full body in the mirror after the 'surgery’. And now that he finally had a good look at himself, he began to question if the whole transformation into this form was necessary; seeing how this world was almost similar to Earth.

That train of thought was almost right away stopped when he countered it with answers; he didn't know what could be on the other side of the gate. This new body of his was beyond the levels of a normal man to the point of being superhuman.

His eyes were infused with bio-mechanical parts to allow him to see beyond the normal spectrum of light, almost like a natural night or thermal version. The spine he once had was ripped out for an unbreakable hex cyber-frame that seeped into his skeleton and central nervous system that also allowed him to connect to his armor. Most of his organs were replaced with better cybernetic ones such as a new respiratory system that could allow him to breathe underwater and deadly gasses, to a double heart that held a blood filtration system. Not to mention the nano-carbon tubes that were now his very muscular system with a new skeleton composed of an unbreakable metal alloy made from metals that are commonly found on earth.

A little part of his mind did make him wonder how much of him was natural.

Shaking off the feeling, he stepped back into his Exo-plate that was standing in the corner waiting for him. His body tingled as the nerve-suit sealed itself around his body, followed by the combat exoskeleton's armor covering the dressed form of Salem before his helmet sealed itself around his head. Lifting his hands up, Salem opened and closed his palms as he felt the reactive liquid under the shell surrounding his entire body once again.

Malo on the other hand, rolled her eyes due to her 'suit-up' being less impressive and not as complex. One moment she was wearing nothing but her black fur, the next she was wearing a specialized MTF outfit Salem made for her. Flipping her 'hair' back, the skull hound turned to look at Salem before she cracked a 'smile', causing the host to walk over and pull on her jacket.

"We need to get more normal clothes," Salem commented which caused Malo to nod in agreement before holding her hands out.

"/Can't be wearing military gear all the time huh?/" Malo asked to which Salem shook his head.

"Not really."

Giving a low chuckle, the two exited the bathroom and into their main room. Salem had unpacked a few things from his wrap-pack system but not all of them were SCPs like Titus. Just a few essential items, nothing too extreme besides the medium tube-shaped device on the table next to Titus's case along with other miscellaneous nicknacks...

And Ted who was currently sitting in the middle of the table.

It didn't feel right keeping the little guy in the pocket dimension with the rest of his gear so Salem pulled out the patchwork bear to stretch out his ‘legs', in a manner of speaking. Salem did think about pulling out a few other things but decided against it. Best not to assume this whole place would be a 'permanent' place to rest their heads.

Though he was half tempted to build Ms. Jane's PC to talk with the sentient computer program if she knew anything about magic. Then again, that was a big 'IF' but then again most of the stuff he knew about was from Ms. Jane from advanced medical knowledge to paranormal engineering.

Hopefully, she will understand...

"/You alright there Partner?/" Malo asked to which Salem noticed her trying to grab his attention before nodding.

"Yeah, just zoned out there."

Tapping her forefingers together she turned, lightly opening her mouth before moving her hands again. "/Can you bring out the box?/"

Chuckling, Salem tilted his head slightly, "Well... we haven't used it in a while and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some," Salem answered before pulling his pack off again, removing another part before reaching into it and pulled out a large flat military-style combat box.

Before he could open it to reveal what was inside, the two's attention were turned to the door at the sound of knocking. Salem placed the black case on the coffee table and made for the door while Malo gave a silent 'whimper' in protest of their lunch being interrupted.

Opening the door, Salem took a moment to process where the person who knocked was before looking down. Smiling courteously at him was a purple and green reptilian creature which he could only guess to be a dragon. A small one perhaps but a dragon nonetheless which briefly caught him by surprise.

"Hello?" Salem offered a greeting.

"Hey there! You Salem?" the dragon asked to which Salem nodded in reply. The dragon gave a warm smile, "Man Twilight wasn't kidding, You’re really from another world."

"I am. Who are you if you don't mind me asking?" Salem asked.

The dragon raised a claw, offering a handshake as he introduced himself, "The name's Spike. Spike the dragon. A pleasure to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Spike," Salem returned the handshake before continuing, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah-Yeah, of course. Twilight thought this whole thing would be a bit overwhelming since you're from Earth. And since Twilight and I have had experience with meeting folks from Earth she sent me to see if you have any trouble adjusting and needed any help," Spike answered, "But to be perfectly honest, I kinda wanted to meet you firsthand."

"That's nice of her... I guess." Salem stammered a reply. The two just stood silently before Salem pointed into his room. "Um... wanna come in?"

"Sure if you aren't busy," Spike nodded.

"Nah, my partner and I were going to have lunch," Salem waved nonchalantly.

"Oh, I don't mean to intrude."

"It's fine, come in. Would you like some pizza?"

"I would love some!” Spike grinned excitedly before stopping with a puzzled look, “How did you get pizza here? The royal cooks don't usually cook pizza."

Salem smiles within his helmet, "I'll show you."

(Meanwhile)
(Prison cart)

Sombra hissed in her gag as she pulled and tugged on the chained straitjacket, trying to break free while the cart rocked down the streets of Canterlot. She silently cursed Salem's name within her mind while the fallen tyrant pulled and tugged on the restraints.

The former Dark King of the Crystal Empire had been defeated in battle before and despite her prideful nature she would admit the very few souls who have bested her. Of course, she would always have her revenge upon them, specifically the few who have bested her and lived to tell the tale such as Princesses Celestia and Luna, the Elements of Harmony, Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armour…

And now the bastard, Salem.

She snarled and gnashed her teeth, seething in rage as she remembered their encounter. From all the foes she had faced before, none had done more to earn her ire than the ‘human’. Not only did he beat her in combat, but he embarrassed- no. Humiliated her and destroyed her pride along with her image!

Bitting down on the gag with her sharp teeth, the mare who was once King was already planning ways to torment and torture that 'human' before breaking and turning him into her slave. She wasn't going to grant Salem death but a painful existence under her control and use him and his weapons to take back her empire. And maybe even all of Equestrian while she’s at it.

Doesn't matter now, she'll cross that road later. For now she had to get out of this cart before she was locked away in Tartarus. Pulling her body forward, she shifted herself to roll only to stop short as the tight chains prevented her from moving too far and the magical suppression ring around her horn was still holding.

Her mind raced as she processed her options of escape from her binds. Before she could act however, the entire cart rocked violently before tumbling to the sides. Closing her eyes, Sombra felt the entire cart roll and crash into something, causing the former King to feel her gut churn while still strapped in place. Feeling the tumbling cart come to a stop, Sombra opened her eyes as her head spun from the crash.

Hanging upside down Sombra smiled at her good fortune before noticing something.

Her arm was free!

-

"Buck! What the buck just hit us?" Standing up, one of the guards escorting the prison cart held his head.

"I-I don't know,” the other guard hesitated, “Those three came out of nowhere! I tried turning to avoid them and I guess-"

"Wait! What about the prisoner!"

The two guards turned to the cart's cabin before one of them picked up their spear and walked to the broken door on the back of the cart. The inside was shrouded with black smoke. Moving hesitantly with his partner behind him, the two guards carefully approached the inside. And without warning, the one first of the two was pulled in before a gray-coated arm reached out and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up and throwing him into the other guard.

Still reeling from the shock, the two guards struggled to their hooves before both screamed out in agony as one of their own spears were stabbed through the Solar Guards. Sombra reformed into her physical form while wielding one of her warden's spear, much to the horror of the closest guard who stared helplessly with fear at the mare who gave a dark smile, delighted at their pain.

Dark magic covered Sombra’s body before being suddenly absorbed into her shadow, leaving her covered in her trusty plate armor and cloak. Leaving the two impaled guards she marched forward, summoning a jagged dark blade and leaning it on the top of one of the guards’ necks.

"Don't think I didn't forget when you touched me worm," Sombra hissed and gave a single swing she removed the heads of both guards from their shoulders.

While not intending to kill the second guard, Sombra simply shrugged before flicking away the blood from her blade. One thing is for certain, this whole change did give the former King a new perspective on what it's like to be a mare. Snapping her head away from the guards she spotted three mares covered in mud with strange clothes, arguing to each other in the chaos.

The yellow one went silent as she noticed Sombra standing only a few feet away and nudged her compatriots, silencing them as they became aware of the situation. Both parties stared at one another before Sombra offered an unsettling smile, tilting her head to the right. Without another word, the three then bolted off not realizing the one they saved was the former dark ruler of the Crystal Empire.

Sombra made a mental note to thank those three if they were ever to meet after her revenge... If they survive that is.

Noticing ponies were starting to gather at the scene, Sombra snarled before her physical form disappeared into the darkness and she sank into the shadow of the cart.

Perhaps she would take that old goat's offer after all. Who knows, maybe Grogar knew a way to reverse her back into a stallion.

(Canterlot castle)

"So I just touch it and it makes any pizza?"

"Pretty much," Salem answered while eating his own slice before Spike turned to the Pizza box in between them.

Tapping the pizza box, Spike laughed as a pizza suddenly appeared before him.

"That's so cool!" Spike smiled at the sight of gem-covered pizza.

"Wait, are those gemstones?"

"Yeah, why? Oh right, I forgot to mention we dragons eat gems," Spike replied to which Salem lowered his half-eaten slice as he processed the little dragon’s words.

"How does that work?"

"Honestly I don't really know that myself."

"Are they good?" Salem asked.

"Heck yeah- Oh sick! There’s grilled emerald on this!"

"I... You know what, I ain't going to question that," Salem remarked before taking another bite from his slice.

"So this thing never stops making pizzas?"

"Yep."

"Man, I would love to have one of these."

"For what, pizza every day?" Salem asked to which Spike nodded. "Look, even though my metabolism is insane I would rather not spoil my favorite foods by eating it every day," he added with a chuckle.

"Huh... that's a fair argument," Spike shrugged as he watched a pizza slice move up before disappearing on its own. "Man, that's so cool."

"What? Malo?"

"Yeah, I mean she's just like Stall-on!" The dragon commented.

The two non-Equestrians looked at each other, unsure what he was talking about. "Who?"

"Oh, he's a superhero from one of my favorite comics. He has this ability called Quantum Superposition; basically he can state reality and-" Spike stopped himself, realizing he was going on a comic nerd rant, "Sorry, habit."

Salem shook his head, "It's fine, and besides…" He reached into his pack before pulling out a much smaller case and opening it, "I'm a reader for fine literature myself."

Spike gawked in excitement, "Shut the front door! Are those Earth comics?!"

Salem smirked underneath his helmet, "You a Marvel or DC fan?"

Author's Note

Man 2,500+ words!

A bit of a slow chapter but guess you can call this the last of the 'eye of the storm' before things will spice up. Sombra being free and encountering the Sirens, plus this does take place in the final season of MLP so there is also Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.

OH MAN, THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!

ALSO, I STILL NEED A EDITOR!!! PLZ!!!

SCPs in this chapter:
SCP-2295-Patchwork bear
SCP-458-Endless pizza box
(Also the next chapter will be 6.5 a sort of 'fun' chapter with everyone and their favorite pizzas, you'll understand it once you read it)

(Update 2/19/2022)

Another special thanks to my awesome editor: Joe toon for the edit for the chapter!